#Mira is a mix of a lot of different things

[evilsartcorner]

fun design but MANN the colors idk ,,,,

[remxedmoon]

What are your thoughts on ISAT's magic system?

AUTISM BLAST

okay long rambly post incoming. for the record like 90% of this is pure unfiltered headcanon. and almost all of this is about colors. sorry if this is hard to follow!!! i need to get this all out of my system.

oh also! a lot of this is based on a really good post by @/chronologically-challenged that shows off the differences between each character’s craft style! go check that out it’s really good

okay!! so!!! colors. this is just my own thing, but i personally like to color code the different types of craft!

don’t worry about those middle tones yet just put a pin in those

there’s still a little bit of color variety within craft types (for flavor), but generally, rock is blue, paper is yellow, and scissors is red. i’m not going to lie to you i only did this because the splatoon testfire had these colors. it’s also why my triplets designs are colored like that!

i think these colors also just fit the descriptions of these crafts? red feels like a more aggressive and active color, which matches how piercing craft is generally more focused on dealing damage, blue tends to be calmer, which matches protective craft being more supportive , that kinda thing. something something children’s hospital. yellow is a bit of a wildcard here lol, it just looks nice with the other two.

putting aside the colors for a mo! don’t worry those’ll come back soon. i’ve also been thinking a lot about how dual craft types work, though this is a little more speculative. i’m entirely basing this on how mira works. basically, one craft type seems to be more ‘dominant’ over the other. while mira is both paper and scissors, she’s still weak to rock, her basic attack is scissors, and her scissors skill (jolly round rondo) does much more damage than her paper skill (artsy silent burst). she behaves more like a scissors type, with an extra affinity for paper. which i think is interesting!!!

in terms of colors, i think this would manifest as mira’s craft being tinted orange, as a mix of both her craft type’s colors! this is partially what those uncategorized colors are for. while her scissors attacks are only slightly tinted, her paper attacks would be a lot closer to orange! and this would apply to other dual crafts as well. a rock/paper type would have more greenish attacks, a rock/scissors type would have more purply ones, etc etc.

i think this color mixing would also apply to single craft types trying to use a craft type that isn’t their own, though it’d prolly become less pronounced the more a person ‘gets used’ to using that craft type, so to speak. in a while rockodile would be pretty solidly purple, while rock bottom is more of an indigo color, and odile’s craft skills probably only slightly tinted as well.

ok!!! that was a lot about colors. i’m really fucking normal about colors. onto craft styles!! this is still kinda about colors tho sorry. also, again, go check out @/chronologically-challenged’s post if you haven’t already, it’ll prolly explain this better than i will

for a tl;dr on that post, each country has a different way of using craft. the forgotten island has lightless craft that tends to manifest as stars and zigzags, vaugarde has big, rounded bursts of grey craft (with smaller circles around it), and ka bue’s craft is more diamond shaped/triangular and tends to be on the lighter side.

this is also the part i’m a little less sure about. i haven’t drawn these out in my normal style!! so a lot of this is subject to change. sorry about that!

anyways. i wanted to preserve the island’s lightless craft while still making it colorful, so i decided to give it a sort of. halo effect? i guess? i wanted it to vaguely resemble the ring of light around a black hole or a solar eclipse, but that is a lot harder to do with the zigzag shape of the craft + my color limitations. and as i’ve recently learned, glow effects look really weird with my pixelly art. so this is all just flat colors 😓

shhh don’t mind the art here i’ve totally posted it before 🩶

vaugarde is pretty simple comparatively!! the craft is a sort of midshade ingame, so i just made the main color the normal craft colors. not much to say here!

and ka bue is in a similar boat! i did kinda draw it in my odile sprite redraw, but i didn’t really look at references so it’s kinda boring looking there. not much to say here either!!

and!! as we can see from the king’s special attack art, craft styles can kinda mix together. king’s style follows the general shape of vaugardian craft, but keeps the shade and stars from the forgotten island! i think it’d be fun to play with that a little more teehee. i imagine these are a lot more variable depending on how engrossed someone is in a culture, hence why odile’s craft doesn’t borrow from vaugarde’s style. unless she does? it’s not like we see other ka buans using craft in game. who knows.

also because i forgot, some extra bonus doodles of that craft color mixing i mentioned earlier! yipee!

and that’s it!!! there’s probably some other stuff that i am. currently forgetting. but this post is absurdly long enough!!! thank you so much for the ask i’m so sorry for autism blasting you about isat and color theory. am i still cool. here’s all of my craft doodles as compensation for reading this giant infodump. i’m so so sorry.

[happilychee]

fairy tail dragon slayer headcanons pt. 1

♡ what the first gen and second gen dragon slayers eat is pretty self-explanatory. all of their elements are... somewhat tangible. sting and rogue though? they're still figuring it out. rogue wonders if he can eat someone else's shadow, and sting immediately volunteers himself. "for science!" he says. the result is that sting almost passes out. oops. he insists they try on their friends, much to rogue's displeasure. the results are that sting is the most susceptible, then yukino, rufus, orga, and minerva is the least susceptible to magic drainage. sting insists rogue tries to eat an inanimate object's shadow, and nothing happens to it, so they decide that's the way to go.

♡ when wendy eats air, the oxygen levels thin. she has to be careful or she'll cause her allies and enemies alike to pass out. when sting eats light, the area gets darker and darker. this is great for rogue, who starts eating the shadows, and they manage to balance each other out.

♡ sting insists that different types of light taste differently. his favorite is light from golden hour, right when the sun is dipping below the horizon. moonlight will do in a pinch, but it's so diluted that it takes way more of it to recover sting's magic. he also gets sick if he eats too much moonlight.

♡ pantherlily already has transformation magic and enhanced strength, and carla learns to transform so she can help wendy fight. the other three exceeds feel... a little left out. happy learns how to fly faster and for longer (though he still complains about lucy being heavy). lector goes to porlyusica and wendy to learn some stamina regeneration spells for sting. everyone is surprised when frosch, completely on their own, manages to learn an adorable light spell that creates floating pink bubbles. rogue can consume the shadows from them without worrying about draining frosch's magic, and he spends the entire afternoon crying about it.

♡ dragon slayers are a bit like crows. their way of bonding with someone is through gifting trinkets. natsu will bring lucy, erza, and even gray pretty rocks or seashells that he's found on jobs. wendy picks up a new craft or hobby every week, so the members of fairy tail are constantly recieving handmade accessories from her (gajeel helps during the metalsmithing phase). gajeel does not buy cute things for people. he is like a dad in the fact that, when juvia mentions she wants watermelon, he buys her 20 watermelons. walking math problem fr.

♡ laxus has mixed feelings about his more draconic features and habits. he's never loved his magic because of the way he got it, and the memory of his father basically torturing him as he inserted the lacrima will stay with him forever. he tends to suppress dragon instincts more than anyone else in the group, and they all scold him for it. on a rare occasion, laxus will give in and buy something shiny (like a hairclip) for wendy. she has a little jewelry box for them that she guards fiercely.

♡ cobra considers himself more of a flying snake than a dragon. he once drew a picture that sent everyone into a laughing fit. he prefers to stick with the old oración seis crew, but the guild dragon slayers are always happy to see him when he stops by with crime sorcière.

♡ sting, because of his heightened senses and his affinity for light, prefers nighttime. the day can often be overwhelming, and overexposure to bright settings and lots of people leaves his skin buzzing. he likes to sit in the dim guild hall, leaning against the cool stone wall, as the chatter of the crowd quiets down with the setting sun.

♡ dragon slayers all have the Bite instinct. some exercise a degree of control about it, and others go crazy with it. wendy will very gently nibble on erza or mira's arm when she's in the mood, and sometimes she does it absentmindedly. natsu, on the other hand, is an absolute menace. multiple of erza's armor sets have natsu-shaped bite marks on them. he tends to go after her the most because he knows he won't hurt her with the armor. when natsu's more calmed down, he will chomp on lucy's shoulder. gajaeel copes by eating all of fairy tail's silverware (mira starts buying ceramic spoons), but when levy offers her wrist to him he can't help it.

♡ rogue is another one who doesn't really bite people. he, very rarely, nips at frosch's ears, which causes the exceed to giggle. sting is a Biter like natsu, but with slightly more decorum. he really wants to go at it but will restrain himself because most people aren't willing to be treated like a chew toy. luckily for him, gray and cana aren't most people! because they both wear pretty exposing clothing, gray and cana have no qualms about showing off sting's bite marks on their skin. sting always turns bright red when they tease him about it.

♡ laxus and cobra don't really feel the Bite instinct due to being second gen, but cobra is a little shit and bites people for the fun of it. laxus is completely unbothered when natsu clings to him like a koala and gnaws at him.

[electronickingdomfox]

"Memory Prime" review

Novel from 1988, by Garfield and Judith Reeves-Stevens. It's strange that the title says "the new novel by...", since as far as I know, this was the first Star Trek book of these authors. Chaotic, crazy, convoluted, at times campy and hard to follow, it's also a lot of fun. Even the cover is a "what-the-fuck" moment, with that Spock looking tiredly at the viewer, wearing the trademark Kirk-ripped-shirt.

The story mixes several TOS elements: a conspiracy to kill someone aboard the Enterprise; a mission to rescue Spock that puts everyone's careers in danger; and an obnoxious Commodore that hinders the heroes' efforts. All mixed and enhanced to cinematic level. Apart from all that, the novel expands on the story from "The Lights of Zetar", showing the aftermath of Memory Alpha's destruction. And has Mira Romaine (the guest from that episode) as one of the main characters.

The titular Memory Prime is the new center of knowledge and research for the Federation, and the main node in a network of similar centers, each in a different asteroid. Selected as the place to hold the Nobel prizes, the Enterprise is tasked with bringing scientists from all over the Federation to the ceremony. But things get awry when Starfleet intelligence discovers that one or more of the scientists are targeted for assassination. And to everybody's surprise, the main suspect is... Spock!! On top of that, Starfleet has lost confidence in Kirk, and orders a Commodore to take over the Enterprise during the emergency. So Kirk now has to recover both his First Officer and his ship, while confronted with a thickening web of conspiracy. There's something of pulp fiction about the cackling villains, killer robots, and constant plot twists and cliffhangers. But surprisingly, there's also an element of more serious science fiction, with the introduction of the Pathfinders (artificial intelligences that have developed their own worldview), and the discussions about computer science. The chapters dealing with the Pathfinders show a fascinating and alien perspective, that may very well be classified as "cyberpunk". It's possible that something of this owes more to TNG than TOS. The final reveal about who was behind the assassination, the real target of it, and the motives, were actually unexpected.

As for the characters, Kirk gets the spotlight and most heroic deeds (so it's no wonder that these same authors got to co-write the Shatnerverse novels later). And of course Spock is central to the plot, though absent during a good chunk of the story. But Scotty also gets a larger-than-usual role, and picks up his romance with Romaine. While Uhura has one of her most badass moments when confronting the Commodore. Also, everyone has crazy, crazy fight scenes: from Kirk defeating a robot with bullfighter techniques (and utterly annihilating his shirt in the process), to Spock locking in a mind-meld combat, or McCoy... attacking with hypos.

In summary, a pretty exciting action adventure, with humorous scenes that are actually funny, and some food-for-thought concerning AI and the fainting distinction between human and machine. Even if the plot can get messy and even ridiculous at times.

Spirk Meter: 9/10*. Kirk is really distressed by Spock's framing and incarceration, and spends most of the novel focused on rescuing him no matter what. Even if this means the end of his career and losing the Enterprise; Spock comes as his first priority. He doesn't doubt his innocence for a moment, either, while others in the crew have some reservations. And whenever Spock's in physical danger, Kirk is the first to jump to protect him (even if he himself is a wreck). Kirk is also the only one who truly seems to understand Spock, he can anticipate his thoughts and see his logic, where others only see crazyness. Besides, there's a scene where Kirk faints, and the first thing he says upon waking up is "Spock, Spock...?". And yeah, Spock is there, hovering over him and pushing him gently to lie back in bed.

Though this is clearly a spirky novel and McCoy has a lesser role, there are a few moments with him too. At the beginning, both he and Kirk devise a convoluted plan to keep Spock in the dark about the Nobel ceremony, in the hopes of seeing him smile or at least react when the surprise is revealed. While at the end, McCoy wants to know EVERYTHING about Spock's years in the Academy, once he learns from one of his teachers that he was a bit of a "class clown" back then (for Vulcan standards). And despite Spock's apparent annoyance, Kirk notices a warm expression on him, because of the doctor's antics. Kirk also jumps in front of McCoy and Spock to take a lethal phaser shot instead of them. With the hilarious result that the shot wasn't neither that lethal, nor he took it all that well, considering both Spock and McCoy also end up groaning in bed after a stun.

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

[beneathsilverstars]

Dunno if you're only interested in thinking about ISAT related sillies, but I've been thinking of Siffrin's love of plays and poetry mixed with my love of musicals! It's got a script and there's stage settings so people walk the same paths and say the same things every time, but it's still performance art! There's still a magic in every moment and potential for new meaning and change- and that's before you think of how the people times and places also inherently shape things. Do you have any thoughts about what the ISAT party + newly adopted Nille feel/think about traditional plays?

