#have to give a shoutout to the story of the guy who picked 'the most expensive steak in town' and then once they got it he refused it

[bumpscosity]

earlier i went down a rabbit hole and ended up reading the wikipedia page of death row last meals and im kinda shocked there isn't a single caniac combo no slaw extra toast

[samandcolbyownme]

@bambisturnioloalt ‘s 𝐍𝐎 𝐍𝐔𝐓 𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓!

I have chosen to write a Matt Sturniolo angsty fic. I also want to give a shoutout to @cursedtriplets for helping me come up with the idea. Enjoy! 🖤

Summary: Things go downhill, and downhill fast when reader catches their crushes girlfriend cheating on him at a party.

Warnings: strong language, angsty, partying, drinking alcohol, blackmail, mentions of cheating, reader being sad, angry, all of the emotions, slight arguing, friends to lovers, happy ending

Word Count: 6.3k

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The news about Matt getting a girlfriend hit you hard, it felt like salt to a stab wound - the stab wound being you not saying anything sooner.

Her name was Scarlett, but everyone called her Letty, per her request.

The first time you met her, it was kind of awkward. She didn’t really say much of anything and you felt judgment radiating off of her, but you seemed to be the only one to pick up on that because no one said anything after she left.

Over the next few weeks of her meeting everyone, she really opened up. It was almost like she became a totally different person, a bitch if you will.

She would glare at you when you would say anything involving Matt, or even glance in his general direction.

For example, the one night you all ordered in and decided to just hang out at their house. Nick and Chris were going around telling stories about Matt, you know, trying to embarrass the new boyfriend, and she was laughing and going along with it for the most part.

But, as soon as you opened your mouth to tell the story about how they took you to top golf one time and Matt almost fell over the edge, she changed the subject, suddenly wanting to start the first movie of the night.

You brushed it off, along with the other hundreds of little things she’s done within the time she was there.

“Hey.” You whisper as you sit down next to Nick on the couch, “Are you busy?”

He shakes his head, glancing up at you from his phone, “Why are we whispering?”

“Because I don’t wa-“

You stop talking as Matt and Letty come out from his room, “Hey, I’m taking her home. I’ll be back in a little.”

“Nice seeing you Letty.” Nick smiles and she waves, giving him a big cheery smile back, “Bye Nick!” She glances over at you and pulls Matt with her down the steps.

You wait for the door to close and you head snaps towards Nick, “Did you see that?” He shrugs, shaking his head, “See what? How she didn’t say bye to you?”

“Yeah, and how she just looked at me.” You shake your head, “I don’t.. I don’t think she’s really good for Matt.”

“When I ask you this, I’m not trying to make you mad or anything, okay.” Nick looks at you and you nod, “I won’t get mad.”

He raises his brows and lets out a sigh, “Are you saying this because you’re jealous she’s dating Matt?”

“N-no. I’m not.. jealous.. why would you even ask that? I’m asking because she doesn’t seem to accept that I’m one of Matt’s best friends.”

“Why do you think that?” Nick tilts his head and you sigh, trying to regulate your anger from growing into something bigger, “Every time I’m around you guys she’s all over him, and when I try to tell a story about Matt, she cuts me off and practically begs to go home.”

You snap, “That time you and Chris were telling stories about Matt, she was all giggly and going along with it, but as soon as I spoke up to say about how he almost fell off the ledge at top golf, she magically wanted to start the movie night.”

Nick sits there in silence and you tilt your head, “I’m not jealous of Letty. Okay. I’m just.. looking out for Matt, he deserves someone who isn’t going to use him for.. looking better.”

“You think.. Letty.. is using Matt for clout?” Nick’s brows furrow and he shakes his head, “I think they really like each other. She’s a total sweetheart, y/n. I think you just-“

“If you say I have unresolved problems, I am going to smack you upside the head.” You glare at him and he tries not to laugh, “I’m just saying, that you need to look at the bigger picture. Matt seems to be happy, and he’s a big boy, he can handle himself.”

You chew on your cheek, not really wanting to argue, “Yeah. You’re right.” You stand up, walking over to the hook to grab your keys, “I’ll see you later.”

“Y/n.” Nick groans, “Wait, I didn’t mean- you said you wouldn’t get mad!”

You look over at him, “You didn’t do anything, Nick. It’s good, we’re good. Just please, don’t say anything to him.”

He nods and you give him a small smile, “Thank you.”

You walk down the steps and you glance up, seeing Nick staring down at you from over the ledge, “Do you like Matt?”

“Bye, Nick.” You laugh and walk out of the front door to your car. You stop when you see Matt pull in next to you, but you force yourself to just walk to your car.

“Hey. Leaving so soon?” He asks as he gets out, and you glance back at him, giving him a nod, “Yeah, I have to go shopping for an outfit for this party.”

That was a lie. You already had one.

“Oh, okay.” Matt nods, tapping the top of his car, “Well, have fun.” As you open your door to get in, Matt walks up to you, “Wait. Before you go..” he pauses and you look up at him, “What’s up?”

You can feel the anger building up inside of you, wanting to burst out from him not seeing just how bad his longest best friend is being treated by someone he just met.

“What do you think of Letty?”

The words made your skin scrawl, you wanted to just get in your car and drive away without having to answer that question, but you had more respect for Matt than that.

“I think.. she’s pretty.” You laugh slightly, which causes him to laugh, “Yeah. Yeah, she is.”

You swallow what you really want to say, tilting your head as you rest your arm on the top of your car, “I think she’s good for you, Matt.” You shrug, “I mean, we all just met her, not at that long ago, but I think it’s going good.”

He gives you a slightly weird look, but nods, “Yeah, I’m just glad that everyone gets along. It would be pretty weird if we didn’t, you know?”

You stifle back a laugh, “I think it’s all good. Going good. Um..” you point to your car, “I’m going to be late for picking up Gabs, so.. I better..”

“Yeah yeah, you’re good.” He smiles, tapping your car, “I’ll see you later.”

“Are you going to the party tomorrow?”

He turns around, shaking his head, “Not my scene, but you have fun though. Call if you need anything, alright?”

“Yeah.” You nod, “I will.” You get into your car, glancing up as Matt walks into his house and you let out a sigh, allowing the self ass kicking to begin.

I lied to Matt, I never lie to Matt. Wait, I’ve lied about having feelings for him. Pretending everything is super platonic between us- Why can’t I just be honest with him? Fucking Christ.

A part of you was terrified to even say anything about your feelings towards him in the first place. You were, still are, scared it would affect the perfect, well, almost perfect relationship you have now. You haven’t ever really lied to Matt, the only time you really did lie, was when you were planning a surprise party for him and his brothers.

Besides, Matt showed absolutely no interest in being with you in anyway more than a friend. All of his actions were consistent, nothing more nothing less.

Your mind stays busy and loud the whole way to your house, from Matt, to your conversation with Nick before you left, to every interaction you’ve had with Letty, and then the upcoming party.

You were really banking on getting so fucked up at this party that you just forget about everything for a while.

You needed a mental break.

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Since you got home yesterday, Nick texted you a few times to make sure you weren’t actually mad at him, and you weren’t.

He clocked you on your shit, why would you be mad at him for being right about that?

You were jealous. You are jealous.

You’re jealous of a girl who has what you’ve wanted for so, so long, but at the end of the day, it comes down to being no one fault but your own.

For keeping your feelings in a block of cement in the back of your mind.

Your phone chimes, and you let out a sigh, half expecting it to be another just making sure we’re good text from Nick, but it wasn’t. It was Gabbie, You still going tonight? I’ll pick you up around eight.

You tap the screen, giving her a short and sweet answer, So ready to get wasted.

You toss your phone down and head to the bathroom for a shower. You took your time with it, then getting out and blow drying your hair before making your way to get dressed.

As you sat down at your vanity to do your makeup, your phone chimes and you glance back, shaking it off before turning back to continue your makeup. After a minute or so, the second notification goes off.

You groan, spinning around and leaning forward to grab it. To your surprise, it’s a text from Matt, Hey, Letty is going to this party tonight, do you think you can look out for her? She said she’d be fine, but she’s told me stories of her and alcohol not being friends and I just worry.

“Oh great, so now I’m a babysitter?” You scoff, rolling your eyes as you type back, Yeah, I’ll watch out for her.

He texts back a quick thanks, and you return to finish getting ready.

Finally, after finishing your makeup, you were ready and Gabbie was just pulling up. You walk out, getting into her car, “Guess what duty I have tonight.”

“Oh no. What?” Gabbie looks over at you as you buckle and you scoff, “Fucking babysitting duty.”

“For who!?”

“Matt, well. Letty.” You roll your eyes, “He texted me and asked me to watch out for her since he isn’t going to be there. I don’t know.” You look over at her, “Something doesn’t feel right about it.”

“Yeah, that’s a little sketchy.” She nods, “Why doesn’t Matt just go?”

“Says it’s not his scene, which, I get. He isn’t big into parties.. never has been, really.”

“How’s that situation going?” Gabbie asks, “The whole, you having feeling for M-“

“It’s not.” You cut her off, “So yesterday, before I left their house, I tried bringing it up to Nick but he just called me out on the truth and I didn’t want to accept the truth, so I just left. He keeps asking if we’re good, and I keep telling him yeah, which isn’t a lie, I’m just..” you stop, taking a breather, “I’m just pissed at myself for letting something I could have potentially gotten, go.”

Gabbie nods, “Tonight is your night to just let go. Do what you want. Drink what you want. I’ll keep a lookout for Letty, you just have fun and focus on you.”

“Thanks, but if something happens to her, godforbid it’ll fall back on me somehow.” You shake your head, “I can only hope that she just decides to stay home.”

But that wasn’t the case.

She was there, almost all of her was there.

She showed up in this super tight dress that barely covered anything. Two post its and a corn chip would suffice better than this dress, one wrong move and out comes a boob.

“I wonder if Matt knows she’s wearing that.” You swallow as you look at Gabbie, “I wouldn’t wear that even if he was with me, you know?”

“Just like you said a few days ago, y/n. You have more respect for him than she does.” She takes your hand into hers, “Come on. She’ll be fine.”

Over the next hour, the party grew larger and your urge to be there grew smaller.

You tried pushing through, but Matt was heavy on your mind. He was like welded into it, nothing could push past it.

She doesn’t deserve him.

He’s too good for her, hell he’s too good for me, even.

“Hey.” Gabbie snaps you from your thoughts, “Come with me to the bathroom?” You nod, taking her hand and following her up the steps.

You haven’t seen Letty in a little while, as soon as she showed up she blended into the crowd with the other petty snobs.

“Wait.” You whisper, pulling Gabbie to a halt, “Listen.”

“I thought you had a boyfriend, Scar.” A guy’s voice breathes out, “Fuck, you’re so pretty.” You furrow your brows and step closer to the door that’s cracked open.

“I do, but do you see him anywhere?” Letty giggles and your heart sinks into your ass. You look at Gabbie a she shakes her head as she mouths, “I’m gonna fucking kill her for you.”

You hold your hand up as Letty giggles, “I like Matt, don’t get me wrong, but there’s just something about him that I like more. Something that will.. help me in the long run.”

“Oh yeah?” The guy chuckles, “What’s that?”

“His fame. His followers. Once they upload the video of me in it, I’m bound to get some of his followers, right? And then you know what will happen after that.” She laughs and the sound of making out ensues, “More fame for me.”

A few people come up the steps and you panic, pushing Gabbie into the bathroom. You flip the lock on the knob and press your ear to the door.

“There the fuck you are!” The one guy slurs, “Come on, it’s pong time!”

“You guys go, I’ll be right down.” The same guy from the room answers, “I have to finish something first.” You hear Letty speak up, “No it’s okay. We can go down now. We can always finish this later.”

