#and yes I do like them better than gen 5 I never even finished the gen 5 games I got bored

[likeabxrdinflight]

the perfect pokemon game, I think, would take the open world and open-ended game design (multiple stories and doing things in any order) of scarlet and violet, the quality of life improvements (auto battles are a game changer), the more traditional battle system (abilities, evs/ivs, normal stat boosts and move effects), and combine them with the best parts of legends arceus- the cell-shaded art style, more dynamic animations, the better/faster UI, more craftable items, side quests, shinies making a damn noise/sparkle animation, and the catching system.

and you know, fix the performance issues. the good parts of sv are so good, but the games feel unfinished (not so much in plot as in the world like...why can't I enter buildings, why do the cities exist tbh), much like swsh did. (I expect DLC next year will help, but alas.) Meanwhile PLA felt like a completed game at launch- and it was a such a massive step forward- but it lacked the classic battle system and post game you expect from mainline pokemon and I think suffered a bit from constantly having to return to jubilife to traverse the different segments of the region. if you combine the best of both of these games, I think pokemon could have just about the perfect game.

...so maybe like. gen 10 or 11 will nail it.

[duplicitywrites]

Tagged by @racfoam and @the-paper-monkey, thanks!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

183. Technically, I have a second separate account with archived older works that would add on top of this total. It's not really hidden, I just pretend it does not exist.

2. What's your total A03 words count?

1,693,656. Same thing as above. Some of these are from collabs, but most of it is mine.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Harry Potter, exclusively at the moment.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

But For You, I Did (20,976 words)

Harry James [Redacted] (23,832 words)

Sugar, It's Cold Outside (14,548 words)

Thanks for Harry (4,313 words)

Ripples Across the Water (95,453 words)

Personally, I find the top fic to be insufferable in the position that it's at. I have any number of works that I'd consider better 😔

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try my best! Currently I'm sitting about 100+ in the hole. If your comment is nice, I will endeavour to eventually respond 💝

Some people leave a bunch of emoji comments on chapters as they go along, and in that case I usually just respond to the last one rather than each one individually.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

We Still Have Time (9,053 words)

On Samhain, the veil between the physical and spiritual world weakens enough for the living to speak with the dead for a brief period of time. Tom and Harry are graced with twenty-four hours together before one of them must return to the other side, only— Which one of them is it?

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I write a lot of happy endings, but I don't think I could pick just one, or even a few.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I'll say I give as good as I get.

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Made a pseud — pwplicity (duplicity) — just for the smut. I think my favourite genre of smut to write is smut crack.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Not my cup of tea.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

On Wattpad, yes.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Plenty! All the translators who I've spoken with were lovely people, and I really truly appreciate all the hard work they put into making fanfic accessible.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Most people, I hope, are familiar with The Immortal Duties of Lord Voldemort. I have collabs outside of that, most notably with @dividawrites and @cindle-writes 💘

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

I'd say this one. Older fandoms hold nostalgia for me, but I've never created as much as I have than for this ship!

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I have a gen fic one-shot that involves terminal illness of sorts. I started it during the pandemic, and it will likely never be completed due to the overall depressing nature of the story.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I like to think I'm funny and I have creative ideas.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm a pantser. And I always have a dozen gdoc tabs open at a time because I keep starting new ideas.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

In moderation, unless we're actively providing translations. Even so, it can break up the flow of reading if I have to dump entire paragraphs into a translator just to understand what's going on.

In certain fandoms, there may be canonical language elements that are frequently used and thus become colloquial in a way — I used to read/write in the Les Miserables fandom, so there was a lot of French.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter... so we've come full circle!

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

This is the question I hate the most because I never have a real answer. Either they're all the best, or I hate them all. Take your pick.

-

Anyone who wants to answer these, please feel free! 🎃

[sarascamander]

Finished the fifth book!!! (I am so bad at remembering the title lmao) so here's my thought!

This is going to be a long rant about Rhian and Sophie so proceed with caution. By the end of book 4, I hate Rhian and it didn't change as I read book 5. and there is no way in hell I ship him with Sophie (not even book 4 when they were lovey dovey). SO I DIDN'T EXPECT TO FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM. This all happened when Sophie went back to him after she saw the crystal and suddenly we get to know him more and I just sympathise with him SO MUCH. Suddenly he's my baby 😭 and it took me by surprise since I spend the whole book hating him — I cried when he died! I legit screamed bc why the hell did that snake get to survive??? I was just starting to like him!!!

Another thing is the way I shipped him with Sophie SO HARD MAN. I didn't before because he obviously didn't care about her and using her the way Rafal did so fuck him. And when he was pretending, it was sus, let's be honest. BUT BY THE END HE START TO GENUINELY LOVE HER???? And I didn't think it was the way Rafal loved Sophie, it was genuine and he didn't plan it. He just fell. It's insane the way my heart moves to ship them!!! I love it because they were legit undeniable, unexpected enemies to lovers. The arc of their relationship low-key and reminds me of Attolia and Gen from the Queen's Thief (which I love).

And his love confession had me giggling and kicking my feet and twirling my hair like a lovesick teenager. But damn me it was SO SWEET. There she was helping him bandage himself as he poured his heart out about his mother and for the first time being vulnerable. And The way he stared at her and said "I see why boys fall for you" which is a direct contrast from before where he said "I see why all the boys dumped you." Like the GROWTH THERE!?!? And the way he said he sees her, petals and thorns and kisses her like THAT. Sophie is a better girl than I am because I would've folded so hard, I'd marry him there and then.

I feel insane shipping them bc I never see other people do. In Reddit most discussions were about Rafal and Sophie but I never ship cause 1) he's 400 years old creep 2) manipulated and used her until the very end 3) only love her bc she's her true love so he's obliged to love her. And yes, Sophie and Rhian started with manipulation too and continue so but in the end he was being real!!! And again, he didn't expect to fall for her, he just did!! It's so sad to see it was Sophie's turn to manipulate the relationship instead 😭😭 I just love the way their relationship developed from lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers again — and I didn't expect it at all!! Combine with the manipulation on both sides, the tension, the chemistry.

As for Sophie and Hort... It's been five books and I still don't ship them. I don't think I will, now that Rhian entered the picture. Also! The way Sophie hesitated to kill 'Rhian' bc she saw him crying. SHE COULD LOVE HIM. THEY COULD BE ENDGAME. IN ANOTHER LIFE THEY END UP TOGETHER I SWEAR (I legit could rant forever, I have so many feelings about them right now. I'm so overwhelmed by them that I can't even think of anything else to reviews, I'll do a separate post on the whole review of the book once I calm down).

So tell me, am I insane for shipping them?? Am I the only one feeling the chemistry?

The scene that owns my heart completely:

[queen-susans-revenge]

Writer 20 Questions

seen via @findswoman!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

58

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

177,314

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Dragon Age, fairy tale retellings, and one fic each for Sherlock Holmes and Batman

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

so Fade to Black and Fade to Black and Back, my two multi-chapter smut series for Star Wars Rebels, are I guess going to be my enduring fandom legacy lol. 637 kudos for the first and 452 for the second.

After that it's...more smut, but Talk About It is Dragon Age smut, and I guess my most popular stand-alone story at 399 kudos.

Then it's back to Star Wars Rebels, but Wedding Dance (377 kudos) is a gen fic, so that's my most popular non-smut piece. Braided at 320 kudos is another explicit one.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I always mean to, but sometimes when a bunch come in at once I get overwhelmed. I try and go back and respond to unanswered comments every time I revisit an old fic. Just this week I answered a couple that were seven years old *wince*. It's never too late, right?

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

That's Scenes From Rivendell, no question. I can still make myself cry re-reading that fic. Poor Celebcarch.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Most of them have happy endings really, but I'll say the happiest is Marriage of Convenience, because it was written to provide a happy ending for Alistair and Anora--and that's a pairing that only arises out of some pretty grief-laden circumstances in Dragon Age: Origins. So that's the fic that takes something sad and makes it better.

8. Do you get hate on your fic?

A couple times people have tried to chide me for writing smut, which is like ??? Did you not see ALL the warnings? My sister what were you even doing at the devil's sacrament?

9. Do you write smut?

I doooooo. Yes I do. I don't feel even a little bit bad about it, either.

Sex is important! It's one of the most intense, emotion-rich experiences in life! Especially in a love story--there is nothing that will tell you more about the dynamic between two people than showing how they have sex. And the smut is the part that's usually left out in mainstream media, so it's the big "missing piece" that I am often drawn to want to fill in, creatively.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I haven't, but it would be a fun challenge.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes and it's the best feeling every time. Same for getting podfic made of my stories, or fanart. Just the best.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

No, but from rp experiences, I think collabs are absolutely the way to go if possible. It just gets lonely writing on your own, and having a partner keeps the energy up.

14. What‘s your all-time favorite ship?

Space pirate OCs. But excluding my own characters... man, I've had poor luck with my ships, honestly. Looking back through the characters I was really passionate about, canon screwed me one way or another on all of them. I loved Mulder/Scully, Xena/Gabrielle, and Kanan/Hera, and all of their shows went off the rails at the end, so I think about them all with a tinge of sadness now.

It's better to love your own characters, because then at least when you make awful things happen to them, it doesn't come as a surprise.

15. What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

My only current WIP is a kid's book, and I hope I do finish it!

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialog, and also there's a sort of lyrical register that I can shift into pretty easily (it's a trick I often use for endings).

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Oh, self-indulgence. Things like writing about Kanan's seaglass eyes, or people "growling" their dialog. Cheese, basically. I don't rein myself in too much for fanfic, but in original writing I have to be strict with edits because if I don't force myself to stay spare and restrained, I'm probably getting cheesy with it.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Tricksy, very tricksy! It's certainly not something you can just hand off to Google Translate. I personally wouldn't do it unless I had some first hand experience with the language, or could consult with native speakers.

Funny story on that, for the space pirate novel, I had a bit where I needed an automated warning looping in various languages. The English was "Warning! Please evacuate the building!"

I asked my Russian friend to give me a translation, and he said I'd need to do some cultural translation first, because the Russian "would be a lot more direct. And they wouldn't say 'please.'" So he gave me Vnimaniye! Vyhodi zdaniye! which apparently translates more directly to "Attention! Exit building."

That's the kind of thing Google Translate can't do for you.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

X-Files. This was Usenet days. Alt.tv.x-files. Many many memories. At one point there was a spinoff group so we could roleplay, but not roleplay being in the show, exactly. Just like all living in a town. It was almost a proto-Tumblr.

I miss Usenet.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

It might be The Last of the Rebel Angels: that one's not the best, I don't think, but it's the weirdest and most ambitious. I had something to say, and even if I only managed to sketch it out or gesture at it, there's still a really tender place in my heart for that fic.

Any fic writers who'd like to fill out the questions, please consider yourselves tagged!

