#Very different from my usual posts but this game does something very unusual to my brain

[katamari-of-luv]

Every new Spamton Sweepstakes page I've found so far:

(Spoilers if you want to find them for yourself! If I missed something, feel free to add on!)

Clicking the "What's next?" link at the bottom of the main page takes you to /chapter3/, which simply reads "Not applicable." and has an ellipsis for a page title. UPDATE: Holding down the left arrow on your keyboard on this page causes the word "But..." to slide in from the right side of the screen.

Manually inputting /chapter1/ yields the same result (notably without the "But..." -- thank you rollingdanielle for pointing this out), while /chapter2/ reads "Applicable." instead. /chapter4/ has a red pixel slowly fade in at the center of the screen. Clicking that takes you to /chapter4/message/, which appears the same at first glance but actually contains several hidden links under the red pixel:

These link to one of two different six-second audio files: e.mp3 ("fading in" sound effect?) and m.mp3 ("fading out"?). I would love to hear it if anyone else finds a way to translate the "message". The placements of e's and m's don't appear to coincide with either binary or Morse code, but I could very well have missed something. Perhaps something Wingdings-related but I'm only a third of the way done with writing this post and that would be my fifth time pausing to puzzle out this one page. Maybe later.

UPDATE: HOLY SHIT. This comes from convobreaker on Bluesky's very informative thread. The layout of the audio file links correspond to a QWERTY keyboard, and the m.mp3 links match up to letters that can be unscrambled to spell /chapter4/thankyou/. The page is titled "How long did it take her to smile?" and presents you with two boxes to input text and a button to confirm. Pressing it with nothing in either box or anything but a valid email address in the first displays the text "Unknown contact." Pressing it with only a valid email address in the first box gives you the hint "She never smiled?" Filling the first box with an email address and the second with anything at all replaces everything with text reading "Thank you." Presumably the correct answer will send you a response.

On that note, /chapter5/ (titled "back") sends you here:

1 is unclickable, 2 takes you to d.mp3, a six-second drum and organ loop (that I could swear I've heard before-- can anyone identify it?) (UPDATE: Thank you to vividviolence and rollingdanielle! It plays before fighting Berdly for the second and final time in the Snowgrave or Weird Route, and may imply the "Applicable/Not Applicable" text refers to whether a Weird Route is possible in a given chapter.), 3 leads to ma.mp3, a warbling sound effect that fades out towards the end, 4 takes you back to /chapter4/, and 5 is h.mp3, a short acoustic guitar-like clip. It seems like manually inputting any "chapter" pages past 5 only takes you to room-dogcheck (they don't redirect, just display the little white dog).

Upon returning to the main page, clicking the "glitches and secrets Web Ring" banner, and continuing through to the /egg/ page via the "clues" link, a new link can be found embedded in the words "secret cats". /rain/ is another of Noelle's private journal entries, regarding the time she invited Catti over to play a "sillyriffic" Cat Petters minigame together. As per usual, she reminisces on seeing things in video games nobody else is able to replicate (but suspects Kris of knowing about it this time?) The "try it yourself" text leads to a playable version of this minigame at /rarecats/. The green dancing cats bouncing around the screen award points when clicked in accordance with the rarity scale on /rain/. An "angel wing" cat causes a stained glass window to appear onscreen and fade after a few seconds. Clicking that in time brings you to /windows/, a page titled "Aren't you forgetting something?" containing many instances of the same window sprite repeated over and over.

Each window links to a different combination of the same six words. Every page except one brings you to /room-dogcheck/. The correct combination, /lostwheretheforestwouldgrow/, leads to a page titled "ROOTS" which displays a blue tree that slowly floats up and down. It plays a single somber piano note the first three times it's clicked, then sends you back to /windows/.

UPDATE: Thank you to theyloy for tipping me off to this! Clicking the tree three times actually takes you to /window/ with no S. All the windows but one are now scrambled versions of the phrase /thepoorchildren/. Clicking and dragging to "draw" on this page, titled "Therapy", for long enough eventually reveals the red tree the man who gives you eggs hides behind, and clicking that links back to /egg/.

And last but not least, there's a new clickable area in /ramb/. The red desk at the front of the swanky, inviting green room now leads to /romb/, a silent set of wooden doors with the page title "No one will shed a tear for him." Clicking on them plays a door-opening sound effect and causes the screen to go black for a moment, then this text appears:

The text cannot be highlighted, and clicking either of the empty spaces plays the ma.mp3 sound effect associated with Chapter 3 via the /chapter4/message/ page discussed earlier in the post. This is wholly conjecture, but it may be of note that the spaces appear to be the right size to contain the word "egg".

UPDATE: Thank you once again to rollingdanielle! After clicking the door, but before the text appears, you can ctrl+A to click an invisible button floating around the screen. Doing so changes the page title to "You can never defeat us!!! Let's rumble!", plays ma.mp3, and then redirects to /chapter3/. This text could possibly be used in the Lanino and Elnina fight, as the speaker refers to fighting alongside at least one other person and "rumble" could be a pun on thunderstorms.

With that, I've listed off everything I know! Again, you're welcome to reply or reblog with anything I may have missed. Just one more month and Deltarune will be Tomorrow...

[puppys-tiny-space]

🩹How to deal with unhealthy regression:🩹

🍼First of all what is unhealthy regression?

Ageregression or agedreaming is both a trauma response and a coping mechanism. As such it can also present in unhealthy ways. When that happens the usually beneficial behaviour can cause harm to the individual partaking in it. I will explain what that can look like in this post and which warning signs to look out for.

🐾How can unhealthy regression present?

If someone's regression is unhealthy it can show in a number of ways since regression itself is something very personal and is often very different from person to person. Unhealthy regression can show through tantrums, being easily frustrated, struggling with things like personal hygiene and maintaining a healthy routine, overspending, insomnia and nightmares or general issues around sleep, relapsing in addictive or other harmful behaviors and much more.

🍼What are some warning signs to watch out for?

Warning signs can differ from person to person but these are some I watch out for in my own coping/symptoms. Struggling to control your regression ie. slipping at work or in public without being able to regulate back to a mindset where you are capable of caring for yourself and performing necessary tasks. Experiencing mainly upsetting emotions while regressed. Falling back on unhealthy coping mechanisms due to stress occurring during regressive episodes. Struggling with properly taking care of yourself, (cleanliness, sleep, nutrition etc.). Basically any unusual amount of stress, symptom flare-ups, dissociation, mental distress or similar during or after regressive episodes is something to watch out for.

🐾What do I do if my regression is currently unhealthy?

First of all don't panic, it's okay to struggle and it does not make you a bad person to do so. If you can talk to a medical professional who might be able to advise you on an individual scale. On your own I would recommend a few different things depending on how much you are struggling. If it is currently not safe for you to regress try not to, don't do it voluntarily and if it happens involuntarily try your best to stay safe, be around people you feel safe with, let someone know what's going on, stay away from potential triggers or things that could cause harm towards you. If you can't stop regressing or don't feel it is necessary try addressing the issues you are experiencing. Journal about the feelings you are having, get them out in whichever way works for you whether it be talking, writing, drawing, singing, painting or anything else. I also recommend actively doing positive things like going to the zoo, having a playdate with a friend, playing a new video game or having a plushie spa day. Actively making good memories around regression can be very healing. The most important advice I have is don't force it, rather set aside regression for a while than risk harking yourself just because it is a coping mechanism that has served you in the past, sometimes we have to let go of things even if it hurts. Also don't be afraid to seek professional help, it does not make you weak to need assistance, stay safe.

🍼How can I help somebody else with unhealthy regression?

Ask them if they know any specific things that help them and act accordingly within your own boundaries. Try being there for them in any way you can safely do, offer an open ear if they want to talk about anything, send them cute animal pictures to cheer them up or just check in with them every now and then. Send them any resources you feel might be helpful, whether it be mental health apps, a recommendation for a great therapist or a self help group or just a cool colouring book. If you feel it necessary for their safety don't be scared to involve their family or friends for a wellness check. If your country has the proper means to execute a safe wellness check through police/EMTS or similar that is also an option worth considering but be mindful of their safety regarding such actions.

🐾How do I confront someone I am worried about?

There isn't one way to do this, if you are worried about a friend, partner, family member or even just a mutual the most important thing is to be kind. Don't accuse someone of something, throwing around big statements can be overwhelming. Indeed try addressing specific things you are worried about like "I've noticed that lately you have been isolating yourself." or "The posts you have been making on social media lately make it seem like you are struggling, I'm worried about you and would like to help if you'd let me." We can't make someone accept help especially not through the phone and someone else's wellbeing is not your responsibility (in most cases) but it is still important to check in with people who you think might be struggling. Explain your concerns as calm as you can, hear them out on their answers and do your best not to make any judgements on their struggle. If you feel overwhelmed with approaching them try contacting somebody close to them first.

🍼What if I can't access a therapist or afford to go to a hospital?

If you or someone you care about lives in a country without universal health care getting the right support can be hard. I personally do not so I can't give exact advice on this but I recommend calling things like mental health hotlines, reaching out to resources like the Trevor project and looking for things like local support groups and mental health charities. Getting help can be scary but you are worth it.

[maddonkeydidnothingwrong]

Trans guy here. Just saw your post about a trans reading of LoP, and while I deffo don't wanna argue with anybody's interpretation, I do want to posit that a trans masc reading fits in REALLY well. I mean, is the story of Pinocchio not about wanting to be a real BOY? And it puts such an interesting spin on the themes of Lies of P, turns it into an interesting exploration of what even makes somebody a real boy/man/human/etc. Not that I want to come across as arguing with a different perspective. If somebody wants to put a trans femme reading on it, that's totally valid! Our relationships with fiction that we enjoy are very personal, and I think it's well within a person's rights to take a piece of media and put their own perspectives on it. I mostly just got excited to see somebody talking about a trans interpreation of the game at all, and wanted to share my own reading of it. :)

[Most of this post does not contain spoilers, but there is a very minor spoiler for the dlc later. Fair warning to anyone reading this]

All good! No worries. I'm also transmasculine, so trust me I get it. I support all trans HCs for Lop, because it's ripe for them tbh. Lies of P is inherently trans, and that's a hill I will die on lolol. As to my interpretation: I didn't really explain my POV super in detail in that post, so I understand that my ideas may not have fully come across. I view the story of Lies of P as inherently trans in an abstract sort of way.

