#i know i misspelled sequel okay

[theaxolotlkween]

In honour of @ranboolivesaysstuff releasing Generation Loss, I started this a bit after the ending as a sequel to this, left it to rot in my unfinished drafts for the entire month, and then finally finished it today.

[kaciebello]

Not even the addressee

Masterlist Badger express ★ Theodore Nott x Hufflepuff ! reader (fem) Summary: When Theodore's name gets misspelled he's not happy about it.  Warnings: no use of y/n, cigerets Authors note: Haiya! This is a sequel series to the whole delivery one. This one is gonna focus on the boys separately! hope you enjoy it! English is not my first language, so I apologize for any mistakes beforehand. Proofread by me and me only (Ｔ▽Ｔ) word count: 1.1k Song: Up to You - PRETTYMUCH, NCT Dream

Mr Theodore Nott was one of his kind. Or he liked to think so, when one of the Ravenclaw girls could not remember his name he was baffled. How dare she. She went through his whole friend group before she came to something resembling his name. He would understand if he was some kind of low-muggle-born. But he was part of what was essentially a royalty. Now, it did occur to him that she might have done it intentionally. He is not dumb, he very much knows all the mind tricks and hacks. And although it was supposed to get his yearning to make her remember his name, he was just mad. Mad is not enghou, he was pissed.

Sitting down and zoned out, he kept playing with the note in his hand. He did not even notice the Hufflepuff girl standing before him with a concerned look. He registered her only when she waved her hand in front of him. He jumped a bit and looked at her. Her yellow bow adorned her hair. Her usual uniform was covered in a long fluffy yellow sweater. Her arms were now retracted to her body.

It was not unusual to see her in the Slytherin common room. He wouldn't even bat an eye if he saw her in the boy's bathroom, or the chamber of secrets. To see her in his room was questionable. He may have asked a question, be it not his mood right now. He was just going to assume she was here to get something for Enzo.

“You okay?” She asked, still a bit startled by his quick movements. He just sighs and reaches over to his bedside table for a pack of cigarettes. He lights one up and offers the other one to her. The girl declines and waves her hand around to get the smoke away from her face. He shrugs and puts them into his pocket. He exhales the smoke and stares at the wall for a minute before speaking.

“You know my name right?” The girl looks at him even more puzzled. Of course, she knew his name, they had been friends for a few months now. Granted sometimes she calls him Theo and both he and Mattheo turn around, but that hardly seems like her fault. She was hesitant to answer.

“Have you changed it?” She asks. She does not mean to offend him if he perhaps decides to go by Denim or something like that. He just gives her a side eye before getting up to fetch the ashtray. She took a few tiny steps to get out of his way. When he passed her back, he gave her the note. She took a look at it. It was a love note alright, Theodore's name was misspelled in all the ways possible. Not even his last name was spelled right, missing one t at the end. The girl was starting to frown and Theodore could see she was getting mad. Finally, someone who understood him.

“Oh hell no!” She yelped. Theodores smiled in bliss, he knew he could count on the Hufflepuffs when it came to empathy. She took a few steps to him and grabbed his face so he could look at her. 

“Who gave you this and how dare they steal my business.” His smile instantly dropped. She was mad but not for the same reason. looking up at her caged in her arms. For a second he thought it didn't matter if she did not know his name. But then he remembered that the Ravenclaw girls pretended to not know and he was pissed again.

“Is that what you're mad about?”

“YES!? What else?

“LOOK AT MY NAME!” Her eyebrows scrunched together and she took another look at the note. She read his name over and over again. Deep down she knew it was supposed to be his name, but it looked like a poor attempt by a kindergartener. Her lips twitched to a smile and her eyes kept flying between him and the note. She was trying to keep her giggles down, he knew it, and she was doing a horrible job at it. He was starting to lighten up.

“Who the fuck is Thieodor.” She laughed out loud. He hung his head in defeat. Debating whether or not to change it. Whether or not to change his whole identity. He however snapped when the girl in front of him placed her hand on his shoulder and wheezed at the fact that his last name is not written as Nott, but as Noot. His hands reach to the base of her neck. He stands up now towering over her. 

She looked at him dazed, eyes full of tears from laughing, seemingly not releasing the position they were in. He's very close to her face, even closer than that one time she was forced to count his eyelashes as a dare. He leaned closer to her, only stopping by her ear. Her breaths were now quick and sharp.

“Theo?” She asked, her voice very weak and quiet. He liked it like that. He liked that she said his name, he liked that she knew his name. If she were to say it again, he swears his knees would bend and he would not be responsible for what was happening after that. He wanted to beg, he would never, but he wanted to. He didn’t answer her, rather he leaned in even closer. She could feel his breath on her neck.

“Say it again, please say my name again.” He whispered. He was so close. One little move and he would kiss her neck and take their friendship on a different boat. He just needed to hear the magic words. He should have known something was wrong when she giggled first before speaking.

“Noot.” She says softly and starts laughing. He shoots up to his full height looking at her in disbelief. He pushes her away with a grimace as she continues laughing.

“Go fuck yourself.” He murmurs and lights up another cigarette. She was now on the floor clutching her stomach. There was nothing he could do but watch her. He waited till she was done. It took her a good 10 minutes. When she was done, she got up, her legs a little bit wobbly. She could not look at his face without smiling excessively but Theodore decided that it was enough for him.

“Let's go, we need to find the others.”

“Okay, Noot Noot.”

“Stop.”

Tag list @daisiesformylove , @klimovatereza-blog , @lafrone ,@enfppuff , @rafegfs , @frogtape , @lovelyygirl8 , @catiwinky, @anyam444 , @leeleecats , @ghostgardn , @reverse-soe , @ultramarinetovelvet , @iwishigotswallowed , @jazz-berry , @justatadbonkers , @partnerincrime0 , @schaebickel , @bunnyhopsstuff , @deluluassapocalypse

[steampunkserpent27]

Scrawled Messages

for @hdcandyheartsfest 's prompt: Valentine's Card rated: G CW: Mermaid Draco A sequel to this | Read the sequel here

Draco was waiting for him expectantly, his flower crown still dangling off of his arm, as he opened the door to his room and stepped inside. He was carrying a plate of fish, which had just finished thawing. Sitting down beside the edge of Draco’s tank, he crossed his legs and set the plate down on the edge of the platform, so Draco could eat at his leisure. Although, Draco was fidgeting and acting rather nervous, as he glanced between him and the water below. Worrying that something was wrong, he extended his arm and invited Draco to come closer, as he knew that he loved hugs. Draco did not hesitate to throw himself into his arms, soaking the front of his robes. He gave his back a gentle pat, before he released him and leaned back, so he could look at him. “Are you alright?” Draco nodded, although he had a strange expression on his face and was starting to flush pink. “Yes.” He still didn’t know why Draco was acting so strange, but he didn’t see any injuries on him, and he figured if he was upset about something, he would know. “Okay. That’s good.” Draco’s face finally lit up in a smile, as he whispered, “Be right back,” and dove beneath the surface of the water. Harry watched him swim away, his white tail glistening in the lights, as he descended towards the sandy bottom. He returned a moment later, holding a pink scallop shell in his webbed hands. Draco leaned against the wall of the tank, fidgeting with the shell for a moment, before he held it out to him. “For you.” “Oh?” He took the shell from Draco, admiring its color. “This is very pretty. Thank you.” Draco’s face was bright pink, as he tapped against the wooden planking at the edge of his water. “Turn it over.” Flipping the shell over, he found that Draco had written him a message with his waterproof crayons, which were currently lodged in the grooves between the wooden boards. The letters were bright red and messy, but still legible. ‘Happy Valantynes, Harry.’ He couldn’t help but smile at Draco’s misspelling, as he knew he’d never actually shown him how to spell Valentine when he’d told him about the holiday. It was adorable, and he was going to keep the makeshift Valentine’s card forever. He didn’t want to make him feel bad, so he figured he would correct him on the spelling later, when they practiced writing together. “Oh, this is wonderful, Draco. Thank you. You did so well writing this.” Draco was chewing on his bottom lip, his face growing even more red. “You like it?” “I love it.” He opened his arms once again, letting Draco burrow against him. “That was so thoughtful of you. Did you make me this because of your flower crown?” Draco clung to him as he always did when they hugged. “Good friend.” His face wrinkled, as he quickly corrected himself. “You… You’re a good friend.” “Yes, we’re good friends.” He assured him. “Can I keep this?” He gestured to the shell, figuring he should ask, just in case Draco wanted it back. Draco nodded, his nose bumping against his shoulder. “For you.” He gave Draco a gentle squeeze. “Thank you. That was very sweet.” He thought he would cherish Draco’s gift forever, and he knew just the spot to keep it, so he’d never lose sight of it. 

[inseongsfoxybae]

It’s gone

Pairing: Husband Inseong + Female Reader

Genre: Angst + Fluff ending

Warnings: Miscarriage, mention of bleeding, mention of sex... It’s just the saddest text I’ve ever wrote TT

Words: +4,3k

Author’s message: Hey, foxies! So, I decided to write this scenario after a bad dream I had with Inseong and I couldn’t just let this plot disappear of my mind. Also, I’m taking this writing as a sequel of 00:00, so I put the link down here. Hope you enjoy it *and cry*. Foxy kisses 😘

P.S: As english is not my mother language, it may contain misspelled. Also, sorry for any other mistakes :)

Part 1 - 00:00

this pic breaks my heart 😭

You and Inseong can't be more happy with your life. You love each other more than anything, both of your parents are always by your side, your baby is healthy and your four-months tummy is getting bigger so beautifully. 

You woke up especially clingy that saturday and everything led to a lazy morning sex, Inseong carefully taking you from behind while spooning you. After both of you came and shared some cuddles and kisses in bed, you took a bath together, softly making out in the bathtub as Inseong played with your little round tummy. 

"Let's have breakfast now. I need to feed my little baby" - he kissed your stomach - "and my big baby", he kissed your lips, while you smiled lovingly at him. You ate pancakes and fruits, playing around while feeding each other. Yes, you were the perfect definition of a cheesy couple and you loved that. 

You'd have dinner with Inseong's parents that night. However, you still have the rest of the morning and the whole afternoon just for yourselves. 

But you felt sick after breakfast and ran to the bathroom to vomit. "Morning sick again?", Inseong approached you and rubbed your back while you put out all the food in the toilet. "Yes, I thought it's already done, but it seems I was wrong", you said weakly. 

"It's okay, it's okay", Inseong reassured you. "Let's take some rest, huh?", he suggested and you nod. He helped you to get up and wash your mouth and carried you to bed, where he laid you as he moved closer to your stomach. 

"Hey, mini us, it's dad. Let's take it easy with mommy, hum? She's doing her best to take care of you, so we have to treat her well too, okay?", Inseong said softly, rubbing the warm skin of your firm tummy before slowly kissing it. You smiled sweetly at him while your fingers ran through his hair. 

He grinned back and whispered a "I love you" when you pulled him to lay with you. "I love you too, Seongie", you answered and pecked his lips. Inseong snuggled closer into your body, holding you against his broad chest as one of his hands massaged your hair and the other one caressed your belly. 

"Can't wait for tuesday to come, so we'll know the gender of our baby", Inseong said with a bright smile gracing his face. "I know, right? I'm so excited to choose a name for her or him!", you exclaimed happily. "Love, what do you think it will be?", you continued. "I have no idea, but I hope it's a girl. I want to see a mini you running through the house", he giggled. "But a boy would be nice too. He could protect his little sister later", he completed and looked at you. 

"Yeah, and a mini you would make me company during your schedules", you laughed pinching his nose. "But something tells me it's a girl", you confessed and smiled, placing your hand over his on your stomach. "Doesn't matter the gender, she or he will be our precious baby", his smile was so sweet and sincere before his lips started to plant soft kisses all over your face, making you giggle and melt between his arms. 

When he stopped his kiss attack, you cupped his cheeks and looked deep into his eyes. "Thank you, honey, for making me the happiest woman, for planting a baby inside me, for loving me so much", your voice shook as tears formed in your eyes. "You're my universe, darling. And our little one here is our first star", Inseong murmured against your lips pressing your foreheads together. 

You stayed in silence for a while, just hearing each other's breath and heartbeat, feeling the warmth of your bodies, just the three of you. "Baby", you broke the silence and looked at him, "will you be there with me during delivery?", you asked while your lips formed a little pout, that Inseong kissed away before answering. "Of course I will, so you'll be able to hold my hand tight until it breaks and pull my hair until I go bald", his answer made the two of you laugh. 

"Seriously, babe. I'll be there with you, right by your side, holding your hand and caressing your head and your back, until our baby is in your arms". This time, his words hitted straight on your heart and he hugged you tighter when he saw you were about to cry, firmly kissing the top of your head. "Don't cry, baby", he pleaded into your ear. "Blame the hormones", you whined against his neck. "Okay… It's okay", he chuckled, rocking you side to side. 

