#carnation wa | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

yawarakaizai · 1 year ago

Note

pmzai with an equally miserable s/o fem reader

ⵌ IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT

SENDER Reader (Fem) RECIPITENT PM Dazai Osamu (BSD) CONTENTS You sit and stare and wait for him to return to you. You've been bad and you've been good. There's nothing and no one that gives you purpose like he. NOTE reader+dazai are 17/18, implications of s/h, slight misogyny, death of parent, it's kind of angsty.. , soft couple, miserable couple, sui/cide mention+ideation COMPANY I'm Not Human At All

A/N ʚ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ɞ th is wa s har d to make b ecause i h ad sOOO OO m any ide as an d my playli st wa s feelin g good an d kept pla y ing song s th at g ave me diff fic ide as ;; th is is sad ,,, i do nt like sa d fics bu t ,,, this is kin d of a ven t? hehe FEE L FREE TO REQ UEST MOR E!

Your tender heart would care for an injured bunny rescued from a bear trap.

You'd nurse the animal as best you could yet it would always die.

Your father was a hunter. He earned your living costs by selling animal hide and what meat he'd have spare after covering what you'll need. Your mother died when you were a little girl.

You were as sweet as your mother.

Your father would tell stories of how She would gaze out on the winter sky and say to Herself, "My daughter will be as snow. Gentle and graceful, yet freezing to those who demand more of what perfect she is already."

When your Mother died, they put Her in a box full of pink carnations and orchids. Surely to counteract the smell of Her decaying corpse, to display Her flesh as something beautiful before her descent under soil to where Her bones will return and fertilise what surrounds.

Rural life in Japan was not for the weak. Which you were.

You picked up what your Mother left behind.

Tending to the chickens in their coops and shearing the sheep, you'd milk the cows and free the rabbits when Father wasn't looking.

Your hands plush with baby fat would clench around your rosary every night and pray like a good girl.

By the time you reached puberty, your features resembled your Mother more than ever before. Your figure changed and as did your father.

He'd sneer at the dress that fit you perfectly just two years ago. You'd become defiant and bold, a rebellious child.

" Father, but why? "

Your protests and argumentative nature would anger him. And now, you weren't a good girl.

Shouting battles always left you sobbing into thick pillows until your throat hurt.

It was at the age of fifteen did you find out what lies beneath your thin flesh and blue pulse.

You are made of bright crimson and spite.

At sixteen, you ran away.

It was impulsive. You forgot how and what happened. You don't want to remember.

Your calves ached and your feet blistered with pain from trudging up and down hills and farms.

You are a mixture of love and loss.

Everything is a blur, and sometimes you question whether running away was the wisest thing to do.

You had collapsed the moment you stepped foot into the city.

A sad, lost soul who ran away from her father.

You had been a..

" Very bad girl. "

The voice startled you enough for you to spill the batter all over your clean white apron.

" Osamu! " You cried out in disbelief, the boy laughing hysterically. " That isn't funny, knock it off. "

In a way, Dazai reminded you of those bunnies you'd rescue in your youth. He was caught and wounded by the claws of Life. And although you may cup his cheeks into your hands and tell him 'You're alive', he had already died before you were able to cradle him to your chest.

" I told you not to wake up early, Y/N! I should have known to not mention my fondness of crêpes to you. "

You felt untamed, wild hair brush against the bare of your neck before soft lips made contact with your jawline. A soft kiss pressing into what was cold. He was grateful to have you in his sad miserable life.

And even if you two were not perfect for each other, you'd both die to watch the world burn.

" I did it on my own accord. " You lied. " You did not. " He calls your bluff like air. You huff in surrender.

Setting down the metal bowl of paste, you turn to face him. You think of the horrors that his empty, black eye must have seen. His other eye, obscured by bandages, was a mystery to you. You respected him enough to not budge him about it.

" I wished to make you something special. "

You confess, certain he already knew your intention. Your boyfriend was simply smarter than many.

" I don't need anything. Coming home to you is enough, bella. '' His hand stretches to you like death.

Your eyes were not as bright as they were when you were little. They reflected the bad girl that you've become. The one that left her sickly impoverished father in treacherous conditions alone because her feelings were hurt.

" Belladonna. "

He'd pull you back into reality when he'd notice you slipping.

" 'samu. You've barely been coming home anymore, okay? Let me do this, just this once for you. " You snaked your arms around his waist and he mirrored your action, twirling you both out of the kitchen.

Dazai was inexplicable to you. He was a man your father wouldn't like. A man your Mother would hate. A man your younger self would despise.

You willingly moved into a shared apartment with the mafia executive after a few months of living in Yokohama. It was him to have picked you up from the streets. Sensing you were worth more than the muddied appearance you showed at that time.

Your one-time use turned into a second-time use, and your second-time use blossomed like a flower in Spring. You interested him.

You both intoxicated each other. Dazai was able to make you feel light. You felt weightless and as fragile as a butterfly. Weak, small and at his mercy.

" Then don't hide yourself away from the kitchen when I'm right here, love. "

By the time your spinning head focused on what was around you again, he had toppled you both onto the living room couch. He loomed over you, fully dressed in his mafia uniform, his stupid tie obscuring your vision until he tucked it between the buttons of his revere blouse.

" What would you do if I were to die? "

" Osamu. Stop that. "

You muttered.

You feel his life. The warmth of his body, the tender flow of blood heating his body as his finger traced patterns into your cheek. Your heart keeps beating.

