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goldenseresinretriever · 4 months ago

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False Confidence: Chapter 1

Pairing: Javy “Coyote” Machado x Reader

Part of the San Diego Dogfighters universe

Summary: The Athletic named Javy Machado the fifth sluttiest player in the NHL last year. He’s a known playboy who leaves every game with a different girl. As far as he’s concerned he’s living the dream, playing his dream job with the dream lifestyle. Unfortunately his friends and bosses don’t agree. At 33, they think it’s time for him to settle down. You’re a kindergarten teacher at an esteemed private school. You don't expect much when you finally accept your colleague’s invitation to attend her husband’s hockey game but when you accidentally get separated in the post-game rush, you find yourself in a compromising situation with the last person you’d ever expected to meet. When his PR rep suggests a mutually beneficial agreement, your hands are tied. How long will you have to keep up the act? And how long will you be able to?

Series CW: 18+ ONLY, swearing, angst, fluff, fake relationship, suggestive language, mentions of sexual harassment, anxiety, school system inaccuracies, hockey inaccuracies etc. There will be individual chapter warnings. No use of Y/N.

Word Count: 4k

A/N: This is a repost from my series, False Confidence. It was originally posted in March 2023, and was lost when my blog was deleted.

Previous Chapter // Series Masterlist // Next Chapter

Your brain short circuits. He’s kissing you. This complete stranger is kissing you. It’s been years since someone kissed you. You let out a squeak of surprise and he takes advantage of your open mouth to slide his tongue in. You’re dumbfounded now. You’ve definitely never been kissed like this. You’ve seen it before, of course, in movies, and on TV. You even walked in on Jeremy and one of the first-grade teachers in the copy room by accident once. But you never imagined that you’d ever get kissed like this. It’s all hunger and you feel like you’re being devoured, every rational thought fleeing your head as you’re overwhelmed by the new sensations. You’re not kissing him back, but frankly, that’s because you have no idea how. You barely know how to kiss normally but this? This is completely new territory. You’re stiff as a board as his hands go to your waist, squeezing and kneading the flesh there. You’re dizzy from all the new sensations and you think you might combust.

“JAVY MACHADO, GET AWAY FROM HER!” Josie’s voice breaks through the haze and the man pulls away. You watch a string of saliva connect your mouths before snapping like the tension between you. Your senses flood back and you stumble away from the man, Javy, shoving at his shoulders in the process, a mortified squeak escaping your lips. He doesn’t move an inch and you’re acutely aware of how much pure muscle he’s made of.

You hear the crack before you register that Josie’s crossed the short distance between you and slapped Javy across the face. Your eyes widen in horror at the brazen act of violence as you take in the fierce protectiveness in Josie’s eyes. To his credit, Javy looks surprised too, raising a hand to touch the warming skin of his cheek.

“Jo, what’s going on!” Reuben is jogging down the hallway behind her, shock on his face as he takes in the scene unfolding before him.

“This pig just assaulted Roadie!” She exclaims and you’re still frozen where you stand but you can feel the strange feeling of your kiss-swollen lips. Reuben turns to you and takes in your mortified expression before rounding on Javy.

“Javy, what the fuck man? What’s going on?” You’ve never seen Reuben genuinely angry. Usually, he’s pretty easygoing and you’re surprised by the thunderous expression on his face. Javy looks equally surprised as the older man glares down at him.

“I didn’t know who she was!” Javy protests, but Josie just levels a glare at him as she moves to place a protective arm around your trembling shoulders.

“What’s going on?” A hard voice interrupts Javy’s pleas and you all turn to see a blonde man striding down the hall. He’s classically handsome but right now his eyebrows are pinched together as he surveys the scene in front of him. He crosses his muscular arms across his chest as he levels a hard stare at Javy who meets it with one of his own. The two are locked in a silent battle until the click of high heels on the concrete floor sounds and a woman dressed in a suit rounds the corner, her lips pinched in a thin line. She walks up to the blonde and regards the two men locked in silent conversation before turning to Reuben, Josie, and you.

“Alright, someone needs to tell me what’s going on right now.”

Javy takes a deep breath but doesn’t break eye contact with the blonde as he answers, “I kissed her.” The woman’s eyebrows furrow as she scans the crowd and lights on you at last. You see her eyes widen slightly with surprise, moving to Josie’s arm around your shoulder before tearing her gaze back to Javy.

“You kissed her?”

“Kissed her, my ass. Your tongue was halfway down her throat when I found you.” Josie scoffs from beside you and you flinch instinctively in embarrassment as you’re reminded of the way Javy kissed you. The woman’s eyes snap to you at the movement and you watch her eyebrows furrow in concern.

“Consensually?” She asks, directed at you but you can’t find your voice. There are too many people here. You know Josie and Reuben but there are three complete strangers all fixing their attention on you and you feel your throat dry out. Swallowing doesn’t help and your heartbeat quickens at the realization that they're waiting for you. Your whole body is still in fight-or-flight and your brain is screaming at you to just answer while the rest of you refuses to comply. Josie catches onto the change in your breathing as you start to hyperventilate shallowly. The hand on your shoulder squeezes gently, trying to ground you but you’re losing control quickly. You faintly hear Reuben call your name but the sound is far away as you retreat into yourself. You’re shutting down even as you’re trying to fight it, to keep yourself together until you have some privacy. There are voices speaking but you’re not paying attention, trying your best to focus on the sound of your breathing as you struggle to get it under control. You’re losing the battle with your mind when there’s a comforting hand on your arm, gently leading you away and while you don’t catch the accompanying words, you follow willingly, happy to escape the nightmare.

***

The next morning you’re feeling better. You’ve pushed the memory of last night into a dark corner of your mind, eager to get back to your regular life. You never have to see him again. You have an out from future hockey games and events involving the players. For now, you’re just trying to move forward, putting last night’s events in your past, out of sight and out of mind. You’re only thinking of the future when you arrive at work this morning. You decide to duck into the teacher’s lounge in search of coffee before your students start arriving and while you had planned for your detour to be quick and unnoticeable like they usually are, your entrance is heralded by a wolf whistle from Jeremy who’s leaning against the counter by the coffee maker. You freeze on the spot, just barely through the doorway, pinned by a pair of hazel eyes that dance with dangerous amusement.

“Damn, Roadie, I honestly didn’t think you had it in you.” His thin lips curl into a smirk that sends shivers running down your spine as confusion clouds your face. “After Dan’s little announcement yesterday, I’ll admit, I was worried about you, but you managed to surprise even me.” Your brow furrows in confusion and he examines your expression, cocking his head to the side. H you’re not sure what he finds in your expression but his smirk widens and then he turns to his phone, swiping at the screen a few times before he spins it around so you can see its contents and your stomach drops to the floor.

You can’t breathe. You’re pretty sure your heart has stopped breathing as you take in the image on his screen. You’re looking at yourself and dread fills your veins like ice as you take in the image of you and Javy from last night. In your panic, you hadn’t realized the wall of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the San Diego night and you’d definitely not spotted the sneaky photographer that had managed to capture the intimate moment between you and Javy. His hands are squeezing your hips in the photo and you feel the ghost of their pressure on them now as the memory you’d struggled to bury in the back of your mind shoots back to the front. From the angle, it’s not possible to tell that you’re ramrod straight and not kissing him back. It’s the perfect picture of a clandestine tryst and you feel your stomach lurch, threatening to empty its meager contents onto the floor of the teacher’s lounge.

Jeremy’s smirk widens at the blatant look of horror on your face. You’re speechless but saved from responding when a firm hand snatches up Jeremy’s phone. “Where’d you get this, Jeremy?” Josie’s voice is surprisingly calm as she examines the trans wreck on his screen while you struggle to find a way to make the world stop crumbling around you. Josie’s voice sounds like it’s underwater as she tears into Jeremy, demanding the details but you’re drowning in the loudness of your mind. It’s all white noise that’s getting louder and louder.

You don’t register when Josie grabs your arm, steering you out of the teacher’s lounge, only coming back to the present when her hands are on your cheeks. You blink as her brown eyes bore into yours. “I said, are you okay, Roadie?” You start to nod until she gives you a disbelieving look and then switch to shaking your head. She nods, keeping her hands on your face, grounding you. “Can you teach? Because you’re going to have twenty-four kids that need you to be present in about fifteen minutes.” You swallow, then. The reminder of your kids grounding you better than anything else.

“Yes.” You say firmly and she nods, releasing your face. Determination fills your body and chases away the blind panic and anxiety. No matter what’s going on in your personal life, for the next seven hours your kids need you so you’ll be there. It’s one thing you refuse to give ground on. As a teacher, you’re responsible for your twenty-four students and you’re fiercely protective of them. School is a place that should be safe and nurturing for them, and they deserve to have as much stability as possible here. That means that you bring the best version of yourself every day, rain or shine. You glance back at the teacher’s lounge mournfully. “So much for grabbing coffee,” you mutter and Josie squeezes your shoulder gently.

“You go get set up, I’ll get you the coffee.” You give her a tired smile as she shoos you back towards your classroom.

“Thank you, Josie.” You call back to her as she heads back towards the lion’s den that is the teachers’ lounge. No doubt, Jeremy’s not the only one to have seen the photo and even if he was, he’s definitely busy showing it to anyone with eyes.

“That’s what friends are for, Roadie.” She reminds you with a kind smile.

***

“What the FUCK did you think you were doing?” Javy winces at the harsh tone of Zam, his PR rep who looks ready to dive over the desk separating them to strangle him. It’s been a long morning. Ever since the paparazzi photos from last night came out, Zam has been doing everything within her power to play damage control. Of course, he feels guilty. She’s one of his best friends. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t think she’s overreacting. It’s not the first time a photo of him and a woman has gotten out. They're a dime a dozen at this point. If it’s not the paparazzi leaking them, it’s the girls themselves, proud of their one-night-stand with an NHL player. It’s not like he tries to hide from the cameras, he doesn’t really mind them. Why else would his meet-up spot with puck bunnies be a hallway with floor-to-ceiling windows?

“I told you already, I didn’t know who she was! I thought she was a puck bunny! Look, I said I was sorry, why are you making such a big deal about this?!” Zam lets out an astounded laugh at that and he gets an unexpected smack to the back of the head. Yelping in surprise, he turns to glare at his best friend, and captain of the Dogfighters, Jake Seresin where he’s leaning against the wall behind Javy. Jake’s face is stormy as he glares at Javy. “What the fuck, man!” Javy snaps and Jake’s hands clench into fists.

“What the fuck? What the fuck is that you’re not taking this even remotely seriously.” He snaps, anger lacing his words.

“Why should I! It’s just some pictures! That happens almost every night, why is it suddenly intervention-worthy? I didn’t even sleep with her, it’s just a kiss.” Zam scoffs behind him and he turns to face her again and her face is a mask of quiet rage.

“I’d love to see how that holds up in court if she sues for sexual assault.” Javy’s blood runs cold.

“What? She wouldn’t.” Suddenly not even he believes the shaky words.

“You kissed her, initiated physical contact, and groped her non-consensually. Not to mention there’s photographic evidence.” Zam’s voice is cold and bitter as she glares at him. “And if you say ‘it’s just a kiss’ one more fucking time I’m going to bring Bugs in here so you can say it to her face.”

Javy feels like he’s had a bucket of ice water dumped on him as shame spreads through his body. He looks down at his hands, unable to meet Zam’s eyes. Bugs, the team physician and Jake’s girlfriend, had been forcibly kissed by one of her superiors at her previous job and the ramifications of that assault had almost ruined her career. He loves Bugs, she’s his friend, his best friend’s girl, and one hell of a doctor. The reminder of the pain she’s been through is like a knife to his heart and the fact that he’d just hurt another girl the way she’d been hurt is a harsh wake-up call.

“I-I didn’t mean to hurt her.” He murmurs, knowing the words don’t even begin to right the wrong he’s caused but he can’t stay silent.

“Well, you can explain that to her when she gets here,” Zam says and he can hear the exhaustion in her voice as his head shoots back up. You’re coming here? Zam must see the question in his eyes since she offers up the answer without him having to ask. “I asked her to come here so we can try to settle this without getting lawyers involved and blowing this up any bigger than it already is. She pauses before adding, “Josie called this morning and said she’s not doing great.” Zam grimaces in solidarity with the girl that Javy realizes he doesn’t even know the name of. Guilt twists the knife even tighter in his chest.

“They’re just in here,” a familiar voice says on the other side of the door to Zam’s office, and after knocking, Nat walks in followed by you and Josie Fitch. Natasha is one of the equipment managers for the Dogfighters and she and Javy have been friends since high school. They played for the boys and girls hockey teams respectively but became close when they took junior English together. She’s one of his oldest friends and the tired look she gives him makes him want to sink through his chair and the floor. Josie directs you to sit in the chair next to Javy and he shifts to give you space, wanting you to feel comfortable. One glance at your posture, however, tells him that’s not happening anytime soon. Your shoulders are tense and your hands are trembling as you clasp them in your lap. In that moment, staring at you as just a girl, not a puck bunny, he sees how terrified you are, and protectiveness battles with guilt in his heart. He’s sickly reminded of his youngest sister as he watches you pick at the bright blue fabric of your dress where it falls over your knees.

***

You’re nervous. It’s to be expected. You didn’t expect to come back to Hard Deck arena ever again, and definitely not so soon. Even then, you never expected to see Javy Machado again, at least not without glass separating you from the hockey rink. He’s dressed in simple athletic wear and doesn’t seem so scary without all the extra hockey padding. He has his hands casually resting on the desk of the woman you recognize from last night. She has a worried look on her face as she offers you a gentle smile.

