#i'll probably beef it up later and add more to it

[papercutsunset]

Hiring On

related to: The Mayor Deviation

Here's another 1000-word schlock for @flashfictionfridayofficial that I had energy for this morning and then fumbled (whoopsie). It's related to the Foot Scene from The Devastation of Ben Baker; and the Tracy mentioned is the same Tracy who walked the Kenlys' children home (the nanny). Ideally, there'd be more internal monologue, but I wanted it to be snappy.

CW: Some discussion of a guy crossing sexual boundaries (nothing depicted, but it is discussed throughout).

I slap the phone into the receiver. Without a moment's hesitation, I call out through the closed door, “Dan!” 

No response. Fine. I’ll corner the coffee-making bitch.

A firm yank opens the Bifrost between my cluttered Earth and his hyper-organized Valhalla. I lock eyes with him and grin. “I may have gotten us a job.” 

“Meaning?” he chuckles, pouring creamer into an oversize mug. 

“Meaning I'm talking it over with her tonight. She's got a day job; she's skittish. I would be, too, if I worked for Todd Kenly.” 

His face goes blank. “That Todd Kenly?” 

“In the flesh.” 

“She’s Tracy Attar? The girl? As in, that Tracy Attar?” 

“The one and only.”

“Oh, god.” His skin goes pale. “Tell me you'll be careful, Chick.” 

“Hey, maybe I'm his type.” 

“You're not his type.” 

“I'm young, I'm blonde, I'm perky—” 

“You're going to be late for your other job—” 

“That’s a quality he admires!” 

“Because the man's a pervert!” Outrage spills into the unmixed creamer, splitting the broken popsicle stick more than it should. 

“Either way, between his arrest and that weird thing on the news last week—” 

“What, about his stepson?” 

“So weird that he has a stepson.” I shake my head. Conservatives all have rattling closets. Todd Kenly’s creaked open and yellow light showed he’s a foot fetishist with a hard-on for breaking and entering. The senator he's married to? She had a whole life before him— and now that both their lives include a son with some major rage issues and a weirdly tall hick stepsister. Go figure. “You man the phones; I'll go make some money to cover my rent; and we will see what comes of Todd Kenly, right?” 

“Yeah,” Dan sighs, mug at his lips. “I suppose we will.” 

“Good. Now— I am gonna be late for work.” Gill has never once cared. I do. “I'll see you at four.” 

“See you at four. I'll be here. Doing my job.”

“Playing sudoku. Thinking about your wife.” 

“No sudoku. I'm doing crosswords today.” 

“Oh, my apologies.” I wave him off haphazardly as I eyeroll out the door. He waves goodbye in the same fluid moment. 

On my way out, I almost bump into someone. She’s not just any woman. The sunglasses despite the rainy northern California weather, the habitual athleisure zipped up to cover her new-fashioned garments like the hip, down-to-it Mormon she pretends she is, the brown hair pulled up and back in a swinging ponytail, the clinking cup of water, the perpetual flicker of anger behind her eyes— I’d know Senator Rosanna Kenly anywhere. 

“Jesus, it’s just a day for the Kenlys,” I chuckle, pulling the door open wider to let her in. “Sorry about that. I was heading out.” 

“No you weren’t,” she decides. 

“I… was, actually. I have to go to… work.” 

“For Gill Spellmeyer? No you don’t. As much…” The door closes; she looks at Dan over the top of her sunglasses, leaking disapproval. “As much as I’m sure Daniel Donovan is the more competent of the two left here, this requires your touch.” 

“I didn’t know we were notorious enough for people to know I’m incompetent.” I keep buttoning up my dark-gray work shirt. “Unless you’re going to pay double my rate, I’m going to Whispermart. Sorry, Senator. Dan’s an excellent investigator. I’ll be happy to edit his work.” 

“Is that how you operate? One investigates, one edits?” 

“Yeah, actually. Did you have something you needed me to do, or…” 

Ignoring that, with her ponytail swinging, she strides toward my office. I gesture desperately to Dan. Behind the mug obscuring his face, he shrugs and goes back to rearranging whatever papers he was holding. 

