#god I really need to do a follower milestone thing

[intotheelliwoods]

I got new glasses finally and my brain is ooaoaoaooaoa ooao um adjusting (im having a time)

[aethelwyneleigh27]

Dad!Cod Scenarios

I had thoughts on these racked up in my brain about CoD characters having kids and what type of parents they'd be in a scenario or drabble manner.

Tag list: @puff0o0, @simp4konig, @blingblong55, @azereus, @rustic-guitar-notes, @shadofireshinobi, @anonymuslydumb, @skeletalgoats, @icarustypicalfall, @ghosts-cyphera,@connorsui is at it again, making me blush over her words, AHHHHH I LOVE HER. Did I tag almost everyone I know here? Yes, yes I did 😭

Characters Included: John Price, Simon "Ghost" Riley, John "Soap" MacTavish, Kyle "Gaz" Garrick, Alejandro Vargas, Rodolfo "Rudy" Parra, König, Kim "Horangi" Hong-jin, Gary "Roach" Sanderson.

(Implied?? Wife!Reader, Parent!Reader. Not really specified, so gender neutral!Reader)

❥ Dad!John Price is the type of dad who'd fondly tell your kids about how you met, tell them stories about his time in the army, his experiences with their uncles and aunts from 141. Enjoying how their little faces express something great, admiring how cool their dad was for being so brave to constantly and willingly put his life on the line in the means of saving people. They tried telling him that they want to follow in his footsteps but that is a big no no. The last thing he wants is them willingly throwing themselves in danger and the risk was far too much.

❥ Dad!Johnny MacTavish is the type of dad to make his kids laugh by blowing raspberries on whatever body part his kids are ticklish on, he enjoys hearing their laughter and giggles. Definitely is the man who grew up with quite a big family so he'd love to have a full house if you were up to having it with him. He's such a family man to the bone, knows how things work around and mostly knows what to say and do when it comes to the kids.

❥ Dad!Kyle Garrick is the type of dad to dance with his kids, letting them have their little feet on top of his, letting them pick the music and guiding the little one. Having them smile and look up at him, his little one thinking it was just the best thing in the world to spend quality time with their dad. Swaying them around while they call him giggling, letting out squeals after he spins them. (I NEED GIRL DAD!GAZ 🥺😭)

❥ Dad!Simon Riley is the type of dad who absolutely HATES it when his kids cry, always doing his best to console them, depending on what made them upset. Being the one to patch them up when it's because of a "boo-boo", god forbid it's because of another person, he'd either make that kid piss themselves or that adult will NEVER see the light of day again. Because of that, the little one always finds themselves looking for their dad's comfort.

❥ Dad!Gary Sanderson who is the type of dad who finds so many ways to make his kid feel appreciated, whether that'd be through letting them help out and make them feel needed, thanking them and returning the favor for handmade gifts on days like Father's day or Valentine's day. The little one is always so eagerly awaiting for their dad to come home, knowing he'd be bearing so meaningful gift that goes in the memory box.

❥ Dad!Alejandro Vargas who is the type of dad who's strict but also not at the same time. Safe to say he did not have fun when Soap taught his kid to curse in Spanish when he first met the kid, that was probably Alejandro's fault for teaching Soap Spanish curses anyway. That kid is going to be loved I tell you, Alejandro has taken them to work just so they can see what he does and safe to say they loved being around everyone that Alejandro works with. (More likely that they still do this together however Alejandro is VERY strict since it's dangerous for the kid to even be out there)

❥ Dad!Rodolfo Parra who is the type of dad whose domestic, he has many memorabilias and scrapbooks of his kid's milestones, even kept the teeth that fell out. Always finding ways to spend time with the kids, whether it'd be through something as simple but meaningful as teaching them Spanish or taking them out to eat. His kids love and adore him, finding that the best time they spend with him is when he lets them talk about their day, listening in and validating their thoughts.

❥ Dad!König who is the type of dad who finds himself absolutely terrified that he's responsible for such a tiny thing. He's extremely protective of them, seeing his little kid whimper and point at something that caused them pain (even if it was by their own accord), König finds himself comforting the little one by soothing their crying and kicking whatever inanimate object it was just to make them feel better. He already hurt himself once or twice doing that and it did make his kid laugh, anything that makes them happy right?

❥ Dad!Kim Hong-Jin who is the type of dad whose a bit irresponsible at times, he tends to roughhouse with his kid a lot. There's definitely a lot of physical and playful activities with him in the means of spending time. He doesn't mean anything by it, just quality time, his kid is one of the reasons behind him stopping his gambling addiction. He wanted to set an example for them. The last thing he wants is for his kid to remember him by something negative so he does his best to spend time with them a lot despite him getting deployed.

Sidenote: I wrote this at 1 am and it was fun but my eyes hurt now, I have plans to go out tomorrow with a friend. Now regarding your guys' requests, ISTG I'm not ignoring you guys, I'm just not in the right headspace to write them except for a few I'm currently working on.

[angels-fantasy]

Congratulations on your followers milestone! Can I ask for the prompt "first fight" with Dabi?

Scars and All

Dabi/Touya x Reader

Details/Warnings: lowkey toxic relationship, arguing, kinda angsty LMAO i'm sorry i cant help but make dabi angsty. hurt/comfort i think, angst to fluff? dabi is trying, okay? also dabi is called touya in this fic!

Word Count: 957

hello thank you sm for your ask and the congratulations :) i hope you like this, i really like dabi bc 1) hes hot lol and 2) hes such a well written character. also i'm going to start writing in all lowercase bc its what im used to and upper case drives me crazy!!

loneliness was something that consumed you constantly. it was a scary feeling sometimes, especially because of the things it could drive someone to do.

you wished you didn't feel like this, but you couldn't help it.

before getting into a relationship with touya, you knew of the lifestyle he lived and how much of his time it took up. at first you thought you could handle it, but over time you soon realized that wasn't true. hours of him being gone quickly turned into days, sometimes even weeks and it was driving you crazy. you really wanted to try and continue to sit compliantly and let him do what he wished to do, but you were at your wits end.

sometimes you wondered why you even continued to put up with him, especially when you knew deep down that he'd probably choose to continue committing villainous acts over your relationship.

but you knew the answer to that-it was because you loved him, and sometimes love can make you do crazy things.

so now here you were; sitting on the old couch in your living room. the edges of the fabric having frayed ends and burn marks here and there from the moments touya let his temper get the best of him.

you can't remember how long you've been sitting there anxiously, waiting for your boyfriend to get home, but you felt your heart beat faster when you heard the front door being unlocked.

you wiped your sweaty palms on your pants and took a deep breath, trying to prepare yourself to confront touya, who sighed as he walked through the door and his heavy boots thudding along with each step.

he walked over to you and threw himself down on the couch, placing an arm around your shoulders and pulling you into him. moments like this made it hard to stay mad.

he placed a kiss on your temple, "hey. you miss me?"

you fiddled with your fingers as you leaned further into his chest, "of course i did. i'm glad you're home."

he tilted his head down to look at you, "then how come you don't sound happy, huh?" he asked, squeezing your shoulder as he did so.

you frowned, knowing he'd caught onto your bad mood already. he was way too perceptive sometimes.

"i am happy touya, i promise." you insisted, "it's just..."

"it's just what?"

you sat up from your position and faced him, but it was hard to look him in the eyes. "i just wanted to talk to you about something that's been bothering me."

he looked at you for a moment, expressionless, making you even more nervous until he said, "alright, what is it?"

you took a deep breath.

"you're never home touya, and i miss you." you frowned, "i worry about you and when you're gone for so long i get lonely. i miss spending time with you."

he groaned, "babe, do you not understand why i'm gone? or do i need to tell you, is that it?" he asked.

you regretted this now.

"no, i know why but it's just-"

"if you know why, then why do you fucking ask me?!" he yelled, making you shrink into yourself. you two had bickered over things before and there were even times when you needed space from each other, but touya had never yelled at you like this.

you could feel your eyes prick with tears and the lump in your throat grow, "touya don't yell at me!" you cried.

"i'm yelling at you so you get this through your god damn head!" he snapped, "i can't be here, sitting on my ass like you every fucking day. i have shit i need to do to make my plans happen!"

you gasped at his words. did he really think that's all you did?

"you know damn well i don't just stay at home on my ass, touya! i work too!" you said, tapping his chest with your finger as you pointed it at him.

"i buy the groceries! i make the food! i wash your blood stained clothes! i do everything i can, but you don't know because you're never here!" you yelled, taking a deep breath after so you could continue speaking.

you sighed heavily and spoke softly, your energy gone from yelling. "you're never here touya..." you sniffed, letting the tears run down your cheeks. you brought your hands up to your eyes to wipe them away, "i love you, so i miss you. i just wish you were home more so i don't have to spend my nights all alone."

touya was breathing heavily, but sitting silently as he processed your words. he was perceptive, sure, but he wasn't really good with emotions and dealing with people when they were upset.

feeling guilty, he wrapped his arms around your crying figure and hugged you tightly to his chest. he brought a hand up to your head and stroked it gently, shushing your cries. you stayed like that until your crying had become sniffles with occasional hiccups.

"i'm sorry," he said softly, "i'm sorry i'm always gone. i fucking suck at this, i don't know how to be here for you... but i'm going to do better now, for you, okay? i love you too. i don't say that enough."

you brought your hands away from your face and wrapped your arms around his waist, leaning your head against his beating heart and closing your eyes.

"as long as you try, touya. i know you're not perfect, and that's okay with me. i love you the way you are."

"scars and all?" he asked jokingly, making you giggle.

"scars and all."

authors note

love ya!

[psychesalcove]

'dedicated to all of those who, when the time came, picked the ocean,'

✧.* psyches 100 follower event special — CLOSED (still writing for requests that came in before it closed!!)

in memory of those who chose the sea ,,

hello everyone!! as from the title, i recently reached 100 followers on my blog; so i decided, why not do a fun little celebration to go along with this milestone? thank you to each and every one of my followers who read and support my work, all of you mean the absolute world to me! now, let me explain what i'll be doing for this event:

^᪲᪲᪲ for this event, you'll chose a promt from below, along with a pjo character (listed below as well) and then I'll write you a blurb including the promt and the character!! just send me an ask including all of those, and i'll happily write it for you:) you're also welcome to request a prompt that already has writing, just not for the same character!!

^᪲᪲᪲ promts to select from:

ֶָ֢ "i like the way your hand fits in mine,"

ֶָ֢ "you have something in your hair, uhm..do you want me to get it out?" -> leo valdez

ֶָ֢ "it's nice that your voice was the first thing i heard today," -> luke castellan

ֶָ֢ "you can call me whenever you want..even if you don't have a reason to," -> percy jackson

ֶָ֢ "im bad at texting first, so I always end up hoping you will,"

ֶָ֢ "this movie is really scary, but you're into it so I'm trying not to cover my face the whole time, but, WHAT IS THAT?–" -> leo valdez

ֶָ֢ "wait, don't pull away...not yet," -> percy jackson

ֶָ֢ "you look really cute in that sweater,"

ֶָ֢ "half the time i get too embarrassed to say anything,"

ֶָ֢ "no its fine..i can wait until you're done talking to them,"

ֶָ֢ "it's just, I can't believe you're actually wearing my clothes," -> travis stoll

ֶָ֢ "you're a big piece of inspiration for this, honestly,"

ֶָ֢ "gods, you always make me blush so damn much," -> conner stoll

ֶָ֢ "I've been trying to get ready for like an hour and a half, because i know you're going to look so good and I need to try and match up," -> leo valdez

ֶָ֢ "would it be to cliche if we matched clothes?"

ֶָ֢ "the first second i saw you i couldn't get over how beautiful you were." -> luke castellan

ֶָ֢ "i wanted to say 'i love you' for the first time without stuttering, but that failed," -> leo valdez

ֶָ֢ "could you hold my hand?"

ֶָ֢ "you can't leave without letting me hug you first," -> percy jackson

ֶָ֢ "I really love holding you, darling."

ֶָ֢ "that pet name was so gushy, but it was so so cute,"

ֶָ֢ "aw, you're blushing like a rose."

ֶָ֢ "your lips are really warm." -> jason grace

ֶָ֢ "I can't get over how a few months ago I wanted to learn your name and now you're having breakfast with me in my sweater," -> leo valdez

ֶָ֢ "no, mom, don't tell them I said that about them!"-> percy jackson

ֶָ֢ "my friends get so annoyed by how much I talk about you,"

ֶָ֢ "wanna like—I mean, if you're not busy, we could get lunch? Or even just coffee if you don't have a lot of time?"

ֶָ֢ "wow, i didn't think you could make me smile this big,"

ֶָ֢ "you don't need to leave so soon,"

ֶָ֢ "you look so comfy; and cuddle-able." -> percy jackson

ֶָ֢ "quit smiling at me, I can't stop messing up my sentences when you look at me like that." -> piper mclean

^᪲᪲᪲ characters to chose from:

percy jackson

annabeth chase

piper mclean

jason grace

leo valdez

hazel levesque

frank zhang

will solace

nico di angelo

luke castellan

conner stoll

travis stoll

rachel elizabeth dare

previous pinned post -> introduction to my blog !