Transhumanism is a common trope and idea used to explore the alienation and dehumanization that trans people face in wider society. (of course there are tranhumans who would be happiest in mechanical bodies but that's another conversation). The OG Pinocchio story is, of course, about a puppet wanting to become a "real boy", and I think P's journey reflects that, and expands upon it by saying "actually, I already am a real boy because I exist." He is the puppet whose father never sees him as his son. I constantly think of the cut P voicelines in the data mines where he confronts Geppetto and says something like, "I'm a puppet, but I'm your son, too!"

Granted, those were cut, so we can only take them with a grain of salt, but I think they still fit in the sense that P spends so much of the game being seen as someone else, all the while he hopes to be seen for who he is. A person in his own right. He's saying "I'm me, right now. This is me. See me." He's never given a name, except the one of a dead boy, and only ever referred to as what he is to other people. People constantly refuse to see the humanity and personhood in him. So yes, I could see the transmasculine elements in P's journey itself, but he was born a puppet, so it's not that he's explicitly trans. It's a bit more abstract than that to me.

Meanwhile, in the environments of Lies of P, we can find posters of a play for a puppet that "wants to be a real girl." You can find them all over the place, like the devs really wanted us to see them. I don't think the devs would intentionally (and explicitly) make a trans story given the political environment in South Korea, but I do think someone on the team might've known what they were doing and left little breadcrumbs for someone to pick up on. That poster seems too deliberate to be anything else.

We know that this story was Carlo's favorite book growing up, and that he was gifted Rosaura. This would be an atypical gift for a little boy, which makes me think that he begged for it. And his indulgent and happy parents didn't see the harm in it and allowed it. This tracks given how young Carlo was in the drawing he made back when his family was happy. A child that young wanting a doll is unusual, but usually not cause for concern even to a bigot. They likely just thought it was a manifestation of his love for the story. He wanted to have a little friend like the puppet girl from his favorite story. Now, bear with me because I know this is a bit of a reach, but my next clue is when P's hair grows longer and Geppetto says something highly unusual like, "did he get to you, too?" referring to Romeo and likely Carlo's "rebellion" against the gender norms imposed on him as someone born of the male sex. Bigoted parents blame anything and everything else in the world for why their children end up "different" and unlike how they envisioned, so Geppetto latching onto Romeo as the corrupting influence for Carlo having "strange ideas" makes sense to me.

Now, to be clear, I don't think Carlo ever would have had the chance to explore his transness. I just think it would add an interesting dynamic with P, and make them even more mirrors of each other. The boy who didn't really want to be a boy. And the puppet who wanted to be that loved son.

[iniziare]

Little Kafka™ Things (or a fair attempt at 'little'). I used to write lists with little random tidbits about my characters, which I came to realize tonight that I sorely missed making. So let's throw a little thing together for Kafka, as I've been hooked up to a salt IV about her, and I need some sanity. Some of these may be old news to oldie mutuals, but it's a new blog, so here we are. Time to start over, and start with basics. I'll elaborate on some in later posts.

The best way to describe Kafka, in my opinion, is a woman from a bygone era. While a beautiful mix of the olden days and the new, she very much oozes the former more than the latter. She is refined, sophisticated, cultured, and archaic in her tastes. Her fashion preferences (what she wears or what we know she has in her possession) include overcoats and velvet coats, both quite vintage, or rather "old-school". A shirt/blouse with ruffled cuffs? Quite an ode to an age long past (Victorian), even choosing to wear gloves outside of formal occasions/positions is quite the unusual choice. Outside of that, the katana is the samurai's blade, an ancient choice, it's not really utilized anymore, at least not in the same capacities, or with the same weight. The classical music? It's no longer really listened to. I once saw her referenced as foreign. Perfect.

Age-wise, she sits comfortably in the earlier half of the 30s, not a year younger.

Yes, it is noted (though mind you, by Silver Wolf) that she likes the occasional 'fabulous' thing, which hints at her having a bit of a refined palate, but that does not make her materialistic. It simply needs to fit in with #1. I mean look, a pearl earring, an ensemble of silver jewelry without a speck of gold (except on her default overcoat).

On that note, she's also very specific in perfumes, her signature would be Yves Saint Laurent's "Black Opium". Something that just like her, 'promises without unraveling, and tells without really telling, making it the perfect expression of femininity and grace.'

She is cleanly, and does not enjoy a mess, in her surroundings or on her person, but especially the latter. I will never budge on this, as her trailer empowers the thought and nothing has countered it since. Do we remember how she was fixing up her cuffs in the prologue after having engaged in combat? Yes, I know it's a little things, welcome, they arguably mean the most. A stain anywhere, blood? Absolutely not. As for her surroundings, please imagine her lifting an empty pizza box or whatever has been munched on from the sofa with a groan of "How many times will you leave these laying around, Silver Wolf?" Is it that much to ask that you clean up after yourself? And to return to the last point for one more moment, I swear, if anyone gets even a drop of blood on her coat or shirt, or sheets, she's not thrilled. Dry cleaning bill goes to you.

She gets bored incredibly easily. And while she has quite the manners to fit her overall 'essence', you might come across her attention having deviated a bit, granted, usually this will only be after you've been made aware of it. But this is to say, she will not get along with just about everyone. She's also not 'one of the young ones', she does not have the same interests, and though she'll find herself oddly enjoying a game of Origami Bird Clash, it's really because of Silver Wolf. All in all, if you can intrigue her, poke her curiosity, or you have a mind that interests her, then you're good. But you, and not what you can do, need to be interesting. Remember, the following quote is incredibly important for her character across the board: "She must have sought something extraordinary. everything she does comes at a great cost."

The order in which I believe she gets along with the Stellaron Hunters most, based on what canon has given and shown us so far, is as follows: Blade and Elio (in both vastly different ways), Silver Wolf, and then Firefly.

Kafka has an incredibly interesting view of destiny, and while this is something that warrants an entirely separate meta, I want to iterate the following so that no assumptions are made. As much as she speaks of 'The future is like a labyrinth: every divergence is merely an inducement. There is only one real path." And similar quotes, it is also incredibly important that (alongside another very interesting way of answering an earlier 'Is the future predetermined?', with specifically: "No, but what is predetermined is the future that has value.') this was a fundamental moment in her SQ that needed a great cost to obtain:

Trailblazer: Is destiny predetermined? Kafka: ... (If Kafka says the truth) Kafka: No (If Kafka says the lie) Kafka: Yes

[rjncore]

one click

disclaimer: this is a very short one so I apologize if it's all over the place haha I dreamed of this before lol just had to share it here. (more on narrations!) so this is self-indulgent, btw.

You were tipsy, and you're scrolling around Instagram. It's been a week since Ran last updated something on his account. You missed his posts of bf material pictures, or his IG stories of him training with the team. It's unusual, because he's usually active on social media. There are no updates about his latest whereabouts. For funsies, you sent him a message. It's a terrible mistake, for sure.

“Hey are you really busy? Post somethinggg I miss you" you sent.

But it didn't end there, you sent him another message. It's a huge disaster.

"Will you marry me?" 😔

Doing this might be the biggest mistake of your life but what he replied was something unexpected.

Ran: Yes, I am.

What does that mean? You were puzzled that you had to blink your eyes many times, but you still didn't understand what he meant with the response.

“Huh??” you raised your eyebrows, and pouted.

Ran, wasn't aware that he was talking to someone who's tipsy, so he played along.

“You asked if I was busy, so I answered yes. You also asked me to marry you and... what if I say yes?” Ran replied.

You had to rub your eyes a couple of times and slap your face repeatedly.

“No way. I was just joking around” you said, as you slightly got back to your senses.

Ran, being the silly person that he is, still insisted on his response.

“Well, you can't back off now. You started this, I'm just returning the favor” he replied, as he grins while typing the message.

“It's just a dream. No way this is real” you thought to yourself.

Before you could even form a cohesive response, he sent a message again.

“Anyways. You should watch our game tomorrow if you're feeling sorry” he said.

Wait, why would he ask you to watch their game? It's not like you won't watch it though, but hearing it from him, it felt different.

“Uhm? Okay. I'll watch it live. You didn't have to tell me anyways”

Little did you know, he was up for a silly surprise.

He played so well. His spikes were strong and his floor defense was top notch that you can't help but clap and shout every time he made a great dig or scored a strong attack. The game ended, and Ran was recognized as the MVP of the Match. It was an honor to watch the game live, and you thought that the reason why he wanted you to watch his game is because he already knew he was going to play well.

He was interviewed by the commentators about the game.

“You played great today. These past few games, you weren't on your usual rhythm. How were you able to bounce back and play well in today's match?” one of the commentators asked.

“It was an important game for the team and for me too. I'm aware that I needed to bounce back, and it happened today.” he replied.

“Any messages to the fans?”

“Thank you for the support. I will continue to do my best.” he answered with a small smile on his face.

You were clapping as you heard his message when you suddenly noticed that his eyes were roaming around the arena. Maybe his parents watched him today and he's finding them, you thought. But just as you thought of that, you saw his parents near the court, but he still looked like he was finding someone. His teammates are still accommodating the fans on the court and so is he. All of a sudden, you felt like he was looking in your direction. “Hmm, maybe it's his friends” you said to yourself as he walked towards your section. You were already preparing to leave your seat, when he approached you. “You're the girl right? From yesterday?” he asked. You were having second thoughts. You thought of lying and saying that he might be mistaken. But then, you're a bad liar. Before you could even form a sensible explanation, he held your hand. “It's you! I recognize you from your profile picture. You said you missed me, I played well today!” he winks at you. “And about the marriage thing... Well, I'm still up for it. But I think we're taking things too fast” he insisted. You're frozen on your spot, unable to say anything in response. Your mind is spinning, and you could feel your heart beating so fast. “What does he mean? I don't understand”, as your cheeks are turning red like a tomato. He was still staring at you, not minding that the other people's attention were on the two of you. “You know, silence means yes” he said in a teasing tone.

But as things were getting interesting, you woke up – it was just a dream. You looked at yourself in front of the mirror and realized that it's too good to be real. It's not even realistic. You wish it was real, though.

