#I really enjoyed making those traditional pieces!!! I did!! I had fun

[lynxfrost13]

Man for some reason the “not living up to my potential” in terms of my art is really hitting today which is stupid.

Hey brain you know that art is a forever journey and that it’s okay to grow and learn and not be perfect right???

[hirookouji]

sorry ive been just dumping art on this blog... but at least im not posting all my wips here

[liillyliilly]

Take Me Back

hinata shouyou x reader words; 1345 synopsis; breaking up and making up with the one that he couldn't let get away from him.

“Take me back to that summer in Brazil playing beach volleyball.” 4 missed calls.

In a language he doesn't call his own but feels like home he leaves voicemails for her. He clears his throat, and says his piece. He knows he should be loving his girlfriend here in Japan, but he's too addicted to the taste of brigadeiros and pavé in her mouth. Brazil warmed his senses up to a new style of play and a new way to love.

He looks at the clock on his wall, it’s a perfect 12 hour time difference. He’s going to bed, she just had lunch. She never calls him back though. She only texts through Whatsapp when she has the time to properly respond, around midnight her time and lunchtime for him.

“I know it's been a while and I haven’t reached out.” 12 missed calls.

She showed him around Rio when no one else could. She was the one who ended up having to endure him when he underwent his first really bad sunburn. He remembers the way she laughed at him for forgetting sunscreen, “tão burro” she kept repeating while rubbing aloe vera on his shoulders. He remembers whining so much that she poked him in the forehead before putting her hands on her hips and chastising him in her Portuguese that was just way too fast for him to catch any of the words.

He had to meekly apologize with a pout, and she forgave him with a kiss.

Maybe that’s why he still sometimes forgot to put on sunscreen when he was playing volleyball.

“Thought I’d regret you like a teenage tattoo but I miss you, baby what can I do?” 14 missed calls.

In Brazil Hinata only got good at swimming because she loved to swim. And because she wore the best swimsuits, but that’s not his only sole reason for getting into swimming. She could swim circles around him, but he still had fun treading the water.

Sometimes, she liked to duck down into the water and tug on his legs. The first time she did that, Hinata thought he would die and that the tug was a result of a shark. The way she just curled into herself and giggled when she popped out of the water and observed his reaction was unparalleled by any other prank he’d gone through. Her joy at his pain was unusual but also intriguing.

Those little games, sometimes back and forth, but mostly her playing them on him was something he missed when he got back to Japan. When he got back, he went into his apartment expecting her to be dancing samba in the living room to afrobeat music. When she wasn’t there, a pang of melancholy strung at his heart. His home here was less alive.

“Why do I shiver thinking about you?” 17 missed calls.

No matter how much his friends and family compared him to the sun, he still thought that he paled in comparison to her. Bright, loud, and glad to be doing her own thing.

There’s always the possibility that he developed some sort of codependency on her. Despite her free-spirit and slightly loner dependencies, Hinata stuck to her like glue. When she would try and slink off into the night to go clubbing, he would bring her in and make traditional Japanese dishes for her to try. Hinata introduced Oikawa to her, which may have been a problem, but she didn’t seem to enjoy Oikawa’s overwhelming embrace of machismo culture. She liked Hinata’s gentle and silent strength over a boastful, loud power.

A guiding hand on her waist rather than pulling her along by the hand. A kiss to the shoulder instead of tearing her away from her conversations for a breathless kiss. Early morning texts to say good morning instead of late night, ‘you up?’ messages. Hinata was everything she wanted, or so Hinata thought.

Apparently, going on three dates in a row wasn’t considered an exclusive relationship to her. So when Hinata saw her with a different guy on the beach, using his towel that she always lent him, tucking her hair behind her ear the way he was supposed to, Hinata didn’t know how else to react.

Throwing a volleyball at the back of the guy’s head was probably not the right move to make, but it was the move he made. The other man just rubbed the back of his head, saying that ‘estrangeiros’ were always a little too obsessed with fine Brazilian women. She just smacked Hinata upside the head, but when he looked at her with sad eyes and with his bottom lip just a little jutted out, she ran a hand through his hair and brought him into an open mouth kiss.

He did have to apologize to her other date, and he ended the conversation by saying that she was still off limits.

“You're still the one I’m thinking about.” 20 missed calls.

Hinata was tired now. It was one in the morning and he was leaving her messages while he laid in bed waiting for sleep to finally take him. Was he desperate? Likely and affirmatively yes.

She told Hinata that long-distance wouldn’t work out, and that he should enjoy finding other people to date back at his home country. He wanted to argue with her, but she said it was final.

She was just there for a while, embracing him in his time in Brazil, and then since he was leaving, she would become merely a part of his memories. Her ease of farewells ripped his heart out. He wished she would’ve fought for them more, fought for him more. But you can’t ask people to stay who don’t want to stay of their own will. So he left, and she said good luck.

When he went back to Japan, he was worried about her. So he did ask Oikawa to check in on her and make sure she was doing okay. Then when Oikawa would send occasional pictures of them at the beach, with their tongues sticking out and hair wet from the ocean water, Hinata wanted nothing more than to be back in Brazil enjoying life. Oikawa would send other photos too, with her permission, ones where Oikawa caught her surfing a wave with practiced skill and ease of enjoyment for the activity, or when she was just laying on the sand stretching in the warmth of the sky.

They were friendly, sending messages frequently during the weeks of his initial return. Then as the months went on, there was less connecting the two, she didn’t respond to messages that quickly. She didn’t update him on life back in Brazil, and he stopped giving her play-by plays of all the games he participated in and who he had met up with.

He got a Japanese girlfriend, and she was nice. But she wasn’t the girl he wanted to go home to everynight.

“Maybe I still want something about you?” 26 missed calls.

There was a saying, from some American poet, someone he learned about but entirely forgot. The saying talked about the influence of yearning. It is the worst poison, best medicine, and key to so many doors.

He was out and about, looking for some lunch now. His sleep was restless. Maybe a fruit sando would be the best solution to the hunger pangs in his stomach. Exchanging cash for the food, he sits outside on the patio, unwrapping the foil and taking a bite.

She finally responded when the time neared midnight in her timezone, texting him. She asked if he knew what he was doing. She asked if he was inebriated last night. She asked if he was still dating his girlfriend. She said that if he was still dating her then he wasn’t being nice. She said she would never date someone who cheats. Hinata screenshots his text exchange with his newly ex-girlfriend.

She sends an eye roll emoji.

He smiles.

Midnight in Brazil. 0 missed calls. One incoming call.

[mama-qwerty]

Haunting Memories

Okay, this popped into my head for @welcome-to-green-hills Happy Fall Y'all event.

