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tarotnoob · 2 years ago

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PAC: Surprise! Something is coming, but you don't see it! What is it?

So, I'm still out of town but I have been itching to use cards. The only thing I have are playing cards. Which means we don't have major arcana and I won't use page cards. And I'm interested to see what kind of messages we get just using those.

Pile 1

Okay, you have four of Wands, two of Wands, six of pentacles, and two of cups.

The quotes on the cards for each in the order are

Whatever makes you happy you put it in your world.

Let's make some nice little clouds that just float around and have fun all day.

Just go out and talk to a tree. Make friends with it.

This is not something you should labor over or worry about. Enjoy it. If painting does nothing else it should make you happy.

So, let's just do the tarot reading without thinking about the quotes yet.

Okay what you don't see coming, I feel like somebody is going to do something good for you. Like a favor or just do something nice for you. It could be that they get you a present or they help you out with some type of chore, but I feel like you aren't going to be expecting somebody to be thinking about you. Because it's almost like a friend or a person or whomever or even family, does something small but meaningful for you. It could be that they go into a store and see something that reminds them of you and they buy it. Then they casually come up to you and are like hey I thought of you, here's this pair of earrings or I know you really like oranges, so I grabbed you a few fresh oranges from the market.

And I get the sense that they do it because maybe in the past you've done something for them, so it's like they are passing it back on to you. I especially feel like to get really specific if it's a gift, it could be something for your home. Like a knick knack or flowers. But it just feels small however the motive behind it feels meaningful and yet it doesn't feel like there are any ulterior motives. It's I like I was thinking about you and we have this kind of relationship where we do nice things for each other, so here you go.

It's also possible that a friend might ask you out on a date. I don't mean like a literal date. I don't feel a lot of romantic stuff here even though there are the four of Wands and two of cups. I'm seeing this more as a person close to you like a best friend or close relative, and they either have gotten you something as a gift or you spend quality time together. But it feels more like it would be a surprise to ask you out for a day trip or they come up to you and are like do you want to see a movie this weekend.

It could also be that they have seen you going through a bit of a rough time recently and simply want to take you out or will offer to take you for coffee so that you can vent or chat or it's just to make you feel better.

I also feel like the purpose of whatever the interaction ends up being it's to help you relax or will be in a setting where you can relax and it's just meant to be fun and simple. Maybe they'll even buy you something related to taking care of your body like a bath bomb or bath salts or some face masks.

I'm also sensing it's a good time to go out. It's not a great time to coop yourself up. It's a good time for you to go out and have fun and do something nice for yourself or something that relaxes you or makes you feel happy.

Especially if you are near mountains or have snow where you are right now, if you enjoy skiing or nature or like to paint.

I'm definitely getting the sense of some type of reciprocity happening between you and another person. There's mutual respect, there's love, and I also get a sense of happiness and satisfaction within this relationship. But I definitely feel like you'll receive a gift or an invitation to go out or even a text or call from someone you care about that's like I was thinking about you how are you etc. So you can look forward to that.

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Pile 2

You have the three of Wands, Ace of swords, seven of swords

And the quotes you have are I don't try to understand everything in nature. I just look at it and enjoy it

Go out on a limb that's where the fruit is

Be so very light. Be a gentle whisper

It's not here, but those quotes make me think of the hanged man. It's very go with the flow, take it easy, but also in the same sense of taking a risk. Kind of like if someone were to suggest something spontaneously and usually you're quite hesitant to be impulsive, but you're like why not let's just do this. But it's not anything like hey let's go to a club and be crazy it's more like hey do you want to go for a 2-hour drive along the coastline and you're like Yeah that sounds nice why not

But on the other side let's just look at the tarot cards. It's funny we asked what you don't see coming and then you get seven of swords since notoriously this would be the card about secrets or things that are hidden, it can be betrayal and other things but it just depends however when you pair that with an ace of swords, it's like they cancel each other out because it's about something coming to light lol which is the question that I asked so they're being a bit cheeky

My personal feeling is like you don't see it coming because it's not meant to be something known to you. So it's almost like they're saying to me that you don't get to know but we're still going to try to interpret it because that's the point of the reading. It's just funny because three of Wands also makes me think that it's a surprise because that card is usually somebody waiting on a cliff and watching and waiting for something to come in so it's like okay something is coming but we don't know what it is but eventually it will come to light lol

So whoever is passing on this message I think is being kind of cheeky and humorous. You might have a sarcastic or funny type of personality or whoever will be involved in this has that sort of playful attitude

And it's good that I said you know there's something impulsive about it because after I said that and I looked at the quotes again, I got the sense of the fool card. So there may be something wanting you to take on a more child like sense of wonder. Maybe things have been a bit stressful or overwhelming lately, so it's almost like they're trying to cheer you up or you know when you're feeling down and you have a friend who cracks a really stupid joke and they just want to make you laugh or they even embarrass themselves with some little thing that they do just to get you to cheer up

As for what it is, I think I just want to shuffle out more cards unless they're like no really they don't get to know

Three of Wands is clarified by the three of pentacles; Ace of swords is clarified by the Queen of cups; seven of swords is clarified by the two of pentacles

What's weird is with that seven of swords, I get a couple of things that come to mind and one could be some type of cycle that's repeating especially a karmic cycle. I thought pile one also had something coming up where it was more like a pay it forward situation. But this is like what goes around comes around or something repeating itself but we'll come back to that

Three of Wands being clarified by another three, the three of pentacles. This feels like the start of something being built. It could be any kind of thing, but it could also be a relationship, it could be the start of a project. But there's definitely a sense of taking the first step toward building something or joining a community. Like if you just started at the gym or you just started a new job or you just started a new hobby and have taken one or two classes

Those are just examples, I'm going to build this together into a whole paragraph after we figure out the individual sentences

Ace of swords being clarified by the Queen of cups could be some type of conversation that you have that relates to feelings or being sympathetic or somebody lending an ear to another person. It could also be clarity on one's feelings about something. It could even be a creative idea being born. Which would totally fit in with this project or whatever starting to take shape but it would only be like the planning stages or a step after that

But apply as it fits because like I said it could be a first step in a relationship or whatever but the way that it's coming together seems more like a creative collaboration opportunity but still it's the idea of building something solid and whatever is being built, there is like a drive to see it come to light and real distinct clarity. Almost like there's a vision of something that you want to do in the future or something you want to take shape. But to me it feels like a very clear idea or vision

However to build it it's like you need the cooperation of other people or you need the help of other people

Then we come to the final one that I was trying to figure out which is this seven of swords which sometimes I also read as somebody who always tries to go it alone.

In that case what this feels like again is very similar to the first pile in that somebody is going to help you out. It feels more like a work setting. It feels not as close as the first pile, so this could be an acquaintance a co-worker a classmate or even somebody you barely know but it's like you're so used to doing things on your own and this has been a cycle for you. However there's some type of idea or something that you want and in this instance whatever it is that you are thinking of

You may think that you can do this by yourself or you may harbor like a secret desire for somebody to help you achieve this. But either way it feels like this is something you're not going to be able to do by yourself. You're going to need the help of other people whether you want it or not so it's like you either have to be the one to ask for help or somebody will come along and help you unexpectedly. Like a really random person or random situation happens and it's like it actually helps you out.

However with the three of Wands, I do get the sense usually this is somebody either desiring or fantasizing or theyre aware that somebody is coming into help

So I can't tell if literally somebody will be coming in or you've been hoping for somebody to come in.

It could also be that if that's the case and you've been trying to manifest somebody, that spirit isn't ready to give you the full details on a timeline or who they are or when they're going to show up. Because I get there's a bit of silly secrecy surrounding this. It could even be that if you are looking for a romantic relationship, this person comes in as a stranger and then I mean you could know them though but they could be a stranger and they could come in and be a co-worker who helps you out with tasks and you work together and collaborate

The only reason I bring up romance is the secrecy. Like what would be the reason to be secretive about a close friend coming in or soul tribe, to me it's almost like it could definitely be some type of relationship that goes from acquaintance to something more simply because you build something together and it's like if you had somebody in mind, they won't be exactly as you think and so maybe that means they also come in in a way that is completely unexpected because I feel like spirit is trying to get one over on you. Almost as if like you're a person who always needs to know how it's going to happen or thinks they know how it's going to happen and can never be surprised but

You won't see it coming or it won't happen as you expect. I still get the sense that this person hasn't come in yet and that you aren't super close to them at least not yet

But what I really feel is just like it's meant for you not to know the details that's why it's something you don't see coming. It just happens that in this particular pile, they really want to keep it vague for whatever reason they might have. And I don't think it has anything to do with they don't know what they're doing, there's just like a teasing feeling about it. Maybe because you are the person that thinks they know everything or can ever be surprised or feels like you know oh it can't ever happen in a way that would be unexpected. And they seem to know this. So that's why I'm not going to say 100% for everybody it's a person. It could just be a surprise situation

Let's also consider the quotes. The first one about I don't understand everything in nature kind of sounds exactly like what I was just saying. And again it reminds me of the fool card. So it's like don't try to figure out everything and let it all happen and its course

Go out on a limb that's where the fruit is makes me think of taking risks and again not trying to plan everything. It also makes me think of abundance. Fruit you could read that as fertility so this could be creative ideas or like the empress, could have to do with relationships and fruitful relationships

Be so very light. Be a gentle whisper. This could mean a lot of things lol. This makes me feel more about how this comes in which is like not gradually but it's like one morning you wake up and this thing or this person will be there. Again you just don't see it coming because it's so quiet or invisible. But I also think it's a play on not being so serious

Then the clarification card say isn't that fantastic I knew you could do it. So again makes me think about success with some type of collaboration that's coming up.

There's son of a gun that's a pretty nice tree for being done that quick. Again a sense of something coming in quickly or changing quickly. Saying son of a gun kind of makes me think of the knight of swords or knight of Wands... Which again would just be about the speed at which something happens, which would seem to be very quick. Guns are obviously very fast, powerful

It also makes me feel like not everything has to be overthought to be successful. Things can be simple and still be good

And then the final quote says let's get crazy what the heck take a 2-in brush This is your bravery test. For one it's being cheeky again these are Bob Ross playing cards if you couldn't tell already. So he's being kind of sarcastic but it's still displaying that message of take a risk and things don't have to be like fancy, it's all about the moment and what you put into it and being brave

So if I had to say. If it's about a relationship or a project, it's almost like give it a chance, take your shot, don't overthink it

And I can't tell you specifically what it is because they don't want us to know. I can only guess that for some of you it feels like a person coming in unexpectedly. It could be a friend, but I lean more toward a romantic possibility that starts off as acquaintanceship and has the potential to become something else if you let go of control and give it a shot without also overanalyzing everything

It could be to that You might be a bit guarded since you're used to doing everything on your own or perhaps you've been burned before in relationships. I get the sense that when this person comes in they'll be playful and kind of not immature but silly. Or this could be the way that they try to comfort you is through jokes or being goofy. Because it has a very light energy and it's almost like it wants to rub off on you

And I really just feel like if this is a person you meet through work, they aren't there yet or you haven't connected with them or you've barely interacted with them and then they end up coming and helping you with a project or help you put a piece of equipment together and you realize you have some type of mental connection or you have kind of a nice conversation. But it doesn't occur to you in that moment that this could be more. So I'll just say that there feels like there's the potential for something special with this person or the situation so keep an open mind. And if they're like hey do you want to do something random and spontaneous, just say yes at least that one time and see where it goes

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Pile 3

This is the only one where I wondered if the thing you don't see coming might be negative so I already clarified your top cards.

There's eight of wands which usually indicates the speed of something, as in something coming in fast or rush of something. It can also have to do with travel or things that are online. It could even be something like a rush of emotions or a feeling of being overwhelmed. It's clarified by the seven of cups, which could be a sense of or lack of clarity, it can be daydreaming, it can be having multiple choices. Two of wands, also usually is about choices and having two paths to follow, usually I feel like it's coming to a crossroads in life about a decision.

So again it could be stress. That's kind of how I'm reading it, is being overwhelmed and even pressured into making some type of choice even though you have so many options it's almost like how do I decide. That's the most negative way to read it. If I flipped it into something lighter, it could be...

Well I guess there's not that much but for specific situations it could have to do with travel and somebody's travel plans being sort of up in the air and ambiguous. So like you have to make a choice of whether or not you want to go or maybe you have multiple options that are involved in this situation. It doesn't have to be travel, it could even be well those are just silly specific situations. Right now I'm more leaning toward either a pressure that feels negative and overwhelming or it's excitement and passion about the amount of choices you have. It just depends if you're a person who thrives on having a lot of opportunities and choices to make or if that's something that stresses you out. And that's just the first sentence in this paragraph so let's keep going. Also your quotes on these cards are now then let's wash the old brush. That's the fun part of this whole technique okay. Shake off the excess and just beat the devil out of it. So oddly we have a reference to the devil and it's also giving me a bit of eight of cups or some sense of walking away from something or brushing off an obstacle

The clarifying quotes are and that may be the true joy of painting. When you share it with other people. I really believe that's the true joy. And the last one says let's make some nice little clouds that just float around and have fun all day.

So this does seem to indicate a bit of an obstacle. And then there's the sense of perseverance. Like it's just a speed bump and you'll get over it. That seems to be the first part

Then we get to the five of pentacles which is clarified by a five of swords. Both of those cards are somewhat negative in that five of pentacles typically is about a lack of something. It could be a lack of money, it could be a lack of confidence, could be a lack of spiritual insight or guidance or feeling lonely or being in need of help or assistance and not knowing where to go

Five of swords being the clarifier although I left it reversed. Typically five of swords could be you know like a an argument with people or kind of a cutthroat environment or no win situation. So if that were upright, I might think that a serious situation is coming or there's conflict and even some toxicity and somebody is lashing out of another person because they feel empty. But since it's flipping, usually reverse can mean an extreme version of what the meaning is or you're coming out of that moment. In that case if something is being reversed and for the better, it would be like resolving some type of conflict but you know what I don't know if I actually feel optimistic lol

I mean that could be but I still feel like this is describing a situation that is dire like depression or a pretty heavy conflict with a person. Extreme loneliness. And it could either be that this is going on now or will come up shortly or it's that this situation is about to resolve if you've already gone through it. But let's keep going and see how it all fits

You have nine of swords, which is that anxiety or restlessness or inability to sleep and it's clarified by a seven of wands, which is about defensiveness. So it definitely feels like somebody has to protect themselves or needs to be on guard or feels like they have to be that way and certainly if you'd had a conflict or people are coming after you or you feel like something's missing or wrong or like you don't have love or something just feels very negative with these cards. And because you feel anxious about the situation, you're also feeling like you need to protect yourself or you need to defend yourself from something

And then we have the king of swords clarified by I'm going to call this a knight of Wands since it's a jack.

So it reads definitely like a person. It could be you or could be somebody else but it's a person who could be quite logical or cold or aloof or just somebody who's quite decisive or logical intelligent and a clear communicator as well as honest. And then the knight of Wands would indicate somebody who is creative or passionate or impulsive

I also just realized that the jack is reversed so this could be a person and this person could be somebody you are going to have a conflict with or have had a conflict with

I mean granted these things could be describing the person but in theory it would be like this is how you feel or this is somebody else and you've had a conflict with them and you feel like you have to defend yourself against them

So if this represents you as opposed to a person. The reversed jack or knight of Wands could be indicating somebody who is a bit irritable, a bit irrational, somebody who is being kind of cold or detached but also would have a bad temper or is overly impulsive. We did get that devil card so there really could be something going on here that's either bad habits of yours or a warning of somebody currently in your energy space and if this is somebody coming to mind for you that you're having to deal with I could totally understand why this person isn't so great. Now if it's you, it could be something you're going through and whatever the conflict is, it's causing you to project some anger and some defensiveness and maybe even causing conflict in relationships for you right now

And however that works out for you if this is a person or if this is you and your feelings are being projected here, it's almost like there's a real sense of insecurity. And if it's the other person that's insecure or if something happens to make you feel this way, it's like it comes from something somebody says or something you see online or read about and it's like it obscures your perspective or you feel like it's blocking a path for you. Or almost like unexpected bad news

And it's like you had these plans to do something and then unexpectedly your flight gets canceled and it's like okay and then now you're arguing with a customer service representative and it's making you feel horrible that you have to go through some type of stressful situation

So yeah you know if you have travel plans make sure you check out all the details because you could have an unexpected delay or cancellation. A lot of that is going on in the US right now especially if you have a Southwest flight lol which I have one on Tuesday

I just feel like this seven of cups is representing a lack of clarity about a choice that you need to make but it's like this 8 of Wands is saying that either literally it has to do with travel or it's like it comes in quickly or it's coming in soon and it obscures something. It could obscure your confidence or your vision of the future but essentially that part is really just talking about choices about the future and either having a vision for it that you feel passionate about or something happens unexpectedly to throw some lack of clarity around the situation because like I said in the middle here there's a lot of conflict

to me it keeps coming up as a feeling of insecurity and people lashing out and projecting but it's really heavy. These are really heavy and pretty negative cards. I mean like we all go through dark times and stuff but it's like specifically about being anxious, being defensive and feeling backed into a corner, conflict with others, and potentially either like extreme conflict with another person almost like bullying or potentially I guess I just don't see this five of swords being reversed as a good thing when it's clarifying five of pentacles. It could be that a situation will get resolved with someone and right now this conflict with this person or situation is causing you to feel helpless

And I guess if it's reversing it's possible that that conflict could end as a result of somebody going away. I don't see it as like a person apologizing it would just have to be removing the person from the situation or removing yourself from the situation so you don't have to deal with that person anymore

And like I said this person could be the type of person who is cold and verbally abusive and quick to temper. I mean that's not for everybody but if there is a person and that sounds about right. Maybe even somebody who's jealous of you or something...