[crossdressingdeath]

OHH tranquil alaris..... heartbreaking. amazing. chewing glass. <3 does the inquisition inner circle ever learn about this? i'm assuming that dorian and bull do at some point but what about everyone else? i feel like with vivienne it could've been fun...

I definitely want the inner circle to find out at some point, although I'm having trouble figuring out if/how exactly that would happen; it's not something Alaris would ever willingly discuss with the inner circle unprompted, not even the ones he trusts absolutely. I'm toying with the idea of the spirit that possessed him showing up in the Fade during HLtA, but even then that would only reveal that he has an unusual bond with a denizen of the Fade (which is. a whole other post). Even if people figured out that he'd been possessed from that the followup conclusion wouldn't be that he'd been Tranquil, it would just be that... he'd been possessed. Which would be a whole other can of worms given the general assumption in Thedas that if mages get possessed they're either too weak to protect themselves or evil and deliberately got possessed to hurt people, thinking about it... He probably tells Cole, actually, because I like the idea of Cole being able to see past the Anchor enough to know that there's something going on there. But fuck the writers' nonsense, a spirit of compassion who can see into people's heads would know not to air all their issues in front of other people, so Cole doesn't say a word about it beyond the occasionally "Hey maybe stop" whenever anyone tries to defend Tranquility (or. the Circles in general for that matter) within earshot of both him and Alaris.

My other thought is that since he and Maddox were friends back in the Gallows it might come up after Maddox's death, given Alaris would not be able to keep quiet about everyone treating the friend who risked his neck to help Alaris escape like his death was the equivalent tragedy of damaging a nice chair. Which would also be a fun way of getting into the whole thing where... yeah, Tranquil are still people with free will who can go against the Chantry if they think it's the right thing to do, they just usually keep their heads down because it's safer. In general the Tranquil are really left out of this game where their skulls are used for a minor side quest and whether the Circles are just is an important question, which is something that makes making the Inquisitor a former Tranquil an interesting shift in the narrative! And I've seen that a couple times but only in a situation where everyone knows Quiz used to be Tranquil? And that's a very different thing from it being a secret that they're keeping. I like the idea of it being a gradual reveal, bits and pieces coming out over time (even things like "Alaris was in a Circle" and "Alaris was in the Gallows specifically" can be different and very fun reveals), but I'm still fiddling with the details. And yeah, it could be very fun with Vivienne.

[solitaireships]

writing patterns tag game

Rules: list the first line(s) of your last 10 posted fics and see if there's a pattern!

I got tagged by @comfortingstars to do this! idk who all of my mutuals write and I always feel awkward tagging people, so you're welcome to do this if you want!

Fics are under the cut!

🫀 “I think I love you” - James

Working out with James is always more fun for Helena than doing it alone. She’s never been big on exercising, only doing it because it’s a necessity to stay in shape with her job as a Huntress. While James and her focus on different kinds of things at Atlas Academy’s private gym— he’s more focused on strength training while she focuses on aerobics— the company is nice. 

✨ “you look… nice.”

Piera zips up the back of her dress, getting ready at Miguel’s apartment for an Alchemax party he was invited to. Normally she wouldn’t come to these— Alchemax doesn’t like the press being present, they're always nervous that a secret could leak and fall into one of their rival companies’ hands. But tonight she’s not going to be there on press business, instead coming as Miguel’s girlfriend and plus one.

Culture Reconnection

Helena doesn’t cook very often. It’s not that she’s a bad cook, but with her and Chae-Yeong both hating being in the kitchen with other people, Chae-Yeong tends to be the one to make dinner more often than not. Helena figures that with how much food they’ll need for tonight’s Seollal celebrations, though, she could handle the majority of the cooking. 

Honeymoon

Shepard hasn’t been to the beach in years. When Mark had suggested that as a honeymoon spot, she wasn’t sure about it. She’s always gotten hot easily, and she hates being around sand. But with the charges against Mark being lifted, he has more freedom now than he has in a long time. So when he said in their wedding planning that he wanted to go to the beach for their honeymoon, Shepard was happy to oblige.

let me in your atmosphere

Andromeda wakes up feeling more rested than she usually does. She’s never been a good sleeper— even when she was a child she’d often wake up in the middle of the night. But for the first time that she can remember, she realizes as she stirs awake that she doesn’t think she had any late night interruptions to her sleep. She slept soundly, and she thinks that she owes her unusually good rest to her girlfriend. 

baby you know i’m guilty

The hum of live orchestral music fills the Gotham Museum of the Arts, just loud enough to be heard over the chorus of people in attendance at this year’s annual auction. Alex tries to focus on the music instead of the people— it’s easier for her to process that than to try to filter through all the noise to listen to just one conversation. 

Untitled Investigative Minds Ficlet (CW: mentions of periods)

The first night of Shepard’s period is always the worst. It’s not unusual for her to wake up in the middle of the night feeling like her insides are tearing themselves apart— something that happened tonight at 3 in the morning. The time she spent in the bathroom barely helped with the pain and nausea, and the Advil she took hasn’t kicked into effect as she made her way back into bed. 

Marks

Shepard’s sitting in bed, waiting for Hoffman. Why he always takes so long getting ready for bed is beyond her, but she doesn’t mind waiting. It’s not like he gets a lot of space right now— that’s one of the many downsides of being on the government's most wanted list— so she’ll let him take whatever moments he wants. 

in the morning

The soft light of the morning seeps through the curtains of Alex and Bruce’s room. It wakes her up from her sleep, eyes only half focused as she blinks into awareness. 

Christmas Gifts

It’s been a long time since Christmas has made Alex as excited as she was when she was a kid. Maybe it was back when she stopped believing in Santa that the holiday felt less special, or maybe it’s just because she’s been so busy with life that it’s hard to slow down. But as Alex sits by the Christmas tree with Selina, it’s easier to remember the feeling of excitement from when she was a kid. 

I think the main pattern with all of them is I like to use my opening paragraphs to orient the reader to whatever is going on in the fic and give some context!

[electricbluebutterflies]

Chris/Melissa + "give me your hands, i'll warm them up."

Post-6B, PG-ish, also on ao3.

They’re lost. Melissa is convinced.

She’s trying to be a good girlfriend – a goal that has never ended well for her, let her just point that out now, she’s very self-aware when making questionable life choices – and in her current dynamic that means tagging along to check the sensors in an unusually cold rainstorm because there is a Schedule and nothing short of a gateway to hell could throw Chris off-course… and even then, she thinks, he’d probably still keep routines as much as possible. The man has some definite trauma-related personality issues, and-

She’s not going to say anything. She is really, really trying to be a good girlfriend this time. Whatever her face does is not her problem.

She does enjoy these outings, when the weather is a little less questionable. She’s always been attracted to men who know what they’re doing, and this one… she doesn’t necessarily understand what he’s doing, or why he can’t manage to squirrel-proof the trackers, but she likes the intention of it, the repurposing of his past to help protect the people they love and-

“You could go back to the truck.”

She knows he means well. Ever since he came back from whatever dumbass adventure he went on south of the border – conveniently after Melissa started applying a don’t-ask-don’t-tell approach to anything supernatural that did not descend upon her house or her workplace – if not even earlier than that, she’s trusted his attentions. At worst, his idea of appropriate courtship is a little awkward, protective not minimizing, and-

“You’re not going to,” she counters.

“I’m much more used to the elements. I’m fine.”

Yeah no. While those two little words tend to be a little more dangerous in a significantly higher vocal range, they’re not exactly believable in this one either, and there’s probably a fun conversation they’re going to have later about what exactly happened to you to make you Like This and she’s pretty sure there’s enough wine in the house to get them through that one and-

“Bravado gets nowhere with me. Hasn’t since before my divorce. If you’re out here, I’m out here.”

This is, admittedly, a particular flavor of overkill. She’s reminded more and more often lately that she’s relatively petite and a little too human for most of the life choices that have been inflicted upon her in the past few years, and she’d never liked hiking before, she ran track in high school but that was a different skill set and also over twenty-five years ago and-

She’s a good girlfriend. That shouldn’t be such a part of her identity. Too bad.

Besides, this is at least more stimulating than her usual experience of hanging out in someone’s questionably clean apartment, pretending to watch some sports game on TV, and having disappointing sex. None of those issues apply this time, and it’s been such a delightful change of pace that she can forgive her frustrations, and-

“Give me your hands. I’ll warm them up.”

She does as she’s told, and there are moments she feels infinitely and beautifully small, her gloved hands entwined with her partner’s and-

“I did not know heated gloves were a thing,” she murmurs.

“They’re not… shit, did I forget to give you hand warmers?”

She takes no responsibility for what her face does, she reminds herself, and whatever displeased look she’s giving him is deserved. “Give me what?”

“Sounds like a no. Give me a moment.”

Chris reaches into one of his jacket pockets – it is truly unfair that he has pockets, let alone big enough ones to hold multiple purses worth of stuff – and pulls out two little orange gel things. “Ever use one of these?”

“No idea what you’re even holding.”

He does something with his hands to the packets and then hands them to her. “Slip these inside your gloves. Hold them. You’ll stay warm.”

She does, and the little things work, and-

“Onward?”

“Onward. Just a few more sensors to check…”

[maximumzombiecreator]

I love being surprised as a GM. It tends to be what stimulates the most creativity, and generates the moments and stories I really remember. How does a megadungeon surprise me?

I've said before that the beating heart of the megadungeon is restocking and wandering monsters. These serve as ways to drive the evolution of the dungeon, changing spaces in ways that the players are not directly responsible for. They make the dungeon feel alive. And, importantly for me, they surprise me.

To start with, let's talk about the actual procedures I used.

For wandering monsters, there are a few different approaches recommended by different games, and they all tend to have different merits. I've used some really weird ones in some games to great effect. For this dungeon, I wasn't doing anything fancy. Once per hour, I rolled a d6, and on a 1 there was an encounter. If there was an encounter, I rolled on the encounter table for what it was. The table was a 2d10 table, so 19 different entries, with common encounters grouped toward the middle and more odd/extreme encounters toward the edges.

Notably, these encounters were not necessarily fights. All encounters allowed the characters a reaction roll, so conversation was frequently an option. I favoured an approach where lower numbers on the encounter table were more dangerous. So, rolling a 2 on the encounter table would mean finding something truly rare and deadly, while rolling a 20 would mean something very unusual, but much more likely to be helpful. (Other adventuring parties, for example.)

