#and they’re even better when they include OCs! i only have one aside from this from my arcana days

[jojea]

not me making gmv for my tav and gale 🧡💜

[bvannn]

Weekly Update March 15, 2024

Something is wrong with me today, but I’m not sure what. I’m keeping an eye on what I suspect it may be, although it’s more likely a sleep related problem. I’ll try to get to bed early tonight. I did a good amount of artstuffs this week, though.

First real significant thing I did this week was record a bunch of melodies for songs and covers. I’m getting somewhere on the main cover I’m working on, and I’ll be tweaking the vocals hopefully soon and possibly posting a WIP once they’re acceptable. I think I will need to chop up the wav file and add effects only to specific notes to add more bite, since vocaloid seems to not really be able to do that. That’s fine I’m a smart person sometimes I can get around it.

Other instrumental songs are going well too. Made good progress on an old Zelda medley/cover I’d been working on, and another instrumental character theme has a good outline. I’ll try to really push for them soon, and once I get the Zelda one done I’ll poke at mechanical license websites to see how bad pricing is and see what songs are even available. The vocal cover should be, since it’s from a mainstream band, but I don’t know if video game music will be available, we’ll see. I might also go in for more recording tonight to see if a bit of movement/exercise would help whatever physical problem I’m having today.

I also have been having awful insomnia, which I’ve been using the time to try chipping away at lyrics for the two ‘vocal’ songs I’m done with otherwise. I’m sitting down and doing one section per session, so with any luck I can get those done soon too.

Drawings are also going well enough. I’m getting weirdly self conscious about my art, since I haven’t really seen a lot of growth in interaction on any of the sites I post to except here. Thank you guys for sticking with me! I’m trying to pull myself together to do more small drawings, so you guys have a bit more to look at for now, although I also have been chipping away at that comic still. I need to write/thumbnail 2 more scenes and edit, then I should be good to make actual pages.

Aside from the initial pitch comic I’m thinking about the outlines for the rest of the stories a bit more now. I get anxious when I get insomnia so I’ve been trying to just write in general, so I can at least be productive with the time, and that’s included lyric stuff, TTRPG stuff, and a lot of OC story stuff. I’m always afraid to lore dump on here unless I’m explicitly asked, for fear of coming off as annoying, but all things considered people seem to like the posts that include lore a bit better so my fear is probably unfounded. Perhaps I will do more on my own, but if you ever really want lore never be afraid to send an ask. I also tag the names of my reoccurring OCs so people can search my blog for them if they want to see more of any specific character.

Also speaking of writing, am still chipping away at an Anime Campaign/Epithet TTRPG game. I put up a poll on the epithet subreddit, which was a cleverly disguised way to gauge interest in an epithet pre-written campaign, since people are more likely to interact with a poll than to upvote a post. There were fourty something people who responded, almost unanimously positively. I might throw another one up there to see how many would actually be interested in DMing, but if feedback comes back positive I might turn what I’ve been working on into a prewritten module for others to run as well. That’d also be a fun writing project, which will be nice because writing is lower effort and lets me rest more, and rest is what I think I need right now.

Good amount of stuff got done this week despite me being in generally poor health. I will try to get better. Focusing on more writing stuff with smaller drawings like headshots will try to be the focus for next week.

[vroomian]

I am in love with your new oc. I also have questions. Wives are pushing for more wives to get better standing. Why do they need better standing? Is someone hunting them? Are those clans trying to take away children? Is ocs dad involved? Is there some separate threat/motivation?

Oh man okay that is a question with some world building answers. Okay so wives are magic batteries and the husband acts as a focal point to direct and focus the power. The more wives the more magic you have at your disposal. It’s a status thing absolutely but there’s also a very serious reason: swarming season.

The world is basically a desert and there’s a reason for that. There are Things in the desert. I’m not gonna call them monsters because they’re not alive and can’t really be killed. They’re more of a semi physical manifestation of pure hunger. They eat everything. Metal, wood, people. The reason the clans don’t travel outside of certain seasons is because it’s hella dangerous.

For most of the year it’s manageable. The things wander the desert but dont leave set areas, so the clans are safe enough. They’re less dangerous when the sun is out. Then Comes the rainy season, three straight months of rain — and the creatures start to swarm. Something happens and they become ravenous and go after everything. Including entire clans.

This is where the clan system comes in. The clan bunkers down inside their walls and the chief activates an array of protection around the whole clan. Anyone not inside the array will die, straight up. This is serious magic, the type of thing one person can’t do alone — hence the wife system. The marriage is more than physical, it’s magically binding. When mc touched 1st wife she literally snapped the bond between her and her awful husband. Everything else aside, The one job a wife has is to pour everything they have into this spell. If they die, they die. And wives do die maintaining the barriers every single season. They get drained or scorched or simply to exhausted to go on.

It’s grueling work, and it has to be done by one family at a time. If you don’t have compatibility between magics they could reject each other and make the barrier collapse. The husband, who’s usually the chief because they have the best control and most mana, has to maintain the barrier constantly. One slip up could kill everyone. This is also the reason why no one would care if a chief abused anyone. They’re the strongest. There’s no other options. There are other strong marriages in the clan usually so there’s someone who can take over so the chief can like sleep and stuff, but they don’t last nearly as long.

So: yea there’s a very good reason to have more wives if you can take them. If you can take more wives and you fucking don’t… well. Youd make a lot of enemies basically. Especially for someone like mc, who has 4 wives and shows no strain! That’s enough to make her the cheif of a lesser clan, and upgrade that to major when the children start hatching.

There used to be five large clans, but the chief fell in love and swore to take only one wife. There’s only four large clans now :)

There is also some conflict between the clans naturally. Strong clan = big clan, more wives = more children, more children = bigger clan! Egg, which I’ve decided to call Sparks actually (because eggs sounds stupid), do get stolen! If you can get a spark early enough, like in the first month or so, you can feed the spark your magic instead of the parents magic, the spark will eventually imprint on you instead. The mark on the spark will even change. This is considered, ethically, between rape and kidnapping as a crime btw, so you’d make some bitter enemies, but that doesn’t stop people from doing it! 4th wife’s father is a chief and he’s definitely done it.

[genogenocrazycatman]

Throne Chapter 17

Throne [Archive of Our Own, FanFiction.Net]

Characters:  Original Female Character, Red Haired Shanks, Benn Beckman, Lucky Roo, Yasopp,

***

“I can be very disarming.”

“Looks like you’ve been disarmed,” I jabbed, not looking up at him.

Benn let out a loud laugh at that.

Shanks grinned. “You wound me.”

“Clearly, I’m not the only one.”

Hello people. So if you don’t know, what’s going on here then the simple version is that this a Shanks x OC fic.

If you follow me, and the One Piece stuff I write, then you’ve probably heard me talk about this fic. Hey look it’s finally here.

***

Chapter 17

"It's totally cheating!" Shanks said, looking at me like he couldn't believe the words coming out of my mouth.

 "It's only cheating if I use it during competition," I argued before taking a bite out of my BLT. "I used it after. Plus, no one ever specified that there was a no devil fruit rule."

 We were back at the diner, eating lunch because two days of breakfast in a row was an unachievable feat for Shanks by his own admission.

 "No devil fruit goes without saying.”

 I rolled my eye, as he continued.

 “It influences your state of mind. You make different decisions. You entered a drinking competition knowing there would be no downside."

 "But my devil fruit has a downside.”

 The night before, I had successfully drunk most of Shanks’s crew under the table, including both Luck and Yasopp. And I had done so 100% on my merit, despite current protests.

 I was the last one standing… at an angle, but still standing. Luck was slumped on the table, and Yasopp had fallen back on the floor. Most of the officers had chosen not to participate but instead to let me obliterate the rest of the crew, so the competition wasn't the stiffest, but I still won.

 The controversy arose afterward. I had gone outside, Shanks coming with ‘cause he most certainly thought I was going to puke or pass out in the bushes, probably both. Instead, I parked my ass down on the step, transformed into full Balor, and let the demon burn the alcohol out of my system. I was sober within fifteen minutes.

 He nodded slowly, bringing his fork to his mouth and taking a bite. After taking a second to pretend to mull it over, he said, "Eliza, my dear, you know that I know that there's no way you're buying your own bullshit right now."

 I let out an ugly snort, bursting into laughter. "I'll have it better rehearsed before I see the others. And since when are pirates so hung up on rules?"

 "They’re going to want a rematch."

 "You know who to put your money on."

 Shanks grinned, a devilish glint in his eyes. "What if I want to compete next time?"

 "Then I forfeit," I shrugged. "I've dodged death several times, and I'll be damned if the thing that actually kills me is a drinking contest."

 At my words, I noticed that Shanks’s expression briefly fell.

 I sighed, setting my sandwich down and gesturing for Shanks to get on with it.

 "What?" he asked, playing dumb.

 "I know you're not stupid."

 "I don't think your favorite shares that sentiment."

 "Trust me, it would be easier if you were dumb as you look."

 "You like the way I look," he argued.

 I looked at him expectantly.

 "Can I ask you something that you probably don’t want to answer?”

 My lips twitched as I thought back to Shanks sitting at my tiny kitchen table as I asked him that exact same thing. "You mean aside from that?"

 "Aside from that," he said, smiling warmly. His expression became more neutral. It was a controlled expression. Clearly, not trying to make light of whatever he was planning on asking but making a point not to be so overly concerned as to set me off in any way. "Tel shot you in the face, didn't he?"

 I leaned back against the back of the booth.

 "Can you believe he still almost missed? So nervous. With a debilitated target at point-blank range and almost misses. Fuck, all that, and I didn't even die."

 "Almost?"

 "Almost," I confirmed, reaching into my pocket to pull out my safety case.

 I pulled the lower lid of my right eye with my index finger, allowing my glass eye to slide out just enough for me to grab it and pull it the rest of the way. I quickly placed it in its case and shoved it in my pocket.

 "So much for 'right between the eyes, huh?'" I asked.

 "He got the 'right' part down," Shanks said.

 I snorted out a laugh, feeling myself relax again. I picked up a fry and popped it into my mouth.

 “I don’t remember the initial pain,” I said. “My guess is the shock kept me from feeling much of anything. The adrenaline was enough for me to transform and get the hell out of there.”

 It got blurry from that point. "I remember collapsing in the back of the tavern, where Rayne called Gene, who came over and did first aid. Shit. Getting shot was the easy part. Two old bats fighting over whether to yank your eye out. That was fucking brutal. Fortunately, I passed out. Then I woke up in a fucking cave missing my eye."

 "And Tel?"

 If any of my brothers had seen me, it would've been game over for the entire island, save for Rayne and Gene. And admittedly, there were a few days when I first woke back up where I was hurting and feeling sorry for myself in the goddamn dark that I just sat there and thought, 'Good.' If my brothers came through and wrecked everyone's shit, I wasn't going to do a damn thing to stop them.

 I would manage wherever they shipped me off to next. I wasn’t going to be happy about it, but I could adjust.

 But then I started to get restless and agitated.

 Tel and the others tore through the tavern, the store, and both Rayne and Gene’s homes, trying to find me, trying to find my body. They even tried to find Rayne’s hideout, only to be disappointed when she took them to a decoy filled with fancy bottles of cheap booze.

 I had put my actual life on the line to keep everyone safe, and those fuckers, Tel, had the audacity to shoot me while I was down. And they were going to win. They were going to hell, but I would be shipped off at the end of the day, which is what they wanted from the beginning. A new start on another island, making myself smaller for everyone else's comfort.

 After their days of searching, they finally gave up. They never believed her or Gene, but they couldn’t find me, and after a few days, I think they realized that I would probably be healed up to fight back if they did find me. So, they stopped their searches and reported to the rest of the village that I was no more.

 A week later, under the cover of night, I slipped back to the tavern into my trashed apartment.

 As I sorted through all my shit, I grabbed Shank's journal leafing through it. The worn pages comforted me as I flipped through his scribbled trials and shenanigans.

 Standing amid all my things strewn about, I made up my mind. I still had a few weeks before one of my idiot brothers arrived.

 Rayne figured out immediately what I was thinking. I thought she might try to talk me out of it, but instead, she called Gene over, and together, they started my numerous planning sessions, which were more like cram school: geography, weather, navigation, and sailing.

 In the back of my mind, hidden behind the tidal waves of information being dumped on me, another plot was steadily coming together.

 I put it into effect in the last two weeks leading up to my departure. It was hard trying to instill what decades of paranoia felt like within two weeks, but I made do.

 I started small with the feeling of being watched, lurking around corners and windows like a fucking idiot.

 Then I got bolder. Things would end up lost, only to reappear right where he left them when he asked someone else about them. Items he was sure were in his house ended up at his office. Things that had been thrown out were back where they started over and over and over again.

 I watched delightfully as the paranoia took root in Tel. He knew something was up. And I was sure he thought it was me. But he didn’t have proof. He didn’t have proof it wasn’t either. Everyone knew he had shot me. They also knew I had run off, but where and how I ended up remained unknown.

 But they had chosen to believe that I was dead or at least that I had been run off. I had heard from Rayne how they had celebrated in the middle of town. She had closed the tavern out of protest and scolded them for their callousness, reminding them that their celebration came as she and Gene were in mourning.

 I applauded her performance.

 The others, either genuinely delusional or, more likely, unwilling to face the reality that I was alive and that I was out there, brushed Tel off, telling him that it was just that ‘protector instinct’ that had him on the edge.

 By the end of the second week, he was constantly looking over his shoulder, so it didn’t take much to get him out of the house. With a few broken branches and the brushing of leaves, he was on the chase, following me deeper into the jungle, beyond the village's limits, far from his cronies, far from anyone who could hear him.

 And it was only after I went silent, as I hid from my perch in the trees and Tel was surrounded by nothing but silence, that he realized what he'd done, where he was, that he was completely and totally alone for the first time in years.

 I waited it out, letting him survey his surroundings and settle his nerves as the more he looked, the more he realized nothing was amiss.

 I'm sure he went through all of the usual thoughts. ‘There's nothing there. I can't believe I did that. I must be going insane.’ Just as I saw him shake his head and turn to return the way he came, I dropped, finally revealing myself.

 At the time, I hadn't planned to hurt him, at least not seriously. Maybe I'd finally give him that kick in the ass that he deserved. I just wanted to give him a glimpse of the hell that he had put me through.

 But then he looked right at me, both eyes narrowing in on the patch that had on to protect my still healing eye socket, and he still managed to muster up the arrogance to put his nose up at me and gloat about shooting me.

 I had protected his village. I had protected his business. I had protected his home. I had protected his neighbors. I had protected him. I protected his wife. I had protected his children.

 And he, who only had the balls to attack me after I had already gotten my ass kicked by pirates who would’ve overrun the village, had the nerve to call my survival a fluke and promise to finish me off.

 That pushed me over the edge. "When Shanks was here, he told you that the only reason he left you alive was because you were more a nuisance to me dead than alive. But I don't think that's true anymore."

 I didn’t actually kill him. I almost did. I thought about it.

 I beat him within an inch of his life. And there was nothing that he could do about it. If I had time and didn’t know that Gene and Rayne were waiting to see me off, I would’ve kept at it for hours.

 Instead, after he was far too brutalized to fight back, I grabbed him by his broken and bloody jaw to force him to look at me, hand slowly rising up his face, thumb brushing over his cheek underneath his right eye socket.

