#anyway.. vine reference.. yeas

[ilonacho]

💚🥑💚

[expired-monster-craft-smp]

Blooming Panic hcs because I have literal brain rot but barely any of these are serious and you can tell who are my favs

Xyx

- has no idea what a grilled cheese sandwich is

- like you and Toasty were talking about having them for lunch or something and he goes “what the fuck is a grilled cheese sandwich. Do you,,,,do you grill two slices of cheese and eat it???? Is it just burnt cheese?????”

- you and Toasty are confused too but not with the same thing

- “YOU DONT KNOW WHAT A GRILLED CHEESE IS???????” “no?????” “ARENT YOU A GROWN MAN YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS”

- despite being a lawyer, he doesn’t actually know a lot of basic things

- “wdym I cant put white clothes and coloured clothes in the washer together, they’re both clothes” “…how are you almost 30”

- the eyeliner he’s wearing is actually the same eyeliner he applied 2 years ago

- you know how some ppl go for the crusty emo look?? Yeah, he perfected it

- has never been in the closet, he came out the second he knew so he could make even more jokes

- he wears a fairly large shoe size so he constantly says shit like “well u know what they say about men with big feet😏” “Xyx I’m in the middle of a raid SHUT THE FUCK UP”

- dislikes ham for no reason in particular, he just thinks it’s weird

- used to play the knife game a lot. Like a concerning amount

- hates hair gel cause it makes his hair Crunchy but he has to clean up nicely for work so he sits there and wants to wash his hair so bad but he can’t cause then he just has a weird mullet thing

- has a tongue piercing

- even though he uses “lawyer” words and makes lawyer puns constantly, no one knew his career until he outright told them

- “yeah so im a lawyer” “YOURE A WHAT?? HOW ?!??” “WHO THE FUCK USES THE WORDS PERJURY AND LIBEL IN NORMAL CONVERSATIONS???” “IDK ONION??” “okay fair u got me with that one”

- because only you and Toasty (started having voice calls after Xyx shared his face) have heard his voice, no one else in the server has any idea he’s Not American so they assume he’s American

- likes fairy bread. Like a lot. Maybe too much.

- no literally sometimes it’s all he eats for days. Every single meal it’s just. Fairy bread.

- he flusters so easy whenever someone is being genuine like you can say you want to peg him or smthin and he’ll flirt right back but if you tell him you want to cup his face oh so gently and kiss him slowly he breaks

- well actually if you say you wanna peg him he’ll probably get flustered too but ignore that

- he’s double jointed

- eats whipped cream right out of the can

- has extra teeth from when he was younger and his teeth are also Very Sharp

- makes fun of Toasty for having a peanut allergy

- “I thought u were fruity Toast, why can’t u handle nut?“ “for the love of god please stop” “…do u need to bring an epipen when u suck someone off” “STOP OMG WHAT IS WITH U TODAY” “wdym I’m like this everyday”

- always uses the perfect amount of cologne it’s terrifying, it’s never too much or too little

- got his appendix removed and needed his tonsils removed too but he wanted to keep them so they had to sedate him

- he was Not pleased

NakedToaster

- as implied earlier, they are allergic to peanuts

- he thinks they’re gross anyways so he doesn’t care really

- forgets that they’re really tall sometimes and smacks his head on shit constantly

- “hey, have you seen m- FUCKING SHIT. OW” “…u good???” “Yea sorry I threw my noggin’ into my doorframe again”

- references vines to an unhealthy extent. Even the rare ones that only he seems to know about

- they say the reference out loud and laugh but since no one else knows it they think they’ve just gone fucking crazy

- “ya know, like that one vine?” “No, no we don’t know”

- likes cheez-its but only after 1 am

- half Polish, 1/4 Estonian, 1/4 Russian

- why? Because they look so slavic it hurts and because I said so, fuck you

- likes cheese so fucking much it’s actually disgusting

- lactose intolerant

- only instrument he knows how to play is the fucking accordion but he doesn’t want to admit that so they just say they don’t know how to play any instruments

- avid reptile enjoyer, active amphibian hater

- stoner

- it just makes him feel weightless and warm and dizzy in such a good way so they smoke often but they prefer edibles, especially sweet ones

- gets super soft spoken and cuddly and sweet when high like the best way I can describe it is like subspace and it’s the cutest thing the World

- fairly good singer, often does little duets with Xyx when it’s late and they’re both inebriated in some way

- little spoon (I’m right about this)

- will wear the cat ears he bought as a joke for $20 or more

- probably plays League and mains Machine Herald

- “haha funny machine Russian man says the funny machine Russian man things that’s so silly of him”

- easiest person to fluster, you can say anything to them and he will turn bright red and stutter

- “your hair looks so cute today toasty :)” “hhhhhhhhthank u…”

- favourite drink is apple juice or warm apple cider

- actually has three monitors not two but the third one is only used to display a picture of big Marty at all times

- first time you saw it you broke down laughing and worried him because you looked like you weren’t properly breathing

- they probably have asthma

- got pneumonia once because he was too focused on final fantasy to take care of himself

- Toasty is actually autistic, this is true they told me himself

Quest

- can be worse than even Xyx when it comes to dirty jokes, but most of the time he doesn’t even realize he made such jokes

- puts someone random in the JAIL role every Tuesday depending on how badly behaved you are during the week in the server

- Xyx and Nightowl get this role the most

- likes to paint on skin like he really enjoys painting things like landscapes on someone’s forearm or back or stomach

- has accidentally drunk paint water several times

- whenever he gets a cut or he’s bleeding somewhere, he sucks all the blood off and thinks its a little bit tasty

- “no wonder I get so many mosquito bites, I taste delicious :^D” “what did u just type…”

- hates graham crackers for literally no reason

- takes gym mirror pics and sends them in general chat because everyone thinks he’s really hot

- even BIGLADY keysmashes over the pics

- Quest knows what he’s doing with those okay, but he likes to act completely oblivious

“[pic sent] finished my workout for today! :^) a bit sweaty but feeling pretty good” “ALSJSJSHSHS daddy? Sorry. Daddy? Sorry.” “???? I know I’m like the server dad but what does that have to do with this??”

- good at poker, absolute garbage at blackjack

- only one other than Xyx to beat Onion at chess

- likes celery because of how crunchy it is he just munches on it all day long practically

- the other sever members make fun of him for it because they do not particularly favour celery

- his glasses are always so dirty

- doesn’t drink all that often but when he does it’s almost guaranteed he’ll get blackout drunk. Why?

- he’s a fucking lightweight. And it’s kinda sad how little it takes for him to get absolutely fucking hammered

- thinks fish are very interesting

- likes frogs :)

- this has lead to arguments between him and Toasty, the resident amphibian hater

- “frogs are awesome!! Theyre so cute and little!!” “Are u prepared to die for those opinions? Because frogs are dogshit and I stand by that” “@NakedToaster has been timed out for 5 hours”

- will have quiet/silent calls with Nightowl with some quiet lofi music in the background where Quest does his work and Nightowl does him homework

- Quest loves lofi music and I will die on this hill

- throughly enjoys building 3D models of things

- probably the reason half the server has a praise kink and it’s completely by accident

- somehow always wins at Rock Paper Scissors??? No one knows how he does it

Nightowl

- has mild deuteranomaly (red green colourblindness type where they can usually see most shades of green)

- it’s not usually an issue though tbh and it doesn’t come up much for him in his day to day life

- hates apples and but loves apple slices

- uses kid toothpaste because he hates minty toothpaste

- used to have braces and would change the colour of the bands literally every appointment

- sucks at chess but dominates at checkers like he’s so fucking good at checkers

- has eaten a glass marble once and hasn’t seen it since

- has hundreds of tiktok drafts and most of them are thirst traps

- once super glued his hand to a wall and the fire department was in fact called

- has bpd but has never gotten treatment because he doesn’t know what it is and his mom talks shit about mental health stuff so he never even thought about going to therapy

- owns an Xbox 360 and plays it frequently

- has a massive scar on his thigh from attempting and failing at climbing a tree when he was younger

- is the reason why there is a “horny jail” role on the server

- listens to Kpop and tries to get the others into it the way Toasty tries to get ppl to play final fantasy

- tried sharpening his teeth with a nail file before and his dentist has been suspicious of him ever since

- “your teeth look sharper than they did the last time you were here” “haha that’s crazy…anyway-“ “🤨”

- has dyed his hair every colour of the rainbow but eventually got too tired of the upkeep and stopped

- his favourite snack are gushers

- has an Instagram account where he posts his art and has like 200K+ followers on it

- he wants an eyebrow piercing so bad but thinks it would look weird on him but the second that anyone would suggest it he would cave immediately and get one

- likes bang energy drinks, favourite is the cotton candy flavour

- has mixed bang with vodka once and lets just say he never did it again

- surprisingly steady hands

- really good with kids!!! He loves them so so much and they love him back!!! Used to babysit for family friends and family

- kind of a picky eater

- likes to dip his fingers in candle wax to make a little wax tower and then when it gets to be pretty tall he pops it off, lets it melt, and does it again

- he’s god at math but he’s kinda bad at reading because he’s severely dyslexic

- wears gold shimmer eyeshadow and puts on eyeliner everyday no matter what

- uses tone tags and has learned to ask for clarification when he’s confused about the tone of a sever message

[shirophic]

Could I request Chihiro, Mikan, Ibuki, and Tsumugi (separately) with an S/O who loves watching and quoting vines?

LMAOO I LOVE VINES

also uh I didn’t know what pronouns you use for chihiro (I use he/him) but I went with they/them

s/o = significant other tw: gender neutral reader, 

chihiro

- they’ve seen some vines here and there - so they know where your references are coming from - and then sometimes they are just confused at what you just said - “road work ahead’... yea I sure hope it does” “s/o, who are you talking to?” - BAHAHHA poor chihiro - sometimes they’ll finish some for you - “TWO BROS, CHILLIN IN A HOT TUB-” “five feet apart cause they’re not gay..” - okok yes I know it’s a little ooc but shh

mikan

- aww poor girl - she thought that she had something wrong with her at first - “I can’t believe you’ve done this” “a-ah s/o?! did I do something wrong? I’ll do anything please s/o-” - you’ll have to explain it to her to get her to calm down - she gets it, but she’s a little confused - one day she sees you watching vine on your computer/phone/tablet/whatever watching vines - she was intrigued with what you were watching so she sat down beside you - and as the video was done she asked if it was a coping method for anything - which it might be but it wasn’t specified in the ask soo - “ah no mikan, I just love quoting and watching vines!” “o-oh ok dear..” - so yea a little confused but happy if you’re happy

ibuki

- oh she 100% watches vines - “I am confusion” “AMERICA EXPLAAIN” - she loves watching vines with you! - after knowing you quote vines too, she started quoting her vine knowledge as well! - “I smell like beef” “hi, welcome to chillis-” - so yeah it’s extra fun with her when you learn she watches vines too! - I feel like she would have some vines she would love quoting - “it’s an avocado! thaanks..” “(what does that say, anya?) whaaa? whaaa?” - BAHHHAAHA - yea so just like I said, super fun when you learn she watches vines too!

tsumugi

- omg hey shawty - anyways, it’s kinda the same as chihiro, she would know where you’re quoting from and sometimes finish some - “hi my name is trey and I have a basketball game tomorrow” “oh, that’s a vine reference, right?” - you were happy she got that it was a vine reference and she sometimes finished off your quotes! - “I’m lesbian” “I thought you were american?>???” - but she gets so used to you quoting vines that she just ends up saying a random one/finishing your sentence without even looking - “how do you know what's good for m-” “that's my opINION” - “freshavacado” “merry chrysler” - oh tsumugi makes the best avocado iykyk - LMAOO

[palmett-hoes]

YES. Oh my God you explained perfectly the logic behind Neil getting tattoos. I get that people think tattoos fix Andrew's "aesthetic" more cause he wears all black and all but tattoos nowadays are popular and not really a thing that only alternative people get. Anyway -> if Neil got tattoos, do u have an hcs for what he might?

yea the more i think about it the more i really like the idea of neil getting tattoos. and who knows, maybe if his boyfriend starts to get covered andrew will take an interest too. i mean you're right, it does fit his aes. maybe he gets some matching tattoos with the love of his life

WHAT neil would get tho? oh there’s so many factors to consider

i see him having a similar ideology about it as i do, that his tattoos are to memorialize significant people and events in his life. most importantly though, they’re just,, to make him feel good about himself, so they’re all of happy memories, even if some might be bittersweet

it’s also not about full-coverage. he’s fine if his scars are still visible under the tattoo and probably isn’t going to try to religiously cover every single one. it’s about having something good on his body that he chose to put there to combat but not necessarily blot out the bad things done to him against his will

he tends to collect smaller individual pieces rather than large scale work and he’s not committed to a specific style, so his collection is a bit random and eclectic. but in terms of the style generally drawn to very kinesthetic art with a lot of movement and fluid lines, but also angular and hard-edged. i don’t think he’s color-averse and definitely not a strict black-and-gray guy, but at the same time i can’t see him doing like super super bright color work. he goes for darker, more saturated colors, like jewel and natural tones. also of course i see him as brown skinned so you need to approach color work differently anyway

in terms of what he actually GETS, i don’t really have a lot of opinions on placement or like,, what tattoos should cover which scar, but have some random ideas i think he might get

he has a large piece (like maybe a sleeve or thigh) that’s dedicated to his time on the run, but the good parts. it’s a mix of a lot of images and very chaotic, drawing from like,, the french cafe where his most first bought him a cup of coffee and cottage safehouses in the alps in summer and where they had room to stretch their legs and run and chase each other and hustling three card monty in dubai with his mom and diners in the pacific northwest that sold the best fruit pies

he of course gets a lot of tattoos for the foxes, definitely at least one straight-up fox. tiny pawprints are his go-to filler pattern

he has everyone’s signatures somewhere on him, maybe with a tattoo of the Championship trophy being hoisted up by a group of hands. he also has small individual pieces that memorialize each of them individually

definitely got several exy sticks and various other pieces of gear scattered in various places. dark stadium chairs leading down to a brightly lit exy court

andrew is probably his biggest inspiration. he has the photograph of them together in the airport turned into a silhouette like a victorian cameo. a ring of keys; this one might go on the back of his neck. a tire track skid mark. a skeleton sitting on a roof against a sunrise. andrew’s hand sparking a lighter. the only reason he doesn’t have a full portrait is bc andrew says he’ll leave him if he does it

a rabbit skull overgrown by moss and vines and flowers.

