#also they asked me about my experiences with sheep for some reason?

[apho-sappho]

Ugh my mouth is dry and I don't want to get up bc when I get up I have to clean my room

[reareaotaku]

I Am Not A Clone [Series]

Where the Fuck am I

Summary: You accidentally get enrolled into Clone High, even though you are not a clone. Instead of kicking you out, Principal Scudworth decided to keep you to see how the clones react to a real human- Not a clone. Pairings: Various x Reader

You groaned, rubbing your head. You didn't remember what happened or where you were. This- Caused a panic to stir in you. You quickly sat up and looked around what looked like an office. Well- more like a science lab with all the flasks and mysterious liquids.

You frown, rubbing your head, before sitting up. You yawn, walking towards the door, but you are grabbed and pushed back into the chair. You looked around confused only to see a crazy-looking man in a lab coat. He had yellow rubber clothes, which were clasped together. A banner of his name 'Scudworth' was engraved into it. This was the moment you were going to die.

There's a moment of silence before he speaks. "You may be wondering why you're here."

'No shit,' You thought, trying hard to contain your eye roll.

"It seems the administration made a mistake when enrolling you."

"So, you can unenroll me, right?" You asked hopefully, your eyes nearly shining with glee and hope.

The man smirks, as if you had just told him a funny joke. "Unenroll you? Now why would I do that? This is fate."

"Fate?"

"Yes!" he stands up, his chair spinning as he walks over to your side, "The first Natural-born human amongst clones of historical figures of the world. This is what was meant to happen."

"What was?"

He turns away from you and looks over at his many degrees on the wall. You hear him chuckle, causing you to worry. "Why you coming here. You were meant to be here. To see how the clones would react with you. It is the perfect science experiment. It will determine how they will react to the..." He turns back to you, "Natural World."

"And I have to be an unwilling participant?"

"Well, it's not like you have a choice. Just imagine the possibilities."

You frowned, "Possibilities?"

"Yes," He turns back to you, and pats your shoulder. "A new year has begun and things will be... incredible."

'Oh my god, this man has lost his mind,' You thought, shaking your head. "You can't do this to me- I have rights-"

"Do you? Besides, this is a regular school, so there is no reason for you to go to another school. It will be in your best interest to stay in this school."

'Is he threatening me?'

A smile over takes his face and he claps his hands, "Alright. Go, go. You will definitely be popular."

---

You sat in a room full of strangers- Well, they weren't really strangers. You recognized a few of them as historical figures such as Joan of Arc, Abraham Lincoln, and Ghandi?

"The first day of school is always awkward. I just want you to know I can relate. You see, I'm not just your kindly history teacher. I'm also the first mostly-human clone."

You have to hold in a gag when seeing the creature. God, this had to be some type of crime against humanity.

"Spliced in a little sheep DNA." He pats his arm with his cane. Which is fine with me."

"You can't even tell, Mr. Sheepman."

'Ah, yes you can,' You thought to yourself, but you'd never say that aloud.

"Thank you! Before you leave, we have an announcement from Miss of Arc."

"Now, I know I don't have to tell you how committed I am to community service."

You frowned, before tilting your head. 'What the fuck is she talking about? She's nothing like THE Joan of Arc.'

"That's why I'm starting a teen crisis hotline and I'm looking for volunteers."

'Nevermind. Maybe she is.' You quickly raise your hand, but immediately put it down when seeing the look of disappointment cross her face. 'Bitch.' Though you were the only person left in the classroom, so she had to go with you.

"I've never seen you before, are you new?"

"Something like that." You pick up your bag, before putting out your hand, "Y/n L/n."

She looks at you confused, "That doesn't sound like any historical figure I know."

"Yeah, because I'm not."

"What?"

"I'm not a clone."

You can see the look of confusion appear on her face as her eyebrows cross, "What? But this is Clone High? Why would you not be a clone in clone high?"

"That's a good question. So, when do you need my help?"

---

 You walk through the halls, gawking at the many historical figures, impressed by the many you could see. Though, you should have paid attention to where you were walking, because you ran into a taller man.

The man turns around, but makes no move to help you. Instead, he gestures at you as a whole, "Aye- You're new?"

You turn towards the voice. Your eyes nearly popped out of your skull when you saw him, "Oh god, you're John F Kennedy!"

He laughs, shaking his head, "Yes, Yes I am. And who are you?"

"Y/n."

He hums, "I don't remember that name-"

"It's complicated."

He laughs, "Haha! Complicated. I like you. I'm having a party Friday, you should come."

"Party? Like highschool party?"

"Aye, you are so funny!" He clasp a hand on your shoulder before letting out a hardy laugh. He wipes a tear from his eye and takes off.

"Oh, wow, your first party. Maybe this year will be different."

[ancha-aus]

RealAgeAU Drabble - Moonbloom

Time for Nightmare to finish up some loose ends! Don't worry :3 it is a good one in my opinion <3

First Drabble Prev Drabble Next Drabble

We good? Lets go! (also be ready because it is a long one.)

*------------------*

Nightmare looks around their garden but still can't spot Killer. Maybe he went to their nest? Seems weird as Nightmare thought he would be working on the grapes at the moment.

Still. Best search there. He walks back towards the house as he weaves between the grapes and vines growing. The first layer is looking amazing and beautiful!

He gets to the set of stairs and walks back into the house. Finding Killer is easy as he is laying in their nest watching something on the TV. A fan aimed at him to help keep him cool in the summer heat.

Killer blinks and grins "OUr little nightlight!" and Nightmare gets grabbed and snuggled close. Nightmare hums happily as he leans into the snuggles for a moment.

Killer grins as he lounges "Come watch westerns with me! It iwll be fun." and he grins.

Nightmare glances at the tv for a moment, it shows a cowboy on the back of a horse with the show having this yellowish colour over it. Nightmare hums "later?"

Killer grins "Sure. What do you want to do now?"

Nightmare rubs his hands before muttering "can... can you do soemthing for me?"

Killer nods "sure! what is it?"

Nightmare smiles as he leans against Killer before he asks his request. It had been on his mind for a while now and with him fixing Dani and Ellie's tree farm... He thinks this may actually work.

--------

Grillby cleans the bar and sighs. Another long night after an even longer day.

His club is profitable and it keeps others safe but he does not enjoy owning it. Grillby had always wanted to own his own business but not like this.

Sadly this is where their fate had let them.

He finishes with the bar and goes about checking the seating area and dancing area. Finding some very dubious stains. A deeper sigh but he gets to work.

He tries not to let his mind wander as he works. It is better to focus or the ever present heat that is now just a part of life.

He finally finishes up his normal round as he leaves his building. His flame flickering a bit brighter at the sight of Sans.

Sans notices him and grins "Sup Grills!"

Grillby is very lucky that even after everything and how everyone spoke about hi that Sans still speaks to him. He knows this.

They walk together as the move to waterfall. Sans takes out the umbrella and hands it to him wordlessly. Grillby takes it and the two continue walking "Thank you again for coming with me."

Sans grins at him "Hey no worries. I always love hanging out with you~" and he gives a wink and sweet smile.

It is ruined by someone whistling loudly "Hey Sans! Down to fuck later? I can show you a real boner!!" loud laughter after.

Sans just shoots them a look and glances up and down before smiling a bit sharper but still oh so sweet "Hon I don't think you have the stamina to keep it up or do anything near pleasing~ Maybe best practise a few rounds first." and the walk pass them.

No real conversation after that as the peaceful mood had been ruined.

Grillby misses Sans. Sans used to go to his club and dance there. Spend time there. It had been something Grillby honestly enjoyed. The heat that went through him felt more real when it was focused and about Sans. It had been honest as Grillby had always felt that way.

Sans had throw his whole mindset into dancing and other work at his club when the experiment failed. Sans sadly took the burn of most of that failure even if there had been more scientists at work on an artificial heat to help their reproduction.

Sadly Sans had been the best known among everyone and so ended up being the black sheep of it all.

Grillby had just been happy to have Sans near even when everything changed drastically... Eventually his inaction got to much and Sans left after one too many comments.

Girllby still misses him daily.

Maybe another reason why he had tried so hard to do right for that tiny child. A tiny skeleton looking so young. Grillby tried to not let it interfer but it had been so hard. He had just wanted to do right and something for once.

He still wonders how that tiny child is doing. He hadn't told another soul. Too afraid what some heat affected monsters would do.

"Grillby? Is something wrong?"

Grillby looks back at Sans and sees those pink eye lights watch him. Grillby always gets lost in that face and those eyes.

Grillby had come close to confessing what happened that night to Sans. So close. but he is afraid that Sans will just be disappointed in him. For not getting the child to a safe location. to hide it from him for so long. Grillby thinks this underground will actually be hell if Sans stopped talking to him.

A loud whistle and Grillby and Sans both look over annoyed. Only for Sans to freeze and Grillby can only assume it is shock. BEfore that is another skeleton. yet they are dressed strange.

Well strange for them.

They are in constant heat after all. Meaning everyone feels hot and too hot all the time. Everyone loves wearing and showing off their bodies. It is why Grillby is wearing his minimal outfit. It is why Sans is wearing the shortest shorts possible and that little top as he keeps his coat low and barely on.

This skeleton? Is wearing shorts but they cover his legs until his knees. he is wearing sneakers to finish that side up. Upwards? A black turtle neck, a sweater version at that.

Another very strange thing about them? The black tar like tears streaming down their cheeks. The completely empty sockets. and well, the out and proud soul is a very bold choice. Even for the monsters who like to attract all the attention. They are grinning widely at them.

Grillby blinks but suddenly feels Sans grab his hand and pull him back. Sans has yet to look away from the other skeleton but... but that look? That... that is fear... What? Who?

Grillby frowns "Sans?"

Sans shoots him an anxious look before glancing around at all the water. he pushes the umbrella fully in his arms "You need to go grillby." their is desperation in his voice.

Grillby does not feel the need to go. in matter of fact. if this person freaks Sans out of all mosnters? That means this person is dangerous and Grillby is not leaving his friend alone. He instead looks at the other skeleton.

Who is just... standing there? Grinning widely as they.... swing? They lean back and forth as they swing their arms slightly to keep the motion going. moving their weight from the toes of their feet to the very back. completely relaxed.

Sans glares at him and hisses "I am serious. Go."

Grillby just looks at the other and shakes his head "no."

Sans opens his mouth to speak again but the other speaks up "You two love birds done? Like. I can wait but i kinda got places to be and stuff." they grin as they lean on their fist. Almost like a thinking position but instead of the fist under the chin they lean against it with their cheek.

Sans glares "Why are you here?"

Grillby frowns at his friend "Sans who is this?"

Sans glances at him unsure before glaring back at the other.

This seems to have been a sign the other was waiting for as they just, bounce and skip over. The thrust out their hand "The name is Killer!"

Grillby stands frozen. Because he feels it. What the other sends out. This... this monster...