My brain feels like mush right now, so hopefully this makes sense. 😆

~~~~~

A light breeze blew through the changing leaves, bringing a sigh that was almost a hiss as they shivered. The trees around the MacPherson house boasted a colorful range, an almost constant shower falling as they were broken loose from their hold on the branches.

Three pumpkins lined the steps of the deck off the kitchen, and Callie spread newspaper on the wooden planks. Knives and various carving tools sat to her left, as she sat cross-legged on the floor, a few towels nearby for any mess.

“Okay,” she said, checking over her supplies once more to make sure she had everything at hand. This was the first Halloween with Knuckles in her care, and she wanted to show him some fun traditions. “Do we have everything?”

“Think so,” Wade said as he hauled a pumpkin up and placed it in front of her. “This’ll be fun! I haven’t carved a pumpkin in forever.”

“Did you do it when you were a kid?”

His face clouded slightly, as he gave a shrug. “We tried. But Wanda usually ended up smashing mine and smearing the guts either in my hair or down my back, so I kinda quit wanting to for a while.”

“Oh.” God, his sister sounded like a real piece of work.

“Did you carve them for Halloween?”

She gave a tight-lipped smile. “My mother and I would. But when she died I . . . didn’t really feel like doing it anymore.”

“Oh.”

An awkward silence settled over them then, and Callie gave herself a little shake. This was supposed to be a fun activity, something for the three of them to enjoy, and the mood had already tanked pretty severely.

She glanced to her right, and found Knuckles standing farther away, his brow drawn down and eyes glued to the pumpkin before her. His quills bristled just a hair.

“You okay?” she called, and he jumped slightly. He blinked, and flicked his eyes around him, as though looking for something.

Eventually his eyes found their way back to her, and he dipped his head toward the pumpkin. “Why do you have those?”

His voice was low and tight. If Callie didn’t know better, she’d swear he was afraid.

“It’s tradition.” She used a wet towel to clean the rind. “We carve faces into pumpkins around Halloween for a fun decoration.”

“Why?”

She shrugged. “A long time ago people believed they helped ward off evil spirits.”

The pinched look on his face intensified. The quick glances around him increased. “There are evil spirits near?”

Her brow furrowed. “Not that I’m aware of. It’s just an old superstition. What’s wrong?”

Knuckles pulled himself up to stand tall, rolling his shoulders back as he pushed out his chest. His “proud warrior” pose. But his fur was a bit fluffed out, and his quills were still bristled, and in fact looked a little pokier than before. “I must do a patrol. To search for these evil spirits.”

Callie blew out a huff. The whole reason she was doing this was for his sake and now he wanted to go off and do his warrior thing. “No you’re not. Come here. What’s the matter with you? You’re going all poofy and pokey.”

The echidna flicked his eyes to Wade, his brow furrowing slightly, before focusing back on her. He took a hesitant few steps closer, but watched the pumpkin with a narrowed gaze.

“In my travels throughout the galaxy, I was given information that indicated the Master Emerald may have been on a planet with many of . . . those.” He gestured toward the pumpkin with a fist. “They were much like your tradition, with faces carved into them. They glowed from inside, and . . .”

He paused, pulling his lips tight as he took another few looks around them.

“And?” Wade coaxed. “C’mon, don’t leave us hanging.”

Knuckles’ muzzle wrinkled. “. . . and their eyes seemed to follow me as I searched.”

Wade and Callie stared at him for a moment, before the deputy gave a little shiver. “Oh, freaky. I just got goosebumps!”

“Maybe it was a trick of the light,” Callie said, although she could see the tension in the boy’s shoulders. The way his jaw clenched. He was really scared. “When we’re in a strange place, our minds can play tricks on us. Especially if it’s dark, too.”

His fists clenched. “It was no trick. They watched me, grinning.” His quills bristled even more. “And they did not keep the evil spirits away.”

The hairs on the back of Callie’s neck began to prickle. “Wh-what do you mean?”

“I mean the evil spirits there did not take kindly to my presence. I was attacked by foes I could not see. I barely escaped with my life.”

Silence hung heavy in the air, and Callie and Wade exchanged a glance. Wade turned to Knuckles, swallowing before speaking. “You were attacked by ghosts? Like, for real?”

Knuckles gave a stiff nod. “For real.”

Wade looked back to Callie, and she felt a blush rise to her cheeks. She looked down at the pumpkin before her, her shoulders dropping.

This whole thing had turned into a disaster in record time. Between her own issues after the loss of her mother, to Wade’s memories of his sister’s abuse, and now the discovery that Knuckles apparently associated pumpkins with the time was nearly murdered by ghosts, the idea of carving these things was quickly losing its appeal.

Maybe she should have asked them first. It hadn’t occurred to her that something so innocent could conjure such unwelcome memories.

She tossed the towel in her hands over the pumpkin, as if hiding it from view would make the awkward cloud that had settled over them dissipate.

“Sorry guys,” she said, her voice soft. “Guess this didn’t turn out quite like I’d envisioned.”

The silence stretched on for a moment, before Wade moved closer, dipping down to try and catch her gaze.

“Hey,” he said, coming to sit on the top step facing her. “You’re not gonna let something like a few horrible memories and attempted ghost murder ruin the moment, right?”

She didn’t respond for a moment, her gaze focused on the towel-covered pumpkin before her. Why exactly had she suggested this in the first place? She wasn’t one to decorate for, well, any holiday, let alone Halloween. Usually she turned her lights off and snuggled up with some creature features before heading to bed early. Her house was too far away from the main part of town to get any trick-or-treaters, and aside from a few teens looking to TP her car, she’d avoided any real trouble.

This seemed to be a bad idea from the start.

Movement from her right as Knuckles moved closer. He spoke softly, his voice calmer now. “This ritual. It is important to you.”

A weak smile curled one side of her mouth, and she shook her head. “I remember carving pumpkins with my mother. It’s one of my favorite memories. Picking the perfect pumpkin, choosing a design, clearing the goop out, carving it. It was an all day thing for us, and even when the pumpkin came out looking like crap, which was most of the time, it was still some of my best memories of her.”

Wade smiled. “That sounds really nice.”

She nodded, her smile fading. “The first Halloween after she died felt so . . . empty.” She pulled her lips tight. “I guess I just wanted to try and do something fun with the two people who mean the most to me. Try to . . . recapture some of those feelings. Kinda dumb, I guess.”

Silence returned, and Wade moved a little closer, now sitting on the other side of the pumpkin, opposite Callie.

“When I was about eleven or so, my mom had to take Wanda to a dance recital. Wanda did not want me there, which was fine, I didn’t wanna go anyway.” He leaned to one side, bracing himself with an extended arm. “It was gonna last a few hours, so I got an idea to carve my own pumpkin while they were gone. Something I could do for myself. So after they pulled out of the driveway, I pulled out the pumpkin I’d bought a few days before and went to work.”

A little smile curled his lips at the memory, and Callie couldn’t help but smile back. “How’d it go?”

“Terrible.” He laughed, shaking his head. “Took me forever to get the top cut off, the guts made a horrible mess, and I couldn’t get through the rind. My mom was so mad at the mess when she got home, and Wanda ended up destroying the pumpkin anyway.”

Callie’s smile faded as she dropped her head again. “Cripes, Wade.”

“But it was nice to try,” he said, his voice still soft. “Ever since I left home I always promised myself I’d try doing a jack o’lantern again, and every year I either talk myself out of it, or just . . . don’t. Like there wasn’t much of a point. Not if I was doing it all by myself.”

“Your words may be true,” Knuckles said, moving to sit cross legged next to her. “Perhaps it was my mind playing tricks, before.” He paused, eyes flicking to the covered pumpkin. “Must the carving be a face?”

She turned slightly to him, a little smile curling one corner of her lips. “No. We can carve other shapes in. Maybe we can try an outline of the Master Emerald, if you want.”

He seemed to consider this for a moment, before giving a sharp nod. “Yes. I would like that.”

Callie offered him a smile, before turning to Wade. “Wanna try carving a pumpkin that won’t be smashed by an overly aggressive sister?”

A smile spread on Wade’s face. “You had me at ‘Hey, Wade! Wanna come over and carve pumpkins with me and Knux?’”

She snickered, pulling the towel off the pumpkin before her. “Then let’s make some new memories, huh? Maybe some nicer ones.”

Man and echidna both nodded, and scooted forward as they began work on the first pumpkin.

[askew-d]

Can I ask your top 10 fav fics ever (from any fandom, if you don't mind)?

Also, just curious, is there a story behind your name "askew-d "?

hello, there! sorry for the long wait, i forgot to check my notifs :( i will do better next time. thank you for this question! i feel like i’ve waited ages for someone to ask me exactly that, lol. i could talk about well-written fanfics forever!! can i give you a hug? because this is wonderful, really.

let’s go for it! my range of fanfiction that i enjoy vary, but one thing remains: i will adore your fic, no matter the fandom, if it’s written with passion and if it contains good, poetic introspection. i love poetry. for me, if there’s melancholic tropes of any kind i’m into it. immortal character and reincarnation? give me now. supernatural elements or slice of life with doomed narrative? i’ll ignore sleep to read it. angst with happy ending? my endgame, for sure.

however, i also adore silly, comedic, cute pieces of domestic life or otherwise. i had a hard time choosing from my bookmarks for this, and i also reviewed some of my favorites, it was fun. before we continue, here are some of the tags that i don’t dive into for whatever reason: porn without plot (it personally just doesn’t interest me at all), non-con, gore, a/b/o dynamics, soulmates au. sorry if you were hoping for it! i’ll try classify them into an order of what i like most.

1. jellyfish, by mystery twin, for the haikyuu!! fandom — i read this when i was finishing high school and coincidentally the story talks about finishing high school! i have a personal attachment that makes me reread it every year. it’s some sort of tradition at this point. not to mention i love kagehina dearly.

2. teen project to change the world, by animeloverhomura, for the mo dao zu shi fandom — respectfully speaking, i would find this author and give them a big hug. their writing is spetacular! if you've never seen this one and you're into mdzs, know it's a story where the characters get to see every event from the novel and donghua, even the dead characters. they watch wei wuxian journey, can you believe it? so goddamn entertaining. promptly waiting for the next update!

3. a hundred or so hellos, by iwillstillopenthewindow, for the haikyuu!! fandom — remember i said i love melancholic stories? well, this one broke me so hard, i had to mention how i hold it with tenderness (we love things that breaks us, dont we?). this fandom manages to write the cutest, most unhinged things sometimes. even it's an anime about sports. i always get amazed by it.

4. no certainty of doors between us, by betts, for the mo dao zu shi fandom — certainly the most silly little fanfic i've ever seen, it's hilariously sweet. i want everyone to read this masterpiece because, seriously, whoever did this deserves only the best. so, so, cute. it had to be in my top 10!

5. their kindred encounters, by fireflavoredwhiskey, for the untamed rpf fandom (bjyx) — you know those kinds of shows, books, any piece of media, that tears up apart? well, this one was it for me. it's a very famous one that deserves all praise, certainly well-written and enjoyable to the core, with doses of angst, romance and beauty overall.

6. as the clouds part and clear, we finally meet again, by 12262325, for the mo dao zu shi fandom — aaaaa, i was truly torn between putting this in the third or fourth place, but i ended up putting it here. come on, i love an age difference kind of story, especially for wangxian, and this one was perfectly done. sweet and funny. the development? the yearning?? outstanding!! i read this many times already, i'll never get tired.

7. pursuit, by emleewrites, for the haikyuu!! fandom — mystery, romance, lawsuits, poker games, adventure, slice of life, AMAZING depictions and so, so goddamn well-written? that's what you're looking for in any fanfiction. the author dedicated herself entirely for this story, and, like i said, i love stories that are written with passion, you can see it pouring through every paragraph. besides, highly entertaining. i'm not very into long fics, but once i started it off, i couldn't stop. that's how addicting it is.