 “Something to remember me by,” I had said, letting out a wave of conqueror’s haki.

 The night I left, as I sailed away from Aurora after having left Tel’s battered body in the middle of town, I thought about the look on his face before I plunged my thumb into his eye socket. There was the same raw fear in his eyes that had been there when Shanks had overwhelmed and overpowered him with haki alone.

 Shanks leaned back on his side of the booth. The movement pulled me out of my own memories. He looked content, with a proud smile on his face. “Good.”

 I shook my head. Only Shanks would beam with pride after hearing that I nearly killed a man and did fully rip his eye out with my bare hands. “You’re unhinged.”

 “I’m endeared.”

 I briefly thought of the night the Red-Haired crew left as I rowed Shanks back to the ship. “You shouldn’t be.”

 “I shouldn’t be,” he agreed, quoting me back at myself.

 “But I’m happy that you are.”

 Shanks’s grin got wider, and I couldn’t help but mirror it.

 “We’re both fucking unhinged.”

***

Previous | Next

***

Master List | Mobile Version

[nibeul]

Please I want to know more about your clones 🤔🤔

I am so late to responding to this but GLADLY!! I love gushing about them though I have so many (like 50 I think) so I will try to stick to my main group ahh :)

Cross (he/him): Cross was my first clone OC ever, so he holds a very special place in my heart even if I do not draw him often enough. He’s a commander (CC-0044) and was present on Geonosis, though later returned to Kamino to help Alpha with the CC training program.

He got his scar in 21BBY and it’s actually not from the battlefield (none of his scars are actually from the battlefield). The scar comes from being whipped by a lightsaber hilt, which sounds funny out of context, but it wasn’t an accident.

He’s batchmates with @katanrocksketches ‘s OC Asch! The two were pretty close when they were in training, and Cross got his name before leaving Kamino. It was given to him because of his kind of uhhh, “cross nature” or disposition pfft. He softens up a bit between 22BBY-20BBY though the walls go up again after that :’)

Coming off Kamino, he was a stickler for rules and was not a big fan of clones tattooing themselves/dying their hair and whatnot (he didn’t even like having a name at first though his batchmates used it enough that it begrudgingly stuck). After meeting Sunny though, he lets him do one tattoo and ends up getting his number underneath his left eye. It is like, staying to how he believes they should be while also accepting that it’s ok to be individual.

Cross’s favorite color is red because for him, red represents Ando (my Padawan OC) and they are very close (NOT IN A ROMANTIC WAY. He sees Ando as his little brother or kih’vod to protect).

Cross actually does not know a lot of Mando’a because of his belief that they should not try to be seen as individuals. He distanced himself from anything that he considered “individualization”, and Mando’a was included in that. Sunny teaches him a little bit later down the line, and Ando also teaches him and Ten (another clone OC of mine) some Togruti, too

Part of Cross’s strict disposition comes from being subject to Priest’s death circles on more than one occasion (I might retcon that to Adral—a mando OC of mine—because I hate KT Ugh).

By the end of the war, he carries a lot of guilt. He loses a lot of the people he’s closest to because of his actions/orders, and he uh. Doesn’t live past O66 :’) he does get a very quick.. redemption.. arc.. kinda..

Sunny (he/him): Sunny was my second clone OC made around the same time as Cross, and he also holds a very special place in my heart :) I really love clone medics, there is just something about them that makes my brain go brrrr. I also think the irony of his name is great

Sunny’s name was originally Sers, but after writing him for a few weeks, I changed it because I thought Sunny fit better. His name was given to him by his batchmate, Aran, and while he vehemently protested against it, the name ended up sticking. He won’t admit that he actually likes it (though the tattoo and painting of his armor say otherwise anyway)

Sunny is the CMO of the 409th Corps (my OC military group basically). He’s a Lieutenant (or at a rank around there, definitely a CO at the least) and he does not back down. Ever. Even the people who outrank him will fall into line if he tells them to, Jedi included. He is not afraid to pull rank as a Medic, and his resting bitch face can be very scary

On the same line of thought as the rbf, he is basically perpetually scowling. He does not look approachable at all

Sunny loses the entirety of his batch on Geonosis, including Aran who he holds onto while he is dying. The Jedi leading Sunny’s company was.. not accustomed to war and failed to adapt when it was needed. Because of this, Sunny doesn’t necessarily harbor a dislike of Jedi, though he does not really trust many of them in leading positions. He also does not like that there are kids being put in the role of commander, he does see many Padawan deaths (he later comforts a dying Padawan that he was close to, I think I wrote part of that scene for myself and it was kinda upsetting oof) —> he gets his tattoo/paints his armor in order to honor his dead batchmates

Throughout the war, Sunny gets seriously injured only once after going down in an LAAT (where he nearly ends up dying too). Boost finds him, though he’s kinda accepted that he’s not gonna make it (I mean he does but it doesn’t look like he will for a bit). After Flip (younger clone OC) dies, he doesn’t really care if he kicks the bucket either :’)

Sunny is the only one out of my main gang to make it past O66. His chip doesn’t work at all, though he has to fight through his brothers (aha, the only ones who are still alive that he is close with) in order to save a Jedi youngling that was in the medbay at the time. After that, he goes on the run with the kid (clone dad clone dad) and offers his services as a doctor in the outer rim in order to keep them afloat

Boost (he/him) (she/her) [either or, there is no real preference]: Boost has gone through a lot of changes design wise. He started out as Dax, but then Dax became another OC, then she was Boost, though she had kinda short hair that was pushed back by a headband, then his hair was buzzed, and now we are finally at long hair Boost. Idk how to describe, but she is very shaped I think

Boost for his nickname from bear hugging his batchmates and lifting them off the ground when doing so. Also from fucking around in training where he threw another one of his batchmates in order to get from one ledge to another. All around just a name with silly origins that she liked and decided to keep

Boost and Sol are batchmates!

Boost is very tactically intelligent. She’s good at thinking on her feet, sees the bigger picture before focusing on details, good problem solver, etc. He is an ARC after all, there is good reason for his status and rank as a Lieutenant. That being said, he can also be very very stupid in the sense that off the battlefield, he’s oblivious. He does enjoy being the jokester of the group, and he sometimes plays up his dumbassery for jest, though yeah, a lot of people assume that he is not smart because of his demeanor which is very wrong

Boost is terrible. Terrible at braiding her hair. Sol is the best at braiding it, though she would never admit that even if everyone knows it. He started growing his hair out once they were off Kamino and hasn’t stopped since despite the fact that is technically not within regulations. Cross turns a blind eye and Ko (Jedi General) could not care less for inconsequential regulations like that

Boost is really good with kids, but good in the way a uhh.. chaotic uncle/auntie is. He’s a lot of fun to be around with, and being around kids makes him even more rambunctious than usual. He can be what is considered “childish”, pulling pranks and everything but like, he is very emotionally mature and knows when to be serious. Again, a lot of people kinda just boil her down to “dumb” which is really wrong, though it doesn’t bug him a lot.

Boost has a big sweet tooth!! He loves getting sweets when they’re on Coruscant, which they actually tend to visit frequently enough because of Ko’s status as a Sentinel (and also because Ko benefits what the Republic sees as the “propaganda machine” as a prominent General with a good track record).

Boost is romantically involved with @buttsalsa ‘s civilian OC Esta. I reblogged some art of them the other day, they are very cute :D

Boost doesn’t make it to Order 66 :’) I actually wrote out his death and cried after going back to read it LMAO It was rough

Sol (he/him): Sol was made as a package deal with Boost, and I feel bad because I think he gets overshadowed a lot but he is kinda like the rock for the group. When he dies, things really start to crumble but uh!! That is a sad thought for another time. Anyways, like I said, he is basically the rock and also a voice of reason for Boost’s shenanigans

Sol got his nickname after reading through some flimsi that their trainer had given him. He didn’t know if it had any meaning, but he liked the way it sounded and immediately began using it. Boost quickly picked up on it and the rest of their batch was very supportive

Sol loves reading. He specifically likes reading history, and Ando slips him what he can (fun fact, when Sol dies, Boost returns to their bunk to find a couple of holobooks that Ando had left and breaks down aha.. pain). Whenever he doesn’t feel like keeping Boost from causing trouble, he just sits in a quiet corner and reads his books while everything erupts in chaos around him

Sol’s favorite beverage is tea which Ko introduced him to. He has a few boxes he keeps with him when he can, and he shares them with Boost sometimes though he has to add a lot of sugar/honey in order to do that. If he could drink tea all the time, he could. On the flipside, he absolutely loathes coffee and doesn’t understand how Sunny can drink multiple cups on a day

Sol is kinda like the person that everyone is friends with even if they don’t realize it. He’s like.. the perfect emotional pillar, kinda the therapist friend in a group that desperately needs therapy. He’s more of a listener than a talker which is why it’s easy to overlook him, but he insists that he doesn’t mind much. That being said, it’s only once he’s gone that people start to realize just how much he did (aside from Boost who already thought the world of him)

Sol is also an ARC trooper, having gone through the training program together with Boost. He doesn’t have the same tactical knowledge that Boost does, but he’s good at mediating, long range combat, and also working through plans (he’s pretty meticulous). He and Boost balance each other out well, since he is like the “slow and steady” one out of them.

Sol is the first to go out of the main four (second out of my bigger group of six). He and his entire platoon are wiped out in a massacre as a result of false intel.. man :’)

Anyways, thank you for enabling to ramble about my ocs ToT I honestly just needed to infodump shdjf

[adarlingmess]

Surprise, the Last Boss x OC brainrot hasn’t left me yet!

I’m still knee-deep in academic work but I took a much needed break and tried my improved inking and coloring style on these two’s portraits before I apply it to my thesis output oof

anyway if anyone wants to read me word vomit about my thoughts about these two, it’s all under the cut

26 cm/10 inch height difference. Last Boss is taller, but Yamaneko’s muscles are denser.

I kind of based Last Boss’ age on his actor’s, and judging from his manga appearance and his mother’s appearance, I think we’re within the correct range. Yamaneko’s born March 3, 1998, so that makes her 23 during the events of the game.

Neither uses conventional pet names. Last Boss was the one to give Yamaneko her nickname/moniker, but everyone else uses it now, so it doesn’t count. Yamaneko affectionately calls Takatora “tiger” or shortens his name to “Tora” only when no one is around.

Being militants, they have a reputation to protect, so neither really engages in PDA much. Last Boss is a quiet man, so he prefers letting his lover physically feel his affection instead, but he will respond to “I love you”.

Oh boy. He’s just quiet about it, but Takatora can be quite the jealous monster. My headcanon is his jealous tendencies stem from the fact that he felt unworthy of human interaction in the past, and Yamaneko’s one of the few people who interacts with him. When jealous, he needs to be reassured and often physically. Yamaneko is more secure in their relationship, but when she gets jealous, she’ll need some space to think things through and avoid saying anything that might hurt him.

Between the two of them, Yamaneko is more chill because she knows how capable her lover is in the games, and oftentimes, she’d head to the meeting room after games because she knows she’ll see Last Boss among the executives. On the other hand, Last Boss worries about her in the games, especially when she’s separated from the group and he couldn’t protect her. Expect him to seek her out immediately after a game. As much as possible, he wants to stay by her side at all times, like a second shadow.

Yamaneko was forced to confess to him in a Heart game and asks him to kiss her after the game.

Yamaneko is first to say both daisuki and aishiteru, but it takes some time for her to use the “heavier” I love you. And the situation is heavy for her to use it too.

Like what’s mentioned above, Last Boss is more worried about his lover than she is for him. Aside from the games, he’s worried about Yamaneko disappearing from his life. Even though she had expressed the desire to stay in the Borderland, she hasn’t completely turned her back from her fashion design dream, and he doesn’t know what to do if she’s given the opportunity to trade her life now for the one that she always wanted.

As someone who was kicked out at 18 and had to enter the workforce early, Yamaneko budgeted her meager salary well enough for her to rent out a studio apartment by the time she was 20. Her major in college before she got expelled for intentionally flunking it was Business Administration too, and she remembers some of what she learned. Conversely, Last Boss was coddled by his mother and is sheltered, so he doesn’t know jack shit about finances. In the Borderland, money doesn’t matter, but Yamaneko still fares better, having the initiative to stock up on goods like food, water, and fuel, while Last Boss mostly floundered about before being invited to the Beach.

I headcanon Last Boss to be a virgin, tbh. He’s that isolated from other people. Meanwhile, Yamaneko was a maneater in high school, and is definitely far more experienced. When she was disowned at 18, she had to do some shady things to survive too, including compensated dating.

Yamaneko is a deeper sleeper and is the type of person who needs more than 8 hours of sleep to feel well-rested so she tends to wake up later. Last Boss is skinnier and tends to get cold easy, so he hoards blankets when they’re available.

Even in the Borderland where he’s known as a menacing entity, Last Boss is still a shy and quiet man. Yamaneko becomes a chatterbox when she’s comfortable with the person she’s speaking to.

As mentioned above, Yamaneko had to fend for herself since 18, while Last Boss was coddled as hell, so it takes some time for him to be useful in the kitchen. It doesn’t bother Yamaneko though.

It’s not that Last Boss doesn’t know how to apologize when he’s in the wrong, he doesn’t know how to use his words. Yamaneko breathed the word “sorry” on a daily basis in her difficult upbringing, so she apologized for the most minor transgressions, perceived or real, and it bled to her romantic/sexual relationships.

heehee Last Boss ticklish

I’m a Deftones fan I’m sorry that their songs are all from the band lmfao

Entombed is their main song and describes the general progression of their relationship. Key Lyrics: From the day you arrived / I've remained on your side / In chains, entombed.

Beauty School is more about the physical aspect of their relationship. Sex is one of the few times they allow themselves to be vulnerable. Key Lyrics: I like you when / When you take off your face / Put away all your teeth / And take us way underneath 

Rosemary reflects how their relationship is influenced by the Borderland. They’re both lonely souls, albeit in different ways, and the Borderland is a means of an escape to them. Now, they’re fulfilling their escapist tendencies together, and neither wants to leave each other or the new world they’re in. Key Lyrics: Stay with me / As we cross the empty skies / Come sail with me / We play in dreams / As we cross through space and time / Just stay with me

Sidenote: Last Boss’ appearance here is different from his Netflix depiction as an attempt to reconcile it with his manga design, and I added some new tattoos as seen in my other post

[iamanartichoke]

[please blacklist spoiler tags: #loki tv series spoilers, #loki series spoilers, #loki spoilers]

Yes, I did just watch episode 2 at 5:30 in the morning.

No, I am not sorry. Not at the moment, although when I inevitably crash later this afternoon, I will be.

Just some very, very quick - and scattered and messy - thoughts: That is a straight up lie; they’re definitely scattered and messy but not very quick at all.

Under the cut for spoilers and length.

I’m going to start with Loki’s characterization. My honest opinion is that Loki’s overall characterization feels like a fic characterization. He definitely is not Avengers Loki, like, at all. I don't know if Tom just, like, forgot how to play that Loki or ...?? That, or Loki was so much more mind-controlled than we realized and getting hulk-smashed just completely reset him back to zero but also fucked him up a little bit and affected his personality, kind of like how some people completely develop weird new personality quirks after a traumatic brain injury.

