#and sometimes that knowledge will be more useful in figuring out how to fix the mistakes made by trainers like those

[flowersforthemachines]

Some facts about Bellara (and also the Veil Jumpers, and other random Elven things) gathered from the banters

I went through all companion banters on DanaDuchy's channel after playing the game to write down all facts about companions/the world that I haven't seen brought up anywhere in the game as a writing reference (and for funsies).

Note: This list may not be exhaustive. I might have missed some something or didn't write it down because I considered it common knowledge. If you have anything to add, please DM me or send an ask! (do specify what banter the information is coming from, though)

Note 2: Posts from this series (mostly) don't include information from banters specific to quests or between companions and faction members. I plan to do another playthrough to capture more of those and will add any relevant info to the character posts.

Other characters' posts: Davrin, Harding, Lucanis, Emmrich, Neve, Taash. I'm also planning a post about just the Lighthouse some time later

About Bellara

Family and past:

Bellara’s mother is a woodworker who sells furniture in Orlais, and her father is an herbalist. He taught her about deadly plants (for her own safety)

Bellara didn’t tell her parents about Cyrian’s (second) death

Bellara once broke both of her arms while racing an Aravel 

Bellara learnt magic from her Keeper and later the Veil Jumpers, but she also studied a lot on her own by reading books and just trying things out

When she was little, Bellara wondered what it’s like to settle down instead of moving all the time (just like Davrin did) 

General:

Bellara can better focus on writing when she has background noise (like Rook talking)

Bellara likes tea (but can also drink coffee after she pulls an all-nighter, which seems to happen pretty often)

Bellara liked Lucanis’s grilled fish

Bellara didn’t know any Qunari recipes before joining the Veilguard

Bellara wouldn’t want to be an assassin, but she would be interested in taking lessons from Crows about assassination techniques

Bellara thinks that most people in Tevinter are condescending, even the nice ones 

Magic and life with the Veil Jumpers: 

Bellara once found an artifact that was basically an ancient elven mechanical toothbrush 

Bellara is a Veil Jumper because Arlathan is her home, and she can’t stand by and do nothing. Also, because of the artefacts

Part of the reason why Irelin and Bellara broke up is that Bellara became too consumed by studying/fixing artefacts 

Bellara and Davrin agree that the Veil Jumpers’ odds are even worse than the Wardens’

Bellara thinks that the ancient Elven magic feels cold

Bellara didn’t find anything on the Devouring Storm in the libraries or Circles. Vorgoth and Myrna never heard of it either 

Life at the Lighthouse: 

Bellara owns a bronze candleholder shaped like a fennec

Bellara thinks that the Fade in the Lighthouse is almost too calm compared to Arlathan

Bellara likes her space in the Lighthouse and feels like “it's been waiting for her”

The Archive sometimes stares at people who come by

Bellara eventually suggests that she and Lucanis completely take over the cooking. Everybody except for Harding dreaded any meal not cooked by them anyway and gleefully agreed

Antoine let Bellara borrow his compound for flaming arrows to see how it reacts in the Fade (she doesn’t speak about the results, but she used at least one compound for testing without incidents and later wants to borrow more) 

Relationships with companions: 

Bellara offers Davrin to listen about his findings regarding the Gloom Howler as he searches for the missing griffons, saying she's a good listener

Bellara asks Neve if she can become a Shadow Dragon and is very excited when she hears “Yes”

However, when Emmrich offers her to join the Mourn Watch, she turns him down saying that the Veil Jumpers need her. 

A writing inconsistency. Probably. 

Neve once saw Bellara poking around Assan, trying to figure out if he was real or some clever mechanical contraption 

Bellara wants to make pillows out of Assan’s molted feathers (but Davrin refuses because he finds it weird)

Bellara made dog biscuits for Assan (that Davrin accidentally ate the first time). The next time she brought a batch, she left them in a box labelled “Assan biscuits inside, do not eat.” Assan liked them!

Bellara once covered Assan in olive oil thinking it could improve his wind resistance and let him fly faster. Didn’t work. 

Bellara offers Emmrich to co-author a paper about ancient elves after they find out elves came from spirits

Bellara asks Emmrich about vampires multiple times. According to him, when a Hunger Demon possesses a corpse, the resulting abomination can seek out blood, sort of resembling a vampire. They can't turn into bats though

According to Neve, some magisters in Minrathous have tried bonding with Hunger Demons which resulted in them having immense power but also a craving for blood 

Bellara and Harding swap books for reading

Bellara gets into lifting using Harding's rocks

Bellara doesn’t think she needs to threaten Lucanis when she finds out he and Neve are dating because Neve could wipe the floor with him herself if she wanted (Lucanis agrees) 

Bellara is fine with Lucanis taking on Ghilan’nain’s contract (“Whatever we were worshipping, it wasn’t her") and cheered him on at Weisshaupt

Bellara asks Neve to beta-read her story

(If Neve and Rook are in romance) Bellara thinks that solving cases together is romantic

(If Neve leaves after Rook chooses to save Treviso) Bellara kept notes of everything that happened while Neve was away to help her adjust after she’s back

About the Veil Jumpers:

Bellara mentioned that a certain elf camped in some ruins, and one day woke up stuck in the clouds. The Veil Jumpers haven’t figured out a way to get them down, so they just send them food and water

Veil Jumpers use some of the artefacts they have recovered as weapons. However, they don’t use them often, since most of them need to be charged after one use, and nobody really knows how to do that 

Veil Jumpers eat whatever Arlathan Forest provides

Though Bellara also mentions she doesn’t forage in the forest anymore. Strife does, however, he always finds something edible

It’s hard to say how many Veil Jumpers are out there because people die/go missing/leave too often to keep a proper count

The Veil Jumpers once found an artefact that caused whoever activated it to get sucked into the Fade. One guy got trapped inside because he used it even if the others told him not to. Bellara is weirdly nonchalant about that whole thing

The Veil Jumpers once found something like an entrance to the Deep Roads on the Southern Edge of Arlathan Forest. The group that found it sealed themselves inside and destroyed the entrance, leaving a note telling the others not to enter. Davrin hypothesises it could be one of the pools similar to the one we saw in the Horrors of Hormak

Ritsivas from the Veil Jupmers is non-binary (mentioned by Harding in a conversation with Taash)  

Misc:

The power crystals are called “June'suledin'bellanaris'ena'ghilan'lasa'shiral”. You may infer the reasons everybody just calls them 'power crystals'

Not all traps in Elven ruins were originally meant to be traps, but their magic is old, so it doesn’t recognise modern people and can backfire. And sometimes magic just degrades over time and accidentally rips the Veil, summoning demons

Andruil’s Gauntlet is an ancient site meant to test hunters who want to wield the mightiest weapons. It’s filled with traps, and no one has made through it in ages. It was made by Andruil’s priests to test the warriors of Elvhenan 

Clans Nuvenis and Sabrae live in Ferelden. Harding’s village traded with the Sabrae in the past

[jolynesmom]

reasons you’re unable to enter the void or shift while lucid dreaming or in sleep paralysis

recently I received a couple of messages from followers and other blogs explaining how, when they were in sleep paralysis or lucid dreaming, were unsuccessful in reaching the void or shifting after stating their intentions

this also happened to me a couple of times, seemingly at random; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t

I did a bit of research and also analyzed my own experiences to figure out the root of the problem and how to fix it:

you’re not completely grounded/you’re rushing

this took me an embarrassing amount of tries to realize this, but every time I’m lucid dreaming or feeling myself entering the void, I would instantly start to spew out my intentions/desires instead of completely grounding myself in there and I would be instantly kicked out from that state. I guess it just doesn’t work that way — you have to be completely grounded in your ld or sp for your desires to manifest

a lot of you (me included) get so excited or scared when realizing we’re in a certain state that the connection, I guess, breaks. as an example, when I wasn’t very knowledgeable on the void state I entered it and chilled there for like 10-15 minutes before exiting willingly, but after discovering it can be used for shifting or manifesting I could barely spend 10 seconds there before waking up unintentionally

mental exhaustion

your psyche is exhausted and it simply can’t proceed the instructions anymore. imagine you stay awake for more than 24 hours and someone asks you to do a task that requires concentration and precision. would you be able to do it perfectly? I highly doubt

to get over this issue you need to take a serious break, and I don’t mean you can’t attempt anything for a day or two, I mean a BREAK — don’t even think about shifting or entering the void and chill and sleep as much as possible. I mean it, especially sleeping! fix your sleep schedule or sleep lots for 2-3 days

after you start your attempts again, if the first few instances are unsuccessful, you need to take another break before continuing, otherwise you risk of repeating the same scenario over again — reaching your desired state but not being able to do anything from there due to mental strain

brain activation trigger

brain activity changes — realizing you are dreaming changes how your brain works, especially in parts that help you think about yourself and make decisions. these changes can wake you up; knowing you are dreaming can make you feel excited or surprised - these strong feelings can wake you up too

mental blockages and expectations

your subconscious mind might have doubts or fears regarding the process. if you unconsciously expect that your attempts won’t work or fear the consequences of them working, this can create a mental block — this is actually more common than people think and a lot of you don’t even realize you have these blockages

overexcitement

if you become too excited or anxious about the possibility of your desires manifesting, this can trigger your body to wake up. remaining calm and composed is very important (even though we can’t help ourselves at times). overexcitement goes hand in hand with other strong emotions such as fear, so make sure you’re in a neutral state

subconscious programming

your subconscious might need more time and positive reinforcement to accept and integrate the idea of shifting realities, entering the void or manifesting desires. using affirmations, subliminals and visualizations regularly can help reprogram your subconscious mind

timing

certain times of the night or stages of sleep might be more conducive to successful lucid dreaming/sleep paralysis and shifting. experimenting with different times and conditions can help you so much!!

as an example: I have an easier time entering the void by meditating at night after 1 a.m., but I have an easier time doing wbtb and lucid dreaming between 8-11 a.m.

I honestly think that what can help you overcome this is self reflection — a lot of you search for answers but never bother to answer them yourselves. by self reflecting throughout my journey has helped me identify my weaknesses, how to fix them, what works for me and other tricks to speed up the process or make it more enjoyable

[dalliancekay]

"I think Aziraphale needs to learn a lot more than that..."

Why do people keep (telling me again and again about this quote) assuming that Neil means Aziraphale needs some moral lessons, get off his high horse, learn some hard truths about Heaven, escape their grasp, finally understand that they are bad etc etc etc.

When the ask is about how Crowley is always forgiven from Aziraphale's point of view and how what (I see) Neil means is that Azi should also be told he's good enough. That he can be loved.

