#feels like me just rambling lmao

[redgearsmovin]

there's so much love all around me

a Nina/Peggy fic.

Summary: Nina meets a familiar face after a long time.

Words: 1200.

Note: These two have been on my mind!! This fic took a while to get done because I really wanted to get their dynamic right. I hope I did, and hope you like it anyway! Love is stored in the Nina~

You can also read it on: AO3 | SqW

Some people admire her for it. Some think she falls too quickly, that she held onto her feelings too much.

* * *

Nina has so much love to give, and so much love to receive.

They tell her that one day she would be left disappointed and heartbroken, that clinging onto love will soon betray her.

For Nina, those thoughts never stopped her from embracing what she feels. Again and again, she enjoys the feeling of being in love. Whether the love was for kind strangers and pleasant customers, animals and the wonders of nature, her family and her friends, or her passion projects and even the mundane, none of it ever felt like a waste. She savours the moment when it happens and treasures it in her heart when it leaves.

Of course it hurts when it leaves, and it hurts no matter how hard Nina pushes it down. Like when her Uncle Knit Knots moved away, it took her a long while to get used to it. But she knew the sadness existed from the love and care she has for him, so as bittersweet as it is, she learned to accept it.

And sometimes it returns; old feelings resurfacing along with what—or who—had caused it. As difficult and confusing as it may be, Nina gladly welcomes it.

* * *

Nina idly looks through her camera, taking pictures of the scenery from the café. She always loves how the cherry trees look this time of the year. She moves her camera for another view, and a figure enters the frame. Nina finds herself staring at them. It has been years since she saw the person's face, though she recognizes that tall bun updo almost immediately. She lowers the camera, and when she and the person's eyes meet, both of their faces lit up.

"Nina?"

"Peggy!"

Nina steps closer, wanting to go for a hug but she then stops in her tracks. She offers her hand instead, and Peggy shakes it.

"It's been so long, how are you?"

"I'm doing great!"

"That's fantastic!" Peggy exclaims, taking a seat at a nearby table. "Boy am I glad to see you! What brings you here anyway?"

"I work here," Nina giggles softly, tilting her head as she gestures to the apron she's wearing.

"Oh." Peggy grins sheepishly. "Wait, is the Idea Warehouse nearby?"

"Yeah, it's just next door." Nina gestures over to the entrance.

"Wow, this place looks so different from the last time I visited." Peggy looks around, then faces Nina again. "So how's—"

"Oh hold that thought, Peggy. Let me get your order first," Nina interrupts.

"Ah right!"

Nina prepares Peggy's order. She then sits down at the table as they catch up on each other's lives. Nina takes note of Peggy's appearance, her choice of attire still quite formal. Her voice is as chipper as ever, and Nina was reminded how much she liked hearing Peggy talk. Familiar warm, fuzzy feelings flutter as she listens to the other lady enthusiastically explain her newest ideas.

Nina leans forward, resting her chin on her hand as her attention fully shifts to Peggy. It felt like time stood still, a welcomed change from the hectic pace of managing the café. Though it was short-lived when she realized a few customers were arriving, waiting to order. Nina excuses herself and Peggy apologizes for taking her time, which she reassures that Peggy didn't.

Swiftly, Nina makes her way to the other table and serves the remaining patrons. She gives them a smile before excitedly walking back to Peggy's table. Just as they are about to continue, Peggy's phone rings.

Peggy answers the call, and Nina watches the blonde woman's expression drop slightly, though her voice barely changing. The call ends, and Peggy looks at Nina with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry Nina, I have to go now. Some folks from the company I'll be working with wanted to meet up," Peggy says, "I guess I'll just have to see the Imagination Movers another time too."

"That's okay, Peggy. Feel free to come by here anytime," Nina replies, grinning.

"Thanks Nina, it's been really great to see you."

"Same here, I've been waiting so long for us to see each other again."

"Really?" Peggy asks, her change of tone catching Nina off guard.

"Uh yeah, I missed hanging out with you." Nina briefly glances away, now a little unsure. Was that too forward?