Or the situation is making you somewhat detached and emotional and stable or impulsive. I'm really drawn to the word devil so usually the devil card could indicate a toxic relationship or some type of toxic coping mechanism or negative patterns of behavior that tend to happen frequently. Even though it's a two of Wands for me because it's clubs, I keep wanting to say two of pentacles which is a cycle or balancing something.

And again this feels very specific. I feel more like it's a conflict with a singular person. It isn't have to be somebody you're in a relationship with, it doesn't even have to be somebody you're close to but they feel very gross in energy. And my personal feeling would be to get very far away from whoever this might be

So I guess what you don't see coming could be this person. I mean it could be a stranger that appears and does something s***** to you; it could be someone you know and they do something unexpectedly awful like say something that you don't like or say something really mean. It wouldn't be just like a small thing, this would be like pretty vindictive. It goes beyond petty and is somebody who purposely is wanting to hurt you or start a conflict with you. Whether they know you or it's like just a stranger who's a psycho path

At the very least though, it's some kind of negative obstacle that comes in your way and you have to persevere through it. I can't tell if it's super extreme like you know a toxic or abusive person or if it's an inconvenience like travel plans being canceled and ruining your mood and making you feel really miserable in that moment

So I would just say be on the lookout for somebody who's negative. I mean you could always change it and completely avoid the person. I mean avoidance could be part of the issue as well because if you have this five of pentacles and then the five of swords could mean somebody who's trying to avoid having to deal with it or avoiding some type of conflict around it. It could be somebody that's trying to ignore a negative situation as if they think it's going to go away but it's not

I mean I'm sure they're very light ways of reading this but I mean even you can see that in the middle those cards are fairly negative. On the outside I wouldn't say they're one way or the other except you have a reversed knight card which usually would indicate the negative traits associated with that court card. And like I said that's usually somebody who's quick to temper or flaky or reckless. It would make me think of somebody who would engage in self-sabotaging behavior like partying too much or drug use or being promiscuous

The other outside card is just that eight of Wands which is kind of vague other than it's always about something to do with being fast, fast communication, travel like a sudden rush or a sense of being overwhelmed. Because all of that means something happening quickly and because it's fire it can be kind of heavy and hot

And that card is surrounded by cards that reference having choices especially multiple choices and those being heavy choices as well because two of Wands can feel like you know you can only go this way or you can only go that way and not just that it's like you're being rushed to make an important decision

So it could be like very specifically somebody who's a bit of a bully and it's like they are trying to pressure you to make some type of choice so whatever that means

So yeah don't let anybody pressure you into doing something that makes you feel uncomfortable or makes you feel like you need to make a rushed decision or is exhibiting these type of behaviors or traits. My instincts is to tell you to get far away from them or the situation. I wouldn't engage with them because I feel like the situation could escalate

...

And I could be over exaggerating the situation but I'd rather be safe and tell you the worst of the worst and then your blindsided by somebody. Now you could be like well that's weird that sounds like this situation maybe I should exit instead of trying to have a calm conversation with them because I don't think they would hear you. And I think it would escalate no matter what you said or did so it would be better to remove yourself from the situation. Or I can at least say that it's not going to get better and you might have to endure some obstacles or inconveniences.

Or like you know how when you have a job and you have a really nasty customer and it's like it shouldn't happen but it happens to all of us. Every once in a while we have to deal with something nasty and it makes us feel awful but it happens so keep your eyes out for all of those types of situations

#tarot #pick a card #spirituality #astrology #What you don't see coming #pick a pile #spiritual advice #general reading

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sunsafewriting · 2 years ago

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for the prompt: do a flip universe + TLOU

“Well, obviously more than one. Two or three, at least, right?” Ava says.

She's got her head in Beatrice's lap, having usurped the print-out Beatrice was reading a few minutes ago. It's inarguably the best setup in the world: she's got the whole rest of the couch to stretch out on, and both of Beatrice's hands on her — one gently stroking back her hair, the other resting on Ava's arm.

“Three seems like a lot,” Beatrice replies.

But that’s not a no, and Ava can work from there. “Diego will help us, won't you, bud?”

He looks over at them from where he's sitting on the carpet, sketching out a new comic. He prefers to draw on the floor rather than at the table, which is presumably because the artistic vibes are simply better lower to the ground. “Totally,” he confirms.

Ava beams at Beatrice, reaching up to catch her wrist, to sweep her thumb over the soft skin there. “See? We can do three. Or four.”

There’s a moment of deliberation, but Ava knows when she’s won. Not only does Beatrice have about six different tells — microscopic, but observed by Ava over the years and lovingly documented — but also Ava has a compelling track record when it comes to this sort of thing.

“Okay. Three,” Beatrice agrees. “But four is definitely too many.”

“True. It might get confusing.”

“Also, I don't feel that a zombie apocalypse is likely enough to merit four separate survival plans.”

“HBO makes a very compelling case, babe. A lot of things can go wrong.”

Which Beatrice is aware of, because she sure doesn't turn a lot of pages of her book while Ava's watching The Last of Us on the TV.

“Plus, it's best to be prepared,” Ava adds. “You love being prepared. This way, we have a backup for our backup.”

While Ava still prefers a general guns-blazing, swing-first-think-second approach to life, she has come to appreciate the value of planning ahead. For example, she’s managed to streamline her morning routine to maximise the window of time she has for making out with Beatrice before one of them has to go to class or work.

“I have paper,” Diego says. “We can write them up now. I think the most important thing is probably to get a catapult, or a sword. But there aren’t a lot of good places around here to get swords.”

“Put down get a sword as step one anyway, that’s a great start,” Ava tells him. “I also vote that we steal a really cool car for step two. Obviously, it has to be heavy-duty enough to plough through zombies, but the most important thing is that it’s super dope. Better than Mary’s. I’ve got to have this, because you know she’s going to out-apocalypse me.”

“Steal a car,” Diego echoes back. “Brackets, cool.”

He’s been getting very into brackets, as of late. Also semicolons, but he seems to just pepper them into sentences whenever he wants, with no regard for their intended function. Although it’s very possible that he actually does understand how they work, and is just drunk on the power of learning a new punctuation mark.

“Clean water. Or some means of effectively decontaminating water,” Beatrice suggests.

Ava shakes her head. “No, that’s too legit. We can put that in our, like, good plan. The second plan. This first one should just be based on what you’d most want to do if all of society fell apart.”

“I’d most want to make sure we had clean drinking water.”

“It has to be ridiculous and fun. Like, we should also steal a boat. The zombies most likely won’t be able to swim. And I think I’d rock a captain’s hat.”

“Or a pirate hat,” Diego supplies. “Boat is step three. Hat is step four.”

“Exactly. See?”

“This is starting to seem less like a survival plan and more like a list of your dream crimes.”

“The beauty of the apocalypse is that nothing is a crime,” Ava tells her. She kisses the back of Beatrice’s hand and then nudges it back up to her hair. Beatrice automatically resumes her steady, gentle motions, and Ava settles into the feeling with a pleased hum.

“Well, I don’t really have a list of dream crimes.”

Ava can’t say that comes as a surprise. Beatrice does have a list of dream bookstores to visit though. If the zombie situation isn’t too out of control, they could totally manage to hit a few of those locations post-apocalypse, too.

“You can borrow some of mine,” Diego offers generously.

Ava nods. “And then we can put your clean water in the third plan.”

“I thought it was going in the second?”

“I demoted it. I think our second plan should be to secure a mall. Then we’ve got everything we need. We can just lock all the doors and keep the zombies out. Boom. Nailed it. Can’t have a boat in a mall, though, so that needs to be its own separate plan.”

Malls are also currently in Ava’s good books because when she went to buy a jacket last week, she got to kiss Beatrice in the changing room. But they’re also strategically defensible strongholds. Never let it be said that Ava's decision-making is too heavily influenced by opportunities to make out with Beatrice. Even though it is.

“That’s so smart,” Diego says, scribbling down the idea on another sheet of paper. “Malls even have water, too, so that works for everyone.”

“And we should get a horse for the mall.”

“How does the horse help with the zombies?”

“I don’t know, but that had horses in The Last of Us, and it just feels right.”

“So then also cowboy hats,” Diego reminds her.

“Of course.”

#we have been watching TLOU and im super enjoying it #anyway doing little short prompts is fun so little stress #sunsafewriting #avatrice #ava x beatrice #avatrice fic #avatrice fanfic

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gabriel-xander · 7 months ago

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Don't Forget

[Sans x Female!Reader]

6: Whaaat? Nooo! Things are Definitely NOT Getting Suspicious!

A/N: So, Sans is a skeleton monster. Yes, he doesn’t have “muscles or skin”, but he’s still a monster. So it’s less that he’s a skeleton, and more so that he’s a monster that looks like a skeleton. That being said, every time I want to write “he raised an eyebrow,” or “his muscles twitched,” I REALLY don’t want to have to clarify “not actual muscles because he’s a skeleton, but he’s still a monster so the same logic still applies to him” EVERY TIME 😭 So please hold those comments and let me make my life a little easier 😭 thank you and Gesundheit!!

Anyway, thank you for reading, and please enjoy this chapter!

♪───✿⁠(⁠✧◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕✧⁠)✿⁠────♪

THIS SHIT IS HARD!!!

Tears pool in your eyes, agony reflects in pools of [e/c] and frustration colors your expression.

“TORIELLL!!”

“Yes, my child?”

“THIS SHIT HARD!!”

She smiles in amusement, holding in a chuckle, “It’s not so bad. It’s your second attempt and it already looks like a Froggit…. If… If you squint…”

You sigh with a defeated smile, “You’re right, you’re right. It’s just… One of my toxic traits is thinking I can do anything without any prior practice or skill.”

“That must be difficult to cope with.”

“Oh, dude. Like you wouldn’t believe.”

So, crocheting isn’t going as well as you’d hoped. You would think that your desire to become a Surgeon would mean that your hands are pretty steady. They’re… steady enough, you suppose. It could just be a major case of Skill Issue™ that is holding you back. Your spirits are beginning to be affected by this, though.

This is the third time Toriel has tried introducing you to a new hobby just for you to fail miserably. Six days ago, you two were trying out knitting. Then three days ago, you two tried clay sculpting. And today? It’s crocheting.

You’re not actually complaining though, you’re having a lot of fun despite your failed attempts! More accurately, you’re having fun hanging out with the goat mom so it doesn’t matter if you were bad at this stuff. You understand that the reason why she’s doing this is because she wants you to have fun and not be bored having to stay inside all the time. You really appreciate the effort she’s putting in, so the most you can do is try to give each of these activities a genuine shot.

You shake your head to get back in the game, “Okay, okay. Let me try again, I think I can do it right this time.”

────

You flip to the next page of a random history book you’ve been reading. “Trapped behind the barrier and fearful of further human attacks, we retreated. Far, far into the earth we walked, until we reached the cavern's end. This was our new home, which we named… “Home.” As great as our king is, he is pretty lousy at names.”

“Oh shit, it’s this book!” You perk up with a smile, “I’ve been looking for this damn book. It only took me two and a half weeks of being here and going through the whole shelf. Why is it all the way down here?”

With Toriel out of the house yet again, you decided to take up reading once more. Toriel leaves the house for a few hours every day, she always goes to the very beginning of the Ruins (where you fell in) to check if another human has fallen down. You wonder if one of these days Toriel will come home with that child. Would Frisk be thrown off by your presence? Or will they, for some reason, find you as a threat and try to Reset in the hopes of getting rid of you?

Nah, Frisk isn’t that type of person. They have jerk dialogue options in the Pacifist route, but you never consider them to be true to Frisk. The possibility still makes you nervous.

The history book isn’t very long, and before long you reached the last page. You’re about to put it back but decide to move it to the middle of the shelf instead. You can’t explain it, but it feels better in that spot instead.

Hm…

You put your hands on your hips. Well, you guess you can try painting before Toriel gets back for lunch.

────

It’s been three and a half weeks, and Toriel is running out of options for you. She’s considering getting you a job in the small city in the Ruins so you have something to do. In your boredom, you’ve read most of the books in her home, you cook for her now all of the time, and you clean all the time, too. You only seem to like doing the other hobbies if Toriel is there to do it with you.

She knows, though, that you really need to get out of the house. You’re young, energetic, and adventurous; despite your resolve to understand that if you’re not careful, you could be killed, she knows that you can’t stay inside all the time.

So, she goes to a friend for help.

“Actually, before I must go,” Toriel says a little hesitantly, “There is something I’d like to ask of you. I-I’d like a favor.”

Sans’ smile becomes a little strained, though he supposes it doesn’t matter if he keeps up that facade since there isn’t anyone around. But it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile. And yeah, he’s a skeleton and thus does not have any muscles, but he’s still a monster, so there’s a possibility for anything.

“a favor? well, i can’t say i’m all powerful and knowing, but if you tell me what it is, i might be able to help out,” The comic replies.

“You’ve mentioned going to the Waterfalls and Hotlands a few times, correct? Do you perhaps know a handful of people?”

“uh, i guess i do. why?”

“Would you happen to know any ghost monsters? Particularly, a sad-looking ghost who pretends to sleep a lot. He was here a few weeks ago, but has not returned,” Toriel thinks back to you expressing wanting to be friends with that ghost, “There is no way for me to reach out to him, so I was wondering if it would be at all possible for you to find him somehow, and send him my way.”

…

HUH?

Toriel is talking about Napstablook, Sans knows him the same way he knows almost everyone in the Underground (after so many Resets, he took it upon himself to know the different people, especially those who have a connection with Frisk). He lives in Waterfall, alone and generally keeps to himself. He sometimes goes to the Ruins just to hang out by himself as well.

Why… Why does Toriel want to know about him all of a sudden?

“uh, i think i know who you’re talking about. did he do something wrong?”

“Oh, heavens no! There’s just… something I’m curious about, that’s all. I see him often, but I never go out of my way to say hello.”

“oh… kay?” This is so weird, “yeah, i can find him and let him know you’re looking for him.”

Toriel smiles in relief, “Thank you so much, friend. I should really get going now. Until next time.”

“yeah, ‘till next time.”

Sans hears Toriel walk away in a hurry, scratching his skull in confusion as he also begins his walk to Snowdin. What the fuck was that? Even before the kid came and ruined everything, Toriel had not once expressed being curious about other monsters. She’s under the assumption that monsters still fight humans out of malice, and not because they just feel like they have to at this point.

Why is this suddenly different? It can’t really be because this is the natural development Toriel goes through, right? Nothing in Sans’ past experience hints at this kind of development in Toriel, or that it could be capable on her own-

…

‘it can’t be possible on her own.’

Sans stops walking.

No… Could it really be…?

Frisk is back in the Underground, and is staying in the Ruins?

────

The sussy skeleton knocks his knuckles against a door (albeit he had to knock harder than anyone usually has since he’s wearing pink gloves at the moment), huffing slightly while waiting for an answer. He’s tapping his foot impatiently on the ground, looking around aimlessly at nothing in particular. To Napstablook’s credit, he doesn’t make the other wait for too long. Instead of opening the door, the ghost just phases through it.

Napstablook is looking at the other in confusion, which is completely understandable.

“oh… hi, sans…”

“hey, buddy. how are ya?”

Napstablook’s headphones slowly fade away into nothingness. Wow, impressive skill. Sans has no idea how he did that.

“i’m doing alright, i guess… i was just working on a new remix…” Napstablook avoids eye contact, “um, sans…”

“yeah?”

“not that i don’t mind that you’re here, but… you never come here and we never really talk… did you need something…?”

Sans sighs a short laugh, “heh. you’re straightforward, huh? yeah, there is something i need to tell you.”

“oh. wh-what is it?”

“you were in the ruins a few weeks ago, right?”

“how-how did you know…?”