[apple-pecan]

Pokémon FireRed (2004)

i will not waste time on an intro because everyone already knows what pokemon is. and everyone already knows that FireRed and LeafGreen are remakes of the original games yeah yeah yeah whatever. but would you believe me if i said i've never beaten a pokemon game before? "yes", you say? well, uh, fuck. either way, i decided i might as well try to finish the games that started them all. or at least the remakes because i dont think i could stare at black and white screens for too long.

as far as remakes go this isnt half bad. this was made during gen 3 so expect similar gameplay to ruby/sapphire/emerald. it's been modernized quite well with the addition of held items, natures and abilities and what not. however, even with these shiny new features and QoL changes, kanto is still kind of an annoying place to be.

for example, the early game hell in many old pokemon games is especially rough here. when you start the game, you have barely any money to afford potions and/or pokeballs, only being able catch pidgeys and rattatas and bug pokemon with stupidly low levels (unless your patient enough to catch pikachu with it's 5% appearance rate, i wasn't), having to navigate a forest with pokemon that can easily poison you (oh yeah hope you have money for antidotes too asshole), trainers that barely give you any money, two gym leaders that will ruin you if you picked charmander, having to navigate a really fucking annoying cave to get to said second gym leader UGH. but once you beat misty it's smooth sailing from there. until the elite four at least.

it's fun finding all the little creatures in the grass and smoking other trainers with your specialized party, it's an addicting gameplay loop that still endures which is why there's like 60 of these games now. there are a few issues i have, mainly the concept of HMs. they're special moves you can learn that have uses outside of battle like cutting down trees and flying to towns you've visited before. however, you can't unlearn them for a good portion of the game so if your pokemon has learned one, they now have one less move slot to work with. so the "solution" is to just have a useless pokemon thats in your party only to use HMs, meaning now you have only 5 real pokemon on your team. it's insane that this was an issue in every single fucking game in the series until sun and moon, 20 years after the original games. better late than never i guess.

another issue is how EXP is divided among pokemon. only pokemon that were active in a battle get EXP, and depending on how many you sent out, it's divided for each one. i.e. if you used two pokemon and the enemy gives you 600 EXP, they each get 300 instead. three pokemon, 200. thing is most wild pokemon you caught suck ass until they start getting levels so you have to do what's called "switch training" which involves putting the one pokemon you wanna grind levels for at the front so they're sent out to battle first, and when the battle starts, immediately switch to your actual good pokemon and win the battle that way. eventually, your weak pokemon will get stronger.

this whole process takes forever and call me a basic bitch but i actually like the EXP Share in later games. all it does is save hours of your life grinding, but the one issue it does have is that it makes the games too easy, in which case, there's something inherently wrong with how the the main gameplay of the entire series is balanced. pokemon should stop trying to uphold traditions and try something entirely new! maybe take a few pages from other monster collector games like digimon and persona/SMT... but they WONT because these games are too mega popular and have a huge competitive scene and the last time they tried to do something different and bold with the main series (black and white) everyone hated them BECAUSE they did something different and no one FUCKING BOUGHT THEM!!!!! oh yeah wasn't this a review of firered

gigantic rant i had aside i still quite enjoyed my time with firered, when the game works it really works. when i finally have a team of pokemon i like and start demolishing trainers and gym leaders left and right it's really engrossing, even if the kanto games haven't aged the best. im still glad i beat it though and i wanna play more in the future, maybe try emerald or platinum next. i never quite got into pokemon the same way i did with other RPGs like final fantasy or dragon quest but it's still a fun series with lots of good monster designs, and when i do actually get to play the multiplayer with friends i always have a ton of fun. a good time, but if i see ONE more pidgey or rattata...

NOTE: i love you dragonite. i love you. i want hug. eevee too. baby

[thedetectiveofinaba]

@trickstersshadow asked: ( Video game asks: 1-11? )

I'm putting these to Read More

1. Last game you finished Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition

2. Game(s) you’re currently playing Kirby and the Forgotten Land, BOTW, Monster Train aand GW2

3. 1-3 games you’ve played in the past 12 months that you really enjoyed GW2, Alina of the Arena and Okami.

4. Do you like to get 100% achievements/trophies? If it's actually feasible and not sth what causes me to rage quit, I'm trying to do that (against my better judgement sometimes).

5. Game(s) coming out that you’re looking forward to Hades II and AJ Trilogy remake

6. A series you’ve enjoyed since your early days of gaming and still enjoy to this day whether it still has games coming out or is one you return to Kirby games. I'm trash for that smol ball who can wreck deities and sparks joy & have most games for it on DS. I got recently the so far few 3D open world Kirby games and honestly, I've loved that game and how it feels... both meaningful and like I can't just halfass it if I want to save all Waddle Dees. I think I have enjoyed all Kirby games to a degree, even gimmicky ones like Canvas Curse and Squeak Squad.

7. A series you’ve lost interest in New gen Pokemon games. I used to be a fan of the mainline games but I'm too fed up with the pattern of gameplay and would rather just watch a LP/read cliffnotes for the plot if I need that information. The fact that GF realized that variety was good AFTER Sun/Moon had come out was also ridiculous and proof how I grew out of that series and should just stay out for my own good. Yeah yeah the story is apparently good now but if I don't enjoy the process nor have the nostalgia connection, what-ifs are a BS way to deal with lost interest. Just... move on, accept that you liked sth and have fond memories of it and appreciate the small nostalgia you've got left.

8. A series you haven’t played but are interested in trying Sonic games. I have a gut feeling that I wouldn't be a fan of speedy trials but the concept of Sonic Adventure games & their plot sounds really interesting.

9. A game you played completely blind with no prior knowledge of and enjoyed/loved Replied to here!

10. A console and/or handheld you’ve never played but would like to try GameCube or VR games. I've heard good things about them and know from owning a Wii that adding movement to a game can enhance the experience.

11. Do you prefer ‘blank slate’ main characters you make yourself or otherwise project onto, or characters with a set personality and backstory? The latter. Actual characters with a backstory and set personalities are better in conveying a story with a direction and even though you aren't able to relate to the character as much and might even disagree with them, it evokes more emotions than "ah yes I can project myself to this and be the perfect version of myself". Even in games what have some options for the endgame plot I get more immersed if I feel like they're characters outside my input and not 100 % defined what I want them to be.

[00katrinka00]

Landcaster Legacy Gen 7 Update #22

Dear Diary, Janie wants to have a sleepover tonight; I haven't asked my mom if I can go yet. Part of me wants to go anyways, without asking, but I know that will get me in trouble. I better ask, worst case scenario she says no, but maybe she'll say yes because I'm asking. -Violet

"So, I know that I'm still grounded," Violet began. "But is there any way I could have a sleepover at Janie's tonight?" Mads thought for a moment, "You have been doing better recently, so I'd suppose that would be fine." "Thank you , Thank you, Thank you!" Violet exclaimed.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" Leo asked. "I can handle it," Nat assured him. "He hit Lacy though," Leo pointed out. "He might do the same to you." "It'll be fine," Nat said. "You're sure?" "I'm sure."

Nat headed over to Noah's house to tell him about the pregnancy. "We need to talk," she told him. "About what?" Noah asked dismissively. "I'm pregnant," Nat told him. "Okay, and?" Noah brushed her off. "How do I know it's mine?" "Excuse me?"

"Well, you were so easy to mess around with," Noah told her. "So, who's to say you weren't messing around with others. I'm probably not even the dad." "Are you fucking serious?" Nat asked irritated.

"You're the only guy I've messed around with," Nat told him angerly. "You're also a jackass." "Whatever," Noah rolled his eyes. "In case this wasn't clear I'm breaking up with you," Nat said before leaving.

"You were late to meet me today," Sofia told Leo after school. "You said 5 but came at 5:30." "Yeah, I'm sorry about that," Leo apologized. "Nat's just going through a hard time right now." "You should have called though. What's so important that you couldn't have called."

"You need to promise not to tell anyone," Leo said. "I promise." "Nat's pregnant," he told her. "And that is more important than standing your girlfriend up?" Sofia asked clearly annoyed. "She's my best friend."

"Look, I'm sorry," Leo said. "Uh, huh," Sofia rolled her eyes. "Why don't I take you out to dinner tonight," Leo wrapped his arm around her. "Make up for being late." "Sure," Sofia flashed him a smile.

Violet and Janie decided to watch a movie, they both scrolled through their phones looking for a good one to watch. "How about moonlight massacre III?" Janie asked. "Is it scary, I'm not a fan of scary movies." "Oh, it'll be fine trust me."

"Oh, my watcher," Violet exclaimed covering her eyes. "I told you I don't like scare movies." Janie laughed at her. "Oh, jeez," Janie yelled later. "Maybe this is too scary."

Violet and Janie turned the movie off and decided to have a pillow fight. "You're going down," Violet told her. "Easy." "We'll see about that."

"Want to play truth or dare?" Janie asked conspiratorially. "Sure," Violet agreed. Janie pumped her fist in excitement. "Truth or dare?" "Truth." "Are you over Noah Brooks?" "I guess. The more I look at it, he was a jerk anyways."

"Your turn," Violet said. "Truth or dare?" "Dare," Janie confidently said. "I dare you to post a photo of yourself on social bunny, with the most ridiculous outfit imaginable." "That's too easy."

"Truth or dare?" Janie asked. "Dare," Violet grinned. "Prank call the pizza place," Janie smiled back. Violet did exactly that.

"Truth or dare?" Violet asked once she'd finished her prank call, and both girls had stopped laughing. "Truth," said Janie "Where are your parents?" Violet asked curiously. "I've never met either of them" "Shit question," Janie rolled her eyes. "Dad left, and my mom's never home"

"Your turn," Janie said cheerfully. "Truth or dare." "Dare," Violet said again. "I dare you to kiss me."

"What?" Violet asked. "It's no big deal," Janie assured her. "Fine then," Violet muttered before leaning forward to kiss Janie.

[oddchirithy]

Yu-Gi-Oh 5ds Next Gen: Blow My Brains Out

Note: Also posted on my Quotev. Does not take place in the same universe as "Yu-Gi-Oh 5ds Next Gen: Ghost". Alternate concept for characters and a what-if. Title comes from the song "Blow My Brains Out" because I it's what inspired me to write this. Typed this out without reviewing. It's not finished, but I wasn't sure how to end it so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Sumire laughed at the TV as a shadow ran past the characters. Inés glanced at Seiji,the younger of the twins, who stared just above the screen.

The three were in the twin's living room, watching a horror movie that Inés couldn't even remember the name of.

'I should go home' she thought. She could already feel a familiar dull ache somewhere deep in her head.

A screech was heard to Inés' right and she felt Sumire's weight shift onto her arm while Seiji seemed to stiffen.

The red-headed girl clung to Inés' arm as she insisted that 'no she wasn't scared, just surprised'.

Inés could feel the headache coming as she awkwardly patted the girl's shoulder.

The credits rolled.

Seiji left to get something from the kitchen.

Honestly, it was just to calm himself down.

By the time the younger twin returned (in 5 minuets or so, Inés wasn't surprised. Seiji was always one to compose himself quickly compared to his older sister) Sumire had stopped clinging to Inés' arm and was sitting straight up.

"Already?" Sumire questioned. Inés nodded, she had just told her she was leaving.

'Better now, than later'

Seiji furrowed a dark brow.

"You're going to leave this late?"

Inés looked just by his shoulder.

"Yes, I should be going already, before it's gets darker. Have a good evening you two,".

"Now hold on,"Sumire stood up from the couch.

"Won't your guardians be worried if you walk alone?".

Inés walked to the door.

"No, I've walked home later than this. Don't worry, I'll text you when I get there,".

She opened the door, waved bye to the twins, and left without another word.

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'I'm home'

As she'd said, Inés sent Sumire and Seiji the message that she'd arrived home.  

She didn't bother to look for their response, which they no doubt had.

She collapsed halfway on a kitchen chair, her head laying on the table. The lights were on. Inés didn't bother to turn them off. She stayed in the kitchen, not moving, and went to sleep.

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Out of the 3 or so years that Inés knew Seiji (she technically knew him longer than she'd known Sumire and they technically weren't even friends), she'd never actually met their parents. (They never met hers. They never asked. Even if they did, it's not like they could.)

Inés had seen them. She knew who they were. By name, not personally.

(Seiji just had to get into a fight with some wannabe gang, two high school students and one adult, he just had to keep going and not back down. Which lead to a physical fight and then a trip to the hospital. Inés had been asked by Sumire to call their parents because she couldn't do it herself.)

