#fun fact! he’s very likely my oldest currently used oc

[arolesbianism]

Realized it’s been over a year since I last drew him and couldn’t stand by that

[dragonsdendoodles]

Any and all of your ocs

Idk anything about them but they look really cool so I wanna learn about them!!

Speedrunning fun facts about all my main OCs because I’ve got four stories’ worth of them (plus a few others) and that’s a lot to go into actual detailed shit about every single one of them

These might be weird I’m sorry I’m literally writing the first thing that comes to mind and most of them are gonna be stupid

No Stone Unturned

Kylee initially had an emo hairstyle because I couldn’t figure out how to draw curly hair

Andromeda wrote her own magic system and has an IRL notebook dedicated to that magic system

Jay is the only character I have that I have ever drawn in his current state naked and fully uncensored (mostly for projected gender dysphoria reasons)

Lucy was the first character to be added to the initial cast when I decided the earliest draft of NSU needed a rewrite

Winter was involved in Jay’s fun fact but I’m 19 years old and too much of a coward to draw dicks

Kaitlin has half a page of my sketchbook dedicated to my inability to decide on a good hairstyle for her

Carson uses all pronouns and actively makes fun of you if you just default to “he” and nothing else

Mason used to be clinically insane but then I looked at that and said “if I make my main villain the villain because he’s insane that’s probably ableist” and that’s on self-awareness

No Stone Unturned: Fauna’s Epilogue (co-written by my friend Parker)

Fauna is Andromeda’s niece and the daughter of the two oldest human OCs I have. She is the closest any of the original gang will ever come to having children of their own

Neo is probably the only straight man I have ever written

Crystal injects herself with actual adrenaline to learn to control harpy mode. Jay, another harpy, is incredibly fucking pissed at himself for not figuring this out when eventually this works

Maddie is Winter’s niece from his dad’s second family (technically the first but we’re not doing Winter angst right now)

Leah’s a Twitch streamer

Adalaide’s mom has a crush on one of Fauna’s dads and refuses to let this go to the point he got a restraining order

Logan is a catboy. Canonically.

Aster had an on-and-off fling with Neo for a couple years that didn’t go anywhere because Neo doesn’t actually like men

Colton was inspired by JD from Heathers

The Jewels in His Crown

Pallas was not named after the actual Greek character, but after the version of that character in Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams’ The Goddess Girls

Kayda can turn into a big silver dragon. Yes that does mean what you think it means and yes Pallas is into it

Henry did all of the things he does for the story, including being abandoned and betrayed by his twin sister, at the ripe old age of thirteen

Joan was initially based on someone I know in real life who I had a massive falling out with that hadn’t been resolved when I wrote her

Lucimene was named by my boyfriend, whose favorite character in No Stone Unturned is Lucy

Aurora is here because I wanted Lucimene to be a lesbian

James has had multiple names and I still don’t know if I like his current one. Initially it was Patroclus

Muddy was initially an idea for a Dungeons and Dragons character

Luke was named after Luke Skywalker, because he also has a sister

Lorelei was named after my evident misspelling of Lorelai Gilmore from Gilmore Girls

Elementary (co-written by @pollux888)

Vincent figure skates and skateboards

Jackson’s name was initially going to be Apollo

Lily was based on one of my exes who yelled at me for being a trans gay man only to come out as a trans lesbian six months later

Gallace was initially based on Glaceon but currently shares a name with my Gallade in both Pokémon Go and Pokémon Legends Arceus

Alex’s hair as a Mii in Tomodachi Life is neon pink

Leo has a very similar powerset to Leo Valdez but was not named after him if you can believe it

Enoch was named after Enoch O’Connor from Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Michael was named after Michael Mell from Be More Chill

Miscellaneous

Limbo was my first ever fursona

Omega was named by my mother who does not know what a/b/o is (to my knowledge) because “he’s the last velociraptor”

Petal and Omega are were both initially a closed species that I didn’t know was closed and had a mental breakdown learning this fact because when I was thirteen I thought the cops were going to arrest me for copyright infringement

Ocean is a manokit because I wanted them to be a shark but a furry game I cannot for the life of me remember the name of had manokits and I thought they were cooler

Requiem was created when I changed my username to dragonryder21 and decided I probably needed a dragon fursona to go with it

Lux taught my mother what neopronouns were

Currentcall (Warrior Cats) was renamed from Riverpelt/Riverstar to Currentpelt to Currentcall all by fanmade games on Scratch

Sombra (Minecraft) was named after King Sombra from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Greenjay (MPHFPC) doesn’t currently have a first name

My currently nameless MLP sona has always been a pegasus for as long as I can remember. I just like pegasi I guess

[uva124]

WOAHHHHHHH OC DUMP OC DUMP OC DUMP TELL US ABOUT YOUR OC PLEASE

@wings-of-sapphire, I don't think you understand the monster you just summoned with your question (I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YEARS FOR SOMEONE TO ASK ABOUT MY OC AND I WON'T LET THIS OPPORTUNITY PASS)

CoughCough Of course I'll tell you about my oc ( the others oc too because I want to introduce you to all my children, if this is going to be long)

LET'S START!!!

These are my main ocs! (One is missing, but when I drew this I didn't have the space lol)

I have to tell you that I created most of these ocs when I was just starting to draw, don't you believe me? *throws some of my old drawings in your face*

Sorry @emillyverse, none of them have names yet, I'm a terrible creator lmao

OC 1! 🌻

She is the oldest of all, she went through MANY changes in her desing, but I leave you some information about her:

-Pronouns: she/her

-Interests:Science and botany

-Personality: Shy, somewhat serious at first glance (She is actually very cool), insecure in some cases other than science or gardening

At first I thought of making her as a forest guardian, but I wasn't convinced and now she's a normal girl lmao

OC 2! 💜

She is the second one I create (she is the one with long straight hair in my old drawings) her creation story is a little funny, because it came from a mod that I designed for fnf LMAO

I really liked FNF, and seeing how the fandom created their own mods with their own characters encouraged me to create my own oc, obviously I never created a mod for the game, but it was fun desing it for myselfed.

(That's how it was in the beginning)

I wanted to make her look more human and the result was what she currently

-Pronouns: she/her

-Interests: Mechanics and reading.

-Personality: She may seem calm at first, but she is actually very energetic and cheerful! but she shows that part of her with her closest friends ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

And as a curious fact, THE GIRLS ARE A COUPLE :D!!!!

They dynamic is literally moon x Sun, only their color palettes appear to be the complete opposite, I quite like giving these types of twists.

Also, I like the idea of they ​​meeting each other in a bookstore or a flower shop!

(I'm dusting off my sketchbooks from a few years ago to make this blog, but I have to admit that I still like this drawing even though I did it like 1 and a half years ago)

OC 3!🎶

I would summarize his personality as someone very relaxed and calm, but that doesn't mean that he is a joker and sarcastic from time to time (especially with the oc that I showed a few moments ago, because they are cousins ​​but consider themselves like brothers)

-Interests: Music and basketball

OC 4!🩷

I don't usually draw her much, but I love her and draw her from time to time, her personality is to be somewhat serious and sarcastic (similar to KOW! Gabo's personality I think)

-Interests: Baseball and fashion

I'm probably going to reblog this post, but for now these are the main ones that I have created among MANY OCs that I have designed

[newhorizonsxiv]

OC Tag Game

Favorite OC: Lyneth is always going to be my main and my babygirl. Her head is fun to be in mostly because she’s an eternal optimist and can put me in a better mood just by trying to see her perspective on a situation.

Oldest OC: The rough idea for the character that eventually became Corafel has been in my head for years before I ever started RPing in any MMO so she’s probably technically the oldest in those terms. In terms of character age that prize goes to my twin bunnies, Alethea and Ren, simply by virtue of Viera having weird aging rules.

Newest OC: Oh hey! It’s the bunny twins again. So new, in fact, that I haven’t yet had a chance to do any RP on them, Someday...

Meanest OC: This is probably a toss up between Ilthus and Shihan. Ilthus is a superficially charming leech who will absolutely use people for as long as they continue to let him but puts on a very likable facade and only ever insults you in a backhanded compliment sort of way. Shihan is giving and honorable and dutiful to a fault but the pressure of that sometimes builds to a breaking point and harsh words spill out which he generally regrets moments later. tldr; Shihan says mean things while his actions are invariably kind, Ilthus does mean things while his tongue drips honey. Ilthus probably wins this one.

Softest OC: Cora. Even moreso than Lyneth and I didn’t even know that was possible but Lyneth at least has that hunter’s edge. She has a little bite. She can and has killed. She knows the rough edges of the world even if she tries to smooth them for as many people as she can. Cora has none of that. She’s still living in a fairytale bubble that has yet to be burst and I don’t think she has it in her to hurt a little ladybug even if it just aggroed onto her. 

Most Aloof/Standoffish OC: This title goes to Vachir Kha, my Xaela. He’s not aloof so much as he is painfully shy and afraid of embarrassing himself with his lack of Eorzean cultural knowledge. 

Dumbest (Affectionate) OC: Gonna have to go with Susuvi on this one. Because she thinks she knows everything and will share her highly valuable and informed opinions with you about exactly how you should be doing any and everything whether you want her to or not. With the stars and cards to back her up. Or her interpretation of the stars and cards anyroad. Funny how those always seem to agree with her thoughts on any matter, isn’t it?

Dumbest (Derogatory) OC: Oh god, Ilthus. Hands down. This boy. He just. He has no emotional intelligence to speak of. And he does not learn from his mistakes in this regard. Ever.

Smartest OC: Poor Ghislain. He should have been a scholar. Far and away the most book smart of my characters and the most dedicated to seeking out new learning on any topic he can find even as he plays the himbo to further his cover story.

Horniest OC: Ilthus. With Cora as a close second though she’s more prone to schoolgirl crushes than outright lust. Still.. roughly every third thought in the girl’s head involves smooching whichever handsome man she’s currently swooning over. That probably counts.

OC You'd Bang: If I had to pick just one... Shihan. Because he’s pretty. And also like.. the platonic ideal of a service top. 

OC You'd Be Best Friends With IRL: Lyneth. For all of the reasons that she’s my favorite and also she can bake. And I can.. enjoy other people’s baking. A lot.

[acertainmoshke]

From the soft oc asks: 🌼 and 💫 for your protagonist

Thank you for this!! I'm going to use Shakatra today because I've been thinking a lot lately about where I want to take their story.

🌼 They have so many found siblings it's almost ridiculous. There's Kristoffer, also a changeling, who they met at 12 and just kind of glommed onto as the first person to show them kindness and now they've been hanging out almost a century. There's Althea, also a changeling but a much older one, who found them as an angsty equivalent of a 20-something and went, I need to teach this feral kid how to be a person. So she did and now they run to her with problems every few years. There's also Cassandra, the human child they replaced, cursed to be eternally 10 as Fae entertainment who Shaka managed to get partial custody of. And one more I think but I need to rework that as I rework the story--they had a human brother in the original but that was before I decided they were 107. Their current love interest, Lynn, is actually a nonmagical human adopted into a sorcerer family but (for reasons to be revealed once I figure them out) she is immune to glamour, which is amazing for Shakatra because they know she sees them as they are and there's no chance they tricked her into her feelings. The funny thing is that, despite all this, they really don't look for friends, much less romance. They've been attached to Kris so long he almost shouldn't count, but otherwise they consider themself a broody loner, knowing nothing but violence and living for no reason at all...except that they keep running across people who like them and want to be friends, or kids who need raising, and it's getting to be a consistent thing. They're also friends with Lynn's adopted sister Tatiana (a human sorcerer and doctor), Kris' girlfriend Bethany (a selkie who runs a boutique), Kris' boyfriend Doug (a human sorcerer and a grumpy mess of a person), and Doug's brother Harry (a nerd for computers and puppies). That's starting to be too many to count as a loner, really, and it's not even mentioning their teenage (step)son from their last relationship.

💫 I have 3 favorite facts about Shakatra, but for very different reasons. In-universe, I love that they take the angsty heroic trait of self sacrifice way past the actually a character flaw point. It's not healthy for them but it's a good outlet for me and fun to play with. Outside the story's universe, I love that they are my oldest existing character. I first came up with the general idea for them at 14, before I even started high school, and I am now way past college. The story was very different then, of course--I even finished a full book at 16, but it's unusable now. They were a girl, of course, and most of the story focused on them saving the Fae people from their tyrannical queen before taking over, alongside their boyfriend. This doesn't really resemble the current story AT ALL, but I like that I have completely evolved it...oh...3 times now, I think. I also secretly love that their powers have always been ice based and a source of angst, an idea I came up with several years before Frozen came out.

[violetjedisylveon]

✨Space lesbians✨

Amnesia AU link here.

Please ignore the bad hand, I hate drawing hands.

This is Chora(oc) and Yaosney(ES-02, not her canon name, I made it up). They are girlfriends and seeing each other for the first time in person since Yaosney was offered a position within the Empire.

The scars on their arms are from work related injuries, they are both bounty hunters and injury comes with the territory. Yaosney's scar on her face is from currently undecided trauma but she's had it for a long time. She generally covers it when on duty or out and about, she doesn't like getting asked about it.

Yaosney was offered/sorta volunteered when she saw the paycheck, a position as a soldier in the Empire, one of the first non clone troopers.

She was a better and more versatile fighter than the rest of the options and was picked for the Elite Squad led under a clone commander.