Procedures for restocking are notably harder to track down, and I could go off on a long tangent about it, but that's a different post. The procedure I actually used was to roll a d10 for each active wing of the dungeon for each day the party was away. On a 1, I restocked that section. I rolled a random number of rooms (1dSomething, with the die size based on the size of the wing) to restock, and then I rolled to determine where the new inhabitants were coming from. I would make a table based on the number of factions in play, meaning factions that were either in the wing being restocked or in an adjacent wing with access. A 1 on the die always meant roll twice, and it's conflict between the two rolled groups. Any unfilled slots meant something not aligned with any factions, possibly something new to the dungeon (so, for instance, if there were 4 factions in play, I'd roll a d6, with 1 being conflict and 6 being something unaligned. For 3 factions, a d4 with no "unaligned" option.) Once I'd determined how many rooms were being restocked and with what, I'd usually pick the rooms and the specific inhabitants myself. If I was stuck on ideas, or felt what I had so far wasn't interesting enough, I'd roll to determine which specific rooms were restocked.

So, in this room specifically, how did that play out?

As mentioned, the party had hit a few restocked rooms before clearing the concourse. These had been from the Redblades, a group of mercenaries who had been quartering in the entry chambers. Like a lot of out-of-work mercenaries, the Redblades had gotten into the banditry trade, and the party had first found the dungeon when hired to deal with them. This made answering the question of where the restocks were coming from fairly simple: responding to the party's first incursions, the Redblades called their roving bands in to fortify. In addition to refilling rooms with bandits, the restocked rooms added fortifications, with the Redblades digging in to defend their stronghold. After another incursion further thinned their numbers, I decided most of the remaining Redblades would abandon the group. Their leader, who the party was contracted to bring in, I had taken by monsters from the Pilgrim's City, leaving a trail to entice the players further in. My players were good sports, and would have kept dungeon delving regardless, but this made for a nice bait for them to head deeper.

After taking the concourse, the party hit their first wandering monster roll in this room while still patching themselves up from the initial fight. Given how injured they were, they were fully ready to try to negotiate their way out of a fight or flee. But the encounter roll was a Redblades patrol, and since the Redblades were no longer present, that meant no encounter. The party breathed a huge sigh of relief.

This is something I like to do with wandering monster tables. All relevant factions are on the table. This means that if the party is allied (or at least friendly) with some factions, sometimes a "wandering monster" is just bumping into some friends*. Factions that have been eliminated also stay on the wandering monster table for a little while. Eventually, the dungeon will adjust to their absence and those slots will refill with stuff in the dungeon. But for a little while, eliminating a threat doesn't just mean empty rooms, it means eliminating an active threat from the table. If there had still been Redblades in the dungeon, that patrol would have been coming from the entry chambers, cutting off the exit and leaving the party only the option to fight to the death or flee into unknown parts of the dungeon. But since they'd handled the faction, instead it was safe.

(*For sufficiently socially awkward people, bumping into acquaintances unexpectedly is also a wandering monster encounter IRL)

Once they'd cleared the concourse, it immediately became a tantalizing prize for every faction in the dungeon. When designing a megadungeon, I'll try to make sure every section has something valuable in it that factions not currently in that section will want. The concourse doesn't have much of value itself, but as the nexus of so many wings of the dungeon, it does control access. This meant that nearly any time I rolled restocking for the entry chambers, it started with taking control of the concourse.

This also meant that the concourse ended up telling the story of power struggles throughout the dungeon. The first time I restocked the concourse, I rolled conflict between the Archivist and the undead from the Pilgrim's City. This was surprising! These actually weren't factions I had considered to be in conflict with each other. (Usually, for any factions I can imagine the players parlaying with, I try to create at least some tension between them, but these undead were mainly mindless, so I hadn't done so.) Since the imps in the concourse had belonged to the Archivist, I decided that this meant that they had been there, in part, to contain the undead and avoid drawing attention to the dungeon. Now, unrestrained, the undead wanted to burst forth from the dungeon and feed. The Archivist was trying to keep them contained. When the party came back to the entry chambers, they found a few rooms where conjured elementals had culled skeletons and zombies that were headed for the exit, and the concourse itself was full of the walking dead.

Later, a number of the party contracted diseases during an encounter with an Otyugh, and were away from the dungeon for longer than usual to recover. This meant a lot more repopulation rolls. The first time in this period that the dice said to repopulate the entry halls, the faction moving in was the Wailing Countess from the Nobles' Section (the players had spiked E shut, but, y'know... ghosts can just walk though the closed door.) So, the concourse got haunted. But this meant that the ghosts were now in play for every wing that connected to the concourse.

And the dice loved them. Ghosts spread all over the dungeon, possessing dwarves, haunting libraries, defiling altars. This was, again, surprising. The Countess was supposed to be a minor player in one wing, but the dice had other ideas. I decided that the obvious answer was that she was looking for something. I ended up rolling to restock the concourse twice more before the players returned. The first roll came up with something unaligned. I chose to use another adventuring party the players had encountered on a wandering monster roll, and had them clear out the concourse from the ghosts. The second roll was devils from the Indulgences. As a result, when the players came back, they returned to a dungeon with ghosts lingering in many previously empty corners. They found the last remnant of the adventurers they'd met before bleeding out in one of the entry chambers, living just long enough to deliver a grim warning: the ghosts had been bringing an artifact to the Countess, the other adventurers had been trying to stop them when a great devil had fallen upon them. Now it was up to the players to retrieve the artifact and stop whatever the Countess' scheme was.

This was quite dramatic and did a great job of kicking off the next big arc of their dungeon exploration. My players assumed that I had plotted all this, that it was scripted. But the truth is, it was just me trying to make sense of the dice rolls. A different party, or a different set of dice rolls, and things would have been completely different. If they hadn't rolled the other party on the wandering monster table, and thus they hadn't been hanging out in my mind waiting for another use, things would have been completely different. And that's what these procedures do for me. They let the dungeon develop in unexpected ways, to tell unique stories. They surprise me.

Since I've had a few people asking about megadungeon stuff recently, and I am an avowed megadungeon megafan, I thought it might be fun to walk through an actual example of megadungeon play that exemplifies what I like best about it.

This post is going to be the first in a series talking about a room from a megadungeon that I ran over 20 years ago (brushing past that fact quickly lest the horrors set in.) It was a major room, probably the most complex and important in the dungeon, and the players passed through it frequently throughout the campaign. In this post I'll introduce you to the room, and then in later posts I'll talk about what it does well and how to use that lesson more generally. Below the cut is a reproduction of the map as I remember it.

Without getting into The Lore too deeply, some dwarves accidentally dug into hell, as one does. Classic trope, nothing wrong with using them. They quite sensibly shut the mine down and sealed if off, but word got out. A human king heard about this, and took over the mine, expanding it into a temple complex to curry favour / barter with hell. It went badly, as such things do.

This concourse connects several wings of the dungeon, spanning several floors. An enormous devil face statue emerges from the northern wall, above the second floor balcony and below the fourth, and a column of light shines through a hole in the ceiling onto the center of the floor. Several floors of balconies overlook the chamber, though the stairs to the fourth floor balcony have long since collapsed.

This chamber was not too far from the main entrance, with the party first encountering it on their second delve into the dungeon, though it would take two more delves for them to gather the courage to enter it. At the time they first encountered it, it was swarming with imps and other little devils worshipping the big face.

I'll summarize the key:

A. Hallway from the Entry Chambers, the first and easiest section of the dungeon.

B. Doorway to the Pilgrim's City.

C. Doorway to the Unholiest of Unholies. Sealed and warded against simple spells.

D. Doorway to the Old Dwarven Quarters.

E. Doorway to the Nobles' Section. Barred from the far side.

F. Portcullis to the Pilgrim's City. The mechanism has rusted out and no longer functions.

G. Doorway to the Halls of the Clergy.

H. Doorway from the King's Inner Sanctum.

I. Doorway to the Archive.

J. Doorway to the King's Inner Sanctum, locked.

K. Doorway to The Indulgences.

Stairway from floor 1 to floor 2.

Light from the hole in the ceiling.

Broken stairs from floor 2 to floor 4.

Big ole devil face. Its eyes are a one-way illusion, allowing anyone within the face to view the room below.

Okay that's a lot, thanks for sticking it out. While I don't want to wander too far off topic into the rest of the dungeon, I'll just briefly note that the Pilgrim's City and Old Dwarven Quarters are easier sections of the dungeon, the Nobles Section and Halls of the Clergy are slightly more difficult, the King's Inner Sanctum, Archive, and Indulgences are very dangerous, and the Unholiest of Unholies is, as one might expect, where the worst things (and best loot) in the dungeon are. This was 2nd edition AD&D, so there was not a presumption of fights being balanced, and traipsing through more dangerous sections of the dungeon at lower levels wasn't uncommon. The players also understood the varying levels of danger fairly implicitly, since the custom at the time was that any time you went a level further away from whatever the ground floor was, things got more dangerous. The only exception to this is the Unholiest of Unholies and I think we can agree that when it's beyond a magically sealed door under a giant devil head the danger is telegraphed.

Next post I'll start talking about what made this room work so well in practice.

[houndsofbalthazar]

Been playing some Pathfinder: Kingmaker and it's got me thinking about how much I dislike the weapon proficiency system in D&D and its variations, adaptations, and derivatives. I'm not familiar with every single version of course so this is only speaking to broad trends, and only in the ones I've played!

For all intents and purposes, not having proficiency in a weapon means you can't use it. Different implementations manage it differently, video games tend to straight up not let you equip a weapon you're not proficient in, while sometimes it's just a penalty (or lack of a bonus). In 3.5e iirc, it was -4 to hit with a weapon you're not proficient in. That's a reduction of 20 percentage points to hit rate! IMO unless the DM or game leans very hard into this, it's essentially the same as saying you can't wield them. (Leaning into it would be for example playing a game in which you face a lot of monsters with invulnerability/ damage reduction with specific weaknesses to different materials and damage types and are specifically very limited in weapons of those various damage types, then you start to get the choice of a weapon that will be more effective, but you are worse at using, and even then it's tricky to pull off without it becoming a maths puzzle)

Most versions of this system let you gain proficiency in a weapon or weapon group, but you usually spend a feat to do so. Feats are huge, big rewards for levelling up and you don't get many. The bump in mechanical power from "upgrading" a category is usually negligible, and sometimes literally nonexistent. For example, one thing that set me off thinking about this again is that in pf: kingmaker I found a magical sling staff. That's a cool weapon I thought! But it requires exotic proficiency, you have to spend a whole feat just to use it. Or I could keep using a light crossbow which is almost identical (the only difference is slightly different crit stats, one crits more often, the other does more damage on a crit). So I could have enjoyed finding a cool unusual weapon for my character to use and further flesh out the fantasy of having a unique character, or I could -- and did -- just sell it immediately because I'm not spending a whole feat on it, and I'd need to level up multiple times to even get a feat to spend, and then if another cool weapon came up that would just be a waste. It might as well have just been a pile of gold.

