#i like... Achievemence.....

[prismit]

hmmmm kinda been feeling like 3d modelling recently... unfortunately, the binding of isaac has 637 achievements

[armins-main-hoe]

would you make katsuki x twinsister!reader? one where they're both equally talented and competitive 👉🏽👈🏽

Sorry for replying so late!!

I don’t think I can make a whole fic for this since I have 2 on going fics and already struggling to keep up with those but I’ll write it down in headcannon form, sorry :/

The Bakugo Twins

(not proofread)

Honestly as kids, you both were complete menaces. All the other kids in class would follow you both around, no kid would dare step up to you both. Though I can see that at some point it was half the class following katsuki and the other half following you. Talk about sibling rivalry...

You both got your quirk when you both were arguing, both equally hot headed, both shouting and screaming, suddenly bright sparks started coming out from your fists. You both were startled by this and forgot what you were arguing about in the first place.

You both bullied deku. Sorry, but I can only see you also have a superiority complex just like your brother. I mean you grew up in the same environment as your brother and you are expected by others to be just like him. No one has ever taught you otherwise so its was only natural for you to do whatever he does and think whatever he does and visa versa.

You both gave the poor quirkless boy a tough time...

Honestly, unlike how in the anime, Deku wasn't actually thinking about taking a swan dive off of the roof, with you also bullying him, it probably did cross his mind once or twice.

However, by middle school you both had developed your own personalities, though there was not much difference between you both to be honest.

He was a bully, ego as high as the sky, a hero nerd, a complete jerk to everyone and you were one of those popular girls who acted like a bitch with her friends laughing at the back. You were the prettiest girl in the school and you knew it.

Katsuki hated the fact that you were going to apply to UA too. You both had the same quirk, meaning that if you got in, he would constantly be compared to you and there would be nothing special about him since he would not be one of a kind. He didn't understand why you wanted to join UA either. Sure, you liked heroes too but you didn't have collectables like he did. You never showed much interest in becoming a hero while growing up, at least not as much as him anyway. So why would you even think about joining UA?

What he didn't know was that you were applying for UA because of more than just one reason. You both were twins, everyone knew Katsuki was going to to apply for UA since he wasn't exactly shy about it. So naturally everyone thought you were going to apply for UA too. Call yourself some odd variation of a people pleaser and you said "well duh, are you thick or something? Obviously I am."

Another reason was, your looks. Since you were labeled as the prettiest girl in middle school and it got to your head, your looks became an obsession for you. You had to look flawless all the time and you needed someone to compliment you about your looks at least 10 times a day.

What better way to get complimented on your looks than becoming a famous hero? Heros are more popular than any celebrity so obviously becoming a hero would give you more attention.

Another reason was your sibling rivalry, you hated it so much when he would come home first place in a competition that you also participated in. You hated it when he was clearly better than you at something. Since both of your quirks were so 'flashy' and 'dangerous', you both were always competing against each other on who can use their quirk better.

When it was the day of the UA results, you both were equally nervous. Though neither of you tried to show it, acting as if you just know you are 100% going to get in.

Both of you were hoping for the other to get rejected. However, to both of your dismany, you both got in.

You're parents were over the moon of course, both their kids getting into a school like UA was what they called their biggest achievement.

You felt happy too, but in your stomach you felt this uneasy feeling knowing your brother was coming to UA with you. Katsuki felt the same.

You both knew how much more you would have to fight each other for the spotlight. Middle school would be nothing compared to UA.

Upon coming to UA, you both struggled a lot in your own ways. In the first few weeks, everyone thought you both were the strongest (and scariest) in the whole class. Which is good. You wanted it to be that way

Imagine sibling rivalry plus class rivalry. Him in 1A and you in 1B. Both of you the strongest in your classes, both you the scariest in your classes. Everytime you cross one another, the hardest glares were thrown at each other.

The sports festival ended up a mess. Why? Simple, the Bakugo twins.

You both managed to get through most of the festival without killing anyone but once it got to the one to one matches...

The final match was one that everyone was dying to see, the twins facing each other. Two people with the same quirk. Everyone wanted to know who would win, everyone wanted to know who was better. Who was the better twin.

Class 1a were cheering for Katsuki and class 1b were cheering for you because while this match was mostly to see who was the better twin, it would also determine who was the better class since they had the winner in their class.

The only person who thought this was bad as Deku. The kid you both bullied was the only one who could see past the competitiveness and realise that this would end in a disaster. That this was doing more harm than good. That if either one of you were to win the match then it would break the thin sibling bond you both had.

You both began attacking each other left and right, at one point no one could see anything with the amount of debris and smoke filling up the stadium. All they could hear were loud explosions echoing throughout the entire stadium.

Some time later, the staff had to send a teacher down there to try and see what was going on in the match. Immediately the teacher called the match off and another teacher came to break you both off.

Were you both siblings or enemies sent on an mission to kill the other? Trust me when I say the fight got so bad they had to call if off and just say it was a draw.

Both of you were covered in cuts, bruises and burn marks. By the time the adrenaline wore off, you both collapsed, unconscious on the floor.

They had to tie you both up and All might somehow managed to out the single 1st place gold medal around your necks.

Much to everyone's dismay, no one got to find out who was the 'better twin' or 'better class'.

So for the next few weeks, it was the same as always, trying to prove to everyone that you are better while sending death glares to your brother.

UA destroyed your relationship with your brother.

When you were younger, you both would at least play with each other, you both would hold hands and run around, chasing other kids, you both would still comfort each other when the other was sad, you both used to be each other's biggest supporters and now its all gone.

It all probably began to fade during middle school and now is completely gone in UA.

You saw each other as enemies and nothing more.

Well that's what you thought until your brother got kidnapped by the league of villains.

You could never forget how you felt your heart drop when you heard the news. You even forgot to breath for a few seconds. You scared yourself with how much you got scared of losing him.

So when Kirishma, who you recognised as Katsuki's best friend, came up to you, asking if you would help him and a few other students from 1a, get Katsuki back, you agreed.

When you met up with the group, you were the last one to come along since it took you a little longer to sneak out of the house, you saw the wide eyes they looked at you with, since they were so used to seeing you and Katsuki hate on each other every day.

"I do have a heart you know." you rolled your eyes at them. "Come on, lets hurry before that dimwit starts crying like a baby." you turned around and started walking away.

"Um.. Y/n.. We have to go that way-" A black haired girl spoke up.

You were all were successful with getting Katsuki back, you really wanted to hug him or something but you felt like you couldn't. You felt like it was wrong of you to even think about hugging him after everything you did to him. So on the way back, you didn't say anything. Even while watching All Might fight All For One on a screen, you kept your distance from him, walking next to the black haired girl instead.

The walk back home was silent. He walked ahead while you followed a few feet behind, usually you wouldn't let that slide, you would try to out walk him in some way but right now your mind was filled with so many thoughts.

You were so out of it that you ended up bumping into Katsuki's back when he stopped walking. He turned around and looked at you, a softer look on his face but still glaring at you.

"Why did you come with them?" He asked.

How do you even answer that? 'even though I wished for your death like you wished for mine, i still cared. I still didn't actually want to lose you.' or maybe 'why wouldn't I? I mean sure I hated your guts and hoped everything bad happened to you but I didn't actually mean it.'

You didn't even realise when tears began falling down your cheeks while thinking. Katsuki was shocked to say the least.

"I thought I would lose you..." You spoke out in the weakest voice Katsuki had ever heard you use.

Katsuki's hand lifted up to wipe your tears away but he hesitated. Can he do that? Really? After everything he did to you? He couldn't. So he turned back around.

"Idiot. As if some little villain would ever manage to kill me." You didn't miss how his voice cracked in the middle of the sentence, nor did you miss how he subtly tried to wipe away his own tears.

Maybe you didn't get to hug him like you used to when you were younger, but at least you now know there is a chance that maybe, just maybe, you could fix your relationship with your brother.

[jaegeraether]

Sunsets and footballers (Part 34)

Lucy Bronze x Reader (32)

Masterlist (other parts here)

That was not what she’d expected at all. YFN had done her research and put her own puzzle pieces together, though her theory had missed the mark by a significant amount.

“I know what you’re thinking.”

YFN couldn’t even close her mouth.

She walked closer, lightly treading with elegance as if to not scare her away. When she was close, her eyes lingered on the scar cutting her eyebrow with empathy.

YFN managed to find herself and cleared her throat. “Your misdirection was very believable.”

“I was worried the voice would give it away.” She said almost shyly. Her voice was more regal now, less…common? Clever.

YFN’s relief must have been clear, and she didn’t realise herself just how worried she’d been. “And my misdirection was not entirely untrue…” She gestured around her. “This is her house.”