… yeah, I think that’s where I’m gonna land for now. TV series!Loki feels like a more-or-less canon version of Loki, but if that Loki got hit in the head really hard and now he’s just a little bit fucked up but overall no worse for the wear. Which - it may be that it’s so early in the morning, but that’s actually really fucking funny to me, lmao. God, I kill me. It’s not funny.

No, but, that’s pretty much how I feel. He’s ooc but he’s also ic, and the reason I’m not particularly bothered by the inconsistency, for lack of a better word, is because that’s what pretty much every fic Loki already feels like to me? (Including my own, so I’m not, like, saying that in a derogatory way.) Which is why I say Loki feels like a fic!Loki and to try to explain it better - there is always, for me, a little suspension of disbelief that I employ when I read fic. The reason for that is because the context, the plot, and the dynamics of the fic are usually pretty different than what we ever get in canon, so it becomes a matter of taking film!Loki and, like, bending him a bit in order to fit him into the perimeters of the fic.

The result ends up being that I don’t see the exact Avengers!Loki or TDW!Loki, and thus by definition the portrayal is ooc, but the version that I do see feels like a genuine extension of the canon version, possessing enough of Loki’s overall traits and characteristics that he feels authentic, albeit a bit pretzeled for the new context.

I honestly think that’s something that’s unavoidable, just due to the fact that in fic - and now, in this series - there are a lot more variables at play than there are in the films, wherein Loki is not just a supporting character but also the villain/antagonist and is therefore very limited in what he does/what the narrative allows him to do. When those limitations are taken away, what are we going to see? Probably a lot of different things, and yeah, a lot of them are going to feel a little ooc. And, like in fic, even if the characterization mostly lands, there are definitely bits and pieces (some fics more than others lean this way) where the author didn’t stick the landing or got carried away or otherwise probably forgot for a while that they were writing Loki, not their own OC.

That’s the point where it strays into cringe territory for me (and where the ‘heh, he’s Loki but with a brain injury’ aspect comes in), but while I had to consciously decide to just ignore those moments, overall the tone in this episode felt a bit more balanced between the new, the old, and the cringe, and less whiplash-y from the beginning of the episode to the end.

… I have no idea if that makes sense, but what I’m basically saying is that while I am enjoying this version of Loki, I do recognize all of the ways he’s ooc but, unlike how I feel about Ragnarok!Loki, the ooc-ness feels genuine and unavoidable rather than just a fundamental and careless misunderstanding of the character altogether. In other words, I feel like any ooc-ness here is happening despite the writers taking care to do their best, and isn’t just a result of Loki being lazily written by a person or persons who just doesn’t want to bother with him at all.

Again, I don’t know if that makes sense, but fuck it, there we are and I’m moving on.

I liked all of the little details, including again, things that felt straight out of fic, like Loki asking Mobius why he has the jetski magazine. (Also, if any of my thorki friends read this, was I the only one who noticed that when we see Loki reading the magazine, it just happens to be open to a page with a picture featuring a jet skier who looks like Thor? l.m.a.o.)

Loki interrupting things to explain the difference between illusions vs the other power (I can’t remember which one, off hand, and if I stop writing to go look it up I will lose my train of thought and not finish this) was great, but his overall input and contributions to the missions inspired very mixed feelings for me. On the one hand, I loved that the narrative, via Loki, is reminding us of all these things that he’s capable of that the films generally left out or brushed aside or ignored - but, every time he spoke, he was met with eye rolls and sighs and just a general feeling of “someone please shut this guy up” and I didn’t like the narrative treating him that way.

But also, it’s understandable bc none of the people on his team are actually on his team. None of them want him there (story of Loki’s fucking life), none of them trust him, and none of them are particularly interested in hearing what he has to say. So it’s like, I understand why they reacted the way they did, and I don’t think their reactions are meant to support an overall narrative undermining of Loki’s skills and input - but, the tone is hard to read for me bc I am very defensive and protective of Loki. I can’t quite determine the line between the TVA agents being unreliable narrators (ie, they’re annoyed by Loki bc of who he is to them, but that doesn’t mean the audience is supposed to feel the same) and the TVA agents validating that Loki is just being a nuisance (and, thus, the audience is supposed to feel the same).

That is, I know how I am consuming the narrative (that they’re unreliable narrators), but I’m not sure if that’s how tptb are intending for me to consume the narrative - and I guess it doesn’t really matter, but it’s worth mentioning.

In general, I really liked, again, Loki existing in his own space and watching the way he carried himself. I especially found it interesting that his hands were almost always in his pockets - for one thing it's a stance I tend to imagine him taking often in fic, but also it’s kind of a weird choice bc pockets don’t seem to be a thing in Asgardian clothing. It makes me feel like Loki is the kind of person who never knows what to do with his hands but is always conscious of them, as is common among anxious and self-conscious people, and I just find that relatable on a weird level.

I am really kinda torn on Mobius in this episode; when not interrogating Loki, he’s much less antagonistic toward Loki and therefore I’m more inclined to take-him-or-leave-him but I’ll go ahead and take him I guess. Yet at the same time, bc he’s not interrogating Loki he’s also not trying to put on a show for Loki and when you take that away, he really doesn’t seem to like Loki at all. It supports that Mobius only wants what Loki can do for him and doesn’t actually particularly care about him as a person, which is fine and more or less what I figured, but it contributes to me not really being able to decide how I feel about him in general. Idk, though, I kinda like their dynamic? Like I want them to end up friends?

Regardless, Tom and Owen have amazing chemistry and it’s really funny to me bc (not to be a jerk) I honestly didn’t know Owen Wilson could act. Like, I’ve never seen him in a role where he wasn’t just playing Owen Wilson. So for him to not only be playing Mobius so well but also having such chemistry and a sense of holding-his-own against Tom Hiddleston is like, color me surprised but pleasantly so.

I like B-15 a lot, even though she obviously hates Loki, so idk why I like her but I do. I like Renslayer less, but meh. (Side note - when I was in undergrad in Syracuse, I took the Amtrak from Syracuse to Boston and back more than a few times, for reasons that aren’t relevant, and that route always had a layover at Albany-Rensselaer and every single time I see Renslayer’s name, I want to call her Rensselaer instead.) Shout out to the guest appearance by Casey, sorry Loki stole your juice lmfao.

The moments from the trailer that were very cringe were less so in context (though still kinda cringe, tbh). I think we’ve seen most of the content from the trailers in the first two episodes now, though, which means going forward, it’s going to be like 95% previously unseen material (aside from the brief apocalyptic shots and so forth).

One thing I fucking loved was how Loki, reading about Ragnarok, was visibly affected and even teared up a bit, and you could tell he was in his feels about it, but then later when Mobius expresses sympathy, Loki is just like, “Uh huh, very sad, but anyway.” It was a subtle (well maybe not that subtle) but effective way to remind us that what Loki presents to other people is more often than not a mask and he keeps his true feelings close to the chest. It makes last week’s breakdown have even more of an impact, I think, bc clearly Loki was at the end of his rope to allow himself to show that much raw emotion and vulnerability, but also - for me - there’s a niggling little doubt there that wasn’t there before, in that there was probably more performance in it than I thought.

By which I mean, I think his reaction to the film of his life when he was alone was genuine but, while I previously thought his admission to Mobius later was also genuine, I now think was probably half genuine and half performative. I know others already figured that out, but I’m a little slow and, also, I don’t mind changing my opinion and interpretation from week to week.

Along the same lines, I wasn’t exactly surprised to see that Loki is “undercover” in the TVA, but it was nice to see it acknowledged fairly quickly. Not sure I buy that Loki wants to overthrow and rule the TVA - it’s still a little too “Loki only wants a throne” for me, but again, just because that’s what he told the variant doesn’t mean that’s actually what he’s after.

And, finally, I like the variant, I love Loki’s reaction to seeing her, and while I realize that the show has acknowledged Loki’s gender fluidity and we’re meant to assume that Lady Loki (I guess? Not sure if we’re going with that or not here) is Loki, I saw a theory somewhere about how this is actually not Loki-Loki, but - I wanna say her name Sophie but that’s the actress, again I can’t go look it up bc I will lose my train of thought - but it’s a character who is similar to Amora and who was created by Loki and models herself as Loki but she’s actually someone else.

Ugh I can’t remember the details of the theory, but I am kinda going with it bc I don’t think that Loki would look so - not surprised but just kind of “oh, well, I wasn’t expecting that” if he were seeing the female version of himself. Like, he doesn’t seem to recognize her the way I assume he would recognize himself, male or female. Not only does that make me feel like she’s actually someone else, but also not recognizing her as the female version of himself doesn’t necessarily mean Loki doesn’t recognize her at all. He may very well recognize her as this other Amora-similar character and, if so, I really want to see how that character fits with MCU Loki (as I think she’s a comic book character but, again, I’d have to go back and find that theory).

Edit: I found a version of it here.

Overall score, B-. Mostly solid, but needs moar Loki breakdowns and tears. (That's just me, don't fucking judge me.) Also, I really hate that we have to wait a week between episodes. I wish they were following Netflix’s method of dropping the entire season at once but, then again, if they did that, I’m not sure any of us would survive.

I gotta get ready for work and I deleted and rewrote so much of this and it still seems nonsensical to me, lmfao fml. Anyway feel free to interact/send me asks/whatever, it’s going to be a long fucking day with all of this on my mind. I’ll be working my way through my dash as best as I can.

Oh, also! Loki is so fucking pretty in this episode! The TVA suit is ugly, but he makes it work, and his hair's combed nicely and he looks like he finally got an opportunity to sleep and shower and eat something and, yknow, it's working for him.

[keiyoomi]

ang iwasan

☾pairing: tsukishima kei x reader; (ft. oc)

☾genre: angst

☾word count: 1,485 words

☾note: i have zero self-control. i haven’t written in english for years and the wc is kinda unexpected. i’m currently accepting requests while trying to complete my never ending WIPs. ah! and forgive me for not putting a ‘keep reading’ somewhere.

☾currently playing on repeat: ang iwasan by moira dela torre

☾ masterlist | part two

“KEI! Come here!” Your heart stopped as soon as you heard a familiar name coming out of your club mate’s lips. You were silently praying that she was calling a different man, but you know that your prayer did not work when a familiar manly scent engulfed your senses.

‘Did any deity ever listened whenever I pray?’ you asked before looking at the blond man, standing beside Akiko. He looks taller than you last saw him. His blank face reminds you of the days before formally knowing him. “H-Hi.” You were hesitating. Should you pretend that you’ve never met him before, or should you greet him the same way you greeted your other senpais?

Tsukishima briefly glance at Akiko before staring at you. He sat next to her before holding her hand. You forced a smile before looking at the two. “Hi,” he greeted back. Akiko leaned on his shoulder while looking at you.

“He’s a big baby, to be honest.”

You smiled bitterly. She didn’t have to tell you anything about him. You knew. You knew a lot about him. You know him all too well. His habits, his sarcasm, even his terrible sleeping pattern whenever they’re about to face strong opponents for the interhigh and spring tournament qualifiers. You know it all too well, but you can’t say anything.

What happened between you and Tsukishima was nothing, but a mere illusion, a mere daydream by someone who admires him from afar. Even Yamaguchi didn’t know that you were in a relationship with Kei during their third year in high school.

“Y/N, you’re also a Karasuno graduate, right?” she asked before taking a sip of her drink. You nodded your head in response, afraid that your voice will sound shaky after remembering some moments you’ve had with Tsuki. “Oh! Then you’ve heard about Kei! I’ve heard that their volleyball team reached the finals and ranked third in the country before their batch graduated.”

‘Of course, I knew. I was there. I was with them after the match. I was with him when he cried in silence, disappointed with how their match turned out. I was there.’ If only you could voice out what’s on your mind. You shook your head before smiling. “I wasn’t paying attention with any sports club. Our club’s also busy handling numerous events during that time.”

“Oh.” Then, she tapped Tsukishima’s hand. “We can take her with us. She probably knows some of your team’s members.”

Your eyes met his before you look away. You were planning to skip the said gathering. Even if Ennoshita is persistently telling you to come. Even if Yachi threatened that she will drag you out of your apartment if you’ll try to skip it. You were planning to skip it in order to avoid him. In order to forget what happened almost two years ago.

But it seems like life has some twisted humor.

A week later, you found yourself wearing a black sweater and skinny jeans, paired with black velvet pumps. Yachi pointed out that it looks like you were about to attend a funeral, she’s not completely wrong though. You were really about to attend a funeral—the funeral of your dying heart that is still yearning to be with Tsukishima.

Old familiar faces greeted you with warm hugs. Even Kageyama wrapped his arms around you making your eyes widen. You were lowkey panicking as you searched for someone inside the room. Then, your eyes met hers—Akiko’s.

“Y/N, have you seen Tsukishima? He finally brought a girlfriend!” Hinata says enthusiastically while dragging you towards the ‘new’ couple. Akiko was glaring at you as you stood in front of them. “Akiko, this is Y/N—”

“—I know,” she cut-off. “We attend the same university and have several classes together. I didn’t expect to see her here, though. I thought she has something to do today.”

Hinata shook his head. “She hates any type of gathering. She didn’t even send us off when we graduated,” he said before looking at your pale face. “Wait, are you okay, Y/N?”

You forced a smile before answering. “I’m dizzy, but I’ll live.”

“How about you take a seat for a while?”

“I wouldn’t turn down your offer,” you responded almost instantly.

You thought you’d be able to stand Kei and Akiko’s presence, but clearly, you can’t. It was suffocating and it makes you feel sick. . .betrayed, at some point.

“You should’ve confessed your feelings to him before he graduated if you really like him.” You sharply turned to Yaotome who handed you a drink (which you accepted and downed within a minute.)

“They were together for less than a year,” Tokita says, which made you elbow his side making him wince. “It wasn’t my fault that you’re a terrible drinker,” he added as he gave you another plastic cup filled with beer. “Any alcoholic beverage is like a truth serum for her. Once she gets drunk, she’ll spill any secrets she knows!”

“SHUT UP, TOKITA!”

Everyone turned their heads towards your direction, including Shoji who shook his head while looking at your direction. “Do not say another word you fucking idiot. I will definitely cut your tongue if—”

“—YOU’RE ALREADY AT THAT STAGE?” It was everyone’s turn to look at Tsukishima’s direction. Sugawara’s voice was louder than the music playing in the background. “Daichi, Akiko says they’re already planning their wedding. Can you believe it? Tsukishima’s getting married before we do?”

You feel sick.

“I-I need some air,” you said before walking out of the establishment. Tears streamed down your cheeks as you descended the stairs. As soon as you stepped out of the entrance, you’ve decided to run. You weren’t exactly sure where you’re going, but anywhere is better than staying at the same place as Tsukishima and his new girlfriend.

You were running with tears clouding your vision that you didn’t even noticed the gap on the sidewalk, twisting your ankle and making you fall on the ground. You removed your pumps before throwing it away.

You were in pain. Physically and emotionally. You were hoping that you’d be able to heal your brokenheart, but you simply can’t do such thing. Not after discovering when they began seeing each other. Not when they’re already three steps ahead in their relationship compared to what you had with him. The worst part, he actually announced their relationship to everyone. Unlike yours.

