#and everyone else is probably getting into insane debt

[crowcryptid]

hearing the students in the hallways makes me dizzy. They’re either rich or???????? Ok with being in debt forever?? Idk man.

Not only did they move here, not only are they paying to study here, they’re choosing to live nearby. Which is the most expensive part of the city. There are multiple offers for roommates on our bulletin and it’s 2k-2.5k a month to live with multiple roommates.

Like. You came all the way here? For this? For real? Worst inflation in the whole country guys. Please stop coming here. Please..?

[robobee]

Do you have any thoughts on what Henry would think if he heard about Ronan's ecoterrorism spree/Declan's everything while on the sarchengsey road trip

i have MANY thoughts on this since i think about it a lot, but every time i start i get really angry because it genuinely is absurd to not have updates from the Human Battery, Very Involved Magic Black Market Participant, and Resurrected Dream Forest during the course of TD3. so i'll divide my thoughts into what i want and what is likely. i realise in hindsight that i answered thoughts AFTER he returns but, same diff (i do think he/everyone else HAS to be super unconnected and iphone-less during the road trip, just to keep up my sanity).

i want Henry to be absolutely furious at best, disgusted at worst. i think declan's thing is more reasonable for him to be upset at, both because of their family's connection at the markets and also because hey dude what the hell how did you not receive a single consequence from shooting up an entire ecosystem of allegorical gang violence?! white privilege at its finest. but i also want him to rip ronan a new one because like. you've seen this guy's father and brother go to insane lengths to keep him safe and he's just being so unbelievably stupid and also undoubtedly harming so many innocent workers/individuals in such a strange campaign its like duuuuude. why not patent an oil-eating amoeba to combat pollution instead of continuing to do the hardest and most useless route. again, in my head I think Henry being resentful/hateful toward Dreamers + admitting aloud that it's a shame i wasn't here to aid the moderators adds something VERY VERY interesting to the dynamics at play because of how one-degree-of-separation he is to several dreamers, esp considering bc he'd still be civil despite it. but yeah declan gets scolded like a child and ronan gets the worst stinkeye on the planet and declan has to just pay off niall's debt in pure cash now, which, good luck!

what is more likely to happen with Henry's thoughts IF margie ever writes it: Absolutely Nothing. at best he's going to have a 3 second passing thought about how "edgy" and "cool" ronan was for "sticking it to the man" (henry is The Man, fiscally speaking, margie has forgotten that ronan is also a millionaire somehow) . with declan henry probably says "i heard! that's so fire and caucasian of you, mister lynch. skibidi!" and then they never talk about it again

[eri-pl]

Another B&L rework

This time is has everything we need:

Celegorm is not villanized and actually cool (still a kinslayer, but only once)

Curufin is not too villanized either (he is pragmatic with bad results, really bad at estel, and still a kinslayer. But he isn't a cartoon villain, just complicated. Also G-g's dad.)

Finrod is there and is still awesome (and still not very smart)

There's more angst than in the canon

It fits seamlessly with the rest of the story

Long post below cut

It starts during the battle (was that Sudden Flame?). Barahir saves both Finrod and Celegorm. Curufin is somewhere else at the time, idk, battles are chaotic, ok? Finrod makes his oath to Barahir. Celegorm has trauma on oaths, but gives Barahir a ring (yes, it's not Finrod in this), and a not-a-promise-but-I-feel-in-debt talk.

The 3 Elves (FCC) go together to Nargothrond (which was built either by Finrod or better Finrod and Curufin: Finrod did the diplomacy and decor, Curufin did the engineering. Anyway now they're all there). There is no Orodredh, we don't need him anyway.

BTW Gil-Galad as Celebrimbor's brother? He's just more introverted and a slow bloomer? So at this point he doesn't do much, I imagine him hunting w uncle Celegorm and talking philosophy with Finrod. This kind of interests. He'll grow to be more of a warrior later, probably during War of Wrath.

Finrod happily shares the rulership with Curufin, because then he can spend more time on art and fanboying over Mannish philosophy and trying to figure it out. Curufin likes to manage stuff. Celegorm is in and out of the city, hunting and often bored.

They are friends, even with the stains of the whole Kinslaying thing. But their dynamics is... well, they do argue. Finrod is the idealist and sometimes lacks contact with reality. Curufin is the clever one, but very pragmatic, even cynical. Celegorm is not into discussions and easily bored. But they do like each other etc. they did fight together, it connects.

Also, Finrod is totally a Man fanboy at this point and assumes (why? idk. He is just like that) the Secondborn are a fix to everything and will solve the Oath of Feanor somehow and everything. He is not, like, insane, but he is definitely overenthusiastic at times, and much of an idealist. He does some really weird and often false extrapolation from what Andredh told him and everyone kinda ignores his more esoteric ideas. But he is also wise in many areas. Just don't let him start talking about philosophy ;) Also he is very optimistic in general, that's just his personality (I think Celegorm is also rather optimistic, even with all the circumstances).

Then Beren comes. Finrod of course follows him to the quest, C&C discuss it and Celegorm goes too. Part of it is gratitude, part of it is the Silmaril. He's got no idea what would he do if Beren succeeds. But this is Celegorm. He doesn't think much into the future.

Curufin stays as technically a regent, but it's pretty clear to everyone that Finrod is not going to come back, so he is de facto king from the start. He does the "imprison Luthien to protect her" thing, but it's well-intentioned. Also, he likes her more than he likes Beren, and he doesn't want to risk her getting a Silmaril because then he'd have to kill her (She is aware of it, and of the fact that he would probably be willing to kill Beren if it came to that. She doesn't like Curufin, to say it mildly, but they are also allies. It's complicated. She runs away anyway.).

He also later does the stupid bridge thing. He's nor actively malicious here, just makes bad decisions. Also, Finrod would want him to listen to the advice of Men and he has some anger on Finrod at this point (for dying and, even more, for getting Celegorm into a quest he will likely not survive) and there's some subconscious passive-agressive "I'll do the stupid thing Finrod would do, he deserves it!". Also, building things is just cool and the bridge does sound like it could make sense.

Huan stays in the city with Luthien, Celegorm orders him or manipulates him to stay, "for his own good" (Celegorm does not expect to return from the quest), Huan is very upset about it, so of course both he and Luthien run away.

Beren with two Elves disguise as Orcs. Finrod does the singing, Celegorm does the more material part of disguise (mud and clay and stuff) and invents the names. ("Felagund" is not a well-known name for Finrod and Beren is just a random dude, so it's not *that* stupid. Celegorm picks something better than reverse-name for himself. "Nauh" maybe :D or a less obvious pun.) Celegorm thinks it is funny, and makes the names like that to make Sauron look stupid. Finrod does the song duel - he is a better singer than Celegorm. Celegorm is a much better liar though, so he also has his part. They get captured anyway. They do probably have some people with them, but not much (C&C were stubborn about not wasting lives), the canon 10 is fine. Everything goes as normal, except Celegorm is there. The wolf is huge. Celegorm starts the "break the chains and bite it to death" first, Finrod frees himself too (maybe with a little help) but they can't free Beren, the fight is too intense. Celegorm bites the wolf to death, Finrod helps a little, both are severly wounded. Finrod manages to heal Celegorm enough to save his life, but Celegorm is bad at healing (because he's a kinslayer and also because it's just something he was never good at, Finrod was better, because he is good at singing in general). Celegorm faints, Finrod dies. :(

Luthien and Huan come and get the two of them out. More healing. Celegorm is surprised to be alive, becasue Doom of the Noldor and all.

They do the questing as in canon. They go to Angband. I have a small problem with Huan here, I need a reason for him to stay outside, maybe further away. Wounded?

They enter Angband. Do things as in canon. Beren yoinks the Silmaril. Celegorm makes a weird face and something that leads to noise (maybe he is trying to yoink the other one in the meantime?). Anyway Celegorm looks as if he was considering murdering B&L and generally insane, Morgoth's forces wake up, B&L run...

Celegorm stays behind. (That's why we can't have Huan here - he would stay with Celegorm and we need him later.)

He stays to cover their backs, but from B&L's point of view he may as well be staying because the Silmarils compelled him and he is out of his mind now. If I wrote this as a fic, it would be clear in his PoV that he does the heroic thing here, and dies like a hero (yes, he legit dies and goes to Mandos, give him at least this), but from B&L's pov it's ambiguous.

The rest goes as normal, except there is no Orodreth. Curufin survives the fall of Nargothrond (we'll need him at the kinslaying). Oh, and Celebrimbor doesn't cut ties with his father and uncle, but that doesn't change anything really. Huan dies as per the story.

B&L are smart enough to not try to meet Curufin again.

Dior is raised partially by B&L on stories of Celegorm who died a hero (They do give him the benefit of doubt. It is sometimes emotionally difficult for them to do so, but they do.), and on stories of the tragedy of the House of Feanor. Luthien teaches him compassion for them (this isn't very easy to do either, but she does), but not support for all their deeds.

And partially he is raised by others, on stories of Feanorians as bloodthirsty monsters (I imagine Thingol would propagate those).

Also, he is raised by Melian, who has foresight and straightup tells Dior that getting the Silmarils will not save the sons of Feanor, but it will destroy them. Maybe even some details about fire and despair. And she tells him that the Silmaril he holds is the best hope for Beleriand, though she doesn't yet know how. For all of them, both Feanorians and everyone else.

So, when they demand the Silmaril later, he still refuses. Not out of hate for them. He refuses in order to protect them. For the memory of Celegorm, and for pity. And for sake of the whole world. That too.

Curufin gets his letter (with all this explained), rolls his eyes and tears the letter to pieces. He is the pragmatic one and wants to protect Maedhros and others from the difficult choice and despair of knowing that they cannot win. From his point of view following the Oath is necessary, otherwise they're all doomed. He destroys Dior's letter to save his brothers.

And his sons. In this version Celebrimbor is still with him (and Gil-galad!), so Curufin sends his poor, innocent, not-Oath-bound sons somewhere far. And prepares for battle.

Two of Celegorm's servants remember how their lord died because of those Silmaril thieves. They suspect that Beren and Luthien backstabbed Celegorm so that they could take the gem for themselves. The two warriors have sworn revenge long ago.

The rest goes on as normal, except without Celegorm because he's dead. So we later do get Earendil and all that.

(Oh, probably Huan's 3 speeches would be different. Celegorm in this version deserves at least one.)

Also:

Celegorm: I'm... not in the Everlasting Darkness? Namo: By protecting those two you did more to bring woe onto Morgoth that you would do any other way. It will lead to his downfall. Celegorm: Are you allowed to tell me all that? Namo: *shrug* You shall not be reborn until he is defeated. Celegorm: *assumes it's like, thousands of years* :( Celegorm: ...what is the Everlasting Darkness, anyway? Namo: *exhausted tone* I do not answer questions on metaphysics. Celegorm: *knowingly* ...Finrod? Namo: *nod* Celegorm: My apologies, I tried to spare you his visit. ;D :( Namo: ...and tell me, why it is that you could not heal him? Celegorm:...because I'm a kinslayer?* Namo: Because you're a kinslayer. Now ponder on this for some time, I shall visit you later.

*(there's a canon thing that killing people makes you a worse healer even if it was justified)

There are probably still some holes in this narrative, because I'm bad at the lore. I would be grateful for corrections.

[kittythelitter]

CW: Chrissy's mom. Specifically being body shamey and ableist. Also characters being pressured into a relationship they don't want to be in.

Okay but ST season 4 AU where everyone lives, including Chrissy and Jason. Like, Vecna breaks his victims and traps his victims in their own minds instead of killing them so he can feed off their life forces or whatever and Chrissy is found in the trailer broken and covered in upsidedown goop but still alive so everyone's like. This is some weird supernatural bullshit. And Jason still leads a witch-hunt.

After it all, Chrissy is awake and recovering and she breaks up with Jason for being the worst. And her mom is like. You're legally an adult, you chased away a good man, because you're bed bound for now you lost your cheerleading scholarship and the only thing that makes you worth anything. You can't even get a job in your current state. You need a man. If you let me set you up with a rich eligible bachelor and don't fuck it up, we will pay your hospital bills, maybe even college.

Meanwhile Steve is a hero, and is a publicity asset for the Harringtons, and for the first time since he graduated high school has some kind of value to his parents. He's being celebrated, and if they set him up with one of their business partner's kids they can curry favor. More so if it's the poor injured Cunningham girl who is beloved and lauded by the town for being victims of the bizarre serial killer, Henry Creel.

(Ignore the goo and the vines and the crack in the ground that used to be main street there was a serial killer and an earthquake and they were totally unrelated.)

So Steve and Chrissy are both being pressured by their parents into a relationship that even conceptually makes them uncomfortable. But she can't back out without starting adulthood in a wheelchair in crippling debt. And while Steve could probably survive being disowned and his parents' ire his abandonment issues and desperate people pleaser tendencies make him not want to piss off his parents, disappoint the Cunninghams, or hurt Chrissy's feelings.

So they go on a lot of very uncomfortable dates. And they kind of get along. And Steve breaks down and full on Robin word vomits that she's great and he's sure she'll find a great guy but he really doesn't want to upset their parents or hurt her feelings- but he really really doesn't feel that way about her- and it's not because she's in a wheelchair or anything- one of his kids is in a wheelchair- well not his kid- there's these kids he babysits- that's not the point- he's really really sorry, but he kind has a crush on someone else, and he can't keep pretending to date her to make other people happy, and he's really sorry. And she's like. Holy shit.

And he just broke down so she feels comfortable explaining her situation and he, overwhelmed by his protector instincts, agrees to keep up the appearance of dating until her hospital bills are paid and she can make her own choices about what she wants.

So they keep doing public dates and stuff. But outside of that, he invites her to meet his friends, cause she lost a lot of hers in everything. She's been really lonely, and she's very sweet and kind of dorky so she gets along with everyone.

And Steve told Robin everything because she's Robin, but not everyone else because he didn't want to get into his parents bullshit or expose Chrissy's baggage so they're all nice to her and get along but they're a little weird about it because that's Chrissy Cunningham. And Steve's dating her???

Also Robin is weird around her because hot girl, but everyone thinks she's jealous which is a weird dynamic. Chrissy thinks Robin is Steve's crush and keeps talking Steve up to Robin and talking about how Robin's great and how close she and Steve are and how nice that is. And it's very awkward.

Eddie is insanely jealous and he knows that Robin's a lesbian so he's like. Oh she has a crush on her best friend's straight girlfriend. That sucks. And he also hates that he can't hate Chrissy, because she's so fucking nice and sweet to him.

(Nancy, Jon and Argyle are all on varying levels of knowing something is up but are staying out of it because they are too stoned to parse what specifically is happening or too stubborn to admit that they made some wrong assumptions.)

(the kids don't care much beyond being glad that Steve wasn't flirting with every age appropriate girl he crossed paths with anymore)

And then Chrissy figures out that a) whoops she has a crush on her fake boyfriend's best friend (Robin). b) Steve and Eddie are in love. And c) Eddie thinks she and Steve are for real. So Chrissy tries to explain to Eddie that their relationship is fake without spilling Steve's baggage, and mentions that she doesn't even like Steve like that she actually likes Robin.

Through some miscommunication Eddie now thinks Steve is unknowingly Chrissy's beard. And he doesn't want to out Chrissy but he's a little upset that she's using his crush totally platonic guy friend this way.

Meanwhile Chrissy tries to team up with Robin to get Steve and Eddie together. Because Robin clearly loves Steve and Eddie and wants them to be happy even if she hates Chrissy for some reason. (Again Robin doesn't hate Chrissy she's just super awkward).

Boundless shenanigans ensue.

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Don't Go Blindly Into the Dark

Summary:

To hide that he can't read, Jan Van Eck has been forcing his son to pretend he's blind since he was eight years old. Wylan is now attending Ketterdam University, and meeting Jesper Fahey may very well be about to change his life. But is he safe to tell Jesper the truth? And what will Jesper say if he does?

Jesper is struggling to weigh up his life in the Barrel and his life at the University of Ketterdam, and there's a good chance that his growing debt is about to make the decision for him. He hasn't attended class consecutively for months, but maybe that will change when his newest project includes partnering up with Wylan Van Eck. But can he really leave the Barrel behind him? And how long can he keep up the pretence of who he thinks Wylan wants him to be?

Tags: @justalunaticfangirl @lunarthecorvus

If anyone else would like to be tagged let me know :)

Content warnings for this chapter: ptsd, loss of a parent, implied child abuse references

AO3 link

Chapter 8 - Jesper

“Hey, merchling. It’s Jesper,”

Wylan looked up.

“You don’t have to announce yourself every time, you know. I know it’s you,”

“Really?” asked Jesper, in spite of himself.

