#and I actually really like the chains I blocked in! but when it came time to render them I decided I'd actually rather get mauled by a bear

[lichfucker]

[image description copied from alt text: a digital painting of Hendricks from the Fetch Phillips Archives, from the hips up. he's a thin, pale elf with long, curly red hair, a mustache, and a short beard. he's wearing a low-cut off-white satin shirt, a wide black belt, and black pants, and he has small silver star-shaped earrings. his hands are in his pockets and he's rolling his eyes. the background is a solid blue, with an off-white circle behind Hendricks' head. the second image is a close-up of Hendricks' face. end id]

drawing hendricks in clothes I saw on pinterest: 2/?

[chuellas]

Comfort Chain | Getting caught in the rain with them

⤷ Ft. Atsushi Nakajima, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Osamu Dazai, Chuuya Nakahara

Warnings | Fem!reader, terms of endearment used (bella, belladonna, doll, etc.), teeth rotting fluff, mention of blood in Akutagawa’s, total WC: 4.2k

A/N: Aaaahhhh I had sm fun writing these. Funny enough I had the most trouble with Chuuya’s :(

Atsushi (853 WC):

The torrential downpour has been going on for well over an hour now. A level four tsunami had been called around the same time and of course you were out during the time of the warning. 

You’ve been studying at this cafe a few blocks down from your apartment every day for almost a month now, it would have been longer, but you only just discovered the small gem. 

You wish you could say you went there for the quiet atmosphere, but if you’ ‘re being honest, there is some sort of agency in the same building that spends a lot of time in the cafe and they���re… rowdy on most days. No, you definitely didn’t come for the tranquility, what kept you coming was the cute white haired boy with the sweetest smile you’ve ever seen. His eyes are always alight with glee when he’s around his colleagues, but you think you prefer to see the relaxed and almost somber look he wears when he comes down to the cafe on his own, a truly rare occasion, but something you’ve found yourself coming back just to catch another glimpse of it even though you’re pretty sure he has no knowledge of your existence.

So, you find yourself stuck in the cafe while the world around you becomes flooded, not wanting to take the chance of your expensive laptop getting drenched and completely ruined. You have far too many valuable resources and completed assignments there to let that happen. However, you’re stuck in a sort of predicament, you have to go home sooner or later to feed your cat. You can’t just stay at this cafe forever. 

You curse at yourself for not being prepared and at least bringing an umbrella. 

Maybe you can leave your laptop here with the shop owner and pick it back up from him when the sky isn’t dumping water onto the earth below it. You pack up your things, everything but your laptop and move to get out of the booth to talk to the old man behind the counter. You freeze when the front door to the cafe bursts open and makes you jump. 

Was that the wind?

You peer behind to find the cause of the comotion only to be faced with a soaked figure that you immediately recognize at the boy from the agency upstairs. He seems a little out of breath, as if he had just ran here from somewhere in the city and not from upstairs. The owner is the first to speak up as the white haired boy scans the room, like he’s looking for someone specifically.

”What the devil…Atsu-”

The boy doesn’t let him finish, his eyes landing on you and in an instant he’s striding over to you with purpose. “I’m so sorry, Uzumaki-sama, when I come back I’ll make sure to clean up all the water I tracked in but I needed to make sure she hadn’t left yet.”

You cluelessly look around to make sure it is indeed you that the boy is talking about, as if you aren’t the only one sitting in this cafe. You look back over to find him right in front of your table, arm outstretched with an umbrella in hand. Your lips part in shock at the gesture, this boy who you didn’t really know ran all this way from wherever he was in the city just to bring you an umbrella.

“Hi…Uh…I’m Atsushi Nakajima, we haven’t actually met yet but I’ve noticed you’re here almost every day around this time. It’s hard to miss you when you’re so pretty, y’know? A-and I’ve been wanting to introduce myself! But I always chicken out at the last minute but when it started to rain out I realized you were probably stuck here with no umbrella and…well…you seem really smart, I’m sure you can figure out the rest on your own…”

You blink, your mind trying to catch up with his rapid fire rambling. His words came out so fast they almost blended together. It seems Atsushi also hadn’t realized what he was saying because the same time it dawns on you that he called you pretty and your face flushes a bit, Atsushi’s face turns beet red.

You smile at him shyly and reach out for the umbrella he’s offering. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Atsushi.”

You introduce yourself and he seems to settle down and relax, just a dusting of pink spreads across his cheeks now. “Yeah, it’s nice to finally meet you too. Do you…Would you like me to escort you home? Just to make sure you make it alright! It’s pretty bad outside right now..”

You smile at him and let out an amused puff pair through your nose as you nod your head. “Yeah. I think I’d like that.”

Atsushi smiles widely at you, his eyes shining in that way you’ve come to adore. He takes not only the umbrella from you but your bag too. You thank the shop owner on your way out and Atsushi promises, once again, to be back shortly to clean. 

Akutagawa (776 WC):

The mission ended in a bloodshed, they always seemed to when Akutagawa was involved. His sharp tongue and usually disagreeable personality always makes your efforts in negotiations worthless. You could never understand why Mori insists that the two of you work together. It’s like Akutagawa cancels you out and vice versa.

Nevertheless, you both got the job done. Whether it was done peacefully or forcefully, it was still successful. Unfortunately for you, unlike Akutagawa, you weren’t gifted with a long range combative ability. Yours involves touching your targets, so things always get a little…messy for you. 

The two of you are wrapping things up when the heavy rainfall starts. The sound of the consistent and heavy pitter-patter from the rain hitting against the roof of the - now abandoned - warehouse is soothing. The tension in your body from your previous fight melts away with the melody each droplet creates. The sound almost puts you in a trance and suddenly you’re struck with the strongest urge to wash off the blood that soaks most of your clothing, the smell finally hitting you and making you want to crawl out of your skin.

Before you know what you’re doing, you’re moving towards the entrance of the warehouse and Akutagawa is calling after you. “Where the hell are you going? Were you not listening to me? The car will be here in 20 minutes.”

You weren’t listening, hadn’t even realized he’d been talking over all the noise. 

“I’m gonna clean up! Can’t go staining some poor unassuming mailman’s car, now can I? That would be rude, my dear Ryunosuke.” You look over your shoulder at him with a smile and eyes filled with mirth.

His own eyes narrow at you and he clicks his tongue in annoyance, which is nothing new for him, especially when your favorite pastime is pushing his buttons. You watch with sheer amusement when his brow pinches together and an expression of realization flashes across his face. You ready yourself for useless scolding on his part. 

When will he learn? You never listen to him. 

“So soaking the car in water is a better alternative? You’re going to catch a cold if you stand in the rain at this temperature, you imbecile.” Despite his words he follows you out of the building, covering himself with Rashomon so he doesn’t get soaked too.

You don’t respond to him right away, instead you take in a deep inhale and close your eyes to tilt your head up. You let out a long sigh of relief as you feel the heavy and hot blood wash away. It’s not the same as standing under a showerhead like you usually do, undressing in the shower so you can easily wash out the blood from everything all at once. 

No, the rain washing it all away somehow feels purifying. A funny thought considering you’re the farthest thing from the word — perfectly impure. There’s nothing wrong with it, you much prefer it that way. 

Trying to be perfect is overrated anyways.

You don’t know how long you stand there for, head tilted to the heavens in complete serenity. But you’re brought out of your daze when you suddenly stop feeling the rain rolling onto your skin. Your brow pinches together in confusion and you straighten your head to open your eyes only to find an extension of Rashomon now covering you too. You look at Akutagawa with a frown and he clicks his tongue again.

“You’re washed off, there’s no use in you standing in the rain any longer. Unless you planned on getting ill so you could leave me to do all your work for you.” He crosses his arms over his chest and looks to the side, ignoring the way your face lights up in amusement.

You coo at him. “Awe, Ryukun…Are you worried about me? You do care! This needs to be shared. I must tell Gin all about this-”

As you go to pull out your phone, Akutagawa uses his ability to snatch the device and easily crushes it. All you can do is look at him and let out a pathetic whine of complaint. Your lips are parted in utter disbelief as you gape at him.

You let out another noise in complaint and sigh. “What in the hell, Akutagawa? That was like the third phone this month, are you joking? You’re getting me a new one the second we get back.”

He still refuses to look at you but promptly lets out a scoff at your declaration and you can practically hear him roll his eyes. 

“Whatever…”

Your eye twitches at his response but, luckily for him, your ride arrives and narrowly saves his ass from your impending wrath.

Dazai (1268 WC):

You come to the conclusion that the universe is entirely against you on this shitty Monday morning. Nothing has gone right since you woke up. Your alarm never went off because your charger wasn’t plugged in properly, so you woke up late. Then when you finally got your phone on you’re met with 10 missed calls and 3 texts from Kunikida, a text from Ranpo, and 4 texts from Dazai.

You promptly ignore the texts from the other two and call Kunikida back. The blonde informs you of Ranpo’s deduction behind your tardiness and you confirm. Luckily, the agency’s second in command is far more understanding with you than he is when a certain brunette is running late or calls in. 

That’s the only good thing you had going for you this morning.

After you get off the phone you try to take a quick hot shower but the plumbing has other plans for you. For some reason the water in the dorms’ building would not get past mildly warm. You were stuck taking a less than relaxing/calming shower. It was at that point you thought you had given up all hope for a decent day.

You’d be proven wrong and shown by the universe that you were sorely mistaken. 

You quickly get dressed and finally decide to check your messages as you stuff your feet in your shoes, a piece of toast hanging from your mouth as you have one arm shoved through your coat sleeve. You imagine that you look like a complete fool but thankfully you couldn’t care less. You balance everything as you unlock your phone, ignoring Dazai’s messages and opening Ranpo’s first. 

From Master Detective🕵🏻: Heyyyy u should wake up. Ur already l8. I let Kunikida know ur alarm didn’t go off this morning. Seemed to settle him down. YW. Call him when u wake up!

You type out a quick thanks to Ranpo and stare at your phone wearily as you work yourself up to open and read Dazai’s most likely over the top messages. On most days you’d find yourself smiling like a clown at the fact you had a message from him but today you do not have the patience. 

A pang of guilt shoots through you at your previous thoughts and promptly look for his contact, rolling your eyes with a fond smile as you see the heart next to his name that you don’t remember putting there.

Dazai-kun ❤️���🩹 (Received at 08:17): bellaaaa why aren’t you here yet? :( 

Dazai-kun ❤️‍🩹 (Received at 08:23): kunikida-kun is now blaming me for your absence ꒰(˶◞ ‸ ◟˶)꒱ 

Dazai-kun ❤️‍🩹 (Received at 08:29): my bella hates me! you want me dead!! youre not here :( youre not letting me know where you are :( youre not even opening my messages :((

You have to stop reading for your sanity. The way he refers to you as his bella makes your stomach twist in knots and your heart flutter in your chest. It’s nauseating and far too early for this. 

You should have kept reading Dazai’s messages. If you had, you would have known that he warned you about the incoming storm set to hit at any moment. If you had, you would’ve brought the umbrella you always forget at home. But because the damn bastard made you so flustered with his previous message you didn’t. This is somehow his fault, you decide. He did it on purpose.

The universe truly hates you today.

About a fourth of the way there is when it starts. You aren’t even given a light warning of sprinkling, the downpour starts and it just continues to get heavier the further you get. You consider just walking back to your apartment and calling it a day before it had even really started but then you know Kunikida would have a fit. So you resort to running.

You’re not a runner, you never have been. You’re uncoordinated and have bad knees. An awful combination in running. 

At about the halfway point you notice a figure in the distance walking towards you. You can’t quite make the person out but you do have the rational thought of ‘who the hell is crazy enough to be out here in the pouring rain right now?’ As if you aren’t currently in the same position -- maybe even in a worse position because at least this person had enough sense to bring an umbrella.

As you grow closer to crossing paths with the person you notice he’s wearing a familiar light tan trench coat and you almost collapse from relief. You don’t think you’ve ever been so happy to see that stupid trench coat. You pick up your speed and within 30 seconds you’re crashing into your savior and he loops an arm around you as he steadies the both of you.

“Shame on you, Belladonna. You didn’t read all of my messages. Leaving me on read like that and making me worry.” Dazai looks down at you with a smirk and you already regret running to him. “But! I couldn’t just wait around. Oh no! I had to save my damsel in distress!”

You let out a snort as you roll your eyes. “That’s a bit of an exaggeration, don’t you think?”

You certainly don’t like the smug smile that curls at his lips. “I’ve noticed that you always forget your umbrella. So, when you didn’t respond to my messages, I just knew you would forget your umbrella again and guess what? I was right.”

You look up at him, completely unamused. You were grateful and you would have expressed said gratitude if it weren’t for that stupid smug grin that you would love to smack right off of his face. So instead you kiss your teeth and look away.

“So, what? You want a reward or something?”

That was clearly a mistake, because he lights up at your words and seems to seriously ponder what he could ask of you. Hopefully whatever it is, it’s realistic. Although knowing him, it won’t be.

“A kiss?” His voice has gone soft and his expression is hopeful.

Your stomach and chest both do that thing they did earlier and how the hell are you supposed to say no to that when he’s looking at you with those wide brown puppy eyes. You chew on the inside of your cheek nervously. In your mind, the decision had already been made far before he even asked you for the kiss. You bring a cold hand up to his surprisingly warm cheek and watch as his eyelids and long lashes flutter at your slight touch. You guide his face down to yours as you lean up to meet him halfway for the second time today. 

You watch as his eyes slide shut in anticipation, you pause for a few seconds, lips just a breath apart as you soak in this moment and try your best to commit it to memory. Finally you let your own eyes slide shut and gently press your lips to his. It’s gentle, his movements are soft, as if he’s scared to hurt you by accident. His lips are slightly chapped from the way he gnaws on them but it’s surprisingly nice. You both get so lost in each other that he loses his grip on the umbrella.

You make a noise of surprise and your eyes fly open when droplets start to hit your already soaked hair, you separate from Dazai and he lets out a noise of complaint, keeping you encased in his arms. “Dazai- The- The umbrella, Dazai!”

Chuuya (1.3k WC):

“Forecast didn’t say anything about rain today…”

You blink a few times, trying to comprehend the scene before you. You just got out of the most horrendous shift of your life. It has been a bad day for you all around and to top it off you didn’t even have a chance to check in with the one person that would make you feel better all day. But none of that even matters because here he is, standing before you under the overhang for drop off and pick up in front of the clinic you work at. 

You blink again before finally processing his presence. “...Chuuya? What are you doing here?” 

You aren’t ungrateful. You aren’t. In fact, you’re elated to see him here after the day you have, his presence alone brings you comfort. It’s just this one little detail that nags you in the back of your mind. You don’t think you’ve ever told Chuuya the exact clinic you work at, so how did he know he could find you here? 

As if sensing your hesitation, the ginger explains himself by holding up his phone and shaking it gently. “You have your location on…I wanted to walk you home since it seemed like you were having a rough day.”

You look away sheepishly, forgetting you set your location services on after losing your last phone. You look to the side where the downpour of rain ricochets off the large puddle and bounces back onto the ground, never truly settling. Chuuya was right, nothing was said about the possibility of rain, but here the two of you were ready to walk back when clearly mother nature had something to say about that. 