"Y/N, do you want me to cook your favorite food?", Inseong asked after you calmed down from your comotion. "No, I'm still sick and can't think of food right now", you whimpered. "But you need to eat to be strong and healthy, princess", he insisted, trying to pull you off the bed with him. "But I can't do this right now", you whined laying on top of him, burying your face on his chest. 

Inseong gave up on cooking, but was still making you eat something, so he reached for his phone and ordered your favorite dishes without you noticing. About half an hour later, your doorbell rang and you looked suspicious at Inseong. "Lunch time", he exclaimed, carefully taking you off his chest. 

He grabbed the food and placed it on the kitchen table, before walking to you who was reluctantly watching him leaning against the wall. "Inseong, I don't want to", you pouted as he wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you to him. "Please, Y/N. Just try it, just a little, huh? For our baby", he pleaded and looked down at your tummy, your gaze following his. "Okay", you whispered and let him drag you into the kitchen. 

Inseong plated the food and handed you your portion, for which you observed feeling your stomach churn. Your eyes met his, looking for some ground before taking the first spoon of rice into your mouth. “Just a little more”, Inseong encouraged you, squeezing your free hand over the table. You were struggling to chew and swallow, but persisted in eating as much as you could, before the food came back up your throat and you rushed to the bathroom to throw it up. 

Your husband sighed defeatedly on his chair, looked down at his own untouched plate before getting up and cleaned the table so as not to make your condition worse. Then, he walked into the bathroom where you were hanging on the sink to wash your mouth and sweaty face. Inseong got closer and hugged from behind, you leaned back into his chest as your legs were a little weak and you felt dizzy. 

“You’re not keeping anything inside today, right?”, he wondered, not exactly waiting for an answer, but you still shook your head. “Are you feeling anything else?”, he softly mumbled, kissing your shoulder. “Just some cramping, but it’s not a big deal”. Inseong looked at you through the mirror, his expression full of concern. “I’ll call my mom and cancel the dinner tonight”, he said after a moment. “No, honey, we have to go. It’s been a while since we had dinner with your parents”, you protested. “Y/N, you need to rest. They will understand. And if something happens to you because of this dinner, I’ll never forgive myself”, he confessed under his breath and held you tighter. 

You turned around in his arms to face him and embraced his neck, pulling him closer. “I’m okay, Inseong. I’m pregnant, not ill. And I’ll go to rest, I’m gonna take a nap now and I’ll be much better when I wake up”, you said trying to calm him down, but he was not convinced yet. “Baby, please. Don’t worry too much. Just pregnancy things. I’m okay”, you insisted and he nodded, hugging you tighter but carefully, as you played with the hair on the back of his neck. 

"Go to eat. I'll wait for you on the couch", you softly said breaking your embrace. 

“Go to bed, it’s more comfortable”. 

“Inseong, what did I just say to you? I’m okay”, you sulked. “And we can watch a movie before taking a nap. What do you think?”, you looked at him with your best puppy eyes and he gave in. “Okay”.

When Inseong finished eating and joined you on the couch, you were already soundly sleeping. He chuckled softly and spooned you, pressing sweet kisses on your exposed shoulder, quickly dozing off as well.

Both of you slept deeply for some hours into the afternoon, lost in each other’s embrace, molded bodies. It was already getting dark when you opened your eyes and found yourself cradled between Inseong’s loose arms. Your mouth curled up a little, but the pain on your low stomach limited your joy. Your cramps got worse over the hours, just like your nausea. 

Inseong felt you moving and woke up, bringing you closer to him. “Did my babies rest well?”, he mumbled softly, pecking the side of your neck. You smiled and turned slowly into his arms to kiss him properly, his hands rubbing your back under your shirt. “Are you feeling better now?”, he asked when you broke the kiss and you shyly shook your head negatively. 

“Baby, let’s cancel this dinner”, Inseong tried to convince you one more time and you said no again. “I’m okay, darling. Let’s take a shower and get ready. We have to leave soon”, you insisted and he stared at you for a while, trying to get any glimpse of how bad you were feeling. “Please… Let’s go”, you whispered one last time as he nodded, helping you to get up. 

You took a quick shower together and got dressed, but you were feeling so sick that you didn't have the mind to put on any makeup. "It's okay, baby. You're beautiful anyways", Inseong whispered into your ear, trying to smile even if his concerned eyes weren't happy at all. 

You gave him a weak smile and left your room while he finished to get dressed. You stared at that door in front of yours for a while, your baby's bedroom, and felt an urge to enter it to analyze the few furniture in there. A white crib was placed on a corner, near the window, with a stuffed fox Inseong had bought after your first appointment resting inside. 

You smiled as you got closer to the crib and took the plushie in your hands, rubbing its soft fur. You heard a knock at the door and turned to see Inseong standing there, looking lovely at you. "What are you doing?", he mumbled, approaching and pulling you into his chest. "Nothing. I just wanted to be here for a moment", you answered, playing with the little fox still in your hands.  

"Are you sure you're fine?", Inseong looked deep into your eyes, and you nodded. "We'll be okay", you whispered softly, placing a hand on your belly as Inseong gently pecked your forehead. “Let’s go”, he took your hand and you left. 

You stared at the three icicles in his bracelet while he drove, imagining how it will be when you have your child in your arms. You opened a little smile through the pain that was getting stronger at each moment, feeling weaker and weaker. Maybe you should have stayed at home, but you knew it wouldn't make much difference now, so you tried to ignore your sickness the best you could.

"Sweetie, you’re so pale”, it was the first thing Inseong’s mother said when she laid her eyes on you. “Are you feeling bad?”, she asked, helping you to sit. “I just have nausea and cramps, but I’m okay”, you quickly answered, trying not to focus on how bad you were feeling. Your mother-in-law looked from his husband to Inseong, concerned expressions filling the table. 

“Please, don’t worry too much. I’m gonna be fine”, you reassured them as they sat down and ordered the food. The mood was a little tense among you, mainly when your dishes came and you didn't take a single bite of your food, staring at your plate disgusted. Your cramps were so terrible now that you shifted constantly on your chair, your head heavy and spinning. 

“Baby, let’s go home”, Inseong murmured very close to your ear and you realized your eyes were shut and you were grabbing your fork with too much force. “You can finish eating first. I can handle this”, your answer was just above a whisper as you struggle to control your weak body. 

Suddenly, an excruciating wave of pain tore your belly and you reached out for Inseong’s arm as you cringed in agony. “Inseong…”, it was the last thing you managed to whisper before your vision got dark and your mind went out. 

Inseong caught you, but didn't understand what was going on until he saw blood soaking your white dress. "Oh no, baby… No, no, no… Please, no", he kept repeating desperately, taking you into his arms and rushing to the car. 

While his father drove fast through the streets towards the hospital, Inseong sat on the back seat, holding your weak body against his, repeating "please’s" and "no’s" like a mantra, his crying filling the car while he watched the stain of blood getting bigger on your dress and tarnishing his own trousers. 

As your mother-in-law had called your doctor while you were on the way, when you arrived at the hospital, she was already waiting for you. Inseong carefully laid you on the stretcher and some nurses took you to a room. He was shaking and sobbing as he watched you being taken along the white corridors, knowing that something wrong was happening with you and your baby and he couldn’t do anything to help.

Some minutes later, a nurse appeared to tell your family about your state, your husband quickly walking to her. “She had a miscarriage and now the doctor is removing the fetus. I’m so sorry for your loss”, she said cautiously, an empathetic expression on her face.

Inseong’s legs lost their strength and he fell on his knees, sinking in despair. His mother hugged him tight and his father helped him to get up, leading him to the nearest chair, his cries echoing throughout the empty corridors. “Calm down, son. We have to be strong for her now”, Inseong’s dad comforted him, but his eyes were full of tears too. 

It took an eternity for the doctor to leave the operation room and show up to talk to Inseong. His head was resting on his mother’s shoulder, holding hands with his father, sobbing softly now as tears couldn’t stop rolling over his face. Your doctor watched that scene for a brief moment, her heart aching to see both of you suffering like this. 

She knew how passionate you were for each other and how much you wanted this baby. She felt your love every time the two of you entered her clinic for your monthly appointment, Inseong always by your side with a huge smile on his face. But now you ended up like this and she didn’t even know how to tell Inseong the details of your state. 

Your doctor slowly approached those three miserable people waiting in the corridor. “Mr. Kim Inseong,”, she called softly, “can we talk in my office for a moment? You can see your wife right after”. But Inseong didn’t move, only whispered a weak “It’s my fault”. 

“Inseong-ah, it’s not your fault. Come on, get up and talk to the doctor. We’re gonna go home and back with clean clothes for you”, his mother said, cupping his cheeks. Inseong looked down at his jeans soiled with blood - your blood, your baby’s blood. It made him cry even more.

“She will be okay. You can try again in a few months”, the doctor said, taking his hands on hers, trying to calm him down. “Let’s talk in my office. I have some things to tell you”. Inseong struggled to get up and follow her, fearing what he would have to hear. 

Inseong sat down in front of the doctor, her table between them, but he wasn’t able to face her. “It’s all my fault… We had sex this morning… That's why, isn't it? I hurt Y/N and made her lose our baby?”, he whispered, choking on his own tears, his heavy body weighing a ton. 

“No. It’s not your fault, nor hers”, your doctor calmly said. “It wasn’t because of sex or any other activity you did. It was her organism that rejected the fetus. Her immune system detected it as an intruder and expelled it”, she explained, trying to find easy words to say. 

Seeing that Inseong didn’t react, she continued. “We did a washing in her uterus and it didn’t suffer any trauma, so you can try again in two months”, she paused, gaining courage to tell her next words. “Also... we detected the gender of the baby”, she stopped, carefully waiting for his reaction. 

“It was a girl, right?”, Inseong mumbled, still staring at the floor. 

“Yes. I’m so sorry, Inseong”, her final words were sincere, watching your husband sobbing helplessly in front of her eyes. 

~

You woke up hours later, in the middle of the night. You slowly opened your eyes, understanding where you were. Inseong was sitting on a chair by your side, holding your hand, his eyes puffy and red from crying. “Hey”, he weakly said when he saw you awake, giving you a sorrowful smile. 

“What happened?”, you asked looking deep into his eyes, your free hand resting on your now flat belly. Feeling the difference and a slight pain on your low stomach, your heart sunk in your chest. “Inseong… what happened to our baby?”, your shaking voice came as a broken whisper. 

“Our baby is gone”, Inseong struggled to tell you after a couple of seconds trying to hold his own despair. “We lost her, Y/N”. 

His words broke your heart in a million pieces and your eyes exploded in a whirlwind of desperate tears. Inseong sat down on your bed and pulled you into his body, your cryings filling the room and echoing through the silent corridors. All the pain of not being able to keep your baby crushing both of you. 

You kept crying until exhaustion invades your body and you fall asleep in Inseong’s arms. Obviously, he couldn't close his eyes that night, still blaming himself for your miscarriage and worried if you feel some pain - dark bags under his eyes in the morning. 

You were discharged in the afternoon and your parents-in-law took both of you home, Inseong holding you against him in the back-seat, a heavy silence filling the air. When you arrived, you changed clothes and went to bed to take a rest, your husband laying with you until you fall asleep. No words exchanged, no small smiles; only guilty eyes and a heavy feeling suffocating the two of you. 

~

The sun was already gone when you opened your eyes. You didn’t feel any pain, at least not physically, because your heart was broken and now your body carried the emptiness of your baby not being anymore. And all of that was much more painful than anything else. 

Your shaking hands reached for your belly, feeling nothing where there was a life before, tears slowly falling from your eyes while your body curled up into your sheets. Inseong wasn’t by your side anymore. Actually, you were on his side of the bed, his pillow smelling faintly like him. 

You got up and left your bedroom to look for him, stopping when you saw the door of your baby’s room ajar and low sobs escaping from its dark inside. You carefully opened the door and turned on the lights, only to find the miserable state of your husband sitting on the floor at the foot of the crib, the plushie fox in his hands, his bracelet hanging from his fingers. 

Inseong didn’t lift his face, didn’t look at you, didn’t say anything, just held his breath in a failed attempt to stop his sobs. Your heart ached for seeing him like this.

“Oh, baby”, you sighed, feet taking small steps towards him, kneeling in front of him and placing your hands on his shaking shoulders. “Inseong”, you called him, but no responde. “Baby, please, look at me”, you begged, crying, but he only shook his head and leaned down to rest his head on your chest. 

“That’s all my fault”, he sobbed, not being able to hold himself anymore. “I’m so sorry, Y/N”, Inseong cried desperately in your arms as his heavy body relaxed against yours. You couldn’t speak, your voice choked in your throat as uncontrollable tears ran down your cheeks. 

You wrapped your arms around Inseong’s neck, pulling him closer to your chest, trembled fingers carded to his hair, his hands still holding the plushie. 

“I’m sorry for being like this, darling, so weak, so fragile”, he managed to murmur against you, his arms struggling to hug you. “I’m sorry for not taking care of you properly”, he sobbed, grabbing his shirt you were wearing with all this remaining strength. “I’m sorry”, he sank into your body, shaking hard, destroyed. 