You rest your forehead against the door and close your eyes.

“Y/n?” Gabbie grabs your shoulder and you turn around to look at her, “What are you doing?”

“I have to tell Matt.”

She nods, “Yeah, I-“

There’s a knock on the door and you panic again, “U-uh, one second!” You press your finger to your lips and point to the shower.

Gabbie nods, immediately stepping into it as quietly as she can as you flush the toilet. You turn the water on, letting it run for a few seconds as you make sure the curtains on the shower is fully closed like it was before.

Another knock sounds and you sigh, turning off the water, “I said one se-“ you open the door and see Letty standing there, “Hi, you and I have to have a chat.”

“About what?” You tilt your head and she smirks, leaning in to look into the bathroom, “I know you like Matt.”

You shake your head, “What would make you think that I like Matt?”

“Stop being stupid, y/n. I see the way you look at him, talk about it. It’s pretty obvious, well..” she laughs slightly, “I guess, not to everyone because if Matt knew how you felt about him, you’d be with him.. or maybe.. you wouldn’t.”

“What are you talking about, Letty?”

“Don’t play dumb with me. I know how strong of a friendship you have with the triplets, and frankly, I don’t like it.”

“You don’t like that you’re not the only one they give their attention to.” You scoff, “Don’t play dumb with me.”

“Alright, fine. You want to cut to the chase, well cut to the chase. Matt will believe anything I say. You try and tell him what you heard and saw up here, I will make your life a living hell, got it?”

“And just how do you plan on doing that?” You shrug, “What, are you going to go to Matt first and tell him that I’m on my way to tell him that I caught you fucking cheating on him?” You shake your head, “He doesn’t deserve that. Any of it.”

“No, no. Because you aren’t going to breathe a word about tonight.”

“What makes you think that I won’t?”

She squints, a smirk spreading across her lips, “Because they’re all you have anymore. I mean, Jesus Christ, y/n. You’re always up their ass. At their house. In their car. If it wasn’t for them, you wouldn’t have anything but a low paying job in the worst part of town.”

“That’s not true.” You swallow your tears, fighting back the urge to lash out, hard, “I grew up with them. I’ve known them a hell of a lot longer than you have.”

She shrugs, “Maybe. But, all I know is that you aren’t going to say anything to anyone about this, or else I’ll tell Matt that you are so in love with him that you tried talking me out of being with him for your own personal gain. I mean, there’s a reason you haven’t told him, right?” She laughs, “Afraid of losing him and his brothers, because again, they’re all you have. Plus, it’ll be so weird being around you, to sit there and see you sulking all the time even though they’ll try to push past it because they’ll feel bad for you.”

A sad part of you felt like she was right, no matter how hard you tried to not believe it, you knew that there was a high chance that it would ruin everyone’s relationship with you and make it awkward as hell.

“What? Cat got your tongue?” She laughs and you look at her, “More like bitch, but whatever works for you.”

Her face falls and she puts her hand on the door while leaning in, “You have three options here, y/n. You can just act like nothing happened tonight. Come clean about your feelings for Matt to see who he chooses, or you call Matt, tell him what you saw, but without proof, who do you think he’ll believe?”

“You’re such a fucking bitch.”

“Yeah, I might be, but who’s fucking Matt almost every night, huh?” She smirks and steps back, “Well, it was fun. But I have to leave soon, I told Matt that I’d come over after this party. You think he’ll like my dress?”

She waits for you to answer and you snicker, “Doubt it.”

“But there’s so little to take off. I’m sure he’ll like the easy access, yeah?” She tilts her head while pouring, “Oh right, you don’t know that side of him. What a shame.”

You roll your eyes, “So what. I don’t tell Matt about what I saw and you won’t tell him what you think you know? I can just deny it, did you ever think about that?”

“Hmm. I guess you have a point. But, you’re good at acting, so either way, I’m sure you’ll make it out unscathed.” She smirks, lifting her hand, “See you tomorrow for game night.”

Fuck. Game night.

You watch her walk away and you slam the door, taking a step back to assess what just happened.

Gabbie whips the curtain back and stands there staring at you, “are.. you okay?” You shrug, shaking your head, “If I could just magically push away this anxiety about my feelings for Matt and tell him, I would but I just.. god I fucking hate that bitch.”

You move to sit on the edge of the tub, “What the fuck do I do? I can’t just lie to Matt about something like this.. if he finds out I knew about this.. the only thing I’ll be kissing is my friendship with him goodbye, and everything Letty said will be true.”

“It won’t. Okay.” Gabbie sits next to you, “You want to know why?”

You look at her, giving her a nod.

She pulls her phone up, “I recorded most of that.”

You snatch the phone from her hand, “You did not!” A hand raises to cover your mouth as you listen to the recording.

“I’ll send it to you, so when you’re ready, you can use that as your proof. Fuck that bitch.” Gabbie shakes her head, “She must have got her audacity on sale because that was not it.”

You nod, “I agree.” You look over at her, “Want to go get something to eat? I need to leave this party.”

She nods, “Let’s go.”

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You tossed and turned all night. You couldn’t stop thinking about the encounter you had at last nights party. The more you thought about it, the more it made you feel sick. Your anxiety just kept getting worse and worse.

What if Matt doesn’t believe me, even with proof, you can’t see anything so what if he thinks it’s fake?

What if Letty does tell Matt and he just blocks me?

What if-

“Y/n?” Gabbie taps your hand, “What’s going on, you’ve barely touched your breakfast.”

“I’m just.. thinking..” you bring your cup up to your lips, taking a sip before setting it back down, “What if Letty has him so wrapped around his finger that he’s just so blinded by her to not even-“

“You’re getting a head of yourself.” Gabbie sighs, “You need to think about what you want to do about your feelings for Matt, first. Okay?”

You nod, covering your face with your hands, “I’m so in love with him, but the fear of being rejected by him is just so.. loud, higher? Whatever the term.. is, I don’t fucking know.”

“I think Matt will be more understanding than you think.”

You look at Gabbie through your fingers, “You’re just saying that.” She shakes her head, “I don’t think you’re giving yourself enough credit. You’ve been around them for so long, this is what.. Matt’s first girlfriend in how long?”

“What are you trying to say?” You tilt your head, resting your hands in your lap, and she sighs, shifting towards you, “What I’m trying to say is.. what if Matt was waiting for you, but you didn’t say anything, so he tried to move on?”

“Do you think that’s a possibility?”

She shrugs, “I definitely wouldn’t write it off just yet. I mean, you haven’t dated either, you’ve talked to guys, but why do they never work out?”

“Because they aren’t.. Matt..” you look at her and she nods, “Exactly. I don’t think this thing with Letty will last long anyway. You just need to get your shit together before storming in there and spewing out shit that doesn’t even make sense, you know?”

You nod, tilting your head to look out of the window, “Yeah, I know. I want to tell him. I just get so nervous around him, he makes me feel, I don’t know, like that happy giddy feeling? I just don’t want that to go away, I don’t want it ruined.”

You take a deep breath, “I don’t know, there’s just so many what ifs I just-“ you look down at your phone, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“What?” Gabbie leans over, “Is that Letty?”

You roll your eyes, reading over the text, Hey bestie, just reminding you of our little deal that we have. Last night got a little crazy, not sure how much you drank to try and forget about it.

You tap the screen fast, I’m not gonna lie you have a lot of red flags.

She instantly answers and you laugh as you read it, like what?

“This bitch, I swear to god.” You mumble showing Gabbie your phone, “She’s literally fucking insane.” You nod, “That’s what I’m telling her.”

You type back, well firstly, you’re actually insane.. and two, you just can’t blackmail someone to get your way. It’s not going to end well for you.

You see the chat bubbles popping up and down and you shake your head, “I swear to god.” Your eyes move across her text, think of it as you scratch my back, I scratch yours. You don’t tell Matt, and you get to keep the only good thing you have in your life.

“I’m telling Matt.”

The words tastes sour on your tongue, but you knew it was the right thing to do, “Fuck, I could puke.” You run your sweaty palms down your thighs, “Oh fuck, Gabbie. How do I- what do I-“

You look at the new text, Just play it safe tonight, don’t talk to him, dont talk about him, don’t even look at him, why can’t you like Chris or something, god. It would make everyone’s lives so much easier.

“Just play it safe tonight.” You mock her, “Go fuck yourself.”

“Maybe you should wait another day. You don’t seem.. I don’t know how to put-“

“Stable enough?”

“Yeah.” She laughs slightly, “Stable enough to do this yet.”

You shake your head, “I feel like puking being in the same room as her knowing she can flip my world upside down at any second. But then, if I don’t tell Matt, that just makes it seem like I was condoning her actions, and I just-“

“Look at me. Look at me and listen.” Gabbie lays her hand on your shoulder as you turn your head, “We have proof. I think you keep forgetting about that, y/n, and these texts. She basically admitted to blackmail.”

You nod, looking down at another texts that comes through, but this time it’s from Nick, How was the party last night? Did you make it home safe?

You instantly type back, I went home before I even got buzzed. My night was kind of ruined but I’ll explain it another time.

“Y/n.” Gabbie sighs, “Now they’re going to know something is up.” You shrug, “I don’t want to lie to any of them anymore, gabs. I can’t just-“ you stop, texting Nick again, Is Matt or Letty there?

“If they aren’t, I’m going to tell Nick everything.”

Your heart was racing as you awaited his answer, sweat building up on your palms more and more as each second passed, “I feel like I’m going to throw up.”

“Did he answer?” She leans over, “Oh, he just did.” She looks up at you as you look down to read the text, No, him and Chris are out getting stuff for game night tonight.

“Go.” You look over at her and nod, “Go to their house.”

“Are you s-“

“Go! Before I change my mind.”

She nods and starts the car, immediately putting it into reverse, “I’ll come in with you.” You nod, tilting your head back as you talk yourself out of puking, “Fuuuuck.” You groan, “All of this could have just been av-“ you gasp, squeezing your eyes shut, “I hate myself.”

“I think you’ll feel better once you get everything off of your chest.” She nods, “If not, you have me.”

“Now isn’t the time for jokes, Gab.” You look over at her and she raises her fingers off the wheel, “Sorry, sorry. I’m nervous for you.”

The drive to their house felt like hours.

“Fuck.” You sigh, “Just do it. Just tell Nick everything.” You try to hype yourself up, “Fuck. Fuck.” You reach for the door handle, your hand shaking like a leaf in the winds of a storm, “Fuck. Okay.”

You open the door and get out. Your legs felt like jello the whole way up to the door. Nick calling out your name made your heart stop, “Y-yeah.. it’s me.. and Gabbie..”

“Gabbie!? I haven’t seen that bitch in ag-“ Nick stops at the top of the steps, “Do we need to hide a body?”

You raise your brows, “Yeah, we just might.” You walk up the steps and glance back at Gabbie, who stops at the stop and leans on the ledge, “Go on.”

“Go.. on.. with what?” Nick looks between the two of you confused and you take a deep breath, “Last night at the party..” you look down, gathering yourself before you look up, and in that moment, you were struck with word vomit.

“Letty cheated on Matt last night at the party, I heard her in a room with another guy kissing and saying that she was only using Matt to gain more fame from your guy’s following and then she cornered me in the fucking bathroom basically blackmailing me into not telling Matt anything and Gabbie has it all on recording she hid in the tub but that’s not the point okay the point is is that she tried to blackmail me by saying she would tell Matt that I liked him and that I tried to talk her out of her being with him by saying awful stuff about if I did try and ruin her getting what she wants, and, Nick, you know I would never do that. I love Matt. To the fullest fucking extent, I love him with my full entire being, I want him to be happy and her fucking cheating on him made me want to rip her fucking head off right then and there and the last thing I want is for my relationship with any of you to be ruined because the only thing she was right about is me only having you guys and Gabbie. I never said anything before because I was so scared of the rejecting being soo bad that I could never be able to show my face around here again I just, I fucking hate myself for not being truthful but I fucking told you, I fucking told you she had it out for me and she was only using Matt I just- she’s an awful fucking person Nick and I just wish there was a way for me to tell Matt everything.”