“Well for starter’s no-one else calls me merchling,” Wylan would have been glaring at him if his focus wasn’t ever so slightly too far to the left, “But also I can recognise your voice,”

“Wow, you can already recognise my voice? You must be smitten,”

Wylan’s cheeks heated, and Jesper grinned.

“I recognise everyone’s voices,” he snapped, defensively.

“Relax, I’m teasing. Anyway, can I sit with you?”

Wylan blinked. For a brief moment no-one said anything, and then Wylan quickly nodded and shuffled slightly further along the otherwise empty bench so Jesper could take a seat. It was a new phenomena for Jesper to arrive at a lecture on time; to decide where he wanted to sit instead of hastily perching on the end of anywhere where a space was free. And he’d come to the recent realisation that, other than Helena Dente and a couple of others, rowdy groups he’d been to the Barrel with or pretty almost strangers he probably shouldn’t just sit back down next to without explanation of awkward conversations, Wylan was pretty much the only person round here he knew. He hadn’t hung around long enough to make any real friends. Somehow though, he trusted Wylan. Maybe that was stupid of him - how good was his track record with trust? Then again, how much of that was his own fault?

The lecture began and droned on for what felt like an awful lot longer than the hour that actually passed. Jesper fidgeted, twisting his rings and drumming his fingers against the desk. When the class finally drew to a close and people began to file out, he turned back to Wylan.

“Okay I’m not insane right, we’ve been in here for like five years?”

Wylan smiled, laughing softly.

“It wasn’t… the most interesting lecture we’ve ever had,”

Jesper laughed in agreement, like he’d know. 

“We’re both free the rest of the day, right? Do you wanna go to the library to work on the-?”

“I can’t,” Wylan breathed, almost nervously, his smile dropping “Sorry. I have to get home,”

“Fancy dinner party?” teased Jesper, “Journeying to a royal wedding, perhaps?”

Wylan didn’t laugh.

“I just… I’m not supposed to stay out too long,”

Jesper raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything.

They walked out into the corridor together, and Jesper found himself watching the end of Wylan’s cane tapping from side to side against the glossy wooden boards so distractedly that he almost walked straight into a wall. He spent the evening on a job with Kaz - nothing big, intercepting some shipment of jurda so Kaz could sell it on; they’d repackage it, line the boxes with coffee grounds to hide the scent, and move it out in their own illegal shipments, but that would be someone else’s job - and the night solidly losing at Three Man Bramble and buying drinks he couldn’t afford. He missed his whatever-subject-it-was-supposed-to-be lecture the next morning, but managed to run back to the University District in time to meet Wylan.

“So come one then,” Jesper said, at some point, tapping the end of his fountain pen against the table, “You had to take the business class, but what do you actually want to do?”

Wylan shrugged.

“I’m good at chemistry,”

“But do you like chemistry?”

“What does it matter?” asked Wylan, shaking his head, “Just doing something I like won’t get me anywhere,”

“You don’t need to get anywhere,” Jesper couldn’t help but reply, “You could sit around your fancy house doing nothing for the rest of time, if you wanted to. So why are you here?”

Wylan flushed.

“I wanted to learn,”

“Learn what?”

“Anything. Everything,”

He looked almost earnest in it. Almost.

“Come on, there has to be something specific you want to do,”

“Well why are you here?” asked Wylan, “You said you hate economics, but it’s the only subject we’ve ever talked about. What else do you study?”

Jesper wasn’t actually even sure.

“I’m in the midst of switching around my classes,” he admitted, remembering suddenly that he was supposed to meet the dean tomorrow with his new ideas, “Everything I’ve ever tried wasn’t for me - on the farm, at a gunsmith. I was supposed to come to Kerch to find my direction,”

Wylan nodded, slowly.

“And… have you?”

“Saints, no. I don’t know what I want to do - what else do you study?”

“Chemistry, mathematics, biology,”

Jesper sighed.

“Well they all sound boring as hell. I have to volunteer some ideas of what to study by tomorrow, and at this rate it’s gonna be absolutely nothing,”

When Jesper did show up to his meeting - ten minutes late, but at least that was a considerable improvement on last time - he didn’t actually know what he was planning to say until it came out of his mouth. But then the next morning there he was, sitting next to Wylan at the back of a biology classroom. 

“What happened to this being boring as hell?”

“Oh, I don’t doubt it will be,” said Jesper, lightly, “But you’re smart, and I’m sitting next to you,”

Wylan shuffled and Jesper was trying to figure out if he’d said something wrong, when the figure of Nina Zenik appeared in the doorway. He grinned as she waved and sauntered over. He hadn’t noticed that Wylan had all but completely frozen. 

“Hey gorgeous,” he moved along a little so she could sit down, “Where’s Inej?”

“Doesn’t take bio,” said Nina, at the same time that Wylan said:

“You know Inej?”

Jesper used the second he needed to process that question to introduce Wylan and Nina to each other. Uncomfortable wasn’t a strong enough word to describe how Wylan looked, but Jesper couldn’t tell why. 

“Nina and Inej just moved here from Ravka,” said Jesper, smoothly, “We met the other day. But you know Inej?”

“She’s in my chemistry class,”

Wylan fidgeted with his sleeve whilst Jesper gave Nina a furious, questioning look that she pointedly ignored. What were they doing honing in on Wylan? Jesper definitely didn’t trust that Kaz had any kind of good intentions, and he didn’t want them to get the kid mixed up in whatever scheme he’d concocted this time. 

It also turned out to be pretty annoying to sit in between Wylan and Nina during a biology class, because they both cared. The professor was apparently a big fan of making everyone discuss the topic with each other and they seemed to have to do it every ten minutes, which meant that every ten minutes Jesper had to sit there trying to wrap his head around the size differences between DNA and genes and alleles and chromosomes he was also stuck listening to them both going on about the action of RNA polymerase in the process of transcription. Eventually, he murmured to Wylan:

“I don’t get it; what does the enzyme do?”

“Enzymes are like natural catalysts,” Wylan replied, “The DNA helicase enzyme catalyses a reaction that unwinds the two strands of DNA, and the DNA polymerase enzyme catalyses a reaction that forms a new phosphodiester bond to make a new strand. That one’s like welding; the two pieces of metal you want to connect are the bases, the backbone is what you’re going to use to form the link, and the enzyme is the torch,”

It was like he knew exactly how to explain it in a way Jesper understood. He didn’t know how he did that. Jesper smiled.

“Okay, so when they make the protein it's like welding again, right? Just between amino acids, instead of bases,”

Wylan nodded.

“With peptide bonds, instead of phosphodiester,”

“Well, that’s kind of interesting,” said Jesper, in spite of himself, “It’s just like metalwork. And if you unwound it all without damaging it - that’s what the helicase does, right? - you’d be able to know what all the bases were. So it’s like a code, you could figure out any protein the DNA can make just by reading the bases,”

“Yeah,” Wylan smiled, “That’s the proteome,”

Jesper did his best to listen to the rest of the lecture, trying to follow along with the descriptions of mutations in the order of the bases and what they could lead to. It was an overview, the professor told them, of what they’d be studying in a lot more detail over the coming weeks. As the lecture drew to a close and the students began to file out, he called:

“Do we have a Miss Zenik, in here? Might I have a word?”

Nina glanced back towards Jesper and Wylan, frustrated, but then smiled her way to the front of the room. Jesper looked at Wylan.

“Do you, er… do you think that maybe we could meet up some time to talk about some of the biology stuff from earlier this year? 

“Yeah,” Wylan smiled a little nervously, “Yeah, we could do that. Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow. I guess in the morning again?”

There was a pause, and then Wylan ventured:

“I guess it couldn’t hurt to be late home one night, right? We could go to the library after lunch,”

Jesper grinned.

“Sounds like a plan,”

His good mood lasted him all the way to the door. He waited alone in the corridor for Nina to leave the lecture hall, and soon as her foot was over the doorstep he pounced.

“What the hell are you doing with Wylan?”

“My job, Jesper,” she said lightly, tossing her hair over her shoulder as they began to walk down the hallway together, “And anyway what do you care?”

“Don’t turn this around on me. We both know there’s no good intentions behind this, and I’m telling you to leave him alone,”

“Well if you want to take it up with Kaz then be my guest,” she replied, “But I think we all know how that conversation would go,”

*

Jesper didn’t realise how long he and Wylan had been in the library until they left and discovered the sunset was waiting for them. They’d sat downstairs on some of the comfortable sofas beneath the towering bookshelves in a far corner, opposite each other, Jesper cross-legged with a notebook open in his lap. Wylan started by describing mitosis, which Jesper already vaguely knew was how cells replicated. He didn’t stop Wylan though, even when he was going through topics that Jesper already understood. There was something wonderful about watching him explain it.

“The entire world is a puzzle,” Wylan said, “And sometimes you get to learn one bit of it, you solve one piece or one equation, and it’s like it’s clicked into place. Like you won something, by figuring out this tiny piece of the puzzle. I feel like I’ll never know enough about anything, there’s always something new,”

Jesper smiled slowly, watching him, the sunlight warm through the window and drifting over them. 

“Like when I went to the Ice Court,” Wylan was still saying, “All I could think about was the Ice Moat.It’s just a layer of ice over water, but the court is on top of a hill and there’s no aqueduct - where does the moat come from?”

“You went to the Ice Court and that’s what you were thinking about?” Jesper shook his head, “What were you even doing there?”

“I went to an embassy dinner,” Wylan’s voice drifted a little, like he regretted bringing it up in the first place, “When I was a kid,”

Jesper didn’t know why he asked, but his curiosity was piqued so he continued:

“You travel a lot?”

“I used to. Before…” he gestured vaguely towards his eyes, and Jesper found himself wondering again about the little scar above his cheekbone.

“Where did you go?”

“Lots of places; my father used to take me everywhere with him. We went to the Shu oil fields, Elling, the jurda fields near Shrifport,”

“They’re beautiful,” Jesper murmured, thinking of the orange fields at home and forgetting what a stupid thing that was to say, “I mean - sorry,”

“It’s okay. And anyway, that was before the accident. They were beautiful. I’m glad I got to see them. But we don’t really go anywhere anymore, not anywhere that isn’t in Kerch anyway,”

“Why not?”

“This, mostly,” he shrugged, gesturing to his eyes again. Jesper wasn’t sure why that should stop them, “But we lost my mother not long before the accident, and I guess… I guess my father just felt like he was losing us both,”

Jesper wanted to say that was stupid; he hadn’t lost Wylan, Wylan was sitting right there and maybe if his father didn’t suddenly start treating him differently than he used to then l it wouldn’t feel like they’d lost anything at all. But all he said was:

“I’m sorry. I…” he breathed, “I lost my mother too, when I was a kid,”

For a strange, stupid moment Jesper reached out and tried to take Wylan’s hand. He didn’t even really know why. But as soon as they touched Wylan flinched near on violently and Jesper drew away.

“Sorry,”

“No - sorry, I -” Wylan fidgeted with his sleeve, “I can’t see it coming; you took me by surprise,”

There was a pause.

“Biology?”

“Biology,”

“Right,” Wylan smiled, “So, erm, meiosis has two specific mechanisms that add more to the daughter cells not being identical. The first is where the homologous pairs cross over each other…”

And on he went. 

Jesper could hardly believe how late it was when they stepped outside, the sky above turned a thousand shades of pink and orange as the sun began to sink over the horizon.

“Gorgeous sunset,” he said, eyes focused above him as he hopped down the last few steps.

He turned back and realised Wylan was still a short way behind him, with one hand on the railing and the other keeping up the rhythmic beat of his cane as he searched for the edge of each step. Jesper was slightly glad he could see him blushing as he bit his tongue and said:

“Oh. Sorry,”

There was a long silence, even after Wylan had reached the the base of the stairs and stood for a moment beside Jesper, before he murmured:

“What does it look like?”

“I don’t…”

Jesper swallowed.

“Okay here, can-” he hesitated, thinking of Wylan flinching away in the library, “Can I take your hand?”

A brief moment passed before Wylan nodded. Jesper closed his hand slowly over Wylan’s, giving the merchling time to pull away if he wanted to. He didn’t. Jesper lifted his arm and pulled Wylan’s gently with him, and pointed out to the horizon.

“Right here, this is soft pink - like spring and cherry blossom, when you can kind of feel it in the air. Then this bit,” he moved their hands slowly, “This is like the jurda fields, and over here it’s a kind of gentle warmth, like late summer evening sitting outside. When the air starts to cool but it’s still comfortable and light. But then here - this is like sitting in front of the fireplace in winter. It’s warm, and you need it to be warm, and it makes you feel…” Jesper looked down at Wylan, and realised that if Wylan could have been staring straight up at him he would have been, pale lashes caught in the light and curls glowing ever so softly. His voice had somehow become a whisper when he finished: “safe,”

Jesper’s breath caught in his throat. He studied Wylan for a moment; those eyes that should have been a slightly brighter shade of blue but were dazzling even as they were, the freckles scattered across his cheeks like lost stars, the curls still shimmering in what was left of the sunlight. It took him a long moment to realise that they were still holding hands.

“Safe?” Wylan whispered, tilting his chin up slightly.

Jesper let his hand trace slowly higher up Wylan’s arm, ready to move away if he stopped him. But he didn’t stop him. Jesper breathed slowly, leaning in, his free hand moving to push one of Wylan’s curls away from his face.

“It’s a pity you don’t know how beautiful your eyes are,”

Wylan blushed as Jesper ran a hand over his cheek and gently tilted his hace up towards his own. He leaned forwards, reading to close the space between them, but Wylan squirmed and Jesper tensed as he pulled his hands away. 

“And me, of course,” he added, letting his voice take on a teasing lilt to brush past the moment, “It’s a shame you don’t know how gorgeous I am,”

Wylan almost smiled, but he had stepped away.

“I - erm,” he brushed his fingers through the lock of hair Jesper had moved and cleared his throat, “Excuse me,”

And then he was gone, and Jesper was standing alone at the bottom of the stone steps, the sunset above his head continuing on impassively.

Dammit, Jesper. What have you done this time?

[roxalicious]

Do you have any more yuri recs?

sure, here's a few

love thy neighbor: about 24 year old uni student pah doyeon and her 40 year old housewife neighbor jin joo. jin joo's husband left her alone as he works to pay off his debts, and it has Not been a fun few months for her, as the loan sharks after him have been terrorizing her daily. luckily, pah doyeon is there to lend a hand and shelter!

probably my biggest recommendation as of right now, so long as you don't mind the very much not healthy nature of the whole situation. this baby's got everything in it: blasphemy, cheating, milf-hunting, obsession, self-discovery through lust, and so on. pah doyeon is great. there's a lot wrong with her. she said this shit unprompted in the latest chapter

a love yet to bloom: a sweet story about takamine, who has yet to find anything in life she enjoys, and sakura, a book-loving girl she happens to meet on the train after school. it's very cute and has a nice, chill atmosphere. i always look forward to the next update

otome no teikoku: ok so. heres the thing. if you decide to pick this up the first, idk, dozen chapters will be Bad. there's a lot of male-gazey uncomfortable stuff at the beginning, and while it doesnt take too long for it to stop feeling so offputting and start being surprisingly wholesome and earnest instead, it never stops being horny, so read it if youre in the mood for that.

as for what it's actually about... well there's this all girls school, right? and it has girls in it. and they are all gay and dating each other. its basically just a collection of short chapters about different couples within this school, and it has some of my favorite dynamics and moments in yuri. i reread it very often (and there's almost 300 chapters of this thing out, so that's a feat) and it never stops being enjoyable. stan nononon/yumimi

a monster wants to eat me: about hinako, who lost her whole family to the sea in a tragic accident and now yearns to join them in the afterlife, and shiori, a mermaid claiming she's here to eat her. the problem is, hinako being actively suicidal and depressed means her flesh won't exactly be very tasty, and shiori is a bit of a gourmet, meaning her goal is to first help her recover and regain her joie de vivre, and only then will she eat her. i highly recommend this

out of the blue!: transfer honor student x delinquent yuri. it's very short so i dont wanna yap about it too much, but it's a big big personal fave. it's only 4 chapters so check it out

sougou tovarisch: honestly anything by arata iri never fails to get at least one laugh out of me, but this one especially. if you know a kiss and a white lily by canno (and if you don't, go check it out), the premise to this one is a bit similar to the dynamic between ayaka and yurine, with hardworking MC obsessed with being number one and chill love interest who beats her without even meaning to.

the focus here is less on romance and more on comedy, and i love it. kanna is amazing. she wins a chess match by punching her opponent so hard she passes out. its only 13 chapters + assorted extras, very fun easy read

now some stuff that doesnt really have yuri as focus but ive really enjoyed regardless and want to shout out and this is my blog so whatever

liar satsuki can see death: satsuki can see dead people. specifically, she can see the future corpses of people up to 24 hours before they actually die. she always zealously warns the future victims of the imminent danger, and she has been branded a weirdo and a liar for it as no one has ever actually died before. in truth, she is actually literally incapable of lying, and the only reason everyone survived so far is that she will go to frankly insane lengths to save them. she's a great protagonist and her autistic swag has captivated me and many others

mieruko-chan: miko can see... Things. that no one else can. but she has to pretend she cant, especially to the Things themselves. she doesnt know exactly what will happen if they realize she can see them, but she's certainly not about to find out.

this started as a twitter short that quickly gained popularity, so the premise of many early chapters is basically "miko sees something terrifying and has to ignore it, hilarity ensues", but the initially one-off characters introduced over time are eventually explored and given quite a lot of spotlight and im having a lot of fun with it. stan michiru

there's always more but here's what ive got so far- wait. read shuukura. ive talked about it before it's in my pinned please read shuukura i love those weirdos to an insane degree

[sonicasura]

JJBA: Jonathan's Toonventures

Yeah, you read that right. I've seen so many Pizza Tower posts full of Jojo references, whether from the game or not, that it was time for a change in pace. Plus experimenting with Jonathan is always fun as he probably get used to insanity better than the other Joestars. Let's delve in deeper shall we?