" Answer me, Y/N. "

You didn't enjoy thinking of your partners demise. You wouldn't mind if you were to die.

The problem was, you didn't want to be alive for your boyfriends funeral, yet you didn't wish for your boyfriend to be alive for yours.

You loved each other to the point it became hate. Hate for how the other made living seem worth it.

Dazai had an eventful life. You did not.

You had no education whatsoever. According to the government, you did not exist. You had no birth certificate. You were no one. You lived hidden in this cramped apartment.

When Dazai was away, it was only you and your thoughts. Your thoughts were a dangerous thing.

" I think I would kill myself too. "

Your voice caught up on an unexpected crack. You were puzzled until your vision became glassy.

" Pretty baby. I'm sorry. " His apology was belated as you'd already begun to sniffle, he lowered his weight on you, turning to lay on his side as he pulled you in close, coaxing you into silence.

" Don't die, 'samu. Not here, not now. " Your sad little beg mused him.

Dazai was all you had left. You were most certain that if you were to part, you would die.

With Dazai, you were still inadequate. Without Dazai, you truly were nothing but a walking corpse.

He thinks that you are something weak and soft, with a fire raging in you that cried to be extinguished before it could spread.

You hush yourself to enjoy the feeling surrounding you. You feel Dazai's ribcage rise with each steady breath he takes. The beating of a heart is somewhere far deep in, and yours is jumping in your throat.

" Not now. " He repeated after you, and part of you wished to believe it.

There was something mystical about Osamu.

Something that warned you to not feed coal to the flame.

And that if you reached your hand in, you'd burn yourself on what was forbidden.

©yawarakaizai 2023 ﹒﹒ reblogs appreciated! requests open :3

#dazai x reader #pmzai #pm dazai x reader #bsd x reader #port mafia dazai x reader

266 notes · View notes

magicae-est-realis · 10 months ago

Text

Okay, so fairies.

We never meet a male fairy in Fablehaven right? Raxtus and possibly the Astrids aside. The Fairy king, as a unicorn, does not count.

So how do they reproduce?

This was meant to be a teeny-tiny single paragraph. I failed.

Note for googled flower meanings-

Meadowsweet (useless)

Geranium (stupid/idiot)

Yellow carnation (I am disappointed in you)

Bilberry (traitor)

Kendra, after Zzyzx, is told in no uncertain terms by literally everyone that despite the fact that she herself is the Fairy Queen's Handmaiden, she needs a handmaiden of her own. It's one of the laws of the Fairy Kingdom, and no, there is no way around this.

Of course, they neglect to tell her that it only became a law after she picked up a random incredibly powerful magical artifact she borrowed from her brother, a child, and acted on her poorly planned (though admittedly effective) impulse to charge the biggest, baddest, most evil being on a battlefield she shouldn't even be on in an outnumbered hopeless war she shouldn't be in, and commit regicide.

This ruffled a few feathers.

Among everyone.

Adults were caught between offence that a tiny almost-human child did what they couldn't in less than five minutes and horror that Kendra was there at all.

Children were simply jealous that they didn't think of it first.

Kendra was, naturally, rather annoyed about the ridiculous law, because "why on earth does a handmaiden need her own handmaiden? I killed Gogrog! I can take care of myself!"

This did not help her case, as the entire reason behind the law was to prevent such a scenario from repeating itself, or if this wasn't possible, to provide support. And reinforcements. Lots and lots of reinforcements.

It was the product of the entire population of the Light Kingdom agreeing simultaneously (a rare, history-making event as the Centaurs and Satyrs in particular were known for always choosing opposing arguments on principal) and it came from a mix of spite for the aforementioned offense-at-Kendra-being-more-capable-than-them and of them being quite fond of her by this stage and not wanting her to inadvertently kill herself though sheer stupidity.

Though most did admit that naming her 'secret' backup a 'handmaiden' was poorly thought out, the general idea remained the same, and the general Plan been in discussion for some time before Bracken panicked when Kendra tried to go talk to the Brownies by herself, drew upon said discussions, and told her if she hadn't yet chosen her handmaiden, she needed to take him as backup at least.

Which was how Kendra learnt about the law for the first time (though Bracken had the foresight to not mention the recency of the law's creation and led her to believe it had been around for a very long time), pitched a fit about the very idea of being constantly followed, and tried to ask the nearby fairies to tell Bracken she didn't need a handmaiden of her own.

The fairies, of course, wholeheartedly agreed with Bracken and the Plan and were wary of disagreeing with their royalty anyway, so the matter was taken to the Naiads, then the Satyrs, then the Dryads, the Centaurs, the Nipsies, every human in the preserve including Kendra's family (Kendra had hoped that Vanessa at least would defend her to spite Bracken, and was sorely disappointed), the Brownies (with Bracken after she begrudgingly allowed him to come with) and each time the matter was discussed, Kendra was given the same unwavering agreement that yes, she needed her own handmaiden.

In a final act of desperation, Kendra dragged a bemused but increasingly smug Bracken off by his arm, shoved him into the little paddleboat she'd used the first time she crossed the lake, and paddled her way over to Fablehaven's Shrine.

In hindsight, the fact that the Naiads actively helped her get to the island should have been a warning written in neon lighting on a massive billboard telling her "KENDRA NO" in all-caps with confetti, glitter bombs and a blaring siren to accompany it.