8. linger by the door (i’ve always been yours), by piecrust, for the mo dao zu shi fandom — epistolary?? have i mentioned how i love it?? some of the phrases in this are gold, in my bookmarks you can check some of them (i ought to make a list of my favorite fic quotes, btw, i will sure do it). through each letter i could comprehend more of wei wuxian's feelings and his internal conflict. i love feeling this connected to a character.

9. all the world is ours to take, by khrys, for the fugou keiji fandom — i have more than one favorite fanfiction for this couple. you know these kinds of developing relationship where the transition from (maybe enemies too) friends to lovers happens so smoothly that it feels like they've been soulmates first and foremost at the end? i don't even know how to explain. i just love how, when they finally are together, it's like they've been together for years. and they just... made it official? i like it. i love my mr. kambe haru.

10. he won’t tell you that he loves you, by hellshandbasket, for the house m.d fandom — i found this to be the most fitting, perfect story for this specific couple. they deserved more stories like this, but we dont see it anymore. i would hightlight the feelings realization in this one, that is so fucking real? haha in any case, it's a fanfic that i enjoyed a great deal.

that's it, i guess! i wanted to add link click fanfics also, however i barely started reading fanfictions from its fandom, i'm drowning in it lately but it's just a start. perhaps very sooon!

oh, i’m gonna finish explaining about the name! in my native language, i’ve heard someone tell me before that ‘life’s a little askew, nothing’s ever perfect’, and that quote remained in every biography of any english website i ever went to. then in literature class someday i had to write about historical women and came across this one named anne askew (i wanted to write about the mostly barely-spoken women). it was the second time i saw this word. i didn’t think of it as a proper name before, but then i had to create a nickname for my ao3 profile and thought, humn, why not just ‘askew’? the quote has been engraved in my heart anyway, so i went for it. we’re all flawed and askew. so, yeah, it just… fit? the ‘d’ here on tumblr it’s only because my surname has a ‘de morais’ in it. i also liked that it resembled ‘alaska’, the john green character i was kinda of obsessed with back in my teenager grunge phase. i don’t like these kinds of books anymore, but i guess some details stay with you. do you think it’s weird? never thought of changing.

thanks for this outstanding ask, it certainly entertained me. and hope you have a nice sleep today, big hugs coming your way! 🤍

[lilacliquors]

pairing: billy butcher x reader

word count: 1166

notes: on the twelfth day of ficmas, lilacliquors gave to me ... billy butcher learning the true meaning of christmas!

and this is the final day of ficmas!! i said it the other day, but thank you so much for participating in our very successful 12 days of ficmas, and for enjoying the little one shots.

the full masterlist will be queued up for christmas day as a little gift to you, and then i'll go back to posting the stuff in my inbox / some other things in the coming days! have a happy holiday if you celebrate, and a very happy new year <3

if anyone was a pre-roast beast carving grinch, it was billy butcher. he was never one to get into the holiday spirit, claiming he had nothing to celebrate. nothing you did could help change his mind, he was so set in his ways. you, on the other hand, loved the holidays. they filled you with a kind of joy that only came around once a year. it had always been a big holiday with your family, and you carried on a lot of the traditions you all had. 

you had your three types of cookies to bake: almond crescent, peppermint pinwheels, and gingerbread men. you started playing christmas music on black friday, queueing up your favorites right away and changing the radio station on the weekends to the one you knew would be playing nonstop holiday tunes. you had your whole apartment decorated just days after thanksgiving, and it looked perfect every time. so perfect, in fact, that billy couldn’t help but be in awe when he came by to visit you.

he knew you loved the holidays, he just couldn’t understand why. to him, it was just any other time of year, just much colder and far more annoying when you had random people ringing bells and collecting for sham charities. it was a load of bullshit to him, but rather than dim your light, he kept his mouth shut when he was with you. today was going to be a little harder, though, because he was joining you on a little shopping trip.

“why are we doing this again?” he asked, watching as you wrapped your scarf around your neck.

“because i picked a few names from an angel tree, and we’re going to give those kids a merry christmas. come on, this is the fun part,” you said.

“angel tree? the fuck is that?” he held the door open for you, and you both ventured out into the cold.

“okay, so, it’s a tree that has the names, ages, and christmas wishes of children from families that might not have the means to celebrate christmas. so, you pick a name, or a few, from the tree, and you fulfill their christmas wish! i think it’s a really great cause, i do it every year,” you explained, walking beside him down the sidewalk. billy said nothing, but just simply shrugged his shoulders. sounded like a load of shit to him, but you were excited for it, so what was the harm in humoring you?

you made it to the department store, and once inside, you pulled out the tags of the children whose names you picked. to billy’s surprise, you had around five tags in your hands, and he guided you to the side as you read them out.

“okay, i picked ones who asked for clothes, but not as many toys. they’ve got the sizes listed, so this will be a piece of cake. come on!” you tucked the tags away, took billy’s hand, and started making your way to the children’s section of the floor. 

“i thought kids wanted all them fuckin’ noisy pieces of junk. why’d you pick clothes?” he asked, watching as you thumbed through the wracks of clothes.

“clothes tend to be more expensive, and not as many people feel inclined to pick them. they think toys are easier, and that all kids want toys, no matter what. but sometimes, all these boys and girls want is a new winter coat, since theirs is two sizes two small. or warm pajamas, or new sneakers because their feet are too big. they don’t ask for much, they know they can’t. so why deny them this in favor of some plastic?”

billy fell silent as he watched you hold up a coat. it was purple with a soft lavender lining, a hood on the back, and pockets that zipped shut. it looked warm, cozy, perfect for a little girl. you set it over your arm and went back to looking, and billy held out his hand.

“here, let me hold the tags. i’ll read them out to you,” he said, and you smiled.

“thanks. here you go.” you handed him the tags, and he read them over himself. just like you had described, four out of the five asked for winter jackets. one asked for a sweater, another for new winter boots. he glanced up at you, and you now had a few more coats in your arms, and you looked over to confirm you had the right sizes.

“all right, you think these will do?” you asked, holding up your haul.

“i think they’re perfect. let’s go find that sweater, and those boots.”

you walked along together, and with him beside you this time, you looked through the children’s sweaters. this one was for a little girl, age six, and nothing was really speaking to you. but then, to your surprise, billy held up a light blue sweater with beautifully knitted snowflakes on it.

“what do you think of this one?” he asked, angling it so you could see better.

“i think it’s perfect, but check the size.”

“already did. it’ll fit her, promise.”

you smiled, then gave him a thumbs up. he smiled a bit, then draped it over his arm before you went on to find the rest of the items on the tags. soon, both his and your arms were full of other clothes, the coats, and one teddy bear that billy picked out for a little boy. you made it to the register, and together, you split the cost of everything. once it was bagged and you were on your way, billy wrapped his arm around your shoulders and tucked you close to his side.

“you’re a good one, you know that?” he asked as you walked.

“so are you,” you replied.

“nah, not me. always been a heartless bastard.”

“a heartless bastard wouldn’t have found that teddy bear. or that sweater. give yourself some credit here, butcher. you’re gonna help make this christmas the best one some of these kids have ever had. it’s the most wonderful time of the year, after all. season of giving and all that,” you said, nudging him gently. he glanced down at the bags between you, then shrugged again and offered a small smile.

“yeah, maybe it is. but that one woman in the toy aisle was a right cunt. did you see the look she was givin’ me?” he asked, and you laughed.

“oh my god, of course i did! it was like she’d never seen a grown man with a teddy bear before. he was a cutie, by the way.”

“mh, cute little fucker. guess that’s what this is all about, eh? making other people happy?” 

“that’s how i’ve always seen it.”

“then … as long as i get to make you happy, i can give this holiday shit a try. starting next year.”

a whole 365 days away? you smiled. after all, it was a start.

[amazingmsme]

What Do We Have Here?

AN: Finally finished the milestone celebration, & I’m already almost halfway to the next one! I can’t believe how much this blog has grown, my 15 year old self would be so shook if she knew how far she’d come. But I’m not here to get sappy, I’m here to deliver some highly requested curtwen fluff! Hope y’all enjoy the newest installment of the fake interrogation series!

All traditions must start somewhere, even the more unconventional ones. Especially the unconventional ones. Curt remembered it like it was yesterday...

He had just disposed of the remaining guards in the long hallway. The entire building had been strangely sparse, with few obstacles in his path which could only mean one thing: Owen got their first.

Damn it, he really hated when Owen got there before he did. He took all the fun out of it, only to later rub it in his face. It looked like it was shaping up to be one of those times.

That is, until Curt stumbled upon a room being used to interrogate one Owen Carvour. Oh, this was just too good.

He managed to change into one of the less bloodied uniforms from a previously disposed guard. He put on a straight face and marched in like he owned the place. All three heads snapped to look his way.

"Sorry to interrupt gentlemen, but there's been an issue. You're both needed in the lab."

"Excuse me?"

"Who the hell are-"

"Don't give me your fucking lip! Get to the lab now, that's an order!" Curt demanded in such a tone that left little room for argument. The interrogators reluctantly left their battered victim, but not before one spat on Owen before leaving. The other stared him down as he walked out of the room. Curt let them get halfway down the hall before firing two shots, watching them crumble.

Curt was sure they had been the last ones in the building, but just to be safe, he shut the heavy door, concealing them as he freed his partner.

"Perfect timing Mega, they were just about to go for the teeth," Owen quipped as Curt sauntered towards him.

"Pity. If only I'd been a few minutes late," he teased, squatting in front of him to untie his legs. Owen smirked down at him, biting back a larger grin.

"I'll be sure to remember that the next time you're in this situation," he shot back, cocking his head smugly. Curt rolled his eyes, reaching up to squeeze his knee in retaliation. He expected an annoyed huff, maybe a chuckle, but what he got in return was so much better. He shrieked and his entire body jerked in his bonds, even making the chair hop slightly.

They locked eyes, and it only took a moment for Curt to put the pieces together. Owen was already shaking his head, "No no no, Curt wait!"

"Why didn't you tell me you were ticklish?" he asked instead, cutting him off abruptly. "We could've been having so much fun together," he practically purred, rubbing his hands up and down his thighs. His legs twitched in response, tugging on the rope around his ankles.

"That's exactly why, now quit fooling around and get me out of here!" he demanded, hissing through clenched teeth. Curt hummed in thought, tapping his fingers impatiently on Owen's bouncing knee.

"I don't knooooow," he drawled as he stood up and began pacing the room. "This is a very interesting situation." He didn't even bother trying to hide his smirk as he watched Owen glare up at him from his seat. "Oh come on, don't give me that look."

"Then let me out."

"On second thought- no. After all, a man doesn't get in a situation like this every day..." he mused, circling his trapped partner like a hungry wolf.

"Curt, I'm serious!"

"Oh so am I! I mean, this is a real golden opportunity here!"

"Seriously Curt, stop quoting It's a Wonderful Life, you're not George Bailey," Owen scolded as he tried to free himself, seeing as Curt would be useless in that effort. "Have you forgotten we have a job to do?"

"Actually," he corrected with a shit eating grin. "I finished it. Cleared the building too." Owen felt his heart sink to the pit of his stomach. "So really, we have all the time in the world."

Owen frantically shook his head, scooting the chair away from his downright evil companion. "No we don't! I'm supposed to be back at headquarters in 2 hours!"

Curt shrugged, "Alright, so you got a little tied up." He couldn't help but snicker at the pun, making Owen roll his eyes dramatically. "Wouldn't be the first time we ran late."