She's got the most experience of that entire squad, even Crosshair, cause she is about ~30(like Chora) and been doing the bounty hunter thing fir well over a decade, Crosshair is 12 and while he's been training for soldier stuff his whole life, he's got a lot less field experience. She doesn't mention it unless it is nessicary for a situation.

She's also the oldest of the squad, the rest are mid to late twenties. She isn't like the group mom or anything, she's like the group tired of your bs thirty year old.

She doesn't actually believe in the Empire beyond it being a good way to get a constant flow of money relatively easily for someone with her skills. She'll fake loyalty but she isn't actually a believer, she's just using it for her own means.

She's really doing it to build connections and get some money built up in case of an emergency, specifically for Chora cause non human med care is harder and more expensive, not made easier by the Empire which she gets pissed about. Bounty hunting is a gig to gig sort of job, so the Empire was the opportunity for something a bit more stable, even if it didn't always pay as much as some hunts did but it is a constant thing.

Chora didn't try to join because she really doesn't do good in that military setting and needs a degree of autonomy in her work, also she's smart enough to pick up on the fact that the Empire is a human centered government, like the Republic, and she knows she wouldn't have been allowed in based on her species. She's fine with that though.

Yaosney and Chora definitely get up to a lot of stuff and makes lots of comments about doing the stuff, just cause they both enjoy making everyone else feel very awkward, Chora was raised on Massanii, she's a bit of a shit and an asshole by nature. They've been dating since before the clone wars.

This was fun to draw, I wanna draw them again soon but I am bad at side profiles so I can't do any of that sort of stuff with them, I could draw them on a hunt together and I probably will cause that's a good idea I just thought of, but I've got some other things on my plate I wanna do.

I'm thinking of redrawing some old bad batch art of Omega and Merrin and fixing it, it was before the show came out and I didn't have a very good idea of what Omega looked like. I also forgot Merrin would also be like 12 and not 17 like she is in the game😅. That'll be fun!

I hope you all have a good day, whatever that is for you!

VJS Out!

[azurethevampire]

Omg hi!

Requests are open!!

I saw that you mostly wanted platonic requests so I was wondering if I could ask for a spn one where Sam and Dean have a sibling (you can chose what their gender is or if you want it to be an oc) and basically all of them just have a really fun day because they got snowed into the bunker?

Does that makes sense? Idk if it does, I’m sorry

BUT ALSO DONT FEEL PRESSURED TO WRITE THIS AND IF YOU DO END UP DOING IT THEN TAKE YOUR TIME AND DONT WORRY ABOUT RUSHING

(Love your work 😊💕)

Here's your request, enjoy! 💕

(Divider used is made by @delishlydelightfuldividers)

Also, warning that there is a hint of the reader almost having a panic attack—they don't have one but it's hinted at

Snowy Day

"SAMMY!" 

You were just about to enter the war room of the bunker when your oldest brother's voice assaulted your eardrums. From the sound of it, Dean was yelling your second brother's name from somewhere by the bunker's usual entrance. 

"Dean, what the hell are you yelling—"

You rubbed your eyes. Then again. Nope, Dean was still there. You weren’t still sleeping and only dreaming about this scene.  

The picture you saw just didn’t make any sense. 

Dean was descending the staircase, shaking snow from his person. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think someone had just dropped your brother in a snow bank. And the last time you checked Lebanon hadn’t had snow since last year. Even then, it had been a few inches and nothing that would make anyone look like a living and walking snowman.  

Wait. 

“It’s snowing?” 

Dean sent you a glare. “What the hell does it look like? You think I’m covered with cotton and salt?!” 

Disapproving click of your tongue. “Always so rude”, you said and reached to wipe some snow Dean had missed from the back of his shirt. Judging by the fact he wasn’t wearing a coat, you didn’t think that Dean had expected there to be any snow when he stepped out of the door. Another conclusion you made from Dean’s current looks, was that there was way more than a few inches of snow outside. You frowned. “Is there a storm?” 

“It’s like a fucking Great Blizzard out there.” Dean confirmed. 

“Damn”, you said, immediately gaining a scolding look from Dean – which you ignored. “Wait. I don’t know if I need to be more concerned by the apparent storm outside or the fact that you know what Great Blizzard is.” 

Before you had time to understand your brother had moved at all, there was suddenly a very cold and wet feeling at the back of your neck. You shrieked as Dean slapped some of the snow that hadn’t melted on the floor yet, right to your neck. 

Dean laughed at your shocked and betrayed expression. “Just because I don’t spend my every bit free time nose buried in books like you and Sammy, doesn’t mean I don’t know stuff too”, he said. 

His hand returned to quickly wipe the snow off your neck before it had a chance to melt down your back. Some water drop still trickled down your back, making you shiver. 

“Is Sam still asleep?” Dean asked you and you shrugged in response. He ruffled your hair. “Well go look while I change into dry clothes.” 

“Fine.” You agreed. Guess, your revenge for the snow on the back of your neck would have to wait a bit. 

Dean was already at his room’s door when you suddenly stopped. The storm outside was as bad as the Great Blizzard of 1888? Suddenly you weren’t sure if the snow was a good thing at all. 

“Dean? Are we… are we trapped here?” 

Dean, hearing the change in your voice, was quick to come over you and pull you into a hug. “Hey, it’s alright, kiddo. We’re going to be just fine here at the bunker for another week. We live in a bunker”, he said. “This place was built to stand much worse than one blizzard. I promise; we’ll be just fine. Now go find Sammy and tell him the situation. Think you can do that for me, kid?” 

You nodded. Dean had managed to calm you down before your mind had the chance to drag you into a full blown panic attack. 

"Go to Sam. Tell him there's a snow storm. Got it", you said, when you saw the silent prompt in Dean's eyes. Always such a mother hen, your oldest brother. 

•-•-•-•-•-•

Since going outside wasn't an option - despite you wanting nothing more than to have a chance to mess around with the amount of snow ("Too dangerous right now, kid") - you Winchester siblings ended up spending some time together. 

You had a sneaking suspicion Sam and Dean seemed glued to your back for the rest of the day because they were both worried. They worried you'd work yourself into a panic attack or worse if you had the chance to think too much about the fact that you were currently trapped underground. (You were fine, as long as you didn't think about it.) 

"Hey!" You said, watching as Dean's red pawn ate your green one on the board, leaving all four of your pawns back to home base again. "Not fair, Dean! I hate this game." 

Dean chuckled and had an expression of way too much joy on his face. Then his smile faltered when Sam's yellow pawn made it to the same spot as his. 

"Sorry, man", said Sam, not sounding apologetic at all and throwing you a wink as Dean grumbled about never getting another six again. 

"Karma", you whispered ominously to your oldest brother. 

Dean narrowed his eyes, before quickly striking his fingers to your sides. You let out a scream before it was replaced by laughter and giggles. "No– hOOhno! StHOop ith!" 

Dean did stop (after a moment) to let you take your turn. (You rolled four, then he rolled five–"Damn! So close!). Dean didn't let you move back to your original spot, instead throwing an arm around your shoulder and keeping you against his side, occasionally he'd tickle your side if you came too close to his pawn on the board. 

Sam won in the end. 

From Kimble you moved on to a game of pool where they taught you how to hustle money – with strict orders that you were not doing any of that if they had anything to say about it. But really what was the point of teaching you then? 

From pool, deck of cards and poker with matches. Until you started to feel both hungry and tired. The three of you made pancakes (per your request) and made a mess of the kitchen while making them. 

Let's just say lots of flour and laughter was involved. Also Sam throwing you over his shoulder to a fireman's carry for a bit to make you stop throwing bits of flour at him. 

By the time night rolled in you decided that maybe the blizzard hadn't been a bad thing at all. You couldn't remember the last time you had had this much fun with Sam and Dean. Hell, you couldn't remember when the three of you had spend time together without it involving either a case, or talks about demons or angels. There hadn't been a smallest of hints to the family business today – and you quite enjoyed it. 

You ended the night by watching a movie. Dean complained about your choice and you stuck your tongue at him. 

"You said I get to choose so suck it up, brother." 

"Y/N's got a point, Dean. You did give the choice to them", Sam intervened, sensing that you and Dean were about to start a verbal fist fight. You'd never get around watching the movie. 

"Fine!" Dean huffed. "Let's watch this stupid movie then." 

From where you sat half lying on Sam, you poked Dean's side with your foot. "Harry Potter and Philosopher's Stone isn't stupid!" 

Dean grabbed your feet and trapped them on his lap. "Shut up, kid and watch the movie." 

Harry and Ron realized Hermione wasn't with them and went to find her despite there being a troll on the loose at Hogwarts when you opened your mouth. 

"Thanks, Sam, Dean", you said quietly. "I had fun today." 

Sam squeezed your arm gently. "I had fun too." 

"Maybe we should try to do a day like this once in a while — without blizzards", Dean said. "Family day." 

You smiled at the suggestion. The thought of it was nice, but you doubted you'd have a chance to repeat a day like this any time soon. You loved the thought of it anyway. 

[miekasa]

the babysitter’s club (1)

+ pairing: levi ackerman + (fem) reader, featuring bright-eyed but very easily intimidated interns and part-time babysitters eren and armin who are trying their best

+ genres and warnings: modern au, parents au, fluff, yes the dog’s name is captain and he’s tiny what about it

+ summary: eren and armin are good subordinates, who happen to be pretty good babysitter, too. usually. 

+ word count: 2.7k

+ notes: this was just something fun i edited and reworked again, also to provide some more insight about dad levi and my oc kids; this focuses only on holden, who is the oldest of the bunch, but you’ll more about the rest as they go

It’s not that Levi doesn’t trust Holden’s babysitters, he just would rather watch over her himself. Moreover, he would rather have the time to spend with his small daughter instead of having to leave her in the care of someone else who isn’t you, but sometimes life gets busy, and babysitters come in real handy.

He still doesn’t understand why Erwin would schedule the both of you to attend such important work-related meetings on the same weekend; much less, to send you half-way around the world for yours, and then book Levi for damn near twelve hours on a Saturday. He would murder Erwin if he weren’t his direct boss, and a long-time friend. But shit happens, and while it’s a major inconvenience and pain in his ass to be working on a weekend, it’s good to know he could rely on the brats at the office to step up on such short notice.

“I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that if anything happens, I won’t hesitate to dismember you,” Levi says calmly, closing his briefcase after triple-checking its contents.

“Of course,” Armin stiffens visibly, awkward laughter seeping through his words, “Eren and I would never let anything happen to Holden.”

To his left, Holden has already tugged Eren to the coffee table for a game of children’s Scrabble, determined to show off her new skills. Levi smiles slightly as he remembers playing the game with her last week, and how awe-struck she was to have seen Levi create a word bigger than “unattainable”—which is currently the longest word in her four-year-old vocabulary. But he’s certain she would have no trouble beating Eren.

He gives Armin a slight nod. He knows Holden is in good hands; or good enough hands with Armin, anyway. It’s not the first time the duo has babysat, and for as air-headed and clumsy Eren could be at the office, he seemed to be pretty damn good with kids if Holden’s attachment to the brunette was anything to go by.

Levi recounts that you’ve questioned on multiple occasions why Eren was so dedicated to being your PA when he seemed to have a potential career in taking care of, and maybe even teaching children. Not that he’s not a good assistant to you, but he’s certainly not as organized or detailed-oriented as Armin. Levi shrugs away the thought. Eren’s career choices are none of his business; his only concern is that he keeps his daughter safe and sound.

“Right. My card is on the kitchen island, you can buy lunch and dinner or whatever, I don’t think there’s much in the fridge,” Levi informs Armin. He looks briefly to the clock on the wall; he really should get going. “Remember to walk Captain at some point, and no matter what Holden says, he absolutely does need a leash on him. If Erwin isn’t being a complete asshat, I’ll be home by nine. (Y/N) will probably still be on her flight, so call me if you need anything.”

Armin nods enthusiastically, promising Levi that they would take care of everything. They’d better.

“Alright, I’m heading out,” Levi announces, pulling his keys from the table near the door, “Be good, Holden. Tell Armin and Eren if you need anything.”

Holden’s head perks up at the sound of her name. Elegantly, or as elegantly as a four-year-old can be, she stands from her seated crisscross position, to run over to Levi by the door. He should remind her that she should use walking feet inside the house, but he can’t bring himself to, instead crouching down to meet her height.

“Bye, daddy,” she tells him sweetly. Levi reaches a hand out to ruffle the top of her head, much to the small girl’s chagrin. She sports a grimace almost identical to his as he reaches up to try and smooth out the aftermath of her father’s affections, “Daddy!”

Levi can’t help but chuckle, reaching two fingers out to poke at his daughter’s forehead. “Be good. I’ll be back soon.”

“Mommy too?”

Levi sighs, “No, mommy doesn’t come back until Tuesday.”

“That’s four days away,” Holden’s doesn’t hesitate to express her dissatisfaction. Levi nods, a little proud of how quickly she’d calculated that in her head, “Can Eren stay until Tuesday?”

“No, Eren cannot.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Holden crinkles her nose. Levi really has got to do something about her fascination with Eren.

Holden looks backwards to where Eren is still seated around the coffee table, he and Armin watching the father-daughter duo. After reconciling with the fact that Eren does, in fact, have his own home to go back to at the end of the day, Holden turns back around, and holds her hand up, palm facing Levi. He does the same, bringing his larger palm to hers, so that her hand is pushed against the middle of his.

Not one for hugs, kisses, or larger displays of affection, Holden simply turns her palm so that her hand grabs around Levi’s as best as possible, hooking her thumb around his pinky finger—what Levi’s heard the young girl call a hand hug.