[thesharkwhalewhoohooooo]

Bridget x fem! Oc

In which a girl with a stalker finds her baker

"Odette!" Bridget called out to the blonde, who looked up from the lake with a smile.

"Hello Bridget, what are you doing here this late?" Bridget pursed her lips as he came to a stop in front of the popular princess, she didn't really know why she was here.

"Uh.... I don't really know, midnight stroll?" She sheepishly smiled, Odette could only chuckle at her.

"Sit, god knows what roams the shadows at this hour." The pinkette quickly sat down, unceremoniously falling on her bum and kicking her feet out in front of her, leaning back on her palms.

"The lake is pretty at this hour! I totally get why you're here all the time." Odette's smile dimmed a bit, glancing over at the bushes behind them.

"Of course, the lake is magnificent at night, I much prefer it at this time than during the day." She reached out to place her hand over Bridget's, but the girl jumped up onto her toes and leaned forwards to grab a flower.

Odette slowly blinked, retracting her hand as her eyes followed Bridget's sudden movement.

"What do you have there?" The Wonderlandian princess turned around, proudly revealing a small bouquet of little white flowers and clovers.

"For you!" She grinned brightly, and Odette stared at her for a few seconds, eyes widening ever so slightly as her lips fell into a small O shape.

"It's beautiful, thank you." She gratefully took the flowers from the girl, who merely grinned even brighter at her.

"But, we have to take our leave now, if I recall correctly we have a potions test tomorrow." She gracefully stood up, holding out a perfectly manicured hand to help Bridget up too.

She took her hand, hoisting herself up roughly, patting her pink dress off, the grass stains on her knees making Odette's lips quirk up.

"I'll accompany you to your dorm."

-

"Athene!" The daughter of Merlin shot up from her bed when Odette burst into her dorm, staring at the girl with wide eyes.

"Why are you interrupting my sleep?!"

"I'm in love! With Bridget! I CAN'T BE IN LOVE WITH BRIDGET!" Athene groaned, turning around and burying her face in her pillows as Odette paced around her room.

"And then she gave me flowers! Why would she give me flowers?! How dare she make me fall in love with her!"

-

"Odetteeeeeee!" Bridget dragged out her name, once again calling out to the girl in white.

"Yes, my sweet baker?" Odette smiled up at the girl, sitting by the fountain in the courtyard, Bridget standing in front of her with her hands on her hips and a proud grin, puffing up her chest.

"I finally mastered the Soufflé! Are you amazingly proud of me?" Odette held a hand in front of her mouth to hide her laughter, Bridget sadly pouting when she noticed.

"Odette! This is serious!" She leaned closer, one hand still on her hip, the other waving a finger in Odette's face.

"Why yes of course it is! It is of utmost importance that we celebrate this milestone in your life." Bridget's pout worsened, she crossed her arms and sat down next to Odette with a huff.

"What flavour is it?"

"Strawberry."

"That's sounds phenomenal, how about we go to your dorm and i'll try it out?" Bridget glanced at her.

"Really?"

"Of course my love."

-

"Ella." Odette nodded in acknowledgment of the girl, both bumping into each other in front of Bridget's brightly coloured door.

"Odette? I know you've been getting closer to Bridget but what are you doing here?" The blonde looked away to hide the light blush on her cheeks, fiddling with the swan locket on her necklace.

"Wait... you have a crush on Bridget?!" Ella whisper yelled, eyes wide as Odette quickly shushed her.

"Shh! Don't be so loud about it!" Ella laughed at her.

"Oh my god this is gold! Perfect little princess has a crush on Bridget! So, what stupid little thing about her made you fall for her? Was it the hyper running around?" Ella guessed, jokingly referring to Bridget's bubbly personality.

"She gave me flowers."

"If that's all it took then Rothbart needs to take notes, man, that's so weird, i'd have expected it to be much grander."

"Hey guys! Come in!"

-

"Derek." She looked at the boy with distaste hidden in her eyes, he simply smiled at her.

"Hello my future wife, how's school going for you? Has your pretty head exploded yet?" Odette kept her composure, not mauling him right then and there in public.

"Perfectly fine, my head won't explode from some information, something you so desperately need." She shot an insult in between her sweet tone and smile, quickly turning around.

"My baker." She smiled at Bridget, who grinned up at her.

"Hi Odette! Guess what!" She grabbed both of Odette's hands, twirling her around her.

"What?" Odette let out with a chuckle, Bridget finally stopping them from twirling even further.

"I got an A+! That's so amazing right!" Odette felt as if she could burn down the entire world and torture Derek for all eternity when said prince put a hand on her shoulder, stepping besides her.

"Sure. Uh, I was talking to her? Go away." He grimaced at her all link clothing, and Bridget slightly deflated, but nonetheless walked away after saying bye.

"You-!" Odette nearly lashed out at the smug prince, who was smirking at her.

"I what? Am incredibly pretty? Handsome? Amazing?"

"Come with me." She stalked off, eventually turning a corner where nobody could see them.

Derek got closer, pursing her lips to kiss her, but she kneed him.

He doubled over, nearly screaming it out, and she hit him square in the jaw when he finally looked up at her.

He fell back, once again in pain, and Odette quickly walked away, back to Bridget.

"What did you get an A+ for? Whatever it is, you must be the most talented person I've ever met." She stopped when she was standing behind the princess, who whipped around and looked at her with wide eyes.

"I am?"

"You are even more talented than the best bakers in the land, so, of course, you're the most talented person I know, also the most passionate." Bridget grinned, wrapping her arms tightly around Odette's torso, squeezing the air out of her lungs as she patted her hair.

-

"Go away Rothbart." The red haired boy rolled his eyes, trying to grab her wrist and pull her back, but she quickly evaded him and jumped out of the window she had been rushing towards.

"Hello my baker." She smiled at the princess who had caught her, and was fussing over her whilst she was in her arms.

She looked up, Rothbart was glaring down at her with a frown. Odette locked eyes with Bridget again, who was surprisingly strong.

"Thank you." She kissed her cheek, placing her feet on the ground as Bridget flushed red.

"Oh, am I interrupting something?" She looked around at Uliana and her crew, who had taken a step back when the flowy white dress that Odette was clad in waved in their direction with the wind.

"Not really." Hook smirked at her, stepping closer and tracing his hook along her jaw.

"Mh, allright, then you won't mind if i'll take Bridget with me then?" She ignored him and looked over at Uliana, whose face contorted into a grimace.

"Actually, we do mind, we were just talking to-."

"Let's go my baker, i'll help you with your homework." She intertwined their hands, placing a kiss on her knuckles.

"O-okay!" Bridget let herself get dragged away by Odette, who led her into her own dorm, full of off white and sage green.

She pulled back the see through white curtains surrounding her bed, sitting down on the bed, Bridget taking a tumble and landing on her lap.

"As much as I enjoy this position, i'd much rather we just sit for a while, so you can tell me what you were doing with them?"

-

"My baker." Odette's breathy voice rang through Bridget's ears, a light blush covering her cheeks, making Red raise an eyebrow.

"Odette!" She turned around to face the blonde, who smiled softly at her and kissed her cheek.

"What have you made this time? It looks like quite the spectacle." Bridget's blush deepened, wordlessly offering the tray of cupcakes to her.

"And these are the rumoured transfers?" She glanced over at the two time travellers, who quickly nodded, well, Chloe did.

"-Yeah, who're you?"

"I'm Odette." The blonde gave them a smile, intertwining a hand with Bridget's, who was grinning.

-

"Maybe Odette'll do the prank? I've never heard of her and my mother was always very bitter about swans, and most other animals as well but you know." Red shrugged, Chloe hummed in thought.

"You might be right, when does Odette get kidnapped by Rothbart again? Maybe she gets kidnapped before Castlecoming and Bridget thinks she abandoned her?" Red stared at her for a while, Odette gets kidnapped in her story?

"Huh?"

"Yeah? Odette gets kidnapped and turned into a swan during the day, then prince Derek saves her, happy ever after." Red thought back to when Derek approached Odette and she saw the flash of a grimace on her perfect features.

"Mh, but she hates Derek?"

"Yeah, prince Derek only likes how she looks." Chloe shrugged as if it was completely normal, and Red nodded.

"So we have to stop Rothbart from kidnapping Odette, then my mom won't be a maniac!"

-

"You must believe me when I say anything looks amazing on you my baker, nothing can even compare to the fabric that covers your body, you would look amazing even in rags." Ella let out a 'hey!', Odette dismissed her with a wave of her hand, gesturing towards the blue ballgown in the corner of her room she had gotten made for the blue haired girl.

"You sure?" Bridget twirled around in her own ballgown, one that her own royal seamstress had made, staring into the mirror at how the dark red and white contrasted each other.

"It looks magnificent." Odette smiled into the mirror at Bridget, who smiled back.

"Well, if you think so..."

"I am NOT wearing this!" Ella broke their tension by speaking up from where she had changed into the ballgown.

"Yes you are." Odette dismissed her, gesturing for her to come closer so she could do her hair.

"You look amazing Ella! The colour looks amazing on you!"

"I wear blue every day, of course it looks good on me."

"Don't be so rude to her."

"Yeah sure lovebirds, go make out or something!"

-

"You look wonderful my baker." Odette kissed her shoulder as Bridget finished up her make-up, Bridget flushed red when she saw the lipstick mark she had left behind, she didn't make any move to remove it, so she left it.

"You look even better!" Bridget smiled up at Odette from her chair, turning around in the stool and wrapping her arms loosely around her waist.

"Nothing can top your beauty, nothing even comes close." Odette rolled her eyes at her absurdity, placing her hands on her shoulders as she looked down.

"Got it!" They heard a click and saw a flash, both whipping around to face Ella who had grabbed Bridget's camera and taken a photo, grinning behind it mischievously.

"Ella!" Bridget flushed red, Odette sighed.

"We'll have to go, else we'll be late, i'll see you guys there, I have something to do." She ushered them out, placing another kiss on Bridget's neck, for no reason at all, and closed the door behind them.

Red and Chloe followed Odette as she walked through the halls and towards the dorm of the son of Hephaestus, who quickly opened the door, already dressed up, and handed her a pink velvet box, about as big as her thumb, and quickly went to the ball.

They scurried behind her as she crossed the courtyard and towards the ballroom, and she was about to open the doors when she was jumped by a group of boys, Rothbart in between them.

Chloe quickly rushed in, using her sword to threaten them back, and Red punched a few of them down before she got to Odette, Rothbart had her, and was about to spell her when Red pulled her out of his grasp, she was still gripping onto the pink box.

"Odette, go, quickly!" Red opened the door and Odette slipped in, and Red punched Rothbart in the nose, he fell back, unconscious.

"Bridget!" Odette smiled as the princess turned around, the kiss on her neck had been wiped away, but the one on her shoulder was still going strong.

"I got you something." Odette pulled out the box, still a bit shaken up from being jumped.

"Oh! What is it!" Bridget beamed at her, grinning happily as she watched the box slowly open, revealing a pink gem in the form of a heart, with an intricate golden backing so it turned into an amulet.

"Oh you shouldn't have! How could I even repay you?" Bridget gasped, carefully lifting the amulet out of its box, admiring it with wide eyes.

"Well, you could be my girlfriend?" Bridget's eyed snapped to hers and she flushed red, holding the amulet to her chest.

"I- um, yes! Yes, please...." She awkwardly answered, still red as a beet.

"Really?"

"Yes! Oh my gosh i've had a crush on you for a while now and I didn't know what to say so I just-!" She got cut off by Odette's lips planted firmly against hers.

She stared for a while, then snapped out of it and finally kissing her back.

"Yes.... I'll be your girlfriend."

[actiniumwrites]

Just saw your event and first of all congrats on your milestone, you deserve it and many many more!! <3 If you'll allow me, I'd like to send in a request as well: I'd like to pick bookstore + citrine + clear quartz + moonstone for Alhaitham

synopsis: you run into your ex boyfriend at your favorite bookstore six months after your break up

with the prompts: warmth and comfort, healing from hurt, and new beginnings !

characters: alhaitham x gn!reader

wc: 644

warnings: exes to lovers (??), modern au, breakups, a pinch of angst, alhaitham sucks at reading fiction

notes: this is part of my 2.5k followers event! omg thank you so much, dust! i’m so happy you participated, and i love the prompts, i think it was really fun to write <3

“Next,” a monotone voice calls out amidst the calm atmosphere of your favorite bookstore: Avidya Books. You fidget with the hardcover book that sits tightly in your left hand as you dreadfully drag your body up to the counter.

You slide the book onto the counter with a little more force than intended, a grimace on your face as you eagerly avoid eye contact with the man standing before you. Blue and orange eyes linger on your figure before a light scoff escapes him, “What is this?”