As it was, Kendra noticed and dismissed the aid because she was desperate, and didn't care enough about small details like this when she felt desperate, though she probably should have learnt better by now, considering that this tendency had led to her dismissing the high probability of drowning and death-by-dandelion-fluffage during the Muriel Incident (separate to The Cow Incidents as they were more traumatising), dismissing Warren's injuries and Seth's unconscious state in the Hell Cat Temple and Revenant Incident, dismissing the fact that Chalize agreed to let them through too easily in the Lost Mesa Incident, dismissing any possibility of paradoxes or worse, Seth playing with and managing to work the Chronometer in the Shadow Plague Incident, dismissing the thought that she was legally dead or that she should learn how to fold a paper plane before using them as an escape attempt during and after the Kidnapping Incident, that...

You get the point.

(You may also notice that Fablehaven residents had a propensity for naming any serious events 'Incidents', as Warren wholeheartedly believed that it was a less traumatising phrase than 'Disaster', 'Catastrophe', or 'Serious Event'. The only allowance made for varying severity was whether or no the 'the' in front was capitalised, such as how the Lost Mesa Incident and the Muriel Incident were not capitalised, but The Cow Incidents and The Zzyzx Incident were.)

Anyway, Kendra should have known better. But she persisted, and so she was left dragging a slightly damp Bracken out of the paddleboat (one of the Naiads tried unsuccessfully to flirt with him).

It was only as they were standing in front of the Shrine and a cool breeze and distinctly amused Presence declared the Fairy Queen's attention that Kendra realised it had, perhaps, been a poor decision, as her sort-of boss could definitely command Kendra to just choose a handmaiden already and she would have to.

And that is exactly what happened.

Kendra sulked for the next day and ate whole roll of cookie dough afterwards.

But after her obligatory day of sulking, Kendra simply sighed, begrudgingly accepted her fate, and asked Bracken what the process was.

Bracken was absolutely thrilled to detail what needed to be done, though there wasn't all that much to it on Kendra's end. All she needed to do was pick a fairy ("yes, Kendra. It needs to be a fairy to serve the Fairy Queen's handmaiden!"), ask the fairy to see if she agreed ("easiest part- everyone wants the position for the bragging rights alone") and after the selection was made, tell either Bracken or his mother, and they'd do the rest.

It took Kendra less than a minute to find Shiara and ask her, and found Bracken had been correct in saying she'd agree.

And that was that.

So it was to this arrangement that Kendra found herself in towards the end of the summer following The Zzyzx Incident, as she woke up from a pleasant nap in the striped hammock she'd strung between two trees on the boundary of the garden a few weeks before with a tiny face surrounded by a shock of short blue hair hovering just above her nose.

This didn't surprise her anymore, as she'd long since grown used to (but not fond of) Shiara's wake-Kendra-up technique.

Kendra, never fond of being woken up, simply groaned and dramatically flung an arm over her face, forcing Shiara to flit out of the way. The fairies' dramatic flair had begun to infect her, and she was well on her way to becoming a theatre kid if she ever got the legally dead mess fixed.

Shiara simply poked Kendra's nose where it peeked out from under her arm.

"Hey, no sleeping on me now! I just heard from Yolie, who heard from Poza, who heard from Timela, who heard from-"

"Shiara, I say this with love, but please get to the point." Shiara simply huffed.

"Fine! Larina and Ilyana's daughter just hatched! We have to see her! The last baby hatched years ago! This is the first child anyone has even considered having since you and Seth first arrived, since you turned everything upside-down and you know we don't really like change. And she'll be the first baby hatched since we moved into our new kingdom, too!"

Kendra immediately sat bolt upright, forgetting she was in a hammock, and promptly fell face-first onto the grass. Uncaring, she scrambled to her feet.

"Where?! Where are they? How small is she? Ooooo she must be tiny! And how do you know she's a girl if you haven't seen her yet? Come on, come on, come on, come on, Shiara!"

The fairy simply laughed in delight, and darted off in the direction of the secret garden, which Kendra had been amazed to discover after becoming Fairy-kind, as it definitely hadn't existed there before.

Apparently, the garden existed in a pocket dimension connected to a small square piece of the earth similar to the rucksack, was only accessible by or even visible to a fairy, and was under many, many extremely heavy enchantments and protections laid by the Fairy Queen herself, making it one of the safest locations on the preserve. Kendra had always wondered why, and realising now that it was probably to protect baby fairies made perfect sense.

Kendra and Shiara made it to the garden in record time, to see a crowd of brightly coloured fairies creating a near solid rainbow wall around the entrance.

Briefly, Kendra wondered if she could get them to line up in rainbow order to create a mini Fablehaven pride parade.

Shiara looked at the wall blocking her way to the baby, set her face and puffed up, her hair standing on end like she'd been shocked, in her 'getting stuff done' pose.

"All right everyone, make a path! Kendra's coming through and I won't hesitate to hex anyone who doesn't move fast enough!"

It was almost comical how quickly the alarmed fairies scarpered. Admittedly, Shiara had been granted a supposed 'level-up' as Seth called it after becoming her handmaiden, but Kendra hadn't thought it was enough to intimidate an entire dazzle of excited fairies.

Apparently she'd thought wrong.

Kendra hurried through the gap created for her, Shiara leading the way, until she arrived at a small flowering shrub with a tiny but elaborate nest woven into it in a fork of three near horizontal branches near the middle.

