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macabr3-barbi3 · 4 months ago

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New Love, New Skin (Chapter 5)

I realized I hadn't updated this fic since June and the brain worms finally decided to start earning their keep again!!! Just so y'all have an idea going forward- we've got 5 more chapters in this fic, which will land us just before the events in Heart Reset. Then we move on to 'Memory vs Time,' which will be from Kora's POV and give us a little more of her backstory and her side of things before we move past the events of the oneshot and onward💕 Thanks as always to my love @fraugwinskaFrauGwinska for her love and support (and the awesome banners she makes for me out of the goodness of her heart 😭) Also: you can see the playlist I made for this fic and series here!

Chapter 1 📺 Chapter 2 💛 Chapter 3 📺 Chapter 4 💛 Chapter 5 📺 Chapter 6 💛Chapter 7

January 1960

After this year’s extermination, Vincent made plans to take Kora somewhere nice. It’s not any sort of real anniversary- though he realizes he’ll have to figure out when exactly they had started officially dating, so he wouldn’t miss the real thing- but it had been officially two years since they had met, since she had rescued him from the streets and gotten him on his feet. She deserved to be treated, to see how those that looked down on them lived.

It would, hopefully, be a nice little sneak peak into the life that he wanted her to have- the life that they would have, if he could keep his head in the game like he planned. Vincent was making headway at the station, finally actually on the screen with Rich and Joy. Sure, it was as a meteorologist, and his lines every day were, “it’s hotter than Hell; watch out for that acid rain!” But it was something. It was progress. That was what mattered, and the slight pay bump he had received was fantastic as well. His savings were untouched, growing steadily at one of the least shady (and least robbed) banks in Hell; he wasn’t doing quite as well on the ‘one year’ plan he had set out on, but these things took time! And he was happy to take some time off to spend with Kora, to thank her, to show her how much she meant to him.

She was everything. The reason for his drive, why he worked so hard, why he wasn’t rotting away in a ditch somewhere with a still busted screen, instead getting to come home to this beautiful woman in their cozy apartment where he was happy and safe. He would do anything for her- a nice night out for dinner would just be a small token of his affection for her.

When Kora came home from Viv’s and spotted him still on the couch, her brow had creased with concern and she was immediately on him. “What’s wrong? Are you sick? Can… can a television get sick?” She worries her lip between her teeth, running her hands along the sides of his screen. “Do you feet hot? I can’t tell.”

“I’m fine, Goldie,” he tells her, and takes her hand in his to press a kiss to her palm. “I asked for the night off to take you somewhere- if you’ll come with me, of course.” He flashes her his smile- his real one, soft and sweet, not the one that he used for the news that was wide and would make his face hurt if he had a real one. “Got a special evening planned for us.”

She eyes him in suspicion. “Really? You’ve been kind of tight on spending lately- not that there’s anything wrong with that!” She assures him, stepping closer to drape herself across his lap. “I just don’t want you to waste money on me-”

“It’s not a waste,” he immediately interrupts, and he can hear the click of her teeth with how fast her mouth closes. “Really, baby, it’s not. I wanted to treat you- you deserve it. And it’s been two years since you pulled me out of that scrapyard so, it’s kind of a special occasion, yeah?” He pulls her closer so her head is resting against his screen, the heat of her breath fogging the glass. “Let me do something nice for you tonight.” Forever, his mind corrects, but he doesn’t want to spring that on her so early into their relationship.

Kora smiles, the lines under her eyes crinkling as she does. “You’ve convinced me,” she says, pressing a kiss to his casing. “Where are we going? Somewhere nice?”

“Upper Ring, baby- I’m taking you to Dante’s.” It was one of the higher class places in the Pride Ring, where Overlords held meetings on neutral ground and the security was tight, and the chaos of Hell around them was left at the door- he had practically begged Rich to vouch for him when he made the reservation, needing personal references before he would even be allowed within a mile of the place, and Rich had done him one better by offering a reference for Kora as well.

She does an excited little dance in his lap, twisting to face him properly. “You really broke out the big guns, huh? I’ve been looking for an excuse to wear this dress Eris gave me- but you’re sure it’s okay to spend that much money on a date?”

“I had to pay to make the reservation, sweetheart; we’re not backing out now.” He pulls her closer, chest pressed to his and letting his tongue trail softly along her neck- she shivers in his arms, adjusting her seat in his lap to settle more comfortably against him. “We’ve got a little time before we have to get ready,” he murmurs against her throat. “How about you let me treat you a little more?” He runs his hands down her sides, slides one up into her hair to pull her into a kiss- when she nods her affirmative, he stands, wrapping her legs around his waist and carrying her to the bedroom, depositing her onto the bed where her hair fans golden across the sheets. She lifts her hips up, slowly shimmying her bottoms off, and reaches to twist a hand into his shirt.

Vincent wants to spoil her. They could fuck now, but this night was about her, what she meant to him, what he was becoming for her.

Her eyebrow quirks when he drops to his knees, rising up on her elbows to look down at him. She can’t even get a question out before he’s ducking his screen between her thighs, pulse pounding at the cry of his name as he circles his tongue around her clit and sucks. His cock throbs at the sweet sounds that she makes for him, but he ignores it in favor of holding her hips down with one hand and using the other to slide a couple fingers into her wet heat. Kora clings to his arm, her own claws scratching tiny marks into his skin as she’s overwhelmed by sensations while he fucks her on his fingers and tongue.

He keeps an eye on the clock, and keeps her on edge for a while- bringing her right to brink before easing off. She’s cussing above him when he finally pulls back and presses a kiss to her thigh, glaring down at him with glazed, teary eyes. “Keep in mind where your throat is,” she remarks, “because if you don’t make me come I’ll strangle you with my thighs, and the reservation won’t do us much good.”

“What a way to go,” he says with a dreamy sigh, leaning down to nip at her sensitive nerves- she jerks in his hold with a halfhearted pull at his hands. “But don’t you worry, baby, I’ll get you there.” And he’s back to the task at hand, careful of his claws as he crooks his fingers and sucks harder, wishing he had hair she could yank on as she came with a low whine and her fingers scrabbling at his casing. He cleans her up with his tongue, licks the remnants of her release from his fingers while holding her gaze, pleased when she finally flushes and looks away.

He makes a show of looking at the clock, like he hadn’t known exactly how long he had the whole time. “Look at that! Just enough time to get around, who could have guessed?” He stands, holding a hand out to his girl to help her up on her unsteady legs.

“Wait, let me-” She reaches for his zipper and he stops her, threading his fingers through hers. “Vin- let me do you, please?”

And it’s hard to tell her no when she makes that fucking face, but they had a schedule. If he let her get a hand or a mouth on him, it would be blown to shit. “Not yet,” he tells her, and lands a kiss on her forehead. “You can ravish me after dinner, okay? The cab is prepaid, we have to be out the door by nine thirty- and even though you’re perfect as is, I know you think you need time to get ready so I accounted for that.”

He can almost feel plastic melting inside his screen with the smile she gives him. “Maybe if I’m quick enough we’ll still have an extra minute,” she offers, squeezing his hand before she steps back and heads towards the bathroom.

Something Vincent was thankful for since coming to Hell was that ‘getting ready’ for him took a lot less time- without hair, the time it took to head out the door was cut in half. He had been horribly vain about it when he was alive, meticulously grooming it, going to the barber every other week to maintain the shape and length. And he missed it sometimes, but he couldn’t deny it made his life a little easier at times like this. He stepped into one of his news suits (borrowed from Rich until he could justify buying his own), laced his shoes up, and he was all set. He caught a glimpse of Kora in the bathroom mirror as he left the bedroom- she had some sort of shimmery shit on her eyelids and was lining her eyes with a dark pencil that looked like a torture device until she spotted him and stuck her tongue out as she worked. He rolled his eyes fondly and went to wait on the couch for her.

He wished he had a cigarette. He had taken up smoking at the station, stepping out when everyone else went out for a break and thinking it would be rude to decline when someone offered him one. He kept it social though, only lighting up when he was with his coworkers so that Kora wouldn’t find out about the habit. But after doing it for months the craving for one would hit him out of nowhere, when he was bored or waiting like he was now- even though he knew Kora would be worth waiting for.

Vincent had never been more correct in his life. When Kora stepped out of the bedroom she glowed; she was wrapped in fitted gold and silver, folds of fabric that reached outwards from the center like sun rays and looked stunning with the soft tan of her fur, the blonde of her hair. Thick straps came over her shoulders, a couple thin, golden chains dangling off her shoulder on either side, drawing attention to the soft curves of her. The makeup she wore was light and ethereal, her hair in soft curls pinned back with a little clip that had the sun on one end of it.

She crosses one foot behind the other, a simple gold heel that she rocks on nervously. “Do you think this is okay?” She asks, like she doesn’t look like a Goddess that had lost her way and ended up in Imp City by mistake. “I got it from Eris, it was a little too big for her- do you think it’s nice enough for Dante’s? I don’t think I have anything else that would work-”

“Kora.”

Even Vox is surprised by the roughness to his voice, and he clears his throat before he stands and approaches, gently crowding her against the wall with the bracket of his arms and brushing a piece of hair back from her face. “I need you to understand how beautiful you look right now,” he says seriously. “And I also need you to know that if the cab outside and the reservation weren’t already paid for, I would have you against this wall right now, Dante’s be damned.”

She flushes under his intense gaze, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “You don’t have to go overboard, jeez,” she mutters, but her smile is still firmly in place as she ducks under his arm and escapes towards the door; he takes a deep breath, willing his body to get it together before he follows her into the dark outside their apartment.

Vincent fights to keep his hands off her on the drive to Dante’s, something that Kora enforces by sitting all the way across the seat from him. He’s just managed to pull her closer when the cab rolls to a stop and the driver hops out to open Kora’s door for her. He shoots the bug a glare- he was being the gentleman for Kora tonight, not some lowly chauffeur- but still takes Kora’s arm and leads her to the velvet rope in front of the restaurant.

There was no line because they didn’t allow walk-ins, the Hellhound bouncer at the front more for appearances than anything else, since everyone knew that you just didn’t mess with this place. He gives them a nod as they approach, the photos he had submitted with the references from Rich enough to verify their identities and let them into the establishment.

Kora’s gasp at the crystalline chandeliers that dangled above them was worth every penny that the night was going to cost him. The blue of her eyes fucking twinkled in the soft amber glow from the candles that reflected the lights, casting it across everyone else that dined in the building. She clung to his arm as they were lead to their booth, her smile warm and genuine and fucking perfect in it’s sincerity as he guided her into her seat. Immediately there was a waiter at their side offering them wine, which Kora gladly accepted a glass of and took a sip while casting her eyes around the room.

She looked at ease in the environment as they looked over the menu and ordered, and he wondered distantly if Gideon had ever taken her out like this; dressing Kora up when he couldn’t appreciate her beauty, just to keep up appearances for the people around them by showing off his ‘pretty wife.’ His eye twitches thinking about the bat that hadn’t deserved her, his mood easing when he reminded himself that it didn’t matter- once he had accomplished what he was setting out to do, they could be regulars here at Dante’s. He would spoil her to no end; she could primp and pamper herself on a weekly basis if she wanted to, he would take her anywhere she wanted. The power he would have once he got where he wanted to be at the station- next to Rich, in Joy’s place, or even front and center on his own- was inconsequential compared to the thought of having her beside him, taken care of, happy.

They ordered some fancy appetizer, something that Kora was resisting the urge to dig into with her fingers if the look on her eyes was any indication- thankfully she resisted, using her fork to spear the croquettes that were placed down, her eyes fluttering and a soft, pleased moan escaping her lips. “You’re sure this is Hell?” She asks him, stabbing another and holding her fork out to him to sample- he minds his teeth to avoid the screeching noise that he knows her ears are sensitive to as he takes it into his mouth, and yeah, people weren’t kidding when they said the food was good. “This tastes like heaven.”

“I’m sure you’d know all about that,” he says softly, trailing a claw down her arm, “considering you look like an angel tonight.”

The blush that takes her face over has perhaps a little to do with the wine, but it’s charming nonetheless. “You’re too sweet,” she says earnestly, and takes his hand across the table. “And you know how to show a girl a good time, because wow.” She gestures out across the restaurant, the other patrons that dined and laughed under the soft light, alongside the sweet music that played. “Come on, stop holding out on me- what’s the real occasion?”