You cough into your arm, eyes glancing back and forth between the digital clock on the wall beside you and the face you very much wished you would never have to see again, “It’s a book you lent me…I need to return it.”

“And you came here?” he deadpans.

“Well, um,” you stutter, shifting your weight onto your other foot, “yeah, I mean, it has the bookstore label on it…and I don’t know where you live anymore…since well, you know.”

Alhaitham squints his eyes at you, almost like he’s trying to analyze your every move. Just like he always did.

At least he hasn’t changed much.

“And what exactly is your reason for returning it?”

“I didn’t like it,” you state simply, “too boring for me.”

His lips part in shock and his eyebrows furrow, “What? How? You do realize this is one of the greatest works of literature to ever exist right?”

“That’s extremely subjective,” you argue, crossing your arms, “you of all people should know that.”

“Okay,” he surrenders, but you know it’s only an act. Alhaitham always tried to find ways to prove you wrong, even over the smallest things. It was one of the many faults that resulted in the demise of your relationship, “What about it was boring to you?”

You click your tongue against the roof of your mouth and shake your head, “For starters, the plot lacked substance. A majority of the characters were the only thing carrying the story, however, many of the others were underdeveloped or forgotten about entirely. Not to mention, the author lacks an understanding of what real dialogue sounds like. I mean, c’mon! The guy sounds like he’s never even talked to someone in real life before!”

“It isn’t like you talk to many people either,” he retorts.

You scoff, “Oh, yeah? Like you’re any better. You barely even have friends! Poor Kaveh can’t shut up about how tired he is of you ganging up on him.”

“So you guys still talk about me then?” He cuts in before you can say anything else. It’s less of a question and more of a statement, and you can’t bring yourself to say he’s wrong.

You talked about him…a lot. Six months had passed and you still weren’t over him, as much as you didn’t want to admit it.

Your eyes focus themselves back on the same wall as before and Alhaitham takes the hint as he quietly slides the book into the counter behind him. “I still talk about you too,” he admits quietly when he turns back around, a serious tone in his voice, “Kaveh’s sick of hearing it, but then I remind him of his lack of a love life and he shuts up.”

A small laugh falls from your lips, “God, you are so mean.”

“I’m just being honest,” he states arrogantly, a small smirk pulling at the sides of his mouth.

Your eyes linger on his for a second before you glance down at the counter, “I still have another book of yours, you know?”

Alhaitham raises a brow, “Oh? Well I suppose you’ll have to return it me somehow. You know how much I value those.”

You hum and shoot him a smile, “If you meet me for coffee on Saturday, I can return it to you then.”

“Saturday it is.”

[theambivalentagender]

Hello all! So if you follow me, you likely also follow my comic Valley Echoes as well as any of my other art drabbles. You may also know that I've been financially limping along for some time.

For context, my day job is dog grooming. It's a "career" I came into relatively recently and honestly love. However, my location has recently been incredibly dead. I haven't been able to make commission from lack of dogs and my hours have been cut drastically.

I'm currently looking into finding extra work where I can that will still fit with my technically full time schedule. This has been a big part of why the comic updates have slowed considerably in the last few months.

In the meantime, however, I did want to show that I am available for commissions at this time. This is the first time I'd be getting into commissions, so if folks do request I just ask for patience as I figure it all out, but I'd love to be able to draw your requests. I have a vgen account that's still being set up at the moment.

I also want to plug my Patreon again - honestly, the fact you all give this much for what I do now is incredible to me. I recently met the fun "milestone" of Patreon temporarily locking access to my withdrawals because I had made enough money this year to require filling out a tax form before my funds could be released, which I did. Maybe it's silly but it made me a little happy. I also have a Kofi though that's updated less.

This next part ended up being much longer and more personal than I expected so I'll put it under a cut.

Anything at this time would help immensely. Cost of living is insane, I just turned 30 and keep wondering how much longer I'll be able to keep renting, let alone ever saving to afford a home. I'm very, very lucky in that I have support from my dad, who has honestly been one of my strongest lifelines for years. But I obviously don't want to have to keep taking so much of that support from someone who should be enjoying retirement.

There are a lot of expenses I keep having, and things I'm putting off. The ipad I use for art has been cracked for months, but is still functional thank god. I recently finally bought myself clothes that aren't falling off my body after losing over 100 lbs in the last year. I have to buy and maintain my own tools for my grooming job, and I have to maintain my own health, both mentally and physically. My left hand/arm probably has nerve impingements and muscle strains science hasn't even named yet lmao. And of course there's taking care of my two terrible feline children who cause nothing but chaos in my home and who I love dearly.

Even if you don't give monetary support though, I so, so greatly appreciate every one of you who shares, likes, or comments on my work. I just recently got an anon who I mean to reply to soon gushing about they love Valley Echoes. Nothing makes my day more than waking up to see a million notifications that's just one person liking each of my comics as they read through it the first time.

Ever since I was 6 years old I wanted to be a storyteller in some way. I used to draw my own Dilbert and Far Side comics, and I constantly wrote wild fantasy stories. But after going through college, dealing with a huge amount of stress, burnout, and just one random person online telling me that I needed to hear the harsh "truth" that my writing skills were garbage, that spark was just gone. Excluding occasional stuttering starts, I didn't really write for years.

Doing this "silly" comic and getting the feedback I have is starting to rekindle that spark. I have so many stories of my own that I'm starting to make tentative plans on producing in some way. But even if I never become some official published recognized author, I feel like just putting out this comic is fulfilling that dream I had as a kid. So thank you again, as cheesy and long winded as this post has become.

[divineerdrick]

Homestuck Beyond Canon Upd8 for October 8, 2024

Here we are! This might be the end of the current story arc, and we'll finally get to see if Vriska successfully makes it out of this. I was also informed a while back that today is the one year anniversary of the HICU taking over the comic.

Before I jump in, I had a theory I wanted to put out there. I was thinking more about how Vriska was always destined to go down these two paths and what that might mean. Now we know she had different fates than the two we saw. In fact, we saw a third indirectly. We saw it when an Aradiabot from a doomed timeline where Gamzee snapped early revealed a surprise final piece of Doc Scratch's code. That reveal was a book Gamzee made in the blood of the other trolls. And Vriska's blood is in there.

But only two Vriskas are ever seen in the bubbles, probably because the Vriskas that survive to their creation are always the same. Do any Vriskas lost along the way matter? We don't really know. They might still be important, but the lion share of Vriska appears to be split into two fates.

Now, thinking back to the epilogues (I know that can be hard) Dirk describes the process of becoming a fully realized or ascended God Tier.

And some of you just saw where I'm going with this.

Dirk became a full God of Heart first because of how connected he was to his splinters. Rose followed as her continued explorations of fortune connected more and more of her deviating paths through Paradox Space. And Dave . . . well he got a very Dave ascension. Honestly with how well he handled the multiple version of himself running around, an Obama pep talk was likely more than what was needed.

But there's only two Vriskas that need to come together.

If Vriska can accept herself, the team on Candy C will have a fully realized and ascended Thief of Light on their side. One that has already exerted narrative control before! That might be enough to help fix a lot. And if Vriska has anything to say about it, and you know she will, things might really start moving.

News Upd8

We get a team post this time! They're mostly just excitedly gushing about the milestone and some of the things that have happened in the past year. But they also reminding us the first big flash is coming. I honestly can't wait!

James mentions that this is not originally what was planned and that they were just going to make a bunch of connected shorts originally. I still like stuff like that, but I'm glad they were able to get this going again.

There's a lot of thank yous from the team. But I still feel like I want to thank them for continuing this in such a wonderful way. This comic and this community has been really important to me for a while now, and I'm eternally grateful there are still "semi-official" things coming from it.

James does give us a bit of an outline on the progress for EOA1. It sounds like things are still early, but they're hoping to hit one of the "funny numbers". The next one will be 11/11 or one of the kid's birthdays. But 413 sounds like a good project deadline to me.

They're continuing with two upd8s this month, so I'll need to try to make sure I catch the next one in a more timely fashion.

Upd8

We've cut away from Vriska. As the news said, no more VN for us. We return to Candy Earth C and our stressed out adults.

Kanaya has left on her own for now. Her fury has not yet been satisfied it seems, with what Rose took as an implied threat from her. Also, I just noticed the subtle space symbol in Jade's shield. Nice touch!

Still a lot of justly tense and uncomfortable conversation going on. Jade really wants to fix things. She feels like she's the one to blame and she needs to make things right. But Rose doesn't particularly seem receptive. I don't think she wants Jade's help. Also, there's a mention of Rose losing her temper over a conversation about her mom. I think it's mostly meant as a little nod to how much older they all are and that things have happened that we never got to see. But I can't help but wonder how things went down.

Yeah, this is pretty painful. Jade really wants to do the right thing, but Rose has formed her own opinion of the best course of action. And now she's trying to convince Jade it doesn't involve her.

Hamster guy? I'm pretty sure I'd remember hamster guy so this has to be something new.

Honestly, Jade is sounding a bit more mature than Rose here. It's painful, but she's right. Reality has very little to do with a person's "truth." The only sensible path to change a person's perspective is usually the empathetic one where you focus on understanding where they're coming from. Even then, all you can usually accomplish is being someone they might turn to when an external event breaks the reality in their head.

Speaking of personal truth's, Jade has been feeling that so many of her friends haven't really cared about what's going on. That might have been a little true for Dave, but I think she got a completely wrong read on John. John very much cared, he just wasn't good at doing anything about it. That's one of the reasons he suffered from depression, one of the reasons he was always trying to fix something or do something important. But between the glimpses of her in the epilogues and the credits, I get the impression she was constantly trying to reach out to him. From her perspective, John's depression might have seemed to be apathy.

But big surprise the one that grew up so isolated is having the hardest time getting a read on people.

THE ART!!!

Urgh! Oh this is bad! Rose is just suppressing everything she's dealing with. Admittedly, there's a lot going on right now. But it sounds like she's not trying to process any of the stuff that's been occurring on this crazy version of Earth C. She especially can't seem to deal with Roxy, and that's apparently been causing more problems than we've seen.

I'm not sure I agree with Rose here. I don't believe an absolute truth has to be derived from authority. But then, to the best of my knowledge, I don't live in Paradox Space. It's hard to hold to the truth of observable reality when it can be so easily changed and manipulated.

Interesting . . . Rose has turned to her powers as a form of coping mechanism. As things get hard, she begins trying to sort out all the "meandering side-paths." The rote of it, the monotony, is soothing to her the way a "cozy game" is to me. And if she's successful, she gains insight and even something to look forward to.

Oh no! Rose has seen a future where Calliope will sacrifice herself to try and save everything! And worse it doesn't work! Things are apparently more dire than we thought, and that's with Jane running around in Condesce mode!

Huh! If I'm parsing that right, Rose is going to suffer a mortal wound but one that won't trigger the God Tier clock. Instead she'll have to recover like a normal person will. Ouch! This immortality really isn't all it's cracked up to be.

And the other shoe drops! The reason why Rose agreed to something like this, the reason she's been so cold and distant. While she's recovering from the bullet wound, Kanaya will be alone. With what she's done, Kanaya will have the impetus to seek independence. She hasn't seen the end result, but she believes Kanaya will have a more fulfilling life this way. She's been driving her wife away so this Kanaya won't be left in paralyzed mourning the way Meat Kanaya seems to be. That is a horribly dangerous game, and one almost guaranteed to backfire.

But apparently Rose doesn't think any of it matters. Like Dirk, she thinks this universe is irrelevant and doomed. She knows what John needed to do, and here John didn't do it. She's hasn't quite gotten to the optimistic point of nihilism, but the apparent lack of meaning is providing her with some relief.

Do I honestly need to say anything here!

Rose has been able to play the rain for a while now. But as her powers have matured, she's gotten better at it. Though this makes it sound not so much like she's playing it, as dancing to a tune beyond her control. But then, this Rose doesn't feel the need to control anything.

Can you imagine accidentally bumping head first into a figure of myth and legend?

Karkat and Kanaya have a bond that goes well beyond anything they ever developed with their human lovers. Even if Karkat's power wasn't literally over the bond of Blood, they've survived so much together it honestly wouldn't matter. And right now, Karkat's opinion of the humans that sat on the sidelines while their Troll friends needed them isn't exactly high.

COME ON!!!

Jane is still processing her conversation and some of things that came of it. Does Jane think she could have convinced more of her friends to stand with her? Does she think she could have saved Dirk from the fate he chose?

Also in a very real way she doesn't quite look human in that image. Even though I think this might be a human moment for her, she's made her visage, consciously or not, monstrous. The Condesce's crown is a collar around her neck.

Unfortunately she's decided that rather than learn from her mistakes, she might as well just plow on and build something new and better. She is a god after all.

Love how they're teasing out the reveal of what has come of Jake's epiphany.

I'm not posting that image. Even with my heavy use of spoiler tags, I'm not risking it.

Oh come on! You didn't make it a clean shot! Goddammit Jake!

Well that's one way to cut from that. I mean HOLY SHIT!!!