"I'm.. really glad then!" Peggy grins. "You know, I've tried reaching out to you but my calls never went through."

"What number did you call?"

"I only have your uncle's office number. Which reminds me, how is he?"

"Oh, Uncle Knit Knots retired a few years ago. He's fine, just enjoying his relaxing, boring life."

"I see." Peggy chuckles. "Well, I guess I'll be on my way."

"Bye Peggy."

Peggy gathers her belongings and quickly walks away, waving at Nina as she waves back. Even after her old friend leaves her view, Nina stares ahead, a smile still plastered on her face.

Nina turns around to clean the tables. She brings the plates to the counter, and her eyes land on her camera. A thought clicks and Nina gasps lightly. She holds her camera, pouting as her shoulders slump.

"Nina!" a voice snaps Nina out of her thoughts. She blinks a few times before turning to the voice.

"Oh, hi guys," Nina greets the Movers, adjusting her posture.

"Is everything okay?" Smitty asks.

"What do you mean?"

"You looked kind of sad just now," Scott replies.

"Yeah, is your camera broken? I can help you fix it," Dave chimes in.

"No, my camera's fine. It's just that Peggy came over and I forgot to take her picture." Nina purses her lips. "Oh, you guys remember Peggy right? The one with the giant phonebook?"

"Oh, Peggy!"

"We remember her!"

"So she stopped by the café?"

"Yep! I was taking pictures for the café wall, and I guess I was so excited to meet Peggy again that it didn't cross my mind to ask her for a photo." Nina sighs, then shrugs. "Oh well, she was in a hurry anyway."

"Aw, it would've been nice to see her," Scott comments.

"She said we wanted to see you guys too, but she got lost on her way to the Warehouse; said the place looks different," Nina explains.

"So maybe she'll be back."

"Rich's right. Maybe she needed our help," Smitty adds, and the others nod in agreement.

Nina's face lightens up, a wide grin forming on her face. "Maybe! I really really hope she comes by here soon, I can't wait!"

"You're pretty excited about that, Nina," Rich points out. "You must really want to take her picture."

"Picture—yeah! Of course, I love Peggy—I mean pictures! Of people. I love taking pictures of people," Nina stumbles on her words. "And Peggy's a great person, I'd love to take her picture."

Smitty and Rich share a glance, the latter raising an eyebrow, then they both shrug.

Nina shakes her head slightly, exhaling as she gathers herself. She looks over to the Movers and offers smoothies, to which they happily accept.

Nina looks forward to next time.

[lazylittledragon]

every day i get hit with the agonising urge to post about my novel while not wanting to be an annoying person who posts about their novel

[midnightfrappe]

i've been pondering lately,,

[choccy-milky]

I've been wanting to paint Clora for a while but was brain empty 😣

Then I saw this dress set and HAD to put her in some version of it 🥰🥰🥰

I've been banned from buying more clothes for the rest of the year so let me live vicariously through her (but also I'm not a ravenclaw) also also I hope that link I embedded works

OH MY GOD MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME🎅🎅🎅🎁🎁 WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!! the way i clicked on my inbox and then got JUMPSCARED (IN A GOOD WAY) BY THIS!!! im serious the way my mouth popped open in shock and awe was so cartoonish LMAOO. like wdym FOR FREE??😭😭😭your art is so beautiful and you're such an amazing painter IM SO MINDBLOWN RN THAT I GET TO SEE CLORA DONE BY YOU SHE LOOKS AMAZING and in such a cute fit too🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️ i fear i shall never recover from this...found dead in my apartment and its kemiichis fault.....ILL STOP YAPPING NOW but srsly im HONOURED THANK YOU SO MUCHHHH🥹💖💖💖

[shadebloopnik]

Unrequited/One-sided Radioapple but it isn't treated like an angsty end of the world thing.

Imagine they slowly get closer after all the banters, and eventually becoming close friends. Lucifer ends up catching feelings for him, and after a long while, decides to confess and ask Alastor if he felt the same.