The first meeting was brief, in a hospital, not even half a minute. Inés walked by and left before they even knew she was the one that called.

Fudo Yusei and his wife, (formerly Izayoi) Fudo Aki.

It wasn't hard to see the see the resemblance between them and the twins. (Both physically and in terms of personality).

They were wonderful, kind, and there. Inés couldn't help but look and listen to them talk to their son and daughter.

The same could be said with Mr and Mrs Fudo's friends and their children.

The second meeting was because Sumire, never one to shy away, had called out Inés' name as Inés walked down a street.

Atlas Jack and Atlas (née Nagisa) Carly and their children Freida, Leroy, and Regina.

Hogan Crow and his officially and unofficially adopted kids (too many for Inés to name), oldest being Yagi Osamu and Ike Sora.  

(Mr Fudo seemed to be the least bothered by her stoic face, rather more concerned as he then knew it was Inés who had called)

And their many other friends who she'd meet later.

And they were all so happy. Got along so well.

Even when the kids inevitably had arguments with their mothers or fathers, they could always come right back home, knowing their parents loved them and would talk it out.

So of course Inés avoided the parents. It was disgusting how happy, how well, and how they truly loved each other. (She didn't even have to look at their thoughts to know that.)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

They were all so lucky. Their parents were home, loved them and could spend time with them. Meanwhile Inés had an empty home and an monthly (if she was lucky) 20 minute monitored visit through a glass plane.  

And it hurt.

It just killed Inés walking back from a visit, only to see Sumire and Seiji with their father and mother.

And it just felt so awkward seeing that goddamn Sector Security member occasionally drop by.  

Inés just wanted to take a hammer and bash it into her skull to stop all the thoughts and aches that seemed to grow with her. (But it was a connection with her dad, and Inés valued that.)

Sumire and Seiji were nice, they really were. Seiji was grumpy and rather introverted, but he always checked up with everyone. Sumire was all smiles and clingy, but it was clear she just wanted everyone to be happy.

And yet, Inés knew they wouldn't really understand her feelings. They could understand her missing her father, her being unable to look one in the eyes, her being stolid, and her being neutral in opinions. (She sometimes wondered their reaction if they ever found who he was.)

They couldn't understand her missing a man who was a monster. Her being stolid wasn't her being shy, she just really couldn't be expressive if she tried. And if she wanted to, there was always a risk of injury to others. (Like that one time in her middle school, not that she cared.) And really, if she defended the leader of an organization that tortured children and manipulated Mrs. Fudo and killed Mrs Atlas, there'd be questions.

It stung.

Inés wished she cared enough to apologize.

(But it wasn't her fault, so what would be the point?)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

If there was ever a person to switch bodies with, one would probably say Sumire.

Pretty red haired and brown eyed Sumire.

Sumire who was always happy and outgoing and open (and so ignorant of what she had).

Blithe, uninhibited, and dense.

How would it feel to be like that? Inés had wondered about it.

It probably felt so freeing, so refreshing, and so enlivening to not be burdened by problems like she had. If Inés were more ignorant at least.

(Because in honest truth, she's disgusted that would it take being someone other than herself to be happy, so there was no point in imagining what it would be like).

(Because all she wanted was to be able to actually have her family, even if it wasn't right nor true.)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And while Sumire and Seiji had all the love and support from their parents and family, Inés had all the hate and rage waiting to lash out whenever she would inevitably snap. (Like middle school)

And maybe Mr and Mrs Fudo had a feeling something was wrong (Carly seemed to sense something also, but it was more fear than concern), because they seemed to be more interested in Inés' well being. (Inés technically told nothing of her home situation, but the adults seem to pick up on parts of it)

And Inés just knew that they were going find out sooner or later if it kept up.

So she slipped out a few details. Nothing too specific. Her mom was long gone, her dad couldn't be present, (Not a lie, technically) and she was under custody of one his friends.

That seemed to settle their concerns, somewhat. (But Inés knew she'd have to tell sooner or later)

(But that could wait, just a little longer)

The aching in her head only got worse when she worried about it, so Inés stopped worrying about it and just breathed.

And it would work for a time. Until she left her home, then the aches would come back. And all the thoughts of others (and she'd always shiver internally and deal with her nausea alone) and their emotions would rush and jam themselves into her skull and god Inés wished they could all just shut up.

Inés wished she could just die already. If she couldn't be happy as herself in this life, maybe she'll be better off in the next one.

(Technically, it would still be her, same soul and a body she was born into)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

"Sorry about your mom" Seiji had said to her that day. His hands awkwardly in his pockets as he looked at Inés' side.

She hadn't given a verbal response, choosing to nod. Silent, the two watched as Regina and Sora dueled.

To others, Inés was a lonely, meek, girl with a absent father and negligent caretaker. And who's to say they're wrong?

Her point of view wasn't always the truth, just as others views also weren't.

Her view was that she was a self aware, horrible girl with an even worse father and cautious caretaker.

Team 5ds may have taken down Divine, Inés' father, the leader of the Arcadia Movement, but they never took down the Arcadia Movement's followers. Why would it be surprising that they were striking back with a vengeance?

(With all the recent incidents occurring, it was only a matter of time before her truth was revealed)

[hannahmanderr]

WHOOO LETS DO IT

How many works do you have on AO3? 13! It's definitely not representative of everything I've written, since a lot of the prompts and ask answers I fill here on tumblr never end up on AO3, but sometimes they'll end up there if I'm proud of them lol

What's your total AO3 word count? 93,061!

What fandoms do you write for? Pretty much exclusively Danny Phantom adsfhj. If I write for another fandom it's probably bc it's a crossover with DP let's be real

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? - Mine - 81 kudos - She didn't even bother to look up from her work. "Who'd you tick off this time?" / "It wasn't my fault!" He pressed his back flush against the counter. "She started it!" / Her eyebrow hitched upward. "Who started it?" (Gray Ghost fluff for Shiptember) - Tag - 105 kudos - Valerie has always done the chasing when it comes to ghosts, but when she's summoned by the GIW to provide key information in interrogating a ghost they believe to be part human, the tables suddenly turn. Now she's faced by her own inner conflict, and Danny's left to make a nearly impossible choice. - Glow - 143 kudos - Danny introduces Valerie to a few little friends. It goes better than he expected. Much better. (more Gray Ghost fluff) - the bond we share (who cares about the rest) - 147 kudos - CPS is called on the Fentons when Danny goes to the hospital after the latest ghost attack. It goes differently than one would expect. - Supernova - 298 kudos - The Ghost Zone is tearing itself apart. The instability threatens the future of both Earth and the Infinite Realms. Danny isn't exactly thrilled that for some reason, the responsibility to restore balance falls on him. And he's definitely not thrilled at the prospect of having to use the Ring and the Crown to do so.

Do you respond to comments? *side eye* oKAY LISTEN I am admittedly downright awful about remembering to respond to comments, but I swear up and down that whenever I get an email saying I've gotten a comment I do a little internal happy dance and I treasure that comment forever

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? HA funny question for the Fluff Child. Uhhhh anyway not counting any of the stuff I've written on tumblr and not cross-posted, I would argue either Tag or the only shot has the angstiest ending. Bear in mind this is Hannah Angst (TM) so like it's not even all that angsty ahdfsjhfsadk

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? HONESTLY any of my fluff fics fsdahk. My gut response is saying that the happiest ending is Glow or In Over My Head (with you)

Do you get hate on fics? Mmmm not yet, as far as I know, but I'm sure I've gotten silent hate lolol. Which is honestly so valid, I know I tend to be Way Fluffier than I should be adfhsk

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I plead the fifth afdshk

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? If I write a crossover, it's because the stars have aligned lulz. I haven't written anything too crazy in terms of crossovers, though I feel like I might have taken a stab at a DP and Psych crossover back in my FFN days? But I could be dreaming ashdfkjl

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Nope! Thankfully lol

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes actually! Lunch Date was co-written by me and @scarletsaphire! It turned out to be a lot of fun lol, especially getting to put Fenton and Phantom into Shenanigans

What's your all-time favorite ship? DON'T MAKE ME CHOOSE SHDFK it is most definitely a tie between Gray Ghost (Danny/Valerie), Pitch Pearl (Fenton/Phantom), and Swagger Bishie Golden Twinkie (Dash/Danny)

What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I have a second gen AU that I've spent a long time developing, but I doubt it will ever see the light of day dafhk. It spiraled into something Big and what with the mess I've gotten myself into with Supernova, I don't know if I can handle another longfic right now lol

What are your writing strengths? I love characters and their feelings! I don't know if I can rightfully consider it a strength, but I try to pay keen attention to characterization and how a character is feeling in any given moment. I try to focus on showing these emotions in the things they say and do

What are your writing weaknesses? Definitely action scenes. Every time I write one, I have no idea how to choreograph it, and I feel like it devolves into a flat telling of events.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? Generally all for it! I'm not usually as into it when whole lines and conversations are being delivered in another language without a translation immediately provided, but I love throwing words and phrases into dialogue. Ghostspeak is a huge one, and another personal favorite of mine is letting Paulina use Spanish in her dialogue!

First fandom you wrote for? If we're being technical, it was probably for Sonic like way back when I was eight or something adfshkl. First published fic was DP ofc lol

Favorite fic you've written? HHHHH that's a toughie, but In Over My Head (with you) and Tag will always be personal favorites of mine. And ofc Supernova will always hold a special place in my heart!

Tagging @lavendarlily, @the-oaken-muse, @duchi-nesten, @half-deadmagicperson, and anyone else who wants to join in!

20 Q's for Fic Writers

I got tagged by @dp-marvel94! Thank you!

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 

I've just posted my 22nd work a few days ago!

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

37,763

3. What fandoms do you write for?

So far, all my published fics are for Danny Phantom. It's a fandom that's near and dear to my heart and my favorite to write for. I've written fanfiction for myself in a lot of different fandoms over the years. Miraculous Ladybug, Mega Man (Star Force, Battle Network) and Fire Emblem are a few. (Will these ever see the light of day? Probs not, lol)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?  5. Frayed Ends - 37 kudos - Jazz and Maddie are fighting more often. Jack wants to reach out and help his family. 4. The Same Blood - 45 kudos - Maddie and Jack try to help a sick girl that collapsed in front of their house. They don't know what to make of her condition. Danny wants to help.

3. Returned Home - 49 kudos - Maddie finds Danny at home after he disappeared ten months ago.

2. The Broken Pieces Left Behind - 66 kudos (tie) - Maddie knew what the portal did to Danny. If she could create something that essentially turned him into a ghost, she could figure out a way to fix all of it. Even if she hasn't made any progress in the past two months, she'll keep trying. She didn't account for what Danny wanted. 1 . What's Out of Out Control - 66 kudos (tie) - Danny thought he had it under control. He thought he could finally hang out like they used to always do. Tucker could feel the rift between them widening. It wasn't getting smaller anytime soon.

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try to! There were a few comments from my two earlier fics that I never responded to and it's already been so long and I feel like I ended up putting it off too long to say anything now 😓But I'm so so thankful for all the comments I receive! I never thought anyone would read my work, let alone comment on it. I'm always between two modes of 'author commentary' and 'screaming thank you and running away'.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Lol, I love my angsty stuff and there are so many different flavors of angst, so it's hard to pick just one. I'd say the piece I aimed to write for Angst Fest, The Broken Pieces Left Behind, might be it. It ends on a rather hopeless note for the Fenton family that even I don't know how to make everything better for them

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably Home for a Cat. It was for a Ectoberhaunt prompt that I was absolutely stumped on. So I decided someone was going to adopt a cat by the end of the fic.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Ahh, so I actually posted a fic on FFN wayyy back when I was in high school. I remember it being received pretty well but I got a really rude comment on a simple spelling mistake. Back then, I was just told I had dyslexia a few years prior and I had some really bad self-esteem issues tied in with that. So, yeah, that comment basically made me terrified to ever show my work to anyone ever.