Jake appears to not be out of this yet. This almost feels like a callback to Vriska sitting on the beach after a failure. Can the big man recover from it?

And we end with Rose having just left Tavy and Yiffy with a letter and some snacks.

Wow! That was intense!

It legit seems like nothing, not even a bullet, is changing Jane's mind. And I mean, I know Jane is a god, but come on! Could Jake seriously not get a good clean shot off? Wow!

Y'know, honestly I can see it. Despite his awakening, he had to play it out like one of his movies. That was just enough time for Jane to realize what was going on and quickly dodge out of the way. Then, rather than quickly ending it, he had to quibble out an apology.

Honestly, I just don't think he was truly capable of doing it, so he sabotaged himself. He's just lucky that all the pummeling he's gone through has toughened him up enough that he might get another shot. That is if he doesn't get wiped out in whatever that cake-shaped, doomsday device she has in orbit does.

Fuck that was a ride. And a really tense one at that! Guess now we're waiting for next upd8 this month!

[lovelynim]

CONGRATS FOR THE 500!!!

For the event can i request 🌹 with lee!tighnari and ler!cyno? im such a sucker for them heheh

A jealous hound

Genshin Impact - Cyno x Tighnari

[500 Followers Milestone Event - "Romance"]

A/N: I WAS SO EXCITED TO WRITE THIS ONE HEHEHE!! I mean, cahem, I do feel you, anon, because they're also one of my favorite pairings. I toyed a little with the theme, using an old HC of mine that was collecting dust for way too long and I hope it is okay and that you like it <3

Summary: There is something wrong with Cyno, but Tighnari can't find out what is it. Little did he know, he was the one making the general upset ~

Word count: 1473 words

Tighnari could tell that there was something wrong. He didn’t realize it sooner thanks to Kaveh and Alhaitham bickering with each other during their hangout, but there was definitely something off.

Cyno was usually the clingy type, especially when they were by themselves. However, after he had suddenly gone quiet during the meeting, he had only spoken if he was talked to, avoiding and ignoring any kind of interaction - even the ones from Tighnari.

That was weird, really weird, Tighnari thought as he made the way back to his house, always checking over his shoulder to see how the general following him was doing. Catching glimpses of a frown on Cyno’s face, the first hypothesis to pop on his mind was that, for some reason, he was annoyed. But why? They were meeting their friends, having fun, enjoying a meal together… what was there to be angry at?!

The second theory was that Alhaitham or Kaveh could have struck a nerve while teasing him, but as far as Tighnari could remember, Cyno’s fighting skills or obsession for TCG were not one of the topics that night. Even if they were, he would usually get angry for a few moments and brush it off seconds later. As unlikely as it was, it was too early to discard this idea yet.

Last, but not least, could it be Tighnari’s doing? Stopping in front of his house, the fennec thought about it for a minute. Did he end up ignoring one of his attempts to flirt with him in public? Maybe he was too harsh on him during the dinner? But he couldn’t recall saying anything that would make Cyno so upset and-

“Nari,” Cyno spoke in an uninterested tone, letting out a small sigh, “what’s wrong? Just open the door.”

“A-ah, right, my apologies…” The botanist said, quickly picking up the keys in his pockets. 

After turning the key around and pushing the door open, Tighnari was struck with another thought: why was he even nervous?! Feeling such a thing towards Cyno filled the fennec’s mind with nostalgia, memories of when they both were studying in the Akademiya and he used to see the general as that serious and cold-hearted guy. 

But that was in the past. And there was no need to fear talking to him directly. Right, after all, they were dating for a long time already. You got this, Tighnari, he told himself as he stepped inside his house, waiting for Cyno to do the same before gently closing the door.

Taking a deep breath, he clenched his hands into a fist. “Cyno, what’s wrong? You’ve been quiet all ni-” 

“Hah..?” The general sighed, the annoyance clear in his voice. Tighnari froze on the spot, feeling a shiver run down his spine. He could feel Cyno’s glare piercing through his body as if he was next in the line to face the judgment of the Gods. “‘What’s wrong’, Nari? Would you like to make a guess?”

Slowly walking forward, as a hound circling its prey, Cyno decreased the distance between him and his partner. Tighnari’s tail curled and trembled behind him as he stepped back, clearly not expecting this outcome after his question.

“A-ahm…  because you… lost a round of T-TCG?”

“Wrong,” Cyno muttered, trapping Tighnari against the door they had just walked through. The general slammed his hand on the wooden surface, making the fennec gasp in surprise. “It’s because of you.”

“M-Me?! B-but I didn’t-” before he could finish, Cyno held out a finger in front of his lips, stopping him in the middle of his words.

“Shh… I’m not done talking, Nari,” the general lowered his hands, sliding them down the other’s shoulders, all the way down to his wrists. Tighnari could feel the firm grip, but decided to only watch as Cyno pinned his hands against the  wooden surface behind him. “You think I’d just sit and do nothing about it, huh?”

The botanist shuddered, scrunching up his shoulders as he pressed his eyes close. Cyno was speaking merely inches away from his face, treating him like some kind of criminal and, yet, he couldn’t find out what he did to make his partner so angry at him.

“What are you tal- ahm, I mean… what did I do, Cyno?” He replied sheepishly, scared to enrage the general even more.

The other clicked his tongue, shaking his head in disapproval. “You think this is funny, right?”

“N-no, I jus-”

“Just like you thought Kaveh’s jokes were funny.”

“...what?”

Changing his grip, Cyno managed to pin both of his partner’s wrists with one hand, keeping them out of the scene as he furrowed his brows. “You ignore and scold me when I tell them, but you go around laughing at others’ jokes… you are the worst sometimes, you know that?”

Tighnari blinked a few times, trying to process the whole thing. Was he for real?

“You… are jealous becaHAH- C-CynohOH!” Before he could talk back to the general, a whole set of fingers dug into his ribs, flooding his brain with the ticklish feeling that ran across his body as electric shocks. “W-wahAHAit!! AhAHAH, nahAHAhah!!”

“No, I’m not jealous, Nari. I’m angry at how… inconsiderate you were with my feelings,” Cyno muttered, his voice still full of annoyance as he tweaked his fingers against Tighnari’s body, going up to his underarms and then all the way down to his waist, only to start over again.

“I-I wahAHAh- plehHEHeahAhase!!” The fennec begged, letting out a high-pitched squeal. His hands trembled and his knees were about to give in as he convulsed with laughter, desperately trying to escape the wrath of his jealous boyfriend. “I-I didn’t mehehEHEhean to! It caHAhaught me o-ohOHOff guard!!”

The general remained silent, using his free hand to look for any other sensitive spot to exploit as he continued to deliver his “punishment”. Deciding to let out a little more steam to ease his annoyance, Cyno curled his fingers and used his nails to scratch at Tighnari’s sides like a kitten sharpening its claws. 

“You naughty fox… do you think you go around, laughing at other men’s jokes like that, hm?” The general whispered into one of his ears, letting the warm air do the job as his hands continued to work restlessly.

If the tickling wasn’t enough to make Tighnari blush, those words surely did the job. His ears twitched with each word spoken, sending an awful shiver down his back. It was the kind of thing that would make his heart melt, that, of course, if it wasn’t for the merciless tickling assaulting his torso.

“A-ahAHah, p-plehehase!” Tighnari gasped, gritting his teeth in a crooked smile as he tried to resist the tickling, sucking his stomach in and leaning his body away as much as he could to avoid Cyno’s fingers. “I-i’m sohOHOhorry, o-okahahay?!”

“No,” Cyno whispered calmly, letting out a small chuckle before planting a gentle kiss on Tighnari’s ear, “it’s not okay, Na-ri ~”

Sneaking his hand through the layers of cloth covering his partner, Cyno finally managed to touch Tighnari’s skin. Just like he expected, that simple doing was enough to evoke a new level of reactions from his partner, amusing himself with how easy it was to fill the room with the fennec’s laughter.

Literally laughing his head off, the forest watcher squirmed as much as he could inside Cyno’s hold. “I-it’s too muhuhuch!! CynoHOHoh!! I cahAHAhan’t anymohOHOre!!” He continued to squeal in mirth, unable to resist the touch of Cyno’s fingers against his bare middle.

“Now, I just want to remind you, Nari,” he continued to whisper, not even sure if his voice could be heard through all that laughter, “you are my boyfriend, which means I am the only one who gets to hear you laughing like this. Got it?”

“Y-YEHehehes! A-AhaAHAHarchons, j-just stoHOHOp!!”

Hearing the words he wanted to and sensing Tighnari was reaching his limit, Cyno smiled, giving his boyfriend a kiss on the cheek as he moved his hand away. Still holding his wrists together, the general gently pushed a few strands of hair away from Tighnari’s blushing face, smiling at him. “Good thing you are a quick learner, Nari ~”

“S-shut up, you big lummox,” Tighnari hissed, making Cyno giggle as he managed to shake his hands free from his grip. “Aren’t you a little too old to be having jealousy attacks?”

“I was not jealous,” Cyno insisted as Tighnari walked past him, now taking his turn to act upset at his partner, “I just don’t like to share my Nari, that’s all…” He muttered, just loud enough so Tighnari could hear him, making the forest watcher’s tail wag as soon as those words reached him. The general smiled.

“You are the worst sometimes,” Tighnari snapped, but Cyno only laughed at his comment.

“Love you too, Nari.”

[wooahaeruby]

Chapter 3: Only The Rough Wind Lingers Around Me

Chapter Word Count: 2,607

Anything in Bold Italics are Korean/Another language

TW

Mentions of death, hatred, Reader's parents past, On-night stands, pregnancy

Master List | Prev | Next

Recently you were having these…uncomfortable memories and thoughts about your parents. 

As people, you honestly didn’t know them much. They weren’t around for you physically, god forbid mentally with their own issues. Your grandmother, Mimi as you called her, was the only mother you truly knew. Alongside her, your grandfather – Papa – was there for all your important milestones, they were the people you called your parents if you had to, they raised you to say the least.

Mimi was always forthright with the lives of your parents. She never wished to sugarcoat the issues they had, however she never fully told you the damage that was done until you were older. Regardless of their flaws, Mimi and Papa really wanted you to know you were always loved by them and your mother. From a young age you realized that your grandfather held resentment for her father never stepping up to the plate but that comment was followed by ‘ but I will love them like the earth was coming to a stop ’. He promised no one would hurt you.

While that comment confused you when you were a child, it made sense, yet you never went without because of their love and affection.

“Mama, I hate him, he is the worst person I’ve ever met.” Bargaining into her home, Rosa kicked her shoes off and slumped onto the couch. She ran a hand over his face, letting out a grumbling yell into her hands. “And I have to spend the rest of my fucking life with him.” 

“Ay, language, Rosa.” Her mother called from the kitchen, “And give him a chance, if he is your soulmate, fate must have brought you together for a reason. Tell me about him.” 

“I met him on campus. God why didn’t I have a longer time between my eighteenth and meeting him! Only five months since I turned eighteen. Fate can suck my dick.” In rebellion, Rosa flipped her middle finger to the ceiling, mentally picturing this overarching ‘Fate’. “He is some asshole from my English class that finally decided to show up weeks into the semester. His name is Atlas and he is clearly a flirt that has probably slept through the whole freshman class already. Mama, he was literally flirting with our professor to excuse all his absences since he turned in all the assignments on time.” 

Rosa continued as ‘Mama’ leaned against the door frame of the living room. “He ran into me on the way out and that’s when the countdown stopped. The…rush that went through me made my heart nearly stop, I got lightheaded. It felt like one of the best feelings on the planet. I’d give anything to feel that one more time, with not a stupid fuck boy like him.”

Sitting down beside her daughter, Mama gently placed her arm on the other’s shoulder, pulling her closer until she could rest her head on her shoulder. “Sweetheart, there has to be some redeeming qualities about him. Like I said, you just met him. Go out with him, talk to him, see what the future could hold.” 

Six months, that’s when the bond first snapped into place. Since November, Rose truly tried to get to know him. With the physical need to be close to one another, they would meet once every other day on campus or at a local library to sustain their ability to live. For her, it was torturous, and for him, he was tired of the unwanted baggage. Now in May, things didn’t change. Resentment continued to grow.

“I don’t like this anymore than you do, Rosa, but can you please stop glaring at the side of my fucking head.” He spat out, sitting beside his soulmate in the library, arms brushing against one another for the necessary physical touch. 

“If you never showed up to that damn class we wouldn’t be in this situation. We would have never met.” Rose bit back, her glare still piercing with every passing moment. 

Deep down they knew it was never going to get better. There were many things left unsaid. Atlas refused to talk about who he really was outside of the playboy persona he put on and Rosa couldn’t even bare her heart to him because of it. 

More often than not, they sat in silence for a singular hour, one that was timed on either of their phones. It was a routine they came up with to live, but not to love. Both knew that neither would feel any love for each other if it continued like this. 

It was a mistake. A drunken mistake. One frat party was enough to ruin everything. 