“Y/n.” Gabbie says and you turn, freezing when you see Matt and Chris standing on the steps staring at you.

“They came in when you were saying your thing.” Gabbie clears her throat, “Um.. okay, why don’t.. we give these two some space, yes? Yes. Come on you two, with me.”

Gabbie pulls Chris with her and grabs Nick on the way by.

You stand there, absolutely shaking in your boots as Matt continues to stare at you, a shocked look on his face. You wanted the silence to end, it only made things worse.

Finally, Matt breaks it, “You.. you love me?”

“I-I..” you voice cracks as you nod, speaking in a whisper, “so.. much, Matt I-“

Your words were cut short by him walking over to you, his hands grabbing and pulling your face towards him to close the gap, “I love you.. so much, too.”

Your hands move to his sides, immediately kissing him back. He pulls his head away, his hands still on your face, “I’m sorry she did that to you.”

“I’m sorry she did that to you, too.” You sniffle, “I should have told you last night. I’m sorry I didn’t call or text or-“

“Hey, hey.” Matt’s thumbs gently brush up and down your cheeks, “You were scared, but you made up for it right here, right now.”

“Do you want to see the proof?” You sniffle, reaching back to bring your phone out from your pocket. He nods, “I believe you even if I don’t see it.” He gives you a gentle smile, “I’m just, sorry I didn’t see how she was treating you sooner. I’m so sorry.”

You shake your head, “She didn’t scare me. The only thing that scared me was the thought of you never speaking to me again.”

He shakes his head, “I could never do that.” He kisses your head and motions to the couch, “Let’s listen to this shall we?”

You laugh slightly and nod, walking over to the couch with him. You sit next to him, wiping away your tears as his arm goes around your waist, his other hand resting on your thigh.

You being the video up and turn the volume up. All you see on the video is the shower curtain and your shadow on the other side.

“Alright, fine. You want to cut to the chase, well cut to the chase. Matt will believe anything I say. You try and tell him what you heard and saw up here, I will make your life a living hell, got it?”

Matt furrows his brows, shaking his head as he lets out a sigh, “She won’t do shit.” You smile slightly, tilting your head as the video continues to play, “…or else I’ll tell Matt that you are so in love with him that you tried talking me out of being with him for your own personal gain. I mean, there’s a reason you haven’t told him, right?”

He shakes his head, “Yeah, there’s..” he sits up, pushing the phone away, “I’ve heard enough.”

You put your phone down, “Sorry.”

“No, y/n. You don’t have anything to be sorry for, alright? You did the right thing, Letty on the other hand, she can..” he groans lowly, “I’m done.”

He pulls out his phone and you hear the line ringing. Your heart races as you await the pick up of his soon to be ex girlfriend.

“Hi Matty!”

“Is there anything you want to tell me about last night?” Matt tilts his head as he stands up and instantly, Letty puts on a facade, “Whatever you were told is a total lie! I swear. People just don’t want to see us be happy, Matt, please you have to believe me!”

“It’s hard to believe you when I have a video recording of you fucking threatening one of the closest people to me right here in front of me, Letty. Don’t even try to play the fucking victim card, what the fuck were you trying to do? Blackmail? Seriously?” Matt scoffs, “I should have seen how you were from the start. You put on a pretty good act.”

“What do you mean there’s a recording? What are you talking about? I didn’t blackmail anyone, I was with Serina and Layla the whole night, Matt, please! You can even ask them.”

Matt reaches over, taking your phone to hold up to his as he presses play, “What? Cat got your tongue?” Letty’s laugh rings from the video, “More like bitch, but whatever works for you.”

Matt smirks, glancing over at you and you smirk, giving him a shrug.

“No i-“ Letty groans, the video still playing, “You have three options here, y/n. You can just act like nothing happened tonight. Come clean about your feelings for Matt to see who he chooses, or you call Matt, tell him what you saw, but without proof, who do you think he’ll believe?”

“Yeah I think this pretty much covers as proof, Letty. Sounds like blackmail to me, does it not?” Matt clenches his jaw, waiting for Letty to speak, but she just huffs, “You can’t even prove that that’s me, though, Matt. Please.”

“You’re such a fucking bitch.”

Matt can’t stifle back his laughter with your words on the phone and you look down with a smirk on your lips, you were very proud of how you handled her, and Matt was, too.

“Yeah, I might be, but who’s fucking Matt almost every night, huh?”

“Well, it was fun. But I have to leave soon, I told Matt that I’d come over after this party. You think he’ll like my dress?”

“You didn’t come over last night, you never actually planned on it, did you?” Matt continues speaking, “And it’s actually really fucking hilarious you say that because we haven’t even had sex one time. You’re such a liar and my life will be great if I don’t ever see you again. I don’t care what you say about me, but keep y/n’s name out of your mouth.”

Matt hangs up and you look up at him, “You really never had sex with her?”

“I couldn’t.” He swallows, walking back over to sit next to you, “It just felt wrong because it wasn’t.. you.. I couldn’t even kiss her without trying to picture your face.”

You nod, “I kept looking for you in every guy that tried to keep my attention, but it never worked out because they weren’t you either.”

You reach up and cup his cheek, “I’m sorry I didn’t-“

Matt cuts you off with a kiss, “You don’t ever have to be sorry when it comes to me.” He kisses your lips a few times, “I love you, and I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner.“

You shake your head, “It’s alright, now that there isn’t anyone keeping us apart.” You smile and bring it in for one more kiss.

You hear the quiet and slow footsteps of the others and you pull away, looking behind Matt, “It’s safe to come in now.”

All three of them come in and sit on the couch next to you and Matt, “Is it safe to say that I never really liked Letty?” Chris raises his hand and looks around and you reach over to high-five him, “You and me both.”

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

Thank you @bambisturnioloalt for giving me the opportunity to join this event, and thank you to everyone who reads my work. I love you all so much and I will catch you in the next one! 🖤

Likes and reblogs are majorly appreciated!

[maurofonseca]

Also out recently was Sonic the Hedgehog #64, where I drew the backup story. I've been seeing people be very happy about it, and I'm glad! It was a more challenging story than usual for me lol. I've not really attempted regularly to draw Silver, and I'm generally uninterested in him and Blaze as a character duo, so when I was asked if I was interested in this story I took it as a challenge. And the fans enjoyed this story, so I hope I met said challenge.

This was the story I got most notes on so far in terms of art corrections- my brain struggled to understand how to draw Silver. The reason I bring this up is, I didn't get corrections on Blaze! This means I know how to draw her lol. After all this wouldn't mind drawing more stories with them, though hopefully not too many- they're both characters that to me are best done fairly stoically, which is part of their appeal, but can also feel stifling to draw to me. I'm from a much cartoonier background lol.

Although! I got to do a very vague pose reference to an old cartoon! It's a bit uncharacteristic of Blaze I think, but that was the point- that Silver's joke broke through her posture for a moment.

I also had fun with picking BG characters from previous stories and bringing them back. Glad everyone's enjoying Pink Big here, first brought to us by Aaron in issue 48- even if I did accidentally make him more Big-like than Aaron had lol. I'll keep it in mind next time!

As before, shoutouts to Rik for being a wonderful inker who puts up with my nonsense, and Reggie for the wonderful colours that really got the sunset mood I felt the script called for.

Here's the thumbnails for the bit you guys have been enjoying a lot! You can see from this how the Silver I'm used to drawing is a fan design based on his concept art, hence the "palm" leaning back in a streamlined shape lol. Had to shake that off.

(Quick last note I probably shouldn't do- I saw some people lament that a nominally "Silvaze" story was assigned to someone who isn't into that pairing. Guys, I promise shipping isn't so important to me that I'd give it a warning to editors like "don't give me this ship story!". I got offered a job to do because I was available for it, I took it, and did my best of it)

[mysterycitrus]

top 5 dc writers & top 5 dick grayson writers pretty plssss

i feel like this q has to come with a big * beside each name because most of these writers have written twice as many terrible comics as they have good. like chuck dixon is a foundational writer for dick (and tim and connor) and he’s also a violent turbo-fascist who’s made the industry indescribably more toxic. devin grayson’s run on nightwing 1996 is an exercise in her weird racist fetish, but she also wrote for titans 1999, one of the better fab 5 comics. grant morrison wrote batman and robin 2009, and irreversibly butchered the popular interpretation of talia al ghul, etc.

so take these with a grain of salt —

1. mark waid — this should be obvious imo. there’s really no competition. the writing (for dick in specific) in worlds finest blows everything else out of the water rn. he can balance large casts well, his version of the titans was fun, he has an obvious knowledge of comic canon. i wish he’d pick up the ongoing nightwing solo and give back dick’s personality.

2. kelley puckett - unironically wrote the best run of all time. no one has done it like him before or since. i need him to come back and write for cass again (or damian). would love to see him write the dick + damian + talia dynamic.

3. scott snyder — this man wrote black mirror (the best dickbats story) and court of owls (which ruined everything). he's three dimensional. he is my enemy. he is not allowed to worldbuild unsupervised.

4. greg rucka — i met him at a con once and he was a very chill dude. he's an ally. he's always wearing a hat. no man's land, u will always be famous.

5. judd winick — this man either writes something that changes the status quo (utrh) or one of the worst books ever (titans 2008). no inbetween. he's a freak. he wants tim drake and kon-el to kiss. honorary ment for being another guy that ruined talia. he does get points for writing outsiders (2003).

also a shoutout to jeff lemire and amy wolfram

[fulgurbugs]

Headcanon ask (I'm sorry the Pokemon SwSh thing made me think of this all of a sudden): Octopath / Pokemon -- gym leaders! Who would be a gym leader and what Pokemon type would they specialise in? (Alternatively if the main antagonist of each Octopath character's story was a gym leader what Pokemon type would each specialise in... you know for the characters who actually have a human antagonist for their story... I feel like Redeye would just be a corrupted legendary or something I don't know?)

alright, had another big brainstorm sesh with the bestie @snailcruncher for this one so here it goes

Here’s what we’re going with: everyone gets one type, 4 pokemon. we’re going to get everyone fully evolved versions of their team as if they’re like, the 8th gym leader, mostly so we had more to work with but also didn’t have to give a fuck about nfe mons

as for choosing the types, we basically went by choosing some who felt obvious first, then filling in with what we had left so nobody repeated a type. maybe some don’t fit perfect but yk. also shoutout to inherent class magic types for giving us some pokemon types to fall back on

also, i’m imagining in this scenario it’s probably like. the only example i can think of is cheren (i don’t watch the anime) where gym leaders clearly have gym teams that vary depending on challenge level, and personal teams for outside of the league, so that’s how we’re rationalizing this

anyways

Up first

Ophilia - Ice

Ace: Lapras

there’s not really a good equivalent to “light” in pokemon types, so we decided to go with the frostlands special on this one.

Abomasnow is here to set hail/snow. if any character has a team that benefits from a weather being set, we’ve usually included a setter in their team. so that’s what abomasnow does

ninetales is for aurora veil, which i think is a pretty good equivalent to the sheltering abilities of cleric

frosmoth was on her original team so decided to carry it over. same with lapras, which i think has a fun connection with guiding/carrying travelers on its back, which makes it a good ace for her.