The nest was reminiscent of a bird's nest, but no bird had ever woven a house with a braided domed roof, porch (complete with railing around two of the three sides and a handful of woven chairs), tiny perfectly round windows, a tiny perfectly round door, and a three separate rooms.

It brought to mind a Hobbit hole, though Kendra would never dream of voicing the thought after the rant about Tolkien she'd received the time she'd compared a long-haired fairy's fussiness about hair braiding to a Dwarf.

Shiara landed on the porch delicately, waited by the door, and softly called to Larina, an especially large orange and gold hummingbird fairy, to ask if she could enter.

At the soft assent she received, Shiara hopped gently into the house, arranging her wings so they didn't touch the walls, and disappeared.

A second later she popped out again, looking flustered and embarrassed.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Kendra. I forgot you can't come in. Oh, bother." Poor Shiara was wringing her hands and looking incredibly distressed, and Kendra was about to tell her not to worry, that she could go in and look without her, when Ilyana's voice piped up, and the second hummingbird fairy shining an iridescent turquoise, blue and green stepped out.

"Kendra? You're here? Oh! Wait right here, we'll bring her right outside to you so you can meet her! It must be a blessing to have the Fairy Queen's own chosen handmaiden visit!" Kendra didn't even have time to take a breath before the delighted fairy had disappeared back into her little house, presumably to fetch her daughter.

Shiara positively beamed at the solution, and was almost vibrating with excitement. In no time at all, both Ilyana and Larina reappeared carrying a tiny bundle, which they gently deposited in a small bowl Kendra hadn't noticed before on the porch, lined in soft down from the adults' wings. It must be the fairy equivalent of a crib, Kendra mused, craning her head excitedly to spot the baby.

Shiara was already hovering over the mini nest, cooing in delight with her wings and hair fluttering rapidly the way they did when she became excited. It had been a strange sight the first time she'd seen it, but Kendra had quickly learnt that most butterfly and moth fairies' short hair acted the way antennae did on the actual insects they took after, while fairies whose animal counterparts didn't have antenna simply had long hair.

She was chattering excitedly with Larina while Ilyana, as the most calm fairy of the group, simply stood and listened.

"... and of course, when she heard about the egg, Her Majesty let Ilyana take time off the construction and purification works to..."

"... oh yes, the new realm! How is it going? I haven't had time to visit for ages it must be coming along beautifully by now, especially with a commander as brilliant as your Ilyana leading the river works..."

Despite both fairies seeming to talk over and interrupt one another constantly, neither lost track of the convoluted conversation that seemed to be equal parts flattery and inquiries to the other's health.

It had taken some time for Kendra to get the hang of the confusing way the fairies talked to each other well enough to follow a conversation, and was constantly in awe of their perfect recall. She could question Shiara about exactly what Larina had talked about in a week, and she'd be able to recite their conversation just as perfectly (and confusingly) as when it had been said.

It took a few minutes of craning and careful eavesdropping to find a position where Kendra could see between the three adult fairies on the porch into the nest, and when she did, she was... surprised, to say the least.

The baby was absolutely miniscule, about the length of Ilyana's forearm, a small pink blob of skin that was completely blind and hairless. Kendra thought she was wingless, too, until the baby shifted and two tiny nubs that looked like naked chicken wings showed themselves on her back.

She didn't quite know how to react.

"She looks a bit like a baby bird," Kendra mused.

Three fairies stared at her, matching looks of incredulity on each face.

"That's because she is a baby bird, Kendra." Shiara deadpanned.

Kendra was beyond confused by this stage.

"I thought she was a baby fairy?"

Ilyana and Larina shared a mildly concerned look.

"Um... Kendra, you do know how fairies are born, right?" Of the two, Ilyana apparently possessed the most tact, likely due to her high position in the Fairy Queen's army.

Kendra's confused face apparently gave away the fact that no, ladies, I don't know how fairies are born because I am a human and nobody has explained this to me. Larina began to politely recite each and every one of Silvian's swear word equivalents, which really just meant she was telling Kendra how disappointed in her she was in flowers.

"...meadowsweet, geranium. Argh, yellow carnations, Kendra! I was hoping I wouldn't have to have this conversation for years."

"Um, sorry?"

Larina sighed. "No, you're not. But that's okay, we probably need the practice anyway, we don't want to traumatise our daughter by accident."

Kendra was becoming slightly concerned by this stage, because this really didn't sound like an enjoyable conversation. Shiara edging away slowly only fuelled this conviction.

"Ah, I think I have something... important to do. Like... watching the grass grow?"

"Not so fast, bilberry. It's because you neglected to explain this to her beforehand that we're in this position in the first place." Larina puffed her large wings out intimidatingly (for a fairy) to highlight her point. Ilyana was simply standing with her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose to alleviate stress, as she had been since the start of the conversation.

Shiara winced and sat down on a tiny woven chair with decidedly less grace than usual, and all three fairies turned back to look at Kendra with varying levels of trepidation. Kendra hoped fervently that Warren and Seth never ever heard of this incident, which was quickly working its way to a capital 'I'.

Ilyana sighed, removed her hand from her nose, and stepped forward.

"I... really don't know how to start this. Er, so. Um. Well, you know how we're a species of females, right? There are no male fairies," at this she paused a nodded to Shiara "your son exempt, of course-"

"You have a son, Shiara?!"

"You know I do! You've met him! Raxtus took us to see Inside Out at that drive-in cinema!" Kendra was borderline panicking by this stage.

