#hopefully i'll have the next entry up soon

[eoinmcgonigal]

Unit: 1 SAS Commanding Officer: Lt. R. Barb

WAR DIARY or A PLACE OF WORSHIP

Place: AO3 Date: 23 Sep 2023 Summary of Events and Information: Eve Mansour/Paddy Mayne Oral Sex, Femdom Undertones, Sloppy Seconds, Post Eve/Eoin Fucking . Eve has Paddy on his knees for her. . Remarks: Not Safe for Work, Sequel to Welcome Command Reference to Appendix: Appendix 230923/APOW

[themuseoftheviolets]

just signed up for ENEM again. this is fine i'm fine (i'm about to have an anxiety attack)

[anotherandomcollection]

[prologue] Dear Diary...

──────────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────────────── ≻─ ⋆✩ pairings: arlecchino x gn!reader ≻─ ⋆✩ warnings: some angst?, childhood friends to strangers to lovers, canon typical violence, mentions of death, slowburn - not beta read ≻─ ⋆✩ spoilers?: 4.6 (Arlecchino's story quest) ≻─ ⋆✩ synopsis: this is a series I'm writing - its in the form of dairy entries written from the reader's POV through the years.

this is just the prologue of how it all begins and provides insight on the background (on the reader) I made up :) There's no date for the diary entries but they progress forward.

≻─ ⋆✩ author's note: this was an idea that came to me in a dream (shower thoughts) /j I'm not too sure if this is a format that would be enjoyed, but I hope it is <3

≻─ ⋆✩ word count: 1.4K

[prologue]

──────────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────────────

Dear Diary,

I'm leaving. I'm leaving this godforsaken house - I'm probably going to sneak off during my next mission. It's a solo mission, though I think it's just a ploy from "Mother" to get rid of me. My left leg is still injured and the Doctor says I may never fully recover, I have a barely noticeable limp, but anything short of perfection is frowned upon in the House of the Hearth (of course it is; the "Marelle" games should be enough of an indicator).

I don't know why either, I've been good - though perhaps she doesn't approve of the friendship Clervie and I have forged (not that she has any motherly rights to decide that). Or perhaps with Peruere - she is probably the next "King", with the highest potential or whatnot.

I'm scared to leave as well, just the idea of leaving is heavily frowned upon and is punishable with death. Even if I don't die on the mission, if I am caught, I will die. I'm not sure if even Archon's can tell me what happened to the other's who tried to leave. "Mother" keeps a strict tab on everyone and who knows what in the house. Any secrets being spilled… I pray for them. I pray for mercy, because I know the Doctor has none.

I'm scared to leave, scared about the future too. I don't know how to leave when this house is almost all that I remember. "Mother" clothed me, fed me and has given me a roof over my head. No matter how hard I had to work for it, I was given a shelter. It scares me that I don't hate this place as much as you would expect me to… It scares me to leave everything I know and all the people I cherish for this.

The battle for "King" starts soon, I probably won't be around for it. I'll either be long gone or dead, if the mission from mother goes according to my plan, I'll be on my way to Sumeru. If it doesn't… then I suppose mother's plan to get rid of me would have succeeded (archon's know I am not in mission ready condition).

I know its selfish to leave Clervie and Peruere but I cannot stay. I will die. Perhaps I could have stayed in another time or another universe where this "orphanage" didn't exist.

I'm leaving them a letter, but I have planned to make it look like I have died, or imply it, at least then I won't be the villain in their eyes for abandoning them here to suffer at the hands of "Mother". Painfully Hopefully, we will never cross paths and I will never have to explain myself. I'm not sure if they would understand.

I don't know how to live with myself anymore, not with the things the house has made us do. We are children and… I miss my family. I see glimpses of them in my dreams and memories - it was so warm. It had actually felt like a home. I think I had an older sister and a younger brother but I cannot clearly remember. I wonder what happened to them (if they even exist). I hope that I could have had that in another universe, but alas, I cannot in this one.

──────────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────────────

[there is a letter left to Clervie and Peruere, hidden in a spot only the three of you know about]

Hi Clervie and Peruere,

It's me, I'm sure you know my writing by now and I'm sorry that I cannot see both of you one last time. I'm leaving on my mission and I will likely not return. "Mother" plans for me to die - I know it so because I am not currently mission ready and she's been sending me on so many. I'm barely pulling through as it is and I don't think I will make it back from this one.

I will miss both of you and I'm sorry it will end this way.

I will miss watching the sunrise with you, Clervie, and I hope that you see the aurora you so wish to see one day. I'm… sorry that it has come to this and I hope you continue going to watch the sun bleed orange-red in the sky and turn the horizon into a mix of orange and purple and pink (like your hair!).

Peruere… I will miss our shared love for insects. I left you some sketches I made of Bambi. I will miss our walks in the garden trying to insect-watch and then having to hide when our caretakers come looking for us. I really did enjoy them.

[in the same envelope, there are some old sketches of the spider - several sheets of the insect in several positions and all carefully drawn and the pages carefully preserved]

I'm sorry. [next to it is a scribbled out line, too scribbled to even make out what the words mean]

[the letter is only read by one of the people its addressed to before it is thrown into the fireplace and turns to ash]

──────────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────────────

[the writing in this entry is shaky, tear drops are splattered on the page]

Dear Diary,

I heard Clervie died through the grapevine. I don't know what happened and I hope Peruere is doing alright. I only know she died in the battle for "King".

I don't know how to unpack this yet.

I'm scared

I thought I could maybe see them in the future. I don't know how to live knowing one of us will never get to grow up. It hurts so much. It hurts so much more than I thought this would...

──────────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────────────

Dear Diary,

I got into the Sumeru Akademiya - under the Darshan Amurta and it specialises in biology. Particularly, I'm going to study insects! Which is probably more accurately called Entomology.

There's a new harbinger, Arlecchino. I don't know who that is, but I hear they are the new head of the House. "Mother" is dead. I hear the house has been taken over by a new "Father". I pray for the children each night. I hope the "Father" is nicer but the archon's know that is a stretch too far past reality. "Mother"… The Doctor… All the harbingers do is hurt and hurt.

I know first hand what both "Mother" and the Doctor does. Sometimes I wonder how they live with themselves. Perhaps both of them are crazy.

Perhaps it should satisfy me, that the person who tormented me and all the children is gone but there is none. It feels hollow and as terrible as it sounds, I… miss the house. It wasn't home, no, but there was some semblance of family, forged through sheer fear and understanding. I suppose it stops no one in the battle for King, it stops no one for the battle of recognition and the sheer desperation to survive.

But we all know why we do it.

I suppose we all understand. Understand enough to die without hatred. I wonder if Clervie felt the same. I hope her death was swift and as painless as possible. Archon's have mercy on her soul.

I've changed since the last time, I've changed my hairstyle and hopefully no one will recognise me. My injuries have been progressing well as well and my limp is almost gone. There's still the stress that weighs on me that someone will recognise me. I fear that someone from the Fatui recognises me - especially when they have their claws in every nation.

──────────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────────────

[years later...]

──────────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────────────

Dear Diary,

I'm going back to Fontaine. There has been an exchange in between both the Akademiya and the Fontaine Research Institute so I'll be going to study the Subdetection Units. They are these small units created by the Institute that monitors all sorts of environment data. It is extremely interesting and I wonder exactly what the units can record. Not only that but they are in the shape of insects!

I think these units are interesting and with some tweaking, it could be possible to track even more data from them. Particularly, underwater. These could also possibly monitor the area by the Fortress Meropide for escapees- The possibilities feel rather endless and I am probably being too ambitious, especially with little knowledge in the engineering behind these specific units.

──────────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────────────

Dear Diary,

I think I saw her again today.

[the writing is shaky on the page and this entry is startlingly short.]

──────────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────────────

[loganwritesprobably]

The Animals

Happy birthday Crocodile!

Tags/Warnings: Crocodile/GN!Reader, fluff, Modern AU, reader works at an animal sanctuary/zoo, Crocodile is rich, first meeting

"Thank you everyone for coming to watch alligator feeding time, if you'd like to exit on the right side of the arena carefully, please throw away your rubbish and enjoy the rest of your day!" You called out, voice being carried over the speaker system around the arena.

You'd been working at the sanctuary for three years now. Not long compared to many of your coworkers, but it felt long to you, and it definitely seemed like a long time to still be loving your job both to you and your friends. How could you hate your job? It was incredible. You worked primarily with the reptiles, which was your preference, and you got to give discount entry to your loved ones. Animals also can't argue with you, or be rude, not like people.

You also loved the missions your workplace had. Not just a zoo but not just an animal sanctuary, visitors were able to come and see animals, paying only a small fee which helps fund the location, but also focusing on rehabilitating animals and helping keep species thriving. It was a cause that was close to your heart. However, with visiting fees being low (see: actually affordable) the sanctuary also largely relied on donations. Most visitors chose to donate alongside their ticket price, then may buy merchandise which also helped - but there was a handful of benefactors the place relied on.