Mirabelle enjoys them as much as any other sort of media, I think! She's more concerned with genre and character than format. It's too bad you can't easily re-experience a play like you can a book, but! That just makes it all the more special to see one! She took an acting class once, and even though she was only a minor background character, being on stage made her so nervous that she messed up her only line. But! That just makes it all the more impressive how brave and talented professional actors are!!

Isabeau loves them as a visual medium. The costumes! The set! The blocking! In the past he would've just said the play was pretty, but these days he will come out of the theater gushing about the visual symbolism. Mira's like "What did you think of the plot though?" and he's like "Oh, the plot? Yeah it was great, it was really clever how they foreshadowed the fall of the prince by tearing his cloak directly through the royal insignia in act one, especially because the blow would have killed him if his servant hadn't intervened; it's just like how holding onto the throne would have led to his death, meaning his servant saved him once again by removing him from power!"

Odile's fine with them. She prefers the private experience of a book, but going out and doing something with friends is a different kind of nice! It's fun to tease everyone about their reactions afterwards. And if she cried at one too once no she didn't. :|

Bonnie likes the action! A story you can watch! Except sometimes Siffrin picks boring ones that are mostly people standing around and talking to themselves and Bonnie isn't even allowed to run around instead. So, hit or miss for them. Every couple of years the kids in Bambouche put on a play, and last time Bonnie got to be a pirate, and it was awesome even though they had to be so careful to not actually whack the other kid with their sword.

Nille likes them a lot! Plays are maybe her favorite way to be told a story; it's so direct and clear and multi-sensational, you really get to immerse yourself in it. She often does gestures and voices while telling stories herself, it just makes it easier to follow! She was so proud of Bonnie when they got to be a pirate and only actually whacked the other kid with their sword for real during practice a couple times.

Siffrin loved the escapism. Stories are so grand, and everything that happens in them is so meaningful. A play ends the same way each time you watch it, yet you're still on the edge of your seat, swept up in the world the actors have conjured! Plus, seeing a play was the best way to kill an evening, sitting somewhere safe and comfortable while getting a little more familiar with the local language and culture. They liked experiencing unique small plays! They liked seeing how a world-famous play would get translated and adapted for different countries! They liked attending the same production three nights in a row and seeing if they could catch any little differences!

Post-canon... He's definitely not going to watch the same one three nights in a row. And not any that he has basically memorized, either. And maybe not the entire thing yet, maybe he has to leave closer to the beginning than the intermission a couple times. But!! Siffrin loves plays, he remembers that about himself, and even after everything, he can't help but love the familiar. So. He's working towards being able to be himself again.

Loop would rather get crushed by the king again than step foot in a theatre~!

[fourthwingfan]

Madness - Chapter 4

Warning: It's a war college so don't read it if you sensitive to violence death etc.

Note: We have finally a "decent" conversation between Xaden and Aelin. And guess what? We have a new nickname. From Xaden. Soo goood. 😍

Enjoy :)

The sparring ring is where riders are made or broken. After all, no respectable dragon would choose a rider who cannot defend themselves, and no respectable cadet would allow such threat to the wing to continue training.

-Major Afendra’s guide to the Riders Quadrant

(Unauthorized Edition)

“Elena Sosa, Brayden Blackburn.” Captain Fitzgibbons reads from the death roll, flanked by two other scribes on the dais as we stand in silent formation in the courtyard, squinting into the early sun.

This morning, we’re all in rider black, and there’s a single silver four-pointed star on my collarbone, the mark of a first-year, and a Fourth Wing patch on my shoulder. We were issued standard uniforms yesterday, summer-weight tightfitted tunics, pants, and accessories after Parapet was over, but not flight leathers. There’s no point handing out the thicker, more protective combat uniforms when half of us won’t be around come Threshing in October. The armored corset Mira made us isn’t regulation, but I fit right in among the hundreds of modified uniforms around me.

After the last twenty-four hours and one night in the first-floor barracks, I’m starting to realize that this quadrant is a strange mix of we-might-die-tomorrow hedonism and a brutal efficency in the name of the same reason.

“Jace Sutherland.” Captain Fitzgibbons continues to read, and the scribes next to him shift their weight. “Dougal Luperco.”

I think we’re somewhere in the fifties, but I lost count. This is the only memorial the names will get, the only time they’ll be spoken of in the citadel.

There are a hundred and fifty-six of us in the first floor of the dormitory building, our beds positioned in four neat rows in the open space. Private rooms are like flight leathers - you don’t get one until you survive Threshing.

“Simone Casteneda.” Captain Fitzgibbons closes the scroll. “We commend their souls to Malek.” The god of death.

I blink. Guess we were closer to the end than I thought.

There’s no formal conclusion to the formation, no last moment of silence. The names on the scroll leave the dais with the scribes, and the quiet is broken as the squad leaders all turn and begin to address their squads.

“Hopefully you all ate breakfast, because you’re not going to get another chance before lunch,” our squad leader says. His name is Theo as we learnt after yesterday’s events. For first impression he seem to be a pretty calm guy. He talked about the rules but not like Dain based on what Violet said last night. I swear the rules are his gods.

In our squad there are third- and second-years besides us, marked and non-marked ones. We’re a really mixed group.

Yesterday I didn’t have a chance to observe our squad mates because when Theo’s briefing was over I went to find Violet. We succeeded securing beds next to each other. Rhiannon too. We talked about a lot of things due to the fact that we’re not in the same squad. I can’t be with her for every lesson, our schedule is different. Vi helped me memorising the order of my lessons. It’s a luck that at least I have good memory.

“Second- and third-years, I’m assuming you know where to go” Theo continues as the scribes wind their way around the edge of the courtyard to my right, headed back to their quadrant.

There’s a mutter of agreement from the senior cadets ahead of us. As first-years, we’re in the back two rows of the little square that makes up our squad.

“First-years, at least one of you should have memorized your academic schedule when it was handed out yesterday.” Theo’s voice booms over us. “Stick together. I expect you all to be alive when we meet this afternoon in the sparring gym.”

We only have the gym twice a week, so there should be time to help Violet learn a little more self defense. She’s smart and quick. She can do it.

I’m more worried about my own lessons. I have to put in so much extra hours to be up to date in our reading materials. Before Basgiath, Violet helped me to study. She often read aloud the texts while I tried to memorize its content. It’s easier. When I’m trying to read, it often makes me so frustrated. I’m trying to read, but I can’t. It’s a really slow process. But because of this I’m good at making notes. I only write down what is really important ‘cause later I have to read it again.

I hope the lessons will be tolerable. I can’t have Violet with me all the time. It’s same for her. She needs to practice her skills before we’ll have to handle the Gauntlet - the vertical obstacle course they told us we’ll have to master when the leaves turn colors in two months.

If we can complete the final Gauntlet, we’ll walk through the natural box canyon above it that leads to the flight field for Presentation, where this year’s dragons willing to bond will get their first look at the remaining cadets. Two days after that, Threshing will occur in the valley beneath the citadel.

I glance around at my new squadmates and can’t help but wonder which of us, if any, will make it to that flight field, let alone that valley.

Don’t borrow tomorrow’s trouble.

“And if we’re not?” One smart-ass first-year behind me asks.

I don’t bother looking, instead I turn to Liam and roll my eyes at the stupid’s girl comment.

He snickers but doesn’t say anything.

“Then I won’t have to be concerned with learning your name, since it will be read off tomorrow morning” Theo answers with a shrug.

A third-year ahead of me snorts a laugh.

Yeah, I totally understand you. It was funny. Or just my sense of humor is sucks.

“You have about twenty minutes to get to class,” Theo says to the seven of us first-years. “Fourth floor, second room on the left in the academic wing. Get your shit together and don’t be late.” Our squad breaks apart around the same time the others do, transforming the courtyard from an orderly formation to a crowd of chatting cadets. The second- and third-years walk off in another direction, including Theo.

“Go, grab your stuff and meet me here okay?” Liam says

“You’d be lost without me anyway.” I reply while heading to the doors.

“And here I thought you’d be kinder with a good night sleep, Snappy.” He sighs.

“Damn, I told you to drop this ridiculous nickname.” I hiss at him.

“Or what? We’re squadmates, you can’t hurt me” he winks.

“No. I can’t kill you. It’s completly different.” I say smiling.

“Whooah look at that. You can smile.”

“Shut up. Go grab your pack or I leave you here.” I roll my eyes.

I go to the dormitory where my bed is, and pick up my rucksack from under it.

When I walk out the door I see Violet at the center of the courtyard and her expression make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. She’s looking at somebody.

Oh shit.

Xaden Riorson is watching her with narrowed eyes, the sleeves of his uniform rolled up his massive arms that remain folded across his chest, the warning in his relic-covered arm on full display as a third-year next to him says something that he blatantly ignores.

Garrick was he?

There’s maybe twenty feet between us. My fingers twitch, ready to grab one of the blades sheathed at my ribs.

His head tilts and he studies me with those impossibly dark eyes, like he’s deciding where I’m most vulnerable. So he noticed me when I exited the dormitory. Interesting.

He smirks then his attention shifts to Violet, and Dain who emerges from behind the pillar.

Shit, do they have to be so obvious? Someone might misinterpret it.

Violet says something to Dain, then his gaze snaps up as the crowd thins out around us.

„I already knew your parents are tight,” Xaden calls out, a cruel smile tilting his lips. „But do you two have to be so fucking obvious?”

I told you, I sigh when the few cadets who are still in the rotunda turn to look at them.

„Let me guess,” Xaden continues, glancing between Dain and Violet, „Childhood friends? First loves, even?”

„I expected you to do a better job hiding where your affections lie, Aetos.” Xaden moves, walking down the steps.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I need to do something.

„Come on Riorson, you have eyes, now use it. You really think that Violet and Dain? I thought you’re smarter than that.” I sigh with feigned disappointment.

„Melgren?” He turns to me. „What are you? A watchdog? Always at Violet’s legs?”

Fucking asshole.

„Now you’re trying to insult me? How kind of you.” I smile at him sweetly. „And no. Violet can protect herself. I just don’t like the fact that now everybody thinks that they have something between them because of you. I didn’t know you liked to gossip.”

„With this attitude you won’t last long, Melgren. Throwing insults at everybody who dares to talk to you or Sorrengail.” He tilts his head to the side. „It’s like you’re a fucking ray of sunshine.”

„Then forgive this little Sunshine and her friend because we’ll have a lesson soon, and it would cast a really bad light on us if we were late. Don’t you think wingleader?” I gesture toward Violet to come with me.

„Hm. Then we should continue our interesting conversation later.” He says slowly with a smirk and I have a bad feeling about it. „And don’t forget to watch your back, Sunshine.” He turns and walks away.

Sunshine? A nickname? Really?

Damn, he’s handsome for sure but at the same time an enermous prick.

[aluria-sevhex]

I BEAT THE GAME

a solid 3rd of my ISAT notes on my phone are just from 'today' (writing this past midnight lol)

my ISAT masterpost

every post in this series is also tagged as #Aluria plays ISAT for the first time (please don't spoil)

please note that there's a bunch of notes in this post because i was still in Act 3 at the beginning of this post lol

-i'm not playing it rn but i have decided to break my 'no looking stuff up' rule so i know where to go to make Sif rember what they say when carving stuff

[WRITING TUMBLR POST ALURIA NOTE: i later looked up maps of the House to help me keep track of stuff lol]

-ok now i know. i like figuring things out myself but i could not fucking remember lol.

-i have a really long car ride so. MORE ISAT

-title theme shout-out

-Sif tripped on a rock. "you're clumsy and not at all threatening and overpowered compared to them!" :(

-they almost forgot to catch Isa :(

-dang, Siffrin didn't say nya this time D:

-hehe they hit it back. one could say it's a... COUNTER-attack B)

-SIFFRIN GHOST ON THE WAY TO THE DORM

-WAIT FUCK DID I FORGET THE SHARPENING STONE

-fuck it i was planning to loop back after finding out what to say anyway

-ah don't i also need to find more i fo on the King somewhere? eh i can do that on the next loop... so much to keep track of...

-LMAO. THE PHRASE SIF SAYS. "please don't look bad please don't look bad please don't look bad" BIG FUCKING MOOD TBH

-Sif on his way to talk to their tools and project while carving or sharpening:

-aight time to die lmao

-Loop my belooped

-hm... it's Loop's job to remember Siffrin's mistakes...

-"you don't have to remember to yell' always gets me :(

-I FOUND THE ARTICLES

-ok so currently i'm thinking that the King and Siffrin are probably from the same place. which may or may not be where Loop is from and/or the disappearing island and/or connected to the color thing.

this game has a lot of weird shit going on.

-Bonnie doesn't know what a star is

-OH FUCK NO. AM I GOING TO HAVE TO GO TO THE OBSERVATORY. I'M LEAVING THAT FOR A LATER LOOP.

-another ghost :0

-ISAT: 📚

ISAT if Siffrin could pick locks: 📕

-WHAT. "you used to find them disgusting, but someone you knew loved them, so you tried them."

"someone you knew?"

"who?"

O_O

-aw, Isa hugged Mira on this bathroom trip

-"you wish for rest" yeah...