Grillby can't help it and sends a check.

The information just makes it worse.

This monster has a lot of LOVE.

Killer pouts "Tough crowd." he pulls his arm back and crosses his arms.

Sans glares at him and hisses "You are not allowed to be here. Leave."

Grillby has no doubt that Sans knows just how dangerous Killer is, Sans seems to actually know this guy but... but how?

Killer snorts and waves Sans off "Oh calm down I am not even causing trouble. Anyway. I kinda am here for a thing so cool your jets."

Sans just crosses his arms "I will ends a message to the Stars. I got an emergency vial and I will break it."

Killer raises a brow and smirks sharper "Then I won't be able to complete my job here Lavender..." then he leans closer "Or should I say... Ace?" and he winks "Must suck to have such conflicting needs."

Grillby doesn't think as he pulls Sans behind him. That... that is a very private secret. A soft admission that Sans once entrusted to Grillby. Why Sans hates this heat so much. How he doesn't even desire sex or want it. Yet this heat makes him need and crave it. It messes with his mind.

Grillby glares at Killer and Killer grins as he shrugs "eh. Not my fault he can't take what he dishes out." he grins wider "You know! Becuase he fucks people even when he doesn't desire people- wow!" Killer dodges the fireball Grillby shot at him.

Killer looks at where Grillby's magic attack his the ground "Man! Is it good I picked this spot to search you out! Could have been a hazard if a fire spread in an underground." he looks over "Anyway. I came with a message."

Grillby is about to say he doesn't care when Killer speaks the next sentence.

"From your little friend in the alleyway."

Grillby freezes again. Sans asks him what the other meant but Grillby can't. He can't believe it.

Killer nods with an understanding look "Ah yes. What do you mean? How could that be? In that case. Just so you know. While he liked the pulled beef a lot his favourite of the selection was the pork." and he grins.

The food. He had given the other food. And aparently the little one actually ate it all. his arm slowly falls to his side.

Killer grins and nods "I know right? anyway. I am here because of that." and he shrugs.

Sans frowns "What have you guys been doing here?!"

Killer sighs "calm down lavender. This doesn't actually concern you you know? You are just part of this conversation because you were near him at the time." and he shrugs.

Sans frowns and looks to the side for a moment "I... heard some stuff... from Dream-"

Killer pulls out a knife and aims it at Sans. Sans freezes and Killer grins. Girllby frowns but then sees the drop of blood on the knife edge and the very small cut on Sans's cheek.

Killer grins sharply "None of that now Lavender. I am here with a small mission. No need to include either the gang or the stars. This is a matter of repaying something owned. Calm now? Eithr you stay quiet or... well." he grins sharper "You want to test out how quickly a reset happens to fix a... missing link?"

Sans freezes as he shoots Grillby a nervous glance. Grillby is just very confused. what are these two talking about "Sans?" or Lavender? Why does Killer keep calling Sans that?

Killer stares for a while longer and Sans evneutally sighs and nods. Going silent but not leaving his side.

Killer hums and smiles brightly again. the threatening and freezing air around them disappears "That is what i thought!" is this what LOVE does to a monster? Grillby knew it was dangerous but this is on another level.

Killer sighs "Anyway. your alleyway friend wanted to thank you for your assistance. Which is why I am here. To repay that favour."

Grillby can't keep it in anymore "is he safe? Is he with his family again?" he remembers the poor child saying his mother was gone "With his dad? other parent?"

This is when Sans stares at him in shock and mutters a "what?"

Grillby looks anxiously at Killer but Killer just raises s brow and makes the 'go ahead' motion.

Grillby thinks it over before finally saying it "A long while ago. More than a year..." almost a year and a half honestly "I... i had a very curious visitor. a tiny monster dressed in a large hoody. but... it turned out to be a child... a skeleton one."

Sans gasps and thinks for a moment before shooting Killer a look of disbelieve.

Killer just grins and makes the 'zip it' motion.

Sans shallows "you mean those rumours..."

Killer glares as he crosses his arms "people need to learn to keep their large mouths shut." he turns back to Grillby himself "As to answer your question. he is fine. he is back at home with his parents. perfectly safe and healthy."

Grillby feels a deep relieve and lets out a sigh "Thank you... I ahd been worried... I assume you... you got him home?"

Killer blinks at him before shrugging as he stuffs his hands into his pockets "euh. pretty much."

Grillby can't help but smile. Maybe... maybe this monster isn't that bad? he cared enough to bring a child home to his family. he cared enough to help get the child a message back to Grillby. That must mean something. Sans must have made the same conclusion as he grins and crosses his arms. "Didn't realise that you guys now did babysitting."

Killer shoots him a glare "Don't test your luck Lavender." he sighs louder "anyway! Can we now finally get to the point i have been trying to get to?! The present?" and he waits.

Grillby and Sans share a look and both nod.

Killer huffs "finally! Anyway!" he messes with his pocked and out comes a full flower. it is a very pale purple with four petals. the petals are kinda cresent shaped and point upwards. It is small but nice enough.

Killer nods and marches over "Okay. here you go. Yes you can safely touch it as long as you don't want to burn it." Girllby carefully takes the flower over. That is when it hits him. the flower is the same colour as the small child's eyes had been.

Sans looks at it curiously and tilts his skull "that is... new?"

Killer waves it off "Yeah he is sitll workshopping the name. anyway. hold i got a list for this shit." he makes a victorious noise as he pulls out a piece of paper and reads "okay. okay... lets see. growing and spreading. As long as there is room and the flower is unbothered it will grow copies of itself. so it doens't need water."

Killer snorts as he looks up "Goot news you don't need to handle water for this flower. but yeah just kinda. I dunno. find a spot no one visits and plant sit if you want a shit load of them.but if you don't care about spreading it a lot lot you can just kinda put it in a pot or something."

Grillby looks down at the small flower and smiles. He is so thankful for this wonderful gift. a reminder that he at least managed to help one person.

Killer keeps looking at his little list "okay! So. One petal a person is enough but takes a few days to take effect. For instant but temporary effects just make tea."

Sans blinks "what is the effect?"

Killer opens his mouth. frowns and closes it. looks abck at his list. then shrugs at them "I was not told. I knew we were forgetting something. but. euh." he shrugs again "can you blame him? He is six."

Sans makes a small noice as he looks excited as he glances at Grillby "You saw a six year old babybones?"

Grillby nods and Sans sighs wishfully "I am so jealous. so so jealous."

Killer grins and shrugs "bet. anyway. lets see. oh the last point. The flowers will regrow the petals but can't grow more flowers if they are healing. so if you want a lot of petals you will need to grow flowers first." he grins at them "and that is it. with that done. bye!" he waves nad turns around. He walks back into the shadows and Girllby is left with a small flower in his hands. so fragile and small but beautiful.

Sans looks at him curiously "Want to get a nice large pot and plant the little plant? get more started?"

Grillby nods and they go in a slightly different direction. They get the right supplies and quickly go back to Grillby's house.

Grillby watches as Sans plants the flower for him. Grillby still worried his flames may harm to tiny plant. He just didn't wish to risk it. it takes very little time and they sit on the couch together for a moment.

Grillby can't sotp it anymore "Who even was that?"

Sans frowns as he srhugs "jsut... someone i know...."

Grillby frowns more as he feels that Sans isn't telling him what is wrong "Why did he keep calling you Lavender?" that is a new name. Sans has been called lust by others before, partly as insult because snas play in making the ever present heat. but also as comment on his looks and how desired he was.

Sans shrugs and mutters "I dunno... prefered that over the alternative..."

Grillby frowns "Sans... what..." he deosn't even know what he wants to ask.

Sans just shakes his skull "it... it doesnt matter at the moment... I am sorry you got so close to being hurt..." he rubs his arm and looks away with guilt.

Grillby hums "not your fault." and lets it go for now. his sight finds the flower. curiousity gets the best of him "Want to test those petals with me?"

Sans laughs before glancing at the flower "sure... petal or tea?"

Grillby hums and stares at the flower. feeling a bit reckless "lets just do a whole petal. That way it is done and no need to question it anymore."

Sans looks thoughtful before nodding. Sans pulls off two petals with care before handing one of grillby.

Grillby feels the petal. it is soft and seems fragile but it doesn't even seem to notice his flames. Sans grins and winks at him before both of them just eat the petal.

It tastes strange... slightly of grapes of all flavours. Grillby doesn't taste any of the drugs he is familiar with and he made sure to test those when he was safe. Just to make srue which flavours to not include in food and drinks. make sure nothing can get masked by his things.

They sit together but nothing happens.

Sans hums "the note of the kid did mention that it would take a while. Talking about that." he turns to him adn smiles "kid?"

Grillby chuckles but happily, and finally, shares the story of that day. How sweet the young child had looked but how afraid he had been.

It is nice.

-------

Grillby wakes up the same as always. he makes breakfast as he always does. But then he realises it. what he feels.

or better said. what he doesn't feel.

Grillby is in such shock that he actually drops the plate he had been holding.

It is gone.

the heat within his soul.

It is gone.

He doesn't think as he rushes out of his house. He throws open the door and gets hit by the cold of the air.

It is cold!

Also it is VERY cold!

He grabs his jacket before rushing to Sans's house. He gets there and knocks on the door. loudly.

a grumble and a disgruntled Papyrus opens the door. Papyrus shoots him a look. tired and slightly knowing "Sans is asleep after working last night." he gives him a pointed look.

Grillby still isn't sure how Papyrus figured out about Grillby's interest, but it may have to do something with Grillby always giving Sans the center stage and best hours and let sans keep most of the tips he earned. Now that Grillby thinks about it he was rather obvious.

Grillby shakes his head "It is nothing like that. I need to talk to him. I know it is very early and i apologise."

Papyrus looks annoyed but lets him in wiht a loud sigh. Papyrus orders him to wait there for a moment before moving upstairs to Sans's room.

Grillby waits as he tries to ignore the very pointed decoration. his soul still blissfully cool towards it all. even if he can smell the familiar scent of Sans's perfume.

It doens't take long for Papyrus and Sans to walk downstairs. Sans looks adorable disheveled as he joins him on the couch. Sans is still so pretty even without all the make up and short cut clothes.

Ppayrus sends Grillby another look before loudly proclaiming that he will be making breakfast.

Sans shoots him a tired look "Not that i don't enjoy visits... but we don't really have the same working hours anymore Grills."

Grillby shakes his head and tries to focus on the now "Sans. please. focus and tlel me I am not the only one here."

Sans frowns at him as he tilts his skull.

Grillby keeps staring at him "Notice anything gone? something... burning that is no longer burning?"

Sans stares at him before snorting "Is this the set up for a pun? I mean i love a good pun but you didn't need to wake me up-" he stops mid sentence. sockets wide as one hand slowly raises up to touch his sternum "it is gone."

They share a look and Sans rushes to his room "Give me a moment to get dressed!"