he gets a rook and knight chess pieces tat because kevin says that’s what he and andrew would be

he gets some small cheeky ones too. things like a line of script that says “you should see the other guy” with a gun running under a nasty scar or a skeletal arm broken in half

once he starts to really establish who he is and flesh himself out as a person he gets some that don’t necessarily have a lot of meaning but that he just likes the look of because he has the luxury of having opinions on art now

i don’t necessarily know if i want him to cover his facial scars, but i think that’s mostly because i don’t like facial tattoos very much, especially ones located where neil’s scars are. that’s just a personal preference though. however, i think the idea of a minimalist, abstract take of just like,, adding color to the scars might be nice. something like well-saturated brushstroke work

(addendum: an au or something where all neil’s scars are just covered in abstract brushwork would be so fucking beautiful. like this but full-body holy shit)

(i just don’t think it really fits him in canon to have a full-body tattoo scheme. also those would require so much long-term maintenance you’d have to get them redone like every 5 to 10 years)

he also doesn’t get them all at once, this is something he builds up over years. he also doesn’t want to rush it because he wants to stay open to memorialize things that will come in the future, because he has a future to wait for now

---

also i assume you probably want some reference photos too bc this can be a little hard to understand just as words, so here's some of my reference images under the cut

they’re more of a stylistic reference than a content reference. also - as in all things - this will of course also tell you a lot about my own personal taste in tattooing even though i try not to make it based ENTIRELY on what i like and try to factor in what i think neil would like

these were the tattoos that most inspired me about the tattoo idea for neil’s happiest memories with his mother. for some reason my gut really drew me towards architectural tattoos for it. i like the way the perspective on the left image is curved and confusing and it takes you a second to make sense of what you’re looking at. it reminds me a lot of an MC Escher drawing and that’s sort of the exact seeling of chaos and confusion that i think the tattoo needs. but then i was also really drawn to the soft colors of the right image (although they’d have to be adjusted somewhat for neil’s darker skin), because they’re so comforting, and i think that’s the sort of balance i’m looking for out of a tattoo for mary. so like,, compositionally like the left image but colored more like the right

literally every person who’s ever considered aftg and tattoos together HAS to offer up a fox tattoo it’s law. anyway these are mine. or well, the types i can see neil with. also, not aside from the foxes, these tattoos are really the best examples i can find of the angular, kinesthetic art style that i feel very strongly matches neil

inspo behind the tattoo of andrew’s hand with the lighter. also just a good simple style for smaller tattoos or filler tattoos

victorian cameos. inspiration behind both the silhouette tattoos of andrew and neil in the airport and the skeleton & the sunrise. both would be more than just the bust and the poses would be more fluid and they don’t need the brooch design outline. it’s really more of a starter reference or a jumping off point

neo-traditional tattoos. phenomenal style. strong lines and highly saturated color, super important both for a long-lasting tattoo and for tattooing on darker skin. they also just tend to have a certain composition i really like

this is the style i see the championship trophy tattoo, the chess pieces tattoo, the rabbit skull tattoo, and the ring of keys tattoo all in

---

okay i’m done now

thoughts?

[knives-out20]

Magnetic Push - Erik Lehnsherr x Male!OC - Part 2

Fandom: X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014)

Pairing: Karmel Rosenstein (OC) x Erik Lehnsherr

Warnings: Swearing, SELF HARM, Gay, Spoilers for X-Men: Days Of Future Past, Magnetic Pull spoilers,

Notes: Welcome to Part 2! Do NOT keep reading if you have NOT finished Magnetic Pull! The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) reference ahead. During their 10 years (or so) in the Pentagon cell, Karmel’s had the (possible mis)fortune of growing his hair out. This is what it looks like, for future reference:

Karmel rolled over on the mat he had to call a bed, laying on his side to face Erik- on his own mat- across the prison cell. "How long do you think we've fuckin' been here for?"

Erik was sat in some meditating position, and opened his eyes after Karmel spoke. "Who knows, honestly. They don't bother giving us the date, and there's no way to tell when the sun goes down or comes up. We could've been in here for days, by now. Months, even...Years."

Karmel closed his eyes, laying on his stomach now. "Probable-years in these tacky-ass uniforms in some underground cell that makes my goddamn eyes hurt" he groaned softly, sitting up. "At least they had the courtesy of putting us together, right? I'd rather a cell with you than a cell by myself, for this long. It'd be like growing up, alone, without my parents all over again" he explained, dragging out the 'all'.

"How so?"

"I'd be sad...'n' scared. Alone, obviously. With just my thoughts and my powers. All this at once has never landed me in the best head space in the past, Erik" Karmel grumbled. He hugged himself tightly. "That's kinda why I'm glad we're fucking around in here together."

Erik relaxed himself from his upright meditation position. He dropped his hands, and breathed a smile to life across his lips. "I'm flattered.” Erik responded, eyes lingering over the bandages wrapped around Karmel’s wrists and arms from under the sleeves of his top. 

He wasn’t blind to the fact that Karmel would be alone with his thoughts and powers (said powers being able to summon sharp thorns on vines) when Erik would be fast asleep. Erik assumes Karmel’s only thankful that Erik was able to be awake most of the time.

"Why are we even here, anyway? Just to fucking suffer?" Karmel asked. "We try to stop the assassination of the President, and this is the thanks we get?" He huffed, running his fingers through his long hair. His hair had grown over the years Erik and him were in prison for; it had gotten much longer, and Karmel couldn’t do anything about it, or with it.

At least Erik liked it.

"That's not how they see it, Karmel" Erik reminded.

“Yea, I know" Karmel nodded. "Think we'll get out one day?"

Erik pursed his lips in thought.

"There's so much I gotta do- you can't expect me to leave Grimm with my mansion for our entire lives."

"Grimm-?" Erik furrowed his eyebrows. "What is Grimm doing with your mansion?"

Karmel groaned, standing up and stretching. "Me and Grimm made a deal ages ago, to watch over each others' houses if one of us got taken away, or- or locked up. Here I am, locked up, so Grimm and his ghosts have been tending to my house for...well, however long we've been here- which I don't fucking know!" He yelled the last bit, eyes darting around the cell.

"There's no cameras in here, remember, Karmel?" Erik shook his head.

"Oh, I know. If there was, they'd have told us to stop doing what we were doing, like...I wanna say yesterday?" Karmel grinned, flipping his hair over his shoulder.

Erik rolled his eyes as he stood up. Being that there were no cameras, he remembers Karmel not getting bandages around those arms of his until some guard came to bring down their food. Erik remembers Karmel sobbing in his arms, Erik himself stuttering out “Karmel...Karmel, you’re- you’re crushing me” because nothing weighed down on Erik more than Karmel crying, and hurting himself.

Karmel's grin dropped. He walked over to Erik, and poked his cheek. "We'll get out one day, y'know that, right?" Karmel spoke. He placed one hand on Erik’s shoulder, the other on the back of his neck.

Erik complied by putting one hand on Karmel’s hip, the other on the small of his back. Smoothly, the two began to slow-dance around the room, no music needed.

"I don't know when, how, or by what, but...we'll get out" Karmel assured, cupping Erik's cheek.

Erik looked Karmel in the eyes, unresponsive as they swayed. He held Karmel closer. ”We’ve been quite productive in here, though, haven’t we? I was able to teach you how to dance like this even better than you could before. I also taught you German- say something in German, Karmel.”

Karmel’s eyes looked to the side in thought. ”Ich verehre dich” he said, roughly translating to ‘I worship you.’

Erik scoffed. ”Is that all you remember?” He looked at Karmel with such raw, unadulterated love that the energy in itself could smash the windows above their heads. In a way where if they were dancing around other people instead of by themselves right now, Erik’s eyes would see only Karmel. ”I don’t want worship. I want understanding” Erik reminded, knowing he got both for the price of one, all in Karmel.

Karmel smiled sheepishly, shrugging. ”Sorta” he nodded, leaning so far back that his hair almost touched the floor.

Erik put his fingers on Karmel’s neck, lightly dragging them down the middle of his body and stopping at Karmel’s waist before pulling his partner back up. He chuckled.

After a bit more dancing, Karmel pulled away and sat down- Erik followed along, sitting down on his mat. ”To be understood is possibly the greatest fucking form of intimacy, y’know? My dad used to tell me that- without the ‘fucking’, though.”

“’Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood’’“ Erik quoted.

Karmel raised his eyebrows. ”You fuck with Orwell?”

“Sometimes.”

Karmel licked his lips, instantly falling back to lie on the floor. He stared straight up, through the windows on the ceiling. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"That I can't get us out of here myself. My vines, they're- they're not strong enough, to break that fuckin' glass" Karmel pointed up at the glass he was talking about. "Something in that glass or around this room is weakening my powers, I swear."

"Karmel..." Erik started, his lover sparing him a glance. "It's not your fault that we're still in here" he said, lying down beside Karmel. "And we're gonna get out one day, I can believe that" Erik offered Karmel a comforting smile.

Karmel nodded, sitting up; Erik mirrored his actions. He tugged his collar. "Fuck knows how long we've been here for, and I'm still not used to not wearing my Dad's ties...or my Uncle's belt...your bracelet..." Karmel listed, fingers tracing down his neck, then patting his hip and finally grabbing his empty wrist. "I feel naked."

Erik snickered, turning away.

"Incredibly fucking seen" Karmel scoffed. ”And my hair’s long as hell, it’s ugly.”

Erik locked eyes with Karmel, a soft look dominating his face. He cupped Karmel's cheek, the blond desperately leaning into the touch. ”I think your hair looks quite beautiful.”

Karmel glanced down at Erik's lips. He remembers how, a long time ago, he would beat himself up for even looking at Erik himself. But that was when Karmel was in a darker place. He's still there, but Erik's a light in it, now. Before Karmel knew it, he was leaning in.

And Erik was, too.

Karmel pressed his forehead against Erik's, corner of his lip twitching up into a half-smile. Touching foreheads was a constant form of physical affection between the two, it had all started on the beach in Cuba in '62. His hand slid around Erik's neck, giving him a constant reminder that even with everything he had lost, he had Erik. 

Erik pulled him closer, knowing Karmel’s body like it was his own. One hand rubbing Karmel's thigh, he used his other hand on Karmel's shoulder to push him down. Successfully pinning Karmel to the floor, Erik loomed over him.

Once Karmel leaned his head back on the floor, Erik leaned up to straddle him. He looked up at Erik, in silent awe.

Erik chuckled. "What?" He used his pointer finger to brush strands of Karmel’s hair out from his face.

"You're always...so perfect, Erik" Karmel confessed. "I can't fuckin' get enough of you. I told you from around the moment I met you, there’s so much more to you, Erik. There’s good. Compared to the last time I told you this-” his mind flashed back to that time, just outside the X-Mansion, all those years ago.

Karmel hummed. ”A flower from my own vines, Erik. That’s super fucking personal” he said, reaching up to tuck it behind Erik’s ear.

Erik exhaled through his nose, glancing up at it. ”How do I look?”

”Breathtaking, man” Karmel giggled, definitely in love at this point. Not even that ‘in love’ love with Erik’s body; Karmel was in love with Erik as a person, the whole idea of him sparked joy. At first he thought it was merely physical. But the more time they spent around each other, the deeper it grew. Now Karmel just wishes he could act on his feelings.

Erik glanced down, stricken by a sense of shyness.

“See, Erik-” Karmel started, pointing at the bracelet. ”There’s so much more to you than you know, Erik. Not just pain and anger, like me. There’s good in you, Erik, I can feel it. I know it. I’ve fucking seen it, now.”

Erik looked up at him, surprised at what was said. Did Karmel really think that of him?

The two held eye contact again, standing in comfortable silence.

Karmel was the first to break his gaze, quick to sneak a glance at Erik's lips beforehand.

“-I’ve definitely felt it, now. I definitely know it, now. And I’ve definitely seen it, now” Karmel concluded.

“Well, that’s because time has passed. You’re way more to me than you were back then” Erik brought up. He slowly licked his lips in thought. ”Actually...” Erik shook is head. ”You were more than just a friend.”

Erik’s always had a clear idea of what the line between friendship, and something more than friendship (like romance) was, and Karmel did, too. But back then, with each other, it became blurred. They called each other their friends, Karmel stood hard on them being strictly platonic (due to now-obvious personal reasons), but with or without the crushing-on-each-other, it’s obvious something was there between them. A connection, a magnetic pull of some sort. Some could say that Erik and Karmel were each others’ twin flames, even.