Cyrus - Psychic

Ace: Alakazam

since scholar covers 3 types of magic, pigeonholing it into one is a little difficult. decided to go with psychic, since it is pretty magic-y and most of its mons are known for being very specially focused rather than physically

alakazam gets to be ace because, let’s face it, none of these other guys are sweeping. alakazam is known for being mega smart and also laser beam crater blasting everything, so i think it’s a pretty safe cyrus pick.

claydol is just something i think is pretty fun for vibes. what with its mysterious origins… feels very cyrus ch4 mural a la runerigus he has in his other team

Swoobat. with the ability. unaware.

Oranguru cuz it’s the instructor pokemon ^_^

Tressa - Water

Ace: Gyarados

Since tressa’s from a seaside town, she felt like the best pick for water types.

Gyarados is her ace because, well… magikarp starts out kind of wimpy but turns out it had the best potential of them all (tho tressa herself certainly has a less rocky start) anyways this thing is a dragon dance sweeper and will kill you.

Pelliper rain setter. plus, gulls feel on brand for her. Gastrodon (east) so that she has an electric immunity that this team sorely needs

Palafin for another zero to hero because tressa would not let you get off easy even if you get past one of her hard hitters. she’d have this thing in the back after flip turning it out of there.

Olberic - Steel

Ace: Aegislash

notable “unbending blade” of hornburg olberic gets steel types, clap if you are surprised. no one?

anyways, Aegislash for the ace. i’m sure it’s pretty self explanatory.

Aggron and steelix are pretty much in for the same reason. they’re big. they have high defense. and they’re steel types. escavalier just goes more in on the knight motif while bringing another dual type to the team

Primrose - Flying

Ace: Oricorio

there’s definitely a good argument to be made for something like dark primrose, but to be honest… i like flying for her, because i feel like it works with her kind of caged-bird motif. in addition, flying types cover a lot of dual types, which means i can pick pokemon that can use dance setups or support.

Oricorio is the picture perfect flying/dancer ace. obviously it gets top spot

Altaria as a dragon dance setup sweeper

Vivillion is a shitmon, admittedly, but it was that or butterfree for a quiver dancer, so i went with vivillion because honestly it doesn’t fucking matter they have the same shit basically. i guess this thing can also use sleep powder (and so can butterfree) but it comes in more pretty colorsssss

Swanna gets featherdance, just to cover one more dance. and you know. swans are like pretty and elegant or whatever. allegedly. anyways something something primrose is a beautiful swan.

Alfyn - Grass

Ace: Leavanny

Alfyn greengrass has grass types? this is shocking to nobody. anways, deciding between leavanny or meganium for the ace i eventually decided on leavanny because i say so. but they could both work

vileplume so that he has at least one grass/poison rep. i so rarely use the apothecary poisoning skills in OT but he can like. do that, so….

Sunflora is here because it would use sunny day and do fuck all except be a shitmon, because it is, but personally i think Alfyn wouldn’t gaf because it’s cute and he likes it, and it supports solarbeam/Clorophll for its team which is enough of a job to put it on here

Therion - Fire

Ace: Houndoom

the inherent fire magic of the thief class is here to bail me out in giving therion a gym type. thanks.

Anyways, i’m going with Houndoom as the Ace because he does have an image to uphold. it can’t all be fluffy arcanines or whatever.

ceruldege is here bc A) swords and B) it’s a little hater of a pokemon so it stays. centiskorch is here because it’s one of MY favs and i think it’s fun to put more interesting dual types into these teams, and as much as i love volcarona (my all time fave) it’s not really a therion mon… but i do think he’d be on board with a centiskorch.

then for a sun setter… it kind of had to be ninetales, tbh. i cannot really justify giving mr fastest speed stat in orsterra a turtle. so ninetales it is.

H’aanit - Electric

Ace: Luxray

another one where the inherent class magic gets to bail us out. if i’m being honestly, H’aanit is not much giving electric trainer, but we did our best.

Kilowatrells reasoning here is the same as it was in her original team. it’s a literal thunderbird. (also, no legends here but she deserves a zapdos)

Galvantula is a webs setter. holy shit guys, leghold trap reference.

and then Manectric and Linde are of course, dollar store Hägen and Linde. definitely an intimidate luxray, too.

next we can move onto the OT2 ones!

Ochette - Dragon

Ace: Noivern

ochette… she’s giving 8th gym dragon gym leader. i think her emphasis on finding legends basically tailors her to the dragon trainer for me. as for her mons, i’ve given her three dragons whose secondary types match up with Acta, Terra, and Glacis, while noivern is… honestly it’s just vibes i think noivern is cool and she would like it.

i didn’t really wanna make one of the three legends her ace over the other, so i’ll just say noivern is the ace.

Castti - Poison

Ace: Roserade

now, for Castti, we decided to bend the gym leader rules a bit, so she doesn’t have all poison types, though she does have an entirely poison-based team still. Breloom has poison heal, so we’ve elected to give it a spot, considering it also gets spore and is a fighting type that can throw THESE HANDS.

Zangoose is here for a similar reason, posssing the ability toxic boost, upping its damage when poisoned.

Glimmora of course has two poison based abilities in corrosion and toxic debris, though i’d say castti’d do toxic debris/venoshock shenanigans.

For the mandatory Apothecary Grass/Poison type, i’ve given her roserade. it’s like uh. the flower malaya gave her.

Throné - Dark

Ace: Bisharp

tho throné herself maybe wouldn’t like to be the dark type leader, or at least would wish she wouldn’t get a bad rap for using them, they still fit her (and OT2’s theif inherent magic), so that’s what we’re going with.

Absol: maybe this one is on loan from temenos lol.

liepard is a very evil team-grunt pokemon so i’m giving it to her also it’s purple.

weavile is a little less of a shitmon and also gets the ability pickpocket, plus brings some dual typing to this team. tho she would get her shit so rocked by a fighting type let’s be real

Bisharp: ok so… what if… the blacksnakes… are like a bunch of pawniards. and only the best ones can be bisharps. that’s throne. or something. also, it’s kind of referencing that she’s distantly related to notable kingambit haver hikari. bonus!

Osvald - Normal

Ace: Drampa

hear me out… Osvald normal type trainer. but he uses only dual types, and he also likes to play a lot less straightforward than your average trainer. Ursaluna (for the teddiursa in his original team) makes an appearance, while Farigaraf can set trick room and other fun psychic pokemon shenanigans. Hisui-Zoroark is here to throw another wrench in the mix, being able to throw off incoming fighting type attacks and hit back while making you readjust your strategy. the whole time, the threat of this thing makes you always have to consider if you know what you’re fighting first.

and drampa. this thing is just such an osvald pokemon to me. thank god it’s half normal. he should have it. make it the ace too.

Partitio - Rock

Ace: Coalossal

partitio was a bit of an odd one to pick a type for, but we settled on rock for a few reasons. honestly…. started with the ace and worked backwards, and therion’s already hogging the fire slot. besides, even though he’s looking towards the future, partitio’s definitely a little behind the times initially, so some good old fashioned rock types seem like a good fit.

anyways the coalossal is the ace because he’s ability is. steam engine. lol

lycanroc because. i think partitio would like a awesome doggy and then we went dusk form bc i don’t think he would have the evil one and dusk sucks less than the midday one lol.

gigalith sand setter

and then crustle is cuz we wanted to give him it as a shell smash sweeper. and i dunno they probably have dwebbles around oresrush.

Agnea - Fairy

Ace: Togekiss

Agnea feels like a pretty good fit for the fairy type, tho she does get less dancer-move user options than primrose does using flying types.

Togekiss i feel like is a shoe-in for her ace. it’s a pokemon associated with peace and kindness… i feel like agnea is definitely the kind of person to be able to actually acquire a togepi. also, it gets serene grace, which is a very agnea-ability title. i think she should get to paraflinch people too.

Ribombee is a much better quiver dance user than vivillion, and it’s half fairy, so agnea gets it. i love this thing. it can be so scary if it gets set up.

gardevoir: in our original teams, hikari had this due to its association with loyalty to its trainer/friends. so i think agnea also fits it very well too! since hikari (⬇️down there later ) has been swapped to a gallade to fit his type i’ve given it to her. awesome matching time.

whimsicott is here because she is fun and whimsical. this thing would set tailwinds probably.

Temenos - Ghost

Ace: Houndstone

i’m so sorry temenos but i think it’s really really funny to make you a ghost trainer. like really super funny.

anyways, yamask was on his original team, so we’ve upgraded to cofagrigus here. chandelure is vaguely sacred flame-esque while also being ghost type, tho it’s kind of. ominous but whatever. Sableye is a silly little guy who kind of vaguely references the mirror shard crossed paths. i guess if he mega evolved it i could do that even more with magic bounce but we didn’t really work w megas or regional gimmicks or whatever

and then houndstone comes out last to spam last respects after you’ve killed all this other pokemon just like all the EVERYONE HE KNEW IN REAL LIFE died too you monster.

like i said i think ghost trainer temenos is really funny

Hikari - Fighting

Ace: Gallade

Hikari nabbed fighting type right out of the gate. as compared to olberic who is very definsive brick wall of a guy, hikari feels more versatile in a way that fits fighting types to a T.

I’ve given him heracross because the heracross i caught in my nuzlocke is named after him so i think he should have one.

Lucario is here for a fun friendship evo, while scrafty is here to rep a more “dirty fighter” type of pokemon on the team being fighting/dark.

then gallade gets to be the ace because i feel like it’s the most ace material tbh.

as for your second part we did pick villian types (but not teams), here’s that much more briefly

Mattias: Dark (i feel like this is self explanatory. maybe malamar ace?)

Lucia: Psychic (this seems to must be the type we’re going with for most scholars)

Esmerelda: Poison (because the wound may prove fatal)

Werner: Fighting (idrgaf but i guess he used to run a merc company so i guess or whatever)

Simeon: Normal (hes the least normal guy you’ll ever meet but you’d never guess it from his pokemon team)

Ogre eagle: Iron valiant. 6 iron valiant.

Darius: Ground

i’m just. uh.

Redeye: Iron valiant. also entire team of 6 iron valiants (lore accurate)

Darkling: you never guess this but 6 Iron Valiants

Trousseau: Poison but for real this time

Claude: Dark (feel like that’s also self explanatory)

Harvey: Psychic (specifically, this guy has a hypno.)

Roque: Steel ⬇️

Dolcinea: Fairy mirror match/Tiernos Dancer only team she’s based like that. either or

Kaldena: Ghost (another mirror match)

Mugen: typeless but every one of his mons knows swords dance

ok that’s basically it hope that’s enough of an answer ok byeeee

[weekend-whip]

Ninjago Fic Rec Week (2024): Day 4

Prompts: AU/Movieverse/OCs! (Catching Up! I uh skipped Day 3 oop but I've got plenty to offer for this day! Which is...also late...don't look at meeee)

Aus WITH OCs (or as I like to call this list, my own personal indulgence corner. All the AUs/Movieverse stories I've read are ones that get recc'ed a lot already + I myself have already recc'ed them at one point or another, soooo let's throw some pure spotlight onto some OC stories! Even if a lot of it is connected to me to some degree that's irrelevant):

As The Years Pass By: A fic currently in the process of being rewritten/reworked but still chock full of next-gen Dragons Rising goodness! And it stars the one, the only, Jenna and Ethan from @rainofthetwilight!!!! This fic made me fall in love with her characters and I've loved reading/seeing/drawing these two adorable kids ever since!!!!

Dad!Jay AU by @taddymason: An AU so good I'm still catching up on reading it bit by bit to savor it for longer *-*)9 All the stories in this series are worth the read alone for the accumulation of taddy's character Kaida (a girl who needs no introduction–she's that awesome guys, trust me) but also the eventual father-daughter bond with amnesiac!Jay that is gripping and engaging aaaaall the wall through!!