Grillby nods before quickly shouting after him "Make sure to grab a jacket!"

Papyrus shoots them a weird look from his kitchen and Grillby has no way to explain it just quite yet.

Sans rushes back downstairs, with a jacket on thank everything. They quickly say goodbye to Papyrus and rush out together. They run back to Grillby's house as Sans speaks "The flower?"

Grillby answers immediantly "I think it had to be! That is the only thing different about us compared to everyone."

They get back and find the garden pot they had planted the flower in four days ago. It took almost two days for the flower to recover fully from the picked petals but over the next two days the one flower had grown into four.

Sans stares at him in shcok "this... this can fix everything..."

Grillby nods before frowning at his tiny pot "We can maybe plant three of these four somewhere else. with more room to really let them spread. I can keep the last one safe just in case."

Sans nods as he takes out the garden tools he had left here last time and gets to work "great idea. I remember a cavern in the forest which no one really visits. we can plant them there and let them spread in peace."

Grillby nods as he watches Sans work. this could fix everything.

----

Killer strokes the small skull leaning against his sternum as he watches tv. the western is nearing its conclusion as the hero talks about needing to go as the open fields call to him. the main lady is heartbroken and begs him to stay. usual stuff.

Killer looks at Nightmare "What was the flower anyway?"

Nightmare yawns and shoots him a look "should fix the issue there." and he snuggles close.

Killer grins and holds the baby close. euh. whatever. Not his problem. his problem is just making sure the baby is happy and content.

*-----------------------*

First Drabble Prev Drabble Next Drabble

Remember how Nightmare is now the god of restoration? You can push that concept VERY far :3

If Fate finds out Nightmare is messing with universes and stuff like this she/he/they will be pissed.

Anyway!!

Baby repayed his debt!

[hllfireclb]

Hi I was wondering if you could do an eddie munson imagine with reader who is a total and is a total sweetheart/kind/smart/dresses girly;feminine etc.. (can be protective over her friends and is basically like a mom to the younger kids) everyone adores her and when eddie meets her for the first time he falls head over heels for her and asks her out over time and then asks her to be his girl and its just fluffy fluff and maybe a smut or reader is the type to save herself for marriage and wants kids type which makes eddie have the idea of marriage with her and time skip to graduation where he proposes and a sweet ending please 💖🤍

Omg I love this one!! Also I apologize that this took so long! I wrote a whole story just to delete it again because I didn’t like it😭 I feel like the ending is still kinda rushed but I tried my best :(

word count: 3.6K

warnings: fluff, fluff, fluff and more fluff, slight smut and a bit of cursing (this will always be in the warning because Eddie definitely curses), if I missed any please let me know!

English is not my first language, so I apologize for all kinds of mistakes! Feel free to send requests! feedback is always appreciated but please be nice! Enjoy the story!

masterlist

This feeling called "love" - Eddie Munson x fem!reader

Eddie never believed in love. He thought that it was useless and only wastes your time and nerves. That it just was a concept that society created, so humans would have something to believe in, something to dream about. But for him? For him, the feeling called "Love“ was a curse. Whenever he felt it, he got disappointed. The love towards his so called "father“ disappeared pretty fast, when he was 12 years old to be exact. His dad forgot his birthday again and decided to rob a small store in town instead. That was the reason why his father went into jail, again, leaving a twelve year old Eddie and his sick mom all alone, without money or food.

After his mother passed away, he moved in with his uncle Wayne. From there his life in Hawkin‘s small trailer park started. His first girlfriend, which he dated in middle school, just dated him because of a bet she made with her friends. Ever since then, he only had a few hook-ups with some cheerleaders who weren’t satisfied by their boyfriends dicks, but that was it. Nothing serious, ever. All the experiences he made, were the reason why he thought he could never feel this emotion called 'love' , again. Especially something like "love at the first sign“ doesn’t exist to him and never will. That was until he first saw you.

You’re sitting at one of the large tables in the cafeteria of Hawkins High, a plate with some of the bad-tasting food placed in front of you as you‘re sitting next to two, obviously younger, boys. It takes him a while to realize that these are his boys. Dustin Henderson and Mike Wheeler, the youngest members of his D&D club called "Hellfire“. They joined only a few weeks ago because they were new to Highschool.

He thought that they looked like two lost sheep’s, wanting to be found and saved by a shepherd. And oh sweet Eddie knows how it feels to be alone, to be an outcast, a freak. So he decided to help these two lost sheeps, like the lovingly soul he is, making them join Hellfire pretty fast after they told him that they‘ve been playing ever since they were kids. That’s how these two little idiots became a part of his small family.

Seeing them sit together with such a pretty girl like you makes him frown though. Not just because you’re definitely not their age and way out of their league, but also because he thought that they had no friends in Highschool. That‘s when the realization hits him. He never saw you here either. Normally he knows most people from school because he either sold drugs to them once, fucked them, or because they made fun of him…but you? He never saw you before. He definitely would have remembered a pretty face like yours.

Your hair lies perfectly on your shoulders, your eyes shine as bright as million stars, while you show the younger ones your even prettier smile. The soft, pastel pink sweater you‘re wearing makes your skin look even more perfect and it shows a bit of your skin, making Eddie stare like a young teenage boy. He notices the white skirt you wear together with the white high-knee socks after he moves a bit closer to his usual table were he always spends his lunch breaks, letting out a soft "Mh-hm“ which causes all eyes to be fixed on him. Shit.

"Oh hey Eddie! That‘s our friend Y/n! She just came back from New York and will go to our school now!“ Dustin announces to his older friend who just stands there, mesmerized by the way you look at him. Your smile didn’t disappear after your gazes locked, no it gets even brighter. You’ve heard a lot about Eddie. Dustin always told you about him on the daily weekend calls. You know that he‘s an outcast, that people call him weird and scary, but you never were the one to judge someone, just because of some rumors. Plus, what you’ve heard about him from your friends, made you realize pretty fast that Eddie was just like them. A lovely nerd.

"It‘s an honor to meet you Y/n" he softly smiles while gesturing a small bow, scanning for any slight change in your facial expression, but that isn’t the case. Instead you smile even brighter again, your cheeks flushing because of his way to say "hello“. "Nice to meet you too Eddie, Dustin told me a lot about you“ you smile at him before looking at Dustin who gives you a slight slap on the shoulder, nothing that could hurt you of course. "Don’t tell him! That will just boost his ego!" your younger friend says while Eddie takes a seat in front of Dustin.

Usually Eddie would sit at the head of the table, on his usual chair but since a specific someone ,you, has taken a seat there, he decides to sit across the younger ones. Mike and Dustin share a quick look. If it was one of his hellfire members, Eddie would have kicked them off the chair, that’s for sure. A soft giggle escapes your lips because of Dustin’s earlier comment, gosh it kills Eddie. He’s already head over heels for some random girl, he knows since 3 minutes..plus you stole his usual seat in the cafeteria..so why would his heart beat that fast?

—♡—

That was your first encounter with the Eddie Munson. The big, scary, drug selling, satan worshipping Freak of Hawkins High. The boy everyone in town knows because of his bad image. Turns out that all rumors you’ve heard about him are way off reality. You weren’t surprised though. Yes, Eddie sells drugs and also smokes a joint himself sometimes. Yes he also is a freak, an outsider but he‘s not scary and that’s definitely not a reason to call him bad names. Hell he‘s everything but scary.

It‘s been a few months now since you first talked to the Hellfire Club leader, turns out that the "satanic cult club“ is a small D&D club for nerds. That also wasn‘t a surprise for you, since your younger friends told you that they joined hellfire on their second day in Highschool. If it would have been something, that would corrupt their young minds, you probably would have sent them to another school. As the second mom of your friend group, it was you job to protect the younger ones from any bad influences. Yes, you and your childhood friend Steve take that job very serious.

So here you are. Lying in your, now best friends, bed with your nose in one of the books you‘ve borrowed from the library earlier that day. Eddie‘s sitting across from you at the end of his bed, his fingers lingering on the sides of one of his guitar, which is placed in his lap. Oh how he wishes it would be you sitting in his lap instead of his guitar. He plays a few soft chords while humming a low melody, looking up from time to time just to check if you‘re still there with him.

Even though you‘ve been best friends for a while now, he‘s still scared that you‘ll leave him. That you‘ll start to see him the way, everyone else in this goddamn town sees him. "What‘s going on in that pretty brain of yours?“ your soft voice pulls Eddie out of his thoughts. You let your fingertips graze over the skin of Eddie‘s hairy legs, trying not to scare him because of the sudden touch. His eyes meet yours, causing your cheeks to flush a bit. "Nothin‘" his lips form into his beautiful warm smile, the smile that makes your heart beat a million times faster.

He‘s beautiful, that’s for sure. His brown eyes are so innocent, his hair is messy but in its own gorgeous way and god his smile. It‘s the prettiest you‘ve ever seen. It always makes your day better, no matter what. Everything about Eddie is perfect and gosh how bad you want to tell him that every single day, ever since you‘ve met. How bad you want to give him the love he deserves. It‘s no secret that you‘ve been crushing on Eddie since the day the two of you first talked. Everybody knows but him..but how could he know? Stupid little Eddie. He doesn’t think that the perfect girl with her short, white skirts and her high-knee socks and her perfect made hair and absolutely amazing grades would like someone like him in that way. He‘s happy that you even talk to him, that you allow him to be your friend. He doesn’t want to mess up things with you, even if it feels like his heart beats for you and you only. Eddie still hates love, he‘s still fucking afraid of it. It could mess up everything, he has built up with you.

"So everything‘s the same as always?“ you teasingly grin at him, trying to lighten his mood a bit as you slowly put your book aside. He answers with a raised eyebrow and mirrors your smirk before he puts his beloved guitar to the side just like you did with your book. "Say that again!“ the grin on his lips grows wider as he slowly crawls his way up to you, cornering you. A soft giggle escapes your lips when his big hands start to tickle you, as a soft punishment for the "bratty" behavior. "Eddie stop! I‘m sorry!" you laugh while he hovers above you to get a better chance to tickle the sensitive spot on your neck.

"What was that? I don’t think I‘ve heard ya Sweet thing“ he grins even wider as you start whining beneath him. Your pouty lips trying their best not to form into another smile while you innocently look up to him, looking through your lashes as you put on the best doe eyes you got. And shit that does things to Eddie. The way you look at him, all cute and innocent right here, in his bed, beneath him while his hands are all over your body.

He stops. Suddenly. Abruptly. His eyes meet yours, making your cheeks burn hot and red again. You‘ve done this before. Fooling around with each other and breaking out in big laughing sessions, ending up cuddling on the couch while watching a lame movie, but this feels different. The way he looks at you, right into your eyes, not even daring to look away for the split of a second. Your heart is pounding so hard in your chest and it feels like you’re going to explode if he doesn’t do something, anything to just already cut this tension between the two of you.

