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cintasfics · 6 months ago

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Hear Santa Barbara, I swear it's calling me

pairing: carlton lassiter x oc

summary: a private case leads the three members of psych detective agency to a nightclub, where marley goes undercover as a dancer to find out more information. the head detective at sbpd enters the same club one night following a tip called into the station and is taken aback by what he sees.

wc: 3.6k

warnings: mentions of drugs and gun violence

a/n: bruh. this is the longest thing i've ever written and i smashed it out in a couple of days. this show has sunk it's claws into me big time. also please forgive the details of the case if it makes no sense, it was the thing i struggled with the most lol

Things had been slow going at the Psych detective agency lately. The residents of Santa Barbara seemingly on their best behaviour for the past two weeks, and while one would normally appreciate a low crime rate, fake psychics with unmedicated ADHD and nothing else to keep them occupied did not share the sentiment. The lack of crime meant a lack of cases, with Chief Vick responding to all his inquiries for work with a blanket ‘if we need you, we’ll call you. Goodbye Mr. Spencer.’

But things started looking up when a young woman came by the office seeking his services, explaining that she worked at a local nightclub as a dancer but was recently blacklisted after overhearing a tense conversation between the club manager and one of the bartenders. Not only that, but she had the feeling some of her fellow dancers were involved in something sketchy. She was sure it was something illegal, but she didn’t want to go to the police out of fear of facing repercussions and getting her friends in trouble.

During a busier week, Shawn would’ve dismissed the case outright as it initially appeared to be nothing more than an employment dispute, but she was insistent that there was more to it and it piqued his interest. The allure of the club and its dancers certainly helped sway him too, and so he called a staff meeting to discuss the plan.

‘If we’re going to find out more about what’s going on in this place, we need a man on the inside.’

Though she was suspicious of where this was going, Marley conceded to his point, ‘makes sense.’

‘And because we here at Psych detective agency believe in equal opportunity employment, I’ve decided that the best man for the job, as is in many such cases, is a woman,’ this attempt at ass-kissing was accompanied by a serene smile and clasped hands, an admittedly good impression of a CEO giving a press release.

And while this would’ve been received well by investors, Marley wasn’t buying it, ‘I don’t think so.’

‘Aww come on, Marls! It’ll be fun! And I’ve seen that stripper pole in your apartment, I know you’ll do great!’

‘My unquestionable talent isn’t the issue here, there’s a reason I only dance in the privacy of my own home. No way in hell I’m getting up on a stage in front of a club full of people!’

‘Don’t be like that, I’ve seen you let loose during nights out before!’

‘When I’m more than a few drinks deep sure! But I don’t think management would appreciate me showing up to work drunk, nor would it help me effectively gather information.’

‘I don’t know,’ Gus piped up from his desk, ‘you’re a lot more charismatic and chatty when you drink, so it could work in our favour.'

‘This is true, good point, Gus! Plus I'm sure the dancers indulge at least a little, employee discounts and all that.'

Still not convinced and feeling like she was being ganged up on, she went on the offensive, ‘why do I have to do this anyway? Why can’t you guys pretend to be a bartender or a DJ or something?’

Shawn seemed to mull this idea over for a second before his eyes lit up, ‘hey that’s not a bad idea, gives us something fun- I mean, productive to do while we check the place out.’

A fanciful expression slowly came over Gus’ face, followed by a smug smirk, ‘yeah. Yeah! That could work, I was known in high school for my killer playlists so I bet I could rock a DJ gig.’

‘Dude what? No,’ came Shawn's indignant reply, like the mere idea had insulted him, ‘people loved my playlists in high school, if anyone’s going to be the DJ it’s going to be me!’

‘You’re dreaming, Shawn! It’s not just high school either, my Spotify playlists get a ton of views and likes! Not to mention all the followers I have because they just can’t get enough of me!’

‘That’s only because I use your account so all my playlists are under your name, they’re all there for me not you!’

‘What do you mean you use my account? I’m the only one paying for it!’

Realising that this was going nowhere and they could be here all day if she didn’t intervene, Marley begrudgingly conceded to the plan.

‘Ugh! Fine! But if I’m doing this, I get a bigger commission because I’m doing a lot of legwork here!’

Pleased to hear this, not only because she agreed to his plan but also because her loud concession distracted Gus from his treachery, Shawn immediately turned his attention back to her.

‘Not to mention armwork, you know, because of the pole-‘

‘Shut up, Shawn.’

~}i{~

In order to prepare for going undercover, Marley met up with the client to get some advice and background information on the club and its staff. She wasn’t a real nightclub person so it took a bit of coaching to be able to act the part and maintain it for the duration of her shift, but the clients help was invaluable and with the added bonus of a fake resume, she quickly got the job.