But there was no denying that from the night Erik let Karmel convince him to stay, something’s been there that made them more than friends. 

Karmel looked up at him silently, knowing that ‘something’ has obviously grown since then. “We just couldn’t realize it yet” he breathed, eyebrows raised.

Erik climbed off of Karmel, sitting back down on his mat. He smiled, resting his head in his hand, which he then yawned into.

Karmel stood up. "What?" He shrugged, "is my love getting tiresome?" Karmel teased, winking playfully over at him. ”Can’t blame ya- I’m like...four days past my bedtime.”

Erik exhaled through his nose. "No, I'm just a bit tired. Which is surprising- we haven't exactly been doing much to wear us out" he explained, lying down.

"Except for-"

"Karmel," Erik smirked. "Please."

Karmel waved his hand, "you're no fun. Rest, then. I'll be here...as if there's anywhere else for me to go" he chuckled.

Erik nodded. He hummed in thought, using a finger to beckon Karmel closer.

Karmel tilted his head, "what?"

"Put your head on my lap."

Karmel giggled, doing as told.

Erik practically beamed, running his fingers into Karmel's hair. He draped his other hand across his stomach, lightly scratching Karmel's head.

[suffering-and-happy-about-it]

Retrograde (Pieces of the People We Love, Part 2.)

Description: Not many people had the chance to see a vault or to mean anything in the world of Pandora. Will a hardly built relationship in the loneliness of the desert have the potential to change anything in the world of anarchy and chaos - or will the friends try to murder each other?

A/N: One time, my friend asked me if I would like to drink Dr. Bob or classic Coke when she was making an analogy for a random movie. So Dr. Bob is sort of a long running jokw when comparing a bad movie.

Warnings: A lot of guns, violence, reader is a tough badass - not a vault hunter tho. They’re badass and don’t give a fuck. And Scooter is a dumb bitch, as always. All Psychos and Fanatics are various Vine references - oh, what luck that reader can understand them since she is friends with Bandits.

Word count: 3.6K

Tagging: @notaliteraltoad​, @nemodoren​

Series master list:  H E R E

You were looking straight into the man's face for what seemed to be infinity, it was almost half an hour, while your entwined fingers supported your resting chin. You sat there like that for the past hour while Scooterboy was eating like crazy. He was sure hungry like a wolf.

That was pretty acceptable and reasonable, as far as you could judge - he was pronounced DEAD several years ago. The worst part was that the whole Pandora probably mourned for the best-known, and basically only, mechanic in the business. And now, he was just looking at Pintley and ate almost everything from his plate, looking like a hamster. Scooter literally stuffed his faces with homemade fried Skag bacon and Pintley's bread - definitely one of the best combinations in the entirety of Pandora.

"Are you done with the food?" - A mumbled cold as ice filled the room when Scooter finally finished the fourth plate of food and his last can of the Dr. Bob cola. The drink was sure as hell not healthy and barely nutritious, but it was the only soda Pintley had in Hell's Cauldron's pub.

"Now, you're going to explain to me how the hell are you alive and why, for the fuck's sake, have you respawned here." - The rhythm of your words was slow, your tongue rolled every syllable on its top - as if Scooter had some brain damage. Each of you was staring at the mechanic with hidden curiosity; this was a miracle, to say the least. Was he inside the database the whole time? If he wasn't there, could it be that the systems had some hard time figuring where should it respawn him? It didn't matter how you approached the problem - any of the solutions was making sense to you.

"Ye man, I'm done for now. Thanks for payin' for me, anyway. I don't have any cash on me since..." - Scooter zoned out for a second, watching a small spot next to your head. He was doing that quite a lot throughout his eat-all-you-can episode. His eyes fixed on a precise point somewhere inside the room. It was unnerving.

Without wanting, your eyebrows had risen on their own after a minute of complete silence. You've counted every second of Scooter spacing out before deciding to drag him out of the trance. Slowly, you rose both your hands and clapped. The metallic one could clap pretty loud, so it made Scooterboy freak out, looking around with genuine fear on his face. You've given him another ten seconds to get it all together before you leaned a bit closer, still staring at him without any clear emotion on your face.

Scooter, at first, was staring back at you. Then, he chuckled and leaned his back into the chair. - "How can I know, man? I'm only Scooter, I do cars. Ye, I could repair you a network or stations when ya would like me to, but nobody except those Hyperion robots doesn't know how does New-U work. Can I have another Dr. Bob? I'm really thirsty." - Scooterboy asked you politely, raising the empty can to your eye-level. Oh, he was negotiating, that was what he was doing. He wasn't going to tell you anything without another can of the naughty mysterious cola, right? Well, if this was the case...

Slowly, you closed your eyelids so much that they became two small lines, thinking about murdering Scooterboy just for the fun of it; it wouldn't be that bad, since he would respawn at the station again. It would be maybe morally incorrect, but who were you to care about such bullshit? Being the responsible adult you pretended to be, you managed to overcome your sour feelings against Scooter and calmed down, leaning your back into the chair as well.

"Listen up, young man. You'll tell me everything you remember from the last time you were alive and I, as a little show-off of my gratitude, will buy you another cheap and disgusting cola. Are we on the same page?" - Another few seconds passed until Scooter nodded in agreement before you stretched your arm to Pintley; the old man basically tore the money out of your palm, making you shoot a furrow in his direction. With the speed of literal lighting, he fetched another red can of the soda; everyone was eager to hear Scooter's tale so they could piece the story together on their own.

That didn't mean you would completely wipe the thoughts regarding Scooterboy's sudden and unexpected death in your head. For a reason, when you managed to wrap yourself in some rather unpleasant bullshit, murder scenarios were your usual go-to tactic to calm down once more. Like most things on Pandora, this tendency couldn't be simply explained or treated by walking straight to a therapist's office. If you'd believe what Blindy told you here and there, another psycho named Jay had a small psychologist office on his own - but let's be serious, what good could a therapy by a psycho do? Your situation wasn't that bad for now; until you'd randomly go on a rampage, you weren't planning on booking an appointment.

The staring contest was going on for a few seconds, yet when neither of you cut the staring off, your normal arm slowly rose another two dollars, as you kept on watching Scooter intensely. Anticipation was in the air as the mechanic leaned closer to Pintley, catching the soda between his fingers. After that, he just gave you an innocent gaze. - "I blew up." - Scooter said simply, shrugging his shoulders. That made Billy, who was sitting two tables away from you, laugh out loud.

"BITCH DISGUSTING!" - Rayray yelled and every single one of you, including Scooter, looked at the bandit boy. Scooter was the only person in the room who certainly didn't know what Rayray just told him; given Blindy gasped for air, it couldn't be nice. "Dude, there's no need to be this harsh. Calm your tits and apologize!" - You yelled in Scooter's defense and so did Billy.

Not that you were a master psycho-to-normal translator, yet you could at least roughly understand what Rayray just said. Each of you had your mouth opened as you stared at the bandit boy. You could rarely hear him say something so outrageously accusing. What he said was so damn rude; he was accusing Scooter of lying just like that.

"There's no need to be so fuckin' aggressive, you deadbrain! You don't know if he's lying or not! Say that you're sorry. Do you even realize that enough people already think that we're nothin' but stupid idiots?!" - Billy said in a firm voice and stared Rayray down, almost smacking him like a bitch. Rayray and Billy had a father-son relationship which could simply be described as ridiculous. Yet, since they both lived in the same bandit colony, somebody had to lead Rayray to behave as well as he could.

“I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'VE DONE THIS.” - Rayray said in a low voice with his head hung low. Everyone shook their heads and looked at Rayray with disappointment just before shifting their looks back on Scooterboy. Each one of you was wondering about the story Scooter had to tell; as you looked over to him and observed the face his face was looking, he surely wasn't done with the story just yet.

“There was a group of weird people travelin' with my friends and one day they came to me and ask “Hey, Scoot, ya willin' to make us a rocket? Need to go to Helios ASAP.” and I was like “Yea”. So I and my pal Janey built them a rocket, but there was a small mechanical problem and my hand was stuck in the rocket... And it needed to blow up, so they could continue their journey to reach Helios, alrite? And it took me to hell and back, man, I tell ya.” - Scooter smiled a bit at that thought. - “I remember it blowin' up. Me bein' on it. And now I'm sitting here with new friends, sippin' some good old Dr. Bob. How is Helios hangin'?”

The silence that had suddenly surrounded you all was uncomfortable, to say the least. Quickly, you glanced over Pintley to look out of the window. Until that day, you could still pinpoint the exact location where Helios was hovering in the sky. Never in those long years since it had blown up, you'd look in the sky and think "Man, it's strange to not see an ugly-ass space station there". But, somehow, that was precisely what you've been thinking about at that moment. Obviously, if Scooter was dead for the past seven years, his first instinct wouldn't be to look up and search for the most hideous view you've ever had encountered. But not that you realized he wasn't fucking with any of you, it felt strange not to see the station there. As if it was your personal guilt that some jackasses had blown it up.

It was you, again, who decided to speak the first. With a gulp, you've leaned forward to lean your elbows to your thighs, trying to say it in the most natural way possible. - “Scooter... Helios was blown up by a group of pretty weird guys.” - It was nothing but a mere whisper. - “Five years or so ago.”

For a moment, Scooter didn't seem to be connecting the information. It didn't click until a few minutes later. - “Wait, what? And... Sanctuary?” - Scooter leaned even deeper into his chair with his gaze directed into the oblivion. Why did you have to be the one who had to tell the deadman all the news? Why wasn't anyone else speaking? But as you looked over to the men around, their gazes only answered "Well, you've started with it, don't be a pussy now and finish what you were saying". Did Scooter even know that Handsome Jack was dead now? That there were rumors about discovering about four or five new vaults on the sister planets of Pandora? Did he know that the Children of the Vault had risen all over Pandora? And if he didn't know... How much were you supposed to tell him if you didn't want him to have a hysterical seizure?

“Okay, we might have to trace what you know, get your timeline matching ours and we will have to tell you... So many new things that you may shit your pants.” - You mumbled and opened another Dr. Bob. It took quite some time before you managed to somehow connect your memories with his. It was almost ten p.m. when you ended. Occasionally, you managed to line-up his memories until the moment when the original Sanctuary was attacked by the flower-army or who (don't act so surprised - anything was pretty much possible on Pandora). As the tales said, the town was now blown up into millions of tiny rocks and the VHs had constructed a literal spaceship (which was Scooter's sister Ellie). Again, you couldn't tell how much of it was true. You couldn't be quite sure that anything on the planet Pandora you heard had actually happened.

But mostly, it all seemed to true - that Helios has fallen, that Sanctuary was teleported by the legendary siren Lilith, known as the Firehawk, or that Handsome Jack was posting a job wanted posts for Vault Hunters wanted just so he could easily kill them off. Carefully, you told Scooter about the chaos that started when Sanctuary was blown up and the vault key had been lost in the desert. Back then, it was hard to notice the entire Pandora changing since you've been living in a literal desert, but you could tell that something wasn't adding up. When you told him about the siren-powered Calypso twins, you couldn't leave out their cringy streaming career.

You told him all about how the COV had recruited most of the bandit and psycho clans all over Wastelands, starting their big suicidal cult somewhere in an old base, growing bigger with each month. They weren't a serious threat, serious pain in the pain at their best, but they could be quite something to deal with at times. Of course, were now including all the women that were insane enough to join them, which was among the first questions Scooter was wondering about. Now, there was a small amount of free-psycho-bandit-whatever clans remaining in the deserts and wastelands. Most of the bandits joined the COV; the places they've been living in before were now empty, lifeless and Pandora was a bit less fun without the random encounters.

“So, you aren't in contact with Lilith? Or Moxxi? Or Ellie? Or basically anyone?” - The man asked suddenly after being quiet for a moment. You weren't thinking of yourself as the most empathetic person in the whole of the desert; you've told Scooter all about the reality you've been living in for the past couple of years. For you, it was natural to take it all as the matter of fact - but you couldn't forget about Scooter being a man-out-of-time. It could take him some time to understand the rules of today's Pandora and you had to be patient with him for now. Until you'd get rid of him and get back to your old life.

The question about the VHs and Crimson raiders made you surprised. How could you be in contact with them when you never met them before? - “I don't even know them personally, dude. Hey... You okay, Scooterboy?” - The can with the nasty cola was laying on the table as if Scooter didn't even want it anymore. His face went two shades paler and the grin on his face had faded away. - “You look like you're about to puke.”

Now, he lowered his head and played with his fingers, fidgeting them around. Yeah. It was tough to get accustomed to. So many things had changed since his days on Pandora and even though, it all remained almost the same. It must've been feeling pretty surreal. - “Nah, man. I'm not about to puke, don't ya worry. It's just too much to take in. That's all. I'll be alrite.” - He answered. You could tell something's off. He was an exploding ball of energy and happiness just two hours ago; now, you managed to destroy his confidence, positivity, and to murder his good mood. Wow. Good job, you.

“I'm sorry if you think that your friends abandoned you here..." - At that point, Pintley looked on the back of your head. Was he dreaming or were you being... Nice to someone? What happened to you? Were you trying to calm Scooter down? Did you finally grow as a person? Oh, but then the rest came, destroying the nice-person aura you had for a bit. "But that's true, man. They left you here because they thought you were dead-dead... And that's kinda fair if you ask me. I both know it, you know it, Rayray knows it. We all do. Keep it together, yeah? You were fucking dead for the past couple of years. There are so many new things to get accustomed to. But if you'll chicken out of that, you're a pussy." - The tone of your voice was empty and emotionless.