Without those big benefactors, the sanctuary would struggle heavily.

Today, one of them was visiting. You'd only had one "event" scheduled in the form of alligator feeding time so with that done, your job was now to greet and guide the benefactor around so he could see everything he'd like to and make sure he was having a good time. The man visiting was known to be one of the biggest donors - you needed to do a good job.

Once you'd washed up a little, hopefully covering the smell of alligator shit, you headed for the main entrance to collect the VIP in question. He was already there, just confirming his appointment with the gate staff. You greeted the staff, then introduced yourself to the man. "You can call me Crocodile." He replied, and you simply nodded, not trusting yourself to not make a comment on his name if you opened your mouth. Once everything was confirmed you gestured ahead and began to guide him.

The day went smoothly, with Crocodile able to visit and see everything he wanted to see or visit, having asked more questions than you'd ever expected him to, but thankfully your avid interest in your job meant you were able to answer most of them, or direct him to someone who could answer if you weren't able to yourself. He seemed satisfied, and you felt pretty pleased with yourself.

The two of you were still chatting as you approached the exit, and while you spoke, he pulled a stack of cash from his coat and handed it to the staff at the gate. His next donation.. in cash. Those looked like hundreds. What the fuck.

"I'll be requesting you to do my tours from this point onward." Crocodile told you once you were done talking, and it caught you off guard. "Oh- thank you." You said, unsure how to respond to his words. "Your company was significantly less grating than most, and you clearly care for your work here." Following his words, Crocodile handed you another, much smaller, stack of cash - a full hundred dollars. He was fucking tipping you. "Thank you, sir." You said again, stunned by the money in your hand, and his praise. "I hope I'll see you again soon." That was Crocodile's parting words, with that he simply turned and left, and you were left standing there staring at the spot where he'd been.

[crowandmousewritingco]

The Correspondence of the Contagious

Pairing: Oberyn Martell x gn!reader x Ellaria Sand

Words: 1.4 k

Rating: G

Summary: Oberyn is away for a few days and illness comes to Dorne.

Author: Mod Mouse

Notes: This is one of my entries in @burntheedges Roll-A-Trope Challenge! This was so fun to write (and thanks to Mod Crow for the help!) Hopefully I'll have the other fic out next week.

My Dearest Viper, 

I hope the Northern kingdoms aren’t dimming your fiery spirit. I know you were hesitant to adventure so far away from your paramores, but I assure you we aren’t going anywhere. Soon you’ll return to the warm embrace of your land and your lovers. On your return we shall keep you in your room drinking and enjoying the company, filling us with as much pleasure as we could handle. 

Dorne is still quite warm despite the seasons changing. Ellaria and I have been spending our days basking in the sun while we still can. We even made up a nice lunch that we enjoyed under the lemon trees in the grove that you adore so much. Once we were full of delicacies (and a taste of each other) we followed the path through the Water Gardens. We look like pies straight from the oven with the amount of sun on our skins. But it was much needed for the both of us. 

Although something must have kicked up some retched pollen because Ellaria has been stuffed up since then. She insists she is okay (you know how stubborn she gets with this sort of affair), but after some well placed cuddles, she allowed herself some rest. That’s where she is right now. Snuggled up beside me as I write this to you. She’s as beautiful as always with her dark hair spread out like crow feathers on our shared pillows. I wish I could illustrate how beautiful she is. You would delight in the sight of her my dear as I am in this moment of time.

With plenty of rest and your herbal tea mix, she should be right as rain in a day or so. No need to worry your little Prince head about. I can handle our lover’s moods while you handle your duties. We shall see you in a fortnight. I shall pray to the Seven for your safety on your journey. 

Your Dove. 

My Dearest Viper,

I know politics have kept you busy so I hope this letter finds you well. At least in a better condition than our paramore. I fear that whatever illness has graced her body has stayed longer than the foreseen time. Her sniffling has turned into a cold. Poor thing has been coughing bouts that last several minutes. Diluted wine helps in the end but only after acquiring a sore throat. 

That wasn't the only thing she received from this illness. She has acquired a bit of a fever over the last few hours and her energy has lessened. But the Maester believes it’s just the bug that has been spreading throughout the castle. He has given her more herbal remedies and plenty of rest as her medication. 

I will continue to watch her with a careful eye. Once again she is resting beside me. Even in sickness she has my deepest love and adoration. I thank the gods every day that I get to be simply in her presence. 

When she wakes I shall see if she wants to spend some time on our balcony. The Maester said that sunlight would be a nice addition to her healing. Oh and I’ll have those berries brought from the kitchen for her to snack on. She was delighted when we went for our walk. They shall lift her spirit and body. 

I’m afraid my time with you is cut short my dear. Our lover stirs beside us. I will write to you once she finds slumber again. I hope the North is treating you as well as they can. 

Your Dove.

My Dearest Viper 

I pray to the Seven that you receive this letter. I’m afraid the sickness was much worse than anyone could have expected. Her fever is at an ultimate and she hasn’t eaten for a few days. The Maester claims that she will arrive on the other side of this pestilence mountain and I am hopeful too. But it’s hard to have reassurance when your lover shakes like the leaves in the wind. Pelts have been placed on her body but they do nothing to keep her from shivering. She sleeps like a princess with a spell placed on her. I rouse her only to eat and drink. 

I pray your journey will end soon so that your presence can heal her as much as mine. I didn’t want to raise your worry while you were away, but I’m scared. Less severe sickness has taken loved ones, and my soul is in an unrest. I wish for your strength my dear. You have an aptitude for these sorts of situations. 

I wish to keep writing to you, for I feel your presence in these words, but I fear I’ve run out of subjects to discuss. Please return soon my dearest Oberyn. 

Your Dove

What you didn’t tell Oberyn was that you were suffering the same ailments Ellaria was currently experiencing. Your fever was just as high as Ellaria’s and you clung together in sickness, bodies shaking in unison. The need for food seemed like a distant afterthought, and your stomach cramp every time you coughed. 

Ellaria whimpered and your head peaked up. You had tuned your senses to anything she might need during this time even if it meant ignoring your own needs. “My love, let me get you something to drink.” You weakly kissed your head as it took all of your energy to even sit up but you had to do this for her. 

You swung your legs over the sides. The wind felt cold against your bare skin despite the warm summer heat still lingering. Your breath seemed to struggle to enter your lungs, but you pushed yourself up. Ellaria needed you; your body be damned. Carefully your hands braced themselves on the wall. Using the rough texture as your guide, you shuffled your feet in slow deliberate steps. 

But the pestilence in your body had made you weak, for your legs could no longer hold your weight. As you felt yourself pitch forward a strong pair of arms was the only thing stopping you from hitting the ground. The sudden stoppage of momentum threw you off and you couldn’t make heads or tails of what just occurred.

A familiar voice filled the room. “My dove what are you doing out of bed?” You glanced up despite the pounding in your head. Oberyn looked down at your body with worry. Gently he situated you so you were sitting on the edge of the bed. 

“I thought…you’re here,” You said and the weight of the last days finally made themselves known. You teared up and Oberyn guided your weak head to his shoulder, letting your body rest against his chest. 

“I’m here dove,” He soothed your anxieties. Up and down your back his hands soothed your anxieties. He could feel the exhaustion in the way you held your body. You went to speak, but a coughing fit seized you instead. 

“Easy love,” Oberyn soothed, sitting you up slightly, holding your weakened body up. You whimpered as the coughs turned into labored breathing before calming down completely. 

“I-I thought you would never return,” You whispered as tears formed in your tired eyes. 

“My dove. I left the Northern kingdoms as soon as I heard of Ellaria’s ailment,” He reassured you gently brushing your hair from your sweaty forehead. “Those clever ravens still found me. Why didn’t you tell me you were ill too?” 

Tears streamed down your hot cheeks, and with a gentle swipe of his thumb, Oberyn rid of them. “I-I…I was so worried about Ellaria.” 

“Shhh none of that now. I know you were so brave my dearest, but now let me care for my paramores,” Oberyn kissed your forehead before gently laying you back alongside Ellaria. 

Just like you had done for the last several days, you curled up beside her touching your fevered heads together. Oberyn arranged the blankets back into place. He turned around and grabbed the washcloths from the nearby water basin, wringing the excess water. With a gentleness unusual to such a warrior, he placed the cloths, one on Ellaria’s forehead and then one on yours. 

You sighed at the cooling relief of the water, and you felt your eyes drooping the weight of handling this alone dissipating. A gentle hand caressed your cheek. “Rest now my dove. I’m here now,” Oberyn whispered, leaning down to kiss your chapped lips. With your safety net here, you finally let yourself relax as a much needed sleep consumes your consciousness.

All Works Taglist

@for-a-longlongtime @romanarose

Pedro Character Taglist

@littlemisspascal @burntheedges

@carusolikey @thebeldroramscal

@morallyinept @lady-bess

@pedrostories @rivnedell

@pascalsanctuary @readingiskeepingmegoing

Thanks to the lovely @saradika-graphics for the dividers!