His desperate cries made the pieces of your heart ignited, and a painful wave of despair took your whole being, your own sobs mixing with his. Your body curved over his, weak, strengthless, hurt. 

“It’s not your fault”, you quickly whispered against his shoulder, “It’s mine”, you broke down, tugging in his shirt like it could save you. 

Inseong gently released your arms from around him and brought you closer to him, caging you in his chest, that warm place that always makes you feel better. But it was different this time: his usual calm heart was now as broken as yours, trying to collect some hope from you, trying to comfort itself through you. 

Your legs were over one of his as you sat between his long limbs, your arms resting weakly on his stomach as your head were buried on his chest. Neither of you couldn’t say any more, only cry and take deep breaths. Inseong calmed down before, but stayed quiet, giving you time to relieve yourself while he ran his hands through your hair and back. 

“Inseong”, you barely whispered, “I’m sorry for not being able to keep our baby”, you choked your last words. 

Inseong squeezed you tighter, placing a slow kiss on your temple. “None of this is your fault, babe”, he tried to reassure you. “We just… just…”, he couldn’t complete his sentence as his tears got stronger again.

You leaned back from his chest to look at him, his hands gently cupping your face, caressing your wet cheeks as you took a deep breath before talking. “Until yesterday, I was pregnant, Inseong”, you paused. “Now there’s nothing here inside”, you sobbed, touching your belly. “Our daughter is dead, Inseong”, you broke down once more, grabbing his shoulders for some ground. 

Inseong didn’t know what to speak, didn’t know what to do, struggling to not break himself in tears again, pulling you even closer and tighter against him, desperately trying to comfort you with these gestures. 

After some minutes, when your cries stabilized, he caged you in his arms, grabbing the fox plushie on the way, and took you to your bed. Inseong cuddled you tight, holding you like he wanted to merge your bodies, protecting you from anything that could harm you. 

“Baby”, he softly called you, “it’s okay now. I’m here with you”, he told you. 

You sighed against his chest, trying to regain forces to speak. “Inseong… Do you still love me? I mean, am I still the love of your life?”, your voice cracked with every word. 

“Honey, of course I still love you”, Inseong firmly kissed the top of your head. “You’re my everything, my wife, my woman, the only one I love and will ever love”, he reassured you and you felt sincerity in his words and in his heartbeat under your ear.

“Please, stay with me”, you begged, moving to look at his face.

“I’m not going anywhere”, he mumbled, kissing your forehead. “I’ll stay by your side until my last breath”, he confessed, leaning down a little to place a soft peck on your lips.

“We will overcome this, okay? We can do anything since we are together”, Inseong consoled you, tugging some strands of hair behind your ear. “We can try again very soon and I’m sure we’ll have a bunch of healthy kids playing around the house”, he said, giving you a small smile. 

You slightly chuckled at his words. “Oh, you’re laughing”, Inseong gave you a cute grin, brushing his nose against yours. “We shouldn’t blame ourselves anymore, promise?”. 

“I promise”, you whispered and you both smiled. You watched attentively when Inseong moved one of his arms behind him and reached for the plushie, bringing it to you. 

“Hey, mommy and daddy, be strong, right? Give me brothers and sisters soon. I love you”, Inseong mimicked a cute funny voice, making you laugh. He pressed the little nose of the fox all over your face multiple times, as it was kissing you, just before he moved the toy away to use his own lips.

“I love you, Seongie, so, so much”, you whispered against his lips, eyes closed, feeling him grinning into the kiss. 

“I love you more, my love”, he murmured, deepening the movements of your lips together. 

It was still hard to accept and painful, but you had each other and had dreams and hopes together, and that’s all that matters. You were sure you’d still make a beautiful family in the future, full of mini Inseongs and mini Y/Ns, and you were willing to achieve all of this pure happiness soon with Inseong by your side, always taking care of you, supporting you, comforting you. You’d be strong for him and for your beautiful love until your last breath. 

~

Part 3 - Try again

[the-chronicles-of-emilie-duckman]

Okay, I just have to say something about this comment that ThePaganSun left on The Chronicles of Emilie Duckman Part Four (I deleted it.)

First of all, it’s not like I’m misspelling every other word.Second, I know that Scrooge’s parents died of old age in The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, but the difference between The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, and Ducktales is that the ancestral castle was still standing in The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck.Scrooge had to rebuilt sometime before the series, and he did it with discount Druid stones which made them immortal. I used the same logic that Regular Show used for Skips.Just because they’re immortal doesn’t mean they’re immune to physical injuries.And third,it’s my fanfic, and I wanted Hortense to be alive, and I plan on putting her in the sequel.

[myfalsedevotion]

supposed to be editing huh vicky 🤨🤨🤨 im kidding let's do this 😌 how about 2, 7, 15, 17 & 22! ok that's a lot but i have restrained myself from sending all of them so be proud of me 💙

I'm always proud of you, Maya 💙💙 And yup, I've started the editing process 🤭🤭 (I still am fighting with a couple paragraphs from the end scene, so I decided to start editing and let my brain work it out in the background hahahah)

Let's do this (under the cut so I don't take over people's dashes):

2. talk about a notable time a narrative or character has looked you dead in the eyes and said “fuck your plan, here’s what we’re actually doing.”

Okay, this is fun. There's been a couple times. Can't talk about the most recent one before tomorrow, but. In Hourglass. Cashton were never supposed to be a thing. It was a one-sided crush side plot. And then Ashton looked me dead in the eyes and was like "did you really think you could put Calum next to me for an extended period of time being his cute and talented self and I wouldn't develop fEeLiNgS???" so... 😅

Oh, and let's never forget Ashton growing a sudden tragic past when I was writing what I thought would be a fun lil christmass-y one-shot fic that would later be known as All The Hues Of Blue 🤭 He was just "well, you see, I'm a bit broken. So this is not going to be just a fun one-shot. It's going to end up being a huge ass series. You're welcome 💙"

7. tell us about one of your characters who’s an absolute joy to write

LUCIFURR. Gosh he's so fun. Although I've never written him, him. Always about other character's perceptions of him hahahah. And, of course, Otto, my beloved 💙 Otto's always a joy to write. Can't wait to write more of him. Eventually. Some day. He's such a sweet character, I can't 🥺

15. in an ideal world where you’re already super successful and published, would you want to see a tv or movie adaptation of your work? why or why not?

Mayaa, you know the answer to this one 🤭🤭 YES! I'd love to, but. I'd also love to be involved. I have a degree in film, if in this hypothetical world they offered me the chance to work on the script, or helping the casting, or being a part of the creative team? Sign me the fuck up. Athob for example is huge on colour symbolism, I'd absolutely love to explore that in an actual film 😍😍 One can dream hahahahah

17. at what point in the process do you come up with titles, and how easy or hard is that for you?

It is the hardest thing sometimes. I spent two months with Hourglass as "Batman fic" on my drafts, trying to look for a title then deciding on using the name I had given the animation studio on it for the title.

For my one-shots, unless I've had a clear direction from the beginning (Kokology), it's been hard. Then they end up being named Crayon Record Store because there was a record store on the fic and since it was Cake I wrote for my best friend's birthday, who I have saved as "Crayon" on my phone –she misspelled crying and wrote crayon once and I will never let her live it down–, well, I just put two and two together.

Then there's All The Hues Of Blue, which working title was "Christmas is all around" up until the moment I was about to post the first chapter, then the title just came to me. Funny thing, because it ended up being the thread that bound together that entire story, part of what gave it meaning. And it just... came to me. And Rare as Gold came to me when I was reading about neutron star collisions and how they're believed to be the origin of all the gold found in our galaxy (at this point I already knew what the last words of ATHOB were, and chose the title for the sequel knowing that). And... it will play a big part on the final scene 🤭

22. talk about a writing experience that has pleasantly surprised you. or talk about several. seriously, writing is cool. you’re making up whole stories out of your brain, revel in that shit.

Pleasantly surprised me? 🤔🤔 There's been a lot. Of course all the friends I've met through writing, that's the first thing that comes to mind.💙 Even though I don't think that question refers to that, but. It's the most important thing.

Another thing is how writing is such a powerful tool for self-reflection. I literally, subconsciously wrote things into fics over three years ago that I'm only just now picking up on and understanding that say a lot about what I was going through at the time, or about who I am. It's so cool to be rereading something I wrote and then go "...huh." 🤭

[todaydreambelieversfic]

Author Spotlight: Coffeegleek Day 3

Author : @coffeegleek​

How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

At least a few revisions. Then multiple editing passes, and even with my spouse as my proofreader for the past 25+ years, and doing more editing passes before posting to AO3, I still find annoying little typos, sometimes large ones.

If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why?

There was a crack fic I stopped writing years ago. It was a self-challenge during one of those tumblr trope challenges. I was trying to combine all of the tropes into the same fic as they were announced. It got zero traction though so I gave up. I'd love to go back and complete it, make it better. I had the whole thing outlined too.

What do you look for in a beta?

My spouse. We've been together for decades. He's been proofreading my original science fiction work and various fandoms' fanfics since before we were married. He even proofreads my Klaine smut and doesn't blink an eye. (He's a Glee fan too and on tumblr.) He knows what I'm trying to say when I can't find the right words and supplies them. He catches things I don't. What I love the most is for my original work, he's written his own fanfic. It's BAD. It truly is, but it's so heartfelt and earnest. He even came up with a soundtrack should I ever publish my sci-fi novel and the movie or show rights be bought. You really can't get a better beta than that. <3

There’s a number of friends on tumblr that I bounce ideas off of and who give me advice for topics they know far more about than me and google. I try to thank them in my fics.

If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

I’m going to steal another author’s recent answer and say that I could never do someone else’s work justice. However, I would love to see the author’s ideas for their fics even if they couldn’t write a prequel or sequel.

I suck at remembering titles and author names. There were two political fics that I would love to read more of should their authors ever decide to write in those verses again. One was where Kurt and Blaine's dads were running for president and Kurt and Blaine were along for the ride, staying in the same hotels at time (where they first met,) having to do school remotely, having to be the perfect sons for the press and Blaine being fed up because his parents were conservative Republicans. Then there was another fic where Burt was president and Kurt was the First Son living in the White House, along with Finn, and it was hard to date when your every move is watched by the press.

Do you take liberties with canon or are you very strict about your fic being canon compliant?

I write AU, so canon is only a word often misspelled by me. :) Seriously though, I try to incorporate as many canon elements and characters into my AU fics as I can. It's the kind of AU I like to read as well. What draws me to read and write AUs is taking canon characters, putting them into a different setting, and seeing how they'll react. At their core, they still need to remain the same in principle and have many of the same traits. Like Kurt will always love fashion and be headstrong no matter what. Blaine is always going to have that spark within himself, no matter how depressed or oppressed he gets. Burt and Carole are always going to be loving and nurturing parents at heart. Even in fics where Burt isn't woke, there's a part of him that means well. (Not one of my own fics, but one I read a long time ago.) Different circumstances will change the canon characters and make them react in different ways though. Like, Kurt could end up more withdrawn and hide his love of fashion as a matter of survival and self preservation. He or Blaine could turn into "bad boys." Coach Beiste will always have a heart of gold. Miss Pillsbury will always have a problem with messes. Things like that. I know canon. Give me all the alternate universe versions of it and I will be a happy camper.

Talk about a review that made your day.

I haven't checked for reviews on my fics in ages (because I'm an insecure chicken) so I don't remember any specifically. I do remember there were many that made my day. There are those who take the time to review every chapter. Ones who write only a short note to thank me for writing the fic - both the angsty ones and the cracky fun ones. I love it when someone mentions something that no one else has that I was hoping someone would notice because I was proud of it. I'm not a popular author and don't get a lot of kudos or comments or reblogs compared to many. So each comment and kudos means a lot to me and I'd like to publicly thank every single person who wrote one or hit that kudos button.

Do you ever get rude reviews and how do you deal with them?

I once got a troll who decided it was his job to complain that I had misspelled hors d'oeuvres in one sentence out of an entire verse where the word was written multiple times correctly. It was a series of Klaine Advent one shots for the Empty Nest verse. At first I was shocked and replied with an apology. Then I was, "F this. The person is a troll who didn't read any other part of the fic or verse, just this one quickly written one shot entry, and if all they had to say was that I'd misspelled a commonly misspelled word, then they aren't worth my time." I deleted the comment. There's concrit and trolling. It wasn't concrit.

What advice do you have for people just starting to write?

Have fun writing, even the hard stuff. Know that it's okay to take breaks. Try your best and know you'll get better the more you write and the more you read. Pronouns are your friend and free. Don't put, "I know this is going to suck, so whatever," in your fic description. We all suck at times. It's a part of writing. But if you want folks to read it, using that as your fic's summary isn't the way to go. Just my opinions, which won't even buy you a cup of coffee.

Which fic do you most like to discuss with other people? Why?  