You can, I think, get some mileage from finding a cool piece of equipment that you can't use yet. The trouble is in video games the gear treadmill is often such that by the time you can use it you've found something better anyway. There's more potential on the tabletop, but again I think you need to lean into it and it does have to be an especially cool piece of equipment.

Aesthetically, I also really dislike it. Because the mechanical differences between weapons are so small it often feels like I'm being pushed towards someone else's idea of the character I should play. I made a post a while back comparing Morrowind & Oblivion's approaches to armoured spellcasting (in the latter wearing any armour will always decrease your spell power - the game's telling you that you can wear armour but real wizards don't). If Martial & Exotic weapons were so much stronger than the lower tiers I'd understand it, it'd be a game balance reason. But the categories aren't really consistent enough about it. It's not going to be gamebreaking if I want my wizard to use a trident instead of a spear (literally identical stats!) But the aesthetic is prevented by the rules. I think when part of the appeal of the game is to play the fantasy of your character as a unique cool hero.

As an aside, a similar reason is why I will probably never play a Rogue in D&D 5e. The aesthetic I want to play is your traditional thug, you know, the burly bash your kneecaps in kind of thug. Rogue would be the perfect class to represent that, except sneak attack can only be done with finesse weapons which are all knives and swords. No clubs, maces, or other thwacky objects allowed because someone had a specific idea of what a rogue should be and limited it without any real mechanical reason for it.

Ok rant over. Maybe I'll reblog this one with thoughts on how I'd handle it some time because I do like the idea of weapon types all being slightly different, and it does make sense to me that a fighter would be able to use more weapons than a sorcerer (most of the time).

[joezworld]

The Headboard [Shitpost]

So, I just want to preface this with: I'm probably sorry for this.

That being said, I put 45 whole minutes into this, so it's not like I can't post it.

Also, the art is by the very wonderful [NAME REDACTED], who definitely doesn't want their name associated with this.

(This image is here so the joke isn't spoiled by tumblr embedding the first image in the post in links. Also so I don't have to look at it.)

----

Tidmouth, Present Day

It started innocently enough. 

A “Twitch Streamer” - someone who played video games live on the internet - had contacted the railway, asking if it would be possible to charter a train. He explained that he was planning to do a live event with his fans, and as most of the video games he played were about trains, it seemed like a “fun idea” to do so while onboard a real train.

While it may seem unusual for a media personality to charter a train, on Sodor this wasn’t exactly unusual. Money was money, and trains were often chartered for sporting events, railtours, and film and television productions; while it was for a different media spectrum than usual, the NWR didn’t see anything wrong with operating a single charter train for him. 

They even did their due diligence, consulting some of the younger members of staff. to make sure that this individual hadn’t done or said something morally reprehensible, and that his content wasn’t something shocking or provocative.

It should be noted that, while incredibly tech savvy, the specific youths that the head office inquired to (which included Richard Hatt’s own children) had never actually heard about this particular “streamer” before. As a result, they did some cursory searches of his available videos, and watched a few of his live streams. 

Nothing that they saw stood out to them, but that was because they didn’t know where to look. 

--

A few weeks later

The box showed up with the post only a day before the charter was to take place. The charter would have its own special headboard, and the streamer had had one made specially for the service, so its timely arrival was a relief. 

“-eard about it,” Said one of the fitters, as he carried the box into the sheds the next morning. “From my nephew, he watches ‘im. Said it was some sort of collaboration video with a bloke who does metal forging online. Certainly feels heavy enough.”

“Looks big enough too.” Siobhan followed him through the door. “We might have to mount it up high.” 

Henry rolled his eyes hugely. Of course Gordon had been selected to do the Charter, and he’d been as insufferable as ever for the last few days. “Must you do this while I’m still here?” He yawned. “It’s too early to hear him go on and on about fitment.”

Gordon had apparently not been asleep, as Henry had thought. “Henry, if you are indeed so bothered by the early hour, maybe consider not taking the Flying Kipper? I’m sure Marina would be honored to take it more often.”

“How dare you-”

“Oi!” Siobhan shouted. They’re a hundred years old an’ yet I still have to mother them. “You, shut up. You, don’t encourage him.” She pointed to each engine in turn. “We’ve got to make ‘im spic and span in time for this shite, so no arguin’. Understand?” 

Ominous threats were left unsaid, and Gordon and Henry quickly shut up. 

Behind Siobhan, there was the sound of tearing cardboard, and then a confused “Eh?” 

“What?” 

“That’s an… odd choice of, well everything to be honest.” 

She looked in the box. “Isn’t that a… burger chain or something?”

“I think so.” The man turned his head as he pulled the headboard out of the box. “Why’s it on a headboard? An’ what does that word mean?” 

“I don’ know.” She reached into a pocket and pulled out her cell phone. “Ah, great, no service. Fuckin’ Vodaphone.”

“No wifi?” 

“It’s on the fritz, an’ IT works normal hours.” She turned to Gordon and Henry, who were steadfastly pretending that they weren’t curious. “You two know what this means?”

Henry laughed to himself. “No, but what a… jaunty colourscheme that is.” 

Gordon glared at him. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

“It looks silly! The letters look like they belong in a cartoon or somesuch!”

“But what does it mean, Henry? You don’t know anything?!” Gordon was indignant.

“I haven’t the slightest clue, but I assume that this is some kind of in-joke for whoever is chartering the train.” 

“A joke?! Siobhan! I will not be party to someone else’s sense of humour! Have Henry take this train!” 

By now, most of the shed was awake, and Gordon was promptly drowned out by his ever-so-supportive friends. 

“Oh no! You spent all week going on and on about this train!”

“You’re not getting out of it that easily, Gordon.”

“What’s this? Karmic retribution for how much of a pain in the buffers you’ve been? On Sodor? Who could’ve predicted that?”

“Well I certainly am not taking it.” 

“Och! Ye canno’ take a feckin in’ernet joke? Wha’ kind of a stick in tha mud are you?”

“Just wear the damn headboard!”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure your picture won’t be spread far and wide on the internet or anything!”

Gordon turned a bright shade of red and wheeshed steam at them all, which did absolutely nothing except make them louder and more insistent that he take the train. 

Biting her lip to keep from laughing at the engine’s absurdly angry expression, Siobhan helped the fitter put a ladder next to Gordon so he could mount the headboard at the top of the firebox. 

“If this turns out to be some obscene prank,” Gordon stared at them through narrowed eyes. “I will make it my mission in life to make you regret it.” 

“I'm good wit’ that, Bluey.”

----------

Later

The cleaners came and went in a flurry of polish and rags, and Gordon sparkled from end to end whether he liked it or not. Not a person he asked knew anything about the headboard, which only made him more suspicious that someone was keeping something from him. 

“I promise you that we’re not.” The Fat Controller had made his way over to the sheds at the urging of everyone who had spoken to Gordon that morning. “I assure you that this person is merely an… internet personality. If this is a joke, it’s harmless.”  

“But sir!” Gordon protested. “Nobody is even willing to find out! What if this is all just a joke?”

Stephen smiled kindly. “Nobody can look anything up right now - someone in Suddery was doing some digging last night and cut through a major communications cable - half the Island has no telephone or internet service today, us included.”

“Well, that doesn’t ch-”

“And, if it is a joke, even one at your expense, I expect you to be pleasant and composed for the railtour like the express engine you are.” He finished firmly. “If that is the case, we will deal with it as it comes, and you can tell me that you were right until you are blue in the face. Understand?” 

“Yes sir.” 

“Excellent. The train boards at nine sharp, and I expect you to be as pleasant as you possibly can be.”

Behind him, there was a murmur of “that’s expecting a lot, isn’t it?”, but the culprit was too stone-faced to be picked out of a lineup, despite dual glares from man and engine. 

----------

Eight Thirty. 

Gordon collected the train from the coach yard, and pulled into the platform with all of his considerable grace and pomposity on display. He was serene, he was calm, he was not the butt of someone’s-

“Oh” Two platforms over, Tornado stared, not at him, but up, at the board, looking for all the world like someone had smacked her upside the smokebox with a heavy object. 

“What.” He said, his fears instantly solidifying, and then transforming into anger. 

“Oh no.” She said, not paying any attention. 

Before anything else could be said, Donald rattled through the station, a heavy stone train from the Little Western trailing behind him. Tornado’s guard blew his whistle and waved his flag as the hoppers rolled by, and before Gordon could ask her what was wrong, she left in a great hurry.

His scowl formed and then instantly deepened. I have been made a fool of.  

He stayed this way, simmering angrily for almost ten minutes before Siobhan came out, a trainee fireman in tow. She walked down the platform, explaining the specifics of main line firing to the young man, before realizing that he’d stopped dead in his tracks. “Somethin’ wrong lad?”

“You do know what that means?” He said, blushing scarlet. 

“I knew it!” Gordon whistled angrily. “It is an obscene joke! What does it mean?! Out with it, boy!” 

The young man went pale underneath his blush, and shook his head back and forth in terror. “Oh no, no no no, no way.”

Siobhan wasn’t sure if she should be upset at the apparent obscenity, or in stitches at the idea of it happening to Gordon of all engines. “Lad, seriously, wha’ is it?” 

“I’m not saying it at work.” He said in a small voice. 

Gordon looked thunderous, and Siobhan decided that the headboard needed to come off before anything else was said. 

Of course, this was Sodor, and trouble reared its head at exactly this moment. 