"Curt."

"I'll just let Cynthia know," he cut him off, pulling up the call on his watch.

"Mega, I hope you're calling with good news," came the unamused drawl through the crackle of static.

"Sure am! Just finishing up around here. But Owen and I are gonna stop off and get a beer, so don't wait up."

"Wasn't planning to." With a click, she was gone, and they were alone once more.

"I hate you."

"That's a lie," Curt said, pointing an accusatory finger and smirking.

Owen snorted, "Not right now, it's not." Curt scoffed, placing his hands on his hips.

"Oh you are so asking for it."

"The only thing I'm asking for is to be let go," he insisted, but the effort was futile. Curt's mind was made up.

"And you will! ... Eventually," Curt said, dropping his voice an octave and putting on a halfway decent Russian accent. Owen smirked in amusement, cocking an eyebrow skeptically.

"Uuh, what are you doing?" he asked, barely holding back a laugh.

"Shut up, I'm interrogating you! What's it look like?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"Oh you'll be answering for a lot, actually," Curt mused. He made a show of grabbing the tray of torture tools and dragging it closer. The tiny wheels slid across the smooth, concrete floor and the sound alone sent a chill down Owen's spine. He knew Curt wasn't planning on using them, but the knowledge of their proximity and the damage they could inflict definitely made his heart race more than he'd like to admit.

Curt began rummaging through the tools at his disposal, picking them up for inspection before tossing them haphazardly over his shoulder. "Nope. Not that one. Nu uh. Too quick. No, too messy. No. No. No..." The tools clattered to the ground one after the other. Owen didn't miss the looks tossed his way as Curt showed off, clearly trying to cheer him up.

"Keep doing that, and you'll have nothing left," Owen piped up smugly. He froze and turned to look at him, a dangerous glint in his eye as he held his hands behind his back. He crouched down to speak directly in his ear.

"Trust me, that's the plan," he purred, and Owen hated how good he was at that stupid fucking accent. A deep chuckle curled around his neck, drawing his attention back to his partner.

That was a mistake, because he was met with fingers wiggling threateningly in his direction and he flinched at the sight, giving himself away. He swore under his breath as Curt laughed at him.

"A little jumpy are we?" he teased with a shit eating grin.

"Fuck you," he barked, feeling the last bit of defiance surge within him.

"Well well well, someone's eager to start!"

"Curt, don't!"

"Who is this "Curt" you keep speaking of? I'm Viktor, world class interrogator. And you will talk..."

Owen rolled his eyes, a smart ass quip on the tip of his tongue, when gentle fingers prodding his sides made him swallow the retort. He sucked in a breath through clenched teeth, closing his eyes so he wouldn't have to meet Curt's teasing gaze.

"They all do."

"That's a bit cliché, even for you, love," Owen said, tilting his head back to smirk up at him.

"Yeah well, I'm not the one tied up, so I wouldn't know," Curt shot back, slipping out of his fake accent before falling back into character. "So... What is it you were hoping to find, snooping around?"

Owen scoffed at the snide dig, but despite his growing annoyance (as well as nerves) he couldn't deny his amusement at the show on display. It was for his benefit, after all. Might as well enjoy it while he still could.

"Your mother's telephone number," he smirked, reveling in the way Curt's jaw dropped to the floor.

And then he felt hands digging into his thighs, and he was a goner.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you correctly. What were you looking for?" Curt repeated, kneading into the soft flesh.

"Curt plehehease! Thihis ihihis stupid!" Owen pleaded through his already growing laughter.

"I told you, I am Viktor," he corrected, squeezing from his upper thighs all the way down to his kneecaps. He gasped and jerked in his bonds when he felt Curt "crack an egg" on his knees, so to speak. His fingers continued scratching his knees in that odd jellyfish-like motion.

Owen's legs twitched from where they were tied down, and he barely held back a surprised laugh. "Q-quit plahaying around! I'm warning yo- NOHO DON'T!" he barked out a laugh when Curt squeezed his knees. He threw his head back and cackled when he didn't stop, only encouraged by the sounds of mirth spilling free from his mouth.

"It would seem I've found your weak spot, Agent Carvour," Curt purred, whispering in his ear so his warm breath curled around his ear and neck. He giggled and scrunched his neck, leaning away in his chair. Curt's eyes sparkled with mischief as he cocked his head. 

"Oh, what's this? Is your neck a little sensitive?" he cooed, scratching under his chin teasingly. He let out a choked snicker, slamming his chin down. Curt chuckled and pulled away. "I'll have to remember that."

"No!"

"I'm sorry, but who's the one tied to the chair?" Curt sassed, slipping back into his normal noice. Owen glared at him instead of answering, and Curt smirked. "Yeah that's what I thought."

"Curt, Ihihi swear, as s-soon as I gehet out of hehehere I'm kihicking your ahahass!" Owen tried to sound threatening through his growing hysterics, but failed miserably.

"I don't think so. See, you'll be way too tired to even lay a finger on me," Curt bragged, scribbling his fingers from his ribs down his sides, pausing to drill his thumbs in the hollows of his hipbones. Owen shrieked and bucked against the ropes that tied him to the chair. In fact, you'll be so tired I'll have to carry you out."

Owen whimpered at the threat, the blush on his cheeks darkening. Curt smirked.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" he taunted.  Owen's jaw dropped.

"I would not!" he denied, yelping when he felt Curt drill circles against the bone.

"Lying will only make things worse, you know," he teased, shooting him a wink. Owen sputtered for an excuse as he squirmed in the chair.

"Ihi hate you!" he giggled, tossing his head back. Curt grabbed his hair and yanked his head back to look at him, and Owen did not need to dwell on how that made him feel right now.

"Oh I'll make you change your mind," he growled, raking his fingers down his ribs. Owen strained against the ropes holding him to the chair as his laughter grew in pitch.

"Ohohokahay, okahay! You wihihin!" Owen conceded, not wanting to give Curt any more reason to torture him.

"Aw, thanks. Can you be my prize?" he asked, walking his fingers up his ribs. Owen gasped and squirmed in his seat.

"Wha- no! Absolutely not!" He sucked in his belly and barked out a laugh when Curt's other hand dug in without warning, scribbling against toned muscle.

“Yeah, well, you should’ve thought of that before saying I win,” he taunted, scribbling over his sides ruthlessly. Owen shrieked, bright laughter pouring from his mouth as he strained against the ropes tied around his body.

“Plehease, behehe reasonable!” he pleaded, bucking like a bull once Curt latched onto his thighs.

“I think I’m being very reasonable, all things considered,” he cooed, raking his nails down the backs of Owen’s knees. He practically convulsed, blushing when a loud snort forced its way out. Curt let out a gleeful, downright sadistic cackle of his own.

“I didn’t peg you as a snorter, Carvour. Didn’t peg you as ticklish either, yet here we are,” he winked at him before scratching the backs of his knees and thighs, drawing out another snort.

“There won’t be pegging of any kind if you don’t hurry and get me the fuck out of here!” He managed to sound semi threatening as he caught his breath, glaring up at Curt. He looked absolutely ravishing as the blush spread across his cheeks, his hair matted to his forehead with a layer of sweat. Curt couldn’t resist, and grabbed him by the chin, pulling him in for a quick kiss.

“I will babe, but I’m having too much fun right now. Maybe in a few minutes, I promise.”

“You’re going to regret this once we get back to the hotel.”

“Oh I don’t doubt it.” Curt placed his hands on his hips, resting his forehead against Owen’s as his breath hitched. “In fact, I’m counting on it.”

Owen heaved a deeply annoyed sigh, though he sported a sly smirk. “Fine then. As long as you know what you’re in for.”

Curt knew full and well what was in store for him, but right now, seeing Owen tied up and at his mercy, he knew any retribution he’d face would be worth it.

[thisaintascenereviews]

What I’ve Been Listening To During Spooky Season: 2024 Edition

Ah, yes, Halloween season is upon us again. I started a tradition a few years ago where I’d talk about Halloween-themed or Halloween adjacent music, and it was pretty fun! I always love writing these types of pieces, because I try to listen to different stuff with a spooky theme each year, and this year is no different. Each year I’ll try to have a theme, and from looking back to see what theme I had last year, I didn’t even post one last year. I thought I did, but I was going to write about the last couple of albums from Clipping, an experimental rap group fronted by Daveed Diggs. I’ll still talk about those albums at some point, but I really thought I did that.

My first theme was spooky-themed rock and metal bands, Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, and a few other bands, but I don’t want to repeat myself twice. Nonetheless, I wanted to bring this series back this year, especially when this year caught me by surprise. It all started by the first thing I’ll talk about here in a minute, but it made me remember a couple of other things I found last year and never spent that much time with, so I got a bit of an interesting theme with this year. What is that theme, you may be asking? Why, my theme is 1960s surf-rock, bubblegum pop, and novelty albums! The first album I’ll talk about isn’t from the 1960s, but it’s very much inspired by it, which is…

The Boulet Brothers - Halloween House Party EP

If you read the newest piece I wrote with my buddy Jake, where we cut it up about the newest stuff we’ve been enjoying over the last couple months, I talked about the drag competition show Dragula, which is Drag Race for horror fans, basically, that’s in its sixth season currently. It’s a show that’s more so about horror, versus standard drag, so there is a lot of VFX and makeup, as well as performing and acting. The show was created by legendary drag duo, The Boulet Brothers, and aside from Dragula, they also have veered into music. I haven’t liked much they’ve done, but this new Halloween EP they put out is a lot of fun. It’s very short, sweet, and to the point. There’s a 1960s surf-rock and doo-woo feel throughout it, and despite the EP having a similar sound, all the songs are catchy enough, and they manage to make each song interesting enough, considering the ideas they have to work with.

As a side bar, music that is specifically Halloween-themed, versus just being spooky in general, is way more niche than Christmas music. Fun fact: I’ve already got some Christmas music on deck, and I may talk about it in some way this year, although, despite already talking about a Christmas album last year in the vein of Seth MacFarlane and Liz Gillies’ newly released Christmas album, We Wish You The Merriest. Halloween music has its place, but at the same time, there aren’t many things to really talk about that hold up for a whole season. Christmas music, especially the more secular stuff, can be about wintertime, versus Halloween is mainly about monsters, trick or treating, and just being overall spooky and stuff. Music that is Halloween-adjacent holds up because it has more to talk about, versus specifically Halloween-themed music.

The Deadly Ones - It’s Monster Surfing Time

During the early 1960s, surf-rock was all the rage, especially with Dick Dale, Duane Eddy, The Beach Boys, The Trashmen, and many other acts having that sound, so what’s the most logical thing to do? Combine Halloween and surf-rock to make for one of the most niche and interesting albums I’ve heard in a long time. Released in 1964, It’s Monster Surfing Time is the only album from The Deadly Ones, and the kicker is, no one knows who played on this. They seem to be session musicians from their label, Vee-Jay, but that’s it. I couldn’t find much about this album at all, but in a way, the mystery is that much more fun. This is a mainly instrumental album that has surf-rock with some spooky sounds thrown in. It’s fun, despite being relatively generic, as well as niche as all hell, but I’ve been having some fun with it.

Bobby “Boris” Pickett - The Original Monster Mash

If there is one “essential” Halloween song, it has to be “Monster Mash.” While it’s a novelty hit that comes back for a bit each year, Pickett released a whole album in 1962 with a lot of Halloween songs. The album has its name for a funny reason — another artist released a cover version of the “Monster Mash,” and put out a whole record before Pickett could, hence the “original” moniker. I’ve been wanting to really sink my teeth into this album for the last couple of years, and I finally have. It’s been a fun little listen, despite the songs being of the novelty and cheesy variety. Most of these songs are in line with a popular trend of the time, not including the title track, but they take advantage of the popularity of certain things at that time, and it can be either pretty cheesy or pretty fun, depending on who you are. I might add this to my yearly rotation, at least for a bit, anyway.