I think it’s pretty obvious from all of my rambling that I enjoy talking about both of my series - Empty Nest verse and A Very Hallmark Christmas verse.  I'm not a popular author and I know my fics, especially the Empty Nest verse ones, aren’t everyone’s thing, so I never get to really discuss them except with friends that I bug to death in private and via long replies to comments on AO3. (You all are saints blessed by all of the good and patient gods.) I have so much to say about them - the process of writing them, the world building, research, and character decisions that went into every single one. I know they’re not perfect. I know the Empty Nest verse grew miles beyond the ficlette about Burt and Carole that it was meant to be. I know my sense of humor in the Hallmark verse isn’t everyone’s thing either. I still worked really hard on them and am glad that I did. Empty Nest let me release a lot of the fear and anxiety I had for my Hispanic and gay son after the 2016 election. The Hallmark ones were a needed break to put some humor into my life. If others enjoyed them, great. If folks want to know more, my inbox is always open.

What's one aspect of writing fic that gets you really excited?

Writing humor even if I'm the only one that finds it funny. As I said above, writing the Hallmark Christmas movie dialogue and plot and the actors as they were filming it was a blast. Writing the commercials was fun and exciting. In my angsty fics, knowing I wrote a good scene, line, or moment that brought out all the feels. That's more of “satisfaction of a job well done” than excited.

***

Check out Coffeegleek’s Fics

Humorous Spooky Drabbles -  Humorous drabbles to spookish type prompts based on a tumblr post called October Drabble Prompts #1 by hallofceleano. The parts in bold and italic are from those prompts. Characters include Kurt, Blaine, Burt, Carole, and Finn. All fun; only #4 has some mild angst. #4 is for snarkyhag and regarding #5 - I know next to nothing about Twilight and had to look up Taylor Lautner on imdb. The liberties I took are my own.

A Very Sloppy Christmas - lucy8675309 posted to tumblr a series of gifs with Kurt dressed up as an elf. It inspired me to write the following prompt, which CoffeeAddict80 encouraged me to write as a fic:

I now want a fic where real Santa’s elf!Kurt gets drunk and vents to Blaine about all the woes of working for Santa. He’s over 100 years old and the outfits are terrible. Why couldn’t they wear clothes like the elves did in that one movie? Drunk elf Kurt has no idea he’s venting to Santa’s son.

Bonus if he wakes up and realizes he just had a drunken one night stand. He isn’t sure who it was with. Only that he’s naked, the guy in the bed beside him is naked and showing off a really great ass. Then said guy turns over and after Kurt’s done staring at his dick, he looks at the guy’s face and realizes who it is.

It’s a Twisted World -  I decided to challenge myself by combining the posted 5 weekly Klaine AU Friday themes and adding another one of my own. So that means: Farm, Fairytale, Vintage (1900’s,) Super Powers, Zombie Apocalypse, and Harry Potter World Klaine with a splash of a fic idea I thought of while in the produce section of the grocery store. Each week, the story will continue, though each part stands alone. This is not a brilliant work of perfectly composed fan fiction. What it is, is fast-paced, cracky fun, with a large dose of innuendo. At least it had my son laughing his ass off. I hope y'all enjoy it too. :)

[eve-lydon]

Borderlands 3 Timothy Lawrence cut audio/DLC

Okay just to be clear I’m gonna talk about the whole Timothy situation here, so SPOILER ALERT. Also these are personal opinion, and sorry if there’s some misspelling but I’m in a rush.

Not gonna lie, I’m pretty scared. Everyone knows that I’ve hated BL3’s writing and I explained the reasons multiple times… I think the story sucks, characters are treated like shit, everything about Pre sequel is retconned without a real reason and yadda yadda yadda…. so when I heard about Timothy’s audio files and the whole Handsome Jack’s space Casino stuff I freaked out (and not in the good way). 

Now listen, I love Jack, I love Tim, I loved the Pre Sequel and I would pay GOLD to get the chance to play a new Borderlands game with some of this characters in it… But not in Borderlands 3. First of all, what the fuck is wrong with the VA? I’ve read that they’re most likely placeholder and since those audio files are probably cut material from the base game GB didn’t bothers called the true voice actors to play those lines. So, if it’s just cut material does that mean that they’re not gonna be in a DLC, right? I hope so, because seriously in those 4 lines that i’ve heard, there’s more plot holes and rettcones that in the entire fucking game, it’s idiotic. 

First of all I actually like the whole idea of the space casino and the general concept but I hate the fact that the place was Moxxi's Idea. Like Jack stole Moxxi’s ideas. The fuck. It’s lame and I could be wrong but I think there was a similar side mission in Bl2, like really similar. 

Well Moxxi is all angry now, she explains how much she hates him and that her hate for Jack is personal because he stole this idea after they borke up sooo… thats why she lied, betrayed and tried to fucking kill him (VH too) and all the people on Helios? It was the Vendetta for her fucking casino?! Shit I hated Moxxi before, this makes her even more annoying. 

But then I heard the part in which Timothy said that he liked her a lot (In the pre sequel when he meets her he goes bananas because he finds her hot and stuff so, thats accurate) and then he talkes about the fact that one time Jack sent him to take his place in a date with Mox, and it was so fun and cute… WHAT!? Wtf man, like when?? I wanna know how the f this line is even possible if we consider all the events of the pre sequel and the entire timeline. At this point the story is just a nonsense fanfiction. Hell, I’ve read Fiction that are ten thousend time more realistic and in canon that this. I’m not impressed about the villain either… “Pretty boy”. ugh. This all sound really lame, sorry not sorry but I hope we will never see this crap in a DLC.

[thewistlingbadger]

Aight so

I kinda ..... Made a list of reasons to live....

I dunno I needed it and maybe someone needs it to

These are kinda personal to me so feel free to add your own. I know that I still got a lot to add to the list I'm just lazy skskskkss

REASONS TO LIVE ✨❤️

To watch the Hamilfilm

To see the new works of cast members

To hear eminem's next album

To go to theme parks

To go into disney stores

To go to birthday parties

To see my friends

To see random classmates

To see what highschool is like

To learn more stuff about my viola

To laugh at jokes

To go to the zoo

To see animals (dogs.)

To fanperson over musical people

To sing songs with people

To watch movies (new and old)

To give advice to people

To call bullshit on things (and people)

To make references at things no one will get

Because there will be a time were I'll be comfortable to sing and dance in front of people

To be silly

To be a gremlin

To see more Halloween's

Because I wanna see what 2021 will be like

Because I gotta see what biden will be like as PRESIDENT

To rap

To be a bastard (because if it isn't you that pisses off people who will piss them off? Who will be annoying to them? I wanna be the person who puts people in their place. And sometimes these bitchs deserve to have a bastard by their side.)

So I can listen to the artists that haven't come out yet (more like roast the shit out of them)

To rewatch my favorite shows

To watch cartoons

To see what the new video games will look like. (Playstation 62?)

To do random shit.

To go to pride

To come out and be the gay cousin

To listen to music that makes me ascend

To see sequels that haven't come out yet (looking at you, Spider-Man into the spider-verse 2)

Don't you wanna see your celebrity crushes get old? Like, old man old. Or just have kids so you can be like "they are a ray of sunshine and even if they've only been in this world for 7 years I will kill everybody to defend them."

To go to Comic con or other events.

I've never been to a concert

If i die I can't get people to yell lyrics with me at the top of out lungs

because there will be a time where I will make grammar mistakes and misspellings and be okay with it

Because there will be a time where I can fail at something and still be proud

So I can recommend stuff to people (books, movies, tv shows, etc)

So I can gush about stuff

To be in new fandoms

To see fanart and read fanfiction and for those edits people make. Or to be the people who make those things

Because one day I will be talented. I will be smart. I will be a better me.

Because I gotta see how the fantastic beasts series is gonna turn out

To read books. To have the chance to read books that haven't come out yet. Also cuz i started this series called carry on and I gotta read the next book and the last book comes out in 2021

To listen to musicals

To get into stuff I thought I wasn't gonna be into

To learn shit

To see where the world will be in the future. I can't miss out on cars that fly or when the green new deal is gonna happen.

To go places. (New york, england, hawaii, etc)

To say phrases.

To be old enough to say "WHY, BACK IN MY DAY SONNY, WE HAD-"

To look back at the 2010's. To reminisce about childhood. To dream about a better tomorrow. Because I know it's gonna come. And I don't care how long it takes I wanna see it.

To see people get cancelled.

For people to get called out on their discrimination

To have enough money to donate to charity

To go to BLM protests

To see new LGBTQ+ media

To get apologies. Or to apologize to people.

ALSO FOR THAT POC REPRESENTATION!!!!!!

because I'll grow up one day and be an adult. I'll have my own place, and lots of stress BUT a way to cope with it

To get new cloths

To get a driver's license

To go to places on my own

To be passing

To see my trans siblings transition

Really just to be around my fellow twinks

To get new nail polish

Because I won't have to do P.E or deal with bitches one day. Same with group projects

To see the seasons

To get my spring allergies

Colors

Art

Nature

To see those god awful disney live action remakes

To drink

To eat

To go to the pool

To raise my hand in class

To play games with my family

To use accents playfully

✨ Jewelry ✨

All of the soft things in the world. Blankets, stuffed animals, etc

To be very gay

To meet new people

To celebrate!

[redisriding]

King of Scars - Review

I have just finished reading King of Scars and let me tell you, I have some THOUGHTS™

I don’t want to spoil anyone though, so read below the fold at your own discretion…

(Also contains spoilers of the Shadow and Bone Trilogy and the Six of Crows Duology, but it is unlikely that one has not read those books but has read King of Scars).

Nb. I word vomited this onto the page so apologies for any typos/misspellings/incomplete trains of thought!

Okay so, let me start by stating my position in respect of the other Grisha Verse books. I enjoyed the Shadow and Bone Trilogy. I really liked the first one, thought the second one did nothing but elongate the story, but found the third one redeeming. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the two main characters/love interest as I found both Alina and Mal annoying in parts, but I have to remind myself that I am in my mid-20s reading YA books so maybe I can’t be too critical of the behaviour of teenagers(?!). I am however a sucker for when the female lead chooses the good boy they grew up with over the mysterious creepy stranger, so yeah I shipped them. What made this trilogy for me was the amazingly vivid universe that was created – the Grisha Verse – and the absolute romp of supporting characters. So, not wanting to leave the world behind just yet I read the Six of Crows duology and I LOVED THESE BOOKS. Not only did we get to delve deeper into the Grisha Verse, but the storyline is fantastic, the characters are brilliantly painted, and the dialogue is some of the most witty, most wonderful dialogue I have ever read (Jesper anyone?). Plus, the Nina x Matthias dynamic is my absolute favourite romance trope!!! With honourable mentions to Kaz and Inej of course.

Going into King of Scars I was hopeful for a thrilling adventure across the Grisha Verse I have come to know so well, with some excellent characters and cracking banter.

 Was that what I found?

 In short, no.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate this book. It was an enjoyable read. However, I do think the King of Scars is Leigh Bardugo’s weakest work. Now, I don’t know whether she was writing under pressure from her publishers, fans etc., if there was something going on in her life perhaps to throw her off her game, or if the King of Scars was genuinely the direction she wanted to take this series/story/universe. The characterisation was good as always, I enjoyed learning more about Nikolai and Zoya’s respective backstories, and yeah, I ship them hard, but there wasn’t as much witty banter as I had hoped. Particularly from a character like Nikolai who gave so much in previous books. Sure, the argument can be made that this book is about him battling his own demons, so fair enough if he was somewhat off his game. I think however this book fell down in two key ways, (1) the universe and (2) the story itself.

What do I mean in respect of not liking the “universe” as conceptualised in King of Scars? This might sound a little strange, but in the Shadow and Bone trilogy and Six of Crows duology the “magic” that the Grisha possess appears very “real” (if magic can indeed be real). There are rules about how Grisha power works and thus seems plausible to me. I feel like King of Scars departed from this. I don’t mean the Zoya/Dragon story line. I actually quite enjoyed the exploration of “but aren’t we all things” and the blurring of the lines between different Grisha powers. I think that will make an interesting development in the story. What is less clear in how magic works in the Grisha Verse is (1) the demon that possesses Nikolai (but sure I can get on board with it for the purpose of the story and to be quite honest I don’t REALLY care about a lot of the minute details about the world’s in fantasy books operate), and (2) the whole mid-section of the book where Nikolai and Zoya are sucked into this Twilight Zone/Alice in Wonderland alternative dimension that emerges in the fold. This is where the book lost me. I didn’t totally understand what was going on, and I think the writing fell down here. It was like even Leigh Bardugo didn’t have a clear idea as to what was happening. Trying to make sense of it was a bit like trying to look through fog. Dragons, bees, three-headed bears, a big rock that became a palace, thorns??? I was totally baffled by it all. Where they in the fold or the Unsea? How did they just suddenly disappear? Where did that pilgrimage camp go? Was any of that real or just an illusion to trap Nikolai and Zoya there? Even at the end I’m unsure as to how much Yuri knew, how much he was leading them knowing what was going to happen or was he just a hapless buffoon that got caught up in the whole thing? How exactly did Zoya defeat the bee witch queen? What happened with Nikolai and his demon? Is it is half defeated? Is the demon the Darkling himself rather than a residue of the Darkling’s monster? Does that mean that the Darkling lives half within Nikolai and half within Yuri? Maybe some of this is deliberately vague and will be cleared up in the next book, but I honestly think that a lot of it has to do with the writing because there are parts that are perfectly clear and I do understand what is happening, for example when Zoya slays the dragon. Perhaps this was because I had read the previous books and I understood what it meant to kill a creature to create an amplifier, but equally, I believe that Leigh Bardugo wrote this section clearer because she had written the previous books!