The charter train was quite short, and Gordon was somewhat further back in the station than he ordinarily would be. This meant that when Oliver puffed in with a passenger train from the Little Western, he stopped ahead of Gordon on the platform. His passengers disembarked, streaming out of Dulcie and Isabel towards the stairways for the under-platform tunnels. 

It was half term, so quite a few young people were on the train, and as they walked down the platform, they all did the same thing: they looked at Gordon, looked at his headboard, looked at the platform or their phone, then quite violently looked back at the headboard. Some even stopped in place, and one girl just barely managed to stifle a shriek that otherwise would’ve echoed throughout the station building. 

Then the cell phone cameras came out. 

-----

In the station cafe, Stephen Hatt’s phone ‘pinged’ - the first time it had done so all morning. 

Ah! He thought to himself. Service is back. 

He immediately began paging through his rapidly growing backlog of emails and news alerts, before a business news article caught his attention.

That better not have been an obscene reference… He thought to himself as he typed in the seemingly innocuous phrase. 

-

-

-

His phone almost fell out of his hand, as he flailed and struggled to close the obscene tab he had just opened. 

Shoving aside another patron, he flew through the door of the cafe, his top hat just barely staying on his head. There, across the platform, Gordon was surrounded by a crowd of helplessly laughing teenagers, looking angrier than he’d ever been. 

“SIR!” He boomed, having seen the man exit the restaurant. “I TOLD YOU! I TOLD YOU THIS WAS A JOKE AT MY EXPENSE!”

[i-dor-u]

001: enter the black swan blues...

NOTE: initially, this was an inside joke between me and my sibling. it’s innocent and unpolished, but nevertheless a cute thought. it’s different from what i usually make, but being overly-virtuous with my blog feels restrictive and a little self-sabotaging. maybe i will become more open, who knows? i hope this is a fun read, i certainly had fun thinking it up! please keep in mind that these are personal thoughts on the matter at hand.

❲ ⌕ ❳︙piece contents: twisted wonderland. dancing. quick and undetailed. possible spelling errors. nothing very explicit, but let me know if you spot anything! ❲ ⌕ ❳︙word count: 700-800. ❲ ⌕ ❳︙song recommendation: smiley — vals. ❲ ⌕ ❳︙pinned blog post.

HOW LIKELY ARE THE HOUSEWARDENS TO SLOW DANCE, FROM FIRST TO LAST, IN MY OPINION? A QUICK-N-SILLY ANALYSIS.

for the first, i would probably say vil, because everything about him screams in tongues of elegance and courtesy. well, maybe the latter not as much, it depends on his mood, and on the degree of interest he has towards his companion. however, even if he doesn't necessarily like someone enough to invite them to dance out of the affection he has for them or the appeal they have, maybe he'll do it just because he's a show-off. even so, if he picks the scent of ballroom struggle from you... oh, he’ll make you a fantastic dancer. i’m being unkind, but so is he.

next, i'd say malleus. fae customs and courtesy, right? he appears to be way more tolerable and way less promptitudinal than vil. you would actually enjoy dancing with him, and he'll enjoy it even more so. it's not every day he musters up the motivation to do this, you know. nor does he really get the opportunity, all things considered. but he's a pleasant companion. doesn't say too much, nor too little; doesn't do too much, nor too little. but he's eloquent, and has everything in his pocket. he likes to think that the great seven smile upon him, having found such a worthwhile companion; you.

riddle... he's well-mannered, he's traditional, and maybe he wouldn't pass an opportunity to slow-dance. but that's it, i don't see him as someone who indulges in any other sort of dancing. he's good at it, almost too good, and if you don't live up to his skills, well... off with your head, perhaps. but if he likes you, he'll overlook missteps and enjoy himself to the fullest either way. because he likes you! he also sees it as a minimal form of celebration that he’s not externally observed as a victim of helicopter parenting. he can break some rules when he’s beside you.

azul is probably not as benevolent as malleus, nor as strict as riddle. but hopeful in his own right. he probably won't ask for a dance unless you do, which he sort of hopes you would. then he probably becomes a show-off, but not enough for you to be unable to keep up, because two can play this game. until you two become a bit too playful, which results into lots of spinning, twirling, embracing, laughing and not being normal. and thus, you unintentionally capture a handful of curious gazes, wondering, who could this fellow be, and why does the housewarden indulge with them so much?

as for kalim, he isn't one for seriousness, so slow-dancing is probably not his forte. but he'll do his best for his beloved! you see, there isn't room for strictness, so if you trip over each other's feet, it's all laughter, all in good fun. if it doesn't work out, he'll suggest you two mess around however you like, which will probably result in the two of you screwing adequacy and standing out with your unusual dance moves. consoled by the thought that you’re the most eye-catching pair of the night. ballroom manners are out the window, but you're having the best time of your life.

would you wait on a slacker? because leona will be no less than dead meat. that is, unless he's infatuated with you, or something. he would be reluctant, i daresay embarrassed, he'll oppose it with all of his might. but that's all stage play for him to see just how insistent you can get. it worked out until you insinuated that he doesn't actually know how to slow dance. that's how all of his instincts kicked in, making you eat your words in ecstasy as he twists, turns and twirls you, pushed from behind by unseen air currents. you’re a feisty one, and he looks forward to seeing you all worn out.

initially, idia won't even want to hear of it. try to make inhumane efforts to even get him out of his room, and you still won’t. guilt pokes at his throat and the disappointment in your eyes drives him to the brink of self-deprecation. but the lowlights in his room and the reflection of his gaming screen make quite the scenery, and he realized he won't dissolve if he tried (though he wishes he could). your orbs drown in fulfillment, yet he refuses to make eye contact. with his face nuzzled on the crook of your neck, he thinks of how you should initiate these seemingly impossible quests with him more often.

©: writing belongs to i-dor-u & the characters used for creative purposes belong to their respective owners.

[revvnant]

Misconception: He didn't love his brother. Is that.... True?

send me a misconception you think people have about my character and I’ll explain if it’s true or not.

heehee. so i'm gonna say heated things in this post, anon, and it's not because you asked the question. i love this question. when i strawman in here i'm referencing things i've seen in the tags and on other social media over the years. anyways, my first response when people bring this up is usually. that is an extremely complex thing to ask a teenager in michael's position. now, i'm not saying michael is The Victim, given that evan is literally dead. i'm extremely pro-michael responsibility. while it looks like the argument over whether or not he's the bully brother has died off somewhat ( or maybe i've just cultivated my experience a bit better lol ) i used to see so many Fourth Afton Siblings and it drove me insane. i craved that moral ambiguity, that is to say the ambiguity of the action / motivation, and the cloud that it left hanging over michael's story. i liked how it served a narrative where michael callously disregarded his sibling's safety and it got him killed, only for michael to try to be the best brother he could to his sister and lose her anyways, and in much the same way. i loved that michael wasn't perfect and rankled at the push for him to be distanced from the incident because it felt like people weren't willing to say that michael could be both a victim of abuse and a bully who got a kid mauled by taking a malicious prank too far.

which brings me back to the complexity. while it does not excuse michael's actions and certainly doesn't bring evan back, i don't think it's... disrespectful? choosing a side?? to say that michael was also in a bad situation. like. based solely off what we see in the games, michael and evan are on their own. we always see them home alone in an empty house. evan walks to and from freddy's without supervision ( not super unusual, but also something that, at the time, was becoming less common -- i like it as a prelude to the mci, where parents would stop allowing their children to go out alone ). he's spending time at a venue he not just dislikes, but is terrified of, on the regular -- and we don't know why, but i've always assumed that either william is bringing him to work with him or michael is dragging him there after school ( with evan then being free to walk home if he wants to, but he's also clearly discouraged from doing so, given the number of times he tries to 'escape' ). and now he's having his birthday party there. at the very least, his father is negligent. the only family member we see him with is michael.

we're entering headcanon territory now, so be warned of that. while i do a lot of research to back this up, i will also be upfront in saying that i'm spinning a narrative because i think it's appropriate for the setting and want to explore it. hence, there's nothing authoritative here, and i understand if it's not people's cup of tea. that said, michael is the oldest afton sibling. in a lot of places, especially that part of america, eldest / older children are expected to help raise their younger siblings. given that we don't see william around, let alone a mother, i've always come away with the impression that michael was left with a lot of the daily care of the kids. get them to and from school, help with their homework, make sure they shower and brush their teeth, etc. to some people that may sound extreme or dramatic, but it's reality for a lot of kids. they're made to grow up more quickly than their siblings or only children out of necessity. this isn't a blanket judgment of this practice, because 1) utah is not the only place on earth this happens and the cultural context in other places is different, so i don't want to smear that and 2) teaching children some responsibility is not necessarily a bad thing in my eyes.

it is, however, a lot of pressure on a kid. i've made michael four years older than evan and eight years older than elizabeth. those aren't insignificant age gaps, but while he slots more 'naturally' into that parental role for his sister, he and evan are much closer in age. he's twelve when evan is eight, fifteen when evan is eleven ( where i've placed the birthday party in the timeline ). he wants to be hanging out with friends and doing his own thing, and he's being held back ( in his mind ) by having to watch his siblings and, horror of horrors, take his brother with him when he goes places. probably not unusual for where they're living, again, but still. this would normally lead to some inter-sibling resentment, but there are additional layers to this.

one, i think michael struggles in school due to his situation at home. i think both the absence of his parents and the responsibility of watching his siblings are crunching his brain, and he's mentally ill and dyslexic in a school system not designed to accommodate him. if he doesn't make sure his brother's homework gets done, he gets in trouble. forget his own homework. if william and diane are working late, he's responsible for dinner. then he has to get them to bed. once that's done, he can do his own work / shower / whatever else he needs to do. he's exhausted.

two, he is being abused. the degree to which varies from person to person but this is my blog and i say that william was physically abusive. not only do i think there's more than enough evidence of this in the games ( midnight motorist, his comfort killing children when he has kids of his own ), but secondary research has all but proven to me that you almost never see cases of child killing without abuse going on in the house. you just. as a baseline. are not simultaneously a kind parent and a child murderer. to have your own children and to be comfortable killing somebody else's children may seem like two separate things in fiction, which is why i'm not against people saying that william was 'only a little' / not physically abusive, but in real life that just... doesn't happen. and my blog for the sci-fantasy horror series about possessed bear robot is historically inspired so we all just have to live with that.