Again his hands find their way to your soft skin after he softly brushed his thumb over your hot cheek. His other hand holds himself up, still right above you, only a few inches away from being completely on top of you. His gaze shifts down to your lips for a second before it’s meeting your eyes again. "Can I kiss you?“

The air feels heavy and hot as he whispers against your lips, only a few inches away from his own. You look at his lips before slowly nodding 'yes', not being able to form any words right now. Eddie grins again. "Words princess, I need your words" "y-yes please Eddie..".

That‘s all he needs to hear before he softly brushes his lips against yours, kissing you so carefully like he‘s scared to break you, but that doesn’t last long though. The kiss gets more intensive as soon as your hands find a firm grip on his shoulders, while you try your best to not moan right into his mouth. He lifts you up softly, sitting down himself before making you sit on his lap. Again his hands roam all over your body, but this time it’s not for teasing or making you laugh. This time he wants to explore every inch of you, wants to get to known what‘s okay and what’s not. One of his hands ends up on your ass, squeezing the fat of it softly through the silk of your short skirt. The other one is caressing the back of your neck to pull you even closer to his body.

Fuck, how did he get so lucky?

—♡—

It‘s no secret anymore that you and Eddie officially started dating a few months ago and it definitely was no surprise to the younger ones. No, actually the two of you found out that the boys of Hellfire made a bet about you and how long it would take for you to start dating. The people from school were shocked after they saw you and Eddie kissing in the hallway. The dark, scary Freak who tries to graduate for the third time and the bright, smart cheerleader with top grades walking to their classes together while holding hands. Of course your relationship with Eddie has been the topic in school and town at first, but now people are used to seeing the two of you together, all happy and madly in love with each other.

"So, what you up to later Princess?“ Eddie asks as he leans next to your locker in which you just put your books from your boring classes. You look at him, a soft smile forming on your lips as soon as you‘re able to see his face. "Haha Eddie. You know we’ve gotta study for our finals! If you don’t graduate this year, Wayne’s going to kill you!“ You slap his chest softly before he pulls you closer to him, placing a kiss on your lips just as soft as you slapped him. "I know, I know. I was just teasin‘ ya pretty girl“ another soft kiss lands on top of your nose as his smile grows wider. Gosh that boy is madly in love but so are you. "So we gonna study at yours later?“ he tilts his head to the side as you nod happily.

A few hours pass, you and eddie are sitting on your bed, your nose buried in your books from history classes. It‘s probably the most boring book Eddie has ever hold in his hands but that doesn’t matter to him right now, since his eyes are focusing on you instead of the pages in front of him. His gaze is practically glued to you. The way you‘re sitting in front of him, in a pink dress which barely covers the flesh of your ass and thighs. It also let’s him have a real nice look on your tits. Your hair is perfectly made again and your lipstick-covered lips look plump and soft while you mumble some of the sentence you’ve just read. Gosh it‘s hard for him to concentrate when you sit there, looking like this. Eddie is about to loose himself in his thoughts, when suddenly your soft voice rings out to him.

"Hey, you okay Ed‘s?“ "Mh? Oh yeah, I’m fine. Was just wondering why Napoleon kind of reminds me of Carver“ he lies, his lips forming into a soft grin with which he tries to cover his lie. You shake your head softly, letting a soft chuckle escape your throat "Eddie, the book is about the Second World War! I don’t know where you saw the name 'Napoleon' appear“. Shit, he got caught. He looks at the page, you can see how his eyes try to find the, not existing part, where it mentions Napoleon. Another soft laugh of yours can be heard as you shift closer to him. "Ed‘s, I know you‘re scared because these are our finals…but you can do it! I‘ll help you as much as I can, okay?“.

A soft, reassuring smile forms on your lips and your fingers find their way to his free hand, before they slowly intertwine with his ring adorned fingers. Eddie doesn’t know what he did to deserve such a warm-hearted girlfriend like you, oh lord how thankful he is to have you by his side. He knows he wouldn’t try to graduate again if you wouldn’t be sitting here with him, trying to help his stupid ass to pass the exams. Oh yeah Eddie really is, one lucky bastard. "I know, I know. And I appreciate ya for that Doll. So so much" he says before placing his lips on your own. His kisses are so careful, like he’s trying his best not to break you. You‘re just as lucky as him. Maybe even luckier.

The carefulness of Eddie’s kisses doesn’t last long though. It never does. The kiss deepens as soon as Eddie’s hand put down the book and replaces it with the flesh of your thigh, pulling you on top of his lap while never breaking the kiss. You place your legs on either side of his thighs, so that you perfectly sit on his crotch, feeling the small tend that grows by each second. You and Eddie have made out many times before, so many times, Eddie stopped counting..but you‘ve never gone further than just kissing each other and leaving marks on the others body in the most messy way ever. It‘s not like you two didn’t want to go further..oh boy Eddie would love to corrupt that innocent mind of yours, but he won‘t because of what you told him.

When you grew up, your parents always told you to wait until you‘re married when it comes to sex. That you should save your precious virginity up for the man, that will stay by your side until it’s all over. To your surprise, Eddie was completely fine with it when you first told him about, that you want to save up for marriage. He said that he can- and will - wait for you, until you‘re ready or until he‘s able to call you by the name "Mrs. Munson". Of course he‘s not a big fan of these days, when he has to jerk himself off in your or his bathroom while his precious girlfriend is just one room away, but he respects your wish and wants you to be comfortable around him, no matter what. As you feel how the air around you begins to feel hot, you softly let go of him, leaving him in front of you with big puppy eyes and pouty lips. "We should study Eddie…seriously" your voice is barely about a whisper. "Just one more minute please, it will motivate me to keep studying!“ you roll your eyes at him. He‘s unbelievable and that’s what you love about him.

—♡—

Time flies. It feels like you‘ve meet Eddie just yesterday, but no. Instead you are standing next to him on the stage in the cafeteria. Holding your graduation certificate in one hand, and Eddie‘s hand in your other one. You did it. Both of you. You‘ve graduated. The smile on Wayne‘s face shines as bright as the sun, he even sheads a tear here and there because he‘s so happy that his nephew finally did it. After three hard and awful years, he finally did it because of you. Wayne will always be thankful for that. Your parents stand next to Eddie’s uncle, clapping their hands and sharing a soft smile for you and your boyfriend. You‘re about to leave the stage, when Eddie suddenly let’s go of your hand and walks to the microphone.

Before you‘re able to pull him back to your side, you‘re being pulled off the stage by your friend Chrissy, who you‘ve met after joining the cheerleading team. She pulls you to two empty seats in front of the stage. Directly in front of it. In front of Eddie. His fingers tap the mic a few times before he softly mumbles "2,3" checking if the mic is still turned on or not. He clears his throat and looks around, an obvious nervousness takes place on his face as he starts speaking.

"Uhm- hi..So uh..I think most people here know me…" he slowly starts speaking, looking around the cafeteria with a heavy gulp. All eyes are on him now. "I also know that most people don’t like me or thought I wouldn’t make it this far. Well, I actually planned to flip y‘all the bird and scream something like 'look! I‘ve made it you assholes!'…but I‘m standing up here, for a different reason". That‘s when your gazes lock. Eddie‘s beautiful, brown eyes meet yours, making him relax a bit immediately. He lets out a soft sigh, smiling as he continues his speech.

"I wanted to say so much..I‘ve planned a whole ass speech for real, just for me forgetting everything..how embarrassing" he laughs softly, making some people in the room join him. "No, I‘m up here today because of one special person…my girlfriend y/n, who literally saved my ass from failing my graduation again. I want to thank her. I want to tell her how much she means to me, how much I love her…and I want everyone to know that too" his gaze is still locked with yours as he bites his lower lip nervously. His palms feel sweaty from the new feeling of people staring at him because they‘re interested in what he‘s saying, not because they want to judge the living shit out of him. But your soft smile gives him the courage to keep speaking.

"I‘m standing here today because I want everyone to know how thankful I am for being y/n‘s boyfriend. How thankful I am, that she‘s in my life. I can’t imagine a life without her anymore. She never judged me, she didn’t call me a freak, she never thought that I am creepy or believed any of the rumors about me... She makes made me a better person. That‘s why…that’s why I want to ask you something y/n…“ he says as he jumps off the stage and walks over to where you sit. One of his hands finds it’s way to yours and he pulls you up to his level, looking you in the eyes for a few seconds before he kneels down in front of you.

Your eyes go wide when he pulls out a small box and opens it. One of his rings that usually takes place on his fingers, shines in his full glory directly in front of your eyes. It‘s your favorite. Eddie gives you his best smile and most adorable puppy eyes when he suddenly speaks again "y/n, y/l/n…would you allow me to marry you and become yours forever?" His voice is full of love mixed with fear. Fear of you saying 'no' in front of half Hawkins. The air between you feels heavy again, all eyes are on you and your boyfriend who‘s still kneeling in front of you and waits for your answer. You can feel how your eyes start to swell up with hot tears and your head starts to nod 'yes' as you fall to your knees, right in front of Eddie.

"My goddess, yes Eddie! Yes!" you practically cry out and wrap your arms around his figure, shaking a bit from the sudden, overwhelming feelings. His arms find their way around your body and he pulls you even closer, letting out another sigh…but this time it’s a sigh of relief. He softly starts kissing your forehead as he takes the ring out of the box, putting it on your Ringfinger. Claps and cheers can be heard in the filled cafeteria but that doesn’t matter to you right now. All that matters to you is Eddie, and Eddie only.

"I love you so, so much Eddie Munson"

"I love you more Mrs. Munson“

[abugshapedeldritchbeing]

Alright, i keep seeing posts about the minecraft movie, so i might as well add my thoughts to the mix. Ramble below the cut.

So i was introduced to minecraft when i was super young. I played on a shitty old computer. My dad showed me how everything worked, and playing minecraft on this old computer while sitting on the couch with him is one of my oldest memories.

Minecraft became a beloved game to me. It’s kind of how i made friends. I had no access to the internet, no youtube, no discord. So i would go around my class in elementary school, asking if anyone played minecraft.

I played with some of my best friends. During the quarantine, i got into the dsmp, and then into hermitcraft. I played more and more, i built things, i created worlds and stories that i still remember and love.

When i heard there would be a minecraft movie, i was ecstatic. I had lists of headcanons, lore and stories i hoped i would see.

And i watched the trailer, and i didn’t see minecraft. I saw yet another whitewashed steve, ugly CG, and an unfaithful story.

I genuinely have so many issues with the trailer. The piglins are peaceful unless provoked. They attack because you are intruding on their home. They are not trying to come into the overworld and take over, you are going into the Nether and messing with their home.

And Steve. I mean… Jack Black is awesome, but Steve isn’t white! Steve isn’t even a separate character, Steve/Alex is the player, they are there to represent someone waking up in this new world and surviving, building something beautiful, getting attached to every pixel. The Steve in the trailer isn’t Steve.