Sans shrugs, “heard it from that monster lady who takes care of the ruins. she was wondering why you stopped showing up, and wants to see you as soon as it’s convenient for you.”

“oh…” Napstablook doesn’t have eyebrows, but his big ‘ol eyes are expressive enough to show some confusion, “that lady…? i thought she didn’t want me there anymore because of that human…”

Shit, so Frisk is in the Ruins! Sans forces himself to stay calm. Sans raises a brow and leans forward a bit.

“a human, huh? now, that’s somethin’. you remember how they look like?”

At this, the ghost smiles softly and meekly, “yeah… i didn’t get a good look ‘caues i was laying down, but she was wearing a striped brown dress, and had kind, [e/c] eyes. must be a kid that the lady is looking after…”

…So it’s not Frisk. As far as Sans is aware, Frisk has always been androgynous, and he knows the ghost monster isn’t an asshole to misgender them purposely. (Ignore that Sans at that moment forgot Napstablook wouldn’t have any memory of Frisk.) Not only that but a striped, brown dress? Unless Frisk decided to get a new look, then Napstablook was describing someone else.

“really now? you don’t think this could be an evil human, do you?”

“oh, no way… she was really nice to me and had a lot of faith in my fake sleep… no one has ever given me that much encouragement in my fake sleep before.”

…That’s nice, Blooky.

“if only i could remember her name… the big monster lady said it once…”

Sans widens his eye sockets slightly, “come on now, bud. i know you can remember it.”

Napstablook squeezes his eyes, “mmnn… it was… it was… s… sa… mm… de… ehhh…”

The skeleton tenses up, his fists being held in front of himself like a child overfilled with anticipation.

“i think it was… uh…”

“…?”

“...i got nothing. sorry…”

Sans sighs heavily in disappointment, “it’s fine, buddy. it was a long shot, anyway.”

“well, i can tell you when i find out… if you want…”

“hey, not a bad idea,” Sans holds his gloved hand to his chin in thought, “try to be discrete though, yeah? we don’t wanna scare the human thinking that a lot of monsters are after her.”

“…actually, why do you wanna know about the human?” Napstablook shrinks back slightly, “you don’t wanna take her soul, do you…?”

Hey! Sans may not like humans (and Frisk certainly didn’t help with that), but he’s not a heartless monster (hah). Granted, if this new human that’s with Toriel is a jerk, and Toriel doesn’t make him also promise to keep her safe, then he might do something drastic and violent. He knows that it’s rash and rather harsh, but can the blame really be on him after all he’s had to endure?

“nah, i’m not interested in capturing any human,” Sans said, you know, like a liar, “you can’t blame a skeleton for being worried though, right? it’s been so long since the last human was down here, ya know?”

“yeah, i guess that’s true…” Napstablook resummons his headphones with, presumably, magic, “i should get going then… i’ll see you later, sans…”

“see ya later, bud.”

Napstablook at least has the manners to not pass through Sans, and instead takes the time to float around him to make his way to the Ruins.

Sans watches him leave for a moment before taking a shortcut home. More specifically, he takes a shortcut to his bedroom. He sighs in relief, ditching his pink slippers by the door to drag his feet to his bed.

On the way, he nabs a notebook from his self-sustaining tornado made of trash. By his command, the bunched up, weird, creasy ball of his covers unravels itself to lay out on his worn mattress.

With a sigh, the skeleton flops down face first on his bed.

Clink.

Ouch.

Sans lifts his head with a wince, not appreciating the sans-ation of his forgotten pen falling out of his eye socket. Huh. He’s been looking for this pen, guess it’s been lost in his covers all this time. He takes it and rolls over to his back, opening up his notebook and flipping through the pages until he reaches a blank one. The monster clicks his pen and scribbles on the top corner until the ink starts to flow out of the ball point.

——

thursday, january 17th, 20XX

RESET #43: Post-Flowey (207 days since the last reset)

there’s a new human in the underground. napstablook was describing a girl, presumably a child. what’s with all the children falling to the underground? anyway, he swears up and down that she’s not evil or harmful, but i doubt it. how long as she been in the ruins? why did toriel hide this information from me?

it might have to do with the fact we’ve been drifting apart lately. about two months ago i noticed she’s been more reclusive and less willing to talk for long. i think she can pick up that i haven’t been putting in my all lately. i can’t bring myself to really care that much anymore, which is probably why she doesn’t enjoy talking to me anymore. i don’t blame her.

it’s been worse recently though. about a month ago, she’s been really different. she’s a lot more energetic, but i can tell when she talks to me that she would rather be somewhere else. maybe that’s when the human girl showed up. she has to be a pro at manipulating if toriel is enjoying this human’s company.

or maybe all these resets are getting to me, and the human isn’t that bad after all.

only time will tell.

…

luckily (or maybe not) napstablook is going to the ruins and will check out the human. hopefully he remembers to ask for the girl’s name, and tell me anything else that can be relevant. maybe the human has something to do with toriel asking for him. i can’t think of another reason why.

it makes me wonder… if frisk never had shown up at all, would this be the natural order of what was to happen? that another human would eventually fall in anyway?

whatever. i’ll learn more once napstablook comes back from the ruins.

i hope he comes back from the ruins…

——

Whelp, that’s enough thinking for today. Sans has no idea when that ghost will come back, so he might as well take a nap. It’s been a long 40 minutes, he’s earned it.

────────────

Tag List (There's only one person lmao)

@lemonboy011 I don't know if I did this right whoops

#fanfiction #reader insert #female reader #don't forget fanfiction #sans undertale #sans x reader #undertale #sans #toriel #napstablook

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marta-bee · 2 years ago

Text

Let’s talk about good and evil, Good Omens-style.

Pressing on with reading the book, I’m maybe two-thirds or three-quarters through the first chapter. Still not through! But War has made her first appearance, Aziraphale and Crowley are finally sobered p and decided to be god-parents, and I think I’m ready for another mental break. It’s hilarious. It’s harrowing. I am marveling at the sheer genius of the writing. And feeling for Aziraphale being stuck in his own goodness. He’s a cheeky bastard what with the bible-proof pages and all, but still so hemmed in by what he’s defined himself to be.

Mostly I think I need to take a break, because there’s some really interesting philosophy going on here and I need to unpack it a bit to really feel his weight.

Last week I’d stopped with Crowley and the Spanish Inquisition. Still feeling the *oomph* of that passage; but this week starts out with its flip-side, which had such an aura of hope to it, for me.

And just when you'd think they were more malignant than ever Hell could be, they could occasionally show more grace than Heaven ever dreamed of. Often the same individual was involved. It was this free-will thing, of course. It was a bugger.

That’s one of my favorite things about humanity, how we’re capable of what my human-bound sense of morality connects with goodness. We’re both. We’re potential. And I think for Crowley, that potential is almost more important than what we potentialize into. Maybe it’s that humans have creativity and a spark that lets them do things stolid heaven and decrepit hell just can’t conceive of. But there’s something very attractive to Crowley about this ability change, to make a choice and not just do or be what they’re predestined to do or be, that’s very attractive to Crowley. If anything connects to what I think of as morality in this world, I think that ability for growth is it. A capacity to surprise and spersede your programming, for lack of a better term.

There’s actually a really delightful exchange I’d forgotten about, on the concept of free will, leading up to that snippet I quoted earlier:

Aziraphale had tried to explain it to him once. The whole point, he'd said-this was somewhere around 1020, when they'd first reached their little Arrangement-the whole point was that when a human was good or bad it was because they wanted to be. Whereas people like Crowley and, of course, himself, were set in their ways right from the start. People couldn't become truly holy, he said, unless they also had the opportunity to be definitively wicked.

Crowley had thought about this for some time and, around 1023, had said, Hang on, that only works, right, if you start everyone off equal, okay? You can't start someone off in a muddy shack in the middle of a war zone and expect them to do as well as someone born in a castle.

Ah, Aziraphale had said, that's the good bit. The lower you start, the more opportunities you have. Crowley had said, That's lunatic.

No, said Aziraphale, it's ineffable.

Aziraphale. The Enemy, of course. But an enemy for six thousand years now, which made him a sort of friend.

Crowley reached down and picked up the car phone.

Being a demon, of course, was supposed to mean you had no free will. But you couldn't hang around humans for very long without learning a thing or two.

Angels and demons can’t change; except of course they can. That’s the whole point of Satan, as Crowley points out later:

"What will happen to the child if it doesn't get a Satanic upbringing, though?" said Aziraphale. "Probably nothing. It'll never know."

"But genetics-"

"Don't tell me from genetics. What've they got to do with it?" said Crowley. "Look at Satan. Created as an angel, grows up to be the Great Adversary. Hey, if you're going to go on about genetics, you might as well say the kid will grow up to be an angel. After all, his father was really big in Heaven in the old days. Saying he'll grow up to be a demon just because his dad became one is like saying a mouse with its tail cut off will give birth to tailless mice. No. Upbringing is everything. Take it from me."

"And without unopposed Satanic influences – "

"Well, at worst Hell will have to start all over again. And the Earth gets at least another eleven years. That's got to be worth something, hasn't it?"

Now Aziraphale was looking thoughtful again.

"You're saying the child isn't evil of itself?" he said slowly.

"Potentially evil. Potentially good, too, I suppose. Just this huge powerful potentiality, waiting to be shaped," said Crowley. He shrugged. "Anyway, why're we talking about this good and evil? They're just names for sides. We know that."

"I suppose it's got to be worth a try," said the angel.

Satan can change. Satan did change. And Crowley, too, in the first passage; he decided to make a choice when that’s supposed to be very much a human thing. Even Aziraphale shows a real capacity to, not change his mind perhaps, but let himself be swayed, certainly That whole conversation between Aziraphale and Crowley over what to do about the antichrist reeks of motivated reasoning on his part.

"That's it, then," said Crowley, with a gleam of triumph. He knew Aziraphale's weak spot all right. "No more compact discs. No more Albert Hall. No more Proms. No more Glyndbourne. Just celestial harmonies all day long."

"Ineffable," Aziraphale murmured.

"Like eggs without salt, you said. Which reminds me. No salt, no eggs. No gravlax with dill sauce. No fascinating little restaurants where they know you. No Daily Telegraph crossword. No small antique shops. No bookshops, either. No interesting old editions. No" – Crowley scraped the bottom of Aziraphale's barrel of interests-"Regency silver snuffboxes . . . "

"But after we win life will be better!" croaked the angel.

"But it won't be as interesting. Look, you know I'm right. You'd be as happy with a harp as I'd be with a pitchfork."

He’s supposed to want good. He’s with heaven, that’s the definition of being heaven-aligned, to want good; and taking better as a synonym... yeah, probably if the win the Apocalypse (which they probably would), life would be more good. And that thought makes Aziraphale desperate; he’s croaking the words there, see? He’s torn between what he’s supposed to want and what he actually wants, and it’s all coming to a head.

Then Crowley said it won’t be as interesting, something else entirely, from the heaven- or hell-aligned, and that’s when he starts to crack. It’s a rebellion, or at least a falling (sauntering vaguely downward, if you prefer); because he’s choosing something here too outside what he’s supposed to be working toward: not better, but more interesting. And thank Someone for that.

Let’s go back to that first exchange, though, where Aziraphale and Crowley are discussing free will. Because Crowley makes a really interesting point, both narratively and in terms of real-world philosophy.

Hang on, that only works, right, if you start everyone off equal, okay? You can't start someone off in a muddy shack in the middle of a war zone and expect them to do as well as someone born in a castle.

Ah, Aziraphale had said, that's the good bit. The lower you start, the more opportunities you have. Crowley had said, That's lunatic.

Aziraphale’s line is one I heard often enough from the Protestant-Christian side of my upbringing. Blessed are those who suffer for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And Crowley’s right: it’s nonsense to think people who are fighting all day every day to survive will ever be able to do as well at this free choice sanctification scheme as people who have the luxury of a bit of breathing space. Free will, for one thing, is meaningless if you don’t actually have two options to choose from; and the space (mental and otherwise) to actually make a decision.

Personally this isn’t the interpretation of Christianity I’ve found most useful, or consistent with the way I read the (Christian) Bible. It’s not that suffering gives you more opportunities for growth; there’s a sense of to-whom-much-has-been-given-much-will-be-expected shot through so many of Christ’s parables (the Five Talents, for instance), and of course there’s the line that it’s easier for a rich man to pass through the Eye of the Needle than to get into heaven; if you know your Biblical archaeology, that’s essentially saying you have to be stripped free of your baggage, which is the one thing rich people won’t be able to do.

Put another way: those who suffer, those who are poor and week, are blessed not because their suffering lets them achieve more heaven-points, but because they don’t need them precisely because they’re small. Whereas those given more resources, more is expected of them. I don’t think Crowley would approve of that kind of valorizing of smallness, but intellectually at least it makes more sense than what Crowley’s been twisted to think is correct.

I’m more a fan of the Aristotelian approach, myself. There are virtues that ought to motivate actions, but at the same time it’s all tied up in what’s possible for an individual. So a person who’s, say, OCD and deals with excessive anxiety might show more genuine courage in crossing the street than someone without that psychology would need to run into a burning building. Of course there’s certain maladies that make it impossible to exercise true virtue and we should feel pity for those people even if we don’t think of them as virtuous. But at least within certain limits, courage isn’t just about doing the most extreme thing, even necessarily what the situation demands, because courage is being guided by fear in the right way so we behave courageously; and if you’ve got more fear to navigate you need better courage than most to do the navigating.

That’s a much better way of thinking about things to me. Afflicted people aren’t better than those with a better starting out point because they get more heaven-points (whatever form that takes) or reach some better external state than people with a more favorable starting point; it’s that to even get to the same result as other people, they need more oomph, more grace, more whatever, because of all they’re pushing back against. It’s not fair, but it seems at least a more generous interpretation of the reality we’re all trying to struggle through.

Getting back to the book, though, I find it really interesting that Aziraphale and Crowley think of good and evil in these terms. It’s a sign of the headspace Heaven and Hell drive them toward, I think; to the point Crowley says they’re just labels for our side, those words don’t actually mean anything.

But he’s still shaken by Barcelona. He’s still begging with Aziraphale- test them, sure, but not to destruction. He doesn’t want humanity to be ended, and it’s not for the more self-centered reasons that drive Aziraphale here, those lovely little bits of life on earth he finds so enjoyable. There’s a sense that he shouldn’t allow that to happen. There’s a should, an ought, a moral imperative still, even for a demon who’s been trying to tempt humanity toward his side for six millennia here. And while I don’t want to indulge on simple moralizing, there’s something at his core that won’t let him just let history do its thing. It may not neatly align with what heaven or hell is pointing for, that’s really the point, but there’s still an ought in play that’s somehow independent of all that.

Frankly, I find all that fascinating, not to mention a damned compelling narrative.

And War’s up next, I see. I need a readerly break, but when I get back, I think things are about to get fun.

#good omens #book good omens #marta read #marta rereads good omens #marta blathers

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long-haired-hottie · 1 month ago

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I’m Ken, feel free to ask but all the pronouns are okay. Addressing me as he/him is entirely welcome. This means I am LGBTQIA+ friendly. If you’re a TERF or radfem or racist or whatever then fuck off. You just don’t want to talk to me and I don’t want to talk to you. In fact, block me on sight. Make our lives easier by just not making interactions possible.

I am more likely to update my About and Rules page than this post. Please check there for updates.

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Interest Checker

If you voted for that orange lump then do not interact with me. Human rights are not pizza toppings. There is no agree to disagree on this front. I want nothing to do with you.

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I’m in CST and can really only respond after about 7PM. I have low spoons generally thanks to being an introvert in a very social job setting so my energy waxes and wanes like the moon.

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Shipping is fun! Shipping is great! I do multiship! That said, Dija dates multiple people at the same time! This is something people do in real life! It’s not cheating because hey, you don’t know who you’re going to settle down with until you meet and get to know them.

Unless otherwise specified, Dija starts out at twenty-two years of age and has just gotten out of a six year relationship.

When Dija is dating someone then the ship is automatically in a separate universe from other ships.

Dija is polyamorous. He's more than willing and able to settle down with just one person though.

If you want an AU where Dija is with your muse(s) only then please tell me so.

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#about and rules

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lemoncrushh · 2 months ago

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Out of Bounds - Chapter 26

STORY PAGE

Word Count: 3265

I awoke to the sound of low voices nearby. Lying on my side, I opened my eyes to see Harry and Penny sitting at her table, the only light coming from the one above them.

"Hi, baby doll," said Penny sweetly when she noticed me. "How are you feeling?"

I cleared my throat and sat up, running a hand through my hair. "Thirsty," I grimaced.

Harry grinned and stood up to retrieve a bottle of water for me from the fridge.

"What time is it?" I asked when he handed it to me.

"About six thirty."

"Did I fall asleep on you? I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he murmured, kissing me on the forehead. "You needed your rest."