Rosa wasn’t even supposed to be there but her friends begged since she hadn’t gone to a single party in her first two semesters. One drink led to two, which led to three, and so one. Atlas was already blasted by the time he had spotted her. The bond, much to his distaste, drew him to her. When his hand grazed the skin of her arm, he felt more alive than ever before. In her inebriated state and the bond sending these butterfly inducing sparks through her body, Rosa couldn’t resist the pull they had towards one another. 

Waking up in an unfamiliar room wrapped up under the blanket together wasn’t how either of them wished to spend their Sunday morning, A knock at the door threw them both for a loop. 

“Hey, whoever the hell fucked in my room, can you get out so I can burn it to the ground?!” 

Atlas winced at the voice, head pounding from his headache and at any moment he swore he could just throw up. Beside him, he heard a tired groan and felt the blankets get pulled up. With strained eyes, he peeked under the blanket to see who spent the night with him, ready to make some flirty comment that always sent his late night conquests swoon. 

“Good morning, gorg-” His breath caught in his throat and the sudden rise of nausea only made him cringe. 

At the voice, the woman beside him turned over. Her eyes cracked open, thankfully guarded by the blanket to buffer the light that flooded into the room.

In that moment, they both froze, staring in disbelief at the situation they were in. In the silence, the sound of a pin dropping was able to be heard. 

A switch flipped in both of their heads and instantly they were out of bed, haphazardly throwing their clothes on. Curses flew from their mouths, anger bubbling up from the ongoing animosity towards each other. Soon it turned to full on shouting. 

“..Disgusting, I can’t believe this!” 

“I’m disgusting?! You are the man whore that skips around campus!” 

“Man whore?! At least I’m not some teachers’ pet that can’t handle her alcohol!” 

“God I hate you!” Both screamed, storming out of the room and out of the house. 

The lack of sleep was the first sign of bond withdrawal. By the third day, the loss of appetite was beginning to eat away at their energy even more. 

“Munchkin, you don’t look so good.” Rosa’s father sat on the side of her bed, brushing some hair from her face. He saw all the signs of the withdrawal, everyone was taught about them early on in soulmate and bond education, but seeing them in his own child was heartbreaking, “You need to see him, Rosa. You both are punishing each other.” 

Weakly, she swatted his hand away from her face. “I never…want to see him again.” 

By the sixth day, the ringing in their ears was deafening. 

“Dude, you look like shit.” Atlas’s roommate, Niven, looked upon him with concern, shaking him to get his attention.

Focusing his eyes on Niven’s face, his eyebrows knit together in confusion. The atrocious ringing that pestered him was too loud to hear what he said. “I can’t…I can’t hear you.” He motioned to his head, taking a deep breath and struggling to sit up. 

It was a struggle to get ahold of her, but he managed to get a response through text of her address. Niven was kind enough to drive him, letting him know through a note on his phone to reach out if he needed any help later. 

Knocking on the door was a struggle but when it swung open, the man he was met with, who he assumed was her father, only helped drag him up the stairs. Moving through the house, he barely processed the pictures that he passed, seeing some of what he assumed was Rosa and her family. They looked…happy. 

He was all but tossed at Rosa when her bedroom door was opened. 

The moment there was skin to skin contact, the air that rushed into his lungs felt like the first breath after being held underwater for too long. With him leaning over her, he could see the color returning to his soulmate’s skin. The ringing dissipated and the need for food and sleep weighed down on him. 

A part of him was pleased that he felt better, yet some sick, dark part of him wished they never needed each other to begin with… 

This couldn’t be happening. 

“No no no no. Fuck!” Rosa took the closest thing to her – a plastic wrapping – and threw it against the wall. Tears pooled in her eyes and a single blink had them streaming down her face in a flood. “This can’t be fucking happening.” Her words came out pitiful and unsteady. 

She never thought she’d be here, sitting on the floor of her bathroom with a positive pregnancy test in hand. The two lines taunted her, slapping her in the face at the reality of the situation. Not even twenty, pregnant – to her hated soulmate nonetheless – and not even through college yet. 

Giving herself a moment to cry and let the overwhelming feeling of dread wash over her, Rosa stood and trudged her way down the stairs. 

“Mama, are you home?” She called out, her voice hoarse. At her side, she clenched the test tighter in her hand. 

Hearing shuffling down the hall towards the den, the voice she was looking for called out. “I’m coming, I’m coming.” Mama called out, making her way down the hall. 

Upon seeing her daughter in such a disheveled state, her maternal instincts were on high alert. “My love, what’s wrong-” Looking at her from head to toe, her breath caught in her chest. “Oh, sweetheart…”

Today they were to meet at a cafe on campus to get their allotted time of physical contact. Weeks had passed since their bond withdrawal, let alone the night they drunkenly slept together. Each meetup felt longer than the last. They barely spoke to each other, let alone look at each other. 

After a long and emotional conversation with her mother, Rosa had to tell Atlas, it was only right. Unlike his personal life, she wasn’t one to sleep around, he was the second person she had ever slept with, the last being three years prior in high school. 

Bile rose in her throat, distracting her from the textbook that rested open before her. 

“Atlas, I need you to listen because I’m only going to say this once.” Rosa began, folding her hands together in her lap. From her peripheral vision, she noticed his attention get drawn to her reluctantly.

Mentally, she was yelling at herself, but the longer she hesitated, the worse she felt. 

“Wha-” 

“I’m pregnant.” 

The world stopped. The weight of the world pushed down on her shoulders at his silence. Slowly, she lifted her head to meet his eyes. Unsurprisingly, the look on his face showed nothing but horror. Atlas leaned away, opening and closing his mouth yet no words came out. He set his jaw the last time he closed his mouth before standing up and quickly grabbing his things. 

“You can’t just run out on this!” She protested, pushing back in her chair and stood up, “Take some responsibility.” 

“Responsibility? Are you fucking serious right now?” He tossed his backpack over his shoulder, staring down at Rosa. “I never wanted a fucking soulmate, I never wanted this- Whatever the hell this is, and I don’t want it. You can’t expect me to just accept this. If you want to keep it, fine, I’ll stick around just to keep you alive if that’s what you want, but keep me out of it.” Each word was laced with venom, tearing her down at the emphasis of those words. 

He walked out without another word and she stood there, feeling the stare of other patrons as tears began to run down her cheeks. 

Atlas kept his word to say the least. He showed up to keep her alive, if she needed extra energy due to morning sickness or stress, he was there physically but never emotionally or mentally. When Rosa went into labor, he stayed a majority out of the room unless he was needed. 

As time went on, he had paid the bare minimum in child support, he never held his child or asked to see them. He became the typical absent father. No one was surprised. 

Rosa started to experience horrible postpartum depression and never truly recovered. Her mother and father had taken over the majority of the care for the baby. With her holed up in her room, the time between meetings to satisfy the bonds were still frequent but had begun to falter due to her emotional state and his reluctance to be around. 

She sought professional help and things were getting better. 

By the time the little one was three, there was a routine, Atlas followed it, steered clear of the kid, paid the money on time.

But one day the tension snapped, the metaphoric glass spilled over. 

“I can’t do this anymore! It’s driving me insane!” Atlas had stormed into the house, eyes bloodshot, breath ragged. “Why did I agree to keep you alive?! You have done nothing but drag me down with you every step of the way.” 

Mama had taken the kid away so they wouldn’t hear the fighting, she didn’t want this to be imprinted in their memory. 

“You think I like this any more than you do? I’m a single mom living with her parents while my selfish baby daddy is still sleeping around like the disgusting slut he was in college!” 

“Woe is me, Rosa. Give me a damn break!” He stepped into her personal space, faces inches apart, “You could have got rid of that kid but no! You kept it and ruined your life, my life, and your family’s life! I’m done, I’m not coming over, I’m not answering any more calls, I’m not sending any more money.” 

Her father pushed him away, eyes wide at the implications of his words. 

“If you want to see selfish, you are going to rot in hell with me.” 

Your grandparents never wanted you to hate them. They never wanted you to be afraid of what fate had in store for you. Both encouraged you to be your best self in spite of the rough hand you were dealt in life.

Communication was a skill they wanted you to know and wanted you to know it well. It was a lesson they instilled as far back as your memory went. If you needed help, you asked, if you felt curious, you questioned, but most important, if you were hurting, you told.   

They wouldn’t let you succumb to the same circumstances as your parents did.

[mypoorsanity]

𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆'𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀

𝘁𝗼𝗸𝘆𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘃!𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝘁 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝘁.𝟮

𝗮/𝗻, 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 : 𝗳𝗲𝗺!𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿, 𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘂'𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗲𝘀𝘆 𝗶 𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳, 𝗿𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗻𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁.

𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟭, 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟮

sexy, lily (this is a mix of mature and horny ran ok) :

i’d say good luck if you accept him as a lover, ran can be a mass handful, whether it’s at home or he’s taking you out on one of your weekly dates. but there are different kinds of ‘handfuls’ you may witness when with him, and i’d say you may or may not enjoy one of them. but one thing ran really can’t say no to is some nice sleep, and he can really sleep if he isn't disturbed. even though he’s quite a hormonally disturbed fella i’d say waking up with him is quite a sweet collection of moments, it’s a mix of sleepy and sweet. he’s someone who needs a morning hug (cling) before he even starts anything, so if he gets up really fucking tired, he needs a recharge and can just cling to your back with his arms around you for the next half hour. you can always hear a small mumble of “s���ur moving too much lily”, while you’re trying to accomplish breakfast and he needs a recharge for the morning. i’d enjoy this part of ran if i were you, cause when the hour is over, the other handful begins. happy-horny ran is back baby, you know he’s back to normal whenever he’s calling to you by saying what will irritate you the most (or the opposite i don’t blame you),

there are quite a few options for these words but they all remind you of him which you, sadly, love. the combination of words ‘‘hey’ and ‘sexy’’ manage to make you playfully roll your eyes every time, especially when you’re trying to get ready to go have a day out with your friends without him, you know his true intentions when he walks into the room with those words sitting on the tip of his tongue ready to spill and bored hands ready to attack.

love, rose :

he would hate me for saying this but, he’s just like his brother, a flower as their name for you is just a thing for them. the word ‘rose’ was unexpected coming from rindou, but it will come together when you see how he gets you a dozen roses for every milestone in your relationship. and you can only imagine the bouquet near the entrance to the first apartment you both shared. but when you were both teens in love, it was a slip of the tongue when you first heard it, it was your first anniversary like mentioned rindou had gotten you a dozen roses and followed up with a nice view of roppongi while sitting on some random high ass building. you both were committing to a small talk while just basking in each other presence, a nice time for the both of you, when you decided to pop a question. “rinnie i really love you for them, but do you really like roses or something?”. you constantly wondered about why he always chose roses to give you, of course, you didn’t care because they came from him just for you, but you were curious. he was resting, laying back on his back with his hands behind his head. “you remind me of one love, you’re my rose.” your brain clicks in realisation at the words he just said and you swear you could’ve burned to death on the spot with how red you were going. rindou himself noticed his own words, his eyes snapping open and a slight red appearing on his face. “that wasn't supposed to come out ‘til we get old, fuck.” yea i think you almost fainted.

darling, (he tries so hard ok):

chifuyu actually ‘grows a pair’, (as baji likes to call it) sooner than you think. looking into his mangas for some help, you’d think he’s still quite shy, (he is still actually) but he shows his big ol’ boyfriend chifuyu side at some point, if you told baji about this he’d start cry-laughing. but, chifuyu looked into his little romance mangas for some assistance on how to, ‘impress you with his “manliness”’. but oh my god, when you heard a small but hearable ‘darling’ within earshot, you’d think you hearing things as you were currently deeply invested in one of one chifuyu’s mangas. so you didn’t really hear him call you at first, but a second changed call was enough to make you second guess your hearing.. “what did you call me?”, damn, it was a human beetroot sitting across from you on his study chair. you were so surprised by this yourself that you as well had a small blush covering your cheeks. “NOTHING I SAID ‘DO YOU LIKE THE STORY’ NOTHING ELSE I SWEAR ON MY S-”, it was almost possibly the worst bluff you’ve ever heard, you couldn’t help but let out a laugh from his failed attempt. you honestly wanted to torture him with his words, but you wanted to hear it again so bad, you left him be to try again for next time. ”by the way, you’re welcome to say that again later”, “I DIDN’T SAY DARLING”, “i never said you did” “SHUT UP”

doll, baby :

hanma ‘i love to piss the fuck out of everyone i know’ shuji, someone has got to get him under control, and who other than his dear girlfriend. to him, you’re the only person who is probably able to control him to a point, like when he’s about to start a fight and you just wanna go home. all you have to say is “enough” and he actually stops provoking his opponent, rolling his eyes at them and looking down and your tired self, it's almost like you're stopping a dog from provoking another dog into a bark off. but he decides to go after you now with his g’old words, “aww ‘s my baby tired?” you want to actually punch him since it’s 11 at night and you’re missing your comfy sheets. “i’ll carry ya babe”, you start re-thinking punching him, but you then consider your tired legs and how you’d get home faster due to his longer ones... hanma’s grin honestly widens but from genuine happiness right now, ‘sin’ and ‘punishment’ gripping your thighs tighter to hoist you further up his back. you could fall asleep right there if it wasn’t for him starting to run for no fucking reason other than to, as we all guessed, piss you the fuck off. “SHUJI WHAT THE FUCK” “aw doll you’re not havin’ fun?”, “shuji ’m gonna choke the shit out of you.” “i’d take it from you anytime, anywhere.” yea i don’t know how you do it.