It's been over ten years since then and I wanted to actually get over that fear. I impulsively decided to do Angst Fest with the mindset that no one would even look at what I posted. Not only did people look, everyone has been so kind!!!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

lkdajldkf, nope. I get flustered trying to write basic romance and having two characters hold hands, lmao. Major props to those that can, it's definitely a skill that takes time to master just like any other genre.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I haven't.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Also haven't had this either.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope, but it seems like a lot of fun.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Back when the show was airing, Amethyst Ocean (Danny/Sam) was my go to. I'm a sucker for friends to lovers tropes and it's really nostalgic for me. But, I don't really read a lot of shippy things for Danny Phantom, so ships don't make or break a fic for me.

If I'm looking to read romance, the whole Love Square (MariChat my beloved) with Miraculous Ladybug will always be great. Even if I jumped ship on the show around season 2 or 3 and I have no clue what they're doing now, lol.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I honestly have so many WIPs that are unfinished on my computer from over the years. Maybe a super old one that I titled 'Phantoms in the Daylight'. Angst once more with Character Death as the main pain point. I like the beginning but oh boy, does it get sloppy and confusing real quick. I'd need serious outlining energy put into it if I'd ever want to salvage it and I just don't have it in me.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue! Give me two blorbos and I'll make them talk forever.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Scenery and description. I love the dialogue portion so much that I end up running into the floating heads in an empty room problem in the first drafts of my fics. My first round of edits are dedicated to making sure I have a scene and grounding characters into it. And then I have to go back later to make it not feel so robotic sounding.

(Also a weakness but more as in fic than writing. Summaries and Titles. I stare at my drafts on AO3's editor for at least half an hour trying to pull something together, lol)

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I can probably talk about this for hours, lol. I absolutely love foreign languages, especially when it comes to linguistics. So, I'll try to be brief, lmao. Short answer: depends on the fic but normally no. I already spend so much time fussing over the word choice/slang/formality/dialect characters use in my native language. I don't have a good enough grasp on another language for it to sound natural to the reader. ("They would not fucking say that" is my internal monologue during dialogue edits, lol)

19. First fandom you wrote for?

It's a toss up between Pokemon and Danny Phantom. I first learned about fanfiction from a friend who showed me FFN for the Pokemon fics. I looked around the site and found all of the Danny Phantom fics soon after and got hooked on those. I started writing around then and it would have been for one of those two.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Hard to chose one! Writing technicality wise, I'm proud of how What Remains on the Table turned out. I consider description my weak point, so the original draft was 0 dialogue with very stiff descriptions. I was able to edit it to really practice my environmental storytelling. (Although, please mind the tags if you click the link as it does deal with the dissection topic)

I'm not sure who's been tagged and I'm not sure who writes fanfic, so @lavendarlily, @fangirlwriting-stories, @grub-xd, @nanaarchy and anyone else that wants to join!

[lumosatnight]

So, today is my birthday (Woohoo! Jumps for joy then remembers I'm getting older and goes to mope in the corner), and instead of the usual way things go, I thought it would be fun to share a gift with you...

A one-shot rec list! 🥳

Here are 15 one-shots, all under 10k words, one for each day in June leading up to my birthday. We've got some scorching Drarry, some juicy rare pairs, and some spectacular femslash. Please enjoy this list, ordered by ship (kinda).

🌼 - fluff | 💔 - angst | 🔥 - smut | 👀 - mind the tags

—

1. Not Nineteen Forever by @sorrybutblog [Draco/Harry, 5.9k, E] 🌼🔥 De-aged Draco and Auror Harry's first time together is sexy, sweet, and the pining is so gloriously good. And when Draco is "offering up my young, nubile body for you to ravish." Lord...

2. Interpersonal Relationships Year 7, Unit 3: How to Have Sex Like a Responsible Adult by InnerLilith [Draco/Harry, 7.4k, E] 🌼 🔥 Listen... enthusiastic consent is hot and never has it been more hot than in this fic where Draco is the sex education teacher at Hogwarts and Harry is trying not to get a boner in his class.

3. A Cold Spot in Hell by FeelsForBreakfast [Draco/Harry, 8.1k, E] 💔 🔥 The summary describes this story as "sexy arson," and I can't help but fervently agree. There's a whole lot of fire, a whole lot of angst, and you'll be wanting more the whole time.

4. My Boyfriend by @acnelli [Harry/Ron, 7.3k, E] 🌼 💔 This story will break your heart and put it back together again. If you weren't a Rarry shipper before reading this, you will be after because it is just that gorgeously written.

5. The Things We Do in the Daylight by chewysugar [Hermione/Harry/Ron, 1.5k, M] 🌼 🌤 A super sweet morning-after story. I just love how loving the Golden Trio are with each other, how awkward yet so right they are together.

6. And If I Had To Choose by flipflop_diva [Hermione/Pansy, 3.7k, M] 🌼 💞 A Pansmione soulmate fic from the very recent @femmefest 2022. This fic is so cute and the interactions between Pansy and Hermione are so in character. It was a delight from start to finish.

7. Shades of Dawn by @corvuscrowned [Lavender/Ginny, 2.6k, E] 💔 🔥 The day I stop rec'ing this fic is the day the world ends because I will NEVER stop sharing this beautiful, amazing, heart-wrenching fic. The conflict and the longing between Lavender and Ginny get me every time I read this. It is absolutely perfect.

8. Elemental by @solar-settings [Katie/Alicia, Katie/Leanne, Katie/Ginny, Katie/Cho, 1.7k, T] 💔 💫 Honestly, this is one of my favorite fics of all time. Katie is so beautifully written, and the way she experiences love at different points in her life is simply stunning.

9. keeping count (losing count) by @oliverwvvd [Marcus/Oliver, 1.2k, T] 🌼 💋 Flintwood has been gradually creeping up into my top ships, and this fic is one of the reasons why. Marcus's anxiety and Oliver's tenderness. Sides of these scared boys that we rarely get to see. So short, yet so memorable.

10. Mourning Myrtle by Contrarian_Hedgehog [Moaning Myrtle, 1.7k, T] 💔 💧 A haunting, dark comedy about Myrtle following her death. The prose is beautiful, and the story is even better. It was instantly one of my favorite gen fics as soon as I read it.

11. Brighten the Dark by @skeptiquewrites [Regulus/Harry, 3.3k, E] 💔 🔥 A young Regulus resurrected from the veil and post-war Harry stuck at Grimmauld Place together? Yes, please. The banter and back and forth between them is glorious. As is the dash of feels and underlying tension of why did Regulus come back but no one else?

12. Take Heed, Dear Heart by @danni-the-puff [Harry/Severus, 3.6k, M] 💔 👀 Genderswapped Snarry! It's dark, it's creepy, and yet, the absolute devotion they have for each other kept me glued to every word. The way every character is written and the story is woven through canon (but not quite canon) is masterful.

13. Height Difference by @thistlecatfics [Sirius/Remus, 437, G] 🌼 😂 This story is pure ridiculousness, and I am in love with it. Remus is tall, like very tall, like very very very tall. We all need a tall Remus in our life XD

14. Lit Match by @phantomato [Alecto/Lily, 1.9k, E] 💔 🔥 The first and only fic I've read with this pairing that instantly converted me. Lily's character is so rich and a little morally ambiguous. Canon compliant, and yes, I could see this as canon because it's so good.

15. turning point by @duplicitywrites [Tom/Voldemort, 8.7k, E] 🔥 👀 A self-cest PWP Tom Riddle fic that is... I don't even have words for how hot and intriguing this fic is. Because we all know that Tom Riddle could only love himself ;)

BONUS FIC (>10k): Miraculous by @liladiurne [Harry/Severus, 15.5k, E] 🌼 🔥 I'm a sucker for escort fics, and this one is fluffy while also being sooo hot. I love this Snape, insecure, cynical, rich. He has the perfect life but still doesn't have what he truly wants — Harry.

—

Thanks to @diana-skye for the birthday one-shot idea. You can check out her rec list from this year HERE.

[crowingoverthis]

pkmn scarlet/violet rant!

Now that i finished the main story, got almost all the pkmn (took me 60 hours, cause i just walk around to complete the dex ahsgfdasd) and i just have some postgame left. Here is my huge imhotake on it xD

7/10 Gameplay 4/10 Graphic/Performance 10/10 Pokemon 9/10 Music 11/10 Characters/story

41/50 Thats a pretty high score!

7/10 Gameplay Well its open world pokemon everyone wanted! You can go anywhere and do what you want. And now some ppl complain about not having directions haha When you literary can open the map and see exclamation marks on where to go so ??? Anyway, my problem was the repetitiveness off, everything? As much as liked just roaming and catching pkmn its still the same thing. To be fair most games are like that, based around 1-2 gameplay loops. I just wish these gameplay loops were a bit more interesting. But this is pkmn at its core. But my complaint is - why is the level no scaling? its not that hard to do gamefreak, I dont want to fight an early game trainer/gym i missed that still is lvl 10 after i beat 4 gyms. And some locations are pretty but too empty, just a lot of slapped on flat textures.

5/10 Graphic/Performance Everyone already saw the glitchs and some had multiple crashes. (i didnt experience any of that, just huge fps drops when it rained. Some ppl say the digital version is better and has less issues) Aside from that, you can finish and play the game from start to finish np! So i wont dwell on that any more. All in all, its the same situation as with Cyberpunk! Well almost cause CD Projektred over promised and under delivered massively at release date. Gamefreak pretty much did everything they promised! Just failed with the polish, bugs and graphics (when the grass is just a photoshop brush... its yeah, a bit very rushed (look at BOTW grass). The pkmn themself look great! Not like having some texture on pkmn is that important, but oh well. The character animations and animations OUTSIDE of battle or close to you are not bad. Inside of battle its the same as SWSH but you can rotate the camera, that sometimes cant even show stuff properly if you are on a hill or cave. Almost forgot! the huge down side of this game as well are the loading screens and the slowness of some things (that's especially noticeable in school).

10/10 Pokemon Like i always say - the one (well and music) things Gamefreak never fails is with designs and creating more pkmn! Of course there are mons i don't like (grasswaterstarterevos) but they are true to what they represent and i can respect that. Every pkmn is loved by someone and that's what makes the diversity of creatures so amazing.

9/10 Music Not much to say than that's its great! (Just a minus point from me personalty cause i don't like techno music and some tracks were like that >:C ) The transition between tracks is nice too.

11/10 Characters/Story I can say in general (NO spoilers)... this game has one of the best pkmn stories. Yes at the same level as gen 5 > 7 (which were the best imho so far.) It just like moulds together so well? Just the repetitiveness i talk about brings it down a bit. The characters have great designs and are (mostly, Nemonaplz) well written and its fun to learn about them! I'm glad GF took more time on story (wish they had even more time).

(mild spoilers) - Best character is the director hands down out of discussion. Not even joking xD. The school idea is very cute and i think its pretty good for newer players and kids who want to play and actually learn about pkmn! cause you do learn stuff in this school that is more then grass beats water, well its the first lesson so you do learn that too but after that i promise it gets better! History class is the coolest! (although i do wish we could learn about the region and cool stuff by y know talking to ppl a bit more...) As a person who was bullied in school, i like TEAM STAR’s story, but i wish they would tell the stories differently than the exact same 5 battles. Bonus! 6/10 locations. Decided to put locations here too cause why not. The main town is great! just some wonky spots that are empty, The other towns on the other hand, have a great look on the outside but when you go in, there's not much there. You can’t go inside of ANY buildings (just the sandwich +gyms). The "wilderness" is pretty much flat textures with pkmn randomly spawning on them. Just things GF needed to have more time to work on.