Alastor admittedly does not feel the same.

He's getting uncomfortable, struggling to keep his composure because he's DONE this before. He KNOWS how this ends. He remembers Vox and all his insistent declarations of affection and desperate pleas for Alastor to reciprocate; the possessive entitlement. He remembers how all those sickly sweet words morphed into something venomous when he didn't give the lowlife what he wanted. He remembers the anger, the ridiculous notion that it was Alastor's fault why he was so mad, that Alastor led him on and that he obviously deserved something in payment for it all-

So yes, Alastor knows how this ends.

It doesn't mean he isn't disappointed though, because he actually LIKES Lucifer, far more than he ever did Vox. Perhaps not in the way the king might have wanted, but he did. He treasured their little talks, their drinking sessions, their shared love for their instruments, Lucifers singing, their little duets, the banter, the playful jabs, the sparring.

He'd even slowly grown accustomed to the other's touches, not feeling the same surge of disgust and discomfort whenever the shorter man would grab at his arm in excitement, forgetting his usual thoughtfulness of Alastor's touch aversion for the short moment of whatever distracted him. Alastor even enjoyed it at times, relaxing at the feel of soft feathers beneath his claws, or the sensation of gentle scratches against his ears.

Difficult as it was to admit, Alastor had grown to care for the angel, the same way he had for Rosie orv Mimzy.

But no matter how fond Alastor was of Lucifer, it didn't change the fact that he didn't feel the same way romantically, or even sexually. No way in the 7 rings of Hell was he going to lie to Lucifer about either, not going to even entertain the idea of pretending he reciprocated for Lucifer's sake. He respected his friend too much for that.

So a clear, direct rejection it is. It was a shame, but nothing could be done. He said his piece concisely, and waited, shoulders set, back straight, smile and eyes a careful blank canvas as he prepared for the inevitable.

Lucifer nodded, a normal soft smile still in place, "Thank you for your answer, it means a lot."

Which......what? Alastor expected an outburst, or at the very least sharp words.

What he did NOT expect was....acceptance? And not just that but, a happy one? Contentment?????

"You're....alright with that?", he had to ask, he had to. Lucifer was clearly just very good at masking his upset.

But the damn angel just smiled?? And it didn't even look fake, just as bright and soft as his normal smiles, albeit a little confused?? Lucifer smiled at him, his brows furrowing in a bit of confused disbelief, as though Alastor is being the weird one here.

"Uhh, yeah??? Why wouldn't I be??? Yeah I may have some feelings for you but its not like you're obligated to feel the same. Above anything else, we're friends first and foremost and i'm alright with that..."

Then he seemed to have reached his own little conclusion as his words trailed off, because suddenly Lucifer's eyes widened in realization of something, and his words picking up with a sense of panicked urgency.

Alastor would really like to know what Lucifer's supposed realization was about himself because he had absolutely no clue.

"I mean, we ARE still friends right?? I don't- I- I hope this doesn't like- change your opinion of me. You're not- oh gosh I'm not making you uncomfortable am I? I- I won't mention it! You can even forget this whole confession ever happened! We can just go on as before! I don't feel any different or would act any different! Honest! I mean, I don't regret confessing because you deserve to know and I'm not ashamed of my feelings, but I don't want you to be uncomfortable! It doesn't change the way i'll treat you! Or change any aspect of our relationship! I don't even think I like you more as a lover than as a friend! I really, really do love our friendship, it matters more to me than any thoughts of being in a romantic relationship with you! So please just forget it all-"

Alastor let the word vomit wash over him, every word leaving him more confused by the minute.

Because yes, there's the desperation he expected, but...it was more about, convincing Alastor to remain friends?? Reassuring Alastor that nothing has to change?? That their friendship is the most important thing here??

(If anyone asks, no Alastor's heart didn't swell. Only lesser beings would have had the urge to cry, and Alastor is anything but.)