-"please be sharp, please be sharp, please be sharp"

-the Keyknife is now the Knifekey. WAIT. THIS MEANS IN THE FUTURE I CAN DO OTHER SHIT ON FLOOR 3. HELL FUCKING YES.

-wait. OH C'MON. boooooooo

-i picked malanga fritters and almost skipped past something that seems important. they remind Siffrin of his parents? :0 their head hurt...

-"BECAUSE YOU FORCED THEM TO!" :(

-"where r u from" "no u"

-JUST FUCKING CONFESS ISA FJHDHEJKSMXMDKSKS

-*sighs* guess i should talk to her. actually... what if i called Loop?

-huh. can't call them here.

-"i just hope that one day you might learn" WAIT THAT'S DIFFERENT- wait nvm i got things mixed up in my head :(

-"in this moment, you were loved"

-"that was a nice rehearsal" OH FUCK.

-i just skipped from loop 37 to 40

-time to kill myself with a banana! oop- *plantain*

-"you broke your head open on a rock" it did not use to describe it like that.

-wait. Sif. if you're annoyed there isn't a more dignified way in the village to loop. just kill yourself. you have a knife. just fucking kill yourself to loop forward.

-...fuck what the hell is this game doing to my thought process

-ok what should i look for in this room...

-"BUT YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO READ IT" in large font... :(

-:( Sif is trying to remember something and it's tied to the stars

-aight new thing to ask the king time to get myself killed via tear yippee

-seems like the King wants Siffrin to remember their home... "something we've all forgotten" this is definitely about the disappearing island and the colors

-i need to go to the library and find the books on it.

-hey isn't Rock also called Protection Craft? kinda interesting that the King has it

-damn i died to the King because of timing bullshit ToT

-"one more time."

-huh... it evades active remembrance

-it had a belief centered on the Universe...

-need to figure out why the King is obsessed with Vaugarde

-freezing something perfect in time... do i need to find one of those Time Craft books again?

-gonna loop forward to the King

-"even the King feels easy to fight, now"

"i still can't say it" the name of their home. he wants to be able to say the name of his and Siffrin's home. ouagh this game is going to leave me emotionally devastated ToT

-fuck i missed the option to ask Odile if she was going to continue her fake research on a loop where i didn't spend time with her

-"can we group hug after i talk to the Head Housemaiden?" oh?

-DAMMIT ODILE INTERRUPTED ISA THIS TIME

-time to talk to her. again. again and again and again and again

-"you can start breaking down now" lol

-"the curtain falls" DAMN

-"HERE AGAIN?" woah Loop why so aggressive?

-"i'm too lazy to open up new dialogue choices" lol

-hm... show Loop the souvenirs...

-wait huh. in another loop this lady in Dormont said she has no siblings but now she has a sister. odd...

-:O THE LONG THINGY-THING

-huh. Loop reacted kinda weirdly to the kid's doodle

-hey what if i gave Isa the flower at the end?

-FUCK I FORGOT THE FUCKING ROCK I GOT TOO COMFY. this is embarrassing

-hey hold up the theme that plays when everybody's discussing the country in the library is the same song that plays when Loop is recapping things

-hold up. the King was in Corbeaux. Corbeaux is where the House doing the color research is.

-took the photo. PERFECTLY FROZEN IN TIME

-oh fuck

-calling Loop

-hm. the star-shaped gate that's locked. is the passcode the name of Siffrin and the King's home?

-we're gonna use a bomb i guess

-i asked the King where he's from and uh... now a slowed-down version of the song is playing...

-what the fuck

-Sif and the King are going to die, aren't they?

-"BUT IT'S ALL GONE!"

-i'm going to loop forward and try to talk to the King. again.

-*sighs* the peel is so dorky

-FUCK I FORGOT TO EQUIP THE MEMORY OF KNIFEKEY

-wait. asking him nicely. FUCKING WORKED???

-"The Universe leads... we can only follow"

-FUCK. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME. OF COURSE. OF COURSE. OF COURSE. GO FUCK YOURSELF.

-so the King knows about the loops, even though he can't remember them.

-"Wish Craft" :0

-WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO.

-BONNIE NO

-NO NO NO NO UNHAND THEM

-BONNIE NO BONBON NO

-okay. i looped back. Bonnie is okay again. i just need to kill the King.

-hold the fuck up. it says i'm in Act 4. bad things mark the end of acts. Act 1 ended with me getting in the loops. Act 2 ended with killing the King failing. Act 3 ended with...?

-please don't let Bonnie be dead somehow

-THEY'RE OKAY THEY'RE OKAY

-...the little moments of time rewinding seem to correlate with Sif wishing to go back

-:O I CAN READ THE BOOKS NOW

-THE GATE. OH FUCK YEAH

-fucking hell when did i get (Just attack) because DAMN. Sif is so fucking done with everything.

-WISH CRAFT

-i just fumkign one-shot the Nostalgie on floor 1. "just attack" indeed

-"you need a break" :(

-Sif is like constantly teetering on the edge of a mental breakdown

-let's see how well they do against a boss

-DAMN

-ok so what the fuck was Euphrasie doing before shit hit the fan? and why does she blame herself for Siffrin's situation?

-i just realized something funny. if Vaugarde is fantasy France. and Siffrin and the King are from an island north of Vaugarde. DOES THAT MAKE SIFFRIN FANTASY BRITI- *gets shot*

-gate time.

-what was the question? what was the answer?

-"couldn't i just create another me? someone who'd understand?" ok so somebody's a clone got it.

-Loop? i should talk to Loop

-ok i guess i'll have to be like "hey Loop are you a clone?" in person (plot twist Sif's a clone :P)

-"i saw a weird shade" WAIT HOLD UP YEAH THAT'S SUS THAT SIFFRIN FUCKING SAW RED. OK THAT WAS DIAGETIC. FIRST COLOR IN THE WHOLE GAME.

-gonna kill the King again, talk to Loop, then loop again forward to Floor 2 to read the color theory book

-WAIT SIFFRIN HASN'T CRIED ONCE THIS WHOLE GAME BITCH REPRESSION IS NOT HEALTHY!

-"especially if she knows" Sif. did you forget Odile's name. OH FUCK

-"HOW BLINDINGLY WONDERFUL, FOR A ROLL OF TOILET PAPER TO BE THE ONLY HOPE YOU HAVE LEFT RIGHT NOW!" this would be so funny if not for the context

-"you wish for eternity" WAIT HOLD UP

-SIFFRIN IS USING WISH CRAFT. AND WHEN THEY PRAY TO THE CHANGE GOD STATUES THEY SEND THEIR WISHES. ARE THE BUFFS AND THE KEYKNIFE THE RESULT OF WISH CRAFT?

-hey Siffrin uses a more shy and sad portrait for the 'thank you' afterwards now :(

-FUCK I FORGOT TO SHARPEN THE KNIFE

-y'know what it's fine i have the bomb

-hey Sif i think what happened last time might've uh. traumatized you? ;-;

-welp. i used the bomb. it was anticlimactic.

-"i wonder how this country looks from the outside" *proceeds to imply that the time loop only affects Vaugarde* hold the fucking phone

-ok tho srsly Siffrin is in what looks like *extreme* duress

-oh damn Sif has different portraits for the 'you should disappear' bit. less smug and determined, more... *haunted*

-dang, can't give Isa the flower at the end

-*sigh* gonna talk to her again

-"the actor has become the director"

-there's a lot more theatre comparisons than there used to :(

-woah Siffrin you are weirdly enthusiastic to see Loop

-time to loop forward to read the books woooo

-Sif i am very concerned about this dialogue portrait. your enthusiasm is *desperate*

-hey something funny: people wish on stars

-this game has a LOT of motifs i love: wishes, stars, time, memories, etc.

-hm... what is Siffrin's 'ritual' when doing the wish-y thing?

-:0 a wish is trapping Siffrin?

-what if they're actually being trapped by their own desires or smth? like some sort of- WAIT. WHAT IF LOOP IS TRAPPING THEM SOMEHOW???

-i am in conspiracy mode i think

-moving forward to get to the library

-Siffrin is now level 85...

-maybe a wish is how the island disappeared?

-FAVOR TREE IS WISH CRAFT WOOOOOOOO

-i think the way Sif wished was from something they learned as a kid

-3, 6, 7, 13, all are numbers with significance

-HEY LOOP LOOK WHAT I LEARNED

-welp time to die ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

-ok what is in that one house in the main part of Dormont

-hm. Euphrasie was apparently asking everybody what they wished for. she probably realized something tied to Wish Craft was wrong...

-maybe the list in Euphrasie's office cataloguing the names was categorizing based on wishes?

-looping forward

-"you're a living comedy sketch"

-my guess is that the wishing to save Vaugarde enabled Siffrin to loop so they could defeat the King, but something went horribly wrong, thus causing the loops to keep going

-ugh i need to talk in person. tear time!

-a sped-up version of the happy song after you beat the King is playing and Siffrin has the desperate enthusiasm portrait...

-Siffrin, you already tried saving Vaugarde.

-"maybe you don't loop because you die... but because you feel like there would be no reason to go on, maybe?" makes sense to me. Siffrin doesn't have anything to look forward to after defeating the King.

-"something that, to you, feels on the same level of hopelessness as death? on the same level as the world ending?" me when the time loop wants me to get therapy:

-hey Sif you just looped. right in front of Loop.

-looping forward to the King.

-Odile's realizing she's missing something. too bad she'll forget it. maybe i should try making the others really suspicious of me on a future loop

-"please don't interrupt" :(

-this game has me constantly on some variety of edge and i love it

-maybe this time Isa will get to confess?

-the static is starting and i haven't even talked to Euphrasie

-damn i did a minor loop back :(

-talking to her won't work. it can't work.

-STOP SAYING THE SAME DAMN THING STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT

-I WAS RIGHT AS TO HOW EXACTLY SIF GOT STUCK

-the wish is broken. MAYBE IF I DO SOMETHING ELSE MAYBE IF HE'S DEFEATED SOME OTHER WAY PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

-OH FUCK. so Sif's current theory is that somehow he has to deal the final blow

-"You just need to defeat the King on your own" BUT YOU NEED THE OTHERS TO DEFEAT HIM?

-also damn the way Siffrin's thoughts spiral into a mess is a mood.

-i am now in Act 5.

-:( the Dormont music is slow now

-Sif's portrait in the menus has changed again, there is nothing in the body text of his profile, and their title is now "The Lost One" :(

-wait. the Change God statue is glitchy now and i can't get buffs there anymore

-Sif is like perpetually pissed off

-aaaand now Mira's upset

-Sif is going to fuck things up with the others as well, won't they?

-i think Odile's gonna figure out that Sif is in a time loop

-i feel like i'm in a horror game right now. well. i've felt like that for a while. but i am fucking terrified of Siffrin right now. Siffrin you need help please they only want to help you you can't bottle up everything or it only ends up worse

-the battle theme is slowed...

-sometime i should write a crossover fanfic where Rose Lalonde picks apart Siffrin, i think it would go very interestingly

-unrelated but i just realized Isa has a hair banana hehehe... i need to cling to levity while in this hell

-uh. dude. why is your dialogue looping

-SIFFRIN! I. I KNOW YOU'RE STRUGGLING BUT ALL THEY WANT TO DO IS HELP YOU AND YOU KEEP HURTING THEM PLEASE THEY ONLY WANT TO HELP YOU I KNOW VULNERABILITY IS HARD BUT PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE THEY'VE BEEN *TRYING* AND THEY'VE BEEN NOTHING BUT KINDA TO YOU AND IT HURTS TO SEE THIS SIFFRIN BECAUSE YOU KEEP GETTING WORSE AND WORSE AND IT'S TERRIFYING!

-fuck man this game is getting me to care so much about this guy. Mental Illness Simulator 2023

-the irony of Sif calling Isa a coward who projects confidence but not backing it up... Siffrin is projecting.

-and yet despite all that... Isa still ended the conversation rather kindly ToT

-Loop seems really unsure and yeah. past me would not believe this but i am siding with the starheaded bitch.

-...Loop fucking LIED

-Sif is going alone

-oh dear the music

-most of the memories are gone. and the skills...

-level 99

-wait the room layout is fucked

-a Sif ghost but with a black hat instead

-"you're hungry" :(

-so. i think Sif just hallucinated his party members.

-"your stomach hurts. you feel cold." :(

-the world is glitching and breaking haha and i am scared i'm scared i'm scared Siffrin *please*

-how is the photo event occurring if i'm on my own?

-*oh no*

-ok brb i need to take a break

-ok back from my break and refreshed! now i can go back to Siffrin's Descent Into Hell

-entered Mira's room. her hallucination did the "head is covered in darkness creepily" thing...

-Odile...

-i'm in the Keyknife room except now the background is the post-King fight background...

-the feeling of the grim march towards a specific goal reminds me of the Undertale genocide route haha...ha...ha... ...

-stomachache, headache, and the smell of sugar...

-no more running, only a slow, slow, walk to the end

-"you've trapped this country in time even more surely than i have" oh fuck

-not often that a game makes me terrified enough for me to feel my heartbeat...

-red.

-his sprite is on the game over?

-where the FUCK am i?

-spooky shadow Siffrin

-OOO DO I GET TO FIGHT A MANIFESTATION OF SIFFRIN'S MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES?