The mid-morning peace of the Psych office the morning after her club debut was disturbed by the sound of the front door opening. The two men sitting inside raised their heads from their phones to see Marley enter the room nursing a cup of coffee with her eyes hidden behind her sunglasses.

‘Well, if it isn’t our own little Dita Von Tease! We were wondering when you’d roll in!’

Shawn’s boisterous greeting was met with a wince and a hiss that made Gus think of a vampire braving the light of day after a deep sleep, though he knew better than to voice that comparison. Marley could be downright scary when irritated.

‘Please lower your voice, I’m still waking up,’ Marley hissed, hoping for some grace.

‘Sorry,’ Shawn, having the same fear instilled in him, lowered his voice, ‘I’m just excited to hear how your first night went.’

She took a moment to situate herself on the couch by the window before responding.

'It went alright, the other girls were welcoming enough but I didn't get a chance to really talk to any of them,’ she paused to take a sip of her coffee, ‘but I did overhear one of the girls, Amber, having a pretty intense phone call. I asked another girl if she knew anything about it out of ‘concern’ and she said that Amber had a knack for getting herself in to trouble, always managing to find the wrong crowd, but that this was the worse she’d seen her.’

Gus, feeling it was safe to speak up now she had comfortably situated herself, asked the next question, ‘What was the phone call about?’

‘From what I could gather it sounded like she had some bad debts but that she had a plan to pay them back.’

Shawn and Gus shared a knowing nod and a pensive look, ‘they always do, but it rarely works out well.’

‘Kasey, one of the bottle girls, also let it slip that the relationship between Amber and Cole, one of the bartenders, is less than strictly professional.'

‘Oooh, scandalous~’ chimed in Shawn with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

‘But it’s still sounding like a case of a toxic work environment and personal dramas, which isn’t great but it’s not a crime,’ came Gus’ assessment.

‘Hmm, I don’t know,’ part of her agreed with Gus, but she just had a funny feeling about it all, ‘I mean that’s probably the case, but I think I’m gonna stick around for a bit longer, something doesn’t feel right. Maybe having you guys there as an extra set of eyes would help too.’

‘Hey, Marley, it’s okay,’ she turned to Shawn, drawn in by his serious tone, ‘if you’re really liking this job there’s no shame in admitting it. I’m sure you could cut back on your hours at the hospital, or split your night shifts between there and the club if you really wanted to.’

Tired from the late night and lacking the energy to berate him, Marley simply grabbed one of the throw pillows off the couch and spiked it at his head.

~}i{~

‘God I hate places like this.’

‘Are there any places you do like? And remember to keep a low profile, the chief isn’t sure if there’s anything to this tip suggesting suspicious activity but we’re better off just hanging back and seeing what we can find.'

‘I don’t need you telling me how to do my job, O’Hara.’

‘I’m not telling you how to do your job I’m just- Listen. Why don’t we just go over to the bar and see what we can get off the bartender?’

‘Fine by me.’

Juliet led the way to the bar, with Lassiter following close behind her trying to avoid the sea of dancers around them.

‘You’d think a place like this would be a fire hazard with the amount of people-‘ Lassiter’s tirade was cut short when Juliet came to a sudden stop in front of him, causing him to crash into her.

His demand to know what the hold-up was died in his throat at Juliet's bewildered words.

‘Is that Marley?’

‘Huh? Where?’

Lassiter quickly looked around, trying to spot the woman who had recently taken up a sizeable piece of real estate in his brain, though it would take an immense amount of torture to get him to admit it.

‘Over there, on the raised platform!’ she shouted over her shoulder, raising her voice both to be heard over the music and in disbelief.

Lassiter followed her direction and his mouth went dry.

There, on the raised platform just as his partner had said, was Marley. Though it took a second for his brain to process it was really her as she had just dipped into an inverted position on the chrome pole in the centre of the platform.

As she spun around and returned to an upright position, he was able to appreciate the sparkly little number she had on, the black fringe mesmerising and the glossy platform heels making her legs appear to go on forever, maybe even making them an equal height for once. Not that he minds her short stature, if he gave it more than a moments thought he might even realise that he found it cute. And though it would be nice to be a bit closer to her lips (just the thought of leaning down to reach is enough to make his back ache), the smile that graces them as she looks up at him from beneath her eyelashes makes the phantom pain truly non-existent. Plus, he’d be lying if he said he didn’t have thoughts of sweeping her up off her feet, a small thing like her would probably fit in his pocket, his to protect, to cherish and keep to himself-

‘Carlton!’

He was pulled from his train of thought by his first name, which is used sparingly enough to succeed in getting his attention when Juliet's repeated calls of ‘Lassiter’ failed.

He blinked a few times in quick succession to clear his mind and pursed his lips to try and regain some composure before responding, unsure if his mouth had been hanging open like some simpleton.

‘Yes?’