They’re interrupted by the waiter coming over with their dinners, placing steaming plates piled high with food in front of them. He takes his time before he answers, taking a few bites of his meal- rich, decadent, everything he wanted from a meal, from life- while he thinks about the ‘occasion.’ He wants to sound genuine but not sappy, a thin line that he seemed to constantly balance on when it came to Kora. “I wanted to thank you,” he tells her, and she pats her mouth with her napkin so she can properly listen to Vincent. “It’s been two years now since that first extermination when you found me, and without you I would probably still be a pile of busted parts in the street. I probably wouldn’t have my job at the station without you helping me get back on my feet. I definitely wouldn’t be here, at a high end restaurant with a beautiful woman at my side that I can’t wait to ravage when we go home.” He releases his fork to slip his hand under the table and trace his fingers up her thigh, grin triumphant when she blushes before he backs off. “You just… you deserve so much more than Hell has to offer you- more than I have to offer you. I just wanted to show you that I’m thankful for you, and glad you’re in my afterlife- you’ve made it a hell of a lot better than it ever was up top.”

He thinks he catches the glint of tears in her eyes- fuck, fuck, had he said something wrong? Hurt her feelings somehow?- before she takes his screen in both hands and kisses him soundly. Perhaps not an appropriate display for a restaurant like this, but Vincent wasn’t going to complain right away when Kora was being so enthusiastic in her thanks. He does catch a couple whispers from nearby tables within eyeshot, so he eases her back into her seat and towards her meal. “Easy, doll,” he murmurs, and she chuckles while she brings a finger up to gently wipe the unshed tears away without smudging her makeup. “That wasn’t too much?”

“No,” she sniffs with a chuckle, “no, Vin, that was beautiful. Thank you.” She keeps one hand placed firmly in his even though it means she has to eat with her non-dominant hand, something that she manages to do rather well still. And throughout the meal she keeps releasing these soft, pleased noises- relishing in the taste of the food, the atmosphere, his presence beside her. Vincent wants her to make those sounds next to him forever; not even anything sexual, but auditory confirmation that she was here and she was happy with him.

She releases him for dessert, a decadent affair of chocolate and cream and sinful cake, and when he calls for the check she rests her head on his shoulder with a contented sigh, trailing her finger up and down his forearm and sending pleasant tingles across his skin. He pays the bill, ensuring that Kora doesn’t see how much the evening cost- it actually wasn’t as much as he had anticipated, but he knew she would still make a fuss about the number- and has the waiter call for their cab to come back. He escorts her outside, draping his suit jacket around her shoulders, and they stand there in the dim street lighting while they wait.

She huddles into his chest, her hands never ceasing in their movements as she slides them along his back, his casing, his waist. “I cannot wait,” he tells her earnestly, “to get you home and take this off of you.” He emphasizes his point by fingering the golden chains that hang over her shoulders, and she smiles brightly at him.

“If you really can’t wait, there was a bathroom inside,” she offers, probably only teasing, and she laughs when his face glitches as he seriously considers it.

“You deserve better than that,” he tells her earnestly, and cups her face in his hands to press his screen against her forehead. The wine he’s drunk has gone to his head, everything tingly and light and radiant when he looks at Kora. “You deserve better than all of this. You deserve Heaven.”

She looks away from him, hiding her face in his chest and fisting her hands in his shirt. “I love you,” she says softly, it feels like everything in his body simply freezes- biological and mechanical grinding to a halt at the words, the sincerity that she whispers them with. “You don’t- you don’t have to say it back, I know it’s early. I just want you to know.” She burrows further into him, so all he can see is the top of her head, the little sun pinned to it on the side. “After marrying Gideon and then ending up here I didn’t think that I would ever find that, this happiness that I have with you. So thank you.” She falls silent, her breath heated through his shirt as he processes what she’s said.

I love you. I love you. I love you.

It’s not the first time he’s heard the words from a woman before; when he was alive they were usually whispered late in the night between silk sheets from someone that he had taken out a few times, and he used it as the indicator that Vincent needed to end things before they got too serious. It was usually met with a laugh or a lewd joke, so he could play it off without hurting the girl’s feelings (or even acknowledging them).

They’ve never shot through his entire nervous system before, leaving him reeling at the revelation and struck speechless.

How did she continue to do this? To catch him off guard with her words and her actions, her goodness. First with taking him in in the first place, when she could have easily left him to die; announcing their relationship publicly before he had even fully defined it; and now this, shyly declaring her feelings for him after a beautiful night out, somehow confident and demure about it at the same time, refusing to take the words back even though she had buried her face in his shirt as she said it.

I love you. I love you. I love you.

He’s saved from having to answer when the cab pulls up, that same bug driver leaping from the front seat to open Kora’s door for her. He guides her in gently, throwing a leg up onto the seat so he’s semi reclined, creating a flat surface for Kora to lay against on the drive back down towards Imp City. He runs his hands along her waist and she snuggles further into him, releasing soft breaths that tickle his neck when she exhales. She doesn’t fall asleep, but he thinks it’s a near thing, and he keeps her present with the hint of his claws through her dress as he trails them over her frame.

They head inside after he pays the driver, Kora’s arm looped through his, and he thinks he should say something as they climb the stairs, as Kora unlocks the door to let them into the cozy darkness of their home. But what to say? He couldn’t say it back- just thinking the words makes his throat burn unpleasantly, like he was going to cry if he forced them out, and what would she think of him then? But he doesn’t want to let them linger between them, unacknowledged, because what if she interpreted that as a rejection of her feelings? He’s distantly aware of her helping him remove his jacket, slipping her shoes off by the door, and it takes her saying his name a few times before he registers it and is pulled back to the moment.

“Vincent?”

He blinks hard and looks down at her, her eyebrows creased in concern like they had been when he came home. “Are you okay? Was the date more expensive than you were planning? I don’t have much as far as savings, but-”

“No! No, you don’t have to worry about that, Goldie. The date was perfect, you don’t need to pay me back for anything. And I’m fine, I just-”

“You’re thinking about what I said.” It’s a statement rather than a question, but just like usual for his girl, she doesn’t back down from his stare. “I’m sorry if that made you feel uncomfortable. But I’ve just.” She cuts herself off, bringing her arms up to fold across her chest, like she was protecting herself. “I’ve spent so much of my life and my afterlife letting emotions just bottle up inside of me and I don’t want to do that anymore. I won’t take it back, but I won’t say it again if you don’t want me to.”

“God, Kora,” he breathes, and he pulls her into his arms again like they had been on the street. He holds her tighter than he had been, enveloping her completely and mindful of the way she shivered in his embrace. “It’s not anything like that. You caught me off guard, yeah, but that’s not- I just can’t-”

“It’s okay.” Her arms come around his back as well, a complete link between the two of them. “You don’t have to say it back- and I won’t say it again.”

“Please do.” The words spill from his mouth before he can stop them, his arms tightening around her. “It’s- I’m not uncomfortable. I like it; I like hearing that you feel that way about me, that I haven’t irrevocably fucked all of this up somehow. I just have my own shit to sort out before I can- you know. Express feelings like a normal fucking person.”

He wants to say it. He just knows that her face would simply light up with joy at him saying that he loved her back, but something dark and ugly claws at his mind and prevents him from doing it- does he love her? Surely if he did the words would just come forth, not get stuck in his throat like bad bread, thick and cloying and making him feel like he was going to choke. It wouldn’t be so hard to tell her if he did; she had made it look so easy.

Kora pulls back, looks him in the face this time with a smile so soft it makes him ache. “I love you,” she tells him again, and something whirs inside his head at the sound. Hands on either side of his screen she pulls him down, kisses the words into his mouth. “Take me to bed now?”

Vincent is looking down at Kora, spread naked beneath his hands atop the sheets of the bed, and wondering how he got so lucky.

I love you. I love you. I love you.

The words rattle off the parts and components in his head, as he takes his time in kissing her from head to toe. She sighs contentedly as he works, his fingers gentle where they touch her as he moves down her body, his lips pressed to her collar, her wrists, her navel, her thighs. His head is still a little fuzzy from the wine but even with the excitement of the night, here he knows what he’s doing.

He lets his fingers part her folds, groaning at the slickness he finds waiting for him and relishing the sharp breath she takes in anticipation. He presses one into her, slow and deliberate the way she likes it best, before he adds another to crook against the sweet spot inside her that always makes her whine and tremble. Thumb pressed gently against her clit, he works her to a swift climax that leaves his fingers drenched, his name having never sounded better when torn from her mouth.

“Please,” Kora whines, and uses a gentle hand on his screen to try to guide him up towards her mouth. “Please, I need you.” Her hips rock against the bed, eyes glazed and needy while she looks down at him, and suddenly he can’t bear to have her gaze on him.

I love you. I love you. I love you.

He guides her to flip over, her hips in the air and her head buried in her arms as he slowly sinks into her cunt, his breath catching at the way she shakes in his hold with his cock reaching so far inside her. Kora was so tight like this, her slick walls clenching and fluttering around him with such intensity he found it hard to focus on thrusting and not just staying buried as deep into her as he could get. He focuses on his breathing when he pulls out and slams back in so he doesn’t immediately finish, determined always to make sure she got there before he did. He keeps his pace steady and his thrusts hard, muffled sounds of pleasure escaping from Kora’s mouth to be lost in the pillows.

I love you. I love you. I love you.

He leans forward presses his screen against her back, closing his eyes against the words while he fucks her, hands roaming over her body; pulling her harder into his hips, running his thumbs over the peaks of her nipples, spreading the wetness from where they’re connected to her clit to rub at the sensitive nub with care. She had come for him twice this evening already but he needed it again, the sweet clench of her on his cock when he brought her to the edge before he would allow himself to spill inside of her.

“Say it,” he murmurs against her skin as her volume increases, still stifled into the pillows- he fists his free hand in her hair and tugs back so she’s lifted from her auditory protection, her whines and cries now out in the open with nowhere to hide them. “Tell me again, Kora- please.”

“Fuck, Vin, love you- oh God, there…” She might have been crying, likely overstimulated by the two orgasms he had already wrung from her, but her hips still rocked back against him, chasing the promise of a third. Her tail moved jerkily, pressed between them as it was with little room to move with how close Vincent was holding her. “There, there, there,” she chants as he angles her hips ever so slightly, pulling back enough that he has the leverage he needs to ram the tip of his cock against the tender expanse of nerve endings inside of her.

I love you. I love you. I love you.

Her voice is a tethering thread to keep him in the moment as their orgasms crash into them at the same time- Kora’s cunt ripples along his length as she comes, his name a keening cry from her lips while he fucks her through it, finally spending himself with a drawn out groan against the delicate heat of her back. The rhythmic clenching of her walls draws it out, as do her soft mumbles against the skin of his forearm when they both collapse forward, her lips sweet and gentle against him.

They stay like that for a moment, stuck in the position of their frantic coupling until Kora wiggles her hips beneath him- his cock twitches inside of her, making them both gasp. “Come on,” she whispers hoarsely, and he realizes he definitely is going to owe her some sort of honeyed tea after how loud he he had made her with pulling her hair like he had. “We can’t stay like this all night.”

He nips his teeth against the back of her neck and she shivers. “Why not? Seems optimal to me- when I get hard again we can start over, and then you only have to clean up once.” He doesn’t actually think he can go again. His nerves are shot, a slight tremor to his frame that he hopes she can’t pick up on with their positioning, and the alcohol has left his system. He no longer feels tingly or buzzed; he feels raw, exposed, vulnerable in a way he wasn’t familiar or comfortable with.

He pushes it aside in favor of gently pulling out, smoothing his hand down her flank and helping to flip her over again. Her hair was a disaster from being wrapped in his fist, tear streaks beneath her eyes from the stimulation, but she’s still a vision of beauty as she watches him with softened eyes and a sweet smile. She lifts her fingers up to trail them down his screen, down his arm, to tangle their fingers together and lift them to her mouth to kiss before she gets up from the bed to clean up.

When she comes back, she’s dressed in the ‘fuck’ t-shirt, the one she had let him borrow his first night, and his chest aches at the sight of it. She clambers back onto the bed, flops herself down on his chest with a giggle and a contented sigh. “You okay?” She asks, concern lacing her voice, and he kisses her before she can ask anything further.

“I’m great,” he whispers into her hair, despite the frantic kick of his heart inside his chest. “Tonight was perfect. You’re perfect.”