-hm what does mal du pays mean- oh :( it translated to homesickness :(

-you can't fight your own shadow

-"it's not like you haven't let me die before, right?" *OH FUCK*

-you broke your promise didn't you?

-red

-dude i think the depression is collecting its due. loops and loops of bottling your shit up has been unhealthy and now you are paying for it :(

-"if something has been forgotten by everyone, has that thing ever existed?" FUCK

-red

-more red

-BRIGHT RED

-if i had a nickel for every rpg i liked where a monochrome manifestation of the main character's mental illness taunted him in a scripted fight, i'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. bonus: the dialogue box calls Mal du Pays 'something'! oh and both games open with a content warning i guess

y'know maybe the fact i found out about this game from a blogger that i followed for Omori stuff should've been some sort of indicator.

-"the sadness within you is right" FUCK

-OH GOOD SIF DIDN'T DIE THE FAMILY CAME TvT

-"a weird shiny person helped us!" LOOP :D

-AND THE MUSIC IS UPBEAT OH THIS FEELS SO GOOD TvT

-IT HAS THE TITLE SCREEN MOTIF TOO

-i'l have to look up the song later and compare to other themes but i think it might be a medley/remix? i've definitely identified the post-King fight theme and the title theme, probably more i can't clearly identify

-everybody's battle portraits are so bright and happy

-"i still cannot remember its name" :(

-damn. he froze. womp womp

-ok but what about Loop? what's going on with them?

-glitchy background...

-i'm on Act 5. aren't there like 6 acts? idk maybe this can end and Sif can move forward. then again... the last few times. that did not work out.

-haha Sif pls don't die on us rlly tho pls don't

-so slow...

-RED...

-Mal du Pays is following us

-FUCK

-*exhales* ok the darkness is gone

-is it weird that i kinda like this moment more than the moments of closeness with the others in Act 3? maybe cuz it feels more real, somehow... or because for once, Siffrin is the one being vulnerable...

-i think the problem was sticking to the script and treating the others like actors or well... NPCs

-FUCK FUCK FUCK NO NO NO DON'T YOU DARE GO INTO GLITCHY MODE.

-FUCK

-now that they're here they know something is wrong.

-please game please grant Siffrin one small mercy and let the others loop back with him this time

-RED

-uhhhhhhhh

-Sif did you just become your weird sadness self

-woah this is a beautiful scene

-WOAH. now THIS is a battle! and it is *beautiful*. the red and the stars...

-oh fuck. my options are hurt them or self-harm.

-wait are they HEALING ME? :(

-the battle menu simply refers to Siffrin as 'user'

-JGJRJENNDNRJE LMAO ODILE JUST PULLED A CLASSIC MOM MOVE LIKE "don't you dare storm up to your room earlier in time, young man!"

-forced group therapy

-oh, Siffrin's portrait

-i HATE that my options are hurt my friends or hurt myself. and i refuse to let Siffrin hurt their friends. it's... heartbreaking...

-chat i don't think the wish the player chooses was Siffrin's *actual* wish

-:0 hatless Siffrin

-AWWWW THEY'RE HUGGING

-aw... smiling Sif... hugging Bonnie :]

-:0 EVERYBODY IS SO HAPPY IN THE MENU!

-"It's you!!!!" also hey Sif's title is "The Traveler" again!

-"you will stay together for a little while longer" :]

-i love how the lack of hat makes the fact that Siffrin is really short apparent lol

-these new conversations are precious :]

-Odile thinks the fact that Sif loved everybody so much they got himself stuck in a time loop to be cute XD

-NO WAY. IS THIS FINALLY HAPPENING. IS HE FINALLY GONNA SAY IT?

-HELL FUCKING YES!!!!!!!!

-ok i just talked to all the housemaidens and Dormont residents. time to talk to Loop

-...

-maybe Loop was just. a manifestation of the wish...

-:0 THE SILVER COIN? ARE WE GONNA FINSLLY USE THE SILVER COIN?

-TvT

-I BEAT THE GAME :D

-:o Siffrin is no longer on the title screen

[ragnar0c]

Love reading your little oc-posting about eo nexus! Can we know who is on your team ? Do you have a mix-up of your favorit ocs from different games or is there, like, a team for each of your oc groups ?

Will enjoy reading their adventures, have fun with the game !

I've 100%ed the game before, but wanted to replay take notes and remember some things! So, I decided to try the Nexus Overhaul mod and that mod adds the Alchemist and Buccaneer class + completely new skill trees too :D

My current team I'm using just to test out all the new skills, they would be insufferable to each other if it were the truth:

Mary (Protector), Snowwie (Alchemist), Hana (Zodiac), Lazasia (Medic), Rozelia (Buccaneer)!

Protectors have a lot more elemental skills in this version, and buccanners work like chain fencers. So Rozelia chases Hana's and Snowwie's attacks, Mary imbues normal attacks so Rozelia can counter more.

I plan to try lots other things out bc when I first played I stuck with the same parties (mostly) until post game. These three in this order:

First party was my planned party, then in the lush woodlands they met El, then in the primitive jungle Kise gets injured.

I have one of every class, thinking of getting some doubles depending on how much fun the mod is!!!

Canonically all my eo4 guild is in the nexus guild, though they trickle in throughout the main story plot.

Muerte [nightseeker], Lance [Sovereign], Mary [Protector], Mira [Survivalist], Snowwie [Alchemist], Lazasia [Medic], Hi [Arcanist], Koyon [Shogun], Sky [Imperial]

Yes.......... Snowwie is all grown up now ough................

I could go thru everyone but that'd take forever, besides the eo4 gang main characters are there from each ragnarok branch like Hana (eo3 zodiac), Cinnabar (eo2 gunner) eventually helps out, Tez from EMD (landy), and El (she's the new Maginia main, Highlander)

I don't really have any living characters from eo1, and eo5 in my lore takes place on not earth. And the hero? Don't worry about who that is, she's important for post game.

I guess to answer you though, I'm mixing and matching this time even though it's a little against canon ajdjadd. It's been fun so far! I'm glad someone likes reading about them!!!

Feel free to ask about specifics too heheheh, I'll probably make a post breaking down the subgroups bc there's eo4 ragnarok and ho they split into groups (emd), Hana and how she split off, eo2 ragnarok and how they split, El the wanderer, Midgard Library etc.......

I'll probably post their cheebs bc I think.... I have drawn all of them oughhhhhhh

[seidenbros]

Can we have a Steve falling head over heels for Robin's college roommate? I'm pretty sure Steve would love a super nerdy bookworm girl. Literature student, maybe? I picture her as a hopeless romantic who's super into the most tooth aching clichès and he definitely finds that cute. But she totally matches Robin's energy, so she is funny + adorable + cute.

He visits Robin on a regular basis and as she is super close with reader, they become friends too but then he realizes that she's everything he ever wanted 🥺

I'm totally vibing with that. Sorry 🤣

Hello love and thank you so much for this request. I decided to mix it with an idea that I couldn't get out of my head, so we have Baker!Steve in this one. I kinda wrote my heart out and just realised that I completely forgot to weave in the hopeless romantic/clichès thing and I'm sorry D: I hope you'll still enjoy it 💚 and if you were wondering what a puddin pretzel is, click here

prompt lists for inspiration | Stranger Things Masterlist Pairing: Baker!Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader Word Count: 6743 Warnings/Tags: mutual pining, use of petnames (doll), broken hearts in the past, fluff, domestic Steve, I mean he bakes come on!, making out, sexual tension Read on AO3

If someone had told Steve Harrington years ago that he would one day earn his money with baking, he would have probably called them crazy. But here he was, still learning this and that, but he was already doing a damn good job. It was work that fulfilled him, baking things that made other people smile, that helped them start their days off right, and he’d even made his first wedding cake. The old man that had taught him, was leaving him more and more in charge of everything, while his granddaughter worked behind the counter to sell everything.

It had started out as a hobby, as a way to experiment at home, since he’d pretty much always been alone. Steve had always had a sweet tooth, so it was just more fun to try this out himself instead of just buying everything. Sure, he had the money, and he often did buy stuff, but he wanted to mix things up. He dreamed about mixing maple syrup with bacon in the form of a cupcake. So he did just that.

While Robin went to college, Steve started working at a shop called Sweet Temptations. Honestly, he’d been drawn in by the name, and then the cupcakes, the cakes and whatnot had made him stay and ask about a job. While Nino, the owner, had told him to bring him something homemade, his granddaughter had immediately said that he could start, because he would definitely draw the younger women in. Sure, they could use the additional customers, but Steve wouldn’t get the job without proving that he indeed had a talent when it came to baking.

And Steve delivered. He did make the Maple-Bacon-cupcakes he’d perfected by now and had wowed Nino with that. So, the old man had told Steve everything he knew, and was still teaching him, even though he only spent one day a week at the bakery, trying to do his best to enjoy his retirement. The shop was still his baby, so he had to drop by and bake with Steve once a week, pass on his secrets, the ones he hadn’t already passed onto him. His granddaughter, Mira, had been right at least, because they had an increase in female customers who even stayed in the shop to enjoy a piece of cake and a coffee, lingering to get a good look at the young baker everyone was talking about.

Meanwhile, Steve’s mind and heart were occupied with someone else: You. God, he had fallen head over heels for you, and he hadn’t seen it coming.

Of course, he’d heard about you from Robin again and again. She loved living with you, because you were so much like her. Sure, you liked different things, and you were someone who did read a lot - maybe natural as a literature student - but you also liked to go out with Robin, enjoyed movie nights, and listened to her ramble on and on. You two just worked so well together, and Robin had quickly become your best friend. While Steve had heard everything about you, you had heard everything about him from Robin.

Still, it had taken a lot of time until the two of you had finally met. Robin had invited Steve over for movie night, and had forgotten to ask you first, so when you’d opened the door for him, you’d been taken aback. You’d seen pictures of him, but seeing him there right in front of you had definitely made your heart skip a beat - and it had been the same for Steve. Robin had apologised again and again, saying that she should have asked you first, but you’d been overjoyed to finally meet that famous Steve Harrington. That alone had made him blush a little. Robin should have seen it right then and there, because she wasn’t used to that kind of reaction from Steve, but she’d been a bit blind in that moment, because she’d still kept apologising to you.

Ever since then, you’d made it a regular thing to rent some movies and watch them together. But it wasn’t just those days that Steve showed up. Sometimes, he stopped by after work and brought a couple of baked goods with him. Sometimes, he came over for pizza in the evening. You liked him, and you liked spending time with him, but never made any advances towards him, because he was Robin’s other best friend. They’d been through a lot, that much she’d told you, but she’d never said what exactly had happened. But you knew that Steve was plagued by nightmares, and that there were certain days that he couldn’t stand bright lights, because they gave him a headache. He’d told you once that he’s had more than one concussion, so the headaches, the light sensibility, those were things that came from that. Not every day, he had good and bad days of course, but when he’d told you about that, you’d hugged him without thinking too much about it. Steve had gone rigid in your arms for a moment, before he’d melted into your touch, had hugged you back and just stayed like this for some time. When you’d separated, none of you had been able to say anything, because Robin had burst back into the room again.

One day, Robin had asked you whether it was really okay that Steve wass dropping by so often. She’d told you that it was okay, if she went over to Steve’s so that you had your peace and quiet to read or study, but you’d quickly told her that it was more than okay. Maybe even a bit too quickly, because she’d smiled at you, leaning in to ask you whether you liked him. The way you’d stumbled over your words had told her everything she’d needed to know.

“I don’t have time for a guy in my life,” you’d told her, but Robin had just rolled her eyes at you, knowing that it was just a way to guard your heart, to not give anyone the chance to break your heart again. If you were honest with yourself, Steve had already managed to slip past the cracks in the wall you’d put up. With his warm smile, his infectious laughter, his caring personality and the love he put out into the world. That was why you had to be careful, watch out that you didn’t fall even more for him. The best would probably be to not spend that much time with him, but you enjoyed it way too much, missed the movie nights when you had something else to go to.

Tonight, though, when Steve knocked on the door to the apartment you shared with Robin, you immediately smiled when you saw him. Steve did the same, before he lifted the tray he was carrying.

“Brought you something new. Just tried it out today!” Steve walked in, taking off his shoes and jacket, while you brought the tray to the kitchen.

“So we’re your test subjects, huh?”

“Oh, you know, I really value your opinion, so…” Steve shrugged his shoulders, before he drew his brows together. Robin was in the bathroom, singing at the top of her lungs, but Steve couldn’t really make out the song.

“I swear, if you keep bringing this stuff, I won’t fit through the door anymore at one point. I already gained weight because of these things.”

“So, do you want me to stop bringing you stuff?” Steve tried to  stop himself from smiling, while his eyes wandered over your body. To him you were perfect, with a couple kilos more or less, he didn’t care as long as you were happy.

“Don't you dare stop!” you said with a laugh as you opened the lid of the tray. The air was immediately filled with the smell of vanilla, making your mouth water. “What is that?”

Your eyes, big and round and filled with wonder, looked up at Steve, ready to take one of these things and take a bite to see if they tasted as good as they looked.

“It’s called a pudding pretzel. See, it looks like a pretzel, but it’s sweet.” He leaned over, his shoulder touching yours as he showed you what he meant. “And the holes are filled with pudding. You just have to try it.”