[officialstrawhat]

The Rose of Dressrosa- Chapter 4

Hello! Sorry, I've been MIA recently. Things have not been great recently but I am hopeful everything will work out. Thank you to everyone who has been very supportive of this blog and of my writing it brings me so much happiness. :)

Anyway... As always please enjoy the next chapter!

Also, I'm about halfway through Whole Cake Island and O. M. G.!

Trafalgar D. Law x Fem!Reader

Chapter List

Summary:

After King Riku is dethroned, Doflamingo takes you under his wing and asks you to follow only one strict rule, "do not leave the palace alone". However, your sense of adventure is too great.

Law had only one thing in mind... Revenge. And you seemed like the best way to do that.

Warnings: Dark themes, manipulation

Note: Gif is not mine. Not Edited.

Word Count: 1.3K

Chapter 4

Bada Bada Bada….

Bada Bada Bada….

Bada Bada-

Click.

“Bepo, you there?”

“Captain?” Bepo's voice came clearly out of the snail. “Did you find what you were looking for?

“Yeah.” Was all Law said.

“Great! When are we leaving?”

“Change of plans, I have to stay a little longer and I don’t know when we’ll leave."

“What!” Bepo shouted.

“Just tell everyone to hang tight.” He tells his first mate, “There's a girl-”

“A GIRL! Seriously!” 

“Not like that!” Law said irritated, “I think I may have found a weak link in The Donquixote Family.” 

“But Captain-”

“Just tell everyone to hang tight. This will all be over soon.” 

“But-”

Click. 

Law humed amusedly as he recalled how you attempted to hide your excitement. It was so easy for him to convince you to meet him later tonight. Oh yes, his new plan for Doflamingo's downfall was well on its way.  He just had to get through tonight. His smile grew at the thought of you.  Obviously, you were some poor helpless little princess who was in over her head and was too trusting for your own good. He just knew it. 

-----

Quickly you walked through the secret passageway you were only a few minutes late. No one would notice. Hopefully…

When you open the secret entry no one is around. Taking a sigh of relief, you act as if you are just coming from your room.

Rounding the corner and came face to face with the closed fist of a green-haired bitch. You duck at the incoming swing and bring your leg up to sweep her leg. Monet was able to jump over your leg, and throw a punch in your direction again you dodge. You were so wrapped up in the fight that you accidentally dropped your book. As you watched it land on the expensive hardwood floor with a thud, Monet used this to her advantage and managed to back you into the wall of the corridor.  

“You're late.” She sounded bored as she pined your body against the wallpaper with her arm.

“Sorry. Couldn't be helped.” You told her not really feeling sorry at all.

“Training began ten minutes ago. Where were you?” Monet asked coldly. 

“She was with me,” Violet’s voice rang out, causing Monet to release you. The dark-haired woman walked to where you were standing, placing a hand on your shoulder. “I had some business in town and asked Y/N if she wanted to join.”

Monet blinked, “I see.” 

You're about ninety percent sure the green-haired woman did not believe her. But she couldn't prove otherwise. Finally, Monet's eyes looked back at you, “I expect to see you in the courtyard in ten minutes.” 

When Monet began to walk away she kicked the book out of her path, causing your anger to rise. You moved to follow her to let your fists do the talking, but you were pulled back by the woman who covered for you. 

Your head rounded back and Violet's face looked sour, “What the hell are you thinking?” 

“I’m thinking how can she walk with a huge stick up her ass.”

“Don't get smart,” Violet hissed, “What if you had been caught.”

You rolled your eyes, “But I didn't.”

“Get serious” The older woman scoffed, “What if I hadn't been here to help you.”

“But you were.”

“Yes now.”

“I'll just be more cautious next time.” you shrug out of her grasp and bend down to pick up your book.

“Next time?!” She said, alarmed, and massaged her temple as if she had a sudden headache. “If Doflamingo catches you, you could be in serious trouble.”

“Then I would just tell him I’m sorry.” you began to walk away, but she caught your arm again.

“You're being naive, the Young Master doesn't want to hear ‘sorry’”, she actually looked genuinely concerned about you. “He wants you to obey his orders. Please, Y/N. Don’t make him any more angry than he already is.”

—-

“Again.”  Monet circled you, as you had your eyes closed and palms facing outward, “Focus.”  

“I am.” you retorted. A part of you wanted to roll your eyes. You had been at this for months with almost no progress made.

“Focus harder, then,” she spat.

So you did, and in the grassy knoll that was created just for you in the training area of the courtyard. Eventually, a seedling sprouted small at first and began morphing into a full-grown tree that would have taken years to grow. Monet walked to it to see the fruit it bore. 

Reaching in the green lush she picked the fruit off the branch, “Peaches.” she said flatly.

“I’m doing the best I can,” you cross your arms at her disappointment.

“Well it's not good enough,” She growls. “The Young Master expects Devil Fruits.” 

“Why does Doffy even care about them?” You ask aggravated at her constant criticisms, “It's not like he can eat another.”

“Devil Fruits are not just some special little miracle like in your fairy tales. Devil Fruits can offer power, When you have power over the prospect of producing power, well -"

She held up the fruit to her face and continued, "That kind of power can control the world.” she squeezed the fruit into mash between her fingers letting the juices drip. “Or destroy it.”

You had never been scared of Monet, but in that moment as she spoke a chill ran down your spine.

—-

The sun had set. And the citizens of Dressrosa tucked themselves into their homes and the toys went back to the toy factory. All was quiet...

You wouldn't believe your luck. You finally met someone who wasn't from Dressrosa. Someone with a ship of their own. Someone who has lived and seen things that have been mentioned in the stories you’ve only read. Places you could only dream of…

You found the man who had taken over your thoughts leaning against the brick wall of the cantina alley where you first met him. 

“Was starting to think you weren't going to make it.” 

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“So where are you taking me first?”

“I was thinking we could go off the beaten path a bit.”

“Lead the way,” he smirked. 

You gladly obliged and began walking down the sidewalk, “So how long are you planning on staying here”

“Just as soon as I get what I need.”

You nod. “So tell me about all the islands you've been to” 

“Why don't you answer some of my questions first.”

“What do you want to know?” you were immediately guarded.

“For Starters what's with all the toys?” 

“What about them?”

 “What are they?” Law asked curiously, “What's their purpose?”

“They’ve just always been here” You shrug, “Why?”

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen anything like them.”

“You mean they're not on other islands?” You replied surprised.

“None that I’ve been to.” 

“And where have you been?” you ask slyly.

Law smirked and began telling you about all the different islands he had been to.  Apparently, there was an island, not that far from Dressrosa, that lived a race of animal people called Minks. He explained to you how there was also an Island made of fishmen too. And in return, you began telling him all about Dressrosa. About all the towns and you also spoke to him about the Colosseum. Though you had never been inside it you explained that it was such an amazing landmark. And finally at the center of the whole island was the King's Plateau.

Law immediately took an interest in this subject. “Quite a unique place. Your King must be proud.”

“I guess.” 

“What do you think he’s like?” Law prodded.

“He’s-” Intense. Intimidating. Just… Doffy. “He’s King. Who knows.” 

Law seemed unimpressed with your response but decided not to push you. You were guarded, and that was fine. It was actually smart of you in a way. It didn't matter, as long as he stuck to the plan he would get everything he wanted. All in due time.

Next Chapter

Taglist: @rebeccawinters @mj-airlines @awkwardspontaneity

[cidthesquid]

Animal Crossing: New Horizons | Character Creator Critique

[Previous Post]              [First Post]              [Next Post] It's been a long and tough week, so I don't think I'll have the energy for the weekly style savvy post. But hopefully you enjoy this instead.

Here's a new entry in my 'Character Creator Critique' Series Where I live-blog working through the creator in various games. So I have played this game and created a character previously. However, that was about a year ago, and I don't remember much, So let's start fresh, new character new island!