She hums happily and settles down, and it isn’t long before her breathing slows and her body goes limp against his. He extricates himself from her weight, making sure she’s comfortably settled in the bed before he goes to the bathroom.

I love you. I love you. I love you.

Finally alone, he watches his reflection- there’s a tremor to the pixels on his screen, and his breath is coming in faster. He thinks he might be freaking out a little, bent over the sink and trying to breath as steadily as he can, the sound of it a harsh rasp to his auditory processors. And fuck, he knows this isn’t a normal reaction; Kora loved him. He should be fucking ecstatic, because that meant she wasn’t going anywhere and all the hard work he had been doing wasn’t a waste, that there was something he was working towards and doing it for her meant something.

But his dad’s voice creeps back in, like it had been since that conversation with Eris. Telling him that when someone loved you, you could disappoint them. You could hurt them. It wasn’t Kora’s confession that had rattled him- it was the idea that her feelings might inadvertently turn against her if he fucked up. And Vincent would never forgive himself for that.

He watches himself in the mirror and slowly, finally, he calms. He would just have to work harder, he reasoned- if he was perfect, made the right moves at the station and got where he wanted to be, Kora’s heart would be safe. He would be worthy of her then, and there would be no risk of hurting her.

And hopefully, he could repeat it back to her.

Chapter 1 📺 Chapter 2 💛 Chapter 3 📺 Chapter 4 💛 Chapter 5 📺 Chapter 6 💛Chapter 7

#goldenvision #vox x kora #vox x oc #hazbin hotel #ao3 writer #ao3 fanfic #vox smut #vox hazbin hotel #vox fanfiction #ily frau <3

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brightatmidnight · 1 year ago

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Where We've Been and What We've Been Doing - An Update on the State of The Chaser's Voyage

It's been a while! Our client updates got interrupted by a much more important task, reworking our Tutorial! So, here's what we've been up to lately!

Hello everyone. It's been a while since we last updated but we're finally ready to tell you what we've been working on these last 2 and half months. The short version of it all is that we've been making some major changes to our tutorial. Since going live with it last November, we've gotten to see more people playing The Chaser's Voyage first hand and it's given us a better understanding of what we need to prioritize and what we need to back away from when it comes to introducing people to the game. Namely, it required a lot less talking and lot more doing.

I think the current version of the tutorial has too much talking in it. It was a way to introduce some core concepts of not just our game world, but also why the mechanics are the way they are. I thought it was a necessary bridge that needed to be crossed for players to understand why they were doing something. For example, unlike a space game like FTL where you might be traversing the entire galaxy, we limited ourselves to just a small corner of the galaxy, Sector 99, so that all of our planets could have names and backstories and our list of alien species didn't have to grow to, well, a galaxy sized level. In retrospect, I don't think that it was necessary to introduce the player to these lore explanations, at least not in the tutorial. So, we did away with a lot of the universe building dialogue, though we still did allow ourselves some brief, inconsequential, moments of world building.

We also thought that having a character explain what needed to be done vs. having text prompts explain would be a more active way for players to learn the ins and outs of the core mechanics. It definitely works for some games, but we realized, it doesn't work that way for ours. We didn't want players to feel like our game was too hand holdy or a "by the numbers" type game where "when X happens, you must do Y." We wanted to emphasize the idea that "Hey, you're going to be called on to make decisions, so just be ready for that" but I think it ended up adding some bits that the player isn't necessarily going to be interested in at that moment and the "on the fly decisions bit" can still be reinforced without us having to be explicit.

So, we changed our tutorial to something that uses a lot of less talking and lot more text prompts. This itself required a lot of work, as we made our text prompts no longer automatically close, but instead, players could choose when to close the prompt once they had carried out the prompt's instructions. We decided that perhaps for this part, a little hand holding was necessary to get the players started. We didn't want people to feel overwhelmed with options at first, after all. With our text prompts came more inspiration from Nintendo games, where we decided to color code text and use symbols to connect the keywords and instructions to the interactable elements. So for example, when we tell players to set their weapons to level 2 to shoot down missiles, the word "weapons" will be colored green and show the weapons icon and the symbol for level 2 weapons will be next to "level 2". It's actually been quite the challenge to think of every way we can make something as clear as possible and this time, no fear of whether or not it might be obvious.

Remaking our tutorial isn't the only thing we've been working on these last couple of months. We're really trying to revamp our social media marketing campaign. I've been doing a lot of studying up and we're prepared to make a couple of big changes. The first and most notable is that we're dropping "roguelike" from our marketing and will soon be changing it on Steam. While I will die on the hill that our game is technically a "roguelike", we are missing a lot of the modern hallmarks of what makes a roguelike a "roguelike". We don't have randomized power-ups or engage in tedious resource collection. For better or for worse, those are elements associated with roguelikes and I have gotten some questions along those lines from people wondering how The Chaser's Voyage is like a roguelike.

And since nobody wants a lecture or a redirection to my article, we feel it's just better to drop the genre from our marketing. This does once again leave us without a genre to categorize ourselves in but as I said in my "Is Our Game a Roguelike?" article, we don't like genres and we didn't set off to make a game constrained by genre. Though, in the writing of this article, I've learned that we made some assumptions about genres like "space flight simulation" which encompasses everything from games like Elite: Dangerous, to Kerbal Space Program, to Star Wars: X-Wing. Which is wild. So, going forth, we'll be leaning more into the "space flight" aspect of our game, perhaps marketing ourselves as a "space flight lite" or maybe just a "space flight sim". Who knows? (Have I mentioned I hate genres?)

With this change in marketing decision it also means changing some of our stuff on Steam and making a brand new trailer (again). We're hoping that our new trailer can be the kick-off of our new marketing efforts, but we'll see if this article doesn't end up doing that first.

We've also made a new Twitter account just for The Chaser's Voyage that will act as a central source for all things The Chaser's Voyage (while our Bright at Midnight twitter account will still be focused on stuff going on with us as game devs).

With all this going on, we're still hopeful of finishing The Chaser's Voyage relatively soon. We still plan on executing a well-crafted, unique, professional indie game. We want The Chaser's Voyage to go to the stars and we're prepared to do whatever it takes to make that happen!

For more updates on The Chaser’s Voyage, be sure to check back on our blog, follow The Chaser's Voyage and Bright at Midnight on Twitter, or join our Discord! If you wish to play The Chaser’s Voyage, you can buy it while we’re in Early Access on Steam.

- Eos//G

#The Chaser's Voyage #space #space game #spaceflight #Steam #early access #indie #indie games #indie dev #game dev #game development #video games #games #gaming #videogame #Bright at Midnight

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wondrouswendy · 2 years ago

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Weird Questions for Writers - 18, 31, 34 ( • ̀ω•́ )✧

Putting 18 at the bottom since the excerpt I'm talking about has content warnings.

31. Write a short love letter to your readers.

Dear readers,

Thank you so much for the time you take out of your day to read my works. I know there's a million other fanfics out there you can choose to read, kudos, and comment on, but you've chosen mine. I know the old adage "hey, two cakes!" and while it's true as a reader, as a writer, I appreciate every moment of interaction and feedback because time is finite. I put a ton of thought and effort into my stories, so I love when readers notice the interconnections, the references, and the powerful lines. I just want to share my writing with others and maybe leave an emotional impact upon my readers. I want them to come away from my writing feeling something, whether that's happiness or sadness. Maybe something in between.

Thanks again for the love and support!!

-- WondrousWendy

34. Thoughts on the Oxford comma, Go:

I'm an avid user of it. I'll give a different reason than the last time I answered this. It's an important tool to remove ambiguity from lists. I don't think it's redundant. I often use "rule of threes" with lists, so for me, it's natural to have that serial comma.

18. Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end. Spicy addition: Questioner provides the passage.

From Chapter 12 of The Days of Thunder, with a warning for suicide and spoilers for Control.

He presses the muzzle to his throbbing temple, letting it dig into his skin. He wonders if there will be anyone left alive to pick up the gun, to choose to be chosen, to atone for another failed Director’s grave mistakes.

He can do one last act of service for the Bureau and everyone he cares about who will be left behind.

Time to make good on his vow. Time to stop being a coward.

He closes his eyes and pulls the trigger with a loud bang.

The hungry tide draws back from the shore as if repulsed by his sudden display of free will.

In Zachariah Trench’s final moments, there is silence at last.

This scene was important to me for a few reasons:

This was the "last" moment of "canonical" Zachariah Trench in The Days of Thunder. I knew it needed to be a bittersweet moment. This is a scene we see from the game. Everything forward from this moment, from a story perspective, involves Darling trying to save Zachariah. The Zachariah we meet in the past in the following chapters isn't the same as the man who endured years of Hiss corruption. So in some ways, this scene is the "death" of the Trench we've gotten to know.

To me, Trench killing himself is his attempt at redeeming himself. Trusting fate that someone will pick up the gun and carry on in his stead. Everyone has their take on what Trench killing himself means, but this is my interpretation.

When I was working on this chapter, the new MCR song came out "Foundations of Decay" and the ending lines of the song had an impact on me:

Yes, it comforts me much more Yes, it comforts me much more To lay in the foundations of decay

Get up, coward It would have been easy for Trench to just succumb fully to the Hiss. Some people in this fandom certainly argue that he did. He was enduring a psychic battle, The Horrors(TM), and misery beyond belief. It would have been easy for him to just give up. I respect that interpretation, it has some tragic appeal, but I prefer the idea that Trench broke free in the end and made a choice to end his life rather than let the Hiss have (even more of) a free pass.

So that's my deep dive on this scene.

#wondrouswendy asks #the days of thunder fic #rangerzath

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taiblogcomics · 9 days ago

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Troubleshooting Your Monitor

Hey there, Gula gang. It's a new year! Too bad we're still reading this same ol' comic. Ah, well. At least we're meandering ever closer to the inevitable end~

Here's the cover:

A little superlative in here, isn't it? Yeah, a little too superlative. Now, I do actually like the framing of this cover. It's a good layout and looks good! It's something different, and I like that. Goofy dialogue on the cover is also very Silver Age, and I like that too. Hmm, I can't be too positive… Let's make fun of Jason Todd's outfit, then. Like, I didn't like some of his New 52 designs, but this… It's just a domino mask and casual motorcycling gear. He doesn't even have that goofy full-face helmet. So which part of this is supposed to be "Red Hood"~?

New year, new recap! The Multiverse Crew finally found Ray Palmer on Earth-51, and Bob has resolved to kill him. Mary Marvel has resolved to stop trusting everyone offering her tutelage, as Eclipso has just turned on her. Jimmy Olsen has resolved to make out with Forager after escaping from Apokalips. Holly Robinson and Harley Quinn have resolved to spy on Athena/Granny Goodness for Hippolyta. Karate Kid and Una have kind of resolved themselves to dying of their mysterious disease. Pied Piper has resolved to leave Trickster's corpse behind. And we've resolved to finish this comic before next New Year's~

We open on Mary Marvel and Eclipso still scrapping it out. The only really interesting thing about this fight is that they're doing it out in space, and it's going as they're falling back through the planet's atmosphere. I guess you can excuse it as a magic fight, but how are they hearing all the taunts and jabs they're slinging at each other~? In space, nobody can hear you banter. Frankly, we don't need to hear it either, it's the same argument they've been having the whole time. Let's move on, shall we?

While they're dropping through the atmosphere, let's drop in on Earth-51. To catch up, now that they've found Ray Palmer and gotten his backstory, Bob the Monitor is set to kill him to prevent the Great Disaster. Barry Allen-51 rushes at him, but Bob simply backhands him and disintegrates him, taunting that this time he won't even be here for the beginning of the next crisis. This line is actually really funny in hindsight, considering they brought the main universe Barry back during Final Crisis. For better and for worse! Mostly worse~

Kyle Rayner tries to lasso Bob, but Bob's just like "Hey, you think the Green Lantern ring is the strongest weapon in the universe? Well, too bad." And he blasts Kyle through the wall. Donna Troy jumps in to punch Bob, while Ray grabs Jean-51 to try and escape into the basement. Remember that reality portal that Ray-51 was working on? Well, our Ray's perfected it if he ever needed an out. Jean, however, is hysterical and barely understands what's going on anymore. And while she's in tears, Donna crashes through the floor.