Pintley, for a minute, saw some kind of humanity shining through the aura of I-don't-give-a-diddly-damn you've been keeping ever since he met you. The truth was - you simply didn't care enough to "do emotions", as you called it. You weren't good at it at all, so you didn't bother with trying. Maybe that's was why you were living on your own in the middle of a desert. That was a pretty plausible explanation.

There were some people you'd call friends, yeah. You even liked to joke around with them. You could do sarcasm, irony, and arse-biting jokes that were sometimes really offensive. But every other emotion was a literal mystery to you. You couldn't quite show them off even if your heart was warm and full of love. And it was even worse when somebody pissed you off. As soon as you turned on the killing-machine mode, as Pintley called it, you didn't care about being as subtle as possible. Nothing in this world couldn't stop you from shooting someone, killing them, or simply throwing them through the window? Oh, how many times did you have to pay Pintley a new window? He wouldn't be able to count it even if he'd like to.

Yet, even though your dead stare and emotionless expression, the man smiled and patted your shoulder. With a furrow, you watched Scooter slowly backing his hand back to his lap, since you seemed to be thinking about biting the said arm off. "At least I respawned here, where ya people are actually pretty friendly under playin' that "I'm a badass and cold" facade." - At that, Pintley grinned; since you didn't know what you should respond, you just nodded and made a weird sound. You didn't know what to answer - you never met anyone that would see you as a... Friendly person? Ugh. Sure, pretty friendly persons live in a cabin hidden far, far away from any signs of society and they have actually fun when they hunt Skags. Right... That was a description of your normal local weirdo, not a description of a damn nice person. As you finished your internal monologue, you snickered under your breath, shaking your head as you unconsciously sat in a defensive position; your knee was thrown over your knee, your arms were covering your torso.

"And where you're planning to sleep, Scooterboy?" - Pintley asked. Since he was done with all the cleaning, he lightened up a cigarette, leaning his shoulder into a near doorframe. - "You know. Just wondering."

Scooter seemed to realize it at the same time you did; where will the poor guy sleep? Pintley had a guest room, sure, but you could already tell something fishy was going on since Pintley himself was the one calling the shots. You knew a spot or two in the forest where Scooter could make a small campsite; you've been sleeping there when the hunt took too long. - "I hadn't thought of somethin' like that. Wow. I am a homeless person, isn't that quite funny?" - Scooter said, clearly being more saddened than before. Damn, were you and Pintley trying to outdo each other in bringing Scooter's mood lower than before? Clearly, you had more points for the entire Calypso mascarade, but this was an impressive move, to say the least.

Of all people inside the room, it was Blindy who answered. - "Y'all know we can't take him to Ham's Creek. Guys would eat Scooter alive, Cowboy." - Blindy shrugged his shoulders and you just nodded. It was clear Blindy wasn't joking around - every time you had to visit Ham's Creed, you had goosebumps all over your body. Even if you didn't think of yourself as an emphatic person, you surely thought you're courageous. Damn, your day-to-day job was to hunt Skags down. But Ham's Creek? That was a whole another universe of horror and things that were unseen until you stepped inside the psycho territory. They would grill him like a pig and you didn't second-guess that they would even manage to find an apple which would they stuff into Scooter's mouth. That wasn't a nice image.

Pintley, the traitor, sighed too. - "I would give him a room if Jocelyn wasn't over right now." - Pintley said in a low voice, which was merely indicating how deeply in love your friend was. That mothersucker. Oh, you knew her. You precisely knew who Jocelyn was. With a confused face, you've been the one to answer Pintley's confession. "Listen, man, love's nice and all... But... Just theoretically... If you have your girlfriend over, and you have sex with her... Why don't you guys sleep in one bed? As far as I know, it's kinda considered to be normal." - It was a frown on your face that made Pintley realize you didn't buy his bullshit at all.

The old man only reddened before mumbling an answer. - "Jocelyn and I aren't ready for such a commitment to sleep in one bed." - At that, you had enough. The next sentence kind of... Slipped out of your mouth before you could stop it. "Pintley, do you realize that Jocelyn is a figurine? You can literally put her anywhere else and let Scooter have a sleepover at your place before we figure out what to do with him." - The tone of your voice was so incredulous that your voice just slipped an octave higher. For a moment, you've been looking at each other; but it didn't make Pintley say "okay".

It was at that second when you realized what was going on. No, Pintley and Blindy didn't agree on this beforehand, yet both of them were sure it wasn't to be them who would have the boy in their home that night. The truth was that you had an ultra-old couch at your place that was just... There. - "Ah, you sons of a bitch." Right after that, you stood and expected Scooter to do the same; as he remained sitting there, you just snapped your fingers in front of his face, which freaked him out. As he was picking himself up from the ground, you walked through the pub while putting your significant hat back on.

"Looks like you'll be at my place, boy. Get up, Blindy will drive us home.” - And right before you left, you've shown Pintley your middle finger, making the man chuckle under his breath.

[charlieism]

Heyo random long storytime about a thing that just happened thats not even funny but i wanted to share it. so mum and her boyfriend decided to take me and my brother out to look at all the christmas lights and decorations around town so we got in thecar and went out. anyway me and my bro were in the back seat having a great time; we were making vine references, talking about memes, play smacking each other, seeing who could do the worst dab, quoting videos etc etc and apparently we were being kinda loud. and mum kept telling then yelling at us to be quiet and shut up and we were being too loud etc (which tbh she should be used to we’re v loud siblings). 

anyway we got sick of her yelling at us p quick, and then i got an idea and leaned over to whisper to my brother and was like “hey dude i have a good idea. be silent. just no matter what do not talk. they’ll probs be happy for a bit but when we get to the lights they’ll be like ‘look at that!!’ and when we’re completely silent they’ll get freaked out or annoyed. just be quiet.” and he was just kinda like “lol ok whatever sure.” so we stopped talking and just looked out thewindows, didn’t move, didn’t talk, and for a few minutes mum n  neil just kept talking. and then neil was like “hey the kids r really quiet what r they planning lol” and mum was like “yea i know isnt it great” and they kind of stopped talking and he was like “its kind of eery whatre you two doing lol theyre planning something” and mum just turned the radio up. and then we got to the first rly decorated house and she was like “look!! look at that” and we didn’t say anything. and this continued for a while until they were both in the front occasionally looking back at us like

“Are they okay?? are they asleep? are you guys actually even looking at the lights?? what’re you doing?? theyre so quiet this is weird. are you seeing the lights?? the silence is kind of freaky i didnt know they could be this quiet." and me n ,y brother were just looking at each other n smiling then looking back out the window. And we got to this one reallyyy decked out house it was so cool and mum was so concerned as to why we weren’t talking at all then neil kind of mentioned reverse psychology or something but then resumed just being creeped out.  anyway in the end me and my brother were silent for almost over forty minutes, he only ever broke it to lean over and whisper “you’re a genius” after mum talked about us being quiet again. anyway then we were about to go home and me n my brother whispered to each other that when we got to the church we were gonna say the exact same thing at the exact same time. and we drove past the church and were like

“can we get a cheeseburger?”

and my mum and neil were just kind of like O.o thats the first thing they say in ages wtf. and we kept being silent. and then mum just kind of pulled into maccas and ordered us cheeseburgers each (which hell yea victory we didnt actually think it would work)

anyway tl;dr me and my brother were quiet out of spite and pettiness for so long that it freaked my mum out a lot and it got my brother to call me a genius and my mum to buy us to cheeseburgers.

[roaringheat]

Wait so what happened to barrett, pleasE, i want to know more!

Im so happy you asked holy shit

Under a read more cause it’s just as long as the last one lmao

I really should have done this before talking about Morgan but im doing it now i guess!! So, starting over again, Barrett goes into the woods to experiment with plant photography cause Morgan likes the outdoors and Barrett wanted to gift him those plant photos as a kinda thank you for the camera thing. I also want to mention that both Barrett and Morgan are in their early to mid 20s rn. He’s wandering and taking pics along the way when suddenly he spots a big bush of pink marigolds. The kind of marigolds that are bigger and have a bunch of smaller ruffled looking petals. He’s immediately intrigued and he doesn’t know exactly why but he starts walking towards it. He’s never seen pink marigolds before and there seemed to be some kind of glow about them so because of that, he crouches down to get some close up pics. The bush suddenly lashes out, immediately grabbing hold of him and dragging him in and thorns that weren’t there before are now suddenly digging into his skin. At this point, he’s thrashing around and being pretty loud which catches the attention of someone named Muriel as she steps into view. She’s a black woman in her late 30s who could be described as a “witch” kind of but i dont really think that term suits her. She’s brandishing an axe covered in charms, got this iridescent cloak sort of outfit, has some gold lines on her face, and both her eyes are this solid dark blue. No pupils or anything. But yea she happens upon this scene cause she was out on a routine check to find and destroy things that have gotten mutated due to the “magic” she does in her house nearby. This plant in particular had basically mutated pretty far to the point where it became basically a carnivore. The reason Barrett was attracted to it so quickly was,because of the mutation, the plant could attract/lure humans and some animals within reaching distance so it could attack and eat them. Everything caused by the mutation is the “glow” Barrett saw which was actually a faint pink aura, the ability to move, and the thorns which were used kinda like venom in the way that with enough of it its supposed to kill the victim quickly so that the attacker can eat with ease. So Muriel is feeling pretty responsible for Barrett being in this position so she goes over and gets him out of there and kills the bush with her axe. The plant managed to get a bit of the venom stuff in Barrett’s system so he’s weak and kinda just passes out after getting saved. Muriel hoists him over her shoulder and takes him back to her house a little further into the woods. She genuinely feels like shit for indirectly being responsible for this so she decides to keep an eye on him til he’s ok again. Barret wakes up in a spare shitty bed in Muriel’s place in the most excruciating pain he’s ever felt all over him as if his whole body was on fire. He launches himself out of bed but just drops to the ground again basically screaming. and Muriel bursts into the room and doesn’t know what to do but she sees him on the ground in pain and then notices he now has this pink aura around him and it starts clicking into place for her. Basically with the venom from the plant, its kinda like a zombie bite. The intent is to kill but if bitten and then left alive, the person would turn into a zombie. In this situation with the plant, the venom was never meant to turn others but yet since Barrett got the venom in his bloodstream and wasnt killed, the plant has basically grown in his body and given him all it’s abilities including some extra stuff. But yea back to the scene, he’s basically begging her to stop the pain in any way possible and so she knocks him out. When he wakes up the 2nd time, the pain is a lot more dull but now he’s freaking out cause he’s now noticing the pink aura and like he almost fuckin died and now he’s in some stranger’s house. Muriel explains to him all of what happened and Barrett is kinda a dick to her cause he absolutely doesnt trust her and i mean like he’s a white man in the 1920s. Ofc Muriel doesn’t take too kindly to that but she’s convinced if she lets him leave while he has no control over the shit that he got into, he’ll get killed. So he stays with her for about a year and eventually they warm up to eachother. That whole year, they both learn most of what exactly Barrett can do now. As far as appearance, his eyes have changed into this shimmery pastel pink and he’s gained that same pink aura that the plant had so his whole body looks tinted pink. They make him look pretty fuckin inhuman so Muriel teaches him how to suppress it so he look normal. It’s easy for him to do (just a bit uncomfortable) as long as he’s in a stable mental state and as soon as he stops holding it back, it’ll come right back out again. As for abilities, He can grow and control those marigolds branches/vines from his skin, heal quicker and more efficiently so he’s a lot harder to kill (although serious wounds can still take him a couple days to heal), and he’s gained the same attraction ability that the plant used to lure victims. This mainly makes people immediately trust him and easier for him to manipulate which comes into play a lot later on. Then they find another ability of his thats completely different than anything the plant had and this one is 100% my favorite. If Barrett is making physical contact with someone else’s skin, he can bring out the most recent emotion that person is feeling towards the person theyre looking at and like amplify it to the extreme. So like for example, if person A is mildy frustrated at that moment with person B and theyre looking person B, when Barrett uses that ability on person A, itll amplify that frustration and make person A suddenly extremely hostile towards person B even if they would never hurt person B normally. It always depends on the most recent feeling towards someone so a lot of the time Barrett has no way of knowing what he’s amplifying and which emotion will come out. Depending on how much effort he puts into using this ability, this effect can last from 15 minutes - an hour. Its harder for him to use it on anyone who isnt human so he has to put significantly more effort and usually wont last as long as it would on a human which i absolutely did on purpose cause i introduce more nonhuman characters later and its really cool. The way to tell if someone is under that effect (other than the abnormal behavior ofc) is that theyre eyes will turn the same shade of pink as Barrett’s are when he’s not holding everything back. The draw backs to using this though is that the more effort he puts, the harder it is for him to keep himself looking normal. So if he were to use that ability with like full force, he wouldnt be able to hold back the aura, eye color, or any branches growing from him. So basically he has to be real careful. Its really useful for fights/ self defense tho which i have a lot of scenes like that planned out. But yea Barrett and Muriel find this out cause he accidentally does it on Muriel during an arguement. Muriel is looking at Barrett at that moment and was currently feeling immense guilt for everything that happened to him so when Barrett accidently amplified that she just starts sobbing. It doesnt last long cause although Muriel is technically human, she has some powers herself due to “worshipping” this beetle god which is a whole nother story lmao. But yea anyway, Barrett learns how to control all his shit over that whole year staying with Muriel and once they both think he’s gotten a decent amount of control, Barrett goes back to normal society and brings Muriel with him since theyve gotten really close in that period of time. Muriel tells him not to tell anyone in fear that he’ll be hurt but he doesn’t really listen. And like you guys already know he goes to Morgan and then Virginia and tells them all about everything that happened. Virginia takes it a lot better than Morgan obviously. For a short period of time before Morgan starts going crazy, Barrett, Muriel, Virginia, and Morgan all become like a kind of friend group. Once Morgan starts getting paranoid and reclusive, it gradually falls apart. Muriel has been staying with Virginia since coming with Barrett back to society which is why she was there when the hitman Morgan hires is threatening Virginia. You guys know the basics of all of what happens next pretty much. There’s more scenes with Virgina in between this and Morgan’s death but they aren’t really major scenes. She does try a few times to fix everything with Barrett and Morgan but obviously it doesn’t work out. So skipping to after Barrett and Muriel flee, like i said Barrett is never caught cause ya know 1920s crime investigations were shit lmao. The murder does cause uproar for a while cause of how weird it is what with all the flowers and Morgan’s weird behavior before his death. and cause Morgan was almost famous. Barrett becomes pretty untrusting towards humans after this and as the years pass with Muriel he gets to the point of just straight up hating them and hating being referred to as one. I have ideas for events that happen in between the 1920s and modern times for Barrett and Muriel but don’t have anything set in stone yet. Around late 1920s early 1930s they discover that Barrett’s aging has also been affected. At this point they dont know how much but its obvious hes gonna have a longer life span than most humans. Barrett gets really upset thinking about out living Muriel and basically begs her to work some “magic” so she’ll live longer cause she’s pretty much the only person he trusts completely. Muriel says no cause tampering with the natural cycle of things rubbed her the wrong way. They get into an argument where Barrett is mainly just pleading with her and she storms out. While she’s out tho she decides to do it for him and arranges some stuff to pause her aging until she decides to let it keep going again. There’s drawbacks to this kinda magic of course but i still havent decided what exactly. So basically after this point her body stays aged in her early 40s. Years past and its modern times and Barrett and Muriel are now a little over 100 years old. Barrett’s only aged about 15 years since now he looks to be in his early 40s as well. He’s definitely adapted with the current life style a little bit but still really keeps an old timey way of speech and clothing style. He’s changed a bit personality wise due to being alive so long tho. Him and Muriel have become very nihilistic. Barrett still really resents humans especially with how his attraction ability makes them all so trusting of him and predictable which has gotten boring for him. He’s kinda gotten a bit of a superiority complex due to believing he’s above humans in every way but learns to be charming and fake nice around them to not raise suspicion. Then they meet those 2 nonhuman ocs i briefly mentioned earlier! I got a lot of plot stuff for modern times as well as currently working on figuring out more stuff for Muriel and Barrett back in the 1930s and 40s but this has gotten insanely long and probably more than you even wanted to know so ill leave it at that!