He was so focused on appearing composed that he didn’t notice the knowing smile on his partners lips.

‘I was just saying that knowing our track record, if one of the three musketeers is here then the other two can’t be far behind. I’m sure it’s no coincidence we’re both at a place of interest, and I doubt Marley would work at a place like this otherwise,’ her words were tinged with amusement, both at Lassiter’s reaction to seeing their friend/colleague dancing on the small stage, and at the feeling that once they ran into her accomplices the night would become a lot more interesting.

Her words made perfect sense to Lassiter, but he couldn’t help but think she belonged up there. Maybe in another life, if nursing didn't work out. Or is this how she paid off her student debt? He knew she worked while she attended university but he would've remembered if she ever mentioned that this was what she did. This plus the fact that if he’d never seen her here, the thought never would have crossed his mind because it seemed so out of character for the usually reserved woman.

Feeling he was beginning to get lost in his thoughts again, he shook his head and turned his back to the stage (as much as it pained him) to gather them.

‘You’re right, the tweedles have to be here somewhere sticking their noses where they don’t belong.'

Keeping an eye out for the troublesome duo (and as much as one on Marley as he could afford to without failing back into his previous train of thought), the detectives continued on their way to the bar. Though their search for the psychic and his assistant didn’t take long when they finally flagged down the bartender and were met with Gus’ friendly face.

‘Evening, what can I get y’all?’

His smile was so disarming and he played the part of a stranger so well that it took them both a second to react.

‘Gus?’

‘Guster?!’

The joint exclamations of his name seemed to snap Gus out of character and he immediately started fidgeting with a glass, knowing the jig was up, ‘uhh, h-hey guys! Fancy seeing you here, small world huh?’

Feeling a headache coming on the closer he got to Spencer, Lassiter rubbed his eyes and ground out ‘yeah, tiny.’

Torn between exasperation and amusement, not expecting to run into one of the guys so quickly, Juliet took the lead, ‘what are you doing here, Gus?’

‘Well, I figured with the rising cost of living it wouldn’t hurt to get a second job- third job, really- hard to believe the state of the economy nowadays, huh? Anyway, you two have fun and I’ll see you at the station the next time we get called in,’ trying his best not to act suspicious or give up the real reason he was here, Gus turned away intending to serve a club-goer on the other side of the bar where the duties of his job would keep him safe from the detectives’ questions.

‘Hold it!’

If only he could be so lucky.

The emotional rollercoaster this night was turning out to be relieved Lassiter of the last thread of his patience, ‘you expect us to believe that? That you and Marley just happen to both suddenly be working at a nightclub with reports of suspicious activity? Fat chance! Now where the hell is Spencer, I know he’s here somewhere!’

Gus tried one last Hail Mary, the ever-reliable act of playing dumb.

‘Wait, Marley’s here too?’

The glare he received from Lassiter was enough to change his tune.

‘Right, sorry. Last I saw Shawn he was leaving the DJ booth, in the middle of his set I might add, which if I got to be the DJ like I wanted to I would never do,’ the last part was laced with bitterness and the smug assurance that he would’ve remained professional where Shawn did not, but Juliet chose to ignore it, focusing on the matter at hand.

‘Which way did he go?’

‘Off to the left, through the employee only door, he might’ve been following someone but I’m not sure.’

‘Right, thanks Gus.’

Leaving the pseudo-bartender to his devices, Lassiter led the way to the door off to the side of the large room marked ‘employees only’, determined to figure out just what the hell was going on here.

~}i{~

The club was evacuated following some gunshots coming from the backrooms, with police cars arriving quickly outside. Having been a few days since the trio were first given the case, tensions within the club had finally risen enough to come to a head.

Not long after the two detectives made their way into the employee only section, they came across Shawn in the middle of a confrontation involving Amber, Cole, the manager, and a local drug supplier.

In his usual dramatic fashion, Shawn explained the situation to the detectives, telling them how Amber had fallen into some bad debts and went to her manager, a close friend of hers, for help. Having romantic feelings for the girl, the manager was quick to do whatever she asked, and with his connections from his time at the club, he worked out a deal to move some product through the place in order to ease her debts.

Cole, the bartender and Amber’s boyfriend, started catching on to the fact that something was up between the two, and feeling scorned, he called in a tip to the police station, hoping the cops would take care of the situation for him by punishing the both of them. The couples bad luck continued though, with the supplier becoming unhappy with the small amount of drugs being sold and coming down himself to see what the issue was. He, like the detectives, entered upon a tense situation, with the three employees having a shouting match.

The gunshots came when Cole lost his temper, blaming their manager for the trouble Amber was in, as well as the jealousy he felt, and attacked him. Not being in his right mind, the bullets missed their target and he was quickly subdued and all four of them taken into custody.