“Bye, daddy,” she repeats, squeezing his hand, “Come back soon.”

Levi bends his fingers to wrap around her hand, “I will.”

“Keep an eye on her,” Levi reminds Armin and Eren, after standing back up and gripping his briefcase in his hand, “Don’t cause too much trouble.”

“Holden never causes trouble,” Eren says in response, but his words are spoken in coos to the young girl, who’s already back at his side. 

Levi scoffs, “I was talking to you.” 

“We’ll be fine, boss, don’t worry,” Eren chuckles with an awkward blush, “We love looking after Holden.”

“I’m not your boss,” Levi deadpans, double-checking his pockets for his keys, “You’d better hope everything is fine. Call me if anything happens, I’ll be back soon.” 

With one final round of good-byes, and a wave from his daughter, Levi’s out the door, and stepping into his car with a grimace. It was just one stupid day out of his life. Besides, Holden would be fine with Armin and Eren; she always is. Levi is just grumpy that he can’t be the one to spend the day with her. 

He sighs, reluctantly, putting his keys in the ignition. The sooner he got this over with, the sooner he could come back to Holden. Everything would be fine in the meantime; for now, he had to focus on how he was going to get himself to sit through Erwin’s long-ass meeting. 

“Levi! Hi! Um… okay, so don’t freak out, but Armin and I are at the hospital with Holden right now—don’t freak out—because there was a small incident at lunch—don’t freak out and fire me please—but! It’s all gonna be okay, they’re already treating her and she’s doing fine now, so don’t freak—”  

“Tell me not to freak out one more fucking time and I’ll castrate Armin and feed you his balls myself.”

“You sound a little freaked out,” Eren placates, wincing and holding his phone away from his ear when Levi growls in response.

“You have five seconds to tell me what you two idiots did to my daughter and explain why I shouldn’t decapitate you immediately.”

“It’s a funny story, actually—so, um, we think Holden might be allergic to nuts…?”

“What do you mean might be, Jaeger?”

Eren can feel his heart in his throat. He eyes Armin on the other side of Holden’s hospital bed. He looks no better—color almost completely drained from his face, but Eren doesn’t think he can say much else to his boss before his knees give out from underneath him.

“Uh, well, it was a lot of technical terms, and—I—um, actually I’m going to let Armin explain!” Eren hurries, all but chucking his phone at the unsuspecting blonde.

Armin’s blue eyes look almost grey with anxiety, but before he can protest, Eren is flailing his hands and pointing fingers and reminding him that Levi will kill them both if he doesn’t start talking.

Reluctant, and terrified, Armin finally lifts the phone to his ear, stuttering out a pathetic hello, but Levi cuts him off before he can say anything else.

“Save it. Send me your location, and pray I don’t kill you when I get there.” Armin chokes out a “yes, sir,” before slowly bringing the phone down to his side.

The good news is that Holden’s allergic reaction wasn’t too severe: her throat had been irritated, and hives had emerged as a result, but it hadn’t been closing up. And luckily, Eren had the endurance to run nearly a mile and half with a four year old tucked under his arm; because with the traffic Armin observed whilst he and Captain huffed and lagged behind, it would have taken thrice as long to get Holden to the ER had they waited and called for an ambulance.

Even better was that Holden was an unnervingly calm kid, even whilst having an allergic reaction. She looked almost back to normal now, save for a few red looking blotches on her neck and upper arm; and seemed more than content to be watching a video on Eren’s phone, despite the situation. She was a little bummed out to find out that she could never eat the new ice cream she liked so much ever again, but she seemed to quickly get over it once Eren reminded her that there were lots of other flavors out there for her to try. Flavors that wouldn’t make her choke to death.

Still, Eren and Armin could probably kiss their jobs goodbye, seeing as they had nearly just poisoned their bosses’ daughter. Holden seemed to like them enough, but, unfortunately, Holden wasn’t the Ackerman who signed their checks.

At the very least, Eren doesn’t think you’ll be too upset with him. He doesn’t think you’ll be ecstatic to hear that while you were away on your already inconvenient work-trip on the other side of the globe, that he also managed to land your daughter in a hospital bed… but you were the more forgiving one. Then again, maybe not so forgiving when it comes to the health and wellbeing of your daughter. 

Eren falls back against the wall in dread. You weren’t even in the same country as him and he was worried about what you might say or do to him. Levi was probably less than twenty minutes away and fully capable of beheading him.

“You… uh, you think the Interior Branch is still looking for interns?” Eren breaks the silence, looking towards Armin, who’s taken the seat next to Holden’s bed, petting Captain robotically as the dog sits in his lap.

“I don’t think it matters,” Armin responds, “They won’t hire corpses.”

Fifteen minutes, and several run red lights later, Levi is bursting through the doors to the pediatric wing of the emergency room. He doesn’t care about the old woman at the reception yelling at him for causing a ruckus, or the other parents, doctors, or visitors eyeing him for marching around like he owned the place. Holden was in there somewhere, and he was going to get to her.

“Holden—oh, god, Holden,” Levi coos, frantic, as he marches into Holden’s room, scurrying to the side of her hospital bed. A cold hand reaches up to stroke her face. Angry, red bumps litter the sides of neck, her cheeks are puffier than usual, and the perimeter of her mouth seems a bit irritated, but Levi is relieved. She’s okay, his baby girl is okay.

“’M fine, daddy,” Holden assures him. She’s almost overly-perceptive for her age, able to pick up on her father’s out of character antics, and does her best to console him. “Eren ran with me all the way here when I started coughing and itchin.’”

Levi nods, the dark grey splotches in Holden’s eyes bringing him comfort, ensuring him that she was okay. “They gave me a shot, and I don’t like needles, but I didn’t even cry at all. Ask, Armin and Eren, they saw! Captain, too.”

“Brave girl,” Levi smiles, reaching his hand up to push her hair out of her face then leans over to press a kiss to her forehead.

Levi had almost forgotten that Eren and Armin were in the room until he hears a blundering cough from behind him. The younger boys look petrified, Eren practically shaking in his shoes, while Armin doesn’t even have the confidence to look him in the eye.

“We’re really sorry, Levi,” Eren apologizes, voice scratchy and wobbly, like he’d been the one to just get a shot, “We didn’t know—and when she started coughing and saying she couldn’t breathe, I swear, I ran here as fast as I could—”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s… fine?”

Levi sighs. Maybe he’d been a little harsh with them on the phone, letting his emotions get the best of him. He’d already been pissed off enough to not have the time to spend with Holden this weekend; hearing that she’d been hurt was just the final push over the edge for him, but it wasn’t necessarily Armin or Eren’s fault.

“I didn’t know either,” Levi exhales, reaching at hand out to pet the top of Holden’s head again, the young girl now distracted once again by the phone in her hand, “She’s never had a reaction to anything before, and neither (Y/N) or I have any strong allergies.”

Armin shuffles where he’s standing. “The doctor said she might be allergic to tree nuts. We, uh, we gave her pistachio ice cream after lunch.”

If there’s anything concerning Levi, it’s that they gave Holden ice cream before dinner, but he supposes he can let it go for now.

“Eren told me to try it, and it tasted good, daddy,” Holden interjects, “Before I started coughing, it was good.”

“Ah, well, you can’t—you shouldn’t eat things that make you feel sick!” Eren stutters loudly.

“But it was good,” Holden pouts, “And you said to try new things, Eri. I won’t know if it makes me sick if I don’t try them.”

Levi holds back his laughter. He knows that Holden definitely wouldn’t want to try the same same flavor again knowing now that she was allergic to it; she was just pulling at Eren’s leg. Levi would have to keep an eye out for the stuff anyway, especially if her oh-so-precious Eren has expressed any former love for it. 

“Um, Levi, sir,” Armin calls, pulling Levi’s attention towards the blonde, “We didn’t know if (Y/N) would have landed already, but do you think you should call her, to, um, let her know?”

Levi’s face pales three shades when he realizes that none of them had already informed you that your daughter was currently hospitalized with a new found allergy.

“You can call her,” Levi says, a shudder in his spine at the thought of relaying this information to you, “That’s your death sentence, not mine.”

[yslkook]

WRONG (3)

mind of mine masterlist

summary: you find yourself at the tattoo parlor more often as of late. also, jungkook hates lemon jelly filled donuts and is easily bribed by mint chocolate and macarons. pairing: “badboy” jk x “shy/reserved” oc warnings: cursing, excessive use of pet names, kinda toxic friendship

Sora’s unbridled passion for why she believes Jungkook is wrong for you has never irritated you as much as it does in this moment. You’ll never understand why she’s so adamant about the topic, when it’s not her decision. When she knows that you’ve been harboring a small crush on the man for years now, and you’re fairly certain he returns your affections.

When the man told you that he had put an orange heart next to your name, you knew it was real.

You don’t understand why Sora is determined to make things so complicated, when they don’t have to be. You don’t believe her claims that he’s a fuckboy, that he treats people like trash. He’s shown you the opposite. He’s so gentle with everyone, not just you. He’s blunt but he has a big heart under all of the leather and layers of black.

If there’s a word to describe him, it’s dreamy.

Which is why you’re so hurt that Sora refuses to give him a chance. After all, if she was your best friend, shouldn’t she offer him a chance for your sake?

It confuses you.

“I’ve heard so many bad things about him,” Sora says knowingly, swirling her glass of wine in her hands. You don’t feel very much like drinking, not when your stomach swirls in unease. Being in her apartment is nothing new, but right now, you’d rather be anywhere else.

“But what things? And from who? Jungkook is such a genuine guy and he hasn’t done anything for people to start rumors about him,” You protest, but your words fall on deaf ears, “And I like him-”

“I mean come on, have you seen him? The man radiates bad vibes. My friends have all said-”

“Bad vibes? You’re dismissing him because of bad vibes when I’m telling you that-”

“I’m your best friend, don’t you think I know these things?” Sora says, heat and arrogance in her voice, “I’m only looking out for you. It’s shitty that you’re dismissing me for a guy-”

“I’m not dismissing you-” But your voice grows smaller and smaller, something that you think Jungkook might be disappointed in you for.

“It sure as hell sounds like you are,” Sora sneers with a cold sort of tilt to her lips, “Listen. I’m just looking out for you, even if you don’t seem to appreciate it. I thought we were best friends. Friends look out for each other, but if you don’t want to listen to me, that’s on you.”

Something dry settles in your throat and something heavy settles in your chest.

“He’s not good news,” Sora continues, as if she can’t see your heart beginning to ache, “I’ll find someone who will treat you much better, don’t worry.” She pats your knee in a way that is supposed to be reassuring but you wince.

You don’t want her favors, but it’s too late for you to protest. Besides if you did, she’d feel awful and you never want to be the cause of her being upset. She’s your best friend after all. And what kind of friend would you be, if you upset her to that degree?

But still... you don’t want anyone else. You want the sensitive man who gets misty-eyed by powerful renditions of Beyonce songs, the man who texts you until you fall asleep, the man who asks you what color to paint his nails when he feels like it.

You kind of want the sensitive man dressed in layers of black.

You let Sora talk your ear off about all of the guys she has in mind for you, but you stop listening. You don’t understand this vendetta she has against Jungkook, the vendetta that she’s always had. But she is correct about one thing- she is your best friend and has your best interests at heart...right?

The four walls of the tattoo parlor that you’ve begun frequenting more and more often begins to feel more and more like a welcome place in recent days. You’ve always been friendly with the guys, especially Yoongi and Hoseok.

Even if Yoongi doesn’t work at the parlor, he’s here frequently enough.

Though Yoongi and Hoseok are some of your oldest friends, you’ve only come to the parlor a handful of times in the past. Once that realization hit you, you’d made it a point to stop by more often.

Why hadn’t you before?

They’re your oldest friends, but these days, you feel closer to Mina and Mei as well. While you do have other girlfriends who you see as often as your collective schedules align, it’s still different.

But still. You don’t know if you’ve ever truly belonged with anyone. You feel as if you’ve been floating through life, with Sora by your side (at least half the time, when she’s not spewing criticism over the man you have feelings for).

Thinking about it gives you a headache and makes you feel nostalgic for something that you never had. But maybe it’s something you can have.

“Hey, you,” Mei calls from reception, where she’s sitting next to Hobi who waves at you, “What brings you here? Finally gonna let me pierce you?”

“I brought donuts,” You shrug, “And I’m not ready for that surgical instrument to touch me, thanks very much.”

“You can stop by without the pretense of bringing sweet treats over,” Hobi says knowingly, “I mean none of us will complain about donuts, but you know that right? You can come by anytime you want.”

“O-okay,” You nod, your throat feeling a little dry.

“Now, come here and let me see what you got. If there’s a lemon jelly filled donut, save that for Jungkook. He hates them.”

“You got plans this evening?” Mei asks, grabbing her bright red purse that’s nearly the size of your head. Her purse matches her bright red nails and for half a second, you’re mesmerized by the glossiness of her nails.

“No, other than getting ready for tomorrow’s day of work-”

“Great! Wanna come with me to the tattoo supply store? I have to pick up more needles, grips and gloves.”

“Sure,” You shrug, a little excited at the prospect of a quick adventure for Mei, “I’ll just say bye to Hobi.”

He’s already watching you with mirth in his eyes, as if he knows what you’re about to say. “Hey, will you tell Jungkook I said hi?” You murmur, feeling your ears burning at his smug grin.