I Carve This Poem From the Harshest of Storms: Another I'm not caught up with YET (a running theme for this Fic Week, it seems hgfhgfdfgds i'm sorry I'm slow and have a short-attention span). It follow two fascinating peeps in The Administration following The Merge, and without giving too much away, @theartsyswissapple ‘s voices for the characters just POP and make them feel SO real and it's been intriguing to read so far so yeah others should give it a try too!!!

What it Takes for You to See Me: A Spinjitzu bros story with added FSM and Mystake goodness too!!! This is one I've just started reading myself, but you know I love some throwbacks to Wu and Garmadon's past! And the OC here, @marhan-writes-n-draws's Amka, fits into the setting like a glove!!

Honeycomb: Gotta give a shoutout to @miqotepotatoe's Lucy while I'm here too!! Some short, sweet snippets of the Ninja Team's best (and most yellow) cheerleader!! I love her dynamic with everyone, and especially Cole <3

The Space Between Us: A very deep and heart-wrenching introspective into @k1ngtok's characters Lynda and Jamie, Master(s) of Space. It's story about siblings and bonds at its core, but also be mindful of tag of you're looking to dig deeper! (it also takes place in legacyverse technically but that's neither here or there I promise)

Flowery Language Another super funny and endearing story by King following Jesse (hey it's my boy!!) and Antonia on the case to discover who's been leaving flowers in Jesse's locker (spoiler: it's not Cole lmao). It's actually a semi-sequel to this old thing *I* wrote however long ago, but thaaaat's not required reading (though it does help). If you want more of a fix for the Jesse-Antonia duo + more of Jamie, this is the story to read!

Learning to Love (Again): Yet another King fic based in legacyverse (a coincidence), this one kiiiind of takes place during Season 2/Book 3 and follows Jamie on his quest to truly show his friends (Nya, Antonia, Harumi, Jesse, and...Olivia?!) just how much he cares about them through the power of love languages over the course of a week and it is AWESOOOOOOOOME!! Soooo many touching and feel-good moments, mostly soft slice-of-life with teenagers being teenagers, and is a great pick-me up when your soul is feeling sad ;w;)/ I advocate for this one just for the warm soft friendshippy-feelings it gives me alone!!! AAAAAA—

Something About Morning Glories: Jesse (oop there he is again) takes it upon to himself to comfort Jay after the latter finds himself concerned about something following obtaining his True Potential. A duo I desperately want to write more about but can't yet, so this little bit of foundation for their relationship will have to suffice for now ;w;)/

(and if you're still clamoring for more of a certain magic pink fool, there's plenty more where that came from; perhaps there may be a Jesse-Antonia friendship origin story on deck soon, along with maybe some DR stuff~! ...listen there will never be a good chance to self-advertise like this again!! BE YOUR BIGGEST FAN!!! SELF-LOVE BABY!!!! *-*)9 )

In the Company of the Stars: A tale as old as time—a Royal!AU where the fair groundskeeper of a palace's garden (that's the OC) falls head over heels for the prince far out of his league (that's Cole)—except, the prince absolutely likes him back...albeit only as his secret, suave alter-ego. But is that really true—and, more importantly, is there bigger problems to deal with right now???? There's romance, mystery, good food, royal drama, angst, fluff, sabotage, magic, a whole bunch of flowers, Harumi causing chaos on purpose, Skylor throws Chad across a room, Jay goes on a rampage a some point, Kai can't flirt to save his life—the author just needs some fresh motivation to post the darn next chapter already because the ending's gonna be really really good ;V

[morbethgames]

February 14th, 2024 Update!

Hey all, I'm gonna be trying to do this weekly now. So, quick update on things, first and foremost the book as that's what most of you come here for! I am 11k words in and about a little halfway done with the path that lets you participate in the next part with Lance and Alvarez. There is going to be quite a bit of variation in how a PC can choose to approach this scene; those Combat Stats exist for a reason!

As for things going on with Patreon, I have decided on a schedule!

Patreon content will release on Tuesdays and Thursdays!

I am going to attempt to stick to that schedule as consistently as possible, and I'm off to a good start on that! Part 1 of The Bureau Audiobook went up today and part 2 is going up on Thursday. Not to mention the small short story introducing the character Buck Marcellis went up last Thursday! The story is around 2.5k words long, if I remember correctly. An extra little thing going up today as well is the Poll to see what Interactive Fiction I will be reading as an audiobook next. That's right:

You will get to pick the next audiobook reading!

I've gotten a bunch of different author's consent to make audiobooks of their work, so anyone who is a subscriber to the Patreon, you will have a direct say in what Audiobook goes up alongside the one for The Bureau! Options include things like:

Kingdoms and Empires

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - An affair of the heart

When Life Gives You Lemons

Honor Amongst Thieves

The Operative: Fires of Revolution

Defiled Hearts: The Barbarian

Along with a couple of others that are on the list for possibilities!

Over the next few months, I will be more active for sure, and you can expect the update for The Bureau to come out before the end of March (I hope). Thank you all so much for sticking with me, and I hope to see you over on the Patreon, which, thanks to hyperlinks, you can conveniently find

RIGHT HERE! <-

The Forum Page for "The Bureau"

The demo for the game itself!

Thank you all so much for reading this update and for sticking with me and continuing to do so for the future! You are all awesome! Also big shoutouts to @when-life-gives-you-lemonssss, @kingdoms-and-empires, @theoperativeif, @leoneliterary, @doriana-gray-games, @defiledheartsblog for giving me permission to read their work on my silly little attempt at Patreon content; you guys are awesome!

Stay Brilliant,

-Vi

[a-gay-little-cat]

(This drawing got way out of hand but. I'm attaching it to the OC interview anyways!!!! Thank you for tagging me @mail-me-a-snail!!!!) OC interview thingy under the read more :]

Name?

“Vito.” Nothing special or out of the ordinary here really. Though he doesn’t like giving people his surname. Scan him for it if you are so nosy.

Nickname?

“The Red Scorpion.” "...." “That’s a joke, it’s V.” His name is short enough to not warrant a nickname really but V is what he likes to use for business related stuff, keep it formal, keep it anonymous. Though I do think Red Scorpion is the name for his bike. And also the symbol he wears on his vest. He just really likes scorpions and any other desert critter.

Gender?

“Male.”

Vito is trans, has been for a good chunk of his life and he couldn’t be happier with it.

Star sign?

“Scorpio, much to my delight. No idea what it means though. Don’t really care for that kind of stuff.” Fun fact I was so close to making the joke of having Vito be born on the day the Arasaka Towers got blown up but then his age wouldn’t have aligned quite right. He’d have to be 53 during the main story but… still a joke in the back of my mind, might adjust it JUST to be funny, maybe not.

Height?

“Last I checked it was 5’8.”

It’s a pretty good height all things considered. He might appear a bit taller though thanks to the bit of heel on his boots as well as his hat he wears most of the time. He has no complaints about his height though.

Orientation?

“Whoever strikes my fancy.”

Vito is bi and doesn’t really have a preference. Just kinda lets himself be taken wherever his heart desires. (Sometimes that can be horrible ex-corpo men who have something really wrong with them. Shoutout to Lucian. What is wrong with him.) Though he usually doesn’t look for more than a fling. Not actively looking to date or find anything long term. (Lucian was kind of an unexpected case.)

Nationality/ethnicity?

“Born and raised in Mexico. Lived there a good while too.”

His parents likely still live there, he wouldn’t really know. Cut ties a long time ago and has kinda moved from city to city looking to follow his ambitions.

Favorite fruit?

“Hm… don’t have fruit a lot these days but peaches have always been my favorite.”

I can only imagine fruit is just kind of rare to come by, if not expensive. Vito’s never had a lot of money to his name all things considered.

Favorite season?

“Fall. It’s just right.”

Listen he may be used to hot climates but all that leather is probably a nightmare during the summer. And no he will not sacrifice his looks.

Favorite flower?

“Flowers? In this year and age?” He doesn’t know shit about flowers. He might like ones that bloom on cacti but… it’s not really his scene.

Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate?

“You can’t go wrong with a nice tea.” He’ll always pick tea over anything else. Coffee is… okay. But he doesn’t get the appeal. Vito especially likes any sort of red/fruity tea but he’ll give anything a try at least once.

Average hours of sleep?

“4…. 5… depends.”

And that’s on a good day. Especially in the height of everything with the relic he is lucky to get one or two hours of sleep. Pain is one hell of a bitch keeping him up. Very hard to get comfortable at all. But once that’s all over and he’s settled down it’ll probably end up closer to an average of 8 hours, at least.

Dog or cat person?

“Reptiles.” “...” “But if I have to pick? Cats.”

Vito isn’t one to really care for pets. He doesn’t hate them and will pet a dog or a cat if someone he knows owns one but that's about it. Doesn’t really need a pet of his own.

Dream trip?

“Not really looking to travel.”

As a guy who has moved from place to place, Vito doesn’t really… plan for trips. Most of his traveling was out of necessity and not because he was looking for a vacation spot. Somewhere outside of NC could be nice but he just doesn’t really think about it. Busy with other stuff. Also he would want to travel with Lucian and well……. who knows how that would go down.

Favorite fictional character?

“Pardon?”

Vito reads a lot but he’s not like… crazy about the characters or even really involved, it's just to pass time and relax.

Number of blankets you sleep with?

“.....2.”

He gets cold in his sleep and it's a nice weight. One hell of a fight to get out of bed in the morning though.

Random fact?

Vito loves putting together little models of things if possible. Doesn’t always have the time for it but… it’s fun and relaxing :)

Don't really know who to tag but hey whoever wants to do this with their guys feel free to go ahead!

[kazoosandfannypacks]

summary: when sworn academic rivals Belle French and August Booth are put in the same group for a presentation, things get out of hand— not in the predictable arguing or usual banter, but instead in Belle and August spitefully asking each other out on a date.

word count: 6K words (five chapters, all uploaded at once)

a/n: i started this one a while back but finally came around, polished it up, and got it finished for you guys! I wanna warn you going into this that it is horribly out of character, especially since most of my beauty and the puppet fics are very soft, and this one is a bit... crunchier? edgier? anyways, it's great and we love it. shoutout to the loyal and spectacular @kanerallels for betaing!

taglist: @kanerallels  @accidental-spice  @poptart-cat-78  @booksteaandtoomuchtv  @silver-the-phoenix  {if you’d like to be added to or removed from my Beauty and the Puppet taglist, let me know!}

the first chapter is here, but you can read the full story on ao3!

Calling Bluffs- Chapter 1:  the group assignment that doesn't go as planned

 If you'd asked August who he'd pick as his partners for this group assignment, he wouldn't've picked the class clown and his academic rival.

 If you'd asked Belle to pick her partners, she wouldn't've picked Will— she'd made that mistake before— and she certainly wouldn't've picked the only other student in class whose intellect came close to hers— not nearly her equal, if course, but pretentious enough you wouldn't know the difference.

 If you'd asked Will who he'd pick as his partners, he'd've been smart enough not to say the two smartest students in class— the only people on campus stubborn enough to push him to do some of the work himself.

 And yet, when Professor Heller announced the team assignments in class last Monday, he put August, Belle, and Will in the same group.

 And so, Belle found herself in her dorm room with Will and August, sitting around their textbooks and a bag of chips, trying to work on a presentation about classic American Literature.

 "So, what were everyone's ideas for this presentation?" Belle asked.

 "Oh?" August said, "you're actually going to condescend to such lowly individuals as anyone-who's-not-you and actually listen to our input?"

 "I don't know," Belle rolled her eyes, having already failed at starting this project as professionally as possible, "are you going to share intelligent input?"

 "More intelligent than some people here," August glared at Will.

 "For your information," Will rushed to his own defense, "I actually do have an idea."