~}i{~

Having been corralled outside with the crowd, Marley missed the excitement and the big resolution of the case. She was standing on the sidewalk hugging her arms to her chest, trying to fight off the chill in the air while waiting to hear from the others, when she suddenly felt a piece of fabric fall over her shoulders. She clutched at the warm material to find a large suit jacket, a familiar scent filling her nose and its owner moving to stand beside her.

'Here. Don't want you to catch a cold,' he tried to play it cool, but there was an undeniable softness in the detective’s voice.

Though she shouldn’t be considering the situation, she was surprised by Lassiter’s sudden presence.

'Thanks, Lassie,' the small act of kindness as well as his close proximity warmed her better than the jacket ever could, 'my clothes are in the dressing room but I wasn't sure if I was good to go back inside yet.’

‘Well, we’ve apprehended the shooter and the three other people involved, but the rest of the staff will need to be questioned.’

‘Me included?’

‘The more information the better, but I can take your statement while you get your stuff.’

‘Thanks, Lassie,’ she thanked him again, knowing that the sooner she got her stuff the sooner she could leave and head home, ‘I appreciate it.’

He held out his arm for her to take, and seeing her raised eyebrow and silent question, explained the gesture, ‘the last thing we need is you tripping over in those heels and eating pavement on the way to the dressing room. I don’t really want to have to call for a medic on top of everything else,’ he gave the heeled boots in question a pointed look, appreciating her bare legs as his gaze travelled downwards.

He was right, by the way. The heels did bring them closer together in height. But what he didn’t anticipate with the change in height was the new details of her face it revealed to him. Her eyes weren’t just a deep brown, but contained different shades, like the bark of a strong tree that was hidden deep inside a forest, with sunlight shifting through the trees to highlight the different grooves and hidden shades. He also noticed for the first time the faint freckles smattered across her nose and cheeks.

Her airy laughter and warm grip on his forearm brought him back from another rogue train of thought, managing to catch it before it went completely off the rails.

‘God what is going on with me tonight?’

He cleared his throat and started to lead her back inside the club, hoping that his sanity would return once she was out of his coat, into her own clothes, and on her way home.

‘I don’t even know how you manage to dance in those things.’

His comment brought a blush to her cheeks, turning her gaze to the ground under the guise of watching where she was stepping, her words coming out with a shy laugh, ‘you saw that did you?’

‘Only a bit of it,’ he tried to hide how taken he was by the display by faking a tone of nonchalance, ‘my attention quickly turned to Guster behind the bar.’

‘Oh God, don’t even start on that,’ her embarrassment was quickly forgotten as she rolled her eyes at the mention of her friend and his assigned role, ‘who got to do what was a big fight between the two, I gave up trying to mediate as soon as it started getting physical. Honestly, it was like watching two children have a slap fight.’

The charged air between them cleared as Marley recounted the childish squabble between Gus and Shawn over who got to play the coveted role of DJ, her fondness for the two idiots evident in her voice.

A smile made it’s way onto the detectives face as he listened to her talk, and he spent the rest of the night basking in the faint scent she had left on his jacket.

#i hope people enjoy this i'm so proud of it #carlton lassiter x oc #carlton lassiter fic #psych #psych x oc #psych fic #marley williams #mine

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kbsd · 8 months ago

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when a lovely flame dies, smoke gets in your eyes

OR: what were we supposed to take away from episode 4 if not ‘bucky is a war widow’

#masters of the air #mota #motaedit #hbowaredit #bucky egan #john egan #clegan #like it's genuinely a 1:1 parallel and i'm NOT supposed to read bucky in ep4 as a grieving widow???#this kind of also turned into a rumination on how willfully optimistic bucky is that they'll both make it through the war #(he has no other choice. his heart couldn't take another—)#hence the titular smoke getting in his eyes. you understand #he's blinded by love and then by rage. and i adore him #this ended up being more of a video essay than an amv so i hope people enjoy it!!#i had a really good time making it and i'm really proud :')#particularly the sequence of him seeing the bomb in london -> seeing the bomb in germany -> the sunset in algiers #also clearly continuing my mission of making mota amvs to big band / jazz :)))#ANYWAY.#kbsd.amv #kbsd.hbow #40sjukebox

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dazais-guardian-angel · 6 months ago

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Dazai Osamu and the Dark Era: the visual novel (a fan project)

On a whim, I've decided to finally just publicly release this project that I've had laying around for two years at this point, for Dazai's birthday today. It was originally made for my very dear friend @letmereachforthestars , when I first introduced her to the series and wanted her to be able to read my favorite BSD light novel in an easier-to-read format. You need a computer to be able to play. The details and links are under the cut:

If you've never played a visual novel before, it's basically a novel in the form of a video game. Text will appear line by line, one a time on the screen, and it will be accompanied by relevant background visuals, music, and sound effects, to make the reading experience more immersive, and more stimulating than just reading from a book. Some visual novels have actual gameplay elements to them, and some are just books and nothing else (oftentimes dating sims/choose-your-own-adventure novels), the latter of which this is. If you've played the mobile game Bungou Tales/Mayoi, the story sections of that game are basically mini visual novels.