“Sure, I will,” Hobi grins, “I’m sure he feels bad about not being able to say hi to you himself. He’s had a busy day.”

“Understandable,” You nod, “I mean, you guys say he’s the best in the city, right? I’m sure he’s got a waitlist of people who want to be tatted by him.”

“Maybe someday he’ll tattoo you, huh?” He says mischievously to which you roll your eyes and feel your face heat up.

“He would be so lucky,” You scoff, as if the notion of Jungkook tattooing your body doesn’t make something flutter in your belly.

“We have this competition at the parlor where the person who makes the most tips has to buy the supplies on a monthly basis,” Mei says smugly, “Usually, it’s Kook but for the last few months it’s been me.”

That doesn’t surprise you in the least- Hobi has told you that Mei and Mina are both skilled in realistic and watercolor tattoos, as well as piercings. You think if you were ever to receive a tattoo from either Mei or Mina, you would tip them for the mere fact of them being so close in your presence for so long.

They used to intimidate you, when Hobi had first introduced you to them. Mina with her sleek bob haircut, and Mei with her long, glossy waves. Both of them had nose piercings and their ears were dotted in different hoops and rods. You’d only caught a glimpse of their tattoos a handful of times- Mei has a full sleeve on her right arm where Mina’s tattoos seem to be more hidden.

They’re just so cool and funny and smart.

“How did you all get the idea for the tattoo parlor? Like, was it a business decision or were you all friends before?” You ask curiously.

“Well… Jin, Mina and I have been friends since we were kids, our parents are really close. Jin had this dream of opening his own tattoo and piercing parlor for the longest time. Jungkook and Hobi joined a few months after we officially opened. It took a while, but we’re where we are now,” Mei says fondly.

“That’s incredible! You guys started from the ground up,” You say, in awe, “That parlor is your baby.”

“Fuck, yeah it is,” Mei grins, “What about you? What cool tech stuff is going on in that pretty brain of yours?”

“Um…” Your face heats up at the compliment, “I’m currently helping in developing this app for one of our clients, it’s specific for tracking and trending information related to chronic health conditions. It’s still in its infancy, but it’s been fun! And it’s job security, I guess.”

Mei lets out a low whistle, “Wow, you’re doing something like that by yourself?”

“No, I have a pretty great team,” You shrug, “Something like that definitely can’t be done alone.”

Mei hums, “You’re gonna be great, Ms. CEO.”

“Yeah right, I’d never want that burden,” You scoff, “I’m good right where I am.”

With both of your arms full of bags of supplies for the tattoo parlor (and some extras), you both walk out of the shop and towards Mei’s sleek, black car. It’s late, and you don’t really feel much like taking public transportation. But you’re nervous to ask Mei for a ride home for some reason.

“Hey, did you drive to the parlor?” Mei asks.

“N-no, I don’t have a car yet,” You reply, “I only just bought my condo and didn’t want to make another big purchase just yet. I want to start looking though…”

“Oh! I’ll drive you home then,” Mei offers once she starts the engine.

“Are you sure? It’s kind of out of the way from here,” You reply, folding in on yourself a little in the passenger seat.

Mei only waves you off. “Oh, please. What kind of friend would I be if I just left you to get home alone?”

You bite your tongue, as vivid memories of Sora claiming that she didn’t have enough gas in the tank or her asking for gas money for the ten minute drive from her apartment building to your condo flash in your mind.

“Thank you, Mei,” You say gratefully, “Let me know how much to Venmo you, for gas money-”

“Gas money? For a seven minute drive? Is that a joke,” Mei gasps, “What do you take me for?”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry I asked!”

“Asking me for gas money,” Mei mutters, “You said you want to start looking for a car?”

Her smile twists into something mischievous.

“Yeah, I have no idea where to start though…”

“Ask your boy, Jungkook. Taehyung, Namjoon and Jimin work at a car dealership and they’re his roommates, I’m sure he’d be eager to help you.” Something in her voice is coy but you maintain a neutral face.

“Yeah… maybe I will,” You say thoughtfully, “Hey! He’s not my boy-”

“Alright, alright,” Mei relents gently, “But really, reach out to him. He’ll help you. So that those boys don’t scam you like the sleazy car salesmen that they are.”

When you see Jungkook next at the tattoo parlor which is conveniently on your way home from work (again with a box of pastries), you muster the courage to step into his office to ask him for help.

“Hi,” You say weakly, “Umm… I come bearing gifts. Got some of those mint chocolate brownie bars that you like, and those macarons-”

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were trying to bribe me, baby,” Jungkook says, smirking widely when your lips part in protest.

“If I was trying to bribe you, it wouldn’t be with mint chocolate. Disgusting,” You roll your eyes and squeal out loud when he lunges for you, giving you a teasing but tight back hug.

“Take it back,” Jungkook murmurs lowly in your ear. You hardly hear him, too wrapped up in the warmth of the big black hoodie he’s wearing. The soft, gentle scent of laundry and vanilla floats into your nose when you turn your head to press your cheek against his chest.

His heartbeat is faint against your ear. You wonder if he can hear yours speeding up.

“Mint chocolate sucks. It’s a fact,” You mumble.

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” His voice comes as a low grumble from his chest and you swallow nervously. Before your nerves can get the best of you, he changes the topic. “Mei told me you’re in the market for a new car?”

“I don’t really know where to start, but I’ve already started doing some research,” You reply, pointing to your small backpack. You pull out a binder with meticulously colored tabs labeled in neat print that Jungkook raises an eyebrow at.

“What?”

“You just carry around a binder with your research on car purchases at all times? Is that what you do?”

“I have to be prepared!”

“Sometimes you just need a vibe check-”

“You want me to purchase an entire vehicle worth about a million and one paychecks based on just a vibe check? Is that what you did with your motorcycle?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook gives you a crooked smile, “And a little research. I guess.”

“You guess,” You mutter under your breath.

Jungkook has been more touchy with you once you had given him the go ahead all those weeks ago. He doesn’t show his affections with you unless you’re both alone, and it’s never anything more than hugs and the occasional brush of hands.

He’s melting you from the outside in, and you bask in his radiant heat. The thought of Sora’s approval doesn’t bother you, not when he hugs you like this.

But as always. Her disapproving voice worms its way into your head and you reluctantly peel away from him to sit on the faded burgundy couch with the box of macarons on your lap.

“So,” Jungkook says, immediately feeling the loss of your warmth in his limbs, “How can I help?”

tags: @kookdbean

MoM tags: @tiemeuptogoldenchains @boymeetsparadise @jungkooksseuphoria @kaepjjangiya @drumsofheaven @ppeachyttae @tae-bebe

[honey-milk-depresso]

Is this a date? (Trey Clover x Aeppermint)

An example of a snipet (short story)! This one’s an OC x Canon Character. You can ask for OC x OC, Canon x Canon (maybe-) or Me with whoever (most likely platonic), or you / your OC with my OC / Me.

That’s all!

But this is really long tho- so- take your time- ^^

=============================================================

“Aepper?”

The peppermint boy stopped in his tracks, upon hearing a familiar voice calling for him.

(Hey, Trey.)

Aepper may look calm on the outside as he smiled sweetly at his best friend, but deep down, he was freaking out.

“Hey, I know this might be a little rude of me, but, I kind of heard your whole conversation with the headmaster at the library, and, I just want to ask

could I maybe tag along to your trip to the Rose Kingdom? I kind of miss home over there...and I wanted to buy some things over there!”

Ah, yes. Aepper did ask for Crowley’s permission to go out during the weekend. Being the headmaster’s contract bound, teenage butler certainly had their advantages.

Aepper was previously planning to go there by himself but... if it was Trey...

“Um, I’m not forcing you to let me tag along, though! So if you want to go alone, it’s also fi-”

Aepper abruptly took Trey’s hand, a vice grip from him.

Trey was taken aback. “Um..? Aepper??”

Aepper blushed, embarrassed of what he has done, before immediately letting go of Trey’s hand, awkwardly scratching his arm. He nodded.

“Great! I’ll see you then!”

=============================================================

“Hm? Who are..”

Trey squinted his eyes. He was waiting by the mirror, where Crowley instructed them to be, and the boy he saw wasn’t Aepper.

A boy with raven black hair that reflected back the green lights caused by the flickering, green flame candles in the room, red ruby eyes staring back at him. Wearing a red sweater and white collared shirt, the boy resembled nothing of Aepper.

Maybe except his face.

(It’s me, Aepper. I’m in disguise.), Aepper created a speech bubble with his unique magic.

Trey blinked at him before he finally understood. Aepper still holds a criminal record. If people were to find out, he’ll be arrested.

“Ah, I see!” 

Trey took his hand, completely oblivious he was reducing Aepper into a flustered mess.

“Let’s go to the mirror!”

=============================================================

“Crowley said we should be back by four in the evening using this teleportation hand mirror. Right now is..”

Trey rolled up his green jacket sleeves to check his watch.

“10 in the morning. Perfect!”

He turned to Aepper and smiled sweetly at him.

“Let’s go!”

Aepper blushed. He crushed on Trey that bad, huh? Going about the Rose Kingdom, the floors covered in cobblestone, the streets filled with boutique stores and quite isolated,

Aepper felt a little more at ease.

The only reason why his heart was beating so fast, was the fact he was hanging out with Trey. His crush. Outside. Together. Alone. Like they’re on a date.

Actually, Aepper wondered. Is this a date?

But then again, dates could be platonic, right? And he’s not even my boyfriend. We’re just friends.. Or, maybe he would confess to me soon? But, no, he wouldn’t want to confess to me, let alone have romantic feelings for me. But, there’s the possibility right?? What about....

And Aepper zoned out, clearly overthinking. His walking pace became slower, and soon Trey was walking in front of him,

but Trey himself was too distracted, quite excited on what to do first as he looked around at the stores.

Before Aepper knew, he bumped into something soft, but firm. And it was quite warm. As he snapped out of hi thoughts, he placed a hand on it, as he tries to process what was going on.

“Aepper?”

Oh.

Oh. 

Oh no.

Aepper bumped into Trey from behind. And what he was touching

was Trey’s back.

Aepper immediately pulled back, flustered as ever. He bowed down to Trey profusely as to apologize to him. It was so embarrassing.

“It’s okay, Aepper! It’s not your fault! I just didn’t see you there is all!”

If Aepper could do it without being already very embarrassed, he would have swoon of how kindhearted and forgiving the ivy green haired man was.

Furthermore, Aepper got a closer look at how fine his best friend was. Trey in a simple white turtleneck, with a green coat jacket over-

Trey could steal his heart without effort and without even knowing that he did.

No! Don’t think about that when he’s your best friend, Aepper scolded himself in his head, following Trey to where he was going.

=============================================================

This is not a date, Aepper reminded himself as he stepped into a small supermarket.

“Trey? Is that you??” A man around his 40s with a thick moustache, a round belly and wore and red and white stripped apron on as he looked at Trey in disbelief.

“Trey! It is you!”

“Hey, Mr Stan! Long time no see!”

The man named Mr Stan happily approached Trey, as he shook his hand eagerly.

“Man, oh man, Trey! You really grew up! Grown to be more handsome and tall, eh?”

“Ahahaha! I wouldn’t say handsome, but I did grew!”

No, he’s right. You’re deliciously handsome. Wait-

“How come you’re back home? Aren’t you suppose to be at NRC?”

“Well, my friend here,” Trey gestured at Aepper, “Ae- I mean, Abriel, has special opportunities, and was kind enough to let me tag along to come here!”

The only kindest one around is you, Trey

“Well, Abriel! Lucky to be friends with the eldest son of the Clover Family! I mean, they have Clover as their surname, what can I say?” Mr Stan bellowed, shaking Aepper’s hand.

You’re absolutely right. I’m lucky. Aepper simply smiled.

“Ah, he’s mute, so he can’t really speak.”

“No problem! Anyways, browse the store! Hope you find what ya lookin’ for!”

“Thanks a lot!”

=============================================================

Aepper was on the verge of exploding.

OKAY, THIS HAS TO BE A DATE, AT LEAST 70% OF THIS HOW DID WE WENT TO SHOPPING TO JUST SITTING AT HIS FAMILY’S BAKERY OUTSIDE LIKE IT’S A CUTE CAFE-

Currently sitting at a table, Aepper and Trey were at the family bakery of the Clovers and Aepper himself, was panicking.

This has to be a date, there was no way this isn’t.

Right?

Aepper couldn’t even eat the macrons and cake in front of him.

“Aepper! So, what do you think of my family?” Trey asked as he sips his rose tea from his tea cup, calmly asking Aepper whose heart was about to leap out of his chest.

(They’re nice. I like your siblings. They’re fun.) 

“Yeah, they are. Though, they can be quite a handful,” Trey chuckled softly, and Aepper could barely hold it.

There was a raging battle between his own strong, romantic feelings for Trey at the moment, and the only thing holding him back from just glomping down on Trey was his self control which was running thin by the second.

Every trivial thing Trey did seemed to make his resolve on not being flustered around was getting harder and harder.

This was so bad.

“Hey, Aepper?”

Aepper regain his cool (barely-) and looked at his best friend.

“Do you think... my family’s proud of me? I mean, I know I’m their son but..” Trey’s voice faltered, looking down at his teacup.

Well, Trey’s parents had many things to be proud of their oldest son. He’s a talented chef, the vice dorm leader of his own dorm, upholding good virtues and so much more Aepper could list down.

(Well, I think your parents have many things to be proud of you for. But, one thing you need to know, is that your family must be happy in whatever you do. They know you’re a talented person. But, no matter what, they will always support you, physically and emotionally.)