The Munsters - S/T

The last thing I wanted to talk about is one of the most niche and cash grabby things I’ve ever heard, and it’s The Munsters 1964 self-titled album. This album doesn’t have much information about it, but it’s a surf-rock album that’s touted as being performed by The Munsters, who were in their prime at the time, but it’s really just some session musicians. This record is pretty fun, albeit very gimmicky and silly, because it’s just songs about The Munsters, so if you don’t like The Munsters, I can’t help you. If you do, though, this album should be a lot of fun and get some chuckles out of you. I’ve listened to it a handful of times, but it’s a good little record that admittedly sounds dated and niche. I still enjoy this, though, at least for what it is.

[pseudowho]

Hihiii Haitch!

Okay, first of all, I would like to say that I’m absolutely in love with your writing. The way you write Nanami is just✨✨

And I was on the fence about watching jjk because of the numerous spoilers I had encountered. But all your fics and my lil (read major) crush on nanami finally made me come around to watch it, I’m on s1e6 rn (I’ll just blissfully ignore the teensy detail I know about what happens to nanami and my other fav characters while watching it…hehe😭)

So onwards to my questions :

1) How does writing come to you? Does it feel like that urgent spidey senses tingling moment and the next thing you know your fingers are flying across the keyboard like a woman possessed…or does it feel like this distant feeling, that slowly grows and you let it simmer fully before you formulate it into words?

2) what song or word do you think immaculately describes Mr haitch?

3) Do you derive your real feelings while writing? Like the feelings that you feel in that particular moment, does it affect it somehow? Have you ever written something that has made you feel very exposed in an emotional way?

4) lastly I’ll add a fun fact : Did you know that in India, marriages are taken so seriously and especially arranged marriages, that there is a very well developed legit business solely centered around finding perfect matches for you. So your family essentially contracts an agency that finds matches for you , based on your requirements and it has levels to it.

The families of the to be bride and groom, use the agency as a mediator to contact each other. The agency also runs background checks. You have to pay a yearly subscription fee for it. And if you want to marry your child outside your tax bracket (into a wealthier family to put it bluntly) you can join the premium membership, where you pay double, only to get a chance to get meetings with their high profile clients. (Yes I know how shallow this is…)

Hellooooo! I am so sorry for the pain you will soon endure. Please know that if I could hold your hand through it, I would.

I'm so glad they made a TV series about that weird JJK Bad Timeline AU. It was a great way to explore all of the things that could have happened to the characters we love, but didn't. Really creative. 10/10. So glad they got the Good Timeline in reality.

Both of those actually! My drabbles, especially my husband!Nanami and Papamin drabbles are very much the former. My longer fics that I header, gently form in my head over a number of days, maturing slowly.

Melancholy Hill by Gorillaz: Up on Melancholy Hill/ Sits a manatee/ Just looking out for the day/ When you're close to me/ When you're close to meWell you can't get what you want/ But you can get me/ So let's set out to sea, love/ 'Cause you are my medicine/ When you're close to me/ When you're close to me

AND... Absent by Sylosis:

I'm no saint I've no virtue I wish I could feel that you hurt too But it's so dark I can't tell god from the devil I'm just absent More than ever

I surrender I'm incomplete I've had all I can take So take me in pieces

3. I'm very good at making myself feel exactly how I need to feel, for the purpose of writing. I'm also very good at making other people feel how I need them to feel, good and bad. So I find it easy to recreate emotions in fics. It's freaky and I'm sorry. I also separate myself from that very well, sort of hovering above it as I write it. Nothing that makes me feel exposed would ever be written down on my blog, because that's purely for a couple of select people to witness.

4. I did know this! I've cared for lots of Indian couples having babies, and as such I'm rather well-versed in cultural traditions. I'm always fascinated by peoples' love and marriage stories, so listen with great interest when they share things like this. Thank you for also sharing the information. It sounds cut-throat!

Thank you so much for the wonderful Inbox. I really enjoyed answering it!

Love as always,

-- Haitch xxx

[ciaossu-imagines]

Hi! I was wondering if I could ask for a Class of the Titans Pirate AU? Thank you!! :))

Of course you can get this, anon dear! Thank you so much for the request and I hope you'll enjoy the headcanons, late as they are!

Okay, so I had a lot of conflicting ideas for this one. There was so much temptation to take it into traditional pirate territory, adventures on the high sea, Pirates of the Caribbean and One Piece inspiration, peg legs, etc. And I did have a lot of ideas of what I could do with that one.

But hear me out, guys…SPACE PIRATES! I've been a fan of Firefly, of Treasure Planet, and things along those lines for so very, very long, and in the end I thought that was a more fitting and fun Pirate! AU, plus kind of a fun twist on it.

So, we're setting this in a place far into the future. Space travel, between multiple planets and even between different galaxies, is not only a reality but quite commonplace. The world we're stepping into is also so much more technologically advanced. Oh, and Cronus? In this AU, he's this huge power. An alien lifeform that seems to possess immortality, Cronus has established a dictatorship after a war in which he took over multiple planets. With an army on his side, still waging a campaign to extend his reign of power, his government is ruthless and brutal. He and his army rule with an iron fist, with the people subjugated but with little opportunity to do much more than survive, and with no power to rise up against him. Besides, any uprising against him (and there was one, a major one) was quashed and struck down hard.

That uprising that was quashed. A lot of the major players were either killed or they scattered, fled and hid out in the furthest reaches of space. Seven of them in particular, the main source of the uprising and the real face of the attempted revolution, good people who fought hard to end Cronus' dictatorship, who helped people wherever and in whatever ways they could while fighting him and recruiting, were given extremely public executions, broadcast to all the planets and all the galaxies. It was a clear message - 'there is no possibility of escape. There is no possibility of resistance. Submit or die.'

Cronus' only real regret from that? The crew's ship, the Argonaut, could never be tracked down and destroyed along with its crew.

And maybe it's good that it couldn't be. Because fourteen years later, Amalthea, who was the wife of Jason, Captain of the original crew of the Argonaut, sent her now teenaged son on a dangerous mission, to the deepest reaches of their planet, through nasty and treacherous territory, to the location of the Argonaut.

Jay, Jason and Amalthea's son, finds the Argonaut. It's not in great condition, barely functioning at first, but he finds it. And once he boards it, he tries powering it on. But it doesn't really work…not until he gets frustrated at his lack of success and, when slamming his hand against a wall, ends up cutting himself, deeply enough to make him bleed.

See, The Argonaut is a ship, yes, a mechnical and technological thing…but it's also a sentient being and, upon Jay's blood being spilled on it, it reawakened as it was programmed to do. At first, I had thought of the idea of a holographic video popping up, but after thinking some more on it, I developed the idea a bit more…it's more a video that plays inside of Jay's head. It's his father talking to him. The crew had known they weren't going to survive, that they were boxed in and would be captured…and each did their part before they were, preparing their families, hiding the Argonaut and doing these videos. Jay's father tells him everything, from fatherly, personal, and sentimental stuff down to the solid facts and the plan - recruit the children of the passed crew members. Each of them has a role to play. Complete the reawakening of the Argonaut and follow the plan; battle Cronus and his army, small at first. Gather your forces and find allies. Then bring the uprising again…there's a plan that, for some reason, Jason and his crew are sure will work. Not for them though but for their children. Cronus will fall; the uprising will conquer.

And so Jay follows the plan. Dedicates himself to honouring his father and the fallen members of the crew and to bringing peace back to the various planets. And I will tell you, as with the video that plays in Jay's head, as each new crew member comes on, as their blood (just the tiniest bit) helps rewaken the sentient being part of the Argonaut, they each get their own video, which nobody but them can see, playing in their head, with messages from their own parent who passed. And Jay himself, while unsure how well he could do as Captain, proves himself to be a natural leader and gains the trust of not only his crew, but the many allies they make along the way.

The first member that Jason recruits is Atlanta. He finds her on a planet, thick in forests and dangerous wildlife. She joins his crew readily - she loves nature, her planet, her father, stepmother, and step-siblings, but she's always yearned for adventure. And hearing her mother's will and words…how could she refuse? Atlanta follows in her mother's footsteps, becoming the crew's tracker and bounty hunter, a role she grows into with a great deal of ease and quickness.

The next companion to be gathered? Herry was left in the care of his grandmother, as both of his parents were part of the crew. He doesn't really even remember them, to be honest, and the memories he has of them are hazy. Herry is part of an alien race known for their giant, beefy bodies, superhuman strength and berserker rages…however, Herry honestly seems to be a gentle giant, for all accounts and purposes. It's only at his grandmother's urging that he follows Jay and Atlanta to the Argonaut, where he gets to really see and have a solid memory with his parents through their holographic video. He won't discuss everything they said but, through his tears, he willingly and happily joined the crew and the cause and, though he's still gentle overall, if his crew are in danger or if he must fight to fulfill the crew's destiny to overthrow Cronus and his forces, Herry can and will enter that berserker rage his race is known for and can slaughter entire battlefields of enemies single-handly.

The crew finds Theresa next, in a surprising place. Her father, who had taken residence on his wife's planet, as she was the planet's princess and future ruler and he her consort, abandoned that planet when his wife died. He blamed the crew harshly and not only moved to a planet and grew his own influence, but became high level in Cronus' army. Theresa is spoiled, far safer and wealthier and better off than 99% of the population on any planet Cronus had conquered. And it's not that she hates it, but her father is gone so much, she's raised by servants, and to be honest, she's rebellious and bored. While the crew taking her is technically a 'kidnapping', she honestly kind of helps them kidnap her, even if she doesn't really show it. She becomes the ship's navigator and one part of a tactician duo, due to her excellent sense of direction, knowledge of various mapping techniques and the layout of several galaxies, and knowledge of how Cronus' army and infrastructure works.

That second half of the tactician duo? It's found in Archie. Archie is a child prodigy, and he's one of the few, thanks to the way his brain works, to really remember much about his lost parent. His father, Achilles, had actually raised his son aboard the Argonaut. He had had little choice, honestly, what with Archie's mother dying in childbirth. He'd raised his son with a love of the history of the cosmos, cut his teeth on bed-time stories of tactics, war, and battle wisdom. Had encouraged a love of learning, of literature, of facts and knowledge. And when Archie was left abandoned on the doorsteps of a university on one of the more obscure planets, his love of learning served him well. He becomes the crew's main tactician, the man who not only knows most of the facts, but isn't too bad in a physical fight either, thanks to some bad childhood bullying that forced him to toughen up and learn to fight for himself.

Another genius the crew gains? Odie, son of Odysseus, the man responsible for the mechanical ship that houses the sentient being that is the Argonaut. He build it from scratch, knew it better than anyone else and his son seems to have inherited that trait. Odie joined the crew mostly due to his extreme interest in the Argonaut and, like his father before him, he seems to almost bond with the ship. He can fix anything to do with the ship, improve it, add to it as his brain is always coming up with ways to make the Argonaut better, to not only fortify it but make it more comfortable. He's a mechanical wizard…but even more so, he's the one to pilot the ship and honestly, he has a bond with the Argonaut itself that none of the others do and the ship would not sail as gracefully and faithfully as it does without him.