The joke’s on mother nature, though, because you’ve always loved the rain. You grab Chuuya’s hand and tug him towards the direction of your apartment which, luckily, isn’t too far of a walk from your workplace. It takes you 15 minutes maximum to get home on foot. 

“Any chance you brought an umbrella with you?” You stop right at the edge, reaching into the rain and watch as it instantly soaks your hand.

You look over to the ginger in confusion when he doesn’t respond right away. The look on his face is conflicted and you have to wonder what’s going on through his mind to have him make that face. Your patient and wait for him to come back to you. You’re always patient with him, you learned early on that he needs it and you think he’s worth it. 

Chuuya focuses back in, his gaze now clear and on you — the look on his face tells you that he’s made a decision. “I didn’t bring an umbrella, but…there’s something else…”

“What is it?” You tilt your head at him curiously and Chuuya’s grip on your hand tightens for a moment. 

“I’d have to show you. Do you trust me?” A hesitant look flashes across his face and you wordlessly reassure him with a single nod. “Okay. Okay. It might feel odd at first, some people have even told me it’s made them a little nauseous the first few times.”

Your eyebrows knit together in confusion, clearly not following what he means. “I don’t- I’m not following…What are you talking about?”

Your face is painted with a perplexed expression and Chuuya realizes he’s not making any sense. His nerves don’t usually take over like this, but when it comes to you they always seem to get the better of him. You watch as he almost deflates, looking at you like a lost little puppy. The ginger lets out a sigh and his grip on your hand tightens once again. 

“You trust me?” He asks again, this time with more conviction.

You nod your head at him. “Of course I do.”

Chuuya smiles at you and then a strange aura washes over the both of you. A subtle red glow blankets itself over you, it’s warmth relaxing your muscles. There’s a certain weight in the air that there wasn’t before. Chuuya examines you carefully, searching for signs of any discomfort. However, there aren’t any for him to find because you’re completely at peace with this feeling. It’s the first time Chuuya has ever witnessed anyone so at ease while his ability is activated. It takes you less than a minute to realize what’s going on — your lips part in shock at the realization. 

“You’re…You have an ability too?” You’ve only ever met one other ability user, that you’re aware of at least and that was years ago.

Chuuya’s brows furrow at your words and then they shoot when he puts it together. “Too? So, you have a gift? This will be easier for me to explain then. My ability is gravity manipulation. At this very moment I’m using my manipulation to keep the rain from touching us.”

As if to demonstrate, the ginger pulls you out from under the awning and into the rain. You gasp and tense in anticipation of the rain completely soaking you to the bone. When it doesn’t you look to Chuuya and watch as the raindrops bounce right off him only millimeters above his skin. Then you look at your own limbs and it’s the very same effect — raindrops bouncing right off as if you’re repelling them and you suppose you technically are. You stare in wonder at the red glow still emanating from your bodies and you smile softly.

You both start walking hand in hand in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Chuuya clears his throat. “So…You have an ability too? Can I ask what it is?”

His voice comes out almost robotic and you look over to him in concern. His whole body is stiff and he’s looking everywhere but at you. You purse your lips at him, confused by his abnormal behavior. 

An idea comes to mind and you smile at him mischievously. He doesn’t notice of course so you easily turn around and grab hold of his other hand. You tug Chuuya towards you and guide him into a dance. You spin around and take a few steps, guiding him into a coordinated dance.

You clearly take him by surprise, so much so that he releases his ability and suddenly you’re both being drenched by the downpour mid dance. You let out a surprised squeal and pause, then look up to the sky with your eyes closed and smile wide as you laugh in pure glee. You straighten your head forward and open your eyes to look back at Chuuya with a wide smile still plastered on your face. The ginger looks completely starstruck, his eyes gazing at you with an adoring glint in them. It makes you blush, his brazen attitude and intensity never fails to create butterflies in your stomach. 

“Hey, you wanna be my girl?” Chuuya pulls you in, rain still soaking the two of you but neither one of you could care less. 

His words register slowly but when they do, you’re speaking before your brain can register that your mouth is moving. “Do you mean-? Yes. Absolutely, I would like nothing more than to be yours.”

Chuuya is pulling you in and crashes his wet lips to yours. The kiss is deep, his lips melding with yours perfectly, just like they always do. His touch is gentler than usual but you can feel him restraining himself. When you pull away you’re both slightly breathless. His forehead rests on yours and your breath mixes together. You start to flush when you realize that the two of you just kissed so intimately out in the open. 

Chuuya senses your embarrassment and chuckles, a smirk settling on his handsome features. “Why don’t we hurry to your apartment, then we can take a nice hot bath together. How’s that sound?”

You smile softly and nod, it’s like he could read your mind. “Sounds like heaven.”

[newtthetranswriter]

Lost and Found Soulmates

(I would kill for my tiger boy)

Word count: 1234

Paring: Kazutora Hanemiya x gn! Reader

Summary: Soulmate connections are weird, hopefully finding things your soulmate lost can actually help you find them.

A/n: Hello everyone, this is my entry for @softxsuki ‘s Fanfic contest. I really loved the idea of the event and seeing that the word count was changed from 5k to 1k really helped push me to actually participate. I’m happy with how this idea turned out and even if I don't win, at least it was the motivation I needed to beat up my writer’s block a little bit. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys and as always remember to hydrate or diedrate.

   “You don’t get it Takashi, you have such a normal connection with your soulmate. I have to try and piece together who they are based on random shit that appears in my house once a month.” I ranted to my lavender haired friend once again. “Like how are a pencil and hair tie supposed to lead me to my soulmate? Almost every person on earth has access to these things.” I said, laying my head on the table next to Takashi’s sewing machine.

   All I received in response was a chuckle and a shake of his head. “Your silence doesn’t help me Taka. You’re supposed to be giving advice.” I grumbled.

   “What do you want me to say Y/n? It’s not like I know who your soulmate is. All you can do is hope that the next thing they lose is an actual clue to who they are.” He answered, while still focusing on the jacket he was working on. “Or you could try to lose something that tells your soulmate how to find you.” Takashi suggested.

   “It won’t work. I’ve already tried that. Somehow the universe knows when I’m trying to lose stuff. Plus every time I lose my wallet it always shows up in an hour or so. Stuff that gets switched is gone for the whole month.” I explained, not missing the look of judgement that crossed my friends face. “Don’t judge me. If you had such an absurd connection you’d try anything to figure out who you’re meant to be with.” Standing up and stretching, I sighed. “Anyways I should get going. I have to get some stuff before the Toman meeting later.” Takashi just nodded, giving a quick see you later, before going back to looking at the stitches.

   Walking out of the studio, I couldn’t help but sigh dreading the idea of returning home to find the useless item my soulmate lost this month. Like I said before it’s always something that is no help at all in finding my soulmate. Sometimes I just wish my soulmate connection was something normal like their name on my wrist or hearing each other's thoughts. It would make things so much easier instead of this stupid game of lost and found.

   The walk back to my little apartment was quiet as if the world around me knew that I was dreading walking through my front door. When I finally did get inside I was surprised that sitting on my coffee table wasn’t the usual pencil or hair tie.

  No this month it was something different, something that left me at a loss for words. Sitting in the same spot where the lost objects always appear, was a single earring. But not just any earring, it was a short gold chain that ended in a simple golden bell. The same golden bell I had seen hanging alongside black and yellow hair since I was in middle school. The same golden bell that was one of two distinguishing features of one of my closest friends.

  I stood in my living room just staring at the piece of jewelry for what felt like hours, but was really only a few minutes. This had to be a coincidence right, my soulmate just happened to have a similar earring. There was no way my soulmate was actually Kazutora, the guy I had admired for years but settled with just being his friend because there was no chance we were soulmates.

  Before I could try and convince myself that he had just dropped the last time he came over, my phone started ringing. Lifting it up I didn’t bother checking the caller ID, I just brought it to my ear before speaking. “Hello-”

  I was cut off by a frantic Kazutora. “Did you leave your locket at my apartment last time you came over?” He asked, not bothering to say hello or ask how my day was going.

  Hearing mention of my locket, I thought back to this morning when I was getting ready and couldn’t find the small golden necklace that I always wore. I knew it was missing this morning but I also knew for a fact that I had it the night before and I hadn’t been to Kazutora’s place in over a week. There was no way I left my locket at his apartment.

  “Where are you?” He asked, taking my silence as an answer.

  Snapping out of my train of thought, I finally responded. “I’m at my apartment.” Before I could say anything else or asked if he had left his earring here, the call cut off. 

   Looking down at my phone startled and confused, I got ready to call him back. As I was about to hit the dial button, a loud knocking sounded from the front door. Setting down my phone and grabbing the earring from the table, I moved to open the front door. In front of me stood none other than Kazutora, he looked just as frantic as he had sounded on the phone. 

   “This might sound crazy but you’re my soulmate.” He said as soon as he registered that I had opened the door. His words were then followed by him raising his hand to show the golden heart shaped locket I had since I was child.

   Finally accepting that this was in fact happening right now, I raised my own hand. “This also might sound crazy, but you’re also my soulmate.” I said, revealing the bell in my hand.

   After sharing a laugh and inviting him in, we sat together on my couch. Just enjoying each other's company and joking about the random things we had found over the years.

   “Seriously, how do you lose so many hair ties?” I asked from my spot next to him.

   He just shrugged. “I don’t know, they’re small and disappear easily, I guess. How do you manage to lose so many socks, like do you have a dresser just full of different ones? Cause I swear I never once saw two of the same sock.” He shot back.

   “Don’t judge me and my mismatched socks. At least I know how to keep track of pencils.” I said sticking out my tongue.

   A comfortable silence soon enveloped the space, like we were both content to just be here close to each other. It made sense honestly, we had been friends since middle school and it wasn’t uncommon for us to just hang out in silence. But there was something different about this silence, like even if we didn’t notice it before  there was still something that finally just felt right.

  “I’m glad that you’re my soulmate.” Kazutora said, breaking the silence. “You’ve always been there for me and you make me feel so relaxed. It makes perfect sense that it’s you.”

   I just moved closer to him, cuddling into his side. “I can say the same about you.”

   With that we spent the evening enjoying each other’s existence and relishing in the fact we finally found our soulmates. It wouldn’t be until the next morning that we realized we had totally missed the Toman meeting after seeing dozens of calls and texts from our friends. We both just laughed it off anyways, after all it had been years since the ‘meetings’ were anything more than a hangout with all the founders. Plus once they heard the news they’d forgive us.

(dividers by @/cafekitsune)

Cash app : $newtjames0220

[carolmunson]

carol is at the laundromat.

(reader references being formally catholic as a child.)

New guy, you think, when you shuffle through your apartment door and down the hall — spotting him at the end of it. You’d seen him once or twice before in very brief passing. You’re sure he’d never noticed, you barely noticed him. Only that mop of curly brown hair and the clink of his wallet chain.

“Oh here,” he smiles, holding the door open for you that leads into the stairs to the basement.

“I’m actually not going to the laundry room,” you smile politely but tightly.

“You sure?” his brows quirk behind his curly bangs, brown eyes landing on the laundry in your arm.

“I’m sure,” you nod, “I’m going up the street.”

“Why?” he asks, lifting his full laundry bag higher up his shoulder, “There’s laundry in the building.”

“Eh, when your panties start going missing you stop wanting to use the amenity,” you shrug, “Plus, you’re not gonna find one washer open down there right now.”

“And you are? It’s Sunday — peak laundry day,” he counters. You chuckle, shaking your head — it only makes him more intrigued.

“Maybe downstairs,” you shrug, “You new to the neighborhood or something?”

“Seven months.”

“Hmm,” you nod, “Well, if you didn’t notice yet - lot of churches over here. And if time serves me right, church starts around 9 and runs until 10; sometimes 11.”

Your head tilts toward the clock on the yellowed walls of the hallway, “So, 9:15 is the perfect time to go.”

“No way,” he grins, “I don’t know if I buy it.”

“Don’t take my word for it. Everyone’s at church and everyone who isn’t is probably hung over,” you explain, “You wanna come and see for yourself? Washers are weirdly better over there anyway.”

He looks at the stairs and then at you, then at the clock, and the rainy weather outside. The elevator dings, two people walking by with laundry bags to head down the stairs.

With a sigh, he accepts the fate, “Alright, you got me.”

You both venture out into the soft mist of a dark gray Sunday morning, your IKEA bag of dirty laundry weighing heavy on your shoulder.

“Seventh months, huh? Welcome.”

“Thanks. What about you?”

“Ten years,” you laugh, “Not in this building, this is year three. But I’ve been in the area a while.”

“Cool,” he smiles, “I never see you around.”

“I live on the first floor, so our chances of an elevator meet cute are pretty slim,” you pull at the bag again while you turn the corner, he follows suit.

“Oh true, I’m on four.”

“Jealous. Good sun?”

“Yeah,” he smirks bashfully, “Like, really good.”

“That’s good. Though, it’s a good compromise for sharing a floor with Mrs. Slattery.”

“I really thought I was on her good side,” he turns back when he realizes he’s a few steps ahead, “Three weeks in she saw me in a Dio shirt, came home to a cross on my door.”

“She is…” you roll your eyes, crossing the street to the laundromat on the corner, “Easily the most god fearing Catholic I’ve ever met. And I’ve met a lot.”

You both make your way through the door, loose on its hinges. It’s a dilapidated place, and there’s a better laundromat two more blocks down, but you’re used to this now. The owner in the corner with her earbuds in, listening to gospel while she works on wash and folds. An older man with four bags of clothing on the other side, bedding for the family.

“You weren’t kidding,” he observes the emptiness, putting his laundry over an unused washing machine. There were plenty available for the taking.

“I know,” you murmur while you load your own machine - your favorite one. Row three, four washers down. Medium sized.

He gets to work too, the hardware on his wallet chain and leather jacket jingle like change in the pockets he pulls out of his jeans and sweatpants before he tosses them in to be washed.

Locked and loaded, he stands next to you, “Do you just go back home and come back to switch?”

“I stay for the wash,” you explain, “And then once I switch, there’s a café another block over that I’ve been going to for a while. Normally get breakfast while I wait for my clothes to dry. They have the best fucking biscuits.”

“Okay, okay, I hear that,” he grins, lower lip tucking into his teeth while he pulls his frizzing curls up into a bun at the back of his head, “Mind if I join you?”

“Nah, I don’t mind,” you take a seat on one of the cracked plastic chairs against the windows walls where he follows suit, “Been here almost a year…have you like, explored the neighborhood at all?”

“Honestly?” he holds his shoulders up by his ears with a hint of embarrassment, “Not really. Hate doing shit like that alone.”

“Do you not have friends?” you ask, realizing how accidentally mean it sounds as it comes out. He laughs anyway, heartily.

“Some, not around this area though,” he finishes out with a chuckle.

“Well, I’ll show you the café, there’s a lot of stuff over there that’s pretty cool,” you assure, checking the clock.

“I believe you. I’m not in a position to be saying no to friends in the neighborhood.”

“Good,” you smile, not even caring that you look exactly how you did when you rolled out of bed this morning.