 Belle knew Will too well than to suspect this would be a good idea.

 "Let's hear it," August said.

 "Our report's on great American writers, right?"

 "Classic American writers," August corrected.

 "Exactly!" Will said, "and who's a more classic writer than famous songwriter Rick Astley? I suggest we start our presentation with…"

 Belle cut him off before he could finish vocalizing his stupidity. "We're not rickrolling our classmates."

 "You didn't even let me finish!" Will said.

 "But was she wrong in her assumption?" August asked.

 "What's that got to do with anything?" Will asked, "Literature is all about conveying emotion, and it's hard to put to words that emotion you feel when an inconspicuous link leads to Never Gonna Give You Up."

 "We're not gonna rickroll the rest of the class," August said.

 "Yeah," Belle agreed with August for the first time that semester, "some of us actually care about our grades."

 "A little too much," August said.

 "For the sake of diplomacy I'll ignore that hypocrisy," Belle said, trying as she may not to get into one of those petty academic feuds they so often partook in, "did you have any ideas that won't fail us immediately, August?"

 "As a matter of fact, I do," he said, "we pick an author, each of us writing a synopsis about a different aspect about them- such as recurring themes, personal lives and how it affected their literature, or effects on their works in the academic community- and then compile our findings, using the same template for the PowerPoint so it looks like we actually worked together on the project."

 "An unexpectedly great idea," Belle said.

 "I'm down for it," Will said, "how about I create the PowerPoint while you guys work on the boring stuff?"

 "I don't think so," August said, "in a group project, everyone brings something to the table- something more than throwing a PowerPoint together. What exactly do you bring to this group?"

 "For one thing," Will said, taking a few chips from the bag in front of them, "Doritos."

 "You'll have to try harder than that," August said, "we won't do your work for you."

 "August," Belle said, leaning closer and motioning for him to do the same, speaking in hushed tones so Will wouldn't be as likely to hear, "do you really want to be graded based on how Mr. Astley's biggest fan over here writes a report?"

 They watched Will stack six Doritos on top of each other and shove the whole stack in his mouth at once.

 "He's trying to take advantage of my intellect and your stubborn persistence not to appear imperfect," August said.

 "Will has a special set of gifts," Belle explained, "and one of them is graphic design. He can make our PowerPoint look so professional that no one will notice how pretentious you sound while you're presenting."

 "And to cover up for whatever your intellect may be lacking," August clapped back, then turned to Will, "I think we can make that work- just promise me you won't troll the rest of the class."

 "What if I find a way to thematically tie it into our selected author's themes and narratives?" Will asked.

 "Deal," Belle rolled her eyes again.

 "No deal!" August said, appalled.

 "You wanted him to do research," Belle said, "and he'll do best if he's researching something he's passionate about."

 "And next he'll be comparing The Gifts of the Magi to tortilla chips."

 "I care about more than just tortilla chips," Will scoffed, "there's potato chips too. But believe it or not, I am capable of getting us an A on this assignment."

 "You'd better be,' August said.

 There was silence for a moment as Belle picked up her textbook.

 "Which author would you guys like to write about?" Belle asked, "Hawthorne, Poe, Hemingway…"

 "Samuel Clemens?" August suggested.

 "Everyone is going to do an assignment on Samuel Clemens," Belle said, "that's the most basic answer you could've chosen."

 "You suggested Edgar Alan Poe, and you think Samuel Clemens was a basic suggestion?" August asked, "any self-proclaimed academic would come up with that one."

 "O'Henry then?" Belle asked.

 "Fine by me," August said, "I'll work on the themes and analysis if you wanna study his personal life."

 "So you think the personal life is the easy part, then?" Belle asked.

 "Pardon my display of chivalry," August said, "I simply thought you'd enjoy digging into people's history. Which part of the report would you prefer to give?"

 "Personal life is fine," Belle said, "I wrote about his themes back in high school and want to give myself a challenge this time."

 "And I'll put together the PowerPoint based on what you find," Will said.

 "Meet back here next week to compare findings?" Belle asked.

 "Fine by me," August said.

 "But you guys are bringing chips to the table next week," Will said.

 "Gladly," August said.

 As they began to pack up their supplies, Belle's roommate, Ruby walked in.

 "Hey, Ruby," Belle said.

 "Working on your Classic American Literature project?"

 "Just finished deliberating about it," Belle said, as Ruby sat down at her desk.

 "My group finally settled on an author," Ruby said, "we're gonna present on O'Henry."

 The others all sighed.

 "I told you that was a basic choice," August snapped at Belle.

 "You said Poe was basic," Belle said, curtly, "and that O'Henry would be fine."

 "Let's just do Hawthorne instead."

 "May as well," Belle said.

 "Doesn't matter to me." Will said.

 "Oh, hey, Belle," Ruby said, pulling out her phone, "don't forget to take out the trash."

 "Take out the trash?" Belle asked. Tired of trying her best to be civil, she turned to August, "fine then, wanna go out sometime?"

 It was a cheap shot, but she had to take it.

 "I suppose I have to say yes," August stood up, "it's my turn to take out the trash as well. Tomorrow at six?"

 "Sounds like a date," Belle crossed her arms.

 It wasn't until after the guys left that Belle turned to Ruby and asked, "what just happened?"

 "I think you just got yourself a date," Ruby said, not even looking up from her phone.

 "We were only arguing with each other," Belle explained, "it's a thing, ya know?"

 "Arguing, flirting," Ruby said, "it's all the same thing the way you two do it."

 "You don't," Belle laughed, "you don't think there's anything between August and I, do you?"

 "You mean besides chemistry, tension, and half the campus shipping you?" Ruby asked, "not at all."

 "The rest of our peers think there's something between August and I?" Belle asked.

 "Some of the teachers do too."

 "The same August who refutes everything I say in every class we have together?"

 "He's obsessed with you," Ruby said.

 "Obsessed with hating me," Belle said, "I can't stand him."

 "Yeah," Ruby smiled, "he 'can't stand' you either. That's why he asked you out."

 "We can't carry on a civil conversation," Belle said, "he's a pretentious know-it-all who's always trying to one up me. Why do you think he asked me out as a joke after I asked him? He can't stand being second to me. Knowing him, he'll probably show up at our door with a bouquet of cheap flowers tomorrow night, just to spite me."

 "How is that spiteful?" Ruby asked.

 "Trying to get me to back down from fake asking him out," Belle said, "I'll just have to be one step ahead."

 "How's that?" Ruby asked, "getting all ready for a date, just in case he does show up?"

 "Exactly," Belle said.

 Ruby sighed and rolled her eyes.

read the full story on ao3!

[fullscoreshenanigans]

HI bestie happy pride !!!!!!! one quastion do you have any lgbt hcs for tpn that you're particularly fond of? whether they were hard hcs from the beginning or picked up from others,, give me yuor thoughts <3

ℍ𝔸ℙℙ𝕐 ℙℝ𝕀𝔻𝔼 𝔹𝔼𝕊𝕋𝕀𝔼!!! 🌈❤️🧡💛💚💙💜✨

My favorite hard headcanons that will come as a surprise to no one who has spent some time browsing this blog are endgame Norrayemma/REN/NER and Gildayshe, the former of which I'm very fortunate with when it comes to finding art and fic, and the latter not so much because I've never seen it anywhere besides this site. </3 (Thanks for prompting me to finally put together my past!Gildemma → endgame!Gildemma ramble I mentioned months ago. 🧡💚💛) Special shoutout to @frozentothetouch whose art converted me back in 2021 before I made this blog.

I don't have hard gender or sexuality headcanons for the trio for reasons @hanz-xd perfectly articulated here:

i think they'd have a hard time understanding the human world's perception of relationships and their hyper focus on labels. it's not like they really had those things at grace field, or at least, it wasn't important enough for them to care about. no one really called themselves straight, gay, bi, etc. so it's a little confusing for them in the real world. not the concept of these identities, just the need for labels in the first place. emma is kinda like "well i love every body?? why do i need to label that??" i think emma also struggles to understand the pressure of monogamy because again, her heart is so big and so full, she can't possibly imagine containing that love to one single person. especially when she thinks about ray and norman. she doesn't love one of them more than the other, she loves both of them so much. why would she want to force herself to choose when she could just love both of them? [...] but yeah, to summarize, the three of them would be together, but they'd never put labels on their identities, aside from calling each other their boyfriend/girlfriend. that's all it needs to be for them. the most they’ll do is confirm with a simple “yeah i guess” when people ask if they’re polyamorous. like yeah, they are by definition, but they don’t really care about labels. they just love each other in a way that feels right and authentic to them

The trio of my heart 🤍🧡🖤 though if I had to pick some, I'd default to the ones @officersnickers uses in this piece.

Likewise I don't have firm gender headcanons for Gildayshe, but I'm very big on lesbian Gilda, once again thanks to Rain and also to @just-like-playing-tag. I would also say I'm 95% committed to lesbian Ayshe, with the last 5% being my soft spot for Rayshe, though even then she's wlw + Ray doesn't necessarily have to be cis for it to work.

I'm ever so slightly less big on Yuucas but still big on it and a firm believer in the bunkerdads. 🖤❤️ Like many people in the fandom, I also champion gay Lucas and bi Yuugo, though ngl I'm half convinced Shirai included Dina as an afterthought at the suggestion of higher-ups so people wouldn't suspect either was a mlm or "funny" with the kids given how inconsequential Yuuna is to the story. Do love a bi skunk king though. 💖💜💙👑🦨✨

I also love the idea of bi Nat with him leaning toward guys thanks to @puff-poff. Don is pan with a preference toward girls (though you have shown me the light of trans gay Don. 🙏💙💖🤍) I love the thought of him firmly believing in the idea of "finding a cute girl to date" like he talks about in episode 1, only to one day be hit with the mental equivalent of a sack of bricks upon falling hard for a guy. Not in like an angsty way because this is years down the line and he's able to handle his insecurities better, plus he has the support of a large family filled with members of the community and I'd like to think after another world war the human world as a whole is more accepting of this, so there's no shame attached to it. It's more like having it happen and then going in the group chat with something akin to "remember when I said I was a ladies' kind of guy?"

No one in the Goldy Pond crew or Lambda gang claims cishet, but my favorites for each:

Trans lesbian Violet. I cannot pass up Shirai canonically making her favorite food pickles (noted in the mystic code book). It writes itself.

Love the thought of Violet taking Gilda under her wing during their search for the Seven Walls when she finds out she had a crush on Emma. (something Violet can relate to lol)

Trans girl Gillian. Feel like this one is less common than trans Violet, but regardless, she's pan and Nigel's bi.

Vincent is gay. M'guy dapper af.

(Chapter 137)

Cislo is a mlm, though Snickers has kind of converted me to him being aroace.

Barbara is a lesbian. While I'm definitely not opposed to Cherry Bomb, I've recently taken a liking to her and Sonya being a couple. (Sonyara? Is this a thing that I've missed or am I the only potential shipper? I like the idea of Sonya approaching things in a more calm and levelheaded fashion and how that sometimes conflicts with Barbara's more chaotic one, but instead of it resulting in ire, they take it as a playful challenge. Plus I like how Sonya's blues pop next to Barbara's pinks and reds.)

(Bad mesh of their color pics in the art world book but I work with what I have. </3)

This is already hella long but there was definitely something between Leuvis and Bayon Sr. Also Geelan is a mlm.

[whumpbug]

1, 14, 15, 18, 23 for the ask game hiiiiii I am so glad you reblogged it!! as always /nf so do what's inspiring!! :D

YAYYY THANK YOU SETH THESE ARE GREAT!!!!!!!! ｡(^▽^)ゞ

1. the last sentence you wrote

this is from a WIP with gene and cassidy and oh god seth this is such a funny line for you to have landed on HELP

"Christ, he hated Montana." (from gene's POV)

me too gene.