Not going to lie, unlike Theresa, where her kidnapping was really helped along by her, the last member of the crew was just plain out kidnapped. Neil is the prince of his father's planet, a spoiled brat who only thinks of himself and has the highest opinion of himself. The inhabitants of his planet are expected to worship him and exalt him and he's a dictator in his own right. None of the crew understand why it's so important that they find him and none of them really want him as part of their crew at first. Until they find out that Neil was, as all members of the royal family are, blessed with God's own luck and the ability to vaguely warp reality to favour them. He does it without even realizing he's doing it either, making him rather a genius at the technique. Though things are rocky with Neil at first, and it takes him the longest before he sees his father's video, once he does, things kind of change. He stays with the crew willingly for one, and though his kind of spoiled attitude never fully changes, the longer he serves on the crew and becomes a part of them, the more adventures they embark on and the more of the cosmos he sees, the more he starts to not only genuinely care about his crew-mates, but about all life in the universe. Not as much as he cares about himself, but he definitely starts to really hate Cronus for what he's done to people and the more he genuinely wants to help bring peace to people.

And the story is really just the adventures of the crew, various bits and bobs of them not only having amazing battle scenes but also helping people out as they go along, discovering the beauty in the vast expanses of space, but also the horrors that Cronus has truly brought about, and their efforts to gain allies and lead that uprising to the successful completion their parents could not.

[endiecutieo6]

-Gorebruary 2023!-

Week 1

Hello everyone! So, in 2020, I impulsively took a goretober list and decided to do in February, because I just could. It ended up being a little bit of tradition on my Instagram, only not done when I genuinely just didn’t have the time. I’ll reposting these here because idk. I just wanted to.

The format ended up being a picture followed by a short story, which I’ll also put beneath each image just to make it easier to read, along with a short personal blurb!

First off: I’m going to the trigger warnings from each image here. Sorry if stuff repeats.

Day 1/Crushed: Blood, mild body horror, organs, eye trauma(?)

Day 2/Decapitated: blood, decapitation/dismemberment

Day 3/pin cushion: needles, blood

Day 4/Amputation: depictions of medical procedures, missing limbs, lots a blood, medical themes

Day 5/Experiment: depictions of medical procedures, medical malpractice, lots a blood, medical themes

Day 6/Infection: cuts, mild blood, depictions of an infection, mild body horror, mild nudity(?)

Day 7/Body horror: Body horror (duh), blood, mentions of suicide in the story segment

With warnings aside, let’s begin the fun!

“Accidents happen.

Things get bumped over, slip out of hands, and clatter to the ground in pieces. It was okay, accidents happen. They were okay.

No one knows how to happened, but the cave collapsed after a loud boom was heard. Everyone got out, asking just what happened and who did it.

After spotting Mr. Riley, whoever did it, decided to keep their mouth shut.

Personal Note: I worked my ass off on this one, and there’s only a few things that I feel I did poorly on. I wanted to start things off with a bang and oh boy did I! For the story, which wasn’t a good as I thought it was like wow, I think I made it so the cave it was caused by Martha missing her shot and hitting the wall. Freddy just happened to be the one who died.

On another note, I was only able to work as well as I could because I’d make concept sketches ahead of time and made a ref sheet. Unfortunately, I don’t have access to my computer/ forgot to email myself the files so I might have to show those another time. It made work a lot better because sketching is such a long process and having a ref made it easier to color.

“Freddy prided himself on his unwavering will. When he wanted something, he did everything in his power to get it. Life was too short to wait and have it pass by, so he did it without care for the consequences.

In the manor, things were a bit different, and he was fully aware of his disadvantages. So, he made up for it by trying to be one step ahead of everyone. If it meant setting traps, hiding things, or telling little white lies, so be it. He was not going to allow himself any weakness.

He thought certain rules would protect him, he hoped they would protect him. After all, hunters could only do so much right-“

PN: this is technically a redraw of a 2020 gorebruary piece, but this one I like much better and uses cooler colors. Story wise, it was the ripper who did it after getting a little too frustrated and losing his cool. Freddy can be a little shit after all.

“Hmm, looks like I need to make some… last minute adjustments…

I’m sure you don’t mind helping, right?”

PN: I HATE THIS ONE. I hit a wall after the first two and relied way to heavily on 3D materials (a benefit of using clip studio paint) so it just looks off. Anatomy is off, pose is still, the story is just ass I shoved in last minute because I really didn’t enjoy making this one. If I redrew it, I’d change a LOT.

“Date: 1/9/XXXX

After the XXXXXXXX incident with subject 5-8-7, and getting the limbs that had been severed from subject 5-8-7 during the incident, we have decided to take one of our test subjects and jumpstart project XXXXXXXX.

At 9:20 am of January 9th, XXXX, we subdued subject 4-0-3, who had somehow informed of our plan and was resisting aggressively. We strapped him down and, due to destruction of our medical grade morphine, had to preform surgery without it.

He is still currently in a near-catatonic state, most likely due to shock, as shown in the picture. He has been patched up, hooked up to an IV and in care. As of me writing this, he hasn’t spoken a word.

Once we have him stabilized and make sure nothing becomes infected, we can move on to phase 2.

- Dr. XXXXXXX”

PN: this, along with the rest of the images for this week, are connected! It’s a resident evil inspired story which also features that years gorebruary “mascot” as a part of the story. Also, in sharp contrast to the previous image, I LOVE how this turned out. While I’d undoubtably made a few errors, I just have a soft spot for this image.

“Date: 1/12/XXXX

We proceeded in phase 2 of project XXXXX, but not without its complications.

Once again, subject 4-0-3 resisted violently, resulting in a few bruises for our staff and some lacerations to the chest on him. We bandaged him up, drugged him with laughing gas, and attached the severed ligaments from subject 5-8-7 to him. The stitching itself is poor quality, making it easier to take off if the limbs are rejected.

Instantly, the arm bonded with the body, even allowing subject 4-0-3 to twist his wrist. The leg has yet to be as responsive, it’s only noticeable changes being the slow increase in length, presumably to match the length of the natural leg.

Something peculiar should be noted: the sudden presence of black veins that are spreading not only on the foreign limbs but on subjects 4-0-3’s body as well. Currently, we are suspecting that’s it’s a bonding method of some sorts.

Subject 4-0-3 has been more quiet than ever, seemingly docile for the time being. He’s under constant supervision to make sure any changes will be noticed ahead of time.

-Dr. XXXXX”

(Note: I’m editing the story’s only a little bit. Nothing major, just for ease of reading)

PN: I like this image a little less. The colors aren’t as contrasting as I would’ve liked them, and the shading is not great. I’d change quite a bit if I did it today, mostly in the posing n such.

“Date: 1/21/XXXX

Time: 7:54 pm

Surprise to no one, Subject 4-0-3 for a severe infection. Discoloration, redness, swelling, boils leaking pus, and other standard symptoms. It’s repulsive to look at, and definitely should’ve been noticed sooner. I feel like an idiot for not noticing sooner, especially when the scratching began.

Outside of the infection, he’s having changes we just can’t fully explaining. The black veins and consumed both limbs, and has absorbed the stitching. His eyes have become discolored, and an identified fluid is just leaking from his face.

I’m more concerned about his sudden shift in behavior. He’s a cautious and guarded man, and he was practically mute when this project finally started. Now he’s chattier than ever, though how aware he is over the situation seems up to coin toss. He’s compliant, but that only makes more worried.

Jean took the photo of him and I, and I can’t say that I’m not having second thoughts about this. As I’m writing this, I’ve come to an disturbing realization: he shouldn’t be walking around with such ease. He’s as blind as a bat, shouldn’t he be struggling more?

On that note, I’m going to go and make a quick checkup on him, maybe even recommend sedation for the foreseeable future. Then, I’ll check on subject 5-8-7, who’s already fully recovered but far too quiet.

- Dr. Wesker”

PN: Tumblr is struggling to let me type. I’m mid about this one, just doesn’t feel all that standout. I’d chance a lot about this one.

“If you’re reading this, my name is Aiko Wesker and I fucked up.

This whole project was rigged from the start; she KNEW and was LETTING it happen, and now Freddy has mutated into something as twisted as her. Half the facility is dead, and no matter how many gunshots I hear the laughter just won’t stop.

They’re keeping me alive. She’s watching me as I’m writing this, staring at me with those soulless eyes. I’d kill myself if I could, but I don’t know if they’ll allow it.

I don’t know what their plan is and I don’t know what to do. May God have Mercy on my soul.”

PN: I don’t really like this pic. I didn’t work as hard as I should’ve and you can see it. You can also see the resident evil hinspo clear as day, which I should’ve really leaned more heavily on. This storyline is wrapped up though!

—

Thank you for being interested in this mess! I’d add more but Tumblr is bugging out hard so goodbye for now! Keep an eye open for week 2!

[melodyofthevoid]

Writing Wrap Up 2023

Another weird year, to be sure. Between finishing up school, job hunting, moving out, and all sorts of family things, it's been... a really slow year. It's a feeling I keep coming back to, this feeling like I'm not doing enough. Like there's some invisible deadline that I'm failing to meet. And that failure is what's keeping me from getting any enjoyment out of the works I do finish.

But that's not really... helpful, is it? Loathe as I am to admit it, focusing on what I did accomplish makes me feel better and it is worth celebrating, I think. Darn therapy actually giving me helpful tips and advice.

Now, most of what I wrote this year I shared exclusively with friends. Tbh this is both because it's all been pretty self indulgent OC stuff ngl, but also it's niche content for my DnD characters. But both Lorna and Alexi got some really excellent pieces, and Euripheus' origin/demise piece was another one I enjoyed doing.

Except for the part where I had to write an awkward family discussion/fight. Nearly did me in.

On a different note, Alexi's AU piece clocks in at nearly 10k words, which is the longest one-shot I've ever done. Bonkers. I really just wanted to torment him, huh?

Aside from that, I've been diligently chipping away at my worldbuilding documents, each of which is wildly different in construction/layout. Mostly due to their different reasons for being, and purposes. The OI one is the least developed as of now, but I hope in the next week to really dive into (hah) the nations and make those tangible cultures. My Fading Reflections one only really needs a timeline and some loose details added here and there.

The Sun/Moon game concept expanded to having a separate NPC doc, and I'm testing out how the dialogue could theoretically sound. In Stars and Time really inspired me, and I think it'll be a fun little side project as I side eye other things.

Then my big one, the Crane Wives Analysis. It's the first time I've ever done something like that and it really gave me a deeper appreciation for a band I already adore. 20k words over the course of the year, with half of those coming in November alone when I did NaNoWriMo for the first time! Not the traditional way that event works, but I completed all my goals, so hooray!

I also did nearly half of the Whumptober prompts I picked out, and am still doing those when I feel stuck.

I don't know where this next year will take me in terms of writing. I'm starting my new job, which while extremely exciting, does raise the question of Time. I'm on my own, going to have to do all the Adult Things™, and free time is definitely going to be at a premium. It does worry me, but I'll adjust (I hope).

So yeah! I'll attach links to some of my works below the cut, and wish you all a happy new year! Thanks for sticking around!

The Well Analysis

TCW: Singles

True Reflections (Magnus Archives Fanstatement)

TCW: Foxlore

TCW: Coyote Stories

TCW: The Fool in Her Wedding Gown

TCW: Safe Ship, Harbored

"Captive"

Bodies Are Business

Reassignment

[crimson-catalyst]

wrote some prose for my december 2023 neph prompt, "gift shopping" ft Jesse, Oliver, and their sister @skittykittycat's Ersie! enjoy Jesse being a piece of work <3