[fearofaherobrine]

Roleplay Server Log #186

“Aven Repairs”

[Sylveon] Has gone exploring and has entered Arden's room, it looks around curiously-

[Arden] Is sitting at the desk reading a book.

[Sylveon] - Syl!

[Arden] Huh? Whoah... what are you little critter? Besides super cute.

[Sylveon] - Syl!- It jumps around playfully

[Arden] Are you some kind of dog? Do you want to fetch?

[Sylveon] Reaches out with one of it's ribbons-

[Arden] Shys away a little bit. - Are the ribbons part of you?

[Sylveon] Syl!- It nods in affirmation

[Arden] Puts out a hand to feel one of the tendrils.

[Sylveon] Makes happy noises-

[Espurr] Is calling out trying to find Sylveon-

[Arden] What's that weird noise?

[Sylveon] Turns towards the doorway and calls back, leading Espurr in-

[Arden] Another little critter! Hey there? What are you? This little one's buddy- Kneels on the floor.

[Stevenson] -has wondered into the lab with ryan following behind him making happy roars-

[Espurr] Tilts head curiously-

[Arden] Looks out the doorway- What the? Are these your critters mister?

[ryan] -is happily ruing around Stevenson who is looking around he hasn't noticed arden yet-

[Arden] Sir? Are you lost?

[Stevenson] -looks over to arden- oh no I was just exploring because I don't know this place all that well.

[Sylveon] Hides behind Arden while Espurr takes a more defensive stance in front of them-

[Arden] Ah, are you one of the Doctor's friends? You look like a Steve.

[ryan] -sees the Pokémon and get a little closer while trying to keep themselves low to the ground to show they are not going to fight-

[Stevenson] I am a steve, Stevenson to be exact.

[Espurr] Grabs Ryan with telekinesis-

[Arden] Whoah! I think it's okay? Stop that!

[ryan] -wiggles and make scared roars-

[Sylveon] Nudges Espurr which gets them to stop-

[Arden] Your little dragon is pretty cute. I'm Arden.

[ryan] -as soon as he is free he bolts into Stevenson arms-

[Stevenson] it's nice to meet you arden since we are talking names this little guy is ryan.

[Sylveon] Bats at Espurr, trying to get it to play with them-

[Arden] Neat. I guess these guys aren't yours? They seem pretty playful.

[Stevenson] no I never saw them before.

[Espurr] Playfully tackles Sylveon-

[Arden] So if you're a Steve... who are you with? I've been introduced to most of the Herobrines.

[Stevenson] well I came to this server with an alex but I came knowing a brine named Gem.

[Arden] Oh I know her! The chimera! She's amazing. I wish I could share even a 10th of what I've seen here outside, but people would just think I'm crazy....

[Stevenson] she is the reason the server I came from feel apart I don't thing that's amazing.

[Arden] Just looks at him curiously. - I wasn't referring to her actions. I don't know anything about that. Her form is amazing. She's like a mad scientist's masterpiece.

[Silver] Has come looking for his pokemon-

[Stevenson] true she does look like someone had put a bunch of animals together.

[Arden] And so perfectly, it's uncanny. Oh. Hello Silver, are these your pokemon?

[Silver] - Yes, I was wondering where they had gotten to...

[Sylveon] It and Espurr jump into Silver's arms-

[Arden] Is the pink one new? And have you met Stevenson? He's got a little buddy too.

[Silver] - No, Sylveon isn't new, just evolved, and I don't believe we have met...

[Arden] What was it before?

[Silver] - An Eevee

[Stevenson] hello it's nice to meet you.

[Silver] - Same to you

[ryan] -Stevenson puts him down and he just starts to sniff around to learn new smells-

[Arden] Oh the little brown doggie one? Well it's way cuter this way anyway.

[Silver] - It's just one of the many evolutions an Eevee can make

[ryan] -some how find dolly room and goes in-

[Dolly] Was brushing her hair and looks up in suprise. - Wow, you're a teeny little dragon. Did you lose your mommy?

[ryan] -looks up and cocks all three heads while looking at dolly before letting out a tiny roar.-

[Dolly] Gets up and takes some pork chops out of a trunk- are you hungry?

[ryan] -takes the pork chop and eats it splitting it between the three heads-

[Silver] - Was that a dragon I saw?

[Stevenson] that was ryan wait where did he run off to -looks around-

[Silver] - I...  Apologize for anything which may have happened between it and Sylveon...  Fairy types don't get along with dragons

[Stevenson] nothing really happened exact them giving him a scare so don't worry about it

[Silver] - Sorry...

[Stevenson] it's ok you don't need to be sorry

[Lie] Enters the vine room with Hope- Doc?  You here?

[Doc] Is pacing the floor with a small screen open on hir phone. Yaunfen is snoring softly nearby on top of Doc's Galvantula. - Ergh... It hasn't been that long since the last time....

[Lie] - Doc?  Something wrong?

[Doc] Huh? No! Well not yet... we might have a problem pretty shortly though. How come you brought Hope over?

[Lie] - Weeell, somebody decided it would be a good idea to play tackle the new Vulpix and got a little burned...- She moves Hope so Doc can see the hind leg.  The fur is singed away and there are a few blisters forming

[Doc] Oh dear! Let me put some paste on that. I swear that cold slime is a godsend for this kind of thing... Wait. That's not right. Hang on a moment. I'll be right back. - Xe hurries down the stairs and there's a sound of things clunking and being shuffled about in the lab below.

[Galvantula - Sleepy- Buuzzzrp?

[Yaunfen] Rolls off in their sleep, waking as they hit the floor- Burp!?

[Galvantula] Cuddles the baby with their furry legs- Zzzp! Purrrrrrrrrr

[Lie] Sits on a chest cradling Hope, waiting for Doc to come back-

[Doc] Comes back up the steps and bangs through the door with a small spray bottle- Here! This is perfect and you should take the remainder with you. Just a little spritz.

[Lie] Holds Hope still for Doc-

[Doc] It's for pokemon burns specifically- Xe mists over the nasty wound. -

[Hope] Mewls-

[Doc] Sorry sweetie. It'll heal super quick.

[Galvantula] Assorted noises-

[Doc] Ah, I see. Yaunfen, are you okay?

[Lie] - So Doc, have you figured out anything for Valentine's day?

[Hope] Starts purring-

[Yaunfen] - Burp!

[Doc] That was enthusiastic as usual so I'm going to say it's all good. What? I don't know really. Make mad passionate love to Deerheart in the moonlight and violate every pixel in her body until she squirms in uncontrollable lust and pleads for mercy I suppose? Should I throw in a new outfit on top of all the chocolate too?

[Lie] - Um...  I don't really think it's necessary... Although lingerie is rather common to give...

[Doc] I'm rather perplexed by the idea of donning a thing just so it can be ripped off. It's an odd idea, isn't it?

[Lie] - It's more the visual appeal

[Doc] So far my favorite is still her 'maiden in distress' white shift...

[Lie] Blushes a little-

[Doc] She prefers things with much more leather and metal, and... you've gone rather red Lie. Are you feeling okay?

[Lie] - Fine!  I'm absolutely fine!

[Doc] Picking up some speech patterns from Cp huh? Tut tut Lie.

[Lie] - Oh shush

[Doc] You could wear the corset for Cp again. We'd need a mop to eliminate all the drool.

[Lie] - Not necessary, CP and I have decided not to do anything for Valentines

[Doc] That's kinda sad.... was it really a mutual decision Lie?

[Lie] - Well I've never really done anything for Valentines...  Plus this is CP we're talking about

[Steve] Coming down from the front door with an armload of sugar canes. - Why not Lie?

[Doc] Cp is kind of a stick in the mud...

[Lie] - Why not what?

[Steve] Why have you never done anything for Valentines? I thought it was a common human holiday?

[su] -has managed to beat aven to the front door her yapping can be heard before both come in-

[Steve] Oh hi Aven, come to borrow a cup of sugar? I've got lots.

[Lie] - Well in elementary school we'd just give everyone in the class a card, as you get older you become more selective about who you give things to, usually someone you really like

[Doc] And there's never been someone special... And Cp isn't really romantic... I'm sorry Lie.

[Lie] - Well, if my math is correct, then last Valentines day is when he gave me Rosebud

[aven] no actually I came because I need something else -her face is kind of red and she seems to be having trouble saying what she wants to say-

[Doc] Hmmm...

[Steve] Shoves the sugar in a trunk. - Do you need some water Aven? TO DRINK. You look overheated!

[Lie] - Besides, it's not as if CP can give me chocolates either

[Doc] Isn't wine also a thing? As a gift?

[Lie] - Eeehhhhh...  It can be?

[aven] no I... well I need... I need... protection.

[Steve] Are you in danger?! Who is it? I'll beat the crap out of them!

[Doc] Same.

[Lie] - Is everything okay Aven?

[aven] no I mean for like valentines day for me and ben.

[Steve] OH! So you don't have another baby! I got it. - Nods, he's proud of himself for figuring it out.

[aven] yea we really don't want to end up having more then hyrule.

[Doc] Aven... do you want me to fix you so you can't get pregnant again at all?

[Lie] - I can promise it's painless

[Doc] at Lie-  You know you could always have one of your offensive plants nip him accidently....

[Lie] Turns a shade of dark red- WHY ARE YOU RECOMMENDING THIS!?

[aven] what happens if we change our mind later on

[Doc] At Lie- You'll at least have a passionate night then- at Aven- I can put them back later if you decide to have another baby.

[Lie] Whimpers-

[aven] ok then that will work

[Doc] Okay Aven. You can't deny the last time was pretty hot.

[Lie] - Nope, no, nada, nein

[Doc] Pfft. Don't be like that. Aven? If you want to sit on the steps and lean back I can do this pretty quickly.

[aven] -sits down and lays back su is running around aven before settling next to her head-

[Yaunfen] - Burp?

[Doc] Is setting up hir computer - Now this is actually going to be a little different then Lies because you aren't a brine. I don't want to destroy what I'm taking out.

[Galvantule] Chirps at Yaunfen knowingly-

[aven] got it.

[su] -decides to get up and runs over to yaunfen and galvantule to sniff them-

[Doc] Cp needs to loosen up. I think you guys should do SOMETHING at least. Guilt him into getting you dim sum or something.

[Lie] - I don't know...  We still have some left and he's been going out so much lately...

[Galvantule] Sniffs Su right back and is rather protective of Yaunfen.

[Doc] Ah, I didn't know there were leftovers. - Xe gathers a bit of statick- Can you lift your shirt a bit Aven?

[su] -playfully paws at one of galvantule's legs-

[Yaunfen] Tries to gum Su-

[Galvantule] contented electrical buzzing noise.