This game was made with screenshots and music from the anime, sound effects from the anime and Bungou Tales and free sound effect online sources, as well as graphics and fonts and other assets from Bungou Tales and other official BSD art (particularly the official anime soundtrack cd covers). The script is taken entirely from the official Yen Press translation of Dark Era, with the exception of about two or three iconic lines that I used different translations of because I felt like they had more impact. Additionally, at the very, very end, I added on the original ending scene from the Dark Era stage play and wrote a few fanfic lines of my own to accompany it you can tell because they are very cringe and don't match Asagiri's writing style.

Before playing the game, there are a few very important things to keep in mind; PLEASE read all this:

I am not a professional in the slightest. I took some coding classes in high school, and have some photoshop skills (when it comes to the design elements of the menus), but for the most part the former wasn't much help here; this was my very first time ever using the Renpy engine, and I made this entirely from scratch. I used my knowledge of playing other visual novels to emulate the kinds of effects and timing that is typical for these games, and I think it turned out pretty well all things considered, but it's still very amateur. This is most evident in the sound effects. The sound effects have no volume consistency between them, and some of them, particularly the gun/battle sfx, can come on very suddenly and be loud. I highly, HIGHLY encourage going into the settings and turning down the sound effects volume (the music should be fine), so that you're not startled by certain sounds when they happen, and for a lengthy time. I wouldn't blame you if you decide to turn the sfx off entirely if's too distracting, honestly 🫠 I am no expert in sound files equalizing and making sound files loop seamlessly, so this was by far the most tedious and frustrating part of the process of making this for me. Hopefully it doesn't ruin the game or break immersion too much if you decide to leave them on (I hope you do, for the rain and clock sounds at least, but again I wouldn't blame you if you can't).

Dark Era is the most faithful light novel adaptation in the anime, but there are still a handful of scenes, mostly fight scenes, that got shaved down significantly. Because of this, there are numerous occasions where I had to simply linger on a black screen or the same screenshot for a long period of time, while tons and tons of narration happens, because there's simply nothing I can show to accompany said narration. This is not ideal, but unfortunately I didn't have much else of a choice in those instances, so I hope it's not too distracting. There are also a few instances of straight-up inconsistencies between the novel and the anime (ex. the fight between Oda and Akutagawa happens in the woods in the novel, but in the anime it's still right outside the art museum), so sometimes what you're reading won't quite match the screenshots I use. Fortunately it's never anything major, but it does happen.

There will sometimes be long, unchanging black screens. Don't worry, the game isn't broken; just wait long enough and it will continue.

Sometimes, a character will get cut off when speaking, and when that happens the dialogue will auto-force to the next line. If you didn't get a chance to see what was said before, check the text backlog/history (in the menu or the H key).

Last but not least, this game was made with the default text speed in mind. Meaning, that when it comes to certain specific scenes, the mood/tone of them, made up of the timing of music, transitions, sound effects, etc, all of it was arranged around the speed at which things progress when using the default text speed. I completely understand if you can't, but if at all possible, please try not to change the text to go too much faster or slower, especially faster, because certain scenes will lose a lot of impact otherwise. If you already know Dark Era, you probably have an idea of some of the scenes I'm referring to. At the very least, during the more high-stakes/intense scenes, please try to play through those all at once without stopping, for the greatest impact based on how I designed the game, and only pause/quit during the slower scenes. There are specific moments that I'm really proud of how they came out, and I'd like for them to have the maximum impact that I intended :') (also note that if you make the text appear instantly, the cut-off dialogue mentioned above simply will not appear at all, and you won't even know to look back for them, so please refrain from making the text instant at the very least)

Ignore the cringe sappy final message

...I think that's everything. With all that out of the way, here are the links for both PC and Mac:

Download the PC version

Download the Mac version

This was a passion project for me for a good many months back in 2022. It started out just as a gift for my friend, but in the end I was really satisfied with how it turned out, despite how tedious and frustrating it was to work on. I've been hesitant to share it with the fandom for all this time because I kinda doubt anyone would really be interested in something like this especially since it's not stormbringer or beast, but someone on discord who tried it told me that I should share it, so here it is. I'm sharing it not just because I'm proud of my work, but because Dark Era is a truly amazing light novel — underrated, in my opinion (yes, I said what I said) — and far better than the anime adaptation, as good as that is, and I want more people to read it. If reading the books is hard for you and you've never read Dark Era before, if I can help just one more person to read it with this, I'll be happy, and consider my job done. 💖

I so desperately want to make more of these visual novels for the other light novels, but sadly, some of them simply aren't possible thanks to how many scenes are missing from the anime, like with Entrance Exam in particular. I've also been waiting with vain, thin hope that Bungou Tales will eventually reach seasons 3 and 4, so I can use their Fifteen and Untold Origins title screens like I did here, if those ever exist. However, I'm also held back thinking about certain scenes that would require some redrawing/drawing additional details to match what's written in the novels. If anyone has any ideas on things I could do to possibly get around these issues, or just thoughts in general about how the other light novels might be tackled, or if you're an artist who can recreate the anime's style and takes commissions/knows someone who does, I'd absolutely love to hear from you! As well as any advice/help on how I can smooth out/improve this project here!