“Hi there,” she addresses you by your name, introducing herself as Zam, the Dogfighters’s PR rep, before clasping her hands on the table and you catch sight of her perfectly manicured nails. “I want to apologize profusely for last night and all the ensuing chaos. I called you here today so that we can make sure we’re on the same page. I also wanted to see if we could settle any potential legal concerns amidst ourselves before getting any lawyers involved.” Your eyes widen in surprise.

“Legal concerns?” Your stomach is a mess of nerves at the idea of getting sued.

“You’re well within your rights to sue for sexual assault, Roadie,” Josie speaks up and you turn to look at her, surprise on your face. Her expression is hard and you look back to Zam. She looks tired but you see the understanding and solidarity in her eyes even as she tries to do her job, even if it goes against her personal feelings onthe matter.

“What? No, I wouldn’t even consider that!” You burst out, still taken by surprise at the mere suggestion. Zam’s eyes widen in surprise as she takes in your words.

“Why not?” Josie pipes up and you shake your head.

“Plenty of reasons, starting with the fact that I can’t afford a lawyer.” You wince at the idea of how much legal representation would begin to cost compared to your meager teaching salary.

“Bullshit, we’ll pay for the lawyer if that’s what you want,” Josie says, protectiveness flaring up in her eyes.

“It’s not.” You say, voice still trembling slightly even as you force the hard edge into it. You turn back to face Zam. “I’m not suing, so you don’t have to worry about that.” You feel eyes burning into the side of your head and you turn to see Javy watching you with equal parts curiosity and apprehension.

“Hi,” he offers when he realizes he has your attention. “I’m Javy,” he extends a hand for you to shake before thinking twice about it and pulls it back. “I just wanted to say how sorry I am about what happened last night.” You think you see actual guilt flit through his eyes and you can tell he’s having trouble not averting his gaze. “I thought you were someone else and while that doesn’t make up for it, I really am sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“It better not,” the brunette woman who led you to Zam’s office, Nat you think her name was, speaks up from where she’s leaning against the wall next to the blonde man. She glares at Javy and you almost feel bad for him as he grimaces.

“So, Roadie?” The blonde man from last night leaving against the wall says, eyebrow quirking curiously. You turn to him, surprised that he’s addressing you. “What’s that about?” Your face heats at the change in topic but you clear your throat to answer him.

“It’s a nickname from work,” you explain. “It’s short for Roadrunner like the Looney Tunes character because apparently I dash around a lot.”

“You do,” Josie says and you suppress the urge to roll your eyes.

“Well Roadie, I wish we’d met under better circumstances and I’m sorry about all this but it’s good to meet you, I’m Jake, Captain of the Dogfighters.” He holds out a hand that you take and shake, tentatively. His genial smile puts you at ease and you relax a little in your chair.

“Well, with that out of the way, let’s talk about how we’re going to move forward,” Zam says, taking back command of the room. “I’ve taken steps to protect your identity as much as possible, Roadie. If you still feel unsafe we can talk about a security detail or something more casual like having someone watch you from afar. I’ve also spoken to the principal of Acacia Academy about keeping things under wraps in case the press do find out where you work.” You nod cautiously, trying to process the influx of information. “Unfortunately I can’t make the photos go away but the paparazzi are fickle, they’ll move onto the next story as soon as they realize we’re not giving them anything.”

“But what if we did?” Josie speaks up then and all the attention turns to her. She’s got her thinking face on and you feel premature dread in your stomach as a thoughtful smile crosses her face.

“What do you mean?” Zam looks confused and it’s clear she’s as in the dark as everyone else.

“Well, you said it yourself, they’ll lose interest if we don’t give them anything. So why don’t we give them something? We have a golden opportunity that could be mutually beneficial.” Josie says, tilting her head in Javy’s direction. “Reuben tells me you’ve been trying to get this guy to settle down for months now. And Roadie,” she turns to you and you give her a confused look. “You need a solution to Dan’s new rule.” Your eyes widen in shock and horror as it dawns on you exactly what Josie’s suggesting.

“Wait, what rule?” Zam speaks up, her brow furrowed in confusion even as you can see the gears in her brain turning. “Who’s Dan?”

“Dan Jackson, the principal of Acacia. He’s trying to crack down on inter-departmental hookups so he said he’ll be looking at relationship status as one of the criteria for contract renewals for next year.”

“He can’t do that, that’s illegal,” Javy speaks up and you turn to him even as you grimace.

“It’s a private school and it’s not an official rule, just a ‘friendly suggestion,’” you sigh, defeatedly.

“You said you’re worried about the rule, Roadie? Now you have a golden opportunity to circumvent it.”

“What exactly are you suggesting?” Zam asks but even you can tell she understands exactly what Josie’s leading to.

“Break the story that Roadie and Javy are dating,” Josie says with a shrug like she’s just talking about the weather. “The playboy of the Dogfighters gets to settle down. The hermit crab gets a boyfriend.” You glare at her even as she winks at you. “Both parties benefit and it’s easier than the alternative.”

“This is ridiculous,” Javy scoffs with a laugh of incredulity. “Right, Zam?” He turns to her but she’s lost in thought.

“It could work.” She says finally and his jaw drops.

“You’re not serious.” He demands, eyes widening. She glares at him before turning to look at you, tentatively.

“Roadie is that something you would want?” You’re still in shock that this is up for debate at all.

“What about Javy? Doesn’t he get a say?” You stammer, trying to buy yourself some time. Zam rolls her eyes before giving Javy a firm look.

“He’s lucky he’s not getting sued right now, I think that’s enough of a say, don’t you?” You swallow, hard, looking to Javy who looks gobsmacked.

“Zam you can’t be serious,” he says, finally finding his voice again. He turns to Jake. “Tell her she’s crazy.”

Jake shrugs. “I think as long as Roadie is comfortable with it and it’s something she wants, it’s a pretty good plan. Zam’s been hounding you to clean up your act for months and you keep ignoring her. And I think you’ll keep ignoring her unless we do something and this is as good a something as anything. Plus,” he adds with a playful smirk, “waiting for a girl to fall out of the sky who’d actually be willing to date you could take years.” Josie and Nat both snort at that. You swallow hard at that. “Who knows, maybe a fake girlfriend will teach you how to have a real one.” A fake girlfriend. You feel your chest squeeze at that. A bitter voice in the back of your mind wonders how you’ve managed to find yourself in this situation yet again. At least this time you’re in on the joke. You shake off the pain that squeezes your heart and realize all eyes are on you.

“What? Sorry,” you stammer as you look from expectant face to expectant face.

Zam grins at you conspiratorially, you can see the curious excitement in her eyes. “What do you think, Roadie? Are you in?”

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zedecksiew · 5 months ago

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WHO GETS TO BE A PERSON?

The opening of my soon-to-be-real Cairn RPG adventure, The Tide Returning, is a crime scene.

The king of Zum and his sceptre has gone missing in the night. Hired to find him, you are allowed a tour of the royal bedchambers, to find clues to where he's gone.

Design objectives for this opening:

Give players an idea of who and where their quarry is. Who did the king prefer spending time with? Why did he write a letter to the governor of a nearby town? Why was he swimming the span of the canal?

Allude to the faction politics of the adventure. These are mainly embodied in the characters present in the intro, and their relationships with each other. What is the culture of Zum like? How do they treat the indigenous witch-folk culture? Do the witch-folk resist? Do the witch-folk disagree on how to resist?

Present complex setting detail in an evocative, gameable way. The fact that the Zum-folk practice slavery, and how that slavery functions, isn't just set dressing, and shouldn't be conveyed via lore dump. Players should be engaged, alarmed, invested.

Particular to culture of Zum is canny-ware: human servants permanently bonded to heirloom objects or furnishings.

This is what the adventure text says about it:

CANNY-WARE To the priests of Bowed God Market bring 500gp, a thrall you own, and the inanimate object you wish to make canny. There will be one night of fearful rites. In the morning: your thrall is permanently joined to this object—if physically separated from it, they are wracked with agony; harm done to it transfers to their flesh, instead. Henceforth your thrall is no longer a person. They are called by the canny object’s name. Their own is expunged from all record. War galleys and weapons are never made canny. The priests insist murder is the province of actual people, not mere things.

The idea that things have their own spirit is pretty common, ya? You beg your computer not to crash; you plead to your car to go just one more kilometre on an empty tank.

Plus: the baseline animism of Southeast Asia.

Plus: the fantasy trope of the sassy talking sword, the whispering One Ring.

So: if things have spirits and personalities, worthy of respect and consideration; if we already treat our possessions as characters in their own right---

Could the things we own be people?

Why not?

Considering we own animals which we believe have rich interior lives. Considering our history of owning actual humans; our ongoing objectification of whole genders; our industrial extraction and toolification of whole classes, cultures.

In Zum a magical self-propelled cart is not powered by magitek nor combustion engine. It is pulled by a person whose personhood has been erased.

Canny-ware expands on an idea I used in (of all places) a personal essay on language and being a bilingual writer from the third world:

A prisoner of war is given to the sultan---"At the palace she was called Dagger. Because that was her function: to bear the royal dagger." Because the magic dagger is, in her cultural context, considered more worthy of personhood than she is.

Who gets to be a person?

What degrees of personhood are they allowed? How are these various degrees of personhood changed, or challenged?

I've fixated on this question for most of the time I've been thinking about and making art.

A perennial, perhaps now-overplayed question in science fiction: "OMG are robots / AI human???" "Do you lose your humanity the more cyborg you are???!!!" etc.

I like the question better in fantasy, though.

Asking whether a robot is a person gives the question a "Is this where we are headed?" speculative frame. Asking whether an ancient tree is a person lends the question a mythic "Maybe this has always been an issue?" air.

Its proper register, I think! Contained within the question is---everything, honestly? Everything in history, everything happening now. Colonialism, imperialism. Race, sex, gender, class. The webs of relation / power / violence in all these subjects.

Anyway, back to the intro for The Tide Returning.

The royal chambers are full of precious heirloom canny-ware. They include:

The front doors---a pair who can tell you who came in and out of the rooms that night. The chamberpot---a blind fogy who's kept the king's hygiene and confidence since boyhood. The pillow---a jealous girl who was the king's lover, before he started favouring the sceptre instead. The writing desk---a prim woman who scoffs at indigenous traditions. She is indigenous, herself, but has grown accustomed to present luxuries.

The peacock fan---an agent working with local rebels, trying to maintain her cover. The silk parasol---who bristles at their bondage, the only one who will tell you their own name (Kanan) and that of the missing sceptre (Shiri).

Essentially: looking through the king's room is a series of interviews.

Less CSI, more Murder On The Orient Express. Clues aren't facts passively waiting to be discovered, but NPCs with personalities you have to roleplay with.

Having play-tested this introduction with my home group I am pleased to say it is a fun time, and works as intended!

My players came away with the facts they needed; a better idea of what to expect in the hexcrawl ahead; and a deeper understanding of the stakes.

Playtest highlight:

"Wait wait, how does this canny-ware thing work, actually? Is it Beauty And The Beast? Because if it's like Beauty And The Beast, then the chamberpot---" (cue horrified faces)

+++

( Image sources: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Canopy_Bed_of_the_King_at_the_Chakraphat_Phiman_Hall.jpg https://yayahkiki.wordpress.com/2009/09/02/cari-keris-berdiri-berani-harga-tinggi/ https://digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov/index.php/Detail/objects/1725 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:China;_a_woman_carrying_buckets_of_night-soil._Wellcome_L0056427.jpg https://www.theatreco.com/galleries/beauty-and-the-beast/ )

#writing #fantasies #personhood #ttrpgs #design #objects #adventures #the tide returning #process notes

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comicaurora · 2 years ago

Note

I know you done content on hard versus soft magic systems but what is your opinion on crunchy versus smooth?

I will use atla to explain.

Season one The power system is well defined but basic Air Water Earth Fire. Simple to understand very straightforward (smooth)

By the end of the legend of Korra, you have several sub-categories and completely new categories as well (crunchy)

ah, a greebled magic system

I like complicated "crunchy" yet rigidly-defined magic systems, because they give the creator a lot of stuff to play with while also giving them constraints to operate in that dictate a lot of what can and can't happen with the plot. The danger, of course, is in introducing a form of magic that actually makes no sense, or something that devalues other elements of the system because its impact wasn't fully reasoned out, or carving off a part of an existing magic chunk and making it inaccessible for unjustified reasons.

I also feel like sometimes the extra crunch of a magic system can betray a lack of creativity on the part of the creator - having to invent entirely new magics instead of considering new applications for the old ones.

Bloodbending? Lightning-bending as an advanced firebending technique? Combustion Man as a unique one-off assassin? That armless waterbender lady with a completely new martial arts style? Zaheer using airbending to kill the Earth Queen? Dope new applications of existing concepts that make the magic system feel large, fluid and powerful. These are extensions of existing concepts that feel logical, or at least understandable.

Airbenders Who Abandon All Earthly Connections Can Levitate Now? Weird and kind of retroactively disruptive that it never came up before.

By The Way Lavabending Is Its Own Special Weird Thing Now Like Metalbending Was? Feels like we needed to invent a reason for this sidelined character to matter.