After his final encounter with Dio, Jonathan wakes up in an alleyway near Peppino's Pizzeria. Now our gentle giant is in a Who Framed Rodger Rabbit scenario where he's a normal person while everyone else are toons but there's an additional twist. Should Jonathan get subjected to a cartoon style gag then he immediately becomes a toon himself!

A temporary condition since it only lasts between 30 mins to 1 hr 12 mins before he reverts back. This strange change later becomes a unique ability to Jonathan as he begins to understand and cultivate what he calls 'Toon Shift'. His toon form looks like himself but less definition to him.

Think Johnny Bravo without the shorter legs and a bit more balanced upper body ratio. Jonathan is found by a concerned Gustavo as the man still has some injuries from the last confrontation against Dio. Most notable being a large scar around his entire neck. Basically the guy looks like he been mugged by a gang.

Jonathan soon finds himself staying in Gustavo's apartment until he gets back on his feet. To not feel like a bum, the man decides to work at Peppino's restaurant. You can bet our anxious chef felt intimidated considering Jonathan is built like a brick wall but his kind demeanor eases any wariness.

It takes a long while before Jojo explains the supernatural side to the shit show he been through. Peppino and Gustavo only know the basics such as Dio being the sadistic foster sibling that made Jonathan's life hell who is also a dangerous criminal. For now, the three manage the pizzeria together away from dangerous sanity.

You can bet that Jonathan may have brought a boon of customers to the restaurant. Handsome buff dude whose a sweetheart tends to draw admirers especially if the person has the Joestar charm. Combine that with good tasting food at a great price and Peppino's finances are recovering from heavy debt.

The tale isn't restricted to just Pizza Tower as AntonBall/Blast are also in here. It's mainly because references between the two games tend to be found in either media plus both development teams supported each other. (There is literally a tweet from Summitsphere saying Anton is married to Peppino! You can't make such a post without being on good terms.)

Anyway Jonathan tends to get wrapped up in Anton and Annie's shenanigans too. Particularly the Ball Incident which almost ended with the red man getting banned from Peppino's restaurant. Good albeit very impromptu way to make sure his Hamon don't get rusty.

Jonathan still retains the abilities he gained during Part 1 although his Stand is gonna be a discussion for a different post. Peppino, Gustavo, Anton and Annie are the only ones who know about Hamon. Injuries tend to be common with the group so Jonathan is usually in charge of first aid. (Also the designated driver whenever alcohol is involved.)

Do know if someone calls Hamon 'Fancy ass breathing' then Annie and Anton are the ones who started it. (Jonathan can only imagine William Zeppeli's reaction to that particular joke. The man would probably whack them both on the head.)

Of course the peace doesn't last long as a certain pizza flavored nutjob decides the time has come to threaten Peppino's business. Jonathan ends up joining in on the events of Pizza Tower. Perfect place to explain how you exactly got isekaied into a cartoon universe! Although he gets separated from the group multiple times throughout the journey.

The most notable case is on Floor 4's Boss Zone. (Peppino might've threatened Mr Stick to hand over the Boss Gate without pay once he found out.) Jonathan stumbled around there quite awhile before he made it to the abandoned pizzeria.

Ironically enough Peppino came inside only to find his friend having tea with 'Pep'. The boss genuinely thought Jonathan was a potential customer to the abandoned pizzeria. Fight still happens as Peppino is the target of Pizzahead's hostility thus Pep's enemy.

Jonathan tries to stop the two from killing each other. (Not the first time a Joestar tries to make peace with an enemy.) The bluenette's nature does reach through as Pep lets them escape and doesn't join the boss rush thrust against the group.

Although Peppino definitely made Jonathan take partial responsibility for the walking eldritch horror at work when he shows up at the restaurant after closing hours. (Pep stays with the anxious man as he rather not leave him alone in the diner and not make Gustavo's place more crowded. Jonathan is apartment hunting.)

Now Jojo still wonders how everyone else is doing back home. If Erina's doing well considering the last time he saw her was amidst an attack by Dio on their honeymoon. Something he muses about whenever Anton invites the group for drinks. (Jonathan does get dragged into the construction worker's latest job.)

The man will get answers soon although not in a way he suspects. After all, why should he be the only one to get dragged back into chaos? Plus everyone deserves to gets a taste of cartoon insanity.

[starstruckodysseys]

she’s getting into something (he’s going all or nothing) —

(or: lanie doesn’t do bets. or lessons, for that matter. there’s also not a lot she wouldn’t do for her friends. unfortunately.)

(or or: the ep8 business date/craps game but a little to the left. extremely to the left, some might say. possibly not even on the map anymore)

“Okay,” Lanie says, because she’s pretty sure they’re getting confused here, “hang on, sidebar real quick.”

She drags Wendell-as-Vic off to the side, just enough that no one should be able to hear them. It’s both easier and harder than usual, but somehow not in a way that cancels out.

“Wen,” she says quietly, staring him dead in the eyes, not taking her hand off his shoulder. “Wendell. You are aware that I, actual person Lanie Woodward, am not a lesbian, right?”

He stares at her like he was not, in fact, aware of this. “…What?”

Lanie sighs, rubs at her temple. “I’m— what do you mean what? I flirt with half the customers that come into the store!”

“I’ve never seen you flirt with a guy!” he whisper-shouts frantically.

Holy shit. Holy actual shit. There’s a voice in the back of her mind that isn’t hers yelling at her not to cry, but she feels pretty damn close to it.

It’s not— Lanie is not subtle. That has never been a word in her vocabulary. If she grins and laughs and leans a little closer during conversation than strictly necessary, people assume things, and that’s easier than dealing with her actual emotions. But this is not that, has never been that. She’s aware that she’s an awkward third wheel in whatever the hell Wendell and Liv have going on, but she’d assumed everyone was aware of that. It’s, like, her entire deal. Usha winks pointedly at her and Dang laughs while Russell attempts to be comforting when she groans too loudly and Paula— well, Paula might not actually be aware of it, but that’s perfectly fine with her.

But anyway. She was under the impression everyone knew, for the most part. Hell, Dave’s gotten onto her about it numerous times! Which, to be fair, he kind of does anyway, but fuck him because she’s nineteen and already in debt and—

Lanie sighs. Swallows. Glances around for anyone remotely resembling a bartender. Finds no one. “Is there a bartender here?” she asks desperately.

The weird clown man in the back steps forward, bowing slightly. Lanie squints at him, recognizes him as the guy who set up the kiss bet, and nods.

“Can I get, just… the strongest thing you have. In general.” She makes a vague hand motion that means nothing.

“Lan—” Wendell starts, stops, tries again. “Cara. I don’t—”

She waves him off. “I’m fine. Or, I will be fine in the next thirty seconds, if someone gets to it.” She raises a pointed eyebrow, something she’s never been able to figure out how to do as herself.

The clown man bows deeper. “Yes, ma’am.”

Lanie cringes, but nods, and he sets off to… somewhere. The where isn’t important. She’s currently unpacking the difference between what she’s meant the past few months and what everyone else has apparently assumed she’s meant. Or at least what Wendell has assumed she’s meant. Which is nothing.

She thinks she might have an aneurysm.

But that’s— they don’t have time for this right now. They have to learn how to play craps — and then pretend that they knew how to play craps the whole time, because Kingskin’s entire thing is crime and gambling and whatnot, and they can’t risk being found out now — so that Wendell doesn’t fucking die in the movie or whatever. Either that or he… kisses Liv on the mouth. As Kingskin and Vic Ethanol. She’s getting flashbacks to every high school party she ever went to.

Is it wrong that she doesn’t really care who wins? Probably. She’s also murdered several people at this point, so maybe her morals are a little off. Sue her.

Liv glances sideways at her when she sits back down. “Everything okay?”

“I think I’m going insane, Livvy,” Lanie mutters, just loud enough for only Liv to hear.

“Oh.” Liv frowns. “Do you want to head out?”

“I mean, I’d love to, y’know, survive,” Wendell cuts in, swinging around to sit on Lanie’s other side, which does not feel convenient if they do lose the game.

She’s not complaining or anything. It’s just impractical. From a logical standpoint. Obviously.

“They legally can’t kill you,” she says, bumping their shoulders together — a feat that’s a little more difficult now that their height difference… exists at all, really, but is more exaggerated than usual. “Pretty sure you made sure of that.”

“I didn’t do anything!” he protests weakly.

Lanie rolls her eyes fondly, and Liv laughs, and Wendell huffs but doesn’t say anything else. If she squints, it looks like he’s blushing, but that would be— well. Actually. It would be ridiculous on Vic Ethanol, sure, but she knows Wendell well enough that it’s hardly even surprising. It’s just… strange, seeing it on someone else’s face. Which is kind of a summary of their entire experience here so far.

The clown guy returns with her drink. He pauses in the doorway when he sees them, but recovers quickly, only looking at them a little suspiciously as he hands over the glass, the liquid somehow both muddy brown and bright pink at the same time. Right. She has a reputation to uphold, and the fact that her best friends slash main flirting targets are not women is not helping Cara’s whole lesbian thing. The lesbian thing being that she is a lesbian.

Maybe that’s Lanie’s lesson here. Stop being an obnoxious freak.

She’s never been good at taking lessons to heart.

“You all know how to play, yes?” French fry man asks — Pommefriete, whatever, it’s a stupid name. His accent is slowly getting less French and more incomprehensible.

“Um. Yeah. Definitely,” Liv says awkwardly. “But if we could get, like, a refresher? For the table…?”

This is going either nowhere or very badly and neither of those are great options.

“Just so we’re on a level playing field,” Lanie adds. If she leans a little more forward than necessary, well. “You wouldn’t want someone to have an unfair advantage, would you?”

Pommefriete shakes his head. “Certainly not. A refresher for the table it is!”

She lets out a very small sigh of relief. Wendell bumps their legs together under the table, and Liv flashes her a grateful smile when they make eye contact. She sends one back — it was Liv’s idea, after all. She’s just… using her resources. Yeah, that’s it. Pretty privilege works, kids.

Unfortunately, it isn’t enough to save their dice rolls, which end up being very bad. Lanie still doesn’t entirely understand how the game works, but the numbers are low and that’s not usually great in dice games. She leans back in her chair, lets out a low whistle. There’s not much else to do.

“Practice round,” Wendell mutters. Liv nods, determined.

Lanie takes a sip of her drink in preparation. It’s far stronger than she’d expected, even with her request, and it tastes strangely like nail polish remover. She coughs, attempting to muffle it with one hand and failing miserably. She’s still decidedly too sober to deal with literally any of this, so she takes another drink and pretends it doesn’t burn her throat on the way down.

There’s a tension in the air, electric and terrifying. Lanie isn’t even involved in the game, or the bet — they’d offered, but her luck has always been terrible — but she’s still on the edge of her seat. Metaphorically speaking, that is.

The dice clink against the table. Liv swears under her breath. Wendell goes deathly still. Lanie kicks back the rest of her drink before even bothering to look at the numbers. It’s entirely worth it once she does.

“Well then,” Pommefriete says, sounding just smug enough that Lanie actively resists the urge to not punch him in the face. “That’s the way the dice fall, I suppose. Or, roll, rather.”

He laughs as if he’s made some sort of clever pun, and not just a statement of fact. Next to Lanie, Wendell’s still completely frozen, and she covertly elbows him to drag him back to the present. He jolts, stares properly at the dice on the table, and seems to physically hold back a groan. She can’t say she doesn’t relate, and she’s not even part of the deal here.

“I, uh.” Liv moves like she’s going to mess with her hair, then seems to remember she doesn't exactly have hair to mess with. “Do we just…?”

Her hesitance is strange to see on Kingskin, but it makes it easier for Lanie to pretend that this is a normal situation for the three of them and not borderline life or death. Like they’re playing Truth or Dare at a sleepover, and not gambling Wendell’s life away.

The dynamite sticks out from behind the table. She thinks she sees red for a second.

Lanie has, over the course of their time in the movie and even before it, watched Wendell and Liv dance around each other. She’s seen Wendell forget how to form sentences like a functioning human, noted carefully as Liv’s feelings seemed to slowly blossom into something new. It’s cute, really, and she’s used to being the third wheel in their whole deal, used to being the advice girl, the therapist friend.

She scoots her chair back to give them space. Liv places one monstrous hand on her thigh to stop her and leans in.

It’s a painstakingly slow affair. Which is fair, because she doesn’t think either of them have kissed anyone before — not that she’s one to talk — and they’re two of the most awkward people she knows. When it comes to each other, at least. Thank god Liv is at least a little assertive when the situation calls for it.

They’re still incredibly far apart. The fact that everything feels like it’s going way too fast doesn’t change the actuality of the situation. Lanie sighs, leans back, catches Wendell’s eye for half a second and raises an eyebrow, pointed and teasing and a little jealous, all at once.

It’s just a Liv thing, he’d said. She doesn’t know if she still believes it.

“You chicken?” she says, like a challenge.

She doesn’t mean to say it, really. But there’s a buzz in her chest and a warmth in her bones, and her brain doesn’t feel completely tethered to the ground, much less her own head. It’s not entirely her fault she’s saying the first thing to come to mind.

Lanie isn’t particularly quiet, most of the time. The alcohol is doing nothing to help.

Wendell sputters, avoiding her gaze even as his face reddens. Liv pauses for a fraction of a second, glances at Lanie and immediately looks away. She doesn’t know what to do with any of this information. Her brain’s so fuzzy she might not even be retaining it.

(She is. It’s going straight to the back of her brain, highlighted in several different colors and cataloged under what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck. She’s used that box a lot more recently.)

They’re leaning in again. Not that they ever really stopped, but it’s actually happening now, and Lanie really feels like she shouldn’t be here, or should at least be looking away, but Liv’s hand is burning a hole through her thigh and she doesn’t even know if she could move if she wanted to. She should want to. This is weird.

The voice in the back of her head — the one that isn’t hers, technically, just trapped in its own body — has dulled down. Logically, Lanie knows Cara’s in there somewhere, probably shouting at her to leave the situation, but she can’t hear the woman unless she actively tries. And, for reasons she thinks are pretty solid, she doesn’t really feel like trying. She’s got… other things on her mind right now.

She hasn’t been able to take her eyes off of either of her friends in front of her, which isn’t much different from usual, actually, but there’s a flash of movement in the corner of her eye, and even in her clouded state she manages to clock it. Pommefriete is dashing away, more subtle than anyone else in this goddamn film.

“Fucking—” Lanie mutters, then continues, at a normal volume: “I hate to break this up, trust me, but french fry motherfucker is currently getting away, and I feel like we should maybe do something about that.”

Maybe it’s her words, or her voice, or the fact that half of those words weren’t even words because she’s slurring them just barely, but Liv and Wendell spring apart, nervous and hesitant. Lanie rolls her eyes — she loves them, really, but there’s a time and a place and yes she’s being a hypocrite, but that’s not relevant. Blame the fact that she’s getting drunker by the second.

They, eventually, dash out the door, hopefully hot on the tail of the clown guys who apparently want them dead. It doesn’t take long to find them, mostly because they’re brightly colored and in a large room. Lanie reaches for the gun in her pocket, then switches sides because that’s her taser, actually, which is also her MacGuffin and not something she wants to be throwing around for no reason.

And then it turns out they don’t even need their weapons, because the hotel staff spring out from literally nowhere and, quite literally, commit murder in their own hotel. It feels far too convenient, but then again, they’d said they’d protect their group when they walked in, no murder rules aside. Which is kind of just an everywhere rule, actually.