While the fight with Mary and Eclipso continues, the comic actually does kind of a neat thing. The two ongoing fight scenes become parallels of each other, making them much more interesting to recap. This is even presented with a 2x3 grid of panels, where the ones on the left show the Monitor fight and the right shows Eclipso's fight, with the panels having similar structure. A tornado of power driving the defender down, Bob/Mary standing over their prey and looking down on them, Bob/Mary raising their hands as they glow with power.

This continues onto the next couple pages, though the exact details differ. Bob blasts Jean-51, frying her while Ray cries out in despair. He's now lost his wife twice. Meanwhile, Mary gets in close to Eclipso and cries out "SHAZAM!", blasting Eclipso with lightning and causing them both to revert back. Thankfully, they're both within the atmosphere at this point, so they don't instantly die in space. They are, however, still falling through the air. And there's no magical snowman to hold their hand for this either~

Ray falls to his knees in grief, unwilling to fight back as Bob aims a blast at him. But Ralph Dibny bursts from the wreckage of the house to choke out Bob and make his shot go wide. Bob shrugs off Ralph, disintegrating him in the process. Kyle then yoinks Ray away from the wreckage, while Bob rants that Kyle is the source of why their plan failed the whole time. Jason Todd even gets in a shot, throwing a knife into the back of Bob's neck. And while Bob pulls it out, they make a hasty retreat. "That was pointless and annoying," Bob says, giving a one sentence review of the whole storyline.

Before Bob can go after them, suddenly Solomon and a setup of 16 other Monitors appear, surrounding Bob. Bob questions them, and Solomon replies they're there for the same reason he is: because Ray Palmer is here. Bob is still confused: wasn't this the plan all along? To let the anomalies lead them to Ray, then join together to save the multiverse? Solomon agrees that it's time to join up, putting his hand on Bob's shoulder--and sucking all the lifeforce out of him. The other Monitors are deeply confused, and even Solomon is confused, since he just expected to absorb Bob's consciousness rather than annihilate him.

Meanwhile, what happened with Mary Marvel and Eclipso? Well, through another kind of magic (the kind called "coincidence"), they just happen to fall out of the sky and wash up right on the shores of Themyscira, bringing their plotline alongside Holly Robinson and Harley Quinn's. A group of Amazon soldiers surround her on the beach and threaten her for trespassing. Apparently she burned out her magic somehow taking out Eclipso (who isn't here, either), and thus can't fight back against her new captors. Like I said, convenient!

And the Monitors are right back to infighting, seeing Solomon just vaporise their brother. Solomon protests, but his fears have come true: they've been apart too long to unify again. The rest of them don't believe in the myth of the Prime Monitor anyway, figuring Solomon as just an intended usurper, having started all this with Duela's death. Solomon continues ranting about the "corruption of individuality", accusing the one who started this as the one who really hid Ray Palmer on this Earth. On cue, who should show up to end the comic but the Monarch and his multiversal army~?

Ehh... We've had worse, I guess! The good points of this issue are the kind of well-done cover, and the parallel shots that really raise the fight scene. The rest of it is kind of lame, and this is probably the highest body count so far, not counting that one issue where Superboy-Prime annihilated Earth-15 entirely. It is also now heavily focusing on the Monitors and Monarch, and our major storylines are drifting to the side. Which, speaking of, since the Holly/Harley and Mary Marvel plots are about to link up, I didn't realise Mary was that close to Earth. Like, didn't they leave Apokalips, have a chat, get run over by Monarch's space ship, and then start fighting? When did they get back into Earth's orbit? Must be more of that magic of convenience~

#comics #reviews #Countdown #Countdown to Final Crisis #Taiblog

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infizero · 7 months ago

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pokespe reread: firered & leafgreen chapter - closing thoughts! 🔥🌿

we've come to the end of FRLG! i really like this chapter. its great getting to see these guys again when they're a little older, and seeing silver interact with the kanto dexholders outside of just blue; alongside everything with him and giovanni of course. let's get into it!

first off, i think this is the first arc where there's been such a clear overarching theme. im sure if i really sat down and thought about it i could come up with something for the other chapters, but this is the first one where it's felt so obvious. that theme of course being family - specifically family meeting either for the first time or the first time in a while

we start the story with blue going to finally reunite with her parents, who she hasn't seen since she was five. giovanni and silver are both looking for each other, having been separated when silver was only two. later we find out that deoxys' has red's blood, which connects them biologically and makes deoxys want to seek him out.

and in the end, the day is saved by mew, coming to the rescue of its offspring, which mewtwo appreciates bcuz it's never really gotten to meet mew before. there's also green and professor oak. other than those two, they're all people who are biologically connected and either haven't met or have been separated for a long time.

i just think it's really cool how pervasive this theme is, and how it manifests in different forms! specifically the fact that we get that kind of relationship between humans, between pokemon, and between both. i think thats cool

sort of going off of that, i think the flashback to blue and silver escaping in the beginning is a great opener, even if it takes a while to come back. i actually didnt know until this readthrough that that story was originally its own individually published thing and not technically part of the FRLG chapter!

i think even with that in mind, it serves the purpose of reminding the reader of their backstories, which is specifically important in this arc since both of their origins are explored. it reminds you just how much they've been through and how much reuniting with their families would mean to them, which makes everything that happens with that later in the chapter hit way harder than if we were only reminded of their past in brief mentions in dialogue or whatever.

silver's character in general is really strong in this arc, you really feel for him. and like i mentioned before, it's really cool getting to see him interact with yellow and green! i like both of their dynamics with him, and i think it's especially nice to see how green and silver are on better terms compared to the end of GSC lol

going onto his dad. i really love giovanni in this chapter. i love how he's still a villain but when it comes to silver he's actually like. a good dad? and super dedicated to trying to find him again and protect him etc etc.

also with all the talk of silver becoming the future leader of team rocket, it reminded me of how in RGB giovanni initially offered red a position in team rocket as his right hand man. back then i mentioned how perhaps in a way, he was seeking to fill the void his missing son left behind, and i definitely think that's true even if he wasn't consciously aware of it.

moving on, MEWTWO!! i love seeing mewtwo work alongside red and the others, and i really like its dynamic with deoxys, im happy they got to be friends in the end. i like how mewtwo fights giovanni bcuz it doesnt want another pokemon to suffer at his hands like it did :( i just really like how mewtwo is portrayed in pokespe in general

last note on the more minor characters in this arc before i get to the more major players - yellow finally gets to be an official dexholder!! yay!!

i will say that i wish they still looked more androgynous; yamamoto definitely draws them more overtly femininely in this chapter. but at the very least we got the "for some reason, she chose to hide her identity as a girl" line in their bio which is a massive win for me. i wont elaborate lest i ramble about non-binary yellow for 5000 years again

anyways. RGB BABEYYY

i love them sooooo much, i love how much they care about each other ToT seeing blue and green get to actually fucking talk to each other was very much appreciated. and the scene where blue talks to red thanking him for saving her and reassuring him was sooo sweet.

i already kinda said a lot of this, but i like how green and blue react differently to red's little crisis (we'll get there in a second.) blue's been through a lot of shit, of course she wouldn't look down on red for being scared and respect his decision to just stay out of it.

meanwhile green is more hotheaded and so when red, who never gives up, decides to just give up and not even try, green of course gets frustrated. he doesn't really think red is a coward or anything, he just gets frustrated when red shuts him down without even trying to hear him out.

on the topic of red and green specifically, i LOVEEEEEEEE their dynamic in this chapter. i love how much it's shown that they are best friends and they care about each other. even with them arguing, by the end you're never led to believe they're anything other than best friends. getting to see them smile at each other and hang out (and the implication that they hang out one-on-one a lot? at least enough that yellow just assumed that red would be with green) makes me so so happy

and i loveeee how green is constantly looking out for red in this chapter. there's like 3 separate instances where red can't stand and green supports him, and just in general stuff like green always making sure he's ok......... its really really sweet i love their dynamic in this arc specifically so much

alright and now we get to the big one. ohhhh red i love you you have so many issues

red's crisis in this arc is sooooo gifted kid core. like. he's been this fantastic trainer from such a young age, he became champion, he literally brought down a crime syndicate when he was 11, etc etc.

so of course when he loses to deoxys, he immediately spirals into "oh im a failure im washed up i actually dont deserve to be a dexholder im useless lol". he does not know how to deal with failure.

and the thing is, this definitely stems from his defeat on mt moon. these feelings aren't new, this is definitely something he's thought about before and this experience was just the breaking point. being defeated on mt moon was his first big failure but this one establishes it as a "pattern" in his eyes which is why he freaks out so much.

from the way he apologizes to his pokemon afterwards, it's also very clear to me that he still has a LOT of lingering guilt about what happened on mt moon. this was already shown in GSC when he left pika behind in order to protect him; he clearly felt extremely guilty about pika getting injured on mt moon and didnt want something like that to happen again. so obviously when something like that happens again here, he gets super upset.

speaking of what happened on mt moon, him being so open to working with lorelei feels a littleeee weird to me? but to be fair they are in a tough situation where they really need to work together and red is a very nice purehearted person so. shrugs. idk i can buy that

another thing about that is how easy it is to read red as still having lasting damage from being frozen in this arc. the instance i found particularly notable was when he and green are undergoing ultima's training.

they both go through the same amount of strain, but while green is just winded, red gets exhausted to the point where he can't physically stand anymore and has to be supported by green, which lines up with his issues with standing after being frozen which were explored in GSC.

it's never actually stated that red got fully healed at mt silver technically? iirc. but i feel like thats supposed to be the implication, since sabrina sends him to the extra special spring that's supposed to work more thoroughly and quickly, and we don't see him have any more issues related to that damage - at least that are pointed out in the story itself as stemming from that. but subtle stuff like this to me reads as him still having at least some damage even after mt silver

which also can tie into his whole gifted kid mentality in this arc. (this part is more interpretation, bear with me) it's not just about his battling skills, but also him being physically weaker than he was pre-mt moon. i can imagine that that would be something that would continue to frustrate him. even if he's able to know his limits (sometimes lol), he doesn't like the fact that those limits exist in the first place, yknow? he wishes he could just be perfectly able-bodied like before and the fact that he isn't contributes to the feelings of unworthiness he struggles with during this arc.

i guess in summary, as @/sugarglider-s put it. men will literally have a breakdown on the beach about not being able to beat deoxys and therefore deem themselves worthless instead of getting a mobility aid

on a lighter note. this blank tank top is the best and gayest red has ever looked 10/10 no notes

and that's about all i have to say for FRLG!! hope they're cool with just chilling in that stone for a while, because it'll be a lil bit before we get back to them. it's EMERALD TIME baby!!!

im excited for emerald purely bcuz. i get to see my little guy again. but also because it's probably the arc i remember the least? like i could tell you shit about the other chapters but i have literally no memory of wtf happens in emerald other than. well. emerald's there. so we shall see!!! see you then!!

#serena.txt #pksp reread #frlg reread #WOO. i always underestimate how long it takes me to write these lmao

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hufflepuffwritingstuff2 · 11 months ago

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Challenge accepted. Here we go! (I am so sorry if I know you and you're not listed here, my forgetfulness has skyrocketed and my overall health has kinda deteriorated so it's not that you aren't awesome, it's that my brain is throwing all my important information in the Forget Me Bin)

@jordanstrophe I love your whump series and how you write carewhumpers, they are my favorite type of whumper and I know if I want to read something good, I can always go to you!

@serickswrites I love that you write whump AND Hero x Villain. I've sent you a lot of requests on anon before and you never fail to deliver something awesome!

@just-a-space-rabbit I love your art style- it's so cute, and I have that fanart of Spider-Frost that you made me hanging up on my wall!!

@mj-iza-writer your whump writing is delicious, I especially love your hypnosis fics!

@rainy-writes your writing is so fun to read and even when it's whumpy, it's uplifting!

@epiclamer and @save-the-villainous-cat my favorite Tumblr couple, I had to put you guys together because you're so iconic. You guys write some of the best hero x villain dynamics I've ever seen, and I aspire to write as well as you two do!

@darkbluekies I loooooove your yandere fics so much (Dr. Kry is my favorite! I love some medical malpractice, yum yum!). You offer a wide variety of yandere ocs with different flavors of obsession, so there's always something for everyone!

@wh3nturtlesfly your writing makes me go brrrrr. Your descriptions are so detailed and your dialogue flows smoothly throughout your snippets!

@surplus-of-sarcasm you write angst like no one else can, and your descriptions make it all the whumpier!