There's a risk to carving off too many chunks of a magic system, I think. Avatar started simple: everything the heroes could do or figure out was an extension of first principles. Lightning is kinda like weird pure fire, so lightning-bending made sense as an advanced firebending technique with a big risk of blowing up in your face. Bloodbending is literally something any waterbender can do once they realize it's possible - the horror of it is that it's a forbidden technique that becomes impossibly easy just by knowing about it. Toph figuring out metalbending by virtue of having a completely unique and incredibly granular sense for the earth around her ALSO worked, because (a) "metal can't be bent" has been firmly established several times and is clearly common knowledge, and (b) she was clearly the first person who'd ever had that combination of skill and disability and she was building her style from the ground up.

By the Korra timeline, however, we start running into things like lavabending, which should absolutely not be its own weird thing. It's just rock. We've already seen Kyoshi bend lava. If I recall correctly, the show doesn't sufficiently explain why lavabending is a weird separate thing from earthbending, making it feel like a logical component of the earthbending powerset is being arbitrarily gated just to make an otherwise disregarded character Slightly Important by being able to do it.

Stuff like that makes the magic system feel less internally solid. "Why CAN'T this magic do [thing]" is an extremely important question for a worldbuilder to be able to answer, and an overly greebled and partitioned magic system often can't explain why magic X and magic Y are totally separate. Skills and techniques and personal preferences among casters are fine to explain why something may or may not be possible for someone, but "what magic can and can't do and WHY" is something that I think should be as firmly, logically coherent as possible.

#asks #writing stuff

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fridayth13 · 1 year ago

Text

—it's a love story

↳ chongyun, fanan/bonanus, lyney, wriothesley, and la signora × reader (separately) (royalty au!)

↳ genre: fluff, hijinks, a bit of crack(chongyun), hurt/comfort(wriothesley and maybe lyney's too), fantasy elements(signora) | wordcount: 1.8k | warnings: reader being a bit presumptuous and assuming(fanan)

↳ notes: while writing i did realize that some of these scenarios could happen even without the medieval setting, but i think everyone needs to imagine their favorite characters in a royalty au. at least once. for the aesthetic

—chongyun

if anyone's ever watched gravity falls, think of that episode where dipper explores the northwest mansion with pacifica. it goes something like that

your family, as well as even the servants around the castle, grew wary of things that went bump in the night over the last few years

eventually, they called in an exorcist to get rid of anything with malicious intent

his name was chongyun— the best of the best in liyue

it was said even the most gruesome of evils steered clear of his presence. and when you first met, you thought it was no wonder

with his icy stare and his imposing ceremonial greatsword, he looked almost surreal as the ghosts themselves

you were tasked with representing your family. you and the exorcist were about the same age, so your parents thought it would help make him more comfortable

once you got to talk to him personally though, that assumption immediately fell flat on its face

as you went through the palace, his coldness didn't seem to waver, no matter how much you tried to lighten the mood. his tone when speaking (limited to one word replies and/or lengthy explanations about evil spirits) was clipped and entirely professional

it didn't take you long to resign to the fact that you were probably annoying him, and so you stopped

chongyun, however, was left stuck asking himself why you'd suddenly started acting so stiffly

as you forlornly inspected an ancient vase, he wondered if he should apologize for.. something? was he being too cold? he hoped not

though chongyun did worry that his long time crush on you would have him combust if he ever stood an inch too close

besides, he was on a job. professionalism, chongyun. professionalism

just ignore the unwanted whisper of the xingqiu devil on his shoulder urging him to talk to you

he could do that later

maybe. hopefully

his friend would have definitely been having a field day if he saw him now, fumbling over himself about whether or not to initiate a conversation

you, however, had absolutely no clue what chongyun was glaring at the wall about. the mural maybe? was that cursed? you sidled up to chongyun's side and voiced your question to him

if you knew him any better, you'd recognize the vague pink creeping up his cheeks

—bonanus / fanan

you'd initially thought she was a.. strange choice to be assigned as your personal knight

to be honest, you used to think she was one of the nurses. you often saw her in the infirmary, her deep blue hair and pretty smile catching your eye quite easily

fanan's frame was slender, but with the way she carried herself, anyone might guess she was a member of the royal household like you

you couldn't imagine her in all that clunky armor, swinging a hefty sword against the other warriors. you had thought she was too soft-hearted for that

that was a misjudgement on your part

the first spar you witnessed her partake in was when she was training one of her subordinates

the first thing you were wrong about was her weapon— fanan didn't have a sword, no

she had two

long, elegant twin dao sword with carvings of the waves and ocean legends from the hilt to the iron of the blades. the metal was such a beautiful silver it could pass for blue under a certain light

the second thing you were wrong about?

fanan had no use for armor, apparently

she flowed as easily as water, practically dancing around her opponent in a blur of blue

her blades, the seafoam and her azure apparel, the current; she was a tsunami crashing into the tide

her opponent fell before a minute passed

"you've improved." yet she smiled at them, as sweet as ever

you had to hold yourself back from voicing your bafflement. improved? at this rate, you felt you might as well could have fired every other knight at the palace

"i noticed you stop to watch earlier."

it was only after fully checking in on her subordinate did she ask for your thoughts

"what did you think, your grace? was my performance to your liking?"

you could only blink at her

"y..your grace?"

"i—" you cleared your throat. "um.. yes. yes, it was. more than satisfactory, i think. you are quite skilled, sir bonanus"

then she beamed at your words

your heart fluttered

—lyney

in lyney's words, you were a noble of many treasures, and a bouquet of even brighter blossoms. you sometimes found his riveting manner of speech a bit difficult to understand, but that statement was thankfully not one of them

you thought the notion of having a jester was a bit silly. but you didn't have any other way to describe him either

you supposed magician worked well enough

to start, the court of fontaine was simply enamored with him. who wouldn't be?

a charming fellow from humble origins, rising up with nothing but the little mora in his pocket and the support of his family to keep him afloat. and he'd made it. in no time at all, he was a regular presence on the stage of the opera epiclese.

and while the court of fontaine was enraptured with the magician, lyney himself found himself enraptured by you

he didn't believe in love at first sight, but he knew when he was smitten

you came to every show. every night. he even caught a glimpse of your watching eyes during one of his smaller performances

the immediate night after, the opera's crowd was in complete shambles by the end of his tricks, when a single rainbow rose had been thrown into the crowd by his very hand

it had landed in your lap, just as planned

the look you shared that night was the talk of the entire kingdom for weeks

as for you.. well, he made you laugh. what else was there to say?

soon enough, lyney was giving out backstage passes (pass-es, he told lynette. but she saved him the trouble and requested you to come by herself)

you grew close quickly. lyney seemed like an easy person to get close to, after all. he was a devoted suitor as well; never passing up every opportunity to try and impress you or tell you how grateful he was to you for even looking his way

every performance after that concluded with a rainbow rose in your hand. sometimes even several

your visits to the house of the hearth (previously only for business) increased in number

so when the order came from father to get even closer to you and sleuth about your estate and properties, lyney's heart just about stopped in his chest

—wriothesley

you knew each other for as long as you could remember

he was just a random servant boy in the castle that liked keeping you company. you, in turn, had no complaints. he was fun, if not unpredictable, and a welcome interruption to the rigid palace routine

to him, you were like an angel. he called it the luck of the gods themselves that you wanted to play with him at all when they were kids

with the crown on your head as a halo, the cadence of your voice was your song. you always smelled so nice, and your hands were so soft. your smile, however, was the most stunning. the sight of it almost gave him a sense of pride, knowing that more often than not, it had appeared because of him

you were inseparable, and everyone hated it. especially your parents

it was almost ironic. of all the people to have figured out how the two of you felt about each other first, it had to be the ones that needed you apart the most

he didn't exactly help his own case, what with his smart mouth and knack for getting in trouble. it came as no surprise that he was at the receiving end of someone's scolding quite often. you just hadn't expected it to get so far

the trial went by you in a blur of whispers

"i always knew he was trouble" "what a dreadful child" "how unfortunate"

you couldn't sit still, practically leaning over the rail to look at him. you wanted to snap at your family gossiping behind you. you wanted to jump over the rail and run to your best friend. your only friend. you wanted to yell at him. you wanted to comfort him. you wanted to grab him by the hand and run off somewhere no one could catch you

and he wasn't even looking at you

if only you'd known what he was thinking in those moments. that the mere sight of you at the edge of his vision had him near tears

"i'll come back to you. i'll come back." he repeated to himself every night after that before he fell asleep, dreaming of you

years passed. wriothesley never forgot

now the duke of the fortress he was exiled to, he ran back to the overworld the first chance he had

as soon as he saw you on the streets of the city, he knew

and as soon as you caught sight of him, staring longingly after you across the street, you did too

—la signora

the signora lohefalter was a mysterious woman

the fair lady. an esteemed member of the snezhnayan court. from the way she dressed, the way she carried herself, the way she spoke, it could be said she was the very definition of the word 'luxuriant'.

between the two of you, it had started with a spark

on her end, a spark of interest

you were a bold one. whether you were a lowly servant, a fellow noble, or somewhere in between, you had a certain look in your eye. one of unyielding fire

it drew her in, this mirror of her own disposition

the court was often a rather desolate place to be. the people flew by and drifted off, colder than the wind. your heat was tantalizing to her. and eventually, she learned to crave your warmth

on your end however, the spark was rather literal

witchcraft was forbidden in all but written law. so when you caught the slightest lick of light escaping the signora's ungloved hands, you weren't quite sure what to do

she'd caught your gaze with an amused smile

"you look like you've seen a ghost, y/n."

not quite

it was an odd game of cat and mouse. it was as if the mouse bared fangs, and the cat was left to do nothing but scramble to catch it

it might take a while longer for her to accept her own feelings if you weren't a noble, or draped in finery from head to toe

but when she does, she claims the feelings with conviction. no matter how much longer it will take for the two of you to end your little game, it's clear what's going on to any outsider watching the two of you

maybe it wasn't so much that you wanted her caught. maybe you just wanted to know why. you've voiced this curiosity to her once, in one of your attempts to obtain a confession

she smiled again, in that coy, oh-so-innocent way that she did. she'd tell you, but.. well, you already knew, didn't you? what was there to tell?

and could you really blame her if she enjoyed the way you looked as you chased her down?

dividers from @clutteredfun

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bisexualfemalemess · 5 months ago

Text

BRIDGERTON SEASON THREE PART TWO SPOILERS

I’m actually not ready for this because it’s the last episode of the season and still so angsty but of course it has to be.

Already can’t do this. WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE OPENING SHOT IS COLIN BROODING ON THE SOFA WHILE DRINKING HIS TEA FUCK OFF???? 😭😭😭 Communicate please??? Or at least look at her, colin. I actually can’t handle this. WORST MINUTE OF MY FUCKING LIFE, NOW HE’S FUCKING OFF TO BRIDGERTON HOUSE BECAUSE HE WISHES TO LEAVE????? MAKE UP OR I WILL KILL MYSELF!!!

Fuck off, cressida, not her knowing about lw and black-mailing her??? So much for her redemption arc. Not her telling portia??? Like that’s not your place???? Someone needs to give our baby a break. Aww, portia’s character arc is actually so important to me like not her thinking penelope just always left because her social battery died and she just let her be, that’s actually so cute. I swear if portia turns on her now too i’ll kill myself again, at least we got peneloise back though so maybe i won’t actually. WHY ARE PEOPLE SO PETTY TOWARDS HER ONCE THEY FIND OUT ABOUT WHISTLEDOWN??? LIKE THAT IS STILL THE SAME GIRL YOU KNEW MINUTES BEFOREHAND YOU JUST KNOW MORE ABOUT HER NOW???? At least penelope immediately tells colin this time so he cannot be petty about it.

DOES DANBURY KNOW??? Is this how we get agatha x penelope friendship next season??? Agatha bridgerton coming home????

Ooh a finch x dankworth ball??? Interesting. Oh? Francesca and john moving to scotland?

STOP BROODING COLIN AND TALK TO YOUR WIFE JFC! I love how eloise isn’t choosing sides, our baby girl has truly grown. AH! ELOISE SO TRUE “do not let your marriage be the scar.” Queen behavior, peneloise and polin soulmate-ism. Aww Poor baby pen sounds so tired of all the shit that’s happening to her. I love how they’re trying to figure out how to get penelope out of this situation and i love how colin ‘my wife’ bridgerton made an appearance even though he’s angry with her, 🗣️ He will not stand for anyone blackmailing his wife 🗣️ they’re all so shocked that baby girl’s filthy rich. ALSO LET HER FUCKING SPEAK. this is her mess, she was not looking for help just support and all of a sudden her opinions don’t matter anymore :( Y’all need to let go of your anger towards lw and try to support pen instead of trying to fight her battles for her. She’s just standing in the corner watching as they’re talking about her and what to do :( at least involve her, don’t ignore her and cut her off. Jesusss.

And Benedict’s having a threesome again, interesting but unnecessary.