a few things with the abuse, though. firstly, michael is learning violence in the home. he is being conditioned to accept physical harm as the norm, and his father is setting the example that the right way to cope with your emotions is to lash out. and not only is mike experiencing the normal heightened emotional state of puberty, he's angry and confused and upset because his father is mistreating him. he's being hurt and he has no one to appeal to ( another big historical theme for me: a lack of intervention in hurricane; not their children, not their problem, and heaven forbid someone tell another man how to run his household! ), he can't get away from it unless he wants to pack up a little rucksack and flee ( i do believe this happened at least once and he quickly got found and returned to his parents ), so he just has to sit. and stew in it. and not understand why it's happening. because there is no good reason for it. i'm very much not like. 'william abused michael because michael acted out!' the opposite, in fact. michael acted out because he was being abused -- and because he was a teenager! and that idea always rubbed me the wrong way because, to be quite honest, abusive parents do not need a 'reason' to hurt their kids. they don't need an inciting incident. i know parents are people, but abusive parents -- parents with a pattern of violence -- are gonna do what they do regardless of how their kids act. they can say there's a reason for it, but if there isn't? they'll invent one. so there shall be no 'mike was a bully and william started punishing him more harshly' here.

secondly, michael has to cope with his situation differently than his siblings. evan is a crybaby -- and rightfully so, given what he's going through! he also lives with an abusive father, though i don't believe he's william's usual target; that house is a nightmare and he is in it with the rest of them. plus, his brother bullies him! i would cry! but i think the crying is something that michael grows to resent very quickly. michael isn't 'allowed' to cry; he's a 'man', his father expects more from him. michael 'has it worse' than evan, so what does evan even have to cry about? michael doesn't cry when he gets mistreated, and 'nobody's' mistreating evan. evan, as far as michael is concerned, is being waited on hand-and-foot by him. he's the one helping with the homework and tying the shoelaces and walking him to school and picking him up at the end of the day. he's the one losing sleep and weekends with friends to take care of him. what the fuck could evan ever have to cry about? by that logic, maybe michael should give him something to cry about -- like william gives him something to cry about. because that's what real men do.

thirdly, as implied above, michael is the barrier. he's the oldest, he's the one who looks like william, he's the puberty-riddled mentally ill punk-leaning problem child. he is his father's target of choice. and i think he took pride in that fact when it first began, that he could take it, that he could serve as a shield. but he's a child and that didn't last long. how could it? he was being hurt. he just does not have the capacity to be like, 'no, i can do this for their sakes and be happy about it, it's good that it's me and not them.' few adults can do that without developing resentment for the people they're 'defending' ( especially when that's not what's really happening -- they're not 'defending' their siblings / children / etc. from anything, they're just being attacked ). but michael can't fight back against william. william is a grown adult and his father. so he gets mad at the only person he can do anything against in this equation: the other victim.

so we have a kid at an age where he normally wouldn't want to be hanging out with his younger brother, but he doesn't really have a choice. maybe some teasing would be normal, but this boy has been subjected to violence, and has, in his frustration and confusion, turned this violence upon his only feasible target. and it is violent. it's horrible. but is this hatred? is this evidence that michael hates his brother? i don't think so. i think they are in a fucking horrendous situation and they're just trying to survive. i don't think removed and sweeping concepts like 'michael loves his brother' or 'michael hates his brother' ( as if the two are mutually exclusive? ) apply here. michael took care of his brother. you could call that love. michael tormented his brother. you could call that hate. michael intended to frighten and maybe even hurt evan, but not to kill him, and it still resulted in evan's death. did he do it out of hate? if hate here is shorthand for 'a desire to see evan dead', no. if it's 'a desire to make evan uncomfortable and upset', maybe!

but like. i dunno. abusive households are like a pocket dimension. you need years of therapy to unpack that shit. i don't think sitting down and casting judgment on michael based on whether or not one believes that he 'hated' his brother is fair or worthwhile. with all that going on above, it's not even a thought exercise i'm interested in, if the end goal is to rank michael as a Good or Bad person. rather, i want to explore what would lead to an incident like that. maybe michael loved his brother, but in that house, expressing that love in any sort of healthy way was not an option. and that's far more compelling to me than 'michael was born bad' or 'michael is an unfeeling monster'.

[jisungsmochi]

nct dream reaction: them getting jealous when you are getting closer to another member

okay trust me, i’m writing some new fics, i just finished this first so here it is 

mark:

i feel like he is the type of have A LOT of trust in his partner - without trust, he wouldn’t even be in a relationship with someone

he wouldn’t mind you having other guy friends, just as long as you were clear about your relationship with them

he knew that you and renjun were friends prior to your relationship

so naturally, he was aware that you guys were already close

but whenever he saw renjun lean in closer towards you whenever you were talking

or whispering small inside jokes into your ear

he couldn’t help but feel annoyed?

of course he trusted you, and he trusted renjun

but the sight of you two being so close made him feel uneasy

so he would opt to leave the room, not wanting to do or say anything he would regret

as i mentioned, he has a lot of trust in his partner, he wouldn’t want them to not trust him in return

you would run after mark the moment you heard the door close behind him

you approached him cautiously, your fingers softly tapping his shoulder

“hey, are you okay? did i say something?”

“no you didn’t say or do anything at all. it’s just me” he shrugged, fuelling your concern

“what’s up? you know you can tell me” mark begins to feel slightly embarrassed at this point

“i-i was jealous of you and renjun, okay? i know it’s silly” it caught you off guard, you never really saw mark as the jealous type

but this only meant that he really liked you

you shook your head playfully, wrapping your arms around his torso, smiling into his chest

“it’s not silly, you can tell me how you feel. i actually prefer it, rather than you leaving and staying quiet, you know?” mark just nods, his hand rubbing your back softly

he was so lucky to have someone like you in his life, everything felt complete

renjun:

hmm i have some mixed feelings about how he would react

i feel like he would go for someone who is independent and has their own strong personality

basically he would prefer a partner that isn’t too dependent on him, you know?

but when he sees how social / close you’ve become with jaemin, he’s about to lose it completely

jaemin was naturally flirty, and you were naturally enticing to be around

that mix was not a good look in renjun’s eyes

he wanted nothing more than to pry you away from his friend

but he didn’t want to be labelled as the ‘possessive’ or ‘overbearing’ boyfriend

you would always shift your eyes to make contact with renjun’s, assuring him that you were still paying attention to him

but it still wasn’t enough for him to stop feeling jealous

once jaemin laid his hand on your shoulder and moved closer to you (a little too close to comfort for renjun) — he snapped

renjun would excuse the both of you, pulling you along with him out of the room

“i-i don’t like jaemin touching you like that”

you found it slightly amusing that he was jealous. of course you took it as a friendly touch, but you understood how it looked to renjun

“that’s just how he is. you’re the only one i want to hold hands with” you link your hands with his tightly

he starts to go quiet

“and you’re the only one i want to kiss” you peck his cheek gently “like this”

renjun felt his cheeks heat up from the touch, immediately feeling shy infront of you

“o-okay, i just got jealous, that’s all” he pouted

“i know, and that’s okay! just remember that i’m all yours, and only yours, okay?”

jeno:

very very protective

makes it clear that he can get jealous but you had never seen it first hand

so when he saw you laugh a bit too hard at one of haechan’s jokes, he felt his heart slightly ache

‘i’m not as funny as haechan’

‘they looks so much happier with him’ he would think to himself

despite his tough exterior, jeno had a lot of insecurities inside

he doesn’t think he has ever seen you laugh that hard at one of his jokes before

so he starts to get quiet, distracting himself with his phone

suddenly the laugher stops as you make you way to sit down next to your boyfriend

he honestly would be a bit petty at first, only responding with one word answers, until haechan calls him out

“dude, get off your phone and talk to your partner”

“dude, how about you stop flirting with my partner then?” jeno grunts, causing the whole room to go quiet.

you felt so embarrassed, apologising to haechan quietly before dragging jeno away from the group

“what was that? it wasn’t cool, you have to apologise to him!” you folded your arms, not comprehending how jeno was feeling

“what? i’m not apologising. you obviously enjoyed his flirting!”

“jeno, you’re being quite unreasonable right now. it was just some harmless jokes, nothing more” you tried to reassure him

he knew you were right, but he was stubborn at times

“look at me” you brought his face between your palms

“go and apologise to haechan, and then we can go home and cuddle, and also have a deep talk about all of this. sound good?” you suggested

jeno nodded, placing a soft kiss to your forehead

he was whipped for you, this only solidified how he truly felt

haechan:

oh the pettiest of them all

would make it known he was NOT happy with you leaning in so close to mark

you were at a formal function for the celebration of their new album dropping

a lot of people attended, meaning you had to lean in closer than usual just to hear someone speak

haechan couldn’t hide his jealousy when you slapped mark’s shoulder playfully

“jeez, stop shooting holes into mark’s head!” jaemin joked, causing haechan to start glaring at him

renjun tried his best to call down the heated boy

“you know mark wouldn’t ever try anything, don’t get it all twisted in your head, alright?”  

haechan just nodded, he knew renjun was just speaking facts

you eventually went to seek out your boyfriend, catching him by the drinks table

“hey, where have you been? i was looking everywhere for you”

“clearly not everywhere”

that caught you off guard

“excuse me? what’s your deal?”

haechan sighs at you, knowing that he shouldn’t have been snappy towards you

“let’s just not make it a bigger deal than it is, i was just jealous of how close you and mark were tonight. you barely talked to me, that’s all” he tried to shrug it off, but you knew him better than that

you placed a firm squeeze to your boyfriend’s shoulder

“if it upset you so much, you know you could have just talked to me? i would never intentionally ignore you like that, i was just so excited for tonight”

haechan nods, pulling you to his side slowly, his arm latched to your waist

“i know and i’m sorry, would you care to dance?” he slightly bit the side of his lip as you nodded enthusiastically