"Thank you for staying," I told him as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"You're welcome. You look like you feel better."

I nodded. "I think my fever's gone finally."

I got up to use the restroom, then sat down at the table with Harry and Penny. I decided to eat the other half of my sandwich and Harry warmed up the rest of my soup for me. It felt great going down, and afterwards I felt a hundred times better.

"Report tomorrow, right?" I turned to Harry, referring to our Sociology paper.

"Only if you're up to it," he said, looking a bit concerned.

"I think I'll be okay. I don't want it to be late."

Harry nodded as he ran his hand up my forearm. "I love you," he mouthed.

I grinned at him and squeezed his hand. "I love you, too."

"So..." Penny cleared her throat. "What do you two lovebirds have planned for Thanksgiving?"

"Actually, Penny," I sighed, sitting back in my chair, "I was going to ask you the same thing. Do you have plans with Zack?"

"Yep," she grinned. "And we want you guys to join us."

"Really?" I looked to Harry and back to her. "That would be great!"

"I talked Zack into staying home instead of going to his parents'. His mom was none too happy, but he told her he'd come home for Christmas."

"Are we doing it here, or at Zack and Harry's?" I asked.

"Oh this place is way too small," Penny insisted. "We'll go there."

"You okay with that?" I turned to Harry.

"Fine with me," he shrugged, rubbing his hands on his jeans.

"Yay," Penny clapped her hands together. "It'll be fun. Just us four. I mean...unless you had to visit family, Tisa. I didn't think of that, I'm sorry."

"No," I shook my head. "I haven't seen my family in years. James and I usually either went to his mother's or we stayed home."

I immediately felt guilty for mentioning James. I cringed as I snuck a peek at Harry. He didn't seem upset in the least. He looked curious, if anything.

"Oh...okay," said Penny, thankfully leaving it at that.

I still wasn't feeling a hundred percent Thursday morning. In fact, I threw up once more before I left for school. I managed to drink a cup of tea, the thought of coffee sounding unbearable. I took a piece of toast with me for the ride, figuring I probably wouldn't even eat all of it.

Harry just happened to pull into the parking space next to mine just as I was getting out of my car. I stopped and waited for him on the sidewalk, and we walked to Professor Crawford's class together.

"You ready?" he asked as his hand guided me on the small of my back.

"Let's do this," I said, trying to sound enthusiastic.

Just as we were about to enter the classroom, I noticed the "mean girls" sitting at a picnic table nearby. Liz was the only one to seemed to notice me as she quickly stood up and said goodbye to the other two girls.

Harry and I sat at our table, ready to give our report. We were more than prepared, but as soon as I saw Leslie and Charice walk in, followed by Crawford, I felt a sudden wave of nausea rush over me. I took a couple of deep breaths, hoping it would subside, but it didn't. I quickly laid my head down on the desk.

"Tisa..." Harry questioned. I felt his hand on my back. "You okay?"

"I think I'm gonna throw up."

I lifted my head slowly, catching a glimpse of Harry's concerned face.

"Ms. Jordan, Mr. Styles," I heard Crawford say. He sounded very far away although he was standing directly in front of us. "You two want to go first?"

I suddenly felt like I had tunnel vision. The next few things seemed to happen instantaneously, yet in slow motion at the same time.

"Sorry!" I exclaimed.

I stood up quickly, nearly knocking over my chair, ran to the door and outside toward the restrooms. Fortunately I made it to the stall in time to throw up. Unfortunately, I hadn't thought to bring a toothbrush. I splashed cold water on my face and stood over the sink for a few minutes, trying to get my bearings. This was more than a twenty-four hour bug. This had to be the stomach flu, or something similar. I felt like hell.

I heard the bathroom door squeak open, and I didn't bother to look up. But just as I put my hands under the running water to wash them, I caught a flash of red hair go by. Of course she would choose to walk slowly to the very last stall, as though she was on a leisurely stroll. I lifted my head then to glare at Liz in the mirror. She gave me blank stare before closing the stall door behind her.

I still didn't feel up to going back to the classroom just yet. I closed my eyes and took a few more deep breaths, wishing to God the nausea and dizziness would stop.

"Feeling ill?" I heard from behind me.

I didn't want to look at her. I kept my eyes closed, my hands supporting myself on the edge of the sink. I breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth. Just then, I felt a hand tap my arm. I jolted, my eyes wide. Liz stood there with a pack of two Pepto Bismol tablets in her hand, holding it out to me. I eyed her for a moment, wondering why the hell she was offering it to me.

"Take it," she insisted. "It couldn't hurt."

"Thanks," I muttered, hesitantly taking the medicine from her.

"I keep all the essentials in my bag at all times," she explained, lifting the flap of her messenger bag. "You need it, I got it. Gum, mints, Tylenol, tampons...I'm like a regular Walgreens."

I was just about to pop the first tablet in my mouth when it hit me again. I ran to the nearest stall, making it just in time.

"Oh gosh," I heard Liz voice. "Here."

I felt her grab my hair, pulling it back with one hand so that it wouldn't hang over the toilet. She must have found a hair tie in her bag of endless supplies and used it to put my hair into a ponytail. I heaved a couple more times until I felt like I'd thrown up a lung.

"Jeez, you've got it bad," she exclaimed when I stood upright again.

"Yeah," I agreed, grabbing some toilet paper to wipe my eyes.

I made it back over to the the sink, where I realized I'd dropped the medicine which was now bubbling and dissolving.

"Shit," I cursed under my breath.

"Don't sweat it. I have more."

"Thanks," I said again when she handed me another packet. "How come you're being so nice to me?"

I hated to suspect anyone of ulterior motives, but this was a girl who had despised me for no reason other than her friend having a crush on my boyfriend. Why the sudden change of heart?

Liz shrugged. "I don't know."

I squinted my eyes. "Don't give me that. You and your friends have been nothing but mean to me for the last couple months. What gives?"

Liz swallowed and then lifted her chin. "Maybe I just don't like being mean. Being nice is much easier."

"Yeah, it is," I scoffed. "Especially when you really have no valid reason to hate me."

Turning my attention back to the medicine in my hand, I tossed it in my mouth and chewed the tablets, taking a handful of water from the sink to wash them down.

Liz sighed, leaning against the sink beside mine. "Britney's my best friend. I've known her since we were in elementary school. She lived down the street. She's like a sister to me."

I watched her as she pulled on the drawstring of her hoodie. I said nothing, so she continued.

"One night this summer we went out to the movies. Before we went, we stopped at Mikado's to have dinner. Harry was our waiter. He was really cute, really sweet and really funny. Britney was quite taken with him. I mean, I was too, if I'm being honest. But Britney wouldn't stop talking about him all night. Even after we left the movies, she was still going on about him. She was a smitten kitten.

"So of course, we went back. Only this time we found out he was working at the bar. We decided to ditch whatever other plans we had and just sat at the bar until closing. We did this several times."

Liz finally took a breath, looking at me. "Sometimes Britney would go without me. I kinda started to worry a little bit. Like, was she taking this infatuation too far? I figured if Harry was interested, he would have asked her out by now."

I raised an eyebrow in agreement.

"Well," she continued. "Then school started, so we had less time to go unless it was the weekend. Then there was the night you were there."

Liz eyed me, making sure I remembered. Of course I remembered. Britney had taken my seat.

"It was obvious Harry knew you. I didn't really think anything of it. I thought you and your friend were cool. I enjoyed being a part of the...sort of party, I guess."

I nodded, recalling the party vibe that Harry and Brian had given off, setting the tone for the remainder of the evening.

"Britney was P.O.'d!" Liz exclaimed. I almost laughed at her tone and choice of words, but my stomach still hurt. "After you left she was really laying it on thick with Harry, leaning over the bar and practically petting him. He's always so nice, and I'm sure trying to keep his job, he just takes it. But not once have I seen him act like he's interested."

I grinned slightly, a little glimmer of pride on my face.

"But anyway, like I said, Britney's my best friend. I love her. And I want her to be happy. And she wants Harry." Liz sighed again, taking a moment to gather more thoughts. "I know I didn't have a valid excuse to hate you, or be mean to you. She hates you with a passion though. And I guess I had to be an enemy by association. And then..."

She paused, seeming hesitant to say the rest of her sentence.

"Then what?" I asked.

"She was at the bar one night. Harry wasn't there, but she stayed anyway. Two men and a woman were sitting beside her. She didn't recognize her at first, but then she remembered her as your friend. Justine, was it?"

"Oh no," I grimaced.

"I don't recall the whole story, but apparently one of them mentioned Harry, which of course made her perk up her ears. Then they mentioned you. And one of the men said you were his wife."

"Are you serious?"

Liz nodded. "That's how we found out you were married. Now listen," she held up a hand. "It was none of my business. And it's still not. But at the time all I thought was that was a great way to get back at you. I could use that knowledge against you to help out my friend. I guess I thought, if she can't have him, you don't deserve him either."

"Thanks," I muttered sarcastically.

Liz shook her head. "I realized I was wrong. I'm sorry."

"What made you come to this decision?" I asked with narrowed eyes.

"I've seen the way he looks at you."

I blinked, not expecting that answer.

"That boy's in love with you. And you're in love with him. I watch you when you're walking to class, when he puts his arms around you and kisses you. I don't know anything about your husband, or ex-husband, or whatever he is. But if Harry loves you like that...I can't imagine you being in love with anyone else."

"Wow," I breathed. I didn't know how to respond to that.

"And also...it's obvious Britney needs to give up this...whatever it is. Wishing Harry would pay attention to her, ask her out, whatever. I told her so last night."

My eyes about popped out of my head. "You did?"

"Yeah," she let out a deep sigh. "She's probably still a little mad at me. But she'll get over it. I told her that Harry wouldn't pick someone disgusting to fall in love with. And the truth hurts, but she needs to move on."

"Wow," I said again. "Thanks...I guess."

"Welcome," Liz shrugged. "Are you feeling better?"

"Um...yeah, a little. You don't happen to have a toothbrush in that bag of yours, do you?"

She chuckled. "I do, but it's mine. I don't have a spare. I can give you this though."

Liz dug through her bag and pulled out a Binaca spray. Then she grabbed a container of mints and a pack of gum.

"Take your pick," she offered.

"I'll take one of each, actually," I grinned.

"Good idea."

I made it back to class in one piece, still feeling a tiny bit queasy, but loads better than I had when I left. I quietly sat next to Harry as I listened to two other students give their report. He didn't ask any questions; he just took my hand under the table and squeezed it.

Crawford had agreed that Harry and I could give our report on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, with no points off of our grade since I had been taken ill. I still insisted that we at least turn in the printed copy, as some sort of assurance that we had written it, and he was fine with that.

On the sidewalk, I told Harry about my run-in with Liz. I told him the whole story, what she'd told me and even how she helped me. She had also said that Leslie and Charice hadn't been enlightened yet, and along with Britney might still be bitter for a little while. I honestly wasn't worried. I felt a huge burden lifted off of my shoulders. Liz and I might not ever be friends, but at least I knew she wasn't the hateful bitch she had pretended to be.

Harry had to work that night and the next, but both he and Zack were off Saturday. That gave me time to hopefully get well, so we made plans for Penny and I to go their apartment for dinner.

Penny insisted on waiting on me hand and foot after she got home from work. She told me she loves to play nurse, that she probably would have been one if she hadn't discovered she liked to sing. I wasn't going to argue with her, and frankly couldn't anyway. I still felt horrible and stayed in bed the rest of the afternoon on into the evening. I got up only to use the bathroom and eat a quick dinner with Penny at the table. Fortunately I didn't throw up anymore that day, but probably because I didn't have anything in me to throw up.

Friday morning, however, I felt like I was back at square one. I felt cold and clammy, and managed to vomit twice before Penny just about put me on house arrest if I so much as tried to set one foot out the door. I texted Harry to let him know I was once again staying home sick.

"Girl, this has been long enough," exclaimed Penny. "You need to go to the doctor."

"I'm not that sick," I argued.

"Fuck that, yes you are!"

"I'll be okay," I muttered.

I couldn't afford to go to the doctor, even if I wanted to. Although I hadn't asked him, I wouldn't be surprised if James had already taken me off his insurance. There's probably some rule that says a separated spouse is still covered, but I wouldn't put anything past James at this point. And I definitely had no extra money for meds.

"Fine," Penny crossed her arms. "I'll give you the weekend. But if you're still sick Monday morning, I'm taking you myself."

I watched her walk toward her bedroom, only to return two seconds later.

"Tisa..." she said in a weird tone I couldn't quite make out. "You're not pregnant, are you?"

I laughed out loud, causing my stomach to hurt. "Not a chance."

"Why not? Do you and Harry...you know...use protection?"

"I've been on the pill for years," I explained.

"Oh," Penny nodded. "Okay."

She started to turn back to her room but stopped.

"You take it everyday?"

I nodded. "Yes. In fact, I just took today's when I went to the bathroom a minute ago."

"Alright," she sighed, accepting my confirmation.

As I watched her finally exit the room, I thought again about the insurance. I wouldn't be able to afford my pills without the insurance. But that was definitely something I had to make work. I would just have to find a way.

Twenty minutes later, Penny emerged from her room again to leave for work.

"Sorry, I have to go, baby doll," she said, kissing me on the forehead.

"It's okay," I smiled. "I'll be fine."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," I nodded.

"Tell me to butt out if I'm crossing a boundary here...but why would you take birth control if you weren't having sex?"

I sighed in exasperation, knowing this question was coming sooner or later. I could tell her the long story, or the shortened one. I decided on the latter.

"James didn't want kids. So I went on the pill. I guess once we stopped having sex, part of me still hoped we would again eventually, and I wanted to be prepared."

Penny seemed to accept my answer, for which I was grateful. She patted my arm before grabbing her purse and heading out the door. I managed to sleep until the afternoon. I got up and showered, made myself a sandwich and watched a little TV before checking my phone. One text from Harry, just saying he loved me and to call him once I was up and feeling better. And one text from Justine that simply said: Call me.

I rolled my eyes. I was absolutely done with her. I had nothing more to say. I didn't care who she was with or who she was fucking. I didn't give a shit anymore.

I deleted her text, lied back against the pillows on the couch-bed that had become mine, and called Harry.

MASTERLIST | KO-FI | FEEDBACK

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corujalesbica · 2 years ago

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Why would you wear black to a wedding - chapter 2

Wednesday woke up in terrible pain. She had a massive headache, her muscles were all sore and she had that lingering fear of waking up after a nightmare. It was great. The girl got up, it was already six am and she was very late for her morning guillotine use practice. To be very honest she had been tired, she was summoned hours after she went to sleep, and then for some reason agreed to fake date a werewolf.

A pretty girl her age before her, looking at her with shiny eyes, and Wednesday wanted to leave. She had turned down requests from summoners before, and she would do it again. One time, someone summoned her thinking her mom would answer, and that was a very awkward conversation to have. But despite her complaints about "human beings and their annoying behavior" Wednesday loved the curse. She had been waiting for it her whole life, and the feeling of her soul being sucked from her body was always so horrifically good.

Not to mention that every time she answered a request, the girl gained power as a witch. She got stronger and stronger, to the point she was fairly sure she could defeat a monster as powerful as a vampire in a fight. So really, it should've been easy to walk away. She had everything. She didn't need the magic the job would give her.

But as golden curls and blue eyes stood in front of her, she got stuck. That girl was an interesting being. She shone more than the stars at night, and talked like her life depended on it. Wednesday found that fascinating. Well, she did find most social being considerably interesting. How could one form relationships so strong as to endure the hardships of life ? How did people connect so easily, so fast ? It had taken her a lifetime of good occurrences to trust her very best friend, Eugene. But some people made friends like it was as easy as killing flowers. Some people shined like stars.

The eldest Addams child turned back to her room, as her brother once again escaped the guillotine and ran downstairs, probably to try and explode something. She opened an old drawer in the attic where the guillotine was, dozens of cursed notebooks to choose from staring back at her. She got one with a black leather cover, and opened in the first page, quite enjoying herself when a beetle got out of it and ran through her hair. In the first line she wrote :

Enid Sinclair , an analysis of werewolf relationships and interactions

She spent the rest of the morning writing.

Wednesday knocked on the door, she read somewhere that was polite. The girl who had summoned her the night before - Enid - opened it, seeming quite confused for a moment, before she pulled the witch in and closed the door behind her.

"I am prepared" The girl in black said as she sat on the very edge of the pink bed. Now that the lights were on, she realized the room was quite colorful, and that made her dizzy. She didn't want to touch the pink too much, afraid it might make the sinking feeling in her chest worse.

"Prepared for…?" Enid sat in front of her, with her legs crossed and a questioning expression.

"Prepared for the wedding, of course." Was that girl dumb ? "I made some research on werewolf weddings and traditions in general. I have some graphics if you want to see them." She added after a pause.