Protective Colin bridgerton but he’s still angry with her :( “to hear word from home. From penelope, in fact.” STFUUUU STFUUU STFUUU JUST MAKE UP ALREADY WE DON’T NEED ALL THIS YEARNING AND ANGST AND PINING WE GOT ENOUGH OF IT IN PART ONE :((( Aside from that I’m actually so fucking happy that he essentially just called penelope his home, I’m actually gonna combust. I hate how he’s still trying to separate penelope from whistledown “penelope’s no villain” and then he goes on to say that he gets her hate for whistledown???? Did we not just learn that they were the same person, colin? CRESSIDA I STILL FEEL INDIFFERENT TOWARDS YOU BUT BLESS YOU FOR CLOCKING HIS TEA!!!!! “You do not sound as if you hate whistledown. You sound as if you are jealous of her.” PREACH IT! He shut that shit down to fast, like the moment he’s gonna admit that to himself he’s gonna be able to forgive her. THAT FUCK ASS WIG I HATE IT SO MUCH. PLEASE THE RESHOOT WIG MAKES HIM LOOK LIKE A KEN DOLL LIKE ITS SO PLASTIC 😭😭😭😭

PENELOISE SCENE I LOVE THAT THEY’RE BACK. “tell me what you are reading?”With eloise grabbing her hand? 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹 WAR IS SO TRULY OVER. Colin literally fucked up so bad, not cressida asking for double 🙄🙄🙄 Also penelope’s dress in this scene is so gorgeous. Aww, he’s willing to lie to Benedict for his wife so that the cressida drama can stop. PLEASE JUST MAKE UP YOU IDIOTS. Awwww eloise grabbing her hand in support. I just know peneloise and polin will mirror the christina x meredith x derek dynamic from grey’s with Eloise just bursting into their home unannounced and colin will understand but still be so tired of it.

STOP CUTTING TO BENEDICT THREESOMES THEY HAVE NOTHING TO ADD TO THE STORY IN THIS EPISODE 😭😭😭😭😭

Honestly the lady danbury and violet friendship is so special to me like violet did not care that she was running around with her dad and Agatha loves her more than her brother, that’s so cute.

STOP IT RIGHT NOW THE POLIN SCENE LIKE HE WANTED HER AND HE LOVES HER BUT HE CANT BE WITH HER UNTIL EVERYTHINGS FULLY OKAY BETWEEN THEN BECAUSE HE’S A DEMI SEXUAL KING. THEY NEED TO MAKE UP SO BAD SO THAT THEY CAN MAKE UP FOR THEIR WEDDING NIGHT.

STOP IT HE LOOKS SO DISTRAUGHT SLEEPING ON THE COUCH AND PENELOPE FIDDLING AROUND WITH HER BRACELET AS SHE SAYS SHES GONNA SPARE HIM THE CONFIDES OF A SHARED CARRIAGE ACTUALLY SHUT UO THE ANGST IS TOO MUCH :(

AWW PENELOPE’S LETTERS MADE A COMEBACK. THE FACT THAT HE KEPT ALL OF HER LETTERS WHERE IS MY COLIN BRIDGERTON????

PENELOPE MY QUEEN GETTING TO SEE SOME OF HER MOMS WORST SIDES AND POPPING OFF ON HER. Mother-daughter bitch off! “Oh and from whom?” Well, her family actually. Portia crediting penelope and apologizing for overlooking her, the development is so cute. “We must do better.” So true actually and the fact that it’s coming from portia just shows her development.

Francesca’s wedding was actually so beautiful and her heart to heart with violet beforehand was so cute. Polin sharing a look during francesca’s and john’s wedding and penelope subtly touching him with her shoulder, i’m gonna throw up. STOP THE ANGST.

the bridgerton siblings being chaotic and teasing each other is something so dear to my heart actually.

Penelope’s outfits this episode are all actually so gorgeous, she looks so ethereal in this season in general but especially in this episode. No not her seeing a genuine smile on colin’s face during their wedding party and her smile slowly fading. The angst is angsting.

Aww penelope loves his family so much. The study scene is actually so… “then how am i meant to help you?” “By loving me!” Pop off, pen. Might need to bash his head into a wall a couple times though because our baby boy is very stubborn right now. Like it’s so special to me, her speech is sooo dear to my heart. HANDS, HANDS, HANDS! 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Oh? Penelope writing to the queen AND Violet? What is going to happen?

Lmaooo Benedict got one taste of men and he could not stop. I’m actually crying, my favorite pansexual, (i love you but please stop taking screen-time from polin during their own damn season the irony of people complaining polin got too much screen time last season and now during their own season they barely get as much scenes as the previous leads) IM CRYING BENEDICT DOES NOT GIVE A FUCK ABOUT THAT WOMAN LMAOOO.

Aww a benedict and eloise swing scene, so on brand. Real el back not giving a fuck about fitting in anymore because she got pen back. ELOISE IS A LESBIAN I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH AND I WISH BENEDICT SHARED WHAT HE FOUND OUT WITH ELOISE SO THAT SHE WOULD KNOW THAT IT’S OKAY 😭😭😭

Penelope’s ball dress looks so gorgeous. AWW SHE PAID FOR THE BALL 😭😭😭😭 SHE’S SUCH AN AMAZING SISTER DESPITE ALL THE SHIT THEY’VE SAID AND DONE TO HER OVER THE YEARS. Not my poor baby standing on the sidelines again 😭😭😭 Where’s colin when you need him???

Oh, the queen showed up. SHE’S PISSED???? PENELOPE WHAT HAVE YOU DONE??? AWWW. Penelope revealing herself to the ton, girl boss. Her entire speech is her admitting her flaws and defending herself in the same breath. She’s one of the best, if not, the best written character on the show and it is about time the haters realize that. The fact that she keeps eye contact with El and Colin while defending herself but also assuring them about their own insecurities while doing so 😭😭😭 I’m crying, Colin actually smiled at her, he looks so proud of his wife 😭😭😭 Stfuuuu. Are we getting that make-up? PENELOPE MY QUEEN INTO THE LIGHT INDEED! AWW THE QUEEN ACTUALLY PARDONED HER OH MY GOD.

The ton needs to stop whispering if you have anything to say, say it to her face, The Featheringtons showing support and phillipa demanding that varley releases the bugs to save her sister from embarrassment 😭😭😭

Colin i’m so serious when i say go to your wife and ask her to dance. AWW THE DANBURY-PENELOPE SCENE. I have hopes for a friendship in season 4. She knew all along and kept the secret 🥹🥹🥹 “who loves the Bridgertons more than I” Especially her soulmates colin and eloise 🥺🥺🥺🥺 Aww penelope and her mother are actually so important to me “my girl” OH MY GOD THAT SCENE FROM THE TRAILER WHERE SHE LOOKS SO FONDLY AT SOMEONE AND THEN TURNS TO SEE COLIN WAS WITH PORTIA. SHUT UP THATS SO CUTE.

She looks so worried, please make-up i swear to god. “That i would not object to an annulment if you requested one.” COLIN WE HAVE 14 MINUTES LEFT IF YOU DO NOT SHUT THAT SHIT DOWN AFTER EVERYTHING SHE’S DONE TO SHOW YOU SHE CARES I AM PERSONALLY GONNA BASH YOUR HEAD INTO A WALL REPEATEDLY.

Oh never mind, the shock on his face, like that was never even a thought to him. He was always gonna stay married to her. FINALLY “you are her.” It took him a while to get there but he finally accepted that part of her and it’s so cute. His speech is actually so…he’s such a healthy male character, the only man ever actually, like you will not be able to find a man that is so in touch with their feelings that he can admit he was jealous and that you’re actually a braver, better person than he is. COLIN BRIDGERTON THE MAN THAT YOU ARE🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️ this speech is so dear to me.

STFUU THE PARALLEL TO EPISODE ONE

Episode 1: “Goodbye, Mr.Bridgerton”

“Pen, i….”

Episode 8:

“You are a very good man, mr. Bridgerton.”

“Now, will you please do me the honor of joining me on the dance floor, Mrs. Bridgerton.”

STFUUU HE ACTUALLY CALLED HER MRS BRIDGERTON THAT IS A WIN FOR ME. Them dancing together will always have a special place in my heart, especially since everything’s resolved and they’re all giggly.

Oh, Eloise moving to scotland with francesca, oh my god. OH??? Francesca bridgerton, i know what you are and Michaela stirling i did not realize your game. Welcome to the sapphic club, fran.

OH????? Penelope riding colin!!!! Yay! I wish they kept in the longer version of the scene since this was apparently originally part of a montage but i’m so glad they finally got their shit together and consummated their marriage. Penelope loves colin’s chest hair so much.

OOOOH? Masquerade ball. Ben’s season next?

Pen’s and eloise goodbye hug was so long actually, they’re the cutest. Penelope’s little wave to her, my peneloise heart 🥹🥹🥹

“Goodbye.” SHUT UP

Oh my gosh, the epilogue. Polin had the heir so fucking cute. THEIR MARITAL BLISS IN THE EPILOGUE THEY’RE SO SICKENING ACTUALLY. Aww phillipa wants her daughter to be a writer so cute. POLIN WRITER COUPLE AND PENELOPE SUPPORTING HER HUSBAND IN WRITING AND PUBLISHING SO TRUE . NO STOP THE TRANSITION FROM JULIE ANDREWS TO PENELOPE’S VOICE WAS ACTUALLY GENIUS I’M GONNA THROW UP.

ALSO THE SYMBOLISM OF PENELOPE AND COLIN HAVING THEIR FINAL KISS BASKED IN SUNLIGHT IN FRONT OF THE WINDOW WHERE SHE USED TO SPENT HOURS TRYING TO SPY INTO HIS ROOM IM GONNA CHAIN MYSELF TO A TRAIN TRACK ACTUALLY.

Yours truly, Penelope Bridgerton

That’s it, i’m checking myself into a mental hospital now. What the actual fuck.

Wow. Awww guys all i want is playing during the credits that’s so cute 🥰

I actually don’t know what to do with myself for another two years until we learn what these characters are up to again. Like this season was actually so special to me i am dying for more especially more polin since they cut that short for some benedict awakenings and setting up for his season but i am glad for the bits that we did get.

Overall i do not have too much criticism for this season so i give it a solid 9.5/10

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impossiblesuitcase · 6 months ago

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I’m curious to know whether you think Cinder would suffer from some trauma or PTSD following the events of the revolution. It’s clear she’s had some early PTSD since the fire with her nightmares and such other things, but do you think there would be new signs of trauma, perhaps from the stabbing? If so, how do you think she would cope and what things do you think Kai would do to support her? (Sorry if this sounds like some high analysis questions you’d see in English class😅)

100%. All of the crew would suffer from trauma from the events of the revolution. We know Cinder has nightmares of the fire and I believe that they would start to blend into her other traumas--yes the stabbing, but more likely her drowning and accidentally killing the cop in France. She'd learn to cope with therapy, something I don't think she'd initially seek out. But Kai would also be in therapy (probably since the death of his mother as a child) and he would encourage her to try it out.

For the first two years of their relationship, being separated, the most Kai could do to help her would be to talk to her. They'd mutually express their fears and anxieties. Once they're together in person, they could be more active in helping one another. Sometimes their relationship is 50/50, but on the days that Cinder is struggling, it becomes more 70/30; Kai shouldering more of the weight while she works through her trauma. Sometimes, she's the one taking the brunt of things while he struggles.

Kai would look out for things that would help her; taking over some of her empress duties temporarily, reading up on a movie before watching it and choosing a different one if it has violence or fire or drowning or other things that would trigger her PTSD. If someone gifts them candles, he discreetly disposes of them before Cinder can see them. When they attend the Olympics together as honoured guests and the torch is lit, Kai tells her to close her eyes and when to open them again, because at her first time at the Olympics she had a panic attack seeing the combustion of flame.

This would all be reciprocal; Kai has trauma around Levana, and his parents, and the weight of his responsibility as emperor, and Cinder would do her part to help him too.

She learns to take care of herself, to do things not just because other people want her to or are relying on her for. She spends much time in the garage working on her mechanical projects despite having no real need to, and this helps her focus away from bad thoughts. Delegating tasks to others also helps her manage her busy schedule, and the less overworked she is, the less likely she is to fall into a bad headspace.

#tlc #lunar chronicles #linh cinder #the lunar chronicles #emperor kai #kaider

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6okuto · 4 months ago

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nia please tell me about cove… where does he come from… who is he…………………………

(I saw a glimpse of him in the “more posts like this” recs and I’ve been blessed)

REV REVERIE-STARLIGHT U JUST MADE MY DAY. Ok. mild spoilers (the beauty is in the small moments and casual intimacy,, But that's the Game so i can only say so much.) If u want to hear more Let Me Know. everypony should play and see for themself though. wink. my vn masterlist has some cove too!!

Cove Holden is the love interest in GB Patch's visual novel "Our Life: Beginnings and Always" available on Itch.io and Steam for free. You play through 4 life phases: childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, and fully grown—all with different moments you can play in any order!! Steps 1 to 3 have their own DLCs for 4USD each, and the wedding DLC is only 3USD, but the base game easily has up to 20 hours of playtime alone!! FOR FREE!! (there's also 2 NSFW DLCs on patreon. planning 2 get the second one soon. cove wait for me)

while you don't actually have to romance him,, cove can be the childhood friends to lovers story OF UR (MY) DREAMS!!!! his personality and appearance change depending on your choices (but can also be customized) bUT in general!!

he's very sweet and cares about those close to him deeply!! he's very thoughtful and respectful!!

it's stuff like,, he'll offer to give you his homework when you think you've lost yours. he'll buy you a gift to surprise you with at a market, even though you are Also at the market albeit separated for a while. there's a scene where you're watching fireworks and if you say that they're loud, cove will cover your ears to muffle the sound :'))

he loves the ocean (his special interest)! he surfs, volunteers to help clean the beach (you can join him), has pet fish, etc etc.