@laffy-taffy-creations if anyone on this site has gotten me close to tears with their writing, it's you.

@thepenultimateword you give the best writing advice and you clearly know what you're talking about because your writing is so skillful!

@creweemmaeec11 I LOVE YOU CREWE. The prompts you've been putting out lately have given me so many ideas, and they're super creative! I love that you've created a safe space for me and the rest of the people in the writing server to learn from each other and have a good time!

@thelazywitchphotographer listen I know you aren't a writeblr BUT I had to tag you because you give me so much support in my writing and encourage me to keep going. That, and you're a good friend!!

The same goes for you, @lilywolfgray!! You might not be a writeblr, but you've helped me so many times in my writing process you might as well be!

@deckofaces I love your writing, I love your ocs, and I love you!

@justalittletoocorrupted THE LORE YOU ARE ABLE TO COME UP WITH IS ASTOUNDING. Like, if I ever want to know how to do some solid worldbuilding/tragic backstories, I should come to you!

@shywhumpauthor literally some of the finest whump on this site

@autocrats-in-love heehee, Hero x Villain goes brrrr. If I want a delicious prompt to inspire me, I come to you!

@uvanuva you deserve to be tagged as well! Thank you for being a good friend!!

@blackrosesandwhump I am still chipping away at that Gothic This or That Whump post you made forever ago. I'm having a lot of fun with it and I'm so happy you made it! If anyone knows how to write some gothic whump, it's you!

@but-what-if-its-whumpy your blog is a gold mine of good whump fics and whump art. Whenever I see that you've liked something of mine, I get super happy and excited!

@lumpsbumpsandwhumps ahh, some of the best whump art I've ever seen. I love your art style- it's so clean and proportionate! I especially love the dynamics you put between your ocs. I love your latest hyperfixation with Slasher x Final Girl!

@allthewhumpygoodness you have an uncanny ability to marry whump with comfort and I love to read it!

@whumpasaurus101 not only do you write excellent whump, but you also make ADORABLE crafts!!

@yeehawpim we've never interacted, but your comics are so relatable and help me feel less alone- thank you for what you do!

@whump-on-a-string I LOVE YOUR ART OMGOSH IT GIVES ME WHUMPERFLIES

@whumpbump ah, I simply adore your whump series, you have a gifted writer brain, that's for darn sure!

Uh, I'm running out of energy and my hands are starting to shake, so Imma look into that, but in the meantime, yeah, I love you guys!!

OKAY CHUCKLEFUCKS

Yes, thats what im calling you guys now it's lovingly i promise <3

The past few weeks ive received a few comments here and there about people liking my writing. I just want to give you all a big massive happy thank you! Writing is so special to me, it's something i have a lot of passion for, and the thought that i can write something that means something to people... it makes me so happy you have no idea.

SO! I WANT ALL OF YOU TO GO SHOWER YOUR FAVOURITE AUTHORS/ARTISTS/WHOEVERS WITH PRAISE! GO TELL THAT RANDO ON YOUR DASH WHO YOUVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE YOU LIKED THEIR STORY! GO TELL YOUR BESTIE YOU LIKE THEIR STORY! TELL THAT PERSON YOUVE BEEN NERVOUS ABOUT TELLING YOU LIKE THEIR STORIES!

TAG THEM HERE, SPREAD THE LOVE I WANT YOU ALL TO COME TOGETHER AND BUILD EACH OTHER UP!

I’m gonna add any asks i get for this here

| 1 |

GO TELL PEOPLE YOU LIKE THEIR STORIES/ART/WHATEVER CAUSE I WANT EVERYONE TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT THEIR STUFF CAUSE YOURE ALL SO AMAZING AND TALENTED AND I LOVE YOU ALL!

~ Snail <3

as an incentive, I have a picture of an oc that i was debating on whether to post or not. I worked on it for 13-14 hrs, and in a day if i hear that you guys are out there complementing each other, I will release it.

You have 24 hours.

~ 🐌

#positivity #tag game

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blood-glutch-blues · 7 years ago

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Living for the focus and attention Doc/O'Malley is getting

#ik a few people arent crazy about doc but #ive loved him since the bgc #and we've finally gotten something CLOSE to backstory #i just #my boi deserves this #rvb #rvb 16 #rvb spoilers #rvb16 spoilers #rvb16 #rvbseason16

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haleigh-sloth · 3 years ago

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Dabi using "us" and "our" now is kinda out of character, he never cared about the league and took off from them at every possible opportunity

It seems like we've skipped an whole arc of him being close to them.

I guess now is a good time to look at Touya’s character as a whole now that we have most of what we need.

I honestly feel like everything from here on out with him is gonna be new development based off of what just happened, not necessarily development that explains his mysterious character throughout the entire story—which imo is what everything we’ve seen up until now has been.

So hmm. I don’t agree with your statement, but not for completely contradicting reasons. I don’t think Touya’s arc was ever gonna revolve around the LOV, or be very inclusive of his thoughts toward them until he had a break through with Shouto. Even now I don’t expect his arc to be LOV-centric, but he might put more thought toward them now that he has gotten a chance to cool his head a little. Like we may see “hm Shigaraki is basically a puppet maybe someone should do something”, that kind of thinking.

But with that being said—I don’t think what he’s saying now is OOC or out of left field. I think it’s just development that builds off of and seals in his previous character that he’s been showing us throughout the whole story.

In fact, to me it feels VERY in character for him to give the bare minimum acknowledgement of himself as a part of their group.

Before this chapter he said this in chapter 349:

“That’s all of us.” Yes, that includes the LOV, but it also includes everyone the heroes have overlooked. So by this point, we can gather that Touya is fully voicing that there is a systemic issue that affects more than just him and his family. Voicing it to Shouto—who even now has still yet to voice any concerns about the system they operate under. (We’ll have to see what Hori does with that lopsided mentality between the two of them)

But—there is a contradiction in his words. Because he says it’s systemic, but moments before he says this:

So is it individuals battling out their ideals? Or is it a group of people fighting a system, rather than the people upholding it? For the LOV, it’s both. As a group, they want change, destruction, a new world to live in. But as individuals: Shigaraki wants a hero to acknowledge him and save him, Toga wants acceptance from the greater part of society, and Touya wants his family to see him, and his dad to acknowledge he existed.

So for Touya to lump himself in with everyone else, to me isn’t OOC. It’s him acknowledging that while they all have some sort of common objective (change the present), they all individually want different things—including himself.

Himself especially, because while I’m not in agreement that he doesn’t care about the LOV—I’m not in agreement with the opposite end of the spectrum either, the notion that he views the LOV as his family and prioritizes them in a selfless manner (I don’t really feel that way about any of them if I’m being honest).

You’re right—Touya has always kept himself separate, distanced. And literally no matter what was happening, he always had his goal in mind first:

But even so, the LOV were his home base, in a way. He could always go back if he needed to, and he always did. And throughout their time together he grew some sort of identity as being a part of their group:

The entire point of this chapter was to show that there was some togetherness in their group, Toga held Twice close to her heart. Spinner is concerned about Shigaraki. Touya cared enough collect Twice’s blood, to go after Toga that day, burn her house down full of painful memories.

But that chapter also shows that their togetherness was only temporary—as Shigaraki isn’t himself, Twice is gone, and Touya is giving the responsibility of how the blood is used to Toga, rather than them doing something with it together.

This all makes sense later when we finally get his backstory:

Touya, from day ONE, has always viewed the LOV as temporary. For him at least.

So with everything we have now, I think it’s safe to say that Touya remained a part of the LOV because he knew that he wasn’t all that different from them in terms of circumstances. And he knew that if he wanted to get to the position he wanted in order to carry out his agenda, they were the people who would get him there, because they get it.

But he also knew that his personal goal was different—which involved an ending with his own death—so therefore he stayed distant.

Of course he’s not gonna be planning his funeral, so now there is tons of potential for future development.

I honestly feel like if there is any “LOV power of friendship moment” coming in the future chapters, it’d best be used when Twice is brought into the picture and they can all fight alongside him one last time. As a final farewell for everyone. I think it’d be cool for the LOV to show the kids that they are capable of great things when they have the right support—which at this point I assume they’ll have received the emotional and mental support from the kids that they’ve been desperately wanting, and then have the support of their comrades they’ve gotten familiar with throughout the story. And will really be able to shine when they have everything they need.

Especially Touya—as I’m pretty convinced still that there is more to his power than we know, and once he has his actual FAMILY backing him up, even if only in spirit—he’ll be able to really help save the day at the end.

So all in all I don’t think anything is OOC. I think it’s just the right amount of “yeah, I know those guys” energy lol.

He’s lumping himself in with the rejects of society because in his eyes, his family buried and rejected him. So once he realizes that they didn’t just bury his memory, and that they want him back—he’ll be a little more outwardly focused on them at the end. Because imo it seems like his family consumes his inner world to a disastrous extent, and he can’t really look at anything surrounding him because his family (in his eyes) doesn’t see him, while HE sees THEM. So it’s just a lot of unaddressed pain that he needs help fighting so he can appreciate everyone in his life at the end.

All that to say I think some of Touya’s most exciting development is yet to come. I think we’ll get to know him a lot better pretty soon once he starts working alongside Shouto.

#bnha #boku no hero academia #anonymous #bnha asks #todoroki touya #Todoroki shouto #Dabi #bnha lov #bnha league of villains #bnha meta

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luvdsc · 3 years ago

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Hey Cat!! I hope you're doing well as always ! 💖 AHHHH huhu I closed the form last Sunday since I've collected enough responses dy! (NOOOOOOOO ToT) I got a total of 221 responses at the end of the week, which is 3x the amount I initially needed! :o I'm beyond grateful and appreciative ToT I've cleaned the data and have proceeded to run some data analysis, but I ran into an issue whereby the scores on the subscales are equal (it has never been reported in past studies! :O) so I'm waiting for my supervisor's feedback on how to proceed. Hopefully it's nothing too serious ToT

Hehe finance is interesting indeed! I just started reading a book on finance for young adults (Rich Dad Poor Dad) and I look forward to learning more from the author's tips! The Coursera introductory course has also made financial terms a lil more familiar, even though it's just the basics and it's really helped w my financial literacy 🥺 I can push myself to study but it's also the numbers and calculations I'm worried of cuz I am rly a nong (idiot) when it comes to numbers * - * it runs in the genes I guess AHAHAHAHA my mom and sister aren't good at numbers either keke

Aww I'm glad yr professor made financial accounting enjoyable and a fruitful experience for you! Some lecturers / professors rly just have that spark in them to inspire ppl and I'm blessed to be surrounded by a bunch of em in the psych department!🥺😭 it truly makes a difference and I'm sure we both are living proofs of that!