Conclusion-  Imma change the score too 39/50 cause the location bonus and that is a kinda important point too! SO If you can ignore some minor glitches and dont care about fps drops: Its a good game! Plus if you liked Arceus and just want to play a pkmn game its actually probably the best there is now on the switch! But the bad performance and now that even Nintendo is offering refunds, just shows that rushing unfinished games is not worth! and I hope they FINALLY gonna learn something from that.

[sergeantsporks]

Do You Want the Knife You Left In My Back, or Can I Keep It?

Rating: Teen and up, Gen

An injured Hunter wanders into Hexside. What was Luz supposed to do, just let him bleed out on the floor?

Ch 2/5: Settling In

Ch 1

Ao3

Hunter woke up facedown on a couch. His back ached and throbbed, and he felt weak all over. Ugh—

“Hello!”

Hunter yelped as a bird—worm—thing—stuck its head in his face.

“Luuuuuuuz, he’s uuuuuuuup!”

The human shooed the bird-worm-thing out of Hunter’s face. “Hey! Get out of his personal space, Hooty!”

Hunter groaned, putting his face back in the couch. “Where am I?”

“The owl house,” Luz replied casually.

Hunter yelped again, rolling off of the couch. “I can’t be—” the movement sent spikes of pain hammering through his nerves, and his vision went spotty. His stomach heaved, and he retched, shaking. “Hngh—”

“Whoa, hey!” Luz knelt next to him. “You can’t be moving around! You just got stabbed, for titan’s sake, Hunter!”

“Remember!” the owl lady’s voice called from another room, “You’re cleaning up after him, Luz!”

Hunter’s face heated up. “I don’t—need—to be taken care of—”

He tried to push himself up, but another wave of pain swept over him, and everything went black for a minute. When he woke up again, he was back on the couch, Luz crouching next to him.

“You really shouldn’t move. Viney said it’s going to take time for your back to heal, and it would be… really bad… if you ripped out your stitches.”

“Take me back to the Emperor’s palace. Now.”

“See?” the owl lady said, poking her head in, “He agrees! Take the twerp back.”

“I’m not taking him back,” Luz said, exasperated, as if they’d been having this argument for a while. She turned back to Hunter. “I’m not taking you back. I’m going to keep you here, where you’re safe, until you’re better. Kikimora has it out for you, and you’re in no state to fight her off.”

“What else is new—I can handle Kikimora, I just—”

Luz pressed down on his shoulders as he tried to get up again. “Quit being so stubborn! You can’t handle her right now, you can’t even walk! What was the point of coming to me for help if you won’t let me help you!”

“I didn’t go to you for help, I went to you because if I didn’t warn you, Kikimora would have killed both of us and gotten the Emperor’s sole attention!”

Luz leaned back. “The emperor… isn’t a good guy, Hunter.”

Hunter looked away. “You wouldn’t get it.”

“No, I don’t.” Luz sighed. “Why did the emperor send you after me?”

Right. There it was. The real reason she’d saved him. “’m not telling.”

“What?! Seriously?! I saved your life!”

“I didn’t ask you to.”

“You were bleeding out in front of me! What was I supposed to do, just let you die?!”

“Yes.”

Luz paused and stared at him. “Wait, what?”

Hunter looked away, a sick feeling churning in his stomach. “I failed, again—you’re free, and I’m not even close to getting you back to the emperor. My own coven member tried to kill me outright—no subtlety, no monster attacks, just stabbed me in the back and planned to pin it on you. And now I’ve been captured by the person who I was supposed to be capturing.” He buried his face in the couch. “You should have just let me die,” he mumbled, muffled by the couch.

Luz didn’t say anything for a minute, and then gently touched his shoulder. “Hunter? I wasn’t ever going to let you die.”

“No, because you’re ‘too nice,’” he grumbled, “I get it. Fine. You’re the good guy, I’m the bad guy, is that what you want to hear? Just… leave me alone. Please.”

“Okay,” Luz said quietly, “if that’s what you really want.”

Her footsteps padded away, and Hunter tried one more time to get up, but a wave of dizzy exhaustion swept over him, and he flopped back down.

The owl lady came through, making an “I’m watching you,” gesture as she left, and he sighed. Okay. He just had to be patient. He could ride this out, pretend to be helpless longer than he really was, nab the human, expose Kikimora, bada-bing, bada-boom, everything would be perfect.

Wait.

A bolt of panic shot through Hunter, and he rolled off of the couch, adrenaline battling exhaustion and pain.

“Whoa, hey, there, you can’t—” Hooty started, but Hunter shoved the bird’s face away with a groan, stumbling towards the door.

“I have—to go—back—”

“Luz!” the house demon called, “Your sad friend is trying to escape!”

“I KNEW it!” the owl lady’s voice yowled, and Hunter was on the ground in two seconds flat. He screamed as she put pressure on his back, his vision wavering out. “You were just pretending to be hurt to get in here!” the owl lady continued, “And you were planning to—oh, beans, you weren’t pretending, you just have no sense of self-preservation, titan, kid, what were you thinking, I coulda killed you!”

Hunter whimpered, blinking spots out of his eyes as she climbed off of him. He retched at the pain, his back screaming in agony.

Luz came tearing down the stairs two at a time, skidding to a halt next to them. “Edaaaa! What happened?!”

“He was making a break for it!” Eda replied defensively, “He is a quick little bugger when he wants to be!”

“Huuuunteeeer!” Luz groaned, “You can’t go anywhere, how did you even get off of the couch, you literally got stabbed today!”

“My palisman,” Hunter gasped, “It’s—all alone—” he struggled to get back up, blinking back tears. “I have—to go back—for—”

Luz grabbed his shoulders. “No. Your palisman wouldn’t want you hurting yourself. It’ll be fine for a while.”

Hunter shook his head. “No—have to—”

“You’re not going anywhere, Hunter, you wouldn’t even make it to Bonesborough.”

“It’s true,” Hooty chimed in, “The funny little demon lady is lurking out there. She isn’t getting any closer right now, but if you go out there… you’re toast!”

Hunter clutched Luz’s arm, barely holding back tears. She didn’t get it! “I can’t—leave it—”

Luz put a hand on his arm. “Okay. If it really means that much to you… I’ll go get it.”

Eda shook her head. “Absolutely not, Luz, that creep is out for you, too!”

Right. That was it, then. Luz wouldn’t let him leave to get his palisman, and Eda wouldn’t let Luz leave.

Then Luz did a. Thing. With her face. A strange pouty thing, where she made her eyes really big at Eda. The owl lady sighed.

“Oh, geeze, don’t make that—ahhhh, Luz. Okay. Here’s the deal. I will send Owlbert to check on the palisman. If it’s safe enough, Owlbert will tell the Golden Dork’s palisman what’s going on and where he is. Everyone okay with that?”

Luz threw her arms around Eda. “You’re the best!”

“I know,” Eda grumbled, “Now take care of your dumb Belos-ite, he looks like he’s going to pass out.”

Xxx

Hunter was drifting off to sleep when it happened.

Kikimora appeared in front of him. “There you are.”

He yelped, struggling up, but his back throbbed and he fell back down.

“Consorting with traitors now, are we? I never thought you’d stoop this low.”

“Bold—words—coming from a backstabber,” Hunter gritted out, “Just—finish it—then.”

Kikimora swiped her claws at him, but they went right through. “I’m not really here, or you’d be dead already. You’re a persistent little worm, though, aren’t you?”

“That’s my middle name. Persistent little worm.”

Kikimora traced one translucent claw in a circle. “I haven’t figured out how to get past the house demon yet. But I will. And when I do, you are a sitting duck, and your little human friend will be next. Look at you. You’re pathetic. You can’t even move.”

Hunter swiped a hand through the illusion, gritting his teeth as the movement made his back throb.

“Hunter?” Luz was standing in the doorway, holding a bowl of something steaming and a juicebox. “Is… everything okay?”

Hunter gestured to the air where Kikimora had just been. “Didn’t you see her?!”

“See who, Hunter?”

“Kikimora! Or—a projection of her! She was right there!”

Luz set down the bowl and felt his forehead with the back of her hand. “Uh-oh. Feels like a fever.”

“She was there, I saw her, I talked to her—”

“Hunter, I didn’t see anyone.”

“I’m not crazy!”

She sat down next to him. “I didn’t say you were. But you do have a fever, and you lost a lot of blood, and you haven’t eaten, and you’re probably tired, and you’re in a new place—”

“Don’t patronize me! I know what I saw!”

To his surprise, Luz nodded. “Okay. I’ll have Hooty check the perimeter, and I’ll call Gus—he’d know more about illusion magic than I would.”

“Really?”

“Of course.” Luz patted his head as she got up, ignoring his growl. “I said you’d be safe here, Hunter. If you saw Kikimora, if she projected herself in here, then I’ll look into it.”

He eyed her. “This doesn’t change anything. I’m still not going to tell you any information.”

“I know. And… that’s okay.” Luz took in a deep breath. “As much as I’d like to know what Belos is up to, it wouldn’t be fair to put you in that position. I decided to help you because it was the right thing to do, not because of any information you could give me. This isn’t a business transaction—you don’t owe me anything.” She gave his head another pat, and walked off.

She was making it really hard to want to capture her and bring her to Belos.

No. What was he thinking?! After the disaster this had been so far? There was a snowball’s chance that he’d be going back empty handed.

You don’t have to go back at all, a tiny, treacherous voice whispered in the back of his head. He squashed the idea. Of course he was going back! The only reason he’d thought that was because Kikimora would be there. And… he didn’t want to see her again, not the least because she’d attempted to kill him twice. Three times if you counted Eclipse Lake. Yes. That was it. Plus, he had to go back for his palisman, anyway. It might be okay hiding out on its own for a bit until he healed, but he certainly didn’t want to abandon it there forever.

He heard a low, worried warble, and Owlbert flew in, his own cardinal right behind him. Hunter sort of hated how much relief and happiness swept over him when he saw the bird, but he lifted one hand for the palisman to perch on anyway.

The cardinal hopped up his arm, and nestled into his hair with a chirp that Hunter took to mean ‘Hi.’

“Hey, there.”

The palisman snuggled down, gripping his scalp with its tiny claws. Hunter winced.

“Hey, ow!”

It chirped fiercely at him about how he needed to be more careful.

“I got stabbed in the back by my coworker, there wasn’t much I could do about it!”

“Awwww, that’s adorable!”

Hunter groaned as Luz came back in, fawning over the palisman. “What do you want?”

“Just checking in.” She made kissy faces at Hunter’s palisman. “Awwww, he’s curled up in your hair like a blonde nest, that’s so cuuuuuuuuuute!” She pulled out a rectangle and pointed it at him, tapping her side of it. “Say cheese!”

“Hey—heyyyyy, what was that? What was that?”

Luz made another kissy face at his palisman, and turned the rectangle around to show him an image of himself, his palisman firmly rooted in his hair. Wow, he looked awful. “Look how cute the two of you are—best buddies for life! I’m gonna show Amity! She can’t possibly still think you’re going to kill me in my sleep after she sees this!”

“Do not—don’t you dare show Blight that picture!” Hunter swiped at the phone, yelping as his back throbbed.

Luz skipped backwards. “Ehehehe, still too slow!” She grabbed her cloak, heading for the door. “Edaaaa, I’m going to the library, don’t kill Hunter while I’m gooooone!”