So the game starts out asking for your same and birthday. And I must say, I really love the UI in this game, the color/textures, really make it look just so inviting! Next you get to start making your character,

I have noticed that some more recent Nintendo games, (like splatoon) Have done away with specific gender labels, and they don't use any cryptic working like "Body Type A", I think this is nice, you just choose how you want to look. As soon as you select your style, you'll be randomly assigned one of the staring outfits, here's a few that I saw when restarting the game a few times:

Next up is skin tone:

(Your starting outfit is picked at random, when you reach this point) And, I think they offer a good selection, it may not be the most realistic, but I think they cover a good range, without breaking the game's art style. Next, you can pick one of the starting hairstyles:

Honestly, I find this a little disappointing. Yes, I'm aware you can get more later, But only four starting options tailored towards each gender feels slim There's not much in the way of variety, especially considering you'll probably be stuck with this look for a few real-time days or weeks. I do like the hair color options though! That shade of orange, and the pale yellow options are nice lesser seen presets. Next is Eyes:

They have a TON f options for these, it looks like the options even span a few different art styles, as I recognize some from the Gamecube entry. Some can look a little odd, in the modern art style, But I feel they all fit well enough that you could get used to them with time, and it means you could probably care over your (basic) look from previous games. I could have gone for a few more eye colors, maybe a brighter blue, or something that offers a warmer brown color, but I think the selection sticks to the AC color pallet well enough Next up, nose & mouth in one combined screen:

And wow, that's... pretty sparse. I get that eyes are important, But it feels like there are more eye options than hair, skin, nose and mouth combined! I kinda wish the nose color adjusted with the skin tone, it looks a little 'clown like'. imo. Also, what's with the mouth choices, Smile, and slightly wider smile take up half the choices. oh well, I like 'option 3', it seems like a a happier version of the standard neutral face. Next is makeup options:

And I did not expect much from this, but I'm surprised they only offer two blush colors. Neither option or color really shows super up well on darker skin in my opinion, so I'll go without. So here's the final product:

Yeah, Animal Crossing does not really cater towards the 'Rock' look, But I think it's a decent enough reimagining. (Why do I always do these comparisons at the end, lol) They then ask more details about where you live, so seasons will work properly, (it's just for norther vs Southern Hemisphere)

Next You get to pick your starting island shape:

And you're asked a question to decide your starting items:

And now we've made it to the island!

My starting villagers were Muffy and Sampson:

If you're unhappy with your starting outfit, villagers, or your island's starting fruit, you can just close the game and try again. And I think the randomness for how your island starts is pretty cool, But I really think, the starting outfit could be something we choose, Even if they only give us a few randomly generated choices, or just let us pick a favorite color. But it's not a huge deal.

My starting island had apples, (same as my main island) so I restarted the game a few times, and eventually found a good mix. Peaches and the sailor style shirt. (and villagers 'Reneigh' and 'Rowan' --- ...And in retrospect... maybe I should have waited a while before making this post. This probably came off as fairy negative, as I was just picking on the lack of options this game starts with. That was not my intention, I've missed most the AC entries, but I know the character builder as still come a LONG way. (Especially from the 'quiz based' character creator on GameCube)

But regardless, I feel this serves as a decent "Part 1" coverage of this game. If I stick with the game I'll come back for a "Part 2" when I've unlocked more stuff. I've always though animal crossing was "neat", But the linear progression the “nook miles” system offers, may be enough to keep me interested for longer. I dropped the game previously because I found it a little confusing how to unlock stuff, but after watching a few youtube video to get me started, I'm ready to give the game a second chance! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next critique: Fashion Dreamer Thanks for reading! I had a lot of fun making this, so I hope you had fun reading it as well!

As always, all comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome! (I'm also looking for feedback on this new style, how's the formatting)

You literally can't bother me, (unless you go out of your way to be a jerk), so post whatever you need to say!

[magicaltear]

An Outside Chance Author Update

Hello, my dear readers. Before anyone starts panicking, I wanted to state that my fic has not been abandoned. Updates will hopefully go back to our regular semi-schedule soon.

I wanted to share this little journal entry with all of you because I am hyperaware that it's been almost 8 months since I posted the latest chapter. I'm unsure if this will assuage the writer guilt I'm currently feeling, but I wanted to reach out and nurture the community part that makes fandoms such fun and welcoming spaces for all of us at the very least.

My life became a roller coaster after I last updated AOC. I went on a trip to visit my girlfriend (yes, my Friends to Lovers trope continues) and, for the first time in my life, I had no desire to use my phone or laptop throughout the day. I felt so at peace, so content simply living in the moment with her. I realized this is how true love and home feel like, and so we agreed we wanted to marry even before my trip ended.

After my trip, my time was consumed by designing an engagement ring for her, researching everything about marrying someone from a different country, as well as searching for a more stable job to help pay for all the future paperwork and visa fees. Sadly, not everything was a walk in the clouds. I had to come out to my family and...they didn't take it well. It was a very hard blow that I had to learn how to overcome. However, the situation also allowed me to receive unconditional support from the most unlikely places, so I'll be eternally grateful to everyone who stuck by my side.

But my challenges didn't end there. Tensions in my country grew nearly unbearable as elections grew closer, and I find it difficult to believe that they have now come and gone. The hardest thing for me to experience though was the first death in my family. Indeed, we had already lost my beloved Beagle, but this time we had to say goodbye to my mother's husband much earlier than anyone would have wanted. He wasn't my father, but I still have many fond memories of the 17 years we spent together. He was part of the family, and we've all been struggling and learning how to navigate this new grief we're experiencing while taking care of my widowed mother.

Through all of this, I constantly received comments and kudos in my AO3 fics, and I wanted to thank my wonderful readers for it. You guys helped me smile during one of the most difficult parts of my life, and you gave me hope for our fandom communities at a time when companies are shamelessly stealing content from anyone for their stupid AI software and newer fans are failing to recognize writers and artists as something other than corporate content creators.

So thank you so much for your support. I promise to continue An Outside Chance once my grief is not so all-consuming. I still have many plans and ideas for this story, and I refuse to give up being creative yet ♡

TL;DR: Life happened. Hard. But the unexpected hiatus does not mean An Outside Chance is an abandoned fanfic. I will post the next chapter as soon as I can. In the meantime, you're welcome to re-read all 77,456 words I've published so far and drop me more of your lovely comments. You make writing and posting these stories worth it.

★ An Outside Chance Masterlist ★ Read it on AO3

[thehistoriangirl]

The Tides Have Veiled [Ten]

Oh boy we're so backkkkkkkk

Hopefully I'll post next part soon enough >:3 to make up for the weekly October updates

Viktor x Fem!Reader---Gothic AU: Spooky Sea---3.3K--SFW*

> MASTERLIST <- Previous // Next ->

Synopsis:  Piltover the Old has an old lighthouse that looms over an abandoned port. From the house in the wailing cliff’s edge, the lighthouse owner watches that the beacon is being lighten up each time darkness arrives, so that monsters wouldn't dare to crawl inland, or so legends say. Both buildings are haunted, maybe even the man himself, by both past and present ghosts. Surprisingly, the keeper’s work is beyond turning on the beacon every night— but the rest is on you to discover.

Chapter Summary: When a storm strikes the town at night, you discover what happens when the beacon is turned off...

Tags: Strangers to Lovers | Ghosts | Mermaids/Sirens | Slow Burn | Bonding Time | Forced Proximity | Mystery |There Was Only One Bed | Marriage of Convenience/Fake Marriage | Mentions of Self-Harm (throwing off a cliff)* | This chapter returns to a think mentioned in chapter 3 if u wanna check it out :D

Taglist: @lunar-monster @bittercyder @local-mr-frog

Ten: Twisted Legends, Tragic Stories

The ocean wasn’t pleased with the memories it devoured.

October arrived, and with it the relentless rain carrying a razor-cutting wind that tried to pull you down as your wobbly steps climbed toward the lighthouse, hands numb and pale from dipping them in the freezing tidepools in search of bloated fishes to add to Viktor’s collection.

He had taught you how to classify them, suspended in a void formed of aldehyde to preserve them in all their monstrous, amorph glory. In each glass, there is a scribbled note with their long scientific names, stacked alphabetically inside Viktor’s underground studio.

All of it under his appreciative, almost proud gaze, as you move your hands around, taking in the sight of your focused frown. A pat on the shoulder as you search for the name of a certain slippery specimen, fingers brushing along the encyclopedia's pages.

The nights were splatters of rain over the misty window, the lighthouse illuminating the ghostly beach below where the apparition of the drowned woman appeared closer every time, her hand still waving, her blue lips still curved in a sardonic smile.

Today, however, as you approached the entrance of the tower, you saw Viktor already waiting for you outside, even though he had a key. His long coat hugged his lithe frame, the ends flapping against the cold air flowing through the cliff.

“Please be sure to secure your windows before dusk,” he said, his hands resting over his cane. You had no idea to know how long he had been waiting out here. “Tonight we’ll be hit by a storm.”

He had left in a hurry because he had things to pack for his upcoming trip to the city—one you didn't wish to think too much about, reminiscent of what occurred in the last. It being fantasy or reality, you didn’t wish to know.

Just another storm, just like every night, you thought, the gate creaking as you opened it, the rusty bucket pressing against your thigh with each step you took.

Of course, the ocean loved to differ.

Ever since after lunch, the blue sky tinted inky black, sunset swallowed by a formation of grey clouds; the air still and charged, ready to pounce. And it did, with the piercing flash of a lightning bolt striking through the sky, white and silver, the tail coming down to the sea.

The wind howled like a group of beasts, like the souls of all drowning men returning at the ocean’s surface to wail for their loss.

Running up the familiar stairs, you secured the ajar window with a rope you found tucked inside one of the lockers. The old ledger fell in the moment you tried to pull the rope out.

The lodger opened in the same entry as the last time you checked, still blurred, still written in a hurry, the crusty surface of the page as if someone had been crying over it.

She came in with the storm, leaving no rock unturned, no place to hide, all while looking for him.