I’ll just mention one more thing, because this would be stupidly long if i typed out all my thoughts. The CG. I don’t understand why it wasn’t animated. The Mario movie was animated, and while that had its own problems, the visuals were gorgeous! I gasped when i saw Rainbow Road. I also gasped when i saw the pink sheep, but for the opposite reason. Finding a pink sheep is one of the wonders of exploring the minecraft world, and they turned that experience into a cheep, ugly gag.

It’s not minecraft. I hope whoever wrote and designed that shit feels ashamed. I hope the movie flops. And i hope minecraft itself never turns into this shitty money-grab.

[llendrinall]

Dear Endrina

I am once again finding myself reading the secret language of plants, and I was wondering.

Are you still writing? Fanfiction, original fiction or others?

I would love to check out other things you are writing (if not already in ao3).

Is there any fanfiction authors your were inspired by for your work? I haven't really found anybody who writes just like you managed to do.

I am a big fan of your work and it always cheers me up reading your stories 😊 thanks for sharing with us all ❤️

Hello, dear.

I am writing, but I am not posting. There are many reasons why: less time, less energy, less fandoms that pique my interest, etc. I won’t detail them all reasons here. I dislike the idea of posting unfinished works so I have nothing to show. I will say that I am working on a collection of (fandom) stories and when I got your ask, I stole a couple of hours to other tasks and wrote 900 words. Nice! Although what started as 7 stories has grown to 16 so I don’t know when they will be ready.

As for other works or authors, funnily enough I had been meaning to write a couple of posts about books, so I will just do it here.

Endrina’s list of very nice books

Quality is subjective so the main criteria here is whether I have re-read these books, whether they had something to drawn me back.

Original fiction

Terry Pratchett.

Every Pratchett fan easily admits that his first books are not very good and that there is no good point to start reading. You simply pick a book, plunge into Discworld, and figure things as you go. Pratchett’s turn of phrase if excellent. Pratchett’s examination of morals is even better. Because it’s fantasy, Pratchett has not been taken seriously. He is too juvenile, too funny, too unserious. But he is also a master at making readers grow a political conscience.

The post I was meaning to write was a comparison between Pratchett’s witches (Weyrd Sisters, Witches Abroad, etc.) and some other author’s witches. Ok, it’s JKR, but I didn’t want it to be a direct attack on her or her character. It’s just a comparison of the content.

In Harry Potter the wizarding world is hidden. The reason given is that muggles would be demanding favors nonstop. Later I think it is implied that muggles may be dangerous to wizards. In Discworld, however, magic is perfectly public. People do demand favors from witches (and wizards, but less so) and people are a threat to magical folk. One of the Tiffany Aching’s books (aimed to younger readers, but still excellent) opens with an imprisoned witch about to be executed (she frees herself, of course, by magical and mundane means).

The thought came to me regarding anesthesia use during labor. I am sure that in Harry Potter witches don’t experience pain giving birth, but they don’t share that gift with muggles.

In Harry Potter, magic folk let non-magic folk suffer.

In Discworld, magic folk understand magic as a duty, while accepting that there won’t be thanks or appreciation. If you have the ability to save a sheep, to remove someone’s pain, to make their passing easier, you must do it.

It’s surprising that school libraries would ban Harry Potter and not Pratchett, because he is the one with potential to bring people to the left.

Naomi Novik

How to describe the Temeraire series? They are very good, they have dragons, they are populated by people who feel very real.

The first book is dedicated to building a fantasy world. So cool. So exciting. It would look so nice as an HBO MAX show! They would blunder the second season, but the first season would be excellent.

The next eight books ruthlessly deconstruct the first one. Much like Pratchett, Novik takes an idea and asks, “but how can this work?” and, often, the answer is “by the suffering and exploitation of poor people”. And she (like Pratchett) will drag the answer to the light.

The third book, Gunpowder war, is my favorite because the structure is crisp and neat. Three places, thee different environments, three challenges. You go from movement to arrest and back to movement and afterwards you feel like having completed a videogame.

Agatha Christie

She, like Pratchett, is not considered a “proper” author. I suspect it’s because she is a woman and because her books are accessible. There is this bias against books and stories that many people can enjoy.

Being a British woman born in 1890, her writing does have some ideas that seem outdated, especially regarding foreigners and Jews. But it’s ameliorated by the fact that all her characters are individuals. Each one of them is a distinct person rather than a stand-in for a whole group. So when in Lord Edgware Dies a Jewish woman is described as greedy an ambitious, she is still given enough personality that it seems like a “her” problem rather than a group trait. I don’t want to completely excuse or handwave it. Occasionally there are racist undertones. But they are still way less obvious that many modern works.

For a long time, every October/November I would read one of her novels to get in the Autumn mood, but lately I have found myself reading her “out of season” and wondering why her call was growing stronger. I realized recently it’s because in her books people don’t enjoy killing. Oh, someone is going to die. Perhaps more than one person. But the murderer kills because a) they expect to inherit, b) they are guarding a secret, c) they are in love, d) a variation of the three. They don’t enjoy killing, is my point. They don’t do it for pleasure. There are no elaborate and inventive ways to torture someone and desecrate a corpse. I find that I am very tired of recent trends in which a psycho killer tortures young women and taunts the police.

Also, Christie is very compassionate towards women. Some women are good, some are evil, some are adulteress, some have relations with married men, some get pregnant while single. In the latter case, the tone is more of “it happens” rather than “what a slut”. It is no ideal, it means trouble and social exclusion for the woman, but it happens so Christie doesn’t moralize about it. (And in Hallowe’en Party there is a single mother who is treated as perfectly normal).

I said earlier her characters are distinct individuals. Christie’s strength lies in voicing varied psychological profiles. Her two main detectives (Poirot and Marple) read as asexual (no matter the forced heteronormative that TV/movie adaptations try to push). Poirot also is a clear case of OCD and… it’s fine. That’s how he is. There are also some great ADHD characters. There is whatever was going on Ms MacGinty is dead. The main suspect is clinically depressed or something, I don’t remember well.

People are varied and allowed to be weird, and I love it.

(Occasionally, a couple of lesbians will pop. Sadly, because these are murder mysteries, one of them may die. But it doesn’t read like a Bury Your Gays trope)

Miguel de Cervantes

This one is not like the others because there is a lot of scholarly work about Cervantes. So much so that he is taken as a Very Serious author when, in fact, he is Pretty Funny. Think lines like “thus came a man riding a donkey, although it may had been a mule, there is no consensus regarding the animal, except it was probably grey of coat. The man was carrying a basin on his head.”

Having some political and cultural context helps to enjoy Don Quixote, but it is not a sine qua non requisite. For English, I like Grossman’s translation.

(Also, this is almost never mentioned: Miguel de Cervantes and his brother were suspected in the murder of a high class nobleborn who was a known sexual harasser. And it shows. There is a chapter in DQ that could very well be titled: Incel Culture, let’s not).

Fanfiction

Astolat

Astolat’s stories follow the pattern of the Common Man falling for the Enlightened Man. This tickles something deep in my brain and I love it.

The Common Man may not be so common. He may be a renowned warrior. He may be a hero. He is only common when opposed to the Enlightened Man (who may be a woman, like Brienne of Tarth, fantastic). The latter is someone with their third, fourth and fifth eye open. Someone who understands magic and, what’s even more difficult, morality. Someone who knows. What they know may vary, but the knowledge is there and with it a certain sense of being removed, of not fitting in the world. So they are surprised to attract the desperate interest of the Common Man.

Other things to like: clever construction of plot, deep and surrounding worldbuilding with just a couple of strokes.

Owlet

Her Bucky (MCU) series is fantastic, but the first work, This, you protect is particularly good. It is funny, it is healing, and it’s an interesting example of how to enthrall people. Most fanfics have sex, it is almost a requisite. Some readers will reject a story if the promise of hot scenes isn’t there. Well, This, you protect doesn’t have sex. It has coffee concoctions and grilled cheese sandwiches, and they are so satisfying that you won’t even notice there is no sex.

Scaramouche

I haven’t read her latest works (I am bit tired of the MCU and Steve/Tony doesn’t work for me) but I have read her previous work, specially the Supernatural fics, and enjoyed them thoroughly. The setting of her stories is imaginative yet familiar. No matter how alternative the AU is, it always feels natural and real, as if she had been a long time there and knew every place and every aspect.

The hoyden

Her DP9 and XMen fics read like silk. I don’t have another word. They are delicate and soft and they flow. They feel luxurious.

[freerange-binaries]

Simple boid simulation

Hello! over the past weekend I made a very quick flocking simulation in ebitengen. Each little boid follows a few simple rules - defined here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boids plus an extra rule of my own to flee from the mouse cursor. Longer blog/discussion under the cut

I'm still trying to dip my toes into the gamedev world (most of my experience is in web technologies) and this was a fun little afternoon project to get to know things a bit better. I chose ebitengine for a couple reasons: first, I feel a little more comfortable with the code-only or code-first engines/frameworks coming from a non-gamedev coding background, and second, I've really been liking Go/Golang from what I've tried so far. A fun, but perhaps overboard, fact about this little demo is each boid calculates its next move in a go function, so the 'game' is multi-threaded. Also on my list of frameworks to try is monogame since C# is the language I've worked with the most professionally and it has a good reputation. I still have some hang-ups about tying myself to a Microsoft product, though - every time I look at the naming conventions of different versions of .NET I want to rethink my career choices, for example.

I'm not sure how far I'll take this idea, but I did have a loose plan to expand this little simulation into a prototype for a sheep herding game. However, spending more time thinking about what it would take to bring this into a full game makes me a little hesitant to fully commit to using a tool like ebitengine. Essentially, once I need a level editor I'm a bit worried if it would be a better use of time in the long run to just use a full fledged engine like Godot. Still, other big projects have gotten by on tools without built-in level editors in the past, so maybe its not as big of a downside as I think.

That's it for this first update post! I'm hoping to post little summaries like this of my future hobby projects, as well as maybe some older things I've done. If you've read this far, thanks a ton! If you're curious about how I made this feel free to ask away

[ozimaniac]

[A Character Analysis of Zen]

Now that we have Zen’s birthday date and know that his zodiac sign is cancer, I just want to look at some characteristics. (Because I’m guessing that these dates were picked for a reason and not just random.) I Also want to talk about his past and why he is so avoidant about it. Even if I just end up pointlessly rambling about it, with no clear conclusion, because we just don’t know yet.

I will now infodump. A lot.

So a main characteristic of cancers is that they are closed off or seem distant at first. Cancers hold back on revealing their thoughts, therefore they come off as mysterious and not easy to approach. They also try to avoid confrontation. They retreat into their “shells” if they are uncomfortable and they like to brood.

Nonetheless they are very caring and protective about their family and friends. They might put the comfort of others before their own. They have the tendency to be self-sacrificing.