^ cove's canonically autistic!! some traits here

climbs through your window a lot.

my crybaby... /sooo affectionate. sobs..

clingy /affectionate /pos /my dream. he always wants to be with you if he can. you obviously don't have to be physically affectionate but i, too, am a clingy cuddly person especially when it comes to him... he can give you piggy back rides, you can cuddle on the couch and in bed, he'll offer his hand to hold, etc. etc.!! and he gets so so smiley and happy whenever you hug and kiss OHHHHMYNGJH

he gets flustered and shy about flirting orz... he has to kinda hype himself up to try a cheesy pick-up line on you 😭🩷

something that comes up is how cove can struggle with new things or taking steps (romantically) and how you stay patient with him!! because he really does want to do them!! I don't kneow it's very heartwarming to me 🥹

u can make it a slowburn! u can have a crush from the very beginning! U can say i love u first! He can confess! U can propose! He can propose (in multiple ways)! WHAT A WORLD!!

6 foot 4 (193 centimeters) 👍

his favourite flower is white linen poppies! :-)

he likes anklets. as in you can wear an anklet and he's like ( !!! )

bit messy /still affectionate. didn't want to say slob. he'll wipe his hands on his pants and there's sand on his bedroom floor hebsbdjsbdj

loves his parents.... there's some angst and struggling but. by step 4 him and his parents are so :-((( WAHHHHH!!!!

"i pick her and she picks me" -> "i pick you and you pick me" Ok. wjy. mi cabesa. MI CORAZON NO SABE YO COSA HABLA BUT WWAAAAHHH 😭😭😭😭🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷

Step 3 DLC Happiness Moment....

step 4 coves + opened my game for quick screenshots. Do u think he's a cutie patootie handsome beautiful gorgeous perfect angel boyfriend BEcuauseheis. HE IS 😭😭😭. Akaashi and Cove are the same level of boyfriend husband to me. Gen Srs. if u told me to pick one i'd spontaneously combust in front of u

If u like my writing U'll Probably Like Cove And OL. If you want to get to know me and also be so so happy giggly sentimental for a couple days,, U, reader,, should play OL and tell me so we can talk about it TOGETHAH!

aND! if u like the look of this, GB Patch is currently developing Our Life: Now and Forever!! a new story in a new town with two new love interests (qiu and tamarack my beloveds) and even MORE customization!! ^___^ YIPPEEE

#🧾nia.answers #<3 rev #<3 cove #i will do this every time im asked about him No hesitation No complaints.#my goal is 4 people to play and tell me they enjoyed it.. i would be so happy and accomplished....#it changed my life senior year brodhsjdbsj

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lollytea · 2 years ago

Note

Amity: How was it?

Willow: It's great. I didn't expect this much crying, though.

Luz: Yes, babies do that.

Willow: Oh no. I'm not talking about the baby, I'm talking about Hunter.

Hunter, holding his daughter: "Combust into loud messy sobs"

Willow: See?

Gus:...

Hunter would be an absolute wreck during the first week of being a father. He's such a highly empathetic person and he cares about his baby so much that every time she cries, he's almost driven to tears himself. Because he desperately wants her to never have any troubles or fears and to always feel safe and happy. But that's hard when you're a newborn baby and the world is so unfathomable and overwhelming to you that any little thing can have you inconsolable. And Hunter knows this. He does. He knows crying is just in a baby's nature and he shouldn't be falling apart every time she wails. But he's just so caring and he loves her SO MUCH and now he's got all these paternal instincts attached that he's just. The most overly fussy and attentive dad imaginable. It's honestly a little bit of a problem.

Like he would have separation anxiety. Baby cries in the middle of the night and Hunter is already throwing back the covers and being like "I'll get her" before Willow can even think about it. But when Willow kinda stirs awake a while later to find that the other side of the bed is still empty, she goes to investigate and finds him sitting bolt upright in a chair, wide awake as his daughter is conked out in his arms.

"How long has she been asleep?" Willow whispers incredulously.

"Two hours." Hunter answers.

"Tw--.....? Hunter, lay her down in the crib and come back to bed for Titan's sake..."

"Can't. She might wake up again later."

"Then I'll handle it. You can go back to sleep."

"No, I mean....I don't want her to wake up again and think she's all alone. Have you read the baby book Camila gave us?? The section on cognitive development?? She doesn't have object permanence yet, Willow! She doesn't understand that even if she can't see us, we still exist. If she wakes up all alone, even if it's only for a few minutes, she'll be terrified. I don't want her to be scared again, Willow. If she wakes up, I want her to immediately know she's safe because I'm here with her."

"Honey....don't get me wrong. That's very sweet. But you can't just let the baby spend the whole night sleeping in your arms."

"She can spend her whole life in my arms if she wants."

"Hunter."

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liquidstar · 10 months ago

Text

This is just for me really, but I've been playing around with swap concepts of my OCs in my head and started writing down how I think each swap variant would be (not in detail but the gist of them) so I could mentally map it all lol. I'm going to post them all under the cut if anyone else wants to see too ^_^

Swap concepts: The characters' situations in life switch, but their general issues stay the same. The same flaws in different circumstances leads to different ways it manifests (so a different ethos/power too).

Polaris:

In Saiph’s place she would have a complex about keeping people away from her, and snap at people who try to. Her ethos would be constantly burning hands, and she'd wear protective gloves at all times.

In Al’s place she would want to stay “in the shadows”- less than a background character, she'd want to fade into the background, unnoticed. Her ethos would be the ability to completely blend into shadows and fluidly move through them.

In Bella’s place she would be cold and numb to other people, and expect the same treatment back. Her ethos would manifest as the ability to induce sensory deprivation in others, allowing her own attacks to be unnoticed.

In Mira’s place she would attempt a friendly outward demeanor but quickly change attitudes towards any attempt at actual emotional closeness. Her ethos would be a heavy drop in the environment’s temperature that only she can withstand.

Saiph:

In Polaris’s place he'd have terrible emotional control and would be prone to mood swings. His ethos would vacillate between the ability to freeze and heat but would have poor control over it.

In Al’s place he'd be more of an edgelord trying to prove himself as different and unique through rebellion. His ethos would be to give his shadow properties of fire, but he can only control his own like this.

In Bella’s place he'd be constantly holding in anger which would leak out through violence. His ethos would be a strength boost, but he's not as in-control of himself when it's activated. He'd probably be repressed enough that he still thinks he's cisgender.

In Mira's place he represses in the opposite direction, with excessive cheer and humor- a ray of sunshine. But it's fake. His ethos would be the ability to conjure storms which get harder to control as his emotions get away from him.

Al:

In Polaris’s place he would be desperate for the approval of others, but hide behind a cold and uncaring veneer. His ethos would be a freezing touch, but he can't generate ice out of air.

In Saiph’s place he'd have a strong reverence for the people around him, and see himself as weak without them. His ethos would be empowerment by light, the brighter it is the stronger he gets, but in darkness he's weak.

In Bella’s place he'd constantly put on a brave face and act unbothered and unharmed, as he continues to put other people first. His ethos would be the ability to numb the pain of other people, but he's not a healer, he can't close wounds.

In Mira’s place he'd be the epitome of a people pleaser, he'd have separate personas prepared for every occasion to make him the most likable. But he lacks a real personality, his sense of self is a void. His ethos would be the ability to create vacuus pockets, with winds strong enough to pull everything inside them.

Bella:

In Polaris's place she'd shut out everything and everyone completely, she'd steal herself to brave it all on her own. Her ethos would be to literally transform her body into cold hard ice.

In Saiph’s place she'd do her best to hold all her feelings inside, but find maladaptive coping mechanisms in their place. Her ethos would be the ability to combust things she touches. More controlled than a raging fire, but no less dangerous.

In Al’s place she'd brunt the weight of expectations, and act unbothered by it. She would act as though it's her choice, while walking no path of her own. Her ethos would be to completely block out the light in a given area, but still sense anything that goes on within it.

In Mira’s place she would feel an immense pressure to be a positive supporter for everyone, but repress her own needs and desires for this. Her ethos would be control of air pressure, which can be used over a wide area to crush everything or condensed into small areas to make pockets of “solid air.”

Mira:

In Polaris's place she'd take on traveling with the idea of freedom, she'd see the world far more innocently, and she'd ignore all the bad in it because she wants to believe she's going on the perfect adventure. Her ethos would be a winter wonderworld- More direct control on the environment and weather to make it match her fantasy.

In Saiph’s place she'd become fixated on the idea of fixing or rectifying whatever bad things exist, but going about it with a naive “peace and love” perspective that she's convinced herself would work in the end, surely. Her ethos would be purifying fire- it heals and replenishes energy.

In Al’s place she would shoot to make herself a star, to shine too bright to be compared to others. She'd basically make up a heroic fictional persona for herself to live up to. Her ethos would be light absorption- the ability to take up, condense, and use "shooting star" light attacks

In Bella's place her attitude would be incredibly mellow. She'd be more lethargic, shutting down any and all prospects that have to do with Caring about anything. Her ethos would be the ability to numb emotions in other people, by extent of this incredible chillness.

#finn's ocs #what I'm posting for now instead of oc art so the tag doesn't starve #hopefully I'll have my next set done soon and after that only 4 characters yaaaauyy

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darling-in-wonderland · 1 year ago

Text

Kill Your Darlings (Redux)

(in collaboration with @twistedchatterbox ‘s event, Spooky Chattering 2023)

AN: If you were one of the five people that read the original Kill Your Darlings, then strap in because this is a reimagining that is way more cracked than it’s archived original counterpart. And if you weren't, well, you're not missing much. This version is leagues above the og and way more fun. Reader is my yuusona, Darling (she/her), who is very in love with Idia (but feel free to live vicariously through her like I do). Other characters in this little (*cough* 7k word) fic include Azul, Ortho, and Grim (with a little bonus scene at the end with Crowley) Vil is mentioned quite a lot, but makes no appearance.

CW: more of a dark comedy than anything, but there are still points of tension, anxiety mention (in response to the tension), feelings of being stalked/hunted, minor injuries/blood, and one (1) fbomb, meaning that it could safely be rated pg-13.

AN2: Also i am super new/unaware of fanfic etiquette so if there's anything i've missed/should label differently/etc, please let me know! now, without further adieu…

It was a day like any other, really. Foggy, but hey, I like overcast weather so I’m not complaining.

“I guess I never realized that the fog here is different from the fog back home,” I muse to Grim while we walk to class.

“Myah? Whaddya mean by that?”

“The fog back home didn’t stick around this much, I don’t think.”

“The fog here isn’t really that sticky, Darling.”

“Whatever you say, Grim.” I give him some pets as we walk. “Also, before I forget, I have Board Game Club after classes today. Remember the plan?”

“How could I forget?” he grins. “You offered me five whole cans of tuna to help you with this scheme!”

After the events of that phantom bride- oh how I hate her still!- I can’t afford myself the luxury of pretending that Idia doesn’t know that I like him anymore. With the lengths (and songs) I went to without hesitation, there’s no way he doesn’t know; but it’s polite to tell him point blank in no uncertain terms. I mean, that’s what you do when you like someone, right?

The plan is that Grim is going to distract Azul somehow to make him late to the club meeting. Hopefully this will mean that Idia and I will be alone, allowing me to tell him how I feel in person without anyone else there to watch.

Before I left the dorm, I made sure to spritz a bit of perfume on me, just something that makes me smell a bit like candy. I’m only thinking of this because I left the bottle on the stairs since I was running late to class, but I’m always running late to these early morning classes. Anyways, I need to remember to put it back in the bathroom when I get home.

After classes with Grim, we diverge on our separate paths; Grim to distract Azul with some random fetch quest and I to the Board Game Club to confess my love to Idia, though hopefully not in song while holding a heavy flamer this time.

I show up early to the club meeting, jittery and anxious. When I was out there white knighting and wedding crashing, I was so hopped up on anger, adrenaline, and the anxiety that my Sister of Battle armor would run out of battery too soon that I didn’t even notice that I kept singing the lyrics to “A Grave Mistake” wrong. When you meet the girl whose love you stole… Cringe, but I feel more on edge now than then. Why does this of all things make me anxious?

Time refuses to march on to my best nightmare, so I stay frozen in place as I pace the floor.

And then I hear the door creak open, forcefully shaking me from my thoughts and making my heart pound harder. I see the blue flames of his hair before I see him. I sit down and start nervously shuffling a deck of cards to keep from spontaneously combusting.

He eventually notices me and takes off his headphones. He too avoids eye contact. We haven’t spoken much since that phantom bride left.

“Magic?” I ask him, holding up the cards.

“Uh... sure,” he responds flatly, pulling out a deck of his own.

My brain is on fire, screaming at me to say something. Now is my chance! But I go to speak and find that my lips are welded shut as I draw my hand, only just now realizing that the deck I’m playing is my Ezuri, Stalker of Spheres deck. I feel bad, until I see that he brought his Juri deck and decide that it’s time to destroy him with toxic and proliferate keywords.

He notices my commander and smirks. “Feeling competitive today?”

“I have some things I want to win.”

Our eyes meet briefly and I feel my heart stop. I bury my face in my opening hand, but out of the corner of my eye I see his hair swiftly turning pink.

“Your hair looks purple today,” he stammers out.

“It’s purple everyday.”

“Oh. Right. Sorry.”

The game continues on as normal.

I manage to ask him, “So, what’s your Halloween costume going to be?”

“Haven’t thought much about it yet.”

“Halloween is in four days, Idia,” I remind him. When I say his name, the tips of his hair turn pink. He’s so cute. I still can’t believe he’s single.

“What about you, Darling?”