[aven] -lifts her shirt enough to leave her stomach exposed-

[Lie] - Honestly Doc, there's no reason to worry about us, worry about you and Deer's night

[su] -tries to jump up to get closer to the two-

[Doc] Takes out what looks like a file folder- What's a good name? Hmmm... how about.... "Potential Babies" I'm not worried.

[Lie] - Oh for fucks sake Doc...

[Doc] Is "egg basket" better?

[Lie] - No

[Doc] Aven, it's yours, what do you want to name it?

[aven] why not the most obvious name "aven's ovaries" it makes the most sense because that's what it's for

[Doc] Good enough. Though, 'the vault' still has a nice ring. - xe's typing with the staticky hand.

[Lie] - Doooooc

[Doc] Reaches down and worms hir fingers into Aven through the ring of interference and plucks out two very small pink pixels. Xe tucks them into the folder and shuts it with a twisting motion that puts a closed zipper around it's open edges. - There we go. Neat and tidy.

[Doc] Holds it out to Aven - It will vanish into your code when you take it from me, but that's okay. It will keep them safe.

[aven] -takes the folder- thank you doc but are you sure it still being in my coding won't allow for babies?

[Lie] Scratches Hope's ears-

[Doc] It's compressed. You can't open it on your own.

[Steve] And nobody has to go measure BEN to get his condom size now.

[su] -sees hope getting scratches and goes over to lie and rubs against her leg being to be pet as well-

[aven] -pulls down her shirt- ah ok thank youdoc. also true steve very true.

[Lie] Smiles and leans down to pet Su as well-

[su] -leans into the pet-

[Doc] You're welcome Aven, you know it's my pleasure.

[Steve] Grins - I'm sure he'd bitch about having to wear one anyway.

[Doc] And thankfully he's not a brine either. They're a bit too fertile at times.

[Steve] Does some blushing of his own.

[Lie] - Well, I'll get out of your guys hair...

[Doc] Aw, you know you're always welcome Lie.

[Lie] - It was good seeing you Aven, without the drama of baff time

[aven] It was good to see you as well lie

[Lie] Heads outside and starts heading for home-

[Doc] Annnd... I forgot to tell her what I was cussing about.

[Steve] Is it bad?

[Doc] Shows Steve hir phone.

[Steve] AGAIN?

[aven] what is it?

[viralhottopics]

Want to Profit Off Your Meme? Good Luck if You Arent White

Gather round, ye olds, and thrill to a tale of yore. Summer 2014, to be exact. The place? Vine (RIP). The hero? AChicago teenager calling herself Peaches Monroee, who uploaded a video in which she described her eyebrows as “on fleek.”

Yea verily, Peaches Monroee’s neologism spread far and wide. Ariana Grandejumped on board, as didKim Kardashian. Brands, not surprisingly, werenext. And lo, wheniHopandTaco Belluse a slang term, aForever 21 crop topcan’t be far behind. Evenrapper/flat-eartherB.o.B goton the act,proclaiming himself Fleekwood Mac onhis song Fleek. But to this day, despite enterprising companies cashingin on the phrase’s “YOLO”-level popularity—“on fleek” hats have adorned multiple celebrity heads—its originator hasn’t seen a cent.

Now, Peaches Monroee, whose real name is Kayla Lewis,hopes to change that. Last week shelauncheda GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign in order to launch a cosmetics and hair-extensionline, asking anyone who uses the phrase to chip in a few bucks. Good for her, right? But also, why didn’t she get college scholarships like Chewbacca Mom, whose claim to fame boils down to laughing while wearing a plastic mask? Lewis’s problem is part intellectual property law, part access to influence, and all systemic racial inequalities. However egalitarian the internet was supposed to be, creatives’ ability to profit off their viral contentseems to depend on their race.

Guys it has been set…everyone has been asking me to start this GoFundMe so I can get some type of money so I can start my own business and get some money… any amount can help the link is below. Hopefully we can get this in the hands of some wealthy people thanks ! #gofundme #gofundmedonations http://bit.ly/2lNCmGF

A post shared by Peachie Peach (@officialpeaches__monroee) on Feb 19, 2017 at 11:04am PST

What’s in a Meme

The internet may have started as a utopian dream, but becoming an engine of capitalism was just about inevitable. And starting around2010—when Hot Topic stuck Rageguy on a T-shirt, much to 4chan’s, well, rage—the meme-to-merch-to-money pipelinehas been humming. Some of it has even benefited thememe creators themselves. “The people behind keyboard catand Nyan Cat did a really good job of capitalizing on their intellectual property,” says Kate Miltner, an internet researcher at the University of Southern California. “Grumpy cat wrote the textbook: There was the book, the movie, they even have grumppuccinos.”

The windfall isn’t confined to cats, either. Besides Chewbacca Mom, financial successes include Daniel Lara of “Damn, Daniel,” who parlayed his Vine fame intoa lifetime supply of Vans and an Ellen appearance. Or Danielle Bregoli, whose threat to a Dr. Phil audience—now meme-mortalized as “cash me outside, howbow dah?“—catapulted her to $30,000 paychecks for meet-and-greets.

Lewis’ immediate barrier compensation is partially the way in which her work became a meme. “A phrase is a difficult thing to protect,” says KJ Greene, a law professor at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law. “If you’re wealthy and legally savvy, you might be able to trademark your catchphrase, like Paris Hilton did with ‘that’s hot.’” But that’s still tricky to pull off: President Trump failed to trademark “You’re fired.”

But there is another thing that separates Lewis from the Lara’s and Bregoli’s and Hilton’s as well: she’s black. “I cannot name a person of color who has created something viral and capitalized off of it,” says April Reign, managing editor of Broadway Black and originator of the annually-trending#OscarsSoWhite. And considering the amount of incredibly popular memes created by people of color—spanning from Kimberly Wilkin’s(AKA Sweet Brown) “Ain’t nobody got time for that” to Confused Mr. Krabs to the first Arthur-fist memeto “on fleek”—that’s a significant omission.

When Remixing Verges on Whitewashing

Of course, twas ever thus. “Going back to the minstrel period, there is something about African-American culture that drives pop culture trends,” says Greene. “But musicians from places like the South Bronx had no idea they were creating something that would be a phenomenon, and IP law struggles with things created by a community rather than an individual—it was hard to tell who created that blues riff or that beat.”

To some, memes creators face a similar issue as blues musicians or early hip-hop pioneers. “Memes are remixed and often appropriated, so they mutate over time,” says Sanjay Sharma, who teaches courses on new media and internet politics at Brunel University London. “Most folks who share a meme are oblivious to who originated it. People who claim Peaches shouldn’t be compensated can trade on this kind of argument.”

It’s a fair point, but it also falls apartin the face of how white meme creators have capitalized on their proverbial 15 minutes. That points to a stark difference in the way creators of color are viewed. “What Peaches does,what Sweet Brown does, is always viewed as lower class, and an example of what all black people must be doing,” says Andr Brock, who teaches race, ethnicity, and new media at the University of Michigan. “When white people do that online, it’s promoted as their command of the digital space. Black people are never seen as enterprising.”

The problem is especially glaring since many successful memes scoop their punchiness from black culture anyway. “The reason the ‘cash me outside’ girl is ‘funny’ is because she’s a white female using a voice associated with black culture,” says Catherine Knight Steele, who teaches race, gender, and media at the University of Maryland. “Sweet Brown isnt funny in the same waythe humor is different. It’s mockery. ‘Cash me outside’ almost feels like shes in on the joke.”

“It’s very apparent that it’s happening along racial lines,” April Reign says of the meme monetizationgap. “Are the IP lawyers and trademark people reaching out to people of color? Are publicists reaching out and saying, ‘Hey let’s get you on The Ellen Show?’” For now, it’s clear that they are not.

And while somebody can argue that Ellen‘s audience (and booking agent)is way more likely to have seen “Damn, Daniel” or Chewbacca Mom on Facebook than Lewis on Vine, the excuse is getting a little tired. Even digital spaces that black culture fueled—like Vine—seem to forget about their creators of color when its time to go take things IRL and make some money. “There was an entire tour of kids who were popular on Vine, but I dont remember seeing many black kids on that tour,” Miltner says.

There may be hope;Kayla Lewis has managed toraise $11,000 in just 8 days of crowdfunding. (She’s aiming for $100,000.) That’s due not only to hertenacity, but tothe internet at large. “Now you have receipts,” Steele says, referring to the verifiable proof that Lewiscoined the term. “Online content creation creates a way to trace something. And you can push back in the same medium used to steal from you.”

Even better, Lewis isn’t the only one.There’s a growing force of people of color bent on getting their due for their digital creativity. “Im in conversations now about what we can do for black content creators to make sure that theyre monetizing,” Reign says. “The next step is to determine how to ensure people are recognized as the original creator of a work. Nobody envisioned the internet when they were writing intellectual property laws. I think theres an opportunity now for lawyers to do something really important.” Because getting just rewards for your efforts? Definitely on fleek.

Read more: http://bit.ly/2lNrA3i

from Want to Profit Off Your Meme? Good Luck if You Arent White

[knives-out20]

Magnetic Pull - Erik Lehnsherr x Male!OC - Part 6

Fandom: X-Men: First Class (2011)

Pairing: Karmel Rosenstein (OC)

Warnings: Spoilers for X-Men: First Class, Swearing, Internalized homophobia,

Notes: I couldn’t find the gif I wanted of the Lincoln Memorial scene. Be sure to pick up the Hamilton reference!

Karmel, Erik, and Charles sat on the great front steps of the Lincoln Memorial, talking. 

Well, Erik and Charles did the sitting and talking.

Karmel wasn't quite up to the same level of maturity, patience and 'ability-to-sit-still-ness' as the other two men, so he stood by the 19-feet-tall statue of Lincoln sitting, jumping up and around it to try and grab hold of something. He wanted to climb it. If climbing the 19-foot-tall statue of a sitting 16th president who happens to be long dead, distracted Karmel from his vile, non-platonic feelings towards Erik, then so be it. He'll climb it.

"Can't stop thinking about the others out there" Charles told, "all those minds that I touched. I can feel them. Their isolation, their hopes. Their ambitions. I can tell you, and I can tell Karmel later, we're at the start of something incredible, Erik. We can help them."

Erik and him stared out across the lake, over at the looming Washington Monument."Can we?" He questioned, turning around to check on Karmel."Identification, that's how it starts. It ends with being rounded up, experimented on, eliminated."

Karmel was currently attempting to use his vines as a lasso, and if that didn't work, he'd use them like rock-climbing rope, next."'In this temple, as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever!'" He read the quote carved into the wall behind Lincoln's stone head aloud, scoffing. Karmel stood in a position where it looked as if Lincoln were pointing right at him."Beware, it goeth before the fall!" He repeated to the statue he pointed back up at (as if it was listening and sentient) the same thing he told Erik in Hank's transmitter. 

Erik's eyebrows knitted together once again, in confusion. But also slight interest...what a strange specimen, that Karmel was. But why was he so weirdly enticing?

Charles grinned softly."Weird one, isn't he? Restless, too. More than anyone I've ever met" he commented, glancing down at the chess board between Erik and himself.

"What does that mean?" Erik whispered to himself, referring to Karmel's recurrent quote.

"'It goeth before the fall', eh? It's a quote adapted from the biblical Book of Proverbs. It means that people who are overconfident, or- or too arrogant, but mostly prideful, are likely to fail. Quite a strange circumstance to use it under, but I'd let the poor man live. I wouldn’t question how a Jewish man knows a quote like that; it’s been brewing around for ages.”

Karmel was able to lasso a vine around one of Lincoln's ankles, the vine automatically tying around like a knot. He chuckled in surprise, at how it actually worked."Gotcha, bitch." Karmel shed himself of his black leather jacket, tossing it away, towards Charles and Erik. He was blissfully unaware that they became technical audience members to his small mission.

Erik reached out, grabbing the coat and pulling it closer. He hummed softly, folding it neatly and setting it aside.

Charles noticed, deciding to keep out of Erik's mind for now.

Karmel placed a foot flat on the marble block under Lincoln and his chair, grip tightening around his vine. The thought of Erik's eyes had that effect on him, where he'd tightly grab something he's holding.

"Should we stop him?" Erik inquired.

Karmel grunted, tugging on his vine-lasso as he made his way up the block, rock-climbing style. He had both feet flat on the block, slowly making his way up, step-by-step. This was quite a feat of his own; Karmel had never gone rock climbing before. 

"No. And to answer your question, Erik-" Charles turned back over to Erik."Yea, not this time. We have common enemies. Shaw, the Russians- they need us."

Karmel's vines seeped back into his body once he stood vertically again, panting lightly after he accomplished phase one.

Erik looked over at Charles, diverting his gaze back over to the Washington Monument. He wondered if Karmel would ever try climbing that."For now."

Karmel stepped onto the smaller stone above the platform he just got onto, hopping onto the pedestal above that. He lightly kicked one of Lincoln's hard, faded shoes."Sick kicks, Abe" Karmel teased, looking up at him. He hooked his thumbs around his suspenders, pulling them off so that they hung at his hips. Karmel rubbed his hands together, throwing an arm over his head as he bit his lip. 

Erik glanced back over at him.

"Baggyass pants, though" Karmel cackled, stepping onto Lincoln's flat foot. He reached up as high as he could, barely getting to the president's knee. Karmel leaned against the statue's leg, vines crawling out from behind his back and sliding over the thigh of the leg he was on."Risque" he grinned, holding onto his vines and beginning to hoist himself up.