"Oh… I mean, I thought we were gonna get ready together." The werewolf looked down "But it's okay! I'm sure we can still learn tons about each other before tonight. It's only two pm after all."

"Tonight ? What do you mean, wasn't the wedding on Sunday ? Today 's Friday."

"Hum… Sorry I didn't know how to tell you this yesterday, my mom wants to meet you _ well, to met the girl I'm ' going out with ' before the ceremony. I tried to make her back down but she insists on it." Enid was playing with strands of hair, and scratching her scalp as she talked. " I'm sorry"

" It is okay. I prepared myself for unusual situations". Wednesday took her notebook from her bag. " This is an unusual summoning job. Usually I just kill someone, deliver their head and call it a day."

Enid looked at her like she had many questions, but ultimately decided against saying anything.

"OK so first things first." The girl in pink said after taking herself a notebook from her shelf. " We gotta get to know each other, my moms probably gonna ask a lot. So, I wrote down some things you have to know about me and some questions for you, now, if you don't want to actually talk about your life which I totally get since I'm a stranger and all we could invent a couple lies to cover you. So I'm thinking you are an astronaut and-"

"Why would I want to lie ? That sounds harder than just talking about my real life." Wednesday would never get how other people worked, she thought. Pink girl had such a weird brain.

"I mean, if you want to talk about your life life you can do that I just wanted you to feel comfortable and all…"

"I feel terrible. This nauseating colors make me want to kill myself in the most horrible way." Wednesday closed her eyes, and breathed in slowly. "It's great."

Enid wanted to argue against that confusing logic but kept her mouth shut. "Anyways" she said, " I made you a quiz on me! There are some questions and then you just have to click on the little squares to see the answers."

Wednesday furrowed her brows. "All the due offense, why would I want a quiz on you ?"

"So we can get to know each other, silly! I just explained it! It's all part of my plan."

" You have a plan ? No offense, but you don't seem like the plan tipe."

"I don't have a plan, I have the most awesome plan."

"Enlighten me then, pretty pink girl." Enid's cheeks turned red at that, but Wednesday didn't think much of it. She was used to seeing people turn red when she hanged them and such.

"Well" The girl says looking away "I was thinking we could say we had a meet cute in a coffee shop and started talking then. Maybe sending letters to each other ? I know they're outdated but they're so roman-"

" Why would I be in a coffee shop though ?"

"That's what you have a problem with ? Ok, Hum, maybe you needed some coffee I guess, since it's what they huh, sell there and all that"

"I don't drink coffee. Needing caffeine to wake up is for the week. If I'm feeling tired I'll drink the blood of my fallen enemies mixed with some monster."

"In that case, maybe you needed coffee for a potion or something ?"

"There is a very specific type of poison that requires caffeine. I like the way you think, pink girl."

" I have a name, you know. It's Enid."

"I will read your notes and do your silly quiz then, Enid."

They fell into comfortable silence then, after Enid handed Wednesday the notes and Wednesday gave her "The book of torture, a essencial read to get to know me." The pictures and description in it were absolutely nasty, just as Wednesday loved, and Enid seemed to be having a hard time reading it. "I'll take one for the team" she said when Wednesday asked about it.

She didn't know they were a team.

Four hours of conversation and silence both, had passed before Wednesday remembered she never actually explained the Addams family ritual to Enid. She thought if she was gonna be a sacrifice, she'd like to know so perhaps she should tell pink girl about the ritual, but just as she opened her mouth to speak the door slammed open.

"Enid, honey! I am…" the woman's eyes landed on Wednesday. She was an older version of Enid, still, something about her felt inherently different. "...home."

Wednesday snorted.

☆☆☆☆☆

Nhe not sure about the dialogue flow on this one. Also I'm sorry it's a bit shorter, I wanted to divide their conversation about their shaninigans and the dinner with the Sinclairs so the next will be like chapter 2 B kinda. Anywayysss. That's it for today thank you if you've read all that!!

#lgbtq #sapphic #lesbian #wenclair #wednesday fanfic #wednesday 2022 #enid x wednesday #enid sinclair #autistic wednesday addams

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sweetnsaltymari · 2 years ago

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How Did I Get Here (ch1)

Dear diary…

You know? I thought my life would be normal after I moved to Paris from the UK. However… It’s only been about two weeks since mom and dad moved us here that my whole life has changed. It seems that the whole concept of superheroes versus villains exists outside of the comic books. These random villains like Stoneheart, Stormy Weather, and even more. But nothing would prepare me for everything I’ve learned in these two weeks.

“But dad I don’t want to go to a new school… I’ve already made friends here I’m all set!” The girl whined as her father was packing up their life to the moving truck. “Calm down Ayano, you’ll see that this is going to be a really good experience for you, and you know your fathers worked very hard for this promotion at the company.” The older woman said as she rested her hand on the younger girl’s shoulder. “You know. When I was your age, I had to make a huge change in my life as well. My mom gave me a book to write all my thoughts and feelings down about all I went through.” Ayano looked at her mom with a deadpanned expression, “You mean a Diary mom? I’m not six writing about unicorns and superheroes….” Her mother laughed softly and held out a small gold embellished journal, “no, but you are growing into a young lady. This will be a perfect way to share your feelings.” The girl sighed and took I with a small smile, “Thanks mom… I’ll... try it out...” She said softly as she looked down at the journal. “Great, now finish getting your stuff in the truck so we can be in Paris by this evening.” The girl tucked the book away in her bag before going to pack up the little bit of life she had in her old room. She sighed as she looked around at the emptiness around her, “I hope they’re right about this…” She spoke softly to herself before carrying the few boxes out to the truck.

Ayano’s father slapped down the door of the moving truck and patted it, “This baby could really fit a whole zoo in there if you let it. Let’s hit the road family!” He hummed and got into the drivers’ seat of the car. Ayano followed behind and got in the back, plugging in her headphones and turning on some calming music by Pacific Coolest. She sighed and leaned her head on the cool window and watched as the scenery pass before dozing off.

Soon she was woken to soft shakes by her mother, whining softly, “honey… we’re here” Her mother spoke softly, and she sat up to rub her eyes. She looked at the new place she now had to call home. It wasn’t the biggest house, but it was immaculate and showed status which was apparently important to her parents. She sighed and got out of the car, shrugging on the overnight bag she packed for the first few nights while they unpacked. “I’m going to bed…” She said softly as she went up the stairs and into the house. Her parents shared a similar look of worry between hem as she left but shrugged it off, “Teenagers...” He father sighed and left her to be. Ayano flopped on her new bed and looked around her bare room and let out a whine before looking through her bag, the new journal being at the top. “I guess I’ll try this…” She flipped open the journal to the first page and took out a pen.

Do I start this with the typical dear diary crap? I don’t know… Honestly, I don’t even know how to talk about my feelings but here we go. Today I had to finish packing up my already okay life and move to another country, well at least this country is only a train ride away from home, but still... I already had a life, a home, a friend group, and a school. So why do I have to restart that tomorrow in a place I barely know?! They didn’t even ask me what I wanted and told me this would be a great experience for me… But how could they know… To late now though I guess... I just have an off feeling about Paris…

Ayano set the journal to the side and let out a breath, that did make her feel a bit better. She got up to get ready for bed before curling up in bed and letting herself get some needed rest as the first day of school was tomorrow.

The next thing Ayano knew she was being woken up by her mom gently, “Morning sweetie! Time for your first day at school! I hope you’re excited, I’ve unpacked some of your clothes and got some pastries from a cute little bakery down the road.” Ayano huffed and rubbed her eyes as she stood up, “I’m not hungry...” She got up and looked through her closet. “Well then I’ll pack you some, so you don’t stay grouchy for your first day of making new friends.” She hummed and left her to change. Ayano rolled her eyes and got dressed in something passable from what her mom had already unpacked. Of course, the only things her mom had unpacked were her best clothes and nothing at all her style, but she could make it work. She went downstairs and shoved a croissant into her mouth before muttering out a muffled, “Bye” to her parents. She was lucky to have such a short walk to school from her home.

She looked around in the nice brisk morning as she walked, she admitted, there was a beauty to the city around her that London didn’t have, but she still didn’t like being in such an unfamiliar place. As she passed the bakery she assumed her mom had gotten the treats from she couldn’t help but notice the old man who was on the ground in the middle of the crosswalk. As she was about to aid, she saw another girl go for him, her sweets going everywhere. “Must be the bakers daughter..” She muttered to herself as she watched her help the old man and them part. She was going to the same place she was, so she just followed the pigtailed girl, watching as she went over to her friends and started chatting. She sighed softly as she remembered her friends from back home. She just passed by everyone and went to go map out her schedule so she wouldn’t get lost in the day. She eventually went to her homeroom and sit in the back of the class. She kept to herself during the class and quietly left to go to her first class which was PE, as she left the class she was bumped into a disgruntled student that told her to shove off and watched as he went to the principals office. “He’s.. rude..” She muttered and went to the class she had.

She heard a loud bang as she got to her class before the whole building shook and students freaked out, “What the hell was that?!” She exclaimed before hearing a loud ‘KIM’ in the distance and followed as the students went to the window. “What the hell is that?!?” Another student exclaimed as the chunky rock figure was going around causing destruction. The next thing she knew she was being dragged to go hide by a fellow classmate. They pulled up the news and watched as they covered what was going on. It was a long battle that took for what seemed like hours to fix, but these new superheroes had saved the day. She eventually was allowed to go home and was just done with the day. How was it that this could be real. Like what maniac could start this shit.

She went through the door to her house and her parents looked frazzled, “Oh my god you’re safe! We were so worried, and you weren’t texting us.” Her mother hugged her tightly. “Oh.. Yeah I was pulled into cover and my phone was in the other room off.. sorry… I just want food and to go to bed. This day has been… a lot to say the least.” She said deadpanned, still trying to figure out what the hell had happened today. “I think a good night of sleep will do us all good” Her father said and set out the food they had ordered. Ayano picked up her own plate and filled it before going up to her room, “Night..”

She got in her room and set her plate down on her desk before flopping on her bed and pulling her journal over and flipping to the next page.

Dear Diary,

What in the ever-loving HELL happened today. STONEHEAD….HEART….MAN?!? I don’t know what the hell that was. But apparently, I live in the multiverse of superheroes and villains and this ISN’T just my 6 year old brain playing make believe in this time. I literally saw a man get crushed by a car in front of my school and of course he’s now probably in the hospital or something. I knew moving to Paris would be the WORST. Now I live in a goddamn comic book world where my life is in danger?? I mean at least I understand what the NPC characters of the marvel universe feel after their regularly scheduled villain shows up to cause hell… I just hope tomorrow is normal….

————————

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug fanfic #miraculous oc #ML|how did i get here

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thewatermelloncat · 1 year ago

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Six Weeks and Stuffed Wombats

Week Two

Summary: There is a saying that things get worse before they get better. Only two sessions in, Rosé didn’t think that her friendships would already start to suffer.

Prologue Week One

“Yesterday I didn’t do all of, since I wasn’t really home” Rosé brings up one of the empty thermometers as she hands her book over for Tamisha to look at.

“That’s okay” Tamisha says. “Were you out late?”

Rosé shakes her head. “No, I stayed over at Denali’s.”

“Was there something that happened at home?” Tamisha frowns, remembering Rosé telling her last week about how she stays over with Denali when things aren’t great for her.

“No, it was just because” Rosé explains. “I had choir practice early this morning and her place is closer. So, it’s just easier sometimes.”

“Did practice go better than last week?” Tamisha asks.

Rosé grinds her lip between her teeth with a sigh. She should have known that her panic attack would be brought up at some point, but she thought that it would have been in the first week. The fact that they’d seemingly skipped over it made her feel like they wouldn’t have to talk about it. Except by now her luck has run out.

“Yeah, it went better” she finally answers.

“And your teacher apologised for last week?”

Rosé nods.

“Do they know how what they said affected you?”

“I don’t know… I hope not.”

“Do you have panic attacks often, Rosé?” Tamisha picks up her book, ready to write a note down.

“I don’t think so. I don’t really know what often means” she admits.

“One or more a month.”

“Then no” Rosé answers. “Only one or two every few months, maybe. It jumps around a bit.”

“So, you can’t find any patterns between them?” Tamisha’s pen hovers over the page. “No common factors, like stress or certain places?”

For a while Rosé sits in silence, far longer than it takes her to think of the answer. Then she finally nods.

“Could you share what they are?” Tamisha prompts gently, noticing Rosé’s hesitance to speak.

“I don’t sleep so well a lot of the time. I just... I don’t know” – Rosé sighs – “nightmares just seem childish.”

“Adults and children are just as likely to have them as each other. They’re a normal way of processing information” Tamisha assures.

“I always thought that dream reading stuff was mythical” Rosé frowns sceptically.

Tamisha smiles faintly. “Well, I don’t think they’re in anyway prophetic. But while we sleep our brain uses that time to process events and emotions. Just often in a way that doesn’t make any sense” she explains. “Can you tell me what normally happens in yours?”

Rosé takes a breath before she answers, “I’m normally in my room, in my bed, and I can’t move. I never know why, but I just can’t.”

“And how do you feel?”

“Stuck” Rosé scoffs a laugh, but her eyes shift uncomfortably. Her hand gripping onto the fabric of her jacket.

Tamisha stays silent, waiting for her to list more.

“Scared.” Rosé’s smile drops before she adds more quietly, “helpless.”

“And do you ever know why you’re scared?”

“Sometimes… sometimes it’s my dad, but there’s this other person… he… he’s not in all of them, but the ones with him are the worst.”

“And this other person, what does he do?” Tamisha asks gently.

“He… I’m sorry, I don’t” – Rosé cuts herself off with a sigh. Shaking her head before she looks away.

“That’s okay” Tamisha backs away for a moment. Then she notices Rosé’s hand gripped tightly at the edge of her jacket and reaches forward to pick up the stuffed wombat from the table between them. Handing it out for her to hold instead.

Rosé scoffs softly as she takes the stuffed toy from her. “I never had one of these.”

Tamisha smiles back at her reassuringly before she asks a different question, “do you know the person?”

Rosé nods, looking down at the toy as her thumbs stroke into its fur. “Family friend… of my parents anyway. Every time he stays over it’s a sure bet that I won’t sleep through that night.”

“Do your parents know how you feel about this friend?”

Rosé purses her lips sadly. “They don’t care.”

“And what about this friend, do they know how you feel about them?”

“I don’t think they care either” Rosé says quietly before she looks up again. “I’m sorry, can we move on?”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“More homework” Rosé huffs out a breath as she stops at the table in the cafeteria. Dropping her book on the surface and not caring about the few sets of eyes that get drawn her way at the loud smack.

“It’s to help you Rosie” Denali reminds her, looking up from her lunch.

“I know. It’s just” — Rose breaks herself off with a frustrated sigh as she drops into a chair. Then she leans forward to cradle her head over the table.

“What is it this time?” Denali scoffs a little at her dramatics.

“A dream journal” Rosé says, pushing herself back up again. “Which you can’t tell me doesn’t sound like the most childish thing to write about.”

“I don’t know. Sometimes I’ve thought about having one since I think it would be cool to go back and read all the weird things I think of” Denali admits. “Except I’d have to write really quick since I forget my dreams super fast.”

“Lucky” Rosé grumbles, sinking her head into her hands.

“Did she say why you had to do it?” Denali asks.

“Something about not processing things fully when we’re awake - like how we just brush stuff off with reasoning. Then that affects how we sleep because we’re subconsciously still thinking about it.”

“You do just brush a lot of stuff off” Denali points out.

Rosé only hums because it’s kind of a fair statement. Except she still doesn’t want to write things down that she doesn’t want to remember in the first place. “She also gave me breathing exercises” she voices further complaint.

“Oh, those are fun!” Denali immediately smiles, sitting up straighter in her seat. “We do them sometimes in skating for competition preparation…”

Denali’s excited rambling continues but Rosé starts to tune it out.

She bets Denali wouldn’t think from such a high and mighty place if she had to do the exercises herself. A dream journal isn’t some ‘dear diary’ bullshit where she can write down the name of her crush surrounded by love hearts.

“… sometimes at training we get to lie on a bench for a couple of minutes practicing them while we visualise our routines…”

And for her breathing exercises are a break from an intensive training session, not some obligated task that she has to do within her own time.

“… they say it also helps with body awareness, but they’re really just fun to do—”

“I know how to breathe, Denali!” Rosé snaps. “I wouldn’t be alive if I didn’t!”

Denali cuts her spiel off and sits in a stunned silence.

Immediately Rosé knows she should feel bad about what she said - how she said it - but for now she can’t be bothered to apologise. She catches Denali looking at her warily, but she locks her jaw to keep herself from biting anything back about it.