They were standing in the house of JK Rowling. The woman she’d assumed she was meeting. It all made sense, didn’t it? Joe. Lumos. When she’d originally started researching the company, she’d come across the other Lumos, the charity founded by Joe. Though, she made sure to not hold any assumptions going into their meeting.

“Why her?” She asked, knowing it was a little rude to do so. “Why hide behind someone the public hates so vehemently?”

“I needed someone with power, someone rich, someone people could believe had the capabilities of doing so.”

“So Lumos is a branch of her company?”

“No…it’s my company, my money. I spoke to Joe about the idea of using her as a bit of an alias, as well as using the same name as her charity.”

“But…why hide at all?” She really didn’t understand. She was wealthy, powerful and beyond all else… “People adore you.”

“I thought about it, trust me. But how would that look, having me try to lift the women’s game? It would look like a publicity stunt, like they needed me when they don’t. I need them to show that they can do it themselves. They have the motivation, the will, the support and now they have you. At least, I still hope they do?”

YFN was fully aware now that up until this point, she’d been disillusioned as to the identity of ‘Joe’, right down to the reason that she’d chosen her. She was a writer. Exactly what Joe herself would have done. This was a better scenario, though the fact that her guise was the infamous author would not be well received. She didn’t try to understand the complexities of it all. Looking beyond all of that, she knew that the person she’d spoken to on the phone was genuinely passionate. Caring. Hard-working. She understood that she had been a victim of her title and knew deep down that they could accomplish incredible things together.

“They still do...”

“Tea is prepared in the estate room, ma’am.” Benjamin interrupted politely.

“There’s hot chocolate too, YFN.” She promised with a lovely smile that begged to be photographed.

How did she know?

“Thanks, Kate.”

“Cath, please. Only the media calls me Kate.”

“Did you ever have any intention of meeting me?”

To her credit, Catherine was very similar the person she was presented as in public, however the more time they spent together, the more liberated she became with her thoughts. YFN realised how much of a burden it must have been, stuck under the thumb of royal obligation and public expectation, though in this room, there were just the two of them.

“No,” she allowed herself a little smirk as she took a sip of tea. “No, my intention was most definitely to stay invisible in this. And besides you, I plan to keep it that way.”

“You’re not worried about Mark?”

“I knew that hiding behind Joe would mean the possibility of people assuming she was directing this, and furthermore that she would have enemies try to pull her down. She did warn me about Mark. He’s…persistent.”

“A business rival I’m assuming?”

“I believe Joe managed to ruffle his feathers a little with a business deal a few years back. She said he’s forever since been adamant to undermine her achievements, and to make matters worse, he doesn’t care that Lumos is a charity. See, I originally assumed we’d be safe if I created a company with the same name, because who would attack a charity? As it turns out, Mark would.”

“And I’m guessing the idea of you having a personal conversation with him to quietly nip this in the bud is out of the question?”

“Indubitably.”

YFN bit her lip as she thought about the situation she found herself in. She wanted to ask if her husband knew, but knew it was the wrong question for the conversation. What Catherine was doing was separate from that. Separate from her life as a royal, as a mother, as a leader.

“No, William doesn’t know.”

YFN’s eyes shot up to find Catherine’s. David wasn’t wrong, she was intelligent. She had those rare gifts of intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence, the types that YFN felt she also had; the ability to truly understand herself and other people. It was perfect for Catherine’s main role, really.

“A personal project then?”

“Of sorts.”

“With…very high ambitions?”

“Yes.”

The conversation was quick witted and much more was being said in the words they didn’t vocalise.

“I’m Australian, so forgive my lack of knowledge…but I wasn’t aware you were so passionate about football?”

“It does tend to be William’s passion more than mine, however I do love sport. And while football may not be my favourite, it is England’s favourite, and it’s where the change needs to happen first.”

First? Her eyebrows raised. “You plan on expanding Lumos to other sports?”

“Gradually, yes. The focus begins on all things football and will grow to encapsulate all female sport.”

“Not male sports?”

“Potentially in the future, if we ever reach equivalence, however that is not my intention. My main goal is to focus on the female perspective. I find sport to be one of the largest places of gender inequality and male dominance. It’s going to be a tough field to make change.”

YFN couldn't help but feel that her choice of JK Rowling as a hidden alias was detrimental to her success. Catherine read her thoughts again, she seemed to be good at that.

“Joe…is a friend. I’m unsure of your opinion in the matter but I don’t agree with her opinions and I did think that using her would only be of benefit to her if people had dug deep enough to assume she was behind it. “

She wanted the best for Joe, even at the sacrifice of a little face. Even after her controversial opinions. The admiration must have been written on her face from Catherine’s returning look.

“And Joe did also help me choose you.”

“That explains a query of mine. I’m a writer, first and foremost.”

“Please don’t think that I only chose you because it’s what Joe would have done. It’s not. I looked into you and your work meticulously. It took me a long time to find you, and it wasn’t just for your work as a writer. It was the way you interviewed people, the way you approach questioning, your ability to be both affable and determined. You know exactly what you want, and how to get it without sacrificing the comfortability of the people you speak to.”

It was the nicest compliment she’d ever received, and she felt herself blushing a little. Catherine put down her tea.

“Also, I found some of your photography. I understand you moved away from it and over to the publication side of your previous workplace. Photography happens to be a passion of mine. I believe it to be an important artform, and it did motivate me towards pursuing this project. Without it, I wouldn’t be here with you. I’d be off with the other duties that are required of me.”

Catherine had studied Art History, if YFN remembered correctly. It began making even more sense.

“What…is the timeline you had in mind?”

“The only timeline I’ve considered so far is that of football. I want us to have coverage of all of it by the end of next year. I hope that it’s a fully run operation by then, and we can expand into tennis and cricket.”

The hot chocolate did its job then and YFN yawned so hard, she worried she was being rude.

Catherine gave a polite chuckle.

“It’s getting late. We have a few days to talk this over more, Joe is in the US for another week, and I’ve managed to wriggle out of some royal engagements for the next few days. Shall we pick it up tomorrow?”

Things had begun to come even more into focus the next day after they’d spoken a little more. It was her passion project, and one that YFN felt honoured to be a part of. The only people who were aware of it were her Lumos management, Joe, several staff, and now YFN. Catherine’s management team for Lumos was kept small and tight, and their main jobs were not limited to networking throughout the sports, optimising their business and even planning for the future of the company.

In the early morning, they’d all taken a meeting together in the conference room on Zoom. As the meeting began, YFN was surprised to see a few of the individuals had been people she’d met at the charity event. Catherine really did have people everywhere.

“It’s a good thing that it became a necessity to meet.” Catherine admitted. “I think now that we know each other better and you can fully see our goals, we’re going to benefit from it.”

YFN agreed with that. And now that she realised just how much influence, wealth and power were behind the company, her confidence grew as well as her appetite for more.

The meeting went for hours with so many points of business that YFN didn’t really understand. Luckily, they hadn’t expected her to, as her focus was primarily on the actual product they were providing. She hadn’t realised just how much effort went into the secrecy of a company, or the background decisions, compromises, and discussions that she’d previously thought of as trivialities.

The money of course would be noticed by William who knew his wife had a passion project, but didn’t know what. It was her baby. The way she led her group made that very, very clear, and although she wasn’t used to running a company, she was so well-read and had educated herself so well that she wasn’t just a figurehead, she was leading them and not afraid to ask questions to the more experienced businesspeople.

The meeting became interesting when the team unanimously agreed on the expansion of the employees after their successful first round and had already had many candidates lined up which they filtered through together. Catherine encouraged YFN to get involved in that as she actually worked on the ground with them and managed them.

Following that, management went back onto other business details and Catherine used the opportunity to give YFN a phone very similar to her own, and it was purely set up to work with her and the management team. No wonder why she’d always been so quick at replying and holding that boundary between Lumos and her other duties, she’d had an entirely separate phone for it.

With the need for more people, came the eventual agreement for an office space. London made sense as it was central, and most games would be there. They’d already acquired the space and were just waiting for the final go-ahead which Catherine gave that approval for. YFN was grateful that the discussions moved onto design and architecture, furniture and parking which gave her the perfect opportunity to decide how to use the multiple sets of cutlery with her different lunch dishes.

Catherine had laughed at that, and it was warming to see her so relaxed outside of the public eye.

Listening to them talk about the office, she was pleased to see that it wasn’t too far from Lucy’s apartment, knowing it would be convenient, though she knew it would be best for her to stay central in Birmingham for the meantime, just until they became a lot busier. She could deal with the drive until then. Besides, she wondered if Leah and Jordan would be back together anyways. Thinking of that, she messaged Jordan.