Lucifer is unknowingly reassuring Alastor of every single one of his insecurities about the situation. Because Alastor DID want to remain friends, he cared too much about the man to let it go so easily. It was rare to find people who treasure friendships above romantic relationships.

"I don't tend to forget easily, nor will I forget this one in particular.", he spoke, finally finding his voice. At Lucifer's defeated, pained expression( is their friendship really that important to him?), he continued. "But....yes. I'd like that.. To remain...friends."

He didn't often say the word out loud, being comfortable enough with each other that it need not be reassured with the label. But with Lucifer brightening up like his namesake, relief and happiness palpable, Alastor felt no qualms at declaring their friendship out loud.

So life went on as usual. True to his word, Lucifer remained basically the same. The following weeks were a bit stilted for Alastor, as he put some rather painful distance between him and the angel; limiting their interactions, their usual touches.

Anytime now, Lucifer would break and show his true colors, Alastor would think, waiting for the boot to drop. Lucifer would end up angry, and dissatisfied, and that was that.

But it never happened. Lucifer never expressed discomfort when Alastor avoided him, seeming to be understanding of the others need for space. He was just as affectionate as before, though initially a bit held back, as though gauging Alastor's comfort.

Months would pass, and the king never faltered. Their friendship remained strong, if not growing ever closer than before. Alastor found himself even growing more comfortable with the man. Affectionate touches were becoming common, hugs and head pats and cuddles being a welcome thing, with the reassurance that the shorter king would never disrespect his boundaries.

Lucifer seemed genuinely happy about it, despite being clearly told that none of Alastor's actions hinted at anything romantic. In fact, he seemed ecstatic that Alastor was getting more affectionate towards him as a friend. The embarrassment the radio demon felt at having Lucifer basically tear up (no really, he was crying so hard, full on drama sobbing) with joy in front of him was intertwined with the sheer incredulous fondness he felt for the man at that moment.

They were sitting at a couch one night, more than a year passing since that confession. Lucifer was leaning back, resting against the cushions, while Alastor had his head on the smaller one's shoulder, nuzzling at the crook of his neck, legs tucked close to his body. Both had a book in hand, two nearly empty cups of tea on the table in front of them. Every so often, Lucifer would flex his fingers that rested on Alastor's head, running a digit against the other's ear, often prompting the demon to lean into the touch. White wings enveloped the two, blanketing them against the chill of the night.

As Alastor turned the page of his own book, relaxing into the touch of his dearest friend, he wondered how he ever got so lucky in hell.

[healercharm]

everyone give it up for the most special guy in the universe: VEGITO!!!!!

[gaminegay]

Genuinely i wonder how common it is to hallucinate / perceive things oddly / have a notably altered perception of things

[hellamorte]

mamma mia here i go again with another chapter from my leander thesis 🤓 please accept my humble input on mc's curse, the importance of reading between leander's flirting lines and rss's wonderful storytelling details.

ngl when i finally chose not to touch leander's hand first (can you blame me, i'm weak for that man) i was bewildered at how strikingly different the options in this scene play out, and i, strange as it seems, like this one much better.

first of all, it's a parallel (even if it's not intended, the connection is still there) to the opening scene with a deranged traveler: the touch, the sensations, the (foreshadowed) strangling:

leander is definitely affected by the curse — possessed even, i would say, as if he was being told to strangle mc. notice how his actions line up with the traveler's, only in slo-mo, because leander was fighting to take back the control. and when mc calls out for him, he either snaps out of it or gets to the exact point when he takes a hold of the curse. this brings up a question: could mc's curse be sentient? alter the minds, you say? (more under the cut because it got long)

i've seen people speculating that mc's curse might bestow the enlightment but that's not true: mc was told that (and that's why this origin has me by the throat (pun absolutely intended): imagine living with so much guilt, thinking you were doing good, but in fact driving people mad… mmm tasty). it ties perfectly into every origin path where mc was being lied to, deceived and betrayed. however, there's definitely something more to the curse's nature that's yet to be disclosed.

my favourite moment though!! is this nuanced character storytelling!!