“No proooooomiseeeees,” Eda called back, “Have fun, watch out for Kikimora!”

Luz ran out the door. Hunter put his face back in the couch while his palisman chirped comfortingly, wiggling down further into his hair. Never mind. He wouldn’t regret turning that human in to Belos one bit.

Ch 3

[v-thinks-on]

Wanna Know a Writer

Thank you very much to @sparrow-ink for the tag - I love doing these when I get the chance! Incidentally, this is also my 1001st post on Tumblr!

How many works do you have on AO3?

It looks like I have 116 right now, but it will be 117 tomorrow (with a short Batman/Superman fic)

What’s your total AO3 word count?

716,792 apparently... I’ve been writing like crazy lately and I still swear that can’t be right, but there you go

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

It looks like I’ve posted fic for 30 (including crossovers and fusions) and there may be more I haven’t posted, so not listing all of them. You can see the whole list here

Following @sparrow-ink‘s example, I’ll let my filesystem speak for itself:

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Language of Chess has been the undisputed champion for a while (Kirk and Spock flirt using the Vulcan language of chess)

The Old Family Farm is a more recent fic that came up from behind while I wasn’t looking (Clark Kent takes Bruce Wayne to meet his parents)

The Gift Giving Game was my K/S secret santa gift for Herenya_writes (Kirk and Spock stir up rumors as professors at Starfleet Academy)

A Hidden, Personal Thing (Spock offers to mind meld with Kirk)

Human, Vulcan, and Everything in Between (Spock is ace, Kirk is polyamorous, and it works well for them)

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I try to respond to every comment because there’s nothing I like more than talking with people about my writing and the stories that inspire it! I’m more than happy to answer questions on here too, if anyone has any!

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

So, these days I’m generally a firm believer in happy endings, but in the pre-AO3 days, I used to mostly write death!fic and a few highlights actually made it onto AO3:

The Death of Spock - Spock dies during the original five-year mission and Kirk is left to pick up the pieces

Only a Fool - Watson dies at Reichenbach and Holmes is left to pick up the pieces

Honorable mention: Devoted - the inevitable tragedy of Mary Watson (nee Morstan)

Do you write crossovers? If so what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

As it turns out, the other thing I used to write is crazy crossovers, many of which were never finished, let alone saw the light of day. I’ve dialed back on it (a little), but here are some highlights:

Spock in Wonderland

Millennium Death Note - currently in progress! (What if Light Yagami solved the Millennium Puzzle?)

The Mysterious Mr. Jeeves - Jeeves and Wooster x Everything, but I think the most outlandish one in there would have to be The Phantom of the Opera

Honorable mention: my old BBC Sherlock x Harry Potter - the writing isn’t great and the plot is a bit of a mess, but it will likely always be my most viewed fic

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Only a little bit and mostly just on FanFiction.net - there was one person offended that my big Star Trek TOS x TNG crossover was “secretly” Kirk/Spock. More often I get people who like most of my fics, but then get annoyed about Kirk being polyamorous or Spock being ace or don’t like how I decided to end something, which isn’t terribly helpful, but could be worse.

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Nope, don’t read it, don’t write it, just not for me.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge, thankfully.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! I’m honored that people want to translate my stories into other languages (and make podfic of them)!

The first three chapters of Devoted (the tragedy of Mary Watson) are available in Chinese

Enough to Drive a Man to Madness (Mycroft puts up with Sherlock Holmes angsting about Dr. Watson) is available in Russian

Once Upon a Dream (Holmes and Watson dance) is available in Russian

The Appearance of Dorian Gray (Bertie Wooster meets Dorian Gray) has a podfic

And I think someone did a podfic of a scene from A Crazy Little Thing Called Love (the progression of Kirk and Spock’s relationship over The Original Series), but I can’t seem to find it right now

What’s your all time favorite ship?

My first and dearest will always be Holmes/Watson from the original Sherlock Holmes stories

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I’ve gotten to be pretty good at finishing things I want to write, but there’s this huge Disney crossover I started writing with a friend that is glorious and complicated and almost 1/3 of the way done despite being over 90k already. Whenever I think about it, I always think that, yes, I will finish it some day, even though my co-author has lost interest, but the truth is probably not... But who knows, maybe I’ll turn around and have it done for next year’s @wipbigbang!

What are your writing strengths?

I’ve discovered a secret talent for finishing what I start, which is nice - a combination of planning and just keeping at it, slow and steady.

I think I do a good job of capturing characters’ voices, whether in dialogue or narration, and it serves me particularly well when I’m trying to imitate a style - I’m especially proud of some of my Jeeves and Wooster. I can also do some nice flowery prose if put my mind to it.

What are your writing weaknesses?

For all of my love of pretty prose, it’s easy for me to forget to describe things, so my writing can end up fairly sparse. I also feel like I could get better at integrating romance and plot - the romance often ends up getting drowned out by everything else going on, which is especially frustrating because I’m usually writing it because of the romance.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

That’s a good question. Probably Death Note (my friends and I used to ship L/Light) - that’s the oldest fic I have on my computer, at least, but I used to write on paper, so there may be something even older there. The first fandom I posted anything for is Harry Potter (a next-gen OC fic about the daughter of Bellatrix Lestrange - it’s best not to ask). I also posted my first Holmes/Watson fic at about the same time (it’s pretty bad, but I tried).

What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written?

I’m actually really happy with a couple of my somewhat recent longer fics:

Generations - my Kirk/Spock Star Trek: Generations fix-it

Bertie Solves a Mystery - Jeeves and Wooster get embroiled in a murder mystery and meet Hercule Poirot and Hastings (also Jeeves has a mysterious backstory)

tagging: I’m going to second @plaudiusplants and tag @the-z-part​ and @marlinspirkhall​ if you’d like to do it, along with anyone else who wants to go for it!

[mageofseven]

Hey, I just read your post about MC's pregnancy with Satan (which is amazing, by the way) and it got me wondering... What if MC felt pain during the pregnancy and the only way to make it go away would be with the brothers talking to their children? Like, Satan was so soft and cute, it got me curious about how the others would be and say to their babies. Hope you have a nice day! 💫

Aww. Okay, this is a cute ask. Of course~ time to give the other brothers time to calm their babies with loving words while they're in their mommy 🥰

Oh! And for reference to those who either haven't read it or don't remember, this is what Nonnie is referring to with Satan.

Also, I only included Lucifer, Mammon, and Leviathan in this, but will do the last three brothers (Satan is excluded from this since this prompt is based off one of his posts) in another post. I decided to do this since Next Gen posts tend to take me a while to do, despite the fact that they are my favorite to answer, and since I haven't posted much lately and wanna give ya guys more content.

So please enjoy!

Part 2

~

Lucifer:

Finding out that his daughter inherited demonic strength while she was still in her mother was a quite a terrifying thing for him, not that he'd admit it to most since he feels like he always needs to seem collected and on top of things.

Luckily, Lucifer truly is the type to keep his emotions in check when he needs to act

So when MC hit 5 months and had her first episode of pain, it only took a moment for the oldest to spring into action in order to help his Love.

Watching the human's belly get bruised from each quick kick and jab was difficult for him, but as some one skilled in magic, more so than all of his brothers combined, he knew a spell to use.

Hand hovering over her belly, a pale blue light extended from his finger tips and was absorbed into her skin.

The spell calmed his distressed child and stopped his Love's pain, but he didn't find out the reason for the episode till later that evening.

Discovering that MC's body wasn't absorbing the dark energy needed for their daughter's soul fast enough, causing the baby to become upset and lash out in fear...well, it wasn't an easy truth to handle.

Still, he didn't hesitate to push past his worry and look into a solution.

After consulting various experts he had connections with and looking through books, he discovered that most potions and spells that could help weren't human-safe in the long term, not even the calming spell he had been using so far.

When he discovered a non magical method, one that literally just required his time and his voice, he was genuinely surprised. Was it truly as easy as talking to his daughter?

When MC had her next episode, the two were preparing for bed. The human had finished slipping into her pjs just for the pain to hit her and cause her to lower to the ground as she hugged her stomach.

Lucifer quickly stopped changing and let his shirt fall to the floor, helping his Love over to the bed.

He felt somewhat awkward, even a little embarrassed to speak to his unborn child, but barely paused at all.

Leaning in close to MC's belly, he spoke softly to his daughter. Without really knowing what to say, he essentially started lecturing the baby on her behavior, though he really didn't realize it. He just knew he needed to speak and spoke what was currently on his mind. Lucifer was worried about MC, worried about his daughter, so though it was a lecture, it was a lecture filled with love and concern.

It's not as if their daughter has developed anywhere near enough to know what her daddy was saying though; all their baby recognized was her daddy's soft, loving tone and that was enough calm her and make her feel safe.

Overall, it was successful, taking not quite six minutes to make the pain completely cease.

Still kneeling in front of her, the demon took his girlfriend's hand and kissed it before giving it a gently squeezed and looking up at the sniffling human.

"Are you alright, Love?"

From then on, the demon never strayed far from his Love in case such an episode would spring up again.

Whenever possible though, Lucifer would always carry her off somewhere they could be alone when an episode started; he didn't want to have to try to calm his child while his brothers were freaking out around him and in truth, he found the situation a bit embarrassing. To be more specific, he was uncomfortable letting his brothers hear him speak so tenderly against MC's belly. Occasionally it was unavoidable though and the oldest had to deal with some of his brothers teasing him about it afterwards, especially Mammon.

Overall, such a method is a private, but meaningful thing to him. Even as the episodes lose their frequency, he still finds himself talking to his daughter. Essentially starts the lecturing while Ksenia is too young to realize she is being lectured, but it comes from a very loving place and that's what his daughter responds to.

Mammon:

Oh man, did this dude freak out when the first episode happened.

He tried very hard to keep calm, but it was obvious to anyone who saw him that he was panicking.

He managed to help MC over to the couch and had enough of his brain functioning to realize that he should go get Lucifer from help.

Honestly terrified and thought something was wrong. Well, scratch that. Something was very wrong, but more specifically, both he and MC were scared that she was losing their baby because the pain was so bad.

Luckily, after Mammon bursted into Lucifer's study and had the oldest come out to help, they find out that's not the issue at all. The Avatar of Pride didn't know exactly what the problem was yet, but it wasn't that. He used a calming spell on the human's belly that lightly sedated the child and ended the pain, though they all knew that it was just a temporary solution.

The two older brothers manage to rope Satan into things, having the blonde look through all of his books and do whatever magical tests he needs to in order for them to understand just what's happening with MC and the baby.

Mammon hovered around MC constantly at this point and kept bugging Satan for answers. The second brother didn't mean to seem impatient or ungrateful or anything like that; he was simply worried, even if he tried to pretend otherwise. It didn't stop the blonde from getting frustrated though.

When he found out about the slow energy absorption and how it was essentially scarying his baby girl into hurting her mama, Mammon felt guilty as hell. I mean, of course this would happen; MC is human. Of course her body can't absorb it fast enough. And yet...he still had to be a dumbass and knock her up. Now both his Human and his little girl were suffering 'cause of him.

While Satan searched for methods to stop the episodes and potentially help speed up the absorption process, Mammon kept buying stuff.

Yep. Boy had a guilted heart that pushed him to buy MC stuff. Technically, most of it was for their daughter, but seeing MC's face light up at the cute outfits and toys he got for their kid was exactly what the Avatar of Greed needed.

Mammon...he needed to feel like her was doing something right. For years. His brothers have treated him like he was nothing but a screw up and this situation...it really made all of their words ring in his head, made him feel like they just might be true.

Finding out that all he had to do to stop the pain was talk to his daughter? Easy peasy! Honestly, the dude was just glad there was something he could do.