Across the table Denali reads the warning glare Rosé holds toward her, but she catches that there is guilt in there as she then looks away. She could probably ask for an apology and Rosé would give it to her, but for now she won’t push it and she looks away as well.

So, they both fall into silence and no words are said for the rest of lunch.

#rpdr fanfiction #rosenali #rosénali #rosé #denali foxx #tamisha iman #safe house au

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peofun1 · 1 month ago

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okay the new anime season is already in full swing, so I gotta get my thoughts out on the last season. because I have once again watched Way Too Much Anime.

same as before, we chose what to watch mostly based on which PV trailers looked interesting before the season aired. now I'm gonna yap about all 17 shows for way too long.

✨obligatory disclaimer that this is Just My Opinion, Man. if I say something mean about your favorite show, please don't take it personally!

everything we watched, in alphabetical order: Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian, Bye Bye Earth, Dahlia in Bloom, The Elusive Samurai, Isekai Suicide Squad, Magical Girl and Evil Lieutenant Used to be Enemies, Mayonaka Punch, Oshi no Ko S2, Quality Assurance in Another World, Senpai is an Otokonoko, Shikanoko, Shoushimin, Tasuuketsu, Too Many Losing Heroines, Tower of God S2, VTuber Legend, Wistoria: Wand and Sword

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian - 1 episode, dropped funny that this one is first alphabetically, cuz I only watched one ep with a group of friends, mostly just to clown on it. I swear there's at least six anime exactly like this one every season: hot girl randomly takes an interest in the most boring man on the planet. Boring Guy is Boring. there's probably a weird little sister involved. but the girl is Russian in this one, because that's easier to write than actually giving anyone a personality. fucking snore dude

Bye Bye, Earth - 8 episodes, dropped this show is… weird. the worldbuilding feels incredibly dense, but also not very well explained. it felt like they were introducing new concepts and Proper Nouns every other sentence. I fully believe that this all makes sense to the original creator -- like I'm sure they have a 400 page Lore Bible with all the deep rules of their world, because it all feels very intricate. unfortunately I don't have that lore bible, so I found it really hard to follow.

that said, I think I like it? kinda? the animation style is kinda ugly, but for the most part I like the character designs. I think it's great to see a female lead in a show like this, and I really like what I've seen of the MC and her motivations. there's some really interesting fantasy ideas -- like the way people "grow" their weapons as an extension of themselves, MC's curse that her sword can't cut living things, this society that revolves so heavily around music -- but all of it together just becomes a confusing jumble.

it's not bad, but not good enough for me to finish this season :/

Dahlia in Bloom - 6 episodes, on hold this is honestly one of the more refreshing romance anime I've seen in a long time. It's a little slow moving and not very action-packed, but I love how well Dahlia is established as Her Own Person before the main love interest is even introduced. My girl has a career! hobbies! a friend group that stands by her while she goes through a messy break-up! it's so easy to root for her, and early episodes of this anime truly had me screaming "GIRLLLLL DUMP HIM YOU CAN DO BETTERRRRR" at my TV (in a good way)

and her main romantic interest is really good too! he has a personality beyond just being a perfect hot romance boy! the two of them have great chemistry! they act like adults and have a believable slow-burn starting as friends! idk it's kind of wild how realistic the romance in this show feels, despite being set in a fantasy world.

unfortunately this show did get put on the back-burner while we were watching a bunch of other things, but I'd really like to return to it sometime. I wanna see Dahlia thrive in her career and personal life!

The Elusive Samurai - 7 episodes, dropped okay, guys. you guys. listen. I really wanted to like this show, okay. I watched the previews and was like holy shit, CloverWorks has done it again. if this is as good as Wind Breaker, maybe I can finally forgive them for what happened to Promised Neverland. I saw the clips on twitter from episode 1 and thought this could be the big standout of the season.

but, uh. it's not. at least, not for me.

the tone of this show is extremely inconsistent. it flips wildly between wacky gag-manga comedy, and dead fucking serious horrors-of-war. sometimes multiple times in the same episode! add that to the break-neck pacing (in the first few episodes especially) and it left me with emotional whiplash. like, okay -- the more dramatic, gritty grimdark stuff I rather enjoy. the scene where the villain obliterates a whole battalion single-handedly, and then gets swarmed by adoring fans while the one survivor tries in vain to tell them what a monster he is -- that shit gave me chills. it's some incredible visual storytelling. but then the show inevitably cuts back to the weirdo priest doing some weirdo shit with the kids and I'm annoyed again. eventually I just got tired of it.

absolutely banger OP and ED though. probably my favorite ED of the season, and second-favorite OP.

Isekai Suicide Squad - 5 episodes, dropped boy, this one sure does do what it says on the tin. this sure is an anime about Suicide Squad -- yes, the DC comic book characters -- getting transported to another world.

honestly I was really enjoying it, at first. it's not doing anything particularly new, but these versions of the characters are fun and the animation was good enough to carry the story. and like, I'll say it -- anime Harley Quinn is pretty hot. I'm a lesbian with eyeballs, I can admit that.

unfortunately the animation takes a nosedive suddenly right around the point where I dropped off. the fight with the dragon is REALLY rough, like almost unwatchably bad. and when the animation is that bad, I stop to wonder what we're even doing here. they're taking a huge detour from the main plot to randomly fight a dragon, and it doesn't even look good. I don't know if the animation gets better again after that, but I decided there were better things to watch this season /shrug

pretty good OP and ED, though. I like the really stylized animation in the OP, and the ED is a decent bop.

The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies - 2 episodes, dropped this one looked cute, but mostly I wanted to take a look because it's made by Bones. and it is pretty cute, but for such a prestigious animation studio, it didn't exactly blow my tits off. after two episodes, I really felt like I'd seen most of what this anime would have to offer. the guy is "evil" but has a soft spot for one girl, the magical girl is cute, he gets flustered when she does cute stuff. it's fine, but nothing to write home about.

the episodes are real short though -- about half as long as an average anime episode -- so it's not a huge time sink. who knows, I might pick it up again sometime if I want something fluffy.

Mayonaka Punch - 12 episodes, completed alright, now THIS show is the absolute underrated gem of this season. it's fun, it's funny, and it's even a little bit gay! the cast are the best kind of likeable assholes, and they had me laughing out loud multiple times an episode. the more emotional/dramatic parts are pretty well done in my opinion too. particularly the way the show depicts Masaki being haunted by nasty comments online feels very "real", without being too much of a huge bummer.

genuinely, Mayonaka Punch is just a great time. I never felt bored watching this, and I'd gladly watch another season if PA Works decide to continue the story! but even if they don't, I think this has a pretty satisfying conclusion. it's nice to enjoy a good 12 episodes that wraps itself up neatly at the end.

also my absolute FAVORITE OP of the season. I'm a sucker for OPs that are sung by the cast, it's super catchy, and the animation is great. all the references to actual viral videos and trends are funny without feeling forced or cringe -- jumping on viral video trends is what the whole show is about, after all!

Quality Assurance in Another World - 3 episodes, dropped man, I honestly don't have much to say about this show. the broad concept is kinda interesting (QA testers working on a full-dive VR game get trapped in the world of the game SAO-style) and the art style is kinda unique. it just didn't really hold my attention, unfortunately. my wife watched a few episodes past the point where I stopped and she said it kinda popped off a little later but ehhh. someone might really enjoy this one, but it's just not for me.

Senpai is an Otokonoko - 7 episodes, on hold so this anime was made for my wife specifically. she's read the whole comic (I think it's a webtoon?) and adores it, so she was beyond hyped for the anime adaptation. and it's honestly really well done! I think the way it uses chibi characters for comedy (and to save on animation lol) is really cute. the characters and drama are pretty well written, and I really like that the two "rivals" in the love triangle are actually friends with each other.

the only thing is that parts of the story/drama are kiiiind of heavy. my wife is a trans woman and relates very strongly to the main character, so it's a hard watch for her sometimes. even though she's read the comic and knows what happens, she's said she really needs to be in the right headspace to watch this one. there's nothing egregiously bad though, omg -- the worst I've seen so far is the MC's mom being really transphobic and them trying to go back into the closet because of it 😬 so definitely a trigger warning for that

but yeah, really like this one, we're just watching it pretty slowly so I haven't finished it yet.

Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan (My Deer Friend Nokotan) - 2 episodes, dropped hoooo boy. the big meme show of the season. I feel like anyone who follows seasonal anime has probably heard of this one, at least. I saw the OP going around a lot, and I'll admit, it's an earworm.

maybe this is a controversial opinion, but ya'll, I did not care for the actual show at all. I went into it with pretty high hopes, granted, since people were hyping up how funny the manga is. In two episodes I think I actually laughed maaaaybe once? I dunno, the hyper-realistic CGI deer are pretty good the first few times you see them, but boy does the gag get old fast. even the scene where deer-girl busts through the wall of the classroom only got a little snort out of me. and then that joke completely overstays its welcome by going on for like two full minutes of gratuitous slow-mo.

really all I can say is: not funny, didn't laugh! Mayonaka Punch is way more fun, watch that instead.

Shoushimin - 6 episodes, on hold first of all, this anime is fucking gorgeous. truly every frame a painting. I've seen people talk about "cinematic" anime this season, and Shoushimin really embodies that. the characters, the environments, the framing, the lighting, ugh. I wish I could eat all of the lovingly-rendered pastries in this show.

animation aside, this is a veeeeery slow-paced kind of slice-of-life. it's all about small, mundane mysteries, so I can definitely see people finding it boring. my wife decided after about 4 episodes that she just doesn't have the attention span for this. I mostly like it though; it makes me think of a more chill version of the fake manga the MCs write in Bakuman. that said, I need to be in the right mood for something this slow, so I've been watching it on and off.

also shoutout to the OP because I am an Eve fan first and a person second

Tasuuketsu: Fate of the Majority - 2 episodes, dropped I would have completely forgotten about this show, if crunchyroll didn't keep trying to get us to watch the next episode. it's an extremely generic death-game show with pretty stupid rules imo. frankly I would have dropped it after one ep, but there's a cliffhanger at the end of ep 1 that was intriguing enough to convince me to watch a second. they completely undo that cliffhanger in episode 2 though. boooo 👎

best thing I can say about this show is that there's a plot-relevant kick to the balls. no I will not elaborate on that.

Too Many Losing Heroines - 12 episodes, completed man, okay. so from the PVs before the season started, I thought this one was an easy skip. I don't care for harem shows, and this looked like just another boring light-novel romance. no amount of pretty "cinematic" animation was going to get me interested in flat, annoying characters that I've seen a hundred times. we were literally late to start watching it, and only picked it up toward the end of the season because people would not stop talking about it.

so take into account that I am very biased against this entire genre when I look you dead in the eye and tell you: this show is kind of incredible? like don't get me wrong, it's not exactly re-inventing the wheel here, and there's some fanservice moments that made me roll my eyes. but overall, this has some of the best character writing and drama out of everything we watched this season. the girls are genuinely a lot of fun, and their friendships are very believable. even the stuttering shy girl, which is usually an archetype I find super annoying, managed to win me over in the end.

the male MC is probably the weakest part of the show to me, but he still has more going for him than most guys in this genre. I like that his story is more concerned with him learning to be platonic friends with people, rather than just trying to push him into romance with all the girls. even if he ends up with one of the girls in the end (probably the blue-haired one), I appreciate him building a real friendship first.

and I gotta mention the EDs, because each of the main girls gets their own dedicated ED song and they're all beautifully animated. the OP is pretty fun too.

Tower of God Season 2 (part 1?) - 13 episodes, completed I'm honestly pretty torn on this one. once again my wife has read this whole webtoon, so she would have more thoughts about this in terms of adaptation, but I'm anime only. I really liked season 1, even though I found some of the worldbuilding hard to follow, so I was looking forward to this.

and man… I'm so disappointed in the animation for this season. The art style in S1 was one of my favorite things about it, so seeing them drop that in favor of a much more generic modern anime style was a huge bummer. If it was done so they could go all-out on the action more easily that would be one thing, but all of that is pretty lack-luster too, and I know I'm not the only one who feels this way.

as for the story, maybe I just don't remember S1 well enough, but I was pretty fucking lost sometimes. this is another story with mountains of worldbuilding, and I'm sure some fans of the webtoon could go on for hours about the lore. unfortunately that's not me! maybe I'd have a better time if I re-watched S1. even so, I did like most of the new characters, and seeing the returning ones when they showed up.

I dunno. 6/10 overall, not enough Khun. excited to see Khun more in the next cour.

VTuber Legend: (extremely long LN title) - 12 episodes, completed I cannot believe my wife made me watch this whole thing. I can't believe I actually sat through every episode. this show is some peak brainrot, but that's not always a bad thing?

don't get me wrong, I like vtubers just fine! I follow a couple of english-language ones that I like, though I'm not deep into the ~fandom~, as it were. I have no idea how accurate this show is for Japanese vtubers, but boy are these characters weird and horny. sometimes they're funny, sometimes they're unbearably cringe. though that probably doesn't come as much of a surprise, given the premise. who knows, if you like vtubers and bizarre fetish content, you might like this one.

Wistoria: Wand and Sword - 12 episodes, completed this show wound up being a kind of sleeper hit this season. I remember basically no one talking about it before it started airing. it must have had some crazy word-of-mouth recommendations though, because it shot up into the top five seasonal shows on MAL at some point. I started watching from episode one just because the PV trailers looked dope, and I was not disappointed!

in terms of story, again, there isn't anything we haven't seen before. magic high school, kid who can't use magic and gets bullied, but he's really good at sword fighting so he kills lots of scary monsters. but here's the thing, guys -- he looks fucking incredible while he's doing it. this show is completely carried by its slick animation and art style. it's just an absolute treat to watch, and I wish I could eat the colors and intense shadows at work here.

it's already confirmed for a second season, too. my wife liked S1 enough to read ahead in the manga, and she said it only gets better, so I'm definitely looking forward to that.

Honorable mention:

Oshi no Ko: Season 2 - 1 episode, on hold okay this is embarrassing but IN MY DEFENSE! I'm caught up on the manga! 😭 so I already know what this season is about!!! we just decided to wait until the whole season aired so we could binge it, and haven't gotten around to it yet. also it's annoying to watch, since I don't want to pay for fucking HIDIVE, so we have to watch it……. elsewhere.

but like I'm sure it's good. this is easily my favorite arc in the manga, so if the anime kept up the quality from season 1, I'm gonna have a great time. when we get around to it 🙃

#once again not tagging every anime bcuz I'll go insane #for fall 2024 I have TWENTY-TWO anime added to my list 😭#several of those I'm probs gonna watch when they're finished with another friend #but also jesus christ lmao #long post #ramblings #peo watches too much anime

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measuringbliss · 3 months ago

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Spider-Man Read-Through 075 First Hobgoblin (ASM 238-239)

MASTERPOST

Felicia might be in mortal danger over on Spectacular Spider-Man, but we've got a more pressing matter:

The Hobgoblin's here! And DEAR LORD IT'S GOOD.

May got her house project whatever started over on Team-Up (they're desperate for readers). Interestingly, both Romitas, Jr and Sr, worked on this issue!

I'm just showing this because gorgeous boy, gorgeous art, gorgeous everything.

In New York's streets, the three of them almost get hit by a car, and Peter needs to let off some steam. Yes. YES. ANGRY PETER. AND A GREEN GOBLIN.

GERRY CONWAY IS BACK.

(He's not, but he's certainly here in spirit.)

These pages are fire, like okay, this is something major.

Spidey loses one of the burglars, who escaped and found a mysterious hideout...

*claps appreciatively*

Meanwhile, May gets news from Anna!

I'm happy to see her! And to see MJ too <3 They look like they're having a great time. I'm happy to read ASM, oh gosh!

At the Bugle, Peter can't seem to reach May, but he's got great photos!

First off, that guy on the left is hilariously hideous. Secondly, Peter is gorgeous what the fuck, Romita Sr I love you. Thirdly, it feels great to see Norman's face again!

He will, Peter. He will.

At Norman's hideout, Georgie, the thief, called an old friend of his whose face is not revealed. They're both very interested...

Robbie takes Peter to May's home, and en route, he says he's sad that they don't see each other as much as previously, but that Robbie's here if Peter needs to talk. I like seeing them close like that! This issue!!!!! Just the greatest hits.

They don't reach May's home though, because the police talks about a fire at an Osborn facility... Robbie immediately goes there, where they also find Lance Bannon.

THE HIGH-CONTRAST YELLOW FACE. AAAAAAAH SO GOOD!

Anyway, Peter checks the facility and surmises that Georgie must have taken the equipment.

Then, a call for our hero!

I didn't know that you could take up calls in cars at that time, that's cool. Also, Peter's face on the right is soooo great.

He shouldn't worry about Georgie, though, because our mysterious man makes him explode in his van with all incriminating evidence...

And soon, he takes up the mantle...