“But if the biscuits are bad, it’s over,” he teases in faux seriousness. Denim leg crossing over the other, Vans now a grey and black from the weather outside.

“You’re gonna be more mad at me over how good they are,” you cross your legging’d legs to match his posture.

“You better hope so,” he huffs playfully, “I’m Eddie by the way.”

“Eddie,” you repeat back, introducing yourself, “Nice to meet you.”

“I’m glad we didn’t have our meet cute on the elevator,” Eddie smiles, “This is much more fun.”

“Also,” he turns, “If you ever wanna see how good the sunlight is upstairs, you can come over if you want.”

[mewhenimanangel]

everywhere ʚɞ miles morales

pairing: 42!miles morales x reader

synopsis: miles finally asks to take you out.

wc: 2.3k

warnings!: swearing, kissing, making out, google translate spanish

prev ʚɞ

it'd been a week since miles invited you over and thanks to him, you got your grade up. the week had been full of flirting, whispering and laughing during class, texting all the time, him and his friend joined your table at lunch, and him finding any excuse to touch you.

in physics he kept his knee touched against yours, he would "drop" a pencil or whatever so he could hold your thigh using it to support himself while reaching for it. when he sat behind you in math, you would feel him touching your curls or your shoulder every now and then. when you would pass a paper back to him his fingers always reached out far enough to touch yours.

it was thursday afternoon on the walk home from school, safiya didn't come to school that day so it was just you and miles. "no because why did she say that like is that bitch really insane" you laughed. "shit is crazy for real" miles agreed, grabbing an arizona. you were currently in lenny's bodega heating up a beef patty - the last one how ironic, debriefing with miles about your day at school. "no fighting bout it this time?" lenny chuckled, ringing you guys up. "nah, he willingly agreed to share this time" you giggled.

you continued walking, both of you munching on your respective halves. you said something that made the both of you laugh and miles just stared at your smile, he wants that image stained in his brain. "alright, what. stressing me out with the staring" you joked, feeling a little awkward. "nothing" he laughed off before continuing. "will you let me take you out?" he asked you. all of a sudden you were nervous and looking around with a doofy grin on your face. "okayy. where?" you threw your trash in a nearby bin.

"it'd be a surprise. actually not really a surprise but on saturday, would you come?" he asked. "yeah i'll go on a date with you" you smiled. he pressed his lips together to hide the big smile that was growing on his face. he laughed out "okay alright, cool. i'll let you know the time" "okayy bye" you kissed him on the cheek and went up your block.

ʚɞ

it was friday night and you were rummaging through your closet for an outfit to wear. you groaned out a sigh and grabbed your phone opening miles' contact.

you pressed face time and waited for him to pick up. "yeah?" his prowler distorted voice answered. you looked at your phone to see him on what looks like to be a roof, prowler gear on. "oh shit sorry, didn't know you were doing your prowler stuff." you said, about to hang up. "nah it's fine, m'not busy right now" he told you, prowler voice turning off. "need something?" he asked you. "miles where are we goingg" you whined. "its a surprise, you can't handle surprises?" he chuckled. "i don't know how to dress for surprises. i don't know what to wear" you sighed. "you look good in everything, don't over think it."

"yeah well i wanna look good for you" you rolled your eyes. he scoffed "you literally always look so good, chiquita relax." suddenly there was a loud bang in the distance and he shot his head over his shoulder. "you'll figure it out. aight i gotta go" he said, prowler voice back on. he quickly hung up and you sighed, going to the kitchen to make a chicken wrap for dinner. this was a 3 am you problem.

ʚɞ

you got in the shower to shave, exfoliate, and scrub your body. getting out of the shower, you put on a face mask letting it set before you came back to do your skincare routine. you sat in your mirror to put product through your curls, deciding to let them down past your shoulders.

you finished your makeup and got dressed in the outfit you'd picked after a few hours of searching. you decided on a short strapless black dress and a gold chain belt that hung around your hips and chunky loafer heels. you decorated yourself with two layers of gold jewelry and your mom's earrings she'd given you.

you admired your look in the mirror before leaving to go in the living room. your dad looked over at you and furrowed his eyebrows "where you going all dressed up?" he asked, pausing his show. "i literally told you i was going out tonight" you scoffed, grabbing your purse. "with who?" he asked you. "miles.." you answered in a small voice. "that damn boy again?! y/n you're not-" daddy please, you literally already said yes. plus he's downstairs already. please please pleaseee" you begged, leaning over the chair in his face.

"ughh alright fine! but that location stays on all night and when i call, you answer. aight?" he bargained. "yayyy thank you daddy" you gave him a quick peck on the cheek before running to grab your purse and jacket. "okay i gotta go byeee" you ran out the door, and down the building stairs. you were about to open the door but miles was on the other side about to do the same thing. "oh hey. was gonna come and ask if you were still coming" he joked. "sorry, stuff with my dad" you smiled.

he took the time to really take you in. the way your curls perfectly framed your face, the way your gloss made your lips shine, the way your necklaces graced your collarbones, the way your dress hugged against your waist. "wow. you look amazing..you look like elegant and shit" he chuckled, feeling a little nervous. "here, they're for you" he smiled, handing you a bouquet of red roses. he reached out to hold your hand, leading you down the street. "ahh thank you" you didn't know what to say, compliments made you awkward.

"you look reall good too by the way" you checked him out. he wore a pair of grey pants with a black short sleeve top and jordans, black jacket over it. "tried my best to look as nice. i don't be dressing like that"he shrugged. "well you look very nice anyway" you squeezed his face.

"can you tell me where we're going now?" you asked him going down the metro stairs. "rockefeller" he answered with a smile. "to do what?" you furrowed your eyebrows. "skating" he answered leading you to a seat. "aw i haven't done that in so long. i used to go with my mom" you told him. "i know, safiya told me." he rubbed a thumb over your knuckles and only now did you realize neither of you had let go.

"you're such a sweetheart, i never would've guessed" you said. "what do you mean?" "i don't know. like i would've never thought we'd be going on a date. or that you would be so thoughtful" you shrugged. "i'm full of surprises, chiquita" he said with a smug look on his face. "yeah whatever" you giggled, resting your head on his shoulder.

you were still hand in hand walking to the entrance to purchase your tickets. “okay well now i feel overdressed” you sulked, taking off your heels. “nah you look good. don’t be afraid to show everybody else up” he got in his knee in front of you and helped you put your feet into the skates. thank goodness you wore socks. he looked up at you and the action felt so intimate while he gently placed your right foot in the skate.

soon after he put his skates on and put your bag and shoes in a locker. he took your hand again and helped you walk out on the rink. you were immediately losing your balance, throwing an arm around his shoulder to hold you steady. “aight i swear safiya told me you used to do this all the time.” he laughed. “only sometimes! and i never actually learned” you giggled.

unlike your clumsy and struggling to find balance movements, miles was smooth and moving with ease, hand on your waist to keep you up right. “how do you know how to skate” you asked him. “unlike you, i actually tried to learn” he joked.

for the majority of the time you stayed close the walls using them to move without making a fool of yourself. miles slowed down to match your pace, practically showing off how easy it came to him.

“alright come on” suddenly he was in front of you and grabbing your hands to pull you out in the middle. “alright wait wait wait wait” you frantically put your hands on his arms. “aye you need to learn chica. hold my hands and watch my feet” he told you. you followed his instructions as he pulled you along, yet yours remained unmoving.

he laughed “you know you gotta move yours too right. just copy how i’m moving mines but in the other direction”

he was in control but you followed his movements and eventually got the hang of it, enough to even move on your own. “atta girl, it ain’t even that hard” he smiled at you and you geeked at his praise. he grabbed your hand again and turned your body in a little twirl. which wound up with you falling into his chest nearly sending him to the ground. “aight so we not that far yet” he laughed. he looked at you before pressing a kiss on your lips.

you continued skating until your time slot was up and you got your things and left. “hungry?” he asked you. you nodded your head and responded with a small mhm before he led you down the street to a cozy restaurant.

you sat down and he ordered a plate of appetizers for you both. you talked the whole time throughout the meal, laughing your ass off. he excused himself for a moment and you kept your eyes on him watching as he found your waiter and told him something.

he came back after a minute and sat down and you guys got back to talking. after a few minutes your waiter came back with two plates, one with a raspberry brownie with fudge and one with strawberry caramel cheesecake - your favorite. he put the plates down and sent a wink to miles before walking away.

you looked down at the plate and it had the words ‘will you let me be your boyfriend?’ written in caramel drizzling. you gushed and bit your lip to hide the huge grin that spread across your face “ohh my god i thought you were literally never gonna ask” you giggled. “is that a yes?” “yes, it’s a yes” you smiled. he leaned over to the table to kiss you, hand placed on your cheek.

you finished your desserts and miles paid the bill before you left the restaurant. you practically couldn’t stay off each other on the walk to the subway station, you arms were wrapped around his and when you complained that your feet were hurting he leaned down so you could climb on his back.

you sat down on the train and he rest a hand on your thigh while you laid your head on his shoulder. “still got one more thing to show you. you down?” he asked. “yeah, for whatever”

you got off and he led you back to his graffiti site. “now how i’m supposed to climb that fence in these heels” you twisted your mouth to the side. he chuckled. “i’ll go over first throw them over the wall and i’ll hold them till you get over duh”

you followed his instructions and hopped the fence before leading you down. there was a wall, once blank now decorated with your face, detailed and big across the wall. you looked so beautiful through his eyes. he moved up next to you and took your hand in his. “ughh you are so..” you didn’t finish your sentence you just put your hands up to his face and brought your lips to his in a heartfelt kiss.

he wrapped his arm around your waist to pull you in closer. his other hand moved to push your curl out of your face and at the back of your neck to deepen the kiss. his hand slid down to your ass making your lips part slightly and his tongue slid in your mouth. the blaring sound of your ringtone made you jump and you sighed seeing it was your dad calling. “hey baby, you on your way home yet? it’s getting late, think you’d better come inside” he told you.

“okay i’ll see you” you answered, hanging up the phone. “it’s my dad, he wants me home” you sighed. “alright let’s go” he said.

you hopped the fence again making your way out of the station. “your feet still hurt?” he asked you. “a little bit” you answered. “well then hop on madame” he joked, leaning down so you could get back on his back.

you talked the whole way home, literally talking his ear off as your chin rest by his shoulder. “sorry if i’m talking too much” you said. “no it’s okay i like listening to you.” you smiled and buried your face in his shoulder, hiding the giddy expression on your face.

he got to your apartment building and gently put you back on the ground. “i’m really glad you asked to be my boyfriend.” you told him. “i’m really glad to be your boyfriend” he smiled. you held his face and pressed your lips against his before pulling away. “goodnight miles” you said. “good night, hermosa” he said back, easing away as you walked in your house.

taglist ౨ৎ

@prettypink-princesss @itsnotino @r3d0n33 @iluvprowlermiles @jmsanchoo @stevenknightmarc @melllinaa @444morales @noetophat @bigdikzaddy

[tashacee]

If Time used the truth mask-thing would he be able to see Wild as a hylian?

HMMMMM on the one hand i'm not sure it would work on this situation, on the other hand....

have a crack fic. I made myself laugh.

Aspects of Two Idiots

Wild had wandered off.

This was not unusual in and of itself - the guy was forever wandering off and exploring and getting himself into all sorts of trouble. At least, unlike Hyrule, he tended not to get himself hopelessly lost. And no matter how filthy he was when he came back (and oh, did he come back filthy) he always actually cleaned himself off.

But that wasn’t the point. The point was, Wild had wandered off, and the Chain were starting to get hungry. Of course, they were all grown adults - well, most of them, at least, and in theory they could provide for themselves. Hyrule had his dried meats and fruit and they had a supply of bread and cheese. And of course, one of them could always try to actually cook.

It was just that. Well.

The Chain cooking never ended well.

Time had sighed at the latest moan, this time from Sky, who despite his generally sweet disposition could still get grumpy when he was hungry enough. They had all had a long day and desperately needed this break. The woods that they were travelling through were full of glamours and illusions, and it had taken every ounce of magical awareness to get through without falling into any traps.

Wild, he was pretty sure, had just gone down to the nearby stream to wash off after someone had shot a massive chu too close to him and the whole thing had exploded into his fur.

He had been very, very angry after that.

Time could understand him needing a break.

Still, the Chain was hungry, and Time couldn’t be bothered listening to them complain any longer. At least if he went to find their missing brother then he would be doing something, and perhaps he could be of help scrubbing the dried chu jelly from his fur.

Ugh. It had been so gross.

“I’ll go.” Time had said, and strode out of camp without waiting for a response.

It was peaceful enough. In a sudden stroke of inspiration he had slipped on the Mask of Truth and now could easily see through any illusions in the forest long before they became an issue. The mask didn’t do anything for sounds, unfortunately, so he couldn’t hear anything coming, but it was good enough to do.

Time hummed to himself idly as he walked down to the stream, an old, gentle tune. It wasn’t until he was nearly at the water’s edge that he realised something was wrong.

Wild wasn’t where he should have been. In his place was a short, blond man, a boy, really, irritably scrubbing at his long blond hair. From where he stood in the trees, Time could see how scars - horrible, familiar scars - twisted around half of his body. He could see how one arm had been removed and set to the side, out of the way of the water.

What the fuck.

Time blinked, and then slipped the mask down, peering over with his own eyes.

There was Wild, lifting one leg to his shoulder and twisting so that he could clean himself properly.

He put the mask back on. The hero he knew and loved was replaced by this blond stranger.

What in the-

Time shifted his weight, and beneath his feet a stick cracked.

Not-Wild looked around, his eyes wide. He whined in question.

Time slipped the mask off, not wanting to startle his brother.

“It’s me.” he said, coming into the light, looking at Wild and trying to understand what he had just seen.

Wild… for want of a better word, Wild looked terrified. Like he had been caught doing something taboo, something terrible. Like a deer in the headlights. Like a man about to face the chopping block.

“Wild-” Time began to ask, but in an instant his brother was upon him, jamming his arm back in place and pressing his hands to Time’s lips in a silencing gesture, eyes wide as he desperately shook his head. Time wondered at the back of his mind what he would be seeing in the mask - the boy that had been in place of Wild had been so much shorter, would he have to reach to cover Time’s lips?

Clearly Wild knew he had been seen, that Time knew about his secret form. Was this Wild’s real body? The body he had been born into? Had he been changed into the form he had now? Made to change? Chosen to change?

What the hell was going on?

Time pulled away - “Okay, okay, i just - i have some questio-”

Wild yipped in alarm and shook his head frantically. He even tried some of the rudimentary sign he had picked up, Time could just about make out the words ‘secret’ and ‘please’ through his shaking fingers.

Slowly, Time nodded. Whatever this was, whyever Wild looked so different through the Mask, it clearly wasn’t something that was supposed to be shared. It was private, a secret. Time could understand that, he supposed. Plenty of people had pasts they didn’t want others to know about, other forms they would rather keep private. Time himself could think of a number of different forms he had borne that he would rather not share with the group.

He didn’t know why his brother might show as a hylian through whatever glamour he must have been wearing, but if he didn’t want to share, then Time wasn’t going to ask.

