#i'd like to paint this eventually......We'll See........

[hakuryuu]

shopping trip

[therentyoupay]

Hi Kris! I just wanted to say that after reading chapter 7 you and Callie have left me in utter SHAMBLES and AWE with how devastatingly gorgeous the pictures you can paint with literature are. I’m desperately excited to see how you two will be continuing the story although I do have a question that I’m unsure if you’ve answered before. After this broadway oscar winning fanfic has been completed are you and Callie thinking of possibly doing more collaborations or simply just yourself doing more collaborations with other artists and bringing more delicious stories to life?👀👀💞💞

thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a lovely message in my askbox, for saying SUCH NICE AND LOVELY THINGS, and for sharing with us the impact this story has had on you!! 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹 calli and i have been working so hard on this project for two months, and it really means a lot to hear how much you're enjoying it. 💕💕💕

future kriscallicollabs??? we haven't answered this question before, and it's a lovely question!! currently, calli and i are 1000% focused on finishing more than you know and getting part ii of the jelsa video ready to post (SO MANY GIFS), so we haven't actively started planning any other collabs! however, when this idea was first planted back in the summer of 2023 or whatever, we braindumped SEVERAL ideas into the original majestic KrisCalliCollab google doc... (more than you know was actually only one of several ideas! 🤣)

there's a jelsa!wildward collab that we really wanted to do but didn't have time to do fully, so we made a bunch of LORE, and i made a baby fic, and some edits: one of our other ideas that we really wanted to do was a jelsa!prequel to her wildward series and establish some lore for the first aegis users! we definitely did not have time to create a full-fledged fic, but LORE WAS HAD (pages and pages on the google doc), and in the end, i made two edits and wrote a little micro-fic for it! in the time of the first keeper... maybe one day we'll expand? 🤣

when?? oof, not anytime soon, because life is upon us 🤣🤣🤣 BUT, calli and i are creative counterparts for life (TWIN FLAMES), so who's to say??? maybe sometime within the next five years?? FIFTY YEARS?? to be determined, but i do not doubt that it shall happen eventually! calli has also been pushing for a zelda/link!jelsa AU for ages and i have not forgotten 🤣🤣 in the meantime, we'll just keep supporting and devouring each other's other projects!!

(also, not sure how many people know this, but i beta-read for wildward! i have been beta-ing the series since its early chapters!!)

other collabs? i've been super lucky to be able to collab with @knightsquall (my name twin) for our kris/xris edit+fic soulmate!AU creation, not in so many words! we made it for the prompt: “the first words your soulmate will say to you will appear as a tattoo on your body at a certain age.” that two-shot is still one of my favorites. 🥹🥹🥹🥹

i haven't done any other collabs, though!! i feel like both collabs just happened organically because i was already friends with both xris and calli before we actually started working on our projects! collabs definitely require a lot of trust, for me, and so while it's possible that other future collabs might happen, i'm not actively seeking any out. 💕💕💕 there are SO MANY TALENTED fanartists out here!! so it's definitely not for lack of good company, haha, but rather just that i'd already gotten to know both people really well, so doing a collab was just, like, the natural thing to do, once we had time for it. 🤣 fic fanart? i am, however, so so so fortunate that so many fanartists have been inspired by my stories 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰 i am really lucky and grateful to have been gifted so many gorgeous fanarts, fanvideos/AMVs, gifs, and doujinshi comics across multiple fics and fandoms.🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭💕💕💕 you can find (most of) them here, or on my tumblr tag (therentyoupay fic fanart) but BE WARNED, there are massive spoilers. 🙏🙏🙏🙏 proceed with caution, haha! i also desperately need to update the fic fanart page with all the new mtyk art, too!

🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🙏🙏🙏🙏 thank you so much for this ask!!! we hope you enjoy the final installments of more than you know and part ii of the jelsa video!! 🥹🥹🥹 thank you!!! 😭💕💕

[just-illegal]

AITA for lying to my friend about owning a frog?

Friend- friend is dubious.

Ok, so: I (M) was painting some frogs onto the tower I share with my roommate P (20-something or 30-something?, F), when - we'll call him J (can't be older than 20, M) - walked over to me and asked if we had any frogs. I gave him a vague answer, to see what he'd say, and he seemed to think we did... and he got super excited at the concept of frogs. He even offered a lifetime supply of food for it! Now, we didn't have any, but I did know a group of wild frogs with prophetic powers (long story), and I brought him to them, kind of killed one in front of him, and gave him the grandmaster frog (1537 and 2 months, M) as a sign of peace.

However, from the moment I gave it to him, I knew he was gonna kill it. Just felt it in my bones, you know?

I confessed to P what I had done, and she scolded me, reminding me that frogs were our thing and no one else on the server was supposed to have them. I knew I had messed up, but I told her that we could always just steal it back.

The next time we saw J, not soon after actually, we threatened him and asked where he had hid the frog. He was confused, I told P he had taken it from me, he told her about the food thing, and she started asking me all sorts of questions like I was the one who did something wrong! Asking me why I didn't tell her about the food offer, asking me why I would even take that offer up because we can steal from them so easily... We then got back to threatening him about the location of the frog, and he got super cryptic about it! Saying we didn't need to know, but that the frog was safe, and that he had renamed it.

After our talk with J, P and I started looking for the frog. She was gonna act as distraction as I went through their house, but it had been burned down a bit ago (long story) and I sort of wimped out and walked up to J and his friend instead. J said I had double crossed him for some reason, and when I made an offer he said he was tired of my deals?

I went and apologized to the frogs afterwards, don't you worry. They forgave me, but I knew I would have to make things right.

Will update you guys on developments, but I just wanted to post this now because I want to know if I'm really in the wrong or not.

Edit 1: I got the perfect opportunity today, so I decided to just steal it. I had to tell the frogs first, and picked one to act as a decoy.

I did manage to save it, and I brought it back home and hid it in a wall in the basement stairwell. Next, there was only one thing left to do: ask J to let us see the frog. He was a bit apprehensive, but I reminded him that we're great friends, and he promised to think it over.

He did make up his mind and let me see the frog eventually, but it turned out to be a ploy to kidnap me in an obsidian box! P did save me, don't worry! I still can't believe he would trick me like that, though...

He did later find the frog missing, and got super mad at me, like I'd done anything wrong!

By the way, I showed P the frog, safe and sound, and she was super proud of me!

Also, people have been asking for elaboration on the stuff I've said were long stories, but... they're long stories, and this post is already getting super long. Maybe I'll elaborate someday.

[wakebymoonsleepbysun]

Untitled DJ x Reader Soulmate AU - Ch 1

EDIT: This is now being updated on ao3!

Throwing this up here for now. I have an ao3 but I don't know that I want this to be the first thing posted in it. Also it's in need of editing because the first chapter is in a different tense than the second chapter because I'd intended it to be a flashback-ish thing but that's not really clear in the finished writing. Alas.

Might delete these posts when it this story eventually makes its way to ao3, but we'll see.

[ Ch 1 - You are here ] [ Ch 2 ]

CHAPTER 1

The DJ had only been active for four years when the writing appeared on the inside of his wrist. At first he thought it was graffiti, something he was unfortunately quite familiar with, as teenagers frequently sought to prove their mettle by antagonizing a giant robot spider after hours. Though why they thought themselves brave was a mystery to him…he was forbidden from retaliating. He couldn’t even utter a protest once the speakers were turned off for the night. Not that aggressive, lyricless techno music was all that readily understood as a “protest” anyway.

But no, this writing on his wrist was not graffiti. Aside from the fact that he definitely would have realized if someone had climbed onto his stage and written on him, it was far smaller than the hastily spray painted or sharpie’d graffiti usually was. It was as if a human had simply written on him with a black pen the way they would write in a notebook.