“Holy shit,” Wendell says, awed.

Lanie laughs. “Again. You did that.”

She doesn’t know how she knows that, or even if it’s true, but he smiles in response, a little proud, a little shocked, and something warm fizzles in her chest.

Liv, on the other hand, looks more downtrodden, slumping out of Kingskin’s ramrod straight posture. Her halberd sits loosely in her hand, resting against the floor. Lanie attempts to process this, connect the dots that feel way too far apart. She doesn’t get a chance to before one of the clown guys pops up from the floor, apparently not completely dead, and Liv brings the halberd down right across his neck. There’s a grin on her face as she does. A subconscious shiver runs down Lanie’s spine.

“Holy shit,” she echoes, barely above a whisper. Wendell nods slowly, eyes wide.

Never Stop Blowing Up is not a slow paced film. It’s quite possibly been the most insane god-knows-how-many hours of her entire life. She’s committed several crimes by this point. And she doesn’t know if it’s because they’re just standing around, for the moment, or if it’s everything crashing down at once, or what, but this feels like far too much. Like they’ve crossed some sort of invisible line she hadn’t even known existed.

Don’t get her wrong, she’s not upset about the series of events that have led up to now. She’s just… having an adrenaline crash, it seems. Not the greatest time, all things considered.

Liv leans down, tosses Wendell his dynamite, which he fumbles with for just a moment. Something feels like it clicks in the back of Lanie’s mind, but she’s far too out of it to know what. Or care what, for that matter. She would love to get out of the room with several dead bodies. Maybe even find the rest of their friends.

“Are you feeling okay?” Liv asks, her brows furrowed.

It takes Lanie longer than it should to realize the question is directed at her. “Never better,” she says, and the slur of her speech immediately contradicts it.

Neither of them seem to believe her.

“Right,” Liv says, audibly holding back a laugh.

Wendell loops an arm over her shoulders, and she leans in on instinct, only then remembering that Cara’s 5’4 on a good day and not Lanie’s comfortable 5'10. She’s never had to lean against him like this — never been able to, really, they’re about the same height. It’s weird. She’s also not completely upset about the whole situation.

Liv’s hand — Kingskin’s, really, but Lanie cannot find it in herself to care enough to differentiate the two right now — darts out, then retracts, like she can’t quite figure out what to do with it. There’s a dazed sort of look in her eyes, which might be bold coming from Lanie, who is notably drunk off her ass right now, but the fact that it’s there at all is… a little concerning. Then again, a bunch of shit just happened in the span of maybe half an hour, more emotionally taxing than anything else they’ve done so far.

Mostly it’s just been explosions. These are like… mental explosions. Or something smarter than that. Again, her brain is not in her head right now.

They make it back to the lobby, eventually, and Lanie has to blink to reprocess the deep purples and bright pinks scattering across the room. For a moment, the only coherent thought that comes to mind is holy shit they’ve got bisexual lighting this place fucking rules. And then Liv snorts next to her, and she realizes it is not just a thought.

She likes making Liv laugh, though. She’s gorgeous when she does, when her eyes sparkle and her lips curl into a smile to create the most beautiful sound Lanie’s ever heard. It’s even better when she doesn’t pretend, when her eyes fall shut and her head tilts back and she grins like nobody’s watching, and it’s breathless and melodious and if Lanie could play it on repeat every day she would for the rest of her life. It doesn’t happen often, but Lanie’s pretty damn funny. She’s heard it enough to make it count for something.

At some point in the process of being too gay about her friend’s laugh, she’s been handed off to said friend, Liv’s hand warm where it rests tentatively on her back. Lanie blinks up at her, which is also new — god, someone should teach Cara about platforms, or, like, inserts, or something — but also not a terrible thing. She kind of understands why girls go for taller guys.

“Wendell went to go get water,” Liv explains quietly.

Lanie stares at her, eyes no doubt strangely wide and pathetic if the way she feels is any indication, processing the information. Her brain is currently the equivalent of Internet Explorer right now, so it takes a moment, but eventually she nods, and Liv lets out a sigh of what might be relief.

“Anyone ever tell you you’re really pretty?” Lanie says suddenly, because she needs Liv to know, and sure, it’s a little weird saying it to Kingskin, but it feels like if she squints enough, tilts her head, she can almost see Liv herself in there. “Cause you are.”

Liv coughs, flushes a shade of red that only proves Lanie’s point. “Um. Thanks!” She sounds strained, but not upset. “You’re, uh. You too. You’re also… really pretty. And cool. And, uh.”

She cuts herself off, glances away, scratches her cheek. The words send a thrill up Lanie’s spine anyway.

There’s the hint of a smile on Liv’s face, though. Lanie tries not to think about that too hard before she spirals. It’s pretty simple — there’s a paper airplane flying out the window, and she slips out of Liv’s grip to follow it, ignoring her protests. Her brain tracks movement and bright colors and pretty much nothing else. It’s not entirely her fault for getting distracted.

Someone bumps into her, as to be expected in such a crowded building, but they seem to do a double take, which is less expected.

“La— Cara?” Russell’s voice says, distant, and Lanie turns to see Jennifer Drips, in all her glory. He stares at her in confusion, which slowly morphs into more concern than she thinks is warranted. “Are you… good?”

Why do people keep asking her that? “Feeling great,” she says, attempting to lean on the nearest table. There is no nearest table.

Russell catches her before she can completely tip over, sets her upright. “Lanie,” he says, worryingly serious, “what happened to you?”

She pauses. That is… a very good question, actually. “Uh. Wendell ‘n Liv—”

“Didn’t do anything,” Wendell interrupts out of nowhere, his voice at an octave she didn’t know voices could hit. “Nothing happened. She’s drunk.”

He passes her the water. She stares at the cup, then back up to him. Raises an eyebrow teasingly. Grins when he becomes obviously flustered.

“You do care,” she says smugly. It doesn’t come out as smooth as she would like, but it gets the point across.

“Yeah, well.” He gestures vaguely at nothing. “I’m going to go, uh. Talk to Liv. At the— at the blood rave. If you… wanted to come.”

Lanie considers this, deeper than perhaps the situation requires. She shakes her head. “I think— I’m gonna chill with Russell. We’re buddies. Besties. Pals. Uh.”

Wendell gives her a look she doesn’t think she could decipher if she were sober. “Right. Well, uh. Don’t die?” he offers. Glances up to Russell. “Please make sure she doesn’t die.”

“Sure thing,” Russell says, amused. “Have fun.”

“Love you!” Lanie calls at Wendell’s retreating figure. She turns back around before she can see him stumble so hard he nearly faceplants.

Russell definitely sees it, but doesn’t comment on it, just looks at Lanie, expectant and amused. “So, what did you say is happening with them?”

She lights up at that, grins, because she loves to gossip and she loves to talk about her friends. “They’re, like, making out in the blood rave or whatever. I dunno. So—”

“I’m sorry,” Russell interrupts, and he does genuinely look apologetic. Ignoring the fact he’s obviously trying not to laugh. “The what?”

“You know.” Lanie shrugs. They all know about the blood rave, duh. “The blood rave. I dunno. Not my business. They almost kissed, Russell. ‘N I was just kinda… there. In the middle.”

Rest in peace to Russell’s brain for trying to figure out what the fuck she’s talking about right now. Godspeed, soldier. She can see him connecting the dots, and waits patiently for him to do so — it’s not that complicated, really. Why is everyone so confused about all this?

“So— hang on.” Russell actually sits down on the ground, which is kind of weird considering how many chairs there are here, but Lanie just follows suit because standing is getting tiring, actually, and her feet are starting to hurt. “What do you mean in the middle?”

Lanie huffs petulantly, like a toddler. “We played craps, ‘n the french fry fucker had Wendell’s MacGuffin, so we bet on it, and it was either that or he ‘n Liv kissed. We… didn’t win. It was so bad, Russell.”

“The kiss?”

“No— well. Maybe?” She considers that, then shrugs. “I dunno. I wasn’t part of that. I was just… in the middle. Literally.”

Russell stares at her, Jennifer’s piercing gaze boring into her soul. She doesn’t entirely blame him, this time. Her brain was just as foggy in the moment.

“So no one actually kissed.” It’s a statement more than anything, as if he’s processing everything. “And you’re… okay with that?”

She shrugs again. “I like being the guy in the middle. ‘M not that worried about it.”

She’s surprised to find she really means it when she says it. Anyone with eyes can tell she’s absolutely down bad for her best friends slash coworkers slash multiple question marks at this point, but she’s genuinely never really expected it to go anywhere. Especially now that Liv seems to return Wendell’s feelings, even if she’s not completely aware of it herself. Sometimes Lanie uses the only two psychology classes she ever took for good.

Russell frowns, which confuses her, because she’s not upset about any of this. “But you’re into both of them.”

Jesus fuck, why is this a conversation she’s having with a coworker nearly thirty years older than her?

Because she’s drunk and no one else will listen to her, most likely. And anyway, Russell’s initiating at least seventy percent of it, so it’s not entirely her fault. Just mostly.

“‘S like… imagine a tricycle,” she says, only half sure of where the metaphor is going. “Three wheels. Two of them are in the front, and then there’s the one in the back. The two are like… bonded or whatever. Besties. Lovers. Worse. I dunno.

“You can’t get, like, stability without the third one, though,” she explains. Her eyes feel less dry than they were a minute ago, and when she reaches up to rub at them her hand comes back tear streaked. Huh. “It’s there for emotional support, or something. And it doesn’t mind being at the back, ‘cause how else do you get to see the other two?”

“That’s…” Russell trails off. “I don’t think tricycles are set up like that.”

Okay, so it’s not a perfect metaphor. Sue her.

Lanie groans, probably a little overdramatic. “Shut up, I’m making points. You get it.”

He smiles like he just might. “That makes a lot of sense, though, Lanie. I just think maybe you haven’t been paying close enough attention.”

And then, like he hasn’t just casually dropped a bombshell like that on her, he pats her shoulder before standing up and wandering off. She thinks she sees him with Usha, but she’s too busy staring at the ground and trying to refocus her brain as she runs through every interaction she’s ever had.

It doesn’t go well, not at the moment. Later, though — later, they’ll end up on a speedboat to the Amazon, and Lanie will squeeze herself between Liv and Paula and shiver in nothing but a tank top. Later, they’ll end up in Alaska first, and she’ll throw up off the side of the boat when Usha takes over driving, and Wendell will quietly confess that he and Liv didn’t kiss the night before.

Later, Liv will run off, and they’ll find out about Dave, and they’ll storm the White House when it flies away, and a million other things will happen that Lanie won’t comprehend at the time, much less afterwards.

Later — much, much later — they’ll have time. Time to choose, time to talk, time to figure things out.

For now, Lanie passes out in the middle of the floor until Dang nudges her awake with his foot and dreams about almost kisses that aren’t an almost.

[lifeinthegladhouse]

I feel like I'm not supposed to be sad that my dad is dead, because he was 73 which is a pretty average lifespan, and he had a whole life full of mistakes and life and all sorts of shit. But it's like, also, that doesn't matter to me because I wanted him to live longer, even though, I always felt like he'd be exactly 73 or 74 when he died, cos a lot of men do die at that age.

I don't wanna overthink it b/c OCD

I had a dream he wrote messages for me on a whiteboard and said he knew he was autistic now and that he was glad he could know before he died - and the way he wrote it was like maybe we'd talk about it at 11am the next day or something, like he didn't have long, but then he went the next day, so I stood in his house looking at the whiteboard.

I just googled how to mail his ashes back, and the photo of the box of his cremains with his name on a label hit a little differently.

I could hear my dad saying, "I know, sweetie." sadly with his hand on my shoulder...

I started T 2 years ago today. I knew at that time, his health was getting worse again, and it was only a matter of time, all of which I could not control. But I didn't know in less than those 2 years, he'd be gone. He told me I looked strong when I saw him, before he became nonverbal, like the last real day that we could talk, which felt like his last "real" day in the world, he asked me jokingly if I was going to join the marines because I have a big ole traditional/Japanese crossover style tattoo (of ravens on my arm) (they kinda look like hawks or eagles or something tho lol) and I didn't understand that he was joking and being serious at the same time kind of.

That same night, when I was out of the room getting him water, my partner talked to him, and it was the first time I think that he truly accepted that we'd probably get married (I mean it's been SIX years together!) and I forget what he said but I think he had kind of verbally said something to her like... he knew.

He could be so mean, and such an asshole, but I still wish he wasn't dead. My life is better off without this horrible thing looming over me, the "what if I die" or the constant struggles of him not being able to pay the bills or running from debt or getting into insane situations with women but... it still feels lonely. When I'm in a bind I think about him. He was not very helpful if I needed advice, and not always comforting, and it's hard to comfort someone with OCD but... I find it comforting now.

I think about how the very moments he passed, I knew, if I tell him his parents and his son are waiting for him, he will go. And he did. My voice was the last thing he heard, which is what he wanted, and we were lucky we caught him in that moment, and I knew that...somehow... that was what I needed to say. And now that he's gone, I know, someday, I will be thinking of him and Gene, and everyone else I will lose, when I'm dying, too. I just wish I didn't have to understand all of this so soon, at this age, it feels like a crime, but then again, it happens to a lot of people and in a fucked up way, a healthy life where you have a big family and nobody dies too early is a big ole western myth.

My dad lost his dad sooner than I lost him, by a few years, and he didn't get to say goodbye I don't think. I don't know. I never quite asked in that way. But I think that's how it went, and dad didn't want that for me.

[gummybugg]

How well would your OCs do against a cockroach tag game

🚧Fear Factor Edition⚠️

Tagged by @digitalsatyr23 here! Thanks! Do not mind me being extra!

Rules: rate your OCs by how well they'd do against a cockroach. Bonus: write an entire scene out of it if you want!

...

I shall do this with my Crater City characters. It only makes Sense that cockroaches Survived the story's apocalypse, yeah?

📺

Imagine a world where your greatest fears become reality…….

WELCOME TO FEAR FACTOR!

INT - ABANDONED WAREHOUSE - MIDNIGHT

Camera pans around 6 contestants, who stand near the barricaded entrance. It's dimly lit except for an orange glow coming from above the tank. The warehouse is relatively vacant, save for heaps of folded cardboard stacked up against the walls, large empty boxes used as chairs, and a glass tank about 3 yay’s big at the center of the room covered with a tarp. You can hear scratching noises from within the tank.

A cardboard cutout of Joe Rogan explains the rules to our 6 contestants: Blair, Elijah, Rose, Darcy, Frasier, and Melony (more info on them here). Royalty free, super-cool action-packed music plays in the background as the names and close-ups of each participant displays on the screen.

Joe Rogan Cutout: You six people have been brought here from all over the city for one reason. Stare fear in the eye as you compete for $50,000. If you're too afraid to attempt this stunt, you're eliminated. If you succeed, you will move on to the next round.

Blair: Sounds like a good deal to me. (placing his hands on his hips) You guys up for the challenge?

Elijah: God, this is so crazy, Blair, you know that?

Blair: Dude, you agreed to this.

Elijah: But they promised to help pay my debt, I couldn't just say no…

Darcy: I'm not really sure how that thing is even talking. Must be a hidden mic. There's no telling what else they've hidden here to track us all…

(Joe Rogan Cutout continues to explain the directions in the background, as if pre-programmed. Our 6 contestants don't seem very interested.)

Rose: I think this guy’s voice is kinda “much.” Who's he trynta to impress?

Melony: Probably cardboard cut-outs of his fans.

Frasier: Listen, everyone! You’re all missing the part where he told us we have to pair off!

Darcy: So, we're really taking orders from a slab of cardboard? All of you are insane!

Blair: (Jabbing a thumb at Darcy) Yeah, let's all trust this guy's moral compass.

Rose: Drag ‘em Blair!

Darcy: I'm not sure why I expected Rose to be more reasonable than this imbecile.

Elijah: What was that?

Blair: (staring up at Darcy) Whatcha gonna do when you have to bathe in a pool of insects in that Versace suit of yours? Cry?

Darcy: (staring down at Blair) I could bathe in a vat of insects and still come out five times more sane than you.

Blair: Since when was prolonged bug-to-skin exposure an indicator of someone's sanity?

Darcy: Blair—

Melony: (pops up from between Blair and Darcy) You didn't hear? There's actually been a recent study—

Darcy: (rubs his temples) God, not again…

Frasier: Everyone, please! I'm guessing the sooner we comply, the sooner we can get the hell out of here. What do y’all suggest?

Rose: Yeah, that's probably wise. But I'm not pairing off with him. (Glaring at Darcy) I'm still onto you, pal.

(Darcy appears cross.)

Blair: (quickly) Dibs on Elijah! (they high-five)

Rose: (linking arms with her brother) Me and Frasier!