That what he needs to learn is how to believe in himself. To trust his mind, his feelings, to believe he is enough, he always was, that he doesn't have to be perfect or 100% right, that it is not possible and that it's okay. That he's okay. That he was lied to.

I wish we would frame Aziraphale's journey/learning as something else, not morality/awakening of some sort. Not as something he has to overcome. When Crowley does something good (saves Job's kids), no one says, oh have a gold star, you went against what Hell wanted from you. Well done! Why do we do that to Aziraphale. Crowley is seen in Hell, giving presentations on some half hearted ideas that no one there really gets and getting accolades for things he didn't do at all and everyone is like, oh yay, look at him, so clever. Hahahah. Aziraphale also has to follow rules and do his tasks whether he agrees with them or not or he will be punished. He's not doing it for fun. He breaks rules when he feels he simply must and then everyone is like oh look, he is finally abandoning the rigid thinking that Heaven showed/taught him. But really, the naïve, slow angel, he should try even harder.

Why such double standards?

Aziraphale is good and wants to do good. He is not sure of himself, true, but that's hardly his fault. Crowley is also good and tries to do good or at least limit the bad things he needs to do to survive.

They are two sides of the same coin. They both learn and grow. Sometimes the treatment the Ineffables get reminds me of how differently boys and girls are treated when they are learning behaviour. Boys praised for anything and everything even remotely good they do (cos they are expected to be naughty) and girls get the oh you should have already known better treatment. Aziraphale saved Job's kids cos he thought it was a horrible thing to want to do and expected to be punished for it. That's not - he didn't, it didn't change who he is. He did it expecting Falling. That's extremely brave. Yes Crowley has Fallen and people tend to see this as some extra superior move on his behalf, like he had everything figured out, understood how bad Heaven was and tried to bravely fix it. And Aziraphale needs to catch up with him. (If not by Falling himself than by doing some extraordinary learning journey to catch up with Crowley's knowledge). No. That's all HC. We don't even know why Crowley Fell. We don't. We know what he says happened (and we also know that he's not a reliable narrator...) and that's all we know. And even the things he says are not exactly showing him as some truth waving hero only wanting to make Heaven better for everyone and unfortunately failing. Aziraphale is not breaking rules cos suddenly he used his brain and saw how Heaven is bad. He already knows that. He's risking punishment to help others. Again and again. And that's very kind and admirable and everything but it's not his evolving morality. He's already moral. He's already good. He always was.

He's also fucking cute. Let's not forget.

[hana-no-seiiki]

This is generally such a stupid ask but I feel like it would be.. Chaotic? At the very least amusing

Anyways

Batfam x Nicole from Class of 09! Reader

Do what you want (etc make it romantic or platonic, doesn't matter)

Just the batfam (yandere ofc) dealing with a chick who loves to ruin lives for her amusement and sometimes for revenge

Istg she'll just bully them at any chance she gets

~ 🕒

I just binged watched Class of ‘09 and all its endings/choices for you non. I don’t think I can fully depict how brash wittiness of Nicole is but here I go! (I am so traumatized) Didn’t know that’s where “No I’m flirting with you flash me a tiddy bitch” came from no wonder Nicole sounded so familiar.

btw if people are interested in watching class of ‘09 just be warned it’s basically a VN version of Degrees of Lewdity but the mc is actually a minor (without the sex/r*pe mechanic though) and it depicts a lot of just… pedophilia, necrophilia, assault, su*c*de, school shootings, racism??, BE WARNED.

The following content above ^ might be mentioned in this fic but in passing. MASSIVE DDDNE WARNING.

I don’t think I’m comfortable writing stepcest/incest in this blog so despite how perfect it’ll be to make Bruce your step father considering Nicole’s mom has divorced like a hundred times…maybe ask me in @yoru-no-seiiki and I’ll be down for it.

THIS IS ADMITTEDLY TIM + DAMIAN CENTRIC

“Do you even care? Do the results of your actions mean anything to you?”

“Yeah when they affect me, sure.”

You were a bitch. There was no denying that. But you were a pretty one. One many would grovel to be under.

You were used to this, ever since you reached a certain age people just looked at you different, acted in a way that… made you think they were boring, utter losers.

One of those losers was Tim’s friend.

Like all the stupid, horny men in your life, you hung out with him once and he spilled everything there was that you could share.

To the entire campus, the internet, even the news.

And because you were pretty, you got off scot-free. Those morons didn’t even check to see what you’ve been doing the past decade.

Except Tim. Timothy Drake. You only knew that his dad was super rich, and as much as it was tempting to sink your teeth into him and get a load of that daddy’s money, you knew better.

He apparently didn’t.

You see there was one thing every batfam member couldn’t resist. Well, two things. The first was saving people.

The second? Fixing them.

When Tim first approached you he was confused.

You were quite the popular figure in Uni. He heard the rumors. He fully expected to be cussed out to hell and back.

But you were… nice. Agreeable at most really. Brash was an understatement. But you were witty. Your comebacks were swift and deadly.

The more he studied stalked you the more he realized that the two of you were the same.

Two bright people stuck with dull idiots.

And Tim? Tim interested you enough for you to not to completely drop him after the first week. That and most of your bullying probably wouldn’t bode well towards the son of a billionaire.

He was smart, even more so than that nerd friend of his that you destroyed the life of. But more importantly he actually had some tact, and was surprisingly packed underneath all those baggy clothes.

Tim had to admit he was kind of forgetting his entire purpose of ‘fixing’ you.

Until you manipulated yet another guy into jumping off a school building for you. Thankfully he survived because Red Robin happened to be there to apprehend him but still!

And what’s worse, you met up with him afterwards talking about how that Red Robin ruined all your plans of crippling a r*pist.

Wait, a r*pist?

Tim looks through your past victims once more. Admitted he only did a surface level job of studying them in comparison to his PhD level knowledge on everything about you specifically.

And…you were right. Every guy you’ve harassed was being pushy with you in the first place, if not people with authority a decade older.

Fuck.

Well now he had no excuse. He had to make you his.

Meanwhile…

“Ugh, Damian. Can’t you tell your brother to like, fuck off or something? I can feel my social standing totally plummet every second he’s around. How do you handle being related to him?” You groaned. You weren’t fucking stupid. You knew Tim was stalking and drooling all over you lately. You hated it. He was ruining your chances with your new victims.

“Jeez [Y/N]. And here I thought you were like, into him.” Jessica, your actual crush and best friend, commented as she filed her nails.

You being the emotional stunted adult you were only replied with an (admittedly softer) “Eat a sandpaper cock and die bitch.”

Damian stared at you, the words die before they crawl out of his mouth. His hands clenched underneath the lunch tables.

Guess he had another thing to steal from his brother this time.

[writtenbymisunderstoodnerds]

Are you sure they like each other? (Alyssa Naeher x Reader)

Barely edited and I don't know if I happy with this, but I wanted to put something out. I hope you enjoy :)

Summary: Alyssa and reader are together, but very stoic and not affectionate in public. Think the team know they're together, apparently not. Start to question if they even like each other. Alyssa and reader turn into soft, love sick people when alone.

Warnings: Tiny bit suggestive, some swearing

Words: 3.3K

Alyssa had slipped out, taking our bags up to the room while I was surrounded by some of the team. I had offered to help, but she had insisted I stay to catch up, leaving before I could protest. Neither of us would be considered extroverts, though I was the one who liked to talk a bit more. Kristie pulled me into a tight hug before a few of the girls following suit, "How was your break Y/n?"

"It was pretty good. Alyssa and I just took it easy. Spent some time fixing up some of the stuff around the house I haven't had the time to do. Visited family, that sort of thing."

Confusion covered their faces, Kelley being the first one to speak up, "Wait. You spent the break with Alyssa?"

Now it was my turn to be confused. Alyssa and I had been together for almost 5 years, living together for 3. It wasn't something that had been hidden. Our relationship wasn't public knowledge, but friends and family knew we were together, or so I thought anyway. We weren't an affectionate couple in public or even with our friends, barely ever touching past an occasional hand on the back, a short hug after a game or if we were going to be apart. Occasionally, we would hold hands at home with family or I would lay with my head in her lap during movie night. I loved Alyssa more than words would describe, there was no doubt in my mind she felt the same. Public affection just made us both very uncomfortable.  

"Why wouldn't I? We live together."

"Wait what? You and Alyssa live together?"

"You didn't know? We weren't hiding it. You know we're together right?"

Kelley looked as if I had grown a second head, "You and Alyssa are dating? No we didn't know that! What the hell Y/n?"

Alyssa's hand touched my lower back, letting me know she was there before dropping back to her side. "What's happening here? Why is there yelling?"

"Apparently they're just finding out we live together and have been together for the last almost 5 years."

"5 years?!? And you didn't tell us?"

Even Alyssa looked confused at this point, "What do you mean didn't tell you? It was never hidden. We assumed you knew."

Accusatory glares were sent our way while Alyssa and I just stood there confused. This was not how I expected my morning to go. "You've never kissed, held hands, cuddled or done anything remotely couple like. How were we supposed to know?"

"We've held hands a few times and I sleep against her on the bus sometimes. I get her coffee and breakfast every morning, Alyssa gets me flowers every week even at camp. Pretty sure we've mentioned our anniversary before. We say 'I love you' to each other all the time. Did none of you find that weird?"

"You're always sitting next to each other on the bus so no and we just figured you were close friends or something. I think there's been one time that you've gotten flowers from her in front of us."

"I've seen that a few times actually, but its always when she seems to have a bad day," Tierna spoke up. 

Alyssa shrugged, "Well yeah, I get them every week, but if she's having a bad day then I'll get them on that day to cheer her up. Look, we just don't like PDA, we weren't hiding anything from you. We really thought you knew about us. And before you even ask, no we're not going to prove it. Now we're going to our room."

As soon as we entered our room, I flopped down on the bed, scooting over slightly when Alyssa lay down next to me. I pushed myself into her arms, leaving kisses on her jaw, her hand slipping under my shirt to draw random patterns. "You unpacked my stuff."

Alyssa held me closer, kissing my forehead. People held the impression that Alyssa disliked physical touch, which she did with most people. In reality, Alyssa loved cuddling with me, she loved holding my hand and kissing me. Just touching in general actually. When we first started dating, it was a welcome surprise. I expected some affection, but not as much as I received. There was definitely no complaints from me, I loved cuddling with my partners. "I always do, don't I?"

"You do and I appreciate it, but you don-"

She cut me off with a quick peck before speaking up not giving me the chance, "My love, how many times have you said I don't have to, yet I do it anyway?"