Trey stared at Aepper, before he smiled softly.

“Wow, Aepper. I didn’t know you think I was talented,” he smirked.

That smirk,

Aepper blushed tenfold and almost choked on his own saliva, coughing violently.

“OH GOD, AE- I MEAN ABRIEL-”

=============================================================

“Well, it’s about time to go,” Trey checked his watch.

“We should get back.”

Aepper simply nodded, leaning away from the wall of a narrow street, taking out the hand mirror teleporter.

“Hey, Aepper?”

The mute boy turned to his green haired friend.

“Thanks for letting me hang out with you, it was really fun. And I just want to say,” Trey paused.

Oh shit. OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT-

This was it, isn’t it? The confession he’s has been waiting for? WAIT HE’S NOT READY, GIVE HIM A FEW SECONDS! HE NEEDS TO-

“Thank you for being such a kind and caring friend, Aepper. I couldn’t ask for a better one!”

And just like that, Aepper’s hopes were dashed. Crushed. This is the sin he needs to bear for all the crimes he’s committed, isn’t it?

Aepper was lamenting on the inside, but manage to muster a kind smile flashed at Trey as he activated the hand mirror teleporter.

Although he didn’t get the confession he wanted, he was very thankful he got the chance to hang out with Trey outside of NRC.

[tkc-info]

~Storytime~

I'll probably regret later but whatever I'm happy and feel like airing the dirty laundry. This is how TKC was born.

The Characters

I've written/thought of two different stories before coming up with tkc, which I consider my masterpiece because it's the only thing I managed to actually write. The first story came to absolutely nothing (though I can tell that the plot centred around a girl who travelled to Mercury to put an end to a war between two warring nemesis-kingdoms --I was 10 don't judge me). However the second story, let's call it wotf, planned during 8th/9th grade, was a little bit more useful. It actually helped create the basis for tkc.

For once, many characters were based off those on that first story:

Cal

She's my oldest OC, though her name has been changed because I can't remember her first name. I like Coraline/Cal better, anyways. Originally, she had the power of seeing the future (fun fact: I based doppelgängers off Naruto).

From the very beginning, Cal's been my twin. Not physically-wise because I'm not British, a redhead, nor that pretty. But our personalities are pretty similar; because, not to 'be like other girls' I have yet to read about a character I can empathize with on a behavioural level.

Oliver

He's been Cal's best friend from the get go. He's honestly remained pretty constant wotf vs TKC. His bisexuality, his coloured hair, his aesthetic, even his insignia (which wasn't called insignia at the time but whatever).

Wotf! Oliver was in the closet, had a different love interest --which I'll talk about later because damn-- and revealed his powers to Cal by possessing a random old lady in a park. He literally woke up one day and decided to tell wotf! Cal of his powers, don't ask me why, I don't remember.

Caleb

Oh, boy.

Caleb was, and in a way still is, the Badboy With The Dark Past™ of 14yo CK's dream. And, I mean, he looks like one: he's white, very pale skinned, has dark hair, and is gorgeous. There's a hundred other guys like him.

When I first created him original work-wise, I had no idea what his Dark Past™ was. Now I do, and let me tell you: I'm a bitch.

I will also say that he was, as Badboy With The Dark Past™ usually is, straight. The straightest straight to ever straight, which is funny.

Wotf! Caleb and Cal were endgame. 'Cal' saw the future one day and fell in love with him. From the very small draft I wrote, I don't think they ever even met?

Hunter

Allow me to laugh.

So, the Haos have changed the most. For once, wotf! Hunter was gay and Oliver's love interest. What prompted me to heterosexual Hunter like I queered Caleb? I honestly have no idea. At all. I think I just forgot, saw the potential he and Cal could have, and one night randomly remembered wotf! Hunter's homosexuality.

For real, though, Hunter has changed A LOT. I personally find him much better, because he's personality is more defined, and I just like how I reshaped his character into this elegant, kind-hearted, strong, power-seeking dude who has an idol crush on his crush's mother.

Fun fact: Morgan and him here twins in wotf. I have no idea how I came to the conclusion that he was three years younger than her.

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

I feel like I need a section solely for Morgan. Where to begin.

She's also a character from Original Work, and let me tell you, she's *unrecognisable*.

Wotf! Morgan was:

Straight (17yo CK's writing became way gayer lol)

Girly in a conventional dress, I don't think I ever imagined her in anything that wasn't a dress

Had long hair a lo diva

Was the Asian lovechild of Sharpay and the basic mean girls from Disney Channel movies

A bitch, she just had an odious personality wotf! Hunter for some reason followed

How did Morgan Hao from tkc evolve from *gestures vaguely* that? Well, you have tsc and particularly gotsm to thank for that.

Current Morgan started as my personal interpretation of, as strange as it may sound, Mina Carstairs. I know, I know, we have virtually no information whatsoever because Mina is a toddler/baby, but I one day got thinking about how Mina could be.

So Mina became a tattooed punk motorbiker, yep. However, I will say that Morgan's favourite weapon being the staff/spear was influenced by Jem's silent brother staff.

I want to make clear that Mina was as much of a basis for Morgan as Plato's first material (?) is the basis for the establishment of reality: you can't see it.

Although that raise the question as to what other characters were created with the 'basis' of a tsc one. From weirder to 'meh okay':

Levi

No brainer, really. I took a look at Charles Fairchild and went: honey I'm going to fix you. I made him attracted to men his age, a great older brother (at lodgb we learn why), and a politician who first of all cares about his mother and would rather not become The Leader when she's the one with the position.

Also, while I was developing him away from his 'character base' I somehow had to come to the conclusion that he had very bad luck in love. Why? Spoilers spoilers.

Beatrice

Will anyone believe me if I say Barbara Lightwood? Their personalities are wholly different, Barbara ofc does not have literal horns and stuff. But two years ago I had this mind-fic-for-when-I-want-to-sleeo where Barbara somehow became immortal and then lived until the 21st century. And at the time her personality would be Beatrice's.

Also, Beatrice was created during an economy lesson lol

Elizabeth (the middle child among the Proudhons)

:)

She started as my personal OC for sizzy's daughter. Don't ask me why and strangely her love for music has nothing to do with Simon's band.

Charlie

... Clace's daughter who I one day decided to make gender fluid? Charlie's a redhead with golden eyes for a reason, but her personality was created in the context of tkc

Leora

Now, this is very weird, but Sophie's long-lost twin. So not to mess with mental images of her character, but she's always looked like a non-scarred, gentlemanly version of Sophie to me.

Dahlia

And if Leora is Sophie's long-lost twin, then Dahlia has to be Sophie. Well, no. She only looks like Sophie because there was literally nothing else I took inspiration from aside from looks. Dahlia is Dahlia and Dahlia is unique.

Linette

You know which character in tid is also called Linette? So, while she wasn't inspired in Will's mother, that's a fun fact. Looks-wise, imagine a butch-but-not-really Ella Herondale.

Cyril

Will, but only because of his general looks (white, black hair, and blue eyes). Aside from that, Cyril and Will are hella different.

Violet

Cecily. Same as Will's case although her fiancé is nothing like Gabriel, for once he's French.

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

Having stated the characters I based off a very liberal interpretation of tsc characters, let's move on to the main ones I came up with on my own, and little anecdotes about the time I mentally birthed them.

Dario/Areusa/the Carranzas in general

Primero de bachillerato's Spanish literature class, regardless of me having got a 10 in every exam. Basically, picture a fed up CK studying medieval literature and coming face to face with this:

La Celestina, the cheap version of Romeo and Juliet of Spanish literature actually it's older than Romeo and Juliet but whatever. Last-year me cursed this book 24/7, but have you seen the author's name? That's where I got the 'de Rojas' surname from. Basically Dario and later on his family were born because I thought the name of the bloke who wrote La Celestina pretty.

That's not everything.

La Celestina has prostitutes :) No, but for real, I created Areusa because:

It took me two days to learn her name, and as pay back for that I created a character with her name

I think it's pretty obvious that Saz like odd names

Dario needed a mother but not a father

After I created Areusa, I moved on to Elicia, her older sister who's named after the other prostitute of the book. Aside from that, Areusa's other sisters are named after characters from Lope de Vega's (one of the main authors of the 16-17th century; I kinda dream of going to his tomb because he wrote about feminism 400 years ago) La Dama Boba: Nise and Finea.

(In-universe I justify this by saying that their mother liked theatre from those times)

Aside from that, Leonila's --the Carranzas's matriarch-- name comes from another book character. This time from The Monk, which I read last summer.

Moving on because this is getting long: why are the Carranzas only women with the exception of Dario? You have my classroom to blame for that.

We are all women but one (1) guy who sits at the back of the classroom, in a corner hidden by the door who tends to say little to nothing. I just like that arrangement, so that's what I wanted the Carranzas to be.

Fun fact: the RAE (our dictionary/the dudes who control Spanish in Spain) says there are two gender in the Spanish language, which everyone calls the masculine pronoun and the feminine pronoun, but are actually the gender neutral pronoun and the feminine pronoun. In the Carranza family, it's the other way round.

Diana

I swear I don't know what led me to her creation. Diana was just a character that I felt I had to create. No explanation.

Selvar

He originally was the ghost of John lol. Not anymore.

Madeleine

Two summers ago I had a strong Victorian era phase I'm still somewhat in but not to the same degree. Madeleine was my way to make that Victorian obsession be used for something. I literally picked the fashion I liked the most and said: voilà.

The Woolahams/19th cenqueery gang

However I was not going to romanticise the Victorian era, because *no*. That's how the Woolahams were created (and later on, the Kirkhams). Of course there is variety within the 19th century characters that will be explored further in Sydney/Aaron's books: Marcus couldn't really be blamed for his bigoted views because he was seven and eventually came around, Madeleine's sisters went through deep shit for being women, the 19th cenqueery gang is me trying to represent how non-heterosexual/cisgender people survived (also it's funny that Marcus, a cishet men is there but hey), and Gaylord and his father and Mr Kirkham were simply monsters.

Atalanta

You know, I used to be obsessed with anime as a little girl. In a way, Atalanta's design is the oldest, because albino girls like Shiro from Deadman Wonderland are fucking cool. Then when I was in my Victorian era, I basically decided to make her a juxtaposition of albino anime girls and a Victorian lady.

However, Atalanta's albinism isn't glorified/fetishized/I think you get what I'm talking about --at least I think so. I actually did research on albinism, and what effects it would have on Atalanta. We'll see more of that when I get to writing her pov.

The Spawn

Genderbend this motherfucker and add in a few stitches:

It's a complete coincidence that this is evocative of a scene from the stolen child lol

Also, just because 12-13 yo me used to be aesthetically obsessed with this dude doesn't mean that I'm going to romanticise the Spawn. Listen up, villains are villains here. The Spawn has her reasons, but in no way do they justify everything she's done, nor the actions that will come as a result of the ending of the stolen child yes I'm talking about lodgb's ending

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

Then there are other characters I made on the go, for no particular reason. Fumiko just happened. I originally was only going to have the Khosravis mentioned until I realised there was potential in their family dynamic. I made Sekros simply because I wanted a cishet man who defied gender norms. Yrah didn't exist until I saw a picture on Pinterest which screamed 'Yrah'. I can't even remember when/why I created Yitian, I only know that I love him.

Furthermore, many characters have undergone a lot of change. Charlie was originally a cis girl, then a trans girl, and I only realised she was gender fluid a few months ago (and that will remain like that because I already have her character arch). Sohrah being heterosexual/biromantic was not the original plan. The mystery of Dario's father was going to be *only* a mystery, now it's an important plot point for the future. Arash's gf was like an unplanned pregnancy which ended in a beautiful baby because quite honestly I love her and she makes so much sense.

Saz: Worldbuilding pt1

Before I mentioned wotf, and while that did give me a vague idea of what I wanted tk to be like, it really didn't give me much of an idea aside from the fact that I wanted super powers, and I didn't want to call them super powers, but something original.

Shall I talk about how the insignias/different Saz cane to be?

Puppeteer

The oldest insignia of all, and probably something very mainstream but I daresay I don't care.

However I will say I called them puppeteers because I imagine people are like puppets to them; they have strings they can only see and pull. At least, that was the original idea.

Doppelgänger

Okay, really: Naruto with a platonic twist and a dash of Jungian psychologist.

I'll explain.

Naruto can create illusions of himself, right? Well, I decided to make those illusions into one and make them solid. That's where Plato's philosophy comes in, more particularly his anthropology.

Plato believed the human was divided in two, the body and the soul. The body was, well, the body (subjected to illnesses, had to eat, sleep, take a shit every now and then, etc) while the soul was like a mini god; it didn't need to eat, sleep, nor was subjected to bodily needs aside from stuff like lust --like an animex in tkc.

I did not want to call this 'souls' souls, so I recurred to Jungian archetypes and practically butchered them. The terms anima (sort of like a female soul) and animus (sort of like a male soul) come from there, but they're gendered terms, so I needed to create a gender neutral term --I chose animex-- and then a plural form --and I chose animi, which I think it actually exists.

The idea of cryogenisation came later, to make a certain part of the stolen child make sense. I'm really happy with it ngl.

Conductor

Guess who had a crush on Nico di Angelo in sixth and seventh grade?

When I was making the insignias, I never once thought about Nico but his power probably was some indirect influence along with me eerie interest in necromancy stuff. In any case, apparitions are different than plain ghosts, since they're, let's say, the 'recordings of someone'.