Melony: (Beaming) Well, that leaves you and me, Darcy! We do have a lot of catching up to do.

(Darcy wears an expression of “Look, you're my best friend, and I love you, but I'm not sure if I'm going to remain sane this entire game when I'm paired with you”)

Melony: I'll take that as a “yes!”

Blair: So whoever was listening, can you give a tl;dr?

Elijah: I think it involves that tank over there

(Above "that tank over there" hangs an orange spotlight, beckoning the contestants with its misty mystique. The tank, covered, rests on a platform, accessed by a ramp. A dank, musty scent hangs in the air, causing Blair to pinch his nose. This mist machine reeks.)

Melony: Any idea what could be inside? Ooh, I bet it's a bunch of nightcrawlers…or maybe something else with scratchy legs!

Rose: Doc, I don't think nightcrawlers have legs.

Darcy: Rose, have you been in a bunker for the past thousand years?

Elijah: I haven't, but I'm starting to wish I was in one…God, what if there's spiders in there…?

Blair: Whatever it is, just watch the pro show you how it's done.

Joe Rogan Cutout: …stick your hand in a tank of cockroaches to search for the key to the detonators I strapped around your necks while you were unconscious so you can pass onto the next level...

(The screen displays each of the 6 contestants’ shocked reactions at rapid fire, not unlike an anime. Everyone begins to tug at the collar around their necks, while Darcy paces around, trying to come up with an escape idea.)

Joe Rogan Cutout: Any questions? (pauses for a moment) Good, then the timer starts…now!

Elijah: (touching his neck) Holy—what, now? Since when—?

Blair: And I was about to compliment you on your new choker, man…

Frasier: We have to get moving. Alright, who wants to go first?

Darcy: (arms crossed) And just how the [CENSORED] will this Joe guy know we've done what he's asked after we take a chance to find this supposed key? Is there one key or multiple? How do we know they'll even work?

Frasier: (irritated) What other choice do we have, Darcy?

(Darcy and the rest grow silent. The sound of the ticking 5-minute timer above the tank and the scratching from the now unveiled tank of cockroaches can be heard. The super awesome action music continues, seemingly louder than before.)

Melony: Looks like we'll have to give it a shot! I'm sure after each round, the tank resets and we have to find a new key in a different location in the tank!

Rose: How are you so sure?

Melony: I'm not!

(Well, that was reassuring... But little does Melony know that she's right and that the Narrator did not think about the logistics before writing this! Oh, lucky day!)

Frasier: (turning to Blair) You said you wanted to go first?

Blair: Y-yeah, of course! Come on, Elijah. (Tugging him by the hand) Let's show these [CENSORED]!

Elijah: Couldn't you do this round and I'll do the next…? I-I promise!

Blair: What, you chicken?

(Elijah looks back at the others as they make their way to the tank. Rose & Frasier whisper and laugh to themselves, probably about how Darcy is a buffoon. Darcy and Melony chat about installing a similar security/lockdown system to the mayor's office. Elijah looks at Blair, whose fear he can sense even behind his false heroism. This doesn't make him feel any better.)

Elijah: (voice cracking) No, yeah, let's do it!

(The others shout encouragements from about 20 feet away)

Rose: The sooner, the better, guys!

Darcy: Yeah, don't mind us standing way over here in case you spontaneously combust or something!

(Frasier nudges Darcy in the ribs.)

Frasier: Don't listen to him!

Melony: Go team Blijah! Or is it…Elair?

(Blair and Elijah stand at the tank as if waiting for the bugs to disappear. Good luck with that, man.)

Blair: Ready? On the count of three—

Elijah: (puts his hands on his head) I dunno, man, I can't do this!

Blair: Aw, c’mon, don't back out on me now!

Elijah: I know our lives are on the line, but I'd rather die like this than shove my arms in a container of insects!

Blair: For real?

Elijah: Let me have my one selfish arc!

Blair: (sighing, grabbing Elijah's hand) Gimme your—

Elijah: Blair, I swear to God--

(Blair takes Elijah's arm and they both plunge shoulder-deep into the tank to feel around for the keys.)

(Not long after, You witness the travesty of our fallen heroes first hand. Tears stream down their faces, as they are overcome with abject horror. Their cries reverberate off the cold, stone walls of the warehouse: “Ew ew ew get it off of me!”, “I think one climbed in my ear!”, and “Can you get rabies from a roach bite?” A truly horrendous, yet laughable display, indeed.)

Blair: (amidst their cries) If I die this way, I just wanted to tell you that I think you really do pull off that choker pretty well!

Elijah: (with tears & snot running down his face) You do too!

Blair: You think so?

(Their hands meet in the shifting pool of cockroaches.)

(The camera zooms in on the two, who stare into each other’s eyes for a hot moment, enchanted at the sight of each other, despite the sight of cockroaches crawling into their orifices. Cue the romantic music.)

(Until...)

Elijah: I think I found a key!

Blair: Great! I found mine, like, 10 seconds ago.

Elijah: Why didn't you tell me?

Blair: Because you had to go and make me flustered!

Elijah: (arms extended) You idiot. Come here...

(They continue to snivel as they peel bugs off each other, promising each other to never agree to anything like this again.)

(Amidst their blubbering, Darcy silently appears right behind them, making them jump.)

Darcy: Are you two done? You've wasted 2 minutes!

(Blair and Elijah finally unlock their chokers, which clatter to the concrete floor.)

Blair: Yeah, but you can't try our keys.

Darcy: Why would I…? (face drops) Wait.

(Blair puts his hand over his mouth.)

Darcy: Don't you dare [CENSORED] swallow.

Elijah: (concerned) Blair…

Rose: Spit it out, Blair! Heel! Roll over!

Frasier: Blair, you're not thinking straight!

Melony: None of us think straight!

(Blair swallows both his and Elijah’s keys. Everyone sighs, irritated. Also that's kinda disgusting since it touched all those cockroaches. Ew.)

Rose: Well, this isn't the first time he's swallowed someone’s keys.

Elijah: How did they taste?

Blair: (spitting out an antenna) I dunno, cockroach-y…metallic…

Darcy: (face-palming) You are what’s wrong with our world.

...

Tagging @angry-kid-with-no-money @elshells @hallwriteblr @wrenofthewords @enchanted-lightning-aes @oh-no-another-idea @faelanvance @moonluringfrost @comicgoblinart @rubywrite @jay-avian & anyone who wants to join :')

...

🚗 Want to rot your brain with each sporadic Crater City post? Join the taglist! Maybe I'll finish this wip someday, who knows! (ask to be added/removed): @writeouswriter @lyra-brie @digitalsatyr23

[sllowshow]

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Colton

good salt of the earth people. teen marriage runs deep in this family, they were married right after their high school graduation. not yet pregnant, just sure of themselves. they were in love and when you're in love, you make this big crazy commitment in front of everyone who knew you when you were a baby at church and then you get a little house way out of town and have gorgeous girl boy twins. that's all you really can do.

their dad, jody (woody harrelson fc), has a hard way of loving. he's the kind of dad that kyleigh and colton could never really know beyond the context of him as their dad. like he wasn't trying to be friends with either of them. he loved them a lot but he didn't show it in that way, he's like more on the wavelength of. always really good about making kyleigh got her oil changed. helped colton build a new bookshelf before he moved out. i think kyleigh maybe got a little more sweetness out of him just because. well look at her that's a baby girl. but he and colton, regardless of the love between them, just had a very straightforward relationship. they talk about work, they talk about basketball, and they talk about kyleigh's kids (and eventually his. he was pretty relieved by that.)

their mom, tanya (kyra sedgwick fc) is THEE busy body church lady to end all busy body church ladies. she's a school teacher AND a sunday school teacher, and she's so nosey its insane. she's very much a part of small town politics. to that extent, she's also always up in her kid's business. i think she makes up for their dad's hands off approach. she can be a little blunt in the way she approaches things, she doesn't see the point in beating around the bush. i think she was also soooo tickled that kyleigh got teen pregnant by **** ***. like sorryyy but like that's the exact kind of family a mother like this is salivating to be apart of.

i think they're very take it as it comes people if that makes sense. like when kyleigh got pregnant, that was just a fact. i think their dad probably pulled some macho bullshit on w*de just because he felt like that was his job. scare the kid straight. and there was a brief panic of what will people think... until again she remembered it was actually a win socially. but ultimately that just became the fact of the situation. if she was going to do that, she was going to do that, so they let her go and be an adult. same with colton and school: they didn't get why he wanted to do all of that, but if that was what he wanted to do, that was his prerogative. enjoy the debt and the liberal arts master.

i think they lived in the house the twins grew up in forever. i think their dad hated visiting them in st louis, they certainly preferred hosting. their mom the kind of grandmother that's always posting memes about how a grandmothers love is the strongest force in the world but misspells the kids names in the post. their dad the kind of grandpa who just wants to sit on the couch and watch the most random war movie you've ever heard of at the family function. weirdly feel the need to call out their mom was obsessed with skye (like everyone else) and they both more than once commented on how tyson was "exhausting." like their mom would always be passing on advice on how to deal with a hyper child as if it worked. kyleigh is right there.

[19burstraat]

six of crows x the locked tomb au concept?

I feel like this is a fairly narrow crossover area but I've been obsessed with both lately and I wanted to throw shit at the wall and see what sticks. Pretty sure there's no Nona spoilers, since it's a crossover AU. I don't know how many people have read both of these series but to hell with it someone must have done lmao. This is less plot and more concept but anyway

Kaz (the Ninth, for the tomb and all that was lost, Heretical Secrets, The Sewn Tongue. The Reverend Son out of We Have No Young People Left process of elimination.)

If Kaz is going to be any house it's got to be the freaks with the elaborate black costumes and the constructs that have no flesh on them (lucky for Kaz...), that tell people fuck all about anything and have scary customs.

Jordie died in the pursuit of lyctorhood; @bloodbroox just suggested to me that he could have been talked into being Pekka's cav without knowing what he was getting into, and then was killed and consumed so Pekka could ascend, so Kaz is now out to get up to that fucking Mithraeum and kill Pekka himself.

I imagine Kaz has a very similar backstory to the one in the books, since it's not like there's a shortage of corpses in this series hh. Probably tried to save Jordie and got left in the aftermath with his corpse and many, many others. I wonder if I could pull in a very literal appearance of the River... maybe Kaz interfered and briefly got stuck in the River (i.e. nearly died) before he clawed back out, out of sheer insane willpower.

(Yes you can tell I don't entirely understand the more scientific aspects of TLT just go w it lmao)

No one dares to point out to Kaz that some rando with no necromatic skill cannot kill a Lyctor, because they're worried he might acc find a way. He's literally only a badly trained cav, but he's... determined. By the time everyone else works out he's the one to get rid of it's too late.

(Matthias, Kuwei and Inej, well trained and courteous cavs, are eventually horrified to find out how Kaz fights lmao.)

I'm not sure how he'd have broken his leg but there's a lot of perilous bits on the Ninth. Maybe training. It just makes his cover better though. How could he be the cav, he's clearly the necro...

No he's not. He's being covered for by...

Jesper (the Fourth, fidelity, facing ahead, The Hope, The Sword Ninth)

Jesper escaped from the Fourth because he and his dad didn't want him to get sent onto the battlefield to be a living weapon and then die, like most Fourth house kids. He got caught, and got thrown into the Ninth house jail. He emphatically insists he is not a necromancer. Yes he is.

Kaz springs Jesper from the Ninth jail and makes a deal with him; they'll swap. Kaz isn't a necromancer and Jesper is, but Kaz will pretend to be the necro, Jesper will pretend to be the cav, and they both get what they want-- Jesper can be a cavalier and be free from jail/the Fourth, and Kaz can get out of the Ninth and into the scrum of attempted lyctorhood to hitch a ride somehow.

(Except they don't. because Jesper flat-out refuses to kill Kaz and ascend and Kaz is hysterically furious, because his original plan was to basically trick Jesper into doing it wrong and seize control of his body, but he got attached and abandoned that plan and now doesn't know what to do. Having said that, if anyone could figure out perfect lyctorhood, it would be Kaz... Hope you want brown eyes Jesper.)

Yes his offhand is a revolver lmao

Inej (the Fifth-- tradition and debts to the dead, the Heart, the Watchers over the River.)

Cavalier, ofc, very very dutiful to her necromancer (one of her saints in the books??? Alina? Petyr? idk.) We don't know a whole lot about the Fifth but they seem (SEEM.) the most well adjusted of the lot, instead of the fucking balls to walls crazy Eight and Ninth lmao. I considered making her Kaz's cav but the idea made me want to throw up and lie down for ten hours, also the Jesper one is a bit more out there, and I refuse to give Kaz that much power lmao he needs to be a normal man he'd be too much of a menace with any kind of magic

Respectful of the Ninth and their weirdo monks until Kaz and Jesper open their mouths and reveal that not only do they talk, that they are also really really annoying and heretical

She works out very quickly that Kaz and Jesper are running a con and gets roped into it lol

Again I refuse to eliminate her backstory so it's gotta be in there somewhere, though I haven't worked out how yet. Perhaps she wasn't always part of the Fifth House, and was under Tante Heleen's thumb off-world...

Nina (the Third, for the gleam of a jewel or a smile, The Mouth, The Procession, The Shining Dead. Princess of Ida.)

But of course. The house that looks frivolous but is a deep well of backstabbing politics and intelligence.

Necro with a particular talent for flesh magic, which obviously is very close to her canon power. Not sure who her cav would be tho...?

Kaz hates her for all of those reasons and she makes a sport out of winding up the little uptight Ninth weirdo

But it's not as fun as flirting with...

Matthias (the Second, discipline, heedless of trial, The Strength, The Crimson Shield)

Second sounds like the Druskelle, no? Matthias is def a carefully trained cavalier, I would suggest Jarl Brum is his necro. Until he gets either killed or disposed of before he can kill Matthias and ascend...

Unless he DOES do that, and we keep Matthias dead in every universe. Sorry Nina. You and Kaz now have a common goal which is Get To The Bastards In The Sky And Kill Them.

Wylan (the Sixth, for the truth over solace in lies, the Reason.)

Genius little kid like Palamedes ig! I can see him being more into the theory than the practice and then, like canon, being underestimated. like a lot of the Sixth. Jesper def thinks he's nothing special until... he is.

I did consider putting Kaz in the Sixth soley for the truth over solace in lies but ultimately Kaz belongs in the horrible places like the Ninth and the Barrel, not the civilised academic environments like the Sixth and the merch Districts. Sorry bud. Another life.