“They really did a number on you, huh?”

DJ wasn’t sure what to make of that. Most of the graffiti on him was names and symbols, not cryptic, vaguely sympathetic messages.

A couple days after it appeared, he had his weekly maintenance with one of the techs, a middle aged man named Karter. Karter had been more or less the only human DJ interacted with with any regularity. DJ liked him well enough, and had thought he and Karter were friends. As much as a non-verbal robot could be friends with a human, anyway.

Karter never said much to DJ. What could he really say when DJ had no way to respond? But he was kind to him, expressing sympathy when DJ was graffitied or damaged, and he was mindful of DJ’s comfort when working on him, always telling DJ what he was doing and making sure DJ was prepared before opening up panels or soldering wires or swapping whatever hinge or joint needed replacing.

DJ had taken this for granted until, a year after DJ was first brought online, Karter had his first sick day. The tech who filled in for him didn’t speak to DJ at all, and almost seemed unaware that DJ could feel what she was doing, or that DJ would have any kind of opinion on it. DJ did his best to cooperate with her, trying to infer what she wanted from her occasional frustrated grumbles when he moved in a way she hadn’t wanted him to.

It was a small taste of what life was like with less kind techs and DJ, unsurprisingly, did not care for it.

So it was that DJ had no qualm about trying to get Karter to pay attention to the writing on his wrist. He couldn’t tell Karter what it said, of course, but that hardly mattered. It needed to be cleaned off, regardless of why it was there.

But as DJ repeatedly tried to show Karter his wrist, even pointing at it with two of his other hands, Karter’s expression began to darken.

“There’s nothing there, DJ. It’s fine,” he said, his expression troubled as he avoided DJ’s gaze.

DJ played a noise through the speakers, a small synthesized chirp that he often used as a way to get someone’s attention.

“DJ, please!” Karter snapped.

DJ flinched back, wringing his main pair of hands worriedly. Why was Karter so upset at this? He’d cleaned worse graffiti off the DJ. Granted this was small, but it was clearly visible. Why did it seem as if Karter didn’t even see it?

Karter sighed, his expression softening as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “...Okay. Tell me this. Is…is something written there?”

DJ brightened, nodding, a jingle of affirmation playing over the speakers.

Another sigh as Karter ran a hand down his face. “Goddammit. Goddammit, goddammit…”

DJ’s eyes widened at the language even as he canted his head in concern, replaying his questioning chirp over the speakers.

“DJ. I’m only going to tell you this once. Forget it. Ignore it. It’s not there. Okay?” he said, looking up at the DJ pleadingly.

DJ couldn’t help but repeat the querying chirp.

“I know it’s hard to ignore when it’s right there, but you have to.” Karter ran a hand through his greying hair, debating with himself on what the DJ needed to know…how much the phrase “Ignorance is bliss” applied to the situation.

“Just promise you won’t tell anyone.”

DJ frowned, glancing down at the writing. Was he the only one who could see it? Well…if that were the case, it was harmless enough. And despite DJ’s limited social skills, he could tell Karter was not interested in discussing it further, even if DJ could put his many questions into words.

So he let the matter drop. What else could he do?

The next week, Karter was out, and DJ was serviced by another quiet, vaguely sullen tech. When he pulled Karter’s employee profile, DJ found out that he had quit.

Was it because of him? DJ didn’t understand what he’d done wrong, but something had clearly caused Karter to be upset. DJ just hadn’t realized he was upset enough to quit over it. He couldn’t help but feel he had done something seriously wrong…and that it was his fault Karter had quit.

DJ became sulky after that. Oh, he never let it show in his performances of course. Those were just as lively and energized as ever. But between shows, and overnight, he just…sat. He barely acknowledged Moon when the night attendant came to visit him, didn’t even look up as the human guards passed through the arcade, and wouldn’t even spare the Lil’ Music Men a glance when they deigned to visit his stage overnight. 

More weeks went by, and each week was a new tech doing his weekly inspection. Not new to the Pizzaplex, of course, but new to this task. A quick glance at their employee profiles confirmed many of them had been working here for at least a year or two.

DJ stopped doing them any favors. He would move when asked to move and keep still when asked to keep still, but he no longer tried to anticipate what they needed of him, or infer anything from whatever they might be mumbling to themselves. If indeed they did mumble at all. Several were completely silent.

During those weeks, something else happened. Something that, before the incident with Karter, would have seemed completely innocuous and gone unnoticed by the DJ.

One evening during his set, his gaze happened to fall on a young woman standing against the wall at the edge of the dance floor. She was gazing down at her wrist, her other hand lightly tracing a pattern on her skin. She looked so happy; with a soft smile full of warmth and even the barest hint of tears of joy in her eyes.

His eyes flicked down to his own wrist, curious. The track skipped slightly as he turned his hand to check his wrist again, but he quickly recovered before anyone noticed.

The DJ’s gaze returned to the young woman just in time to see her being approached by two other women her age.

“Oh. My. Gosh. Did you--?” one of the friends cried excitedly.

“Yes! I got my mark!” the young woman said, tearing up in earnest.

“What’s it say?” the second friend asked excitedly.

“You know I can’t tell you!” she protested, hugging her wrist to her chest as if her friend would sneak a glance.

“Yeah, yeah. But as soon as you meet him you’re telling me what it said!”

“Maybe your soulmate’s here in the room right now!” the first friend said, squeezing the woman’s shoulders.

The first woman blushed, shaking her head. “Oh no. I doubt it. I-It could still be months before I meet him…or years…” she added, the briefest hint of worry in her eyes.

“Oh come on, be positive! Weeks at most!”

The DJ didn’t allow himself to skip another beat as he listened to the conversation. He could hear them perfectly, even over his own music.

Soulmate.

DJ was familiar with the term. Besides having been loaded with a basic understanding of human society (much of which he couldn’t imagine ever needing to know), he’d heard talk of such things on the dance floor. Especially during the slow songs.

Could that be what the writing on his wrist meant? He…had a soulmate?

But you needed a soul to have a soulmate, and animatronics didn’t have souls.

Years worth of conversation snippets he’d overheard began to fall into place. From what he could piece together, the words on his wrist were the first words his soulmate would say to him. And they would have the first words he would say to them on their wrist.

But DJ had no voice. What could possibly be on their wrist if he never spoke to them? He knew there were some humans that never spoke, but he had no information on how that affected someone’s mark.

A chill ran through DJ’s circuits as he began to process what that truly meant. A human was bound to him. Him. Easily the least humanoid animatronic in the Pizzaplex. He wasn’t like the Glamrocks or even the daycare attendant; humanoid and personable. He was more of a set piece than a character. More like a piece of furniture than a person.

He looked across the dance floor, picking out several couples holding each other as they danced, or sitting on the benches along the edges of the dance floor leaning on each other…or even just holding hands as they walked.

DJ couldn’t do any of that. Not with a human. Not even with the other animatronics.

He knew not all soulmates were romantic, but most of them were. He had to imagine he was one of the exceptions though. Much as he found himself wishing otherwise.

Now why did he wish that? Being unable to express any romantic affection would be just as bad for him as it would for his would-be soulmate, wouldn’t it? But then, he’d always been fairly separate from humans. He could make due.

But it was still unfair to put that on his potential partner.

Partner? Him, with a partner? He couldn’t even believe he was thinking it.

He realized he had repeated the same one-minute loop multiple times, and people were starting to notice. He quickly switched it, forcing himself to get his head back in the game.

Yet once the show was over the musings continued. They didn’t help his mood. It all just seemed so unfair. Not just to him, but to whoever was bound to him. Someone who, despite not having met them yet, was already so dear and important to him.

He let out a silent sigh, or at least imitated the motion of one. An odd quirk of his AI that he would ever have an urge to sigh or yawn despite having no lungs and no voicebox.