Such a great design. Love it! Hell yeah.

In the readers's letters, Michael Kramer says that "ASM has not been this interesting for well over six years". I can definitely confirm this! If you're curious, this guy became an audiobook narrator. That's cool.

Girl what. So this means we get that false reveal for more than ten years? I'm into it, because if the false reveal is what I think it is, I like the drama.

I'll probably avoid reading the comments for the next issue, as these ones seemed... Hmm. They actually made me more confused! Anyway. Great issue.

In #239, Harry's warned, because it is his father's company after all.

Big forehead. Romita Sr's not here anymore :(

While the Hobgoblin gloats about his new findings, Spidey gets called out by DeWolff at the hospital, who urges him to go to sleep. Spidey accepts, but not before...

I missed her!

Unfortunately, she no longer knows anything about Spidey and his secret identity, and she doesn't have powers either. She still thanks our hero for saving her and asks him to turn on the radio. When Spidey hears about the latest Osborn break-in, he flees...

Hmm... Was she telling the truth...?

In his apartment, Lance Bannon is a dick, which makes me sad because he seemed like an interesting character. He takes lewd pictures of his girlfriend, but isn't satisfied. Amy teases him. She might get serious with one Peter Parker if Lance keeps being a jerk...

She leaves, and Lance angsts about not being able to say to Amy he loves her.

Meanwhile, Peter...

Peter...? Are we... bothering you? No, no, don't move, it's all fine...

I don't completely love how large his torso is compared to his waist, but it's alright.

Peter thinks he only knows the location of two hideouts... which seems accurate to me! Continuity, yay. He's afraid that the Hobgoblin might know his secret identity, which is very fair.

He's woken up by a call... A certain Amy, inviting him to dinner.

I love his face.

The first hideout is already empty.

Continuity!!!!

And the Hobgoblin's there. He's not ready to face Spidey, though, not yet!

And the first thing he says is...

That's cool.

By the way...

Spidey's suit has been getting slashed and torn to shred every issue. It's funny to see the various elements that keep coming back.

In the end, the Goblin escapes and Spidey figures that things could not get any worse, could they?

I don't know, hon, from where I stand, things have never been better!

I did like that the Hobgoblin seemed baffled at how anyone could face Spider-Man. He's an interesting villain! Lacking the personal component, for now at least. The issue doesn't make any real attempt at giving you clues. It can't be Harry, it could be Lance... That's the only two male characters we saw a bit of.

I know there's a fake reveal, I know two names, but I don't know which one's the real one, if either is. So thankfully, I'm lost and I appreciate it!

#hobgoblin #spider-man #peter parker #comics #comic books

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thepatchworkreview · 9 months ago

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Debrief and Critique: Chlorine, Longboy, Bummer, Dude!, and Sells - 11/30/23 - Cafe Colonial, Sacramento

Critiques follow a two-part formula: Opinionated critique, and objective critique Objective critique will include a summary of the content and technical skill ONLY. aaaaaand...Opinionated critique includes discussion of the "show" aspect of the-.. well, the show.

~Opinionated Critique~

Am I putting my opinion first? Yes. I am. Because all the unpleasant technical stuff should always be AFTER you compliment the shit out of someone. TO BE FAIR. Not everything I have to say about all these bands is pleasant. Gentle reminder—it's my opinion, and who gives a single shit about that?

- Chlorine: Best screams, hands down. The grungy look and sound of the band really evokes an older, Seattle grunge feel. The drums were NASTY, the rides and fills fucking rocked, and the pit moshed hard for a fucking reason. This band reeks with the look and feel of a band who are on the same page. Do I feel like the grungey Y2K thing is being overdone right now? A little, yeah—but these guys wear it well and commit really hard. As they progress and play more shows, I do expect to see tighter, crowd-work—and I mean more than just plugging the band Instagram. I also would like to see more dynamic showmanship from all members.

- Longboy: Award for the band that had the most shit going on goes to... Longboy! These guys had a bunch of ideas and gags happening that really added to the show: samples that faded into songs; bringing up a friend to sing the first song of the set; a synth! Ecclectic outfits and a funny cover song that people were BOUND to know and sing along to, sung by a singer who sounded UNCANNILY like the original artist. It ruled! But what I will say is that the amount of stuff and genres that they delved into made the set a bit unruly and thematically whirl-windy. A lot of really good ideas! ...With a lack of followthrough. The playing was stellar! I want to see that amount of polish applied to the show you guys put on!

- Bummer, Dude!: THESEGUYS ARE PERFORMING AT THE WRONG VENUES! AND YES! I DO MEAN THAT NICELEY! The sound is so Jeff Buckley, so Billy Idol—it's cruise ship ready! Bummer, Dude retains the harder sound with really passionate breakdowns and lush guitar riffs, but is slow enough to melt right into your sweetheart with. That being said, I did find that about halfway through their set I was looking for a little more energy—I felt like they slowed down the show nicely, but holy shit did it get slow. I would've loved them to end on a way more energetic note, something that the whole band just fucking rocks out to rather than the "hit," y'know?

- Sells: Okay. I have words for you guys that aren't great, but that's all in the other section of critique. The lead singer sang and performed like Sid Viscious on cracked cocaine. Did you play six songs and all of them used three or four chords maybe? Oh yeah. For sure. Did you still knock it out of the park with insane crowd-work, energy, bombast and style? YES. The juxtaposition—whether intentional or not of the lead singer and bassist, one being an insane performer—and the other stonefaced (accidental???) comedian was such an incredible, versatile component of the show. Not only that, but just- the sheer, raw, unmatched energy that the lead singer ALONE provided was fucking captivating. AND it acted as the lynchpin for a memorable end of the show as an entirety. All I want from you guys is to keep working on your music and the technicalities of it, you've got the showmanship part of it made (sans the shy [what I can only assume to be- new] person on both bass and drums. I do need less embarrassment and more vibes from them {sorry to drag you, girl.})

~ Objective Critique ~Content: This will hopefully be the only show I will ever have to say this for, but everyone is on an equal playing field as far as content within the bounds of the live show. The live audio was a clusterfuck of poor mixing and vocalists not knowing how dynamic mics (those little round microphones you see people like mariah carrey sing into) pick up sound. Now: what leads me to believe that the mic trouble was not just user error is that more obviously skilled members between the bands would still have moments of really muddled audio, even while performing about 3-5 inches from the damn things. Not only this, but the lead singer of Chlorine did actually notice that he could not hear himself, and did ask for this to be resloved (it was not). For a good 40-60% chunk of the performances, I could not

clearly hear anything being sung. (I will include that I could pretty much hear all of "Bummer, Dude!'s vocals BECAUSE their surrounding instrumentals were so tame that they left room for it. When they picked things up—nada. I also heard Sells vocals but I genuinely attribute that to the fact that the lead singer was fucking BELLOWING into the mic like real style.) (Again, I apologize, because this seems like such a cop out.)

Technical Skill:I kind of dread writing this part just because I'm an amateur artist myself, and really can't go shitting on people's head's about their performances—SO BEFORE YOU COME AFTER ME I dragged my sorry ass friend (the guy who went to the show with me!) (he actually knows stuff about music AND has done live shows before) into this journalistic mess, and will be paraphrasing statements he made to me, quite appropriately in a dark and empty band room.

- Chlorine: Although fucked by the mixing, had some really great stability and themes. The playing (guitar) was a little muddy on it's own and could've 100% used some more definition or direction- but this could also just be a product of the genre they play. (shoegaze, eg.) The drummer was reliable and had good fills and rides, but would follow the lead singer's excitement—rushing and lagging to his singing. This isn't always a bad thing, and frankly isn't noticable to any "simple show-goer" (for lack of better term), but it was something that could be observed by a careful eye. As a young band, we only expect them to get better—and it's very obvious the time and effort they have put into practicing paid off. They sounded good and tune to eachother well.

- Longboy: Longboy had alot going on, which was exciting! But this left us with few comments about the drummer, as we don't remember being able to hear much of them, quite unfortunately. (Again, I don't think this is Longboy's fault, the mixing was just trash.) The guitarist//bassist seemed dynamic and experienced. At the very begining of the set, a synthesizer was used to create a piano part that was not well-practiced. It sounded bad and janky among the softer singing and instrumental. Every other aspect of their performance though—just aside from that synth part—was very well done.

- Bummer, Dude!: The tightest set for certain, for obvious reasons. The music was slow, and easy to keep tempo to (not a dig, again, just a product of the R&B//Shoegaze genre) and it was incredibly obvious that the band had not only practiced immensely, but also performed live for a while. (Note: we have agreed this drummer held tempo the best out of all the bands.) All moving parts of the band—guitar, bass, vocals, and drums—operated like a well oiled machine.

- Sells: Out of all bands, Sells did have the most issues with tempo consistency. A mechanic they played on throughout the show is that they would switch instruments, (i.e, the singer would play the drums, etc.), and while the singer played very fast and vigorously, could not keep... you guessed it: tempo consistency. Later, the bassist took over on drums and had simillar issues; the drums sounded unpracticed, even with simple beats. But! When on their "home" instruments, they played well together. (I would like to mention it's really hard to sing and play drums, so kudos regardless.) (Additional note: Tempo consistency is not as important in a live setting as others, but is an important measure of technical skill.)

You can find all these guys on instagram-

@fuckchlorine

@Longboy_CA

@Bummerdudes

@SellsBand

Overall, an energetic, diverse, fun, show- With so much opportunity hot on it's tail.

Many thanks for those of you who took the time to read! Let's pick this up again, some other time.

- Patch

#music #sacramentounderground #grunge #punk #musicreview #hottake #music journalism

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topguncortez · 2 years ago

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Day 19: Enough is Enough ➢prompt: repeatedly passing out ➢character: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x shy!wife ➢warnings: morning sickness, vomiting, passing out, Alex has some PTSD cause I'm mean and it builds character ➢word count: 2k

||masterlist||whumptober||whumptober masterlist||library page ||

Jake was no stranger to how pregnancy worked. He had three older sisters, and had lived through their pregnancies. He also was a father of two himself, and was by Y/N’s side through both of them. He had seen the beautiful sides of it, the growing bellies, the glowing skin, the moment when the doctor placed their newborn on his wife’s chest. Jake had also seen the not so beautiful sides, the tears, the moodswings, the swelling ankles, and the morning sickness.

Jake had only been around to catch the end of Y/N’s morning sickness with Alex because of his deployment, and she had hardly gotten sick with Ella (which was how they knew they were having a girl). When they found out Y/N was expecting again, Jake did all the research he could on how to be prepared for it. Y/N felt great the first six weeks of her pregnancy, and they thought that maybe she was in the clear. But then, just like it had happened with Alex, it hit her all at once.

His knees were starting to cramp as he kneeled behind Y/N, rubbing her back and pressing a cool washcloth to her neck. It seemed as though this was going on for hours, and in fact it had. Her body was beginning to shake as she dry heaved over the toilet bowl. She felt like she had nothing in her body to throw up, yet, her body was trying to find something. Y/N let out a shuddering breath and leaned back, Jake helping her sit back against him.

“You’re okay,” Jake whispered and dabbed the wash cloth at her forehead, “You want water?” Y/N groaned in response, “How about gatorade? You need some electrolytes.”

“And you need to go to work,” She said softly, “You’re going to get written up for being late.”

“I took a vow to be with you through sickness and in health,” Jake said and kissed her temple,

“You also took an oath to the Navy to be there and ready to defend.”

Jake chuckled and Y/N cracked a smile, which only lasted for a split second before she felt the familiar sickly raise of bile. Jake could see it in her body language and helped her lean forward over the toilet again. The longer this went on, the more concern he had about it. He knew from what he read that morning sickness could be rough. Women had reported being sick for hours on end, for feeling nauseated for weeks. But he was worried about the fact that every single thing his wife tried to intake, came right back up. This cycle has been going on for nearly a week now.

“Sweetheart, I’m seriously worried,” Jake continued to rub her back as she vomited, “I think you need to go to the doctor.”

“No,” She groaned, “No doctors. I’m fine.” She pushed herself up, and flushed the toilet. She leaned against her husband, and he wrapped his arms around her. Y/N closed her eyes, feeling like she was on a boat in the middle of the ocean, and the only thing anchoring her was the strong arms of her husband. Jake pressed his lips to the crown of her head

“Do you think it's too quiet?” Y/N asked and opened her eyes. Jake waited a beat to answer her, his ears straining to hear for the six and three year olds that run their house.

“I think it is too,” Jake said, “I’m worried.”

“I am too,” Y/N giggled. Jake moved out from behind her gently, before helping his wife stand up. Y/N swayed on her feet, and Jake stabilized her, “I’m fine. Let’s find the rugrats before they burn our house down.”

“Or worse. . . dye the dog's hair pink.” Jake joked, and Y/N shot him a look of concern, “Okay, I’m going.” Jake rushed out of the bathroom and yelled for his daughter, son and their dog, Bucky. Y/N sighed and looked at herself in the mirror. She frowned seeing the sickly look on her face. Her eyes were sullen and bloodshot, her cheekbones stuck out more as well, probably from the weight loss. Her hair didn’t have its usual shine to it. Y/N tried to freshen up the best she could, trying to trick herself into thinking she was feeling better by looking better.

Y/N heard the sound of laughter and the smell of french toast as she walked down the stairs to the kitchen. Ella was sitting on the kitchen island in her fairy princess costume, and Alex was running around the kitchen with a toy F-18 in his hand. Their dog that Jake insisted on adopting after Ella’s birth, a golden doodle named Bucky, laid on the floor waiting for a scrap of food. It was usually Ella who gave Bucky food no matter how many times Jake and Y/N scolded her.

“You feeling better, Momma?” Alex asked, stopping in his tracks on the other side of the kitchen. Alex had been by her side like Jake was when she had gotten sick with Ella and now this baby. He was the perfect big brother, and made sure that his mom and soon to be sibling was okay.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Y/N answered and sat down at the kitchen table, “What’s dad doing?”

“Skipping work,” Ella said and Jake turned around to look at her.

“That was supposed to be a secret,” Jake pointed at her. Y/N gave her husband a look and he shrugged, “I was making them breakfast, taking some weight off your shoulders. You’re gonna have both of them here today. Thought you could use some help before I go to base.”

“Thank you,” Y/N said. Jake shot her a wink before going back to making breakfast.

The Seresins ate breakfast and listened to some fabricated story that Ella came up with, while slipping scraps of food to Bucky. Y/N tried taking small bites of food and sips of water, hoping that the baby would allow some sort of nutrients to stay in her body. Y/N packed Jake’s lunch as he cleaned up the kitchen from breakfast and got dressed in his flight suit.

“Alright you two, be nice to your mommy today. No fighting, no biting, and no breaking things,” Jake said to his kids. He kissed their foreheads before turning to his wife, “Bye sweetheart, call me if you need anything. Please, don’t hesitate.”

“I’ll be fine. I got through breakfast alright,” Y/N smiled. She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed her husband, “You’re going to be late.”

“I’ll see you later,” Jake said, and kissed her again before leaving.

Y/N tried to keep up with her kids the best she could, but she was utterly exhausted. She tried to keep the nausea at bay, from sipping ginger ale and eating saltines, to going outside to breathe in some fresh air. Currently, Y/N stood in the bathroom, she put the kids down for a nap (well, Ella at least, Alex was in his room reading), and tried to keep herself from throwing up. Tears welled in her eyes as she felt the overwhelming feeling in her body. She gagged, and moved quickly to the toilet. Her face turned hot as she emptied her stomach, tears running down her face. When she was done, she pushed herself up on shaky legs, walking to the sink. Y/N looked up at herself in the mirror and watched as her vision faded in and out before her legs gave out.

Alex looked up from his book as he heard the thud. He waited a moment, waiting to hear the crying of his little sister. Ella liked to roll out of her bed, it wasn’t uncommon for Alex to hear the thud of her sleeping body at night followed by crying and their dad running down the hall to comfort her. It was one of the reasons why Alex hated sharing a bed with Ella, she moved too much. But the crying never came, so Alex put his book down and stood up from his beanbag chair. He crept down the hallway quietly, pushing the door open to Ella’s room and found her sleeping soundly with Bucky laying next to her.

“Bucky, come here,” Alex said to the dog, who obeyed and gently left Ella’s side. Jake had spent weeks training the young pup on commands, even teaching Alex some of the basics.

His green eyes looked around the hallway, and zoned in on the sound of running water. He walked down to his parents bedroom, finding it empty.

“Mommy?” He called out but heard nothing. Alex looked around the room, eyes landing on the bathroom door. A rush of fear filled his little body, and his legs started to shake. His hands felt sweaty, and he wanted to run back to his room. But he could remember what his dad told him when he left on his last deployment.

“When I’m not home, I need you to be brave for me, okay?”