No one really knows in the Sixth that Wylan can't read, bc he covers it up so well, but Van Eck threatens to expose it so he legs it to the Lyctor Convention <3

Kuwei can be Wylan's cavalier? Might explain the Jesper beef more lmao if Jesper is also a supposed cav trying to curry favour with Kuwei's necro, Wylan, rather than 'his necro', Kaz

(Giada also suggested that Alina can be Alecto and the Darkling can be John tho I'm not going all the way there other than to say Kaz Would Definitely Open The Tomb Because The Darkling Said Not To because he's an evil little git and also fatefully nosey and possibly bc Inej asked. And a lockpick. why would I put him in the place with the locked tomb without expecting the funniest possible outcome. also that would def make Zoya one of the OG lyctors a-la Mercymorn! Probably Genya and David too)

[sphericalbee]

this is long asf and i know it STARTS w me being like 'i should kms' but im gna spoil it for u all and say that's NOT where it goes lmfao im just dumping out all my thoughts

!! very very rambly, not proofread even once, probably makes no sense and is very cheesy

i wrote a fucking novel holy shit LMFAO no hard feelings if u skip

if i can be kinda depressing for a second i think ab killing myself too much for someone who is basically fine (that might be a lie idk i don't feel like thinking ab it more rn) 😭 like the world just has so many issues i dont wna deal with,,, yk? and it would be so much easier to just move on to whatever's next, bc i KNOW ill have a fuckton of debt in college and have to live through miserable relationships and watch the earth fall apart bc our leaders r so incompetent. even now im living through like 5 genocides, insane global warming, a poverty crisis, inflation, and all of this can be boiled down to greed and hatred

also a lot of kids my age are so horrible for no reason and it's sad to think how many people just absolutely suck ass

but at the same time i won't kill myself bc there are people who i wna make sure get through everything alright, and ik i have good things to live through too

so ive compromised and decided i get to shoot myself in the head when im like 60 if i don't have a wife and the world is still a mess 💀 like i don't wna live longer than i'll enjoy it (lets be reallll global warming will kill us all before i have to do anything anyway)

surprisingly, i got a lot better after reading philosophy books? making sense of the world and appreciating the genius of the philosophers, who were ppl just like me, helps

i feel like ive found so many new ways to think ab and experience the world through philosophy. it's a beautiful part of humanity, trying to understand and having genuine fascination about the way things are and what everything means

good music helps too. yerin baek to fall in love with everything and cry over every single feeling you've ever had ever, universe mongae when that's too much and i have to detach

i listen to universe mongae a lot in class bc my classmates fuckingh SUCKK and she sets me apart from my emotions or feeling lonely when im leaving myself out on purpose bc they're not good people

a few days ago, i was listening to yerin baek as i walked back to school from lunch and the world was suddenly so beautiful and i realised how everyone else has a consciousness and worlds just as real as mine and i fell in love with everyone (by everyone i mean like 30 people)

suddenly i couldn't even care how much i missed out on or the people who i wish loved me more because in the grand scheme of things, im allowed to be careless and love without reciprocation and it won't matter because i hold no more worth than a dragonfly... to have zero expectations for what you could and should feel or be and just enjoy yerin's voice in the moment might be one of the happiest moments i've ever had, honestly

yk whats ironic? it was a love song directed as another person that made me realise i could feel love and not care if i was still no one's favorite. life is beautiful anyway because i can love and make it beautiful on my own

not that my state of 'im fine with loving everyone alone' will last very long. i mean,, im just a mammal LMAO i can't deny my own brain chemistry

even just earlier today i finished the math test earlier and accidentally started thinking ab my childhood. idk why it happened but i did

and i remembered how i was so selfish and couldn't let anyone see i was anything less than perfect

there's one memory where i mispronounced a word and a girl corrected me. and i immediately tried to say, "no i know, but my brother says it that way and i do it too on accident". she called me out, obviously, and i rolled my eyes before whispering "it's true though" in the hope that someone would hear and think "oh she actually knew that"

it's sad to think how i used to be. that's from around 7th grade, i think, so i would've been 11 maybe?

up to a few months ago i would randomly remember that and feel insane anger and hatred for my younger self

it seems so foreign to me now and weird that i could hate a child for being brought up with horrible conditions and lacking emotional maturity. i thought that if i could go back in time i would just look at her and feel bad bc i got so much better since then

maybe even love her idk she's not having fun either 💀 do u think she enjoys holding herself to absolute perfection and looking like a dumbass in front of everyone when that's inevitably impossible??

there was another time that made me so sad to think ab

i got dragged along to my brother's friend's birthday party and some kid did smth rude

and i watched as the kid got chewed out by his mom and then went to apologise to the birthday kid

and the birthday kid just said, so seriously, "I accept your apology"

and i remember thinking smth like 'whoa that's cool id be so embarrassed talking like that'

thinking ab that time (i think i was 12ish maybe) is so crazy. like my parents did such a shit job that i thought i had to be SO ALOOF and above it all that accepting an apology was weak and embarrassing?? jesus i cannot wait to move out 💀 ill send them an email when im gone telling them everything they'd send me back to therapy for

ive been reading too much philosophy, and a lot of that revolves around the meaning of life and how to achieve happiness/catharsis. but i think i have my own conclusion of what it means to be happy even without plato haha

ive never been happier than when i began to forgive and understand myself

it feels like i can live as i want and it's not important. one of my favorite quotes is "i could die tonight and hold no more significance than a dragonfly's death". i wouldn't say im a nihilist but i do like the idea that nothing means anything other than the worlds we have in our minds

it's my mission to make those i care about happy and carve out a good future for myself

ive tried to follow a lifestyle of "i work for my future without ruining my present" but ngl i just ended up anorexic literally three times in the past 5 years 💀 idek what i did wrong like DAMN?? chill tf out hggsdhgfsgd i had a panic attack over eating an extra bit of cheese one time

also fuck my parents for giving me no life skills. raising urself is really hard and you end up with so much internalised bullshit

im honestly so proud of myself for turning everything around after 8th grade

i guess i owe a lot to my classmates for not letting me get away w bullshit and caring ab political issues

it's pretty wild that i cry at movies now when last year i was apathetic all the time

i think i like having feelings? pretty undecided still ngl

i think it's a step up

but i can't even talk to my parents ab how they fucked everything up for me and i had to pull myself out pf the absolute trenchessssss or theyll make me do family therapy and ill end up forgiving them which id rather explode than do

anyway ig my point is if you're having trouble with existence or mental health, pls don't give up on yourself. i promise there's people out there who either love you or will in the future and you just need a few quality coping mechanisms to make it through the day

whether that's antidepressants, the powerpuff girls, philosophy (:33 which it should be), yerin baek (which it also should be), or vent art, find ways to make life liveable until you're ok again. bc you always will be in the end

i probably don't know you but i love you because you have a life and a consciousness

please recognise that about everyone

i read somewhere that everything will always be alright in the end and if it's not okay yet, it's not the end either. it sounds dumb and doesn't really make sense (where's the logic lmao site ur sources at least) but it's such a nice sentiment

i think ummm i will go to school and give all my friends a big hug tmrw so pls don't be sad in the meantime

anyway loossemble's new album is good im so happy for them

this is the happiest and healthiest hyeju's ever looked i lowkey wna cry over how well theyre doing ;v;

also highkey want her to put me in a chokehold like GHSFDFJFSDHGJK those ARMSSSSSS MOTHER??

fuck modhaus tho i hope artms r doing well... fucking jaden jeong ugh

[theflowerofthecommonwealth]

Power Armor Punch Part Fifty

Heyo we made it!!! (Throws a bunch of confetti into the air and blows into a party horn) If you have somehow been keeping up, I salute you.

Masterlist

Lucille: *dead silent. Can barely hear the others over the sound of the ocean already*

Nick: *running diagnostics to see if he can get some mobility back into his face and neck at least. Being stuck like this kind of gets old after a while*

Gardio: *gently resting his arm on Teshteal’s hat*

Teshteal: *the pressure makes him feel a bit better so he’s not complaining*

Jasmine: (Picking at her side wounds while the words “Mistake” and “Pathetic” ring through her head over and over again in her partial trance, blood trickling out onto her fingers. The wind refreshingly blows through her loose hair, but she doesn’t seem to notice while she mutters to herself)

Lucille: *would make idle conversation if anyone joined her in the cabin but she’s alone, steering the ship. Kind of depressing but hey, not the first time everyone else was doing their own thing while she worked*

Teshteal: *smacks her hand away from her side with his tail* Stop that. You’ll lose your strength if you start gushing blood.

Jasmine: (Shrieks then snaps up, blinking as she mutters something under her breath that either directed at herself or Teshteal. She tucks her hands under her legs and goes back to laying her head on her knees, quietly humming a tune)

Teshteal: *keeping an eye on her, now*

Lucille: *already missing the Commonwealth as they near the island. Soft melancholic sigh, remembering the insanity that went on there* At least I can still get the weather satellite on my pipboy… *misses the weather station she calls home, too*

Gardio: *started to doze. Head sags but bobs just a little with the sway of the boat*

Jasmine: (Takes a sip of water from her bottle and pulls out that babydoll style of singing again) “Sing, keep your spirits high. Sing, pass the worry by. Sing, till the day you die. It’s good for ya…” (Takes a deep breath to soothe herself) “Sing, while your debts are made. Sing, till the bills are paid. Sing, don’t you be afraid. It’s good for ya….”

Gardio: *wakes to Jas’s singing but keeps his head low, knowing she’ll probably stop if he acknowledges it. It sounds so sweet and pleasant to the old ghoul*

Lucille: *about to pull into port in Far Harbor*

Jasmine: (It’s an insanely stupid and naive song to sing right now and in general, but she loved it when she was small) “When old gloom come around. You don’t have to frown. It wont mean a thing, just Boopy-Doopy-Doopy-Doo! Boop-Boop-Be-Doop! (Again she can hit the Boop parts perfectly and sweetly) “Sing, make the day seem right. Sing, so you’d be alright. Sing, and with all your might. It’s good for ya.” (Looks at the Island as she finishes her song, tightening her vest around herself. She glances up to the sky, noting that some dark clouds are on the horizon)

Lucille: *cheakily as she safely docks the boat* Land Ho! Thank you for riding the Good Ship Misery! Finest cruise ship in the world.

Gardio: *looks up and cracks a grin at the joke* I want a refund.

Lucille: *laughs* Sorry, transaction laws only stand on land but not so much at sea.

Teshteal: What kinda shady business are you running here?

Lucille: *tilts her head as she ties off the boat* The free kind. Expensive, right?

Gardio: *slings Nick over his shoulder. He’ll get him situated with some help as soon as he’s on land*

Jasmine: (Slowly rises to her feet, glancing at her Dad while doing so. She doesn’t want to be apart from him… She’s not ready yet, her heart is already pounding. Especially when the distance is so far between them on a dangerous island crawling with creatures and God knows what else)

Teshteal: *already scrambling to get off the boat*

Gardio: *simply steps onto the dock*

Lucille: *second to last to leave*

Jasmine: (Jumps onto the dock, looking out past the town and at the Island, noting the thick fog that’s covering post of the land, save for some spots here and there. There’s a small twist in her heart when she remembers something specific about this island…)

Dogmeat: *bumps Jas’s hand affectionately with his head*

Lucille: *already walking into the town*

Gardio: *strolling after his daughter, noting and dodging now terrified glances by the residents- they were happy when they saw Lucille but then everyone else other than Jas came in*

Teshteal: *forced grin- definitely doesn’t like the disgusted looks of the harbor people. Walking’s more exaggerated, too*

Nick: *managed to get some control over his eyes and is looking around* Just keep walking on. Don’t pay them any mind. They’re like this a lot around newcomers*

Jasmine: (Walks up to Teshteal and takes his hand with a gentle squeeze and hum so she doesn’t scare him, narrowing her eyes at Allen Lee who throws an especially mean glare at the group. The glares aren’t probably directed at her, she’s too pretty and innocent looking. But that doesn’t stop her from getting defensive of her family and friends)

Allen: *scoffs* She brought more of them with her… they just get weirder and weirder, too.

Lucille: *growls bitterly*

Teshteal: *nervous laugh but it comes out almost mockingly*

Allen: You mocking me, mainlander freak?! *pulls out his gun*

Teshteal: Oh no, Sir- never, Sir! I would only mock you if it it suits you, Sir! *his tone has defaulted to mockery, too. He’s not trying to but it sure sounds like it*

Allen: *cocks gun* Open your mouth one more FXCKING time, freak-

Jasmine: (Marches right to Allen with her dagger in hand when she hears and sees the threat, easily grabbing his arm and twisting it at an awkward angle so his gun is aimed at the floor while she points her dagger at his neck with her other hand) (Darkly) “Try me, you will see what happens.” (Leans in, pressing the tip of her knife to his chin while she twists his arm further) “They are not the monster you have to worry about, you ever wondered what a skinned human looks like?”

Allen: *pained cry* Help, I’m being attacked by a mainlander-!

Dogmeat: *growls*

Allen: AND HER DOG, TOO!!

Lucille: You wouldn’t be in this position if you didn’t pull out your gun in the first place, Allen. You know that, right? Now why don’t you shut up and go back to peddling your weapons? Or do I need to get Captain Avery out here to settle this?

Allen: Oh, I’ll have a word with Avery- I’ll make sure this is the last time you ever set foot in Far Harbor again-

Dogmeat: *barks at him bitterly*

Avery: What’s going on here? Allen Lee, did you open your blasted mouth again?!

Allen: *suddenly goes absolutely silent*

Lucille: *smirks under her helmet*

Gardio: *just happy this Allen guy isn’t barking like an angry dog anymore. Reminds him of the thugs that would get brought into the precinct shouting and making things worse for themselves*

Jasmine: (Blinks innocently with her big brown eyes piercing back at him, tilting her head while she looks up at Allen like a little kitten and smiles) (Angelically) “Sir, if you are being attacked why do you not just pull away? I am just a little girl, you are twice my size and a well seasoned harborman. Surely you can overtake me if you really wanted to…” (Subtly puts more pressure on his arm while she pouts her lips. He can’t move without hurting no matter how hard he tries, that’s the fun part with toying with him. He looks ridiculous getting overtake by a small girl with a knife)

Allen: *tugs but quickly stops because of the pain* I can’t-

Avery: What do you mean you can’t? You’re telling me you can’t get yourself out of the whole you dug yourself into? With a child, no less? *indignantly* Huh.

Allen: *tries to move Jas’s hand with his own but that presses the knife into his skin* What the fxck- this is a joke, right?! Avery, you’re just going to stand there and let this happen?!

Lucille: Let what happen? The consequences for your actions? All you had to do was keep to yourself. But no. You had to point your gun at my friend, here.

Avery: So that’s what happened? *to Allen* Is that true?

Allen: I was defending myself from a freak of nature-!

Gardio: He only laughed. That’s not a good reason to pull a gun on someone-

Avery: Okay. I’ve heard enough. Allen. Apologize-

Allen: But-

Avery Don’t question me- apologize and back off. We have enough troubles around here as it is without you raising hell. *to Jas* And once he does, let him go. This is sad enough to watch as it is. *crossing her arms*

Jasmine: (Nods her head, again blinking innocently at Allen) “It is not a joke, I will let go if you do what she says and do not bother us again.” (Lowly so the others can’t hear, her hand squeezing enough so there’s a small pop in his arm) “If you do, there will be severe consequences.” (Sweetly while smiling once more, batting her eyes) “Thank you for playing easy on me, though you really seem mad….”

Allen: Kinda hard to hit you when this knife is digging into my skin- *accident tugs on his trapped arm* OW-!

Gardio: We’re waiting, Allen.

Allen: Keep my name out of your mouth you-

Lucille: *murderously now* Hey. You want to die? Cause you couldn’t shut the fxck up and just apologize? Keep going. It’s not just the kid you’ll be facing if you finish that fxcking sentence.

Nick: *doesn’t like the death threat but he can’t do much about it*

Allen: *frustrated* Fine. I’m fxcking sorry! There! Now leave me the hell alone!

Avery: There. Was that so bad…? *to Jas* You can let go now. Hopefully. *glares at Allen for a moment* He won’t be bothering you again.

Jasmine: (Releases Allen and withdraws her knife, watching with seemingly genuine confusion as the harborman tumbles backwards because she was holding him with so much force) “You do not have to be a Drama Queen about it. I am just a little girl, remember?” (Walks off back to her group while still keeping her perception sharp, tossing her curly hair over her shoulders)

Allen: *leaps to his feet and scrambles away in shame*

Avery: Now, what can I do for you, Lucille? What brings you to the island this time?

Lucille: A few things. *tilts her head at Jas* A friend of hers- goes by the name, “Donovan”. Have you heard of him?

Avery: *pauses in thought* Hm…

Jasmine: (Watches Allen leave as she ties a bandanna on the top of her head to help keep it out of her face, turning to Lucille with interest when she hears her mention Donny)

Avery: I think so- does he look like that fellow? *gestures to Gardio* All wrinkly and corpse like? Cause there is a guy who looks like your glowing companion.

Gardio: So a ghoul. Do you know where he lives? If he’s still sane?

Avery: Well last time I saw him he was- it has been a while since he came down for supplies. He lives at the old lighthouse with a very kind woman. Honestly if it weren’t for them, we would have lost a few good souls to the sea.

Nick: Good to hear.

Avery: Huh. Last time we saw each other, Detective, you were on your feet and less… bare?

Nick: System malfunction. Going to get it fixed.

Avery: That explains everything.

Lucille: Let’s get back on track. You said he lives in the lighthouse? Does he run any sort of business out of the lighthouse?

Jasmine: (Standing close to Gardio, but only because she wants to be near Nick to help calm herself. It catches her attention to hear that Donny is living with a kind woman, though she’d be more surprised to hear if he lived alone)

Avery: They fish but lately I’ve heard rumors they’ve been running some sort of farm.

Nick: That sounds like him. We have a source that claims he works on the sea.

Lucille: So, your hunch might be right. Is this where we part ways?

Nick: Might as well. You, Jas, and Dogmeat- check out the lighthouse. Gardio, Teshteal and I will head on to Arcadia.

Lucille: Got it. *to Avery* Thanks for the help, Captain.

Avery: *smiles at her* Anytime, Lucille.

Gardio: *nods with a kind smile at Avery then starts walking to the hull*

Teshteal: *follows him*

Jasmine: (Keeps expressionless and quiet but on the inside shes screaming and panicking as she follows along. She takes out the piece of paper that contains the command words and gives it to Teshteal) (Quietly) “Give it to Nick when he is ready, before I change my mind…” (Points to her head, trying not to cry like a baby that needs her parent. She really rather not split up and wants to go with her Dad instead)

Teshteal: *takes it and nods. He’ll get it to him as soon as he’s fixed*

Gardio: *already outside the hull, glowing a bit more thanks to the fog* Are you coming, officer?