You wanted to scream out loud, hoping that it would ease the pain you’re feeling inside. You wanted to but nothing else, aside from sobs, comes out of your lips. You were hitting your chest when a hand wrapped around your wrist, keeping you from doing so.

You tried to pull your hand from his grip as soon as you see his golden brown eyes. “Let me go! Let go you fucking ass!” you screamed while hitting him. “Let me go! Please let me be. . .” you sobbed.

“Why did you leave? Were you trying to worry Suga—”

You scoffed. “Why? Did you expect me to stay in the same place as you? After everything I’ve heard from Akiko last week? You expect me to. . .”

He let your wrist go before placing his jacket on your shoulder. You immediately stood despite feeling the sharp pain on your ankle. Then, you removed the jacket before harshly throwing it to him. “Fuck you,” you said angrily before walking away from him.

He gripped your arm making you glare at him. “Let me help you.”

“Fuck off. I don’t need your help.”

“You’re hurting yourself.”

“I’ve been hurting myself this past few months!” You yelled, tears streaming down your cheeks. “This physical pain? This is nothing.” You forcefully removed his hand from your arm. “Don’t act like you care about me. Not after hurting me like this.”

You tried to fight back the tears, but you can’t. Especially with the heaviness in your chest, one you’ve been carrying for months. “You could’ve told me that you no longer love. . .” you sobbed before scoffing. “Did you even love me?” you whispered before looking at his eyes. “You could’ve told me that you’re no longer interested in me. Instead of making up some shitty excuse about not wanting to have a long distance relationship.”

“Let me explain.”

You shook your head, slowly pushing him away from you. “You don’t have to. I’ll. . .I’ll be fine. Eventually.” You, then, fished something out of your pocket. A silver necklace with a moon pendant, one that he gave your during your first month together.

“Let’s just pretend that nothing happened between us, at all. It’s not like anyone knew what happened between us anyway.” You placed the necklace on his hand before forcing a smile. “I hope you’ll be happy with her, Kei.” You lightly caressed his cheeks before smiling sadly. “Goodbye.”

☾ taglist: @haikyuu-ink ; @kenchiko ; @agaassi ; @benvo ; tba (send an ask or dm if you’d like to be added/removed!)

[dancingwitches2004]

The Prisoner’s Lover

Word Count: 3,415 Sirius x OC - Part One Warnings: Fluff, Angst

Lily Potter, maiden name Evans had two sisters; Petunia, who two years older and Ellie who was ten years younger. Petunia envied both of her sisters because although she was human like Lily and Ellie, she was not a witch. This difference between them only led to Petunia feeling envious and resentful, so she wouldn’t spend time with Ellie, her youngest sister. However, Lily and Ellie got along well despite age difference especially as Lily could see the magical potential in Ellie.

Lily was home from Hogwarts for the summer and had planned a picnic for her and her friends; Alice Bennet, Mary Wells, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.

“Petunia remember I’m going out with my friends in about ten minutes and you’ve got to look after Ellie” Lily said to her sister “Well that’s not happening…” “Petunia I’m going out with my friends and that is not up for discussion” Lily cut her off “I don’t care if you go out with your friends but I’m not looking after Ellie” Petunia replies “You already agreed…” “Well I’ve changed my mind and I’m no longer looking after her” Petunia cut Lily off with a smirk. Ellie overhears their conversation and goes to the front room and curls up on the sofa reading her book, feeling a little sad.

Five minutes later there was a knock at the front door and Lily ran down the stairs to answer the door “James, Sirius come in” She says with a smile and steps aside to let them in. James and Sirius enter the front room and notice the little girl with the same auburn hair as Lily reading a book of Fairy Tales. “James, Sirius this is Ellie, Ellie this is James and Sirius” Lily introduces three of them “Hello James, Sirius, it’s nice to meet you” Ellie said with a smile as she looked up at them “Hello Ellie” James replied before turning his attention to Lily. “Hello Ellie, it’s nice to meet you too” Sirius replies smiling, taking a seat beside her on the sofa “You’re like a mini version of Lily” He added as he looked into her green eyes “Yep, she’s my mini me” Lily chuckled and Ellie nodded smiling “I’m magical too” Ellie told him with another smile and he chuckled “Me too” He told her with a wink.  

“Petunia I’m going out now, Ellie is in the front room reading. I’ll be back later” Lily called upstairs as she grabbed her jacket from the coat rack “I told you I’m not looking after her. I have my own plans” Petunia called back from her room. Lily sighed in frustration and walked back into the front room. “Sorry Lily” Ellie said softly “It’s not your fault Ellie, Petunia is just being…awkward” Lily replies “But if she won’t look after me it means you can’t go out as planned” Ellie responded and looked a little sad.

Sirius felt sorry for Ellie because it was clear that she was aware that her other sister didn’t want to spend time with her. “Well I have the perfect solution then. Why don’t we take little Ellie with us?” He suggested and ignored the look James gave him. “Ellie can keep me company at the picnic, after all you have Lily, Remus has Alice and Peter has Mary” “Really?” Ellie asked sounding hopeful “Yes. Also with you coming with us, it means it’s even numbers for the games Lily has planned” He answered her “Thank you Sirius” She replied with a smile and got off the sofa to go and put on her shoes. Lily followed her into the hallway “Change of plan I’m taking Ellie with me” “Whatever” Petunia called back.

“Really Sirius? You know how much I’ve been looking forward to today, getting the chance to spend the afternoon with Lily. Now Lily’s going to have to watch her sister” James said in a hushed whisper “No she won’t. I already said she can keep me company so it won’t interfere with your ‘non date’” Sirius replied. “Ready” Ellie said as she came to stand beside Sirius and he smiled down at her.

They arrived at the park to see others waiting for them. “Who’s the girl?” Peter asked nodding at Ellie who was holding Sirius’ hand “This is Ellie my little sister, Ellie this is Remus, Peter, Alice and Mary” Lily replied introducing her friends to her sister “She’s here with us as Lily’s older sister refused look after her” Sirius added “It’s nice to meet you Ellie” The others said smiling “It’s nice to meet you all too” Ellie replied.

“How old is Ellie?” Remus asked Lily “She’s five” She replied and he nodded at her “I can’t believe how much she looks like you” He said and nodded in Ellie’s direction “Yea, everyone says that” Lily chuckled.

Sirius sat with Ellie and told her how he met Lily, James and the others at Hogwarts “What’s Hogwarts like?” She asked him, curiosity shining in her green eyes. “It’s truly magical. The staircases move by themselves so sometimes you end up somewhere different than you expected. The portraits on the wall move as the witches and wizards who occupy them go about their lives” “Wow” She gasped and he chuckled at her reaction “Are you in Gryffindor like Lily?” She asked “I am as is James, Remus, Alice, Mary and Peter” He replied “I hope get into Gryffindor when I go to Hogwarts” She says a smile “I’m sure you will Ellie” He told her smiling.

“Watch out Remus” Alice called out seconds before James tackled him to the ground, Sirius and Ellie burst out laughing “Not sure what they’re playing but I’m glad not playing” She said looking up at him “Me too” He replied and watched as Remus and James began to wrestle one another. “They’re so silly” Ellie chuckled and Sirius nodded in agreement.

James and Sirius walked Lily and Ellie home just after sunset “Thank you for letting me come with you today” Ellie said to her sister, James and Sirius “You’re very welcome little one” Sirius said with a smile and James nodded in agreement. “Goodnight Ellie, Lily” James said with a smile “Night boys” Lily replied “Sweet dreams” Ellie smiled up at James and Sirius “You too little one” Sirius responded.

Ellie joined Lily and her friends on other days out during the summer, including a BBQ at Remus’ house one Saturday afternoon. They all sat around telling stories and jokes and having a good time. At some time during the evening Ellie had fallen asleep with her head resting on Sirius’ arm. He moved her so she was sitting sideways on his lap, her head resting against his chest and he wrapped an arm around her. “Thank you for including Ellie in our plans, I appreciate it” Lily told her friends “It’s ok, she’s fun to be around” Alice said smiling “Not to mention she’s a new ‘friend’ for Sirius” James said teasingly and winked at his friend “You’re just jealous because she’s better company than you” Sirius retorted causing the others to laugh.

Ellie missed Lily and her friends when they went back to school so would send Lily letters by Owl asking how she and her friends were and was excited when she received not just a reply from Lily but replies from all of them. Lily wrote to Ellie often keeping her updated on events at the school and Sirius would send her the occasional letter and a chocolate frog.

Christmas that year was different to the others Ellie had celebrated as James, Sirius and Remus came over on Christmas Eve. James had bought Lily a gift and vice versa. Lily poured them each a glass of Egg Nog “Would you like a gingerbread biscuit? I made and decorated them myself” Ellie said proudly as she held out a plate of decorated gingerbread biscuits that were cut into various Christmas related shapes. “Yes please little one” Sirius said taking a train shaped biscuit “Thank you Ellie” James said before biting the head off a gingerbread man “Very tasty little one” Ellie blushed slightly at Sirius’ compliment. Remus took a bell shaped biscuit “Yes, they are very nice” He told her and she placed the plate on the coffee table before taking an angel shaped one for herself, and passed Lily a star shaped biscuit.

“I have something for you little one” Sirius said and handed her a neatly wrapped gift “Can I open it now please?” She asked and he nodded smiling at her. She carefully tore open the wrapping paper and saw the story books inside ‘The Worst Witch’ “Thank you Sirius” She wrapped her arms around him giving him a hug, one he returned “I don’t have a gift for you” She said sadly “It’s ok, I wasn’t expecting anything” He replied and watched as she thought for a moment “Here have some more Christmas biscuits” She said and handed him the plate, he chuckled “Don’t mind if I do” He smiled at her before taking a bite of a sweet treat.

“Sirius want to help me prepare for Santa?” Ellie asked him a few hours later and he nodded “Why not” Ellie’s eyes lit up and she led him into the kitchen. They laid out a Mince Pie and a glass of Milk for Santa and a Carrot for Rudolph.

The following summer Lily and the others came home from school and had made plans to see each other including taking Ellie with them to a Theme Park. Sirius ran away from home during the second week of the holidays and moved in with James’ family.

“Hey Ellie, can you keep a secret?” Sirius asked “Yes” She nodded smiling and watched as he stood up and took a few steps away from her “Watch this” He said and she nodded eagerly waiting to see what he was going to show her. He turned into his animagi form; a big black dog “Ahh” She gasped and he walked towards her being careful not to scare her as he towered above her in his animagi form too. “Such a nice doggy and so fluffy too” Ellie said stroking him and he licked cheek “Eeww” She said and wiped her cheek with her sleeve, James and Lily laughing at them.

A few days later Ellie and Lily were sitting on the swings at the park when James, Sirius and Remus arrived “Hello girls” They three wizards greeted them with a smile “Hello” The girls replied. Sirius sat on the swing on the other side of Ellie “What’s it like living with James?” “Better than living at my home little one. James and his family accept me for who I am” Sirius answered Ellie’s question and she nodded “I accept you too, doggy form and all” She told him and he chuckled lightly, the others joining in too “Thank you Ellie.”

Lily and James began dating at 17 during their last year in Hogwarts “Finally, was beginning to think that you two would never get together” Sirius said teasingly, Lily poked her tongue out at him and James lightly punched his arm “Ow” Sirius said as he rubbed his arm, pretending it hurt to try and gain some sympathy and found none “Serves you right for teasing them” Remus told his friend “Congrats you two” Remus added as he smiled at the new couple.

Lily and her friends left Hogwarts that summer and made plans to see each other throughout the school break before they began their training courses and / or new jobs.

Ellie and James were sitting on a blanket watching the others when she tapped him on the arm “James, can I tell you a secret?” Ellie asked him, her voice low “Of course” He replied “I’m going to marry Sirius when I’m all growed up” He looked at her and chuckled lightly “I’m sure you will” He kissed her hair as he wrapped an arm around her. He had become quite fond of Lily’s little sister over the last few summers.

Lily and James got married two years after they left Hogwarts surrounded by family and friends, although her sister Petunia and her husband refused to attend. Ellie was a Bridesmaid and Sirius was the Best Man and he danced with her at the wedding. He gave his Best Man speech and everyone smiled and cheered and raised their glasses in a toast to the happy Bride and Groom before continuing to dance the night away.

Harry was born a year later in July 1980 and Sirius was named Godfather. Sirius bought him his first broom for his first birthday which he was given at the small gathering Lily organised to celebrate her son’s first birthday.

Sirius and James joined Lily and her parents at the station in September 1981 to wish Ellie luck for her first year at Hogwarts. “Good luck Ellie, you’ll do great I’m sure” Sirius told her and gave her a hug “Thank you Sirius.” Lily and James hugged her too “Have fun Ellie and remember what we said about the staircases” “I will. I’ll see you all at Christmas” She replied and boarded the Hogwarts Express.

Sirius had joined the Order of the Phoenix and found himself roiling in stress and mistrust bought on by the terror that was Lord Voldemort and it took its toll on him, so much so that he no longer trusted his friend Remus Lupin. He suspected Remus was acting as a spy for Voldemort and therefore excluded him from knowing important information. He did however still trust their other friend Peter Pettigrew, although this is something that he would later come to regret, in fact that regret would stay with him for the rest of his life.

Sirius and the Potters were made aware that Harry, along with Neville, the infant son of their fellow Order members Alice and Frank Longbottom, had become specific targets for Lord Voldemort following him learning of a prophecy. Although, Voldemort was only informed of part of the prophecy via Severus Snape due to him not hearing it in full himself.

Dumbledore learnt that Voldemort was no longer targeting Neville Longbottom, instead deciding that Harry Potter was the boy in question. Dumbledore surmised that this may be because Harry and Voldemort shared a similar heritage; both were half-blood wizards. As a result of this news Dumbledore advised the Potters to go into hiding and used the Fidelius Charm, which he hoped would conceal them from their foretold fate.

The Potters hid at their home in Godric’s Hollow and felt safe with their assigned Secret-Keeper. Dumbledore had recommended Sirius be made their Secret-Keeper and James agreed, confident that Sirius would rather die than betray them. Sirius disagreed however, convinced that Voldemort would guess they would use him and suggested they use Peter instead and decided to keep Remus and Dumbledore in the dark about the change. This is something else Sirius would come to regret later.

“Make sure Ellie is safe too because if anything happened to her Lily would be devastated. Not to mention James and I would miss her too” Sirius said to Albus Dumbledore “Don’t worry about Ellie she’s at Hogwarts and is safe there. Just make sure James, Lily and Harry are safe” Dumbledore replied “They are safe as discussed” Sirius replied, leaving out the part where he and James had made Peter the ‘Secret Keeper’ instead of him, thus keeping himself as a decoy.

The events of the First Wizarding War finally came to an end Halloween night 1981 when Lord Voldemort made his move and attacked the Potters in their own home at Godric’s Hollow. This attack led to his downfall and left only one survivor: Harry Potter himself.

James died first followed by Lily, who sacrificed her own life to save her son’s, a sacrifice which would have a consequence that noone could have foreseen.