Anyway, sorry for the long wall of text. Thank you for reading all this, if you did, and if you do try the game, please let me know your thoughts; I crave any and all feedback. 💙✨

#bungou stray dogs #bsd #dazai osamu #osamu dazai and the dark era #dazai osamu and the dark era #stomach is turning upside down as i post this OTLLLLLLLLL #not ready for it to get absolutely no attention just like i expected lmfao #can you blame me for waiting so long :' )#if even just one person plays it and enjoys it though........ just one........ i will love you #it's really amateur and rough but i'm really proud of it still orzzzzz #i hope the love comes through....... i just want more people to love and appreciate dark era....... and oda and dazai and ango......... :'

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birchbow · 8 days ago

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Chapters: 1/17 Rating: Mature Relationships: Gamzee Makara & Karkat Vantas, Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas, Minor or Background Relationship(s) Characters: Karkat Vantas, Gamzee Makara, Lord English (Homestuck), Doc Scratch (Homestuck), Homestuck Ensemble, Calliope (Homestuck), The Felt (Homestuck), It's really a 'everybody is around doing things' fic I genuinely don't know how to tag this Additional Tags: Winter Soldier Pastiche, with everything that entails so read carefully!, Humanstuck, Urban Fantasy, Home-Brew Magic System Shit Don't @ Me, Time Shenanigans, Karkat Vantas Makes Bad Decisions This Is A Forewarning, Polyamory Negotiations, Hurt/Comfort, Lord English's Fun-Time Brainwashing Time-Travel Torture Gang, Aftermath Of...... Everything....., Past Torture, (physical/psychological/spiritual/emotional--largely inexplicit but not entirely), Past Brainwashing, Possession, implied/referenced past rape/non-con, (implied sexually as well but only shown in nonsexual Cal-flavored intimacy/tenderness), God Finds It Funny To Hurt You But He Also Won't Let You Die, Let's be real: plotty gamzee whump with a, Happy Ending

Summary:

Your name is Karkat Vantas. You've got a vigilante team of freaks and weirdos to run, and a city to protect, and a long-dead crab-god under your skin, and a ring on a chain around your neck, and an axe to grind with Alternia City's most infamous gang. You're going to hunt the Scratch down, come hell or high water, and make them pay. And whoever their new pet murderer is, he's not going to stop you.

AKA Winter Soldier Gamkar Fic, Work of Many Decades, Pride and Joy!!!!!! This is for the folks who have consistently matched my clown-related freak all this time! I love you!! Mind the tags but also enjoy!!!

#Homestuck #Gamzee Makara #Karkat Vantas #Miracrails #gamkar #Genuinely SUCH a hard fic to character tag. All of them. We got all of them in there lol #Well no the ancestors are only sort of featured I guess which is a funny exclusion considering I usually find a way to shoehorn them in #Anyway in case anybody was wondering what I've been working on. It's been this pretty much exclusively lol #I'm so very proud of it!!! and I hope y'all like it UoU #Clown Whump on display at local fanfiction archive site! People who enjoy that sort of thing ''very excited''.#I mean I hope so at least the amount of work I put into any given fic is directly proportionate to the amount of dread I feel posting it :

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three-headed-monster · 2 months ago

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we're already wet (and we're gonna go swimming)

Luke fucking hates My Tie.

or, a back-door luke hughes character study

#HAPPY HUGHESBOWL EVERYONE #she's finally here and she's PERFECT god i hope you all enjoy her #a little light 70k pre-game reading for you #this is my baby i'm so proud of her please love her as much as i do #let me know too if i missed a tag you think should be there or a pairing or whatever!#always open to talking about her #i think she's really the first in a line of things to come :)))#luke hughes #brandt clarke #brandt/luke #my fic #writing #hrpf #hockey rpf #my tie fic #scheduled #ok logging off now cause i'm tired and also cause it'll make me nervous thinking about what people have to say about her

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georgiacooked · 2 months ago

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My excitement for Tuesday is matched only by my terror for Tuesday.