The DJ’s evening sulk would be interrupted by the sound of kids, probably teens, sneaking into the dance hall.

Great. Usually he would try to climb over the kids and hide in one of his tunnels until the night guard arrived, but tonight he couldn’t bring himself to bother.

Cans of spray paint came out as the kids began tagging him and even his stage. Flashes went off as they took selfies, causing his optics to rapidly toggle between day mode and night mode, which got disorienting after only a few switches.

Though the disorientation barely mattered when he didn’t plan on moving. He shuttered his eyes as best he could, given they weren’t designed to close completely, and hunkered down to wait it out.

Fate was against him tonight, for that wasn’t good enough for these kids.

“Let’s see if we can get a picture of him chasing us!” one of the boys said.

DJ tensed at that, though it wouldn’t be obvious to the kids that he’d even registered their remark. He had never chased off intruders. Deep in his code was a never used, never completed bouncer mode…but he couldn’t even activate that himself. Not that he’d ever want to.

Still, he knew somewhere out there, some kids had pictures and even short videos of him “chasing” them, but that was little more than them running in front of him as he scrambled around the dance floor trying to avoid their companions.

Well. Easy solution. Don’t move. As he was already not doing.

CLUNK!

DJ scrambled to his hands in surprise, clutching his left eye where the rock had hit. If the speakers had been on, the staticy feedback that would have come through them at DJ’s pain and shock would have surely scared the kids off. With them off, though, his distress was silent, aside from the dull thuds of his gloved hands scrambling on the stage.

As soon as he lowered his hand to glance at the kids, another rock was thrown. This too hit its mark, shattering the cracked plexiglass as the stone landed somewhere inside DJ’s eye socket, rattling around unpleasantly.

DJ kept backing up until his backmost set of hands found the wall behind the stage. He tried to get the rock out of his eye socket, but recoiled at the unpleasant sensation of his finger pushing against the circuitry that had previously been protected by the plexiglass dome. His frantic scrambling had caused one of the speakers beside the stage to topple over, taking one of the rainbow spotlights with it in a shower of sparks.

Another rock sailed over his head, hitting one of the spotlights above him. The heavy stage light was knocked loose, and in a stroke of bad luck landed on the elbow joint of his second left arm. The mechanism bent, seizing up and causing every movement of the joint to grind unpleasantly against the wires that ran though his arm.

“HEY!” a deep voice called out as the night guard finally arrived.

The kids quickly scrambled, every brat for themselves and each one hoping the guard would grab their friends before them.

The guard didn’t even glance at DJ as he ran after the kids, leaving DJ alone on his stage.

Just as well. DJ wasn’t in the mood to see anyone else. He lay back down on his stage, keeping one hand over his broken eye until morning.

The incident was reported, of course, and come morning two techs were at his stage looking over the damage. He removed his hand from his eye when he was commanded to, and did his best not to flinch as they surveyed the damage he’d done to himself in his failed attempts at fishing the rock out.

The dance hall would have to be closed today. Probably longer. Karter’s backfill was starting tomorrow. They would have to be the one to fix up DJ and his stage. Quite a task for a newbie, but they had to learn somehow.

Great. Just when DJ was thinking cold, impatient techs were the worst…At least they knew what they were doing, and got it done quickly. Now he had days of being worked on by some novice ahead of him, and no performances to keep his mind off things.

When the techs left, he stared down at the writing on his wrist. 

“They really did a number on you, huh?” He hadn’t yet realized that this was that number.

[into-crazy]

lace and cigarettes

Arthur Fleck/Joker x Female Reader drabble

Summary: Joker watches you dance in your bedroom, it eventually leads to something steamy.

Warnings- mature language, NSFW, SMUT, sexual themes, fingering, hand job, ages 18+

This is just a little something spicy that I wanted to get off my mind. I was in a bit of a rush when I wrote this so I hope it's not too bad.

Joker's laying comfortably on your shared bed in nothing but his white underwear and socks. Calmly smoking a cigarette while he watches you dance in a little lacy number.

A slow, sensual song is playing on the compact radio above the dresser. You are moving your hips to the rhythm of the tune. Grazing your hand all over your practically naked body, as the one-piece you're wearing leaves nothing to the imagination. He can see everything, out on display. You're merely decorated with the delicate fabric. Like a pretty present with his name written all over.

This was your idea and you had planned it out so well. While he was gone, you had set the station on the radio to the channel that plays all the good slow, seductive songs. Lit a few candles and placed them all around the bedroom. Then, you put on the sexy garment and patiently anticipated his arrival. Sure enough, Joker was very pleased with your lovely surprise when he had walked in.

Taking a drag of his cigarette, he slowly blows out the smoke. Gazing heavily at you from behind the flowy clouds, dancing so beautifully for him. His legs are spread and his other hand is resting by his side. But soon, he moves it to stroke around his lower tummy and eventually lower to palm his growing erection.

"Fuck kitten," he groans. "I'm so hard for you right now."

Your eyes flicker down to his crotch, and a smile forms on your face at the sight. Sure enough, his erection is straining hard against the fabric of his briefs. It sends tingles down your spine and a rush of heat to your core. This is exactly what you had wanted. For him to feel all the things he does to you when he's the one dancing and you are watching. Flip the roles around and watch him get turned on by you just as much as you always do by him.

Using one of your hands, you teasingly trail it down your body, all the way down to your barely covered pussy. Which is getting wet with your arousal. You make sure he's looking before tracing your fingers along your slit. "Mmhm, and I'm drenched for you. You always make me so wet."

"Oh yeah?" He nods. His hand slips into his underwear to stroke his length. "Why don't you climb on to this bed and let me take care of that for you? We'll take care of each other."

His voice is getting deeper and his eyes are becoming darker. He's completely under your trance. Mesmerized with the way your gorgeous body is moving, those alluring hips of yours rolling so invitingly. Painfully aroused by how you're teasing him by touching yourself in front of him. His dick is throbbing in his hand, precum has leaked out and left a small damp patch in his underwear. He doesn't know how much more of this he can take.

You bat your eyelashes at him innocently. "You wanna take care of me baby? Hm, you wanna touch me?" With your other hand, you grab and squeeze your breast. Pinching at your hardened bud that's poking up from under the lace.

"Yes," he hisses, licking his red painted lips. How much he wants to get his mouth on that sweet nipple of yours.

"You want me to touch you? Replace your hand with mine and stroke your hard dick?"

He screws his eyes shut and releases a shuddered moan. "Fuck.. yes."

You bite on your lower lip while looking at him seductively. "Oh Joker, I'd really like that. A lot."

"Well then get over here. Or I'll have to come over there, babydoll." Joker warns lowly. Taking one last drag of his cig before putting it out in the tray next to him.

He's much more confident than he's ever been before he ultimately became the Joker. Not afraid to voice what he wants, and certainly not afraid to express himself. He does so without any fears or questioning. Not anymore. Because he doesn't ever want to go back to those worries after experiencing what this is like. And you're definitely happy for him, supporting him in every step of the way. Sharing everything that comes along with it. All the fire, rage, and desires. You love that you've got to be there for his transition into this bolder version of himself. And you love who he's become now. As you've always loved him.

You smirk and climb on to the bed with him, sitting on his lap. He eagerly takes you into his arms, kissing you passionately. You reach into his briefs and pull out his aching cock. He moans against your mouth at the feel of your warm hand on him. Your thumb brushes over his red, leaking tip and his hips jerk up for more. You spit into your hand and begin to stroke his length. Joker curses under his breath, tossing his head back to release a symphony of gasps and moans.

After a few more strokes on his dick, he lifts his head back to look at you. Heavy eyes stare deep into your own. He then brings his attention to your pussy. With his hand, he moves the article to the side and pushes a finger inside of you. It slides in easily with how soaked you are, he adds another one. You moan aloud while he starts pumping them in and out of you.