"But he's Celebrant's son! I thought you just raised him!"

"Exactly!" Shiara huffed.

"How does that work, then?!"

"If you would let me explain," Ilyana interrupted with a sharp voice that silenced the conversation, "because we're all female, we can't exactly have kids ourselves in the way you... mammals... do." She looked mildly nauseous. Kendra felt the same. It had definitely become an Incident.

"We can't have the kids ourselves, so we... adopt, for lack of a better term. A single fairy, or multiple in a relationship- like Larina and I- who want a child go find a compatible egg from a flying creature of some sort. A small one, like a bird, or a butterfly." At this, Larina and Ilyana both looked at a blushing Shiara. "Not a Dragon."

"Though I have to admit, watching her incubate him was hilarious. She had to perch on the top, like an ant on Hugo's head." Larina interjected with a snicker. Shiara did not look pleased with the analogy.

"Anyway," Ilyana continued "once we find our egg, we use our magic to incubate it. The magic turns the baby from a caterpillar or a chick or a larva to a fairy, and they mature similarly, too. A hummingbird egg, like ours, will hatch into a hummingbird fairy, and a butterfly egg with hatch into a butterfly fairy-"

"-caterpillar, really-" Shiara interjected.

"Fine, a caterpillar fairy that will go through metamorphosis and become a butterfly fairy-"

"-and a Dragon egg apparently hatches a... you know, I'm not entirely sure I know what to classify Raxtus as, Shiara."

"Go with Dragon, it's what I do."

"No wonder Raxtus is so confused. Um, does he know the reason he turns into a fairy instead of a human is because you're his mother?" Kendra inquired.

Shiara paused. "Er-"

"Let's take that as a no, with her track record." Ilyana sighed. "Someone's going to have to break the news to him and oh bother, he'll sulk and go through one of those dramatic 'oh woe is me, my life is hopeless and confusing and the world isn't what I though it was' phases again. I hoped we were past them after he reached adulthood."

"Oh wow, Shiara. You really messed up this time. He's been thinking he's a failure of a Dragon for so long, and all this time, he's just been a... hybrid, I suppose, not really a Dragon at all, and didn't even know it." Larina looked positively gleeful. It was, perhaps, not the best or most reassuring reaction, but she was still a fairy after all and no matter how nice, they were still petty troublemakers at heart.

Shiara was growing steadily paler. She looked like she was contemplating agreeing the next time Seth asked if she could use her magic to turn him into "something cooler than a walrus, please" and embracing Grandma's fury when she inevitably found out. Kendra was becoming rather concerned for her friend, and tried to change the discussion to save her.

"So why is Raxtus a boy then?"

"Oh, yes, he's a special case. Shiara only began to incubate him near the end of this egg phase, so he was already almost fully developed by then and wasn't able to become female. He got his fairy traits in his avatar's appearance and his breath magic instead. But normally, we adopt eggs almost as soon as they're laid, with agreement from their parents of course, so they are fully female fairies from the start."

Kendra was beginning to feel very sorry for Raxtus by this stage. Maybe she'd get him a movie voucher. Or five. It wouldn't be easy to learn you were actually a different species, and your adopted mother is actually also your second biological mother.

Since her original conversation diversion hadn't really worked, she tried again.

"Have you named your daughter yet? And what kind of fairy will she be?"

Ilyana and Larina immediately perked up, and Shiara shot a grateful look to Kendra. Maybe she would be forgiven for not knowing where baby fairies came from.

"Well, we were thinking of waiting to announce it once when everyone is present, but since it's you who's asking..." Larina's wings raffled with excitement, dropping a small piece of down which she immediately picked up and placed in the baby's nest.

"Her name is Emralis, Kendra. And she'll be a hummin- ow! Larina!- A hummingbird fairy, like us." Ilyana glared at her partner, where she was tucking the down she'd plucked from Ilyana's wings alongside what was already in the nest.

"Sorry, I just saw the perfect feather showing, and it was probably going to fall out anyway next time you groomed." Larina really didn't sound too sorry, Kendra mused.

By this time, Kendra and Shiara had already been visiting with the fairies for about half an hour, and Kendra was beginning to worry she and Shiara would be mobbed by the horde of angry fairies waiting outside for their turn to meet Emralis.

She said as much to Shiara, who simply laughed and told Kendra she could handle them, though she did begin to wrap up the slightly disturbing conversation about how to wean babies off Viola's milk to the garden aphids of all things before starting on solid foods she had struck with a concerned Ilyana and Larina.

It was another fifteen minutes before they said their goodbyes, promising the new family they'd visit again tomorrow.

Several hours later, Kendra was sitting at the massive dinner table the Brownies had built to accommodate everyone on the preserve with Shiara seated at the mini table and chair that had been built on top of the main table for her to Kendra's left. Warren, Bracken, Seth, Dale, Grandpa, Marla, the Larsons and Vanessa had already seated themselves, while Grandma, Scott and Tanu bustled around the kitchen, after chasing everyone else out with the terrifying egg beaters the Brownies had added knives to for exactly that purpose.

In no time at all, the table was groaning with food, and everyone was digging in like they'd never eaten before.

"So," Grandma Sorenson began "did anybody learn anything interesting today?" Grandma had become obsessed with asking a similar question each night, after reading that it 'helped family bonding' and 'increased positivity and thankfulness' in a household. It was the bane of everyone else's day, because everyone had to give an answer or the knife-beaters came out.