YFN: Where's my update??

She was at training so didn’t expect a response until that night, however.

“…background checks.”

YFN’s head shot up. They were talking about background checks for the employees they were deciding on. She wondered how in depth they would be and didn’t have to wonder for long as they began to discuss them in depth. Her eyes widened knowing that they must have done the exact same for her. Catherine noticed that.

“It’s standard procedure, I’m sure you can understand.”

She nodded. Of course, she could understand. They wouldn’t let anyone sit next to or run a business with the future Queen of England.

The day dragged on, though Catherine had made sure they all had several breaks and took the time to show YFN around Joe’s property. It truly was beautiful, yet she couldn’t miss the amount of security who were wandering around the estate, a few with their eyes on the pair.

“Can you…understand why I’m wanting to stay a silent figure in all of this?” She asked gently as they wandered through the garden. It was actually a day of decent weather, the sun poking through the clouds.

“I can, and I respect it. I’m also glad we’ve met. Everything makes much more sense now.”

“Fantastic. Now I know we’ve already agreed to keep this between just us, however there’s Lucy, correct?”

YFN nodded. She didn’t like the idea of keeping anything from her.

Catherine stopped and turned to her, taking her hands gently. She was taller than the little Australian of course, even more so with heels. “YFN…I know what it’s like to have to keep secrets. It’s not fun. I’ve seen it tear relationships and families apart…”

They way she held her eyes and spoke was so… motherly. So royal-like. Beyond that, she could see the pain in her eyes and she wondered just how much this woman had been through.

“I’m okay with you telling Lucy. I don't want your relationship to be affected, and I trust your judgement, but please stress to her to importance of secrecy. One leak and all that we’re trying to accomplish disappears.”

YFN relaxed a little. She could tell Lucy.

“Thank you, Cath. I really appreciate that.”

They were just settling down to dinner when Catherine was pulled aside for a phone call. Their meeting had ended shortly before that, YFN full up on information and motivation for the upcoming work she had to do. She worried a little about Barcelona.

Dory: We may have had sex. Then I cried and kicked her out at 10pm.

YFN choked on mashed potato. How had she managed to choke on the least chokeable form of potato?

YFN: What?!

Dory: When are you home?

Catherine walked back in then looking a little stressed and apologetic.

“I’m so sorry, duty calls back in London. I’m afraid we’ll have to cut this trip short. You’re more than welcome to stay here another day...”

“That’s okay, I can leave tomorrow if that works.”

It did work. Catherine finished her dinner and left apologetically and this time, with a gentle, motherly hug and promises of a bright future working together. It was strange being left in the large house alone with just Benjamin and a few staff wandering around. Her phone buzzed and it was her flight change being emailed, a change to tomorrow morning. YFN checked in and then replied to Jordan.

YFN: I’ll be home midday tomorrow.

She pocketed her phone. Another buzz. She pulled it back out.

Lucy: Hi, little one. Can I call?

[sleepingdeath-light]

relationship hcs ; pure vanilla cookie

requested by ; anonymous (31/05/23)

fandom(s) ; cookie run

fandom masterlist(s) ; hub | specific

character(s) ; pure vanilla cookie

outline ; “can you please do some pure vanilla relationship hcs please? thx (btw: i hope you have a nice break)”

warning(s) ; none, just fluff!

pure vanilla cookie is a complete and utter gentleman in how he treats the people around him, but especially you as his spouse — starting from how he took his time to traditionally court and woo you before the two of you became an ‘official’ couple, and ending with him treating you as nothing short of royalty as you two settle more and more into your relationship

he rarely ever calls you by your formal name and rotates through a small selection of sweet pet names whenever he’s talking to or about you — including, but not limited to: ‘(my) beloved’, ‘(my) angel’, ‘(my) darling’, ‘dearest’, and ‘sweetheart’

he’s naturally a very giving person and will happily indulge in every single expression of love he knows of just to make sure you have no room left to doubt his feelings for you

acts of service — when it comes to taking care of you, status be damned pure vanilla cookie will do just about anything it takes to make your day a little brighter. this can mean all sorts of things, such as: going out of his way to get up earlier and make you breakfast in bed, sending word out to local vendors in the kingdom to ensure that they always have your favourite things in stock when he knows you’re going to go out to the market, or making sure that you get spoiled rotten and properly celebrated for every birthday, anniversary, or achievement.

gift giving — being the ruler of a thriving kingdom and a talented magic user, it’s safe to say that pure vanilla cookie is more than capable and willing to shower you with all sorts of gifts. of course amongst these gifts are things that are more lavish and elaborate (whole wardrobes worth of new clothing in the style of his kingdom, organised banquets to celebrate important milestones, using his magic to organise unforgettable dates for you both, and so on) but most of the things he gifts you are more small and thoughtful in nature, as is to be expected of someone like him: trinkets and souvenirs from his travels, books he thinks you’ll like, accessories that reminded him of you, and anything he sees that he knows will make you smile (e.g. a type of item he knows you like to collect)

physical touch — though he does tend to stick to a socially appropriate level of pda with you, pure vanilla cookie is far from the type to shy away from physical affection with you. around others he usually sticks to a set few acts (hand holding, bringing your hand up to his lips to kiss the back of your hand/your fingertips/your knuckles, kissing you chastely on the lips or temple, brushing any hair out of your face, and reassuringly stroking his hands up and down your arms), but in private he’s much more varied in his displays of affection: more passionate kisses, cuddling and hugging you, dancing with you at random, letting his arms rest around your hips or waist, kissing along your shoulders, neck and wrists, etc. (he’s just… very touchy with you haha)

quality time — you’re his absolute favourite person to be around without question, whether you’re going out and having fun as a couple or just sitting together in silence doing your own things parallel to each other. every conversation, every date, every outing, every holiday, and every moment spent with you is something he treasures dearly and he does what he can to make sure that you’re as content and as comfortable in his presence as he is in yours.

words of affirmation — he’s the type of partner who tends to shower you with praise and attention whenever the opportunity arises. most of his affirmations are verbal (calling you beautiful/handsome as he presses a chaste kiss against your knuckles, earnestly congratulating you for every achievement and accolade you collect, softly and quietly reassuring you before you step out of your comfort zone, smiling as he recalls your strengths and talents to his oldest friends with more awe than he recalls those old stories from his adventuring days, etc.), but he’s also the type of sappy romantic to leave little love letters and notes around your shared space for you to find in his absence (e.g. a neatly folded note on your pillow telling you where he is, reaffirming his love for you, apologising for being absent, and promising to make it up to you at lunch time / or / a floating note on your vanity in his signature cursive that recalls a different positive affirmation every day that’s designed to make you smile, laugh, and relax for the day ahead)

though it’s easy to forget given how passive and pleasant he’s become in recent years, pure vanilla cookie is still a very capable magic wielder and, thus, is more than capable of protecting you should it come down to that — of course he’d much rather have the option to talk things out without having to shed blood, but if your safety is on the line then he’s not above returning to his roots and making damn sure the offending party knows to never try a stunt like this again

on the rare occasion that hollyberry cookie and the other ancients actually manage to get him tipsy (or, better yet, outright drunk), pure vanilla cookie will not stop talking about how amazing you are and how much he loves you — if nobody stops him or brings him somewhere quiet to rest and sober up, then there’s every chance that the ancients will spend the next few hours hearing about every little thing he adores about you until he finally passes out or golden cheese cookie goes and gets you so you can take your poor boyfriend home for the night

(the girls all think it’s absolutely adorable, dark cacao cookis is mostly neutral about the whole affair and just lets him rant, but golden cheese cookie and hollyberry cookie have both been known to tease him by reciting the sappiest things he’s said about you back to him when he’s sober again — usually something about your smile or the sound of your laughter)

[lakesbian]

one of my prouder worm achievemence is posting a fic and getting 100 notes when most fics i see posted here get like. 2. i still dont think its a very good fic but thats pretty hard to do so im pleased

[dude-iloveu]

Hello there! My large Gaza family is filled with love and warmth, and losing them is a tremendous loss. I appreciate your efforts and time in reading my plea. I never expected to find myself in this situation.It is incredibly challenging to navigate these circumstances as an independent woman proud of her financial independence, finding herself in this dire situation.I understand the value of every donation and the effort behind it. I assure you that all funds will be strictly used for the evacuation of my sisters and my parents. I will personally bear any additional expenses incurred.Your support will make a significant difference in alleviating the suffering of my family and ensuring that my sisters and my parents receive the care they urgently need. As time ticking away translates to lives lost in Gaza I'm here and ready to answer any questions or concerns you may have. Don't hesitate to reach out and connect with me

Please donate to the actual GFM.