Sirius was beside him with grief when he arrived at the Potter’s home and found James dead on the stairs and Lily dead on Harry’s bedroom floor. Harry was sitting in his cot crying having witnessed his mum be killed. Sirius picked Harry up and cradled in him in his arms until Hagrid arrived to retrieve Harry under Dumbledore’s orders. Sirius disagreed at first “I’m his godfather, he’s coming to live with me as that is what James and Lily would have wanted” He held Harry tighter to him, determined to keep the boy safe. “Dumbledore has made arrangements for the boy to live with his Aunt Petunia. I have been sent here to collect him and ensure he arrives there safely” Hagrid replied. After a few minutes of arguing Sirius gave in and handed Harry to Hagrid “Be safe Harry” He kissed his head. “Keep him safe” He said to Hagrid and handed him the keys to his flying motorbike. “I will protect him with my life Sirius” Hagrid promised and left the house carrying Harry in his arms.

Sirius left the Potter’s house and went looking for Peter and found him on a city street and was determined to kill him for his betrayal. Peter however, had other ideas and outwitted Sirius and publicly declared “You betrayed the Potters. You killed the Potters” Before Sirius could react Peter created a huge explosion, which killed twelve Muggles and gave him the opportunity to fake his own death and escape in his animagi form of a Rat, leaving behind a single finger.

The surviving Muggles who had witnessed the event all said they saw Sirius murder their companions and Peter with the ‘Blasting Curse.’ Their memories were later wiped using the Obliviate spell.

Sirius was arrested soon after by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and after hearing from Cornelius Fudge that he had seen Sirius laughing maniacally at the scene of the crime, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban by Barty Crouch Senior. The sentence was handed out without a trial being held for the thirteen counts of murder with the curse, for giving the information about the Potter’s whereabouts which lead to their death and service to Lord Voldemort.

The other remaining Marauder, Remus believed it was Sirius who betrayed the Potter’s location to the Dark Lord and murdered Peter afterwards.

The consequence of Lily’s sacrifice meant that Harry had to be raised by a blood relative but Ellie was too young at 11 years old to look after Harry. So, under Dumbledore’s instruction Harry went to live with his Aunt Petunia and her husband Vernon Dursley, who had their own young son Dudley. Dumbledore placed a Bond of Blood charm on Harry so that he would be protected from Lord Voldemort whilst living with the Dursleys at 4 Privett Drive. This protection spell would last until Harry became of age at 17 or no longer called his Aunt Petunia’s house his home.

Professor McGonagall called Ellie to her office when she returned to Hogwarts with Dumbledore. Dumbledore spoke first “Please take a seat” He pointed to the chair in front of the desk and waited till she was seated before breaking the news to her. “I’m sorry Ellie but I have some bad news for you. I’m afraid that Lily and James are dead” “H-how?” Ellie asked, shock written across her face “Sirius told Voldemort of their location, he broke their trust” McGonagall replied “NO! NO! He wouldn’t do that. Sirius wouldn’t betray them!” She screamed as tears rolled down her cheeks “He was their Secret-Keeper. He was the only one who knew their location. He also killed Peter Pettigrew although I’m not sure why” Dumbledore said softly, Ellie kept shaking her head “I don’t believe it was Sirius. He wouldn’t do that. He’d rather die than betray his friends” “Maybe once, yes but the evidence is clear child. He has already been arrested and will likely be sent to Azkaban Prison.” He added and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Harry. How’s Harry?” She asked “Harry survived and is safe with Petunia at her house.” Ellie scoffed “Doubt that. Petunia hates Lily and myself, sorry I guess it’s hated Lily now. She won’t care for him properly.” Neither professor commented at that.

Ellie cried herself to sleep that night, grieving for her sister, her brother-in-law and for Sirius who was to be locked away in Azkaban.

[vodkassassin]

For SVSS- Gifts of jewelry, with spite.

I could have sworn I had another prompt asking for what the other peak lords thought of the cucumberplane friendship, and I was going to smoosh it together with this incredibly vague prompt, but I couldn’t find it lmao. Anyway, here @starfata

There are OC peak lords in this, including the POV character. Rong Qingsheng peak lord of the agriculture peak number 12, Ju Qingsong peak lord of the 11th peak, and I finally named the booze peak lord Shui Qingyu. That’s it, I think. Read away!

—

Shang Qinghua enters the peak lord meeting with a loud bang, slamming open the door with much more force than it really needs. Being the last one to arrive, everyone else is already seated and exchanging quiet conversation with one another.

They all jump when he comes in, and stare in confusion at the scowl that adorns his face. They watch in abrupt silence as he steps into the hall, at how his eyes zero in on a suddenly smirking Shen Qingqiu, and Qi Qingqi leans her shoulder into the master of the agricultural peak that sits next to her.

Rong Qingsheng raises his eyebrow at her, keeping one eye on the An Ding lord that stalks forward without looking at any of them to sit in his own seat with a noisy and very pointed huff.

Voice lowered, Qi Qingqi smirks at him. “How much?”

“For what, exactly, this time?” Rong Qingsheng heaves a quiet sigh, long since used to his martial sister’s gambling ways.

If there’s even a hint of wavering odds in the balance of the drama that occasionally befalls the inner workings of their sect, you can be certain that Qi Qingqi has a betting pool running behind the scenes of it.

“That’s up to you, isn’t it?” She asks, and Rong Qingsheng is never one to wager money in any of her ridiculous and time-eating schemes, but then again— despite speaking directly to him, she’s not exactly asking him.

Seated to Rong Qingsheng’s right, the peak lord of the beast tamers peak leans around him to eye Qi Qingqi with a sharp gaze and an even sharper smile. “What do you think the stakes are, that Shen-shixiong did something to piss him off?” He asks, eagerly, always one to fall into a bet.

“I think that it’s already clear that he has, indeed, done just that,” Rong Qingsheng says, placing a hand on the other man’s shoulder and pushing him out of his personal space and back into his proper seat.

Ju Qingsong pouts at him, the ridiculous man. “Yes, but the question is, did he do it on purpose, or on accident and is just pretending he did it intentionally in the face of Shang-shixiong’s anger?”

“Why would he do that?” Rong Qingsheng asks, confused.

“Because he’s a dick?” Ju Qingsong shrugs, and leans behind his back this time to make eye contact with Qi Qingqi. “Ten silver on Shen-shixiong doing it on accident, though. He’s a good actor, we can’t be sure he doesn’t have as much of a clue as to why Shang-shixiong is upset with him as we do.”

Qi Qingqi grins, pulling a loose sheaf of parchment out of absolutely nowhere — no, that had definitely come from in between her breasts. And a charcoal pencil, too? How does it all fit? Why.

Rong Qingsheng feels so tired, all of a sudden.

“Qi-shijie,” someone else murmurs, and Rong Qingsheng glances over his shoulder, already exhausted, to see Shui Qingyu of the brewery peak hunched behind them like he thinks he’s being sneaky. “Five silver on Shen-shixiong purposefully having antagonized Shang-shixiong.”

“All of you are idiots,” Liu Qingge grunts from where he’s sidled over to lean over Ju Qingsong’s table.

The rest of them eye him closely, and Qi Qingqi’s charcoal pencil pauses on its scribbling. If anyone were to have any sort of inside perspective of the odd friendship that exists between the Qing Jing and An Ding peak lords, it’s the Bai Zhan one. For some reason that probably makes no sense whatsoever, Rong Qingsheng is certain.

Liu Qingge continues, “Qinghua definitely started it.”

Immediately, Ju Qingsong rolls his eyes and leans heavily into Rong Qingsheng’s shoulder. He shoves the man away, once more, but he just returns, again.

“Shang-shixiong wouldn’t be this pissed if he’d made the initial insult himself, would he?” Ju-shixiong ponders. “He’s always been pretty good about taking responsibility for his own actions and accepting any retribution for them.”

Rong Qingsheng watches as Liu Qingge squints at their martial brother, and then reluctantly nods.

“He is,” the man says, tapping a finger thoughtfully to the base of his sword. “But…”

Qi Qingqi’s charcoal pencil shivers with anticipation as it hovered over her parchment. Rong Qingsheng isn’t sure it contains notes solely about the wagers, anymore. “Liu-shidi? What’s your insight?”

Liu Qingge makes a face, like having any sort of insight to it at all is a burden and insult to himself personally. “It’s different,” he eventually admits, “when it’s Shen Qingqiu.”

For some goddamn reason, isn’t vocalized, but all the peak lords exchange knowing looks anyway. Not even Liu Qingge, who’s closest to them, knows what the hell is going on there. Mu Qingfang might have a better take on the two ‘bros’, but even he looks confused, in that exasperated and tired sort of way of his, half the time whenever Shang Qinghua or Shen Qingqui pull their antics with one another.

Speaking of which—

“I’m going to get you back for this,” Shang Qinghua is grumbling, loudly. His arms are crossed, and he’s glaring balefully across the room at where Shen Qingqiu so smugly lounges in his seat beside a faintly puzzled looking Yue Qingyuan.

“You can certainly try,” Shen Qingqui says so quietly that it’s more like he’s mouthing the words than actually saying them, and the An Ding peak lord bristles like he’s been insulted in the gravest of ways.

Rong Qingsheng takes a moment to study him. Shang Qinghua is dressed in his usual peak lord attire, dark blue robes and flowing silk indigo over pants and a high-collared shirt of black, a gauzy and transparent light colored, shorter outer robe thrown over the entire ensemble. For someone who spends a lot of his time running two and fro across all the peaks of the sect chasing down some paperwork or report or other, Shang Qinghua has always been surprisingly stylish. His hair is done up in his usual full bun, held in place with the An Ding lord hairpiece and two silver needles.

Rong Qingsheng narrows his eyes, trying to parse out what, exactly, is different about his senior martial brother today, aside from his current outburst that isn’t typically within his personality unless he’s chasing after someone for an audit of their peak finances.

He resists the urge to shiver. Rong Qingsheng has never had any glaring holes in his peak’s budget histories, but he can quite vividly remember the last time An Ding had come to audit them, and he fervently hopes that the next occasion will not come any time soon.

It takes a few moments, but he eventually spots a difference in Shang Qinghua’s wardrobe. The man isn’t typically one to wear earrings unless they’re simple gems or small hoops. It could be theorized that the dangling ones just get in the way during work? Are distracting when attempting complicated maths and other calculations? Whatever the case is, the ones Shang Qinghua wears today are ornate and incredibly expensive looking, long enough to brush against the tops of his shoulders if he were to shrug, and completely uncharacteristic of the An Ding peak lord.

Not that Rong Qingsheng makes it a habit to creepily examine all his martial siblings whenever he comes across them, but he’s not blind. If you place a pretty person in front of him, what’s he suppose to do? Not look them over? Being a lord of the twelve peaks of Cang Qiong, Rong Qingsheng has ample opportunity to observe his beautiful martial siblings, and Shang Qinghua is as pretty as the rest of them. So what if he’s stared at him enough times to notice a minute change in his jewelry?

There’s a nudge against his ribs. Ju Qingsong leans into his space again, his breath ghosting across his face.

“You’re blushing,” his martial brother whispers, and Rong Qingsheng shoves him.

Ju Qingsong comes back like a boomerang, a grin on his face and his hands latching around Rong Qingsheng’s arm like some sort of infatuated maiden. “Who is it this time?”

“Nothing,” Rong Qingsheng says, calmly, and turns his eyes pointedly away from the line of Shang Qinghua’s neck. Definitely doesn’t notice how the new earrings accentuate it, or how they sparkle in the light and swing just barely with the man’s smallest movements.

He gets poked in the ribs again for his non-answer, but thankfully their sect leader finally stands to bring the meeting to order, so Ju Qingsong has no time to continue needling him.

The meeting is boring as all the others, only highlighted by the brief snack break that the Qiong Ding and Zui Xian disciples tag team to cater. Zhangmen-shixiong always goes out of his way to make sure the monthly meet between peak lords aren’t so dry and mundane that they all simply end up dying of boredom, but there’s only so much even their honorable sect leader can do. By the time the meeting rolls to an end, Rong Qingsheng can feel the edges of sleep tugging at his awareness, and none of his martial siblings look any better.

Except Shang Qinghua, that is. Then again, the peak lord of An Ding has never seemed to allow himself to feel boredom, especially at meetings of any kind. Being in charge of such a detail-oriented sphere of the sect business, Rong Qingsheng assumes, requires one to pay close attention to even the littlest of trivialities.

How time consuming. How much work does it take, to constantly be on alert for every little mention of every little faucet of their collective lives, taking careful note of every little action and reaction and conversation and tucking them away to be used at a later date in conjunction with the running of the sect, without going absolutely mad in the process? Shang-shixiong is the most frequent visitor of their sect leader’s offices for a reason.

He’s never once fallen asleep during a meeting. Rong Qingsheng simply cannot relate, and neither can any of the other peak lords.

The very second that Zhangmen-shixiong brings the meeting to a close, Shang Qinghua jumps up from his seat and makes a beeline toward Shen Qingqiu, who has also begun to look incredibly sleepy and bored out of his mind, but much better at concealing it behind his trusty fan. The Qing Jing peak lord glances up to meet the gaze of Shang Qinghua as he approaches him, and he brings the fan down an inch, a lazy smirk steals across his face.

“Do you like them?” Shen Qingqiu asks almost coyly.

The rest of the peak lords loiter in the room, holding conversations with one another but not paying attention to them because they’re all focused on the confrontation happening at the front. Rong Qingsheng is a little ashamed that he’s one of them. Not ashamed enough to leave, though.

Shang Qinghua comes to a stop before Shen Qinqiu’s table and kneels, huffily, directly onto the hard stone floor across from him, sweeping his sleeves behind him before crossing his arms over his chest. How he’s able to act befitting of a peak lord and yet behave so casually at the same time is surely a paradox, yet he somehow manages it.

“I fail to see why I have been gifted them in the first place,” Shang Qinghua comments idly, though he sounds oddly sarcastic.

Shen Qingqui sets down his fan, only to go for his teacup and use tha to cover his rather sharp smile instead. “But, do you like them?”

Distantly, he can hear Qi Qingqi murmur gleefully from behind him. “How much did you want to wager on Shang-shixiong starting it, Liu-Shidi?”

There’s a grunt. Then, reluctantly, “... Three silver.”

“So low? Liu-Shidi, that’s not very confident of you.”

“S-seven silver!”

“Qi-Shijie, stop trying to extort Liu-shidi. He’s never placed a bet before.” Oh, did Mu Qingfang join them? “Also, put me down for ten silver on Shen-shixiong being the one who started it, but Shang-shixiong being the one who caused it to continue.”

Ju Qingsong frowns. “Are they actually fighting? Shen-shixiong hasn’t intentionally aggravated anyone for a reaction since the fever.”

“What would they be fighting about?” Shui Qingyu asks, confused.

“Something stupid.” Liu Qingge grumbles, but in a knowing way, and so they all turn to listen, like a bunch of nosy eavesdroppers. Which is precisely what they are.

Rong Qingsheng feels so, so tired.

Across the room, Shang Qinghua is scowling. “You can’t just give me expensive jewelry and think that’ll make everything better.”

“Aren’t you calling the kettle black, here, Shang-ge?” Shen Qingqiu asks, using another of the odd metaphoric phrases than only he and Shang Qinghua seem to understand the meanings of. And then there’s the overly familiar form of address, which he’d begun using a few months after the fever broke, but to which Shang Qinghua had rather suspiciously had very little reaction to, and even reciprocated.

It’s all just really, really weird, if you asked Rong Qingsheng. But, then again, no one ever does.