14. where do you get your inspriation?

oooouh i get my inspiration from so so many places... a lot of character ideas come from existing media who's fandom i'm apart of and it usually stems from me wanting to make ocs in that universe or to steal some of the character dynamics/themes

when it comes to actual writing though, a lottt of my inspiration comes from fanfiction and oc works of friends (shoutout to u seth). and if i'm being completely honest, my ideas for specific stories comes from me just. pacing my room and talking to myself in the shower and thinking of interesting dialogue to form a story around

15. favorite weather for writing

okay so the obvious (and probably most popular) answer is rainy/gloomy weather. its just the thought of being able to be cozy on the couch or in bed without the obligation to be Out and Doing Stuff that gets the brain juices flowing, BONUS if its past midnight too

18. if you keep them, share a deleted sentence or paragraph from a published fic

okay so i don't have any specific lines for a fic BUT i will share an abandoned concept i had for archie and simon.

so originally, archie was going to have more powers than just the enhanced strength and senses he does now. he was going to have some kind of ice manipulation/cryokinesis as well because i thought it seemed cool and would allow for some Great Whump, but it sort of got too complicated and i scrapped the idea completely

23. pick three keywords that describe your writing

i am going to challenge myself to Not be self-depreciative because that is my default. BUT NOT TODAY.

my 3 words would have to be: descriptive, tense, fluffy (in the sense that i can't stop writing fluff. it's my weakness.)

AND SETH U GET SOME RAPID FIRE BONUS ONES bc this ask game is too fun

13. a fandom you’re thinking about writing for

dc. specifically for my silly gorgeous man dick grayson. but i am TERRIFIED. solely because compared to most dc fans, i am SO not well-versed in the lore and would probably say something completely incorrect and embarass myself.

11. a WIP you’d like to finish someday

theres 2 that are sitting in my doc that i havent touched in a bit BUT they are:

a fic of cassidy as a child getting absolutely chewed out and punished by montana and then it cutting to present day and showing how that Trauma manifests itself. and also a mildly concerned gene.

and one for the alternative prompt in WWE (hangover) where gene is stationed in the town jail as always but its after a LONGG night at the saloon. and cassidy is the only guy locked up and hes just totally messing with him while gene wants to be Anywhere but There.

AND LASTLY 4. a story idea you haven't written yet

cassidy and gene getting drunk together. also archie and simon getting drunk together but mostly gene and cassidy. i just need the filters to come DOWN for those guys

THANKS SO MUCH SETH AND THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME THE CHANCE TO RAMBLE ABOUT ONE OF MY FAVORITE HOBBIES!!!!!!!! ILY TOO /P U ARE SO COOL AND AWESOME

[firebirds-roost]

o/ have a fruit salad!

🍌Three headcanons about how magic works in your lore 🍊A dragon you like based on looks 🍇A dragon you like based on personality 🍑Show off an expensive regening project 🍐Feathers, fur/fluff, manes: your Opinion

YEAHH I ACTUALLY GOT ONE okay okay let's see

🍌: Three headcanons about how magic works in your lore

Items that magically change a dragon's appearance, like gene scrolls or eye vials, are actually very common and a popular form of self-expression. Switching up your patterns is no different from buying a new outfit or getting a tattoo to better suit your personality! Honestly, most dragons would be shocked to meet someone who hasn't used an enchanted scroll at some point.

All dragons have an internal wellspring of magic that gives them life and fuels their natural abilities, essentially acting as their soul. This is the most potent and powerful form of magic on Sornieth, but trying to harness it for spellcasting is EXTREMELY dangerous and usually results in the death of the caster. Soul-fed spells are only used as an absolute last resort.

Basic elemental moves like fireballs or lightning bolts can be thrown around without much effort, but more advanced spells usually require some kind of ritual component. Specialized runes, spoken enchantments, careful talon movements, things like that. Being able to perform these rituals correctly is what separates trained mages from common dragons.

🍊: A dragon you like based on looks

I'm a big fan of Maelstrom's design! I haven't quite figured out a story for him yet, but I love the black-and-red color scheme and the mix-and-matched apparel sets. Shoutout to the Bloodscale helmet layered over the Ghastcrown.

🍇: A dragon you like based on personality

It's hard to pick just one, so I guess I'll go with a dragon I haven't posted to Tumblr yet: Parmesan! He's a pampered, sensitive sort, accustomed to the finer things in life, and approaches every new experience with the attitude of someone disarming a bomb. What if it's dangerous? What if it hurts? What if it sets him on FIRE?

Still, he's a good guy at heart, and is more than willing to face his fears if it means doing the right thing. He just... might have to do it while crying.

🍑: Show off an expensive regening project

Oh, this one's easy.

Riptide was my birthday hatch a couple years ago, and I got INSANELY lucky with his colors - Jade/Robin/Aqua. I knew he deserved something special, so I saved up for months and months to get him a fancy new look (complete with Coatl breed change, Glimmer, and a couple of expensive apparel items). Totally worth it!

🍐: Feathers, fur/fluff, manes: your opinion

I like 'em! I think hair and feathers are great for conveying personality in a dragon, since there are so many ways to style them in artwork. Great way to switch up the silhouettes. There's a reason Fluffington is one of my favorite dragons to draw.

Absolutely hate the way Spines looks on maned breeds though. Why are Tundras and Imperials like that. Stop.

[fireemblems24]

Engage 12 - 14

Spoilers for FE Engage 12+ below the cut.

I'm betting I get Byleth, Ike, Erikia, Corrin, and whoever else I'm forgetting before getting the old rings back? I wish I still had Marth and Sigurd though. They had SSS Tier inheritance.

I love Kagetsu so far. But I'm a sucker for swordmasters in general. The crit animation they have is so fun. If the weapon triangle wasn't such a huge deal in this game, I'd make an entire army of swordmasters lol.

I like how Ivy actually has intel on the enemy and actually tells us. We need more recruited, reformed "villains" who do this.

Fogado is funny so far. If he and Kagetsu had a support, that would be gold. Because it would be non-stop flirting or competing at who can flirt better. I saw Fogado wins so far, because Katetsu is awkward as hell about it lamo.

So if all the NPCs are dark-skinned, they should've made more Solm retainers dark-skinned too (I know from pre-release that images they aren't). FE is getting better a variety, but still some way to go.

Veyle is being a bitch to Marth for no reason. Leave him alone. Still predicting that Mauvier is recruitable. And Griss is . . . eh . . . something. I love a good unhinged villain though.

One thing I DON'T like about this game is that they give you new units way too fast. Like, I just got Ivy and co and now I have Fogado and co. And they seem like a fun bunch, but like, I only have 7 deploy slots . . .

And then you get into a situation where if you want to try out the new units, you can't in a skirmish, because those are the HARDEST battles in this game because it scales with your characters. Which, in some way, I like, because then they're a good challenge but then you can make story levels easier by outclassing enemies, so then you're not "stuck" on a story and can pick and choose your challenging stuff, but it leaves other units behind. Which is typical FE I guess, but all the extra content seems like it encourages you to use new guys. Idk, there's low level Tempest Trials, but those take a long time and rewards are meh for how long it takes, esp for exp, which is why I don't think they really work for it either.

Ugh, Alcryst keeps getting shit level ups, but his supports and character is so interesting. And I just complained about limited deploy slots. I hope my boy can catch up, because he's, unfortunately, next on the benched list. Everyone else either dodges or tanks likes a pro. He's really my only liability on the battlefield right now.

Seforia is pretty cool. Glad to see more moms in this game. Really, almost everyone had a mom instead of a dad this time.

Oh, God, I'm so happy to get Ike. 😭😭😭😭😭 Radiant Dawn was my first Fire Emblem game, and still probably the one I've replayed the most. OMG this makes me so happy 😭😭😭😭

Timerra and co seem fun, but again, I'm sick of new characters. I still have a few open slots (pending you take 12-14 ish in final chapters), but 1 is reserved for the dancer, because, dancer. It's just a bonus he's gorgeous this time.

Ok, also, you have no idea how happy the bosses of these chapters makes me. It's a shoutout to other twin bandits with goofy names that used to show up n all the past GBA games.

Iyv's reaction to hearing that Hortensia has attacked was hilarious. A+ to the voice actress selling that.

I like how the three heirs on this post-level map are all talking to the locals. It's a nice detail. They're being diplomatic.

Also, another small bonus to this game. The bald eagle actually sounds like a bald eagle. All that majestic yelling you hear in movies is fake. That's a different bird. Eagles sound like squeaky toys, lamo.

Ivy teasing Alcryst in their B support is great lol. She tweaked him big time. She's a much more engaging character than she seemed like she would be initially.

So I just saw Alfred and Ivy's C Support, and this is the 2nd time someone told Alfred he's naïve for trusting people and he's just like "yep!" I love him so much, you don't even know.

Kagetsu is a fucking badass. Dude doesn't even have a special ring and makes mincemeat of enemy units. No way I could've beat the skirmish I just did without him. It was fog of war, everyone was separated, and like 99% of the units were fliers, but I really want to adopt a deer, so . . . Thanks, Kagetsu. He's going to get a pebble when I get back to Somniel. There wasn't even any deer. 😭 Why did I suffer? Got an owl and a rabbit at least though.

Case in point about Kagetsu. Turns out, he was the first enemy in the arena and defeated: Merrin, Ivy, Celine, and Chloe before Alfred finally took that menace down.

Lyn mentioned Eliwood and Hector in her paralogue 😭😭

Just saw Alfred and Alear's A Support. I think they're cute together. He's one of the few people who was casual with her right away, which is what Alear really wants. And the first one who offered friendship too. Still picking him as my S Support.

I still can't get over Hortensia's design.

Kind of glad that Hortensia is angry with Ivy. It makes sense she'd feel hurt and betrayed by Ivy, esp since she just lost her father too. Conflict also makes for a better story so . . .

Oh, wow, another cool moment for Alear. Hortensia is holding the Solm queen captive and threatens to kill her if Alear won't hand over the rings. But Alear refuses. So does Timerra, good on her.

Hortensia's VA is really selling her breakdown. Makes me feel bad and realize she's just a little girl. Then thong lady shows up and ruins it.

Is it bad I'm relieved Goldmary and Rosado aren't around? Because I'm tired of getting 3 new units every round. Even though I want Rosado so badly.

Oh, good grief. Hortensia is under some kind of mind control. How original, Fire Emblem. Betting that other little girl is too.

Ivy and Hortensia got pretty cool story arcs. Pretty sure I get Hortensia and Byleth now. Man, it's cool to get Byleth.

And, hey, another parent gets to live!