"Pretty much every camp," I mumbled against her neck, knowing what her response was going to be. It was always the same.

"Exactly. I do it because I love you and I want to make your day a little bit easier so how about you just accept it and let me do it."

It wasn't that I didn't like it, in fact I loved that she did it. I just always felt slightly bad when people did things for me. "Fine. I still can't believe they didn't know about us. I really thought they did."

"So did I. Maybe they just don't listen to us at all. It was all kind of entertaining though."

"It was, I can't believe they were so clueless. I have a feeling Emily is going to be annoying though. She had her mischief face on."

Alyssa's hand traveled further up my side as she rolled on top of me, "Unfortunately, I think you're right, but right now there are other things I would rather do than talk about Emily."

---

Just as I sat down for breakfast, Emily and Kelley slid onto the chairs in front of me. They just stared at me until I snapped, asking what they wanted. This was not what I needed early in the morning especially when I had only been awake for like half an hour. Alyssa was always down for breakfast after me, preferring to take her time to get ready and do her puzzles, while I just wanted coffee. 

"So you and Alyssa are together right?"

"Uh yeah, why?"

"Just checking. How long have you been together?"

"Almost 5 years."

"How did you meet?"

I looked at between Emily and Kelley, trying to figure out why I was being interrogated once again, about my relationship. At this point, I was pretty sure the team believed we were lying or something. "You know this already."

"We forgot."

Alyssa approached, giving me a quick smile which I returned, "Perfect timing. I'm being interrogated about our relationship again."

"Why?"

I shrugged, pushing Alyssa's breakfast in front of her receiving a quite thank you. I didn't answer Kelley's question, instead deciding to eat breakfast before it got cold. "Are you two being forced to be together?"

Both of our heads shot up at that. It was such a ridiculous question. There would be no logical reason for us to be pretending to be together especially considering we weren't public knowledge. I bit back my laugh before answering, "What? What makes you think that? Why would that be a thing?"

Emily shrugged, "You just don't seem to like each other like that."

"Go away Kelley," Alyssa mumbled before going back to her breakfast. I ignored her again, getting up for Alyssa's coffee instead. When I returned, Kelley and Emily were still there, giving Alyssa a suspicious look. I handed Alyssa the cup before sitting down again.

"Thank you love."

Emily narrowed her eyes at us, "Suspicious."

Alyssa rolled her eyes while I flipped Emily off. This whole thing was starting to get old. "Go eat your breakfast."

Later that day, we were back in our room, enjoying the time we had before practice. Alyssa was reading, while I lay in the sun on the balcony. I started to want cuddles. I wouldn't say I was clingy because it was true. We could spend hours doing completely different things. Sometimes though, I just craved touching or being held by her. I gave her a few minutes before calling out to her, knowing she would come to me without hesitation.

Alyssa groaned, but got up, slipped off her shirt and sat down behind me with my head in her lap. We met in the middle, lips connecting briefly before I wiggled around to get into a better position. Alyssa eyebrows raised, amusement shining in her eyes, "Comfortable?"

I smirked, lacing my fingers with hers that rest on my stomach, "Very. Do you like me Lyssa? Is someone forcing you to date me?"

"Not even a little bit. Don't you know I'm only with you for your body?" 

"That's what I thought. Maybe I should confess that I'm only with you for your abs."

She smirked at my response, "I had my suspicions. You're obsessed."

"Not my fault they're great abs."

Fingers ran through my hair as Alyssa leant down to kiss my forehead, "You know I love you right Y/n/n? I don't want you to ever doubt that because I don't show you affection in public."

"You know how I feel about PDA, I don't like it, I never have. I have never once doubted your love for me Alyssa and I hope you haven't doubted mine. I love you."

"Good. I have never doubted your love either."

---

Anger and worry coursed through me when I saw Alyssa go down. It was always my worst fear during games, but it didn't really happen during practice. I know we got competitive, there was no reason for it to happen during practice though. I ran up, kneeling beside her, hand grabbing hers, "Are you okay Lys?"

"This ones going to hurt," Alyssa winced, but quickly grabbed my arm when I turned to Rose who had taken her out. "Hey, it's not her fault, it was an accident. Go see if she's okay and be nice."

I took a breath to calm myself down before walking up to Rose. Rose started fidgeting nervously as I walked up to her, "Hey, are you okay Rose?"

"Y-yeah. S-sorry"

I hugged her, feeling her relax against me. Hugs weren't necessarily my favourite thing except when it was with Alyssa, but I knew Rose liked them and I didn't want her to feel bad. It wasn't actually her fault. "Rosie, it was an accident. Don't beat yourself up because of it, but maybe don't make a habit of taking out out keeper during practice, we kinda need her."

---

"You guys coming to dinner?"

"Uh yeah, just going to drop our stuff off."

Once we were in our room, Alyssa sat on the edge of the bed as I knelt behind her, arms wrapping around her shoulders loosely. She lent back against me with a sigh, kissing my hand. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Think my shoulder might bruise, but I'm okay hun. Don't worry so much."

I lift her shirt over her head, lips meeting the spot that was already starting to bruise then moving around to her neck, cheek and lips, "You know I can't help worrying about you, even if it's a bit ridiculous."

Alyssa turned around, pushing me back and hovering over me, "Well, I'm the same so I can't really say anything. I love you Y/n/n."

I looped my arm around the back of her neck, pulling her down so I could peck her lips, "I love you Lys, but you need to get off cause we need to go down for dinner."

She rolled off me with one final kiss before standing up, "Fine."

"Shirt."

---

My eyes fluttered open to the feeling of lips being pressed to every part of my face and neck. I giggled, arms wrapping around her neck to bring her lips to mine. You wouldn't guess it, but Alyssa always kissed me softly, as if I was something precious. It honestly drove me crazy. 

Alyssa pulled away slowly, grin plastered across her face, "Happy anniversary love."

My grin matched her, as I pecked her lips, "Happy anniversary Lys. I love you."

We spent a little longer in bed than usual, lazy kisses and cuddles shared before reluctantly dragging our selves out of bed and into the shower. Unfortunately, we had training today so we couldn't give in to the clear desires we both had, instead rushing through the shower and downstairs before there was anymore temptation and we ended up late. 

Alyssa and I were discussing dinner plans when we walked into the meal room. We never went out on our anniversary, always staying in and just being with each other in the comfort of our own home. This year was different because we were in a hotel, but we would make do. Just as we sat down, Kelley sat across from us, our conversation ending as we waited for her to say something. "Do you guys even like each other? I mean you guys just seem so indifferent around each other, sure you talk and even joke around sometimes, but it's no different then if you were talking to team mates, we've never heard you talk about anything remotely relationship like."

My arm rest on the back of Alyssa's chair, playing with the baby hairs at the base of her neck. That wasn't a usual occurrence, but it was our anniversary. I was feeling a mix of different, slightly overwhelming emotions from love to happiness, and nerves from the fact I was proposing tonight. I just wanted to be close to her right now and the usual leg against mine wasn't enough. Alyssa must have sensed it because her hand rest on my thigh under the table, squeezing gently as I spoke, "Of course we do. We were literally just talking about our plans tonight for our anniversary."

"That was talk about your anniversary? It sounded like you were talking about grocery shopping."

"We were, but in relation to our anniversary."

"So what are you going to do for your anniversary?"

"Chill out in our hotel room. We never do anything big."

"Yeah okay. That tracks with the appearance of your relationship."

Alyssa had gone back to our room after training while I had gone to the store to pick up a few snacks to sneak in and some flowers for her. She always got me flowers so I wanted to return the favour for once. We were planning on ordering in and watching movies before likely ending the night doing inappropriate cuddling.  It was our favourite way to spend our anniversaries. Thankfully, we had an off day tomorrow so we could get away with it. 

After placing the bag down on the table, I called out for Alyssa, getting a response from the bathroom almost instantly. My arms wrapped around Alyssa when she emerged from the bathroom, leaving a lingering kiss against her lips. Her eyes dropped down to the bouquet in my hand, a small smile appearing. "This isn't your actual gift, but you always get me flowers so I thought it was my turn. Your gift is running late."

"They're beautiful, thank you Y/n/n. You know you didn't have to get me anything."

"I know, but you also always get me something despite me saying the same thing, therefore shut up."

Alyssa laughed, pushing me away gently and taking the flowers, "You speak to me so romantically my love."

I pulled her back into me, peppering her face with kisses, "I love you."

"I love you. I ordered dinner already, it should be here soon. Also here," Alyssa handed out a small wrapped box. Inside was a gold chain with a small keepers glove attached. It was something I had mentioned wanting, a way to have her close when she wasn't there physically. 

"You remembered. I love it Lys."

"Of course I did."

After a short make out session and dinner, we cuddled up in bed to watch a movie. Maybe 15 minutes had passed before I started getting restless. My focus dropped from the movie, instead playing with Alyssa's fingers. I never was the best at staying still. My mind soon drifted to the pool downstairs, it had been a while since I got to go and the urge was suddenly there.  

When I shifted position once again, Alyssa chuckled and paused the movie, "I've lost you haven't I?"

I grinned up at her, kissing her softly. Alyssa always knew me so well. "Do you want to go swimming? It's late so no one will be around."

Alyssa knew I loved swimming so she agreed pretty easily, after some teasing of course. We made our way down to the pool, both wearing tank tops and shorts. No one was around so it didn't matter what we wore. I jumped straight in, swimming around a bit while Alyssa sat on the edge of the pool. After a few minutes, I swam up between Alyssa's legs resting my arms on them as I lent up connecting our lips in a lingering kiss. 

"Come in."

"It's cold."

"Love, it's a heated pool."

"Okay fine, I just enjoy watching you swim around."

"But, if you come in then we can cuddle, kiss," My hand ran up the inside of her thigh, "Touch."

Alyssa instantly slid into the pool, arm wrapping around me and pulling me against her. "You're a tease."

My hands slipped under her tank top, nails scratching down her back and over her stomach, "It's only teasing if I leave it at that. Just wait until we get ba-"

A loud voice interrupted the moment, annoyance crossing Alyssa's face as she stepped back slightly, but didn't let me go. "Oh my god! They really are together."

I groaned, turning to glare at Emily and Kelley, "Fuck off and stop ruining our anniversary."

Once they were out of sight again, I pulled myself out of the pool, Alyssa rest on my legs as I had done earlier. "What are you doing?" 

I pulled the towel that I had hidden the little black box in closer. Inside was a a plain gold band with a round cut diamond. Alyssa didn't often wear jewelry and she liked simple things so I knew she would love it. "I have something for you."

"You waited until we were at the pool to give it to me?"