“Are you calling me a hypocrite?” Shang Qinghua asks incredulously, fingering one of the new earrings as if self conscious. Ah, is that what Shen Qingqiu had been saying?

“Well, I’m not calling you a stalwart.”

“Joke’s on you then, Shen-ge, because I’m the most stalwart person here.”

Shen Qingqiu pauses, eyes flitting over to a bemused Yue Qingyuan, and then briefly across the rest of the peak lords, who all very consciously do not duck their heads, before he nods slowly in acquiescence.

“Yeah,” he says. “You’ve got me there. But, you still haven’t answered my question.”

Shang Qinghua scowls, removing his hand from the earring and folding it pointedly against his other in his lap.

“... Fine,” he huffs irritably. “Yes, I do.”

Shen Qingqiu takes a sip of tea, eyebrows raised. “You what?”

“I’m not saying it again.”

“You have to. That was the deal.”

“There was no— ugh!” Shang Qinghua throws up his hands, and Shen Qingqiu’s lips quirk a little before he chuckles. Actually chuckles! Yue Qingyuan looks positively poleaxed, from where he sits silently and as unobtrusively as possible at his table a foot away from the two bickering friends.

“You can’t insult my sense of fashion and style and then just, what, not expect me to get revenge? Shang-ge, please. You know me better than that.”

Rong Qingsheng’s brows furrow. This is revenge? Gifting Shang Qinghua expensive earrings was a form of revenge? Revenge for what, exactly?

“And you know me better than to think I won’t be getting you back for this,” Shang Qinghua sniffs, standing up from the floor. He points a finger at the fan-toting lord of Qing Jing, and exclaims, “I’m going to get you a gift so great that you won’t possibly be able to top it.”

“Watch me,” Shen Qingqiu immediately retorts, as if Shang Qinghua’s announcement had been some sort of threat, eyes narrow and fan flipping open to cover his lower face.

It’s a beautiful face. Rong Qingsheng has always wondered why Shen-shixiong is so self conscious about it as to constantly cover it up. It can’t be to hide his expressions — he hardly ever allows his thoughts or feelings to show on his face in the first place. It has to be something else.

Shang Qinghua glares, pivots on his heel, and stomps toward the exit. He breezes right on by the eavesdropping peak lords without even sparing them a glance, and slams the door behind him on his way out.

Rong Qingsheng is so confused, and it doesn’t look like any of his martial siblings are much better.

“I can’t even figure out who wins the pot,” Qi Qingqi harrumphs grumpily. She shoves the parchment and charcoal stick back into her cleavage like it’s just another pocket. Both items vanish, and Rong Qingsheng wonders a little hysterically whether she’s got some sort of quankin space array tattooed in between them or something else equally as absurd.

“Well, that would require knowing who started it,” Ju Qingsong shrugs. He’s got a hand on Rong Qingsheng’s shoulder and is leaning against him. He shrugs him off like the irritant that he is, and gets another pout for his troubles.

Mu Qingfang hums. “We will just have to wait until things settle down between them, and ask.”

He and Liu Qingge exchange a glance, and then look away from each other with odd, amused little smiles on their faces.

“It might be a while,” the doctor adds.

He walks away toward the exit himself just as Yue Qingyuan approaches their little group.

“If the peaks lords wish to have lunch together in Qiong Ding, arrangements can certainly be made,” the sect leader begins, and gives them a placid smile. “However, I do not not believe this to be the case. Do my shidi and shimei not have any work to do today?”

Rong Qingsheng cringes, exchanging a sheepish look with his martial siblings. They all beat a hasty retreat back to their own peaks. Finding out what exactly is going on between their two most dramatic and ridiculous martial brothers is going to have to wait.

[lesbian-octoling]

The After FAQ

Q: I’m not 18, but I’m going to be very soon! Can I still sign up?

A: You have to be 18+ at the time of submitting your form. If you are 18: you can submit a form! If you’re 17, you can’t. If you’re going to be 18 a few months after the start date, you’re welcome to join as a spectator, but it will be too late to join in as a player. Apologies :(

Q: When will spectators be allowed to join?

A: We’re not sure when or how we’re going to open it up to spectators, but it will happen! It’s gonna be a lot less intensive than player apps- basically ‘are you 18 and can you send a social media to verify it’. It WILL be before we start though, and unlike player apps, spectator apps will never close!

Q: What are you looking for in terms of RP quality and length?

A: Answered in detail here! TLDR, we’re looking for quality over quantity. We are still looking for high-quality roleplayers… though high quality doesn’t always mean super active or super long/fancy responses each time- quality means 'fun to roleplay with’!

Q: How many people will you be accepting?

A: This depends on several factors, including if I have a lot of people playing 2 characters vs 1 character, what characters I think could mesh well, and also my mental state whenever the application accepting times rolls around (it's easier to manage less people, though more can be potentially more fun). I'm shooting for around 10-15 people max, and about 20-30 characters max. I'm just gonna eyeball it when the time comes.

Q: How will characters be chosen, and will there be any preference/bias?

A: Players will be chosen on a lot of factors, mostly on their passion for their characters, quality of writing, and if their character is already taken or not. There is no purposeful bias towards OCs, canon characters, etc.

Q: How ‘close do canon’ do my interpretations of canon characters have to be? Can I deviate from canon?

A: Yes, you can deviate from canon! I go into more detail here, but TLDR: Characters are 100% open to player interpretation and even redesigns. The only 'limit' is that they have to be recognizable as their original character to some extent. Otherwise, go crazy go stupid!

Q: Help! I messed something up on my form!

A: That’s ok! You can edit it.

Q: You mentioned these inklings will be partially xeno/bio-based- what exactly is the anatomy here?

A: Yep! The setting is semi-xeno, but not extreme. There’s a visual guide here if you’d like, but I recommend reading the rest of this anyway. Some of the details include the fact that ALL inkfish (inklings, octolings, and any other cepahlopods) are:

Humanoid (no mantles or oddly shaped limbs)

Have (usually white) beaks, not teeth

Often have freckles/colored splotches, and small glowing freckles/spots

Have white ‘meat’ and blue blood, but are supported by pressurized ink in place of bones

Clean water does not kill them- but they have very porous, fragile skin that means they can absorb dirty water/mutagen quickly to make them sick, and their skin can be torn by enough of a pressurized blast of water (think a power washer or high-power hose).

The main differences between inklings and octolings (aside form the obvious like ears and masks) are:

Inklings have purely round/circular pupils, while octolings have pupils that can widen/contract between horizontal and round

Inklings have thin, catlike retractable claws/’hooks’, while octolings have thicker claws that are more of a hard extension of the finger

Inkling hair is NOT prehensile- it’s mostly made of fat. It cannot feel pain, and only bleeds a little bit. This makes them better at storing nutrients. However, octoling tentacles ARE prehensile, can feel pain, and will bleed heavily if cut- but they have little fat storage on them.

For non-inkfish characters, just about anything is up for grabs (within reason).

Q: What if my characters have a feature that isn’t supported by these headcanons?

A: This is sort of a case-by-case basis. Generally, your base character will have to fit the qualifications above just for consistency’s sake across all players. If your character has a unique feature- IE, strangely shaped pupils, tail, etc- that you want to keep, there’s a possibility that they could be already partially mutated, but managed to keep their sanity.

This has a lot of pros and cons- pros include unique features and potentially abilities (tail for balance, good vision, extra long claws, quills)... but it also means they’re only one tiny accident away from becoming fully mutated, while other players have that health buffer. If that happens, you lose control of your character for the duration they’re mutated. This isn’t even bringing up the potential discrimination they may face IC, as many people are wary of partial mutants.

If you want to do this, or aren’t sure, feel free to message me with the details.

Q: Can I play a non-inkling/octoling species?

A: Yes! You can play as any species that fits into the settings of splatoon! Most marine animals are fair game, including marine invertibrates and fishes. Sapient marine mammals are iffy, as they’re technically canon by a one-off line. I will accept fully marine mammals such as dolphins and narwals, but not semi-aquatic animals, such as sea otters. Some ideas of accepted species includes: shrimps, jellies, nudibranches, eels, any saltwater fishes, urchins, salmonids, etc.

I also will not be allowing sapient reptiles, birds, land/semi-aquatic mammals, or land invertebrates. Also, I won’t be accepting ‘magical’ (Ghosts, cryptids, etc) or unrealistic hybrid creatures (An eel/inkling hybrid born naturally, salmonlings), as this is a slightly more realistic as opposed to fantastic setting.

Q: But if I play a non-cephalopod character, how will they fight with ink?

A: Good news! Ink isn’t the main weapon here.

Ink is used as a weapon still, but less offensively and more tactically. Having a small ink gun on hand is useful for making quick getaways, distracting/stalling mutants, and even spraying it in their face as a distraction, deterrent, or to blind them if you do go to attack. For most mutants, however, ink will not kill or ‘splat’ them, as not all mutants are inklings mutants. Plus, it would be unfair to non-inkfish characters.

Physical weapons such as bats, knives, and guns (and even some weirder stuff like swords, bows, etc)  are going to be your go-to, like any apocalypse, though ink weaponry in addition can be a big boon in a battle.

This is also a good time to mention that while we don’t have specific stats or anything, your character’s species will affect how they fight and are impacted by fights.

Inkfish are very fast and can jump very high, are extremely resistant to blunt force trauma, and can use ink... but are very weak to slicing/piercing things and chemicals/mutagen because of their thin skin. Urchins can’t use ink and may be slow, but have potentially toxic spines and hard skin that resists piercing damage. Shrimp might have a fragile exoskeleton and not a lot of natural weapons, but it makes them very resistant to chemical and mutagen splashes. It’s all good stuff to keep in mind!

Q: Can I know more about the mutants?

A: Yes, to an extent! There’s some info on the mutants here.

Q: Can I know more about the mutagen?

A: Yes, to an extent! There’s some more info on mutagen here.

Q: There’s a lot of questionable/offensive/weird content in Coroika. Will this be allowed/what elements of coroika will there be?

A: The short answer is ‘only some minor elements will be taken, and all weird/offensive stuff MUST be retconned or addressed’. We’re mostly going to be supporting the game’s canon, NOT the comic’s canon. I go into this more detail here, which I suggest you read if you plan on playing a Coroika character.

Q: Who are the mods?

A: Myself and @bubblegum-spaceboy​ are the main two mods who will be doing the bulk of the important NPC/world stuff!

However, we have two sub-mods who helped create the server/concepts, and will also be there to help out with little stuff if neither of us are available, and play some minor NPCs. These two are @bombcollar​, and my friend Emmy who doesn’t really use tumblr lol.

Help! My question isn’t answered here!

Feel free to send in an ask or a message, and I’ll respond as best I can :D

[omegatheunknown]

AEW Double or Nothing 2021

In which the spirit of WCW is alive in confusing and delightful ways and we are left to parse whether overbooking and extracurriculars are offset by having actually very good wrestling happening at the same time.

- Lessons learned from Revolution on the production side? Maybe just cool it on pyro, though the rappelling adventure in the Stadium Stampede showed some of that now-characteristic 'trust us it'll look better on TV' flair. Hot crowd tends to paper over most woes, and the crowd was pretty hot. My one gripe is that the casino theme is hanging around like yesterday's takeout containers. Nothing wrong with clinging to a theme, I just think it's time for season 2. My suggestion? Under the Sea.

*Pre-Card Serena Deeb (C) v Riho for the NWA Women's Championship (***1/2) - Serena Deeb's star has finally risen. She's a remarkably consistent technician and she can get a match out of anyone at this point. She's working at the level of Mercedes Martinez or Madison Eagles at this point, it's amazing that she was overlooked or considered fit only to be a coach for so long. With the NWA belt she has this new swagger, she's basically everything Tessa Blanchard might bring to the table with none of the downsides (Serena has a lot of friends and seems like a lovely person, even!) - Riho's back and here to stay. Her time in Stardom didn't do much for my evaluation of her, which is that there are many better wrestlers that would be better representatives of the joshi style and she's merely pretty good. - The match was very good. Serena showcased a champion's aggression against a sympathetic Riho, they really work well against each other, Deeb's technical prowess against Riho's flexibility led to a very dynamic finish.

*Main Card Hangman Adam Page v Brian Cage (***1/2) - Here the shenanigans start. Brian Cage is on Team Taz, Team Taz has nothing else much to do tonight, so why wouldn't Team Taz flex their muscles, bait us with HOOK, etc? (Because it would be nice to have some variety in the card in terms of a match where one competitor stands across from another competitor?) - Hangman is (checking notes) yeah, still over as fuck, as befits the Anxious Millennial Cowboy. Cage terrifies me, he's a child's drawing of a body builder. He do be very agile for a man of his immense musculature tho. They match up well, Page is biggish for a flyer, Cage loves to play catch. Nothing much to write home about, other than Hangman's beautiful moonsault to the floor and what was overall a very good curtain jerker. - Okay fine, I am curious about Cage's reluctance to lean on the goons, Starks can't come back soon enough.

The Young Bucks v Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston (***) - I will not be referring to Mox & Eddie as (The) Wild Things because it gives me 'he calls it the wacky line' flashbacks for some reason. - The Bucks have to cheat and abuse Rick Knox's attention span constantly to be on even footing with Mox & Eddie, which is a clever sort of thing that gets washed out by the appearance of LG and Karl Anderson, which again, is cool in a vacuum but was the story of the evening. - Pace was weird - repetitive in eliminating Eddie, then Mox fights back, failed hope spot, Bucks team up, Eddie saves x2/3 in a row. - Mox, unlike Cody (in so many ways,) will probably actually be taking some time off with Renee, which is the kind of thing I would prefer not to know in terms of booking, but they really uh, put him down on the canvas here, and it felt pretty finale-esque.

Casino Battle Royale (n/r, but on the balance pro) - Any changes to the theme of the PPV would likely include changing up the nonsense suit format of these largely joyless slogs. - Obviously anticipating a NJPW talent, or... I dunno, actually -- Lio Rush was a surprise. Got in a quick demonstration of his otherworldly quickness, and you know what, there's probably a fun place for him in AEW. He'll need some friends, of course, feel like Team Taz might fit his temperament. I wonder if he was aware of the Mark Henry news... - Christian does not need to win this kind of match to get a title shot, obviously, but that said it was super lovely to use him to give Jungle Boy the shine. Jungle Boy would be a license to print money if he was even as big as Hangman. - Could register some continued griping about how Penta is not getting his due in AEW but he also literally was dressed as the Joker so I'm low on sympathy on this one particular night.

Anthony Ogogo v Cody Rhodes (*) - I did not like this. It's hard for me to read jingoism as a face move to begin with, and Cody's was egregiously tone deaf and kinda silly yet delivered without a trace of irony because Cody doesn't do irony on purpose, ridiculous neck tattoo aside. - Great argument to be made that Ogogo just isn't experienced enough to be winning matches against Cody. But like, what are we doing here? Cody needs to take some time off, maybe. I thought that's what was happening when he had his mini feud with Penta that really just ended in quick decisive Cody win. I though maybe Cody was being turned when QT and The Factory snapped-- sure, they're a group of impotent player 2s, but Cody is an out of touch elitist with a callous and manipulative streak. Alas, also no. America #1. - Cody is approximately 8 times as tough as Billy Gunn based on his weathering of the one punch man. Match ran a bit long given how little there was to go on. Cody gigged? Quelle surprise. - Cody had the best match on the card like, 3 out of the first 4 AEW events or something, and that was all booking and storytelling. I do hope Cody follows Moxley's lead into a little sabbatical.