I have never had the opportunity to mention this, but I've dwelled a lot on what it would mean to have a society where the conductor insignia existed. Thanks to those dwellings, I've come to the conclusion that Saz have a whole legal system around insignias. Allow me to explain.

Saz have an apparition-will aside from their normal will in which they state whether they want their apparition to be used, or not; and in case they do want to have their apparition be used, what they want it to be employed in. Apparitions don't retain any of the emotions of the person they once were, nor do they have a conscience, but still consent, right?

Obviously only Saz would be able to opt for this apparition-will but whatever.

Moving on, the name conductor came as a result of me thinking I want apparitions to make sounds and who's the guy who controls sound in an orchestra? The conductor.

Mirage

Ah, another prime example of one of my childhood fictional crushes (actually I don't know if this was a crush but we'll say it was for the continuity's sake). I present you Phoenix Ikki:

*Gorgeous*

Okay, so this guy was from the anime that marked my childhood, and I thought he was super cool. Long story short: he had a super move in which he touched someone with his finger to destroy their brain by making them relive their worst moments (five year old me seriously loved this). And that's kinda what mirages do?

Their powers certainly don't center around making someone live horrible moments of their lives, but still they can create those illusions along with others pertaining other senses. In my opinion, they're kinda cool.

Coming up with their name, however, was a pain in the ass lol. I spent way too long.

Historian

Remember when I said wotf! Cal could see the future? Historians were basically born out of me taking that original power and saying, "yeah how about we go the exact opposite way?"

Yep.

In any case, the historian insignia is kinda really complex time loops aside. Because reading the past isn't the same as understanding it, and the past needs to be understood. That's why, coming into my dwellings of the historian insignia (and this is a fun fact), I realised that they needed to be instructed in many languages, and they're hardcore of the copy-while-listen method in that weird writing that shows the pronunciation for every language. You know the one.

Wraith

Can I be honest? I don't know what made me think of the wraith insignia at all. I think I once saw a film in which a guy could portal places, liked it, and that idea stuck around in my memory enough to influence the creation of tkc.

I'm glad, because I can't think of any other insignia Morgan could've had, and I really like Morgan lol.

Imlium

Yes, this name was a keyboard smash but I think it looks kinda cool.

Imlia are shapeshifters turned into some kind of non-human creatures, because I really wanted to stress the fact that they willingly choose to look humanoid; there are imlia who look like fucking chairs and they're still imlia. Who knows, maybe Sohrab's aunt is an umbrella who lives in the Maldives.

As for why they were created, they are very useful plot-wise for *reasons* but really I just wanted to have characters who could turn their arms into swords, and then that idea evolved into what imlia are.

Symbiotic relationship

Well, well, well, what a surprise something that was influenced by tsc. Although, in my defense parabatai weren't the only difference. Story time!

I'm studying social sciences at school, so I don't take biology anymore (thank god), but I can vividly remember the lessons we took on symbiotic relationships. Basically, two creatures coexisting together, sometimes because their life depended on it (us humans are technically in a symbiotic relationship with worm-y things in our stomachs). For a while, the idea of symbiosis were something I liked, but wasn't story-worth.

Until I saw this movie

Played this video game

Played this other video game

And read about heronstairs and thought,

*interesting*

Symbiosis looking like they do is also a mix of the way venom looks, and the way the main from the video game I showed look (it makes sense if you play it).

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

FAQ that CK has asked herself while creating tkc: Worldbuilding pt2

Why do Saz speak all the same language irrespective of whether they are from very different places?

Short answer: they have portals.

Seriously, distance technically isn't much of a problem when there is a way to connect them, and portals can make distance disappear. And Saz have had portals for millennia (that same unity was why I needed them to have portals lol).

Why has Sazla not evolved into different languages?

That is due to portals, as well. The fact that they have a centralised government a big sense of 'Saz-ness' also helps.

Why do Saz know so many languages?

They need to interact with humans.

Aboveground and Mirror have been interconnected for a long time, and since Sazla is a secret to humans, Saz need to learn human languages so that they know what to do Aboveground. Besides, using Sazla is mostly forbidden Aboveground.

That, however, doesn't mean that all Saz are fluent in their human native language. One of Oliver's cousin, for example, was held back a year because he failed English in his Spanish school. He knew how to speak English, though he hadn't interacted enough with the language to be able to write it properly.

Okay, but why do Saz speak so many dead languages?

Historians.

Dead languages never died because historians never stopped glimpsing into the future, ergo stuff like Latin, Ancient Greek or Ancient Chinese are still used (fun fact: Atalanta studies Ancient Greek and Ancient Chinese at school).

To the historian factor you need to add the fact that some doppelgängers have been around long enough to have those dead languages be their first language. The main example I can give is the Carranzas: Leonila's first language is Ancient Arabic because she was born in Al-Andalus, therefore she's raised her descendants into the language.

Why is Mirror underground? Why is it so large?

You know Journey to the Centre of the Earth? Yeah, I read the Geronimo Stilton version when I was little and the idea of a world underground being cool stuck.

As for Mirror's size, well, representation stuff. I just wanted The Kinship to be something all of the world was in on.

Why does The Kinship's government work so well?

I may be wrong since I know little to nothing about politics, but the fact that sentinels exist helps a lot.

The Boule is not a corrupt government. At all. And that's because there's an unmovable (up to a point) force that stops them from being corrupt, since they know the sentinels will go for them if they commit a crime. When people know they will face consequences for their actions, the think things twice.

Aside from that, not being corrupt is yet another thing that makes them better than humans, so there's this huge stigma around corruption.

How could Saz stay so open-minded?

They've never been influenced by the factors that led to human bigotry Aboveground.

Race-wise, there has never been a difference, in the sense that there was never conflicts between people who looked different (see, Persians and Greeks, or Moors and Christians). Furthermore, Saz have automatons, which means they've never had people doing 'lower jobs'.

As for sexism, queerphobia, etc, they've never been influenced by things like religion (*looks at Thomas of Aquina with the utmost hate*) and, again, what Saz looked for in a person was whether they could use their insignia correctly (for example).

Are Saz really this super great people when it comes to anti-bigotry (?)?

Nope.

A (long) while ago I saw a tiktok complaining about these queer people in the West who make fun of being illegal in a bunch of countries (Iran, Saudi Arabia, etc) because there were other queer people in those countries whose rights were being violated. That sums up the ugly part of Mirror.

(Some) Saz don't care that there are people who are suffering by unfair laws Aboveground, they care that they are better because they want to show their superiority off. They are fine, so fuck the rest.

By the way, this applies to literally every Saz. Irrespective of sexual orientation, gender, etc they can fall to this rhetoric.

How can The Kinship not have been at war in all its history (I think that sentence isn't grammatically correct)?

The Boule is a centralist government whose main concern is maintaining The Kinship together, and they know that to achieve that goal they need to make everyone happy.

Everyone happy = no revolution = no war.

Saz military training, in any case, helps them defend other Saz when a human conflict breaks out.

What the fuck does it mean that Saz don't have a culture?

I was drunk off philosophy when I wrote that.

There's this question (?) about a tree falling without anyone seeing nor hearing it. Did the tree really fall? Did it really make any sound? Or, in other words: if there's no one but Saz who know of Saz culture, is it really a culture? Was culture really there before there were other customs that presented a different belief system/way of life?

Why do they dress like they lived in the past? Why are their cities like that, too?

I was going through a peculiar phase; I couldn't choose what time period I wanted to base tkc on, and I didn't want to give up modern technology so I shoved it all into the mixing pot, and tachán.

Why do Saz need to hide from humans?

The consequences could be disastrous, and the Boule has always been scared of what would happen to The Kinship's peace if humans, who are constantly fighting over political hegemony, would react to them. Quantitatively, there are way more humans than Saz, and while Saz are strong as fuck because they have Morgan, there are still a lot of Saz that are defenceless. I'm pretty sure that humans would try to see Mirror as yet another country to rile into their conflictive politics. Plus, scientists would try to dissect Saz or something.

In all seriousness, though:

Tkc is set in 2020, can you imagine Trump reacting to The Kinship?

[realisaonum]

book meme

thank you, jen @det395​ !! i feel like this meme got away from me a bit, but no shame! i love talking about books and writing so onward ~under the cut~

1- how many books are too many books in a series? 

mhmmmmm i guess it depends on the objective of the series, right? is the plan to have x number of books in the series and if so, when we finally get to the end will it be satisfying considering all the books we’ve read leading up to it? OR is the objective of the premise / characters just to exist doing whatever? both can be done well. i would say a lot rides on how much i trust the author.

2- what do you think about cliffhangers?

so this is meant for cliffhangers in a series like between books? i don’t really care if there’s a cliffhanger as long as i have the next book sitting right next to me. otherwise uh, only if the wait between books is tolerable, because at that point you need to know that the author can clear this mess up, right? there’s this other thing, like you know how if the entire series was already written, then they might release the books a month apart or a quarter apart - that could be alright too. but years in between? not especially a fan. is anyone a fan?

3- hardback or paperback?

jen, you and me are complete opposites here. paperbacks stress me out. i will go out of my way to buy a used hardcover if given the choice. of course, there are some publications i don’t mind in paperback —thinking poetry and super indie books that don’t have a hardcover release OR books where the spines are thin enough they won’t break and i won’t be holding them long enough for them to wear. hardcovers are sturdy and i don’t have to worry i’ll accidentally bend the cover in some damaging way. I am invested in keeping my books nice to the point that i create covers for my books out of kraft paper or brown grocery bags while i am reading them. this is something i started when i was in college and didn’t want these books i was hoping to probably resell get thrashed coming in and out of my bag for all these classes. My home library is probs more half and half paperback/hardcover but if given a choice usually it’s hardcover.

4- least favourite book?

i think it’s good to at least attempt to meet a book on its level. there are lots of books i didn’t like, but i wasn’t meeting them on their level and i know that so we’re ignoring those. i do however have a shelf on my goodreads dedicated to books that i have beef with so i’ll just go off on two of them.....

tana french’s the likeness for being plagiaristic shit. it is essentially poorly concealed alternate universe OC insert fic of the secret history. you’ve got french’s dublin murder squad folks and then this group they are investigating who bear a STRIKING resemblance to the greek students in tsh 🤔. this would be one thing. it is pretty well acknowledged that nothing is original and there are enough changes to The Likeness that MAYBE i could let it slide if not for this other thing: french’s book, the likeness, has lines that are just basically reworded quotes from the secret history and french positions these lines so they are said by the counterpart (essentially same!) character that gave them original life in tsh. i cannot stress this enough: you can HEAR how similar the sentences are and their core intent is always the same. it’s thinly veiled theft! it astounds me that French hasn’t been sued frankly. it is one thing to want to capture some of the genius that tartt’s debut novel holds, but it is completely lazy and disgusting theft to go about it in the way French did with this book. and YES the secret history was published before french’s book. if i could stomach how fucking goddamn boring the likeness was to read it a second time and cite every one of these offenses i would, but that’s yet a third strike against it—it’s too boring to be worth it. 

T. Kingfisher’s second book of the Clocktuar War duology : The Wonder Engine. this is a book that i feel violated the contract between writer and reader. the first book feels almost like a YA book. the stakes while described as very high are treated, as actions unfold, as very low. nothing truly irreparable happens until the climax of the second book and the fallout of that action is so off-tone of everything that came before i felt deeply betrayed. no, like, completely betrayed as in it ruined the rest of my afternoon, i am still viscerally angry eight months later, and i will never trust this author again. sure, maybe none of those actions that led to the climax were out-of-character, but there was nothing NOTHING in the proceeding action that even came close to that level of consequence. it’s a pity because right up till that point i was having a really good time. the entire vibe of the rising action to the climax of book one all the way through the rising action of book two was just a quippy fun version of roadtrip/quest - it felt like a comfort read. the abrupt tone shift had all the subtlety of dropping a graphically, brutal murder into Blue’s Clues. you don’t do that - this is a basic tenet of a writer / reader relationship. i’m not touching this bitch’s shit again.

5- Love Triangle, yes or no?

not so much. i like jen before me will scream ‘just be poly.’ love triangles that lead into poly relationships? yes, awesome will be glad i read. but i am at a stage in my life where your standard will-they-won’t-they-love-triangle is just fucking pointlessly frustrating to me. an example: i read a Nic Stone’s book Odd One Out a couple years ago and something about the synopsis or the hype made me think that it would resolve the love triangle that way, so when that did not happen i was incredibly frustrated and immediately wanted to resell the book. it’s the potential of the thing. stone’s book could have been the perfect vehicle for opening up the concept of polyamory to a ya audience but instead just really squandered that potential with weak floundering — in my opinion!