[81scorp]

Constructive criticism: Raya and Wish (2023)

Ah yes, Raya and the last Dragon and Wish... and a bonus

Raya and the last Dragon

Taking place in the fictional country of Kumandra, based on Southeast Asian culture, the movie follows the warrior princess Raya as she seek the fabled last dragon to save her father and the land of Kumandra from evil spirits that are known as Druun.

Critics gave the film positive reviews; some critics praised the imagery and depth but criticized the limited Southeast Asian representation.

The movie is very good on a technical level, Visually impressive, fun characters and the story is good... until the third act.

It`s message doesn`t really fit into it`s narrative. It tries to fit a square shaped peg into a round hole.

If I could wish upon a star that I could travel back in time and do some changes to the script I would like to make one small change.

Namaari giving her "This is just as much your fault" speech and Raya acting as if she`s right

The biggest downside in this scene is Raya`s reaction to what Namaari says, looking at her own reflection in her sword as if to say: "My god, what have I become?"

How I would do it: Raya and Namaari fight. Raya gets the upperhand, disarms Namaari and is about to strike the final blow... but then she looks at what`s happening around them, the city is falling apart, killing Namaari is not gonna solve this. She drops her sword.

Raya: "My original plan was to steal the gem. It was Sisu who convinced me to talk to you. She believed in you. And for a moment... so did I."

Then she leaves to save what still can be saved of the people of Fang.

Namaari looks at her own reflection in one of her twin swords and has a "My god, what have I become?" moment.

I guess I could stop here, but I want to change one more scene.

Raya giving her gem piece to Namaari

In the scene where they are all in the pit trying to fight the druuns with their gem pieces and Raya realizes that they have to put the pieces together, it would be better if Namaari gave her piece to Raya before she gives her piece to Namaari.

Namaari would then step backwards and let the Druun take her. The others would then give their pieces to Raya, stand next to Namaari and be turned to stone. Raya tries to put the gem back together, nothing happens, she places herself between Namaari and the others (Tong, Boun, Little Noi and the Ongis), puts a hand on Tong`s arm and a hand on Namaari`s shoulder as if to form a bridge between the two. (Symbolism!)

Then the dragongem starts working, everyone gets unstoned, the dragons return, Kumandra is united and everyone`s happy.

The end.

Yes, I know. Raya needed to learn how to trust, but Namaari needed to show that she could be trusted.

Wish (2023)

Disney (the company that owns your childhood) was turning 100 years old and decided to give itself a big pat on the back by making an animated movie that would celebrate it`s legacy.

The film received mixed reviews, with praise directed towards the vocal performances, the animation and references to the wider Disney canon, but criticism levelled at the plotting, songs, and screenplay.

People were disappointed in Wish because it was supposed to be a milestone, the movie made to celebrate that the Disney animation studio has been around for 100 years! It just couldn`t live up to the hype. But if you take all the hype and great expectations out of the equation and just view it, not as this BIG thing it was intended to be, but just as the movie it is, it`s... just OK.

Later when the art book of the movie came out and people saw what could have been, many youtubers decided to do what I have been doing since 2015, and do a little constructive criticism of their own. With so many rewrites of Wish popping up on the internet and my own history of playing script doctor, it only seems logical that I too throw my hat in the ring and submit my own Wish rewrite.

So... if I had a fairy godmother who could Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo me back in time to when this movie was written, this is what I would change.

People willingly giving their wishes to Magnifico

It would have been better if Magnifico took peoples wishes from them without their knowledge. It would have made him a better villain. He could take peoples wishes when they are asleep.

Asha

I`d dial down her quirkiness a little. Personalitywise she could be an ambitious overachiever, a mix between Hermoine and Tiana, with an adorkable side.

Valentino

Does everything he says have to be something comical? I like jokes but not all of them landed. It was like his funniness was mandated. Dial down the number of jokes.

Some of the songs

It`s not that the songs are bad per se, some of them just don`t fit into the scenes where they are used, like "At all cost".

They should either have :

A: Given Julia Michaels more time and let her be more involved in the production. (Howard Ashman was very involved in the making of The Little Mermaid.)

or

B: Hired people experienced in musicals. Maybe the people who wrote the songs for Wicked, Hadestown or Hazbin Hotel?

Magnifico needing a book to be evil

The biggest problem this movie has is that it couldn`t decide if Magnifico should be a redeemable, three dimensional antagonist or a classic Disney Villain, so it did both and the results were underwhelming.

I would have made him a twist villain, but instead of waiting for the third act I would reveal it near the end of the first. He would be a charismatic leader, great at fooling people that he has their best interests at heart. In the end, his paranoia would get the better of him.

To Starboy or not to Starboy, that is the question.

At first I wasn`t gonna bother with the whole Starboy thing since it`s not really an issue. The movie`s biggest problem lies in how they wrote King Magnifico. However, a while ago I saw a video on youtube by ColeyDoesThings who talked about what the movie could have been if they had gone the Starboy route, and she made some compelling arguments. So for this rewrite I`ve decided to go with the Starboy idea.

Starboy`s personality could be a lot like Aladdin, a little bit like Peter Pan with a pinch of Ariel. (Why Ariel? Because similar to her, he wants to be where the people are, he wants to see, wants to see 'em dancin'. You know, all that stuff.) He would be a bit of a contrast to Asha.

I did not change Star becase I thought it was necessary, but because I thought it sounded interesting.

I would also make Hal and Bazeema gay and have them kiss eachother in the end.

Plot

Asha prepares to interview for the job of Magnifico's apprentice on the day of her grandfather Sabino's 100th birthday.

When Asha is around, her mother and Saba put on a happy face for her, when she leaves they become a bit apathetic. This is something that many people in Rosas over the age of 18 (who have had their wishes taken) do.

She leads tourists through the town as she sings about what an amazing place it is and what an awesome king they have in "Welcome to Rosas". She rehearses for her job interview with her friends,

There are three wishes that the king refuses to grant:

Wishes about killing people.

Wishes about making someone fall in in love with someone else.

Wishes about bringing people back from the dead.

If you wish to become a magician you`ll have to become the king`s apprentice (and you don`t have to be 18.)

Queen Amaya shows up and takes Asha to Magnifico. At first it goes a little shaky because she`s nervous but then it goes well and Magnifico thinks she is worthy to be his apprentice.

They sing a duet, but not "At all cost". It is a song about optimism and ambition, about what a great student/mentor team they`ll make. The chorus could go:

Magnifico: "With you as my student!"

Asha: "With you as my guide!"

Both: "Great things will happen with you by my side!"

Something like that.

The interview is over and Asha leaves Magnifico`s study.

She is excited. She gets to work with the king! The most awesome king in the world! She does a dorky little victory dance. Valentino shows up, he snuck into the castle with her. Asha starts chasing him, she doesn`t want him to break something expensive, she really wants this job!

Valentino sneaks in through a door to a big (and probably forbidden) room and knocks down an ancient scroll. Asha picks up the scroll to put it back where it was, then she notices the title: How to remove someone`s wish.

Remove? The king grants wishes, he doesn`t take them!

She tries to convince herself not to read it, it`s not meant for her eyes, it`s classified, but her curiosity gets the better of her. She reads in the scroll that the spell should not be used on people under the age of 18. The individual who has had their wish removed becomes docile and free of aspirations, and in some rare cases, even lethargic (just like Simon). They will feel like something is missing from their life but are not able to put their finger on what.

She refuses to believe this. This can`t be true! Magnifico wouldn`t do something like this! He`s a good king!... Right? There are magical orbs of light floating in the ceiling, she takes a ladder and climbs up so that she can get a better look at them. One of the orbs shows a woman that wishes she could fly, another a woman who wishes to sail the seas, another a man who wishes to climb a muntain, and one of the orbs shows... her Saba! It is true, the king takes peoples wishes from them!

She climbs down, puts the scroll back and leaves the room quietly with Valentino under her arm.

She`s about to leave the castle through the main gate when Magnifico shows up. He tells her that there will be a wish-granting ceremony later that evening and he wants her to be present. Asha is nervous, but not a "OMG! I`m meeting my hero!" kind of nervous, but a "Hope he doesn`t figure out that I went into a forbidden room and saw things I shouldn`t have seen" kind of nervous. He seems not to notice, but at soon as Asha leaves the room we see that he did.

Later that evening there`s a wish-granting ceremony, a woman gets her wish granted, the people cheer for Magnifico and Asha sits there next to the queen, stiff and nervous.

Later that night: Asha tries to tell her family the truth about Magnifico, but they don`t believe her. Distraught, Asha runs away and makes her own wish on a star as she sings "This wish". (Not a bad song, but it could have used better lyrics in some places.)

Starboy appears and surprises Asha who smacks him with her sketch-book. (Meet-cute!)

Magnifico senses Starboy's arrival and sees it as a threat to his power.

Starboy doesn`t really grant wishes per se. He`s only as helpful as giving the means, but it’s up to the wishmaker to put the work in order to have their wish fulfilled.

Starboy's magic brings the forest to life, giving voices to the animals, plants and Valentino. They sing "I`m a star", but with better lyrics. (No "we're all shareholders" or "Get that through your system. Solar!") Asha, Valentino, and Starboy embark on a mission to recover Sabino's wish. She wants to save all the wishes, but if she can only save one she`ll have to focus on Sabino`s.

Tension rises in Rosas, Magnifico makes a public appearence and promises a great reward for any information relating to the strange light phenomenon. This makes Simon react. The residents of Rosas begin questioning his rule for the first time. Magnifico gets uncomfortable, leaves and sings "This is the thanks I get" (But sinister, not upbeat, and no "I let you live here fo free and I don't even charge you rent"). Asha and Starboy takes not only Sabino`s wish but a few other wishes as well and uses Starboy`s cape as a sack.

Asha returns Sabino's wish and he is overjoyed to have his memories back and sings "A wish worth making", playing his lute. They get ready to take the sack with the other wishes and return them to their rightful owners when King Magnifico bursts into the family's home. He has been informed by a mole that Asha was responsible for Starboy's arrival. He crushes Sakina's wish as punishment, rendering her overcome with grief. Starboy tries to defend her and is spotted by Magnifico, who vows to capture him. Asha and her family flee with Starboy. Sakina can barely stand after what Magnifico did to her wish, so Starboy uses his magic to give her the strength to walk. In all the chaos they unfortunately leave the other wishes in their home, Magnifico takes them as his own. Sabino and Sakima hide somewhere safe while Asha goes back to Rosas to free the rest of the wishes.

Later, in Magnifico`s study: Simon enters and feels bad for selling out his friend, King Magnifico tells him that what he did was necessary for the safety of the kingdom and that Asha won`t be hurt. He turns Simon into a knight, not in a public wish-granting ceremony though, but right there in his study.

Later, a brainwashed Simon is walking the streets with the company of other knights, searching for Asha and the rest of her friends. Asha sees him and looks for a place to hide. She finds her friends` hideout, not because of Valentino`s butt, but because of his sense of smell. She rallies the rest of her friends, Queen Amaya shows up and joins them.

Asha and her friends start making a plan.

Later, in King Magnifico`s secret lab: King Magnifico has made a staff, Amaya shows up and tells him what Asha and her friends are planning.

Gasp! Queen Amaya is a villain! (Dun dun dunn!)

She and Magnifico sing an evil duet villain song which is kinda similar to "With you by my side".

Asha`s friends infiltrate Magnifico's study to open up the ceiling and free the wishes while Asha plans to distract Magnifico. She and Starboy hides in the woods, she is nervous, Starboy tries to comfort her, so they talk a little. The talking leads to feelings being revealed which leads to singing. They sing "At all costs" and dance a romantic dance, first on the surface of a lake, then high up in the sky. (Thanks to Starboy`s magic.) Starboy gives Asha a magic wand to use as he leaves to help her friends, he then notices that he is getting weaker. Magnifico arrives, he and Asha fights. Magnifico turns out to be Simon disguised with an illusion and he breaks Asha`s wand, Asha finds a way to knock him out using the environment to her advantage.

Her friends almost free the wishes but are betrayed by Queen Amaya. Starboy tries to stop her but she pulls out a dagger and threatens to kill one of Asha`s friends, Magnifico shows up and zaps Starboy with magical chains that he can`t break free from.

Asha returns to the city, is caught by Magnifico, finds Starboy in magical chains and finds out that Queen Amaya was just a mole. Magnifico darkens the sky with clouds so that the people won`t be able to wish on stars.