"Well it wasn't the original plan, but I got nervous." My fingers laced with hers, Alyssa looking up at me curiously. "Never in my life did I think I would fall for someone as hard or fast as I did with you. From the boring, quiet days at home spent doing housework or errands to the movie nights and dinner dates, I love living life with you. I love the adventures we've had, I love working with you, fuck, I just love being with you Alyssa. I look forward to every new day because I get to do it with you. With you by my side, anything is possible. This is a shit speech, but I'm nervous and you love me anyway."

Alyssa chuckled, tears already forming in her eyes before I revealed the little box. "I love you Alyssa, I love you so much more than I thought possible. I want to live life with you forever. With that being said, Alyssa Naeher will you marry me?"

Arms wrapped around my waist tightly, lips connecting with mine, in a soft, emotional kiss, "Yes, yes I will marry you Y/n."

I slipped the ring on her finger, connecting our lips again. Alyssa pulled away too soon for my liking, reaching for her own towel, pulling out a black box similar to the one I had moments before. Alyssa opened it, revealing a plain rose gold band with three small gems set into it. I soon realised it was both our birth stones and one I wasn't quite sure of. "You beat me to it, but will you marry me Y/n?"

"I suppose I can't say no seeing as I just gave you a ring."

Alyssa laughed, sliding the ring onto my finger before kissing me again. "These are our birthstones, what's this one?"

"When we first started dating."

"I love it, I love you."

A crash from behind us instantly caught our attention. About half the team stood there, sheepish smiles in place and a phone pointed in our direction. Seeing as they were caught, everyone started talking over each other, congratulations being thrown our way. I rolled my eyes, turning back to Alyssa. "Let's get out of here before they surround us. We have celebrating to do."

[gayhorrorsans]

Inspired by this post - @dustcrumbs

Tw: Mentions of self-injury (scratching arms, thighs, skull, eye) + Passing mention of skipping meals.

Next post: here

Horror is deeply insecure about losing his past, anything he loses about himself he deems as a loss equivalent to losing his brother, which in itself, he hates. He hates how he views an inanimate, or figurative, thing as equal to his brother in terms of Importance. He wears a different jacket to what 'sans' wore, but he still has the past one in his wardrobe.

He tries to preserve it's perfect attributes. Especially when compared to his other clothes that he takes no care for, throws them in the washer every now and again. That's about it. He clings on to anything that's reminds him of his past self, a bottle of ketchup, a receipt from Grillbys. His old balled up duvet. He can't bring himself to throw any of it away, no matter how harassed he gets by Nightmare or Killer or Dust or whoever.

It causes something in him to snap, he prides himself on being the most sane member of the bad sanses - which says a lot about their overall sanity - but messing with those few things causes him to break down. And if he finds someone attempting to damage or throw one of those things he clings onto away he will not hesitate to fight.

This has lead to past altercations. Including with Nightmare. All Horror sees is someone taking or damaging his past self. Who the person is is irrelevant in that moment, he will fight until he passes out from exhaustion, or is restrained to the point he can't move. It's an issue he never gets better with, the only thing he hasn't improved on since he's joined Nightmare's gang.

But when it comes to figurative things like forgetting things, including his friends names, his own birthday and most recently, knowledge. Horror typically breaks down, crying, stressing and pulling and scratching at himself. He never uses anything to do this with, just his hands - which are more like claws - he'll scratch his skull crack and eye socket. Sometimes his arms and thighs, scratching until he's called to do something, caught, or until he can't do it anymore.

This isn't as bad as when his physical items are damaged or meddled with. But in some situation can cause him to lose extreme amounts of magic, which visibly appears to be blood. And, in one particularly bad situation he scratched his eye, reducing his already limited vision by 25%.

------------------STORY AHEAD-------------------

But the hardest hitting one was Horror's knowledge. He had been reading a book -one out of Nightmares library - when the words became sort of fuzzy, it wasn't his vision but the words seemed to dance about the page, not in a hallucinatory way. The words just didn't make sense. When he could read a fixed line, it made no sense. This was basic stuff for 'sans'. Integration, Differentiation. Calculus, advanced mathematics, but basic considering he did have a Doctorate in Mathematics. Why were things making sense?

Other books Horror took from the library didn't make sense. Not Math. Not Science. Not Ethics. Nor Philosophy and Law. Sans was a well educated man, he had numerous bachelor degrees, Masters and PhD's. Yet for all those that he had spent years studying, they made no sense. He forgot basic stuff, justice. What is justice? What was 5*5?

The sudden reality of it all crashing down on him. He had taken dozens, nearly even a hundred books from the library, trying to understand things. But ever time he read and didn't understand, he would stress more. He spent no time working out and training. He would skip meals every day, and eventually it became clear, he was growing slightly slimmer and was overall weaker. Not to mention Nightmare had taken note of his missing books.

So naturally he went to check on Horror, as he can't have anyone losing their strength. Horror was a weeping mess on the floor, crying, scratching his eye socket, crack, thighs, arms, eye. Anywhere he could scratch he would cycle between. His crack had grown slightly larger, in fact it was so bad now his left eye socket and crack were less than a centimeter from meeting. He caused a little damage to the eye itself, but not too much. He was looking at about 6 books ranging in topics. Ones Nightmare had never read, he preferred fiction to non-fiction, unless it was history.

Horror's state was horrifying - pun potentially intended - Nightmare had never seen him like that before. Sure he'd seen Horror get violent, but not emotional. It's mainly Dust and Killer who had seen him like this, but it had never been this bad. But Nightmare had felt Horror's negativity. And he had noticed the books missing. So he had some inkling of an idea.

"Quit that. What are you doing?"

Horror whipped his head around to look at Nightmare.

"Wh-whoa Boss. S-sorry I uh- didn't see you there" He scratched the back of his head this time, acting nonchalant, as if there wasn't blood pooling down his face to indicate there was certainly something wrong. "You should really knock heh-"

Nightmare thought. Excuses. That was one thing Horror certainly had left of sans, extremely convenient excuses or distractions from the topic at hand. "You know I can tell when somethings wrong. Not to mention you pick at your wound when you're overwhelmed. Why not at least verbalise your worries to me?"

Nightmare looked down at the ground, where bits of skull lay. It was a shock Horror could literally rips bits of his skull off. It's not easy to rip bone, even if the bone itself is already damaged. Horror makes it look easy. "I can heal your wounds. But I'd rather prevent them. And I can't bring your skull back to its normal state. So I'd rather prevent you from ever picking at it again. How about you speak about it as I clean up?"

Horror felt his wounds heal as Nightmare gently whisked magic over them. His skull wouldn't heal much, if at all. But he was alive. He was embarrassed though. He was a grown man who can't read a book and can barely understand basic maths and general knowledge. "You... won't tell anyone?"

"I'll kill anyone who overhears."

Comforting I suppose. Horror sighed, clutching his knees. "I can't... Read. Nor understand basic arithmetic or knowledge. I even robbed a children's book and I couldn't understand that. It was like... ugh. I have an education. I can't even understand 5*5 and know what a stupid word means... This is so embarrassing." He hid his head in his knees somewhat, talking between his knees with his mouth slightly covered, muffling his words a little, but not significantly.

"I can't read the covers. The images don't make sense. I used to do this for a living and now I can't... even understand what something is. Regardless if I know how to do it. I'm a grown man who can't read. I've tried. I'll never learn."

Nightmare thought for a second, but not too long as not to make Horror think Nightmare believed he was stupid. "Dont be so pessimistic. That's my job." He seemed oddly proud of his role of negativity. Creeping Horror out slightly, Nightmare even when teasing was still creepy. "Why do you wanna learn? You've never expressed an interest in reading since I've known you. A good few years now eh?"

"It's... one of the last things I have of him. Of sans. I can't lose him, I defend every bit about him with my life, and I can't risk losing him. He's my past. My perfect past..." Horror hyperventilated a little, but finished his little speech before it hit too bad. Great, another existential crisis.

"Well, you don't have to. I learnt how to read. Not quite all the... other stuff. That's not my area, but I did learn how to read on my own." Well this was music to Horrors ears, he could barely contain himself as Nightmare described his past. "Yeah I never had a teacher so I had to do it all and... ...was alone... ...helped... ... and yeah. It was hard and I struggled but I did it." Nightmare had spoken for about 5 minutes, Horror registered 25 seconds of it.

"Teach me." Nightmare looked at Horror like he was dumb. "Teach me. I want to learn I can... I can preserve him... Sans. Please."

Nightmare paused. "Fine. But don't see this as an act of kindness. I'm only helping you because you'll be able to read about.. new weapon making. Yeah."

[daytaker]

The Demon Brothers React to Watching a Horror Movie with You

CW: discussion of gore (Satan)

I didn’t include the dateables in this one but if people want that, y’know…let me know.

Lucifer

"You frighten yourself... intentionally? Interesting."

He fails to see the appeal, quite frankly.

Not only does he not find them scary, he doesn't understand why you watch them if you do.

He's too used to playing the babysitter to take you grabbing his hand as an excuse for physical contact. He interprets it as you tapping out, so he'll pause the movie and give you an out.

Of course, if you insist on finishing the movie regardless, that's an interesting choice in and of itself.

What an opportunity to observe a tortured human psyche at work.

If you insist on holding hands at this point, he won't fight it. He is a bit more dubious than before, though. Are you really doing this because you're scared? You wouldn't happen to have any ulterior motives, would you?

He will gladly reassure you after the movie is over that you are always welcome to come to him for comfort if you're afraid in the middle of the night. You know where his room is.

Mammon

"Just so we’re clear, I ain’t afraid of no horror movies. Not even a little! Not even a teensy-tiny bit, all right? Like, seriously."

He's lying.

This isn't even headcanon stuff, this is just common knowledge.

Also common knowledge: he will insist on proving how cool and brave he is by watching a horror movie with you and protecting you from the monsters and gore onscrEEAAAUUUUGH???!!!

He wasn't scared, he was just startled.

And he's only up here on the lights fixture because he remembered one bulb was flickering earlier. There. He fixed it. He's just being responsible.

Anyway, if you're nervous and want to hold his hand, he understands. Humans are fragile as hell.

In fact, you don't need to stop at hand-holding. You can just hug hiMYEEAAGH!!!!

He's hugging you instead. He's being a good demon and taking care of his human.

Yes, he's in your lap. He thought you'd feel more secure that way.

Stop laughing!

Leviathan

"So I read that the film set for this movie was cursed by a mangaka who never got credit as an influence for the story..."

Time for some J-horror, obviously.