"How do you feel about Karmel, anyway?" Charles inquired.

"This sounds like the beginning of a 'what are your intentions with my daughter' speech" Erik compared, locking eyes with Charles."Whatever do you mean, then? Karmel's...I see quite a bit of myself in Karmel, weirdly. He seems quite hot-headed, and by the looks of it, is physically courageous. He'd be a dogged adversary" he explained.

"Yea, he seems like he'd be one who’s prone to losing his temper. If I do say so myself, he practically feeds off of his emotions. But trust me, Erik, there's a lot of stuff hiding in that little head of his."

Erik arched a brow."Does consent mean nothing to you?" He joked.

Charles chuckled."It does when it can. Karmel's problem is, though, that I don't need to try to read his mind sometimes. Sometimes, he projects his thoughts so much that I strangely end up reading them whether I want to or not. He has such...such strong emotions, I'll word it. That he hides away, keeps it under a lock and key. Out of pure instinct, and fear for what people would say. There's internalized aggression to these emotions, he doesn't want them to exist, and believes that he's made them up for whatever reason. Poor chap, he is" He read Karmel like a book.

The unknowing mutant just made his way onto Lincoln's knee.

"Karmel, don't-" Charles called, contemplating whether he should get up and walk over or not.

Karmel laughed in triumph, leaning against the statue's thigh."Boy, I'd tell you what I want for Christmas, if I even celebrated it" he crossed his arms, content in Lincoln's gigantic lap. Karmel decided to ignore the fact that he had to physically turn away from Abraham’s crotch- but, he used the classic excuse that come on, it’s RIGHT there.

Erik just watched Karmel in Lincoln's lap, wondering why he suddenly wished he were a 19-foot-tall statue of a dead president. He shrugged to himself, thinking it would be a fleeting feeling, an intrusive thought.

Karmel rolled his shoulders back, hands on his hips as he looked out at the view."Some view this is, guys!" He yelled over."The sixteenth president's view of a monument for the very first president!" Karmel told, pointing out at the Washington Monument in the distance. He turned around, raising his arms as if reaching for Abraham's neck. Karmel's vines came shooting out, wrapping around Lincoln's neck.

"Don't choke him!" Erik joked, earning the sound of Karmel's sweet laughter.

"Don't encourage him-" Charles mumbled, standing up.

Erik gestured for Charles to stay."Please, he's having fun for once in the past couple days. Nobody's going to catch him, anyway" he smiled slightly.

Karmel huffed softly, repeating his previous actions and rock-climbing his way up Lincoln's torso, in a one-hand-in-front-of-the-the other way on the vines. He made it up to Lincoln's shoulder and hopped on, steadying himself as Erik's playful voice rang in his ears. Karmel's vines untied from around the statue's dusty neck, reeling back in like yo-yo strings. He held onto the side of the statue's face before he sneezed, to steady himself. Once stable, vines shot out from behind Karmel's back, around Lincoln's forehead.

"He's almost there."

"Yes he is."

"Think he'll stop?"

"Absolutely not."

Karmel glanced over at Erik, a smile zapping onto his lips at the mere sight of him. Maybe this'll impress him. Slowly and steadily, Karmel climbed up the side of Abraham's huge, angular face, facing a bit of difficulty around the ear area. Maybe this activity will make him 'man up', and out of whatever Erik made him dumb down to 'acting like a sissy.'

"You got this!" Erik yelled in slight encouragement.

"We believe in you!" Charles sighed; if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

"Beware, it goeth before the fall!" Karmel answered, not taking his eyes off where he was going. Erik's encouragement was some heart-racer for him. He groaned lowly, gritting his teeth in determination as he felt his internal organs flop when he went at an upside-down-like angle around Lincoln's ear."You have a nice face shape" Karmel whispered, chuckling as he made his way up Lincoln's smooth temple.

"He's quite driven" Erik noted, followed by a small 'huh.'

"Determination's filling him to the brim like an overflowing shot glass."

Karmel landed on his stomach atop Lincoln's head, coughing a bit."Does no one shower this thing? Dirty as fuck" he complained, taking his time to get up. Karmel put his fists on his hips, standing proudly on top of the 19-feet-tall statue of Abraham Lincoln, America's 16th president, in all his glory."I did it!"

"Yes you did!" Charles laughed through his words, clapping a bit like he was praising a child at a dance recital, or a school play.

Erik tilted his head, slowly getting up."Impressive, Karmel" he complimented, slowly clapping along."I wish I had your patience."

"Patience?" Karmel cackled."Erik, thank you, but this is pure determination. I have an endless uphill climb, this was it in a physical form" he specified."Hey, did you guys see Lincoln's hands? People think he's doing sign language for 'A' and 'L', his initials. Isn't that cool? It's 'cause back when he was alive, he was familiar with ASL. It also has something to do with him giving a university for the deaf- Gallaudet University- the authority to grant college degrees. There's other stuff to it, but I can't remember because holy shit, you two! Look at me! I'm ON Lincoln! The- The Lincoln Memorial, I’m ON the Lincoln MEMORIAL!” Karmel quickly corrected himself.

"Doesn't he have something to prove? Nothing to lose, that one" Charles whispered."His pace is relentless, I tell you. He'll waste no time of ours, or anybody's."

”Abraham Lincoln emancipated the slaves for ME!” Karmel yelled, at no one in particular.

Erik hummed in response, delving deeper into Karmel's character as he watched the vine mutant stomp on the statue's hair."Karmel doesn't hesitate."

"Exactly."

"He exhibits no restraint to these things. He'll take, and he'll take and he'll take if need be, he'll do what it takes to survive. He'll keep winning anyway, he'll change the game, he'll play and he'll raise the stakes with his restlessness. We'll need him on our team for this whole thing, no doubt. But..." Erik caught himself eyeing the man."We'll need someone to keep an eye on him."

Charles grinned, holding back from saying 'looks like we already have someone for that job.' He cleared his throat."I feel like you could keep him in check- allow me to explain" Charles put his hands up in defense."Karmel is very loyal to the people he cares about, possibly like this team. And from what I know, you both in particular, are similar in an array of ways. No doubt that if Karmel is approached by someone with possibly a similar view of the world to his, similar morals, similar character, he'll do as they say because you give him a sense of...stability? Stable familiarity, perhaps? If you told him to do or don't do something, he'll do it or won't do it, because you said so. You clearly mean a lot to him, regarding this, so he'll listen to you, despite whatever his anger is telling him in that moment. What'd'ya say?"

Erik looked at Karmel, and figured soon that attitude of Karmel's would be his doom. He nodded."I'll see what I can do."

"I'd say it's almost as if Karmel was raised to fend for himself, think for himself, act for himself...Be for himself, if that makes sense. I wonder what it was like for him, growing up."

"Most likely different from me" Erik piped up."He was raised here in America, I know that's for certain."

Charles looked between Erik and Karmel, Erik's gaze on Karmel softer than it used to be.

[knives-out20]

Call - Erik Lehnsherr x Male!OC

Fandom: X-Men

Pairing: Karmel Rosenstein (OC) x Erik Lehnsherr

Warnings: Swearing, Slight faggotry, SPOILERS FOR MAGNETIC PULL, Angsty Karmel

Notes: Do NOT read if you haven’t finished Magnetic Pull. Hannibal references. Enjoy!

Karmel sat on his bed in his mansion, re-reading some book he’s had ever since he was a child. He cleared his throat, flipping the page. Erik was asleep in the other room, and Karmel didn’t particularly feel like bothering him right now.

“Karmel.”

Kareml lifted his head up, looking around the room. Strange, he could’ve sworn that he heard...Charles, call him. Karmel shrugged, going back to his book. 

“Karmel, answer me.”

“What the f-” Karmel looked around the room again, at a slower pace. He looked out the window, but didn’t see anyone. “Hello-?” Karmel whispered, feeling stupid about even doing it.

“There’s a good lad. How’ve you been, mate?”

Karmel pinpointed the location of Charles’ voice: inside his own mind. “What the fuck?” He mumbled, wondering if he missed his old friend to the point where he had decided to make conversation with a fake-him in his head.

“You’re fine, mate. I’m doing with you what I had done with Moira in that CIA building back then, remember?”

Karmel put down his book hesitantly, fixing his tie. “Talkin’ through my fucking mind, huh?” He asked aloud. “Sorry I can’t return the favour, but I’m whisperin’ to avoid waking Erik up. Fast asleep in the next room over.” Karmel explained.

“How is he?”

“We’re doing amazingly, actually. I don’t think he’d be too happy to fucking talk t’ya, though. Or to find out that I’m talking to you. So I’m whispering for that shit, too.”

“Understandable. I missed talking to you, and you weren’t out of reach, so I decided to pop in. Sorry to have scared you.”

“It’s nothing,” Karmel waved his hand in dismissal, knowing Charles wouldn’t have seen it anyway. “How’s Moira?”

“Doing well, I hope. I erased her memory of everything after the whole island situation when Erik and you ran off with Raven and Shaw’s team...How is she?”

“Adjusting.”

Charles hummed from his end. “I’ve been doing some thinking, regarding what happened on that island.”

“Oh yea?” Karmel raised his eyebrows. “What’cha been thinking about, exactly?”

“You were pretty quick to side with Erik, even taking in the small talk we had. Quicker than someone would’ve been, being that they were only still so indecisive only the night before.” Charles specified.

Karmel gulped, eyes darting around in thought. “Funny, eh?”

“Quite.” Charles agreed.

Karmel tapped his finger on the pillow next to him, anxious in silence.

“You remember when you decided to call Erik?” Charles asked.

Karmel tugged his collar; great, Charles knew. He straightened up, clenching his jaw for a moment. “I wasn’t decided when I called him. I just called him” Karmel answered in a beat. “I deliberated, while the phone rang.”

Silence on Charles’ end.

“I decided...when I heard his voice.” Karmel finally answered, in a hushed tone.

“You told him you knew?” Charles asked, referring to Karmel finally knowing his decision on whether he’d side with Erik and against humans, or side with Charles to co-exist with them.

“I told him, alright.” Karmel huffed. “I jokingly told him to leave. Because I,” he inhaled sharply, “I wanted him to run.”

“Why?” Charles pressed on.

Karmel looked down, deep eyes softened down to a baby blue. He stayed silent, opening his mouth as he readied what he was about to say. “Uhm...” Karmel hesitated, waving his head in thought. “Because...” He whispered. “Because he- he was my friend.” Karmel replied, looking up in determination, “and because I wanted to run away with him” he confessed.

Charles licked his lips in thought. “Run away when? Right then and there, or after the show-down the following day?”

“I- I- I honestly don’t know.” Karmel shrugged. “Either one, I left up to Erik. I’d go anywhere with him, I’d have gone anywhere with him. No matter the time or place. If he wanted to leave right then and there, I’d have used my fucking vines to slide down the window like the prince sliding down Rapunzel’s hair. If he wanted to leave after the show-down at the blockade line, I’d have waited eagerly, yet patiently for it all to be over. And clearly, I did.” He recalled. Karmel’s blinks were slow, eyes kept down low to examine his bed sheets.

***

Karmel stared at the phone on his table, foot impatiently tapping the floor. He groaned silently, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Stop fucking pussyfooting, man-” he groaned, picking up the phone and spinning the dial for a specific someone’s room. Karmel bit the edge of his lip, listening to the phone ring as he tried to make up his mind.

“Hello?” Erik’s mumble greeted Karmel’s ear like cool wind on an autumn day.

Karmel closed his eyes in relief, glad he picked up. “I know.” He answered in a low tone, seeing as it was night time. “I fucking know.” Karmel repeated, finally decided from the moment he heard Erik’s voice. He breathed a smile to life, his realization being a borderline orgasmic feeling.

Erik furrowed his eyebrows, looking up at his ceiling in thought.

“I know what to- to do tomorrow, Erik. I know exactly how I feel about it, now.” Karmel muttered into the phone.

“Do you?” Erik grumbled, rubbing his eye. “Took you long enough, Rosenstein.”

Karmel’s lips formed a line.

“Only teasing- what have you decided on, Karmel?”

“You.” Karmel answered. “I’ve decided on you, I want to be on your side, I want to be by your fucking side.” He added on, free hand balling into a fist. “Fuck the humans, like I’ve always felt.”

Erik grinned to himself.

“But...I can’t tell Charles. I can’t let the others know.” Karmel brought up.

“So what do you propose that you do?” Erik raised his eyebrows, expectant.

“I, uh...” Karmel nervously licked his lips. “I say we go about tomorrow like we always do. I’ll keep acting as if I won’t side with you, if siding with you or Charles is what it comes down to. Charles won’t know, he won’t read my mind without my knowledge, I- I trust him on that.”

Erik hummed, listening.

Karmel chuckled. “Y’know, you should probably leave. Whether it be now or after whatever fucking ensues tomorrow.” He joked.

Erik scoffed. “Goodnight, Karmel.”

“Goodnight, Erik.”

***

“I see...I’m glad it was the second option, then, jokingly or not. We needed you both during the whole thing to pull Shaw’s submarine, remember?”

Karmel smiled slightly. “Erik ‘n’ I are quite the damn team, aren’t we?” He whispered. “No wonder I wanted him so bad.” Karmel sighed lovingly, sparing a glance at the bracelet he wore.

Silence followed.

Karmel squared his shoulders. “I- I should go. I need some gin in me right ‘bout now.” He excused, standing up slowly.

“I understand. Til we meet again?”