As your chest rises and falls in front of him, his glance lands on your breasts. Using his teeth, he peels the fabric over one of your breasts to the side and sucks on the peaked bud. Smudging his face paint all over your skin in the process. He loves marking up your beautiful body any way he can.

You stroke him faster and he picks up the pace of his fingers. You're both focusing on making each other feel good. The combined sounds of your pleasure drowning out the music from the radio.

Joker switches up by curling his fingers against that spot which brings you closer to the edge. His thumb goes to your clit to rub tight firm circles. He brings his face up to your ear, "you close baby?"

"Y-Yes.. god I'm so close. Please, I wanna cum." You mewl. It's right there, so fucking close. You push yourself against his fingers, wanting it bad.

"Go ahead then. Cum all over my fingers, kitten." He whispers, lowering his mouth to your neck to kiss and suck hickeys into your sensitive skin.

With a couple more of his finger strokes, you finally reach your orgasm. Releasing a strangled moan of his name as you gush all over his hand. In your heightened state, you lightly squeeze the head of his cock, causing him to hiss in pleasure. He nearly blows his load right there. You continue jerking him, trying to get him to his own release. Which you can tell by the throbbing of his dick that he desperately needs it. As do you.

"Please.." you plead, "please cum for me."

He slips his fingers out of your pussy and grabs at your hips with both of his hands. Squeezing them while he cums with a low, long groan. A small spurt of his cum lands on your belly while the rest of it dribbles down your hand and his dick.

You slow down your movements to catch your breath. Joker immediately does the same. You sit there in each other's embrace for a few seconds. Basking in the warmth of your afterglows. Then, his eyes lock on to yours and you exchange breathy laughs before moving in for another kiss. Slow at first, but not too long before you're making out with fervor. Reigniting the fire in your bodies.

This is going to be a long, passion filled night for the both of you.

[syndrossi]

i'm curious to your otto version of character in this fic. i assume he'd done the same things he did in canon pertaining to daemon's (likely unfair) dismissal as master of law, master of coin and city watch commander?

is he completely self-serving in wanting to cut daemon off from viserys (+the council and the remaining royal family) or does he truly believe that daemon is a walking plague and maegor the cruel come again?

and better yet, will jon and rhaegar ever witness the coolness that is their father *sobs*. i feel like jon will have huge respect for how much of a true warrior daemon is? T_T

I think Otto's opposition to Daemon in Resonant in the present is something like 75% strategic/self-serving, and 25% self-righteousness. Given Daemon's lack of respect for the Faith and love of Targaryen/Valyrian tradition, he certainly sees elements of Maegor and Visenya in him. The question is "how does that threaten Otto/the Faith?"

Early on, when Daemon was Viserys's heir, that ratio was closer to 50/50, I'd guess. There was a real threat of Daemon becoming king someday and further acting to reduce the power of the Faith (and by extension, Oldtown/House Hightower). So painting him as cruel, incompetent, ambitious, etc in Viserys's eyes was paramount to convincing him eventually to choose Rhaenyra over Daemon. (This backfired, hilariously, because if he hadn't pushed Viserys, his first son by Alicent likely would have become his heir.)

These days, Otto isn't playing defense anymore. That is, he's not trying to prevent Daemon from coming to power as king, because that's no longer a reasonable possibility. Instead, he's working to secure the throne for Aegon. That means undermining Rhaenyra as much as possible, and ensuring Viserys continues to be passive about it. With Daemon back on the scene, the threat he provides is one of influence / helping raise Rhaenyra's power over Aegon's, either more broadly or directly with Viserys. (Rhaenys chats about Otto's motivations some in chapter 26, so we'll see her take on this and her advice to Daemon.)

As for Jon and Rhaegar witnessing Daemon in action--Jon did get to see him make a pretty badass move at the pier to half-bisect the Volantene on the boat with Jon and Rhaegar. Daemon's desire to keep them out of danger runs counter to them getting to see him do cool things, alas, outside of sparring. (Now, if a threat were to reach the Red Keep, or Jon and Rhaegar get taken again, there will certainly be opportunities then!)

[cakepoppresent]

We'll Be Okay

Everyone heads to Brindleton Bay to enjoy the end-of-summer party hosted by Veronica. A whole summer apart everyone has a lot to catch up on and enjoy their last moments of freedom before their last year of university

Heading to the kitchen to get some more things for the party, Grayson feels a little disappointed that he hasn't seen Gideon yet. It took the whole summer for him to get the courage to finally face Gideon. Not paying attention to his surroundings he hears his name being called

"Grayson"

This is awkward. Very awkward.

"We need to talk Grayson"

They sit together quietly just enjoying each other's company. They left each other on such bad terms now that they are here sitting beside each other none of them know what to say first. "I did get that tattoo. It's a dagger with a snake on my back. I'm sorry for keeping that from you. I did it because I wanted to make sure I could protect you, looking back at it now I did more harm than good. I'd do anything for you Grayson, it was a small price to pay if it meant we could be together"

"I've done things I'm not proud of. I just don't want you to think any less of me"

"I should have trusted you more. I still trust you...I was just being silly"

"My family did some unforgivable things. It was a scary situation but you don't have to worry about them anymore"

Grayson understands the meaning of those words but he wants to hear them loud and clear. Gideon still feels like the same man he grew up with but now there is an edge to him that Grayson wants to understand

"Did you...kill your grandparents?"

"No. Just Alaia..."

It's a hard pill to swallow knowing that Gideon the person he grew up with could do that. He saw Gideon through a rose-coloured lens, his Gideon was sweet, soft and comforting. He knows Gideon is still all those things but this version of Gideon is very attractive. The question at the tip of Grayson's tongue is gonna be hard but he knows this is an important step for them

"Would you hate me if I said I wanted to stay single for a little while longer?"

Those words cut at Gideon's heart. He just wants things to go back to how they were. He wants Grayson back in his life, his home and his bed. Life is empty without him.

"I could never hate you."

"I do want to get back together...eventually. But this past year has been a mess, I stopped feeling like myself with everything going on. I stopped painting, I was stressed and felt this heavy weight on my shoulders. I love you so much but this space would be good...for us"

Gideon doesn't want to take a damn break. He wants to be with Grayson officially, he wants to get married and he wants Grayson in his bed every. single. night.

"You're not allowed to see anyone else!"

"Since when were you so selfish?"

"I don't care! You can't do it! I heard something over the summer did you beat up a kid in high school for wanting to ask me out?"

"Who told you about that?"

"Answer me!"

"Yes. He was a little shit and I'd do it again" Grayson is losing his mind, Gideon has always been hot but this is at a new level and he likes it. A lot

They lay together silently. Once they get up they are stuck in this awkward place, not boyfriends but still friends, not exactly broken up either. Grayson didn't give a timeline for how long he wants their break but it's probably better this way. "Don't worry. We'll be fine"

Previous- Next

[morethanmeetstheass]

Tell us the “sob story” 8O

lol im gonna put this under a cut so its not massive, but here u go, sob story!

so i think i mentioned that my former apartment got lit on fire, so i had to move to a new place because i was too fuckin scared to live in that place anymore. upside, the guy who blew up my furnace got fired, so W

lived in apartment 2 for a while, it was pretty good, but extremely lonely! i had no local friends At All and like, exactly 1 online friend, so i was wallowing in a sea of loneliness for like, a solid year and a half living there. woe is me, whatever. eventually decided fuck this place, i wanna move back to new york-- i went to uni there, i was born there, i loved it there so i wanted to go back. bought a house, WHEEE-- THAT was a hell of a nightmare, house had code violations, contract was a mess, it was a whole stressful thing. but we got it settled. i have a house now! so that's cool!