Hearing him say my name makes my brain short circuit.

“Oh!” I snap out of my daze. “I was thinking Springtrap or Ennard or something like that since the ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ movie comes out today.”

“That’s today?” his eyes light up with excitement. Now’s my chance now’s my chance now’s my-

“Yeah,” I smile. “I’ve already made plans to go see it. After this club meeting its gonna be one hour at Pomefiore to cover my arms with nose and scar wax.”

“With Vil?”

“Who else? He’s gonna help with the scars I have to put on the back of my neck.”

“Oh,” he retreats back to his normal energy levels. “That makes sense.”

And there goes my chance.

We finish the game without talking (aside from reading the cards to explain the cards). He won, obviously.

“Get rekt,” he grins. I can feel my cheeks get hot.

“I took a bad opening hand,” I justify my loss to him. I really want him to think I’m good at this game (even though I am painfully mid).

“Yeah, I saw that mana drought.”

“I had Oko, Thief of Crowns, in fairness.”

“Ohhhh,” he remarks sarcastically, “that makes it totally worth it.”

“If it had paid off I would’ve destroyed you,” I threaten him toothlessly.

“Sure you would’ve.” As he fidgets with his life counter, he says, “I, uh... you mentioned that you wish you had more hands to hold things as you cut out patterns the other day.”

“Especially with Halloween coming up,” I lament, realizing too late that he’s probably dropping hints for something.

He sets the counter down. “Wait here then.”

He glides out of the room as quietly as he entered. I crumple up in my chair. What a wasted opportunity.

When I was younger, I used to spend my free time outside catching butterflies. There was a slight degree of skill that went into it. If you ran up too quickly, the butterfly would get scared and fly away, but if you went too slow, you would lose your surprise and it would fly away then too.

It’s five minutes past. Where is he? My heart is beating out of my chest. What if something happened to him? I should go find him. My anxiety is fueling my paranoia, springboarding me to the worst possible conclusions. Maybe he died, or worse, I already scared him away for good.

It’s been too long. I’ll go find him. I set down my cards and start making my way down to Ignihyde. The halls of the main building are eerily empty. There must be a logical explanation for all of this. I’m bad at time and I haven’t checked my phone in a while, not that it would matter now because I don’t know how long our game of Magic lasted. He’s probably fine. He’s probably fine.

Despite all my logic, I still can’t seem to shake this paranoia. I hear screams of terror wafting down the halls. Film Club must be watching a horror movie for the spooky season. I hope so, at least. Against all good judgment, I push on. I wish literally anyone was here, some big guy who could do the fighting for me if things got tough, like Jade or Floyd.

Amidst my thoughts, someone grabs my hand and yanks me around a corner.

I shriek and cover my mouth before I realize that it’s just Ortho.

I almost let my body relax, but then I see the fear in his mechanical eyes.

“Ortho?” Panic rises in my voice like bile. “What's wrong?”

“It’s Idia. He’s sick.”

“Oh, is that all it is?” The tension in my shoulders releases, but only a little. “From the sounds of the screams, I thought that gladiatorial games were back in fashion. Where is he? I can help take care of him.”

“Sick isn’t the right word,” his voice is hard and serious as he flits through words in his databank. What has this kid seen?

“What movie is Film Club watching today?” I ask him as some more screams bounce off the walls of main hall.

Ortho looks me dead in the eyes. “Film Club didn’t meet today.”

I hear Idia cackle off in the distance, this time sending chills up my spine rather than releasing butterflies in my stomach.

“Ortho?” I ask, that old fear bubbling up once more.

“Yes, Darling?”

“Do you know what Idia was going to show me?”

“He never told me,” Ortho remarks. “But I did find a word that I think fits better than sick.”

Everything feels prickly and bad. The blood vacates my face as I hear another one of Idia’s cackles in the distance. Of all my worst case scenarios, none were like anything of what Ortho said next.

“Well, what word is it?” I ask him, panic leaching into my voice.

“Possessed. I don’t know what could’ve caused it, but...” His voice trails off, as if he’s having trouble coming up with a proper hypothesis. At least, that’s what I was hoping.

His eyes grow wide, his mechanical whirring hushing. The hand around my wrist clamps harder. The tips of my fingers are starting to turn a bluish purple.

“Ortho?” I whisper. “My wrist-”

I hear the soft tap tap tap of some boots prowling down the adjacent hallway. I can feel the temperature rise with each tap.

“Darling…” I hear Idia’s voice rasp, a mechanical grinding amidst his organic vocals, “I know you’re hiding here…”

My eyes are watering. I can’t turn around. I can’t even blink. My breath catches in my throat. Has he turned the corner? I can’t tell.

By the shadow on Ortho’s face, he must be looming right above me.

Ortho’s tugging on my ever-numbing wrist, a silent plea for me to run, but my body refuses to move from its position. This is my worst nightmare, and I can’t even wake up.

“Seems I’ve found you,” I feel hot breathing on the back of my neck. “And with Ortho, no less.”

I feel his hand land on my shoulder. I can’t even find the voice to scream as Idia’s grip gets tighter on my shoulder.

Ortho yells something I don’t make out and finally yanks me from my spot, flinging me onto his metal back. I cry out in pain as I’m ripped from Idia’s grasp. I feel something cold and metallic and sharp scratch up against my cheek. I hear him howl in frustration as we make our getaway.

Ortho and I end up hiding out in the empty classroom on the first floor where the Board Game Club meets.

“That’s a lot of blood, Darling,” Ortho remarks.

I reach up and touch my cheek and find that my face is slick with blood. My fingers are covered in the viscous red liquid.

“It’s just a scratch,” I inform him. “It’s not that bad.”

“Are you sure?” Ortho asks me, searching around for something to clean up the blood.

I laugh nervously. “I have more blood than this sitting on my bathroom counter.”

“Isn’t that blood fake, Darling?”

“And peppermint flavored, but that’s besides the point,” I awkwardly wave the question away. “You’re programmed with medical stuffs, right? Do you have a bandaid?”

“My lab body is back in Ignihyde,” he informs me, “so I don’t have any of my medical supplies.”

“Okay. That’s okay.” I see the Magic cards left abandoned on the table. The panic starts creeping back into my brian. We won’t stay hidden forever. Idia was originally coming back here. “I should’ve told Idia how I felt while I still had the chance.” “What was that, Darling?”

“Nothing, Ortho,” I try to smile. “Nothing.”

I close my eyes to try and think of a better place to hide, but I keep thinking of what I could’ve said to Idia before he got possessed by... whatever it was that possessed him.

“That’s quite a bit of trouble you’ve got yourself into,” a familiar voice cuts through my thoughts as its owner gently places a bandaid in my hand. “I can help, for a price.”

I open my eyes and see Azul staring back at me. I beam, my eyes starting to well up as he hands me a tissue. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s time for Board Game Club,” he answers, an edge lacing his voice. “Or are you asking about why I was late. I think you know why.”

From the satchel I didn’t notice before now, he holds up a very angry Grim.

“I kept him stalled for as long as I could, myah!” Grim responds, not thrilled about being held by the scruff of his neck.

“Uh, guys?” Ortho asks, but none of us hear him.

“For the band aid stuck to your face and the tissue now covered in your blood,” Azul continues, “all you have to do is tell me why Grim showed up to the Monstro Lounge and started pulling the table cloths off the tables and swinging from the chandeliers once my employees caught on to what was happening.”

“Grim!” I take the mischievous cat weasel thing from Azul to scold him. “I told you to distract him, not trash the Lounge!”

“Guys?” Ortho pipes up, but Azul pays no mind.

The school’s resident mob boss continues, “So, why did you send Grim to trash the Lounge?”

“My plan was to get Idia alone to tell him that I have a crush on him,” I confess to Azul.

“A crush on him?” Azul teases me. “Greaaaat taste there, Darling.”

And then Grim asks me, “Did the plan work?”

I laugh nervously. “Not exactly...”

“Guys!” Ortho yells at us from the open window. “Idia will be here any second! At least according to my tracking.”

“What?” Azul asks, almost offended at the fact that we didn’t tell him something sooner.

“Idia’s possessed,” I summarize for Ortho.

Grim hops back in Azul’s satchel and asks from there, “Possessed by what? One of the ghosts?”

“We don’t know,” I respond, the panic creeping back into my voice as I remember the problem at hand.

Ortho pipes up, “Yet!”

I nod hastily, “Yet, yet is good.”

“Guys…” Panic creeps into Azul’s voice like mold. “I don’t think we’re alone anymore.”

That’s when my ear zeros in on the sound of boots on linoleum and something metal scraping against the walls. I didn’t get a good look at whatever he was wearing when I last saw him. Maybe with his new personality he got a new wardrobe, too. I don’t know.

Looks like we’re about to find out as he starts throwing his body against the door Ortho barricaded from the sound of it. The first thud makes me jump, with each subsequent hit causing my adrenaline levels to rise.

“Good time to jump out of the window,” Azul remarks between thuds, “unless we all wanna end up sleeping with the fishes.”

I can’t bring myself to move. The barricades loosen and once again I am frozen. I have to see what he’s wearing. I have to see if anything about his design changed. I have to know what possessed him.

“Henchman!” I hear Grim yell above Ortho and Azul’s pleas, “I command you to follow us.”

The door breaks open.

I catch just enough of a glimpse of Idia, only a mere silhouette surrounded by fiery red with a bloody crimson light from the center of his head piercing through my being; a horrible, horrible glimpse, but enough of a glimpse to will my legs to work again and jump out of the window.

“We should run while we still have something resembling a lead,” I anxiously quip as Azul groans.

“Azul,” Ortho rolls his eyes. “Your only other option is dying.”

Grim pokes his head out. “Can I ride with Ortho?”

“Fine.” Azul hands Ortho the satchel. “It’ll make running easier.”

“Don’t worry,” I clasp a hand on his shoulder, “I know a shortcut.”

We share a smile, but the moment is shattered by a mechanized roar from Idia. “Oh you sussy baka!” Robotic tendrils shoot out from the window, just barely missing us. “Where did you vent off to?!”

I don’t acknowledge what he says, rather grabbing Azul’s hand on instinct as a signal to get him and Ortho to start following me.

I’m not the best at running, but at least my theatre kid energy makes me better at it than Idia.

“So where are we running to?” Azul wheezes after a few minutes of nothing but woods.

“By the looks of it, Ramshackle,” Grim responds, chilling oh so smugly in his little satchel.

“Narrishackke,” I correct Grim.

“Is now really the time to try and make Narrishackke happen, henchman?”

“It’s not gonna happen,” Azul manages to get out before collapsing against a tree.

I stop running and ask Ortho, “How far away is Idia?”

He calculates for a second before responding, “Idia will catch up to us in roughly ten minutes.”

“Okay,” I squat down to conserve energy, “so we have some time. We can formulate a proper plan.”

Grim hops out of the satchel and starts pacing. “We have to figure out what’s turned him into such a bloodthirsty monster!”

“Ghosts?” Azul muses.

I shake my head. “Unlikely. He still talks like himself.”

“There were those mechanical tentacles,” Ortho recalls. “And he was wearing some sort of hat.”

Grim rolls his eyes. “So he wanted to be dapper? Big deal!”

I dig deep in my memory for a detail that’s nagging at me. “Ortho, was the hat glowing?”

“There was some sort of red camera lens attached to it,” he replies.

“Like a headlamp?” Azul asks.

“No,” I continue trying to think, “More like-”

I’m cut off by the sound of falling trees and cracking wood.

“I thought you said we had ten minutes!” Azul hisses at Ortho.

Grim climbs back into the satchel and hides.

Ortho looks concerned as he rechecks his math. “I didn’t think he could move that fast.”

“A side effect of this possession?” Azul thinks out loud.

Another roar from Idia shakes the birds from the trees.

“Guys, we’re so dead if we don’t get out of here soon,” I snap them out of their conversation and start running again. Ortho nods and follows close behind me.

Azul takes too long to get up off the forest floor. At the speed of light one of those tentacles we saw earlier wraps its metallic phalanges around Azul’s wrist.

“Guys! It’s got me!” he cries, fear lacing his voice like bleach.

I turn to Ortho and tell him, “Take Grim back to Ramshackle. He knows the shortcut.”

“Be careful, Darling!” Ortho chirps before zipping away.

I rush over to Azul who’s still wrestling with the mechanical hand around his arm.

“You should’ve gotten away while you still had the chance!” he weeps, voice catching in his throat.

“And leave one of my best friends behind?” I remark as I start my attempt to break the tentacle’s grasp. “Fat chance!”

“Do you even have a plan?!”

I continue to stomp on the tentacle, using my foot to create the tension necessary to try and get this thing to snap. “Not at all!”

I survey the scene as it stands. The noises from the forest are getting louder. If I don’t get Azul out of here fast, I can almost guarantee that more tentacles will come for us.

I start trying to pry the fingers of the metal claw off of Azul’s wrist.

“If it breaks, it breaks,” I mutter under my breath.

“I’d rather you didn’t break my wrist,” Azul gripes through the pain. He then takes the cue and helps me pry with his free hand.

A red glow is coming from the foliage.

“We’re running out of time!” he cries out.

“Oh for the love of- Just yank your wrist out!” I scream, my panic getting the better of me.

Azul clenches his teeth and does so. He shrieks in pain as the claws scrape his wrist so hard that royal blue blood starts dotting the ground below. I pull him away from the tentacle and run before it can grab anything else. I lead Azul off the trail, hoping that Idia won’t be able to find us amidst all the trees.