“It’s okay.” Time murmured, as reassuring as he could. “I won’t tell anyone, your secret’s safe with me.”

In front of him, Wild nearly melted with relief.

-

Wild had gone down to the river to get some peace. Not because he was mad! Really, Wind couldn’t have known when he shot what must have been the world’s largest chu chu that it was going to explode literally all over Wild. He couldn’t have known that they still would have to fight the rest of the battle in the baking sun and then hike through hours through this terrible cursed forest until they found a safe camp site.

No one could have foreseen that the jelly would solidify into a horrible, sticky gunk that matted through wild’s fur and stank to high heaven. 

It wasn’t anybody’s fault. It just sucked.

The longer the jelly stayed on the harder it got, and it tugged and pulled at Wild’s fur as he moved. It was awful. He hated it. He knew that he was in a bad mood because of it. That was way he refused any offers of company to the river as politely as he could and went off on his own. He needed some time to just groom himself in peace.

And so he had. It had been nice, despite the spookiness of the woods. Once he got the jelly wet again it came off fairly easily, so he had been able to relax into his grooming routine. Gently, he brushed through his fur, humming softly to himself, enjoying the feeling of being clean again.

It was a cat thing. He was pretty sure that while he had understood the importance of hygiene and enjoyed the occasional luxurious soak before, it had never been like this. He wondered what else he was missing out on, what other feline habits he should try out while he had the chance. Grooming was so good, after all.

…grooming. Huh.

Didn’t cats groom with their tongues?

Ugh! No! He wasn’t trying that, gross!

Unless…

No!

But maybe…

Wild looked around to make sure he was alone. Nothing stirred in the forest. He looked down at his arm, recently cleaned and neatly brushed. He leaned over and gave it a testing ‘lick’.

Huh. Weird. It… it didn’t feel the most natural in the world, but it also wasn’t terrible. He licked again, more firmly this time. To his surprise, the fur rearranged itself neatly, lying flatter than before.

What the fuck.

He bent over and twisted, lifting his leg to try licking his ankle. Not for any other reason than it was there, and he was doing an experiment.

Huh. No, it didn’t feel right. And besides, it was all very well him saying it wasn’t the worst, but he was freshly clean now. The idea of licking his fur when he was actually dirty was still pretty repulsive.

Welp, there was one cat habit he could safely say he hadn’t absorbed.

Something rustled behind him.

Wild was on his feet in an instant, ready to attack whatever it was but also horrified at the thought that one of his brothers might have seen him.

Time stepped out of the trees. “It’s me.” he said, and he looked more than a little bewildered.

Ah, shit. He’d seen.

Wild whined as his brother said his name, and grabbed his arm from where he had left it by the water’s edge. Jamming it back into place, he rushed up to time and slammed his hands over his mouth, shaking his head viciously.

Don’t say it. Please please please, Old Man, don’t say it out loud. Ah, shit, Wild couldn’t take the embarrassment. This was terrible! Why had he ever thought that he should try licking his fur of all things, he wasn’t actually an animal!

Time pulled away from his grasp, holding out his hands in what was clearly meant to be a pacifying gesture. “Okay, okay, i just - i have some questio-”

NOPE! NO QUESTIONS FOR YOU, OLD MAN.

Wild barely contained his screech of alarm, shaking his head again. He never, ever wanted to talk about this with anyone, ever. He would do anything, give anything. He’d make Time’s favourite food every night for the rest of their adventure, he’d clean his shoes, he’d stop groaning at his terrible old man jokes, anything to avoid the humiliation of this conversation.

Finally, Time sighed and offered him a small smile. “It’s okay.” he said, and Wild had never been more relieved that the Chain just assumed some of his odd habits were normal. With any luck, the old man would just presume that this was something he did in private and that it was inappropriate to talk about in public. Like going to the toilet or something.  “I won’t tell anyone, your secret’s safe with me.”

OH THANK HYLIA.

-

And with that, the misunderstanding went unaddressed. Time knew about Wild’s other form as a hylian and didn’t bring it up because he thought it was a secret. Wild, believing his brother to have seen him grooming with his tongue, made Time’s favourite food every night for a week.

Neither mentioned that evening by the river again.

After all, they were heroes of courage, not wisdom.

[strangecloud]

Do you remember your first Skyrim playthrough?

I played Skyrim on the 360 when it came out. I remember the starting Helgen cutscene making me uncomfortable, being carried to an executioner's block. The character I ended up playing was a paladin sort of dude who instead of shielding or avoiding blows would use Restoration to heal himself back up when he inevitably got hit.

I've been on an Elder Scrolls kick lately, playing Morrowind and Skyrim and even some ESO. I think they're good games, but I believe I've puzzled out why so many people prefer Morrowind over the rest of the series.

When I say the starting cutscene in Skyrim made me uncomfortable back in like, 2011, I mean it has since lost any of that power. I've just seen it so many times. I think this is the core of why Skyrim, despite being indubitably an absolute achievement in game design, seems to be less and less appreciated as time goes on. Simply put, most people have played it to the point that it's almost like a solved game.

This is a phenomenon that has happened to me across some games, even my favorite game of all time, Fallout New Vegas. I've just played it so darn much that the whole thing is predictable, like I can see all the decisions and consequences without even booting up the game. This contradiction of the medium has been commented on and explored by the metafiction of games like Undertale. The artificiality of an entirely predictable system, no matter how lifelike, will lessen your investment.

And it's not the game's fault. If anything, a game being good to the point of wearing out its welcome with diminishing returns because people just insist on playing it over and over again is a crowning achievement. However, transcending that, making a game that's quality to the point of beating that almost invincible limitation? That's on a whole other level.

Enter: Morrowind.

On the surface, Morrowind just looks like an old ass game. Everything is a little weird, to the way combat works to how it expects you to visually navigate the world with directions, sometimes daisy-chaining instructions on how to get where you're going. You know, go here following a path, to ask this person who actually knows where you want to go how to get there. And then follow a path again. The game expects you to study in-game lore books to figure out what to do. Like, actually roleplaying a researcher poring over tomes for answers. It's real weird.

But it makes a lot more sense when you consider, all of this, intentionally or not, contributes to a very interesting result. It makes the game a kind of perennial experience.

Even if you know what you're looking for, there's no map markers telling you where most things are in Morrowind. Some things might be easier to do off the top of your head when you're familiar with the game but even then, most of the time there's nothing for it but to knuckle down and search around. Like, actually paying attention to the world instead of some compass or map.

The character building works almost the same. You can steer your character into some set of gear you really want, assuming you know it exists and how to get it, but until then you're mostly gonna use whatever fits. Random magical items are more likely to dictate your effectiveness than anything else. You just don't control your builds and progression as much.

And the main story and lore are probably the best in the series. There's just so much to think about, find out, and discover. Even the little blurbs that random NPCs will spout about how their job works are very well written and made with a ton of thought. It's like the anti-Skyrim, the more you put into it, the more you get in return.

All this to say, playing Morrowind is still a rewarding experience decades after it was released, because there's a weird kind of harmony in its crazy designs. It's like it was made to be played and enjoyed forever, there's so much in there. Even if you've played it before many times, you might just forget where an important item is and have to navigate manually. You might decide to make a wacky character that leads you down factions and quests you've never done. You might find out some fact about the lore you've never really thought about.

It just keeps going.

I'm not one of those people who resent modern Bethesda for "dumbing down" or "selling out". I love Skyrim, but there's very little it can give me after all these years. On the other hand, Morrowind just keeps on giving.

I think that's the difference, and I think that's why people like it so much.

[seriesxwriting]

Leaving me wanting more

Paring- Dean Winchester

Series- supernatural

Warnings- lotta fighting, course it’s the supernatural- that means guns too and ghosts. Kissing, erm might be some swearing it is me we’re talking about.

Summary- you’re introduced to the famous Winchester brothers by their dad on a hunt. Where you connect with Dean quite a lot more than you thought you would. Developing feelings fast, thanks to his dad’s plan all along.

No real timeline in this.

Requests are open my lovelies, any and all characters <3

John drove his car into the run down flat car park and parked it in once of the spaces. “I’m sure this case won’t be easy” he told his sons. “Since when do me and Sammy like easy” Dean chuckled flashing his teeth and cocking his gun.

I recognised the famous car straight away and eyed it up from my car parked in the shadows. I couldn’t really see anyone’s faces so it was lucky I knew the car. My gun was slid into my belt behind my back and I pulled my top down covering it before opening my door and stepping out. Confidently, I walked towards the car in the hope they’d get out and I wouldn’t be standing there awkwardly. I was right, they did. John first of course. I knew he was bringing his two sons but I’d never met them before.

Id heard endless story’s about the famous Winchester brothers who had cheated death multiple times and killed hundreds of demons and the rest of the ugly’s in our world. “Hi darling, are you okay” John came over to hug me. I smiled embracing him back “of course, I always get excited when you call John”. “dad who’s this?” One of them asked as the two brothers stepped out of the car apprehensively. 

He turned to his two sons with a beam “this is y/n, she’s the only daughter of one of my dear friends who passed, I thought I’d call in some back up for this hunt”. “You’re a hunter?” The one with shorter hair raised his eyebrow looking me up and down. “Yeah, do I not fit the description?” I smirked putting my hand on my hip. “Not particularly- never met a hunter that looks like- you” he smirked, his face a tad more comfortable now. “Dean- that’s Sammy” he introduced himself.

I nodded at him “nice to meet you, though I feel like I already do- I’ve heard a lot of stories” “so you’re a fan?” He walked over to me leaning on the car slightly. “I’d use the word impressed, rather than fan” I folded my arms trying to keep his ego in tact. He was even better looking closer up, his eyes were a gorgeous green colour and his smile lit up the dark night that surrounded us. “Enough chitter, we have a case at hand” John nodded towards the block of flats.

Sitting here waiting I’d already analysed every part of the bock. They were clearly run down, needed more than just a lick of paint. They needed to be knocked down. But it was still someone’s home and still my job to save it. We walked inside and went towards the lift. “It’s out of order, we’ll have to use the stairs” Sam stated pointing behind him. So we turned back around and went up the stairs. “What floor is it?” Dean asked John who was at the front of the group and first up the stairs.

“Thirteen” he answered with a smile. “Thirteen! You want me to walk up thirteen staircases?” “Technically there’s two for each floor- so it’s actually twenty six” Sam joked from the back of the group. “I’m sure you’ve faced worst Dean” I giggled turning to look at him. “I’d rather face twenty six demons! with no weapons, than climb this many stairs” he wined as we kept walking. “Don’t wish too hard- we have no clue what we’re walking into here” John warned him.

When we eventually got to the top floor (after Dean had been moaning the whole time and prolonged us) we headed for the door number given to John. He knocked three times before a woman opened the door. We could only see one eye, the chain restricted the door opening fully. “Oh good- I thought you were her again” she breathed closing the door and reopening it with no chain. She was a short woman with a brown bob and big blue eyes. Her lips were thin but were smothered in red lipstick.

Though she was slightly shaking when standing in front of us. “Hi- my names y/n- this is John we spoke to you on the phone” I smiled small just to let her know we were friendly, while I also looked around the apartment. “I’m Vanessa, Come in, come in- thank you for coming” she waved her hand indicating for us to come in, showing her chipped, bitten nails. However what fascinated me more was the rings she had on her finger. One of them looked like it could have been made out of bone, it had an amazing purple crystal on it that almost appeared to be glowing. “This is your house?” Dean questioned looking around. It wasn’t the tidiest, in fact there were bin bags everywhere and bare shelves. It looked like she was getting ready to move out.

“No- no no this was my mothers house, come- shall we sit in the living room I will explain the story” she closed the door and then waddled past us with her finger in her mouth. Me and Dean looked at each other, I could tell he was just as sceptical as I was. John was first in the living room of course, he was sat down opposite her. Dean sat next to his dad and I sat next to Dean leaving Sammy to sit next to the woman. It was probably for the best, I’d heard he was the most sympathetic of the Winchester men.

“So this was your mother’s house? And you don’t live here?” Dean raised an eyebrow. “No I live in England- I flew here for a few weeks to clean out my mums flat because- she passed you see” she bit her lip. But it wasn’t a sad look that flooded her face it was a guilty look. I picked up on this instantly. “You didn’t speak much huh?” I tilted my head, the two brothers looked at me with a confused expression but their attention was soon moved back onto Vanessa. “No we didn’t, she hated me for moving to England- she felt like I was leaving her and- I did- we lost contact, it was my fault but my now husband he didn’t want to move to America so I had no choice” she shrugged clearly tearing up.

“So- why have you called us here Vanessa” Sammy said in a soft voice. “Well you see, when I came here- things started to go wrong, I would pack things into bags and then they would be all put back when Id turn back around” she explained to us. “There’s messages on the mirror when I shower telling me to get out of the house- objects flying across the room trying to hit me- I haven’t been able to get anything done” she shook her head and her bottom lip began trembling.

“Well I think we know what the problem is here” I looked at John who nodded at me. “I just want to pack up so I can sell this place and move on with…” in that moment a loud bang came from the corridor cutting Vanessa off. “Oh not again!” She whimpered into her hands. Me and Dean jumped up but when i opened the door a lady with long grey hair and a long white nighty ran towards me screaming and pushing me backwards. I went flying into Dean who practically caught me. I had to reset quickly because she was still coming.

“ANYONE HAVE SALT?” I shouted dodging her attacks before she disappeared. Vanessa at this point was screaming, John and Sam had jumped up. “Only in the car” John whispered feeling pretty vulnerable in the open like this. We all did. “I have some! In the kitchen” Vanessa got up to go and get it but as soon as she stood, an ornament from the fire place was thrown directly at her. She ducked moaning out in distress and it smashed against the wall. I eyed the door and then made a run for it to the kitchen. “Y/n!” Dean shouted after me but as he ran to the door it swung, slamming shut.

“Y/n!” He shouted pulling the door, however it didn’t budge. I was busy anyway, I ran to the kitchen past all the stuff the ghost had broken in the hallway. She was standing in the kitchen with her head on her shoulder smiling. “You need to leave this place!” I hissed at her slamming my eyebrows down. She raced towards me but I dodge her, she quickly turned and smacked me into the table and chairs. They broke underneath me and so I hit the wall. But the ghost was still there. I got up as fast as I could eyeing the salt in the cupboard that was open.

However, when I reached for it everything in the cupboard flew out at me. I squealed being attacked by a bag of pasta and a tin of carrots, before a package of oats hit me on the side of my face knocking me to the ground. The ghost made a run for me again but I reached for the salt, opened the bottle and chucked it at her. She let out a scream before she disappeared momentarily. I heard the front room door opening before thundering footsteps in the hall way. “Are you okay?” Dean blinked rushing over to help me up. He took my hand and then my hip and I looked up at him when I stood.

Our bodies were basically touching and his arm was around my waist. His eyes drew me in so much I didn’t know what to say. “Y/n?!” John rushed, so he could get an answer from me. I nodded pulling away from Dean but patting him on the chest. “Yeah I’m fine thank you” I tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear nervously. I got her with the salt. Sam and Vanessa walked in looking at the mess on the floor. “My goodness- my mother is the one trying to hurt me” she winced again covering her mouth with shock. “In my opinion Vanessa- your mum doesn’t want you to move her stuff out” I told her softly.