#I really hope you all enjoy Holmwood #I hope it's a good spooky time #I can't believe we sat down and made a thing and people agreed to help us #I'm so proud of our VAs and our crew

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basket-of-cats-and-witches · 3 months ago

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Grief

Buckle down, this is a heavy one. I enjoy causing myself emotional pain, and this hurt/comfort fic is definitely it.

Featuring pre-relationship! Sylus and my OC Kit, regarding her past relationship with Caleb, her ex. Kit is NOT the MC (although Kiri, mentioned in this fic, is), but she is an assassin and Sylus's second in command. Ironically, this was established for me before I knew there were "assassin second in command" fics around.

Trigger warnings for this one: Grief, workplace abuse (not Onychinus, briefly mentioned in non-explicit detail), unintentional physical altercations, lack of eating due to grief. This is addressed and resolved in fic.

If you enjoyed this fic, please consider giving it a like or a reblog! It lets me know people like what I'm doing and encourages me to continue writing!

🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛

The phone hits the floor, its screen shattering.

Kit is soon to follow, her knees giving out beneath her. She can hear Luke and Kieran speaking urgently to her, a voice on the other end of the call crackling out from the speaker, but it's all underwater. Muffled sound that should be words is nothing compared to the heart-rending cry that rips from her throat.

“No. No! Caleb!”

Kit doesn't leave her room for three days.

Later, she'll learn that no one thought to call her. The one who finally asked is River, part of the high school/university friend group who had witnessed the beginning and inevitable end of her relationship.

He's the one who broke the news.

Kit doesn't remember much from those three days. She doesn't eat, barely sleeps, and spends most of her time curled up in her lofted space in Onychinus's attic.

She's there when Sylus finally intervenes.

A hot cup of cocoa is put into her hands, its heat startling her enough to make her look up. Sylus's expression is inscrutable, and if she wasn't in shock, she'd have laughed at the way he's bent forward to avoid the low ceiling.

“Drink,” he says firmly. It's an order, not a request.

Kit’s lips touch the edge of the mug, the sweet aroma curling around her. Her mouth trembles, and her stomach twists. As if accepting bodily functions is a cruel smack against her grief.

A reminder that she is alive, and Caleb is not.

Sylus crouches in front of her. His gaze is steady as he waits. A single pale eyebrow raises in disapproval.

“Are you going to disobey?”

She tilts the mug, sweet chocolate coating her tongue, sugar forcing her back to reality.

Tears sting her eyes, and Kit begins to shake.

Sylus takes the mug. He sets it on a side table as she begins to lurch forward, drawing her into his arms.

He holds her tightly as she sobs, shattering apart once more.

At some point, her tears dry up, whether she wants them to or not. Sylus holds out a tissue, although she's not sure where he got the box.

“I got snot all over you,” are the first words out of her mouth.

Sylus snorts. “I know. That's what happens when you bottle things up, kitten.”

Kit closes her eyes tightly. “Not now,” she whispers. He hums a query, and she shakes her head. “I can't- not that one, Sylus.” She chokes up, unaware of the way his eyes widen at the first willing use of his name. “Cay- Caleb is the one who nicknamed me. When we were young. I told him I hated being called Camilla, and he told me that I reminded him more of a cat than a flower. He's the reason I started going by Kitty, and later…” she blew her nose, trying to fight off another wave of sobs. “And later, Kit. He called me Kitty-cat.”

A gentle hand grazes her cheekbone, brushing at the corner of her eye. She opens them to see Sylus’s expression. It's softer than she's ever seen it.

“Okay, sweetie,” he replies soothingly. “I won't use it.”

Kit leans into his touch, into the warmth of his palm, until he's cupping the side of her face. “Not forever,” she whispers. “I like it when you call me that. Just not right now.”

“He meant a lot to you,” Sylus says. It's a question as much as it is a statement, his hand staying in place where she needs it most. The point of contact feels grounding.

Kit nods. “My best friend, the Hunter who's recovering from the explosion, grew up with him like I did. The three of us were thick as thieves.” She laughs bitterly, staring out the attic window into the dark night.

“Everyone had their expectations, I suppose. They all expected Caleb and I would get together. Our feelings never really mattered, our families pushed us into it. His grandma and my father always seemed to have their heads together, as if they were planning our wedding.”

There's an odd flash of something on Sylus's face, something she can't quite discern. Still, he continues to listen. “Did you…have feelings, then?” He asks carefully.

She reaches over and takes the mug. It's lukewarm now, but she doesn't care. It gives her something to hold onto besides him.

“As I said,” Kit continues. “It never really mattered. Caleb and I were pushed together, like dolls in a dollhouse. We started dating in our first year of high school. It continued until…you know. When I was forced into this life.

I think Caleb knew that something was wrong, but by then we'd graduated, and our relationship began to crumble. My dad retired and fucked off on a trip round the globe, and without that constant parental pressure…” Kit sighs. “It was only right before he left for the academy that I realized I'd fallen in love with him somewhere along the way. I…never did learn if he felt the same way.”