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[pearlzier]

on the waitlist thing i saw "flowerboy, tyler the creator" and like genuinely spazzed the fuck out like i started giggling and shaking i think something is wrong with me

IM CRYING SROP NO THATS SO REAL YEA :3 ive done so far

foreword

where this flower blooms

sometimes... (making a bot based of 36 seconds of song is my greatest achievemant)

pothole

see you again

when ive done like half (there's 14 :3) ill post those then do the rest

[quinfr]

new goals:

awaken all familiars

complete bestiary (exception being ks fams) (I'm struggling so hard with badlwin and swip fams..)

max out gathering levels

unlock all reg lair slots

(clenches fist) max out... Baldwin.... (least favorite)

get that DANG coli exclusive cleaver I've been playing since 2013 and coli grind often and in excess and get multiple eggs.. and yet. No weapon for quin. I crave violence

Achievemence

I've got like 30 slots left on normal hibden. Get that done

I wanna redo and open my hatchery, pixel shop, and open a skin shop.. or maybe a gijinka art dragon shop. Or both

[phir-milenge]

manifestation doesn;t work. and i say this as someone who for a very long time believed manifestation worked and advocated for it quietly.

but it doesn't work, it has never once worked. and i'm not some failure that can't do manifestation right, when i was 14, i got into my dream high school and I thought manifestation got me in. it didn't. it was my grades + my hard work + my luck.

manifestation only gives me a deluded hope that things will go my way, but they rarely do. i have been stuck in a limbo ever since high school ended, limbo in the sense that i dont feel like i'm progressing in life at all. there has never been any achievement from my side that makes feel like all the hard work and sacrifices i made are worth it.

it is giving severe imposter syndrome. my peers tell me that they can't believe i haven't gotten an internship. three faangs that recruit in my country, have already rejected me. i can't seem to clear any oa despite being able to solve more than 90% of the question honestly and with my good looking resume.

i have completed two years in college and i dont know what i;ve done except study and work toward making myself career ready,

my first year, i couldnt believe i ended up at this shithole college so i studied very hard for the next years entrance and stayed in this college because my health had failed me.

my second year? i had to work at 2x speed because not only was i staying in this shithole, but i was also severely lagging behind my peers. somehow managed to catchup on coding skills and achievemements.

and at the beginneing of third year. here we are. and i am no where. people who did worse than me are doing something good. i am by no means comparing myself. i have never been the one to compare myself with other. but main heartbreak is, despite all these years of struggle and hard work. where is my reward

[lucas-03321]

Experiences of Five Strings: An Autobiography

Preamble~~

Life is a journey casted by trials, achievements, and the objects we hold dear to us along our path. In my story, one such object stands out—a cane, gifted to me during my high school years by a dear friend. At the time, I was in the darkest moments of my life, and this cane became a symbol of hope, a pillar, and my strength. It has been a silent friend that witnessed my struggles and losses, each scratch and groove telling a story of what transpired and has come to pass.

This cane is adorned with five strings, each representing a significant chapter in my life. These strings are not just physical adornments but a source of the weight I have carried and the growth I have achieved. For any Harry Potter fans out there, the best way to describe it is like a 'Horcrux', An object of great importance. Through the black, grey, dark grey, firm black, and light grey strings, I have woven a narrative of transformation and self-discovery.

In the following lines, I invite you to join me as I recount the experiences that have shaped me. From overcoming personal challenges to finding strength in the face of adversity, But enough about me talking here. Let this cane, and its five strings, guide you through the journey of my life.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unlike many of my peers, my childhood was far from ordinary. I grew up feeling cursed, as though my family and I were doomed to bear a sin. Yet, as I matured, I discovered that these burdens would eventually transform into sources of strength, guiding me through the complexities of life.

I hail from a middle-class family with three siblings: myself, my sisters, and our mother. My father is notably absent from this narrative, having been absent from my life for nearly two decades due to his abusive nature. Despite these challenges, my family’s resilience has shone brightly. My mother, now a personal assistant to a prominent executive at Standard Chartered Bank, has been a pillar of support. My eldest sibling, an air stewardess, has seen the world, while my second eldest sibling is a lawyer thriving in the U.K. My youngest sister, who pursued her passion for cooking, now works as a chef.

The story I am about to share revolves around a simple yet profound object: my cane. I received this cane during my high school years, a gift from an old friend who saw me through my darkest moments. This cane has been with me through thick and thin, an old friend of sorts symbolizing my journey and growth. Each of its five strings tells a unique story, reflecting the challenges I faced and the triumphs I achieved.

The Black String

The black string signifies my battle with weight loss, which was more than a physical transformation—it represented shedding the emotional weight I carried. As I lost weight, I gained a newfound confidence and began to heal emotionally.

The Grey String

The grey string embodies my struggle with anxiety, a constant, oppressive force that restrained me from embracing life’s full spectrum. Over time, I learned to confront my fears and navigate discomfort, which was essential for my personal growth.

The Dark Grey String

Conversation was once an elusive skill for me, symbolized by the dark grey string. I struggled with initiating and maintaining conversations, feeling isolated. Thanks to the unwavering support from my family and therapist, I’ve developed this skill, enabling me to connect more effectively with others.

The Firm Black String

The firm black string represents my journey towards responsibility and self-reliance. I used to resent my inability to achieve the things I longed for as a child. However, through perseverance, I now work as an agent for my mother’s boss, allowing me to afford things I once only dreamed of. This role also enables me to contribute to household expenses and support my education.

The Light Grey String

 The light grey string is my proudest achievement: facing my father and moving beyond that painful chapter of my life. After many visits to the principal’s office and enduring his manipulative behavior, I finally summoned the courage to speak the truth, forgive myself, and walk away.

 The cane I now use as a hiking stick symbolizes the countless challenges I have overcome. It serves as a testament to the journey I have traveled, with each string representing a milestone in my personal growth. With the unwavering support of my family, I have transformed my rough beginnings into a story of resilience and achievement, emerging stronger than I ever thought possible.

[cupidthewriter]

ive never rlly had mood swings when monthly female mainenance happens (iykyk) but this month it seems like i acquired that

what, did i level up in Female now that im 21? did i unlock the "cries about my roommate still having my sweatshift after a month" achievemant???

like im usually just irritated and think mean thoughts ive never wanted to cry over worrying about doing laundry in the middle of the night

[uncleshits]

hi so 2 things about the smh among us post:

1. I might have lied about it going up today, sorry, life has kinda destroyed me today

2. would yall want this as an "SMH during canon" or "SMH in quarantine/2020" scenario? lmk bc I can't decide which one I should do

[fitzs-trained-monkey]

Southern Nights

Title: Southern Nights 🌃

Word Count: 3,500

Warnings: Nightmares, talk about death

Summary: The first night they ever spent together went a little something like this... || Kolvina Short || Here lies my Masterlist

A/N: Here by popular demand on Wattpad. I might do more of these. if requested. Sorry, it's a little short.

The dump motel had been entirely Davina’s idea, thank you very much. Although seeing as she was the one with the credit card - courtesy of an unwitting Marcel - and considering the fact that he had spent the last three months lying to her about his identity, he didn’t feel all that inclined to argue. Hence why he sat on an uncomfortable wooden chair, right next to an extraordinarily dirty window, watching the lightning bugs blink through their midnight waltz. 

See, Kol Mikaelson had a fondness for New Orleans nights. Eventide in the Big Easy was one of the few things about Louisiana that he wouldn’t complain about. (Although that certainly isn’t to say he couldn’t complain about it. Kol could always find a reason to complain, much to his sibling’s chagrin.) The days he’d spent in New Orleans as a vampire hadn’t impressed him. Aside from the shroud of magic that enveloped the city (a quality as torturous as it was enrapturing because while he could practically taste the sparks of sorcery dancing on the thick summer wind he remained utterly incapable of connecting to it - so close yet just out of reach) and the constant roar of Jazz thrumming through the streets like the boisterous laughter of an unhappy man, days in the Crescent city really didn’t have all that much to offer. 

The nights, however? Well, New Orleans nights were something special. 

It was after the sun went down that the little city by the river came to life. On nights like this one when the sun’s heat took its leave and all the wild things crept from their holes to party the night away in rhythm with the ever-flowing Jazz under the light of the bayou stars. The magic in the air was palpable - thick enough to taste - and now that he was a witch once again he could feel it pulsing in his bones. He had missed such a feeling more than he could say. If it were up to him, he would be outside, simply basking in the connection he’d been deprived of for so long. But it wasn’t up to him. Instead, he was stuck inside a filthy motel room because of bloody Claire witches and their fire-inclined temperaments and Davina Claire had spelled the bloody door shut. 