“And as you didn’t have a great relationship I’m guessing she doesn’t want you taking her stuff or even being in her house” “but she left it to me” she shook her head confused about the situation. “Y/n is right, she doesn’t want you here” John validated, giving me a nod. “Perhaps she couldn’t change her will- but she definitely wants you gone” Dean nodded to Vanessa. “So what do we do?” She trembled looking to John for an answer. “Well first we need…” Sam started talking but his father cut him off. “Y/n, show us how it’s done” John raised his eyebrows at me.

Any case I went on with him he’d give me more and more responsibilities, but never full control. My smiled turned into a grin and I threw him a knowing look. “Where was your mother buried Vanessa?” I turned to her, “um- just across town in the Catholic Church graveyard” “and her name?” I raised an eyebrow. “Dorthy gale- how ever will that help us?” “We need to burn her body, that will get rid of her once and for all” I explained feeling pretty confident in what I was saying. I was a pretty good hunter but it was a natural thing rather than a learning thing.

I could fight but the information was always harder for me to attain. John helped me quite a lot and of course my other hunter friends. But I still studied quite a lot on my own. “We should split up- two of us will go and burn the bones and two of us will stay here incase Dorthy comes back” I looked to John for validation and he smiled eying his son next to me. “You and Dean should go to the graveyard- me and Sam will stay here” he nodded at Dean who looked like he was taking this very seriously.

“Here” I passed the bottle of salt to Sam. “You can make a circle in the front room” “yeah, and we will look for any iron” he nodded to his dad who liked the plan. We all started moving to go to our stations but as me and Dean went to leave John called out his name. “You look after her okay” he smacked his son on the back. “She’s my top priority” he nodded once. “She is” he agreed before walking off to the living room. Dean put a hand on my back as we exited the front door, to gently move me.

“Any idea why my dad paired us up?” He raised an eyebrow at me with a smirk. “Maybe he thought you needed my protection” I shrugged laughing “or maybe he’s bored of you so he chose a different pair” “oi” I laughed hitting him on the chest as we descended the stairs. He was a lot more chatty and a lot less winey on the way down. “So you’re dad? What was his name?” “Oh I didn’t know my dad- he left before I was born” I smiled innocently, not really caring because I’d never known anything different. “So- my dad and your mum were friends”.

“Uh huh, they met on a case- she was almost a victim of a vampire attack but he saved her and taught her what’s really out there” I explained as we got into deans car. “So she became a hunter?” “No- she kept her job as a lawyer but she knew- so she was prepared- she taught me everything John taught her I do think she secretly went on a few hunts behind my back but nothing I remember” I shrugged thinking about her. “Do you mind me asking how she passed?” He looked across to me sadly. “No- it was a demon, it came for her hunter friend and she was collateral damage I suppose- I came home from a friends house to my front door being open and the scene in the dining room”.

“I noticed it wasn’t human so I called some of her other hunter friends and- one of them must have told John because he came- he was really good to me” I explained thinking back to the incident. A smiled crossed my face because if I didn’t think about the good, I’d cry about the bad. “I’m sorry” Dean rubbed my thigh as he drove. I put my hand on his and traced it with my thumb. “You don’t have to be, I’ll see her again one day, I have the memories of her and I fight for her everyday- eradicating as many of these things as I can to avenge her”.

“You’re brave- I like your attitude” he told me with a smile as we parked in the church. “Well now you know my story” I shrugged looking across at him. “She’d be proud of you” he nodded seriously at me, I could tell it had reminded him of his own mother. “Mary would be proud of you too Dean” I beamed before getting out the car. Dean grabbed two shovels from his boot of tricks and we headed to find her grave. We said whoever’s first gets to drop the lighter but Dean found it first and made sure I knew about it. He just made me laugh the whole time. Maybe I was starting to feel a little something for him.

It didn’t take us very long to dig it up, he dropped the lighter of course but he let me pour the petrol. And we stood there for a few seconds, just watching the flames eat her bones. “Id hate to be this vengeful when I pass” I whispered to him. “You won’t be” he shook his head rubbing my back as I stared into the pit of hell. “Would you burn my bones for me Dean- if I did” I put my pinky finger out to him. He looked at it chuckling before pinky promising me. “You have to do the same for me though” “it’s a pact” I nodded with a big smile looking into his eyes again.

Even though it was dark they still shone through the shadows at me. We were still holding our pinky’s together as we stared at each other. His other hand came up to my face and he brushed my cheek softly. I moved my head forward and with that I saw a panic spread in his eyes. “I should- call my dad- tell him it’s done” Dean nodded trying to find his phone in a fit. “Yeah- you should do that uh huh” I nodded awkwardly putting my hair behind my ear. I was glad it was dark because my face had probably turned very red by now.

Dean let John know what we had done and we made our way back to the car in silence. But all I could think about was that moment between us. The way he looked when the moonlight shone on the side of his gorgeous face. The silence between us wasn’t awkward it was just, sad. Something was telling me we both wanted it to be a moment but something we couldn’t control was stopping us. Deans phone rang distracting my thought process. “Dad?” He answered confused about why he was ringing. “What are you talking about? We just burnt the bones?” Dean frowned, knitting his eyebrows together.

“I don’t know- we’ll be back in a second” he ended the phone call and put the gas on harder. “Dean?” I questioned “she’s not dead” he answered gritting his teeth together. “What- how can’t she be dead I don’t…” I trailed off thinking. “I don’t know- we got all the bones” dean tutted getting pissed off by the situation. “No- we didn’t” I shook my head as we drove into the apartment blocks again. I flung open the door and he followed. “Grab the salt gun” “y/n! What are you talking about?” Dean questioned as he threw open his boot. “Vanessa’s ring- it’s made of bone I’m sure it is”.

“Her ring?” Dean repulsed as he closed his boot and ran towards the entrance doors. “I saw it when we came in- that has to be why dorthy is still there” I shook my head positive in what I was saying. I was always a very observant hunter. There wasn’t any time to talk this trip up the stairs. We ran as fast as we could. I pounded on the front door but it wasn’t opened by anyone when it creaked ajar. The apartment was silent, I looked to Dean apprehensively before a loud bang came from the bedroom. “Sammy!” Dean yelled in search for his brother, running past me. “Bedroom!” Sam called before another bang came.

Vanessa was there and John too being cornered by this thing. “There was no iron” Sammy called out. Dean shot Dorothy instantly with the salt gun and she vanished. “Vanessa” I called out “your ring, the purple one- what’s it made out of” “uh- uh it’s my mother’s finger bone- I wanted to keep her close all the time so I had this made just after her burial” she bit her lip spinning it on her finger. “So we did miss a bone” John realised peering at the ring. “I take it you need to burn this” she slid it off clutching it to her heart. “Goodbye mum” she whispered before plodding over to me.

Dean took his lighter out but as he did I was pushed out into the hall way and I dropped the ring. Dorthy was back. I scrambled up while Dean tried shooting her again. It had rolled into the kitchen and I leaped to clutch it in my hands. I looked around setting my eyes on the gas stove. I turned the knob on it seeing the flame rise. In that moment the ghost appeared in front of me making a run for me. I dropped the ring in the fire and she let out an ear splitting scream. The group ran into the kitchen as the ghost caught fire and eventually, vanished for good this time.

“Is it over?” Vanessa blinked in a state of shock. I nodded looking at the ash of the ring now on the cooker. Dean came over to me putting his gun on the side and rubbing my back. I laid my head on his chest taking it all in while he comforted me. “You’re so brave” he whispered to me. “Thanks for having my back” I smiled up at him. We eventually said our goodbyes to Vanessa who thanked us and even dove into her purse giving us a fair share of money for our work. We told her it wasn’t necessary but she insisted. The walk down the stairs was silent and I took a deep breath of fresh air when we got outside.

“I never wanna see them steps again” Dean huffed making Sammy laugh at him. “It was nice to meet you y/n” Sam reached out to shake my hand. “Mmh likewise, I can’t wait to tell this story the next time someone brings you two up” I giggled behind my hand. “It was a pleasure” he chuckled before walking off to his car. John came over to hug me goodbye. “Always nice working with you y/n” he breathed squeezing me. “I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me John” I whispered hugging him tightly back. “You don’t need to thank me sweetheart, you stay strong yeah, I’m sure I’ll see you soon” he pulled away but still kept a hand on my back to rub it.

I nodded a few times before turning to Dean who looked like he was waiting patiently. “Well” I sighed smiling, waking over to him. “You ever need help on a hunt- feel free to call me” “I just might take you up on that Dean Winchester” I giggled tucking my hair behind my ear, but I knew I was lying. “Goodbye y/n” he wrapped his arms around me holding me tightly. “It was nice meeting you Dean” I swallowed against his chest. Something tugged in my heart when we walked away in different directions. Something that could have been will never be and so I got back into my car, and they got into theirs.

“What do you think of her?” John smiled at his sons but focused his attention on Dean. “Yeah she’s great, a good hunter- she’ll be really skilled one day” Sammy emphasised from the back seat. Dean kept quiet. “Dean?” “Yeah I agree- with what Sam said” he nodded and shrugged his shoulders. “You seemed to connect quite a bit” “yeah she’s cool, knows what she’s doing” “so… anything else?” John smirked trying to him something. “Dad I don’t get what you’re trying to get at?” Dean shrugged his shoulders again but in more of a stroppy way. “Oh my gosh” he put his hands on his face. “Did you like her Dean” Sam rolled his eyes chuckling in the back.

“What no- that would be disrespectful to you dad I wouldn’t do that”. John frowned shaking his head “why do you think I invited her on this case? I wanted you two to meet- I think you’d be good for each other”. Out the corner of deans eye he saw my car pull out the apartment car park. “You- wanted to set us up?” Dean rose his eyebrow watching my car. “Yeah” John widened his eyes. “You should have given her your number- instead of just empty promises you didn’t plan on keeping” John rolled his eyes laughing. “But- I thought you’d be fuming” “no Dean” he laughed shaking his head.

“Dad- please- catch up with her!” Dean pointed to my car flying down the road. “Yeah?” “Yes- I need to tell her I like her!” He frantically thrusted his hand toward my direction. John started the car up and sped out and down the road following me. It didn’t take them long to catch up with me. I saw John indicate on a lay by and did the same thing, assuming they wanted to say something to me. Dean jumped out the car and ran toward me. “Did you forget something?” I questioned opening my door.

“Yeah- to give my my number and ask you the time I’m picking you up for our date?” “What- are you talking about” I half smiled probably going red again. “I’m sorry I pulled away- I didn’t think my father would appreciate me making a move on you- but I like you y/n, I know you were lying you were never going to call me because I pulled away but I want you to” “I’ll take your number Dean- and you can pick me up on Saturday- at seven” I smiled passing him my phone. “Sounds good, looking forward to it” he grinned typing in his number and then passing it back. “Do you know what else I will have though Dean?” I smiled leaning in closer to him.

“That kiss that you owe me”. He chuckled putting his hand on my cheek and rubbing it before he leant down and met my lips. His were soft, he was gentle with me which I wasn’t expecting for such a big man. My cheeks burned red across from his as we met with the exact same rhythm. “You definitely left me wanting more Dean Winchester” I smiled up at him. “I’ll see you Saturday gorgeous” he whispered quickly kissing me on the lips again.

“Can’t wait” I waved as he was walking back to his car. What the fuck. Hold on, rewined.

I’m going on a date with THEE Dean Winchester.

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[shadowqueenjude]

Compilation of Coryo blushing

“Married?” He laughed, then remembered they married young in some of the districts. How did he know? Maybe she had a husband back in 12. “Why? Are you asking?” said Lucy Gray seriously. He looked up in surprise. “Because I think this could work.” Coriolanus felt himself blush a little at her teasing. “I’m pretty sure you could do better.” “Haven’t yet.” A flicker of pain crossed her face, but she hid it with a smile. “I bet you’ve got sweethearts lined up around the block.” Her flirtation left Coriolanus tongue-tied. Where were they?

When he spoke again, the words caught in his throat before he forced them out. “I told my family. Really. Thank you, Lucy Gray.” “Well, I had some time on my hands,” she said, tracing the frosted flower on a cookie with a shaky forefinger. “Pretty cookies.” Then came confusion. If she had saved his life, he owed her, what? A sandwich and two cookies? That was how he was repaying her. For his life. Which apparently he held quite cheaply. The truth was, he owed her everything. He felt the blush burn over his cheeks. “You could have run. And if you had, I would have gone up in flames before they reached me.” “Run, huh? Seemed like a lot of effort to get shot,” she said. Coriolanus shook his head. “You can joke, but it won’t change what you did for me. I hope I can repay you in some way.” “I hope so, too,” she said. In those few words he sensed a shift in their dynamic. As her mentor, he’d been the gracious giver of gifts, always to be met with gratitude. Now she’d upended things by giving him a gift beyond compare. On the surface, everything looked the same. Chained girl, boy offering food, Peacekeepers guarding that status quo. But deep down, things could never be the same between them. He would always be in her debt. She had the right to demand things. “I don’t know how,” he admitted. Lucy Gray glanced around the room, taking in her wounded competitors. Then she looked him in the eye, and impatience tinged her voice. “You could start by thinking I can actually win.”

“That’s going to take some work,” said Coriolanus. “I don’t know what ever possessed me to ask for Twelve.” “Completely random, obviously,” Sejanus teased. Like a fool, Coriolanus felt himself blush. “I don’t even know how to find her. Or if she’ll still be interested in me, now that so much has changed.”

[sushisocks]

DO U HAVE ANY ANGSTY SEAN HEADCANONS??? OR ANY AT ALL??

DO I HAVE ANGSTY SEAN HEADCANONS???!? Is my tumblr url sushisocks??? I'm including just a couple non-angsty ones that are v important to me bcz we're here to have fun, after all lolol

Lets start out with a light one; Sean absolutely has ADHD and dyslexia. Everybody knows Sean can't read, but nobody asks WHY Sean can't read despite frequent opportunities to learn. Based on the camp interactions with Lenny, we know he has been willing to attempt to learn, but has given up. This reads a lot more like learning disability to me, than it does laziness!!

In a similar vein; Sean taking frequent naps/falling asleep a lot is because he's a light sleeper - he has had a hard time falling asleep and staying that way ever since his father got murdered in his bed by the law. Left an impression Sean can't really shake even when surrounded by friends and allies - it's easier to nap when it's light out and people are awake in the area. Combine that with the ADHD and suddenly he's sleeping when he's not supposed to - like on guard duty.

Btw Sean has REAL BAD nightmares so that doesn't help at ALL either

Sean's mom probably passed when he was very young - he doesn't have any tangible memories of her in the same way he does his dad. Telling stories about him is how Sean keeps the only real family he had alive.

SIMILARLY I imagine it was just the two of them fleeing to America together; Sean was right there when Darragh got killed in his sleep - I imagine him waking up to a gunshot tbh.