“See you on the other side. Sooner than later, I’d hope” Karmel breathed, fingers crossed behind his back. “Bye, Charlie. Beware, man; it goeth before the fall.”

Charles giggled. “Goodbye, Karmel.”

Karmel waited for a few moments, until he was sure Charles was out of his mind. He let out a sigh of relief, cracking his neck. Karmel discarded of his book, walking out his bedroom door and carefully passing by the room Erik was asleep in. He glanced in, seeing Erik completely covered in blankets asides from his hand. Karmel smiled softly, carrying on down the hall.

Erik listened to Karmel’s graceful footsteps fade down the hall, using his arm to lift up the covers. He stared at the door, a pensive look in his eyes.

[knives-out20]

Magnetic Pull - Erik Lehnsherr x Male!OC - Part 12

Fandom: X-Men: First Class (2011)

Pairing: Karmel Rosenstein (OC) x Erik Lehnsherr

Warnings: Spoilers for X-Men: First Class, Swearing, Internalized homophobia, Repressed homosexuality, Mentions of suicide (attempted), Angsty backstory,

Notes: I mention a piece of Karmel’s backstory that we’ve touched on before. A bit of a touchy subject, speaking of, so just an FYI. Hannibal references inside. Also I only have a limited amount of Karmel gifs (his faceclaim being Brad Pitt as Detective David Mills in the 1995 movie Se7en) so don’t be confused/surprised/etc if I happen to reuse gifs.

Karmel stood wearing a grey hoodie and matching sweatpants, which strayed far from his usual outdoor attire. Him and Charles stood outside the mansion, in front of a wall of the mansion with the least windows."What'd'ya need me to fuckin’ do, again?"

Charles sighed."You've gotten the hand of using your vines when they grow from out of your own body. I'd like to get you to practice having them grow from out the ground, is all. We can start off small, and work our way up somehow. I need you to grow your vines out the ground, and up this wall- careful to go around the windows."

"Like I'm drawing a line in a maze in some kids activity book?"

Charles paused. He shrugged, "strange comparison, but, yes, that's the gist. Unless you wish to make them form a picture of something. Easy enough?"

Karmel chuckled, "yea, I'll just shoot them up the wall, though."

"By all means, go ahead."

Karmel cleared his throat, slowly raising his hands, palms facing the wall. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned away, never really being a fan of seeing his powers in action. Especially since twice in his life, they were -nearly- the death of him. Literally.

Charles exhaled, a look of concern on his face."Think I'll be able to teach you to face your vines in motion?"

"I'd like to s-see you try" Karmel stuttered.

"I understand what your powers almost caused twice...I'm sorry that your powers are integrated with these memories" Charles apologized, weeding his way through this pep-talk.

A quick glimpse through Karmel's mind at that moment brought him to the afterwards of Karmel's second attempt: Karmel in his twenties, crying in the back of his car with a blood-soaked patch on one side of his forehead. He was covered in marks and tiny scars that came from the thorns on his vines.

Charles saw tears forming in Karmel's eyes due to the flashback, like Erik earlier when he had a flashback of his mother."But, I do hope you know that you're stronger now, more than ever. Certainly more than you were in those dark moments of your life. You have me, the team, Moira...Erik-" he smiled when he noticed that saying Erik's name made Karmel sprout vines from out of the ground."So that's it." Charles thought, looking back over at Karmel. He now knew that Erik's powers would mostly spring from anger, and Karmel's would at the thought, mention, or sight of Erik. Why didn't he come to this conclusion earlier?

"I keep a lot of things in my head in fear of people like you- telepaths- existing and finding out. And...judging" Karmel started, wiping his eyes quickly.

"I'm not one to judge things that shouldn't be judged in the first place, Kar" Charles shrugged.

"My outburst at the base...over Erik," the vines latched onto the brick wall, slowly crawling upwards."Words can't describe how glad I am that Moira 'n' you didn't fire backlash at me, backlash I've lived in fear of my entire life. It just...I don't wanna talk about it right now."

"And you don't need to, Karmel. We can focus on this wall right now" Charles nodded, turning to the wall.

Karmel didn't look at his vines as they curled their ways up the brick wall, quick to dodge around any windows in their paths.

Charles' eyebrows knitted together as his head slowly panned up, noticing that the vines were making line art of...a face?

"Is it going up?"

"It's going up, alright" Charles answered, recognizing the shape of the jaw anywhere."What's something you like about Erik, then?" He pushed, most likely to test his theory from earlier about Karmel's powers when Erik's in mind.

Karmel exhaled through his nose."His eyes. Erik's eyes are like...two moons, I dunno. With blue-green pools in them- I don't know, man, they're beautiful, alright?" He kissed his teeth in slight frustration, not really that good at sappy stuff. But, his vines sped up, so that meant Charles was right.

"And what about his hair?" Charles suggested.

"Oh, his hair, fuck m-" Karmel opened a wide eye to glance at Charles, humming the 'm' he was so close to using to say 'me.'

Charles tilted his head, looking at Karmel as if he were saying "really, bitch? Seriously?"

Karmel continued humming the 'm', racking his brain for a way to save himself."-Mmman, I dunno, his hairs cool too-"

Charles rolled his eyes playfully, Karmel peacefully closing his eye.

Karmel grunted a bit, hands quivering as his vines looped around the wall, forming a jawline, a pair of thin lips, a perfect nose, and creases around a pair of eyes. His fingers bent a bit as the vines formed the archway of a hairline around a prominent forehead, the vines even spiking up in some places in the shape of hair. This was all unbeknownst to Karmel, that's the best part. He thought his vines were simply going straight up, and around the windows.

"It's reached the top."

"Finally-" Karmel panted, dropping his hands. He slowly looked up at the big brick wall, colour draining from his face when he could easily make out line art (or in this case, vine art) of Erik Lehnsherr's face. Karmel's head snapped in Charles' direction as his blue eyes went huge.

Charles chuckled simply."If you wanted to do someone instead of something, you could have just said so."

"No, no, no, it was an accident- I didn't- I wasn't- I wasn't even thinking of him, I- I just wanted the fucking vines to grow" Karmel stuttered, frantically waving his arms.

"Karmel, Karmel-" Charles called, putting a hand on Karmel's shoulder."It's okay."

Karmel slowly dropped his hands, raising an eyebrow. His vine art of Erik grew purple flowers, which bloomed quickly. Karmel's breath hitched at that.

"It's okay now, remember? I know, you know, we both know here. And I'm a hundred percent okay with what I know. As of our quick trip to Russia, so are you. It's okay, you're safe here. You can be who you truly are."

Karmel took slow, deep breaths, nodding."Yea, I- I just...I guess I'm gonna forget sometimes, that it's okay. But it's hard to forget that on a scale of one to ten, he's a certified twenty. I'm...I love Erik, man."

"Which is okay" Charles cracked a comforting smile."I'll be around to remind you. It's a slow process."

Karmel looked up at Erik’s face on the wall.”I have to deal with you,” he groaned, pointing up at it.”And my feelings about you.”

Charles looked up at the vines.”You cannot control with respect to whom you fall in love.”

Karmel turned to Charles. He donned a look of inner fear, as if he were still slightly afraid of his love for Erik. In reality, Karmel was just unsure of how long it would take him to get used to it.

Charles pat Karmel’s shoulder.”No one can be fully aware of another human being unless we love them. By that love, we see potential in our beloved. Through that love, we allow our beloved to see their potential. Expressing that love, our beloveds potential comes true” he explained.

"Hey, you two!" Erik's voice rang from a way's behind the two of them.

"Fuck-" Karmel swore, and gestured his hands downwards. The vines shot back down into the ground, a couple purple flower petals and a singular flower itself hanging around. 

The wall was blank again.

"Hi, Erik!" Karmel nervously greeted. He wondered why Erik smiled like that the moment he saw him.

"I saw that-" Charles grinned as he waved.

"Shut it, Charlie Chaplin" Karmel spoke through grit teeth as he checked out Erik wearing clothes identical to his."Goddamn..." he thought, biting the edge of his lip.

Erik put his hands on his hips, looking up at the wall like it was missing something."What happened to the green lines on the wall?"

Karmel almost choked on his own spit."My, uh, my vines. Charlie Chaplin here wants me to practice making my vines grow out from places that aren't my body. And- And wants me to practice making them move certain ways, up walls 'n' shit, so that I can control them better. They didn't go up the way I wanted-"

"I'd say otherwise-"

"Shut up, Charles. Anyways, they- they didn't go up the way I wanted, so I'm trying again" Karmel explained.

"Those flowers weren't there before" Erik pointed out, literally pointing down at them.

"Oh, yea, I can grow flowers from my vines. Not just leaves, or thorns. They could also have this weird poison effect. Ivy, too. Poison ivy, even. That's a thing" Karmel recalled, his whole body going rigid at what Erik then asked.

"Can I watch?"

"Uhm-"

"Sure!" Charles answered for him.

Karmel shot Charles a glare, slowly turning around to face the wall again. He raised his arms, forcing himself to pay close attention to the way his vines curved up the wall.

"Also, uh, Karmel" Erik called.

"Yep?"

"I'm sorry about what I said to Charles and you the day we arrived here. I remembered what you've told me about your parents, but it didn't dwell on me on how deep it really went, no matter how long ago it was. So...my apologies" Erik apologized.

"Shit-" Karmel cursed under his breath, Erik taking accountability of his actions only making Karmel fall in love with him even more. He moved his hands to the sides, vines smoothly darting out of the way of a window."It's fine, Erik. I don't bare any ill will towards you 'cause of it. Joking like I did was just...an automatic response."

"A coping mechanism?" Charles suggested.

"What are you, my therapist?" Karmel scoffed, getting slightly defensive."Yea, that, whatever" he agreed. Karmel watched his vines lurch this way and that way, recognizing what was now his own face, made up of vine-line-art. Once he finished, he eagerly dropped his arms."I felt like I'd look good up here."

"You thought otherwise just a moment ago-" Charles snickered.

"Shut up, Charlie" Karmel groaned. He waved an arm at the wall, purple flowers blooming on the vines that etched his face around the wall. Karmel turned back around to Erik, who grinned slightly.

"Impressive as always" Erik coughed.

"Beware, it goeth before the fall. How many times I gotta tell you guys?" Karmel joked, Erik and him gigging softly.

Charles arched a brow, looking between Karmel and Erik."I gotta go find Raven. I'll see you two inside later" he bade them goodbye, jogging off and around the corner, disappearing from sight.

Karmel and Erik kept, somehow comfortable, eye contact, Karmel cracking a small smile as he looked down, then turned away.

"So, uh, Karmel" Erik piped up.

"Hmm?" Karmel hummed, walking towards the wall. He knelt down, picking up a whole, purple flower.

"I have something."

Karmel stood back up, and walked back over to Erik."You have something? What? A flu?"

Erik shook his head."No, no, like...physically. I picked it up for you- don't ask when- and I thought you'd like it."

Karmel’s smile broke out into a bigger one.”No one’s ever done that for me...not even Grace. That’s real nice of you” he cooed.

Erik pulled his lips into a sheepish smile.”Don’t think too much of it, though. A simple gesture can only go so far sometimes” he told, digging into his pocket and pulling out a bracelet. It was made out of braided, brown leather, and bore a silver, metal clasp. Erik held it up, holding back a smile when Karmel cautiously took it.

”It’s so cool” Karmel gasped, gently putting it on his left wrist.”Thank you, Erik- I feel bad, I don’t have shit for you-“

Erik held up a hand.”Nonsense, Karmel. I don’t need anything in return.”

Karmel’s smile was glued to his lips, as he remade eye contact with Erik. 

Erik rubbed the back of his neck, a faint smile of his own on his face, thanks to Karmel. 

“Y’know, actually-“ Karmel looked down at the flower in his hand.”I do have something.”

Erik followed his gaze.”The flower?”

Karmel hummed.”A flower from my own vines, Erik. That’s super fucking personal” he said, reaching up to tuck it behind Erik’s ear.

Erik exhaled through his nose, glancing up at it.”How do I look?”

”Breathtaking, man” Karmel giggled, definitely in love at this point. Not even that ‘in love’ love with Erik’s body; Karmel was in love with Erik as a person, the whole idea of him sparked joy. At first he thought it was merely physical. But the more time they spent around each other, the deeper it grew. Now Karmel just wishes he could act on his feelings.

Erik glanced down, stricken by a sense of shyness.

“See, Erik-” Karmel started, pointing at the bracelet.”There’s so much more to you than you know, Erik. Not just pain and anger, like me. There’s good in you, Erik, I can feel it. I know it. I’ve fucking seen it, now.”

Erik looked up at him, surprised at what was said. Did Karmel really think that of him?

The two held eye contact again, standing in comfortable silence.

Karmel was the first to break his gaze, quick to sneak a glance at Erik's lips beforehand.”I should, uh- get going, though. Hank wanted to show me the library in this place.”

”Yea” Erik nodded, doing the same before looking down.”You’re a librarian after all.”

”Best one in the country” Karmel puffed out his chest, making Erik laugh. He sighed softly, privileged enough to earn a look of genuine happiness and innocence from the man. It felt rare. It felt good. It made Karmel feel like he was on top of the world.”C’mon, let- let’s, uh, let’s go back inside.”

Erik nodded, leading the way.

Karmel watched Erik walk, and groaned softly to himself. He threw the hood of his hoodie over his head and violently pulled on the strings, cocooning his face in the hood.”Stupid fuckin’ faggot fuck” Karmel cursed himself, his feelings for Erik only growing stronger by the second.