Yes, his face was red the first time he had to do it. Plus, it was kinda hard to focus on his words since MC was crying in pain and he just wanted to focus on comforting her, but he couldn't.

Tells his baby girl to listen up because her Great Papa Mammon is here and she doesn't have to be scared anymore. One of the more blunt brothers with his kid and just out and tells Cassia that she'll get the dark energy she needs, no worries!

"So no worryin' and go easier on ya Ma, got that Babygirl?"

It was a slow start, but the episode ended in only 12 minutes, much better than the hour the pain would normally last.

Feels much less guilty here on out and when he does, the tsundere will snuggle up to MC and get all blushy, asking if he can have some belly time to talk to their baby.

Definitely the type of the dad to ask his girlfriend to let him have a 'private' talk with their unborn baby just to level with her belly and tell their daughter what a beautiful, sweet, and strong woman her mama is, ultimately smirking the entire time.

Leviathan:

Oh boy, did this man panic. Not sure whether he could have calmed down enough to help or at least get help for MC's first episode because he didn't really get the chance-- Asmo was passing by in the hall when he heard the couple screaming (MC in pain, Levi in panic) and ran to get help for them after poking his head in and seeing the scene.

First one the fifth brother ran into? Satan. The blonde kinda froze at the situation he was dragged into at first, but he remained calm for the most part and tried spell after spell, searching for a remedy to whatever was happening to the human and her child.

The blonde was just as surprised and relieved when the calming spell worked and the human's pain died down.

At some point during the episode, MC had clung and pressed herself against her boyfriend, crying into his chest and in turn, Levi held her tightly, as if he'd lose her if he let go. Even after her pain stopped, the two never let go of each other.

From there, Satan left to get some books from his room to do some tests to see if he could figure out what had transpired.

Levi couldn't even bring himself to look at MC's belly, which was covered in black and blue. He actively avoided lowering his gaze as he anxiously kept asking his Henry if could do something for her, which the human only shook her head. All MC wanted was answers and for Levi to not let go of her yet.

Hearing from Satan later about the issue with MC's absorption rate and his son's fear, the man immediately fell into himself, calling himself selfish and horrible and utterly worthless. Like Mammon, he blamed himself for this, but unlike the second brother, he didn't try to pretend he was okay.

It took a lot of comfort from MC as well as his brothers constantly telling him that he can't be falling apart now, for the man to break out of it a bit. They were right; Levi knew this. He wanted to be there for MC and help her with whatever she needs him to so instead of just knocking himself down, he needs to do the very things she needs him to do.

What did he need to do specifically though? He wasn't really sure till Satan came to him the talking strategy he discovered.

Talking to MC's belly? Talking to their son during an episode? The otaku found it embarrassing... I mean not a bad embarrassing, but still.

When the next episode occurred, the man almost forgot the method, if he's honest. Just like the first time, he panicked and just held his Henry close for a bit before he realized what he should be doing.

Accidentally shoved her away in his panic and quickly apologized before kneeling down in front of her belly.

Goes from apologizing to MC to beginning his little talk with his son with an apology for him. Tells Kai that he's sorry that he's so scared, sorry that things ended up like this, but that even Levi sees now that things will be okay. Gives a lot of reassurance to his son that he'll be okay.

Levi... it's no secret that he has a lot of anxiety problems; he's such a big worrier. This whole situation kinda puts a thought at the back of him; what if his son is like him in that regard? Will Kai become just as scared of people's judgements and whatever troubles could come in the future, just like him? The Avatar of Envy didn't want that for his son.

Promises to his son that he'll never have to be afraid of the things that Levi himself is. He leans in closer to the human's belly and tells his son that he'll do anything and everything to make sure that his son will live a safe, but unrestrained life; a life better than the one Levi has been living himself by hiding away from the world in his room.

It was at that promise where his son finally calmed down and the episode ended. He watched MC wipe the tears from her face for a minute before rising up and pulling his Henry in for a hug.

"I'm sorry." The demon murmured. "I'm sorry this kind of thing is gonna keep happening, but I'll always stop it for you. I'll keep fixing it and it'll be okay."

Overall, the episode only lasted about eight minutes, though two of those minutes was Levi panicking and forgetting he had to talk to his son.

Blushes each and every time he has to talk to his son during an episode without fail.

Not the type to do it outside of the episodes. Instead, he gotten a bit more cuddly around MC's belly. Often asks if the two of them can go lay down together so he can lay close to her belly and hug it. Especially feels the need to do that on his more anxious days.

[i-am-bitterly-jittery]

Into The Dark Side pt 1

So I wrote this a few months ago, and I wasn’t gonna post it until it was finished, but it felt kinda relevant after yesterday’s episode so here, take it

No Spoilers!! I didn’t add anything since yesterday (except for like fixing some grammar mistakes) so none of it was influenced by the ep. It’s an AU either way

Word Count: 2400

Rating: Teen

Pairing: gen

Warnings: swearing, suggestive language, threats of violence (Remus stuff)

~~~START~~~

“I want you to make me a Dark Side.”

Deceit raised an eyebrow at both the odd request, and the fact that the other Side thought he could just barge into his study without knocking. “Excuse me?”

“I know that you control the separation between the so-called ‘Light Sides’ and the ‘Dark Sides’. I want you to turn me into a Dark Side.”

“Indeed,” Deceit replied thoughtfully, leaning back in his chair. He was hoping to come off as casual and aloof, but on the inside, he was completely lost. “I definitely follow. Light Sides ask to become Dark Sides all the time, it’s never the other way around.”

“Thomas frequently asks for my opinion, but once I have given it, my opinion is ignored. I believe my function would be performed more efficiently if I were working behind the scenes, so to speak.”

“Yes,” Deceit leaned forward, steepling his gloved fingers under his chin. “Because Dark Sides are known for being listened to and respected.”

“If my opinion is not going to be listened to, then I would prefer everyone stop asking for it.”

“Hmm, very well. I won’t fulfill your request, but just know, everything in life is free. There is never a price to pay.”

“I do not care. I shall pay, whatever the price.”

Deceit smirked at the other Side, and held out one hand. “Then won’t you shake a poor sinner's hand?” He purred, watching the other Side closely.

He took Deceit’s hand without hesitation and was immediately engulfed in a blinding yellow light. The last thing he heard before losing consciousness was Deceit muttering “transformation central.”

~~~

“-you to make me a Dark Side-”

“-definitely follow-”

“-opinion is ignored-”

“-never a price to pay-”

“I do not care.”

Logan woke up in his bed, glasses still on his face. His room looked exactly the same except everything was in black and white.

Odd. Do all Dark Sides see in monochrome or is this some sort of practical joke played by Deceit?

He was scanning around the room, trying to decipher whether or not Deceit held up his side of the bargain, when he noticed that the lights were off. A glance at the clock told him that it was 5:30 am, much too early for him to be able to see anything more than vague outlines without a light on, let alone the most minute details on his periodic table poster.

Extremely odd indeed.

Cautiously, Logan made his way across the room to the light switch. He flicked the lights on, and suddenly all the colors of his room returned.

Interesting

Curiously, he switched the lights off again. Everything lost color immediately, but not clarity.

Very interesting. Perhaps Dark Sides can see in the dark. Further testing is required.

Leaving the lights off — he could see perfectly well in the dark so why waste electricity? —Logan headed to the bathroom attached to his room to begin his morning ablutions. He didn’t make it very far, however, because as soon as he caught sight of his reflection, he realized why he could see so well in the dark.

Ah, this is what Deceit must have meant when he said there was a price to pay.

All Dark Sides had animal traits. Deceit had snake scales covering random parts of his body, as well as a single snake eye and a forked tongue. Lust - while technically a Neutral Side - had black markings around his eyes, as well as having swan-like wings that jutted out from his back. Apathy also had black marks around his eyes - though his trailed down his face while Lust’s swooped back towards his ears - as well as an overly-large fuzzy sweatshirt that’s sleeves extend well past the tips of his fingers. Greed had intermittent scales like Deceit, though his were larger and shinier, and sometimes smoke came out of his mouth. Jealousy had opposable toes and a prehensile tail. The Duke had tentacles. And Anxiety… Well, Anxiety hid his animal traits well, but Logan was sure that he had some somewhere.

(And then of course there was Malice, Pride, and Rage, but while Logan was aware of their existence, he had never seen them before, and therefore did not know what animals they were represented by, nor how their traits manifest.)

Logan now had animal traits too. His glasses were now round with thick frames, and while his prescription hadn’t changed, they were now magnifying his eyes, making them look overly large and round. His eyebrows had gotten bushier and seemed to be permanently downturned, making him appear to be perpetually glaring. And worst of all, his hair no longer lay flat in a simple, professional style, but rather created two spikes on his head that seem to line up with the angle and trajectory of his eyebrows.

He was an owl. A great horned owl to be precise - and while owls were not known to be any more intelligent than any other type of bird, Logan understood that Dark Sides’ animal traits came from Thomas’ perception of animals, rather than from the actual behaviors of said animals.

This shall… take some getting used to. Still, it’s hardly a great price.

After several minutes of trying - and failing - to get his hair to lie flat, he gave up and decided to just start his day like he always did - with a strong cup of coffee and a nice, healthy breakfast.

Perhaps the hardest part of getting to the kitchen was that, other than his room, everything in the Dark side of the mindscape was a mirror image of how it was in the Light side, though, the fact that there were significantly more doors, and a good number of extra hallways that Logan — even with his more enhanced night vision — could not manage to see down didn’t help. It took him longer than he’d like to admit to make it to the kitchen, and when he got there, he was surprised to find he was not the only one awake.

“What the fuck happened to you?” Anxiety was sitting on top of the fridge, eating chips right out of the bag, and staring down at him.

Logan bristled a bit, which unfortunately meant his hair and clothes flared out like feathers on an agitated owl.

Unfortunate. I should make a note of that for the future.

Thankfully, Anxiety didn’t laugh at him (he wants to, though), instead he just continued to stare at Logan expectantly.

“What’s with the owl getup?”

“Ah, that. I made a deal with Deceit to become a Dark Side.” Logan answered, trying to regain his dignity. Anxiety stiffened at the answer.

“What was the price?” Anxiety demanded, gaze scanning quickly over the room, resting for a moment on a dark hallway that didn’t exist on the Light side, returning to Logan only when he found nothing to be out of place or unusual other than Logan himself.

“This, I presume,” Logan stuck his arms out to show off his unfortunate shirt-feathers. “I’ve become part owl. A bird characterized in popular media as being exceptionally smart, though in reality is of average intelligence for avians. A more accurate choice would have perhaps been a crow or a parrot, both of which are not only considered smart for avians, but for animals in general.”

Anxiety began shaking his head long before Logan finished his rant. “The animal traits are part of the gig, teach, not the price. What did Deceit ask for in return for making you a Dark Side?”

“I, uh, do not know,” Logan admitted slowly. In his haste to become a Dark Side, he had brushed off Deceit’s mention of a price, and now he was faced with the fact that he didn’t know what he paid.

“You don’t know?” Anxiety asked incredulously. Perhaps Logan should have been a little more like Anxiety. Anxiety would have never made a deal if he didn’t know exactly what the deal was, his overly cautious nature was what made Thomas double check the locks in his apartment before going to bed.

“No… I do not.”

“For being the smart one, you sure are a clueless moron.” Anxiety jumped off the fridge in one fluid motion, landing lightly - almost silently - on his feet in front of Logan. “C’mon, we’re gonna go ask Deceit what you paid.”