In previous posts I've talked some about Sean's parallels and similarities to Arthur. Consider; Sean having similar self-esteem issues as Arthur, but instead of being quiet and disparaging about it, Sean covers it up by boasting and talking a big game. Nobody tries to talk Sean up because they all think he has a big ego, and it sort of just feeds into the insecurities Sean already has & is trying to avoid thinking about.

Also; Sean is generally an open book about his feelings, but he struggles a LOT with being truly vulnerable or getting at the deeper stuff. He'll also always downplay and make a joke out of truly traumatic and desperate situations he's been in. Though he DOES tell you what happened, he's chuckling and acting like it's nothing. (This isn't even a headcanon, he actually does this very consistently. It's why Karen is so mad at him in that one camp interaction after the party lol)

The only times Sean feels comfortable not being The Camp Clown is when Dutch isn't around, with a limited amount of people to witness. He still feels weird about the fact that he did actually try to kill him, when they first met, like he actually pulled the trigger (I feel like people are prone to forget this abt him), and he's never sure if Dutch might resent or distrust him a little for it. Same goes for Hosea.

A MacSummers one I came up w on discord literally yesterday; Sean has a Claddagh ring heirloom he got from his late mother through his late father. He gifts it to Lenny at some point, who doesn't realize the symbolism, just the sentimental value. Lenny wears it on a chain around his neck.

The previous one could work for MacJones too but tbh I think it hits harder for MacSummers lol (im biased)

Sean blocked out a lot of what he experienced while holed up at Ike Skelding's; the teethpulling and the burned feet were probably some of the lighter things he had to endure.

Sidenote the fact that his feet were fucking burned being as brushed off as it is makes me fucking insane. How bad were they burned Sean? Are you in pain atm? Should you be walking?

[bokettochild]

Opera House AU Roles

Okay, so I keep getting asks about this AU, so here's the roles each of the chain/princesses would take in the opera house

Lullaby: Director and owner

She started the opera house and runs it like the leaky ship it is. They make good money and do good work, but every work is like a piece of embroidery; pretty from the front, but when you look at the back....

Time: Blocking Director

Lullaby runs most things, but Time is the person who runs everyone through choreography and plans how to enact things on the stage. He's Lullaby's partner, but that doesn't mean they agree on everything.

Malon: Voice Teacher

Time hired her when Twilight joined, because he really wanted to help this kid get back on his feet, but working in the house means you need to be able to sing, if only for back-vocals. She occasionally helps out backstage and will fill in roles if needed, but she's not officially part of the company. Yet. Lullaby is trying to recruit her, but Malon kinda loves working for the music school that hired her out.

Twilight: Actor and stagehand

His preferred work is backstage, helping move props and scenery quickly between scenes, and he's good at it. Sometimes though, they need someone to fill various roles and he gets slapped in there. Luckily, he can avoid most singing roles, and his main thing is action.

Sky: Actor

Sky is the best stuntman in the whole cast, but not as good an actor. He's good at both, but action is far better than line delivery. He's most often called on to play antagonistic roles as a result, since his skills in fight scenes actually leave the audience worried he will destroy their hero. Many people are surprised to find out he's such a great guy off stage.

Fi: Sky's fencing instructor

She neither works for the opera house, nor at it, if she can help it. She comes over from time to time to work with Sky though, and if he asks, she might help some of the others. Time is her former protege, but they have beef between them for some reason so he doesn't like having her around. She loves the kids though, in her own way, Legend and Wind specifically.

Warriors: The Diva

He picked up something of a following in high-school and college, and when he came to the opera house, needing work, he basically brought his fans with. His is the headline name they use to draw crowds in most times, so more often then not he's the male lead in most plays. Surprisingly though, he's pretty decent about it, and while Legend and Twilight may say otherwise, his ego is properly held in check. He's a great singer and performer, and second best to Sky in action related things.

Artemis: Diva No. 2

Warriors pulled a few strings to get his ex-girlfriend from college a role when Lullaby was short some actors. Her chemistry with Wars on stage has quickly made her a fan favorite, and her own performing sealed the deal. She and Wars have a good relationship for being ex-college-sweethearts. Both of them were already up and coming stars before coming to the opera house, and it's still a bit of a shock to folks that they haven't left for greener pastures, but they're attached dang it.

Dusk: Singer & Dive No. 3

While her acting skills are less varied than Warriors and Artemis, her voice is far superior to either, which more than compensates for her lack of versatility in roles. She's the last piece of the Diva Trio, and her most common roles are either villainesses, powerful women and mothers (ironically). She's not as close with the rest of the crew as they are with each other, but she's new yet, and has only been with the company for a year. Her bond with Wars and Arty is pretty strong though, because they won't let her sit alone, and have pushed down the walls a bit.

Sun: Starlet

Sun is one of the up and coming performers. She's not nearly as big a name as the Diva Trio, but she does pretty well and her voice is to die for. She and Sky both study under Fi, and so she's pretty good with stunts, although not as great as Sky (yet). She's also a decent hand at needlework, so she's something of an emergency seamstress when a seam is popped or some such.

Fable: Actress

Not as present in the team as she'd like, due to her somewhat overprotective guardians, Fable is a skilled actress who Artemis is convinced will one day follow in her footsteps to become a radiant star. The only thing stopping her from gaining a big name in the industry is the aforementioned guardians, who love her, but again, worry endlessly. She joined by the suggestion of her old classmate, Flora, and to this day remains the only person who can reliably tame their wild child.

Legend: Jack-of-all-Trades

His official job is non-existant. He's been here since he was a literal infant (Twilight couldn't get a sitter) and it shows. He's picked up just about everything there is to know about the opera house, and never got formally hired (although he is paid). He's the go-to guy for just about anything and everything. He takes acting roles, particularly those more dance or trick related, as he's the only guy who actually knows genuine acrobatics and most forms of dance, and because he's young, he can take literally any role, even that of females. Most of the time though, he's backstage with a tool-belt of everything possible, fixing last minute costume, make-up, or set issues. He also tends to pick up strays.

Ravio: Prop Manager

Ravio's job is to construct and make sure props are where they should be at all times. He and Legend work hand in hand on most things, mostly because Legend originally was prop-manager (of sorts) before he got Ravio into the opera house. Ravio is one of "Legend's strays" as the boys ran into each other shortly after Leg came back from abroad, and the Lorulian was desperately searching for a room-mate. Legend helped him get a job better than where he was (pawn shop) and Ravio feels utterly indebted to him, and makes sure Leg knows it.

Styla: Costume manager

While Legend helps out in costume, it's actually Styla's domain. She's skillful in her work and quick to make unfortunate mistakes and pieces turn out surprisingly well. She's blessed with good speaking skills and copious charm, so she sometimes take on roles on stage, but she can't sing any more than Twilight can. She does not want lessons. Ravio and Legend are desperately trying to make her take them anyway; they work closely with her as a trio of their own, and much as they love her, she gives them headaches.

Hyrule: Assistant jack-of-all-trades

Another of Legend's strays, Hyrule, like so many others, is a fresh-out-of-foster street kid. He saved Legend's life by chance, and Leg determined to pay him back by getting him a job as a stage hand at the opera house, and a room in the living quarters there. Lullaby is used to the pinkette, so she didn't object, but everyone's glad Hyrule joined because he's absolutely amazing. What he lacks in natural talent, he makes up for in hard work and a quick mind. Warriors is certain Hyrule could make a killer performer, but with his lack of confidence it's slow going. The diva is utterly intent on taking Rule under his wing though and teaching him little by little. Ravio and Legend do not appreciate Wars stealing their assistant though.

Wind: Gofer

Wind is Warriors' kid cousin. Freshly in Hyrule from overseas, he's working at the opera house after school. He's pretty close with the other stage crew, and a huge reason Hyrule didn't get scared off in the first week. This kid is the most in touch with reality out of most of the crew, and acts as a buffer from their insanity to any newcomers. He tends to run and fetch for the most part, but at times has been known to also help craft the sets with Legend. They are artists and they do shit talk everyone while they do it.

Four: Special Effects

You know that one tech-nerd with too much coffee in their system, not enough sleep and perpetually frazzled hair? That's Four. Four handles lights, sound, special effects and all things mechanical. Everything's always on the fritz, so he is too. He does enjoy acting, but he gets anxiety about letting anyone else run his job, so he tends to avoid taking roles unless he's 110% sure Flora can handle without him.

Flora: Assistant Light Technition

Officially, she works lights, unofficially, she's Four's assistant. This girl was bred for the stage and avoids it like the plague. Her family is famous for acting but she's content to play lights and sounds crew with Four, and no one has seen her happier. She joined by her parents insistence, as an actress and learning under Wars and Arty, but one show gone wrong had her throwing herself in to help Four just in time and he's considered her irreplaceable since. She has no interest in going back on stage and no one makes her.

Groose: Tech Assistant

Working with the backstage crew, Grooise's official job title is technical assistance, but even he will joke that he's actually just a glorified ladder. He, like the others, acts on occasion, although his real passion lies in planning out the more difficult mechanics required to pull off certain effects and stunts. He essentially bridges the gap between the costume and props department and the special effects team.

Robbie and Purah: IT

This insane duo are known as "the basement dwellers" or "the witches" to most of the team. They're technically on payroll, but rarely seen. Purah is something like the last resort when Groose & Co. can't figure stuff out, and Robbie is her somewhat reluctant assistant. They emerge on occasion with all sorts of crazy ideas and items, and are some of Legend and Wild's favorite people in the crew because they never fail to provide the prop master and prop breaker with cool new toys.

Wild: Actor and Stuntman

Where Sky is their swordsman and Legend their acrobat, Wild is the guy who will pull all the stunts the others won't. He's still in uni at the moment, but his acting skills are to die for, as he can manage the stoic and dashing hero or the playful jester types with equal skill and believablity. He is, however, a risk to props and costumes in general, so he and and the prop/costume team don't always get along well and they're often dubious about letting him take key roles with key costumes/props as a result.

Linkle: Effects

Four and Flora officially work special effects, but occasionally call in Warriors' twin sister for some specialty stuff. No one knows what she does normally (except Warriors) and they're all a bit too scared to ask

Dawn: Secretary

Lullaby's a busy woman, so she hired Dawn to help her with some of the office work. Generally speaking, Dawn stays in the office and her only contact with the cast and crew is to handle complaints and any official work. She is, however, fantastically talented on the piano, something Lullaby and Time both encourage her to pursue. She plays the grande they have in house on her breaks, and occasionally in shows. She croaks like a frog when she sings though, end even Malon can't seem to help her with that.

Aurora: Front of House

Aurora works the ticket collections and generally minds front of house. Her warmth and eccentric attitude help add to the magic of the opera house and enchant the guests.

Dot: Think Tank

While a capable actress when called on, Dot's skill lies with the pen, and while the opera tends to preform classics as their main attractions, Dot does see that they have an abundance of new content for their smaller shows. She also acts as the outreach to the community to open the opera house to the public for use in community events. She and Dawn work pretty closely.

Dei: Trainer

Time's mentor after Fi, he's a bit of a hard ass and tends not to get involved in his protege's work. He is, however, currently training Warriors, so he is around from time to time to help the diva with his work. Time and he remain somewhat cordial, but there is some tension there, although not as bad as with Fi.

And while I know people are counting through and going "what about Tetra?", I am going to point out that Tetra wouldn't be caught dead working in the opera. She comes to support (and heckle) anything Wind is in, but generally stays out of the building otherwise, at least while the cast and crew are actually there.

And that covers it! At least for the time being.

If y'all have any further questions or thoughts, or character I may have missed, feel free to share them!

[ssphiree]

not to dsmp post in the year 2025 but ive been sitting on this take for 4 years and i have to get it out of my system. i never joined the fandom online back then when it was all happening bc of how wild the community could be sometimes but ive been sitting on this for SO long n its been long enough i think

c!ranboo was one of my absolute favourites and i loved him SO much but heavily disagreed with one thing from him

on doomsday (one of the doomsdays bc there were like 3 or something) he had that moment where he ended up yelling at everyone over taking 'sides' and why they all had to be fighting & why couldnt we all just be neutral and peaceful instead of splitting into separate distinct opposing teams etc etc etc and i can almost kind of see how hed have a point - however there are issues with that standpoint SUCH AS -

lets look at the two sides: on one you have the strongest most skilled people decked out head to toe in the most absolute top of the chain gear - c!dream, c!techno & c!phil, whose aim is to absolutely and completely decimate l'manberg with their withers and obsidian bomb dispenser they have spanning across the entirety of the whole place

on the other side you have the people who have nothing. those were just kids trying to keep their homes, and they had nothing to fight with after the other side raided all their gear and got rid of it all. they fought tooth and nail to keep their homes time and time again with the odds stacked higher and higher against them each time

imo l'manberg had 3 main people involved that really contributed to its downfall, & only one was there on doomsday - c!dream. the other two were c!wilbur & c!schlatt. they were the big 3 involved in the l'manberg politics who were adults & not children following orders/defending themselves (which is why i dont include c!tommy/c!tubbo etc in that list). they were the corrupt power hungry quote unquote "politicians" (for lack of a better word) that projected all their issues onto everyone else and dragged them all into it