I prayed she could find him, so she could never return. What a fool I was—it would’ve been better to know nothing, as fear has ripped out the logical part of my head, leaving behind cloudy judgments and dreary illusions that siege the tower.

Alas; my pleas were in vain, for now, I hear her banging on the entrance door, her shrieks shattering the windows. With the power gone, she’s everywhere.

Your hands picked up the ledger, tucking it at the bottom of the locker, your steps quick to wrap an old cloth you used to mop the floor in between the window’s opening to stop the rain from coming in.

While you were peering out the window, the landscape outside looked like a melting world, dripping painting in melancholic blues, black, and grey.

You turned on the light, the beacon making the trails of rain shine like amber against the windows as it rotated toward the beach. Your hands flipped over the lodge, securing that there was enough firewood for the burning hearth and enough oil for your lamp. The control room was operating as normal, machines purring happily.

Amidst the cacophony of the rain, you heard a further boom sound reverberating around the tower as if it were a lightning strike, and perhaps it was because then everything got swallowed in darkness.

The purring of the generator was replaced by your pounding heart, by the screams of the cliff that seemed to be getting closer with each panting breath you took; shadows enveloping your being when the lightning flashes disappeared after a mere blink.

Scrambling against the furniture in the dark, you pulled the lever up and down, and up again, yet to no avail. The beacon remained dead.

She came in with the storm, leaving no rock unturned, no place to hide, all while looking for him.

The words hit you like a cold-blooded knife in the chest, making your heartbeat flatten before picking up again.

You didn’t know what to do. The lighthouse supposedly had an emergency generator tied to the line of the power supply, but then why the beacon wasn’t working?

She came in with the storm, leaving no rock unturned, no place to hide, all while looking for him.

The thought of having to check the wires of the lighthouse's electricity made you shiver. The little room was not only down the stairs but also down the lighthouse itself, in the upper room of a submerged cave created at the foot of the cliffside. The room had been sealed properly from the cave system many times ago, but still, the thought of venturing inside the earth with only a dim oil lamp made your stomach churn.

She came in with the storm, leaving no rock unturned, no place to hide, all while looking for him.

I hear her banging on the entrance door, her shrieks shattering the windows. With the power gone, she’s everywhere.

You walked toward the windows of the beacon room, leaving the useless control panel behind as you tried to chase the fleeting flashes of lightning to move around.

Thud! Thud! Thudthudthud!

You froze, thinking the sound had come fabricated from your brain. But it repeated in a vulgar, unusual rhythm, new every time.

Thudthud! Thud! Thudthud!

THUD! THUD!

I hear her banging on the entrance door, her shrieks shattering the windows. With the power gone, she’s everywhere.

But that didn’t sound like a door, it sounded…

Your gaze returned to the glass, thinking that the rain had changed into hail.

Instead, you saw the pale, drowned woman standing on the little balcony outside the beacon room, body bloated and grey, fingers broken in an incorrect direction as she kept her palm up.

From her presence on the beach, you couldn't see it well, but now, you saw her other hand tucked behind her back, the rags of her dress covered in algae, moss, and even some barnacles growing on her exposed bones, there where her neck snapped to the side.

She came in with the storm, leaving no rock unturned, no place to hide, all while looking for me. Me, me, me.

And the black, hazy eyes of the woman pierced your soul, yellow teeth bared in a grin.

I came for you, you, you.

You screamed, all the air stolen from your lungs as the woman revealed a rusty knife in her grasp, lounging at the window. Her smile black and wide like a mocking grin.

“Miss!”

You scrambled against something, falling onto the wooden floor in an amorph mass of limbs as you tried to scratch your wait out the trap.

“Miss it’s me! Calm down!” Viktor called out your name, taking you by the shoulders as you lay atop him. “It’s me! Shhh, shhh, everything is alright,” he cooed, looking at your face frozen in horror, your body shivering like a leaf as his hands ran up and down your arms, trying to warm you up. “I’m here. Everything is alright.”

“V-Vik…Viktor,” you said, glued against him until the fear had run out of your veins. You pointed toward the window, not daring to look back at it again.

“Come on,” he said, taking your hands as he slowly got you down his body. “Let’s go to the hearth.”

"When… when did you arrive?" you muttered, glad that Viktor had carried an oil lamp with him as he climbed the stairs. You wanted to leave that room as fast as you could, and his presence was your call.

“Around fifteen minutes ago. Ah… I suppose you didn’t hear me knocking?” Viktor smiled, trying to reassure you.

You shook your head, leading the way through the staircase as you synchronized your steps with his.

“Why did you come?”

The answer took a long time to come out, and as you looked at him, the flicking light of the lamp made his face with a pink blush.

“I didn’t know I wasn’t welcomed,” he teased. “I… eh, I wanted to make you company. I know that here the storms feel stronger than back in the village."

There existed the possibility of him being slightly scared, too, but his answer had your stomach covered in fluttering sensations. Does he care for me?

“Um… thank you. Thanks a lot, Viktor,” you said, taking his hand to help him off the staircase.

You walked toward the table at the front of the hearth, putting the oil lamp there to proceed to light on the fire with a match and a piece of old newspaper.

"I thought the lighthouse had an emergency generator," you said, though it mattered very little, as you doubted there were any fishing boats daring to navigate through such a storm.

“It does, but I think the cave underneath us may be flooded.” Seeing your eyes wide open in horror, he patted your shoulder. “Not completely, I mean. Just enough for the cables to get wet. Eh—it was lucky that we didn’t have a short-circuit.”

You tried to smile at him, showing the best you could that you appreciated him to be there with you; though if he was trying to calm you down, his words didn’t have that much of an effect.

“Have you had dinner yet?” You said, looking at the plate of roasted fish covered with tomatoes and lettuce.

Viktor looked at the fish and frowned. “Have you?”

You turned your back on him, though your nervous giggle still reverberating on the ground floor, almost drowning the cacophony of the outside world. “Well, I’ve been busy preparing for the storm.”

Viktor hummed, his steps approaching behind you to take a pair of glasses over the hearth’s shelf. He smelled like rain, and you could see chestnut locks shining, slightly wet from the rain that slipped into his raincoat.

“That’s not good, Miss,” he muttered, brushing your cheek with the sleeve of his shirt when he pulled away. “Let’s have dinner together, hmm?”

You couldn’t stop the smile from curving your lips, even if you felt childish. “And why you haven’t had dinner yet?”

His cheeks flushed red. “Eh—duty calls.”

“See?” you teased, the mismatched porcelain clinking as you put a roasted fish in front of Viktor. “Did you have a safe travel down here? I’m… glad that you’re here with me.”

Viktor chuckled, nodding his head, taking a bite of the meat with a piece of lettuce. "You cook well." Then, when you settled in front of him, he added: “Are you alright? You seem pale.”

Your eyes drifted over the fire, mind pondering about telling him, and risking it for him to view you as insane, or not, and keep a straight face hoping he wouldn’t catch you lying. But what if he did? Which outcome will be the worst?

"Why… why does the town say that your house is haunted?" you asked back instead, pushing around the pieces of fish around the plate.

The fork fell from Viktor’s grasp, golden eyes seemingly shocked as he bore them at you. Of course, he was about to laugh at you and brush it off before you had a chance to tell him about the muddy footprints.

“There was a devastating storm hitting this town a couple of centuries ago,” Viktor explained, and suddenly the food didn’t look as appetizing anymore. “The waves were so big they swept the house down. Legend says that it was a mermaid seeking revenge the one who conjured the storm.”

Your frown deepened. “But… this town loved mermaids. They built a museum of them, even.” You gestured away, the images of at least a dozen offerings being swept by the sea. "And the offerings. Why venerate something that hurt you so much?"

Viktor’s eyes shone molten gold against the dancing fireplace. “For fear, of course.” He reclined on his seat, the wood creaking echoing in that eerily calm bubble that had enveloped you both. “Fishermen had killed so many mermaids over the centuries, that they’re in their right to be scared. To try and appease them with their memories.”

“Does it… work?”

A lightning bolt tore the sky, making the room bright white. When you blinked again, the light was gone, only red shadows left behind.

"Not anymore," Viktor muttered, looking out the window. Your intense gaze made him clear his throat. "I mean, judging it by tonight's storm."

“But what does it have to do with the house?” You asked, hoping he wasn’t telling you the town’s legends only to make you forget about it.

“Ah—yes. Well, the owner of the house, Einar Stell, was famous for selling mermaids to museums and circuses. Of course, the mermaid of the story rightfully sought revenge against his doings, pursuing him with the storm in his own house, and finding him hiding in the basement, where the rain makes him drown in a pit of water and mud.” Viktor shrugged, taking a sip of his beverage. “People think his spirit still wanders in the house.”

In a pit of rain and mud… you felt the little hairs on the back of your neck rising.

“And this mermaid…” you heard yourself saying, hoping this next story could bring you a distraction. "Is the woman crying on the cliff?"

Viktor smiled. “No. Mermaids don’t have souls, as they live a very long life. So they can’t become ghosts. The townsfolk say that the cries are of Mr. Stell’s daughter, who was lured by a mermaid to throw herself off the cliff.”