After debating for a while, I've decided not to take a minor mainly because I'm so tired HAHAHAHAHAHA and I'll just do my own self-studying and exploration whilst working! Go out and explore the world, live life! Whilst ironically still staying in my room because of the COVID-19 situation in our country (cases are abt 20+k every day :') ) My proposal has been finalized and it's been accepted! It's just that some elements of my proposal is also part of my actual report, so I have some guidance to refer to in terms of structure! :3 and yes don't worry! I got plenty (sometimes a lil too much) rest during the sem break whilst remaining productive! Plus, I got to catch up w some friends and had game nights (maybe too much of game nights hehe) and movie nights w my friends which was truly refreshing! Also cuz I might not see a lot of them again after we graduate so we gotta cherish every moment 🥺😭

I'm a freelance graphic designer for my uni's newsletter! Occasionally, they'd ask us to create both the content and design! I'll place the link to my recent work below if you wanna check it out! UwU I'm trying to incorporate the same practices during sem break in my last sem (current sem) too! cuz yes mental health is so so important and I'm just tired of being academically tired you get me? :(

What makes me most trilled abt learning abt psychology is how to apply it in daily life too! I find it so fascinating and awestruck at how relatable and within reach these things are like wow we can be influenced in such ways?? :o can be both good and bad but imma stick w seeing it as the development and evolution of us humans UwU

Also, the vaccine has fixed my sleep schedule HEHE (another perk of getting vaccination :3) I got some rly good rest and managed to reset my usual sleeping time, thank you science ToT oooo I see I see, we've had cases of nurses injecting empty syringes hence the recording :( but GHIOGHWEOGIOHW I could never do that, I can feel the liquid entering me as it is so that's good enough ToT (* plays Love Talk * I can feel it coming)

OMG YOUR ART PIECES ARE SO BEAUTIFUL, ADORABLE AND ELEGANT! 💖🥺🥰 it must've required a lot of hard-work and effort AHHH thankiew for showing me yr work!! it's truly unique in its own manner despite it's simplicity UwU is there a reason or backstory to yr chosen theme and objects? :3

I just Googled Somi Somi and omg that's such an UwU ice cream AHHHH 💖🥺😭 ice cream is my fav food of all time and it looks like an ice cream haven omg imagine eating it after a loooong hard day's of work ToT and OMG THE SATISFACTION OF EATING THAI MILK TEA ICE CREAM ON A HOT DAY YASSS 😋🤤 hehe if you get the chance to try milk & biscoff, do try it! It's amazing !😍 and ooo i haven't tried alcoholic ice cream before but I will one day!! :3 my alcohol tolerance is rly low though, will I get tipsy over alcoholic ice cream? We shall see UwU (i can only drink half a bottle of apple cider before my face gets red and I start getting a lil tipsy + headache)

and lovie....knowing yr school schedule now...OURS IS DEFINTELY BRUTAL OMG a 3 month long sem break huhu that's only the total amount of sem breaks we get in a year ToT i thought uni was hard but not that hard ToT

Always glad and honored to have you onboard! and AHAHAHAH the contractions about to start soon 👀 I enjoy talking to you huhu you're such a sweet and supportive person 💖🥺🥰😙 huhu for my period cramps, I've been having them since I was 12 ToT my doctor prescribed me some panadols but sometimes I can't even swallow them cuz I'd puke them out ToT I've settled w heatpacks to reduce my reliance on medicine, but I finally got some upgraded and safe to eat medicine from my gynae! She said it's fine to take it every month to keep my womb healthy and apparently my ms. lil uterus is suffering from inflammation, hence the super crazy bedridden cramps :( the upgraded medicine worked for a while, but after time it kinda didn't help either :/ but I realised that exercise rly does wonders to reduce the cramp too (gynae also recommended exercising) so i take walks and do my back stretches more frequently now! my period in the previous months (2 months ago) have been almost painless and bearable, it's so weird not seeing my bedridden ._. when I was in high school, there would always be a day in every month in which I don't attend classes, and that's solely because of my cramps. It just isn't worth suffering in school, plus we don't have a sick room :/ I hope the pain continues to subside! ToT

And ayy internship is also working experience, yr advice would be of great help to me regardless! 🥺 oh yes, I always remind myself that interviews are similar to the speaking test I took for my Cambridge English exams! That kinda help calm my nerves down a lil, but w nerves comes bigger smiles, so I guess it takes on a rather practical form of coping mechanism (sublimation) AHAHAHAHA

WAAAA WHAT A QUEEN you got an offer from every interview?? I aspire to be like you! 💖🥺🥰 huhu skill wise I believe I have lots to prepare esp in terms of case studies, and I perform rly poorly on certain assessments (*ehem * esp those concerning numbers) so I took the chance to study a lil during sem break too ToT but noted on that! I will work on that too and try to maintain that me element in interviews and overall just be myself keke

That's all from me for now! Imma wait for my supervisor's feedback and journey on w my last semester. Bon voyage! Link to my recent work: https://www.instagram.com/p/CTBqGzjr6sN/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Other works: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPpv-IyM7Gi/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CL55EG-MbL2/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

hi hello honey bee !!! 💓 omg i'm so sorry for the belated response, i finally got on my laptop 😭 i'm gonna put my response under the cut since it got a little long 🤧

omg 221 responses !!!!! that's so many 🙀 congratulations aaaaa it's amazing that you were able to get 3x the data you needed !!! was it difficult to run data analysis? were you able to solve the issue with the equal scores on the subscales? i hope it didn't create too much additional work for you ):

omg yes finance is really interesting! i enjoyed the classes i took for it :') how is rich dad poor dad? did you learn a lot from it? i know it was a book my prof recommended, but i never got around to reading it 😶 did you learn any helpful tips? and ooo i'll have to look into coursera! yeah, there's quite a lot of terms for finance, and it can be a little intimidating paired with all the math formulas and such, but it's pretty useful imo! how are your financial studies going so far? 💕 omg nong is such a cute word?? i would never think it meant idiot asdkfhlkajsdf omg my whole family is good at numbers and really like math, but i didn't like it 😭 my mom made me study it a lot everyday though rip are the financial calculations getting easier for you as you practice more hopefully?

yessss omg i absolutely agree with this!!!! like you can just feel when a professor loves to teach and is genuinely so excited to talk about their subject, and it just makes the most boring horrible subject into something you learn to enjoy and hate less :') and i'm really happy to hear you have tons of professors like that in the psych department 🥺💗

that's great to hear!!!! 🌷🌷 i'm glad that you're prioritizing yourself and your health, which is so much more important than taking on a minor. what fun subjects have you decided to explore and self study so far? 💞 oh my gosh, the rising cases are so high?? i hope it's gotten better there for you ): are you able to go outside yet?

big congratulations on your proposal being finalized and accepted, lovebug !!!! 🥳🥳 i'm very proud of you and hoping one day i can read your published studies in a scientific journal :') aaaa i'm so glad to hear that you got to rest and enjoy your time with your friends!! i definitely feel that omg i regret all the times i skipped out on movie nights or game nights with my friends because now we're all scattered across the country and the only way we can have them again is over zoom calls 🤧

I SAW YOUR DESIGNS AND THEY'RE GORGEOUS OMG I LOVE THEM SO MUCH !!!! 💖 I'M IN AWE AAAA IF PSYCH DOESN'T WORK OUT, I HOPE YOU BECOME A GRAPHIC DESIGNER 🤩🤩💖 and yes i totally get it ): i really felt the academic burn out when i was in college and it was really difficult at times 🤧 but i hope it's going better for you nowadays, sweetpea 💝💝

omg yeah i absolutely agree !!!! whenever i read about psychology, i keep it in the back of my mind and then when i see something irl that relates to it, i'm like :O amazing. it's so cool to learn about different psych tricks too and see how it works when you test them out yourself and whatnot. and it's really crazy to see how the human brain is so easily influenced at times ??? it truly is an amazing subject !!!

ah what a great side benefit of the vaccine - a better sleep schedule 🤩 i'm happy to hear that your schedule has been fixed 💘 and omg what ??? they're injecting empty syringes wth ????? 😭 that's absolutely horrible, are they getting sued?? lmaooooo that love talk reference askdfhlaksjd

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR KIND COMPLIMENTS 😭😭💗💗 there were many late hours spent in the art studio to finish them, but i'm really happy with the end products :') i thought light bulbs are an interesting subject to do, and my prof said that cutting out circular objects or sculpting them is the most difficult since they're made up curves and not straight lines and i was like ok bet i'm gonna do it aND I'M SO GLAD I DID BECAUSE I REALLY LIKE THEM 🥺 and i love honey bees !!! that's why i decided to paint them and we were supposed to paint them in a combined style of two artists so i tried monet's impressionist style with the short brush strokes and pop art triptych style like marjorie strider 💕

somi somi is sooo good and i just had it again a couple weeks ago :') omg ice cream is your favorite food? :o and YES ice cream is so satisfying after a long day of hard work, like it's such a nice reward to look forward to at the end of day ✨ aaaaa i have to try thai milk tea ice cream one day now !!!!! it sounds amazing 🤩 and YES i must look for places that sell milk & biscoff ice cream !! i have milk ice cream from somi somi, but i need to try to combined flavors 💘 i don't think you'll get tipsy over it !!! it's a really faint taste of alcohol, like i didn't even notice it at first, and i don't think they put very much of it in there! aksljdfhals omg you're a lightweight :o at least that means you save money on alcohol LOL i need like nine shots to get drunk 🤧

your school is too hard 😭 you need more than just 3 months of break !!! 😡 we get a week off for thanksgiving in fall semester and a week off for spring break in spring semester too and then the month long winter break and three month summer break. and we have the one day holidays off too like labor day, memorial day, etc. i can't believe they give you so little time off after working so hard???

asdfhlkajshdlksja loool are the contractions over yet? has it been born? what's the current status, doctor? 👀 i really enjoy talking to you too !!! i'm very sorry for the late responses, work is really taking over all of my time, and i never have enough time to get on my laptop to reply to my asks 😭 and thank you for saying such kind things about me 🥺🥺💝 oh my gosh, i'm so sorry to hear that you have such terrible cramps 😭 i can't even imagine going through that - mine are nowhere near as horrible 😖 do the heatpads help a lot? i'm relieved to hear that you were prescribed better medication though! but yeah, your body does eventually get used to the medication and you have to continue taking stronger meds for it to work, but that's not a very healthy solution /: but i'm really glad to hear that exercise has been helping out a lot!! 💖 hurray for almost painless and bearable periods 🥳 i'm sorry to hear that you had to go through that in high school ): that sounds absolutely horrible 😭 periods are just awful, but it's like i'm grateful that i have my period because that means i'm not pregnant, but also please go away aslkhdfaklsj

omg what was the speaking test for the cambridge english exams like? :o it sounds so formal and a lil intimidating askdjfhalsd do you know of any psych tricks that can possibly help calm your nerves? :')

aaaa yes i did !! i was really surprised that i got an offer from them all because at the time, i was not in the right major and i think i was one of the most underqualified applicants 🤧 one person who interviewed me asked why i withdrew from my engr physics class and i explained it in a kinda funny way but in my head, i was like "oof i'm not gonna get this offer anymore" but then he laughed at my response and told me about how his prof told him he should drop a guitar class he was taking because he was doing very poorly and we bonded over that aklsjdhfkals omg how do interviews for psych jobs go? do you have to discuss a lot of case studies? do they give you a list of possible case studies they'll ask about? :o what sort of assessments do you have to do? good luck on all of your interviews, honey bee 💛 i'm rooting for you, you're gonna do amazing !!!! 💘

omg what did your supervisor say about your case study? and how is your last semester going? are you almost done now? 🌸 (also how have you been? what have you been up to? thank you for taking the time to leave such detailed messages for me, i'm really excited to see all the fun updates in your life, lovebug 🌷🌷)

#asks #jaeismytamtation

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sho-minamimoto · 3 years ago

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ryuunosuke thoughts (dgs1+2 spoilers)

On one hand I do genuinely love that ryuu is literally just some guy. like hes the most Just Some Guy aa protag that we've ever gotten, even moreso than phoenix. He doesn't have a backstory that is tied majorly to the plot in any way, which apollo, athena, edgeworth, and even phoenix to an extent all do. As a result ryuu has absolutely NO personal stakes in any of the cases beyond the first two, and is just carrying on what he believes to be his best friends will until he's confronted with the fact that he's been alive all this time. I think it's neat that he doesn't have super close ties to the finale of the game like other aa games both bc its funny and also it works super well, bc of course stronghart would let his guard down against ryuu bc hes Just Some Guy.

At the same time though I wish we got at least some glimpses of a ryuu backstory. Not that he needed one, and definitely it wouldn't have had to be tied with the main plot, but it just would've been neat y'know? Have something that contextualizes not his place in the grand scheme of things, but his actions and why he is the way that he is, if that makes sense. In particular I want to know why he seems to get overly attached to the people he meets fairly quickly to a Concerning degree. Like he knew Kazuma for only a YEAR and he was 100% on board with being a stowaway to hang out with him in London (which is high comedy on its own) and idealized him a ton even before his supposed death. And with Barok too, that guy's been nothing but rude to Ryuu the whole time they've known each other, but Ryuu feels compelled nonetheless to advocate for him when he gets accused of Gregson's murder and even says he'd be honoured to do so.

I've seen headcanons online saying that Ryuu is an only child with a strained relationship with his parents and is kind of clingly as a result which is an interesting take (and has slight canon backing by that one pic of Ryuu in the art book where he's at a festival as a child all alone with no parental supervision whatsoever while kazuma is passing by him + holding hands with his father), and imo i think if they included That in dgs ad a backstory detail for Ryuu even that would have been enough to latch onto imo. Like it doesn't need to be major and doesn't need to be directly explained as to how it ties into his characterization. And if it were up to me I'd place them as fluff text hidden in the game that doesn't need to be found, it'd just be neat and rewarding if you did, bc as I said he doesn't Need backstory but it'd be a treat to have.