Once the sounds of his jaunt through the woods fade to near inaudibility, I stop running to examine Azul’s injury. His face is pale as tears continue to pour down his cheeks.

“Good news,” I tell him as I wrap the sleeve of my blazer around the wound, “it looks to only be surface level. Keep some pressure on it and then I can get it bandaged up once we get to Narrishackke.”

“Ramshackle,” he corrects me with a touch of laughter in his tone.

I smile. “I said what I said.”

We move carefully through the woods, only by the Seven’s protection or some unrelated miracle that we make it to Narrishackke before Idia. Ortho and Grim look overjoyed to see us.

“Glad to see my henchman is still in one piece, myah!”

I tell Ortho to take Grim upstairs to keep watch and to bandage up Azul’s wrist.

“But Darling,” Ortho gently takes my cold hand in his, “what will you be doing?”

“Keeping watch downstairs,” I respond solemnly. “We still don’t know exactly what’s caused this.”

“Be careful with him, then,” Ortho cautions me.

I nod and start my vigil. “Nothing would hurt me more than making him suffer.”

Ortho takes Grim and Azul upstairs and I double check all of the downstairs locks. The ghosts seem to be keeping their distance today. I guess whatever this is is too much for even them. I could use their comfort now though.

Why is it that the one day I want something to go right everything goes catastrophically wrong? I can’t even cry properly right now, lest I drain what little moral is upstairs with the sounds of my sobs.

What if we can’t fix him? What if all of this is permanent? What if I can’t put him back together? After all the phantom bride stuff, things were starting to look up. I should’ve just left when he did to start getting ready to go to the movie. I have two tickets. I could’ve invited Vil.

Through my sobs, I start to sing quietly in a futile attempt to ground myself or summon the ghosts to my side, or even just to right this upside down world.

“Is it a crime to kill,” the melody of the song passing through my halfhearted sobs in a heart wrenching staccato. “if we’re only sinking deeper and love can’t stop the fever?”

A knock on the door startles me from my thoughts. I frantically look for something sharp and pointy.

“You open that door and I’ll kill you!” I threaten the person on the other end. I don’t care if it’s Crowley himself, I'll stab if he opens the door.

All I find is a pencil. I’m doomed.

“I finally leave my room,” my best nightmare’s voice scrapes against my ears, “and this is how you react? RUDE.”

He slams the door open, confirming my worst fears.

“Darling!” I hear Ortho call from upstairs. “What’s wrong?”

I can’t even open my mouth to scream as I stand in the shadow of the Prefect of the Underworld standing in my doorway, his halo of fiery red hair devilishly backlighting his face, making him look like a fallen angel. I just start crying again as I shakily hold my pencil out in front of me.

I don’t want to hurt him. He’s not himself. But he’ll hurt me if I don’t do something. But I don’t want to hurt him.

He slowly walks towards me, his boots making a heavy thud with each footfall. I slowly back up towards the stairs. My hands tremble, still holding the pencil pathetically between him and I.

“It’s game over for you, Darling,” he bares his fangs in a twisted grin.

In this moment I understand why moths fly towards candles and burn up in their fiery light, for I too am now a moth staring down a candle, every part of my mothy being crying out to be enveloped by the warm, inviting light. Oh how I’d love to grant my cells their wish and let them collapse in the melted candle wax; but, unlike a moth, I have a job to do. I can’t give up now!

The lens attached to his bowler hat glows brighter, as if a light could be filled with rage. If I try to run now, he’ll just grab me and rip my throat out with his teeth.

“I thought you felt differently about me, Darling,” he continues, “but my eyes have been opened. There’s only one thing that could love me as much as you claim to.”

He continues to advance on me, pushing me up the stairs with his presence.

“Are you going to hurt me?” I ask out of the blue, as if I’ve seen this scene before.

I see a pink plastic cylinder on one of the steps through my tears. A candy scented body spray, within arms reach.

“Oh, I’m not going to hurt you, Darling,” the robotic sheen on his voice makes him sound like a vocaloid.

I never moved that bottle of perfume back up to the bathroom, and I’d say my life is at least worth the seventeen thaurmarks the bottle cost.

Idia continues, “I’m just going to bash YOUR FUCKING BRAINS IN!”

He lunges at me, but that Shining reference telegraphed his moves so much even I was able to dodge him and spray what feels like half the bottle of body spray in his face, causing him to recoil and retch. I pump a few more sprays for good measure and bolt upstairs to Ortho, Grim, and Azul.

“I’ve got more info!” I inform them as I lock the door and wedge a chair under the knob.

I was in the middle of redecorating my guest room, which means furniture is rather scarce. Aside from the chair I just wedged under the door knob, the only place to sit is the floor. Thankfully, there’s still places to hide.

“Well, spit it out!” Grim commands.

“It’s gotta be the hat! Think about it,” I postulate, “first, he tells me he’s got something for me. Ortho, when you found me in the hallway, was Idia wearing a bowler hat?”

Ortho thinks for a second before his eyes widen and his apertures dilate. “Yes, he was!”

“And then something scratched my face as we fled,” I continue. “After that, we started seeing the tentacles.”

“The same ones that scratched up my arm!” Azul exclaims.

“But how is this proof that the hat possessed him and not something else?” Grim asks.

I take time to remember Idia’s exact wording, but Idia beats me to the punch, yelling from down the hall, “Fine! I never needed you, Darling! I’ll just keep this gift for myself!”

“Yeah, that works as evidence,” I remark as he cackles.

“So we have to rip that hat off,” Ortho states. “At least to prove or disprove our hypothesis.”

“I have a plan to get that hat off his head,” Azul announces. “Darling, you’re going to hide and get the jump on him. Us three will distract him so that you can knock his hat off.”

“Any idea what I can knock it off with without braining him?”

Just then, there’s a loud thud against the door.

“No time,” Azul responds. “You’re smart. You’ll think of something.”

I nod and move the chair back to where I decide to hide just as Idia kicks the door off its hinges.

He starts to growl, “There you are, Azul! And Ortho, too. How wonderful.”

“H-hi, Idia,” Azul stutters, eyes wide.

“You don’t appear to be at the club meeting today,” Idia rasps menacingly. “That’s not very poggers of you.”

“I had some,” he shoots a glare at Grim, “things to deal with at the Lounge.”

“A shame, really,” he sighs maliciously, “because based on that look you gave Darling earlier, I would’ve assumed that you would’ve wanted to hang out with her.”

“What are you going on about?” Azul asks, genuinely confused.

“Don’t play dumb!” Idia shrieks, moving closer to him, and therefore me. “I saw the way she looked at you through Doris. I know what I saw!”

Grim pokes his head out from behind Azul. “Myah? Who’s Doris?”

He grins and gestures to the bowler hat enveloping his face. “She’s Doris. I found her in some storage room around campus. She promised she would help me and she opened my eyes.”

Just walk a little bit closer. Just walk a little bit closer and I can knock that evil thing off of your head.

And then Ortho asks him, “But what does this have to do with Darling?”

Idia whips his head around and focuses on Ortho with laser-like intensity.

“Darling,” Idia runs over each syllable in his mouth like a flavorless wad of gum, “is a tease. She may act like she likes me, but Doris and I know better. There’s any number of guys she likes more than me. Like Vil,” he turns his attention back towards Azul, “or you.”

Azul sighs, “I’ll have to pay her back for this, but I have photographic evidence that Darling likes you.”

Idia scoffs, “Like I would believe you over Doris! Get pwned!”

I tighten my grip on the chair I’m hiding behind to keep from screaming. You’ll have to pay me back in a lot more than Monstro Lounge drinks if you leak those DM’s, Azul!

At this point, Idia is looming above the still seated Azul. Once Idia’s distracted again, I’ll strike. Now is not the time to miss my chance overthinking everything.

Azul grins mischievously. I’m almost more terrified of whatever he’ll say next than this “Doris.”

“Okay, so what if Darling likes me then?” Azul asks. “Are you just that terrified of me liking her back? Of the possibility of me treating her better than a loser like you ever could? I mean, if Vil couldn’t keep her happy, then what chance do you have?”

He’s a good liar, I’ll give Azul that. I know he’s lying and I’m still a little pissed.

Of course, Idia doesn’t take any of this well, letting out a mechanized screech as he lunges towards Azul.

“Well, Azul!” A new rage alight in the red lens on the hat, “looks like it’s time for you to show the audience your flashback sequence!”

Now! Now’s my chance!

Time feels like a thick jelly as I spring up from behind the chair to knock that hat off of Idia’s head. The sound grabs his attention as he turns to me.

“Found you,” he growls, a devilish smile painted across his face.

Using nothing but momentum and lucky timing, I manage to tackle the unsuspecting gamer and rip the hat off of his head. Before we hit the ground, I fling it into the wall. I can hear it spark and sputter in the background.

I gently brush his now blue hair out of his face. The tension in his face melts away when he’s asleep. Based on what Ortho’s told me before, this is a rare site to see. His face is so damp. It looks like he’s been crying for an hour or so. Poor guy...

Ortho taps my shoulder. “Darling?”

“Yeah?” I respond, continuing to brush Idia’s pretty blue fire hair out of his face, gently cupping his face in my hand, running my thumb over his cheek. He’s so... beautiful.

“I need you to get off of him so that I can perform a medical examination,” Ortho continues. “Just to make sure that the hat was indeed the culprit.”

“Oh, right,” I snap back to reality and get up to sit by Grim and Azul.

I don’t talk much. Azul walks me through the recent changes he made to his Urza deck, but it all goes over my head. I hold Grim in my lap and give him pets. I can’t seem to find where I threw that bowler hat.

Idia eventually comes to, given a clean enough bill of health by Ortho. Azul immediately rushes to Idia’s side to apologize for baiting him by calling him a loser earlier, while also telling Idia that he will not be giving him any emotional compensation for it.

I see the way Idia looks at Azul, and I can only wonder if a quiet guy like him could ever want to be with a high octane girl like me. He smiles, and laughs, and takes Azul’s hand. I must just scare Idia. He’s never that calm with me.

It all comes back to butterflies. My heart feels like a butterfly crushed underneath a hunter’s boot.

“You alright, henchman?” Grim asks me.

“I will be,” I respond, dejected.

I get up to go get Idia a glass of water. Seven knows he needs it.

I grab a glass from the cupboard and fill it up with tap water from one of the good sinks in the dorm. I should get him a snack, too. So, I set the glass of water down on the counter and rummage around for a bag of chips or something.

I feel a low rumble, like a car driving by, only shorter. Not to mention cars don’t drive out this way. My heartbeat picks up the pace. I drop what I’m holding and look at the glass of water on the counter. There are faint ripples on what should be a still surface. There’s no way...

As the rumbles become more pronounced, the ripples do too. I start to pray that I’m wrong and that this sound of thunder is only attached to a storm, but there’s no way. There’s no way!

I race back upstairs to the others and blurt out, “There’s a t-rex coming.”

“What are you talking about, Darling?” Azul pinches the bridge of his nose.

“Do you not feel the rumbling?”

“It’s probably just a storm,” he continues.

Ortho pipes up, “According to the local weather report, it’s clear skies for the rest of the day.”

“Well,” Azul tries to save face, “there’s got to be a logical explanation for this that isn’t t-rex.”

And then a mechanized roar like something out of Transformers rocks the dorm. I look out the window.

And I see it. I see the terrible lizard king himself. I see the beast trampling through my forest. And I see it heading straight for us.

“Dammit, Doris,” I hear Idia mumble. “I just needed you to hold sewing patterns in place, not this!”

“Doris?” Grim asks, “What does that cursed hat have to do with this t-rex?”

“She told me that she had a plan if things went wrong,” he continues. “And I guess getting slammed up against a wall counts. I have no idea how she could’ve gotten a t-rex but it doesn’t surprise me that she did. I should’ve known that hat was sus.”

“You didn’t build it?” I ask him.

“I found her in one of the storage rooms. She was broken, and soaking wet, so I fixed her up.”

The t-rex has gotten closer and at this point I can now see the tiny little bowler hat on its massive reptilian head.

It roars again; an earth shattering, mechanical scream as it starts to bull rush the dorm.

I sprint across the hall, too panicked to tell the others to do the same. Thankfully, they all had the same idea I did.

From across the hall, we watch the t-rex smash a hole in the side of my guest room. Note to self: twist Crowley’s arm to make sure he repairs that.

The boys ready themselves to fight this fierce beast. As always, it’s my job to keep them on track.

Grim looks up at me, crackling with excitement. “What’s the plan, henchman?”

“Try not to kill it,” I say, “but if you must, make it instant!”

They ready their pens and start slinging as many spells necessary to take the beast down.

I was doing my part by singing “Walk the Dinosaur,” since it’s the only dinosaur song I can think of, not to mention a bop.

It was a ferocious battle, with Idia’s defense being the only thing between them and a fate similar to that of the lawyer from Jurassic Park. Azul manages to sharpshoot the bowler hat dead in its lens with a jet of water so pressurized you could powerwash the grime off of Narrishackke with it. The thing eventually roars its last as it is soon felled by my team; falling to the earth with a thunderous crash. We go out to investigate, but the hat is nowhere to be found.

I examine what I thought was a corpse of a t-rex, only to find that it’s somehow only been knocked unconscious.

Azul sees the gleam and my eyes and asks me, “Do you want me to shrink the t-rex down for you so that you can keep it as a pet?”

I nod rapidly. “I’m gonna name him Nathaniel.”