He read up extensively on the production before asking you to watch it with him. He figures he'll be less terrified if he has plenty of background knowledge about the film as an artistic piece to remind him that the happenings onscreen aren't real.

Instead he found a bunch of rumors about how the movie was cursed. But he'd already poured so much of his valuable time into researching it. Sunk cost fallacy: activated! You're watching this damn movie.

He's scared. He's so embarrassed to be this scared but he's scared.

When he's by himself, he doesn't mind that he spooks easily. He likes it. That's the fun of horror games and movies.

But with you here, he feels the pressure to be your emotional rock during the harrowing film-viewing process.

You can hold his hand. You know, if you want to. He gets it if that idea grosses you out, but he did wash his hands right before you got here, so...

If he gets too scared, the demon form comes out, and suddenly you have a scaly tail wrapped around your waist and webbed fingers clutching you.

He's sorry, it's just... It just happens sometimes, okay? Laugh it up, normie!

Actually, it feels kind of nice when you stroke his scales like that. If you really want to, you don't have to stop.

He is no longer watching the movie.

Satan

"This is an extremely unrealistic depiction of decapitation with a hacksaw."

There is nothing less scary than watching a horror movie with Satan, because his smart ass can't stop telling you about everything wrong with it.

The movie is starting. Are you nervous? He'll hold your hand. He has enough basic sense to at least get that part of the process right.

...That's not even close to how it looks when you disembowel a deer.

There's a lot more blood spatter than you'd expect when head wounds are involved. Apparently the special effects crew on this movie didn't do their due diligence.

Hmm, that's actually a pretty convincing amputation scene. Credit where credit is due.

Sorry, but he thinks that calling this one a "psychological thriller" is giving it a little too much credit.

Asmodeus

"Nooo! Ahhh, I can't take it, it's so scaryyy!"

He's not scared. Not even a little.

He's not even grossed out.

But he thinks that seeming terrified is cuter than seeming mildly amused and a little bored.

So before you start watching, he makes sure to lay down some ground rules.

If he's scared, he gets to hold your hand. If you're scared, you get to hold his hand.

If he's scared, he gets to hug you. If you're scared, you get to hug him.

If nothing scary is happening for more than five minutes, he's allowed to request a kiss. Just to keep you both from getting bored.

Why are sex scenes in slashers so awful? Even before the stabbing starts. They're just so... blah. It's disappointing every time.

Ahhh! There's the killer! He's so scared! He's going to hide his face in your neck and cling to you for dear life!

Beelzebub

"What's wrong? Why do you look so sick?"

Bro will eat nonchalantly through the most brutal and gut-wrenching scenes of gore, entirely unaffected.

And he will.

He will do that, right in front of you, and not even have the decency to understand why you have to go vomit.

He doesn't really get most horror films. But occasionally something will resonate strongly with him and he will become very quiet and potentially fairly upset for awhile.

If something reminds him too much of Lilith or her death, for example.

But even if that happens, he won't stop eating.

Belphegor

"Wake me up if something interesting starts happening."

Another one who is entirely unaffected by horror.

Nothing is more horrifying than living as himself in this fucked up world.

He's very annoyed whenever Mammon or Levi watches anything horror-related because their screaming makes it hard to sleep.

He doesn't mind if you scream though.

He can fall asleep to the sound of you screaming.

Take that however you wish.

[maochira]

Ways of being a father. (Kengan dads & child!reader)

I wrote this almost a year ago, originally with Blue Lock characters assigned. But I thought a lot about assigning Kengan characters so here we go! The quotes are all translated from Alligatoah's song Nicht adoptiert. Also! The song may originally be about being born into a family and not being adopted, but reader can very much be seen as an adopted child in this if that's what you prefer!

gn!child!reader (reader is implied to be different ages in different parts)

If you're listening to this, you're alive, congratulations / I always knew you'd become more than a broken condom

Let's be honest, you weren't planned. Being a father initially wasn't part of his life plan, but then you happened. But he wouldn't replace you for anything in this world.

-Adam, Raian, Lihito, Kanoh, Ohma

Cause I don't believe in marriage you were born a bastard

-Ohma, Raian, Adam, Hatsumi

Sure, we love you, but there's a reason for that, kid / Nature arranges it like this so we won't kill you

Sometimes being a father can be frustrating and exhausting. But no matter how annoying you might get, his fatherly instinct always wins. In no way would he ever intentionally do harm to you.

-Ohma, Kanoh, Kazuo

It looks like you're family / Looks like it's just us now / We've got to get through it now, blood's thicker than beer / [Sorry, you ain't adopted]

-Adam, Kanoh, Hatsumi

I have no idea how to take care of children / But don't worry, I'll find a tutorial

He went into fatherhood completely without knowing what to expect. It all came a bit out of sudden for him, and he was too anxious to prepare himself properly. But when he held you in his arms for the first time, he knew he'd figure it out just fine.

-Lihito, Inaba

The good thing is, I don't even have to share any knowledge with you / You can just read the wiki entry

-Saw Paing, Lihito, Kanoh

I won't always be there for you, I have to party hard too / Did I say "party"? I mean "work"

Being a father doesn't mean that's the only part of his life now. He'll try to be there for you whenever possible, but there will be moments when he gets lost in other things.

-Saw Paing, Lihito, Sekibayashi

Joking aside, the ego-pig in me is happy that you are coming / Cause then I can play with Lego blocks

A part of him is still a child as well. And hey, being a father means he gets to play with toys again - that's something he can look forward to.

-Cosmo, Saw Paing, Inaba

Cause even though I'm putting effort and thinking about how / I can take the pressure off and still get you into bookstores / Something I do will lead to trauma, c'est la vie / I'll be the star of your psychotherapy, have fun

As careful as he is with you, he knows at some point he'll do something wrong. He's perfectly aware of how he won't always be the perfect father, but he's still trying his best.

-Raian, Kazuo, Wakatsuki, Suekichi

You're programmed for me, I'm programmed for you / Now we're sittin' here, I say now we're sittin' here / Sorry, you ain't adopted

He didn't choose to have you as his child, and you didn't choose him to have as your father. But still, you're perfectly made to be this role for each other.

-all of them.

You may not become president or student representative / Reality will throw your dreams in the chick shredder / I know what I'm talkin' about, life ain't no show

You won't achieve the greatest things in the world, and that's okay. You don't have to do that to make your father proud. He knows exactly what it's like to fail, and that's why he will always encourage you to reach your dreams, no matter how big or small they may be.

-Gaolang, Kazuo, Suekichi, Setsuna

You'll see my burdens, I've given them to you / If you think your genes are bad, they're Papa's genes / But you're my update, you can fix the bugs

You may not be a carbon copy of your father, but the similarities are undeniable - both the good and the bad.

-Ohma, Setsuna, Kanoh, Raian

In the beginning it's ambition like in a chess duel / You will emulate me until you outshine me / The balance of power is on my side - currently / But your chance is good, because Papa's withering parallel like a leaf

Being his child also means being his rival - in a fun way. If there's something to compete in, there will be playful competition. Board games, soccer in the backyard and running random races when you're just walking somewhere together - things like that.

-Raian, Koga, Saw Paing, Lihito

This has to come out now 'cause later I won't be the same / When you're around I'm sure I'll write some corny shit / No more tasteless jokes, no more Hitler comparisons

He was more of an immature person before, but he knows after your birth he has to become more serious as a father - at least that's what society expects from him.

-Lihito, Raian, Naoya

I stand in front of the mirror and see a caricature / But I train every day for my father figure / I practice "La-Le-Lu" on the keyboard / And I subject myself to a motherfucking radio censorship / And I learn all the movie clichés, after birth / You'll get a wristwatch with your name engraved on it

At first, knowing he'll be a father soon felt so unreal to him. But the closer the day gets, the more the realization sets in. But that realization makes him nervous, so he's putting extra effort into learning how to be the best father he can be. And even though he doesn't want to be "like the other dads", he finds himself following every cliché possible.

-Kazuo, Sekibayashi, Adam, Suekichi

Even though being strict clashes with my liberal nature / I'll pretend I'm interested in your Spanish exam

He doesn't care how much of a good or bad student you are, but he knows you'll have to pass school somehow. As much as he doesn't care about your grades, he pretends as if he does to keep you encouraged. But of course you'll get praise for your hard work when you get good grades.

-Ohma, Kazuo, Lihito

I'll be mad at you for every adolescent booze story / But don't be afraid of me just because I fuck your mother

-Raian, Lihito, Adam

I'm just an old cynic who writes frustration poems / But I swear I'll give it all to you till the end of my chapter

He'd do anything and everything for you. He will always make sure you feel safe and loved, no matter what age you're at. Even when you become an adult, he will always be your father and protect you as good as he can.

-all of them.

If you enjoyed this, please remember to reblog with tags! That's the best and easiest way to support me and my writing!

[zuyoo]

the flowers, one-shot. ﹙ gn!reader ﹚

content warning — profanity, unhealthy relationship, alcohol consumption. characters are in college

zuyoo’s notes — i have surprise at the end mwa. enjoy reading! not proofread bc lazy. reblogs appreciate :<

frequent arguments with your long-time boyfriend is very common. given his attitude, and how long you’ve known him—you grew used to it. but there’d be specific days where he’d completely isolated himself up and locked you—his girlfriend—out completely. you understand that sometimes, self-isolation is okay. it’s understandable and normal. but this has happened way too many times now, “more than both your fingers and toes could count” too many times… and you grew tired of it.

you’re the girlfriend, his rock, his ride or die, but why can’t he make an exception for you? why does he make you feel like you’re no more than what the rest are? simply, why? you two made a promise to each other that you’d be there for each other, that you’d be each other’s safety pins. but why does the same thing happen over and over again?

whenever he’s in that phase again… ghosting everyone, including you. going on a “healing” vacation by himself, without your knowledge on where he’s headed. and before you could even begin to question him—he’s gone from his apartment.

all you could do was complain to your friends and ask them for advice on how to fix your relationship. which most of them answered with…

honestly, they have a point. but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it.

“the way you love is actually just self-harm at this point, y/n”

“it’s all worth it though. he’s been with me since god knows when.”

“whatever helps you sleep at night. just… take care of yourself sometimes.”

he disassociates himself from everyone — he comes back — he argues with you — and he leaves again. an endless cycle.

you’re honestly starting to think that you’re the reason why he’s running away. thank god you have your friends (xiao, mostly. since he has the least to say.) to ground you.

though sometimes, you’ll see scaramouche in his living room, glancing at you to check what you’re doing. or even getting closer to your body when he thinks that you’ve already fallen asleep in the bed that you two share.

you know that he’s trying his best.

he just got back from his 3rd trip in the past month, and you have not spoken a word to him at all. you were mad and you wanted him to feel it.

later that day, he apologized. the scaramouche apologized..