I think this description fits Zen well. His character seems calm and at peace with himself at first, but slowly you realise that there are underlying insecurities and you don’t really know what he is thinking. Ow2 actually gave us some voice lines that make it more clear that he isn’t a perfect individual, that reached complete inner peace. He has struggles of his own.

I also saw “dislikes revealing of personal life”, which is really accurate. He has always been really mysterious, especially about his past. This is noticeable in the interaction with Rein and Genji, where Rein asks him “What did you do? You know, before the Crisis?” And he will give different responses, that are kind of short, silly or underwhelming, and it’s implied that he isn’t telling the entire truth. Let me list the following responses:

“I served coffee.”

“I collected payments at a laser tag arena.”

“I was a lifeguard at a water park.”

“I drove a tractor.”

These are pretty ordinary jobs, and I don’t doubt that he worked these jobs. (Except for the lifeguard one maybe, he doesn’t look very waterproof.) So I don’t think that he is lying.. but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t hiding something.

There is also a line, that I think has been cut out of the game, because I only found it in one video.

“I massaged sheep on a free range pasture.”

(Now that’s a dream job. But seriously.. I almost thought I went insane and made it up, because it was really hard to find.)

Then Rein asks “Is that true?” and Genji says “He won’t tell me either.” (Ram also says something similar.) So although he has a close relationship with Genji, he still won’t reveal what happened in his past. And this obviously makes me think that something bad happened, and that he is uncomfortable talking about it.

He also has a line that goes “My memories before the awakening are blurry, but I do remember some things.” and he doesn’t elaborate further.

It could be that he legitimately doesn’t remember a lot before the awakening, and this makes him feel really insecure. Gaining sentience as an omnics and trying to uncover those memories from the past, is probably like thinking about your first memories when you were a child. You might only remember snippets, and you might not be able to recall memories from a certain age. It could also be that some trauma has caused him to repress certain memories about his past and he feels subconsciously uncomfortable about it, which leads to avoidant behaviour, which might be his coping mechanism. Or he does remember his trauma and he is purposefully avoiding it, to not make the people around him uncomfortable or bring the mood down.

Zen’s current self is introverted, wise and sometimes witty. He went through a journey of self healing to get where he is now. So if I had to imagine what he used to be like in the past, then I’m picturing a quiet, oblivious and maybe anxious character. In the story with Symmetra he said that he used to have difficulty understanding certain phrases, which has some parallels to an autistic experience, like Symmetra’s.

His insecurities also shine through in some other voice lines. Like when he talks about his favourite animal, ants. He says “I envy ants for their clarity of purpose.” Although Zen seems quite accomplished, he still lacks purpose in his own eyes. There is also an interaction with Zarya where she asks if he dreams, and Zen answers with “I dream of peace. And, sometimes, falling.” Falling in dreams represents a lack of control over a situation or your life. Also feelings of anxiety or helplessness. 

Tw: trauma and bullying.

Ok so, what was his past like before the crisis.

First I want to look at Zen’s model. He is just an average, humanoid looking omnic. What we saw from Genesis, is that omnics like him were created for various odd jobs. We saw them being cooks or caretakers or servants.

And it’s not hard to imagine that those omnics faced a lot of mistreatment if they made mistakes. It would have been easy for humans to blame omnics and just treat them like objects, and bully them verbally or physically.

If you get bullied early on in your life, it’s likely that this will affect you throughout your life. So even if Zen wasn’t “awakened” yet, he still states that he remembers some things, and that mistreatment could explain his current, closed off self. When he is approached or asked things, he doesn’t say a lot and that could be learned behaviour, and a self defense mechanism. He also uses a lot of wisdoms and phrases that might seem impersonal, at least to strangers. (This could also be a masking behaviour.)

I can also imagine that omnics worked isolating jobs, which humans might avoid. (I’m picturing working in a closed off small space with repetitive tasks or no social interactions. Maybe a factory setting.) And this kind of job could get really lonely and boring. Once again, this could have led him to be more closed off, if he worked in that kind of environment.

Why would he keep this a secret though? Well, maybe it’s just not worth talking about. Sometimes the truth is boring, and the biggest fear is to disappoint. (This is less likely though, because he seems very intent to not tell anyone the details. So it’s probably something more serious that happened, like I mentioned before.)

Instead of being a victim, could Zen have been the aggressor? I think that’s unlikely, because it’s about his past before the crisis. Before the awakening. Most likely he did as he was told, because he didn’t have that level of autonomy yet. This also means that people were able to easily take advantage of him. If people mistreated him, then he had to just accept that, because that was his programming. Also I just don’t see Zen as being aggressive.

Well, anyway that was it!

I got sidetracked a lot on other thoughts, but I wanted to write about Zen’s past for a long time. His zodiac sign just gave me some confirmation about what I was initially thinking.

[randybutternubber]

Heyyyyyyy do you have any funny head canons on the children :-9 if they squabble and stuff in your opinion. Give me the sillies !!!!! (I do too but I wanna hear urs)

YOU HAVE OPENED THE GATES OF HELL PREPARE FOR MY BORDERLINE SEVEN PAGE ESSAY ON THESE RANDOM FUCKING CHILDREN

I decided to do the ones that get less attention in general, especially since I have the most thoughts on them

HCs under cut because I may have gone overboard with the length

Ghost kid

Best friends with a batmin ball that had a very poorly drawn face on it from the age of six to eight.

Sebbo (spoon girl) buried the batmin ball using a spoon as a shovel after it got neutered by the barber (he thought it was a bug and shat his pants)

Not a native of the nowhere and was taken to the nowhere on Halloween, hence the ghost costume

Lost their arm pretty quickly after being taken to the Nowhere. he’s quite a friendly child and is very compassionate towards animals, but unfortunately, this has its downsides as not all animals in the Nowhere want help.

Friends with Sebbo

Has been squatting in houses since day 1 of living in the Nowhere and has no plans to stop

Would go CRAZY for squishmallows

Doesn’t have well formed empathy/sympathy for humans but is super compassionate towards animals

Zero concept of gender and doesn’t care what you call them, he just want to pet your dog

Nonverbal but has very expressive body language

Spoon girl

Her name is sebbo (based off of game files)

She sneezes like a middle aged divorced golf dad and due to her nose bleed these sneezes are NOT victimless

LEGENDARY rage tantrums

Literally only wants to watch gen 1 my little pony, Formula One, or a very specific documentary about some random Swedish sheep wool factory

Swedish

If you compare her to pippy longstockings you will end up needing to go to urgent care for a rabies shot

Calls ghost kid Ande (sounds like Andeh) which means spirit in Swedish. (His file name is actually spöke for anyone wondering, which also means ghost/spirit in Swedish. The only reason I’m not giving him the Sebbo naming treatment is that spöke absolutely does not sound like it’s spelled (sounds like Spurkeh) and Ande actually sounds like a name. I’m a quarter swedish and have a very Swedish family on my white side so I got the most incomprehensible Swedish lessons in the car ever, so please don’t roast me in the reblogs if I got this wrong, I remember like five words and this is one of them, same thing with Korean😭

Living embodiment of “ANDE WE’RE 10 NOW, WE SAY CRAP, NOT POOP”

Broke one of her legs at some point in the Nowhere and ended up in the hospital (HC based off of concept art where she was in a wheelchair and using crutches)

Has severe trauma revolving around doctors and medical stuff

Has never seen another ginger in her entire life but will fight to be the alpha

Warrior cats kid

Expert at digging and climbing out of holes, THE CHILDREN YEARN FOR THE MINES!!!

Rusty

Has a cleft lip

This isn’t a HC but something that not a lot of people realize; he has a lisp

Only reason I’m not drawing him as ginger because of his name is because I also designed Noone as ginger and he lost in a 1v1 to a rabid cabbage patch kid. He’s been through enough

He’s around 14

Very lithe

Despite being a trapeze and tightrope performer, he is TERRIFIED of heights, making his experience at the circus even worse

The dummy has been malding over Rusty for a ridiculously long period of timeand bro had no fucking idea and nobody even knows the reason why 💀

Also a warrior cats kid but kept in on the downlow. Yes he did name himself Rusty after firestar but if you tell anyone he will cry

Noone

A nice kid but will deadass ask some of the most insensitive questions and has NO idea. Also verbally cooked a middle aged man and spent like a whole episode sassing him so she can definitely be mean if she wants to

Also has really severe medical trauma along with trauma from being paraded around on TV because she was the first person to be cured of whatever the shit water sickness is

Her real name was Ruth, but once she started forgetting her parents (they basically ditched her anyways 😭) she started just using Noone as her real name

Master of inappropriately prolonged periods of intense eye contact

Really dislikes/is afraid of dolls/dummies because of what happened to Rusty/in JuJubee’s toyshop

Very untrusting of people post Nowhere abduction because of how Otto treated her and because of the ferryman. Plus basically every kid she met in TSON was met with a terrible fate (Goo kid is probably alive but she doesn’t know that)

Autism (all these children got some sort of neurodivergence though, I mean just look at them)

WORST BACKSEAT DRIVER EVER (ASKED TO LEAVE THE ROWBOAT)

Has a few scars on her face from her right before she had a seizure when getting clockwork oranged. She tried to take the mri suction thingies off her head but she ended up scratching up her face in her panic

[ruusverd]

Did you ever post the "baby sheep meeting Boss Ram for the first time" story (post 682432632204804096 on your blog) anywhere on its own? Asking because I really wanted to recycle it again but OP made the post unrebloggable.

If it's the one I'm thinking of, I can type it up again, with bonus epilogue this time, even!

It all starts with my big breeding ram. Undisputed king of the hill, boss ram, never lost a fight. Real tough guy. The initiation ritual for any male sharing a field with this guy was getting beat up by The Boss.

In the year our story begins, this fine gentleman had sired four sons in his own image. Without my permission he broke through the fence and did this, as the fence was unfairly preventing him from fulfilling his one job upon this earth: creating many miniature copies of himself.

These fine fellows he gifted me with had to be weaned a few weeks early, when they were perfectly old enough not to need milk but young enough they still WANTED milk. (They were fine, they were 9 weeks old and lambs can be safely weaned as young as 6, though I usually try to wait until 12 for behavioral reasons. This is called foreshadowing.) One reason for this early weaning was an interesting bit of trivia about sheep lactation: milk letdown in the ewe's udder is stimulated by the lamb punching the udder really hard with the end of their noses. Really hard. Repeatedly. Usually ewes will start to wean the lambs on their own when the lambs get big enough that the punching gets uncomfortable, but some ewes won't and ram lambs in particular sometimes have to be pulled early because when they get big and strong enough they will punch the udder so hard they'll lift their mother's back end right off the ground and can damage her udder in their enthusiasm for milk that isn't quite as filling to them as it was a few weeks ago.