but it's also not! because i had a friend/situationship i guess? in new york and i invited them to live with me bc they needed somewhere to live, i'd feel more comfortable having a roommate bc im still afraid to cook and use heat or anything, it was a win win. we went on a few dates back in like, 2020, and i was like, we'll see where things go romantically! without really any expectations of whether we'd get together or not, since ive changed a LOT since 2020 and i really didnt know them all that well. but hey, potential partner! we'll call them jill.

wrench got thrown in THAT when i met a guy, oops! started modding for a pretty big youtuber who's also become one of my best friends, and met a wonderful guy. we very much fell for each other and are now dating. we'll call him levi. told jill hey, i met someone, so suna x jill isnt gonna happen. that didnt go well! jill was apparently much more under the impression that we were gonna date than i was, and was/is very heartbroken about it. whoops! so now i live with someone who is currently still in love with me, while dating someone else! yikes!

which would be fine if there wasnt also a shitload of drama about jill cleaning up their stuff! they've been here for almost 5 months and ive had to ask them dozens of times to please get their huge piles of stuff out of the middle of the floor bc i needed paths for the movers to get their stuff in, i need to unpack my own stuff, etc. they got so upset about me asking them to do this (bear in mind, literally the entire living room was full of stuff FLOOR TO CEILING, and i've given them plenty of warning on dates i was coming to renovate/paint/when my move-in date was) that they threatened to move out and i was like? ok? then move out LMAO. also their cat injured one of my cats and ripped a hole in his ear!

so yes, a lot of unnecessary stress and drama on top of already dealing with all the shit involved with interstate moving, new finances, job changes, relationship changes, all that. the upside being, im very very very happy with levi, im starting to feel settled in my new house, things at my job have calmed down, and things are overall pretty okay. im aware that im extremely privileged to be able to own a house (granted, in an area with a very low cost of living-- the house was like 150k which is actually a semi-sane house price, compared to my friends with 700k homes and stuff LOL) and that my problems arent really all that bad, but topped with the dystopian state of the world right now and the existential dread ive had for months because of it, its just Not been a good time in the suna world. but its ok. things are calming, im making the best of it, and we'll see how things go from here!

[mountain-in-springtime]

mama you been on my mind

pairing: sam x reader | word count: 965 | warnings: one curse word, one super duper slight implication of nsfw | my masterlist

summary: this one's more about the vibes if i'm being honest, but it's about sam and the reader spending time together at a botanical garden.

author's note: i'm not sure how i feel about this one, but i couldn't get the idea out of my head, so i figured i'd share it with y'all. i feel like the idea could've been a bit more fleshed out, so i might come back and edit this later. we'll just see how it goes. also sorry that this one isn't quite as happy as my other fics/blurbs. also it was inspired by and named after the song "mama you been on my mind", specifically the jeff buckley cover, which i'll link below.

Laughter rang through Sam’s ears as you ran ahead of him, giggling and ushering him to follow you. As he caught up, he saw you pointing to a bush of tiny pink flowers. They smelled like heaven and were probably the prettiest plant in the whole garden. Sam watched you as you stared at them, unable to stop the smile that spread across his features.

You eventually turned to look back at him, asking “What’s got you all smiley?” as a quizzical look overcame your face.

“Nothing,” he replied, giving his head a small shake, “It’s just a really nice day.”

You looked at the sky above you and let a slight grin take hold, “Yeah, it really is. I’ve been hoping for weather like this.”

“Me too,” he agreed, “Just enough sun to not be cold, but enough clouds to not sweat our asses off.”

You let out a small giggle. “Yep. Couldn’t have said it better myself, Sammy.” He smiled in return, and you let a moment of silence fall between you, happy to just be in each other’s company. You looked at the different plants and flowers as you wandered down the garden’s path, occasionally pointing one out to Sam. A butterfly flew by at one point, landing on your head just long enough for him to snap a few pictures.

"How'd they look?" you asked eagerly.

"I think they're gonna come out beautiful," he replied, "Your pictures always do."

A small blush formed across your cheeks. "Thank you, Sammy," you giggled, "You're always so sweet."

He quickly shushed you, placing a finger over his lips. "Don't say that so loud," he said in a joking whisper, "I have a rock star reputation to uphold."

You rolled your eyes. "Whatever you say, Mr. Rockstar. I still think you're sweet"

A small chuckle left his lips, and then the comfortable silence returned as you two strolled along. You went back to looking at the foliage in quiet wonder while Sam could barely keep his eyes off of you. He focused on every excited breath you took and every plant that you seemed to take special note of. He finally broke the silence when your path forked into three directions, asking “So, where to next?”

After a brief moment of consideration, you replied, “That way,” pointing to the rightmost path, “i think we’ve already gone down the other two, and this one should come out by the cafe.”

“Oh, thank god,” Sam said, moving his hand over his stomach, “I’m starved.”

“Sammy, you should’ve said you were hungry! I wouldn’t have taken so much time stopping along the way,” you answered, a small wave of guilt painting your features.

“No, doll, it’s fine,” he assured you, “I want you to have fun without feeling rushed.”

You gave a reluctant nod. “Okay, but next time say something.”

“I promise,” he replied, “Now let’s finish up this trail.” He watched you excitedly walk ahead, taking in the wonder of your surroundings, glancing back occasionally to make sure he was following along. Seeing you so effortlessly happy made his heart swell. Joy radiated from you, and it made you all the more beautiful.

These were the moments that Sam treasured most. The times when you were so overcome with the world around you that everything else seemed to fade away. They were the moments when you were most yourself, and they were the moments that would stay in Sam’s mind for long after. It was times like these that made Sam remember why he was so in love with you.

He eventually caught up to you in the trail, and you excitedly grabbed his hand, pulling him to the latest plant you had seen. Soft laughter fell from his lips as you continued to point out flower after flower, elation pouring from every inch of you.

The two of you neared the end of the trail when your phone began to buzz. You quickly retrieved it from your bag and answered the call.

“Hey!” you began, happiness still coloring your voice. “No, I’m at the gardens with Sam. We’re about to have lunch,” you said, nudging Sam and gesturing to the cafe ahead. “Oh yeah, I’d love that! At six thirty?” you paused for a moment, “Okay, I’ll see you then, babe. Love you!” You placed your phone back in your bag and turned to Sam.

“Who was that?” he asked with genuine curiosity.

“Chris. He wants to take me to see that new movie I was talking about the other day,” you explained.

“Ooooh a date night, huh?” Sam teased, wiggling his eyebrows.

You gave him a small shove, “Yes, Samuel, my boyfriend wants to have a date night.”

He let a small giggle fall from his lips, “Well that sounds fun. You want me to drop you at home after lunch so you can get ready?”

“Yeah, that’d be really nice of you, Sam,” you replied, “Thanks.”

“It’s the least I can do,” he answered, “Now let’s go get some lunch.”

“Alright,” you laughed, walking ahead to the small cafe. Sam stayed behind, watching as the sun painted your hair and reflected off the small bracelets on your wrist with a small smile on his face.

He knew that you would probably never love him in the exact way he loved you, but in this moment, that was okay. He didn’t need a lifetime of sacred “I love you”s or secret touches. He was grateful for the love he had and the time he got to spend with you, and really, that was all he needed. It was enough to bask in your light and feel its warmth. And with that thought in mind, Sam moved forward, content to spend an afternoon in your glow.

taglist: @westernwoods (anybody who wants to be tagged in future stuff let me know!!)

[theambisinistrousquainterelle]

Welcome to my new series : Ridiculous Conversations in the Universe at the Time of Birth, chapter I, Sagittarius Rising, Neptune conjunct.