“Of course you are,” Azul sighs. “This won’t be cheap, you know.”

“I figured,” I say as I text him an IOU. “Next time I have my wallet, come talk to me.”

He nods and starts getting to work. Grim and Ortho wander off to continue looking for the hat, but I have something more important to do.

“So... Idia,” I slide up next to him, wringing my hands anxiously, “ I know you said earlier that-”

“When I had the hat on?” he cuts me off, voice pinched. “Darling, whatever I said about you when I was possessed by Doris, just, pretend I never did.”

Now’s my chance now’s my chance now’s my-

“Then, would you like to come see the ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ movie with me?” I ask him. “I originally bought two tickets, and you’re the only person I know that cares about this series as much as me.”

His hair turns bright pink tip to root. I can practically see the 404 error screen plastered on the walls of his mind right now.

“I wouldn’t want to intrude!” he finally exclaims. “You probably bought that ticket for someone else!”

“I did,” I confess. “For Grim. Because I was going to drag him along if you said no.”

“But you said you were going to get all dressed up for this.”

“Plans can change, and if we leave now we’ll arrive just in time.” I smile, extending my hand for him to take. “And I’d rather have you there than some nose and scar wax.”

He grins; nervously, excitedly, dreamily. He smells like candy. He gently takes my hand, as if I’m a Warhammer model he’s afraid of breaking or an unsleeved Black Lotus card. His hand is so soft, and warm, and wonderful. I’m holding his hand! I could cry if I wasn’t already so giddy.

I see a moth flying away in the distance towards some unknown light. I smile. The dust from the t-rex is still settling, making everything look hazy and dreamlike. And yet, I’m so lucky. Eat your heart out, Eliza! Eat your heart out, Doris! Eat your paradoxical heart out, Eckles!

The next day, Azul and I meet up to talk to Crowley about what is to be done about Narrishackke.

“Oh! So that’s what happened yesterday afternoon,” Crowley laments. “Has the press caught wind of this?”

“Not yet,” I respond, still worn out after the events of yesterday.

“We’ll leak it if you don’t answer some questions first,” Azul applies some pressure.

“Ortho did record everything,” I state.

“Fine, fine,” Crowley reclines in his office seat. “What is it you would like to ask?”

“First, where the hell were you?” I ask, doing my best to censor my language.

“Oh, well I was in my office. I initiated lockdown mode when it notified me that there was a prehistoric creature roaming the woods.” He smiles. I can feel my blood pressure spiking.

“How nice for you,” I respond, pissed.

“Next question,” Azul takes the floor. “What was that hat Idia found?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t know,” he sighs. “I would check the library or ask one of the ghosts if you really care.”

“Okay, final question,” I ready my statement, “what are you going to do about the damage Nathaniel caused to House Narrishackke?”

“Narrishackke?”

“She means the ramshackle dorm building she and Grim are living in,” Azul pipes up.

“And I named the t-rex Nathaniel,” I state proudly.

“I’ll just give you a blank check,” he says quickly, exasperated. “Aren’t I just so generous?”

I take the blank check from him, “Yeah, generous works.”

After we leave the office, Azul asks me, “So what else are you gonna charge Crowley’s card with?”

“Whatever it takes to deck out a room for Nathanial,” I beam. “And an Emrakul, the Promised End.”

“Why?” he asks me, baffled.

I smirk. “I still have to beat Idia in a game of Magic.”

#spooky chattering 2023 #twisted wonderland oc #twisted wonderland #idia shroud #twst idia #idia x reader #ortho shroud #idia fanart #azul ashengrotto #twst azul #twst oc #oc darling #oc x canon #twst ortho #twst crowley #dinosaur #twisted wonderland fanart #twisted wonderland fanfic

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astroboots · 1 year ago

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hello there, im still empty with the final chapter of eyem. i need more of cielito and miguel and i dont know what to do with my life now

still you and @thirstworldproblemss are amazing writers, you understand the character so well and you’re never out of character, always creating something new and loving

please you and @thirstworldproblemss keep writing, you’re one of the reasons i get out of my bed, and trying to improve in live. you inspire me a lot, thank you!

also, i wanted to ask something as well about red flags, another amazing fanfic, love how you developed marc’s personality, not just a grumpy man but also a lonely man without love that he deserves all the love in the world even if he doesn’t thinks he does

i love that marc was the one to fuck reader without the condom, even to willing to cum inside her

i remembered when reader wished that steven would cum inside her, to be able to feel him closely, and that was marc the one to do it, makes my heart melt with love, because he deserves to feel good, to feel save and be able to do it with the one who’ll love him forever

and it makes me think about the first time steven would cum inside her, fucking her raw, he wouldn’t be able to think about anything else but how good it feels, how good reader feels.

he would despise the idea of using condom again because now he thinks of it as a barrier that would separate him from reader, specially if, maybe, he does have a breeding kink

i would love it if you write something like that in the future, no matter if it’s a one shot or drabble, i’d love to read you vision about that idea or what you think, because you have such an amazing ability to write

again you two are amazing, every fanfic it’s like magic to me, i can believe there’s someone that makes me feel so much with their writing but you do

thank you!

Thank you lovely for this incredibly sweet and kind message.

Writing with TWP is such an absolute joy and i have said this before and will say it many times still, I love writing but writing with TWP is x10000 in terms of enjoyment and happiness. It's so nice to have someone to keep you company as you write as writing can be incredibly solitary, but with TWP I'm writing and hanging out with my best friend. It's a tonne of fun.

ALSO JESUS FUCKING CHRIST YOUR RED FLAGS ASK! the way I have read, and reread it! THe way I'm like combusting over here at that thought.

You will have both TWP and @the-ginger-hedge-witch to thank that Marc was the first to bust his nut inside, I originally wanted Steven to do the honours but TWP said in the first chapter that's a hard no!!!! then with chapter four I wanted a bareback scene and Ren absolutely vetoed it! And by then there weren't any in person sex scenes left until the final chapter with Marc, but it worked out wonderfully.

Also your suggestion of Steven's first time without condom with reader.... I HEAR YOU LOUD AND CLEAR! It's in my notebook for ideas for the White Flags sequel!! woof woof. Thank you so much for this ask lovely.

#eyem asks #💌 ask

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marinerainbow · 1 year ago

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Wheezy's face was absolutely slack, and his fingers twitched at his sides; Shiny (Scratch that, no one-) had ever seen him so beside himself as he came to the realisation that she... was the one who brought him back.

(For context this is meant to be about that idea that Shiny turned Wheezy into a ghoul ^^ But you can make it whatever you want!)

As soon as those words 'Is it even a girl??' came outta Buckman you only had one important question for him as he straightens up and immediately startles at your extremely dubious expression aimed directly at him; Because, sorry sorry, but- Would that make a difference???

(For context, again- I've been thinking a lot about that one bit in 2001 Maniacs with Lester and Jezebel, and Buckman leaning down to check if Jezebel was a female sheep- as if that would might make thus union better somehow 😂😂😂 I dunno its just so ridiculous it cracks me up XD )

Poppy absolutely positively could not feel her legs in that moment, that the Evil freaken Queen took up her paw in her hand and shook it, saying how she (Grimhilde, the Evil Freaken Queen- ) enjoyed the cartoons that she starred in years ago; All Poppy could think was that she's just as pretty in person!-

"Y/N, darlin', take me back, please cher, I- I'm begging you- one more chance; Just one more, sweetheart, I promise I wont mess it up this time." - Dr Facilier

Some random ones for you to pick from! If none of them do it for you, that's totally cool; Just giving you some options!

Aaaahhh thank you so much anon (who I totally don't know the identity of)! These prompts are absolutely amazing! I've been thinking about 1 and 3 all day honestly XD

Also, gonna go with paragraphs and not sentences again because I can't restrain myself to just five sentences. I think in general I'm just gonna go with paragraphs XD

Warnings for mentions of... Uh... Well, if you've seen 2001 Maniacs, or read the prompt, you know what's going on between Lester and poor Jezebel. I didn't direct that movie, anon and I are just making comedy from that scene. And cursing.

"You... 'Yer the one that did this to me?"

For the first time in a long time, Shiny felt the skin on her back crawl from the ice cold glare in the ghouls eyes alone. If it weren't for the fact that she could very easily make him combust if he made a move towards her, she would have been scared for her life. Not that she'd admit that out loud, "Ok, Wheeze, I know I screwed up. How 'bout we talk this out over a couple of dri-"

"Talk? You- You can't just talk this out." His tone was below freezing, and one hand at his side balled up into a fist. But he didn't take a step closer to her like she was preparing for. Instead, the other hand pointed an angry finger at the witch, "You brought me back when I was at peace! What the hell were you even tryin' t'do out there!?

"I'll tell you if you can calm yourself." The woman fired back as she got one of her personal jars and a couple of glasses out. She tried not to sound too harsh, though; she couldn't exactly blame Wheezy for freaking out over this discovery. Especially since witches usually only summoned the dead to try to use them in some way, "Look. I can assure you, I had no nefarious intentions that night. But I can't explain if you start losin' your head. So sit down, have some moonshine, and listen with your ears and not your emotions. Kay?"

Shiny kept a straight look on her face as she offered one of the glasses to him, while Wheezy continued to glare at her for a moment... There was no sign of teasing or trickery that he could see, "..."

Finally, the ghoul just grabbed the jar- not the small glass she offered- from her hand and took a good swig out of that before silently making his way to her couch. He could hear her mumble, "I guess I deserve that." Behind him, and rummage for a separate jar before following him.

(Shhhh this is totally five paragraphs. Five plus one is still five in writers world XD)

When your oh-so-beloved mayor looked at you like you just sprouted two heads, it took everything in you not to smack him upside the head when he asked innocently, "What? What'd I say, darlin'?"

"What did you- George, why would it make any difference if that poor sheep was a 'girlie'!?" You exclaimed in a huff. You've been a citizen of this town for literal centuries, witnessed many horrific jubilees all these years, yet this was possibly the most disturbing thing you've heard in a long while. Next to finding out what Harper kept under his bed, "Lester should be kept away from all our animals! No matter if they're boys or girls!"

"Hey! I ain't hurtin' Jezebel! I wouldn't even dream of it!" Lester insisted, and you couldn't help the pursing of your lips and the roll of your eyes as you slowly look towards your sweethearts' unfortunate son.

"Lester, you're the accused. Not the lawyer. You don't get to make any objections." Lester just stared at you slack jawed, looking like he was struggling to wrap his head around what you said. When he and neither of his brothers- who had just been standing back watching this shit show go down- didn't say anything, you turned back to Buckman, "Now-"

"Well, can I be my own lawyer?" And at that, you just threw your hands up and stormed off to help Boone in the kitchen. Honestly, you were this close to joining the northerners. They have made some pretty good points over the years...

Poppy's eyes were wide as she stared back up at the fellow toon- The Evil Queen! Was shopping at her store!? And she knew insignificant her!? If this was a dream, she didn't want to be woken up! Realizing she was just staring, the rabbit shook her head and hoped to god that her stutter wouldn't rear its ugly head now of all times, "Y-You are? You're a f-fan of mi- my work?? I... Wow! I-I have no idea wh-what to say! Th-Thank you so much Miss Grim- I mean my lady!"

... She must have sounded so stupid to the Queen. But if she did, the woman made no indication of that. In fact she- oh lord, was that a smirk?? She felt like she was going to faint! "There's no need for formalities. Now, would you care to assist me? I haven't been to this shop before."

Ok. If she was shot dead right now, Poppy could die happy. Grimhilde wanted her help??? "Y-Yes! I-I'm more than happy to a-assist my la- Miss Grimhilde! You mentioned y-you wanted velvet, right?"

...

Poppy had no clue how she managed to hold herself together for so long- especially since Grimhilde wanted to enquire about her previous career! But once the queen left the store, she knew she couldn't go back to her station right away. She had to tap out, "Um... H-Hannah? Could you t-take over measurements for a moment? I-I need to... F-Fetch something from the back."

Thank the lord. Her coworker was willing to help. Though that knowing look really didn't make things any better. Nevertheless, Poppy rushed to the nearest door that led to the stock room, continued on until she reached a far corner where she was certain no one would hear her... And then let out all the excited squealing she had been holding back for so long, "She knows me!!!"

You sighed as you remembered those last words from your love. The last time the two of you had spoken in a long time- if you can even call it that. You had been so enraged with Facilier that you just packed your things and left.

You couldn't believe him at first. How he took advantage of innocent people. How he trapped them to feed their souls to his friends in exchange for granting their wishes. Sometimes, in ways that they never even wanted in the first place. You knew he practiced voodoo. You knew he didn't much care for the higher class, and you did agree that they needed to be knocked down a few pegs- but not like this! Just how many lives did he ruin that had nothing to do with his position in life?

But... You miss him. Facilier wasn't just the love of your life. He was your friend. You two hadn't known each other all your lives, but you had been with each other through thick and thin within the comparatively short period you two were together. It felt like the two of you knew each other in ways nobody else on Earth could. You had let the shadow man in, and you couldn't push him out. No matter how hard you tried.

Which was what led to you here. Walking down the still familiar alleyway, passing by the still dead tree in the center of this hidden space in the city, knocking on the chipped purple door, and tearing up at the sight of your other half as he looked so shocked to see you, "Sweethe-... Y/N?"

"Hey there... Cher."

(What happens next? You decide~)

I hope you like these! I think this'll help a lot with the writers block. Thank you! ^^

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