What a woman. He couldn’t even find it within himself to be annoyed. Of course, he could easily undo the spell she’d used to lock him in, but that would be a moot point as he was actually a willing prisoner in this instance, and leaving this nasty - although admittedly extraordinarily well-warded - room would only make it easier for his mother to pin down his location and attempt to drag him back into her barmy-brained schemes. (That was a big ‘no-thank-you’ in his book. Alive or dead, Kol would not be his mother’s puppet.) The attention of good ole’ mother dearest was the last thing he needed. Besides, betraying his companion’s albeit minimal trust wasn’t going to do him any favors in the eyes of one Davina Claire. 

He glanced over his shoulder at the sleeping form of the Claire witch curled up on one of the motel’s twin beds, the one closest to him - and the door but that was only natural. He turned his eyes away from her rather quickly, gazing back out the window. For the love of Thor, he wasn't a complete degenerate; he wasn't going to watch her sleep no matter how adorable she may have been in her unconscious state. She'd had a hard day, used up quite a bit of magic, not to mention the minor head injury. The same could be said of him. Kol had no business being awake at such an hour anyway, but he'd always seemed to function better at night. He wasn't a morning person, that was for sure. Falling asleep at one in the morning wasn't uncommon for him, though he considered it an achievement if he managed to drag his corpse out of bed before noon. On the other hand, Davina, at least from what he'd gathered, was more of an 'early to bed early to rise' sort of person. Although one would certainly have to be in order to get the jump on his brother. He smiled softly at the thought. He was glad she'd finally drifted off to sleep, though it had taken him pretending to be unconscious for an hour before she dared to close her eyes. Not that he could blame her; he'd have done the same thing had their roles been reversed.

Bloody hell, she must hate him now.

Kol sighed, dragging a hand through his hair. He could picture the hurt in her eyes when she'd finally seen past his lies. For the record, Kol had never wanted to hurt Davina Claire. If he'd been ready, then maybe he would have been able to keep her out, but she had connected to him faster than he could react and viola, there you have it: Kol Mikaelson's Greatest Hits - The Double Feature. All his secrets, all his lies, all his worst deeds - all arranged on a silver platter. What a lovely way to start a friendship, ay?

"You're one of them," She'd seethed. It was the way she said it and the way she'd looked at him - as if he were the most revolting thing she'd ever seen.

Not that he could blame her. 

He was a screw-up, plain n' simple. That was all he'd ever been - all he ever would be - just some sick, twisted reject that nobody in their right mind could ever want. A thousand years was a long time and all he could seem to do was fail. Then by some bloody miracle, he'd finally met the girl of his dreams and he'd screwed that up too! Davina Claire was so extraordinary and all he'd wanted was for her to see something - anything - of value in him. That was all he'd ever wanted anyone to see, just something worth holding on to - something worthwhile. Kol wasn't like his siblings, he didn't need all that much, just a little bit - just one person to say one thing to let him know that all his pain, all his torment, all his thousand years culminating with his bloody death - for crying out loud - that it all hadn't just been for bloody nothing! That he hadn't been for nothing. There had to be a point to it all - there just had to be.

And, you know, he'd really tried this time. He'd tried so hard for Davina, because he’d seen her smile from across the street and if there was a point to all his everything, then she was it. If anyone on the planet was ever worth being good for, it was that lovely little witch. Maybe it was a little pathetic of him. After all, he'd seen her smile one bloody time, but that was all it took. Because Kol had died one thousand years before, and there was no magic that could bring him back to life - no magic except for Davina Claire. He wanted to be the reason Davina smiled. He really wanted to be worth that. 

And he'd tried.

"You liar!"

One thousand years was a long time to spend screwing up. Failure, it seemed, was his specialty.

But for however spectacular he was at failing, he was an expert in trying again. He’d spent his whole life getting back up and brushing himself off because that was all he could do. Checking out had been fun while it lasted, but at the end of the day, Kol had always been left to ‘figure it out’ because the worst thing about being human was a little thing called hope and Kol knew from experience that screwing up could never hurt as much as giving up. He'd already died twice. What more did he have to lose?

That was just it. He had nothing.

Nothing but himself, and something to do with that sick, twisted reject.

Davina murmured something in her sleep. He ignored it at first as he still liked to consider himself a gentleman and giving her the privacy to talk in her sleep was the least he could do. A few moments later, the girl made another small noise - it sounded more like a whimper this time. Kol frowned. Checking over his shoulder, nothing seemed to be amiss, but appearances could be misleading. Davina turned over with a tiny moan, then she huffed and turned back.

"Davina?" Kol hissed, weary of waking her. "Davina, are you awake?"

The girl gave no reply, at least not one he could understand. She huffed again, and then another time and Kol realized her huffs were actually small sobs. Davina was crying. He didn't want her to cry.

"Davina?" He raised his voice just slightly in hopes of somehow being able to soothe her. "You're alright, darling. Just go back to sleep."

The young Claire witch whined and gasped, kicking a little and gripping the sheets with enough force to tear through them. "No…" She choked out, her peaceful expression contorted into something pained. "No, stop it! Stop it! Stop!" 

Kol caught the strain of panic rising through her voice and felt the charge of magic begin to build in the room. He was up and moving in the next instant, rushing to Davina's side. 

"Hey! Hey, Davina! Wake up, darling!" He shook her shoulder once gently, unsure of what else he could do. She just looked rather small in her vulnerable state; he didn't want to do something that might hurt her. Although, as her thrashing grew more intense he was forced to reconsider. Gripping both her shoulders, he shook her firmly, raising his voice quite a bit this time. "Wake up, Davina, you're dreaming! You need to wake up!"

Davina managed to free one arm from its entanglement in her sheets and she used it to bat his hands away. "No! Stop it!" Davina screamed. "Let go of me! STOP!" 

Haunted witches were dangerous things - experience had taught Kol that much. For someone so young and so powerful, Davina's control was impressive but she was vulnerable in this state, and whatever terror was stalking the Claire witch's dreams would drive her magic to react. He was lucky he sensed the burst of magic before it came. 

Davina shrieked and an invisible force tore from her chest - a magical discharge powerful enough to cause the ground beneath them to quake. Throwing his arms up to shield his head, Kol murmured a protection spell, gritting his teeth in his effort to hold it as the veritable tidal wave of Davina's magic crashed into this body's meager capacity. (Once again, Kol cursed his mother. Esther knew of his knowledge and capabilities, she knew he was a threat and had placed him into one of the weakest vessels she could find.) The blast from Davina's magic receded, leaving him stumbling as he paused to catch his breath. He glanced around the room, assessing for damage. Aside from exhausting his reserves, Kol had managed to remain mostly unscathed; the motel's mirror, however, was less fortunate. The chair he’d been sitting on only moments before had also been obliterated - blown to bits and he was glad he’d managed to avoid the splinters.

Davina continued to thrash about wildly as if fighting for her life. (He knew what that looked like, he’d seen it thousands of times.) Kol struggled to his feet and moved back to Davina’s side, shaking her again. 

“Davina!” He called. “Bloody hell, Davina! Come on!” All he got for his efforts was a solid kick to the side as the air in the room began to swirl around them. He swallowed his pain with a curse and sighed, squeezing his eyes shut. Unsure where he pulled the strength from, Kol channeled all the power he had left into reaching out to Davina - into her mind, swirling with fear and chaos. He could feel them - the ancestors of New Orleans - stalking her dreams, keeping her trapped. Esther had corrupted them - they coveted Davina’s power as did she; they continued to torment the girl for her bravery, hoping to break her. But Kol knew they would fail. Davina Claire was stronger than them; they would never control her again. He could sense her fighting even now, scratching, biting, and clawing her way to the surface. She didn’t need his help, she never had, but he would offer it all the same. It was like extending a hand and she didn’t take it immediately. “Come on, Davina…” His power was waning. “You don’t have to do this alone…” She took his hand

“Surgere,” He muttered.

Davina shot up with a gasp. Trembling and sobbing, her hand flew to her throat as she frantically tried to place her surroundings. Kol raised his hands in what he hoped was a soothing gesture, keeping his voice soft. “Shhh, it’s alright, darling. You’re alright. It was just a dream.” 

"I-I know. I just-" She panted, coughing at the dryness in her throat. 

Satisfied she wasn’t going to blast him to kingdom come, Kol lowered his hands and moved to sit beside her, rubbing circles over her back like he used to do when Rebekah had a nightmare. “It was just a dream, Davina. You’re safe.” 