These boys didn't want to be weaned. There was a lot of screaming. They were scared, with no adult sheep around. Even more screaming. So I decided to give them a babysitter.

I didn't want to dump the little guys right in the boy's club to get ganged up on, so I decided to put them in a smaller pen near the barn with their dad for a few days. He'd always been good with lambs and I figured he'd gently but firmly show them who was boss and then they wouldn't have trouble. He made all these lambs without permission, the least he could do was some babysitting.

He also thought he would gently but firmly show them who was boss. He marched up and started flexing his shoulders and arching his neck, showing off how big his horns were, ready to butt heads with any of these little punks who cared to try him.

However.

These were not his usual rivals. They did not care about butting heads. These were four unweaned lambs, who for their entire nine weeks of life had punched the dangly thing on mom's belly whenever they were hungry and gotten food.

They were hungry.

Their moms were gone.

They had never shared a pasture with an adult ram.

They looked at the Big Guy and saw a big dangly thing in the same general area as the punch-for-food thing on their moms.

They quickly put two and two together and made an understandable but deeply mistaken assumption.

The poor guy ended up fleeing for his life in a state of completely bewildered panic while his four equally bewildered and panicky little clones chased him all over the field, screaming at the top of their baby lungs and trying frantically to punch him in the nuts as hard as they could.

Not included in the original version of the story was that this did somehow end up being a bonding experience because once the... misunderstanding... was resolved, he was very fond of that particular group of sons and frequently kept an eye on them even once they were integrated with the rest of the boys. I called them his ducklings for how they would follow him around single file.

Boss Ram figured out how to mount ewes THROUGH the fence and sired another group of unauthorized offspring two years later. He was a recognized fixture on the farm by then with an amazingly good personality for a ram, so I had the dangly bits causing all these problems removed and now he is living out his old age in perfectly happy retirement with all his girlfriends in the ewe flock, convinced he is still doing what he was put on this earth to do, but not actually creating any more mini-mes and thus unharrassed by any lambs who missed basic sex ed.

(Those four sons are now all grown up and collectively terrorizing everyone over in the boy's field in their father's place, but thankfully in the more traditional, foreheads-at-ten-paces sort of way)

[littlespacereader]

A Little’s Trip to the Jellycat Diner in NYC!!😆💞🎀

I’m a huge fan of Jellycat stuffed animals! I think they are so cute and especially so soft!! So when I heard they opened a cute experience in FAO Schwarz in NYC I knew I had to go see it for myself!

Before going I have three Jellycats of my own! I have a Manatee, a Sheep and a Kola!

Every time I go to FAO Schwarz I always end up getting a Jellycat since they have a MASSIVE selection. This time they really did not disappoint!

For starters there’s the Jellycat Diner on the first floor of the story! This is where they sell their food stuffed animals! If you ordered a special pack (which included stickers, a pin and a wrapped food such as a hotdog, burger, taco or pizza) they would wrap it like the actual food and give it to you at the diner counter, complete with them hitting a bell and saying you “order number”. It’s such a cute idea!! Below are photos of the food stuffies on the sides of the diner:

Next to the diner was a smaller display of some of their Christmas collection stuffies:

Upstairs they have more of their stuffed animals which are my favorite and go to Jellycats when I come to here! I sadly forgot to take photos of this section but I can describe it to you! This is where all the animal Jellycats hang out! They had a ton of see animals such as whales, shrimps, sea lions, and octopuses. They also had some fall Jellycats such as a pine cone, a fox, and a porcupine. On the back wall they had a mixture of different ones such as dragons, chickens, lions, horses, dogs, cats and more!

I’m the type of Little that has to see EVERYTHING before making a proper decision. So I search that section about 5 times for the perfect Jellycat… and I think I found the best one! I found this elephant section and instantly fell in love with how soft and cuddly the elephant design was! I’m always the type of person who grabs one from the back who isn’t appreciated like the ones in the front, and that’s when I met Wally!

Wally was on the back of the shelf with his head buried. I immediately worried that maybe he had anxiety about how loud store was. So naturally he won my heart over. I immediately grabbed him and brought him close. Maybe we could help each other through our anxieties. So Wally came home with me. He is very happy and has been properly introduced to all my stuffed animals! Here’s Wally back home in my dorm:

Right before I went to check out I noticed this tiny little rattle Jellycat dog. Immediately my little side was screaming at me to get it. It’s such a small size that I reasoned with myself I could take along with me when I travel.

It’s always scary buying something so obviously for a baby. But I do have some advice! For one I took this trip alone to avoid any questions from friend. But when I got to the register with Wally and the rattle I was asked who I was getting it for. The cashier was super nice and was probably just striking up a conversation. So I simply said it a gift for my cousin. Is it? No. This is a gift to myself. But they don’t need to know that! Just make up that you have a younger cousin you’re buying something little or younger for. Trust me it works every time!

But back to the topic of my rattle, I LOVE IT!! The bell is not overwhelmingly and the rattle is super soft! It’s definitely coming with me every time I travel! I named him Spot the Rattle!

I had a great time today!! I’d like to thank everyone again in this post. Your advice really helped me with dealing with the subways today! Thank you again! I hope everyone liked this review of the Jellycat Diner in FAO Schwarz. Comment any questions you have about the store! I’d be happy to answer them!

-Clara🥰💞🎀

[celeluwhenfics]

Since we’re talking horse girl histories and you’ve already let slip the FASCINATING detail that you were once a horse-mounted sheep herder, would you also like to share more about your time as a horse girl? Inquiring minds would love to know whatever you feel like putting out there! ♥️

This is a long overdue reply! Thanks for the ask, and for your patience... Here we go, story time! Be ready for a long rant and too many horse pictures.

Basically, from age 8, I've been that girl completely obsessed with horses. After consistently nagging my parents, I got to get weekly riding lessons and sometimes a summer camp week. (Lucky kid, I know!)

One of my first lessons, wasn't this boy GORGEOUS?! His name was Monty. Not from Monty Python, but from Monty Roberts.

I got to the point where I could volunteer at the stable without being too much of a nuisance, and I participated in two very small jumping competitions. However at age 12 or 13 I decided to stop, being busy with a ridiculously demanding school. This is also when I started being much more serious about piano. (Which is another story entirely!)

Capturing the essence of being an 11yo horse girl in the year 2000. The tshirt says "Harry Pony"

Fast forward to when I was 22, I somehow got a little money of my own, and for some reason, my very first thought was, HORSES. So I got back into it, fell a couple times pretty hard, and became just as obsessed as I had ever been, if not more.

In parallel to doing my MA, I mucked for lessons, assisted a friend trainer, read lots, had a half-pension for a couple months, and sometimes assisted in "babysitting" entire barns for a couple days when the owners were on holiday. I did some jumping, but I was most interested in dressage. I never got to a super good level as a rider, but I really got a good variety of experiences.

I adored this guy I had in half-pension in 2013... He sent me flying through that fence a couple times, but he was the best. Sapporo ❤️

Then I was incredibly lucky that my MA advisor was a horse girl too, and she invited the whole class to retreat seminars on a farm which had about 80 Icelandic horses. My heart exploded for these little guys. I would visit that place (aka paradise) as often as I could. This blessed farm and the lovely family that owns it is the inspiration for the Aldburg paradise in which the pHORSEuasion flashbacks will happen...

I learned Icelandic, and I organized that the summer after I finished my MA (like literally 48 hours after defending), I flew to Iceland to soak in its unique horse culture.

First, I volunteered at the annual horse competition, Landsmót Hestamanna, and saw some of the THE most impressively gorgeous horses the country had to offer, in a surreal scenery, and under a sun that Would. Not. Set.

Then I went on a 1-month intensive language course in Reykjavík, slept little, did too much grammar, broke up with an annoying boyfriend, and tried speaking with locals. But after that the real thing started.

I moved to a sheep breeding farm in the North East (aka edge of the world, super isolated, big nearby metropolis is a 300 people village), that had been looking for an au-pair to help with farm work, guesthouse work, babysitting, and horse riding. I stayed there for only two months, but oh boyy. I don't even know where to start with sharing this experience.

But it will be for another post!

Btw my DMs are always open if anyone has horsey questions or would like some horsetopic-specific beta-ing when writing about Rohan, if you need help with some research of if you want to make sure that a riding scene is realistic! I'm not a horse professional but as you can guess I've been through some stuff... 😅

[kichimiangra]

Please tell us more about the differences between goats and sheep; you're the only person I know with firsthand experience.

Personality wise, from my experience, Sheep are more standoffish than Goats are (Though either can have an array of personality), and they need different minerals for good health. Sheep are great for mowing the lawn because they like to eat the grass, while goats are good at maintaining weeds and eating stray leaves off the ground

Sheep also tend to be more skiddish than goats from my experience, while goats are more inquisitive.

Sheep have a split upper lip (Doing 'Kitty Face' :3 ) while goats don't.

Sheep *usually* don't have horns while almost all goats have them, and when sheep DO have them they tend to curl downwards in a spiral while goat horns tend to go upwards. There are exceptions to this rule on both sides though.

Sheep tails hang low (And are often docked into nubs for hygiene and not-getting-bit-off reasons) while Goat tails curl upwards. Also the back side of a goats tail tends to be bald but from experience if you can get close enough to touch that tails skin it is the softest baby smooth skin I has ever felt in my life oh my god so soft!!!!! SO SMOOTH!!!

Also Sheep don't tend to get beard while not all but A LOT of goat breeds do.

There are other differences but those are more like "Mineral supplementary needs" so not something you just see.

Sheep like to stick together and I don't know them to climb, but goats love to explore and climb and sometimes they like to be by themselves because they're more independent than sheep are.

They do tend to have more in common than they do differences. While sheep are more known for Wool there are plenty of breeds of Goats, such as cashmere, angora, and Altai's who produce wool, while there are also sheep breeds called "Hair Sheep" that instead of wool grow hair so they don't need to be sheered.

Both need their hooves trimmed regularly. A lot of people think of Hooves as something hard and good for clobbering, but in reality they're like thick flexible toenails. On both hoovling species they can grow long and curl under the foot and need to be trimmed off with some cutters

a lot of the bottom of the foot is cartilagey and you have to scrap to poopy and mud out from under their nails or they can get something call "Hoof Rot". The cartilage also grows up like a High heel heel and that needs to be trimmed down as well.

While they differ in what they like to pick out of the grass both species love to eat Hay, and as ruminant animals if it's cold in the winter you can give both a bit of corn to trigger rumination and that helps them warm up.

That's all I can think of off of the top of my head? NOW Time for a story! I like when in Cult of the Lamb people draw the Lamb with a demon form with extra horns because it reminds me of a story from my mom! So this takes place in the 1970's when my mom was a little girl. She lived in a religious farmish community that also had a bit of mob activity but that parts not important. There was woodland paths and it was often safer for the kids running around the neighborhood to use them rather than be on the street. One day my mom was a little girl using the wood paths when she saw this multighorned monster in the woods watching her from behind a tree. She swore she saw the devil that day and ran home in tears.