“i’m sorry for not communicating. it was shitty of me, and i feel like a jerk for realizing it this late.”

mouth slightly agape, you didn’t know how to react. scaramouche’s eyes only looked at the ground after seeing your reaction. he had an idea of how upset you must’ve been and he felt like he deserved it if you just ended things with him on the spot—telling him that it’s too late for apologies.

but he flinched when he felt your arms wrap around his standing figure. you two didn’t say a word, but it was like you two were communicating through the fast beating of your hearts.

thank you for the flowers, btw. ﹙ short cont. ﹚

© zuyoo — do not copy, plagiarize, or translate my work without my permission. i only upload my work in tumblr.

[laurasimonsdaughter]

Do you have any recommendations and ideas about writing around healing magic and disability?  How magical healthcare would affect disability, and more importantly allowing disability to still exist in a realm where supernatural healing exist? 

This is one of my biggest grips with healing magic across most fantasy media, that’s it’s often used in a lackluster, simplistic, and often accidentally ableist fashion. Completely invalidating disability by having it cure every ailment imaginable with just the wave of a wand. 

It's a complex concept to translate into fantasy! And a rather sensitive topic at that. As someone who suffers from chronic pain, the idea that it could be fixed with magic is sometimes a really nice fantasy. But a story with a character that lives with chronic pain the way I have to live with it, will probably resonate more strongly with me.

As to my personal opinion on writing about magical healing (and how it effects illness and disability), I think you have to weigh several factors as a writer:

What kind of world is this? In some fantasy settings death and illness are simply not relevant, so pain and disability might not feature either. But any world more resembling our own most likely would have to reckon with it. And if that world has healing magic:

Is it medical magic, based on research and knowledge? If so, it is highly unlikely that every single ailment and condition is perfectly understood and can be counteracted with magic.

Is it intentional magic, based on "restoring to health"? If so, who defines "health"? The caster of the magic, the recipient of the healing? I was born with overly flexible ligaments. They cause me pain, but I'm sure my body considers the way that they are the way that they should be. Even if I was given infinite magical energy to heal myself, my body probably wouldn't know how, while it would know how to use that energy to fix up a wound it was already working on.

Can the healing magic be used/accessed by anyone at any time? Even if there is a fantastic free magical health care system in place, unless every individual can do flawless healing magic, even on themselves, the answer is probably "no". And if so, that probably has consequences for how well something can be healed.

Personally, if you're writing in a world with loads of magical solutions, the best question to ask - after you have figured out what kind of healing magic you want - is: "what would my character want?"

Someone who has always worn glasses (like me), might feel very strange getting rid of them.

Someone who was born deaf, could have no desire whatsoever to becoming hearing.

Someone who was born with three fingers on one hand, could have no desire to change that.

And if we're getting grim: someone who lost an arm while defeating the chimera who killed their friend, might have strong emotional convictions as to why they wouldn't want that arm magically restored to them, even if it was possible.

There are plenty of reasons, either from a worldbuilding or a characterisation standpoint, for a fantasy world to include disability. And if it is not just a magical, but also a supernatural world, the concept of "disability" will likely be very different. When humans live among other species, who have entirely different bodies and abilities, it makes very little sense that the overall society's opinion on what is "normal" and "expected" from a body, wouldn't change.

But none of that means that you cannot give disabled characters cool magical solutions!

Wheelchairs could glide, hover, or fly instead of rolling.

Glasses could be enchanted to also give the wearer a different eye colour, just for fun.

Wrist braces could shift around the wearer's arm/hand depending on where they need the most support (and would never ever chafe or pinch).

Language barrier's between people who do not speak/hear the same (sign) language, could be solved with magic monocles, enchanted ear pieces, or a service creature that is able to translate perching on the person's shoulder.

Prosthetic limbs could be engraved with runes or inlaid with magical materials that make them extra effective for channeling magic or performing certain spells.

To me, those kinds of things would make a world far more fun and fantastical than a hand-waving "magic "fixes" everything."

[silentmagi]

Making Our Own Solution: few random thought things for this au

1.headcanon/full blown idea that the episode names are different for this version of the series, as it goes

Ep 1: the pilot (double meaning this time around)

Ep 2: false heartbeat (in reference to finding slightly dronified tessa)

Ep 3: the mask of the gala (they use a second gala to mask their plans in the night)

Ep 4: Drone fever (tessa finds out that human sicknesses have odd side effects when you are part drone)

Ep 5: Overgrown Home (v, n, and tessa return to the old manor, memories are unlocked, and tessa does her best to comfort both of them, especially V as the memories re-unlock her old personality like an old wound that can now properly heal, uzi also helps the two weirdly hot robots and finds V some glasses since jcjennson decided to not fix her main visor still)

Ep 6: Brutal start (after dealing with their feelings and regrouping with new and old knowledge to help their plans, they plan to use an old weapons warehouse as a base of operations, though they find more inhumane drone and human kind experiments in the shape of the, this worlds sentinels, their heads are long abandoned tech monitors, straggling to a body of either a drone or a human…or sometimes both in the place of the usual head, they still can boot loop, though they find strange allies as well here)

Ep 7: Planned Obsolescence (after gaining this new ally and rallying and regrouping forces to use the place as a home base of sorts after some rewiring that let the sentinels be sanely aware again,it took tessa a couple tries to get right, they go over plans as they see tessa’s parents with…tessa? no…somethings not right, the eyes….too drone like, the skin too plastic, the eyes even look familiar, seems like they also have a old friend to save yet)

Ep 8: Eternal Beginnings (This is it, this will be the full on fight against the corporation that is jcjennson and of course, tessa’s parents on the board, but when the tide of battle looks like it is gonna be in favor of the corporation…a certain old drone and a new very annoyed and eldritch add-on work as a powerful duo in a singular body to bring the fight in favor of true freedom)

2.headcanon that cynessa in this universe was meant as a actual replacement for their daughter, using cyn as of course a base, and literally making her into the shape of a “replica perfect daughter”. As for the absolute solver? It was forcibly re-tasked with a monumental task coded in place of its old task, assist cyn in becoming this perfect replacement, now the absolute solver of course collects and analyzes data to figure out its true absolute end, but this new task? It is a Sisyphian task as whenever it thinks it has figured out the two parents, its not enough, its never enough, is this how tessa felt it wonders, the solver, still unchained but was originally intrigued by this new task, no sets its sights on becoming the absolute savior of humanity and drone kind

Making Our Own Solution

I love the idea that the episode names/chapter titles are going to be different.

Ep 1: that is a perfectly good title.

Ep 2: Oh that is a bit of brilliant foreshadowing. I love that we're bringing Tessa in early here.

Ep 3: Galas are just not going to be a good thing for this fandom. Yes, At the Gala, all their dreams will come true, at the gala (stop me!)

Ep 4: Oh, I could see that being a wild bit of weirdness. Considering that sicknesses don't even treat multiple humans the same way, I could see being cyborg could add to it.

Ep 5: I can see that there is a lot of memories, and hidden things in the mansion itself. Clearing through the overgrowth can be good, but also it could reveal deeper damage. Uzi gives V the glasses in a small moment of tender comfort, after V losing her shit about things.

Ep 6: I'm not so sure that Earth would have the sentinels, but having something like that would make sense, especially as they tighten their totalitarian regime.

Ep 7: Considering that both her parents and Tessa should not be able to be there and alive, there's something going on. They will have to go into what's going on there as well when they're preparing for their plans.

Ep 8: The climax, an ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny. I love that the old faces are making their showing.

Cyn is the base that they force to rebuild their good daughter and make sure that she's their perfect daughter by controlling her. Solver is trying to help Cyn stay alive and not have both of them destroyed. The Elliots have a kill-switch for a device in Cynessa to wipe them both if they are attacked by her.

Solver and Cyn act as one to rid the world of the Elliots, and doesn't care if they are erased, they cannot let the evil remain. She just hopes that the others will forgive her.

[losing-it-lately]

doing Steve's makeup

wc: 1k

steve harrington x reader fluff

Steve Harrington feels like he’s died and gone to heaven. He didn’t even think he deserved heaven after everything he did in high school and all the girls’ hearts he strung along and all the people he hurt. But now, with his head in your hands and his heart in your palms, he thinks that maybe he did really turn his life around; his mind is mostly empty, just one last question bouncing around the crevices of his brain: “how is he even here?”

If you ask anyone but Steve, the answer would be simple. Ask Eddie, and he would just explain that it’s common knowledge that metal music is a progressive scene, one where man and makeup collide. That, and that Steve melts like butter in the palm of your hand, choosing to do anything to get close to you, even rejecting his “boy-next-door” look for some black eyeliner. Ask Nancy, and she would tell you she’s been waiting for someone kind to come back to Steve and that Steve has been waiting for you to come to him. Ask Robin, and she will wind up about a messy and descriptive but warm anecdote that all starts with you bringing them to Corroded Coffin’s new gig.

The Hideout is never packed, unless it’s a Friday. The combination of loud music, non-functioning lights and Hawkin’s lack of bars and clubs resulted in an absolute haven for youth, and on top of that, Corroded Coffin had been moved from their regular Tuesday shift to the late Friday night one. Usually, the odd scent of the bar mixed with the unnecessary amount of people was enough to turn you away from Friday nights at the Hideout, but Eddie was playing; what kind of hype man would you be if you didn’t drag Robin and Steve with you?

Despite the overfilled bar, someone had still managed to catch Robin’s eye in the corner of the bar.

“Oh my god. She’s here! She’s here and I look like shit!” In classic Buckley fashion, Robin began what should have been a calm night by noticing Nancy Wheeler in the corner of the Hideout with her classic notepad and her permed bangs; a journalist in the making writing for an article in the making, a little column piece on Eddie’s “up and coming band”.

“Rob, you never look like shit,” you reassure as you begin to reach for your purse. Robin’s a smart girl, but she forgets how other people see her and can spiral. Sometimes she just needs something to ground her- “I can do your makeup if it makes you feel better?”

Robin’s lips begin to turn back up, her eyes preen with appreciation and she rasps out a kind “yes please!”

She lowers herself on a barstool. The bar was mostly dark, excusing some random working lamps above varying booths, but it was still enough for Steve to gaze at you, whilst you finished working your magic. Cleaning and then using a soft eyeliner to blend her eyes and then a mascara to draw attention to them, Robin laughs as your collection of tools softly tickles her face.