Alex took in a deep breath, “Be brave. I can be brave.” Alex’s hand went to the door knob and pushed the door open. He felt his heart stop as he looked and saw his mom on the bathroom floor. He ran into the bathroom and knelt down beside her, “Mommy?” He shook her gently, knowing to be careful because of the baby. He thought back to what he learned in kindergarten, and looked for her phone. When he found it he quickly opened it and dialed for help.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?” The operator said.

“My mommy needs help,” Alex said, “She won’t wake up.”

“Okay sweetheart, help is on the way, stay on the phone with me, alright?” The operator said.

Jake could hardly breathe as he ran through the doors of the hospital. Rooster and Phoenix were hot on his heels as they followed him to the hospital. He looked around the room, his eyes landing on his daughter who ran to him with tears in her eyes. He sighed in relief as he picked her up and held her tightly. Ella cried into his neck and he rubbed her back, soothing her.

“It’s okay, babygirl, it’s okay,” Jake said, “Where’s Alex?”

“O-over there,” Ella lifted up her head and pointed to where Alex was sitting in a chair next to a nurse, reading a book about dinosaurs.

“Here, go with Uncle Rooster,” Jake handed Ella to his wingman. Ella reached for her uncle and easily went into his arms. Jake went to the front desk to ask for information on his wife.

“I’ll have a doctor come speak to you shortly, Mister Seresin,” The nurse at the desk said, “You have a very brave little boy on your hands. The 9-1-1 operator said that he called and stayed calm the whole time, did everything they said to do.”

“Thank you,” Jake said and the nurse nodded. He took a deep breath as he walked over to his son, “Hey buddy.” Alex looked up at his dad and his chin wobbled as tears started falling down his little cheeks.

“I was brave,” He hiccupped, “Like you said to be. A-And I remember what Miss Katey taught us in school. I-I called 9-1-1 for help-p.” Jake pulled his son into a bone crushing hug.

“I know you were, you were so brave, buddy. You saved mommy and the baby’s life,” Jake kissed his son’s temple, “You did everything right. I am so proud of you.”

Alex pulled away from his father and wiped his tears away with the back of his hand, “Can I see m-mommy now?”

Jake nodded, “Yeah, sweetheart, we can.”

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thattimdrakeguy · 2 years ago

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Tim Drake: Robin is probably not going to be very good.

OH HOLY GOODNESS. GREAT GARGOYLE. SWEEET SUNDAY AFTERNOON, GOODNESS GRACIOUS. ALL THAT.

Hi, you may know me from such motion pictures as, ‘I stole this from the Simpsons’ and ‘Being Self Aware Isn’t Always Funny, But It Hasn’t Stopped Me So Far’

I think this comic is a train wreck. I think we have a problem here, I’m sorry, but mmm mmm mmm. This is looking like the deep south side of elevation.

But we can learn from this. We can we can, trust me, we can. While also being kind of upset that this is Tim’s first major comic in over a decade, because I’m not going to be timid. I’ll say it, I’ll go ahead, it fucking sucks.

It does. But why? Someone probably saw this post and went “What the hell is he going on about...?” and...well.

Look I’m just going to be blunt, so let’s not make this difficult...but...imagine I’m sighing or something, make this melodramatic for no actually good reason, but this preview they gave is a damn train wreck.

I am going to give my reasons for why, but let me just get my not really critical thoughts on what’s presented and just my general thoughts on what I’m seeing so far if that makes any sense.

To say that, I am freaking SOOOOOOO upset that this is Tim’s big comeback comic. This is a pile of pages that shouldn’t have to be paid for to see it legally.

I’m pretty sure they advertised Tim Drake as the World’s Favorite Robin or something like that, and beyond the fact that you know damn well given that there’s 5 different Robins simply in the main universe alone, that people are going to be snapping back at that like crazy.

But with this as the comic they’re presenting it is laughable.

And believe me when I say I am feeling the exact opposite of pleasure by saying that.

Because this isn’t even a comic about Tim Drake. This is a below average fan fiction, that’d barely get past 100 views on AO3, except if you want to legally see it, you have to pay for it. All while this is the first ongoing solo Tim has had in over a decade, and this is a really crappy way to get into that.

This is all from a preview. But I am not saying anything that is not a legitimate critique. And I wouldn’t be sitting up out of my coffin to say any of this unless I genuinely felt worried. I am not doing this out of hate, we don’t have enough time to hate unless it’s justified, and I’m not crazy enough to say I hate this in mean it. I just also think that it’s the opposite of good.

So let me get into this step by step:

Okay, step one, I’m going to just speak as if I’m talking to you, okay? I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that, this is not a two way post, you can hear me, I can’t hear you, sorry how awkward that is. Anyways.

You’re writing a comic about a character. A very specific character. A character that used to be super popular, but still has a devoted fan base, that’s had to go through so many random character changes and dips in quality through the last 20 years especially that people have seen him gone from DC’s most popular teen superhero, selling only second in that department to SUPERMAN AS A TEENAGE BOY. Which says quite a lot. To a character deemed irrelevant because I hardly feel like they get anyone to write him that knows how to write a decent story with him.

And now we got six pages out of a...what, 20 page thing?

LET’S REALLY GET THIS ROLLING I AM TAKING UP TOO MUCH TIME.

But here’s how these six pages are already awful in genuinely, what shouldn’t be controversial reasons, because this is just how a story is made, all right.

1. Six pages, and not a single one of them gives you anything that identifies this black haired skeleton as Tim Drake besides the fact you know he is supposed to be Tim Drake.

You write a character...you gotta make sure it’s an actual character. This black haired skeleton says nothing that gives him a personality, or anything that resembles who Tim is as a person, and instead--let me blunt here.

Yes, it is kind of cute, but that’s not an actual excuse or substitute for character writing. I am talking about this from a writing perspective not if I think it’s cute enough. If you like it, I’m happy for you. I am not.

A very generic character, who’s dialogue and thoughts you could give to about near any character. He has no interesting POV anymore, there’s nothing you can relate to with him, no specific voice for him. ETC ETC. (Yes, I only showed two pages, but trust me, it does not get better.) Things that made him work, also hahaha I know people think he has no personality, but I’m not an idiot, and I am fully aware that he does have a personality, I am sorry for having better reading comprehension, folks that think that, I really really am.

Six pages of nothing that makes this drawing Tim Drake. And since he is the star of this show this is freaking awful. This is horrendous. Your job as a writer is to let people know who this guy is, why you should like him, what some of his flaws are, and put him in situations where you can learn how he is. You have to make him feel like he’s worth reading on his own. You do, you really really do.

That is the basics of character work. The fact that this is a preview means nothing, because this is what people are supposed to read to know if they want to read this comic.

2. This art is, I betchu, so perfect...for another series. Where it will bring you some honestly whimsical imagery for a specific story. Any refined art style is beautiful...in the right context. And this art style sadly does not fit this character in anyway.

Also the fact that are drawing Bernard to look more feminine, and give him mannerisms that are not mannerisms Bernard has is also just fucking patronizing and I hate it. If you’re telling people Bernard is in the comic, you’re supposed to draw Bernard, but sadly he is no where to be found.

He’s never exactly been a beacon of pure testosterone, but he’s clearly not supposed to be like this. He’s obviously not meant to be feminine, he’s a bit masculine if anything, unless you’re going to be weird and call longer hair a sign that he’s feminine, which...it is not. They’re now just making him a stereotype and that’s freaking horrendous of them to do.

3. What character work they give you is stuff you can get for free on Tumblr, Twitter, and about near everywhere. Because it’s just taking stuff you see for free on websites and putting it in a comic for easy fan praise, when really is lazy as could be.

They have Bernard saying conspiracy theories, this is a part of him, a lot of us know it, a lot of like this, so do I, so why am I being negative?

Because this doesn’t actually tell me anything about him that lets me know what he’s like or who he is. It tells me one superficial trope. How am I supposed to know what he’d do in any situation like this? Stuff I should probably be able to tell to get myself invested in him.

One of the biggest complaints about him right now is that he’s so bland. And not making him feel like a real person isn’t helping. You can have him say conspiracy theories, while also feeling like a real person.

Remember, this is a product you have to pay to legally see. This isn’t just a fan fiction someone made for free. The standards are a bit different. Keep that in mind when I’m saying all of this. ‘Cause I wouldn’t bother saying any of that for a fan fiction. I don’t want to kill people’s fun, I’m just trying to be honest here.

The original Bernard introduction shows you he thinks highly of himself or at least wants others to think that, shows he’s a big smug, likes to show off to people, and sees something he can relate to and is intrigued by in our main protagonist.

They accomplished that I believe in a single page or two.

It also shows just how horribly they’ve written, drawn, and overall portrayed Bernard. Because while I wouldn’t call the run of Robin he came from overly good, in fact some parts are straight up bad, this introduction is in the end, a really good character introduction.

Take the established names off of this and post it online, and you have a very cute gay boyfriends comic that I’m sure people are going to love, because then it’s in the right place, and fits where it is.

Sadly this is a Tim Drake comic, and nothing about this has anything to do with who Tim Drake is.

“I need to found out who I am” “Can I call him my boyfriend” “I moved ‘cause I needed to find myself”

Bad character work besides the boyfriend line. Why? ‘Cause that’s telling you how comfortable he is in his sexuality right now. He just came out. This is a logical progression in Tim Drake’s story. Sadly, we still need more than that, we need to know who Tim Drake is.

They also settle for having Tim Drake describe the characters generically, instead of giving us any interesting scenes with them to show us what they are. They are telling, not showing. Bad bad writing. It’s one panel, and it’s all described, you can barely identify them truly. They’re all immediately washed away as none important. Maybe some will eventually, but for a first issue this is not the way to debut these people if you expect anything significant.

In technical terms, for those that do not know. There’s a many view out there, it’s okay. There’s many writers in the making that can learn a lesson here.

But the technical term for this is:

Lazy fucking writing.

Unless you have an audience that is really willing to try super hard, you are not going to get anybody attached to the characters this way. You need to see them be them, doing themselves. If you’re a writer you need to do stuff that the reader can identify this character with.

For fucks sake there’s a scene that should in theory show us some of Tim’s new neighbors. Which, by the way, the fact he moved is ridiculous, because we don’t even know Tim’s personal life where he was. Making all of this pointless, except for the writer to go straight into their own desires. Which is also bad, because then you’re missing viable parts of things to make it work.

Tim was fine, then a new writer comes along, he’s in a crisis, couple more appearances, nothing really showing that this move is a natural progression. There for lady's, gents, nonbinary homies, what does that make it? Unnatural. Yes, forced. That’s bad. You want it to be natural so that you aren’t catching your audience off guard in a bad way by wondering “Why the fuck?” all the damn time, okay? There’s another writing type for you, and if you’re struggling with this, read back your work in the perspective of, you’re someone who has no idea who these characters are, and why this is happening. If you’re left just accepting crap ‘cause it’s said for the most part, your audience is going to suffer a bit.

Now anyways, we see these neighbors, they’re a bit frantic, why? Because oh my gosh people are trying to evict them! That’s terrible! People can relate to that! It’s real. Likely happening to some of the readers!

There you go, you have your moment to really make people care beyond a superficial.

And well, Bernard calls them weird. That’s it. Okay, the moments gone, that doesn’t really fit after that, he comes off as insensitive, the line about capitalist fat cats is embarrassingly unnatural, and this is already being printed. Lost opportunity. Nothing but a plot point and somebody saying that who I presume is their mom is pushy.

Like portraying people as genuinely worried about if they’re going to be able to stay where they live, and saying their weird, is some freaking weird writing. It’s trying to be quirky by force.

Again though, with the characters they’re saying, not showing. Sometimes you do need to say stuff. You show everything and your pacing is destroyed. But who characters are is so undoubtedly something that needs to be shown.

The characters who people SAY stuff about in the stories are the characters people DON’T care about. One offs, characters that are about to die, unimportant side characters needed for a plot if needed, but eh, who really cares.

Bad bad bad bad bad. You’re failing, oh my gosh, things are dropping. What’s dropping? I’m sorry but the quality is dropping, dear goodness, dear goodness. Okay, this isn’t good. But STOP.

Calm down, unless like what’s actually what’s happening, you’re already calm. I’m happy for you. I’m mostly just having fun typing this don’t worry about me if you’ve even made this far.

OOooooooooooooof.

Oh dear...this is worse, okay maybe get your guard up. More opportunity for learning.

You definitely shouldn’t have this be so far the only thing establishing your main character, especially this early in when we’re supposed to be learning about them. If you’ve wasted this much time, you are doing a bad job at writing your characters.

This means nothing.

This is what people make fun of Riverdale for, but you actually put it in your story. Bad, this doesn’t actually say shit about them first of all. Weird? Weird? Well, what’s normal? See, we don’t know, because that’s a shit way to establish their relationship. More saying, not seeing, and what you’re saying is vague, BAD BAD BAD WRITER BAD.

But it’s okay.

We can all learn. If you stop trying to learn you stop learning. You stop learning, you ain’t getting better. If you’re a writer yourself this isn’t time to start being sad ‘cause you do this too. Because by fucking goodness, you’re going to be better than this, you now know why you shouldn’t do this. And that is good, I am proud of you, you are evolving, you are learning, you are being better by just processing some of this. I’m so fucking happy for you right now, my tears could burst if that’s a saying that means anything, I am not sure. I just said ain’t, and ain’t isn’t a word.

They just kept doing this. What page are we on now? PAGE 5?? OUT OF A 20 PAGE FORMAT?? oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck.

Well what’s the next page of this preview, OH MOTHER OF NEPTUNE, THIS IS WHERE THEY ACTUALLY LEAVE THE CHARACTER WORK HANGING, as far as we know. (I am being a bit melodramatic for fun here. Don’t take these frantic moments too seriously. I’d just rather have fun than be depressed and talk about why something was bad.)

I mean cool, it sets up the location, but that means jack shit, we have to know the people better than this first. Set up a reason they’re all together, maybe even just have Tim pop through. Few panels showing what the people are like in their natural climate, there you go, it’s not much but it’s much better than just telling us crap.

AND THE MESSED UP THING IS, so far, we know the least about Tim, because ‘weird’ isn’t a damn personality.

Within six pages, we should know more about Tim Drake than he’s vaguely weird according to himself, that he has apparently weird neighbors...when they seem to just be average people, and that a plot point is that a rich kid’s neighbors might be evicted.

You’re wasting page space if this is all you’ve done.

Yes, this is a pre-established character, but that isn’t an excuse for being lazy. You have to assure people you know what you’re writing, and going off everything except for one story that came out over a year ago now, they don’t know what they’re doing.

They had the perverted character be excited 20 years ago, but when they mention it they have that one act traumatized.

They had a character that was actually pretty calm and average about his attraction to woman, and had them say something sexist.

They had a character that left because of how stressful the life of being a super hero is, as well as the fact their abusive mother forced them into it be just an awful awful thing, and had the character say that all her friends are toxic.

They couldn’t even get a villain right, and had to use fandom crap to fill in places, and didn’t use any of the stuff that might be accurate.

There’s giving people a chance to impress you with their cooking, and then there’s people still saying that as they spilled hot fucking soup all over your crotch 5 fucking times now every time they try to give you something, months passing by.

And I’m not somebody who gives people the benefit of the doubt after a while. But that doesn’t make who wrote this a bad person. I wouldn’t treat them as such. Criticism can be awful, but I’m trying to make it as constructive as possible, because I don’t want to see people fail unless they’re evil, and trying to provide people entertainment isn’t evil.

It’s just awful to me that there’s this character I love who’s getting his first real time to shine in over a decade, and I was someone who hated the last comic even then, and have it be that it’s still not going to be good.

I love Tim Drake, my favorite character, I know such much about him, and at one point I was fortunate enough to be considered a very reliable source of Tim information, before I decided waiting for another good comic wasn’t a very good use of my time, and dealing with seeing people, lying, being toxic, exaggerate, spreading false information just wasn’t helping my already decrepit depression issues.

Hence all of this, but all I can hope for is at least somebody learns something about it.

Because, really, I don’t have time to not be honest about how I feel about a comic, just because I got attached to who’s supposed to be the lead character. There’s not enough time in life to waste by pretending to enjoy something for such a superficial reason.

But fuck it, I can’t help but be curious.

This is what people are supposed to read to see if they’re even interested in the character to an extent. This isn’t nitpicking, this is basic writing.

And it’s not going well.

Wake me up out of my coffin when we finally get a comic starring Tim that actually feels like it’s about Tim.

For now, I’ll only be waking from my slumber only periodically for the next Titans United: Bloodpact issue to see if they can keep up the good work. Now that comic had a shockingly good Tim, and plus character work.

Be more like that when it comes to what made it work.

#Tim Drake #Robin #Bernard Dowd #DC Comics #Timber #Timbern #Comic Review #Review #Comic Books #So forth and all that

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