Essentially, I felt that I had a good grasp of the Grisha Verse but this whole section is too off the wall for it to be believable to me and just doesn’t feel like it “fits” with the universe that had been created/developed in the other books.

The second thing I dislike is the story. Yes, see previous thoughts above in respect of the whole mid-section of the book, but this whole story was just angling to bring the Darkling back? Nah, I don’t like it. Not because the Darkling is a baddie and the thought of him being back can only mean bad things, but because I think its lazy writing. There is already so much conflict, or potential for conflict, in these books with Nikolai becoming King and trying to save Ravka that there was no need for the Darkling to return. For one, I think it undermines everything that happened in the Shadow and Bone series for him to return and presumably be defeated in the next book?. Mal sacrificed himself for Alina to destroy him, only for her to lose her power afterwards. It doesn’t seem right that he went on “living” in this alternative universe. The whole body swap thing was just bizarre, and again, lazy writing. I’m not a fan of people suddenly appearing back from the dead as a trope anyway, but this was particularly sloppily done. (Yes, I know Mal came back from the dead too but there was some explanation as to have him having two souls/lives inside him and as I say I was an Alana/Mal shipper so I was prepared to overlook it). I just felt that the Alina/Mal/Darkling storyline was wrapped up so nicely at the end of the Shadow and Bone trilogy that is doesn’t seem right to bring the Darkling back as the villain in a Nikolai/Zoya story. The final line in the Shadow and Bone series about Alina and Mal living a normal life if a life with love could ever be such a thing absolutely destroyed me (I wept for the evening after reading that – it’s my catnip), but that story felt complete. I don’t see how the Darkling can come back within at least Alina being involved again, and she doesn’t have her powers anymore which were the only things that defeated the Darkling. I think what my uneasiness boils down to is, presumably Nikolai and Zoya are going to defeat him in the next book, but no matter how comprehensively they do so, I’m never going to believe that he is actually dead, or that death in the Grisha Verse really exists. That at any time, anyone, not matter how long they have been dead for could just reappear with some absolutely insane story of how they managed to remain living even though they were totally, utterly, completely, without a doubt dead. 

I think the crux of my disappointment with King of Scars can be summed up as follows:-

Will I be reading the sequel?

Yeah...probably.

Will I be thinking about what is happening to these characters every day until that book is released?

No.

[fly-pow-bye]

Powerpuff Girls 2016 - “Man Up 4: The Donnyest Game”

Written by: Haley Mancini

Written & Storyboarded by: Alicia Chan

Directed by: Nick Jennings, Bob Boyle

Yup, he's back.

The epic Man Up saga gets yet another episode, turning the trilogy into a tetralogy, putting it in the same category as the Shrek series. I'd argue the quality is very similar, at least in my opinion. The second one was better than the first, one of the rare sequels that was better in every way, and the third one was just horrific. It was so horrific that I didn't even want to watch the fourth one, but somebody once told me that the world was going to roll me and The Final Chapter was better than the third.

I could talk about the Shrek films all day, but I don't think that's what you came here for. Maybe I'm just trying to delay the inevitable, since the very first character we see in this episode is...

...oh boy, Donny. I was sort of hoping that Donny in the title wasn’t referring to the comic relief, as unlikely as that would be. At least they continue the cruelty streak with him that started with Total Eclipse of the Kart, as he struggles to open a jar of strawberry jam without getting it all over himself and getting covered with ants. It's not that it isn't deserved. The Powerpuff Girls, who normally help other people with jars, don't seem to want to help, though Bubbles does give this lovely advice.

Bubbles: Stop, drop, and roll, Donny!

The joke is that he's not on fire, you silly goose! Get ready, because there's a lot of jokes like this. While all of this jam related insanity is happening, a familiar face is hiding in the bushes.

Because this is a part of the Man Up tetralogy, we get the one thing that linked all of them, and the only thing that linked all of them: the villain is Manboy, a man man man man who wants to prove that he is a man man man man by doing man man man man things. The most man man man man thing in this episode is to beat up this majestic unicorn. See, it's ironic, because this majestic horned pony is getting annihilated by ants. Or, "ant-nilhilated" as Donny puts it. He's trying. Oh McCracken, he's trying.

I'm surprised they didn't leave a pause between that pun and Blossom talking about the B-plot of this episode. She doesn't want to waste any time, because they have one hour before they have to participate in the Utonium Strawberry Picking Contest.

The winner gets their photo on the fridge, along with a photo showing the "4th year strawberry champ", which happens to be Blossom! Before I can ramble on about how this show's sense of time is out of whack, I can say that the episode proves that this is not referring to Blossom being the 4th consecutive winner of the strawberry picking contest, but the winner of the 4th year this contest was held. Then again, who would have participated in the 1st? Jojo back when he was a monkey? I'm putting way too much thought into this, am I?

Donny is super intrigued by this grand prize, as if the winds of destiny were whispering "Danny". Bubbles has to slowly move her Finn-faced head in to remind him that his name is Donny, in another amazing joke for this comic relief character.

Buttercup, that rascal, tells Donny he doesn't have a good shot at being the champion of giving Sitcom Dad his sweet, sweet free strawberries, but Bubbles comes in to defend her best friend.

Bubbles: It's okay, Don-Bon! You may not be the best strawberry hunter, but you’re still my best friend!

Yeah, great pep talk, Bubbles. Yeah, Donny is terrible at absolutely everything, but at least he's Bubbles' best friend because he has a great personality he doesn't treat his old friends like dirt when he makes new ones he's a unicorn! Donny seems to take it okay, at least.

Suddenly, Blossom gets a call from the Mayor that the Blimp Shrimp is on the loose, reminding us all that the Powerpuff Girls do indeed save the world before bedtime and aren't just strawberry pickers that can fly. There really isn't much else; we don't even get to see this Blimp Shrimp; I guess we're supposed to just find rhyming funny. It's not really on the money.

Well, there is one reason: it's so Donny can do something that isn't very bright, since he can't seem to use his common sense without the girls to guide him. While he’s hunting for strawberries using his strategy of saying he will not be distracted, he sees a churro on a napkin. This napkin happens to be right next to a lasso hanging off of a tree! He can't fall for this.

(Johnny Test Whip Crack)

At least, that's what Manboy thought. Manboy is bewildered by this specimen, as not only does he not look like the unicorn in his purple guidebook, he fell for the very first trap he put up! You'd think he would know all of this, since he was clearly looking at him getting defeated by ants.

Man Boy: It says here that unicorns are incredibly powerful, are experts at camouflage, and are capable of tracking their opponents across many miles! That doesn't really sound like you!

Donny: I know! I sound more like, "Hi, my name's Donny! D-O-N-N-Y!"

I am so glad to say this is the last time he appears this season. They couldn’t even be consistent with him not knowing his name. They could have at least had him misspell it. Actually, they shouldn’t. Manboy, finding no pleasure in beating up such a weakling, offers him some training that would turn him into a commando. “A strawberry commando?”, Donny asks, and Manboy just rolls with it.

So Manboy trains his own opponent through many tasks, like jumping across cliffs, catching fish, doing pull-ups over a fire, and a few other. This training montage is played a bit too straight to be that funny, but it does have this song about how montages are only here to speed things up. No, really.

Bet you can't guess what's happening here Time is of the essence, so we'll make it clear We only got a minute for a montage song Because this episode is ten minutes long

A montage is happenin'!

I am not going to lie, it's kind of catchy, and at least it gives a scene some sort of a joke.

There is one other thing: there's a scene where Donny gets taken away by what is unmistakably a bald eagle. Later, after he starts getting the hang of being a manly unicorn, he punches that eagle right in the face without even a hit flash. I don’t even know what to say.

After his training and his somewhat justified violence against the national bird of the country this takes place in, or at least it was in the original, he ends up becoming a Rambo-like muscled hero, looking almost exactly like the picture in that purple guidebook. I always wanted to see Donny get the Musclecup treatment, said no one ever. Thanks to this training, Donny stops telling bad jokes all the time and now speaks only in gruff action hero lines. Not sure if I would consider that an improvement.

Manboy: Okay, unicorn! It's time to play the most dangerous game...and you're it!

...so he wants to play a children's playground game with him? That is the conclusion one would expect Donny to consider with that line, but how else would somebody interpret that? I think he may have forgotten a sentence.

Suddenly, Donny starts shooting horn lasers at him. He tries, for the only time in the entire episode, to use his man man man man beard powers, but they get lasered off. Much like the Reboot Puffs in certain episodes, Manboy just knows that a punch would not be able to stop him, and just runs away.

Speaking of the Reboot Puffs, we do get a peek back at the B-plot, and I really mean a peek, because there's almost nothing here. After Sitcom Dad reiterates how this strawberry picking contest's prize is that fabled picture on the fridge, Buttercup boasts that she is for sure that she'll win this time. She has a secret weapon: a dust buster. Bubbles asks if she really learned nothing from that time she used a vacuum cleaner last year.

Insert cutaway gag where Buttercup chases triple chin Ranger Smith with a vacuum cleaner. Honestly, Bubbles should have just stopped at asking if she really has learned nothing, because the answer is usually yes.

Most of this episode is just Manboy getting chased by the Muscled Hellhorn, sometimes hiding in a bush to avoid him. Donny slowly walks, yelling out to Manboy to come out, come out, where ever he is. This is the big irony; he's this big and strong manly man, and he's getting chased away by a sparkly unicorn...who is also a big and strong manly man. I think the muscles and action movie one liners really lessen this.

Buttercup shows up to suck up some strawberries with her dust buster, and she unintentionally sucks up the bush Manboy was hiding in. Hey, something that actually ties the Donny chasing after Manboy plot with the strawberry plot! Unfortunately, that's the only time the two plots really converge; Donny doesn't even seem to be interested in the strawberries in any of these scenes.

As for those strawberries, the next time we see a Powerpuff Girl is when the episode suddenly cuts to a scene where Blossom is picky about what strawberries she puts in her basket. At least that kind of fits her character, even if that seems to sabotage her plans to win. Sitcom Dad outright said the person with the most strawberries wins that coveted photo on the fridge. Honestly, that's really it for the strawberry plot until the end, and no attempt is made to connect this scene with anything else.

It's just more Donny from here on out. If there's any kind of progression, at least the training montage made him a little more competent at dodging traps. He easily dodges an arrow trap, and just walks through a fallen tree. The closest thing to an action scene in this entire episode, really. Eventually something's got to break this new character of his, and it's going to take more than a napkin with a churro on it.

Oh no, it takes a napkin with two churros to make him fall into a trap! He even reverts back to his usual voice just to yell out his love for churros. Manboy shows up that he finally bested this majestic and powerful unicorn...even though he not once tried to lay a finger on him like he said he was going to do. I guess he would take any victory at this point.

Unfortunately for Manboy, that victory doesn't last. Somehow, Donny managed to set up a trap of his own, as Manboy ends up walking backwards, stepping onto a green button, which covers him in strawberry jam. At least that strawberry jam scene from the opening has a point, as he then gets to succumb to the ants.

And not just ants, either, but he also ends up running into a beehive. It doesn't entirely reference the infamous Nicolas Cage remake of The Wicker Man, but we do get this line, which is almost as good:

Manboy: Oh my god! Bees! Bees! Gyaaah!

Okay, he says gosh, but that's not what I heard. Then he gets attacked by a shark, because random. Eventually, he does end up going into a river, which does cleanse him from the jam, the ants, the bees, and the shark. This river ends up going into a waterfall, and then goes into another waterfall. Both times, they have to point out where Manboy is with a giant yellow beeping arrow, as if the context wasn't clear enough. This scene was enjoyable, but that might be because this is the best beating Manboy ever gotten.

And now, the required "I'm so sorry I was such a doofus" scene, though we usually don't see it from a villain. Donny somehow managed to get out of the cage and run all the way down to the bottom of the twin waterfalls to confront Manboy. I honestly stopped questioning such things; maybe it's that same kind of unicorn magic that allows him to poof tickets to ice skating shows.

Donny doesn't accept this apology, and does what he wanted to do as a person who was called "It."

Donny: Tag, you're it! Now you'll have to chase me-e-e-e-e-e!