When he turned his head to face you, your noses nearly brushed. For a moment, you both stayed like this, nobody saying a word, but you quickly straightened, when you heard the bathroom door open.

“Steve?” Robin said, scowling at him as she fluffed up her hair, looking ready to go out. Then, realisation hit her. “Shit, I completely forgot about movie night!”

“Got a hot date or something?” Steve’s eyes locked on her, scanning her outfit, before he started grinning from ear to ear. “Oh you do! And you haven’t said a word!”

“Well…” Now, it was Robin’s turn to blush, but she quickly brushed past the two of you to get to her shoes. “I didn’t wanna jinx it by telling you, and you probably would have talked me out of it.”

That made your ears perk up, and you followed her, because you had an idea who she might be going out with, and it was not a good idea. Still, if that was Robin’s choice, you would accept it and let her go. Once she got her mind set on something, nobody could really talk her out of it.

“I’m really sorry that I didn’t tell you two and postpone movie night. But you’re welcome to stay anyway, Steve. You can watch a movie without me, right?” Robin’s eyes settled on you when she straightened again, her shoes now on her feet. Oh that little minx! Right now, that almost felt like some kind of scheme from her to get you and Steve to spend some time alone.

“It’s alright, I can leave if you want to use the night to read the book you talked about!”

“Already finished that,” you quickly said, surprised that he’d remembered that.

“Should have expected that.” Steve let out a laugh that made your lips curl up into a smile. A laugh that was so genuine that it touched your heart and made the last bit of resolve vanish.

“You’re welcome to stay, Steve. Would love the company for a movie.”

The way you said his name, the way it rolled off your tongue, made Steve smile.

“Alright, then I’ll stay.”

“Good!” Robin clapped her hands, giving you a mischievous grin, before she reached for her bag. “Have fun you two. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” And with that, she was out the door.

“She’s really something, isn’t she?” Steve shook his head, slowly looking your way.

“Tell me about it!” You rolled your eyes with a laugh. “How about I get the movie started and you get these delicious things on a plate?”

Steve agreed without hesitating, but he still watched you leave for the living room. The moment you were gone, he took a deep breath, trying to calm his beating heart. Suddenly being alone with you made him nervous. With Robin there, it hadn’t been awkward at all, but he was scared that he would make it awkward now. He really didn’t want to screw this up with you, but he also didn’t want to make a move because… well, you were Robin’s roommate and her other best friend. If you didn’t like him the way he liked you, it would make things incredibly uncomfortable for all of you.

So, he took a deep breath and put the pudding pretzels on plates, before he walked over to you. He took a seat on the opposite site of the sofa and handed you one of the plates. With Robin not there, there was a huge gap between you.

“Oh my God!” 

Your sudden outburst nearly made Steve jump, because his eyes had been glued to the TV. With big eyes, he looked at you, but seeing the smile on your face made him relax. You wiggled around in your spot, your mouth filled with another bite of the baked goods he’d brought.

“Steve, this tastes absolutely amazing! You gonna sell it at the shop?”

“If Nino agrees, then yes.”

“He’d be an idiot not to sell them. These are better than sex!”

Steve nearly choked on the piece of pudding pretzel he had in his mouth when you said that. He needed a moment, to calm down, before he levelled his eyes at you, trying to figure out whether he’d heard you correctly.

“What?”

“I mean it.” You looked at him for a moment, before you quickly turned to look back at the TV, because the intensity of his stare made you squirm in your seat. Shit, you’d really put your foot in your mouth and had said something that probably wasn’t appropriate to talk about with Steve, especially not because you liked him and had thought about doing certain things with him. “At least better than the sex I’ve had.”

Yeah, you really should have kept quiet, so before you said anything else, you stuffed your mouth with the rest that was still on your plate.

“God, I’m sorry, doll, but then you probably just had the wrong kind of guy by your side.” Steve shook his head, kinda shocked to hear that from you, to know that apparently nobody had made you really enjoy it when you thought that his pudding pretzels were better than sex. It also made him aware that he’d thought about this with you way more often than was appropriate. And he should really not be thinking about it right now, but you’d planted that thought in his head. “Cause it can and should be good.”

“Yeah I know…” You sounded kind of defeated, not wanting to think about how much time you’d wasted with your ex, who’d cheated on you multiple times, and who’d treated you like one of his belongings. But you also didn’t want to think about Steve on the other side of the sofa. Steve, who looked good enough to eat, and who smelled the part as well, because he’d come by right after work, so he smelled just as delicious as the baked goods he’d brought with him.

Steve shifted his sitting position, reached for a pillow to lay it in his lap and balance the plate on top of it, which was more of an alibi move, so that you wouldn’t grow suspicious of him putting the pillow in his lap.

There was about half an hour of silence between the two of you, each one aware of the tension in the room, but staying quiet about it. When you reached for the blanket, though, because you were getting cold, Steve shifted in his seat, looking over at you. Suddenly, he felt a bit bolder. Maybe that was because of your previous topic, maybe it was the overall situation, but in the end, it didn’t matter.

“Come here,” he said, opening his arms for you, a smile on his lips. “I promise I won’t bite, but honestly, I’m like a furnace, so I’ll keep you warm.”

“I-” you started, biting your lip, but if he was offering, it was alright to do it, wasn’t it? “Okay.” You scooted over to him and snuggled up to his side, your heart racing in your chest when his smell filled your nose again.

Steve’s arm wrapped around your shoulders and he pulled you even closer. Your hand found its place on his chest, feeling the rapid beating of his heart through the shirt he was wearing. Was he maybe as nervous as you were? Or was that just your imagination? When you lifted your head to look up at him, you found him staring back, and you could swear that his eyes landed on your lips. Before anything could happen, before any of you could say a thing, the door to your apartment flung open and Robin kicked it shut again behind her.

You scrambled to get up from the sofa, heart beating even faster than before, because you felt like you had nearly been caught doing something you shouldn’t be doing. Which was ridiculous, since Steve and you were both adults and nothing had happened. Still, you didn’t really want Robin to find you like this.

Steve just looked at you with big eyes for a moment, before you left him sitting there alone to get to Robin. He reached for the remote to turn everything off before he followed you.

“Oh lord, what happened?” he asked when he found you and Robin sitting at the kitchen table. She looked a bit out of it, when you held out a glass of water to her. She’d had a couple of drinks, Steve could tell that already.

“She stood me up.” Robin looked up at him for a moment, before she dropped her forehead to the table again, heaving a sigh. “Waited and waited and was so nervous… Maaaaay have had a couple drinks. Then I left.”

“I’m so sorry, Robin. Want me to trip her the next time I see her?” you offered, laying a gentle hand on her back, slowly rubbing up and down to show her that you were there.

“No… Just.. God, I just wanna go to bed.” You could tell that she was on the verge of tears, because of the alcohol. It always made her either more outgoing or emotional, and after an evening like this, it was clear that she wasn’t dancing on tables right now.

“Come on, I’ll take you to bed,” you said, standing up with her, wrapping your arm around her waist. You looked up, your eyes meeting Steve’s

“Go, I’ll clean up here,” he said with a smile. So, while you went to the bathroom with Robin to get her into something more comfortable and wash her face, Steve cleaned the kitchen and put everything away that you’d used. He brought a bottle of water into Robin’s room and put it next to the bed.

“Thank you,” Robin mumbled, as you entered her room and she saw Steve just put the bottle down, but she meant both of you. “I should have just stayed home with you two.” She flopped down on her bed, taking a deep breath. “Did you at least enjoy your evening?”

“Yeah,” Steve said immediately, smiling to himself as he risked a look at you.

“It was a good movie, so yeah!” To be honest, you had no idea what the movie had been about, too preoccupied with the person standing next to you right now.

“Mhm… Good,” Robin mumbled, snuggling into her pillow. “Was hoping for more, though.”

She didn’t offer an explanation or say anything else, mainly because she fell asleep, but she left you curious about what she meant. Well, you had an idea, but you couldn’t be sure about that. It didn’t matter in the end, did it?

As quietly as possible, you left the room with Steve, leaving the door ajar when you brought him to the front door.

“I’ll come by tomorrow morning and take care of breakfast, alright? See how she’s doing.” Steve put on his shoes before he reached for his jacket.

“Sounds good. And thank you, Steve… It was a fun evening.” Maybe, that was not exactly the right word, considering how nervous he’d made you, but the brief moment you’d spent in his arms had made you relax, and it had made you feel so safe.

“It really was, so thank you.” Steve leaned forward to place a kiss on your cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Mhm… goodnight, Steve!” He turned around at the top of the stairs to give you a little wave, before he disappeared from view. The smile on your lips would probably have been able to light up the whole room when you closed the door behind you. The only question was, how you were supposed to find sleep after this.

As you’d expected, you hardly slept at all, tossing and turning, thinking about the previous evening, how close Steve and you had gotten. You hadn’t lied to Robin when you’d said that you didn’t have time for a man, though it was probably more a way to protect yourself than anything else. But Steve… Steve made you laugh, he filled you with happiness, and he always took care of Robin and you. That’s why he wanted to come by and make breakfast.

Shit. Yeah, you really weren’t ready to face him right now, not when you thought about him pretty much all night and were ready to jump his bones, to act on the tension that had been there between you hours later. 

You cast a quick glance into Robin’s room, but she was still asleep, so you left her alone again and put on your shoes. You needed to get out, go for a walk, clear your mind, whatever. But you were not ready to face Steve. But Steve it was, you collided with when you ripped the door open and stepped outside without looking around first.

“Woah, careful there, doll!” One of Steve’s hands wrapped around your upper arm, steadying you, while he was carrying a bag in the other hand. Your own hands landed in his chest, eyes closed for a moment, before you managed to pry them open and look at him.

“You running away from something?” he asked, smiling at you, before he carefully took his hand off your arm. 

God, he had no idea how correct he was. On the one hand, you were running from him, on the other from your own feelings, because you were already feeling your heart pick up its pace, and it wasn’t because of the surprise right now. It was because of Steve’s presence, because of the smell of him that filled your nose, because of the smile that made your knees weak.

“No!” Your answer came a bit too quickly for your own liking and you bit your bottom lip, taking a step back. “I’m just running late. Completely forgot I have a meeting. I’ll see you around!”

You gave him a curt smile and a wave before you were off and bounded down the stairs. Steve watched you leave, his heart sinking a little, because it felt like you were running away from him. Still, he was here to make breakfast, so he walked inside and headed to the kitchen to prepare some scrambled eggs and pancakes.

When Robin walked into the kitchen twenty minutes later, she was greeted with a set table and everything she could wish for. She only had a mild headache, but nothing a good breakfast couldn’t help with.

“Morning,” she mumbled, rubbing her eyes, before she smiled at Steve. “Is Y/N not awake yet?”

“She is… but she pretty much fled your apartment.”

“Huh?” Now, that made Robin’s eyes widen, curiosity shining in them when she took a seat. “What do you mean? What happened?”

Robin reached for the coffee first to take a sip and let the hot liquid wake her spirits.

“She said she has a meeting, but-” Steve heaved a sigh, reaching for his own coffee cup to wrap his hands around it. He looked down, as if he was looking for the right words in the hot beverage. “Kinda felt like she didn’t wanna see me, you know? Maybe, I fucked it up, don’t know.”

“Wait a second!” Robin pinched the bridge of her nose, trying her best to focus. “I feel like I’m missing a vital piece of information here.”

“Nothing happened!” Steve said immediately, looking up again to reassure Robin and make her realise that he was telling the truth. “At least not really. I mean, we were watching the movie and she said that my pudding pretzels were better than sex, so… that topic came up briefly and then we were both quiet… a bit awkward.”

Steve leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table, clasping his hands together. His tongue darted out to wet his lips, while Robin started eating the pancakes, listening intently to what he was saying. But she didn’t stop him, let him talk until she had all the information she needed.

“When she reached for the blanket, I offered her to come cuddle, ‘cause you know how much heat I radiate.”

“That’s a fact. You’re damn hot all the time.” Robin nodded her head, curious where this was going, as if she was reading a book, or rather having a book read to hear that was just about to get really interesting. “So what then?”

“She snuggled up to me.”

Oh, the smile that appeared on Steve’s lips made Robin really giddy. She’d seen that look before, but it had been a while since she’d last seen that. Sure, Steve had done a lot of dating, looking for the one person that he could call his partner, the one that would stay with him and really love him, but he hadn’t found that person. And now, you were the reason he had that dreamy smile on his lips.

“And then you got hom.”

“Ahh fuck,” Robin groaned, dropping her fork onto the table. “You were doing so well, and then I managed to fuck it up. So much for my plan.”

“Yeah…” Steve was still smiling, but then he realised what Robin had just said. “What do you mean your plan?”

“Forget it…” Robin quickly shook her head, but before she could say anything else, Steve insisted that she should tell him.

“Well… she likes you, Steve! I wasn’t sure how you were feeling, but seeing how much you smile, I don’t need you to spell it out. But Y/N is always like… she doesn’t have time for a boyfriend, she’s scared of getting her heart broken again…”

“Yeah, I know that feeling.” Steve rolled his eyes, tried his best not to get his hopes up at what Robin had just told him.