#lentil box #this was longer than i thought itd be

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averyscarlet-blog · 5 years ago

Text

Noise’s Story

Prisoned

Warning: Slightly R-18

Theme(s): Tragedy, Revenge, Injustice

Type: Original Story

Featured Original Character(s): Noise, Sound, Ayane, Rei, Percy, Xavier, Ulric

Other Character(s): Zephyr

Inspiration: N/A

Summary: The backstory of the boy who has chosen to lazily live his days in Avarus. One day, while taking one of his annual naps, he began to recall his past. Something he rarely does or allows himself to do. But after much thought, he allowed himself to relive his past by lulling himself back to sleep. It was about time he learns how to accept his past; how else is he gonna sleep in peace?

When I was a kid, the only sky I've ever known was the giant cage thar surrounded the city. We're all told that it's supposedly meant to protect us from the outside world, to make sure we're not exposed to the toxic air outside, but I knew better, and so did my best friend, Zephyr. We were the only ones that saw past the lies and felt the urge to venture the world beyond our prison. Surprisingly, my dad encouraged me to pursue my dream, and I think I understand why he was so eager to help whenever he can. He was a man trapped in a world of his own, filled with nothing but pleasure, a prison that he can never leave.

After gaining access to the library and learned the origins of my real name, it somehow suits me. I'm the son of a sinner, it makes sense I'd be named after someone like that. He wants me to do something he's too late in doing, breaking free from my prison. That's what I aimed to do, and after much talking, so did Zephyr. We listed various methods on our escape; the first being an underground tunnel. Only miners were allowed so one of us thought of working there then secretly steal one. We failed miserably after trying to pass off as teens. Our second idea was to climb over the wall, which was easy since no one ever guards it. But when we got to the top, we had completely forgotten about the cage and ended up wasting our time by trying to bash out way out.

We ended up getting arrested after making too much noise. After my second trip to the library, I learned of the existence of boats. No one could reach us if we sail away! Then I realized we couldn't build one because; 1) wood no longer exists and 2) the irrigation dam's opening is so small that I'm sure we'd get stuck. Then I found it, the solution that'd get us out. An airplane. We decided to worry about how we'd get through the cage later, this was the best plan we could ever come up with. So the next four years, we spent most of our days building, working tirelessly to gather the necessary materials and use whatever blueprints we could steal for assembling the necessary parts.

The only thing we did during our rest days was either talk about the outside world or sit in silence and relax. To my surprise, Zephyr told me that there were people out there waiting for him. I didn't believe him because that was impossible, we've known each other our whole lives. How could he know if there's any living thing outside if he's been stuck here like me? He would have told me if he knew a way out. Right?

I caugjt him writing several times, but I never asked who they were for. I just figured he was practicing how to write since his family wasn't given the same privaledges as mine. Learning is a blessing, hence why I taught him when I could. That was how our days went, then it happened. My dad got in too deep and ended up sleeping in a tub filled with his own blood. I ended up becoming trapped like him, trapped in my feelings of revenge. Zephyr tried to stop me but it was too late. I joined the Secret Police and used up another four years of my life, but instead of using them to free myself of this city, I wasted it on making sure I remain trapped. Zephyr never spoke to me again, and by the time I did arrest the people that killed my dad, I was too far deep to leave.

Like father, like son.

Then one day, word got out that someone was attempting to flee the city. My co-workers brushed it off as nothing as they knew it was impossible to get out. Even if they did, who knows what awaits outside the walls. All that talk about radiation from the old war and the toxic air still sounded like nonsense to me, but anyone would believe anything they hear as long as they remain living in fear. If that person does attempt to make his escape, I know he'll fail, and his failure will cement the already see rooted fear in everyone's hearts. And I was going to ignore it as well, till I heard the name of who was the fool that publicly declared his departure. He was always an idiot, but I didn't think he was stupid enough to let the whole city know he was making his grand escape.

I don't know what drove me to meet him after so long. I was ust aimlessly patrolling around the farther regions if the city and found myself at our old hang out. It was an abandoned construction site, a passion project dedicated to our beloved dictator's 66th wife till she died of unknown circumstances. When I was about to push aside the oldy moldy door curtain, I heard the familiar sound of a roaring engine from the upper floor. I ran in only to find myself tackled and pinned to the ground by Zephyr.

"Heh... About time you got here!" he cackled.

Struggling, I demanded, "Get off me!"

"Sorry! No can do!"

"Then tell me, why are you leaving the city now!?"

For the first time, the brilliant light I've seen in his pale blue eyes disappeared. He stared down at me with an unfamiliar cold gaze.

"I told you... I have people waiting for me outside," he spoke in a monotone voice. "I thought about it for a long time. I was supposed to join them 8 years ago, but then I met you."

He briefly gets off my back, grabs my shoulders then proceeds to flip me over. I hitch a breath when we finally made direct eye contact. When I first met him, he was a scrawny kid that didn't know when to stop smiling. Before we went out seperate ways, he had grown but still wore that stupid grin. Now, four years later, his smile remained but gave off a different vibe. It felt like he was trying to control his emotions, forcing himself to smile. He sits back on my abdomen before I could sit up, then pins my arms above my head when I tried to reach him. His sudden strength surprised me.

When I tried to fight back, he tightens his grip hard enough to potentially crack my wrist bones.

"All I've ever thought about was taking you to the outside world, but I couldn't because you're not like me." Zephyr bowed his head so his long bangs concealed his eyes. He tried to sound like his usual cheerful self, but it came off as forced as he spoke. "Zephyr's not even my real name... I only picked it because it's cool. That's all I wanted to be for you, but you always beat me to the punch. Even after you dropped our plans, abandoned me so you can join those stiffs..."

A tear drop falls on my cheek. I felt helpless as I watched my best friend began to cry. To my further surprised, he reaches for something on his eyes and removes... A contact lense. The blue that I was so familiar with was replaced with a spine chilling yellow color. It almost appeared as it they were glowing. He lightly punches my chest before I could think of a response.

His voice cracks as he yelled, "I still waited! I thought that once you got your revenge over with, you'd come back so I can take you out of here!"

I gasp when he lets go of my wrists and roughly grabs the jacket of my uniform, lifting me to bring out faces closer.

"But I'm done. I've waited long enough. I'm getting out of here," he said coldly. "You were my only reason for staying in this shit hole. Sound was right, I shouldn't have waited for someone that second guesses themselves."

'Sound...?' I thought.

Before I could as what he meant, Zephyr stands up and movea several steps back. Using the sleeve of his soot covered shirt, he wipes his tears away then stares back at me once more. This time his eyes blazed with determination.

"I'm glad you dropped by though." He bitterly smiles. Zephyr croaks, "Least I know you still thought of me to the end. I just needed to see your face to make sure I'm doing the right thing."

"Wait, Zephyr-"

Desperate for answers and fearing the meaning behind his words, I shot up on my feet and ran towards him. My heart was beating against my ears as the gap between up quickly began to disappear. But just as the tip of my finger was close to touching him, my entire went numb the second he vanished from my line of sight. I could hardly comprehend what just happened. He was there, standing and talking to me. There was no way that was a hallucination, the bruises on my wrists are proof enough that he was real. I don't know what brought me to do it, but my eyes automatically fall to the ground.

For a split second, I thought I saw some sort of ripple effect on the cement floor. I thought of reaching just to check if I was seeing things, but before I could, a small pebble was thrown at the side of my head. I automatically turn in the direction it came from and saw Zephyr, leaning against the doorway to the stairwell with his arms crossed like nothing happened. He turns his head and smirks, a familiar playful glint appearing in his eyes.

"So, what are you gonna do now, Mr. Policeman?"

Anger began to boil. Without an ounce of hesitation, I drew my gun and charged. A cunning smiling crosses his lips as he gravitated away from entryway , practically gliding into the stairwell as he disappeared from my line of sight. Ticked at his continual resistance, I replaced the rounds with one filled with rubber bullets and dashed after him. Punching the door to open it wider, my head snaps up and saw his hand sliding over the hand rail on the third floor. Tightening my grip around the shaft of the handle, I held my pistol up and ran after him. The building was about 15 floors up, so there's a slim chance I'd be able to reach him.

When I checked to see how far he's gotten, I saw that his pace had remained unchanged. Mine, however, was starting to decrease as the previous momentum I had earlier was being weighed down by Earth's gravity. His footsteps began to echo farther the higher we go. My chest was beginning to feel heavy, it felt like I was suffocating as my lungs began to greedily take in as much as air possible. Stopping, I attempted to shoot him while a part of him was within my line of sight. The problem was, when I attempted to aim, sweat was dripping passed my brow and entering my eyes, blurring my already hazy vision. I tried to control my breathing, but after climbing up 10 flights of stairs while wearing thick layers of clothing, I couldn't gain at least a few seconds to recover.

Realizing Zephyr was going to escape at the rate I was going, I discarded some articles of police uniform as I resume running. First I peeled off my white gloves by bitting them off that's prevented me from properly making any physical contact, then I shed off the black trench coat which felt heavy on my shoulders since I put it on. And lastly, yanked off my black tie and threw my hat off. With the weight lifted, I found myself moving at a faster pace, almost reaching the same floor as Zephyr before he abruptly turns and bashes he way through the door of the top floor. I follow after a minute later.

The top floor was just an unfinished area with no walls on all four corners, leaving only a poorly made ceiling and sever unfinished cement columns and beams. On the other side of the room was Zephyr, whose back was turned as he stared at aircraft in front of him. An aerobatic plane.

Stunned to see an actual one in person, I was going to step forward in awe only to do the opposite when Zephyr partially moves to face me.

"Beautiful, isn't it? I made it after the exact sketches you made when we were kids."

"Don't fuck with me! You know the moment you declared your escape attempt to the city you'd became the government's no. 1 on their most wanted list!"

When I raised my gun at him, for a split second, I saw a flicker of surprise in his eyes, which was briefly replaced with sadness then anger.

"So... We really are at the point of no return..." He mumbled, frowning as he closes his eyes and turns away.

Clicking my teeth, I recite the same words since I became an SP, "Zephyr Andrealphus! You are under arrest for conspiracy against the government and the moral it has instilled in the people! I want you to come with me and receive judgement from the aeolipyle gods!" I adjusted my grip and held my pistol with both hands. "If you're lucky, you'll have a chance to receive penance for your crimes."

"And what crimes am I paying for exactly? I just said I was leaving."

"I just told you." I glare at him. "You're under arrest for conspiracy. You know that leaving means death. They reason these rules exist is to prevent any idiot for inspiring others to make the same suicide attempt."

"Aren't you hearing yourself? You know that if these people remain trapped in this giant bird cage, they're as good as dead! You know that supplies are running out, the population is at the point of overflowing. I don't give a damn about these people, but if you think my departure becomes a catalyst of rebellion, then so be it! At least something good will come out of it."

My mouth forms a tight line as I steady my aim. "Back away from the aircraft Zephyr, I'm not repeating myself."

"You mentioned about the people's moral yet you don't realize just how brainwashed you people are," he scoffs, completely ignoring my warnings. "At least I was able to give someone like you a head start."

When he spun around, I barely caught sight of it as the blade of his dagger glistened in the afternoon sun's light. Unable to dodge, all I could do is jerk my head away as it flew past me. In the process, it painfully sliced through a portion of my outer ear. We stare at one another with mirrored shcoked looks before I drop my arm and clutch my ear. Shutting my eyes, I howl in pain as a sharp throbbing sensation radiates on around my ear. I felt some blood slip between my fingers, but I refuse to pull it away to check how much blood I'm losing. I've been inflicted with several forms of pain, but it's not a sensation you can every get used to.

"Shit! I didn't mean- You weren't supposed to-"

I no longer wanted to listen to his excuses. Filled with rage, I threw my arm up and began to fire. I'm not going to act like a civil police anymore, Zephyr lost the chance to end things peacefully when he took the initiative in attack. I fired several without an ounce of hesitation. Most of them ricocheted off the metal surface of the plane, but Zephyr remained unnerved even after one hits him on the shoulder. Seeing him reach for something from behind, I dove behind the closest column and waited for his next move.

I stuck my gun out and blindly shot several times. Pulling back, I waited until I heard the sound of clanging metal. Confused, I was about to take a peak until a dagger comes flying across my field of vision. It both knocked out the pistol from my hand and cut off some locks of my black hair. When I attempted to reach for it, another dagger curves and knocks it away.