Miro (C) v Lance Archer for the TNT Championship (**1/2) - Card's hossiest hoss match, a quick burst reminiscent of a car wreck. Absolutely hit on what it should've hit on but a little slow moving considering it went all of 10 minutes. - I will not complain about Jake the Snake, who I love. And also the gimmick spot, with Miro very astutely yeeting what was definitely a snake in a bag (surely.) back down the tunnel.

Dr Britt Baker, DMD v Hikaru Shida (C) for the AEW Women's Championship (***) - Picked up a lot of steam toward the end but seemed a little toothless (heh) until the last five. - Shida 'deserved' some more time as champion in front of crowds but also it's time to let heel Britt reach her peak, I can't even imagine how obnoxious she can be as the champ, it's going to be great.

Sting & Darby Allin v Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky (***1/2) - Such is the power of STING that I feel like I might be underrating this match... I mean it was an okay match about very simply getting some revenge and the sixty year old man did a very subdued Code Red and a slightly less subdued dive. He's also Sting. They missed an opportunity in calling it the 'Scorpio' Death Drop, but the main takeaway here is you see something like this where it's The Icon and you start to understand why WWE trots out their legends to come out of incredibly still kick ass without bending their knees. - The difference, I guess, is that Sting is absolutely being used to build up Darby Allin, whereas it's not like the fed brought back Goldberg and his attendant aura to pump up... anyone but Goldberg?

Kenny Omega (C) v PAC v Orange Cassidy for the AEW World Championship (****) - Off the top I have to say I'm very sad that the rest of the Galaxy's Greatest Friends were seen only very briefly, nice of them to bring OC's backpack. - Also have to point out that PAC's promo featured one of my favourite jokes, that Kenny must be short for Kenneth as a sort of legal/birth name belonging to a professional wrestler. (See also: Samoa Joseph) - And Mr Cassidy certainly did try in this match, ragdoll sells and all. Kenneth and PAC are absurd talents who bring aerial, power and technical maneuvers in equal measure and OC is not doing any of those on the same level, but he picked his spots, showed his genre savvy and hung in there to the point that he wasn't just the fall guy. - The extracurriculars continue in a match that was already a little overboard for silliness due to asymmetry... I think if you're the Invisible Hand it would've made sense to save up all your tricks for this match, but who am I to question the golden goose? - Sure, Kenny and Don ran the classic heel manager interference spot and taking out the ref in desperation spot but having to take out the ref because PAC wouldn't break the hold is fun, as is the stupid/inspired sense in running the 'smash opponent with the belt' spot four times so as none of your heavy gold prizes feel left out. (I love that AAA Mega Championship, they weren't on TV so we get to see it?) - "Fuck You, Don," indeed.

The Inner Circle v The Pinnacle in 'Stadium Stampede II' (***1/2) - This one had to grow on me for two reasons, first that it's usually pretty unforgivable to co-opt the main event spot from the championship match, and second to law of diminishing returns on dumb gimmick matches. - But grow it did. There's a full on meat locker? Commentary will refer to a cardboard cut-out of Shahid Khan as Tony Khan's father (that's canon now,) and Jericho will lovingly pat it? Konnan happened to be the DJ at whatever night club there is a Jaguar Stadium? Spears surrounds himself dramatically with chairs and his hoisted by his own petard? - Ultimately it comes down to letting Sammy shine. His involvement with the Inner Circle has sometimes come at the cost of being able to showcase that prior to AEW he was an ascendant talent in PWG, on his way to Ricochet level feats of acrobatic excess. Still feel like Sammy could've/should've been the one tossed off the cage a few weeks ago, but even better is being the guy getting the pin in the ring.

[lycorogue]

Hey girl! For your "Ask about WIPs" game, I'm interested in "I Don't Care" and/or "Seduce with Caution." Hope you're well, stay safe!!

Hey right back! I am doing well. Hope the same for you and yours.

[WIP tag game: my list]

Ya know what, no one else has played yet, so I'll go ahead and indulge. 😀

I Don't Care

This story actually started life as a "tumblr exclusive" one-shot called Stranger in a White Dress (published here May 2018). It was actually one of the first fanfics I posted to Tumblr. It was inspired by the song "Play Me Like a Violin" by Stephen (*warning: the music video has flashing bits, so those with photosensitivity, please be careful if you watch instead of just listen).

I don't know why specifically I latched onto Gabriel Agreste and Emilie Graham de Vanily, but it seemed appropriate somehow. The story was them having a meet cute in college. Emilie would have blown into Gabriel's life for a few minutes, stole a kiss unexpectedly, and then blew back out of his life just as abruptly.

The story stayed like that for quite some time. Then, August 2019, I heard the acoustic version of Ed Sheeran's song "I Don't Care". At first blush, the song sounded like something my husband would sing, but the more I listened the more I realized it could be Gabriel singing about/to Emilie. This song was kind of the theme of the Agrestes' relationship, in my opinion. Hence stealing the song title for the story's title. I took the first verse about being at a party, and continued my story. Gabriel was dragged to a party by his flatmate, and Emilie coincidentally was there. The two reconnected, and Gabriel turned a one-time chance encounter at a club into a potential relationship.

I'm not entirely sure where else to go with this story, aside from knowing I want it to be the love story between these two. Possibly ending with Adrien's birth. Possibly continuing until Emilie's "disappearance." Not sure which yet. However, this whole story is a bit of a slow process while I wait for inspiration to strike again, mostly by way of new music. I have been a touch obsessed for the past year with the songs "2AM" by MK (feat Carla Monroe) and "Say You Won't Let Go" by James Arthur as a back and forth between Emilie and Gabriel respectively (the fact that "2AM" has a female vocalist and "Say You Won't Let Go" has a male vocalist just makes it all the better). The only snafu there is that this would be a chapter about them drinking too much while out, and/or Emilie drunk calling Gabriel and asking for him to spend the night with her. As spontaneous as I like making Emilie, it seems a bit abrupt considering where their relationship stands at the end of the 2nd chapter. So I want to come up with a buffer one showing their first official date as my 3rd chapter. I'm just not sure what said date should look like yet. Thus this WIP sits in waiting.

If you want to read the first two chapters, you can find them over on AO3, FFN, or DA.

Seduce with Caution

This one is actually my current WIP. It's also my first foray into Miraculous Ladybug smut (aged-up, of course).

For some reason, August brings out the smut in me (is it the warm weather?), and I've written other smutty fics during that month in the past. Most have never seen the light of day. I've written a couple using the X-Men OCs created for my husband's play-by-post role-play game. I've written one using my D&D character and one of her partymates. The only smut I've officially published though was my interpretation of a handwaved sex scene in the book Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore (mostly because the series was fairly unknown and that book had been published 7 years prior, so I figured not many would even find my smut).

I have never tried ML smut before though, despite enjoying a lot of the ones I've found. I just couldn't get past the mental image of the Love Square as 14-year-olds.

Last year, however, while reading Dressed to Confess by @zenmisery , she had a bit where Chat Noir's costume acted as a bit of a magical chastity belt. For some reason, that gave me this fantastic concept for a MariChat sex scene. I started working on it, but I realized that it seemed too abrupt of an interaction between these two characters without also having the story be post-reveal and the two of them being in a relationship. The concept, though, would have been how MariChat could spend a night together without Marinette finding out who Chat Noir is under the mask first. The whole premise crumbles if they're already in a relationship and/or it's post-reveal.

I just couldn't get the balance right, and so I abandoned the story. Right around December, I tried again by backtracking a touch to include the seduction and foreplay leading into the sex scene. That too seemed a bit left-field. It felt like glorious crack, and I was tempted to just run with it because crack is a fantastic story "genre" but I... just can't find it within myself to do so. So the story was abandoned again.

This past August I revisited the story once more. After 3 or 4 false starts, I tried backing up even further with my story's starting point. Now this story has become a slow-burn, sexual tension, blushfest. There's implied masturbation, and later chapters will include make-out sessions with heavy petting, but the actual true-blue smut won't show up until the final chapter or so. So my "Porn without Plot" has become "so much pining with a sprinkle of smut thrown in for flavor". 😅

I still don't have a concrete story figured out, but the working summary is: "While 19yo Chat Noir tries to demonstrate to Marinette his new 'moves' to try to win Ladybug over, he accidentally seduces Marinette. Now she has to come to terms with the knowledge that she finds him sexy and highly desirable, all while still holding a flame for Adrien. Meanwhile, Adrien has to wrestle with the knowledge that he found Marinette getting hot and bothered over him a major turn-on. Chaos ensues."

Considering it kept me over a year to write just the first chapter (but only 3 days to write the second one), I want this story complete before unleashing it onto the world. I also need to build up the confidence to let the rest of the fandom read my first ever MariChat smut soooooooooooooooooo..........

ANYWAY, yup. That's what's up with I Don't Care and Seduce with Caution.

A romance story between young Gabriel and Emilie where I humanize Gabriel....

And a slow-burn MariChat smut story that will only really include anything explicit in the last chapter or so.

Thanks so much for the ask! This was fun. Feel free to ask me more!

I've also talked about my original WIP Glitches here, here, and here, as well as talk about my other Gabriel-humanizing project When Love Matters here.

[factual-fantasy]

21 asks, some old some new, all basically just heart warming compliments. ♡ඩᴗඩ♡

You’re welcome!! And thank you so much!! Something I always love to do with characters like this is give them some crazy depth. Give answers for things that the media they’re from never answers. I always work really hard to make it all fit together and really feel natural and I’m so happy you noticed! (இ﹏இ`｡)

I’ll be sure to. I’m still feeling really crummy mentally, but taking a break from my lovely community of fans certainly didn’t make me feel any better. XD

Pfff Kitty cat Pirate man XD

Well you’re sort of right. Captain Barnacles is my favorite character 100%, but the reason why I draw those two together so often is because the show has established that they are really good friends. 

Where ever the Captain is, Kwazii is usually nearby. Kwazii was the only one that knew about the Captains fear, Kwazii is the Octonauts lieutenant, which probably means that they spend a lot time around each other. They share a bed pod, they have had these little interactions that don’t happen with anyone else. Like fist bumps, shoulder pats etc.

They’re even used as an example of symbiosis in the crab and urchin episode! Now, you can interpret that how you’d like, but I believe the show is somewhat subtly trying to push the point that these two are best friends, like family even.

So when ever I draw Captain Barnacles, I always have an incentive to draw Kwazii with him. :}

Honestly by my headcannons, I feel like Kwazii would need it more than anyone else really. But yeah, the Captain could really use me a pick me up. XD

Dawww you’re welcome, I’m just glad everyone likes my art so much. ♡●ᴗ●♡

Th-Thank you!! That’s so sweet!! I’ll Be sure to keep making them!- Be sure to drop in some suggestions you guys so I know what ya’ll want to see!! :}

COMMERE YOU

(before I left for a break)

Well I may have needed more time to “relax”, but I just missed you guys too much lol.

Wow! That’s a lot of shows! I don’t recall really watching.. any of them.. any way uh- that aside, there are several shows I used to watch as a kid. Some weren’t meant for kids but were still funny to me.

For one, like I’m sure a lot of people did, I watched SpongeBob.

I also used to watch, of course, Octonauts. Although that was when I was a wee bit older.

I also used to watch The Three Stooges.. this one was for adults I think but it was still hilarious.

I also used to watch Beetle Baily, although this one was kind of like a once a year tradition type thing we did.

There may be one or two more but I don’t recall.. I mean, we did have one episode of speed racer that I watched over and over and over again. Or.. was it a movie? Heh, I uh, cant really recall.. 

(after my break announcement)

Thank you, turns out taking a break from Tumblr kind’a just made me miss the community. I felt really awful while I was gone but feel a little better after returning sooo.... guess I’m hangin around for a little while longer! :}

No I don’t ship anyone personally, although I can see how some of their dynamics could be seen like that.

Oh! No worries, that’s alright, and that thing is in the description as a heads up kind’a. If I tag my own art as ship or explicitly say it is okay to do so, then go for it. I just don't usually ship characters and don't want my art to be perceived incorrectly.. 

I have watched both Octonauts movies and season 1-3 on Netflix. When it comes to season 4, so far I haven't had much trouble just finding it on YouTube.

When it comes to watching season 4 in order, just go to the episode wiki, find the names in order and keep searching on YouTube until you’re sure you’re on the right episode. Pretty sure you can find basically all the Octonauts episode this way, go ahead and give it a shot! Hope it works!

To keep the fourth wall breaking to a minimum, what would my Transformer OCs think of Octonauts?

Suburban, A.T.Dragster, Green Truck, Escort, Vega, Red Van, Brown Suburban, Miata, AND Honda, most likely wouldn't really be interested and wouldn’t really have an opinion on the show, but they don't make fun of anyone who does watch it. No matter how old. Volvo specifically would respect the educational aspect of the show and most likely wouldn’t pick on anyone for watching it either.

U.M.Dragster would kind’a poke fun at the show and its imperfections. But low key is peeking around the corner wanting to know what the characters do next.

White Truck thinks it pretty cool and kind’a likes to watch it with others, but wont really go out of his way to watch it on his own.

Beluga would probably think its really cute, bet 10 bucks her favorite character is Kwazii.

Ranger would be hooked. She loves everything about Earths water and want’s to learn everything about it. Including the creatures that live in it. She would appreciate the show “dumbing everything down” for her, because she doesn’t know these basic things that kids know. Having everything “dumbed down” makes it easier for her to understand everything.

Jeepy’s driver used to make fun of me for watching it, but now he thinks it neat. So maybe he’d think its silly but eventually come around?

Bash Buggy cant see the screen-

But really Its cool though, he wouldn’t be all that interested in it even if he could watch it anyway.

Daww thank you! ♡●ᴗ●♡

Oh how cool! I never thought so many people grew up watching this too, I thought this show was really obscure! Glad I can share the nostalgia and joy with ya’ll through my art! :}

You mean the Vegimals? These little dudes?

I just haven’t had a good opportunity to draw them yet is all. 

Hmmmm.... let me think.. I feel like my Transformer OCs would mostly like certain aspects of seasonal things, not one season and all of its aesthetics as a whole.

Suburban, Red Van, Escort, Brown Suburban and Green Truck love the bonfire part of colder weather. The warm, bright and surrounded by loved ones aspect of it is what they enjoy. Especially Brown Suburban. He loves bonfires man. The more light and heat the better, that poor mech is freezing his aft off out there in that old manky dark shed all by himself. He just wants to be around his loved ones where its warm and bright.

Miata would probably like pumpkin spice lattes, and just that aspect of fall. Beluga and Honda however would be all over fall and all its traditions. They’d be all over every season really, always up to date with trends and having fun.

The Dragsters are all about summer and its aesthetics. Summer is the prime time for dragstrips and the weather they function most efficiently in so they’re all for it.   

Vega is more about fall. Sure its not really racing weather, but he does like all the pretty colors and the temperature is just right for him.

White Truck would like summer the most. He’d like the attire, the swimming, the warmth, all of it. He’d function a little on the edge I’d think though, he does have a bit of an overheating issue.. but still, I think summers for the win.