Teshteal: *spins on his heel with a grin, already pocketing the page* Yes sir, chief! *catches up to him and they start walking away*

Lucille: *turns to Jas after waving them off* Ready to go?

Jasmine: (Watches the departing group leave for a long moment before vaguely nodding at Lucille, trying to control her shaking while she pulls her hood over her head but opts out of putting on her mask)

Lucille: *isn’t going to press her about it- but it would be wise to wear it. She starts walking on to the lighthouse, following the route on her pipboy overlay in her helmet*

Dogmeat: *follows Lucille then stops to look at Jas to make she’s coming*

Gardio: *listening to Nick tell him how to get there*

Teshteal: *his horns and tail glow brighter in the fog, too… maybe something to do with the radiation.*

Jasmine: (Not wearing her mask because she can’t fucking breathe properly with how tight her chest is compressing. Nevertheless, she closely and calmly follows along with her hand near her gun and her focus on their surroundings as sharp as she can make it)

Teshteal: *does end up having to kill a couple of trappers along the way. They stick out like a sore thumb in the fog so they attract more attention*

Gardio: *still pretty handy with his pistol despite having to hold a synth*

Lucille: *luckily hasn’t run into anything yet. She keeps an eye out for enemies, though*

Dogmeat: *sticking next to Jas the entire time*

Jasmine: (Resisting the urge to scratch her sides to relieve the stress and pent up emotions, focusing on the scenery and taking deep breaths so she doesn’t faint instead. She’s staying quiet and small so she doesn’t draw attention to their little trio. Overhead the dark clouds have settled in over the island, getting a greenish tint to them)

Lucille: *sighs bitterly* Looks like a rad storm. I wish I could do something about that… probably better if we make a run for it. *considers the satellites but she only pulls that out if it looks really bad*

Teshteal: *having a field day slaughtering gulpers they ran into*

Gardio: *had to set Nick down just to help*

Jasmine: (Quietly) “I will be alright in the storm, but we can run if we need to.”

Lucille: I suggest we run anyway. We’ll get to the lighthouse faster.

Teshteal: Well that was fun. Back on the road, I guess. *stops when he sees Gardio* You okay?

Gardio: *spacing out but snaps out of it* Just a little overloaded on radiation. Give me a moment. *takes in a deep breath and lets out a concentrated burst of radiation through the cracks in his skin*

Teshteal: So radiation still hurts you in a way?

Gardio: It… can overwhelm me. I sometimes get this weird sense of something… *rubs his fingers together as he thinks* Otherworldly pulling at me when I absorb too much. I’d rather it not. I still want to go to Heaven after I die. *wry chuckle as he picks up Nick*

Teshteal: *doesn’t know if he should be concerned for his friend’s sanity or impressed he still ascribes to any religion after living through the bombs*

Jasmine: (Nods her head. She’ll adjust her speed to Lucille’s so she doesn’t end up bolting ahead. It’s actually something she’s good at, you can’t exactly play with other kids who have half your stamina and strength without adjusting, otherwise you just mop the floor with them every time)

Lucille: *breaks into a full sprint, charging forward down the path until she needs to walk again to build up stamina, then it’s another full sprint*

Dogmeat: *chases after them, tongue flopping out of his mouth and flapping in the wind*

Nick: You still believe in that sorta thing, Chapel?

Gardio: I do. Especially now. For so many reasons- especially Lucille. My sweet little Lucille… *smiles remembering a little girl playing with toy cars on the floor of their home*

Teshteal: … She’s so tall. And kind of mean.

Gardio: She… does have her moments. Don’t let that color your judgement. She’s always been a good and helpful kid.

Teshteal: *goes quiet*

Jasmine: (Maintains a good balance of not running too far ahead, slowing down whenever Lucille needs to replenish her stamina. She’s glad they are running now, it helps keeps her mind off everything else, running is what’s she does when she wants to get away from anything too stressful, wether it be physical or mental)

Lucille: *comes up on the lighthouse just as the thunder starts rolling overhead. Soon she’s knocking on the door*

Gardio: *strolling up the hill with Nick over his arms. Not much longer until they’re in Acadia*

DiMA: Hm? *gets out of his chair* Who are you? I don’t believe we’ve met- *notices Nick draped over Gardio’s shoulder like a sack of beans and runs up to the two* Brother? Is that you? What happened??

Gardio: *raises an eyebrow in confusion* Brother…?

Teshteal: *shrugs* I don’t remember if he had one or not-

Nick: I do. DiMA, these two are Gardio Chapel and Teshteal. Old coworkers of mine- or rather the original Nick’s. Either way, they’re friends. I wouldn’t have made it up here without them.

DiMA: Yes- well, you know my policy, Nick. Any friend of yours is-

Nick: Welcome? Yeah. I know. Sorry to cut to the chase but is Faraday around? I’m gonna need some dire maintenence done. I’m stuck in this… safe mode and I can’t move an inch!

DiMA: *confused at first* Faraday-? *nods understandingly* Of course! Of course! He’s in the room just over-

Faraday: *walks in, rubbing his neck* I heard my name. What’s happening…?

Jasmine: (Takes a moment to examine the lighthouse that may be her childhood friends home, glossing over all its details)

The Lighthouse: (Surrounding the main building is large handmade barrier with two exits, one main that the bridge is leading to and off one side that leads down a dirt path. The main gate that they walked through has a sign that reads, “Traders Welcome” is hanging over it. There’s a neat line of turrets rumbling along the guard posts to ward off anything or anyone that crawls out of the fog with malicious intent. The lighthouse itself seems to be well in the process to be restored to completion. Most of the holes in the walls have been patched up either fully or temporarily with layers of tarp and the roof is completely fixed with new shingles. Prewar times there used to be two porches that lead into the home, but now it seems that the inhabitants have turned the left porch into a new separate room by walling it off)

Dog: (Starts barking up a storm from the inside, not aggressively but to alert the household that they have guest)

Ghoul: (Opens the main door after a few minutes and gives a friendly smile at the small group on his porch as he leans on the doorframe. He’s well around six feet tall and sturdy built for the Wasteland, neatly dressed too in quality homemade work clothes. There’s a bandana covering his brown hair that he managed to keep, and a eyepatch is covering his right eye) “Hello! What can I do ya three for?” (For a ghoul, his voice is surprisingly smooth, could very well pass for human if no one took a look at his face)

Dog: (Curiously pokes her nose from behind the ghouls legs, trying to catch a whiff of the newcomers)

Jasmine: (Suppresses a whimper and freezes when she sees him, blinking slowly at the man from the bottom of her hood. Even though he’s a ghoul and so much older from when they were last together…. she can still recognize him. Somehow he still has that same goofy yet mature Donny look to him that she couldn’t miss from a mile away. Ah, he’s even wearing that stupidly dorky orange shirt under his jacket…)

Donovan: (Completely oblivious to the fact that his Rosalinda from years ago is standing right there a few feet in front of him while he stands there to keep the dog from barging out)

Dogmeat: *walks up and timidly sniffs at the other dog with a small wine, trying to get a good read on her*

Lucille: Hi, it’s about to storm and we need a bit of shelter until it passes. Would you mind letting us in until then? *is not about to lead with “Hi I brought an old friend. We don’t know each other so take my word for it!” That would be suspicious as hell*

Nick: Ah! Faraday! Could you help an old synth out?

DiMA: He says he’s in some sort of “safe mode”. Would you be willing to help him?

Gardio: Lucille said you know a thing or two about this stuff-

Faraday: Of course I do. It’s kind of what I do around here.

DiMA: Faraday, you know you do more than that. Why else would I consult you and Chase?

Faraday: *pauses then sighs* I guess you’re right… *to Gardio* Bring him to the back and we’ll get started.

Gardio: *does so*

Donovan: (Smiles even more warmly) “Hiya there pup.” (Steps aside to let the dog behind him out to greet Dogmeat)

Dog: (Borks happily when she’s free to start sniffing everyone with her tail wagging. She goes straight to greeting Dogmeat, her feet tapping with excitement at a new potential puppy playmate)

Donovan: (To Lucille as he gestures inside) Oh yeah, that’s perfectly fine! These storms sure do come in out of-…”

Jasmine: (Reaches up and pulls off her hood while raising her head, looking at Donny straight in the eye to test him. She’s not walking into a strange house with the chance the household will get hostile when Donovan see who she is)

Donovan: (Completely taken off guard by her sudden reveal of piercing amber eyes that bore into his soul, staring at the girl with his mouth partly open) “I- Wha-….” (Stands straight and slowly crosses the porch to the girl, lowering his voice to a whisper) “Rosalinda…?” (Reaches up and cups her cheek with one hand, checking to make sure his eyes aren’t deceiving him)

Jasmine: (Flinches at him coming close and when he touches her face but she doesn’t push him away, just gives a vague nod while she stares up at him expressionless other than a small glint in her eye)

Donovan: (Getting choked up at the realization that his childhood friend who was taken away from her loving family and friends is standing in front of him, over two hundred years since that awful day and the end of the world) “Rosie!” (Pulls her into a tight hug) “Oh my god…”

Jasmine: (Stiffens a little at the hug and looks at the ground. Ignoring the blaring alarms in her head and the tightness/pounding in her chest, she slowly lifts one arm to give him a half hug back, remaining expressionless)

Donovan: (Pulls back after a moment, gently tilting the young girl’s chin up so he can get a better look at her. His eyes roam her face, sensing that something is very wrong with his Rosalinda. She’s not lively, there’s not even a spark in her eyes) (Softly with concern) “Are you alright? What happened to you, Ro-Ro?”

Jasmine: (Drops her hands to her sides, silently shaking her head while she looks to the floor once more. Rain trickles down from the sky a little more, making the reunion more cinematic)

Donovan: (Raises his head to glance over at Lucille, silently asking who she is and why she’s accompanying a very depressed Rosie)

Lucille: Here’s the truth- we actually came here so she can see you. She’s been through hell- probably worse than that.

Dogmeat: *does the playful stretch with his rear to the air and chest to the ground to show he’s game for playing*

Lucille: I know it doesn’t look like it but her adopted father, Nick, has been giving everything he can to take care of her. And I do mean everything. *urgently* Now can we please get out of the rain? It’s not good for her wounds-

Donovan: (Looks up at the rain that’s starting to pour down like crazy, thunder clapping and the wind blowing strong enough to knock down some wimpy branches off trees) “Wounds? Hell? Oh- yes! Of course!”

Jasmine: (Frozen in place with wide eyes, unsure what to do with herself. She can’t even start to think of the right words to say, it’s all mumble jumble in her mind)

Dog: (Bolts back inside the house when the thunder starts)

Donovan: (Takes Jasmine by the shoulders and quickly guides her inside, closing the door behind Lucille and Dogmeat)

Dog: (Shakes herself out, rolling on her back on the mat that’s in the mud room to help dry off)

Ghoul Woman: (Comes in from the kitchen at the sound of new people in her home) “Donny? Who are our guests?” (Glances out the window and at the sky that’s really starting to drum up to a raging radstorm, lightening being added to the chorus) “And in this weather, are you two dearies lost? Do you need to stay somewhere warm and safe for the night?”

Donovan: (Looks at the ghoul lady, then down at Jasmine who’s trembling) “It’s Rosie, Mama… She’s alive, little Rosalinda made it through the bombs…”

Jasmine: (Initially confused because Donny’s mother lived away from Donovan and his father and also didn’t resemble this woman in anyway)

Ma: (Gets a quizzed look on her face while she crosses the large house to the group) “Come again? Rosalinda? Her? Right here?”

Donovan: (Senses Jasmines confusion) “Tía Evelyn, remember? She ran the cafe-…” (Doesn’t get any further because Ma is already standing by them and staring intently at Jas)

Ma: (Recognizes the teen and immediately drops to her knees and starts fretting over her like a mother would as tears well up in her eyes. She cups Jasmines face with both hands and frantically looks over her features) “Oh, oh! Rosita-linda! Baby girl, look at you! You’re so big now, and beautiful! Dear me- you’re wet and freezing!” (Shrugs off her thin cardigan that’s over her house dress and wraps the girl in it, frowning at how small her frame is) “Honey, how long have you been alone out there? You’re so thin and frail now, look at your pale skin. Sweetie, that’s not like you at all…”

Jasmine: (Getting teary with all the confusing emotions that are making her malfunction because of how familiar and kind these two are. But that triggers the alarms in her head, and those aren’t any fun to deal with while she tries to remain expressionless)

Dogmeat: *shakes himself dry as soon as he’s inside the house*

Lucille: Again, hard to believe but she looks a lot better than when Nick found her. *blinks behind her layers of helmet. She’s choosing to stay in her armor until she knows whether or not she’ll have to fight* Does Commonwealth news make it out here? He’s a well known detective there.

Gardio: *reaches the workshop* Why… is there blood on the ground?

Faraday: Because sometimes this doubles as an infirmary. *pats the operating table. Set him here and then we’ll start.

Gardio: *lays nick out on the table*

Faraday: Now let’s see what’s causing all this… *opens Nick up* Oh… that is a LOT of grime. I’m going to need you to shut down so I can safely clean you out. Can you do that, Nick?

Nick: I don’t like it but sure- anything to make me a real boy again. *chuckles at the reference before shutting himself off*

Jasmine: (Completely motionless while she stares up at the two adults, she looks like she’s both terrified out of her mind and confused)

Ma: (Rushes over to a cabinet to pull out several towels) “Ah, maybe so but I’m not so sure. We just settled down here after living down south for the past two hundred years.” (Puts down a pile for Lucille to use on a little table if she chooses to then goes back to Jas, blotting away the water from her hair and arms) (Worriedly) “Pobrecita…”

Jasmine: (Allows her to do this, barely breathing anymore while her heart roars in her ears. She might’ve started swaying if Ma wasn’t holding her shoulders)

Donovan: (Looks to Lucille with interest and maybe a bit skepticism) “But do tell us, you say this Nick character is her adopted father?” (Looks to Jas for confirmation on this claim)

Jasmine: (Not much help while she’s malfunctioning)

Donovan: (Frowns deeply at his childhood friends unnatural behavior, Rosie wouldn’t act like this. And this lady is claiming she was worse off earlier?)

Lucille: Yes. He’s a very kind man. Has a penchant for helping those in need who have no one else to turn to. *holding the towel awkwardly. She supposes she could dry her armor*

Faraday: *steadily working at cleaning out a Nick’s internals, grumbling things here and there*

Donovan: (Narrows his eyes slightly at this brief explanation) “Hm….”

Ma: (Reaches to help Jasmine take off her soaked vest and jacket so she can hang them up on the coatrack to dry) “Princesa….”

Jasmine: (Catches Ma’s wrist to stop her before she can reach the zipper, eyes glistening with tears while her bottom lip trembles) “Do not call me that…. Do not call me by any of that…..”

Donovan: (Goes back to being concerned for the girl) “Rosalinda?” (Steps closer, kneeling down on one knee to examine her while she shakes. He spots the faint strangle marks that are on her neck, fueling his turning thoughts)

Ma: (Softly) “Okay then…..” (Gently unties the bandana from her hair and strokes her damp curls, tucking them behind her ears. When she does this it reveals to them the bruises on her face) “Sweetie, You’re gonna catch your death if you stay in those wet clothes and shoes….” (Exchanges a look with Donovan)

Jasmine: (Swallows a lump in her throat and quickly zips down her wet vest and jacket, holding them in one hand while she kicks off her muddy shoes at light speed)

Donovan: “Whoa whoa, whoa! Slow down Rosie!” (Catches the girl while she sways and almost falls over from being off balanced, holding her by the shoulders while she flinches)

Ma: (Takes the clothes from her, hanging them on the coatrack before she puts Jas’s shoes on its own rack with the other shoes. She bustles over to a small fireplace by the staircase and starts tossing in wood to make a fire to warm up her guests)

Donovan: (Guide’s a trembling Jasmine out of the mudroom to be closer to the fire, glaring back at Lucille to see what she does as he sits Jas down on the sofa)

Lucille: *following them. She’s staying on alert- anyone that friendly and accepting off the bat without needing something in return is always a bit suspicious after roaming the wasteland for a while, specifically those living IN the wasteland and not somewhere like… 88, Goodneighbor, Diamond City, or even the Railroad or Minutemen’s larger settlements* I want to give you more answers, I really do, but I need to know more about you two first… I’ve heard you’ve helped Far Harbor by keeping them safe in dire situations and I can deeply respect that- they’re good people for the most part. Other than that, that’s all I really know about you, so forgive me if I seem on guard, especially for her sake.

Faraday: Does Lucille EVER do any maintenance on him?

Gardio: Wouldn’t know. We only reconnected a couple of days ago.

Faraday: Reconnected?

Gardio: Yes. You heard right. Reconnected- I’m her father.