The same she does with everyone passing by it now. You thought, remembering the cold, salty air pinching your cheeks and the frozen tears as you stood with one foot over the abyss. You were about to fall for her trap, too.

You swallowed. “Do you believe in said stories?”

Viktor shrugged. “I’ve studied mythology and folklore for a while,” he said. “Many marine monsters aren’t real, but…” he stopped, the silence broken by a wail that sounded much closer to the entrance. “It would be very egotistical of me to say that everything can be explained by it.”

I saw a woman at the window, you wanted to tell him, let the knot spill out your throat. She was drowned and dead, and she was looking for me.

But why would she be looking for you? You were just a lighthouse keeper—the lighthouse keeper of a haunted beacon, in a haunted town, working by the owner of a cursed house.

You didn't say anything, sipping on your tea despite it having grown cold long ago.

Not even the constant tapping of the rain against the crystals could lull you to sleep, not with the cold seeping inside the lighthouse despite the hearth burning furiously, and you could almost picture the struggle between the flames and the winds trying to crack open the mossy exterior walls, with the rock reminiscing of all the other torturous nights like this one.

In the end, of course, the fire was extinguished with the sizzling noise of the last logs wet with the bowl of water Viktor had thrown into it.

“We should get some sleep,” he had said. “And let the fire can be dangerous.”

After the apparition clinging outside the window, you didn't dare to climb back those stairs and sleep on the couch. Not now that the beacon room had been devoured by darkness, with the flickering oil lamp guiding your way downstairs.

You remained in your chair, the pair of thin blankets thrown into the cot showing the wrinkles of your usage from this morning. You knew that with the growing cold of the unrelenting storm outside, those wouldn’t be enough to keep any of you warm enough.

Yet, the thought of climbing the stairs to fetch the ones over the couch made your stomach fall.

A golden gaze pierced through the darkness, focused on you; its twinkling reflected by the candle on the table.

“I believe we both fit in it,” he commented, awkwardly gesturing toward the cot. “Ladies first. I mean, if you, eh, if you like to sleep next to the wall. I can do it if you don’t like it.”

You were about to turn him down—that you were used to staying up all night, that he should take the bed, especially since tomorrow he would have to travel to the city to take in the exam of his successful postulation at the Academy.

But staying in the same room with him while he slept wouldn’t soothe him, either. Knowing that you would be awake while he remained asleep, as you remained alone, in a way.

You didn’t want that, either.

Besides, you were adults. People do this all the time, your brain tries to trick you in a futile attempt to push you into remaining calm. The afterthought of you’re married, anyway, didn’t help.

 To your surprise, you nodded, crawling into the cot, the surface warm from Viktor’s body as he had moved from the stiff chair into the cot to ease his muscles. The mattress dipped under your weight, some springs creaking at the movement. It was at the same time familiar, with all the naps you took during the day, but his presence made it all new again.

You lay next to the wall, the cold surprising you as you scooped closer to the middle.

Then, he slipped inside, slow and graceful like a cat, his body rolled next to yours, lithe fingers accommodating the blankets atop your arms so you wouldn’t be cold, even if so meant to scoop closer so both your bodies could be covered.

“Alright,” Viktor muttered, his gaze looked at the ceiling. “Are you comfortable?”

You nodded, noticing that you were giving him your back. “Y-yes, I am,” you said, trying to hide your face beneath the blankets, only to realize that you could smell Viktor’s shampoo from up close, like orange and sandal. “Thank you.”

You forced your eyes to shut close, to your breathing to even—maybe that way, the faking would become truth.

The wind howled outside, and soon enough you could hear Viktor’s soft snores covering the screams of the cliff, his hand slowly cupping your waist as he rolled to his side to hug you.

For a moment, you froze, thinking that maybe not breathing could be the right decision.

Don’t be silly.

… It feels… nice. In here the woman can’t find me, you thought, eyes scanning the outline of the furniture and the stairs, barely visible against the darkness of the night. They would protect you from the ghost. Viktor would protect you, too. You knew it.

You nuzzled into the pillow he had given you, letting the rain hitting the window to lull you into the dreamlands.

[mcsquared789]

Update at End of May

Right, it’s been a while since I gave you guys an update. So I figure I will outline what the schedule looks like for the next slate of projects! On an essential level, things are looking really promising for wrapping up Phase 1 way before the end of the year... but we'll see. It all depends on whether I can be prepared with a good backlog of chapters.

So, here’s the rub:

Widowmaker: This was finished well over a week or so ago, and now it’s probably my biggest fic so far other than Iron Man and Hulk??? Not surprising, since sequels require a lot of context and this is... actually a really good entry point into the series. To that end, I am super happy with it — and will definitely be making more of these novella-length fics that focus on original/interim stories. I think they will balance the other fics with more stakes and more complicated plots, and the one-shots as well.

Thor: That leads me to my current project, Thor! I am in the swing of this, and having a blast — writing Jane, Erik and Darcy has been lots of fun. And I am also writing chapters from Loki's POV which have been really interesting, to say the least... hopefully, it's a nice, appropriately tortured perspective. (Can't wait for you Loki lovers to read them. 😉)

Starting in June, I plan to upload chapters regularly every three or four days — and aim to have this fic completed by the end of the month, or somewhere halfway through July. Act I is fully completed out of a planned five, and has seven chapters. As a teaser of what to expect: Act II will have six chapters, Act III will have five, Act IV will have seven and Act V will have eight. (A little uncertain on that last one, but again — we shall see.)

I am really looking forward to you guys seeing where this will go! It will be familiar, I admit. But hopefully, fresh and exciting at the same time, as there will be lots of little changes that might sprout out into big changes... but you will see how it all shapes together when I get back to it in June.

Which leads me to the next project — and the last big one before The Avengers.

Captain America: The First Avenger. Yep, I'm finally getting around to it — and considering how popular Captain America is in particular, I suspect this will find a lot of people. It will be a little dark and gritty, but also with a hint of science fiction that has made this subseries in particular so interesting... but I won't say anymore until it starts getting posted. I'm hoping that will be in the second half of June once I've written enough chapters, and then be completed after July. From then on... we'll see about where Steve Rogers goes next.

As well, I also will be working on two one-shots after both these projects... and one of them will lead directly into Avengers. But I'll talk more about that later. 😁

Alright, I think that's everything! Thank you all for being followers and catching up with what I'm doing. It's not really summer where I am, but I hope there will be enough here to create an exciting summer for you. See you soon!

— (M)

[askquarantinedredheart]

Artist/Author/Mod here. Here's a fun thing from life that's come up. I had to get a tuberculosis skin test done for clinical rotations earlier today! Here's what it looked like a couple of minutes after the injection:

And a pic that I took just now:

In 48 hours, I go back to the clinic to get it read to determine if I have been exposed to TB or not. I've had a couple done before at an old job and I've never tested positive so I don't foresee a positive result. Just thought it'd be a cool segway into how the test works!

Basically, the healthcare provider uses a needle with tuberculin, a protein from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and injects it into the top layer of the skin. It'll look like the first pic for a little bit but that goes away after a few minutes. What's most important is whether or not a red bump develops over the course of 48-72 hours. The red bump is due to the immune system, specifically T-cells, launching a response against an invader that it recognizes. Depending on certain criteria for size (for example, if the patient is HIV+, whether they've had contact with a known case of active TB or not, recent travel to areas with lots of TB cases, working in a high risk occupation, etc.), the red bump would mean a positive result. No reaction to the test means that the patient has not been exposed to TB.

A couple of situations can cause positive results in the test when there has been no infection. The Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine, which is a vaccine for tuberculosis that some countries use, can result in false positives since the patient has antibodies to the bacteria already. In cases like this, a chest x-ray would be needed to rule out TB infection. Someone who has been previously infected with TB can also have a false positive occur with the test.

Anyway, just a fun little thing that's happening in my life that related to the blog/story. Hopefully, I'll be able to get the next entry out soon!

[shi-daisy]

Future Plans

Day 2! I'll be honest this entry is a bit short, cuz I was seriously stumped but I hope you like seeing Tammy in his soldier days. Hope you like!

@tamlinweek

Tamlin Week 2024- Day 2- Warrior/Poet

Future Plans

The bonfire burned brightly as they gathered around it and ate some rations before sleeping, Tamlin was about to fall over if Amdras hadn't wacked him in the back of the head.

"Eat before you pass out, princey!"

"Jerk."

"Leave Tamlin alone, Andy!" Rosencratz said as he took a sip of wine. "He saved our asses today!"

"Yeah! Just for bothering him it's your turn to talk!" Clavel told him.

The brunette twins and the rest of the squad didn't give up so he shrugged. "Fine. Once we are done with service I'll become a sentry and work until retirement, maybe get married ans have kiddo if I find the right person."

"Awww that's cute! Okay me next! I want to be a chef!" Lilianne, a blue haired blue skinned soldier spoke up. The tiny woman certainly always brought a good fight. Tamlin had no doubts she'd make honors when service finished.