The girl looked up, those round blue-grey eyes that always reminded him of the morning mist were filled with tears. He saw in her eyes the innocence they both had lost. The tears dripped from her long lashes and Kol caught them with his thumb, wishing he could brush away her pain just as easily. “Kaleb?” She sniffed. And he didn’t even care that it wasn’t his name on her lips. He didn’t care because the way she was looking at him was enough. She looked at him like he was worth something. 

“Yeah, it’s me,” He breathed. “It’s me, Davina. You’re okay.”

Davina shook her head, curling her arms close to her chest. “They-They were slaughtering us,” She whispered, her voice hoarse.

“Bloody hell…” Of course, she was dreaming about the bloody Harvest. He had figured as much but to hear her confirm it just gave him yet another reason to make sure his Mother’s plans failed. “I know. I’m so sorry had to go through that, Davina. I’m sorry your ancestors abused you and I’m sorry they won’t leave you alone but, you know what? Look at me.” She just shook her head and buried her face in her arms. “Davina look at me.” He pressed a kiss to her hair and guided her to raise her gaze. “You beat them. You beat them at their own game, one you never should’ve had to play, but you did and you won. You won, and because you won, they will never again have any power over you - not unless you let them. You are stronger than they are, Davina Claire, you always have been and you always will be.”

The girl nodded slightly and sat up, moving away from him. He let her go. “Thank you,” She said. Her tone was stiffer than before as she scrubbed her eyes. “You can go back to sleep now.”

“Ah, but we were having so much fun,” He joked, trying to pull a smile from her. She huffed a little but it wasn’t exactly a laugh. “Do you want to, I dunno, talk about it? I don’t mind staying up,” He continued, trying to be somewhat helpful. He'd never been very good at emotions but he could try, Davina was worth the effort.

“No.” She shook her head, her mouth fixing into a firm line. “No, thank you. I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? I could-” He started.

She cut him off. “Nice try, but please just don’t.” Her tone was sour and her eyes were back to steel.

Kol sighed. “Davina, I-”

“You know, I almost believed you just now -” Davina chuckled to herself lightly, wiping the last traces of her tears away. “- But then I remembered that you’re not actually my friend and that you’ve been lying to me since the day we met.

He hissed, frowning. “Friend? Way to hurt a man’s pride, love.”

“What?” 

“Well, flirting isn’t usually a platonic gesture,” He drawled, smirking a little.

Davina rolled her eyes. “You’re still a liar.” 

He was. Kol was a liar. He'd been lying for as long as he could remember. He'd lied for Henrik, for Rebekah, even for Niklaus. He lied quite a lot. He was good at it. But, strange as it was, he didn't want to lie to Davina, he wanted to tell her everything. Even the things that didn't matter - the oddest fleeting thoughts he had, he wanted to share with her and he wanted to hear her's in return. Yes, Kol wanted a lot of things with Davina Claire... and most of them were entirely rated PG.

“Would you believe me if I said I’ve lied more for you than I have to you, darling?” He asked. Though he didn’t let her answer. “And you’ve lied for me too. You could’ve ratted me out to Marcel today, but you didn’t. You trust me, Davina Claire, even if you won’t admit it.”

Her face betrayed nothing. She only sighed and dragged her fingers through her hair. “Just go away, Kaleb.”

“It’s Kol.”

“Kol …whatever, just go.” She turned over, facing away from him, signaling that this was the end of their conversation. Kol stood up rather reluctantly, moving over to the other bed and laying back.

The night was still dark and nature was alive outside, but it was quiet in the room. Kol knew she wasn’t sleeping, knew she didn’t intend to for the rest of the night. He knew she was just going to tough it out because she thought she had to. It wasn’t fair - he didn’t want her to suffer the same way he had. Kol knew what it was like to die - no one in his family had mentioned it after the fact. It was sort of a taboo subject, nobody brought it up and everyone suffered. But Davina shouldn’t have had to do it alone.

“I have ‘em too,” He spoke into the darkness. The Claire witch gave no reply but she shifted and Kol took that as encouragement enough to go on. “Nightmares, I mean. You would think that after all this time they would fade, yet I still dream about it. It’s like a loop in my head, can’t seem to make it stop.”

Her voice was so quiet that he almost didn’t catch it. “What do you dream about?”

“The night I died.” A wry smile stretched across his face. “The first time, not the second, mind you.” He heard her laugh just slightly. “I won’t say I know how you feel, Davina. But I remember how I felt. I remember that lingering cold and that sensation that feels as though you’re floating while your body feels like it’s too heavy to bear. I remember that. I told you we're Kindred Souls and I meant it… You’re not alone.” 

“Do you…Did it hurt?” She whispered. He couldn’t see her face but, oh how he wished he could. Her voice was soft, tentative. “Do you remember the pain?”

“Yes.” He replied. The girl was silent for a few moments, and Kol waited, simply listening to the cicadas buzzing outside. He didn't expect her to say anything. She didn't need to. He didn't sleep either, electing to stare out the window instead and watch the stars begin to fade.

“Kaleb?”

“Hmm?"

“How did you die?”

He sighed. Of all the questions he supposed hers was the only one that mattered. “I died running," He began. "I was running to warn my siblings, and every time I think; if I had only been a little bit faster, perhaps things would have been different… I guess I’ll never know.” His tone was rather calm as he spoke of his death. It was soft and almost detached but reminiscent as well. “My father ran his sword through my back - missed my heart, though. I died slowly. The minutes ticked by and-and every breath was agony. I felt helpless, scared, and alone, unable to move, unable to die - half drowning in my own blood and no one was around and no one knew and I knew that my siblings were only minutes away from the same. Yet, I could do nothing but choke and die… It’s strange to feel yourself bleed out, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” She said, her voice the same as his. She said: “I didn’t like it very much.”

“Neither did I.”

Minutes drifted on. The sky gained a little bit of light, but only enough to turn the sky from black to grey. Davina still had more questions.

“Kaleb?”

“Yes?”

And she asked: “Did you scream?”

And he said: “No.” He told her: “I wanted to. I tried a few times but all I heard was silence. See the movies have it wrong, you can’t scream when stabbed in the back. I tried and I tried, but I couldn’t. There was no one around to hear me anyway.”

“What did the sword feel like?” She wondered.

“It was metal,” He answered. “It was cold.”

“Kol?”

“Yes?”

A pause. 

“This doesn’t mean I trust you.”

Kol just chuckled. “Guess I’ll have to keep trying, love.”

“Goodnight,” She said.

“Sweet dreams, Davina Claire.”

Kol Mikaelson and Davina Claire would spend quite a few nights together after that, and he'd be saying those words every night for a while, whether the girl herself was there to hear them or not. Though neither of them knew that yet, it was alright, because - be it the magic or the company - those hot summer nights in New Orleans were something special.

Tagging: @yn-ymn-yln @r13mar @rootbeerfaygo @iiskittles16ii @fandomrulesall-blog @dark-night-sky-99 @railingsofsorrow @apolloroid (Tell me if you want on or off the tag list!)

[running-with-toast]

I just binged Witch Hat Atelier, the anime announcement reminded me I needed to catch up.  I read up to chapter 56 , and lord help me but I have Thoughts. It is 1 AM and I should be working on my thesis, but I’m doing this instead.

First of all. I am literally writing my thesis on comic book panels, and Shirohama is a genius at putting a layout together. She fills her gutters with ornate decorations which must take a fucking eternity to put together. Panels practically lift off the page, and characters jump between them, lean against the borders, collapse into them, are crushed by them. I am obsessed with that shit.

I am also a typesetter, and I stand in awe of the work that Water, Botany, Hypomanix, and Yayi are doing on the series. (We work for the same group, but are on separate projects, plug plug). I sometimes question their font choices (yaboy fucking hates script fonts), but their sfx conversions are inspired. They make me want to get better at my craft. Keep it up guys.

The art is obviously brilliant. I don’t have a lot to say about it, honestly, it’s basically mechanically perfect. Shirohama is in love with art. It shows on every page. The range she demonstrates is extraordinary, all the characters have very distinct visual identities, and are instantly recognizable in both the normal illustration style and in their more exaggerated representational style. It’s surprisingly hard to do both and especially hard to find the right balance between them. Also, observe this creature.

Theeemes. When I first started reading this series in 2016 I opened my third eye and predicted that it was gonna be one of those “villain with a point” plots, with optional “take the third option” twist. Six (fuck, six) years later, and I’m right on all counts. Maybe not the most impressive called shot in the world, the story wasn’t particularly subtle with its foreshadowing. It’s almost a little disappointing, honestly. I’m not like, upset, it set things up effectively and is now delivering on them, I just thought it might have gone for something a little more complicated.