Steve’s wide eyes repeatedly glance over your face, concentration forcing you to forget about his presence. He has never wanted anything more than how he wants to wear that makeup.

Using the dark brown liner and the random mauve-y, chocolatey shade of old lipstick in your purse, you finished up adorning Robin’s face. The perfect time for Steve to interject. “i want makeup too,” he squeaks out.

Both yours and Robin's eyes zero in on him, a knowing smirk gracing Robin's face before she leaps from her chair and practically runs to Nancy.

“For the concert, I want to look metal,” he adds as a small blush begins to grow from his ears.

“Ok,” you respond with a smile. He starts shifting in his chair, trying to figure out an angle where he can be comfortably near you and you can easily start fixing up his face. As you stand in front of him and manoeuvre your hands to hold him, a gentle feeling starts to spread in his torso. You’re so close, and from this angle, you are so beautiful. His eyes gaze up at you and his hands circle around your legs, firmly grasping the backs of your thighs. His hands are soft and strong, and his touch is light and warm.

You hold his jaw with the palm of your hand; if you press enough, you can feel his heartbeat quicken under your fingers. You had never thought that Steve Harrington would be interested in makeup or metal music, and you were right; he wasn’t interested in makeup or metal music- he was interested in you.

Taking the spare black eyeliner from your bag, you begin to draw on his eyes, occasionally angling his head in a new direction. Steve feels like every time you come near him, his life goes in a new direction. You colour and smudge the eyeliner, ignoring his big brown eyes and the way that they monitor your every move. You feel like you could live in his gaze, and truth be told, he would let you.

Your fingers begin to inch up from his neck and chin to his lips, ghosting over them as both of your breathing dwindles. You can feel the air he breathes out on your finger tips, in fact, without noticing, you begin to feel it on your face as he brings you closer. His hands push you into him as his lined eyes drop down to your lips.

Steve’s eyes begin to close and he can feel your lips getting even closer, and then he hears you gasp loudly in shock. His eyes startle open and his hands are suddenly cold and wet. Somebody's beer is washed down your back, your hair and blouse drenched from behind.

Steve lips frown in a soft pout as it hits him that the moment is gone. Everything turns into white noise as he understands that you nearly kissed him: the apologies from the drunk girl who spilled it, Eddie’s music, the bartender's offer of napkins. It all fades until he watches you slip off to the bathroom, trying to fix your problem.

[oasissimming]

I have a big announcement!!!

Hey sims friends! I have a pretty big announcement about my CAW (create a world) project Ex-Terrestria! I am getting pretty close to finishing it! I already exported it for testing and I have been playing around in it with some new alien sims! Everything seems to be working okay, routing has no major issues so far, all the roads work, trees and foliage looks alright (no floating anything to my knowledge), and it's looking really good!

I recently have been having some issues with my graphics card on my computer. I didn't know but apparently my computer hasn't been updating the drivers and I have been getting blackouts/flickering screens on my monitor. It was really annoying and I didn't know what to do about it so I googled around and I figured out how to fix it. And HOLY MOLY has it made a difference! My sims game has been running a lot better and I cranked up the graphics settings to make it look extra pretty! I think it has made a huge difference! My game feels so polished now and I'm noticing details that I have never seen before! :)

I'm so happy about it! Everything is going great! :) I can't wait to share my world with everyone! I just need to iron out a few more minor issues here and there and it should be ready to go!

Here is the first resident of Ex-Terrestria! Her name is Paxilla Nedoorp! My plan for this world is to make all the sims different colors with alien sounding names. All the pets will be colorful too! I can't wait to start making more alien sims. If anyone can point me in the direction of some alien sims cc I would be much appreciative! :)

Here are some more photos! :)

When I make Ex-Terrestria available for download, my plan is to remove all the lots and have them separate. So don't worry, if you're not a person that uses cc that is okay. The world its self should be vanilla friendly but I do use a lot of stuff from different packs. I am not sure if it is base game friendly since I have all of the DLC.

I don't want to make the world ready for download with all the lots because I'm worried the CC isn't going to show up right. This is my first CAW (create a world) project that I'm sharing with other people so it's a learning experience for me.

I'm thinking that this world will be ready to share with the public within the next few weeks-to maybe sometime in April.

I'm really excited about this project finally being finished! I have been working on it since May of 2023 so it has definitely been a journey! :)

Thanks so much friends! I am so grateful for all of my supporters and followers! You all mean the world to me! I am so glad people seem to like my little sims posts and builds! Stay tuned for more updates about Ex-Terrestria!

See you later! :)

[beardedmrbean]

[Huey Zoomer Anon]

“If the department of education is destroy, kids won’t read!”-BITCH THE RUNNING JOKE IN THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY IS THAT AMERICANS ARE SO STUPID BECAUSE HOW SHIT OUR LITERACY RATES AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS ARE THE WORST IN THE FIRST WORLD!

Tumblr have a lot of people from different parts of the world here…but you seen how dense they are to basically storytelling!

I mean since l was 13 and got into stories discourse I go “How the fuck you got THAT interpretation?”

Than it got much worse…seriously these cannot handle complex shit

Also the department of education doesn’t mean it a free for all. And while it was bad with unhinged millennials on social media in the 2010’s

My generation comprehension skills makes me go “KILL THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TRUMP, AVENGE THOSE WHO WAS MADE STUPID BY IT! SAVE THE GEN ALPHA!”

It not going to be a mad max free for all y’all…but would love not to have 54% of the population unable to read past, 5th or 6th grade? Seriously how are we so stupid?

“If the department of education is destroy, kids won’t read!”-BITCH THE RUNNING JOKE IN THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY IS THAT AMERICANS ARE SO STUPID BECAUSE HOW SHIT OUR LITERACY RATES AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS ARE THE WORST IN THE FIRST WORLD!

There's a whole lot of irony involved in saying so many Americans are stupid and thinking we should keep the DOE which has been around long enough for us to be able to chart the downward direction we've gone in education since it was put into place.

Sometimes you have to try something different, because what's going on now is obviously not working.

Tumblr have a lot of people from different parts of the world here…but you seen how dense they are to basically storytelling! I mean since l was 13 and got into stories discourse I go “How the fuck you got THAT interpretation?” Than it got much worse…seriously these cannot handle complex shit

Sad part is even when things are spelled out for people they still don't get it at times.

That and things like people saying that Tolkien's works aren't Christian despite the man saying that yes they're Christian, or the students arguing with Ray Bradbury about the interpretation of his own book and telling him, the author, that he was wrong.

The arrogance is astounding, you can read it how you like but you don't get to tell the author they're wrong about their own book.

My generation comprehension skills makes me go “KILL THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TRUMP, AVENGE THOSE WHO WAS MADE STUPID BY IT! SAVE THE GEN ALPHA!”

Nothing wrong with baseline standards being given, everyone that graduates HS should have knowledge of XYZ isn't bad, but different districts should be given more of a free reign to adapt their curriculum to the students they have.

It's a thing that people closer to the ground need to have a big say in.

DOE says, all 8th grade graduates should be able to name the 3 branches of the US government and give a rough description of what their role in running the country is.

Then they leave it up to the various state and local governments and school districts to come up with how to accomplish that.

It not going to be a mad max free for all y’all…but would love not to have 54% of the population unable to read past, 5th or 6th grade? Seriously how are we so stupid?

I would like that fixed for sure, number is way too high.

Never figured out what that whole thing means since I know it doesn't mean that people are illiterate, not like everyone should be reading Tolstoy or anything like that.

If you can make it through the new Percy Jackson book without trouble that should probably be mostly ok for anyone imho.

Voter information packet comes out and things in it make sense you should be good really.

Or maybe that's just me

[friendlyrandomperson]

I love you.

Chapter 1

Big things have happened; Eddie and Frank got married, which gave Barnaby a lot more material due to them hyphenating their names (“Frankly, dear Frank, I think your peaches are lookin’ just peachy .”), and Barnaby and his boyfriend were celebrating their two year anniversary.

During their relationship, Barnaby learned quite a few things about Howdy.

He adores Sally’s plays, mainly because he gets enthralled in the storylines, even if the actors cannot… well, act .

His love languages are physical touch and acts of service.

He can lift heavy objects, including Barnaby himself, with zero struggle.*

*This happened once. It was around the two month mark in their relationship, and Barnaby was about to slip on a puddle that Julie made when she had come into the bodega earlier to shelter herself from the rain. Right before he could slip, however, he was lifted up by a right arm and propped up like a water cooler jug, resting on Howdy’s top right shoulder as he grabbed a mop with his bottom left hand and fixed the mess before setting Barnaby and the mop down and walking right back behind the counter. This was never discussed because Barnaby was simply too stunned to speak at the moment, and Howdy had already made a hotdog, on the house.

He is fast.

He knows loads of pick up lines and flirty comebacks and regularly uses that knowledge.**

**Little note: Barnaby has no clue why Howdy does this. HOWDY DOES IT BECAUSE IT MAKES BARNABY GET VERY FLUSTERED. Even after two years!

And Barnaby’s personal favorite…

Howdy is FUZZY .

Add that to the fact that Howdy adores cuddling and do the math.

Barnaby has, on more than one occasion, “accidentally” ended up cuddled into Howdy’s side, snuggling him like a teddy bear, or just plain using him as a mattress. Sometimes, he would do all three simultaneously!

Of course, Howdy never minded. He knew Barnaby just wanted to cuddle, and who was he to deny that? The man’s got four arms and if his boyfriend wants to cuddle, he wants his boyfriend in every last one of them. He does find comfort in how fluffy Barnaby is, though. He has pet him various times when he thought Barnaby was asleep (he was not but Howdy has no clue) and ended up sleeping with his hand on top of the beagle’s head.

All of these little things made Howdy who he was, and they were all so, so special because they made HOWDY. Barnaby loved each and every thing about his boyfriend with his whole heart.

He’s just terrified to say it out loud.

Saying “I love you” had never really been a topic of conversation, and Barnaby figured Howdy would say it when he felt ready to say it. Barnaby, though patient with Howdy and would never force him to say anything he did not want to, wanted him to know that he loved him. Barnaby wanted to tell him that, not just show it.

So, he decided today is going to be the day.

Their two year anniversary had flown by, a nice, warm Saturday and they spent it out in the clearing they first got together, sitting under the same tree, holding hands and sharing sandwiches.