Faraday: Interesting. You look nothing a like.

Gardio: *sighs* Imagine I have a full beard and all of my hair.

Faraday: … Still don’t see it.

Gardio: And human.

Faraday: Sorry, I can’t seem to picture it. Are you sure you’re her father?

Gardio: Am I sure- Yes! Absolutely sure! I was there when she was born! *tearing up at the memory of the news of his wife passing, then holding little baby Lucille with only a small tuft of purple hair on her head*

Teshteal: *climbs up like a monkey on Gardio’s back then perches on his shoulders with his hands on his hat with a giant false grin* Hey, hoo! Let’s go walk around the observatory! Meet the locals and have some fun! What do you say, big man?

Gardio: *looks up and sees the stupid look on his partner’s face. He almost writes it off as him being immature but the widened pupils and overall pleaful look in his eyes say otherwise. He cracks a grin* Sure, partner. Sure. Let’s leave him to his work.

Teshteal: *cheers* Yay! *bumps his head on the ceiling* OWIE! *crouches back over Gardio’s head and slumps off his back while clutching his own skull* I forgot how tall you are-!

Gardio: *as he leaves with the gremlin* Surprised- you’ve been staring up at me since your first day on the job.

Teshteal: *complains like a child* I couldn’t climb on you, then!

Gardio: *laughs* You could, you just needed help, which I refused to give.

Teshteal: *over-exaggerated pout*

Donovan: (Puts an arm around Jas as he sits next to her, ignoring Lucille for a moment) “Rosie, are you alright? Please, talk to me….”

Jasmine: (Just sitting there with her arms crossed over her chest, lightly rocking herself as she stares at the ground)

Ma: (Looks extremely worried as she rushes off to bring a blanket to wrap the girl in, carefully tucking it around her shoulders. She glances at Lucille, then at Donny, then back at Jazzy)

Donovan: (Glares back up at Lucille, holding Jas a little more protectively) “And we don’t know you, but we know Rosalinda. And our Rosie she doesn’t act this inanimate, not even in the most horrible moments.” (Rubs the girls shoulder, trying to get a sign of life. Last time he saw her, she was kicking and screaming like she was rage and fury itself, now look at her…) “Her mother was a good woman, she’d be rolling in her grave if we allow something-…”

Young Woman: (Opens the back door and steps aside as the wind blows behind her to let in a hoard of (strangely enough) prewar chickens and roosters into the house. In her arms is a large cage that’s filled with little chicks that peep in protest of being held captive) “Oh, we have guests.” (Looks to Donovan, then at the sopping wet flock) “You were suppose to help me, now they are all wet.”

Donovan: (Apologetic grimace) “Sorry Joyce, I was greeting our guests.”

Ma: (Sighs at all the mud and water the chickens are tracking in, cracking a small smile when when comes up to affectionately nuzzle by her legs) “We need to fix that coop.”

Joyce: (Momentarily sets down the cage of baby chicks and claps her hands, rounding up the flock into one temporary gated area in the living room by shooing them into place with a broom)

Jasmine: (Stares at the flock with wide eyes, getting more confused and overwhelmed)

Lucille: Aww… I haven’t seen prewar baby chicks in so long. Poor little guys… *realizes she’s getting distracted by the tiny chicks in the cage then back to Donny* You want to know my story? Fine. I was a lawyer before the war. I had a family with my best friend- a family I never knew I could have. I won’t bore you with the details, but… *sadly* They’re all dead. Died after the bombs- by one means or another.

Dogmeat: *sniffing at the chickens*

Lucille: *crosses her arms* I still miss when Diamond City was Fenway Park. When the subway lines were used for trains and not raider dens. I used to take them to and from classes at Cainbridge when I lived in Boston. Honestly, if I’m right, this whole island used to be a national park. *points at the floor of the lighthouse* I was frozen for 200 years- even now it still feels like yesterday when cows had one head and all their fur.

Dogmeat: *sensing her sadness, he trots over to Lucille and rubs his head against her leg*

Lucille: *smiles beneath her helmet and pats his head lovingly* Hey boy… *back again to Donovan* As for her being this way? Blame the people that took her, not me. They’re the ones that hurt her and broke her in unimaginable ways. They’re the ones who made eating- a basic necessity for survival- difficult for her and anyone trying to help her. I’m just fulfilling a promise to her father to get her here as safely as I can.

Dogmeat: *affirming bark*

Donovan: (Listens to Lucille’s story with his lips pressed into a thin line when he hears about her family and recount on how things used to be) “So you’re prewar, huh….” (Looks back down at Jas, holding her closer to his side) “And I’ll assume you both had been frozen to be able get here into the future.”

Ma: (Staring at Lucille with interest as she puts more wood into the fire) “And you say that you know people took Rosie. What do you mean by they “broke her”, is that why she’s not speaking to us?” (Rises back to her feet, again tucking the blanket around the girl to help her feel more secure) “What did they do to you, sweetheart?”

Jasmine: (Whimpers softly when she’s reminded of that terrible place, pulling up her knees to her face)

Donovan: (Doesn’t look that convinced, but he’s more worried about Jasmine at the moment. She’s a mere shattered fragment of the bright optimistic girl that he, Ma, her family, and friends adored so much)

Dog: (Proudly showing off to Dogmeat her collection of chew toys and soft dog bed that’s placed right by the fireplace, tossing a stuffed duck into the air)

Dogmeat: *runs up and again does the play stretch after seeing a toy tossed by the other dog. Playful bark*

Lucille: *sees Jas tense up at the mention of the vault. Finally decides to let her guard down due to how earnestly they’re trying to take care of the girl* Probably better if I wrote it down for her sake. Just mentioning that place probably caused a rush of traumatic memories to resurface for her, now. *pulls out a pen and paper from her bag and writes*

The note: “They broke her in every way possible- stripped her of her identity. They experimented on her, forced her to kill innocents, assaulted her- physically and sexually-, probably poisoned her food, and so much more. It was all to make the perfect soldier. The perfect weapon. The only reason I know any of this is because Nick’s been trying to figure out her past so he can better help her. He’s dived into her memories because she won’t talk about it openly and couldn’t at the time. That sounds like a breach of privacy- and in most cases it would be- but she was shutting down to the point it was life threatening.”

Lucille: *decided it would be best to leave out the events that put Jas in that state in the first place. That’s not important right now, especially with them being so on guard around her*

Gardio: *Stops by Aster’s lab* Oh, hello. This is a nice horticulture lab.

Aster: Oh- thank you! It certainly gives me something to do around boring old Acadia.

Gardio: Come on, surely there’s other things that happen here.

Aster: There is but there’s not much to it. Some of us take up fixing things, others run the shop. I, as you see, grow and experiment on plants! *soft chuckle*

Gardio: So no art? Self expression of any sort? Is it prohibited here?

Teshteal: Does DiMA not like fun?

Aster: No- we just… haven’t figured out how to express ourselves beyond what we know how to do. It might be a few years before some of us break out of our old habits, you know?

Gardio: Ah. I see. *looks around at the plants*

Teshteal: *decides to eat a bloodleaf*

Dog: (Tosses the toy up in the air and over to Dogmeat, willing to share if he wants to play with her)

Dogmeat: *catches it and goes absolutely ham biting it and shaking the toy violently as dogs do. Playfully growls and pins the duck while tugging at its body*

Ma: (Takes the not from Lucille first and her entire face breaks into one of pure horror when she reads the note. She just stands there in shock, eyes watering when she thinks of the bubbly little girl who used to pop her cute head into her cafe with that beautiful smile she always had on) “Dear Lord above….”

Donovan: (Hasn’t read it yet) “Huh, what is it?” (Takes the note from her frozen fingers, quickly glossing over it. He doesn’t say anything, just pulls Jazzy close to his chest with both of his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head)

Jasmine: (Blinking slowly as she’s held, biting her tongue as her brain starts to sort itself out)

Joyce: (Silent as she watches the scene unfold, still holding the cage of chicks while she looks at her two friends grim reactions. She has no idea what’s going on, or who Jas and Lucille are, or if she should just back out of the room)

Fishermen: (Comes in from the door that leads to the lighthouse with a hearty laugh, stopping dead in his tracks when he reads the room) “Uh, is this a bad time?”

Ma: (Rises to her feet, plastering on a forced smile) “No, it’s fine. The soup is almost ready, you boys up there must be hungry.” (Rushes off to the kitchen mainly to calm down, wiping tears off her face. She motions to the fisherman to quickly follow her into the kitchen, to which he obeys wordlessly)

Lucille: I believe Nick hoped seeing you would help her open up. Maybe even bring some of the kid you used to know back, even just a little. He can only do so much…

Gardio: Say- have you considered making paints from the plants? You could make murals to liven the place up. *smiles kindly at her*

Aster: I… you know, I never thought about that. People used to use plants as dyes all the time. *nods* Thanks for the idea. *smiles* Maybe I can capture the beauty the aster used to have in a painting.

Gardio: There you go! Perhaps you’ll inspire others to make paintings!

Teshteal: You could paint stuff on wood and sell them to settlements!

Gardio: You’d be able to use trade for diplomatic purposes, build report among the other island residents.

Aster: Oh- I wouldn’t want to usurp DiMA when it comes to handling that.

Gardio: Who said you’d be handing those matters? Others would be making art, too.

Aster: Ah. Good point.

Dog: (Barks happily and starts playing with the other pup a game of keep away)

Donovan: (Speechless at the moment, wondering how severe and downright evil her situation was in order to get Rosalinda of all people to break down like this. God, he doesn’t even want to start imagining the possibilities)

Jasmine: (Blinks as she starts to catch up with all that happened and gets over the initial shock, the burning question that has been driving her crazy in her head for a years coming back. She pulls back from Donovan with more life in her eyes as she stares up at him)

Donovan: (Look down at her and notices this, opening his mouth to say something)

Jasmine: (Bluntly before he can speak) “What happened to them?”

Ma: (Raises her head at the sound of the girls voice and rushes back over to the living room, immediately knowing what she’s asking)

Donovan: (Only stares at the girl when she finally speaks and asks the question, straightening up) “What-?”

Jasmine: (Repeating herself, staring him down with kitten fire) “What happened to them?”

Donovan: (Sighs and shakes his head sadly, thinking of the right words to say to the delicate girl while still processing the contents of the note) “Rosie, hold on a moment-…”

Ma: (Leans on the wall that divides the living room from the dining room, tears on her face as she watches the teen)

Jasmine: (Firmly takes ahold of his wrist, pulling him closer) “They did not die during or after the bombs, I saw their graves. You know what happened to them, so tell me.”

Donovan: (Exchanges a glance with Ma, taken aback by her sudden burst of kitten fire. Still, this feels a little off from her prewar attitude, she still seems petrified about something)

Jasmine: (Quivers a little) “Please, I need to know. I could not figure it out and it has been so long….”

Donovan: (Heavy sigh as he taps his fingers on his knees) “You wanna talk somewhere else?” (Gestures around the crowded and chicken infested living space) “We can go to the attic, we’ve built a sitting area up there.” (Knows what he’s going to say will make her rightfully upset, but once Rosie wants to know something there’s no stopping her…)

Jasmine: (Studies him for a bit, trying to control her trembling as she swallows) “Fine.” (Release his wrist, glancing at her shaking hands as she stands and turns to the staircase)

Donovan: (Also stands to go with her)

@lucilleandherrobots

[bihanspookies]

🍏 [GREEN APPLE] How do they differ from the norm and how are they punished for it?

🍐 [PEAR] What is their current social standing? If they could change it, would they, and to what?

for Alora

OHO THANK YOU FOR THE ASK 💚

🍏: So this could be partially answered here in the first part for eggplant and also I’m not sure if this is the right way to answer this BUT

Alora is strong and everyone knows it, it’s one of the main reasons she was recruited into BD by Kano. That and she also lost him a bunch of money so she was in debt to him. She’s usually first choice when Kano or someone else needs answers and they know that fists will make someone talk faster than just asking questions.

She knows the magic saved her life but knows that it’s done more harm than good. She hates that she’s the one that has to do the dirty work, the one that has to get her hands bloody, the one that has to deal with the begging and pleading for her to stop. The first time she killed someone during an interrogation, it was an accident and she was haunted by the empty look and shrill screams for weeks.

It all ties back to her harboring an unfortunate guilt and also hatred for her dad for even going to Shang Tsung in the first place. If he never did, yes she probably wouldn’t be here today, but he would be and would still be with her mother and brother. Her dad ultimately became a sacrifice for her life years later and she feels she’s being punished for it.

🍐: What do you call the social standing of someone in BD lmao?? ‘Rich’ but with dirty money?? Food, shelter, clothes but at the cost of having to do illegal and heinous things because you’re trapped in a hell hole where the only way to escape is either by dying or going completely even more off grid? Sure they can try and kill Kano but there will always be another one who’s similar or worse. And how do you even properly get your life back together after that? Living in fear and having to always look over your shoulder just in case.

Alora would absolutely change her status in a heartbeat, change it to her just living a simple life back at home. She would miss the friends she made and the money (not the way she got it though) and also I think she’d miss the thrill of narrowly escaping something. She’d miss the insane off duty adventures and the sheer shenanigans that go on in the base in the late hours of the night. A part of her would miss some aspects of her crazy BD life but in her heart she wants to be home home, safe and sound and away from it all. She wants that normalcy and craves certain parts about it (COUGH HOTSHOT COUGH).

[clarkgriffon]

Zoey 102: Thoughts

I went into the Zoey 102 movie largely skeptical because the recent trend of tween show reboots has been... not great. Not bad, just mediocre. And yes, I am looking at you, iCarly. I think I'm probably going to be kind of unique in that Zoey 101 really was my show. Nothing to do with the cast or actors themselves, as I didn't care about that kind of stuff at a young age, but of the many Nick properties, Zoey always stayed my favorite, while I know that a lot of other people don't have as many fond memories of it as, say, iCarly or Victorious.

But honestly? This movie was above average. Did it reinvent the wheel? No. Was it tropey? Yeah. Was it a lot of what I expected the premise to be- Zoey and Chase are broken up but find their way back to each other with everyone else as sort of supporting characters? Yeah, it was that. But something that I think is really lacking in these reboots is usually a combination of acting chemistry and script itself. So, even if the plot comes in weak, which let's face it, a lot of these reboots are wont to do, Zoey pulled off the mild miracle of these characters seeming... real? The dialogue wasn't insanely stilted and cheesy. The chemistry between everyone was believable. Even the jokes landed! Todd, the fake boyfriend, I actually found hilarious. PCA closing down and being a money scheme followed by Stacey's "I have so much student debt" was actually funny. Chase and Todd had a homoerotic duet.

I genuinely think there are only three real gripes I have with this movie (for what it is): 1. Too Much plot 2. Zoey & Chase 3. Underutilized characters

Too Much Plot: The movie just tried to do a little too much with both Zoey working in production on a reality dating show and the fake dating plot, leaving both stories understewed. I loved Todd as a character and think the plot would've been benefited by only picking the fake boyfriend plot. While conceptually I love the idea of Zoey working on a Love Island ripoff, it just doesn't do much for the plot, which is meant to be both a nostalgia trip and romcom. Which brings us into...

Zoey and Chase: I don't think much build-up of the relationship is needed but the conflict and resolution within the movie was subpar; in the car scene, Zoey really just says "Whoops got cold feet" and Chase falls back into the torch he has for her. I don't need a masterpiece, but with the conflict setup (Zoey seriously hurting Chase right after they got together and Chase then ghosting her for literally over a decade for a mistake she made at 18), there needed to be better resolution.

You know, I wrote underutilized characters, I really think I just mean underutilized Michael. I loved Quinn and Logan's subplot that Logan does his richboy thing and wants a big wedding but Quinn feels out of place. Despite being minor characters, Mark and Stacey's murder podcast is cool and funny throughout (and again, could've been pulled off without the reality tv subplot) and their dynamic is really fun with Mark being a complete pushover and Stacey being overbearing, a lot like how Mark and Quinn were when they dated in Zoey 101. So yeah, I just mean Michael. He was there, he lost his voice and really didn't have much of note to do. It's not far off from the main show itself where they just never have much to do with Michael and that's pretty sad. Other than him, the PCA kids got as much screen time as I expected, which is to say, less than Zoey.

Other than those things, I really didn't have any problems with this movie. The jokes landed for me. I didn't mind how tropey it was. I thought it was honestly, a fun romp. Would I recommend it if you don't have Zoey nostalgia? Of course not! But this was far more digestible to me than any episode of the iCarly reboot. I'm kind of shocked to see it getting review bombed and I feel like it has more to do with the cast (*cough* Jamie Lynn *cough*) than the actual end product because... this movie wasn't bad? It was way better than I thought it was gonna be.

Also, the soundtrack kinda bangs.