A few days later one of the local farmers came by asking about a Jacobs horned sheep he had had imported that went missing and wondering if anyone had seen it. It didn't take long for him to be pointed to my mom's house as she had been screaming for days about seeing the devil in the woods behind her house.

Why it was upright... who knows but it was probably using the tree to scratch between it's horns

[rocketyship]

Hey, it's the anon who sent the really long ask and I'm sorry to say but i forgot what i was going to write about AM so I've put off sending another ask hoping I'd somehow remember 3am me's thoughts. That's obv not going to happen, though, so here's what i can scrounge up!

Your AM is in the very unique position of not only being non-human but also the only person BE openly has, let's say a... "dislike" for. There are ways he could relate to the humans of course (treated like a pet, not given any real self-determination etc) but it's experience is so different in so many other ways.(Naomi and AM were both "taken in" by BE while they were still.. idk young might not be the right word, but Naomi had time to grow up a bit before the whole thing while AM barely had time to realise that he's a person. Evan and AM are both seen as different from the others by BE, Evan for being a man and AM for not being one but Evan isn't dealt divine punishment for the whole trying to destroy humanity thing etc.)

Point is that AM as the narrator would be so fundementally different from the others, i think that's why i wanted to write about it. Narration from AM has the potential to be even clearer than Naomi's would be since there are things about BE she wouldn't show in front of the humans and things the humans just wouldn't be able to see in the same way(code AM might be privy to they couldn't interpret and such).

BE is also the reason AM can see, hear and feel so while he didn't have over a century to lament over not being able to (like the original AM did) that has to change so much, like you've already shown some of.

Oh and like you brought up in the post after my ask: there's no way traces of BE's code hasn't corrupted AM somehow! How would that change things? Does the corruption increase over time or would he just use that as an excuse for why he cares about these humans now? Would he even acknowledge that he has been "corrupted" or is he still too proud for that somewhere deep down? There's so much potential for character exploration!

The parallels between BE and the original AM is fun too! AM torturing it's humans to reinforce and remind itself of it's hatred for them and superiority over them vs BE torturing your AM as "divine retribution" for his sins and a way to remind herself of her job as her sheep's protector, her love for them as well as a reminder to both herself and your AM of her superiority over him.

Once again, hope you have a nice day!! It made me happy you've enjoyed my asks, and the explanation of the sanctuary was a nice bonus for the one before the last :)

This ended up really rambly, but i hope most of it is understandable and that my interpretations aren't like... completely different from what you were trying to portray. (Also, I'm used to referring to the original AM with it pronouns so i might mess up your AM's he from time to time, so here's a disclaimer that i dont do it on purpose)

You have a very good interpretation of my AM and it pleases me that my work my nonsensical posts came across the way I intended. One thing I have decided moving forward is that the story will be told in chapters or parts told from each characters perspective, with the exception of BE, as idk how to write the utterly bizarre way she thinks with it also being understandable to a reader.

But besides that I really like how you worded everything here, especially in pointing how BE is the counter part of the original AM. Truthfully the AM of this world is so different from the original, that I wouldn’t even describe him as the opposite of the og anymore. And you asked about how her code has corrupted him, and it definitely has become something that has gotten more prominent over time. In the beginning AM for sure had some of his pride and his og “hate-everything”ness, but overtime it has started to fizzle out, mostly as a survival tool priority, in the present time (109 years later) he struggles to recall exactly why he killed humanity in the first place, but still knows he did it as BE reminds him. He is also aware of his love for the humans coming from BE and often has crises if it’s own feelings or hers.

One thing about BE’s treatment of this AM (Who I might start calling Amy Idk), is that the body she gave him is very-very human like, as in it may or may not contain real human organs and bits of flesh, to really give him a warped “human” experience. So like the original AM, she has starved and dehydrated him for extensive periods of time, as well as the severe phycological and physical torture, yet she also doesn’t allow him to really “wonder” around. Although as stated before a bit ago his senses and nerves are hypersensitive, so he is generally very cautious about the stuff he gets up to. But one of the biggest differences between her and the OG AM, is how she has discovered to keep him in place. As in like what many real life abusers do, she kind of love-bombs him. As in she treats him nice sometimes, as it kind of “assures” him that he deserves this and if he behaves well then he can go upstairs and play with the humans. Not really helped that he has figured out that if he’s with the humans, BE doesn’t do anything (well she does it’s just more subtle), so that in of itself has definitely contributed to his love of the humans, finding safety with them, especially Evan who he has a particular interest in.

His body has contributed to him gaining things the og AM probably didn’t have cause of his circumstances, or at least a more tamer version. As you stated he is “young”, although I wouldn’t describe him as a child really, just kind of immature. Like he’s kind of goofy when his guard is down, if not clingy. His body is very sensitive, so while that does mean he experiences horrendous agony, it also goes the opposite way. So his odd cuddliness and enjoyment of warm things isn’t just me liking the idea of him in a pile of plushies I swear.

Anyhow I love your asks and everything, you se so cool. Thank you so so much. Hopefully you understood this ramble of mine like you did the others :D

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

As a teacher, what has been your fave shakespere play to teach your students? What interesting themes do the kids these days pick up on or connect with? Has there been any interesting insights your students have brought that have surprised you?

Thanks for the question! So I haven't taught English since before the pandemic, because I finally found a school that doesn't reserve the history classes for the coaches (this kept happening to me when I moved back to the States, I'm dual certified, so I'd get hired for history and they'd move me to English when they hired a coach. This happened like 3 times), which is great for me, I vastly prefer teaching history. But did teach a lot of English previously and I'd say the answer really depends on the group of kids, their reading level, how much they'd been exposed to previously.

There's a reason high schools usually start off with Romeo and Juliet in the 9th grade. The story is not difficult to follow, most teenagers are familiar with the concept of forbidden romance, and the themes are age appropriate. I've taught King Lear, which is one of my personal favorites, to a group of very advanced and very keen 12th graders (so 17-18 years old), and I think even they were too young and lacking the life experience to really get it (it's kind of unfortunate that by the time King Lear hits hardest, which imo is once your own parents start aging, most of us are not reading Shakespeare anymore. Very few people read it outside of a school setting, nerds on tumblr notwithstanding). So it can be objectively more rewarding to teach a relatively basic play like Romeo and Juliet, than to teach a more advanced play like King Lear, even though I like King Lear better, simply because it's more suited to the age group.

But probably my favorite play to teach is Hamlet, which I've taught in both 11th and 12th grade. Hamlet is a broody young man, he's home from university and his life sucks, his asshole uncle has married his mom, he's pretty sure his dad was murdered, his girlfriend literally kills herself, there's a ghost, and no one is listening to him. It strikes a good balance in that it has some great soliloquys, including the famous "to be or not to be," that you can really dig into, but which don't get too far into the weeds and don't require a whole history lesson to understand. There are allusions, but they're mostly mythology based (like Niobe, all tears, Hyperion to a satyr) which makes them easy for the kids to look up. Importantly, it asks age appropriate existential questions about life and death (what's the point in living when you're miserable, is suffering noble, what if death is not better), stuff that teenagers grapple with. Macbeth is also good to teach because it's quite exciting with all of the murder, betrayal, and of course the witches.

It's been four years since I last taught English so it's hard for me to remember any specific insights from the kids at the moment but I will say that in general, one of my favorite lessons to teach each year in the Shakespeare unit was on the use of language. The kids fucking loved learning iambic pentameter. One of my favorite things to do was write a couple of lines on the board (I usually used two lines from Julius Caesar which were the same lines my own English teacher used to teach us when I was in school Poor man! I know he would not be a wolf/But that he sees the Romans are but sheep) and get them to beat out the meter on their desks. They thought it was so cool that iambic meter has the same rhythm as the human heart, and that it is more or less the natural rhythm of our speech. When we'd read the plays, I'd catch them tapping out the meter to themselves to test it out.

In general, I enjoyed teaching Shakespeare, but it was also a struggle. It's very hard to get kids who, for the most part, do not read for pleasure to read a whole play in early modern English. Mostly their reading consists of short passages as part of standardized testing, and they're very resistant to the very idea of Shakespeare, which they write off as old and boring. As a teacher I had to work very hard to make the text engaging enough to push past that wall and while there are always kids who are just not going to get there, every year I taught Shakespeare I was always pleasantly surprised by how many kids would get fully invested. I guess it's just fun when the kids are actually into the story. The themes are great and all, but Shakespeare wrote these plays to be entertaining and it makes me really happy when the kids are entertained by them.

[melisssg99]

Yes like you said it should always be good vs bad people. My last job sucked but i wouldn't quit after 6 months only because it sucked the reason was everyone except 1 woman turned against me.

Maybe if the work was fine i could ignore toxic women there but after making gross rumors about me i was miserable every day. And the boss who was a woman never even listened to me whatever old workers said it was a fact and the truth for her.

I'm still embarrassed because i quit due bullying idk makes me feel like i'm a kid again.

But my dad supported my decision and told me i should quit even earlier. Every man who worked there was totally normal, didn't gossip or bully anyone. But it was much more women there and guys were rarely in my shift, they also didn't work with me but (since i worked in the supermarket, they worked in other sections).

One woman (the male co-worker told me he was 23) that a guy he was there before him, he did a good job but female co-workers complained so much that he was fired. Also they did the thing where female co-workers did something wrong and they blamed him. Same as with me. I remember one of the coworkers didn't close freezer (where the frozen dough and pastries were) correctly, then she blamed me said i did that. I couldn't convince anyone it wasn't me (as an example, there were so many things they blamed on me). In 6 months i was there 6 people quit. Once i gave them my notice that i will leave they begged me to stay lol and they were treating me so nicely because they thought i will change my mind.

Sorry for the rant again but yea these women made me feel like i'm a school kid who is bullied by "the cool kids".

Worst thing is that these women acted like mean high school girls in their 50's and late 50's. This is why i think every woman who screams all men are evil and all men should die... should really look at herself first and her mistskes because in my experience these women who say things like this are hateful towards women as well - at least those women that don't share the same opinions as them, so they get called "sheep" or "brainwashed by society" etc

Sorry if i was annoying in your inbox! I do hope i find a better job with people who are not toxic.

Have a great day 💜

Thank you for this ask Anon🩷

This sounds like it must have been the worst experience.😣

Crazy how some people even at an age where you expect they know what they're doing is wrong, can act so classless.

I'm so sorry you had to endure it and I hope your next job has some great people. Colleagues can really make or break it.

I'm glad your dad had your back too, so at least you felt seen by him 🥺

Insane story!

But I agree! We all should definitely look at ourselves first before judging others, especially a whole group of people, a huge part of the population.

There will always be some bad apples but there are so much more lovely fruits we can share our time with ☺️🍎

Hope you have a great rest of your day Anon 😉🩷