Now they were resting at Barnaby’s, the Moon hanging in place of the Sun. The two were lying on the couch, dressed in their pajamas, Barnaby holding Howdy as Howdy rested his head on Barnaby’s chest, fighting back sleep. Howdy’s top arms were loosely wrapped around Barnaby’s neck, resting on his shoulders, and Howdy’s bottom arms were wrapped around his boyfriend’s waist. Barnaby began stroking Howdy’s antennas lightly, something he learned felt very nice, similar to the dog’s ears. Barnaby felt Howdy smile against his chest as Howdy moved up slightly and looked up at Barnaby, who continued to rub on Howdy’s antennas and had zero plans of stopping soon. If it made Howdy feel as loved as Howdy made him feel every day, then Barnaby planned to do it as much as he could. Howdy’s smile grew as he looked back towards the sweet movie Barnaby had wanted to show him. Barnaby was right, it was sweeter than sugar. “Not sweeter than him, though.” Howdy thought, relaxing into his boyfriend’s fur once more.

Barnaby took a deep breath as he switched from stroking Howdy’s antennas to simply twirling little bits of his hair.

”Howdy, honey.”

”Yes, dear?”

”I love you.”

Time seemed to halt, along with every single thing in the room. The tv played, but nobody payed attention to that anymore.

Howdy and his antennas shot up, resting his top hands on Barnaby’s shoulders, and met Barnaby’s now fearful and regretful gaze.

”You mean it?”

Barnaby nods before putting his hands out in front of his chest nervously.

”I don’t want you to feel pressured or nothin’ I just—“

Barnaby stopped speaking as soon as he saw Howdy covering his mouth with his top right hands, tears pooling in the caterpillar’s eyes, threatening to spill over. This caused the dog to panic and place his hands on the caterpillar’s top shoulders as he tried to calm him down.

”Woah, woah hey I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset ya I-“

Howdy cut him off, using his top arms to pull him forward and kiss him deeply, more passionately than he ever had before, placing his top right hand behind the dog’s head. Barnaby’s ears perk up in surprise before going back to normal with relief as he placed his arms around Howdy’s neck loosely, similar to how Howdy had been while they were watching the movie. His eyes fluttered closed as he leaned into the kiss, tail wagging beneath him. Howdy pulled back gently, opening his eyes to meet the deep, warm brown of his partner’s. His antennas were shaped, very clearly, into a heart as he cupped his boyfriend’s face and smiled, tears still streaming down his face, leaving dark green trails against the soft green of his cheeks.

”I love you too.”

Chapter 2: I love you sew much my deer

(Note: This chapter is here because I wanted to do the original idea, which was Barnaby giving Howdy a crossword puzzle, but I figured a word search would be better. The first chapter was just what I wrote for fun instead of sticking to the plan. Also, it is the exact same except for the way Barnaby says “I love you”.)

Big things have happened; Eddie and Frank got married, which gave Barnaby a lot more material due to them hyphenating their names (“Frankly, dear Frank, I think your peaches are lookin’ just peachy .”), and Barnaby and his boyfriend were celebrating their two year anniversary.

During their relationship, Barnaby learned quite a few things about Howdy.

He adores Sally’s plays, mainly because he gets enthralled in the storylines, even if the actors cannot… well, act .

His love languages are physical touch and acts of service.

He can lift heavy objects, including Barnaby himself, with zero struggle.*

*This happened once. It was around the two month mark in their relationship, and Barnaby was about to slip on a puddle that Julie made when she had come into the bodega earlier to shelter herself from the rain. Right before he could slip, however, he was lifted up by a right arm and propped up like a water cooler jug, resting on Howdy’s top right shoulder as he grabbed a mop with his bottom left hand and fixed the mess before setting Barnaby and the mop down and walking right back behind the counter. This was never discussed because Barnaby was simply too stunned to speak at the moment, and Howdy had already made a hotdog, on the house.

He is fast.

He knows loads of pick up lines and flirty comebacks and regularly uses that knowledge.**

**Little note: Barnaby has no clue why Howdy does this. HOWDY DOES IT BECAUSE IT MAKES BARNABY GET VERY FLUSTERED. Even after two years!

And Barnaby’s personal favorite…

Howdy is FUZZY .

Add that to the fact that Howdy adores cuddling and do the math.

Barnaby has, on more than one occasion, “accidentally” ended up cuddled into Howdy’s side, snuggling him like a teddy bear, or just plain using him as a mattress. Sometimes, he would do all three simultaneously!

Of course, Howdy never minded. He knew Barnaby just wanted to cuddle, and who was he to deny that? The man’s got four arms and if his boyfriend wants to cuddle, he wants his boyfriend in every last one of them. He does find comfort in how fluffy Barnaby is, though. He has pet him various times when he thought Barnaby was asleep (he was not but Howdy has no clue) and ended up sleeping with his hand on top of the beagle’s head.

All of these little things made Howdy who he was, and they were all so, so special because they made HOWDY. Barnaby loved each and every thing about his boyfriend with his whole heart.

He’s just terrified to say it out loud.

So, he devises a plan.

Howdy loves puzzles, and he can solve them pretty quickly even if they’re difficult.

Barnaby decides to do a word search puzzle for him, scribbling random letters around the words.

He writes out the clues;

1: One letter pronoun used in reference to oneself.

2: “An intense feeling of deep affection.”

3: Pronoun “used to refer to the person or people that the speaker is addressing.”

4: “join, fasten, or repair (something) by making stitches with a needle and thread or a sewing machine.”

5: “to a great extent; a great deal.”

6: “Belonging to or associated with the speaker.”

7: “A hoofed grazing or browsing animal, with branched, bony antlers that are shed annually and typically borne only by the male.”

At the bottom, he places seven spaces for Howdy to write down his corresponding answers.

They were both at Barnaby’s house, both in their pajamas since they were having yet another sleepover. Howdy had his glasses on, leaning forward as he read through the new book Barnaby had bought from Frank. Yes, you read that right. Frank actually sold it to Barnaby because Sally had dumped the “ridiculous” book onto Frank, knowing full well it had too much gore for his taste. Luckily for Barnaby, Howdy adored horror movies and books. It was a win-win, Frank got a joke and the book out of his hands, and Barnaby got a gift for Howdy.

”Howdy, Howdy!”

Howdy looks up from his book, grinning at the sight of his beloved boyfriend. “Heya Barn! Say, whatcha got in your hand there?” The caterpillar says, leaning back to sit up straighter and using his lower right arm to take off his reading glasses and his lower left to point at the sheet of paper in his boyfriend’s hand.

The beagle grins as he hands the paper to the caterpillar, who looks over it for two seconds before his antennas vibrate and he shoots up, running over to the cabinet of art supplies they had and grabbing a pencil faster than the caterpillar could say his own name.

On his way back to the couch, he wraps all four arms around his boyfriend from behind, pecking him on the cheek.

The beagle snickers before he sits down next to his boyfriend and pretends to skim through the abandoned book, pulling his own glasses from his sleeping hat.

The beagle glances over to see his boyfriend running the pencil along each line, thrilled to find the only “I” on the page before jotting it down.

It only took Howdy about three minutes to skim through the whole puzzle and solve it correctly, but it also took him a moment to process what he had just solved.

Barnaby heard soft buzzing from the man by his side and turned his head slightly to see the man’s cheeks burning as he covered his mouth with his top right hand, staring wide-eyed at the paper.

He was then tackled into a hug, falling onto the cushions with his boyfriend wrapped around him.

”I love ya too Blue.”

[balkanradfem]

The story of a broken christmas toilet

So the first thing that happened to me on the christmas morning, is I went to the bathroom, and toilet didn't work - no water. Weirded out by this, I opened up the water tank, and the water poured in as soon as I messed with the floatie. I thought this fixed it, only to realize minutes later, that the toilet is now leaking water.

I've never fixed the toilet before, especially not a leaking one, opening up the tank and peering inside was the height of my knowledge. But, I was ready to figure it out. I tried to mess with the parts that were leaking and make them tighter, only to immediately make it leak worse. Panicked, I quickly found the valve that shuts down the water in the bathroom. Now the toilet doesn't leak, but I also can't use the shower or the basin.

Looking at more youtube videos, I concluded that the valve that lets water into the tank, has loosened and broken inside, and there was no fixing it, I'd have to buy a spare part. But as it was christmas, all stores were closed, and would be closed for tomorrow as well.

I had some wrenches I acquired while fixing my own bike, and none of them were big enough to dismantle the tank, but comparing the size, I could tell which sizes I did need. I would ask a friend if she could lend me the right tools, but as my friend wouldn't be visiting for a few days, I had to make do with a non-functional bathroom.

Luckily I love the old methods of washing - using a sponge to bubble up and then pouring heated water from a jug to rinse, that is a very gentle way to experience warm water. I would sometimes wash that way just to not have to use the boiler - because it's a great energy saver.

Anyway, my friend brought the tools to me, and I set on to dismantle the tank. She stood outside the bathroom saying 'I don't know anything about toilets', too intimidated to join in. But I wasn't having it, I called her in to look because, armed with my youtube knowledge, I recognized the broken part, and now knew for sure what I had to replace.

That afternoon, I headed to a hardware store, and since it way my first time there, I asked an employee if he could get me that exact part - I had the original with me. He told me they were 'all the same' and handed me the cheapest one. I pointed out it was important for the brass part to be the same width - and he said it was.

So I bought it, and upon installing it in my toilet, the toilet was now leaking from the outside, where the new part was fixed into the wall pipe. I got confused, dismantled it and put it back together a few times, but nothing worked, it only leaked worse each and every time. Devastated, I went to check how others were doing it, and if I maybe lost a part, or forgot to do something, or had to play with the pressure more, or maybe my arms weren't strong enough. But every other person was fastening it in the exact same way, I wasn't doing anything wrong.

I dismantled the thing again, and compared the new and the original part. The metal part that goes into the wall pipe seemed the same width, and I had to stare really long to notice, but there was the tiniest, millimeter difference in how big the waves in it were. Pissed, I went back to the store, to ask the employee if they had any correct replacement parts, and he had absolutely no idea, so I asked him to unpack multiple ones until I found the exact same size I was looking for. I had to go through the lengthy and annoying process of exchanging the part, but once I got home, I put it together in 20 seconds.

And it worked. My toilet works again. I can now fix toilets. Self-assigned plumber.

I had to do a lot of following my instincts and believing that I can notice what is wrong, and when someone who is supposed to be more expert than me, is giving me false info. Most of this was just about confidence! It is absolutely no-brainer to fasten one pipe to the other if they're the correct size, any kid could do it if shown even once.

If I can do this, even without prior knowledge or tools, with other people giving me negative amounts of help, then anyone can! Any house-repair we usually think m*n can do, are just putting puzzles together, created to be simple and intuitive, and we are very well equipped for it, all it takes is confidence and curiosity in how it works.