~~~~~

"Anyone special you’re getting a gift for?" Ashleigh waggles her eyebrows, making conversation as she and Jesse leave class. 

Jesse rolls his eyes. “I have no more time to date anyone than the last time you asked me. Nor money to go shopping with.”

“You’re not shopping at all? Nothing for your family or anything?” she looks shocked, almost hurt, her little ears drooping. Different strokes for different folks, he figured; Seasons' Gifting had never been such a big deal to Jesse, besides as a reason to ask his parents for things.

He shrugs. “They live all the way in Roost. I'm not gonna get something there intact in time.”

“No like- don’t you live with your brother?? and isn't your sister here in town too??”

“oh” Jesse blinks, “right.”

Ashleigh circles in front of him, corralling him as she walk backwards. “Have you really never gotten them Seasons’ Gifts before??”

Jesse quirks an ear. “Not really, no. Ersie moved out before I had my own money and Mom and Dad have always gotten everything for me and Oliver.”

“omg." she practically prances, little hooves clipping excitedly on the ground. "Then you totally should!! Start a tradition!!”

“Wouldn't it be weird?”

“Of course not!! You're an adult now - mostly. You've got your own place and you're independent! You should totally pick something out for them, it'll be fun!”

He tilted his head, thinking. “I guess I could,” it did sound fun. Maybe he could be the star bringing them closer, starting a new tradition between them all. Surely they wouldn't have thought to get him anything; it wasn’t really a habit for the Sceo siblings...

-- How did he get here, again?

Jesse stares blankly at the shelves in a street-level shop selling… whatever this shit was. Glass sculptures clearly from molds, mass-produced macrame that'd fall apart in a month, stock photos printed on canvas. Useless knick-knacks and dustables. Kitsch. He wrinkles his nose and pointedly looks away from the display of fish shaped mugs so contorted they were long past useable for drink.

You're buying gifts for Ersie and your stupid brother, he reminds himself. How’d you let yourself get suckered into this one?

He didn't know what they’d want. It's not like they ever shared their interests with him. All Ersie ever did these days was get on his case, after she insisted on dragging the twins out and about with her to socialize. And Oliver was… Oliver. He hid in his room for days and days and only showed his face for food he didn't have to make. Jesse feels his lip curl in annoyance.

Whatever. Whatever!! This isn't what he was here for. He heaves a sigh and shakes his head to clear it, trying to calm down. Maybe all this’d be a good reason for them to open up more with him. He had been pretty busy with school and hadn't been able to devote them that much of his time and attention, after all. What in the world could he get them, though? He really didn't know what either of them liked these days - although at the very least, he certainly wasn't going to find what he was looking for in this shop.

C'mon, Jesse, brainstorm. Ersie's easy she just likes lights. She wears them all the time and she won't shut up about her light shows when you get her going.... didn't Ashleigh just show you her new fairylights in her dorm?? Done. Sorted. He mentally pats himself on the back. This was easy. Ashleigh would love that she was his inspiration. Now Oliver.....

Gods. He really did just spend all his time in his room, out of sight and talking quietly to his Whisker chat. Video games would be an easy answer but he definitely had all the ones he wanted, sometimes even before they were released; and he knew way more about his ludicrous gamer tech than Jesse ever would. Neither of those would work. He'd have to get a little more creative. As he passes the last shelf in the store he stops and thinks. Maybe...

--

"HEY hi Jesse sorry, I only finally got out of work!!" Ersie adjusts her grip on her phone, holding it slightly above her face so she looks okay on camera. "We've been sooo busy this season. What's up?"

Jesse smiles at Ersie on his screen, admittedly with a little pride. “I left you a gift in your mailbox between classes!”

“Oh?” Ersie’s eyes light up, though her voice belies a bit of her confusion. “For Seasons’ Gifting? I wasn’t sure if you wanted to do an exchange so I haven’t bought you anything yet, forgive me.” The background of her video shifts through her apartment as she moves towards the door, little sparkly lights behind her putting starbursts in the camera.

“It’s fine,” Jesse sounds smug. “It was my idea to surprise you anyway.”

“Aw, sweet of you!” Ersie’s picture dipped to her paws for a moment as she opened the door. “Reception’s kinda bad in the lobby so if i drop you just call me back!!”

A moment later she was scurrying back into her cozy flat, backlit by her softly pulsing light display on the walls. Balancing her phone atop the gift, she snaps her claws and another set of brighter lights illuminate the room at her bidding.

“Okay!!! Let’s take a look,” Ersie exclaims as she plops onto her plush couch, box in hand, wrapped in a perfectly nondescript way indicative of the paws of a tired retail employee. Jesse watches as she untied the glitter-filled ribbon and delicately tears down the middle of the paper with an extended claw, exposing the packaging beneath.

"...Little Kits'... DIY fairy lights? This is cute, Jesse." She pulls out the prepackaged craft kit: little die-cut origami papers to fold over an included string of lights. She was smiling, sure, but Jesse had heard her freak out over something she loved before and this wasn't it.

"You don't like it?" His ears twitch, irritated, and he thumps the carpet with his tail off-camera. 

"I didn't say that! This is really thoughtful," her voice is still cheery as she turns the box over in her paws, examining the packaging, clearly branded for children.

"You don't need to lie to make me feel better."

Ersie rolls her eyes and picks her phone up from its stand. "Jesse, I'm not. I'm really, honestly flattered you went out of your way to pick out something for me when you didn't have to and that you got me something I enjoy! We've only barely known each other for a year now." "I'm twenty y-" "-and we've hardly interacted for fifteen years, Jesse, yes. I'm really, really happy you dropped this off, okay?" She smiles earnestly into the camera. 

Jesse narrows his eyes and swishes his tail, but this finally passes his approval. "Okay well good. I went to like three different craft stores before I found the right ones. And the Highe's lighting aisle is wild? what's up with all the chandeliers? there weren't even any stupid light strings." he shakes his head. "Shopping sucks on its own - stores never have what you want and you wander all over and spend so much money, and then you still have to walk home..."

"How you suffered for your generosity!" Ersie snickers. "This was really sweet, Jesse, thank you. I'll see if I can't scrounge something up for you too before the season's over."

His ears perk up, triumphant, but he can't let it go. 

"-but for real Ersie. What didn't I get perfect?"

Ersie bursts out a good-natured laugh. "I love you, and I love the gift, but this is for spittens, Jesse. I do this for a living."

--

“...a candle.”

Oliver holds a round jar candle in his huge, scarfy hand, peeking through the barest crack of his bedroom door. It’s a question disguised as a statement.

Jesse shrugs. “I dunno, people who spend all day in the house like to make their place… smell nice, or whatever. Look, it's scents of Roost. Mimos rosa and spring winds.” He grabs the jar back from his brother’s hand, pointing at the pink label.

“I…. can’t leave candles burning when I’m streaming, I’m not paying attention to my surroundings for too long. And fire… doesn’t… tangle well with um. fabric.” he whispers the last word about his curse, as if his voice wasn't already too soft. “Why are you giving me this?”

Jesse rolls his eyes. “It’s Seasons’ Gifting, obviously. Happy Seasons’ or whatever. You're welcome.”

“You’ve… never given me anything for Seasons’ before?” Oliver shifts his weight, hesitantly lowering his hand from the doorway, candle still in Jesse’s paws. “thank.. you? um…”

"I thought I'd start a new tradition," Jesse snorts in annoyance. "We should buy each other Seasons' things now that Mom and Dad won't - and Ersie"s around. It's fine if you didn't get me anything this year. It's not like I told you I was gonna. And there’s still a week anyway.”

“y..yeah, okay." His eyes shift away and his eyebrows furrow at the mention of leaving the house. He's trying to shrink back into his room, Jesse can tell. His ears twitch.

“At least take it.” he thrusts the candle back towards his brother. "Ersie liked hers."

“I just told you I can't use it.”

“You said- there has to be times you're not huddled over that stupid microphone - Its for you, you can just let it look pretty! I don't want it!” he waggles it meaningfully, his arm extended, tail rising in anger. His brother doesn't even raise his hand from the floor.

“Thank you Jesse but I don't want fire in my room.” an edge creeps into his voice as he turns away from the crack of his door.

Jesse bristles, and snarls as he turns away in a furious huff. "Gods, so much for new tradition! sorry I bothered!"

He doesn't seem to hear Oliver's quiet retort as the door shuts with a click. “Maybe you shouldn't have.”

[tracybirds]

So @squiddokiddo and I got to chatting about aroace Gords bc it's super fun to play with and thus a fic was born :D

This be fic no.2 to say happy birthday Gords and a big thank you to Squiddo for both reading over said fic and for making a wonderful piece of artwork that accompanies it <;3

Enjoy and hope you're having a lovely day celebrating Gords, celebrating your family and friends and however else you like to love those around you!

---

There was a certain irony to the day, Gordon knew that. People had expectations about your love life when you were born on Valentine’s Day after all and sometimes it felt like he’d never escape it. It grew tiring explaining over and over that romance had never really clicked for him, having to endure the same reassurances he’d never asked for again and again and again.

It was easier if he just treated it like the great joke of his life, eyes brimming over with mirth when he told people.

“Yeah, Valentine’s Day. I know right! But think about it – right? – the day was already stuffed to the brim with romance, they’d run out by the time it came to giving me some attraction, you know?”

Laughing about it, laughing at it gave him a certain power over the day and one he’d happily exploit.

It didn’t hurt that any new partner in romance that joined their family soon learnt that there was no such thing as Valentine’s Day in the Tracy household, his family binding around him to celebrate a much more important occasion in Gordon’s entirely unbiased opinion.

His birthday gave him a chance to focus on all the people in his life that he loved, no need to create a meaningless hierarchy of relationship.

Still, there was something about Valentine’s that appealed to Gordon, an expectant pause as the world held their breath and believed (just a little more than usual) in love.

He could get behind that at least, even if the whole romance thing didn’t really sit right.

Much more important, in his opinion, was the ever-enduring holiday tradition of making garish homemade cards for all his friends just in case they needed a Gordon Original to remind them of his love.

Gordy was the name and gaudy was the game.

He looked down at the stack of cards he’d made already – an explosion of reds and pinks and paper snowflakes cut into hearts – and narrowed his eyes.

The gold lettering had been a nice touch but really, he knew he needed more sparkle.

“Virgil!” he yelled, darting from the kitchen table and racing the steps two at a time.

His socks slid across the slick floor, sending him careening into the wall more that once before he burst into his brother’s studio.

“Virg, I need your glitter glue, it’s an emergency.”

“Would it kill you to knock,” grumbled Virgil good-naturedly, still poring over his own artwork, not sounding remotely surprised to see Gordon.

“The door was open,” said Gordon with a shrug. “That means you’re available.”

“Not for ‘glitter-glue’ emergencies, I’m not. You’ll have to wait.”

Virgil’s words began to trail off even as he spoke, a deep frown line evident between his brows.

Suddenly he looked up, frowning for a new reason.

“I’m sorry, ‘glitter-glue’?”

“For my valentine cards,” said Gordon impatiently. “Kayo said she and Grandma were flying to the mainland tomorrow morning so long as there weren’t any rescues going and…”

“And it’s already ten p.m. Gordon,” said Virgil with a groan.