“Yeah, and that’s exactly why the two of you would never hurt each other like that. That’s why I didn’t tell you two about the date yesterday. So that you’d spend some time alone and maybe, finally take a step towards each other.” Robin leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. “And apparently you did. But why do you think she’d be running from you now?”

“I don’t know! I mean, maybe I was too bold yesterday?”

“Steve, you cuddled on the sofa for maybe a few moments, right? And she could have easily said no, but she didn’t.”

“I kissed her cheek when I left and told her I’d come by for breakfast.”

“Oh boy… Nothing of that was too bold, but I guess, she’s too much in her head again, so that’s why she ran.”

“Maybe.” Steve lifted his coffee cup and emptied the last drops into his mouth, before he got up. “You’ll be alright? ‘Cause I think I just need to clear my head a bit.”

“Steve…” Robin really didn’t want to let him go, not when he looked so defeated.

Sure, Robin had told him that you apparently had feelings for him, but right now, he was sure that you’d run away from him, so that was wearing him down. For months now, he hadn’t had eyes for anyone else, only for you, because you were the one person that made him happy beyond words by just existing in his close proximity. Yesterday, getting to hold you and kiss your cheek had made him unbelievably happy, but for you? It sure looked like he’d taken it too far. So he needed some time to himself, and when he needed to clear his head, he started baking.

“Robin…” Steve looked at her, a weary smile on his lips when he stepped up to her. “Will you be alright?”

“Sure,” she said with a huff, not wanting to let him go, but knowing that she couldn’t keep him here. “What about you, though?”

“I’ll be fine. I always manage, you know that.”

Yeah, she did… and that was what kind of scared her, because she knew that Steve wouldn’t bounce back that easily this time, not when you were the perfect match for him and ran out of the apartment as soon as he arrived.

After a long, long walk and some more coffee from the coffee shop around the corner, you came back home, hoping that Steve would already be gone. When you didn’t see his shoes when you entered, you sighed in relief. At least, you were thinking that it was relief, but it was mixed with a weird kind of longing because he wasn’t there.

“Good, you’re home,” Robin said, leaning in the door to the living room. She’d showered and looked way better than the night before, but the serious look on her face made you a little worried.

“Yeah, sorry, I had a-”

“Meeting, so I’ve heard. Now, tell me, why haven’t you mentioned that all week?”

“Well,” you started, eyes wide, because you hadn’t expected that question from her. And that attitude she was giving you, really threw you off.

“Because you didn’t have a meeting and just ran away so you didn’t have to face Steve, right?”

Busted.

“Look…” You ran both hands over your face and through your hair. Steve was Robin’s best friend, and you really didn’t want to make it awkward at all, but right now, you got the feeling that it already was awkward as fuck. 

“Hey, listen,” Robin said, stepping up to you and taking your hands into hers, her voice and her whole demeanour a lot softer than before. “I understand that, ‘cause you’re scared of getting hurt again, but believe me… Steve would never hurt you. God, he’s so in love with you, it’s painful to watch.”

“He… what?”

“Are you really that oblivious? He’s not just being nice to you. He’s completely and utterly in love with you. And he’s scared of getting his heart broken again as well.” Robin shook her head before she smiled at you. “You two really belong together, you just have to open your heart and allow yourself that.”

Robin tapped two fingers against your chest, letting go of your hands to do so.

“I’m just…” You broke off, shaking your head as you were trying to process what Robin had just told you. You had kind of hoped that Steve would feel the same way, but a tiny voice had told you all this time that he had just been nice to you.

“Scared, I know. So is Steve.” Robin placed a hand on your cheek, making you look at her again. “And now he thinks he did something wrong.” “What? No, no, no, he didn’t, I was just… I don’t know.”

“Maybe you should go and tell him that then. Make him stop worrying, because I know he’ll be baking all afternoon to clear his head.”

“You think so?”

“I know it. Because he keeps overthinking every little thing. Something else you have in common.”

Mira walked to the back where Steve was working and put a new cup of coffee in front of him.

“Thank you.”

“No problem. Anything else you need?” She leaned in the doorframe, watching him work. He’d come in, looking distracted, and it had shown in the first batch of cupcakes he’d made, because they’d landed in the trash.

“No thanks.” Steve gave her a smile that looked more forced than anything and went back to work. He knew that he needed to concentrate a little more, because that would help him clear his head of you, but it didn’t work. You were there, in his head and in his heart, and by now it hurt to think about you. 

Steve turned the music up a little louder and started putting the ingredients he needed into the mixer. While the mixer was busy, he put some flour on the work surface and made a mould in the middle, because he wanted to make bread as well as some more cupcakes.

He stopped the mixer once all the ingredients were blended together, and tasted it. It was good, no question, but it was definitely missing some more vanilla. Once he had the perfect mixture, he poured it into the baking pans and sent the cupcakes to the oven.

Now for the bread… he mixed the yeast with warm water before he poured the mixture into the mould in the flour. That was the moment you walked into the room, but Steve didn’t realise that he wasn’t alone anymore. He was finally able to clear his head a little, hum along to the music and concentrate on what he was doing. With a spoon, he started mixing a bit of the water mixture and the flour together, before he was finally able to use his hands to make some proper dough. His hands and arms were full of flour, so when he raised his arm to brush the sweat on his forehead away with his forearm, some of the flour stuck to his face and even his hair.

The sight warmed your heart, because he looked completely at ease, so in his element, that you didn’t want to disturb him. At the same time, your heart nearly burst out of your chest, because it was filled with so much love for this man. Now that you were allowing yourself these feelings, they were even bigger than you could ever have expected.

Your eyes travelled up slowly up from his hands, over his forearms, the muscles flexing in them, the veins that stood out, up over his chest, his chin, his lips, and to his eyes that were now looking back at you. You hadn’t realised that he’d stopped kneading the dough and was suddenly aware that you were there.

“What are you doing here?” Steve’s words weren’t harsh, they were extremely soft, surprise shining in his eyes as he wiped his hands on his apron.

“I… I wanted to see you,” you managed to say. “Think I’ve got some explaining to do.”

“You don’t have to explain anything.” Steve shook his head, still trying to smile. “I took it a step too far.”

“Steve, you really didn’t.” You gathered your courage and walked around the work surface to stop right in front of him. “I was just…”

“Scared.” Steve finished the sentence for you, keeping his eyes on you while his heart threatened to beat right out of his chest. “Are you still scared?”

“Yeah.” You swallowed hard, taking the last step to close the gap between you two. “But…”

“But…?” Steve’s voice was low, quiet, but he was so all consuming that you couldn’t think clearly anymore. Your head was filled with him, your body humming because of the proximity of his body, of feeling the heat radiating off him and seeping into your skin. His right hand came up to cup your cheek, tilting your head so that you had to look up at him.

“But…” You tried again, your skin feeling like it was on fire from where he touched you, a hint of flour lingering where his thumb brushed over your cheek.

You ran your fingertips up his stomach, over his chest and to his shoulders, pulling yourself up just slightly so that you could kiss his lips. You had nothing to lose, right? And sometimes, you just had to take that jump that you were so afraid of.

Steve was taken by surprise that you’d taken the initiative, but that surprise was quickly pushed away, and he kissed you back. His hand moved from your cheek to the back of your neck, pulling you even closer, while his free hand found its place on your hip. Your body was flush against his, your hands moving up to tangle in his hair, your breasts pressed against his chest while his tongue delved into your mouth, making you moan slightly into the kiss.

You’d had your experience in kissing, but this… this kind of kiss was definitely something else. You felt it to the tips of your toes, it made your whole body tingle and ache for more. Close wasn’t close enough, and you could have kept going for some time, not wanting to let go of him, but the loud beeping of the oven made both of you pull back.

“Shit… sorry,” Steve mumbled, lips puffy from kissing, glistening slightly, while dark eyes looked back at you. You probably looked just like him, hair a bit dishevelled but you didn’t care.

“‘S alright,” you managed to mumble, smiling to yourself as you stepped back. Steve made quick work of the cupcakes and pulled them out of the oven.

You bit your bottom lip, looking down at yourself. The flour showed where Steve’s hands had been, and it made you grin like an idiot. Yeah, you could really get used to it.

“What are you making there anyway?” Curiosity got the better of you, so you had to ask about the dough that Steve had abandoned due to you kissing him.

“I wanted to make some bread.”

“Bread? And here I thought, you only made sweet stuff here.”

“Ah, see that’s where you’re wrong, doll. Sweet and savoury. Remember the Maple-Bacon-Cupcakes?” You nodded vigorously, because they were among your favourites. “And bread is just something that has to be mastered. Here, let me show you.”

Steve stepped up behind you and manoeuvred you so that you were standing in front of the dough. His arms wrapped around you, his chest against your back, and his hands on top of yours, moving them to the dough so he could show you how to knead it.

“It’s really soft, isn’t it?” Steve’s voice was right next to your ear, distracting you even more than being trapped in his embrace.

“Mhm…” you mumbled, trying to focus on what you were doing, but Steve made it really hard for you. You didn’t even hear most of what he was talking about, too distracted by the feeling of his strong hands on yours, guiding your hands.

“And then we form a loaf,” he nearly whispered into your ear, his lips almost touching it. Steve moved your hands with his, doing what he just told you, and when the loaf was done, he still kept you right in front of himself to walk over to the sink and wash your hands.

“Steve…” you managed to breathe out and turn in his embrace, when his lips immediately came down on yours. His hands were on your hops, lifting you into the surface, sending flour into the air, a fine dust settling on your skin and in your hair, but you didn’t care. All you cared about were Steve’s lips on yours, his hands moving up and down your thighs, while his tongue invaded your mouth, tasting you and making you crave even more. This was definitely not the right place to be doing this, but you didn’t care. Someone else did, though.

“Steve I just - OH SHIT! Sorry!” Mira quickly turned around again and walked out, still apologising.

Steve lifted his head, looking after her, before he burst out laughing. You chimed in, leaning your head against his chest, hiding your face. His fingers slowly carded through your hair, before he kissed the top of your head.

“Maybe, we should continue this somewhere else.”

“Mhm… Maybe you could finally show me how you live, after you’ve been in our apartment most of the time.” Slowly you raised your head to look at him, feet dangling left and right of his legs.

“What do I get if I show you?” Steve wiggled his eyebrows at you, making you chuckle.

“How about… as many kisses as you want?” Feeling a little bolder, you leaned forward to kiss  over his jaw to his ear, taking your time. “Sound good?”

“Perfect.” His hands squeezed your thighs, before he stepped back and held out his hand for you. You really were everything he wanted, and he couldn’t believe that you were finally holding his hand and smiling just for and because of him. What more could he want?

[plantsandpies]

Hiiii do you have any headcanons or thoughts on the group of people in Fairy Tail that was left on Tenrou island? Like, stuff they thought of/did during the 7 year gap

I personally think that the people on tenrou were all in a coma-like state, so they could do anything. But people in comas can dream and hear things. So here are a few coma dream/thoughts! (I also am on my phone which means spelling and grammar might be off. Also it’s 3am. Please excuse any misspellings my phone missed.)

Natsu:

I’d like to think of something funny for him because, at least his main presented character at the time, wouldn’t have anything too serious, but we know that’s wrong with events later. So I think Mavis’s spell was the first like crack? in his memories as E.N.D/ dead Natsu. Like his dreams are playing with Zeref or some of the hidden dragon slayer memories they mentioned in an episode. Like a very relaxed day where he and the dragon kids are playing around, Anna and Zeref doing whatever they did then. (I have a hard time understanding if they had them actually live with the dragons or it was like daily daycare until the time portal). After tenrou, I think Natsu just disregards them because that didn’t happen. His mind just made it up, so he forgot about them.

Gray: Gray dreams of childhood. But also of his hometown before it was destroyed. One of his dreams was what his life would be like if the town wasn’t attacked. It was pretty peaceful, just sitting in the upper mountains, running the local inn. For a moment, not in the “I’m going to do this” way, he thinks that maybe he’d’ve liked that life more. That he could move to the mountains and just relax. Take a job without the monsters and crazy people. And part of him would love it. But another part him would despise it. Part of the fun of being a wizard is the travel and your guild mates. Gray loves both of those and even though the simple could seem nice, he’s sure he’d feel trapped in it. He later proves this during the year fairytail was disbanded.

Lucy: I think, unlike the others, who dreamt in a more reliving sense, I think Lucy has chats with her mom. i think her dreams were conversations with her mom over tea. She'd tell her mom every story and complain about natsu and happy. Her mom would laugh and comment on how much fun they sounded to be around. when lucy is off of tenrou, she wonders if her mom would actually react that way. if she'd be more worried or more excited than she was. This is all poured out in a letter to her mom.

Erza: I think Erza’s would vary a lot more than the rest of them. Like she’d be relieving a fun moment she had in the tower, hanging out with Simon, and then she’d be at the guild hall fighting with Mira. She’d imagine Jellal and him being happy, excepting his rough life. Maybe a few where they’re together. (Though I think it’s too soon for that, in like comparison to everything that happened in the year of stuff). I think maybe she thought of her mom. Not her real one, but her imagined mom. The people she imagined were her parents when she was younger. I think she’d make up fake childhood memories for herself with a different version of her parents, the ones she needed. I think these dreams were so spread out and constantly different, that Erza had to messily write down what was a memory vs. a dream/wish. Just so she doesn’t embarrass herself about getting her memories mixed up.