(if you squint you could technically include c!eret in that list, but imo in reality they were really only just another pawn for c!dreams big game of chess as a way to pitt the opposition against each other & gain power over them, c!eret never really had actual power/rule over anyone or anything they just lived in a castle and took c!dreams word for it. also they redeemed themselves and rejoined the freedom side anyway)

lets start with c!wilbur - he was very manipulative, he liked having control & he craved power but there wasnt really an opportunity for it, so he built the van and attempted to start a potion 'empire' by seizing control over a commonly used item (brewing stands) to gain leverage over the more powerful players. he dragged other vulnerable & generally powerless people (yknow, like children) into it & used them as his building blocks to the top. c!tommy is the biggest victim of this from him. once the potion empire thing stopped working out thats when he shifted the narrative to the freedom-fighting-rebellious nation we came to know l'manberg for. he sparked that (he sparked it & the others kept it alive because they really believed in it and really believed in him) and at first i think he to an extent genuinely did believe in it and really did want freedom for him and his people with little to no other conscious intentions, but the subconscious want for power was always there and bubbled to the surface as he spiralled really far into corruption in the pogtopia arc (what started as "a special place where men can go and emancipate the brutality and the tyranny of their rulers" became "IF I CANT HAVE L'MANBERG NO ONE CAN PHIL")

then c!dream - even from before l'manberg he was fighting c!tommy over his music discs, & i guess that just cemented c!tommy as the no1 enemy in his brain for the rest of time even though c!tommy was really just a loud kid trying to get by. he was also power hungry and wanted to keep all the power he had so he felt threatened by the formation of l'manberg. other less powerful people taking some level of control & separating themselves from him startled him, especially with c!tommy involved in the opposition. he knew he was the most powerful on the server & didnt want anyone else to forget that so he consistently used fear and force to remind the others how much stronger he was than them, the main victims being l'manberg and its citizens as they were the first and biggest group to rebel against him (and the group with c!tommy in it but thats neither here nor there). he struggled to accept the idea of people having some kind of autonomy to lead a life separate from the server he ruled over (he even said blatantly he would never think of l'manberg as free, only that he would let them delusionally believe they were free in his discussion with c!tommy)

and c!schlatt was just your run of the mill big bad in your face power hungry corrupt politician. he wasnt super manipulative or anything similar to the other two, he was just an evil dude that, again, was power hungry and corrupt like c!wilbur and c!dream. he dragged others into it by using c!quackity to gain leverage in the election via votes, and by keeping the citizens of l'manberg manberg under his crazy authoritarian control and he did that pretty much mostly out of enjoyment and greed. he liked that he intimidated the people around him and frequently used that to his advantage because it amused him

it was those 3 that created the us vs them dynamic & pitted everyone else against each other by creating 'sides' because they were the ones who wanted the power, and they were the ones who dragged everyone else into their conflicts. they were greedy and self centred and made that everyones problem

ones like c!techno & c!phil arent included in that list because they were never greedy for power over other people, they were just people who happened to be powerful. they mostly just kept to themselves in their little cottages but because of the perceived rivalry that was created by the Big 3 and then projected onto everyone else, they declared l'manberg to be the problem. even though c!schlatt and c!wilbur were out of the picture by that point, their actions had left the repuatation of l'manberg tainted from the perspective of those outwith the country itself, whereas the people left behind in it (like c!tommy & c!tubbo etc etc) just saw it as their home, just the place that they lived in and had built their lives. the others outside had grown to view l'manberg as the cause for all the servers problems because of the way it separated itself from the rest of the server and was another thing, and because of the actions of the corrupted leaders itd began with (and also - l'manberg was really the only place for people to fight for power over with the political system it had set up, no one really ever challenged c!dreams position of power over the rest of the server, only within l'manberg at least until that final disc battle)

it was very much a punch up vs punch down dynamic that people like c!techno and c!phil and even c!ranboo couldnt really see, because they all lived comfortably with powerful top of the chain gear far away from all the main conflict, and none of them were actually present for the beginnings of the conflict. none of them were present to witness the disc war or the formation of l'manberg, they were never there to hear c!dream tell c!tommy that hed never see them as free from him as c!tommy handed him the disc. they joined at the height of it all where the two "sides" were already very distinct and at war with each other

c!techno joined at the point of c!schlatt being in charge of l'manberg and at that point he was helping the underdogs because in that moment c!tommy and c!wilbur asked for his help and shared his goals - to overthrow a tyrannical corrupt government. then c!wilbur, knowing full well he was right about to blow up the country within the next few minutes, shoveled all the power and responsibility of the country over onto a kid (c!tommy, who then immediately handed it back to him & then he immediately handed it over to c!tubbo). by the time c!phil joined c!tubbo was already president (& had only been for like five minutes) and c!wilbur was in the midst of blowing up the country (note - c!wilbur had the presidency and had l'manberg under his rule again, he chose to hand it off to c!tubbo and then carry out his plan to blow it up while telling c!phil "if i cant have this no one can")

c!techno was never there to see the way l'manberg itself began as a challenge to a tyrannical rule (because although c!wilbur was manipulative and corrupt and power hungry, ultimately he did have a leg to stand on with his methods which is why it worked so well for him and why he was so easily able to paint that picture of oppression - the canvas was already sketched and lined) and continued to exist as a rebellion against an even worse system than itself. at that point c!wilbur was still seen as the 'good guy' who just wanted freedom for his nation from the tyrannical authoritarian rule of c!dream, so c!schlatt suddenly coming into power was a sharp left turn government wise, and c!techno just joined right at that sharp left turn moment where the big bad evil government had just came in and made some significant differences. differences not only in the economic system of l'manberg but also tainting the core values that once held the citizens of it so high and hopeful against corruption. so c!techno never saw that rebellious freedom fighting nation that l'manberg started off as and was supposed to always be, he only saw it as the nation with the corrupt government

c!phil was in a similar situation, he also never saw it as that rebellious freedom fighting nation and only saw the damage that the power hungry corrupt people had done to it. he joined right at the crucial moment and only saw the conflict and damage surrounding the country of l'manberg. because of this he ended up adopting the perception that the place itself was the problem if it was causing this many issues this severe. he failed to notice that after c!wilbur and c!schlatt were both out of the picture the problems between l'manberg specifically and the rest of the server were only being revived on c!dreams end, and c!tubbo as the new leader of l'manberg did not start conflicts (although the butchers army is a whooole other ballgame but thats not what this post is about - that was mainly spearheaded by c!quackity- who is again a whooooole other post)

if c!tommy hadnt declined the presidency then c!dream wouldve been slightly more justified in having a go at l'manberg as a whole for the whole burning-down-c!georges-house-thing, but ultimately it seemed more like he just wanted to flex his power over them even more. just as another reminder he could tear them down any moment he wanted to without a single second thought- he used it as A. another opportunity to keep the citizens of l'manberg fearful of him (almost like a kind of "remember whos really in charge here" type deal - again think back to he & c!tommys original negotiations of freedom in the og revolution) and B. another opportunity to punch down on c!tommy specifically (exile arc is another whooooole other post), he was given an inch and he took a mile. c!tommy explicitly stated that the reason he did not take the presidency was specifically so that any business/issues with c!dream would stay exclusively between him and c!dream without dragging the rest of l'manberg into it but c!dream ignored that entirely

c!ranboo joined right at that moment, of c!dream enforcing his power over l'manberg, but he saw c!tommy technically strike first with burning down c!georges house. he didnt see all the previous strikes c!dream had made on c!tommy & l'manberg. he just saw c!tommy make a move and then saw c!dream make a move back, therefore creating a back and forth rivalry dynamic which, in his eyes, could easily just cease if theyd stop pitting against each other and lived peacefully. he doesnt seem to notice just quite how corrupt and power hungry c!dream really is especially when it comes to c!tommy and l'manberg, he only notices different people teaming up to fight against each other & not a case of oppressed vs oppressor. c!ranboo, like c!phil and c!techno has never really had too much of an issue with getting a hold of good armour and weapons and equipment, and hasnt really had anyone like c!dream stand in his way to take everything from him the way everyone in l'manberg has. c!ranboo has had issues with c!dream and has been used by him (another whooooole separate post), but he seemed to focus slightly less on the 'c!dream using any tactic available to him to enforce his power on everyone' side of things and moreso the 'what is wrong with me i need to figure out why this is possible for him to do this to me' side of things

theyve all heard about all the wars and conflicts etc from before they all joined, but they struggled to fully really empathise and actually see it from the others perspectives. this is why c!ranboo was wrong in his view on 'taking sides' on doomsday

[luimagines]

Tbh I don’t think Captain always had a way with girls, I think he was one of those boys who had insane massive glow up and always got rejected until then. Soooo Ima send in a story about it 😋.

There was a little celebration in a tiny village the chain were in. Time and Twi spoke to each other, Wild and four hanging out with new friends they had made in the village, Sky slept so softly as little kids tried to wake him up by poking his face as for Legend, Wind and Hyrule watched Warrior as he danced with two beautiful girls they were judging him, Well, Legend was at least.

“I don’t get it, how is he always attracting girls and guys?” Legend says in frustration. Wind giggles and Hyrule side-eyed him.

“Don’t be jealous of him Legend.” Hyrule furrowed his eyebrows. “Yeah, I mean we’re all friends here. We can’t just- my bad- You can’t just be jealous of him.” Wind closed his eyes and huffed.

“Woah woah woah, no way I would ever be jealous in the likes of him.” Legend rolled his eyes and scoffed. Hyrule and Wind giggled.

“It’s okay we still love you.” Hyrule smiled and Wind nodded in agreement, Legend was obviously annoyed and rolled his eyes, he knew Hyrule and Wind were obviously thinking the same thing as him they’re just not exactly like him. The 3 youngest of the chain were curious but didn’t dare say anything about it. Except for Legend of course.

Then the most dramatic thing had happened well at least in Wilds opinion it was. One of the ladies Husband had seen her dancing with her friend, with Warrior, imagine what the man thought. Yup, his wife was a little obsessed with Warrior when they had came in the village and would never stop talking about him to her husband! he was jealous.

“Lillie?! What the hell are you doing?!” The husband growled. Everyone paused, hell, even Time batted an eye. “Nothing!” The wife’s face turned red out of embarrassment. “First you want to talk about him for days now you wanna dance with him with your friend?” the husband frowned. Warrior quickly backed away from the two ladies as he realized what this guy was trying to imply.

“Oh.” Warrior didn’t know what to say, he wasn’t really trying anything with the ladies.

“It’s not my fault that your insecure!” The wife furrowed her eyebrows and cross her arms, People let out a gasp, Wild laughed, Twi and Time widen their eyes, Hyrule, Leg, and Wind saying “oh shit.” as they were invested in the now drama.

The wife and husband had started to cause a big scene infront of everyone. Eventually the husband was going to try and get War involved.

The husband turned to War looking at him with pure-rage. “And you’re an absolute man-whore! thinking you can get with these l-“ War had cut him off and Twi n Time had stepped in.

“Listen, there’s no way I would do anything with your wife or her friend.” Warrior calmly said, making the husband even more angry somehow. “WELL I THINK YOU SHOU-“

“Stop being so insecure, sir, this seems like something you and your wife should work out. privately.” Time butted in.

“And try not to yell so much, there’s kids here you know.”Twi growled out, Sky had woken up from the screams, the kids and sky stared in complete confusion.

A lot of words were exchanged Twilight had to block this man from even trying to hurt Warrior. Warrior was obviously starting to break character so he left. Everyone’s evening was ruined.

Warrior rubbed his temples in frustration, Legend, Hyrule, and Wind stayed with him.

“God sometimes I hate being pretty.” War growled out.

“Actually?” Legend tilted his head. “I thought you were like always used to the attention and liked it.” Legend said cockily, which in War’s response was a death stare.

“I always didn’t look like this stupid.” War rolled his eyes. Hyrule and Wind got right up in his face.

“Tell us now. Skincare when?.” Hyrule said in serious tone. “And your hair routine.” Wind said confidence. Legend chuckled.

“But you weren’t always looking like this? What happened?” Legend asked curiously. War sighed.

“Back when I was a kid or a teen- basically before I even became a knight. I had bad hair, ance, dark spots on my body, you know that kind of stuff. it’s not like those things are bad because I learned to love myself at the time which resulted, into this.” War smiled. “I was always pretty. people just had high preferences.” War whispered that last part.

“One time when i was young I had the biggest crush on this girl and she didn’t just say no to me when i asked her out she spread rumors about me saying i’m a creep because of the way I looked.” Warrior frowned. “People didn’t like me because of how ‘ugly’ I was.” War said “ugly” sarcastically. “And guess what?” War glanced at the three who were shocked.

“What?” the three said at the same time.

“They still don’t.” War deadpan. “People either think they are higher than you or lower than you which always results in some kind of insecurity and negative response.” Warrior frowns and sighs.

“And guess what.” Warrior glances at the boys.

“What?” The all said in sync once again with wide eyes invested in what he has to say.

“Don’t ever let someone’s looks let you feel a certain type a way. okay?” War gave them the sweetest smile ever.

“Heck yeah!” Wind says happily. “Take his advice Legend.” Hyrule snickers. “That was the lamest advice ever.” Legend says in a attitude but takes the advice anyway. They all laughed.

Honestlyyyy this isn’t the best but that’s probably cause it’s late right now. anyway Goodnight/morning/afternoon when ever you read this pinkie !!

Oh dear XD

Warrior was almost in some serious hot water for just being around.

But you cut of the husband in a way that made it seem like he about to still aggressively defend his wife for liking Warrior like-

"Sir, I want nothing to do with your woman!"

"Well you should!"

I dunno, made me laugh. XD

Kinda wish Twilight came in, fisticuff style to help his buddy out, but I Time would have been holding him back to stay "diplomatic". That's who I see it in my head.

[snek-panini]

It's Friday the 13th! Here, have a book completely unrelated to that:

It looks fairly straightforward from here, but this is a bind of @dietraumerei's wonderful Good Omens series, The Sprawl of Life. It's a canon universe, pre-season-2 South Downs Cottage fic, and I typeset it when I did because I'd just watched season 2 and wanted the fluffiest, sweetest, most slice-of-life thing I could think of and this was it. Seriously, if you have been personally victimized by the season 2 finale this might be the antidote you're looking for. Though admittedly some of the lines do hit a lot more bittersweetly now than they did when I first read it in 2019.

More pics under the cut! This one's got an unusual format, go have a look!

It's a dos-a-dos! My first one! Before I started making books I'd never even heard of this format, but I've been wanting to try it ever since I found it. It's hard to find stories that suit the format, though--they've got to be within a certain word count, about the same length, and related to one another, and they have to be a pair, not a three or four part story. They look super complicated without (I've found, anyway) actually being that hard to make. If you want to impress a non-bookbinder make one of these to show them; all my family were fascinated by it.

For materials, the floral cover is scapbook paper from Joann's (the fancy stuff that's very flexible and feels handmade) and the spine is Allure book cloth from Hollander's in the wisteria color. It's a perfect match for the lavender in the paper. I've only previously used the Lineco/Books By Hand book cloth and gotten good results, but my experience with that brand in general was that it's a cheap, readily available base for starting out, but there are wider and better quality options out there once you get away from chain craft stores. Working with this cloth was proof of that. It's stiffer than the Lineco stuff, which made it a little harder to glue down but not enough to cause problems, and it took HTV better than any other surface I've used it on. Here, check out the spines:

Images of the spines. In case the photos are a little blurry, that's Demolishing Proofs We Never Believed In on the left and The World and its Beautiful Particle Logic on the right. The titles gave me some worries. I didn't want to obscure more of the florals by putting them on the front, but was worried they wouldn't fit on the spines since they're so long. I got them on, but it took a lot of careful measurements. Still, though, I couldn't be more pleased by them, and I barely had any of my usual trouble getting the HTV to stick.

Handmade end bands on both sides, in colors matched to the cover paper. I was a little worried about making my own for this project since the text blocks are only about 100 pages each. I was worried they'd be too short. But they're not, and I got a really nice front bead on them. I wanted to do three colors but that proved too challenging for my current skill level. Maybe next time. The second image is the endpaper. Specifically it's the back endpaper, so you can see how the second spine fits into the case. When you read a dos-a-dos, you read the first part, then flip it over like you're going to read the back blurb and there's the second part ready to go. I only explain this because, having never made one, I thought you flipped it over top-to-bottom until I did the case fitting for this one. The top-to-bottom one it called a tete-beche and I think does not have the shared cover board in the center; the pages are connected upside-down. (This is all from my limited research; pro bookbinders please correct me if I'm wrong.)

Couple of interior images. All the graphics came from rawpixel and they are the same in both halves. I kept the typeset really simple on this one, without any extra graphics. Partly that was to keep the page count down (images can take up extra space) and partly it's a reflection of the text. It's a happily ever after story, mostly. Their lives are so much easier here than in canon, and the focus is on communicating without barriers or frills and on building their relationship without other things getting in the way. So it's got a fancy title page, because it matches the cover, but the rest is straightforward with just some simple swirls around the chapter numbers.

I couldn't be more pleased with how this turned out. I was worried it would be very complicated since it's a new-to-me build, but I was exaggerating the difficulty and that made for an easy bind. I hope the author likes it too.