“of course i would” you would drag him to the dance floor as you swayed along to a random ballad playing through the speakers

the rest of the night was full of laughter and smiles once haechan realised he was worried for no damn reason

jaemin:

i see him as someone who can get easily jealous

if another guy even looked at you the wrong way, jaemin has his eyes on them

i feel like he does have self control tho and would choose to not act upon his jealousy

but one day he just snapped

you were playing video games with jeno while you were waiting for jaemin to come home

it wasn’t unusual for you to do so

but one time you didn’t greet jaemin when he came through the door because you were too engrossed in the game

he wouldn’t say anything at first, understanding that you just wanted to beat jeno’s ass

so he makes himself a sandwich before sitting down on the couch with you, pulling you to his side

you slightly shrug him off,

“hey, let me finish this round” you don’t even look at him, which made jeno chuckle

jaemin glared at his friend, but was still in shock by your reaction

“jaem, they’re good at this game, have you been teaching them?” jeno nudges you gently as he continued to play

jaemin was beyond pissed at this point

not only was his significant other ignoring him but his friend was sitting a little too close for his liking

he tries to grab your attention again, tugging on the sleeve of your hoodie, pressing his cheek to your shoulder

“baby, i missed you” he whispered in your ear, distracting you from the game, making you lose the round

“jaem, look what you did now!” you pout, turning to face him

jeno sensed there was tension and quickly scurried off to his own room

“i’m sorry i ruined your SUPER fun game with jeno” he scoffed

“oh please, you know we are just friends. the ONE time i don’t give you an ounce of attention, you wanna act up huh?”

jaemin was now pouting, fiddling with the sleeves of his sweater

you let out a sigh before moving to sit closer to him, leaning your head on his shoulder

“i’m sorry, i was just getting jealous of how close you guys are now, i want you to play games with me instead! i can teach you everything he can!”

you shook your head before linking your fingers with his

“i know you can, how about tomorrow? the whole day will be just for you and me!” jaemin’s eyes gleamed at the thought, attacking you with hugs and kisses

‘well that was easier than expected’ you thought to yourself

chenle:

seems like the jealous type

idk i get them vibes ya know?

let’s say you invited jisung to go shopping with you while chenle had a different schedule

at first, he’d be like ‘oh yeah go for it!’ bc well, it was just jisung

he had nothing to be worried about

but once he saw you post multiple stories on instagram of yours and jisung’s day out, he couldn’t help but be filled with rage

from eating cute cafe desserts, to buying plushies and even going to the arcade together

chenle was upset to say the least

not only did he miss out on spending time with you, he felt you were slowly replacing him with his best friend

but of course that was the furthest thing from the truth

the tipping point was when jisung posted a mirror selfie of the two of you wearing matching bucket hats

chenle felt his heart ACHE

when you both returned to the dorms, chenle immediately snatched you away, refusing to even greet jisung

jisung stood there like 🧍🏻

anyways chenle would drag you to his room, shutting the door quickly

you were so mf confused

“be honest, do you like jisung more than me?”

you were flabbergasted, was he on crack?

“what? where is this coming from? of course i don’t like him more than you!”

chenle allowed himself to calm down before continuing, shouting wasn’t going to get him anywhere

“well then why did you do so many fun things with him today? you even got matching hats!” he frowned, folding his arms

“we were just hanging out as friends! i promise. and we actually bought you a hat too! i wanted us to all be matching, since we were like a trio. i didn’t know that upset you”

he felt like a complete idiot

“n-no i’m sorry i assumed things, please don’t hate me” chenle pulled you into his chest

“i could never hate you, even if i tried” you sighed, wrapping your arms around his torso

jisung:

oh boy

he’s the silent type,, he would want to avoid any awkward confrontation at all costs

he would bottle up his jealousy until one day he just explodes

i feel like jisung needs a lot of reassurance if he was in a relationship

he didn’t like the sinking feeling in his stomach whenever he saw you and chenle together

things such as playful hits to the shoulder or chest, loud laughter and friendly compliments were seen as subtle flirtations to jisung

you would always try your best to include jisung in your inside jokes with chenle but he’d always shrug it off

“nah it’s just a thing between you two”

comments like those, rubbed you the wrong way and you could tell chenle was slightly bothered too

each time you tried to ask jisung about it, he’d brush it off

“i don’t know what you’re talking about”

“are you sure? because you were kind of being cold to us, don’t you think?”

“doesn’t feel nice when you’re excluded, does it?” you were beyond confused

“can you please talk to me about what’s going on? i don’t like seeing you like this” you pull jisung to across from you on his bed

he avoided your eyes at all costs, fiddling with his rabbit plushie

“i’m jealous” he mumbled

“come again?”

“IM JEALOUS OKAY?” he threw his hands in the air hysterically, catching you off guard

“sometimes i don’t like how close you are with chenle. it seems like you are closer to him than me! i want to make you laugh like that, and i want to buy you nice things. and i want you to hit me playfully”

you listened closely to each concern

you brought your hand to enclose his, placing a soft kiss to his knuckles

“jisung, you’re the only person in this world that makes me laugh so hard that my ribs hurt. buying me nice things won’t change how i already feel towards you. and we can definitely try to be more playful with eachother” you started running your hands through his hair as he slowly shuffled closer to you

“t-thankyou, it’s nice to get it off my chest”

“of course, you have nothing to worry about” you placed a kiss to his forehead as you both spent the night cuddling

[pixie-mask]

I should be putting this on my writing account, but I don’t want that to be...too overflooded with fan fic construction posts and this could also just stand as a post(s) in of itself if I don’t get a fic going.

 For the record this is for a Laura x Travis fic, but other thought went into it. So anyway:

(Hackearney) Pokémon AU pt1 [2] [3]

Travis Hackett

Travis is pretty much the same in this AU as we’ve seen in game as well as the usual headcanons associated with him, such as the abuse. He has a different set of the usual scars in this AU ranging from basic oriented to Pokémon oriented.

Team:

Umbreon (shiny); reason for this is to keep something of a moon theme and the fact that Umbreons are the result of Eevee’s evolving under moonlight with a high friendship. The current idea is that he attained the Eevee from a police raid he assisted in a town over. Said Eevee was very hostile and eventually disappeared. When he returned to North Kill Travis discovered that it stowed away in his cruiser. It evolved into Umbreon while she and Travis were on the lake, while Travis was going over some of his woes. Umbreon is very protective of Travis. She also has a pokeball, but she’s rarely in it.

Trevenant; A decent enough summary of Trevenant’s pokedex data is hostiles to some, kind to others and that sounds like Travis. It also fits into the Hackett family Pokémon theme

Arcanine; This would be Travis’ police Pokémon and this is subject to change. Just like the idea of the NKPD having a unified Pokémon and this is Travis’ career appointed Pokémon, a classic, but again open to change.

Laura Kearney

Minor changes. Laura still wants to be a “vet” but thankfully she has more knowledge on human medical aid in this AU. Depending on what I do she’s still coming as a counselor to be the nurse or she’s moved to North Kill after getting her college degree cause its the only location with an open position for her to take work.

Team:

Lycanroc (dusk);a calm personality with the a strong fighting spirit underneath, yeah that’s Laura. Despite being known for being difficult to train Laura’s had her Lycanroc since it was a Rockruff and they click so well together.

Houndoom; One of Laura’s assignments during college had her work at Pokémon daycare. While there she made good friends with a client who gifted her a Houndour egg, which hatched and with time evolved into Houndoom. (As far as I can tell Mega Evolution isn’t restricted to Kalos) Said client also presented Laura with a Mega Bracelet and  Houndoominite.

Blissey; A rather complicated relationship. Much like Travis this is more so an occupation Pokémon, but she has partially disowned it. Laura kept Blissey through all her evolutions cause growing up she thought that a Pokémon in the Happiny lin was required. While she kept it and got it to evolve she didn’t care for seeing her as a tool only. Now Blissey is more so owned by the Pokémon center as a whole, but does go out with Laura predominantly when it comes to calls of major cases.

Indeedee; a rather unusual Pokémon to use in her profession, but Laura enjoys and grateful for what Indeedee can do. Namely being able to learn the needs of others and brining said items for the patient or for Laura to use. (currently unsure if I want her to own a female only or both genders)

AND...

This is all I really have. I do have some vague ideas of what I want to do with the other characters for their possible appearances, but I will do those in another post.

I’m not sure I want them to have a full team though

[egregiousderp]

what does wee lees yes mean? I've always wondered

Hey, anon!

Wee Lees Yes is up in my bio as my safe/encouragement tag. It started out after I joined a Rock Lee Discord and found out it was…mostly teenagers. XD

After a bit of fluster and asking them if it was still okay for me to be there, we became friends.

Broad ranges of age groups aren’t that uncommon among my friends. My oldest friend is Ninety and I’ve known her since I was about eighteen. My youngest friends are about sixteen. Plenty of people my age have children, and some of them are teens by now, and it just…kind of happens when you mostly hang in niche groups by interest, or do stuff as groups in places where your families are. The kids join in or the parents join in pretty organically if you tabletop game or do board games. (I’ve got like. Two seventy year olds I follow on tumblr and their fandom posts or crafting posts are always *Really Interesting*. Different generations consume content and produce content in different ways but that’s…digressing.)

Since I used to have a cluster of minors following me, I started making a tag specifically for them full of Safe Things.

Usually these involved animals (like capybaras—usually chilling in the presence of other animals. Which seems to be…my designated symbol on the part of the Wee Lees.) or useful life posts of things I wish I’d had when I was a teen or…dad jokes. (Because I’m “Dad”. Which is…another long story.)

The three remaining Wee Lees, Frange, Alu, and Nino are all in their twenties now, but I still have all the infrastructure for encouraging posts or…posts that would be safe for a minor to follow if they stumbled on my blog and wanted a hand-tailored tag that’s safe for them.

It’s…basically rooted in the same reason my unsafe tag is “Wee Lees No” and not one of the more common unsafe tags.

Tumblr over the years has had a habit of deleting or restricting certain tags, so I wanted to be sure a less safe tag would still be searchable but also very clearly marked so people could avoid OR seek it out. (Tagging things as NSFW for a while meant they didn’t show up at all.)

I also trigger tag things by request so sometimes you see a whole tag for something like “Not Safe For Cams” in addition to “tw: arachnophobia” because the viability of the more commonly used tags fluctuates depending on current censorship on the site.

Redundancy tends to keep people safe when you don’t know if you can trust something common, but unusual tagging also gives people the option to consume content without necessarily following me as long as they understand my intentions and want what the tag has to offer.

It also means people don’t have to reveal their ages or personal info for me if they’re just trying to take or consume what they want. Because…I’m from that kind of generation of internet safety, and I’m really not that reliable at bio-checking anyway.