Wendy: Wendy is like twelve at this point. I think she dreams of her dragon (who I know the name of but don’t know how to spell it and I’m tired) giving her little wisdoms. I think she’d also get memories of Zeref and Anna, which she never mentions. I also think she’d think about the other guild member’s childhoods and come up with funny stories about them, just because it’s funny. I also think she would relieve her memories too, but her favorites were the weird skits they did in her mind. I think out of all of them, she remembers her dreams the most. She doesn’t meet Zeref until later, so she doesn’t talk about those dreams, and then she feels awkward about having had them and they still get left behind.

I could do more of these, but I’m a bit tired. So I’ll leave it here and maybe come back to it in the morning. I hope when I do everything I wrote made sense.

[maryonmega]

Twin Stars - Chapter 5

A new thing (is it a good thing?)

{{Ah, Stars, I dropped I dropped my self control. The original chapter was posted on my birthday, the little self indulgence (Isafrin) was my gift to myself.

Speaking of Isafrin, CW for internalized acephobia and a little bit of sugestive writting.}}

You brace yourself for the next period of time. Going through the moves without Loop makes you nervous, makes it possible to contradict each other. It's fine, you're fine, you'll just have to catch it up when you two have alone time to "tell about the loops". Stars, you're being sneaky again. You might try and justify with it not being just about you all you want, but it's the truth.

Your group meet up in the dining area, and you let the smell of different foods sooth your nerves. Another way that you're weird. You've been out for over a month, made camp that were small and your tent wouldn't block the smells, yet it seens like the confort that this particular thing won't fade anytime soon. You don't like the origin, but you do like Bonbon's eyes when you happily sniff what they prepare.

Tho, this time, it's not Bonbon food. Not that it's disappointing on it's own, you just think they could use the quick fix, too. After all, you're pretty much toeing the northwest and north separation. If everything goes right, they'll see their sister again in two days. Maybe even tomorrow night, depending of the group's mood.

You're not surprised when they're the first one to talk, either. Not to you, but to Odile. You're too busy noticing their pineapple juice and thinking that maybe you should tell about that.

"Where's Sisy? It's not good to skip meals."

Oh, that got you off guard!

"Sisy, Bonnie?"

"Yes. Phus sounds dumb."

You just nod to the irrefutable argument while Odile puts her plate down carefully to not topple over the crushed boiled eggs. "Sisyphus is already in bed and I don't think they're waking up anytime soon."

"They're tired to the very soul."

You realise a second too late that it came from you. A saving throw! Now!

"I don't remenber a lot from traveling alone, but it's exausting when you only have what fits your pockets. Then we met again but still have problems with our memory. It's weird, it's like... " You think about acts and shudder. No, not going there "Like reading a story skipping random chapters."

Odile eyes you over her dinner, but decides to eat in silence. You feel a mix of relief and horror.

You see resident bookworm Mirabelle wince in pain at the idea. Just because you're a bit rusty pun wise doesn't mean you can't make funny moments happen.

Is it weird? To be lingering in their present the day you're supposed to have met with long lost family, a vague yet sweet sensation on your chest? Maybe not. No one in your little circle is unfamiliar with coping with abnormal situations by trying to act like things are normal. Specially you, as your eyepatch won't let them forget. Would that benefit you, right now, tho?

"... But, if coconuts have hair and milk, aren't they mammals?"

Stars, how long did you stay stuck in your head?! Not good, not fair. You really need to train out this bad habbit.

"I hope not, that would be nuts."

"That was lame even for you."

Hm, maybe acting as normal is not just you. Good? You dig into your memory to try and be sure. It's hard, it gets frustrating, but you're almost sure that something like that happened around the time Bonnie joined. Not quite like that, you all had to nurse them back to health, after all, but you did try to put on an image of normalcy, didn't you?

Stars, with everything that gets lost in the way, it's like a miracle that you didn't forget their names.

One thing that sticks out is when Mira cuts the casual air in the table in a way very reminiscent of her speech in the sleepovers, before... Well, before you torn the script to shreds because you felt like they were messing it up.

(Bonnie was right, you were being quite stupid)

It's not about walking out this time, it's about the elephant in the room that you were trying to avoid for so long: everyone hoped that Bonnie's assumption was right, but there was always the possibility that taking them with you wouldn't happen.

The others join in to present ways you can stay connected, even if not traveling together, but Mirabelle os still at the center. She doesn't look nervous when she smiles at Bonbon and says that she wants to see them grow up and become taller than herself.

You want, too. You want to see if their dream of having a restaurant will stick. How handsome they'll be and how far they'll let those unpolished smarts take them. If they'll settle for good or still carry that drop of wanderlust. What type of person they'll befriend beside all of you, if they'll one day date, get bonded, or go through the realisation Mira is yet to right now.

But Mirabelle is the one that puts those thoughts into words that won't pratonize them too much. If Mira was better by the end of your journey, medicated she was like a goddess.

You all go back to your rooms after the meal. It has been quite a full day, after all.

You and Isabeau change into your night clothes with your backs to each other, only getting in bed after both are confirmed ready. Isa rolls to his side by the wall, and you pull the sheets up to your nose so your smirk won't betray the fake annoyance.

"You didn't even call dibs this time."

"I already took it, you'll have to live with that."

You mock scoff, and hear a softer laught than usual (maybe because it wasn't as funny, maybe because he's tired too). You let your body and face relax, and, before your dumb brain has a chance to overthink, you get your hand out of the sheets and almost into Isabeau's personal space. He places his hand on yours, and it's soothing. 

There's still a lot of thoughts to sort out, some including him, some not, but, right now, the contact is soothing. You want to close the gap and bury your face in his chest, to give him a kiss, like you itched to do so a few times but froze before you could (rich of you to call anyone a coward, Siffrin). But the objective is to sleep, and going further than hand holding still can be overwhelming. Maybe it's not just with you, by the way a darker shade crept all the way down his throat.

It's odd, to have at the same time limited time and more than you could hope for before. One month feels like so long and so little at the same time. You're not sure what really would count as slow, or would cross the line to too slow. You're thankful that Isa is a patiente man.

Is that enough, though? Even before your rough talk, he hasn't pushed, hasn't rushed. You haven't returned fairly. You haven't been fully honest with him.

You're vaguely aware of Loop in the room next door, and that's oddly motivating. Gross. Doing the right thing isn't enough motivation, you need wanting to avoid being confronted about not doing it as an extra push.

...

You know the way he's looking at you now. You know he noticed your shift in mood.

You open your mouth before he can.

"Isa?"

"Sif?"

"There's... Something I haven't told you." Wow, how specific, don't you want to broad a bit more? "Remenber when you asked if I love you the same way you love me?"

"Of course. What about it?" His tone is so soft, but the worry is clear. Of course it is. You are about to give bad news.

"I-I don't think I can." You gently squeeze his hand and hope it draws attention to them "I'm fine with this, and hugging. I'm almost sure I'm fine with kissing, too, but..." Just say it. You could say it to Mira, say it to him. Stop leading him on "I can't... do things past that. I don't think I ever will."

You can't look him in the eye. That phrasing felt like an understatement. The thought of hands on your skin with that kind of intent makes it crawl. The thought of taking him in such a way makes you shudder. The thought of him taking you like that is terrifying.

You feel a gentle caress over your knuckles, and that brings you back to reality. In this moment, you wish hope that he thinks the shudder was nerves. You gave him the info, it's up to him what he does with it. You don't get to think things of what chooses.

"That's the thing?" You nod. "Then it's fine."

What?

"What?" You look at him. You can't quite read his expression, but you do know it's not any less found.

"Are-are you sure?"

He's still caressing your hand. There a warmt in your stomach, but not a bad one.

"Sif. Sifarooni. Siffrin. What I meant was if you love me romantically"

"I know, but- isn't that part of being a couple?"

He looks pensative. Maybe this time it finally sunk in. You wonder if you still can hold hands as friends, and smother that thought as soon as it comes to light. That is Isa's choice to make.

"It can be, but doesnt have to. I'm fine with not being."

You're not so sure.

"Are you not going to miss it, though?"

"Siffrin," no nicknames. Bad sign? "think for a minute. Untill the day before I confessed, I was sure you hated touch, but still wanted a relationship with you. If I can live with no touch at all, I can live with no sex."

... How in the Universe can he say the word so easy?

Not the point here, Siffrin!

"Will you miss it?"

"A bit, but it's nothing unhandleable. I'm fine just being with you."

Your face feels hot. Your eye stings. There's still the chance of being too much, but the craving is stronger. You crawl a bit closer, and get your other arm out. Isa gets the memo, and puts his arm around you, slowly, giving you a chance to pull back. It makes your belly feel warmer. You want this to last, and that allows you to smother the question of how he would "handle" it with the same mental wet towel.

"Then, I think I do love you."

~★~

Sunlight brings a dull ache to your head. You protect your eyes with your hand and blink a lot before sitting up and getting your hair out of your face - oh, right, you're sharing a room with the Researcher. 

You slip out of the bed and change back into your awake clothes, with that sleeveless turtleneck that you haven't had for so long but already is kind of attached. You know Stardust wouldn't dare (the reason is not the point, the point is that you do). It is blinded that you have to put on the effort, you were there first, but clearly it doesn't matter to whoever is the author of your life, so it falls on you the burden of showing that you're not just another one, regardless of technicalities.

Even under this dumb masquared, didn't the Researcher herself say identical twins doesn't mean the same person twice? You don't have to stay tethered.

The loops are over. You don't have to stay by him. You don't have to stay by this party. If you want to dip out, you can.

Even under the ache, the thought gives you some sort of confort. Not having a script anymore... is one of the reasons you've been carrying those bottles. Your newborn-like body also has fresh, newbie to drinking sensibility. Isn't that sweet?

You brush and tie your hair, then turn around, and start to make your way out of the room before you hear her voice.

"Come with us. We need a second table anyway."

Oh, no.

"How long were you awake?"

"A bit. I didn't peek, I swear."

You know she didn't. Your Researcher wouldn't either, and this one seens to be a little nicer. Unlike just enough to be uncanny.

Your head throbs. You really need some water.

"I see you at breakfast, Madame." You're not drinking while hangover, as mild as it may be, let alone in an empty stomach.

You find your way to a bathroom to splash water in your face after drinking your fill, and the face in the mirror taunts you, worse than back in the first day. It's you. It's not you. It's not Stardust. You're not Stardust. Except you are.

You wipe your face dry before putting on a nice smile and going out for the dining area. Is the Kid's temper being influenced by losing one of the main ways to release tension?

You make it there almost at the same time as your roommate. Uncanny. The Kid and the Housemaiden got there first. Of course they did. You're not surprised the Traveler isn't here yet. The Fighter is another story. Something the Fighters seen to have in common is a body still working on a Defender's internal clock. Maybe Stardust will notice the lack of company and go after him. You can and do feel sympathy and amusement at the same time. Still a baby, aren't them?

"Good morning, Madame, Sisyphus." The Housemaiden says, fidging her fingers.

"Good morning." You respond. You don't want that name on your tongue so early on, directed at her.

"Good morning, Mirabelle, Boniface."

"You skipped diner. It's not good to skip meals." The Kid pouts. They're clearly annoyed over inn food. You think they would hit you with the wok if it was their food.

You think of a grilled fish head in a nice napkin. You wouldn't skip on their food if someone offered gold coins.

"I know, Bonnie. I was just really, really tired. It's very draining to travel alone."

"Hnf, I can forgive you. But you'll have to not let that happen again."

"I'll try."

"Don't worry, Boniface, I can help with that."

The latent comic relief instincts tell you it means no more drinking before bed. Beautiful. Speaking of beauty

The Traveler and the Fighter arrive at the same time. Curious. 

You look at the arrangement. The Fighter between the Traveler and the Housemaiden, you next to the Researcher, and the Kid in the end. You could almost believe you're part of this, couldn't you? Such a shame you know the truth. They're only being receptive because you supposedly have a connection to Stardust... A normal one, that is.

Breakfast is nothing lavish, pancakes and a few pieces of fruit, but the time since your return have not been enough to make you take food for granted. Specially food with salt. Getting used to the gross stuff like sweat and potty is a fair price for the chance of enjoying such thing.

The tension that the Kid could release cooking, they did stabbing the poor food like it owned them money.

"Today's the day! You're all meeting Nille! And I can show you my favorite places! Everyone must be unfrozen, so it's gonna be good!"

Nille... Nille... Oh, right, the sister. They... wished to see her again, didn't them? And now this Kid can.

It's not the best of thoughts, but, right now, you kind of also have more selfish reasons to want to meet. It's your second day, and you'll be recieving another person. A stranger, but with a connection that makes not feels like it with the intensity it should. Is this what the others are feeling like with you?

In the corner of your good eye, you notice the Traveler and Fighter moving calves together.

You'd think that would make you angrier, but... Right now, you mostly feel empty. Not numb, a sad type of empty. You think of hands around yours, sweaty to the point of feeling throught your gloves, but still warm and comforting.

And give your signature grin in their general direction. You're not dealing with that right now.

"Touching their ankles? Before bonding? You dare defile my sibling in front of me, defender? Shameful!"