"Ill cook with you Lili! What's say you, Lance? What shall you do?" A tiny male pixie spoke to their shadow wraith friend.

The tall grey skinned fae smiled. "I want to be a gardener. I love Spring! Moving here was the best decision I made!"

"I hear that!" Andras beamed, he was still pale and cold to the touch betraying his Winter heritage yet he seemed very happy to be here. "What about you, Tamlin? What shall you become after military service ends?"

What could he become? He wanted to be a traveling muscian but doubted that could come to pass before Oisin died and one of his brothers took the throne. Then he thought back to the parchments and verses that were on his pack along with weapons.

"I'd be a poet."

"A poet...That suits you, your limericks are always a riot!" Rosencratz said.

"Write about us!" Lilianne joked.

The rest of the group chuckled, approving his decision. He felt slightly bashful having a familiar moment that he sorely lacked at the manor with his blood siblings.

No matter, they'd go back home tomorrow and be done serving in two days. Tamlin intended to reward all his squadamtes upon the end of service. For now he wanted to sleep.

None of them quite heard the roaring monsters in the distance.

***

Death is certain as the sunset over the horizon

Today I stand before you with eyes of iron

That our farewell would come in a thousand years time

Not just as we are about to reach the end of the line

Rest well, in fields of daisies and marigolds

Until we meet again in times of old.

Tamlin finished reading as he stared at the coffins. Only he and Andras made it to the end of service alive, for the rest of the squad perished during the attack on their camp. Tamlin doubted he'd ever forgive himself for failing them. He spent his nights since swearing such a thing wouldn't happen again.

Tamlin put his feelings into reading the verse before collapsing into a fit of crying. Andras held him in a hug until he was quiet.

"That was perfect, you did very well. Come, let's go back and let the morticians do their job. I heard Prince Dorevan called the Autumn prince's to celebrate. Luce will cheer us up."

He smiled sadly. "Yes, it's been a while..."

He stood and let Andras guide him away as they left the room. With one last glance at his friends he swore he'd write them a thousand poems.

"C'mon big guy. I'll take care of you for them." Andras said as they walked away, unaware of the smiles on his ghostly friends faces.

Hopefully neither would join them any time soon.

[itsizzydizzy]

Cold Shoulder Pt.2 (Ghost x f!reader)

Summary: A continuation of Ghost and new 141 recruit "Angel" on her first day and linger feelings they are left with after there few interactions.

a/n: idk if anyone care about a part 2 about to the blurb I wrote forever ago, but I finally got the urge to write more. I'll probably continue, but when is up to fate at this point. I also apologize for my grammar.

·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙

Eventually you found yourself out the office of the Captain, where Soap left you mentioning he’d see you for dinner soon after. “He’s expecting you, so just head on in. He don’t bite” He called before turning the corner. 

You gazed at the door plotting your best angle of entry. You got comfortable around others easily, but you were weary of starting off on the wrong foot. And barging in had never been your style, nor your expertise. Raising your hand to knock on the door you let out a long breath gathering your courage. 

Just as you start to knock on the door your fist makes contact with the broad chest of the masked lieutenant you only just met hours before. “Sorry sir, I … I was knocking when… the th-door opened-”

Before you can say anything else Ghost simply grabbed your wrist, you realized embarrassingly was still on his chest, and lowered it back to your side. He didn’t spare you a glance from what you could see as he brushed past you down the hallway.

Left stunned outside the Captain’s office the next thing you heard was “Oh the Lieutenant isn’t much for pleasantries. Come’n have a sit.” Finally crossing the threshold of the doorway you found yourself across from the Captain Price you had heard so much about. The sudden awkwardness that runs through you has you void of any words as Price finds your file on his desk. But as he flips through your file the worry you thought was rising within you is replaced with the subtle shock of ease you find.

Price glances up at one with a smirk, “Don’t worry, you're not being interrogated, just like to get to know the newcomers.” You don’t want to get your hopes up, but see you just the few moments you’ve talked to Price why Laswell speaks so highly of him. Very few if any of your superiors in the past were ever so casual and offered respect without routine bootlicking. 

You almost asked Laswell to resend the recommendations she told you she had put out for you to be promoted to the few available positions various task forces she thought would be a ‘good fit’. She had always been there to be an advocate for you but more often than not the needed push when you rather had become just some wallflower. So when she pushed you to the 141, convincing you your talents would be wasted otherwise. You accepted having to put up with the usual song and dance of military social circles, and got on the helicopter with a wary glance at Kate one last time till you hopefully crossed paths again.

But now you found yourself thanking Kate for her kindness and for her adamance for you to come here. You knew Laswell trusted Price and you trusted her. Maybe your awkwardness was a budding of trust, that you hadn’t known since meeting Kate. 

Letting out a slight breath you give a quick smile and tell Price, “Well, what do you want to know?” Seeing the Captain relax back in his chair loosen the tension in your shoulders and head.

With an inquisitive look he asked, “ So how come they call you Angel?”

The new found ache Ghost in is the only thing he can focus on between his breaths and steps down the hall as he leaves Price’s office. 

It's enough that the next mission is three weeks away and his mind was already drowning under the weight of his duties. But having to add another cog into the machine. Another life. You. 

Price was not keen to lean into his request for a smaller, more convert team for the upcoming mission, “Simon no need for you to bear anymore weight, that’s why we're all here.”  The words rang through his head the moment the Captain said them, ordered them. The footsteps Ghost heard down the hall cutoff any reply he had. And he could have done without the reminder of you being here as he left. 

But the ache wouldn’t leave. Even with every furl and flex and furl and flex by the time he made it to the mess hall for dinner it had made no difference. He thought it best to leave for his room, but that decision was cut short by the yell of “Oi Ghost!”

He’d get hell from Johnny if he was too aloof, and Ghost had little time to deal with it these coming weeks. Stepping into the mess hall he ignored the stares of other recruits and b-lined to Soap and Gaz. Furl. At least it was just those two at the table. Flex. Sitting down he barely heard their comments about his ‘ebbing and flowing appetite’ and Soap’s remark on his gaunt face followed by the sergeants' roaring laughter at his cleverness. Furl. 

It’s not that the mask kept them from seeing anything, but kept the worst of Simon in. The roaring in his head that he didn’t need anyone else to hear, or that’s at least what he had been telling himself. Flex. Because if everyone saw him as Ghost there was no issue with him just floating around in moments like these. But the expectation for Simon would be different. Furl. He could lead his life at an arm’s length as Ghost, and that was good for him. Flex. As long as he kept everyone at a distance he would make it through these next couple weeks and the mission and no attachments would-

“Oh, shit, L-Lieutenant, I didn’t mean to drop my tray on your hand, I’m so so sorry!” You said. You. Ghost hadn’t even noticed Gaz and Soap calling you over to join, or you sitting down across from him. He furled his fingers in from being trapped under your tray, raising his gaze to your’s.

“No harm.” He said flexing his fingers on top of the table before retreating blew the table. Furl. The sheepish smile you flashed only made the ache in his hand increase. He had to turn away from your face and hope for relief. Ghost tried to focus on Soap asking about your meeting with the Captain, but your response about a phone call or something cutting it short slashed through that. Flex. From your banter with Gaz and quips with Soap the roaring just increased, he took all his will to focus on the space between you and the sergeant. Furl. But every sentence you spoke the cadence rattled through him pulling his focus. Flex.

But before he knew it the three of you stood to dump your trays, and as he turn to make his way finally to his room-

 “Lieutenant, um, do you want my orange?” You say bearing it in your outstretched hand to him.

“I’m good” Ghost said over his shoulder. Furl.

“I just hate having the toss it is all and also hoped it could serve as a small apology for all the times I invaded your space in the span of an hour.” You rambled offering the orange up again. A small part of you was hoping he would just leave and save you from the blackhole forming in the pit of your stomach. His eyes flicked down to the fruit then back to you. You must have seemed like some poor soul presenting a meager offering to an benevolent god from the way that stare burned into you.

But by some mercy or grace he reached back to grab your offering. His hand not only engulfed the glowing orb but most of you hand seemed to be swallowed to. The gloved tips of his fingers brushed your palm giving you the closest sensation of touching the untouchable. You hadn’t realized your breath was still in your chest since his gaze had met yours. 

And as you released the air back into the open it in turn released his presence. Like your wind had blown him back to wherever he was going or had come from. Like he was never there. 

But as you turned back to the dish line to dump your tray, furling your fist you could still feel the streaks that seemed to linger on your palm. Trying to hold that feeling, that something had been there. 

The sun had long set, coating the base in a blanket of darkness, but Ghost’s room was anything but dark. The source on his nightstand, that seemingly glowing orb. Even turned away from it the light of the fruit burned through his chest. Sleep never came easy, but tonight was impossible. 