Ranger would like summer. Summer = more fish in the water. She loves to look at fish and be out in the water and just explore everything. Summer is when most of the fish are around so she’d really enjoy that. When it comes to seasonal outfits and food? Meh, waters cooler.

Volvo doesn't care for any weather or aesthetics honestly. But would prefer fall for its cooler temperatures. Having so many layers of armor is bound to make you overheat eventually.

Jeepy would like the fall and winter most of all, because of MUD. Going slipin, driftin and slidin with Bash is a real hoot, so he’d really like those seasons. He’s just built for them you know? Plus he’d kill a man for a glass of eggnog so he likes that aspect of cooler seasons too. :}

Bash Buggy likes summer and spring for the temperatures mostly. He also likes winter and fall, but because of the mud, he doesn’t like them for any other reason. Just the mud and goofing around with Jeepy. Everything else about those cold seasons are terrible, and he cant even see all the pretty colors and aesthetics so what does it matter? His body has no insulation anymore so the cold just eats him up, and he cant go outside in the snow because of his blindness and the cold. So he’s stuck shivering indoors while his friends go goof around in the snow without him. Colder seasons suck besides mud, the warmer ones are a win.

I don’t know, it just kind’a makes me uncomfortable. Not all artists are the same, not all artists like that.

It kind of feels like stealing to me in a way, I just don’t like it..

I want to, but I am completely halted by the knowledge that these comics don’t get much traction. They only get a handful of notes when I post them, which just makes them feel like a waste of time.

I’m weird about time. I don't like talking about my interests with others because I know I’m wasting their time and they don’t care anyway.

I am heavily discouraged to draw things online, not just because people steal, but because only a handful of people truly care and get excited about them.

And I mean, a handful of lovely followers, is a handful lovely followers. But you can see how a people pleaser like me would drift towards what people want me to draw instead of what I want to draw.

And when it comes to what people want me to draw? Besides those lovely few, people don’t want to see my comics.

[emersonfreepress]

okay so is there content that you had planned for the ROs and story in general but then scrapped cause there wasn’t a good place in the story to stick it in? and if so, can you share what it was? 👀 👀 👀

yes, definitely. *rubs hands together* oh man, you done asked THE question today xD I can't wait to get into this 😁

Academics. I almost decided to have classes and grades be a minor part of gameplay, but the more time I spent designing it the more I realized I wanted nothing to do with it 😂 I haven’t really enjoyed academic gameplay in other interactive fiction because I 1) hate having to choose between studying and interacting with awesome characters, 2) have terrible short term memory, and 3) hate school in general!! So instead I just opted to have the MC be really good at school, point blank period so I could focus on social drama and relationships instead! 😆

Physical skills. I spent literal months crafting the catering scene around setting up stats for stamina/endurance, dexterity, and strength instead of just magnetism, confidence, and persuasion. They had their own backstories with the MC’s parents being overly invested sports parents instead and I think the background choices were like... martial arts, gymnastics, and track? But yeah, I ended up scrapping it all because I was spending hours on research about those individual sports so I could integrate them into the MC’s narrative organically but like... when I tried to think of what use they would be in the actual story, I came up blank. Best decision yet, esp since it means a lot less coding!

Skin tone customization. For one, I noticed that a lot of my favorite IFs don’t offer that customization and it hasn’t impacted my experience at all. For two, I originally realized I might as well not implement it since I am striving real hard not to introduce any customization that won’t actually be mentioned in interesting or meaningful ways in-story. I don’t think it’s really all that common for real life friends (esp in high school?) to comment or compliment each other’s skin and like... when it comes from someone who doesn’t share a similar complexion or ethnic background, that type of commentary gets... d i c e y. So then I wanted to be sensitive to that but what’s the pay-off? An RO mentioning how they love your skin tone once? Awkward sentences with the MC referring to their own skin color? Idk, just wasn’t vibing with it. I’m open to revisiting it in beta or something but for now it’s scrapped.

Singing, Rapping, and Gaming as Hobbies/Talents. I feel bad about scrapping these, honestly 😂 They’re great and I really wanted to incorporate them but it just came down to already having a lot of stuff to code. Plus, I know I can write the Hobbies/Talents I stuck with far better. And for Book 2 purposes, as well!

Leo. as @sourandflightypeaches ​​ asked me about a long while ago, I had to scrap an entire RO 😢 His name is Leo, he was the nephew of wealthy west African diplomats residing in Emerson, and I love him dearly! His backstory was largely based on my mother’s childhood and the circumstances she lived through after immigrating to America. and... ok, i’m about to go on one hell of a tangent so buckle up and bear with me if you can 😅

my intention with this story, aside from writing things that I personally enjoy (graphic violence, spooky woods, social drama, romance, conspiracies 😚), is to explore greed, wealth, and how the ways people and families interact with those two things influence young people and who they grow up to be. here i go sounding pretentious af 😝 and here’s where I apply a cut for those who want to preserve a little mystery to the main characters!

With Gabe, we’ve got someone who grew up with very little stability or financial security but who has found unscrupulous methods to gain status and money, with both noble and selfish motivations.

Kile has some of that childhood experience in common with Gabe, having been in the foster care system since infancy, but they lucked out when they were adopted into massive wealth by a caring, loving couple—a couple that uses their wealth and privilege to be far more lenient and protective of Kile than is actually reasonable or responsible.

Jack comes from a prestigious wealthy family on his dad’s side who he loves dearly but there’s no getting around the fact that they love him back as much as they despise his working class mom.

Jessie is a spoiled sweet heiress (being the baby of her family and the only girl) and while she lives blissfully ignorant of the harmful source and impact of her father's income and career, she bears the weight of the expectation to fulfill very traditional gender roles, including her behavior and appearance, but also extending to her career and life plans.

Rain's wealth led to them growing up sheltered and isolated but also extremely accommodated, giving them maximum freedom and opportunity to discover and develop their personal talents and interests. However, they have almost no positive relationship with their parents who have essentially decided to give up on a kid that couldn't be exactly the accessory they tried to mold them to be—both in terms of their identity and personality.

Rupan/Rohan, at their very core, rejects everything about conformity, self-importance, and excessive luxury—which means they have never, ever truly fit in with their peers. Going full non-conformist, however, has resulted in them becoming alienated from much of their family, as well, despite them all loving each other very much. Their history with false friends and betrayals has led them to over-indulge in their vices and reckless behavior to compensate for that isolation. Sometimes, they just get in over their head and many times, they know better. Every time, it's just that the feeling of finally belonging is utterly intoxicating.

Vivian/Vincent has two extremely successful parents who didn't inherit but instead built up their wealth and they aspire to be just like them, to a degree that is well and truly unhealthy. Their mother specifically is an over-achiever and applies mountainous pressure for them to follow in her footsteps, especially academically. Vi is completely capable of achieving what their mom expects of them, but they were already an extremely sensitive perfectionist so this has made them intensely critical of themself. This is a large part of why they are such a rigid, no-nonsense person and that in turn has made them one of the most disliked people among their peers—which is a huge personal failure to them since their father is a very well-liked and socially successful person in town.

And the Emersons are peak privilege: inherent high social status, brains, looks, charisma, athleticism, and massive wealth. They could never have been anything less than extremely popular, just by virtue of their last name and the nature of the town's social dynamics and politics. And they do enjoy that privilege (esp Curt lol). However, it should go without saying that being so high profile, even (or maybe especially) just in the isolated scope of your hometown, isn't always a boon. Their family's and their own perceived failings are widely discussed and privately mocked and/or celebrated. Real friends are scarce while fake ones and snakes are plentiful. Plus their dad is a gigantic dickhead who sees his kids as extensions of his own status and reputation and not much else. Public shortcomings make for an unbearable time at home and the world outside the estate is at once overly accommodating, full of assumptions, and even subtly hostile at times—all unrelated to their own actions or character.

And with the MC, I think the narrative will make it clear there are several ways that story can go. You start off with irresponsible parents that have lost their wealth due to their own mismanagement and material ambitions—how that affects any individual MC should differ based on choices and consequences!

So why bring any of that up when I was supposed to be talking about my cut OC? 😂😂

Leo was going to be the unwelcome recent addition to his uncle’s household, the son of a brother his aunt hates for (petty af) Reasons, and she took that resentment out on him directly by restricting his access to nearly every aspect of the family's wealth. Especially material goods and living conditions. He was basically treated like the help, tasked with playing nanny for his many younger cousins and burdened with doing the homework and providing academic cover for his dumb as rocks cousin in the same grade as you all. To sum it up, he was basically a victim of trafficking at the hands of his own family with his uncle out of town enough to feign ignorance to how bad his wife was treating his nephew and his aunt going out of her way to keep him busy, at home, and isolated. This is sadly a super common form of trafficking in Francophone African cultures (although I don't think most people view it as trafficking. and I’m sure the same is true of other cultures but I don’t want to speak outside of my purview). And like I mentioned above, it’s how my own mom's (and idek how many cousins') child/teenhood went.

It’s a perspective on modern wealth, privilege and greed that I really, really wanted to tell. I am confident in saying it hasn't been explored in interactive fiction yet (though correct me—and direct me 👀—if I'm wrong) and out of all the wealth/greed explorations I came up with, it's the one I have the closest personal ties to and the strongest feelings about. The characters and plans I had for it were detailed and I'm proud of them but at the end of the day... I just couldn't find a place for Leo in the story at large.

Leo was, in fact, the last main character I came up with, when I had already designed and fleshed out the larger story and started crafting the timeline of major events. I think the worst thing I could have done for a story and perspective that I care about this much is shove it into a plot that didn't have room for it at the very base level, regardless of how well the character or his story is written. Shoe-horned characters always stick out. I didn’t want to disservice Leo by having him be the character that did nothing or could be removed from the main plot without affecting it at all, y’know? That’s so much worse than just forgoing the indulgence, imo :((

ugh.... Leooooo 😭 I'm so sorry bb, I failed youuu 😥

[missbonekitty]

I posted 13,267 times in 2021

272 posts created (2%)

12995 posts reblogged (98%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 47.8 posts.

I added 172 tags in 2021

#twst oc - 54 posts

#iggy ashsorrow - 30 posts

#twisted wonderland - 28 posts

#idia shroud - 15 posts

#twst - 12 posts

#twisted wonderland oc - 10 posts

#alistair rosetea - 10 posts

#twst chapter 6 spoilers - 5 posts

#obey me - 4 posts

#ffxiv oc - 4 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#i want to share the sketches i’ve done but i also wanna post info but i think posting info would be better done with just a picture of iggy

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Iggy doesn’t really consider Grim to be a cat, honestly.

76 notes • Posted 2021-05-09 17:24:53 GMT

#4

twisted wonderland chapter 6 stuff

so i and some friends had brainworms earlier today talking about chapter 6

these are not all my thoughts/theories

  THERE’s A LOT OF RAMBLING AND HEAVY THEORYCRAFTING, SERIOUS BRAINROTTING AND GOING DEEP INTO SOME ANGST AND MENTIONS OF DEATH.

so please read at your own discretion.

 CHAPTER 6 SPOILERS AHEAD

and a lot of what if’s

so basically Idia saying that the “Subjects” Charon had come to collect were actual people, not phantoms, and were capable of reasoning (paraphrasing bc i dont have the exact quotes) so they should be more careful/gentle.

Phantoms are most likely the creatures that we see behind those who OB. We know that STYX is an organization that’s dedicated to studying Overblots and we know that they collect mages who have Overblotted, Leona saying that those they take rarely come back. But I think that htey also usually only take mages who are probably still in the midst of an OB or haven’t recovered/have lasting effects. Hence why they rarely come back. (i bring up why i think they took the recovered students further on)

But what if phantoms, like the one we see in the dwarf mines, are the results of mages who were taken over completely by Overblot. They were never disconnected/torn away from the phantom (which, in the fights at least, almost seem like they’re puppeteering the mage its attached to) so they become one with/are absorbed by it.

Still alive within it, to an extent, but no longer have their own will.

---

This ties into a huge brainworm that I got about what may have happened to OG Ortho.

I was re-reading Ortho’s card/personal stories and there are a lot of little asides and things he or Idia say that clearly hint towards a medical thing with OG Ortho.

I think it’s Ortho’s alchemy uniform card? Where Idia forgot that he gave him a small arm that could get into narrow spaces (he was fixing/taking apart something.)

Idia: ...what was I trying to do, giving you all of these different functions. There’s not even any reason for those cutting-edge medical tools at this point...

Idia: I mean... I mean, originally I was...

Think it’s the same card with Ortho going out and tending to Silver’s sprained ankle. He has immediate access to (not including that he has a 3d printer on him) bandages, disinfectant, gauze, etc.

So I started wondering if maybe the original reason for the robot that is now Ortho was like.. a medical bot for OG Ortho, who I know a lot of people headcanon as having been probably frail or sickly (I heard that there might be mention that Idia and Ortho couldnt go outside much? I haven’t looked for it yet) so I FEEL like that’s a possibility given all of the medical tools built into him, and also the fact that Idia was very.. weird about it when he talked about it. Ortho also, after Idia says the above, immediately tries to cheer him up and tell him to not think about it.

  (Also, despite Silver only having a sprained ankle, Ortho is extremely worried and tells him this.

Ortho: You may be sick in ways that you haven’t even realized yet, and if you don’t attack them now it could be too late.)

Which made me think that he could be referencing what may have happened to OG Ortho. told you i was deep in the brainworms.

  ---

  Then of course there’s the theory thread that OG Ortho may have Overblotted and didn’t survive.

Which... got the brainworms going again.

What if.....

(if Phantoms are the creatures/manifestations that we see behind mages who are currently in Overblot and seem to be puppeteering them since i touched on this up above)

...what if OG Ortho Overblotted somehow back then, but they didn’t know how to stop it or separate him, and he was absorbed into the Phantom. Perhaps OG Ortho isn’t actually “dead”.

  And S.T.Y.X., a company run by/created by(?) Idia’s family is so fixated on studying mages who have Overblotted because they’re trying to find a way to save/remove him from the Phantom. They’ve taken/kidnapped all of the students who have Overblotted and survived and are normal again.

  Which then lead into me being like what if (if Idia is the one who ends up Overblotting at the end of Chapter 6) they try experimenting on OG Ortho’s Phantom to try to draw him back out but something goes wrong, and the Phantom disappears without OG Ortho being able to be removed.. effectively meaning they lose him.. again. I think that would make Idia OB.

See the full post

83 notes • Posted 2021-09-03 00:26:05 GMT

#3

first look at my twisted wonderland oc Iggy Ashsorrow, whose actual first name is... Ignacia.

Which she hates.

And everyone knows this.

Including Ace.

87 notes • Posted 2021-04-09 22:56:38 GMT

#2

“Post+ is dead“

yeah okay, sure.

  clearly they’ve given up on it. this article is from today

  https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/21/tumblrs-subscription-product-post-enters-open-beta-after-much-scrutiny-from-users/

   Open beta started today for US users, DO NOT USE IT.

The only way they may give up on this, protests aside, is if they do NOT get the numbers and engagement they’d need to keep it up.

  @postplus-protest​

119 notes • Posted 2021-09-21 14:52:30 GMT

#1

malleus and kalim are not stupid

idia is not an incel

  thanks for coming to my ted talk

123 notes • Posted 2021-07-13 20:37:11 GMT

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