Other stuff its got going on. This is not a negative criticism, this is just something that I personally find very frightening: Violations of bodily autonomy, in the Nina vein. There’s one pretty direct parallel to her early on, but the shit that really freaks me out is the forced tattooing. In the grand scheme of things its maybe not the most intimidating threat, but it carries such heavy in-universe consequences and the characters react with such visceral horror at the prospect that you kinda can’t help feeling it too. Very few series have managed to freak me out like this. Only other example (besides fma obv) is Shy, another series I am behind on. It basically just an average shonen thing, and the violence it depicts really isn’t all that different from its contemporaries. There’s just something so visceral about it. Freaks me out. I’ve read Berserk. I’ve read Vinland Sage. I ain’t squeemish. So when I say that very few things in either of those series really scared me as much as a girl breaking her arm in Shy did, understand where that’s coming from. Shy also has the bodily autonomy thing going on, people being forced to wear rings that corrupt them against their will. I did not mean to talk about Shy that long. Yeah, so Witch Hat. We got non-consensual tattooing, people getting fused with animals, people getting mindwiped, people getting turned to stone and shit. That shit scares me a lot. That’s the intended effect, and it definitely succeeds in that, so well done I guess? Please stop though.

Worldbuilding. This is simultaneously Witch Hat’s greatest strength and its greatest weakness. It has one of the most thoroughly explored and well-thought-out magic systems I’ve ever seen. It’s practical applications are both inventive and perfectly logical. Magic feels like a tool to be used in this world by craftsman, not some nebulous force of convenience, and that is an achievement in itself. They talk about the mechanical details of the magic system a lot. It’s all almost always interesting, but it gets kind of exhausting after a while. It could be because I read the whole thing on my phone with that skinny ass script font (seriously guys why) in one sitting, but I feel like the comic would benefit from replacing some of those magic lectures with pages that have no words on them. Let the reader breath for a bit, let them explore the page in a less structured way for a bit, appreciate the art in more detail.

That was a lot of words to say that I like this comic. Interested to see where we go next. It is still 1 AM. Goodnight.

[im-moreofa-dogperson]

Killing Me Slowly - Part 1

Featuring: Female Reader

Set In: Percy Jackson Universe (only name mentions: Nico Di Angelo and Will Solace)

Summary: Having resided at Camp Half-Blood for going on 3 months now, y/n is still unclaimed, and wishes she were never a demigod in the first place. Upon meeting a mysterious young man at camp, however, she grows suspicious that there is more to her story – and his - than meets the eye.

Words: 3184

masterlist

___________________________________________

The last thing you remember was being chased through the woods. Giggles ran rampant, but as you turned your head to look back you tripped over the tree roots and crashed into the hard earth.

You groaned and rolled onto your back seeing sun beams shining through the silk of white gowns surrounding you as you slowly slipped out of consciousness.

******

When you finally came to, you were back at camp. Lying atop white, cotton sheets in the Apollo cabin, and your friend Will sitting in the chair next to you reading from his novel.

Even though they were significantly younger than you, Will Solace and his boyfriend Nico Di Angelo were always looking out for you given that you’d made so few acquaintances since coming to camp about 3 months ago.

“What are you reading?” you ask in a low voice. He turns quickly, so engrossed in his book he hadn’t realized you’d awoken. He sets his book down on the nightstand and shifts his attention towards you.

“A Separate Peace by John Knowles. How are you feeling?” He inquires. You always admired his tenacity when it came to healing his patients, but now that you were the patient, it just came off as stubborn.

You still hadn’t been claimed, but you were sure your mother wasn’t a curative goddess of any sort. There was no way you possessed the patient nor diligent attributes that you saw in your friend Will.

“Fine. Just a small headache,” you admit. He shakes his head and sighs at that.

“How many times have I told you not to fraternize with the nature spirits? They’re unpredictable, Y/N.” You realize he’s just concerned for you, but you roll your eyes at that remark anyways.

“It was an accident! There was no foul play, alright? Just a few forest gals and their demi-goddess friend chasing each other around,” you teased.

He sighs again but nods his head. “Okay, just – promise me you’ll be more careful?”

“Sure.” Will knew, of course, that it was meaningless for a demigod to agree to such a promise, but you respected his efforts anyways.

Just then, Nico arrived in the doorway to notify the two of you that dinner had been called.

******

That night, you wasted no time settling into the bottom bunk bed in the Hermes cabin to fall asleep. Though it was common for demigods to have nightmares most nights, you considered yourself lucky for not having to worry about that too often.

You figured it was because you didn’t have enough real-world experience to provide the dark and foreboding content of a nightmare.

Before arriving at Camp Half-Blood, you had resided in a cramped apartment in Brooklyn, New York with your father.

The two of you had lived a quiet, relatively average life, undisturbed by monsters, so when a satyr finally discovered you it was thought that you’d quickly be claimed by a minor goddess of some sort; someone who doesn’t draw too much attention from malicious characters.

After the first month, however, and there still being no sign of who your godly parent could be, you began to accept your life as an honorary Hermes camper.

So, when you eventually fell asleep and your dream began, you were pleased once again to find yourself back in the oak woods you were in earlier that day. The only difference being that you were alone.

Your dream-self wandered around, leaves and sticks crinkling and snapping under your bare feet. You often dreamed of natural surroundings; it was where you felt most at home.

While your explored, you suddenly felt a cool chill tickle your arms, sending a shiver down your back. You turned to look around you but didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. However, when you began walking again, you heard a second set of footsteps.

You stopped moving, and so did the mysterious steps behind you. Too afraid to look back again, you quickened your pace moving forward. You now distinctly heard someone lumbering after you, so you began to sprint.

While you were running, you noticed a subtle shift in the atmosphere; the sun no longer broke through the leaves, and a dense fog had begun to rise around your ankles, as if clinging to you in an effort to slow you down.

It wasn’t long until whoever was chasing you had apparently succumbed to the fear induced by the forest. You heard his laboring breaths and heavy feet begin to retreat away from you.

You sighed a breath of relief and slowed to a stop, though your small victory was short lived. For it was just then you heard the sound of an unmistakable hiss. The source of the hissing continued to do so as it began to encircle you.

You couldn’t pin down where the hissing was coming from, as whatever emitted it continued to move, and a feeling of doom soon crept its way through your body before settling in your chest.

When the hissing stopped, you looked to where you last heard it, and that’s when you saw the body of a 3-meter-long viper with a diamond pattern on its back slither out from behind the trees and into the clearing out of the fog. You instinctually took a step back, but you knew there was no escaping it.

It barred its fangs and hissed again as it snuck its way towards you. Your body shivered in terror when the viper suddenly launched itself at you, mouth wide open. You cried out, throwing your arms in front of your face and stumbling backwards.

When it became apparent the snake hadn’t bit you, you opened your eyes only to find yourself back in the Hermes cabin.

******

The next morning after breakfast, you slipped away from the Hermes cabin to avoid doing their daily activities and trainings for the day.

Being that you had remained unclaimed for so long, Travis and Connor Stoll, the head counselors of Hermes, notably felt guilty making you tag along with the group, so you were often able to get away with playing hooky.

You decided to head over to the lake to relax with the naiads and for some peace and quiet after the unsettling and ominous dream you’d just had.

The nature spirits at camp were naturally shy souls, rarely interacting with mortals of any sort, but they appreciated your company. You suspected they felt comfortable around you because you were just as shy and reserved as they were.

In fact, they enjoyed your company so much so that other campers often joked that the reason you hadn’t been claimed was because you were in fact a nature spirit of some sort yourself.

You’d usually scoff at these accusations and their irony, given how badly you wished for them to be true.

Plopping yourself down on the warm planks, you dip your toes in the water and gaze out across the lake.

The nightmare you’d had last night had left you feeling unnerved and anxious, so you were grateful for the tranquility that the warm, afternoon sun settling in the sky provided.

You soon noticed one of the naiads drifting up to where you sat. The greenish hue in her brown hair almost seemed to glow under the sun’s reflective beams.

When she broke the water, you smiled, but just as she opened her mouth to speak you heard yelling coming from Half-Blood Hill. You whipped your head around and noticed a few campers running to the source of the commotion.

Deciding it prudent to investigate, you begrudgingly bid your friend adieu and made your way over to the hill.

You immediately noticed the head counselor of Ares cabin, Sherman Yang, giving orders to the campers who had come to help to head back to their activities in reassurance that everything was under control.

Deciding it best not to argue with him, you began to turn away. However, it was just then you noticed what all the fuss was about. A young man with brunette, curly hair who was notably bloodied and bruised was being escorted by a few counselors towards the infirmary.