“You can't be serious,” she'd said. Caleb sighs, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

“I am. Sorry, Kitty-cat. I'll be staying at Grandma's until I leave for the academy. Her health’s declining, and Kiri has finals. Someone's got to watch over her.”

“But you don't want me there,” Kit says. She watches the line of his shoulders tense, his hand flexing against the leather handle.

Caleb doesn't look back. “No. I don't. I'll make up some excuse, tell her you're off doing important things.”

“Why?” She goes to move closer, wincing as her stitches pull. Her last job ended poorly, and she'd suffered quite the punishment as a result.

Thankfully, Caleb doesn't see her pain.

He sighs. “Because…she thinks that we're happy. It's her wish, you know. That you and I end up together.”

That hurts more than the cut on her side. “But you don't want us together. Is that it? Are you…” she hesitates, and pushes through. “Are you happy, Cay? With us?”

He reaches out for the door handle. “We'll talk about it when I get back.”

This time, she lunges forward, grabbing the back of his jacket. “When? When you get back from the Academy? Caleb!”

Finally, that gets a reaction out of him. He yanks away, and it sends her to the floor. Kit gasps sharply, black spots dancing across her vision.

Instantly, he whirls, crouching. Caleb’s expression is full of concern, torn between staying and going. “Shit, are you alright? I didn't mean- Camilla, I'm-” He reaches out, and she flinches. It's instinctual.

It's the first time she's ever seen him heartbroken.

“I'm sorry,” he whispers. “I'll leave.” Caleb rises to his feet.

“Caleb, wait-!” She reaches out, but the door’s already clicked shut behind him, and she hears his footsteps pounding down the outside stairs out of their apartment.

For a long time, she sits there. Her question rings over and over again in her head.

'“Are you happy, Caleb?”'

As the sun sets, the last beams of sunlight struggling through the blinds into the living room, Kit makes up her mind.

By the time night comes, all that remains in the apartment are memories left behind and a letter on his pillow, weighed down by a watch she'd intended to gift him for their anniversary, three days away.

Sylus's hands settle over hers on the mug, drawing her out of memories. “We all have regrets,” he says gently. “What's important is that you live on despite them.”

Kit frowns at that. “How cruel to say that to someone who's grieving.”

He squeezes her hands. “I'd rather be cruel than watch you waste away.” Sylus's tone is firm and reprimanding. “I know it hurts. Believe me, I know. But you have to eat. You have to drink. You have to take care of yourself, ki- sweetie. There are living people who care about you.” Sylus cups her face, making her look up at him. Their eyes meet.

Not for the first time, she feels her heart stutter at the intensity of his gaze, and a sharp pang of guilt accompanies it.

“If you can't find a reason to live without him,” he says, an odd bitterness to his voice, “then live because I forced you to. Make me the bad guy. Scream and fight against me, and hate me for it, as long as it gets you to keep going.”

“I could never hate you,” Kit whispers. Her lips tremble as she tries to hold back her tears. His expression is too open, too raw, as if he's showing her something she's not ready to see. She closes her eyes against it, pressing her face into his palms once more. “I just feel so guilty. Like the story of me and him has finished but someone ripped out pages, so I only got to read the very end.”

“Then write a new one with us,” Sylus replies. “That story’s ended, but it doesn't mean you have to. Don't let grief rot you. If he was anything good for you, he wouldn't have wanted that. And neither do I.”

“And neither do we!” The sound of the twins’ voices startles them both, and Kit looks over her shoulder over the edge of the loft. Luke and Kieran stand below, holding a tray of food. Steam rises up, and the accompanying smell makes her stomach growl loudly.

She blushes.

Sylus sighs exasperatedly. “This was supposed to be a private conversation,” he drawls.

“You were taking too long,” Luke throws back at him. “The food was going to get cold.” Kieran nods in agreement.

Kit and Sylus exchange glances, and he squeezes her cheeks until she squawks offendedly, batting his hands away. His eyes are warm, like melted cherry candy. “Come on, sweetie,” he says softly. “Let's eat.”

Kit looks at them all. Her Mischief and Mayhem, down below.

Sylus, her boss, who seems to always cut through her armor to reveal her tender heart.

She sighs in defeat.

“Alright. Let's eat.”

#my writing #love and deepspace #lnds sylus x oc #love and deepspace sylus #kit for oc tagging #lnds sylus #previous Caleb x OC #hurt/comfort #this one's a doozy folks #I'm really proud of this one so I hope people like it #I might write a follow-up from Caleb's POV the evening he left >:3 because I enjoy angst #and also I think Kiri would've torn him a new one for doing that to Kit #when your foster brother is dating your best friend and he's in “unrequited” love with his girlfriend

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