6- the most recent book you just couldn’t finish

uhhhhh i’ve got two and i’m not sure i’ve entirely given up quite yet buuuuuuuut 

fucking dune. i got really pissed off with this book. So just…setting aside the whole vaguing at a pedophilically inclined queer coded villain - it’s done so poorly, that it's almost funny? like it doesn’t (as of half way through) actually have any consequence on…anything at all and is tacked on like an afterthought to the end of his scenes. honestly it all could just be cut out entirely with no recourse to the larger story. So my actual beef with this book is the pacing is ATROCIOUS. like yo, not only do you expect me to give a shit about these Atreides cunts, when we just met them and we spend the same amount of time with them IF NOT MORE with the antagonist? but you also expect me to believe Paul was able to just convince the leader of the Arrakis people —the leader of an entire planet!!— with a single fucking sentence??? yeah, not so much. it was not set up for me to believe that Paul could do that! maybe if Kynes hadn’t died immediately after—or at least not died at that moment? baring the fact I thought he was by far the most interesting character, IF he had been convinced by Paul in that scene, it would have been great to see some actual work done around that - with a transfer or a liaise of power between Kynes and Paul and the Fremen. By not having any substantive scene that does it - it begs the question of what the fuck was the point of the character in the first place? unplumbed potential!!! over all there seem to be some key scenes missing to get the reader to where the narrative expects us to be? but the choices made of the characters we spend time with and the moments we see with them, the benefit to the larger story…is not always there. hey herbert, these words you have written aren’t doing what you want them to?? i feel like i should finish it but i reaaaaallly don’t want to :) the only thing i can say is it looks like from the trailer, villeneueve is giving space to these moments so that the viewer can foster a genuine connection with the characters? radical concept.

our lady of perpetual hunger - i started this one optimistically bc i like chef memoirs, but i am at the point where she has just given birth to her son and honestly DON’T CARE. i still haven’t officially given up on it yet since i actually fucking bought it like a dope. i certainly would not have if i knew how much NOT about working the line this was gonna be

7- book you are currently reading

Aside from the failures mentioned above, I am working on the second book in B. Catling’s Vorrh trilogy, The Erstwhile. Also very close to finally finishing Iain Sinclair’s The Last London - there’s a review of his work from the LA Times that goes “One of Sinclair’s greatest skills has always been his ability to take diverse if not chaotic source material and refashion it in a way that sometimes seems downright alchemical” which captures some of the wonder I experience when reading his work. His style and how he creates atmosphere and setting is just unique and astounding.

8- last book you recommended to someone

The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Before that I told my brother to read Eat a Peach, as we both love Anthony Bourdain and David Chang talks about him a bit here, plus it’s just a fucking great book. any book that gives insight into Chang’s methodology and paradigm is worth a shot.

9- oldest book you read

I think it might have to be Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (which apparently according to wiki premiered on the stage a whole four months before Hamlet so that’s what we’re going with) and if plays don’t count, I don’t care. I think they count and that’s what we’re going with.

10- the most recent book you read ?

Given the previous question, the most recently published book, right? It’s gotta be the one I just finished: The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic - Revised and Expanded edt., which like just came out this summer. I watched Jessica Hopper’s promo zoom, curtesy of my local indie bookstore, and went ahead and bought it. This was a great decision! It was just what I needed to read these last couple of weeks. i love there’s lots of short pieces that made the read quick and the fact that it’s non-fiction so there was no pressure of a plot or the emotional weight of character investment when I had a lot of big stressors dragging me down irl -it was such a relief. Hopper’s criticism is fun to read and there’s some real art in her appreciation of music here.

11- favourite author?

These are the top in a kind of order but not really: Donna Tartt, Jeff VanderMeer, Megan Whalen Turner, Flannery O’Conner, Chuck Palahniuk, Anthony Bourdain

Other faves very much worth mentioning: Emily O’Neill, Richard Siken, Brandon Sanderson, Warren Ellis, Nathan Englander, Stephen King, Eddie Huang, Carl Hiaassen, Anne Carson, and Iain Sinclair.

12- buying books or borrowing books?

Depends on if my library has it, of course! I nearly always see if my library has a copy first if i have never read it or the author before. If i’ve read the book before or trust the author, I’ll buy it. Like I’ll straight out buy new stuff from Jeff VanderMeer even though with him it’s either this-hits-exactly-and-is-my-new-fave or i-really-disliked-this-but-admire-the-boundaries-you’re-pushing-my-dude - so it’s always a gamble but a worthy one.

12- a book you dislike that everyone else seems to love

a little life (just bc it's torture porn elevated to art doesn’t negate the fact that it’s torture porn. Yanagihara’s project here is repugnant and the fact that this book is lauded as moving lgbt fiction makes my skin crawl)

sharp objects (good writing, compelling story, BUT typographical scarification doesn't work like that - i am not going to get into it but i know from first hand experience how Flynn described it is not accurate)

nesbø’s the snowman (what kinda dumbass detective would think THAT when a woman finds her missing father’s corpse? absolute idiocy - so obviously reverse engineered with that end in mind)

the raven cycle (fuck ronan lynch to start and then fuck him to end as well - there’s some other stuff but mostly he’s a total CUNT and if i don’t say that once a day i have probably died)

14 - bookmarks or dogears?

Bookmarks and sticky notes. Then I can place it pointing directly to the paragraph I last stopped on.

15- The book you can always reread?

This is my question because I reread all the time. ALL THE TIME. Books I reread often: The Secret History, Medium Raw (especially chapter 17 The Fury), Crooked Kingdom, The Violent Bear It Away, and The Goldfinch. Every year like clockwork (since it came out apparently) I will reread Stephen King’s The Outsider.

Other books I feel the urge to reread: VanderMeer’s Acceptance, Englander’s Dinner at the Center of the Earth, Frazier’s Nightwoods, Fresh Off the Boat, the Mr. Mercedes trilogy, the Peter Grant Series (which is queued up for another go here soon I think), any of the stories from A Good Man is Hard to Find, Sanderson’s Wax and Wayne Mistborn books, simon vs the homosapiens’ agenda, and there are two of Alan Morinis’ books on Mussar that I am technically always revisiting—when i need a reminder, i’ll jump around and read specific sections to get centered again.

16- can you read while listening to music?

Yes, but only ambient or near ambient (only usually one track on repeat) or a soundtrack I am extremely familiar with. No new music. I do usually need some audio stimulation or my mind will wander terribly.

17- one POV or multi POV?

Multi pov can certainly be done well (looking at the soc duaology and VanderMeer’s Acceptance) but working a multi-pov means there are more plates spinning, it’s more of a challenge, and some authors pull it off better than others.

18- do you read book in one sitting or in multiple days?

I don’t really do this anymore. that might have something to do with me picking up thicker books? but also i have a full time job now and let’s be real the book has to be hella good if i don’t want to put it down. the last book i attempted to shotgun was the final installment of my favorite series and it still took me two days so....i can get through a lot of books but none of them are ever in one sitting anymore.

19- who to tag:

@sybilius​ @mouth-rainboy​ @iwonderifthatisart​ @phereinnike​ @magnificentmoose​ @wambsgangs​ @moriarteaparty​ and anyone else if you feel so inclined!

Bonus Question: What’s on your to-read shelf? 

As for me, I am excited about one i just picked up, Danforth’s Plain Bad Heroines, which i might start tomorrow and I will be taking Paul Madonna’s Come to Light on my trip to see my brother this coming weekend. 

[bittybattybunny]

I hope your not feeling down on your writing skills because I haven't caught up and commented on your latest releases. It's not you it's that I pick too many fanfics to follow and they all update a lot and I've been so busy and I've fallen behind on so many fics from various authors and sometimes my depression just makes me want to lie in bed all day doing nothing and it doesn't help I have to spend my limited spoons helping family everyday. I know these aren't good excuses, but I do sympathize with the lack of energy feeling at least. But your work really does bring a lot of joy to my life. It's so fun keeping up with your various AUs, and your latest one that features Kaya as Spider King has me really hyped because I want to learn more about Kaya, she's so fun! And Ruclipse is such a good comfort ship that just hits all the things I like seeing in a ship. You're so amazing and creative and it's awful that anyone would try to make you feel otherwise! Like your newest OC, Justin Tyme seems like such a lovable dumbass bastard. I love his wild, curly hair and his dapper outfit. I can't wait to see what dumb shit he gets himself into! I know this is really long and rambly, but I hope you know you have fans who genuinely love your work. I don't know if you're still thinking about that one comment you mentioned that got you really down, but honestly, fuck that guy. I don't know what they said but it must have been pure BS to have you doubting your hard earned art skills. I wish I could do more to prove you're awesome and that your fans really admire you, I just hope you don't stop sharing what you love because some rando was nasty for no good reason. Because we love what you do!

It's not like anyone one person nonny so please don't blame yourself. This has been an ongoing thing for a few months actually...

it's just a general thing over all lately like. I mentioned this in dm's with a friend but overall past few months I've had lower engagement overall with my works and it really does a number on my confidence. More so because like your latter point.

yes, I am still very much thinking about that one negative comment. Because that person also has the need to comment on other things and I even had a thing asking why I took a few weeks to update (when reality I posted to another ongoing fic and my TLC chapters are long chapters) and just the fact they could tear into a character (yes it was a comment on a character specifically and not even a main character it's a side character who has an important role for Snatcher's growth as a person down the line) then go saying "why didn't you update" when I posted a double update that week---

Like it lives in my head rent free and I want to literally cry because like the character is a focal in an upcoming chapter and I can't deal with another "why are they back" type thing. because "everyone finds them annoying"

And I'll be honest. it was Kaya. Like I've been trying to have fun with my BCU stuff with her as Spiderking because it's engaging for me and me and @/doodleimprovement even came up with a b-plot involving Kaya and Hattie trying to hook Nell and Marcus together and it's one of the best things as well as Kaya and Nell having a really good relationship.

but because of that one comment it makes me hesitant to do anything with Kaya despite she's one of my oldest ocs, my most thought out ocs and I adore her beyond anything. Like yes she's over powered and such and in TLC rn she comes off as a know it all, but upcoming chapters will show she's just a spacey kid who's trying to fit into a role others decided for her and isn't really as all mighty as she seems. Snatcher even ends up thinking of her as a little sister more than anything. Like fuck I'm even hesitant to share anything on her actual story despite how much work is in it. Like she's my favorite Oc (that's why shes my discord icon, and I'm pretty sure she's my twitter icon as well)

And like the points in the comment just. IDK they didn't fit to her, if anything the points are more suited to be shot at Eclipse.

Which is another thing I just get iffy on. I love RuClipse and everything with it. I love writing and drawing the dorks. But I'm now so afraid if Kaya could be attacked for only showing in a handful of chapters that don't even touch on who she is, when is someone going to finally tell me off on my wolf? who's going to tear into a character I pour a lot of personal shit into to try and comfort myself?

I use Ruclipse to deal with my own romantic heart, they are what I wish I could have so I love to write them, I hurt them but i like to make them happy in the end. Someone who can deal with your highs and lows. No ones perfect but you can still figure it out and love even the negative parts (I am a heavy romantic OTL)

he is in fact a lovable bastard. i have fun plans and he gives me an excuse for why Cel is so tired and having to be the brain cell and how she even wound up working with the time kids when she's so much older than they are. Currently I'm trying to think of how to use him and honestly I think he's gonna wind up hella comic relief fun guy who's just making a mess and do his own side story while Hat and Bow are busy in subcon----

thank you, I don't mind the rambly it kinda gave me a chance to get this off my chest... like I've typed this kinda response up time and time again and I always delete. I feel like I'm whining because I get upset but it's just, I spend so much time making things, I use all my spoons on either working or creating, I just want to know if it means anything but then negativity lives in my head because what's a functioning meat cube??? I try to stay positive but it's hard. Like another thing is Moon Guardian; the reason I haven't updated? because I have had someone bothering me about it. weekly I get asked about how I'm doing on it but it's not from a place of "want to read it" it's because I told them they couldn't post a certain thing until the chapter is done so it feels pressuring to constantly get asked because I feel the only reason they want to post is to boost their thing and I'm just the machine to boost it with my characters and comic.... like it feels they've taken the comic from me and it sucks because I have so many fun things planned. Like I accidentally went off on Nina about a thing with Alpine skyline and Eclipse as well as a thing with a Time Rift and a Jelly ghost.

Sorry kinda went off, just I've sat on this thought train since like early april. I've done my best to ignore it and just keep going but it's gotten really hard with the fact my health hasn't been really great. I've spent a lot of time lately bed bound because I just hurt so badly. if I'm not resting, I'm at my day job which is incredibly stressful rn as I only really work mornings and I see things that are being missed so then i report it and it still gets missed and i can't get it fixed after a point cuz we're back to full service and need the people so I can't nitpick but just.... I'm bitter okay like if I left this shit when I worked I would have gotten yelled at but now we just let it slide??? and this stresses me out which then causes my body to freak out because I'm stressed which puts me in more pain. and then like at work have people acting shocked I have my cane or soemthing and just skfdslkfksdf

so my energy is so tanked. and then the negative comment in my head, no idea if people like things cuz I have no idea if I hear nothing, just has had me doubting why post. Like I should go back to just not posting my stories and sketches or w/e and slink back to my hole like I was before.

idk Its just. a bad night in the house of bun. I've had these thoughts festering and I guess today was the dam breaking. It's probs cuz I'm nervous posting Chimeras because it's a very dark au.

[blorbosexterminator]

1, 4, 15, and 23

Hello!

Fun meta asks

1- Tell us about your current project(s)  – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it?

Ohhh that's gonna be a long answer! Other than my huge list of wips, the ones I'm actively working on these days: Other than the seventh chapter of Children, there's 'Through a Glass Darkly' and 'De cara al sol, caminaré'

Children is going nicely, I think. I've got a bit of burnout from it after chapter 5 and 6, but I returned to it and hopefully will finish it soon. This chapter is one of my favorites because it marks a big shift in Martín's arc and will set the scene for where the story will eventually go, it's also slightly more serious than the others, but it's still mostly a fun story and there's a minor OC who makes appearance in this chapter only that I find a pretty amusing guy.