This was originally supposed to be The Portrait of Dorian Gray, part I, but as the characters left me feeling utterly depressed, despite the beautiful and thought-provoking language and story-telling, I stumbled down the absolute rabbit hole that's astrology and found a new hyperfixation.

Scorpio MC (🤦🏻‍♀️) : Ugh... Sag!!

Sag rising (galloping, beaming) : Scorpio, what's up ?

Scorpio MC (side-eyeing) : What's up ? Aren't you supposed to be wise and clever and whatnot? You're up, that's what. You're rising...

Sag rising (still beaming) : Oooh, fun ! It'll be such an adventure ! We are by the way, you know... we're actually very bright. And that's why we know life's meant to be experienced and enjoyed.

Scorpio MC (🙄) : Super fun... WTF is that hair ? That colourful... paint... on your face ? And that abomination of an outfit ? I'm in charge of our public image and I refuse to be seen out like that. Also, what the hell is Neptune doing here ?

Sag rising and Neptune (in chorus) : Chill...

Sag rising (cheerful 🤷🏻‍♀️) : Neptune's conjunct, so whether we want it or not, wherever I'm... er... we're... going, he goes. And obviously he affects our appearence and behaviour too. Aaanyways, Venus will determine what we choose to wear eventually. Also, we're a kid🤨. You're positively morose!

Scorpio MC : Not morose. We're daaark and myyysterious.

Sag rising : You mean sunny, optimistic, positive and enthusiastic.

Scorpio MC : Secretive, quiet, intriguing and powerful. Possibly intimidating.

Sag rising : You mean adventurous, extraverted, friendly, creative and inspiring.

Scorpio MC : Passionate !

Sag rising : For sure!

Sag Neptune (softly) : But mostly we're dreamers. With a penchant for escapism, both in the harsh reality of things and in the mazes of our mind.

Scorpio MC and Sag rising (glancing nervously at each other) : That sounds... interesting😬.

Sag rising (philosophically) : Isn't our mind real ?

Scorpio MC (impatiently) : Of course it is.

Sag Neptune (gently) : Either way, we'll struggle with knowing the difference.

Sag rising (squinting) : We're meant to be lucky, not struggle. This will be a... good... thing.

Scorpio MC (☹️) : Not that I'm afraid of struggling, but you're just going to have to take control, you're supposedly in charge here. Captain of the ship and all that.

Sag rising (sighing) : I need optimism, please cheer up !

Scorpio MC : Perhaps I'd cheer up if we were to change from tropical to sideral, because then *I* would be in charge.

Sag rising (🤨) : Oh, I see...

Ophiuchus rising (smirking) : Hello !

Sag rising and Scorpio MC (slightly panicked) : Fuck...

[gamebunny-advance]

Kun3h0 Accessories DLC + Patch Notes v.1.0.1

Added:

GAB accessory

Karrot-98 accessory

Changed:

Updated top.

Fixed hair bug. (Hair would easily slip off model.)

Minor improvements.

(More pics and notes under the cut.)

So I finally finished up Kun3h0's accessories and fixed up her top.

So, we've got her GAB and her drill, the Karrot-98.

GAB started out as this little dino thing that I just cut up and sculpted onto.

The original plan was to sculpt onto the original arms after I cut off the wings, but they kept bumping into the head, so I opted to completely resculpt them.

Now they can still turn their head, but that's the only point of articulation. I really should have sanded it more, you can really see the texture still in the clay, but such as it is.

The collar isn't the most elegant thing in the world, but at least it's there~ It's also disappointing that I couldn't get the edges of her screen completely straight and even, but it is what it is.

Overall, I think it's a decent recreation of the original design, even if the purples aren't quite right.

I should take a pic of them next to my other GAB recreations so y'all can really see the difference in scale. I believe this is the smallest GAB I've made so far, and also the only one that has the big heart-shaped tail~

Next is the Karrot-98, Kun3h0's magical drill. I don't have any "before" pictures, but it's made from another accessory that came with the doll, a little clay, and a piping tip that I had lying around + extras.

I don't have a set design for the Karrot yet, so I just kinda painted it with colors I already mixed. When Kun3h0's holding it, it does kinda get lost in the pinks of her outfit, but by itself I think it looks fine. If I come up with a better color scheme for it, then maybe I'll repaint it.

Next, I completely re-did her top. This time, I doused all the fabric in fray-check first to keep it from pulling apart while I was sewing it together, and I completely redid the sleeves. Originally, I had painted the arm guards onto the sleeves because I didn't think of any other way to do it. This time I tried making them with craft foam to better replicate that they're supposed to be two different materials. I'd say it was mostly successful.

Since it's kind of a pain to slip the sleeve into the guards, I don't have any pics of the top without them on, but the sleeves are more form fitting, so the top looks more like a proper tracksuit without the guards on. It's a slightly better look than the original IMO, but it's still not perfect: the guards are basically like a Miku sleeve, so you can still see into them even though the only opening is supposed to be through the cuff (which are barely visible in this pic, but they can stick out for a more accurate look.)

I would show the new top next to the old one, but I kinda destroyed the old one trying to test ideas for this new one XP (in fact, the collar IS from the old one, I just ripped it off and reapplied it to this one).

Lastly, I fixed her wig a little bit.

I don't have pics of it, but I just stuck some velcro to her scalp and the inside of the wig, so now it should stop slipping off while still being removable.

I'm just against completely gluing it down because I still have a lot of yarn left from this project, so I would eventually like to make her some alternate hairstyle wigs just to use up the yarn.

Now I feel pretty confident in saying that she's actually "done." There are a few places that I could touch up with paint, but as for "making" anything else for this doll, I did everything I really wanted to do.

Admittedly, Kun3h0 is one of my most self-indulgent designs (as though everything I make isn't in some way self-indulgent), so to have a physical object which embodies so much of what I like, truly satisfies me. We'll see if I still feel that way about her a week from now, but at the moment, she is the culmination of almost every creative skill I have, and I'm very pleased with the results of that effort, more so than possibly anything else I've ever made~ <3

I may post more pics of her when I can actually dedicate some time to making a proper scene and/or backdrop. There's a lot of little details that I like that I haven't really taken pics of. I dunno if I have the courage to do it, but it'd be cool to take some pics in an actual arcade with her~

[esotericas-sims]

Dear Victoria,

I took your advice, and wrote to your father - though I suppose I should get into the habit of calling him my father - and he agreed to let me come stay with him. He said he's living in St. Aude nowadays, and your address for him is out-of-date. Apparently he inherited a home from some great-aunt... I fear it's going to be a crumbling ruin. But I suppose we'll have to manage. It's better than heading back to New York. And he even agreed to let George stay as well, which was a small miracle.

We set out early this morning. It was odd to leave school, though I promised to write the Marseilles. If the tearful goodbyes were bad, the train ride was worse. I haven't taken one since I first arrived in La Lueur, and I'd forgotten just how much they turn my stomach. For the sake of my own nausea, I'll refrain from describing the journey.

After our train arrived, George and I found a carriage waiting for us, a rickety old thing. But the driver had our names, and he brought us out of town, and into the countryside. And the house, Victoria! It was like something out of a painting, all crumbling stone and ivy.

It took us a moment to remember we were supposed to do anything other than stare. We did get there eventually, though, and the doors were opened almost immediately after we knocked. I half expected some sort of butler inside, but it was my father who opened the door for us. He looks... Different, from how I remember him, I think. Though it's far too faded now for me to be sure. He seemed eager to greet me, and he was polite enough to George, though I'm not certain they got off on the friendliest of feet. George still isn't much of a gentleman.

Then he took us on a grand tour of the house, which I won't detail in full because I believe it could fill an entire book, but the place was lovely. That's all that I could hope to say. The tour took some time, though, and Moses - he insisted that I call him that, instead of Mr. Spectre. I'm still unsure how I feel about it - was just settling us in for dinner when a little boy arrived in the door. Moses introduced him as Harrison, his son. Did you know we had a little brother? I know I didn't.