There was no room for argument as Anxiety grabbed his wrist and dragged him out of the kitchen. Anxiety didn’t appear to be thrown off by the mirror image layout, or by the mysterious extra doors and hallways, but Logan supposed that was to be expected.

He has always lived here; he would know his way around much better than I. In fact, he would probably describe the Light Side as being a mirror image, despite the fact that it has the same basic layout as Thomas’s apartment.

“What are these extra hallways?” Logan asked curiously as they passed by two, one on either side. “And there appear to be a great number of extra doors.”

“Don’t go down hallways you can’t see down, and don’t open doors if you don’t know where they lead,” Anxiety ordered sharply instead of giving a proper answer.

“Why?” Anxiety let out an annoyed hiss, and yanked Logan to a stop.

“Just. Don’t.” He released his grip on Logan’s wrist and turned to the door that they’d stopped in front of. “We’re here.”

Anxiety rapped on the door three times. Nothing happened.

“Dee!” He called, knocking again, louder. “I know you’re in there! Open the d-”

The door flew open suddenly, banging loudly from its impact with the wall. A tentacle shot out of the impossibly dark room, wrapped around Anxiety’s wrist, and yanked the Side into the abyss before Logan could even process what was happening.

Barely a second later, another tentacle wrapped around Logan’s wrist, and yanked him into the room as well. The tentacle let go of him, and the door slammed shut again behind him, cutting off the only source of light in the pitch-black room.

“Anxiety!” A voice chuckled. “You never come to visit me! Oh I’m so touched!”

“Get off of me, Duke!” Logan could hear struggling a few feet away where both the Duke and Anxiety’s voices were coming from - as well as an interesting squwelshing noise. “I’m looking for Deceit, why are you in his room?”

“Oh, emo, you’re so funny!” The Duke laughed. “Deceit’s gone.”

“WHAT?”

“Oh yeah, seems he made a trade with a certain, discontent Light Side. I came across this empty room this morning and though it could fit sooo many butts in here, so it’s mine now!”

“Though I loathe to place myself in the middle of this conversation,” Logan interrupted. “Why can’t I see anything?”

“Cuz it’s not your room, dipshit,” Anxiety snapped.

“Now, Anxie, be nice to the nerd,” the Duke cooed. “He’s not from here.”

Suddenly, the lights flickered on, allowing Logan to take in their surroundings for the first time. The room was empty other than for himself and the other two Dark Sides, with nearly pristine white walls and carpet - though a splattering of… interesting colors littered the area around the Duke’s feet. Logan was about a foot away from the door with a tentacle reaching past him towards the light switch.

The Duke was standing in the approximate center of the room, about five feet away from Logan. His two human arms were wrapped around Anxiety, trapping his arms to his sides, lifting him off the ground, and clutching him to the Duke’s chest, while two of the Duke’s tentacles are wrapped around his legs to keep the anxious Side from kicking.

“Great,” Anxiety commented sarcastically. “Now lemme go you slimy-“

The Duke’s final tentacle wrapped around Anxiety’s head like a gag, cutting off whatever expletives were about to come out of his mouth.

“That’s better!” The Duke cheered. “Oh! My my, Anxiety, I didn’t know you were so kinky!”

The words spurred on another round of struggling from Anxiety, but the Duke held fast.

“Now, Archimedes,” the tentacle that had turned the lights on then wrapped around Logan’s wrist and pulled him closer to the conversation, though it was considerably gentler than when it had dragged him into the room - less like being kidnapped and more like having a child excited to show him something. “You can’t see in the dark in other Side’s spaces, it’s rude! You can only see in the dark in your room, and the common spaces.”

“What about all those hallways I couldn’t see down?” Logan asked, ignoring the silent glare coming from the trapped Anxiety.

“Oh those?” The Duke leaned in close enough that Logan could smell his foul breath. “Those are where the Darkest Sides live. The ones that give poor wittle Morality and Anxiety nightmares.” The Duke punctuated this by licking Anxiety’s cheek. “The ones that Deceit keeps under strict lock and key because even he’s afraid of letting them out.”

“Pride, Rage, and Malice,” Logan guessed.

“And me, of course.” The Duke dropped Anxiety in order to pose dramatically, arranging his tentacles around himself menacingly, but artistically.

Definitely Roman’s brother.

“But as I’m sure you know, Raerae, Octopi can fit through any opening they can get their beak through. All Deceit’s horses and all Morality’s men can’t keep me in the darkness forever. Every now and then, I get out and share all my fun ideas with Thomas.”

“Your ideas aren’t fun!” Anxiety hissed from the corner where he’d retreated to as soon as the Duke had released him. Logan noted his defensive stance, darkened eyeshadow, and involuntary hissing, and wondered if Anxiety’s animal traits were perhaps that of a racoon. “Now let us out!”

“Sorry, Tickle Me Emo,” the Duke giggled. He reached a tentacle out to open the door, but instead of the dimly lit hallway Logan and Anxiety had come from, beyond the door was pitch black. “I can’t open doors to the Dark Side unless someone lets me — like you did earlier when you knocked — but since Jay Jay the Jet Plane’s flown the coop, ~no one’s gonna come looking for you,~” the Duke advanced towards Anxiety, his posture and tone becoming less friendly and more menacing. “It’s just you, me, and Pigwidgeon here.”

~~~TO BE CONTINUED~~~

To be clear: Lust is a swan, Apathy is a sloth, Greed is a dragon, and Jealousy is monkey

Ten points if you guess Virgil’s animal traits

Twenty points if you guess what Pride, Malice, and Rage are

General Taglist: @royalty-of-all-things-snuggly @pixelated-pineapple

[dandylion240]

All of the story asks please :) (Character specific ones I'd say up to you, but would love to have them be Jonah/Cecil or my usual favorites ;) )

what’s the last screenshot you’ve taken for your story?

2. describe your story in three words or less

Family, Angst, Drama

3. describe (insert character here) in three words or less

Jonah - unassuming, brave sensitive

Cecil - insightful, supportive, caring

Evan - self-sacrificing, helpful, innocent

Jayden - protective, stubborn, active

4. how did you choose the name of your story?

I try to use titles that is kind of thematic of the story I'm writing. It takes me forever to come up with a name and sometimes the name changes multiple times before it gets posted.

5. how do you choose your characters’ names?

It depends upon the story. For my Reagan family stories (TS4) I use the parents names. It's kind of a family tradition. For instance Jonah/Ethan. All boys will start with E and the girls will start with J. In my TS3 stories I sometimes choose a theme for names and use that. Like next gen of NSQL the theme is nature.

6. how long have you been working on your story for?

Well it depends on the story. With my Reagans I started writing for them in the summer of 2019. For my TS3 legacies I started in 2014 I think.

7. whats the biggest risk you’ve taken with your story? did it pay off?

I think my biggest risk is my current story Into the Depths of Darkness. I wasn't sure I could pull it off and the story has changed from what I thought it would be and the hero of the story has changed from first conception. I'm happy that Jonah is the hero of his own story and it's given him so much character growth and he's becoming more of what I always invisioned him being. I owe a lot to @mahvaladara to how the story has progressed and the ideas she has contributed. It wouldn't be what it is without her.

8. what about your story are you proud of?

There are many things I'm proud. Mostly that I continue writing even though sometimes it feels like I'm ripping my heart out to write some of things I write about and also that I don't quit even when it's hard.

9. what about your story are you looking to improve on?

There's always things that can be improved. Writing is a process that the more you do it the more you learn and get better. I could say pictures but I'll admit the storytelling will always come first over pretty pics and sometimes I just can't find the right pose to fit. Maybe one day I'll be able to make my own poses but I'm not there yet.

10. is your story fully planned or are you still working things out? is there a definitive end?

It's a work in progress. I start writing from an outline of how I think the story should go but it's loose enough for me to rearrange things or remove/add things to it as the story evolves.

11. why have you decided to tell this story? are there any messages or meanings within it?

I just like to write. If there's any message in my stories it's that family is important and no matter awful things you might face in life if you have people who love and care for you that you can endure it. But mostly that you can rise above your circumstances and still be a healthy, functioning person despite everything even if you have a mental or health problems, you can still be happy, loved.

12. do you actually play the game or do you just use it as a storytelling medium?

It's mostly a storytelling medium for me. I do play it sometimes but tbh though TS4 lacks so much depth and gameplay I find it boring after a while. I've gotten into playing TS3 again now that I have a better computer that it doesn't lag as much.

13. from basic planning to a finished post, how long does that take you?

I don't honestly know. I've never stopped to consider how long it takes.

14. do you have any regrets about your story so far? if you could go back in time, how would you fix these?

No I don't think I have any real regrets. Sure I go back and think I could have written that better or edited that picture more but for the most part I'm happy with my stories.

15. what have been the highlights of creating your story?

The highlights have always been the people who become involved in my characters lives.

16. what about the process do you enjoy?

Seeing my stories come to life. How my characters change as the story progresses.

17. what about the process do you hate?

When I struggle to write a scene and it doesn't flow the way it should. It's generally because I'm coming at it wrong. Once I figure that out than it flows. Sometimes the seeming lack of interest in what I write from the readers is hard to overcome and I feel like quitting. But the few who comment I thank because that always revs up my motivation to continue.

18. choose a song that reminds you of your story

Just one song....that's really difficult say. There are so many songs out that fit my current story. This song fits Into the Depths of Darkness because where there's a lot of darkness there's still hope to be found.

19. choose a song that reminds you of (insert character here)

Ok I'll do this for Jonah - Fight Song

20. choose your favourite shot from your story so far

21. choose your least favourite shot so far

22. choose a favourite character from your story so far

Jonah is my baby. It may not show it by I love him.

23. choose your least favourite character so far

Hmm this is difficult because there were characters I created purely to be hated. Currently my least favorite is Ethan but it's not because I don't love him but it's because of his roll in the story.

24. are there any characters who remind you of yourself?

Not really. There are certain aspects of me in all my characters or people I know in them but none are an incert of myself.

25. what inspirations have you drawn on for your story?

There are so many. I draw inspiration from people around me. From movies and TV shows I watch. The books I read. Sometimes from the people I interact with on here mainly @izayoichan @mahvaladara @jenpants and @legendofsim They've let me bounce ideas off of them and their input helps me in my stories.

26. have other sim stories inspired you?

Yes they have. See above. All their stories have inspired me.

27. what genres would you describe your story as?

Modern fantasy drama??? I have no idea if that's a thing but it best describes what I write.

28. if you could reproduce your story in another medium (movie, novel, comic, etc.) what would you choose and why?

Hmm I'd say novel or maybe series. A movie would be cool too.

29. what would your story’s rating be? (G, PG, M etc.)

Hmm interesting I'd like to say its somewhere between PG-13 and mature just because of some of the topics.

30. if you were leaving simblr and had to choose another creator to continue the story for you, who would you ask?

I think either @izayoichan or @mahvaladara for my TS4 stories since they've helped me write some of them and they would keep true to the characters as they love them as much as I do.

For my TS3 stories I would say @legendofsim since for a long time our stories had been intertwined.

31. drop some random trivia about your story

Ethan was supposed to die trying to save Jonah

Caiden was supposed to have played the part of the hero instead of Jonah

Cory was going to heal Jonah's broken heart over the of Ethan.

But as they say the story changed...

32. give a light spoiler

Someone will be heartbroken at the end of the story.

33. recommend another creator’s story!

There are so many: @izayoichan @mahvaladara @nikatyler @justkeeponsimming @amuhav @legendofsim @simlit @lilyshadowwriter @wannabecatwriter

Please don't be upset if you weren't listed on here. I love everyone I follow but these are my favorites. I have others but some aren't active anymore and stuck with the ones I'm always waiting for the next installment, even if I'm behind on a few of them.

Thank you for asking!