He had a busted lip, swelling around his left eye, and cuts all along his arms that made it look like he’d just lost a fight with a thorn bush.

He suddenly caught you staring, as you made eye contact with his light blue/green eyes. They were familiar to you, reminding you of the glimmering lake under a midday sun.

You quickly looked away, and your cheeks flushed with embarrassment. You chalked up your sudden infatuation and recognition of him to the probability that he’s a son of Aphrodite, but that excuse was short-lived.

As him and the two counselors walking with him passed you, your eyes caught the glint of a glowing sign above his head: a golden sun with rays made of arrows. The sign of Apollo.

******

After everyone’s initial shock and congratulations had been made, Will made his way over to the young man to introduce himself. You learned that the boy’s name was Thomas and that he’d just escaped from a hoard of dracaenas hence his injuries.

You didn’t stick around for long letting Will introduce him to camp, though you couldn’t help but wonder more about him. After making eye contact with him, however briefly it lasted, you felt struck with the feeling that you’d met before.

After pondering over this all day, Nico finally came to find you after dinner to walk with you to the bonfire.

“Let’s sit here,” he said, motioning to a couple empty spots near the front. The two of you were notoriously more comfortable sitting in the back, away from any sort of attention.

However, Nico once confided in you that ever since he began dating Will, he felt more self-assured in putting himself out there, and you couldn’t have related more, knowing that without the two of them by your side, you’d quickly have migrated to the back.

After a large congratulations to Thomas for being claimed and some recognitions to a few campers for various training achievements, the campfire songs were well underway.

After a few of the usual songs, one of the Apollo kids started urging Thomas to sing. A few of the others joined in chanting his name, and pretty soon the whole crowd is chanting him on, while a couple Athena kids grab his arms and gently toss him to the front.

You cringe and turn into Nico, worried about him embarrassing himself. You knew from Will that it was only a stereotype that every child of Apollo could sing.

The noise of the audience eventually dies down and Thomas picks up a lyre from the front bench. He takes a deep breath, and you tense up waiting for his inevitable demise.

He plucks a few of the strings, before falling into a song. When he begins to sing, all the muscles in you suddenly relax, and you gaze upon him eager to hear more:

‘All I’ve ever known is how to hold my own

But now I wanna hold you

Hold you close

I don’t ever wanna have to let you go

Now I wanna hold you, hold you tight

I don’t wanna go back to the lonely life’

While he sang, you found yourself lost in his eyes again. He gazed back on you and you felt as though his words had enveloped you in his embrace. You imagined you were the only two people there, and that his song was written for you.

‘I don’t know how or why

Or who am I that I should get to hold you?

But when I saw you all alone against

The skies like I’d known you all along

I knew you before we met

And I don’t even know you yet

All I know is you’re someone I have always known

Suddenly the sunlight

Bright and warm

Suddenly I’m holding the world in my arms’

When he plucked the last string, your eyes lingered on each other for a second longer before your cheeks flushed and you looked away. You noticed quickly that you weren’t the only one stricken by the beauty of Thomas’ singing.

The usually rowdy campers remained quiet, the nymphs had wandered out of their forest dwellings to listen in, and the usual scuttling, chirping, and tweeting of the animals had fallen to a hush and now remained that way; hungry for more.

After a moment, however, the crowd erupted in cheering and applause. You felt overwhelmed with the sudden switch in atmosphere, as if you’d been yanked out of a pleasant dream.

While Nico was distracted talking to Will, you slipped away and made your way to the forest.

******

You wandered off into the woods to catch your breath, eventually coming to a stop and resting your hand against the pale trunk of a large birch tree.

You couldn’t believe how engrossed you’d become listening to Thomas’ voice. You figured everyone was just enamored with his singing as strongly as they were because he’d been gifted by Apollo, but that didn’t explain why he’d seemingly only sung to you and why you’d welcomed it so given how aversive you were to attention.

You had closed your eyes for a moment, but now your head was starting to ache where you’d knocked it into the forest roots the day prior.

When you opened them again, however, it felt as though the usually welcoming ambience of the forest had shifted slightly to a more ominous tone.

The soft glow of the campfire had disappeared, the noise of the bonfire had quieted to a lull, the air had a sudden chill, but most disturbing was when you turned around, you couldn’t place where you had entered the woods.

A panic began to creep into your chest, so you started walking back the direction you’d come, hoping your mind was just playing tricks on you.

You quickened your pace until you were at a slow jog, but still hadn’t made it the edge of the trees. None of the nymphs had appeared to help either, further raising your suspicions that something was wrong.

Suddenly, you heard a feint hiss that stopped you dead in your tracks. It was just like the one you’d heard in your nightmare.

After hearing it again, this time closer and more distinct, you turned in the opposite way and booked it. You had no whereabouts as to what direction you were running, only that you had to get away from that awful sound.

You ran over tree roots, ducked under branches, got cut up from some twigs and leaves in the process, before your arm was grabbed, suddenly, pulling you to a halt.

You cried out and attempted to shove whoever had grabbed you away.

“Hey hey hey, you’re alright! It’s alright!” It was a familiar voice, urging you to slow down and focus. When you did you realized it was Thomas who not 5 minutes ago had almost melted you on the spot with just his voice. The same voice trying to calm you down now.

“What happened, what are you running from?” He inquired, still holding onto you as you were visibly shaking.

You knew you couldn’t tell him the truth, or he’d assume you’d lost your mind. Although you just may have but decided to keep that information to yourself for now. You forced a smile, and replied still out of breath, “Nothing. I just got lost and so I panicked and ran.”

He nodded. Though it wasn’t a total lie given that you had more or less gotten lost, it was still apparent that you weren’t sharing everything.

Deciding not to push you on it, he tentatively let go of you and chuckled politely before saying, “come on, let’s just get out of here, this part of the woods gives me the creeps.”

******

The bonfire had dispersed by the time the two of you came out, so no one but Thomas was made aware of your sudden disappearance. He’d been kind enough to walk you to your cabin without asking questions causing you to feel even guiltier about lying.

You were curious about him to say the least. You wish you knew why his singing had had such an oddly familiar hold on you, how he’d found you in the woods after the bonfire, and especially where you felt you knew him from.

All of this pondering over questions that you lacked the answers to, however, was exhausting and you soon turned over and shut your eyes.

As soon as you’d passed out in your small corner of the Hermes cabin, another nightmare began.

It started out the same as the last one did; heavy footsteps lumbering after you, shallow breathing, and foreboding hisses.

Though you’d experienced this dream before, the panic still rose quickly to your chest as you scrambled and raced to get away. Stumbling over roots and forest brush, the weakness of your dream body struggled to keep up with your mind’s urgency to evade danger.

Just as it was apparent the man chasing you had caught up to you, he slowed down, until you eventually heard his raspy breaths and heavy footsteps retreating.

You slowed to a stop as well knowing you still weren’t out of the woods yet – metaphorically speaking – but not knowing quite how to evade this next threat. The source of the hissing was almost taunting you as you heard it circling around you.

You felt yourself succumb to the overwhelming feeling of hopelessness as you saw the viper slither out from its hiding place and inch towards you. You held your breath in preparation for your enemy’s inevitable attack.

The snake launched itself at you snarling along the way causing you to cry out and turn away. You fell to the ground and closed your eyes, digging your nails into the dirt. You knew the viper had dissipated before it reached you, but you still shivered in fear.

You finally summed up the courage to open your eyes but instead of waking up back in the Hermes cabin, you found yourself in a different setting. A tunnel.

The tunnel’s dark and jagged passage filled you with cryptic doubt and dread. Nonetheless, it led up toward a feint light where, just at the threshold, you noticed the silhouette of a young man standing with his back to you.

Feeling as though you were being urged on by an external force, you pushed yourself off the ground and began approaching him.

Just as you reached out a hand close enough to touch his shoulder, he turned around, and you recognized him. It was Thomas, the son of Apollo whose presence hadn’t left your mind since he’d arrived.

Before you could form a second thought, you felt cold hands seize you by the waist and yank you back down the tunnel, away from the light, and away from Thomas.

You cried out, “Wait - !”

You woke up just then and as you opened your eyes there was one name left at the tip of your tongue: “Orpheus”.

__________________________________________

Song: “All I’ve Ever Known” included from Hadestown the Musical.

[smute]

do you ever think oh yeah im gonna open this bottle of sparkling wine bc i have achievemence to celebrate and then within half an hour several things happen and/or occur and now you don't feel like celebrating at all but you're already drunk? so you go on tumblr to complain and then type this post? do you ever do that?