Moses certainly never mentioned a mother in the house, nor did Harrison. He seemed like a sweet boy, though. I get the impression that it's rather lonely out here, with just his father and the servants. So perhaps he'll be glad to have us about? I hope so, anyways. I would quite like if he liked me, he's terribly charming.

I suppose that's about the end of the tale for now. Moses settled me in the guest room, and George in an unoccupied room down the hall. It's a bit shabby - "Needs some work" he told me - but I've got a beautiful view of the farm outside. I hope you're well, and I do hope you'll come and visit me soon. I'd like to see your face, it's been so long that I can barely remember what it looks like.

Your sister, Ruby

Playing with SeveralPerson’s Ultimate Decades Challenge Rules

Started: 1800

Current year: 1888

Family tree

Spreadsheet

CC Finds

[marshallpupfan]

Marshall Merchandise Update! Jungle Pups Edition #2!

About a week ago, my closest Walmart finally got in some of the new Jungle Pups toys, but they didn't have everything quite yet. After going back again recently, as well as checking another store, I managed to completely my Jungle Pups collection! Well... just the ones of Marshall, of course. I'd have to have a Scrooge McDuck vault full of cash to get EVERYTHING that PAW Patrol releases.

...That's not even a joke, really. 😄

You might recall I showed off some pics of all the new plush dolls not too long ago. indeed, I still profess that this newer style is really cute! Again, I hope they stick with this. However, I said they were made by GUND, yet I can't seem to find their name on the tag anywhere. Guess I was mistaken... sorry about that. I could've sworn this was their handiwork...

And here's a pic of the inside of the tag... because I like that graphic of Marshall, so why not show it off again. 😇

And now, his elephant vehicle! The smaller one, that is. It's certainly not the size of the deluxe vehicle, but all the same, it's still pretty cool.

Funnily enough, when I first bought this, I had no idea the trunk could pop out of the front. I'd seen the illustration on the back that demonstrated this, yet I didn't think anything about it. It wasn't until I seen the instructions (printed on the cardboard underneath the vehicle) that I realized just what it can do, as well as how there's a ladder that can pop out of the back. Nifty!

Can't say I was too crazy about it being $17.49. I remember when these things used to only be about $12. Inflation, I suppose. 😅

Well, here's all of Marshall's Jungle Pups merchandise! Well... I THINK this is all of it. Truth be told, I'm not sure if we've got any more coming or not. We may yet still see some of those mini figurines in the mystery boxes, not to mention both Aqua Pups and The Mighty Movie got those smaller True Metal/Pup Squad vehicles, so I wouldn't be surprised if Jungle Pups got some, too. Maybe we'll even see some Mash'ems? Hopefully we'll find out soon enough.

(Also, apologies about the quality of the pics. I went back to using my phone, since that better camera I was using really hates my rechargeable AA batteries. They can be fully charged and that camera will be like "lol nope, they're exhausted". Like, seriously?? 🤨)

In the end, I managed to get three more figurines of Marshall to my collection. As far as I can tell, outside of the paint being different here and there, they're basically identical. Funnily enough, there was a time when each figurine per set WAS different, even if one was a little bigger or something. Ah well, I'm still happy to have them, and I'll of course find a spot for all of them... somewhere... eventually. Geez, I really need to get around to clearing or making room for my other recent(ish) purchases, too. 😅

That's all for now! Currently, it's difficult to say what the next batch of new merchandise will be. No doubt we're still many months away from anything related to Rescue Wheels releasing to stores, so... maybe some regular items between time? It's hard to say right now. Guess that gives me plenty of time to get caught up and find spots for everything. lol

[idk-ilike5sos]

Dear Will,

Before today, it'd been twenty-seven days since I wrote to you last. You’ve never received any of the letters and - as long as I don’t suddenly die before I get the chance to burn them all - you never will. But since eight am, I've already started and torn up five other first-letters-since. I thought it'd be easy to write down how I feel, let everything exist solely as ink on paper, but it's not. I'm learning recently, since you left, that I'm wrong about a lot of things.

This morning I got another letter from Eleven. It's probably the last one I'll get before seeing you both. It's still scary to think that, in a couple of days, we'll be face-to-face again. It's been so long.

One-hundred-and-ninety-two days, at the time I’m writing this. I wonder if it feels like it’s been that long to you.

But, anyway, in that letter, Eleven went over what she usually does: updates me on school, how she's adjusting so well without me, and she lets me know how you're all doing. Joyce likes her new job, Jonathan is stressed about college, and you're painting something you won't let her see.

She told me that you met some girl in California.

I bet she's pretty. She's got the nicest eyes you've ever seen, and you paint them all the time. You've memorized every shape of her face from how much you draw her. She probably has a nice laugh, but you'd tell her it's cute even if she didn't. Everyone loves her and always talks about how kind she is. She's at the top of all her classes. I bet she's popular and a cheerleader or some cliche-equivalent.

I hope she has dark, shoulder-length hair. I hope she has ugly brown eyes. I hope she has a lot of freckles. And I hope she's got "strong cheekbones", as my mom likes to call them. I hope she looks like me.

I know she doesn't. She's probably the complete opposite, which is what hurts even more. Not only do you not like me because I'm a boy, but because of every single little thing about me.

I was in shock when I found out Eleven liked me - because, I mean, it's El, you know?

She's awesome, and I know that. At first, I thought I’d somehow won at life, because I found this incredible girl and everyone kept bringing up how enamoured I was with her. So, I kissed her - and she didn’t even seem disgusted or anything! A little surprised, but not bad surprised, you know?

Then it got even better, because it turned out she liked me back. Isn’t that insane? A girl liked ME. It’s still hard to believe now. Sometimes, I feel like she’s lying every time she signs her letters with “love”.

In the end, I fucked it up anyway. It all started with a lie and I got so caught up in it that I was too scared to start telling the truth. And, contrary to popular belief, the lie that ruined our relationship wasn’t that my nana got sick. It’s that her feelings grew, but mine dissipated because it turns out they were never really there.

So this is me finally telling the truth, even if no one ever gets to hear it.

And the truth is I miss you. I miss us.

When you left, I kept telling myself you'd come back. At night, I'd hold back tears, whispering to myself that you're gonna come back one day. You'll be in Hawkins again, on that old ass couch in my basement - the one only a couple of feet away from me right now. We'd both look a lot older than we did the last time we were here, maybe even older than we do now, but at some point, we'd be back. We'd be as close as we used to be. It'd be like nothing ever changed. And the worst part is, I really believed it would all happen.

But it won't. You're not coming back. You might visit a few times, but eventually, our zero-contact thing will get tiring for you. You'll find a new Party, a better one. And this girl you like is going to be a part of it - because she's perfect, so obviously she loves all the things you love. She loves all the things that we love, that used to be ours.

I'm not angry. I'm trying not to be angry.

It's not easy.

I want you here. I want you with me. I don't want you with that stupid girl.

I hate her. I hate her so much.

Why am I not good enough?

Please, just tell me. I'd do anything to change. I'll be kinder. I'll be smarter. I'll be funnier. I'll give in to Lucas' ideals of popularity. I don't care what. All of it would be worth it.

And if I’m unveiling the truth, I might as well unveil it all. I like you. This letter has probably made that obvious already, but I had to add it. I think I’ve liked you for forever, even if I didn’t realise. Or maybe I didn’t and one day, everything changed. I don't know. Either way, I exist today with that truth. I like you. I like you and not Eleven.

I need you, Will. Even if it’s just as friends, I need you in my life.