The conclusion one would expect Donny to consider with that "and you're it" line is exactly what happens. One might ask, if this was Donny's idea of playing tag, why was he trying to horn laser him? The answer, much like most other questions one could ask about this reboot, is pineapples.

Manboy, in his anger, finally decides to lunge right towards Donny to possibly fulfill his promise to beat up a unicorn. Donny moves his neck slightly to make him miss and hit a tree instead. Yeah, it wasn't as cool as when Blossom did that in the original.

In the end, they finally tie this all up with that strawberry plot I completely forgot about, since it barely shows up. Blossom has her pretty pile, Buttercup accidentally sucked up the park ranger, and Bubbles ate the strawberries she found. Since she's best friends with a character who is well established in this episode to be not too bright, Bubbles can't be too far off, you see.

Donny shows up with that tree Manboy ran into, and it turned out to be a strawberry tree. His muscular physique is suddenly gone for no reason whatsoever. Why shouldn't they just have him stay muscular at the end of the episode? The status quo never seems to bother them.

The Professor decides to give Donny that fabled photo on the fridge he always wanted, right next to a fridge magnet of a poorly drawn Texas. Yee haw. Yeah, I can't think of a better ending for this.

Does the title fit?

Sadly, yes, at least with the Donnyest Game. I guess Donny being made more "manly" does sort of continue with Man Up 3's themes, but that's as close as we get.

How does it stack up?

Out of all the Donny-focused episodes, this is the best Donny one by the virtue of having not as much to complain about. He’s not constantly whining and being an absolutely terrible analogy the writers had to deny. He’s not being a terrible friend by ditching him for a total stranger who happened to have glitter and crayons. The episode doesn’t prop him up as this incredibly important character while the characters we should be caring about are getting their butts kicked. Most importantly, it’s not Bubbs and Donny Get The Mail.

However, there really isn't much to praise, either. The strawberry plot doesn't really go anywhere beyond a cutaway gag, and this episode doesn't change my opinion on Manboy or Donny as characters. I don't hate this episode, but I didn't really want to re-watch it.

Next, another episode where a villain cowers in fear over a cutesy character. Will it be any better than this one?

← Watch It! ☆ The Oct-Father →

[bellaciaobitch]

Ok. I really need part 2 of that pregnancy prompt!! I need to know how Sergio reacts to the news 😍

ok, so I need to start this by saying I AM SO SORRY! This prompt was ready for a very long time but I was focusing on escapar and taking control pt2 (which is coming as well, a little more patience people!) and got my hands full. Also, I’m trying a new grammar reviewer to help me out so it might still have misspellings and grammar issues. If so, please let me know and I will edit it as soon as I can! Btw, thank you to everyone who asked for a sequel of this pregnancy prompt, I feel super happy to know you guys liked it so much! I hope this one is as good for you as the first was. Anyway, here it is! Feedback appreciated! Enjoy it and see you soon! 

ps: I’m not writing any more prompts related to this plot, at least for now. I have special ideas related to babies that I would like to keep to myself for future projects. So, yeah. I’m sorry :/

to figure things out

Not even the exuberant view from Sergio’s house, facing the bluest sea, could calm Raquel’s nerves. She tried to take deep breaths, but she kept on missing the rhythm and the air eventually stopped reaching her lungs, enough to make her gasp. Sergio, who was coming in through the door behind her, noticed her uneasiness while they walked from the bar to the house but associated it with the fact that they were finally reunited after so long. He watched her discard her purse on the living room couch and frowned. Something was wrong. A chill ran down his spine with the idea of having found her again just to continue that epic fight they had in Toledo.“Would you like a glass of water?” He asked clumsily, watching her walking in circles. Raquel, who was deep in her own thoughts, finally seemed to notice his presence and cast him a determined look.“No,” she said and walked up to him, quickly grabbing his hand “I need you to sit down”“Raquel, what is going on?” He replied noticing her hand was cold as ice. She seemed about to faint or break into a panic attack, and Sergio was now more scared for her than of her. She made him feel uneasy as well, and he adjusted the glasses on top of his nose before doing as she asked.People say that important news, especially the ones that could change the whole course of someone’s life, was better to be announced as if you’re ripping out a band-aid. Quick and painless, without procrastinating. But the words were stuck inside Raquel’s throat from the moment she saw him at the bar, and they kissed for a long time, consuming everything they missed within those three months apart. The weight of the news was choking her since she got on the plane to the Philippines and along the way, Raquel decided she couldn’t wait any longer to tell him she was pregnant with his child.

We’re going to have a baby, Sergio. Pregnant. P-r-e-g-n-a-n-t. She trained all possible ways to say it in front of the plane’s restroom small mirror. But saying it to his face was a completely different picture than looking at her reflection and throwing words and phrases at herself. Right then, every single thing about Sergio made her feel apprehensive. His worried look, his hands slightly shaking, his white blazer meticulously aligned… What if he rejects her because he doesn’t want children? After all, he was still a criminal, he couldn’t even guarantee his own safety, not to say the safety of a child. But Raquel concluded that the opposite scenario would be much worse: if he asked her to stay, now that a part of him grows in her womb, she had no idea what to do.“I need to tell you something,” she said moving away from him, and a sharp pain in her stomach caught her off guard. She ignored it. “There is another reason why I came to Palawan, besides seeing you”Sergio looked even more lost and eyed her from head to toe. “What other reason?”“I don’t know how we’re going to deal with this, I really don’t. I never thought something like that could happen, that it would be…” She stopped to inhale and noticed the room was spinning around her. Raquel blinked several times before continuing, "I swear it was not intentional. Please don’t think that it’s some kind of scam or strategy to put you in jail or something…”“Raquel, you’re scaring me.” He rested his elbows on his knees, ready to rise at any moment. And Raquel knew that nothing was fine when her stomach twisted again. Fast, directly and painless, she repeated to herself.“Okay, there it goes” she took a deep breath but held the air in. Her sight was blurred, her legs dangling and before she could say anything, Raquel found herself running to the nearest bathroom.He sat there on the couch, looking foolish, not knowing whether to run after her or wait. Only when he was sure of the source of the noises he heard coming from the bathroom, that he stood up, and bolt for the door.“Raquel?!” he shouted and got no answer. He knocked on the door twice, three times, and called again and again until she answered.“Do not get in!” she said in a muffled voice “Stay there, I’m coming”“Raquel, what the hell is going on?”She did not answer again and Sergio overcame his own perfectionism to get into the bathroom, even against her protests.Raquel was sitting on the floor, her head inside the toilet, putting out everything they had eaten together that morning. He immediately knelt down and grabbed her hair, stroking her back until it was over. When she seemed to feel better, Raquel closed the toilet but continued to sit on the floor, in case if she would get sick again. She was completely pale and helpless, and Sergio frowned in concern.“Are you alright? Do you want some medicine? A doctor? Maybe it was the spicy food… ”“I’m pregnant, Sergio,” she said as if it was something obvious or trivial. “You and I are going to have a baby and apparently your child doesn’t fancy my stomach”

Sergio froze. Looking from the outside, he seemed to be in a state of trance, almost in a coma. But on the inside, there were fireworks exploding in his mind. Bursting in vibrant shades of color, burning all his nerves and deafening his ears. The professor never imagined himself as a father. In fact, he preferred not to consider the hypothesis of forming a family if it meant to keep him from his precious plan. But there, kneeling on the bathroom floor watching the love of his life vomit inside the toilet, he was no longer convinced of anything. He only knew that he loved her, very much, and knowing that a little part of his DNA was now growing inside her womb made him want to laugh and cry, to kiss her until her lips turned blue and to run free on the streets screaming that he would be a father. All that at the same time.

“Pregnant,” he repeated to confirm if he heard it right“Oh, great you’re back! I was starting to worry you’d be catatonic forever!”“You mean, with a baby?”“Yes, Sergio”“And… is it mine?”“Are you doubting my …?”

“No! No, I’m not, I’m sorry… I’m not sure what to say, I was taken by surprise.” He sat on the floor and stared at her belly. Raquel closed the top of the toilet and leaned against the icy blue wall tiles. She stared at his confused expression, wishing they were having that conversation somewhere else.

“Do you want me to leave?”

“What? Why would I want this? You just arrived”“Because things will not be easy. Neither for me nor for you, much less for this kid.” she sighed avoiding his eyes “None of this was calculated, and I know how much you care about plans and organization. And I would love to be able to raise him or her by your side but I will fully understand if you want me out of your life. I’m perfectly able to do it by myself, you know. I can try for another job and…”

“Raquel,” he interrupted her and moved to her side but the inspector only stopped talking when he held her hand, entwining their fingers the way they did during the robbery when they promised to run away together.

“I know it will not be easy. But it will be even more difficult if we don’t stay together,”  he said, and she smiled, her eyes watering.

“I’m scared”“I know. Me too” he brought her closer and Raquel rested her head on his shoulder. “But we will figure things out. For the three of us.”

[dust2dust34]

A quick flashfic in the Forever Is Composed of Nows ‘verse, specifically for Nate/Penny (aka BookQueen). This is the one sequel that both @so-caffeinated and I will be writing together like we did with FICoN and early parts of POA. It’s still a ways off, but along with the rest of the FICoN ‘verse, these two are never far from our thoughts...

*This is unbetaed and will likely get edits for the final story.*

(You can read a peek at what their [smutty] future is like here.)

This is how they meet... 

June 2051 

There is very little that Nate Queen dislikes more than inefficiency.

Chit-chat around water coolers and meandering lunch breaks spent talking about weekend plans is a waste of company time that’s not a whole lot better than stealing, in Nate’s opinion. At work, you have a job to do. You have a purpose and that purpose is not to gush over the newest reboot to hit theaters or talk about the exploits of some celebrity billionaire that got splashed across the gossip blogs.

Okay, that last one might be taking things a bit personally, but his point stands.

The fact that so few people seem to share Nate’s devotion and work ethic is both frustrating and a problem. For the life of him, he cannot seem to find an assistant who can live up to his standards. The job is not, in spite of assumptions, one that runs nine-to-five. The work day ends when the work is completed and not a moment before. Nate holds himself to that standard and he surely holds his assistants to it.

Which is why he’s burned through three of them so far this year and is currently relying on a temp agency while he searches for someone who actually wants to be a professional instead of goofing off half of the time.

His last assistant had been on Twitter while she was working. Ignoring the fact that no one even uses Twitter these days, what could be the possible justification for that?

No one in Human Resources had been surprised in the least when he’d informed them that he was going to need them to vet some new candidates for him, but they’d definitely been annoyed. This time, he tells himself, this time he’ll make sure he gets someone right for the job. This time, he’s going to find a good, dedicated, long-term assistant that doesn’t leave him back in the H.R. department before the end of summer. For one thing, having to spend time interviewing someone so routinely is terribly inefficient. And, honestly, counterproductive.

Knowing him as they do, H.R. has had trouble getting anyone past the first round of interviews. Nate has become somewhat notorious for his exacting standards and he suspects the hiring manager is pulling no punches in describing exactly what working for him is like. He’s not an easy boss, but he demands no more of others than he’s willing to give himself. While he might not be easy to work for, he is fair.

But, there’s something of a deviation from normal procedure today. That alone would be enough to make Nate a little unsettled - he likes routine; procedures are there for a reason - but the reason for it also just rubs him the wrong way.

It had started, of all things, with a call from his brother.

“Hey, so… no pressure here, but I need to ask you for a favor.”

The statement alone had been a surprise, but Nate had assumed he needed a babysitter for some reason and had been ready to agree until Will continued.

“Actually it’s Beth’s friend who needs… No, Micah, don’t you dare put peas up your brother’s nose!... Who needs a favor.”

It hadn’t been the deviation in the middle that had thrown Nate.

“I’m not asking you to hire her,” Will had continued, “but Beth’s got this friend, a girl a few years older than her who tutored her in her business class. And she’s looking for a job. And Beth might’ve promised she could get her an interview at Q.I.”

Nate had barely bitten back a curse. Of course she had. Beth’s absolutely the type to promise something then bat her eyes until other people make it happen.

It’d taken Will a while to talk him into it and Nate had really only been convinced because his youngest nephew had started wailing. Apparently he’d really wanted peas up his nose and it quickly became clear that Will was doing his best to comfort the toddler while simultaneously continuing to attempt to persuade him. And, okay, Nate might be a hard-ass of a boss, but he’s a pushover when it comes to his siblings. So he’d finally sighed and agreed before taking down Beth’s friend’s information and forwarding it over to Human Resources.

Penny Bookwalter.

She was one year out of college with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and an associate’s in administrative assistant studies. She might’ve been a strong candidate for a lower level manager, either as an assistant or working in accounts herself. The education is surely there, but the experience is not. Aside from an internship at a company that went belly-up last winter and a few temp jobs, the only thing to recommend her is a handful of glowing letters of recommendation that Will sends on her behalf.

Except Bethany, of course.

Nate isn’t especially close with his half-brother’s baby sister. He likes her well-enough, he guesses, went to her wedding and wrote a really hefty check as a gift. But they could not be two more different people if they tried and they rarely spend time together or even chat outside of extended family gatherings. So, he’d been more than a little surprised to see her when she’d turned up at his office with a bag of donuts and a toothy smile that meant she had an agenda.