the very hand that was inches away from choking mc to death is quickly disguised as caring and soothing. wonder why? to gain mc's trust (non-verbally), to show that leander's in control, he's strong, he's there for mc, he'll take care of them. of course, leander, being a leander, downplays the whole experience of being possessed/affected by the curse, but he's being honest at once. he doesn't lie to mc — and that's also how he's gaining trust, verbally this time.

one more question that begs to be asked: why the hell all of this doesn't happen if mc touches leander first? it seems that the quality of the touch (😭) also plays an important role here:

leander must have felt the power of the curse, but he wasn't possessed by it, he could control it right away — why? because the touch was fleeting? or because it was mc who was touching him, not the other way round?

now hear me out (i might be wrong on this one, because i can't remember any more examples off the top of my head, but i feel like it's definitely a thing. let me know if something comes up!): we should pay closer attention to how leander says the truth (or half-truth), but it could be understood differently at a flirting angle (it's slightly different from this one, where he covers up his misstep). what i think he means here is that he controls the curse, but it sure is a difficult thing to do. "not due to your power" my ass, his need to look strong and heroic and weak at the same time is ridiculous, someone cure this man (ivolunteer.gif)

one more and last thing that's bothering me (it might play into the previous point btw): if you keep touching him, he tells mc that fissures on their hands match his golden pin. why??????? that's such a dumb thing to flirt about, such a weird comparison. what kind of connection is there? it's so out of place, it definitely means something more. leander spill

[solariex]

silly red dancing gif i made !! :3

originally i was gonna add cat headphones, because it was based off someone sending red music recommendations on the red askblog (cough cough @kittycatred sorry self promo) but its literally 5am as im typing this so i didnt feel like adding that right now :,) also i realized after making this that it looks VERY similar to this by starrypawu and that was purely by accident oops!! i think i got unintentionally inspired though so im linking it just in case for credit !! :D also timelapse ?? speedpaint ?? (whatever its called for animation lmao) below !! !! FLASH WARNING !! THOUGH cause i flip the canvas ALOT and switch frames alot and its sped up !! (also ignore the timeeee....ignore the time....shhhh i wasnt up until 5am at all....)

its 3 minutes long but i sped it up AS MUCH AS I COULD sorry its like 5 hrs of footage originally so thats why </3

[windcarvedlyre]

I've been following @druidposting's DR2 playthrough on discord and we just had a really good discussion about DR's Closing Arguments. Specifically the way the murderer is depicted as grey and featureless, which until now I found a bit annoying.

In Danganronpa it's repeatedly the case that we don't have the full picture until the talking actually stops- which always goes beyond the end of the trial. We generally vote first and come to understand what the murderer's actual motive was, sometimes filling in important pieces of the timeline in the process, afterwards.

But none of that matters for the killing game because characters' emotions aren't directly relevant to who was the 'blackened'- the only thing that matters to Monokuma- so it comes out afterwards and does nothing to change their execution. It doesn't matter how sympathetic they are (basically everyone) or whether other people share responsibility for the situation (eg. Hanamura, Pekoyama, Momota) or whether they intended to murder at all (Nanami). They objectively pulled the trigger and nothing else matters. Nothing about them as a person matters.

The Closing Argument mechanic might illustrate that problem- literally. They're a dramatic, conclusive summary of the entire case... constructed before the vote even happens, before we know if we're actually right, and they're missing something really important:

The actual perpetrator.

We quite literally don't even begin to see the real person behind the crime, any real exploration of their mental state, anything besides the cold, hard facts of the murder that are necessary to convict them, until the comic finishes and the protagonist makes their final accusation- replacing the grey figure with their real appearance in a shot that's often intensely emotional.

And these comics lack crucial parts of the case's timeline and sometimes important parts of the very scenes they depict that we only find out about afterwards. And those are what we know; characters may die with some pieces of the truth and prevent us from ever learning them. These aren't objective depictions of the murder, they're the protagonist's subjective attempt to connect the facts they have. A join-the-dots portrait of someone with missing dots and no colour.