Solm gave me more money 😭😭😭😭

[your-local-uwu-artist]

a continuation of this

character devolopment rambels under the cut

was able to further develop their characters a LOT with this!! Sunny is a very carefree guy, unlike his inspiration (me lol) he’s extroverted cause I thought that fit their dynamic better and made his character match better with the sorta tropes I want them to fit

plus I find that I prefer my “self inserts” as not actually being self inserts but more like, “semi-self inserts” cause more often than not its what fits better for the kinda story I’m trying to tell : like I see a selfinsert as being a caricature of ones self, like your selfinsert acts just as you would if you were placed in x setting, but I would see a “semi self insert” (for lack of better term) as being a character that’s design is a sona but writing wise doesn’t function like a sona, like their core character traits are taken from my own personality, but isnt a direct representation of me, sense I cherry picked the traits and amplified them or adjusted them to make the kinda character I wanted: 

idk I know most people probably still call that a self insert but I tend to like being very specefic with my laungauge as my brain takes things very literally and at face value (plus I only want to give the very special self insert title to a character that feels like a complete self insert to me) 

anyhow SUNNY! he’s a sweetheart and has that classic headstrong shonen protag kinda personality, he wishes he could be a flirt but hes way to much of a simp for that lmao, their sorta a ditz but manages to have a high enough “charisma stat” to survive without a trainer, very much a classic “>:)” kinda ghost type. probably has some kind of internalized toxic masculinity thing going on, he has a hard time with emotionally vulnerability. He feels he can trust Daisy and he also admires how she can be so strong despite being more timid and emotional, so she very muched helped them with expressing himself emotionally. He’s never had a trainer and previously resided in the ghost type trial site (abondoned thrifty megamart) and now scurries around on akala island where he met Daisy. As a shiny he knows he’s of high value to trainers, which is why he doesn’t want to get a trainer, because he would want a trainer to admire him for him and not his shiny status. plus he find it MUCH more entertaining to watch trainers panic over having lost a chance to catch a shiny. He loves listening to Daisy’s stories about her trainer and the trainers she’s met tho, really he just loves listening to Daisy in general. sense me making more content for this is lowkey just all as a shoutout to younger me who would very much love this kind of misfits mimikyus love at first sight friends to lovers sappy romantic kinda story: I VERY much want to make his general character be the kinda character that younger me would adore~ just less angsty and with the “badboy” underdog gig being more performative. Like I need to combine the nick wildes and discords and misunderstood villains with the oopsie bears and spikes and sidekicks. also making em’ queer and autistic af. Not just cause I’m queer and autistic, but cause I think a lot of the characters I adored as a kid was for sure because of gender envy or a subtextual queer and autistic coding kinda thing that resignated with me tho i couldnt yet understand. so I think it’s fitting for that part to be important with the “shout out to younger me’s tastes in fiction” theme: He likes Daisy for her sincerity, calming aura, intelligence, perseverance, and her rebellious streak/ rarer moments of self confidence

DAISY! she’s shy and timid, but stronger than you’d think. She DID have a trainer and lived in the kanto region before being gifted down to her trainers younger sister, who moved to alola with their father, where they got lost from each other, Daisy is under the impression she was abandoned. She’s more of the mysterious ghost girl kinda ghost type but has a small mischievious streak. she’s been on her own before plenty but she’s never really been alone in human inhabited areas, so being trainerless in the shopping center streets of akala is very much a new experience for her. She tends to be reserved and while she would like to assume the best in others she generally assumes others to be “mediorce” at best until proven otherwise (in contrast to Sunny where someone can be a fucking bitch and unless if they were being a bitch about a manga he likes he will forgive them immediately, if it’s the later he deep down deos forgive them but will hold that grudge against them f o r e v e r) keeping up with the shout outs to past me Shes def inspired by like, raven queen, fluttershy, cerise hood, fucking elsa and other characters from my child hood that come up when I try ot think of the vibe I want her to have. also yall can hc her sexuality and gender as whatever you want, sense Sunny’s (trans masc) nonbinary she doesnt just like guys at least. if I give her a canon sexuality it will probably be polysexual or smth: Sunnys already pan cuz I’m pan but Idk if she has bi wife energy or not. While she’s stubborn and headstrong in her own way, (she does battle afterall) she genuinly tries to stay out of trouble. she’s a very gentle person. She struggles with making friends sense shes quieter and she also jsut finds it hard to click with someone conversation flow wise. Sunny likely encourages her to talk more but doesnt force her too, so their conversation flow clicked properly for Daisy. She likes Sunny for his chaotic neutrual vibes, energetic passion, and his softer caring side

[rayereil]

Kon! I vaguely remembered he had a backstory and dang! It’s actually pretty good! And he will almost immediately be exiled to Comic Relief Island despite the characterization he got in these chapters…

I also miss Kubo’s gag humor, which decreases as the series goes on. Maybe he thought the story was more whimsical at first, but as it became more serious less whimsy was needed? It’s not gone, but we don’t get gems like this:

And here’s the main man himself!

This scene just gets me. “Early to bed, early to rise”. Just perfect.

Also, Orihime is back! I was hoping she’d show up again soon. She’s so cute. Plus, a huge shoutout to the Tatsuhime in this arc. They’re such a cute ship.

Also. That’s not how weight works Kubo.

In all seriousness, if I could get Kubo to listen to me on one thing, it’d be not increasing Orihime’s bust size in FB, TYBW, and the epilogue.

We get it Kubo. She’s busty. And this isn’t a criticism at Orihime’s character. She’s clearly more than her physical appearance. This is a criticism of Kubo’s design choice. Orihime is already busty, and Kubo increases that. For what purpose? We all know why in our heart of hearts.

Also - a quick note. Orihime’s friends are in this chapter, Chizuru and Others. I dislike Chizuru’s portrayal. She’s “perverted” for comedy purposes which I dislike as a trope. Kon falls into this category too. So suffice it to say anytime there’s comedy about a woman being bothered/groped, know I’m sighing and rolling my eyes. As this is by far not the last time this trope will impact Orihime, I’ll save my lengthy thoughts for another day.

Moving on…

Orihime says she “smells Ichigo” which is supposed to be funny (I’m with Tatsuki on this one: Girl, what?) and Kon appears to flirt with her (Tatsuki looks ready to murder. No one touches her girlfriend!).

Importantly Orihime is the only one who noticed Kon isn’t Ichigo. Though I’m more surprised the others didn’t notice. Do they really think Ichigo leapt up to the third floor window? Does Tatsuki really think Ichigo hardcore flirted with her and Orihime?

I think this shows Orihime is smarter than one might give her credit for. Yes she’s hopelessly in love with Ichigo, but she’s not stupid.

Also, here’s Ichigo freaking out about kissing girls. And while Ichigo says it’s embarrassing, the paneling doesn’t make it seem like flustered-embarrassment, more like mortified-embarrassment. Look. Here’s my thesis. Kubo is 100 percent not writing Ichigo to be gay/bi but he accidentally made Ichigo into a gay/bi icon by refusing to show him engage with women. He blushes at women, sure, but does he connect with them, really? Or are most of his emotional connections with men? I’ll have plenty of time to prove my thesis. And there’s so much evidence (I’m only half kidding). He also has a lot of Ace coding… look. I’m going to make all of these characters LGBT+ and no one can stop me.

Also, Ichigo freaking out over his image being ruined! I like Rukia being confused. Even though she’s growing fonder of Ichigo, she hasn’t quite realized his tough guy act is a facade (don’t worry, Rukia, MITR is next…)

But seriously… Kon! His backstory is so interesting! His character fits in well with the early themes Kubo is establishing! Will we ever learn more about Kon (no). Will we ever learn more about Kon’s past (no). So much potential… But he’s relegated to comic relief instead. I have to guess Kubo meant for that to happen give how quickly Kon becomes a gag, but I wonder if he ever meant to pick up mod-souls again. We have a brief mention of them in TYBW, and that’s it to my memory. Maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised.

I mean… we could’ve had more of this:

Very cool!

Well, onwards to MITR.

Wait… is MITR really this early? It’s before Don Kanoji? Really? And when do I get to see my beloved Uryu? Not until after that??? More happens in the Substitute Shinigami Arc than I realized (I’m coming for ya, Uryu! Soon enough!).

[catboy-cyrus]

OOH OK FOR THE CHARACTER THING!!! a few options, feel free to just choose one or all of them: Cyrus, Cilan, and/or Iris!

fuck it, I'll do all of em.

Cyrus (for the purposes of this game cyrus since anime cyrus is so different):

-First impression

I didn't like him. I thought he sucked. I didn't get what he was trying to do and thought it was kind of a stupid thing to do/want. I definitley thought that he had potential though. But mostly in the context of being banished to the distortion world.

-Impression now

my blorbo. my pathetic meow meow. I want to pick him up and smack him against the wall. I think about him so much. I wanna put him under a microscope. I think he's so goddamn interesting, just a fascinating horrible little man. I want to put him in situations and by god do I.

-Favourite moment

In terms of cool points.... well being trapped in the distortion world was pretty cool. But I'll say actually his usum rr apperance. I watched a playthrough and him there is what made me realise that hey, there's far more to this guy than a thematically inappropriate retro space theme. Changed my brain chemistry. I would not be tumblr user catboy-cyrus without it. Also shoutout to him in masters accidentally becoming buddies with Sophocles.

-Idea for a story

I am 100k words into a Cyrus in Hisui fic. this one answers itself sdlkjds

-Unpopular Opinion

I'm not really sure I have one? I know plenty of people dont like him (but also that plenty of people do. hello cyrus mutuals).

-Favourite relationship

God how do I pick. Him and his commanders is great even if he doesn't really like them. I am biassed to Masters though. Him being nice to Sophocles (and Sophocles really wanting him to be nice) is super heartwarming to me.

-Favourite headcannon

Uh. well I guess just my Entire Personal Interpretation of him. Depressed, autistic, aroace, all of that kinda thing. More specifically, I am certain that if literally ANY of his circumstances differed, he wouldn't have done it. If he was like 2% happier, he would not try and end the world about it.

Cilan (anime cilan because he is my original blorbo):

-First impression

I honestly don't remember, but in his first episode I am certain him leading ash to the gym, knowing he's a challenger, and then acting as if he were just a guest at a resturaunt would not set me off on a good foot. I also think i found Detective Time cringe as shit dsjlkdslk

-Impression now

My original blorbo. He just makes me happy. I see Cilan and my mood improves it is that simple. He's just great.

-Favourite moment

MAN how do I pick??? Him getting on with N is always great. I love him getting super excited about trains/acting/etc. But honestly the moment that stuck with me the most is that time he gets possessed and attempts to kill Ash and Iris. that was fucked up. Formative moment as a kid dslkjdslkj

-Idea for a story

man... I've never really thought it through. This isn't really anime focused but I personally find the theory that the triplets are the Shadow Triad really really funny so probably something stupid about that. One of them fucks up by using a cooking mataphor or something.

-Unpopular opinion

I AM MORE EXCITED FOR CILAN IN ANIME AGAIN THAN SUBMAS. GIVE ME MY GREEN GUY!!!!!!!!

-Favourite relationship

Bit of a cop out but him, ash, and iris' friendship is super special to me. his friendship with the subway bosses is very sweet too though and I enjoy how well he gets on with N.

-Favourite headcanon

Okay this is an elaborate in-joke between me and my brother but that through declaring himself a connoisseur of something, he gains arcane power and knowledge about is and is functionally omnipotent. It's so fuckign stupid but funny to us.

Iris (uhh fuck i love both game and anime iris so I'll just alternate)

First impression-

Again, I don't remember but I think I liked her? I first saw her in the anime and something about being a weird little guy who hung out in trees definitey appealed to me as a child.

Impression now-

Still like her!! Both characterisations, although I really don't get her thing about calling Ash and Cilan a kid in the anime. Iris you are a kid also?? In the games i think she's great. I am a big fan of very nice little guy who WILL kick your ass so so hard.

Favourite moment-

Honestly? Her re-apperance in the anime was pretty fucking good. I am so glad she evolved Axew and became champion, and her battle was fucking COOL.

Idea for a story-

Hmm.... this one's difficult. I'd just kind of want to write her kicking team plasma ass honestly. She is cool and deserves to be written being cool.

Unpopular opinion-

Again, I really don't think I have any about her. She's a guy I like but I don't feel super strongly about her besides that.

Favourite relationship-

Going to the games here, her relationship with Drayden is super sweet and compelling to me. Her cool dragon grandpa!!!!!!

Favourite headcanon-

I think her 'knowing the hearts of dragons' thing isn't super literal. She's not like N in that she can talk to them, I think its more she's super good at reading them and their body language. Nothing supernatural or unusual, she's just unusually good with dragons. That might be the canon thing but I've not really seen any consensus on it.