Like Bethany Samayamantula has ever done anything without an agenda?

She’d dropped a bag of bear claws on his desk, perched herself next to it and said, “Hello, my almost-brother. Let me tell you about my amazing friend and why you need to hire her.”

Frankly, she’s going to be terrifying when she’s done getting her real estate license. He’s glad he never has to negotiate with her. Well… for anything other than this, anyhow. Still, he respects her for going to extra mile for her friend and the simple fact that she does builds his interest in the would-be assistant.

She still should’ve gone through the proper channels rather than vaulting straight past the screener appointment to have a sit-down with him, which will be starting in - Nate checks his watch - fourteen minutes. Presuming she’s on time. If she’s not it won’t be starting at all.

His favors only extend so far.

Nate collates the papers for Edgarton into a neat pile before slipping them into a folder. He ignores the twinge of annoyance at having to hope the temp currently working for him doesn’t misfile these, or worse, file them in the wrong place completely like she did with the Applied Sciences project that’d gotten fast-tracked last week.

Collecting the folder and a memo with his notes, he heads out of his office. She’d misspelled words he didn’t even know people could misspell, which simply only telegraphed her laziness not only with his files but his dictations as well. It’s simply a reminder that he absolutely will not hire someone just so that he’s done with hit-and-miss temps. This one is surely a miss.

It might help if she’d actually stay at her desk.

Nate stops dead in his tracks and clenches his jaw, nostrils flaring. Only the fact that he hears her heels on the marble floor in his outer office saves her, followed by her saying, “Sorry your coffee’s in a plastic cup, I couldn’t find the real ones.”

“Oh, that’s fine,” someone replies. The answering voice is soft, reserved, and a little nervous, judging by the way the words end in a lilt. She’s being nice, that much is obvious, especially because it’s not fine, not in Nate’s estimation. The coffee mugs are kept on a rack that sits right next to the espresso and coffee machines and he has to wonder where in hell Miss Dunsworth went to get that cup of coffee. The voice continues with an equally soft, “Thank you.”

“Sure thing,” Miss Dunsworth says. The casual nature makes Nate’s eye twitch. “I’ll let him know you’re here.”

Nate raises an eyebrow. Is this his interview? He glances at his watch again, but it’s exactly as he thought, except now he has thirteen minutes before the scheduled appointment. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t just a little bit impressed. It’s almost enough to assuage the fact that he’s having to do this at all.

“Oh no,” the soft-spoken woman says, “please don’t interrupt him if he’s busy. I’m early.”

“Alright. That’s probably a good idea, he can be kind of a d-i-c-k sometimes.”

Nate isn’t sure which emotion hits him first - aggravation, anger, or amazement that she can spell the word dick just fine, but she thinks the word agreement actually has four e’s. He doesn’t get the chance to react, though, because the person he assumes to be Miss Bookwalter replies.

“Excuse me?”

“Mr. Queen,” Miss Dunsworth supplies.

Nate moves to catch a glimpse of his temp leaning against one of the couches in his waiting room as if she’s at home and not in a professional work environment.

His temp isn’t finished.

“The only reason I’ve stuck around so long is because the stick that lives up his ass doesn’t take away from how insanely hot said ass is.”

Oh, is that all? Nate thinks dryly.

Miss Bookwalter doesn’t skip a beat and Nate almost does a double take at the change in her voice as she says, “It sounds like he knows what he wants.”

“Yeah,” Miss Dunsworth says. “To be a dick. Just a little warning, he’s not easy to work for. In fact he’s hard as hell to work for. He made me stay until seven last night to finish some paperwork when it could have easily been done this morning. Hi, people have lives.”

“If the work needs to be finished,” Miss Bookwalter replies, “you should stay until it’s finished. If that’s what your boss needs.”

Yes.

Exactly.

There’s not an ounce of bite to her words, but the point is there, and it’s direct. Nate’s aggravation with his temporary assistant shifts to intrigue as he glances at where Miss Bookwalter sits. All he sees are a pair of simple black heels and bare calves.

“You are way more patient than me, girl,” Miss Dunsworth replies. “I’m just saying, I’ve been temping for a few years now and this guy is by far the worst I’ve ever experienced.”

The silence that follows is almost tangible, and Nate is too transfixed to do anything but watch. He can see with each second that passes that it wears on Miss Dunsworth. She starts to wilt, clearly not finding the camaraderie that she’d been expecting.

“Thank you,” Miss Bookwalter finally replies and Nate’s eyes switch back to where the woman sits up taller. “I’ve been doing temp work, too, and I can speak from experience that not every work environment is right for everyone. That doesn’t mean it’s wrong, either. You just have to find the right place for you.”

Miss Bookwalter is cordial and even-tempered and, once again, so damn direct in her own way that Nate almost smiles.

Miss Dunsworth finally picks up on it. “True.” She’s much more muted now and if Nate was a betting man - he isn’t - he’d say she was flush with her own brand of agitation. The silence this time is heavier as she steps back. “I’ll let him know you’re here when it’s time.”

“Tha-”

Nate’s moving before he can stop himself.

The proper thing would be to go back into his office and deal with Miss Dunsworth later, and then take the interview with Miss Bookwalter as scheduled, but he doesn’t do that.

Instead he steps out from his inner offices with a sharp, “That won’t be necessary,” which makes his temp jump.

It’s painfully obvious he’d been listening in, judging by the look on her face as much as by the way he catches the other woman’s shoulders dropping in his peripheral.

“Oh, Mr. Queen,” Miss Dunsworth starts, but Nate waves her off.

“These are for you,” he says, handing her the file. She is flushing, making her skin splotchy all across her chest.

“You’re done with the Everton thing?”

Nate damn near grinds his molars into dust. “Yes,” he replies. “The thing for Edgarton is done.” He forces himself to take a deep breath and says a soft, “Thank you,” before turning to Miss Bookwalter. “You must be…”

For those four minutes he’d been listening in he honestly thought he knew what he’d be expecting when he finally turns to this friend of Bethany’s who had already impressed him with just a few words.

He could not possibly be more wrong.

Penny Bookwalter is absolutely nothing like he might have imagined, as a friend of Bethany’s or as someone who doesn’t back down in the face of unprofessionalism.

The petite redhead immediately stands in response, holding her hand out. The reserved nature he’d heard in her voice earlier is readily apparent in the air around her once more, and the nervousness is back, he notes, as she closes the distance between them. But there’s something else underneath it, an excitement he’s never seen in another person, a vitality that makes him blink twice.

And she’s absolutely beautiful. Shockingly stunning, even.

He’s struck dumb in a way he hasn’t felt in years and it leaves him floundering slightly.

���Penny Bookwalter,” she fills in, offering her hand to him.

He mutely takes it, unable to take his eyes off her. A remnant blush is evident on her cheeks and up over her temples, mixing in the with the vibrant color of her hair. Her eyes are alert, but there’s more than nervousness there. She’s worried, about what he overheard. He immediately wants to tell her that the interview hasn’t even started and he’s already taken with her.

Taken with her?

No, she’s here for the interview, to be his assistant. Not to date him. Date? Nate does another double take, this time at himself, because where exactly were these thoughts coming from? He was at work, meeting with a potential employee, not looking for someone to sweep off their feet.

“Nate Queen,” he replies, his voice low, lower than he intends. Her eyes widen minutely before she catches herself, but she can’t quite control the way her hand tightens in his. He grasps hers a little closer - it’s small and it fits beautifully against his fingers - and is about to add more, but she’s already talking.

“I know who you are, Mr. Queen,” Penny says, giving him a good, solid handshake. If someone would’ve judged her handshake based on the soft way she spoke, this isn’t what they’d get. No, this handshake more matched the woman who’d inadvertently stepped up to bat to defend a job she didn’t even have yet. “It’s so good to meet you. Thank you for taking the time to interview me, sir.”

Something deep inside him tugs, the combination of her voice, so soft and excited and nervous all at once, along with the strength in her personal presentation to him pulls him in even more than he already was. There’s a solid foot of height difference between them and he knows the instant she feels it when he just stares at her for a beat, trying to suss out what it is exactly that’s capturing him so much about her. It’s only when her cheeks flush as red as her hair that he realizes what he’s doing.

“I’m glad to have the opportunity, Miss Bookwalter,” Nate says. When she doesn’t immediately correct him to use her first name, he smiles. Genuinely. He likes that. “Please come inside so we can get started.” 

*

Thank you for reading, we hope you enjoyed it! Reviews literally feed the soul and muse!

@so-caffeinated has started drafting the first sequel, so the FICoN wheels are in motion!

[artificialqueens]

A Silent Whisper (Jadore, past Jivy) - Eevee

This is the sequel to Of the Night, and it will make NO SENSE if you haven’t read that. This is Ivy’s side of the story, this is what happened between her death and Adore’s turning.

Trigger warnings: violence, death, blood, attempted suicide, and depression. This ain’t a happy time.

But if you want to know the story of a ghost who tried to forgive the woman who killed her, here we are. Love, Eevee