“Virgil, please!” squeaked Gordon, hopping up and down on one foot. “I know I’ve left it late, but I didn’t mean to – there was that caving group in Mexico, then there were the seamount explorers last week, and that lab, what was going on there did we ever find out?”

“No, we did not,” said Virgil.

He stood and stretched, his joints cracking loudly as he yawned and peered around the dimly lit room.

“Alright, I’ll go find it, just don’t touch anything.”

“Red or pink if you’ve got it,” called Gordon, but Virgil had already disappeared into the towering storage that held his art supplies.

He looked around the room more out of habit than curiosity, taking in the neatly stacked canvases and the bright floral arrangement at the centre of the room. Virgil had clearly been working it into one of his larger pieces; scattered papers displayed pencil sketches of the bouquet from a variety of angles and now that Gordon was looking for them, he could see glimpses of the flowers all around the room.

Gently he tugged the thick card Virgil had been working on towards him and his eyes widened to see the delicate and crinkled petals of roses beautifully displayed before him in dreamy watercolour.

“I thought I said not to touch anything,” came Virgil’s voice from behind him and Gordon spun on his heel, trying not to look guilty.

Virgil looked more exasperated than angry however, as he handed the supplies over, and Gordon felt himself relax.

“Sorry,” he said, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards in a sheepish grin. “They’re beautiful. Almost alive.”

Virgil said nothing, only cocked his head to one side as he assessed the work himself.

“Almost,” he said at last. “But not quite.”

“Well the day your painting resurrects someone, let me know. I reckon we could make good money out of that.”

Virgil didn’t crack a smile, barely seeming to listen the Gordon.

He was beginning to feel awkward, glitter-glue in his hands – red and pink as he’d requested and more colours besides.

The urgency of his own task beckoned but still, he couldn’t help but linger.

“When did you pick up watercolour again?” he asked, trying to prod his brother into conversation.

“I’ve been taking some classes,” said Virgil, quietly. “Online, at your own pace.”

“Ooh, that sounds like fun,” said Gordon. “Do they have live get-togethers at all?”

There was a beat of silence that stretched out just long enough for Gordon to sit up and pay attention.

The slight uptick in breathing, the distinct pink undertones to his skin, the way his brother’s eyes slid down and avoided his gaze.

“Yes,” he admitted.

“Who are they?” said Gordon, only too delighted to have something to weasel out of him. “Go on, what’s their name? What have you talked about? Do they know you’re an internationally recognised hero who could sweep them off their feet?”

“It’s none of your business, Gordon,” groaned Virgil, burying his face in his hands.

“It is too my business,” he retorted. “We need a new relationship to root for, none of you’ve been dating anyone for months and I need something to gossip about with Grandma.”

“Well, you can keep your mouth shut for now, I’m not telling you anything until I’ve had a chance to talk to the guy.”

“Oh, so it’s a guy,” said Gordon, cackling in delight. “Someone artsy, likes working with his hands maybe, has a good appreciation for nature, perhaps?”

“Oh, yeah right, like you could know any of that.”

Gordon reached down and tapped the watercolour card.

“You’re painting him flowers Virg, and you clearly care that they’re the best you can do.”

He grinned suddenly. “Plus, I know your type.”

“And you can leave now," announced Virgil, his cheeks burning as he pushed Gordon out of the room. “Go make your friends their cards.”

“Thanks Virgil,” called Gordon, waving the glitter-glue as the door was promptly shut in his face.

He grinned and opened his comm.

“Hey, Grandma? Want to help me make my Valentines?”

“If that means you have dirt on your brothers, then say no more kid.”

[youve-doomed-us-all-jerk]

and finished it ,got dat true ending yes def had a great time on the game 8/10 (but yeah performance def docked some points as well as some writing threads that felt kinda dropped, but am trying to in good faith piece it together in me mind so just gonna ramble spoilers under the cut:

when people said this is what they wanted the original DD to be i can see that but like i feel like the lead up to the game kept hearing people who know more about the originals history talk about how "40-60% of the original vision was cut down" from dd1 and i feel like my brain unfortunately interpreted that as "oh cool so were gonna have 100 new vocations like the monk and 100 monsters and the parallel worlds(technically true☝🏽🤓) and the moon stuff, neat" thats on me lmao but yeah removing those expectations and seeing it for what it is, its def the spirit of the the first game but its systems deeper and more fleshed out not good at all the techny terms but im not very into or good at action games but this one made me want to be cuz the combat was fun haha hmm writing wise there was a point where i felt like everything just suddenly got dropped once the godbane stuff started happening and youre suddenly barreling to the ending while everything else just wasnt important anymore lmao, but trying to interpret the story as a story the pathfinder is weaving, i think its meant to feel like that cuz we see the pathfinder essentially write us out of problems, give us a griffin to escape slavery, gives us a clue to where were supposed to go and the big one he like straight up changes ambrosius mind about giving us the godsbane when it wouldnt make sense for him too, the old man by harve even alludes to this by saying the real world is much messier when hes telling you about how fake everything is, like the watcher said everyone there is there to play a part in a tale hes laid out and i think he wanted to get to the ending faster. It's definitely another layer they added from the first games cycle, but do wish if that is what theyre going for(and if im not delusional lmao) that they did more like the ambrosius thing just watching as he ass pulls us out of dead ends making us feel what rothais felt when he realized all his feats and hardships didnt matter, also just would have liked more sidequests with fun characters lmao.

Also did enjoy the endings of the 3 major peoples in the unmoored world and felt like their side quests really fleshed them out and led them there to their endings well,mostly, very cool idea to bring it all together like that. elves wanted to stay isolated but they needed outside influence to break tradition, to save their tree and how it all built to them agreeing to seek refuge with the other races rather than die with their way of life. Ironic that disa was half right about sven needing to inherit the throne but ofc she was also half wrong cuz she a tyrant and wants him to have it mainly cuz of blood, but he deserves it cuz his sidequests were about him getting to know the common folk and becoming self assured lmao battahl tbh full disclosure i messed up the queen nadias sidequest to the rose chateau, tried to scare the dick head shopkeeper into giving me the medicine for the beastren and got arrested so idk how that one ends(will find out in NG+ lmao) but based on the ones i did do, it seems like the nations whole thing was about always being in conflict with each other and how the unmoored quests there are about making people put there differences aside and band together, including the arisen teaming with phaesus. Also like the irony of their view on pawns being right at first but by the end of the game they end up being wrong. but yeah do feel like they didnt get into that more, along with what the lambent flame is? (googled that there was lore texts you can find that explain how an earlier emperor is deceiving the people about it and what it really does) they also dont go into the fact vermund was a nation of beastren, started by a beastren and then history was wiped?? and how theres vermundians fear of beastren and human children always look like beastren and yet wilhelmina is a direct contradiction of this?? that seemed like a really juicy plot point but they didnt really do anything with it. and lastly idek where to start with the pawn and arisen ending, found out theres slight differences in the affinity ending (got the high affinity one cuz reds my my gurl i always revive run straight to her to revive her🤗) but watching them talk about how happy they are to have their own will while saying theyd still do anything for you filled me with something, dont even know what but was crazy.

oh also before i forget another way its in the spirit of the first game for me is just like in the original i also forgot to talk to the person i was romancing and giving them flowers before the endings and got diff people appearing there just like my first playthru of the dd1 lmfao( got manela with grigori and sara in the true ending, was going for ulrika this playthru lmfao) def gonna NG+, maybe do a magic archer and get the stuff i missed and try and get the other endings. Also hoping for another expansion/dlc like they did with dd1 down the line with more vocations and monsters.

[ichinisankaku]

Event Translation - Spotlight ~Tsukushi High Side~ (Part 3)

Kumon: This board came out looking great too~

Classmate A: I know, right! We're gonna be done with time to spare at this rate.

Classmate B: By the way, is dance practice going well?

Kumon: Yeah! We all practiced in the audiovisual room earlier!

Classmate A: Ooh! I'm looking forward to it.

Homeroom Teacher: Are you guys still at it? I understand getting sucked in, but it's time to go home, you know~

Classmate B: Okaaaay… wait, it's already dark out!

Kumon: For real, I didn't notice at all!

…Ah.

Classmate A: What is it?

Kumon: …

Azami: …

???: BOO!!

Azami: !?

Kumon: Hehe, did I scaaare you? I saw you from my classroom, so I came out!

Azami: Uh… you could just approach me normally.

Kumon: Are you alone?

Azami: Yeah. I was preparing stuff for our class display earlier, and when I was about to walk home with my classmates, I realised I forgot something and came back for it.

Kumon: …Are your classmates not waiting for you?

Azami: I told 'em not to.

Kumon: That's good then~ I thought you were being bullied for a second!

Azami: The hell?

Kumon: Alright, let's go home together then!

Azami: …Are you not going with those guys? They're looking this way, they're from your class right?

Kumon: Yeah! But I'm going the same direction as you anyway!

Azami: Suppose so.

Kumon: Anyway, your class must be fired up, preparing stuff this late.

Azami: That's… the same for you.

Kumon: This is the last festival for us third years, so our excitement's different. But you must be looking forward to your first festival, huh?

I was also really looking forward to it when I was a first year, but…

Azami: …Did something happen?

Kumon: …Well.

It was my first culture festival after entering high school.

When I started here, I was feeling down about not getting into O-High…

But I forgot all about that when the festival rolled around, and had fun talking about this and that while preparing with my classmates, like I am now.

On top of that, the baseball club I was in was going to do a piece at the post-festival party, and we planned to show off our personal pitching techniques that year.

I was going to represent the first years as a pitcher, and show off a bunch of different pitching styles on stage.

I prepared for both at the same time, and the day before the culture festival…

I remember I could barely close my eyes, my heart pounding with both excitement for the festival and nervousness for my part in it.

The day of the culture festival arrived.

Even though I got to school safely, I developed a fever during the opening ceremony.

It was one of my usual stress fevers, and I ended up staying in the infirmary.

In the end, I wasn't able to take part in either my class's piece or the baseball club's.

Kumon: At the time, I was a bother to everyone around me and made them worry, so it's a super frustrating memory for me…

But since joining the theatre, I'm able to get those symptoms under control.

So while it's definitely not a lie to say I want to take part in our traditional performance, applying for it was also due to a personal desire to make a comeback.

I've even danced for a play now, so I think I'll be able to do more than I would've before.

Azami: …I see.

Well, I don't wanna go on about what's already passed, but… for now, it's fine as long as you enjoy it this time, right?

Kumon: …Yeah, that's right!

Azami: I'll be looking forward to your comeback.

Kumon: Hehe, I'm getting more and more fired up! I'm gonna do some training when we get home!

You should practice your rapping too, Azami!

Azami: I'm good.

[Prologue | Flora 1 | Flora 2 | Flora 3 | Flora 4 | Flora 5 | Flora Epilogue | Tsukushi 1 | Tsukushi 2 | Tsukushi 4 | Tsukushi 5 | Tsukushi Epilogue]