Even characters' expressions may not match how they truly feel, with the grey placeholder potentially looking way more confident and sinister than they were in reality. Pasting Falter's commentary here since they put it well.

For obvious reasons this could especially be a problem for characters that die before the trial- the ones we never get a post-vote testimony from. DR1 chapter 4 really highlighted that in the way Asahina's huge misinterpretation of Oogami's feelings took up a lot of the post-trial discussion, only for Monokuma to reveal Oogami's real suicide note and recontextualise everything.

It might really be a problem for how Komaeda's depicted in DR2 chapter 5. While he isn't greyed out, we get panel after panel where he's either level-headed or maniacally evil, and even the depictions of his self-torture and death don't humanise him:

But we know that his real feelings were more complicated than that. We have his actual corpse to compare the last page to.

He died afraid.

If we approach the comic as Hinata's mental image of him instead of reality, he died without anyone truly understanding him. He was alarming, very hard to relate to, actively fought against people doing so, ensured even the killer didn't watch him die, and the survivors couldn't begin to understand his motive until a chapter later. The Closing Argument reflects that.

Early in DR1 Togami calls out the rest of his class for judging others by their own standards. However, he, too, is doing this, maybe more so than many other characters; his inability to view other people through anything but the cold, brutal logic of the killing game bites him in the ass in chapter 4. In DR2 chapter 2 voting without a good understanding of Pekoyama's motive or Kuzuryuu's involvement nearly got everyone killed. Komaeda's a walking embodiment of the problems with flattening people into caricatures and not empathising with them, suffered from people doing that back to him, and his case- the Closing Argument for which turned everyone else into grey placeholders- was impossible to solve with objective facts. It was only survivable because the survivors cooperated and one person tried to analyse things the way he would.

The games have always been a critique of the justice system and Japanese society and push us to care about others as individuals, not reduce them to- and judge their right to exist by- something they've done or their net impact on society. There are always consequences when someone neglects to do that, and the above might be yet another way the games explore that theme.

[k3n-dyll]

Female character that people hate and purposefully mischaracterize simply because she 'gets in the way' of their favored mlm ship get behind me

[lazylittledragon]

As someone who read the second half of the Drizzt series as it came out (yes I'm that old lol), I just know you have thoughts about him/the books so PLEASE share! So glad there are so many younger DND players getting into it and keeping our lovely boy alive <3

YOU'RE SO RIGHT ANON I DO HAVE THOUGHTS ABOUT HIM

i just!!!! love him!!! so much!!!! he's such a treasure

idk if this is me just overthinking things but the fact that he's THE dnd hero but he's also like. a petite little guy and his defining character trait is being KIND and he loves his friends and he's very physically affectionate (which feels kind of crazy to me that the early books came out so long ago and he was always like that??) and his best friend is his cat and he likes to have FUN and he treats swordfighting like dancing and he STILL sought the approval of his family even after years of abuse aND HE JUST LOVES EVERYONE SO MUCH

he's truly the fantasy protagonist of all time i love him i need to kiss him on the forehead

[spookierz]

part of me never left that exile

[moeblob]

Happy Birthday to Ferdinand von Aegir!

I actually made 33 emotes, affectionately known as Aegirglyphics to some, for my own personal use on discord. However, I figure why not share some of them! They're free to use for discord servers/icons/pfps or whatever. However, my only request is Do NOT use them as subscriber emotes on Twitch. You can make them free follower emotes but you are not to make them locked behind a paywall.

[melit0n]

Somtimes I feel like indie horror is slowly losing its creativity and then I remember Mouthwashing exists and I gain a little bit more faith

[shepscapades]

shep I was talking to my brother about dbhc xisuma as one does and mentioned that ask about not being able to puzzle xisuma's face together mentally and my brother joked that the reason you put the spoiler bars and such on his face is cause you cant draw his whole face yet 😂

anyway I might have talked his ear off about dbhc idk tho lmao

LMAOO NOOOO!!! MY SECRET FINALLY IS OUT!!! /silly