Nobody messed with the knife beaters.

Shiara perked up at the question.

Kendra paled.

Shiara waved her hand wildly, asking to be chosen first.

Grandma Sorenson looked delighted and agreed.

Kendra made a desperate grab for Shiara.

Kendra missed.

And Shiara started to talk about the Baby Fairy Education Incident.

Nobody ever let Kendra live it down. (Though Shiara was ribbed plenty for neglecting to tell her son he was half fairy.)

#fablehaven fairies #fablehaven #fic #sort of #headcannon #fairies believe in adopt don't shop #raxtus is half fairy #shiara #kendra sorenson #fairies #baby fairies #I may have gone slightly over board with italics and brackets #a group of fairies is called a dazzle now #Raxtus is about to have Issues

32 notes · View notes

scr-ppup · 8 months ago

Text

Flower themed WA NPTs

– :3c

– @id-pack-archive

Requested by anon.

[ID/A dark red line with gold lining and a repeating star and half moon pattern./end ID]

Clan names — any suffix can be replaced with wanted rank.

Petalnose, Larkspurjump, ackeebite, daffodilbay, flowersnap, Ivyjump, Oleanderkyte, Nettlekestrel, Alliumkip, Calamintleaf, Gloryclaw, Dahliaspot, Laurelbelly, Marigoldwhisker, Hibiscuslake, Yarrowleap, Salviamagpie, Parsnipmask, Nilemink, Carnationpounce, Camasfalcon, Sunflowerfall, Oleanderfly, Pokeweedfrog, Poppyheart, Hollystep, Daturamoth, Orchidpatch, Lavenderpelt, Laureltuft, Helleboreriddle, Baneberryspirit, Amaranthsong, Dahliasky, Roseshadow, Alliumstreak, Irisspeckle, Lavenderstorm, Daylilythorn

Kittycat/rouge/etc —

Parsnip, Hellebore, Baneberry, Laurel, Oleander, Iris, Nettle, Poinsettia, Pokeweed, Camas, Rose, Datura, Amaranth, (morning) Glory, Allium, Calamint, Dahlia, Salvia, Marigold, Sunflower, Yarrow, Carnation, Hibiscus, Gladiolus, (Lily of) Nile, poppy, daylily, lavender, lily, thorn, petal, flower, Carmine, Karmi, Marie, Marigoldie, Goldie, Galdios

Pronouns —

Flow/flower, flower/flowers, petal/petals, pet/petal, marigold/marigolds, thorn/thorns, thorn/rose/thornself, day/lily/daylily, sweet/sweets, paw/paws, Amar/anth/amaranth, Pop/poppy, lil/lily, lily/lilies, salvi/salvia, sal/salvir/salviaself, pop/popir/poppyself, sweet/pea/sweetpeaself,

Titles — prn* should be replaced with your pronouns.

The cat of the flowers, prn* who walks upon flower fields, prn* who smells like flowers, the thorn of the rose, prn* who's claws are as sharp as thorns, the swift minded, prn* who collects flowers, prn* who decorates their pelt with flowers, prn* with flowers on their pelt, the flowery cat, the flowery warrior of (clan name)

#liom #mogai #: koiran nappulat #npts #npt pack #npt ideas #npt list #npt suggestions #npt #name ideas #name suggestions #pronoun ideas #pronoun suggestions #neopronoun #neo pronoun #title ideas #title suggestions

23 notes · View notes

annieisshehuman · 14 days ago

Text

08.09.24 Carnation, WA - Remlinger Farms

📷 by @ handcoversheart on Instagram

#annie clark #st. vincent #st vincent

6 notes · View notes

thefreakandthehair · 1 year ago

Text

Dialogue Prompts

(Find Inspiration Prompts Here!)

(Spicy Six Winter Fanworks Challenge Rules)

New prompts added! Remember, prompts can be claimed more than once if it’s for another medium or another pairing/character/etc.!

1." There’s no limit to how many blankets, [name here].” @stobin-cryptid (steddie, fic) 2. “And, we’re snowed in. Awesome.” @annethecatdetective (steddie, fic) 3. “Who sets the fire alarm off at 3am in December?” / “Who runs outside without a coat at 3am in December?” @hbyrde36 (steddie, fic) 4. “You remember that?” @unclewaynemunson (ronance, fic), @sunnythefriendlyghost (stonathan, fic), @skepsiss (fruity four w/ steddie, fic), @slavicviking (steddie, fic) 5. “Do these lights come to life and fucking tangle themselves in the box?” @hexiewrites (steddisy, fic) 6. “If I wear that sweater to work, my boss will kill me.” @steddieasitgoes (steddie, fic) 7. “It doesn’t seem right that everything is dead in the winter except for these germs.” @hawkins83 (stobin, fic) / @ghost--enthusiast (steddie & stobin) 8. “Why are you looking at me like that?” @t-boyeddie (steddie, fic) 9. "I love it..." // "No, no you hate it." @kikidoesfanfic (steddie, fic) 10. “Hey! No peeking!” @thechaosdomain (steddie, fic)