Asha (to Magnifico): "I believed in you! I thought you were a good king!"

Magnifico: "I`m not a good king. I`m a GREAT king!"

All hope seems lost, Asha starts to sing the reprise to "This wish", her friends and the people of Rosas join her and their singing makes Starboy strong enough to break free from his chains. The breaking of the chains creates a shockwave that knocks Asha, Amaya and Magnifico off the tower. Starboy, still weakened, only has enough strength to save one of them, so he saves Asha.

With Magnifico defeated, his spell powers down as a new day dawns over the kingdom, with the citizens, Asha's mother included, are able to get their wishes back, afterwards, Asha is soon confronted by a regretful Simon, who understands if she doesn`t want to forgive him, but she does as she understands why he did it.

Starboy keeps getting weaker and has to go back, he gives Asha a new wand and the two of them say good bye. She wonders if she`ll ever see him again, he tells her that he`ll be the second star to the right.

With urging from her friends, Asha promises to help others earn their wishes as a Fairy Godmother, aiding everyone in making their dreams come true.

Post-credit scene: One year later: Asha is walking to the wishing tree in her fairy godmother outfit. She walks past a grave stone. Sabino is sitting in the tree playing "When you wish upon a star" on his lute. A tear rolls down Asha`s cheek. After Sabino has played the song he disappears as if he was a ghost. We see that the grave stone that Asha walked past earlier was Sabino`s. She wipes away her tear, looks up at the second star to the right, takes out her wand and teleports to some place where she might be needed.

And that`s how I would do it. Not great but hopefully not bad.

I cut "Knowing what I know now" because it was getting a little tight between songs. It would be hard to fit that song, Magnifico and Amaya`s villain song and "At all costs" so close to each other, while still maintaining a good narrative flow.

At first I wasn`t gonna turn Queen Amaya evil because I couldn`t come up with enough evil stuff for her to do (that I could fit into the plot without making it worse). But then I made her a villain because it would make things harder for Asha and her friends, which would make the movie more interesting.

But like I said before, the movie`s biggest problem is not that the Queen wasn`t evil, but that the writers couldn`t pick a lane when deciding if they wanted to make Magnifico a three-dimensional antagonist or a classic Disney Villain.

And now... a Bonus

One more thing about Frozen 2

Turning Kristoff`s Lost in the woods into a cheesy 1980s rock ballad musicvideo

I was gonna have this in my Frozen 2 CC but forgot and didn`t remember until after I published it. Since I don`t wanna go back and edit it I`ll write it here.

This scene is admittedly entertaining and if you don`t care about tone as long as it`s entertaining it`s fine.

But funny songs works better for funny characters and what Kristoff is singing about feels sincere, which clashes with how the song is executed.

The 1980s rock sound: Lose it.

The visuals: Have Kristoff walking around in the woods, seeing things that, to him, looks like Anna: a pile of rocks, a pile of leaves, a cloud in the sky. Stuff like that.

Probably an unpopular opinion.

It is of course very easy for me to write these because I have the luxury of hindsight. And unlike the filmmakers I didn`t have a movie studio full of corporate suits breathing down my neck, focus grouping the movie to death, forcing in unnecessary changes and pressuring me to get it made before a deadline.

Why do I write these?

For several reasons. I`m nitpicky. Sometimes the movies I criticize aren`t bad, I just like my own ideas better. Sometimes the movies I critize are bad. I care about good storytelling and it`s a fun excerize in creativity and script doctoring.

But also because I have a lot of of free time.

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

Other movies on my Constructive Criticism list that you can look forward to

Supergirl (1984) Jonah Hex (2010) Dragonball evolution The Spirit (2008) The Dark Knight trilogy

And as usual: English is not my first language, so if my writing doesn`t seem to flow naturally, you know why.

[geralts-yenn]

caught

A/N: So I tried to add to the stories for @sillyrabbit81's absolutely amazing milestone celebration...

You can find the masterlist for the celebration event here

My masterlist is to be found here

Pairing: Mikey (Hellraiser) x reader (female reader, no race, body type or physical features mentioned)

Prompt: Playful-Happy / Mike / Caught masturbating

summary: just some playful banter and porn without plot

warnings: smut: male masturbation, fingering, oral (m&f receiving), p-i-v sex , a hint of spanking, Mikey being Mikey…

word count: 2k

This is a follow up of pranked but both stories can be read separately

@sillyrabbit81 @raccoon-eyed-rebel @fvckinghenrycavill @mayloma @deandoesthingstome @ylva-stark @ellethespaceunicorn

If you want to be tagged / don't want to be tagged anymore please let me know

You were about to ring the doorbell when the door opened and Walter straight up bumped into you. “Oh, hey, didn’t notice you. You okay?” he asked. You nodded. “I’m fine, Walter. Thank you!” Why the hell did you thank him? For running into you? Most probably, yes, his firm chest felt really good. But you hoped he wouldn’t come to this conclusion.

“Mike is still asleep as far as I know. But I guess he wouldn’t mind you waking him up. I’m on my way to the office, so…” You were glad he didn’t end his sentence. Because, of course, he meant to give you the hint that this time in fact there wouldn’t be anyone in the house to hear you. Still remembering that awkward breakfast with Mike and his dad after the first night you spent at their house, you didn’t need another conversation like that.

You went up the stairs and heard music coming from Mikey’s room. So you wouldn’t need to wake him up. After knocking on his door, you waited a moment, but there was no reaction. You knocked a second time, still nothing. But it was Mike, who knows where his head was right at the moment? And what could be the worst thing you could run into?

Well, yes, the situation in front of you probably was within the top three worst things to run into in your boyfriend’s room. You were staring at Mikey, who lay on his bed, fisting his cock. Your mouth formed a small 'O'. As was Mikey’s. He was stroking himself at a fast pace and with a tight grip. His eyes were shut and the deep frown on his forehead wouldn’t have brought you to the conclusion of what he was doing at the moment, if you didn’t see it for yourself. 

He didn’t seem to notice you, and your mind was racing, thinking how to react. But it was Mikey. He could deal with a little embarrassment. “Doing so good, baby!” you praised him, followed by a small chuckle. Mike’s head shot up to you. But to your surprise, he didn’t seem embarrassed at all. A wide grin spread over his face.

“Hey, sweetcheeks, I was just thinking about you.” He didn’t even stop his ministrations. 

You couldn’t hold back a laugh. “Oh my god, Mikey!” At least, finally, he got up and packed himself back into his boxers. The only piece of clothing he was wearing, as you took in, appreciating his broad shoulders and his abs that formed a nice looking eight pack. Your eyes followed down the trail of hair on his stomach. You could still see the big bulge, covered by thin fabric now. And of course, this sight didn't leave you without a physical response. You felt that familiar tingling between your legs. 

“You wanna join me, babycakes? I could use some help.” Mike and you met in the middle of his room, and your mouth was on his as soon as you were near enough to reach him. 

Mike started out slowly but it didn't need long until you felt his kiss getting more heated. You dropped your backpack on the floor so you could sink your fingers into his curls like you loved it. Mike's arms tightened around your waist and his hands sneaked up under your shirt. You brushed your tongue over his lips and felt Mike's tongue intruding your mouth the very next moment. With the familiar sweet and minty taste of him, you felt a wave of warmth sweep through your body. 

Your hands traveled down his neck, along his spine, until you carefully pushed your fingers under the elastics of his underwear to cup his cute ass.

“Mh, look who is needy,” Mikey mumbled into your mouth and you could feel him grinning. He took your explorations as an invitation to move his hands, too, and they went to your chest and brushed over your bra. His thumb slowly circled around your hard nipples. Both of you moaned in each other's mouths. 

Mikey grabbed the hem of your shirt and pulled at it. Next, your shorts found their way to the floor. His hands were roaming over your body, his mouth on yours, rough and demanding. Fuck, this guy made you so desperate with his way of kissing and touching you! This desperation needed to be stilled. So your fingers were back on Mikey's boxer briefs and you carefully pulled them over his erection and down to his knees. 

A gasp left Mikey’s mouth when you wrapped your fingers around his cock. You stroked him a few times, but this wasn’t what was on your mind. Your mouth left Mikey’s lips and instead you went down over his throat and chest, licking, biting and kissing, while you sank on your knees. Mikey growled in anticipation. 

You sat on your heels and looked up at him. For a moment, Mike stood completely still, the only movement the fast heaving of his chest. You bit on your lip to hide the smile when you thought what an uncommon sight that was. But then your impatience got the better of you and you grabbed his cock with one hand and started to circle your tongue over his tip. 

The drop of pre-cum on it left a salty taste in your mouth. 

As you wrapped your lips around him and started to suck him with hollow cheeks, Mikey couldn’t hold back any more, and his small hisses changed into loud moans. His sounds made your pussy clench around nothing and you were sure your panties were completely soaked by now. In no way you were able to take him completely, so your hand closed around the base of his shaft and moved together with your mouth. 

“Fuck, baby, you’re so beautiful with my cock in your mouth!” As you looked up and met his gaze, Mike let out another deep growl. His hands cradled around the back of your head and he thrust his hip forward. You felt him moving in your throat, as deep as you could take him. Your saliva drooled down your chin. But then Mike pulled back, still holding you, and his cock left your mouth with a pop.

He bent down to you and with one swift movement he had thrown you over his shoulders and carried you to his bed where he dropped you onto the mattress. “Time for breakfast!” he exclaimed with a wide grin. Kneeling next to you, he hurried to get rid of your bra and panties, throwing them onto the floor to the rest of your clothes. His boxers followed on the spot when he kicked them off his legs. 

Without any teasing or slow build up, Mikey just dove his head between your legs and devoured your pussy as if he was starving. Now it was you who couldn’t keep quiet, and Mike knew exactly what to do to entice all these lewd little sounds out of you. You started to squirm under him as his mouth worked sloppily on your clit. But when he slipped two fingers into your cunt, you lost all control. Your hips jerked up, and your fingers dug into his hair, riding his tongue and fingers to your climax. 

When you slowly came to your senses again, you opened your eyes and saw Mikey still kneeling between your legs, looking onto your pussy like a happy little puppy. Your heart melted at that sight. You grabbed his hands and pulled him down to you, kissing him feverishly. Trying to get him as close as possible, you wrapped your arms around him. 

Mike mirrored your movement, closing his arms around you. You didn’t even notice how he managed, but in the next moment, Mike was laying on his back and your body was spread on top of him. 

You positioned your legs beside his thighs and straddled him. When you sat up, Mike followed you while your tongues kept exploring each other's mouths. You grinded on Mikey’s hips, your wet folds brushing over his hard shaft. Mike moaned desperately into your mouth. You teased him a few times more by rolling your hips over him, but then you took pity on him and positioned his cock at your entrance. As you rose up to do so, Mike took the opportunity to dive into your cleavage, kneading both of your breasts. Slowly you sank down, feeling him stretching your walls while Mike’s mouth circled around your pebbled peaks. 

When you had taken all of him into you, you started to ride him frantically. Your hips smashed down on him while Mike enjoyed your boobs bouncing in his face with every thrust. Mike readjusted his position, and damn, that was a good move. You felt him rocking into you deeply like you never felt him before and you cried out his name. “Fuck, this feels good, baby!” he sighed. You felt your walls clench around him and only after a few more times crashing your hips together you fell apart once more. Your thighs trembled and you couldn’t keep up the pace any longer. 

Mike crawled out under you. While you were still kneeling with shaking legs, he positioned himself behind you and slapped your ass. And then he split your wet cunt open again and started to pound into you. Strangled moans coming from him, you were sure he was close now. And so you bucked your hips against him, helping him chase his climax. The smacking noises of your bodies joined the sounds of your moans. 

Mike wrapped his arms around your chest and guided you to sit up with him. Your sweaty bodies rubbed against each other. Mike’s hands found their favorite place in the world on your boobs again and he rutted hard into you. Finally, he spilled himself into you with one last powerful thrust. 

Both of you just dropped to the bed and lay there, totally spent. Mike wrapped one arm around you and kissed your forehead. “That was better than what I imagined when you came in, earlier!” You both laughed. “Glad I could help,” you answered him with a wink and snuggled into his embrace. 

“Mike?” You brushed a lock of his hair out of his face. He was still fuckdrunk and couldn't even open his eyes fully. “Hm?” he hummed in return. 

“You knew I was coming, right?” He wrinkled his nose, looking honestly confused. “I wouldn't stop before I had made you come, baby, you know that.” You chuckled and shook your head. “No, smarty, I meant, you know I was coming over to your house this morning. Why did you even start, you know, masturbating?” His long fingers brushed lazily over your back. “It's not like I had planned this. I got up, saw that gorgeous selfie you sent me last night and, well, that was kinda inspiring.” He smirked. “So I started my 'don't-come-in'-music and got to work.” How that man always made you feel confused and totally smitten at the same time… “Your what?” You blinked at him. Mike pointed to his speaker. “When I don't want Walter to come into my room, I start this particular song. He knows to stay away when he hears it.” Shaking your head and giggling, you said: “You know, there are keys that could do the same?”