"Sorry!" I could barely hear his voice as it was masked by the aircraft's roar engine. "But this is the last time you're gonna see Zephyr!" I got up to my feet and move around before a blast of wind strikes my body, forcing me to lift my arm to shield my face. From what I could make out, his wild red-orange hair danced with the wind as, behind his oversized goggles, his eyes purely focused on the sky ahead. "If by some miracle I do return, you'll have to call me Noise!"

Recalling my spare pistol, I took it out from my back pocket and aimed. At the last second, I realized that live rounds were still inside, but it was too late, my finger had already pulled the trigger. To my relief, his plane jolted back, causing it to miss. But it did hit something else, the engine. I didn't even have the chance to even call out his name as it was already running across the room. I helplessly reach out my arm as it began to lift off, moving completely out of my reach. Running towards the edge, I watch as it drops downwards then, by some miracle, began to raise itself above the city.

For a moment, I had almost forgotten about the bullet hole I made on the engine. I was in a daze. I wasn't upset anymore, I only felt a surge of pride as I watch the plane fly above the city. It was only when I saw a trail of smoke I began to panic.

"ZEPHYR!"

The plane slams against the walls of the cage and successfully bursts its way out. However, combined with the sudden brute trauma to the body and the possible damage I inflicted internally, I could only pray it for another miracle for him to make it.

But he didn't.

To my horror, and for whoever was watching from below, it exploded a minute after leaving a hole in the cage. I drop to my knees and watched as various parts of it began to fall. When I caught sight of his goggles, I dropped my gun, went on all fours and wailed in agony. I don't recall how long I had been there. The world simply disappeared, and so did my body. All I felt was remorse and shame. If it were raining today, I'm certain my tears would blend in.

From what I could recall, I was found by my subordinates, who escorted me out of the building and back to HQ. Everything was a blur, and by the time I could comprehend my surroundings, I was told by my superior I was given a temporary discharge from my duties for a week. Instead of receiving condolences, I was praised for my heroic actions, I had proven to the public why they should never attempt the same mistake as Zephyr. I wanted to shout, scream at them to take back the things they were saying about him. Then I realized something. Around a few hours ago, I viewed him the same way, a thoughtless idiot that was willing to risk his life to achieve his false form of freedom. I'm no better than them. I didn't approach him as his friend; I approached him as a cold hearted officer.

For the next few days, I drowned myself in sex, drugs, and any concocted alcoholic beverage I could get my hands on.

I wasted away just like my dad. At that point in my life, I don't even know if my dad would be proud or disappointed in me. Even after I was free to return to work, it was obvious even to them that I wasn't ready. I don't think I'll ever be. On the day I was sober, I climbed up the wall and visited the portion of the cage that still had a hole in it. No one has bothered fixing it up. The engineers feared that they lack the 'resources' and re-breathers to fix it up. I think that was just their excuse to remain as far from the cage as possible.

We were told radiation is still present on the outside, and the air is toxic because of that. The cage simply filters the air so we can breath. But standing in front of it, staring at the outside world for the first time, I knew that it was false. The only reason I'm even allowed out here is because of my badge, and that told me many things. The people I work with knew, if not, why else would an officer such as myself be given a pass at getting a closer look at the cage. Especially one, such as myself, without a re-breather.

"This world... The people that resides in it... Is just filled with lies..."

In contrast to the dull greyness which covers the city; the world outside was colorful and vibrant. I've heard of green grass, but I never knew they could come in a different color. Orange. Just starting at it reminded me of him, the one that deserved to see this. I'm not even sure how much of the outside world he saw before he died.

"You sure you should be wasting you life away life this?" A hallucination of my kid self appeared next to me. He gazes up at me curiously. "He risked everything to get to this point. He wanted you to live a free life."

"I doubt it..." I scoffed. "You heard the way he was talking. He hates us. He waited for someone willing to trapped themselves in their own feelings of revenge. He should have left. If he was more than capable before he met me, he should have done so. He'd be alive and outside, not dead and in ashes."

"Zephyr didn't want to leave without you," my younger self argued. "He said so himself! The only reason he decided to leave was because of what you said!"

Ticked off, I growled, "I only said that because it was true. I needed to do get my revenge, he was just going to get hurt if he hanged around me. He was free to do whatever the hell he wanted."

"You never told him he was a nuisance," my kid self pointed out with a sly grin.

"Yeah, I... Never did," I slowly said as the realization dawned on me.

"He always knew, that Zephyr, that you never meant to hurt him. He's used to your blunt honesty, but it's the way you said it that inflicted some pain. Though, he never hated you. He knew, just like your time with building the plane, you'll put all your effort in arresting and killing Dad's killers. You always dedicated your time and effort on one thing at a time."

"But... That was two years ago,. Why didn't he-"

Then it hit me.

"He wanted me to focus on something else," I said as the realization dawned on me. "He wanted me to put an effort into living. He just had to give me a head start."

I look to my side and found the hallucination had disappeared.

Rather, in its place were his goggles. Hesitant at first, I crouch and slowly reached for them. Tentatively picking it up, I lift it and stared straight at my reflection, or more specifically, my eyes. It's the first I've bother looking at myself on any reflective surface in a long time. Dark bags were under my eyes, my face deathly pale due to the lack of proper sunlight. My cheeks bones were even starting to show from not eating anything properly. My once saturated orange-red eyes now appeared red, almost void of emotion. For a split second, I thought I saw a reflection of Zephyr in my place, staring back at me with the same sad eyes.

"I'll live my life... That's the only effort I'll ever put into," I declare as I stood up, tightly clutching onto the goggles. "I'm never going to try too hard in doing anything ever again. Every time I do, someone suffers for it." I turn to completely face the opening.

"First my dad, who I could have protected if I hadn't put all my time and effort in making that plane. Then you, Zephyr, who I should have left with rather than putting an effort in finding my dad's killers as a policeman. Never again. The only thing I'll do is live, even if that means I have to be a lazy ass. I'll do whatever it takes to live on."

My life in this city no longer matters. If I want to live, I have to get out of here. That's what Zephyr wanted, and I'll do it. Taking several steps back, I glance over at the city one last time before shifting my attention to the world outside. With a deep breath through my nostrils, I huffed a breath as I made a dash for it. If I'm to die, then so be it. He died on the outside, so why not me?

I nearly tripped at the start due to my lack of leg training in a while, but I was able to gain and maintain the momentum. Once the ledge was near, I lift myself off the ground and made my leap of faith out of the cage. I was immediately blinded by the sun's light, so when my eyes readjusted, I found the grass quickly approaching me. Panicking, I raise my arms to protect my face and curled my legs to curl myself into a ball. The collision was painful upon impact, but the grassed see enough to act as a cushion. Gravity continued to pull my body as I found myself rolling away from my initial landing point. When I finally stopped rolling, I was on my back, my limbs sprawled on the ground and aching.

"Ow...." was all I could utter.

That was a definite leap of faith. A painful one, but luckily I survived that. Just as I was about to sit up, I heard some crunching sounds. Footsteps?

I recalled Zephyr's words, "I told you..." I tilt my head and found myself staring at a small group of people, teens not much older than I. "I have people waiting for me on the outside."

In the back was a girl with medium tanned skin and dark drown hair tied in a hight pony tail, wearing only a short t-shirt, Jean pants and leather boots. Beside her was a boy much taller than me, with pale skin and pale blue hair (also tied in a ponytail). He wore some sort of uniform, much lighter than my former police attire. Around his hips was a broadsword belt with a sword hanging from his hips.

Not too far in front of them was little boy. His hair, just as surprising as sword boy, was white but with some purple streaks. Most of his attire consists of purple and appeared a bit outlandish and, slightly, gothic. A little inappropriate for someone his age. On his arm was an arm warmer, covering most it. Wrapped around his arm was a long, silver chain. The next was some sort of dog. A really big dog, one that needs a hair cut. Standing next to it was a girl with... Animal ears and a tail?

I had to shake my head several times to comprehend what I was seeing. Concerned, she leans forwards with one hand on her knees and the other holding back her long dark brown hair. I could only confirm it was real when one tilt to the side, further expressing her emotions. They all, aside from the dog, had one thing in common. Yellow eyes.

'Are these the people Zephyr was talking about...?' I wondered as I stare at them.

I only tore my eyes away from them when a figure approaches and stands in front of me, providing me some shade from the sun. It was another boy, but unlike the others, I was unable to see his face as he wore a strange looking fox mask. Although I couldn't see his eyes, I could tell he was staring down at me. He wore a black short sleeved hoodie, a grey shirt with a weird red print on the chest, cargo pants, and combat boots. He just stares at me. This causes me to uncomfortably shift. As if realizing I sensed his eyes, he steps forward and extends a hand.

I refuse to take it and continued to apprehensively glare at him.

"Are you the new Noise?" the fox girl spoke up.

"If by some miracle I do return, you'll have to call me Noise!"

"We were told to meet him here. He didn't tell us what he looks like, but he said look for a part of him that almost blends well with the field."

I let out a small gasp. His hair. That's what he was referring to. So he was telling the truth, he isn't like me. That explains that thing he did when I ran towards him.

"So... Are you?" The fox girl tilts her head.

The only part of me that has a similar color to the grass are my eyes. I hesitated, but before I could answer, the boy with the fox mask mask something out from his bag and takes out a notebook and a pen. After writing a bit, he croached a free feet my head and held his notebook over my face.

'Do you want to see the world he wanted to show you?'

I held my breath. Did he know? Did he know that he's dead and that I'm not him? I never answered the his question, but a part of me wanted to say 'yes'. Noting my stunned silence, he turns the notebook back to him, turns the page and writes something else. When finished, he holds it up again

'Forget your old life and join me. I'll show you the things he wanted you to see.'

For second, I felt a strange feeling burning in my chest. It wasn't painful. It felt pleasant. Without thinking, I reached out to him. Somehow, I knew he was smiling behind his mask as he gently takes my hand and helps pull me to my feet. Because I used so much energy early, my legs gave out after taking my first step. The masked boy catches me in a heartbeat.

"Hehehe! Geez Sound, you're acting oddly charming today," the fox girl giggles.

My eyes widen at the familiar name.

"Sound...?" I weakly utter.

The little boy cocks a brow and questions, "Your pen pal, remember? He's been keeping an eye on you for years. Don't tell me this fox freak forgot to mention how he looks."

"No, I..." I trail off, unable to think of a proper excuse.

The boy with the blue hair interjects, "Xavier, enough. I'm certain he's tired after working tirelessly in making his escape. He's certainly not worse for wear."

The boy, Xavier, frowns and glares to the side, muttering what I can assume was an apology. Sound, while making sure I kept leaning against his body for support, writes in his notebook then holds it to the others. I can only guess he's mute since he hasn't said a word since we met. But why the mask? Rather than looking into it too much, I just gave up trying to understand him altogether. It already feels like I'm in a circus just being with them.

The others nod and enter what I think is a portal. I've only read them in fantasy stories, but I never thought I'd see one in reality. Especially one that appears like a door despite its crystal-like appearance. Slipping his arm down so his hand held mine, he backs away to provide me some space. I almost fell over, but the firm grip of his hand was enough to act as my support. I suddenly felt conscious of my appearance and turn my heard away, feeling a slight warmth in my cheeks. Tugging my hand, I felt myself being escorted by him as the others wait for us.

"So, what are your names?" I ask as we began to make our leave.

"My name's Ayane!" the fox girl chirps. "The kid is Xavier, the overly tanned girl is Rei, the girly boy is Perseus, the wolf here is Ulric, and the boy holding your hand is my twin, Sound!"

"I'm not overly tanned!"

"Ayane, if you address me in such a manner again, I will not hesitate but to deliver you a Knight's dishonorable form of execution." He looks my way and promptly adds, "You may call me 'Percy'. My real name tends to tie people's tongues if mentioned in conversation too often."

"You know that's not necessarily calming him down..." I jumped back when I heard the dog talk. How and WHY can it talk?

Sound secretly hands a note to me. I take it and it read:

'When we get to Avarus, you're allowed to change your appearance as much as you please. We can't exactly change your face without deforming it. It's just a suggestion you but... what would you like?'

I thought about it for a moment then touched my hair.

"It's nothing major but..."

(A/N: if anyone knows the name of the original artist for this, please tell me so I can credit them! Or at least remove in case I learn they do not want their art republished!)

#original story #long reads #origin story #long post #original writing #creative writing #original character #original fiction

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