I’m really glad you’re not reading this because I sound pathetic. And that’s because I am. I’m a stupid pathetic mess. The basement's a shit hole. My room’s even worse. My grades suck. I never see Dustin, Lucas, or Max outside of school, but I somehow see my family even less. So, I’m more than pathetic. I’m alone. And it’s my own fault.

I think California's been good for you. It got you away from Hawkins. It got you away from me. And it brought you to your dream girl. She must be pretty special. She's lucky. And if it turns out she somehow doesn't like you back, that's on her. She must've lost her mind or never had one in the first place.

If you ever need to talk about it, have a 2,000-mile-away-shoulder to cry on, I'm always waiting by the phone...

Love, Mike

[hazel-of-sodor]

What's Lost is Found

Ch.10 Broken

Other Chapters

Screech pulled up to the abandoned platform, her cylinder exhaust blowing up dust and debris 

Mali stepped down onto the platform, slowly taking in her former village.

"Are you alright dear?" Gwyn asked in concern.

"I could tell you what every building here used to be," Mali said, "but at the same time...I don't recognize any of it."

Miss Morgan approached and laid her hand on Mali's shoulder, "Can you find where you need to go?"

The young girl slowly nodded, "our old house is down that line." She motioned towards a set of points past the station. "It runs along the street beside the narrow gauge line to the sheds. The Uman and Din used to bring a coal wagon with the morning train, and take the empty ones back."

Miss Morgan nodded, "Screech if you would take Mali, Gwyn, Freda, and Miss Davies to the houses. We'll clear the station as best we can and catch up with you. If you finish at the house before we catch up, head to the old narrow gauge yard."

"As you wish."

***

Screech rolled along, busted wagons and rusted car parts littered the sides of the abandoned street.

The street curved alongside the narrow gauge tracks, which were themselves by a small stream.

Mrs. Davies rode on one of the empty flatbeds behind Screech, the rest of the train having been left behind at the platform.

It had only been a few minutes when Screech spotted something large laying across the tracks. She slowed, preparing to use her tendrils to shove it out of the way, when she paused, looking more closely at the bent and twisted metal before her.

'Is that...' 

"It's a Mammoth Major!" Gwyn's crow of excitement interrupted the whisper.

He was scrambling down from the cab even before Screech had stopped moving.

The eight-wheeled lorry had been bent in two in the middle of the bed, and Screech had thought it long collected by the Lady till Gwyn wiped away the grime from its radiator, revealing the lorry's waking face.

The lorry blinked blearily before her eyes focused on Screech. Her eyes widened in surprise and fear for a second, before it was replaced by weariness and resignation.

"You're finally here to collect me then." She rasped.

While the humans were confused Screech understood.

"I am not Death little lorry. Merely one who escaped her grasp."

"Ah." If anything the lorry looked disappointed, "I thought I'd finally worn away enough..."

Gwyn was wiping more dirt away from the lorry's face, revealing worn blue paint. "You're hardly worn away." He said. "Some new paint and polish and you'd look brand new."

The Lorry snorted sadly, "Newly broken perhaps."

"How did you end up like this little lorry?"

"I was overloaded." She signed in relief as Freda joined Gwyn in scrubbing. "After the railway closed my first owner bought me to deliver the coal from the little railway to LLoergan, but eventually they sold me to another company so they could afford to move." 

She looked down at the street below her. "My new owners kept giving me heavier and heavier loads as they tried to stay afloat. When it was announced the line to Lloergan would be closed, they decided to make as much money as they could before then so they could restart elsewhere. A few days before the line closed...they put too much. I tried to tell them, but I was ignored."

"And you broke."

The lorry nodded, "they took the load on their other lorries and left. I never saw them again. Having me moved would cost more money than was left for them here."

As the lorry talked, Screech kept looking at her. The lorry reminded her of her youngest sibling, and she couldn't help but see Tyto in her place.

'This won't save your sister.' The whisper cautioned, if not unkindly.

Imagines of Tyto abandoned in a scrapyard flashed through Screech's mind. 'No, it won't.' Screech thought, her mental voice tight with grief. 'But it will save her.'

"Gwyn, Freda, if you could move so I could see something?"

The pair looked at her questioningly but moved out of the way.

"What are you looking..." The lorry was cut off.

"Look away."

The human's eyes widened before quickly turning as Screech began to unfurl.

Her tendrils shot forward to wrap around the lorry, causing her to squawk in surprise.

The metal groaned and creaked as Screech lifted it slowly off the ground, her tendrils pulling and twisting the frames back straight. She pulled the lorry back towards her, rehiding herself as she did. Gwyn, feeling her refurl, ran over and shouted guidance as she swung the lorry back over the empty flatbed behind her.

The reshaped metal groaned but held as Screech slowly lowered her into position.

She stared challenging at the humans.

"We are NOT leaving her here."

Freda, if anything, looked hurt. "Of course not!" She glanced back at the lorry, "I have no idea what she'll be used for, but the shops should be more than able to fix her."

"And if they can't?" The lorry asked, her voice still shaken from her impromptu move.

Gwyn patted her side, "Then we'll send you to someone who can. Now what are you called gorgeous?"

The lorry blinked, "I never had a name. I was just the lorry or the Mammoth."

"What would you like to be called?" Mali asked as she helped Gwyn secure her to the flatbed.

"...I...I would like to be Maxwell, after my original owners."

"It's wonderful to meet you, Maxwell," Gwyn said warmly. "Now let's find Mali's house so we can get you to the works.

[mydaroga]

Marianne Faithfull remembered Paul's reaction to the idea:

John wanted them all to live together on an island. I remember him talking about it, saying, 'What has to happen is that all of us, the Beatles ...' and of course for Paul this was a nightmare, the last thing Paul wanted to do was live on some fucking island, whether it was in Ireland or Greece, wherever it was, with John, George and Ringo and their wives and their roadies, and Mal and Neil, all on an island. This was John's vision and they all had to do this. And of course Paul was, 'Yeechhhhhh.' There were going to be a few other people, like John Dunbar. But it was just awful for Paul and I remember him talking about this and saying, 'Well, I guess they'll never get it together.' Paul was really much more sophisticated than John ever was.

Marianne Faithfull, Many Years From Now

It's unclear to me how explicit Paul was with Marianne here. Because in his present-day telling, he's a bit more blasé:

There was some story of buying a Greek island or something. It was all so sort of abstract but the first thing we had to do is go to Greece and see if we even liked it out there. The idea was get an island where you can just do what you want, a sort of hippie commune where nobody'd interfere with your lifestyle. I suppose the main motivation for that would probably be no one could stop you smoking. Drugs was probably the main reason for getting some island, and then all the other community things that were around then - 'Oh, we'll paint together. We'll do this. I'll chop wood.'

I think that if you're going to write a great symphony or you're going to rehearse the greatest string quartet in the world, it's fair enough to cut yourself off. It's just a practical matter; give yourself lots of time and if you're going to do that, then why shouldn't it be in Greece? It was a drug-induced ambition, we'd just be sitting around: 'Wouldn't it be great? The lapping water, sunshine, we'd be playing. We'd get a studio there. Well, it's possible these days with mobiles and ...' We had lots of ideas like that. The whole Apple enterprise was the result of those ideas.

...

PAUL: We went on the boat and sat around and took acid. It was good fun being with everyone, with nippier moments. For me the pace was a bit wearing. I probably could have done with some straight windows occasionally, I'd have enjoyed it a bit more.

So did he think it was a good idea? Did he go along because he knew John wanted it and the best way to get around things John wanted that he didn't was to wait him out? Did Marianne hear him grumble,or did she just infer, and if she could, why couldn't the rest of them?

'It's a good job we didn't do it,' Paul said, 'because anyone who tried those ideas realised eventually there would always be arguments, there would always be who has to do the washing-up and whose turn it is to clean out the latrines. I don't think any of us were thinking of that.'