Sitting up on the end of the bed, Ghost stared at the orange. Christ, Simon it's just an orange. But even that thought did nothing to lessen the burn its present held. It was stupid. To let his focus be drawn onto something like this. Reaching over and clearing the way to the trash in less than two steps Ghost held the orb out to its final descent. 

The ache returned, his hand finally locking up turning to stone. He could feel it over take him slow building in his chest, but there in his fingertips fire burned. Even through his gloves life or awareness or something sparked into his very being. Only made more real by the eye contact you held with him. It wasn’t a glare, glace, or judgment. It was just a look, one he hadn’t experienced. 

He looked at your peace offering, its weight increasing with each passing moment. Throwing it in the trash would only serve as a visual reminder of its weight dragging down to deepest trenches. God, Simon it's an orange. 

And as his fingertips punctured the skin the ache ebbed. Shifting it to his other palm the energy flowing in his fingers began peeling back the skin. As each piece dropped to the trash, that weight that he had felt from the afternoon slowly lifted. His chest rose and fell, enough so he walked back to his bed and sat on the edge. And with every breath in and out he could chew and swallow each slice.

No light burned through his chest and the lift weight had him rising towards the surface. Slowly but rising. 

But as his head returned to his pillow the light coat of frost still coated his fingertips. The memory may linger, but it will fade. Something told Ghost it wasn’t going to be easily erased though. 

You offered. He accepted. He had cracked open a window to you so soon. Maybe too soon. 

[chipped-chimera]

WIP WEDNESDAY - 12/07/23

AND IT'S ACTUALLY ON A WEDNESDAY! Thanks @theviridianbunny for the tag <3 I regret to inform you ... it's more hair again @.@ (this one is actually different, I swear)

More under the cut, as usual~

Soooo if you've been following me you probably know I've done a few things since my last WIP Wednesday, namely more tattoo stuff, and more recently ... more hair stuff.

After a LOT of agonising over it I finally consider the neck 'done' ... or done enough (vaguely ... thinking about doing something more in the transition between the tattoo and the jaw but I probably should stop honestly or I'll never stop). This means I probably have enough done to get away with taking screenshots while I work on the rest of it. Been pondering drawing up an actual plan for the rest beyond what I've been doing so far - mostly winging it and smashing things together. Might get stuff done faster, who knows.

Anyway I am back on my hair shit, yet again that's going just about ... as well as you'd expect ...

Okay okay, I'll be honest, this has been fixed but I gotta say after spending a whole 12 hrs staring at lines of code, changing entries and having to redo them several times because I'd fucked up some file name or changed my mind or found out 'no that is not where you should be putting that folder you absolute dingus' and this was the best I could do was kind of hilarious. 😂

The important part was I'd gotten it IN, which was a process and a half, considering THIS time I'm using a custom made 2048px hair texture (alpha is 4k) and a higher poly mesh - which means yeah, this is the same hair rebuilt from scratch.

After some additional fiddling ...

... and a very unamused Ven (I'm sorry hun) ...

I got it in. All of it. No missing textures, no hair cards in the hair cap slot. The physics look janky but it's somewhat intentional - this is a minimal effort rigging job based on the alt rig, the priority was to get this hair texture IN so I could see how it looked in game and how everything sat before I dug myself further into a sunk cost fallacy over this second version of the hair.

And I'm actually pretty happy with it? There is some curl distortion yeah but it's not as bad as it was last time - and considering I'd rigged that one PROPERLY is saying something. Higher poly + textures are making a big difference here. It's pretty obvious in the comparison -

Also yes I am aware this one is WAY too shiny, but that one is a considerably easy fix now I know how Vertex Paint actually affects this value. I was a bit too generous on the highlight gradient so I've already repainted what I have so far, using side-by-side references with existing game meshes to try and get it 'equal' but it's likely gonna be a lot of back and forth calibrating with that one.

Excessive shiny-ness aside I'm actually REALLY happy with how the side curl is sitting nice and neat in her jacket collar this time! Also man ... doesn't that look silky ... (ok maybe some shine is good lmao)

I guess that's kind of it on the mod front. I've got other projects in a very initial stage (it's fanfic. Ofc it's fanfic) but work on both the tattoo bodysuit + hair is eating up a lot of my daily spoon allowance so that one will happen when it happens I guess (and probably when at minimum, this goddamn hair is done).

Oh and this hair is using UUH4V. I GOT IT TO WORK. Which means I'll be able to use multiple rigs which will hopefully prevent these carefully crafted curls from getting minced beyond recognition, fingers crossed.

Anyways until next time!

(Uh, I tag anyone who read all of this. Yes you. sorry I don't know many people yet and I'm shyyy)

p.s. yes hair tutorial. soon. In the case you are similarly frustrated and desperate as I was and working on hair please note I AM VERY OPEN TO TELLING YOU ALL THE INFO just ask me. Cause tutorial might take time unfortunately. But it's in the works.

[thornilee013]

Would you consider putting your WIPs on ao3? It’s a bit hard to read on tumblr- the app slows down a ton when I click thru a bunch of links. If not that’s fine, but I figured I’d ask

Hello!

Yeah, once I get more written for each of the works that I'm sharing through WIP Wednesdays I'll start posting chapters up on ao3.

For now this is the easiest (?) method of keeping track of things, although I need to figure out a better way to keep things organized.

Sometimes I'll pull together the entries from the previous week together underneath a "read more" on my post for that week, but yes! Someday (hopefully) soon I'll sit down and actually edit them and post them. Until then, this is what I've seen others do! However, I'm not tumblr-savvy enough to figure out how to do the whole "previous" AND "next" buttons on each post @_@

THANK YOU FOR ASKING (genuine)! It means a lot to me that you want to read them ;;w;

If you're interested in anything that's been posted/completed, I have a ton of recent projects and works that I've completed listed both on my masterpost as well as on my ao3 page.

As for the rest of this post, I'll treat it a bit like a dealer's choice ;3

-

prev | TLC | WW 21.8.2024

"Yeah. Handsome. And endearing, too," Renee said, leaning in as if to kiss his cheek. But then she lingered, letting her breath dust his cheek and tickle his neck. "May I?"

Any attempt to keep a blush from consuming his entire face was in vain. He went scarlet as he gave her the faintest hint of a nod, but his deep blush was nothing compared to the burning inferno that his face turned into as Renee finally pressed her lips to his cheek.

He found himself wondering how those lips would feel against his and nearly fried his entire nervous system.

[robotnuts]

Hi sorry if you’ve answered this before but do you know the “correct” way to watch all rvb content? I recently found out there’s like, bonus episodes outside of the main seasons and have no idea what order I’m supposed to be watching everything in. I’m doing a rewatch soon with my partner and just wanted to know if you knew, no worries if not!

yeah sure!

so what i'm guessing you're probably asking is about is the miniseries. the first two pretty much need to be watched for the plot in my opinion

seasons 1-4

out of mind miniseries

season 5

recovery one miniseries

season 6

relocated miniseries

seasons 7-9

MIA and WTAWTAW miniseries (two of them!)

season 10-onwards

there's also the chorus journals that take place before season 11 (these are technically a miniseries i think). bonus points if you include journal #4 which rt lamely left out of the compilation

if youre ever confused i recommend just looking up your current season on the rvb wiki, and the bottom of the infobox will let you know if theres a miniseries to be watched next

NEW EDIT: THERE ARE ALSO TRAILERS FOR THE SEASONS THAT INCLUDE ADDITIONAL CONTENT. These are like, dubiously canon, the RVB9 one in particular gets retconned pretty heavily, but should still be watched before their seasons. Here’s the ones that actually have original content and aren’t just montages of moments from the season. 

reconstruction trailer (rvb6) / recreation trailer (rvb7) / rvb9 trailer / rvb12 trailer / rvb13 trailer

(also because i am so autistic: there’s also the original trailer that, iirc, was made like 6 months before they actually started making the series. it doesn’t really have a ton to do with what rvb would become but it’s definitely a cool artifact.) 

(there’s also this rvb10 trailer which doesnt have anything new but is charming enough i want to save it on this post anyways, as well as this fanmade rvb13 trailer set to the chain by fleetwood mac that im obsessed with). END EDIT

the next layer of interpreting "all" rvb content includes the psas. psas are extra canonical content where the "actors" from the popular webseries red vs blue talk to the audience about a given subject. there's a few psa videos that were created alongside each season, but they can be watched whenever since they have no effect on the plot. i dont actually know of a good playlist for these this one seems to have the most videos. i think some psas might actually be lost media rn last i checked i should see if i can do anything about that

finally there's also deleted scenes and general rvb bonus content exists (like the end of season 5 which had several alternate joke endings) if you're interested in watching that. the person who uploaded journal #4 seems to have uploaded a lot of that and (sighs) hopefully i'll have some of that stuff up myself soon in a google drive or something

EDIT: forgot that i’d also consider this deleted rvb scene mandatory content. it was only cut because burnie made the decision that he didn’t want to mention tex too many times in season 6 in order to make it a better entry point for new fans. i think this was a horrible idea honestly and the added context about why church changed his mind at the end of the season is fantastic