11. “Colored lights over white lights, always and forever.” 12. "All these lights, and not a single one is flickering. That's a nice change of pace, huh?" @itsthestrangestthings (jancy & steve, fic) 13. "There’s a slight chance I used too much glitter." @hereforanepilogue (steddie, fic) 14. "Why is your tongue stuck to this pole? You didn't... oh no, you did." @henderdads (stobin, fic) 15. “You really thought you could get that sweater on our cat? You’re adorable. I’ll get the bandaids.” @sunnythefriendlyghost (buckingham, fic), @undreaming-fanfiction (steddie, fic) 16. "You'll never guess what I saw in the sky!" 17. “Ever notice how the stars seem brightest in the winter?” @pearynice (steddie, fic) 18. “You’re going to New York City for New Years? Have you lost your mind?” 19. “Hey, you’re welcome to kiss whoever you wa–” @kkpwnall (steddie, fic) 20. “You’re the only gift I need… God, I can’t believe I just said that.” @judasofsuburbia (fic, ronance)

21. “Stop laughing and put the topper on the tree already.” 22. “Guess we’re the only two without dates, huh?” @frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe (steddie, fic) 23. “What’d you wish for?” @aringofsalt (steddie, fic) 24. “All the movies make this look so much easier.” @maxineholtzmann (robin/nancy/chrissy, fic) 25. “New year. New me.” / “You’re full of shit.” @starrystevie (steddie, fic) 26. “You don’t have to wear it.” / “Back off, I’m wearing it forever.” @stevespookington (steddie, fic) 27. “So, the bed is big enough for us to share but there’s only one blanket. You’re not a blanket hog, are you?” @stevethehairington (fic, steddie) 28. “Holy shit, it smells so good in here.” @glorious-spoon (steddie + robin, fic) 29. “I need 100 poinsettias, please.” / “... Please tell me that you meant carnations.” @withacapitalp (stobin, fic) 30. “I think you might just be trying to kiss me.” @wormdebut (steddie, fic)

31.“Don’t you have anything else festive that isn’t so… blinding?” 32. “Hey, want to help me get my parents off my ass?” 33. “There’s more frosting on your face than your gingerbread.” @thefreakandthehair (steddie, fic) 34. “I told you to be careful!” 35. “Oh come on, it’s tradition.” 36. “There’s no rule against just looking!” 37. “See? I knew you’d be cold.” 38. “Here, let me help you with that.” / “I’ve got it, I’ve got it.” @soaringornithopter (fic, steddie) 39. “Next you’ll tell me Santa’s not real either.” @is-emily-real (buckingham, fic) 40. “If I hear this song one more time, I’m going to jail.” @hellfireloserclub (steddie, fic)

#spicysixwinterfanworkschallenge

35 notes · View notes

outerloop · 1 year ago

Text

Finding the Beat: The Music of Thirsty Suitors

We’re continuing our deep dive into Thirsty Suitors by exploring the development of the music and sound design that you’ll hear while playing.

Thirsty Suitors has a colorful art direction and it only made sense for us to bring that same level of vibrancy into the music and sound of the game. We wanted our world to have a unique feel to it and you’ll hear a mixture of hip-hop, South Asian, and Carnatic influences throughout your time playing.

This week, our Composer, Ramsey Kharroubi, and Sound Designer, Anne-Marie Weber, talked about their approach to creating the unique sound for Thirsty Suitors.

The Inspiration for Thirsty Suitor’s Unique Sound

youtube

If you’ve been following Thirsty Suitors for any amount of time, you know there’s a lot of different elements at play. We have turn-based rpg battles, step-by-step cooking segments, and wild skateboarding areas for you to explore. With some many different experiences, we needed to make sure the music and sound effects complimented the eccentric gameplay.

Ramsey talked a bit about the key elements of the sound in the game, “I think percussion in general and as an instrument really embodies the sound of the game. The beat is always driving the soundtrack. Given the nature of the rhythm based gameplay with the cooking, skating and suitor encounters.”

He went on to explain how this percussive flair bleeds into the sound design as well, “The on screen actions are also denoted by percussive sfx courtesy of Anne-Marie, which appropriately complement the hectic music, which itself is using a lot of traditional South Asian instruments. Rhythm and percussion is an important instrument in South Asian and Arabic cultures and it’s something I relied on heavily here to design the aesthetic.”

It’s safe to say that when you play Thirsty Suitors, you’ll be bobbing your head along to the wide-array of tracks in the game. In addition to great instrumental tracks, there are also a few songs in the game with vocals to accompany them.

We’re proud of what we achieved with these tracks. Here’s what Ramsey had to say about these songs, “It was a journey to find a vocalist who could sing in the Tamil language, do western vocals, and Carnatic singing. We had a few people reach out but nothing stuck. I’d say for almost half the project it felt like we were never going to find somebody,” Ramsey explained. “Suddenly we found Pri, or rather she found us and she ended up being great. She brings so much to the game's soundtrack.”

It’s no secret that in order to make the amazing games you love and play everyday, years of time is spent to bring them to life.

Throughout the time, many developers' lives change and morph and all of that is reflected in the work. “It’s amazing to me that during this game’s soundtrack gestation period I lived through a whole pandemic, moved from NY to WA, and experienced a number of different life events. The whole soundtrack feels chaotically similar to my life in that it’s a reflection of my own journeys.”

Finding the Right Balance

youtube

As with any avenue of game development, it’s not all sugar and rainbows. There are a number of challenges involved in creating anything for a video game. For the music and sound design in Thirsty Suitors there were a few places that Anne-Marie and Ramsey pointed to as interesting challenges for them to figure out during development.