“Yeah, lost mine some time ago. And maybe I did some things that made Walter believe it would be safer to not get me a new one” He shrugged and gave you a wink. You decided that you definitely didn't want to ask what exactly he did, so you stayed silent. But after a moment, a thought came to your mind. “Wait, did Walter hear that music or did you just start it right before I entered your room?”

Mike watched you curiously. “He must have heard” This family made you speechless over and over again. “So he knew exactly what I was running into," you remarked.

“Yeah, probably wanted me to feel embarrassed. But come on, I was raised in this family of lunatics. It takes more than jerking off in front of my girl to make me feel ashamed.”

[apuckishwit]

“Don’t look yet but-“ for Steddie?

"Don't look yet, but..." Eddie trails off, his hand slipping from Steve's as he takes a few steps away, his boots crunching over gravel. Steve keeps his eye onediently closed, as he has since Eddie asked him to a few miles back.

He might not have been able to, once. Wouldn't have been able to just shake his head with a fond smile, leaning back against the seat and just relaxing while someone drove him to God knows where, for God knows what. Wouldn't have been able to just laugh when that someone pulled to a stop and told him to take their hand, wouldn't have been able to just follow, nothing more than a 'watch your step, sweetheart, ground's kinda rough' to clue him into his surroundings. He'd almost forgotten what it was like, not having to look constantly over his shoulder. Not having to be so terribly, terribly alert, always in all ways. Always bracing for the next blow, the next crisis, the next loss.

The Upside Down has been gone for years, sealed and closed and gone, and he's only just started to be able to let down his guard, let go of his readiness, let go of the man it made him into. The kids--not kids anymore, Erica is a senior this year, they've all grown up and moved on, but they'll always be his kids--have helped. Eddie has helped. He's as close to healed as he's ever going to get these days, as close to 'normal' as he's ever going to be, and he owes so much of it to his friends. To the man he can feel standing just in front of him.

As if sensing his thoughts, he feels Eddie's calloused fingertips just barely ghosting over his cheek, sliding down the long white scar that runs from his temple all the way down to tangle across his throat (he'd nearly died, but the demogorgon would have gutted Lucas if Steve hadn't shoved him out of the way...it was worth every ounce of pain, every permanent reminder left on his body). He smiles when Eddie thumb swipes over his lips, pressing against the bottom one just gently.

"You're so pretty," he says, reaching up now with both hands to cradle Steve's face. "I'm the luckiest bastard in this whole goddamn town."

He snorts, still keeping his eyes closed. "Shallowest too, apparently." The words are teasing, though, and he turns slightly to press a kiss into Eddie's palm. "Can I look, yet?"

Eddie's hands tighten briefly on his cheeks, and then his boyfriend backs away, gravel crunching under his boots again as he starts pacing. "Okay, so, despite what it's gonna look like, I need to preface this by saying I have absolutely no expectation and I don't want to pressure you. You can, uh, you can say no. I really, really want you to say yes, but nothing changes between us if you say no. Okay?"

"Eddie, Jesus Christ, are you proposing? Cause if I get engaged to my boyfriend before Robin gets engaged to her girlfriend she might actually kill me...like, we beat her to every other milestone and I've only known I was queer for, like, five years and she's been doing it her whole life and--"

"Okay, I know this is about your whole weird, one soul in two bodies thing you have going with Buckley, but what I'm HEARING is that you'd totally say yes if I was proposing. I'm not, by the way. Robin WOULD actually kill us."

"Well good. But for the record, I'd say yes."

"Even if it wouldn't be real?" Eddie asks softly, that quiet wondering note he gets in his voice sometimes when Steve does or says something that reminds him that Steve is just as in this thing between them as he is. Like he can't believe it, like he can't understand how he got so lucky, when really it's the other way around.

"It'd be real to us," Steve says, just as softly. "It'd be real to everyone that matters."

Eddie kisses him, then, fast and hard and overwhelming, and he almost opens his eyes, almost spoils whatever surprise his boyfriend has cooked up.

"Okay. So...okay," Eddie says when he pulls back again. "So, you remember when I went up to Indy to fill in for the guitarist in that band that Jeff's cousin is in?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, turns out there were a couple people in the industry at the show. One of them got my number from Jeff's cousin and, well, they want me to come to LA to work for their label."

Eddie's hands come up to cover his eyes as they pop open, just a flash of blue sky and the shadows of what look like several large vehicles before he's blinded again. He grips his boyfriend's wrists.

"Seriously?! Holy shit! Eds, that's everything you've ever dreamed of! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Cause I wanted to be sure they were legit. It's not a record deal or anything--I'd be working in their studio doing backup instruments, maybe some sound mixing. Basically, I'd be an in house guitarist. But they've got some decent names signed with them. There'd probably be opportunities to tour with some of the bands. It's...it's a foot in the door, basically. But it's a really good opportunity. The pay's not great to start, but...uh...I think it'd be doable. Especially if I had someone with me."

His hands slip from Steve's eyes and Steve is left blinking in the dazzling October sunlight.

They're standing on a used car lot, surrounded by RV's. Eddie has led him to stand right in front of one of the smallest--really just big enough for two, maybe three people. It's definitely an older model. Dirty and a little beat up. But the price written on the sign taped to the window is pretty reasonable and Steve knows Eddie wouldn't even look at it if it didn't have a good engine.

"Lady Applejack is graduating this year. They've all gone on to their own adventures...and I'll always make sure we have enough to hop on a flight immediately if any of them need us. But, uh, I think...I think it's time I went on an adventure too. And I really want you to come with me, Stevie. In fact--I don't think I can do this without you."

And there's really only one answer, isn't there?

"Bill," he says decisively, laughing when Eddie frowns in confusion. He gestures toward the RV. "We have to call it Bill...like the pony?"

The confusion clears, and he's suddenly got an armful of Eddie. "You know how I get when you talk nerdy to me!"

[tragedy-of-commons]

Congratulations on getting 150 followers, that's amazing!

Since you wanted some requests, I have one for you. You should write something Qingque related. I think it would be fitting, considering your blog is themed after her and this would be a good way to celebrate this awesome milestone!

Do whatever you want to with it, I have no idea what kind of style/story it would be. Take your time with it, I know you're busy with other requests right now. Finish those up and let me see what your awesome writing skills can do with your icon!

Have a nice day!

crash course

qingque & gn!reader | wc: ~850

Your coworker teaches you to relax.

tags/warnings: platonic, i love qingque, overworked reader, mentioned fu xuan

notes: hi sam! tysm for the request and kind words! your support means everything & i can't believe i hit 150. i hope you like what i decided to do with this! ^_^

“…and that's how you slack off!” Qingque punches your shoulder, mouth full of god-knows-what-kebab. (You’re scared to ask, actually, given that she has a preference for her food to be fried beyond recognition.)

“You know, I don't think I needed your crash course on the subject. It's pretty self-explanatory,” you point out. “Self-explanatory enough that I think Madam Diviner Fu Xuan is going to know exactly where we are and hunt us down.”

Spices Supreme houses the two of you perfectly, home to various colorful characters on their lunch hours, rushing their meals as if they don’t have all the time in their lives (well, for Natives, you suppose). Letting her drag you away from your post at the Matrix of Prescience an hour before your mandated break was a bad idea, and you can’t stop looking over your shoulder like a scared dog.

“Xuany? You worry too much,” she dismisses easily. “She’s let me off with nothing more than a few threats of termination. Not to mention, you’re her favorite! Just blame me if she finds us.”

“Yeah, I definitely will,” you deadpan, “considering it is your fault.”

Qingque puts down her stick and covers her ears obnoxiously. “Lalalalala, that is not what I want to hear from you! You’re learning to relax, remember?” To make her point clearer, she leans forward and pinches your cheek, ignoring the aggrieved squeak you let out. “I used to be like this too, you know, clogged pores, dark circles, miserable—”

“Hey!”

“—but then I learned to let go and live for myself,” she says, pride suffocatingly apparent. She doesn’t even react when you swat her grubby little hand away. “So, you definitely did need the crash course.”

Her smug smile is unbearable-but-loveable all the same. When you first started working at the Divination Commission, your wiser coworkers advised you to steer clear of Qingque, Slacker Extraordinaire. It seems like fate had other plans, considering she stuck to you like a magnet, slowly spoon-feeding you her philosophy since day one. 

However, what surprises you more is her little anecdote; had she really been a diligent overachiever like you at some point? Was something like that even possible? The look in her eyes right now makes you want to believe her, and the sparkle in them earlier today is what convinced you to shirk even the tiniest bit of responsibility. Perhaps she cares more than she lets on.

“Fine,” you acquiesce. “I’ll ‘let go’. What else is there to it? Is there some kind of initiation that I don’t know about?” you pick at your food, appetite subdued due to your still-firing nerves. 

Qingque gingerly takes your hands, solemn and foreign. “I’m delighted you’d ask… it’s… it’s…”

She leaves one of your hands cold and roots around in her pocket awkwardly, maintaining intense eye contact with you like the world is about to end as you know it. You take it all back - this girl is strange. When she finally procures a Celestial Jade tile of all things, you groan inwardly.

“Celestial Jade? Really?” you hum, unimpressed. “Wow, I never would have guessed! It’s almost like you just dragged me out here to indoctrinate me and then force me to be your game partner.”

She huffs, bottom lip jutting out into a pout. “I know what this looks like, but hear me out! As much as I’d love for you to play a game or two with me—that’s not what I meant. For me, Celestial Jade is a big part of ‘letting go’. It’s probably my favorite thing ever - what I put all of my heart into. You need to find your Celestial Jade.”

Qingque presses the tile into your palm. Five multicolored hearts take up the expanse of the brick, other details emerging such as its scuffed corners and its chipped paint; it is well-worn and likely seen hundreds of victories. While you stare, she continues to talk, familiar stars in the green-yellow of her irises.

“You work hard, and that’s cool. But I don’t think it’s making you happy… I thought bringing you out here today would be fun. I want everybody to have fun,” she laughs. “Also, I do want you to be my game partner, hehe.”

Yeah. She’s strange… and also totally right. You close your fingers over the tile, thumb caressing the surface pensively. Most adults let their jobs consume them, including you; the way you put all of your energy into going above and beyond for something that drains you was never your goal in life. It just kind of happened. You do need something - or someone - fun right now.

“Qingque… I think I’m starting to get it.”

“Aha! I knew you would!” she points at you like one would an endangered species, “Now, you shall face my wrath in tile mania!”

(You do end up facing off against her, but not before Fu Xuan drags you both back to the Divination Commission with smoke coming out of her ears in whorls. As Qingque takes the fall for you with a wink and a poor excuse, you thumb against the tile now resting in your breast pocket.)

Maybe your strange friend can be your Celestial Jade.

[kemeticdevotee]

Milestone in my practice

Today, I felt safe and secure knowing the nTrw are here to stay. I have abandonment issues which often cause me extreme paranoia and self-sabotage in my relationships. I have always loved my religion, but for some reason my fears tend to carry on into my relationship with even the divine. As of late, I have been going through a really rough time. I pushed my religion away (which was different from taking a break, breaks from your practice are perfectly okay!!) and even considered renouncing my religion, despite the fact that I still 100% believed in it still, it still made me happy and hopeful. The reason I did this, after deep contemplation, was because I felt that the Gods would leave me and that I was unlovable even for the divine.

That couldn't be farther from the truth.

I started to get the sudden urge to sort of start over, to make new habits within my religion and to re-build my practice. Of course, I had to find out what that meant for me. Today, I returned to the altar four times to pray and give offerings, and just sit with Auset. I made the decision to do this everyday at set times, so now I have alarms set on my phone to pray and give offerings at least four times per day. I do so much research, which is extremely important, but often it feels like I don't actually practice and just research ��� so I'm trying to find a balance.

Also, I've been contemplating Ma'at more seriously, and finding out what it means for me. What does it mean to live in Ma'at? This question is one I have been, and will be, meditating on everyday. I wish to connect in the mornings, and to set the specific intention of following Ma'at and just being a good person. I will also be practicing gratitude much more often, and just working on myself (along with going to therapy) more often.

By no means am I saying breaks from practicing are not okay. Sometimes, it does get hard. Sometimes, it is okay to take a break. However, in my case, I knew what I was doing wasn't healthy. I wasn't taking a break to focus on other things or to just relax, I was pushing my religion away because I felt like I didn't deserve to worship, which stressed me out even more.

I feel so close to Auset, and just so safe knowing she is our Divine Mother, and she isn't going anywhere, even if I try to push her away 😭. Our Glorious Lady in herself is the best blessing I could ever receive.

To anybody who needs to hear it, no, the Netjeru are not annoyed at you or upset with you. No, the Netjeru do not hate you. No, the Netjeru will not abandon you. Their love is boundless, and can't even begin to be defined by or compared to human love. They see every part of you, even the parts of you that you hate and try to hide. Yes, they see everything. They still love you. They always will.