This is easier. No need for a pun and that weird display stopped. Stardust glared at you, but you don't give it the dignity of a reaction.

If he wants you to play a role again, then you'll do it your way.

[lucy-and-rebecca]

Queerplatonic NaLu

Before I get into this I need to define what queerplatonic means.

It is a relationship which is more intense and intimate than is considered common or normal for a "friendship", but doesn't fit the traditional sexual-romantic couple model. It is characterized by a strong bond, love, and emotional commitment, yet is not perceived by those involved as "romantic".

In other words something that is between friendship and romance.

Do you remember that chapter/episode where Mira convinces Lucy that Natsu has a crush on her? Lucy doesn't believe her at first but slowly she started seeing everything Natsu says and does as evidence of him having feelings for her. She then freaks out and has mixed feelings about being in a romantic relationship with Natsu. However eventually she becomes more comfortable with that idea. In the end she is embarassed and disappointed but this incidents does affect their relationship in any way. In that chapter Lucy went from seeing their relationship as platonic to seeing it as romantic and back to viewing it as platonic in a matter of hours.

This is what Mashima wrote about that chapter.

A lot of anti NaLu arguments claim that Mashima has already intended NaLu to be platonic. That's however not what Mashima actually said. He said he didn't intend their relationship to be romantic. I think that's important to note.

Now this is quite old and given that Mashima is from a different culture and speaks a different language, him knowing this specific term that a lot of english speakers don't know is unlikely. So it's entirety possible that he intended NaLu to be a queerplatonic relationship without knowing the specific term for that kind of relationship.

Mashima states he has been written NaLu as more than just friends but less than lovers. Something in between friendship and romance. In other words queerplatonic.

A lot of the good faith anti NaLu arguments claim that Nalu isn't a bad relationship but a platonic one. While to NaLu shippers their relationship is very obviously romantic. Both sides are convinced that their interpretation is canon. I think this happens because their relationship exists in the area between friendship and romance. It's neither or both depends on your perspective. It's friends with benefits but the benefit is that they live together and cuddle a lot.

A relationship with a strong bond, emotional commitment and love where people in the relationship don't think of their relationship as romantic does very much perfectly describe NaLu. I think Lucy has feeling for him but she doesn't necessarily view their relationship as romantic.

While not exclusive queerplatonic relationships are more common amoung aro/ace people. A lot of people including myself have speculated about Natsu being on the ace spectrum. He shows little to no sexual attraction and what little attention he does show is directed towards Lucy. Which to me feels very much like grey/demi sexual. It's something to consider.

From the begining it felt like there was something more present in their relationship. A sort of ease and tenderness that isn't typically depicted in romantic relationships

That being said I don't think their relationship was romantically coded the way Gruvia or Jelsa were.

I do think Mashima has changed his views on NaLu and is writing them to be more romantic and that's perfectly fine. As things stands now their relationship feels more on the romantic side rather than platonic and I would very much like to see them actually get together. I just don't think that was his original intention.

But regardless of intentions fairy tail is fiction and so your interpretation of NaLu be it romantic or platonic is perfectly valid. Similarly even if I'm wrong my interpretation of them being queerplatonic is also valid.

I think viewing NaLu as a queerplatonic relationship is interesting and it's something we should consider while discussing whether NaLu is platonic or romantic.

[lady-asteria]

So if you’ve seen either “Inside Job” or “The Hollow”, I would love to hear your thoughts on both of those shows.

I haven’t watched Inside Job yet (hear great things and is in my to-watch list), but I have watched -I'm rewatching, actually- The Hollow and I really like it.

There are spoilers here for both seasons.

Saying this as someone who just can't handle horror, I believe they mix it quite well (kind of like Gravity Falls) with the lore clues and the characters. Specially our main trio bc I'm invested in the things that happens to them, so the horror doesn't stop me from watching.

Something lot of books and shows do, bc it works, it placing strangers in a new world, so the audience discover the things at the same time the character does. Here is that extra layer of them not knowing who they are. Which, let's be honest, is scary as hell. So we are also learning who they are at the same time they do, but also, until what point is the real them? How much their subconscious affect their memory loss?

Then S2 show us that yes, that's who Adam, Kai and Mira are (with differences, of course) lovely flawed teenagers with a kind heart.

It should be over, but they are, once again, there. In the game. And isn't it weird? We know they won, that they make it home, so why are they there?

S2 also gives us the other side: Their families, their fears (and, oh, my poor Adam) and, hey viewer! remember that other group? They actually know each other. From Mira and Skeet's sweet childhood friendship (rip Skeet, you made me fear the other five could die, you deserved your virtual happy ending) To Reeve and Adam's beef (with poor Mira in the middle) And, of course, Kai remembering and being rightfully angry at Vanessa (even if she knew it was a videogame) but also being the first one to forgive her bc he's aware all of them are flawed and she didn't want to harm them. (As well as calling out The Hollow for stealing their dates)

And that's the good stuff, the interpersonal relationships.

Idk, I just really love these babies.

The world itself is cool, working as a videogame (I'm not an expert), it remind me of that Mario's game with 8 worlds, each one with their different settings. (Again, not an expert) but it works more as an excuse to develop the characters -just my opinion-

In short, it's catching with a cast easy to get invested over.

[r6shippingdelivery]

Hello Kiki! Hope you're doing well! The other day I was snooping around on the r6s wiki and I was checking out the names that some operators have since I realised I only know a handful of them. As I was looking at Alibi's and Maestro's names I thought to myself (I am italian) 'damn, they really have such basic italian names and surnames'. Then I realised that I also have such a basic italian name and surname like so many other italians. So, even if they sounded weird to me at first impact, their names are actually pretty realistic. So my question is, for you or anyone else on your blog that can answer me, what do you all think of the operators names that come from languages or countries you're familiar with?

Hi there! I'm doing fine, and now with the weekend nearly here, even more 😄 Hope you're well too!

This is a very interesting ask, and one that has had me thinking about it for the whole day. I had this "this is such a basic name tho" some time ago with a friend, in relation to a different game/characters, but as you point out, it is realistic as well cause for a name to be basic/common that means a lot of real people are named like that.

I can only answer for the Spaniards, which I'll analyze in detail under the cut, but I want to encourage anyone reading this to reblog and share their opinions about names for any operator from their countries! I think it might be a very fun and interesting collaborative thread :D

Now, onto the Mira & Jackal issue:

Let's start with Mira, actual name Elena María Alvarez.

Right off the bat, I can tell there's a surname missing. In Spain, we have 2 surnames, first one is the dad's first surname, and the second one is the mother's first surname. So Mira's full name is not really known here, huh. And no, María is not a surname, it's some sort of middle name in this case.

Of those names, María is the super common, most sterotypical possible name ever alongisde Carmen and Cristina. Also, María is very used in combined names, such as the one Mira has. Except María tends to be the first one in the combo, not the other way around. So Elena María is kinda rare/weird compared to the common María Elena, but still possible.

Now, for Jackal, aka, Ryad Ramírez Al-Hassar.

Here we have the two surnames as it's traditional, Ramirez being the one he got from his dad and Al-Hassar being the one he got from his mom. From this we can deduce his mother is of arabic descent, which is extremely common in his place of birth, Ceuta (a small Spanish territory in the coast of Morocco, same as Melilla). His name, Ryad, is also of arabic origin, which is unsurprising. It's a common name in Ceuta and Melilla, since mixed families and arabic influence are the most mundane thing, but for the broader context of Spain, Ryad is an odd/uncommon name.

Which brings me to a personal HC kinda related to this, being that due to the islamophobia very present in some corners of the country, he probably had a hard time with his fellow recruits when he first joined the national police, due to his name & second surname.

[gl1tched-g0th]

Hiii I did that thing where introjects edit source images to how they remember their friends bc I felt silly. So heres how I remember everyone as a Vanessa introject + some memories I have of them :3

(if u dont know what introjects are I made a post u can read here! Also note that these are my Memories and will be different from canon!)

I dont remember Adam being much different from source, I didn't hang out one-on-one with him much unless we were hanging our with the group and we were left alone with each other in a room. He was chill I just didn't have much to talk with him about 😭

-His hair was black, unlike how ppl draw him with brown (/lh) -His eyes were a very muted brown, almost grey looking -He had very faint freckles and moles above and near his eyes

Kai I remember very vividly because I always went to his place on Sundays to play video games and try to beat him. We would bond over our shitty parents, our interest in tech, and how our Tism[TM] effected our relationships, I saw him as a little brother.

-His hair was a darker copper instead of brown -His eyes were a dark green -He had cuts on his hands from dismembering tech (his ass was NOT careful /ref) -He had so many freckles. So many.

Mira was easy bc we have a Mira fictive in the sys as well so she just edited herself 😭 not much to say abt her aside from how we're dating in headspace and have memories of going on double dates with Adam and Kai :))

-She has a mix of a jellyfish haircut with curtain bangs, it's also a Lot fluffier than in source -Her eyes are light green (so pretty. literally could stare at them for hours) -She has a faint scar on her cheek, as well as SH scars on her arms and legs, which is why she covers them in source -FRECKLES <33333

Reeve is an easy one too, we'd game together and try to one-up each other every time. He helped me dye my hair whenever my roots came in bc he could literally not comprehend seeing me blonde. In Hollow Life we would have annual smoke seshes in honor of Skeet whenever his death date came around.

-His hair was dark brown with a tint of black (he dyed it but it faded LMAO) -His eyes were dark blue -He had scars from the game (as we all do)

Skeet is harder to remember, my memories of him are fuzzy. He was my oldest friend, met him when I was 11 and we just clicked from there. His door was always open and he was always willing to listen when I needed it, he was just a great friend in general.

-His hair was more of a dustier yellow instead of that weird obnoxious yellow from source -He had heterochromia, his left eye was green and right was blue -He had scattered freckles -Some cuts on his arms/hands from skateboarding, always had bandaids on him bc of falling

And that just leaves me last! I'm the same as Adam I think, not too unrecognizable from source but still different.

-My eyes are amber and more goldish than brown -I have dark circles bc Insomnia Is A Bitch -My shirt is a solid color in headspace instead of patterned with different shades of purple -I have SH scars as well and I am Not ashamed of them nor do I cover them up -I have a snaggle tooth that sticks out the side of my mouth. Just think Cat Tooth and thats it basically

Okay thats it byeee :333

[ink-flavored]

I crave a collection! So many good OCs to pick from so!! For Asim: 🤔💯 || For Jao: 🐈💘 || For Justice/Pride: 💤🍃 please!

a VARIETY!! thank you! <3

Asim, from my Unnamed Dream WIP

🤔 THINKING FACE — what are some of your oc's quirks/mannerisms?

Magic in this setting is a bit more complicated than saying the special words - doing magic requires components to do the magic with and it's easy to cast the wrong spell/do something completely different if you have the wrong amount or don't mix them properly or whatever.

To keep track of this, Asim talks out loud to himself while prepping for a spell, in addition to keeping detailed notes about which things have what effect. He talks to himself in general, actually. He's one of those people who mouths along to whatever he's reading.

💯 HUNDRED POINTS SYMBOL — share three random facts about your oc that others may not know.

Asim has never been outside his very rural, isolated swamp village in his whole life. Never had the opportunity to, really, since he's the Speaker -- the local healer/dispute settler/complicated-problem-solver of sorts.

Asim and his sister, Mira, live together and they have a guard-alligator outside their house, because I've made the amazing choice to have them be a domesticated species in this world. The alligator's name is Chompy.

Asim is my first he/they OC so that's a fun fact I think!

Jao, from The God-Dragon's Wife

🐈 CAT — does your oc prefer a wide circle of friends or a few close friends?

A healer before she became the right-hand to the queen, Jao had a lot of friends in her village. She kept up with all the families who she tended to, those with persistent or chronic illness, and wounds that took a long time to heal. She misses that closeness, working at the palace, where she has to be careful of the company she keeps. A lot of people are willing to do anything to get into the head of the queen's most trusted advisor. For her country's sake, she'll accept having a small number of friends, but she wishes she didn't have to.

💘 HEART WITH ARROW — what and/or who do(es) your oc consider the most important to them?

Jao takes a lot of pride in her work. She works hard and she works often, whether it be politics or healing. From a young age, she was taught how difficult it can be to deal with hurting people, and being good at it keeps her motivated day-to-day.

Pride and Justice from... Pride & Justice

💤 SLEEPING SIGN — is your oc a light sleeper or a heavy sleeper? how are their sleeping habits?

Justice sleeps like an angel (haha). He has a bedtime routine, tries not to stay up too late, and wakes up right on time every morning. He's a bit of a light sleeper, but no so much that he's waking up at every bump in the night. Which is good, because he shares a house with Pride.

Speaking of, Pride sleeps like a corpse if a corpse could snore. He does not wake up before 10am for any reason, and if you do wake him up, he is very cranky. He also stays up super late on regular occasions, but will insist that has nothing to do with it.

Even when they get together, they keep their separate rooms for this reason.

🍃 LEAVES FLUTTERING IN WIND — what is/was your oc's favorite subject in school?

Well. Neither of them went to school. I guess if they were to go to school, though, Justice's favorite subject would be English, or possibly the debate club, and Pride's favorite subject would be lunch.

[ask me a detail about my OCs]