“Don’t fret, Ivy. You’ll be okay.” That was the last thing Ivy heard, before she started screaming. Ginny snarled something else then clapped a hand over her mouth to quiet her, but her voice had already started to fade. She tried to grab Ginny’s hand but she couldn’t even lift her arm. She could swear she heard someone yell, “Virginia!” Then, her whole world went black. ~*~*~*~*~ Ivy woke with no pain, she was floating. She opened her eyes, and her heart sank. She was floating over Ginny’s bed, and above her own body. Ginny’s face was stained with blood- her blood. Her body was crumpled and covered in wounds, and she realized Ginny had lost control. “Oh, Ginny…” Ivy sighed. Ginny looked down at Ivy and started to realize something was wrong. “Ivy?” The ginger whimpered, lightly shaking the blonde. The girl didn’t respond. “Ivy?!” Ginny squeaked, realizing what she had done. Ivy wished she could fix it, but she was a ghost. Ginny wept for hours, and Ivy processed what had happened. She was dead, Ginny killed her. But she wasn’t mad. “Oh Ginny, I wish this hadn’t happened this way.” Ivy murmured, watching the vampire cradle her body. “Ivy, no!” Ginny wailed, sobbing. “I’m sorry! I’m so stupid!” The vampire took Ivy’s body to the park. “Our first date, oh Ginny.” Ivy sighed, watching the ginger dig a hole. The vampire buried Ivy’s body, weeping. “I’m sorry Ivy. Here, you can always be under the stars. You deserved to be one, and…” Ginny broke down again. Ivy faded away for awhile. ~*~*~*~*~ Ivy returned to Ginny’s home, it felt different. It was almost sunrise, and Ginny was sitting at her window. “Just rise already!” She whined, spreading her arms to face the sun. Ivy panicked. “No, Ginny!” She tried to grab the curtains and close them, and ended up knocking them onto Virginia. “I can’t even die properly!” Ginny wailed, huddling up under the fabric. “I mess everything up. I’m a jinx!” ~*~*~*~*~ Ivy faded in and out a lot. She tried to keep an eye on Ginny, her lover was still suicidal. She hadn’t fed in weeks. Ivy watched as Virginia eventually left her home, and found someone to feed on. She barely fed at all before turning the woman away, dazed but fine. Ginny was careless, she would walk past mirrors when she was in public and she didn’t cover her windows before sunrise. She fed rarely, often weeks between people. She wasn’t actively trying to kill herself, but she wasn’t being cautious either. She had no drive anymore. Ivy kept after her, learning to trick mirrors into showing Ginny’s reflection, and closing the curtains in her apartment, anything. It became a routine. Ivy understood that Virginia felt guilty, but she also had forgiven her. Ginny hadn’t meant to hurt her, she knew that. She had been frenzied, she had never tried to turn a human before, and she had gotten drunk on Ivy’s blood. Clearly, that wasn’t how Virginia saw it. She was scarily thin, moving sluggishly, barely able to lift her head some days. She fed rarely and when she did feed, she drank next to nothing before healing her prey, glaming them, and sending them away. Ivy worried but couldn’t do anything. ~*~*~*~*~ Ginny spent years wasting away, and it was all Ivy could do to keep the sun from burning her away when she passed out in front of her window. “Ginny, Ginny, you have to get back to living.” Ivy scolded Virginia lightly. “I forgive you, please.” Ginny seemed to get her message at least in part, and Ivy was glad. The vampire cleaned up her apartment, and went out at night. She still fed lightly, but she fed almost every night. She started singing at clubs, under the name Jinkx Monsoon. Ivy watched Jinkx fall into a routine, she sang, she would charm someone in the audience, usually a woman, and drink from her, then turn her away. Decades passed, and the pattern held. In 1989, Ivy felt something strange. She felt drawn to somewhere else, and so she left Jinkx to follow that pull. “Ginny, I’ll come back, I promise.” Ivy promised Virginia, before fading away. ~*~*~*~*~ Ivy found herself in California. She was in a hospital room, a mother and a newborn baby were there. Ivy looked at the infant. “Did you call me?” She asked, and the baby wrinkled her nose and sneezed. “Oh, Dora, did something tickle your nose?” The mother cooed, cuddling her baby. Ivy didn’t know why she was here, but this baby, Dora, was important. ~*~*~*~*~ Ivy kept an eye on the girl, but she still didn’t understand why she felt drawn to her. She didn’t until the girl was in school. The kid was learning the states, and when Ivy heard the child say “Virginia,” she knew. That was the voice she heard just before she died. ~*~*~*~*~ Dora had trouble in school, she had trouble with words. She had trouble writing her own name. But she liked music, she liked to sing. Maybe she couldn’t spell, but music made her feel good. Ivy beamed when she heard the little girl sing, she was good. As the years passed, the kid got better at her school work, but the years of misspelling her name had taken her from being called Dora to being known as Adore. Ivy kept an eye on the girl, wondering what she meant, why she had heard her voice so long ago. ~*~*~*~*~ Adore sensed something was watching her. Did she have a guardian angel? She could swear she saw a blonde woman sometimes, watching out for her. But when she tried to look at the woman, she was always gone. Maybe she imagined it, she had been watching too much Buffy, was seeing things that weren’t there. Ivy tried to urge the girl to New York. She spent as much time with Adore as she did with Ginny. They watched the same vampire show, she noticed. This girl, Adore, she had to meet Virginia. Ivy liked to mess with Ginny’s TV during the show, this character Angel didn’t drink human blood, but Ivy had to keep Ginny in her routine. She’d make the TV staticky during bits where Angel discussed drinking animal blood. Eventually, Adore did go to New York City. Ivy was glad, maybe she and Ginny would meet now. They were right for each other. Adore was 25, when she moved to NYC. But she and Ginny didn’t cross paths. Ivy painted dreams of Virginia when Adore slept. Trying to draw the Latina to the ginger. It took two years, but eventually, Adore Delano and Jinkx Monsoon had gigs near each other. Ivy followed Adore, doing what she could to make her pass Jinkx’ show. Adore heard Ginny’s voice, and went into the theatre. Ivy snuck into Adore’s mind. She could fight Jinkx’ glamours, keep Adore’s head clear. ~*~*~*~*~ Ivy cleared some of the fog from Adore’s mind as Jinkx fed. As she had suspected, Adore didn’t try to run. She seemed like she was about to ask what was happening, actually, but didn’t get a chance. Ivy was certain this girl was the one for Ginny, when she giggled as Jinkx treated her wounds. ~*~*~*~*~ Ivy was weak, it had taken most of her energy to protect Adore’s memory. She had stopped the glam from replacing it fully, the rest was up to Adore. She faded back. Ivy roused a short time later, Adore was smoking a joint, trying to remember. Ivy nudged the real memory at her. “The singer!” Adore gasped, and Ivy was pleased. She sank back to almost nothingness, waiting. ~*~*~*~*~ Ivy gasped. Jinkx was forcing a memory on Adore. It was that night, this was it. This was where Adore’s voice had come from all those years before. Ivy watched her death unfold before her, and saw Jinkx breaking down, rejecting Adore’s attempt to tell her to stop. “No! I deserve to suffer!” Jinkx screeched at Adore. “Virginia!” Ivy felt herself pulled from the past, and she was forced from Adore’s mind. Adore comforted Ginny, and Ivy was there in her ear. “Our Ginny, she is a good person. I know that, you know that. Please, love her for me. She needs to know I don’t blame her. Trust her for me. For us.” Ivy felt her voice take real hold and saw Adore nod. She stroked the girl’s hair, seeing a shimmer appear. Had she changed something? Oops. She snapped back to attention, Ginny was thanking her. The blonde smiled. “Goodbye, Ginny.” She whispered, no one heard her this time. She felt warm, she was fading for the last time. She embraced Adore. “Thank you for giving her what I couldn’t.” She faded away, smiling. ~*~*~*~*~ “Adore, your hair…” “I guess that’s Ivy, here to stay.”

[paintbrushe]

Change the data stored in a database

Welcome to presume technologies - I am venket. This is part 57 of signal server in this session, we'll learn about transactions in sequel server. Before continuing with the session, I strongly recommend to watch part 56 of this video series. So, what's a transaction, a transaction is a group of commands that change the data stored in a database. A transaction is treated as a single unit. A transaction ensures that either all of the commands succeed or none of them. If one of the commands in the transaction fails, all of the commands fail and any data that was modified in the database is then ruled back in this way, transactions maintain the integrity of data in a database. Let'S look at an example. I have this table TBL product, which has got information about laptops and desktops. 

At the moment the quantity of laptops available is 100. Now let's say I want to change the quantity to 200 and to do that, you know we are issuing this update statement. Update TBL product set quantity available is equal to 200, where product ID is equal to 1. Now, when I execute the statement, you know you can see that one row effected when we select the data back, you should see the quantity available is 200. Now this update statement is not part of any transaction. So as soon as you execute this update statement, the change is made permanent to the database immediately. On the other hand, you can make this update statement belong to a transaction by including begin transaction. So now, let's try to change the quantity to 300. So now this update statement is part of the transaction when we execute these two statements together. Look at this. It says one row affected now from within the same vendor. Within the same connection, when I select the data back from the table. Look at this. It shows 300, but then let's try to make another connection to the sequel server. So this is a different connection. 

Now, when I try to select the data from the same table, look at what's going to happen. It says executing query and then, if you look at the product table, it has got only two rows to select that rows from that table. It should take less than a second. But if you look at this it's almost more than ten seconds now, it is still executing that's because you have initiated this transaction, but you did not either commit this or roll this back, because of which other users will not be able to see that uncommitted data By default and that's because sequel servers default, isolation level is read, committed, meaning read only committed data, but here, if you look at this, there is some uncommitted data in this TBL product table. 

That'S why I'm not able to see the data from that table. So let's cancel that and if I want to see the data, what I can do is basically set the transaction isolation level to read uncommitted, data; okay. So let's do that set transaction isolation level to read uncommitted, so, let's execute this command completed. Now, if I execute the select star from TBL product, I am able to see the read. You know uncommitted data now when I roll this transaction back, execute this command completed successfully. Now look at this when I execute select star from TBL product before we execute select star from TBL product. 

This is the previous data. This is that uncommitted 300. Now, when I execute this query, look at this. The change is undone so now, whenever you're updating sir delete statements whenever these are part of a transaction now the change is not made immediately permanent to the database until you commit that transaction. So, if you want to make the change permanent, you come with the transaction. If you want to undo the change, then you roll back the transaction. So, for example, let's say at the minute you know the quantity available for laptops is 200. Let'S try to change it to 300 as part of this transaction and then to make that change permanent. I basically have to say commit transaction at this point. The change is made permanent to the database. Now transaction processing follows very simple steps. 

You begin a transaction using begin transaction and then you process the database commands you might have one or more sequel server commands. You know inserts updates and deletes and then you check for any errors. If there are errors, you roll the transaction back, otherwise you commit the transaction. Let'S look at an example. I have two tables here: TBL physical address and TBL mailing address. Now. In reality, let's say we are shopping online. Most of the e-commerce sites have mailing address, and you know billing address, and most of us will have the same mailing and billing address along the same lines here. If we look at this, we have physical and a mailing address. 

As look at this employee. 1. 0. 1, he has the same mailing and physical address. Now let if you look at the London you know the city spelling London is misspelled here and obviously I want to correct this to correct this. I have a stored procedure here and if you look at the stored procedure, it's a pretty simple one. All we are doing here is, we are updating, mailing address, table and physical address table and we are setting the city to correct spelling. Okay and if you look at these to update statements, these are wrapped between begin transaction and commit transaction blocks, and this block is further wrapped between begin, try and end try and then following the try block, is the catch block where we are ruling the transaction back. We have spoken about handling errors using try catch blocks in the previous session of this video series. If you are new to error handling, please check that video first okay. 

So obviously, when we execute the stored procedure, what's going to happen, it's going to execute the first update statement and then it's going to execute the second update statement and if there are no errors, the transaction will be committed. If there are errors, whenever you are executing this first or second update statement, what's going to happen, the control will immediately be transferred to the cache block and within the cache block, we are rolling the transaction back. Okay. Now, since these are two simple update statements which you know both of these statements should succeed and correct the city spelling to London - let's look at this, so I have these two tables physical address and mailing address. 

So if you look at this at the minute, the city spelling is incorrect and we have the same stored procedure that we have seen on the slide, which updates the mailing address and the physical address tables and then, in addition, we also have print transaction committed just To print a message you know to prove that it committed the transaction. So let's create this stored procedure now and now before we exit execute, let's quickly check the data and TBL physical address and mailing address, you know the spelling is incorrect. So, let's execute the stored procedure, so one row affected one row affected, so the first one row affected is when we updated the mailing address. 

The second one is when we updated physical address, and then we have that transaction committed message printed by this print statement, which means the transaction has been committed. So now, when we check the physical and mailing address you should see the spelling is now corrected. Now, let's do let's try to introduce an error intentionally if you look at the second update, it's the same stored procedure, except that the second update statement has gone. You know here we are setting the city to London, London, okay. Basically, what we are trying to do here is, if you look at the column, length the city column length in TBL physical address table. So if you look at the city column length, it's ten characters, but now I am trying to update the physical address to London. London and London Space London, is definitely more than ten characters. 

So obviously, when this update statement is being executed, we will get an error now, let's change the mailing address to London one now when we change the stored procedure, let's change this so alter procedure. Now, when we execute the stored procedure, what's going to happen, it comes here. It updates the mailing address, okay to London, one which is fine and then when it comes to updating the physical address. What'S going to happen, okay, the city column, let this stand, but but the value is more than ten, so this is going to throw an exception. So when an exception occurs, what's going to happen, the control immediately goes to the catch block and the catch block is ruling back the transaction. 

So when we roll the transaction back, what's going to happen, whatever change that was made by this first update statement is also going to be undone, so this update statement changed it to London one, but then it will be rolled back. So it will remind London and then it will finally print transaction rolled back. So let's see that in action, let's execute this. You see that one row affected, then it says: zero zero rows affected, so it first updated city to London, one and then when it was trying to do this, we got that zero rows affected so because there was an error when we were trying to execute this Immediately, the control will go to the cache block, rollback transaction and you should see print. 

You know transaction rollback, as a result of which, if you now select the data from these two tables, you would see as if we didn't update anything because the transaction is rolled back. So both of these statements are treated as a single unit, because the transaction ensures either both of them succeed or none of them and in this way, transactions maintain the integrity of the database. Now we we discussed that a transaction is a group of database commands. Now what database commands are part of a transaction is determined by an asset test, meaning the commands that belong in a transaction have to be atomic consistent, isolated and durable. What we mean by this acid test, we will look at in the next video session on this slide. You can find resources for asp.net, c-sharp and sequel server. Interview questions, that's it for today. Thank you for listening have a great day.

[paranoidsoftware]

Beginnings

Everyone knows that a journey begins with the first step. A harder question to answer is when that step is taken.

Today is my first day as a full-time indie game developer, which is something I have dreamed about for two decades, but never dared to actually do. I have quit day jobs before, but somehow it was much less scary to be unemployed and do nothing than to follow a dream and risk failing. This time around I have promised myself to work on KEPLE until it can be considered a success or a failure, no more limbo! So I have definitely taken a step today, but probably not the first one.

I remember playing Crusader: No Regret with my best friend when we were kids and just being floored by the level of detail in the game: A full motion intro sequence that looked to me like a Star Trek movie, blinking consoles, pipes and levers, robots, elevators, real actors portraying rebels and villains. Everything felt real, a whole universe shipped on a shiny CD-Rom. And the first thing you saw when you started the game was this beautiful swirling Origin Logo, saying “We create worlds” and the title “A Tony Zurovec game”. 

I was hooked! I wanted nothing more than to learn how to create worlds. And I wanted to have my name up in lights like that. I can’t say precisely when that epiphany happened, but 1998 became the founding year of Paranoid Software. The company’s first major release was a game called Lex, which is currently stuck on a floppy disk somewhere (for lack of a floppy drive to read it).

Like any successful product, Lex immediately received a sequel, creatively called Lex 2: The endless war. Just like in the first game, the objective was to reach the exit of each level without stepping on any mines:

Yes Mr. Freud, those are mines.

And just like that, I got my name (and Peter’s, who did the graphics and whose last name I misspelled [sorry]) up in lights:

However, in a tragic twist of fate, Lex never left its floppy disk and thus didn’t have quite the impact on pop culture that I had hoped for. I wasn’t satisfied and I wasn’t done making games.

Now I’m finally actually making games for real for real (okay and paperwork and blogging and writing a thousand impressums). I’ll be using this blog to ramble about anything related to the process, such as news about KEPLE, the experience of working from home and handling the business side of things.

I would love it if you came along for the ride!

Cheers, Bartl