[writing-nothing-but-spilled-ink]

An au if batman characters including the bat family were in the avatar universe

Jason would be like jet most likelubsteal from the rich give to the poor and would fight against the fire nation would also probably be a mercenary and a nonbender, would have knowledge of how to chi block and would be unofficially a dual sword master and great with hand to hand combat as well as have deadly precision with throwing stars/blades like mai

Dick would be the male version of tai Lee he'd be a master chi blocker light on his feet wouldn't kill definitely would make life for fire nation soldiers difficult if he sees them harassing people of weaker means he'll do something about it with a smile he'd also be your worst nightmare trying to take him in hand to hand combat even if your a bender

Damians weapon of choice would be a katana he'd be quick and deadly you'd think you have him then surprise you don't when he attacks it would feel like it came from the shadows you wouldn't have time to think he'd have deadly precision and hed be light on his feet hed be able to go toe to toe with benders like its nothing and would know how to use there strengths against them hed also have short blades to throw and an array of poisons on hand jusy in case hed have a shit ton of contingency plans

okay Bruce obviously nonbender he'd probably know a bunch of techniques he'd be similar to iroh in terms of knowledge minus the spiritual aspects and the kindness portion as well he'd be similar to asamis dad hirashi sato he'd have all the advanced technology even during aangs time only he wouldn't rely only on thr technology and inventions hed also be a sword master, know how to chi block and how to counter most bending techniques remember how iroh swung those boulders with his chains with just shear strength and howw zuko smashed them with his foot yeah that would be bruce minus the fire bending, he'd also have bombs similar to sokkas stink bombs only they'd knock u out...

Swamp thing would definitely be a water bender like the swamp water benders but way more powerful and he'd love in the same swamp the gang visits and finds out they need to seek out toph I also feel like he'd be an incredibly powerful blood bender

Poison ivy would also be a water bender I actually feel like she'd be similar to swamp thing but also very different she wouldn't live in the swamp but off the grid she'd travel all over the world of Avatar just studying medicine and poisons she wouldnt really feel a need to truly interfere with the war unless someone outright makes it her problem or goes after her personally or her home

Harley would be a non bender similar to Dick but like way worse because she's incredibly unpredictable she'd also use blasting jelly at any given moment and God help you if u underestimate her because she's not a bender I feel like she'd have knowledge of a bunch of different weapons as well as an intimate knowledge of explosives she would be a bit of an anti hero in the avatar universe she wouldn't necessarily support ozai but I don't think she'd feel any need to truly go out and attack fire nation soldiers unless she sees them attacking kids or women or forcing themselves onto someone shss huge on consent

Joker are u insane I'm not giving him bending absolutely not no thank you lmaoo y'all really thought I'd give an actual thought for the joker nope but feel free to comment if u like

The flash would be an air bender not monk gyatso level air bending but still powerful

Wonder woman I can see her as being a bender but also a kyoshi warrior and definitely against the fire nation and would oppose them at every turn I feel like she'd be a metal bender and the way she'd metal bend would be similar to how Lynn does in legend of Korra but more powerful then lynn

[annakie]

Fixing the House, Chapter 3: All These Things That I've Done

Part One: I Do Not, In Fact, Have the Power

Part Two: Let’s Spend Lots of Money!

Part Three: All These Things That I’ve Done (YOU ARE HERE)

Part Four: I Really Want to Stay At My House

A little interlude.

Part Five: Power Down

Part Six: You Will Leave Some Paint

Part Seven: Backwards to go Forwards

Part Eight: Master of Bathrooms

Part Nine: Within a Room, Somewhere

Part Ten: Rooms With No View

Part Eleven: Big Bang Room Part A and also Part B!

Part Twelve: We Can Make It On the Outside

Part Thirteen: Mauve Haze Symphony

Part Fourteen (A) - In the Kitchen

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It's been almost a week since my last post and, believe it or not, home renovations continue!

TBH I have a fuzzier memory of what got done when so some of this may be guesses, but it's more or less accurate!

Last post was Thursday morning! All day Thursday the porch was worked on, and by that night, or maybe Friday, it had all the decking on it!

Part One: It was Thursday Yet!

I'd left my car out of the garage that day because I knew they needed to do some work in the garage for the roof and to more easily get to power. That night when I was going to move it back into the garage, my next door neighbor, on the side that already had the fence, came out to talk to me.

She first gushed about how great the front of my house looked. I was so happy and proud! She did tell me that I needed to cut my bushes in the front back, which, I do need to have that done, lol.

I showed her all the work getting done and she was really happy for me. We ended up talking about the fence for the first time, really, and she told me that she disagreed with her husband about putting the "ugly" part of the fence outside, too, but as he built he he told her he wanted to see the pretty side. OK, whatever. It didn't matter now, but it was good to hear. :)

She also told me that back when I had my house broken into in like 2009, her husband saw them leave my house and CHASED THEM! They went two blocks to the apartment complex nearby. He saw what apartment they went into!! He called the police and told them EVERYTHING.

Apparently even with an eyewitness and the EXACT LOCATION OF MY STUFF the police just did not give a fuck to follow up. Man, I wish I'd have known that fifteen years ago when it happened. Just... absolutely infuriating. How fucking useless, cops. NO thank you very much.

Anyway, that was a good time, and the longest conversation we'd ever had.

Part Two: Blurry Happenings on the Weekend.

Either Friday or Saturday, I think Friday, Jose and Maria resumed work on the fence, AND FINISHED IT.

Holy shit, I had a fully enclosed yard. I was SO excited. I was practically giggling.

Here's a picture!

ALL of the junk is cleaned up and the rest of the chain link fence removed, but I'll save a full clean pic for the last update.

The alley side looks SO PRETTY!! And will be prettier when it's stained!

Also awesome is that i have a streetlight there that shines RIGHT into my backyard. It's already nicely lit. But I have plans for more lighting!

Not long after they left and I talked to Joel for awhile, I headed to Home Depot to buy a few things that we needed. Some of it maybe Joel should have paid for but I thought of it and I was there, so I bought the stuff.

First stop was the paint department. I brought the old can of paint for the living room wall and asked for a sample size of that. Turns out there were two colors that had had that same name and number. WHY, BEHR, WHY? I truly couldn't tell which was the right one from the picture. So, I just had them mix them both up. Ugh.

I also brought what I thought was the color I used in my bathroom and had them get me a sample of that because I needed to do some touch-ups. When I got home, I realized that that was actually the color I used for my doors. So I gotta go back and fix that. :p

I bought house numbers that need to go on the back of my fence (city regulation). I bought a new light to replace the porch light that broken. TBH it needed replacing, and I also wanted to make sure I got one I liked so I was fine paying for that. I got a gallon of white paint to paint my garage door, and a painting kit/tape since I didn't have any anymore, it'd been a long time since I painted. Oh, also some nice iron door handles to put on my gates so it'd be easier to pull them closed.

I'd bought a few things online over the week including new cushions for some of my patio furniture. So I when I got home from HD, I broke those out and was absolutely THRILLED to just chill out in my backyard that night for a bit.

I left the patio door open and let Fry and Pemily come hang out on the patio, too, since they now had no way to escape out of the yard. Neither of them are the escaping kind anyway, but I still never felt safe letting them hang out outside much at all, maybe one of them at a time for 2 or 3 minutes. But neither of them are good climbers so they had absolutely no way to get out now. Fry LOVED getting to explore a bit, and Pemily mostly stood near the door or near me, but it was a good experience for them.

I just want to also re-state that the little pole in the middle of the patio will be removed at some point when we no longer need the extra bracing.

I just sipped on my huge mug of water and truly enjoyed my backyard for the first time, pretty much ever, in 21 years of living here.

I believe Saturday while he was working on the fence, the roofers returned and did the first bit of putting the shingles on the patio. They didn't finish, there was some extra work to do at the "crease" where the roof met the Patio, but a good bit of it was done.

This is the pic where you CAN'T see the rest of the work that needed to get done. But most of the junk is removed!

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Part Three: No-Work Sunday

Sunday I visited my parents, and so no work got done.

On Saturday I'd told Joel that I wouldn't be home Sunday because I was going to visit my parents. I said they were leaving and it'd be the last time I'd see them for a few months so I HAD to go. I thought he asked me where they were going, so I said where, which is a several hour drive away. He asked when I'd be back, so I said Sunday evening. Hilariously, he was very confused because what he'd actually asked me is where do they live now, and the answer to that is about an hour away from me. He didn't understand how I'd be driving like 7 hours to visit them and then be back that same evening, lol.

My bad, I didn't listen well enough.

Sunday it also rained for the first time since the week of the storms that kicked off all this work, and we needed it. We wanted to do the fence staining that day while I was out but couldn't happen.

And then it rained Monday. The roofers returned Monday, though, and finished the roof!

We hadn't put a gutter on the back roof, but it was raining when I was home Sunday night it had rained it was clear we needed a gutter. The rain was dripping off the wood facing, and most of it came down hard at the place where the big slant of the roof met the patio roof.

So Joel and I talked about it, and agreed to each pay half to get a gutter put up. It was fair.

Part Four: Odds and Ends

Monday Jose came and took care of a lot of the odds and ends. Fixed the ceiling in the garage... did I mention a roofer also put his foot through the garage? Again, he was fine, but just a second hole in the garage wasn't my favorite thing. But it's fixed, no big deal!

This hole is no longer there.

He fixed the bathroom light that had come loose. This is obviously before it was fixed.

He put the new light outside on the patio against the wall. I need to take a picture of that!

There's a little hole near the patio that needs to be filled in with dirt from elsewhere. I put some cute little solar lights I'd bought around the hole to mark the hazard.

I had bought little cat doors. Buster and Peter had both figured out how to get into the yard again, but I'm sure it's a pain for them. Also, I HAVE to have a window in the fence where the water meter is so that the water department can come by and read the meter, so I'm just putting a cat door there, too. The boys (and hopefully the possum, who I haven't seen since the fence went in) will have an easier way to get in and out.

But we can't put those in, or the gate handles, or the house numbers, up until we can stain the fence. But it rained Sunday and Monday, and last night. So, no stain yet. Tomorrow, probably! I picked the color out just based on a picture, and I like it, and my neighbors like it, so hopefully I'll have pictures soon of it looking great!

The living room hole also got worked on yesterday and today. More spackle went up, and today he came and did the texturing on both the wall and ceiling. Tomorrow I think it all gets painted and it'll be like it never happened!

Part Five: I... Might Get the Power?

Back on Friday, Joel, Jose and I were discussing the porch and Joel suggested that I get a patio light installed in the patio instead of just the light on my house, and maybe an outdoor ceiling fan/light. That was a great idea. I didn't know if I could afford it, though. The budget was already gone, and my reserve savings, which isn't much, was really started to get low, too. But, honestly, I did want that fan and a couple of other things.

The problem was that we can't finish the patio until the wiring is done for any electric stuff going on in it.

I texted Joel's electrician Friday night, he said he'd get back to me but didn't over the weekend. When Joel was there Monday, he called Alberto, the Electrician, for me and he said he'd be by today (Tuesday.)

Tonight, after work I fell asleep on the couch watching Make Some Noise (I was real tired, ok?) Fry woke me up by coming to cuddle with me and it was really sweet. And then the doorbell rang around 6:15pm.

Heeey, it was Arturo! He had been doing a job in Fort Worth and apologized for coming so late. It's cool.

So we went to the patio, and he gave me a price I was shocked at was so low (though I had no idea it would cost, I just figured more than that) to wire things up for the fan and then install it after the porch ceiling was on. He also then whipped out his phone, had me pull up Amazon on mine, and directed me to a really good price on a fan he thought would do the job well. That also cost way less than I'd assumed it would. Awesome.

I also wanted an electric outlet on the patio, since there was none. I pointed out where the washer/dryer was opposite one part of the patio, he said no problem, and gave me the price for that outdoor outlet with a waterproof cover. Fantastic.

Since everything was pretty reasonably priced, I then showed him the master bath, which honestly I haven't really used in years. There is no outlet in there and the shower is a dumb size/shape so I practically only have one bathroom in a 2 bath house. He said he could cheaply put a new outlet next to the lightswitch. GREAT.

And then the big thing. The Office (aka what most people use as their living room.) There is NO LIGHTING in this room. I mean, I have a lamp here on my desk and I put some LED lighting behind the TV but neither of those is much. It seems RIDICULOUS that there's no lighting in this, the room that should be the living room. After some discussion, we settled on what I ALWAYS WANTED, for the last 21 years, some recessed lighting with a dimmer.

I wanted to cry from joy. It's another expense I didn't plan for, but all together the price is VERY reasonable for what I'm getting, way less than I dreamed it would be, and it's resolving several of my biggest gripes about the house, plus upgrading the patio significantly.

Tomorrow Arturo is coming to wire the patio for the fan/light so Jose can get back to finishing the patio, and he'll be back to install everything else when the Patio is ready, so late this week or sometime next week. FINE WITH ME!

Part Six: Conquering the Mountain

I have a terrible confession to make: My garage has been a horrible mess for many years. I tackle it a bit sometimes, but uh... not enough. Honestly, was embarrassing this week every time this week anyone needed to do anything in it. Plenty of space to park the car but uhhh... not much else.

The worst part of it is Laundry Mountain. Really, two mountains. No, there's not pictures of the garage past what you've seen. Very cropped. Honestly haven't put my clothes away in my bedroom in years, it all just gets washed and thrown on Laundry Mountain and I just pick what I want to wear off of/out of the mountain. It's... not great. And has been going on uh...longer than I'm going to admit.

The house itself sometimes gets a bit cluttered (tbh it's on the cluttered side now but I've been decluttering lately and it's gonna get back to organized pretty soon) but nothing like the garage.

It is A Problem.

Joel kind of jokingly scolded me about it and said he could get some guys to come haul all the junk out for a reasonable rate.

I told him maybe, but I needed to get the stuff out that I wanted to keep first.

Tonight, I started tackling the bigger pile of Laundry Mountain.

I threw out two medium-sized trash bags of mostly old, shitty clothes that like, the elastic rotted out of, or were just worn out or stained. Also, just some legit junk mixed in there.

I sorted and bagged up another trash bag of clothes to donate.

And then everything I might want to keep, which, tbh, was way too much, got dumped on my spare bedroom bed. Not the best solution, but it's a good place for it to be so I can sort again in the A/C and be close to where stuff can be put away. I'm thinking of it as one round of easy choices, and then a second round of taking inventory so I can choose the things I REALLY want / have room for and will do a more aggressive sort before putting away what I really want to keep.

I think I made it through about half of the bigger mountain in two hours. The hot water heater & washer/dryer are now completely accessible and the walkway to the door into the house is clear instead of just having a path.

it's a start! I'm proud of me.

TBH there's other reasons I'm proud of me lately that I'm not ready to post about, but maybe someday soon. But that other reason was really feeding into the clutter problem before I tackled it, and now that it's way more under control, getting the house to an amazing state is much easier. All of the work being done is the rest of the motivation I needed.

Anyway, need to head to bed now. Another update probably when all the actual work with Joel, Jose and Arturo is done!