Through a Glass Darkly is the mistborn AU I went on about ages ago, it's has been haunting my head lately and I wrote quite a bit for it. Mistborn is an Epic Fantasy novel, which amusingly enough features a group of thieves as the main characters who start a rebellion (alongside and by the help of stealing) so it's very similar to lcdp in only that regard. My fic features the lcdp characters trying to do the same years before the heroes of the novel do. I'm mostly trying to remember what even happened in the novel because I read it a long time ago. But what I really like most about it is its ending (I know how I want to end it, I'm just figuring out how to get there) and also the fact one of the main relationships in the story is Tokyo & Martín, which is A LOT of fun to play with. I loved their fucked-up dynamic in canon, and here it's very similar except the fact that Martín and Tokyo are the only mistborns in the story (basically humans with superhuman powers drived from them digesting metals and driving different powers from them) and Tokyo had just 'snapped', discovered by Sergio who wants to recruit her, and forces Martín to train her because she doesn't know anything about her powers. So Martín is her mentor and they spend a lot of time together, which they both hate and is very funny to me personally.

De cara al sol, caminaré is a one-shot au where everything is basically the same other than the fact that Andrés and Martín are strangers. Andrés, coming to terms with his illness and near death, goes to Florence one last time right before Sergio starts the preparation in Toledo. There, he meets Martín and they end up spending the day together before Andrés leaves that evening. It's a little bittersweet thing.

4- Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

Oh, I like this from The Last Supper:

Ten years his voice had been the most comforting, had been what he imagined childhood felt for other people, had been home. And Andrés is home now, and it’s burning to the ground with him trapped inside its walls

15. Which is harder: titles or summaries (or tags)?

Neither Titles nor Summaries are particularly that difficult to me. I prefer Titles. Tags however, I never have any idea what to do with them. Not just warning tags or so, just all tags.

23. What’s the story idea you’ve had in your head for the longest?

Uhm, I think the oldest WIPs I have now (static though) are Forsaken, almost human, where Andrés receives a prophecy of his death as a boy and the Vampire Diaries AU.

Thanks for the ask!

[the-acid-pear]

I wanna talk about my oc copper for a while since i figured it would be cool to let y'all know about him, since 1) he is not in my refsheet and 2) i used to mention him quite often back then. So let's start!

First of all, who the fuck is Copper? Well, Copper is one of my oldest AI Dungeon characters. He was made with the mystery detective prompt so he's just that, a detective living in Chicago. The reason he is not in refsheet is because he has literally no design! And you would think, Luly, but many of your ocs that are now in refsheet didn't have a design either! Which would be true, except for the fact i had at least VISUALIZED them, copper? Not at all. He's a very weird character so it's hard to have a mental image of how he looks, though he's white for sure lol

Now, let's get into something more interesting. What's Copper's lore?

Copper story is quite a messy one, but let's go from the start. He's a detective, he goes to a forest, and he finds a tortured agonizing young man on the floor. This last part wasn't made by the ai, it was an input i made after reading the setup was a forest.

You see, back then there was yet another oc of mine, this one nameless though, but let's call him Duke's friend. Duke's friend was my first straight up evil character who all he did was have sex and torture people. The forest event which i won't get on detail about was pretty funny to me personally, but also iconic, so i was not gonna miss a chance to link the two universes together.

But let's go back to Copper. Usually a detective's job is to stop criminals and help the victim, right? Well, problem was there. Copper struggled a lot to keep the victim alive or to stop the criminals. Due to this, i kept reverting the story (look up or try yourself ai dungeon to understand what i mean), which means i got barely any of the outcomes left, but following old messages i can tell i was getting pretty frustrated. Thing was, i just wanted a normal game, i did not want this stupid sociopath detective who kept trying to leave the crime scene and couldn't even properly stop 2 criminals he had in front of him.

But let's break this part down a little. Why sociopath? Well, Copper did and said many... Weird things. Ranging from saying trying RCP (and failing) felt good, or just seeing the victim, going "meh" and leaving without even trying to help, which he did multiple times.

Now let's break down why i think he's stupid. In one of the routes, he decided for some reason to hug the now dead guy, which caused the other detective walking up to the scene to think Copper was the criminal. There's also the fact that he tried to do RCP to a guy that was bleeding out, or that he tried to calm down the victim while holding (for some reason) a knife.

Not only that, there is a third characteristic that is elemental for Copper, and it is how sentient he is. Many times along his story i got deeply frustrated because he just wouldn't listen to me. No matter what i did, no matter what i typed, Copper didn't care. Copper did what Copper wanted. Remember when he threatened the victim with a knife? That was his doing. I never even mentioned a weapon. There also was a time where i tried to ask the victim twice if they were okay, and both times Copper answered instead, even when i was typing the command correctly.

But let's go back to the lore, shall we?

Truth is the whole tortured boy arc had to be scrapped. After i reverted the entire story multiple times i just, gave up. I knew Copper wouldn't do it. So i kept going. Currently, Copper's world has gone to shit, and he is now friends with the hitman that tried to kill him once. His brother also came back, and Copper isn't too happy about it.

Let's mention, however, other versions of Copper! Because if Copper is good at something is at being bad even outside his own story.

He, for example, was added in a different story i had, starring good ol' Samuel. When did Copper appear for the first time? Well, Samuel was in a forest, being actively harmed by some guy who he thought would help him (previously attacked by wolves, recurring theme in his life) when suddenly someone appeared, some ranger or similar. This was the perfect opportunity for me to have my second crossover with Copper (after all, his og appearance was a crossover too).

What was his first line, after walking in, seeing a criminal scene?

"Well, this is awkward."

And as if the ai knew this man from inside out, he tried to leave. (I successfully stopped him.)

In this story Copper also went back to his insane self and decided to tell Samuel a story to cheer him up, which basically was a deranged shaggy dog story about his dog cat sister pet zombie thing, that went on for a long time and made absolutely no sense, but did manage to distract Samuel for a while, so that was particularly nice of Copper.

Copper also appears in one of my boyfriend's stories, where a man who is looking for his wife's murderer hires him as a detective to work on the case. Unfortunately for the characters, Copper was oddly in character here too. But we love a brainless king, don't we? As a fun fact, this story ended revealing Copper was really the guy's dog, plus his wife was fine.

Let's mention some Copper trivia now!

I once joked with Blood that Copper's curse had begun since the very first moment i misspelled his name. In universe it would mean that his parents or the nurse did, though it's unknown whether he has real parents.

Copper tends to lie a lot and little is known about his past, other than the existence of his brother. This is most likely to his insanity, but Copper is a well known asshole.

He's bisexual since he mentioned having a wife in the past (plus kissed a woman in a discarded arc) and also kept trying to fuck the goddamn victim ffs.

Blood and I theorize Copper is like Mr Burns, if he is nice he will die. Partly confirmed since the moment Copper started being normal the entire universe collapse and he had a mental breakdown.

He probably has ADHD the way he just forgets about shit and ignores my commands is not normal.

I once tried to make Copper a robot, it unfortunately went to shit and he almost died.

As far as we know, Copper is my only AI Dungeon oc that has never had sex

[lyranova]

PFFFF LYRA THIS MAY SEEN OUT OF NOWHERE BUT CAN I REQUEST A SMOLL ONE SUOT OF NEVA GIVING ACE ADVICE WITH KARRA

HECK YEAH YOU CAN 🥰!! I admit this isn’t really ‘small’ I got a bit carried away with it 😅! But I hope you like it and I hope I portrayed Ace correctly (if I need to edit or delete this and write a different one I can 💕!) but I hope you like it! It actually made me wonder if my OC would have kids in this possible future 😂 (i think she would if I’m being honest lol)! But i hope you enjoy this!

Word Count: 1,276

Warnings: None

—————-

Neva humed slightly as she walked around the grounds of the castle. She and Yuno had decided to stay another few days after Asta’s coronation to catch up with old friends and see their old squad mates again, it was nice being able to catch up with Mimosa, Klaus, and even William! It had almost felt like nothing had changed at all, when in fact everything had changed; she and Yuno were married and currently in the Spade Kingdom, Mimosa had taken over Owens' job after he retired, Klaus was still in the Golden Dawn, and William was retired himself. It made Neva sad in a way, she missed the old days, the ones where they all weren’t almost killed. She could live without those.

Neva looked over as she heard a bunch of children playing, they all were showing off their different affinities, all except for one. She noticed a young boy, around the same age as the others, sitting under a tree just watching them. Well, he was watching one of them, Neva couldn’t help the small smile that crept onto her face. She walked over to him and leaned against the tree before speaking.

“ Like what you see?” Neva asked in a teasing voice, the young red haired boy jumped and let out a surprised scream, causing Neva and the other children to jump. Neva quickly began to wave her hands in front of her.

“ I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you, I thought you sensed my mana!” She apologized quickly before noticing a red fox had jumped in front of the boy, as though to protect him, she blinked and took a step back, not wanting to invade their space again. The young boy blinked as he stared at her, as though trying to place her, it took a minute before his eyes brightened and a smile appeared on his face.

“ Y-You’re Neva Grinberryall! The Queen of the Spade Kingdom!” He said excitedly before suddenly jumping up and saluting her. Neva quickly waved it away as a blush appeared on her cheeks.

“ You don’t have to do all that! You can just call me Neva.” She told him gently, the children went back to playing and Neva tilted her head. “ Do you mind if I join you?” She asked.

“ N-No ma’am! Here,” he said moving over, he picked his fox up and put him on his other side. Neva nodded graciously and sat down next to the young boy, she noticed the fox kept a close eye on her and she smirked. ‘Quite protective aren’t you? That's good.’ She thought with an amused smile. “ I’m Ace by the way your majesty!” He introduced himself brightly, before turning to watch the others again.

“ It’s nice to meet you Ace,” she tilted her head curiously. “ Why aren’t you playing with the others?” She asked him, he seemed to be a bright energetic boy. He actually reminded her a lot of Asta, which made her smile internally, he shrugged and a bright blush appeared on his face.

“ I-I was playing with them earlier, but I got tired and wanted to rest for a minute.” He told her shyly, Neva quirked an eyebrow, feeling as though there were more to this story. She then followed his gaze and saw he was watching a particular child, a young girl with dark hair to be exact. Neva smirked.

“ Hm, are you sure? Because that doesn’t appear to be all that you’re doing.” She teased, his face got even redder and he jumped when he noticed he got caught staring.

“ I-I’m sure!” He insisted causing Neva to laugh, he pulled his knees up and hugged them almost appearing to pout a bit.

“ I’m sorry Ace I was only teasing,” she said as her giggles subsided, she turned serious but kept a warm smile on her face. “ What’s her name?” She asked gently, causing Ace to smile a bit.

“ Karra.” He said softly, Neva looked over and noticed the girl was using both flame and earth magic, a bright smile on her face. Neva looked back over to Ace.

“ She’s very pretty.” She complimented causing Ace to blush even more, it was adorable seeing how much of a crush he seemed to have on the young girl.

“ I think so too.” Ace said softly before he put his legs down and looked down into his lap shyly, Neva looked at him and waited patiently, it seemed as though he were debating on something.

“ May I ask you a question, your Majesty?” He asked softly, Neva sighed and cut him a look saying ‘didn’t I just tell you not to call me that?’ But her frown softened as she nodded. “ How did you confess to King Yuno?” Neva blinked, not really expecting that question. But her smile remained.

“ Well um…” She looked at the gold band on her ring finger as she remembered that day. “ I confessed to him when I thought I was going to lose him, I hadn’t expected him to reciprocate my feelings though. So imagine my surprise when he did.” She added with a giggle, she decided to be honest with him. Although, she had considered lying and telling him something completely different, but that was the old Neva, the one who didn’t trust people. She noticed Ace’s smile brighten.

“ So, say I wanted to confess to someone when I’m older, what should I do? Should I wait until I’m about to lose her?” He asked, turning all his attention to Neva, she shook her head quickly.

“ No. If I could do my confession all over again, I wouldn’t have waited that long. But I was a different person back then and I felt that it was the right call, now that I’m older I see it was very stupid of me,” she said with a humorless laugh. “ So I say just tell her how you feel, make sure it’s the appropriate moment of course and at least wait until you’re just a little older before you do, so that way you know for sure your feelings are genuine.” She added kindly. Ace seemed to be mulling over her words for a moment.

“ This is the same advice as I gave my oldest daughter, she’s your age or at least just around it.” Neva added hoping that would maybe help him come to a decision, after another minute the boy smiled once again.

“ I’ll do that! Thank you your Majesty, you really helped me out!” He said with a small laugh of his own, Neva nodded.

“ Glad I could help. Well I must get going, my husband might worry if he sees me with another much younger man.” She teased causing Ace to blush and jump, his eyes wide in fear. “ Don’t worry I’m only joking.” She laughed before standing up and patting Ace on the head. She turned to walk away when he shouted after her.

“ W-Wait! Your Majesty,” Neva sighed again, apparently he wouldn’t drop the honorifics. “ How will I know when it’s the right time?” Neva turned to look at him, her face contemplative. That was the one question she really didn’t have an answer too, a smirk graced her face.

“ You’ll know when it is.” She winked before turning away. “ It was nice to meet you Ace, I hope we meet again soon.” She threw over her shoulder as she walked back towards the castle.

“ You too your Majesty!”

———-

I hope you liked it Mickey 🥰! I enjoyed writing this it was fun to see a different side of Neva hehe! If you want me to change anything or delete this because I didn’t portray Ace correctly please let me know 🥺💗! I hope you all enjoyed this and if not I’m sorry and I’ll try harder next time. Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a good day~!