Ramsey had this to say, “The balance between conversations, voice acting, and “battling” in the Suitor encounters was challenging. Making sure that the music flowed between the conversation bits and the action bits dynamically, and specifically accounting for voice acting including length of conversations was important to ensuring the whole game sounds better. Also encounters are locked in a certain tempo range of 100-120 bpm for player actions during battle to sync up with the music. Making sure the Suitor encounters were musically cohesive with the voice acting, narrative elements, and sfx was the most challenging aspect.”

What’ll you’ll find when you play through the game is a great balance between the vocals of the amazing voice cast we have alongside some of our music tracks that have vocals as well. These moments really elevate these battles while not becoming intrusive to the story unfolding in front of your eyes.

Anne-Marie agreed with Ramsey on some of these challenges, “While I've worked on a lot of other games before, it was my first time working on an RPG. In playtime it's actually one of the shorter games, but it still surprised me how large and complex it wound up being even within that smaller scope. There's a lot of bespoke work in each of the boss battles, and cooking as well.”

Channeling the Sound of the 90s

The world of Thirsty Suitors is largely inspired by 90s era aesthetics and vibes. You’ll see that the skateboarding elements of the game we talked about in a previous blog looked very similar to old skateboarding session videos of the time. You’ll also notice that our main character, Jala, goes everywhere with her trusty Walkman music player.

We wanted the music and sound of Thirsty Suitors to call back to some of these nostalgic nods from the time. Ramsey gave some insights into where the inspiration for the music in various locations in the game started.

“We felt a surreal version of late 90’s to early 2000’s music would fit Jala’s headspace the best. The game’s music is very much written from the perspective of Jala. So for me, being a child of the 90’s, the music I watched on MTV was my go to reference point. For example, the Skatepunk and the skatepark in the game are inspired by the Beastie Boys, which I’m a big fan of. Destiny’s Child, Garbage, TLC to name a few inspired some of the Suitor battles.”

There are much subtler ways that these sounds of the 90s and early 2000s work their way into the game. Anne-Marie spent a lot of time researching sounds of the era and incorporated fun sounds where she could. She told a fun anecdote about how Jala’s phone sounds came to be.

“Since the game is somewhat set in the 90s, it was the era of custom ringtones, so we made old school ringtones for each of the Suitors. I found my old Nokia 3310 and got it a fresh battery. Ramsey kindly provided me with some midis of the suitor themes, and with that I went and recreated them in the phone's composer, then played them back on the phone and recorded that for a super authentic sound. Really maybe it was just an excuse to revisit a bit of my childhood and play Snake again though.”

All throughout Thirsty Suitors–whether it's the music, sound, art, narrative, or gameplay–small nuggets like the anecdote above can be found. These personal touches are what bring the humanizing element to Thirsty Suitors and reflect the human hands that labored to make the game you’ll be enjoying very soon.

Ramsey had something to say about his general approach to creating music that speaks well to what we’re getting at in this blog:

“Music has the ability to bring worlds to life. For me as a composer, what excites me is to facilitate that aliveness, the intangible to the tangible, the abstract to the concrete, by creating a sonic language that appropriately fits the experience. I’m not saying I have succeeded every single time in doing that, but I always keep it in mind. I approach every piece like its own special project. Which means I want people to enjoy it outside the game as much as they enjoy it inside the game. So in regards to a game where everyone in all the disciplines has poured their hearts into and everyone truly believes in the project, players should know that a lot goes into every tiny aspect of its design and the intent is truly for memorable tunes.”

Game Development Tips

Anne-Marie and Ramsey both provided some tips for folks trying to get into sound design and music composition in games. Here’s what Anne-Mare had to say:

“Just get out there and start creating. There's so many online resources to learn anything you want these days, and so many free tools to start with. And once you have started making things, get out there and tell people about all the things you've learned, and learn from all of your peers doing the same process. Tools and techniques and processes are forever changing, and only by sharing does music and sound in games continue to reach new heights.”

Ramsey echoed a lot of Anne-Marie’s sentiments too, “If you’re passionate about music/sound in games and want to get involved, just start. Follow your dreams etc. There is a lot you’ll have to learn on your own unfortunately and nobody really shows you. That’s the main struggle, but there's ways to minimize it. Once you get the hang of it things get significantly easier to navigate.”

Outerloop Games Recommends

This week we asked Ramsey for a recommendation to give you all and he chose the 1974 Gene Hackman film, The Conversation.

Here’s what Ramsey had to say about it: “One of my all time favorite films is The Conversation with Gene Hackman, in which he plays a surveillance expert. The movie deals with themes of privacy, security and paranoia. It has a ton of attention to audio and sound and really blows me away how the audio is intertwined with the story and the script. The protagonist is also a musician within the movie and it’s really well done. I think as far as classic cinema is considered this one rarely gets a mention especially for how much it uses sound to tell its story.”

Thirsty Suitors Releases on November 2, 2023

We recently announced our release date with a sizzling new trailer that we’re excited about. You can check it out below:

Trailer link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LIj46_R62M&t=4s

If you’re excited about Thirsty, we’d appreciate it if you Wishlisted the game on Steam, it helps put the game in front of more eyes.

Wishlist on steam https://store.steampowered.com/app/1617220/Thirsty_Suitors/?snr=1_5_1100__1100

You can also join our Discord, and follow us on Twitter @outerloopgames.

Thanks for reading, until next time!

#Youtube #thirstysuitors #video games #indie games

15 notes · View notes