“I told you,” I groan, following her, “I have to go. Could you come back tomorrow?”

“No. I’m a busy woman.” 

“I’m also busy!” 

“Not busy enough, it would seem. This office is a wreck.” Her upper lip curls with distaste.

Sighing, I decide to let it go; I move some of the files from a chair to the floor by my desk; I don’t sit. 

Huffing, like the move I made should have been done in the first place and it’s so easy to keep a space clean, she sits, crosses her legs at the knees, and looks at me with a cool impatience I can’t stomach. 

Picking up my notepad again, I click my pen. “What can I do for you, Senator Kenly? Aside from charging you double, I mean?” 

“I’d love for you to dig up anything on my husband that you can.” 

“Jesus Christ. What kind of information?” 

“The sexual kind.” She leans back, so collected I think she might be stamps. “He was a serial cheater, and we all know what a pervert he was. It didn’t start and end with that poor girl’s socks-and-underwear. I want to know what else there was.”

“Perfectly understandable.” Two connected cases at once. Shit. How do I guard the lines on this one? “Didn’t the two of you have some sort of agreement?” 

“He was allowed to do things within a certain bound, yes. I’ll determine what was outside of it.” 

“I suppose that’s not my job, right. I just find the facts.” Sighing, I scrawl FIND HIS PERV SHIT. “Forgive my prying, but did he have any specific proclivities?” 

“Feet. Menstrual blood. Boots.” She gives me that same cool stare; the world is burning behind her eyes. “I could hear you through the door, you know. You weren’t wrong. He has a thing for blondes.” 

“Good to know, I guess.” 

“I chose you on purpose.” 

“Sending a lamb to the wolves?” 

“Charlotte Darwin? A lamb?” She laughs. “Please. We all know what you did to Essie Miranda.” 

She doesn’t know anything about me. I keep the boiling water under my skin; I dig the ballpoint into my paper. “Why do you want me to investigate Todd Kenly?”

“Easy.” She uncrosses her legs and leans forward toward me. “I want to divorce him.” 

[brucewaynehater101]

Fake Uncle is brilliant! Love it!

Bruce: so the uncle was real?

Tim: yup

Bruce: but he's an evil uncle???

Tim: yup

Bruce: why did you never tell me??

Tim *blinks: it never came up. Duh.

Well, for the Drakes. I was thinking they'd be aliens as well. But even within their culture they were aloof. Like maybe as strategists but not someone with a family circle. They had no clue what to do with a child. But, their king handed them a baby with his final breath. Earth looked safe, so that's where they went.

I'm sure they were baffled by earth human customs. I imagine raising children is different on earth. They were, however, good at negotiations, so they worked their way up the social ladder, hoping to give Tim a better life (not quite princely, but close).

I really like the idea about them searching for artifacts to teach Tim about their home!!! Good idea!! I'll have to use that!

The Drakes tried, but I think they mostly threw money at Tim. New bike? Sure. Want to learn Mandarin? Why not? Want a new nanny cause the last one was rude? Of course, your highness! Immediately!

New nannies happened all the time because timbo was a brat and fired them for petty stuff as a little kid.

Kori would be a fun add-on! Maybe she offers Tim slightly wrong advice culturally.

K: -and do this! It's very important!

T: does it.

Staff: Noooooo! This is WRONG!

T and K: confused.

Tim was trained that he was a prince, but he also was taught that it was very, very unlikely that he would take the throne. (The Drakes died later)

EXACTLY! That's along the lines I was thinking, but I'm not super great at making up funny traditions yet. Lol.

You are CORRECT about Tim "not being able to change rules" and "unstable position". It makes sense for the AU.

Ridiculous subjects are in the plan!

Subject: I have brought you this gift Your Highness. *bows with jar of slime.

Tim*is concerned: it's moving?!

Subject *shocked: Of course, Highness! I would only bring you alive Grummk!

Tim: .....ok....thank you?

Damian would be fascinated and JEALOUS me thinks.

I am so vibing with the Drakes trying their best and being so clueless as well. I'd love to see a scene or two of Janet and Jack just arguing with each other as toddler Tim causes chaos in the background.

Janet: "Is he climbing the tree in the backyard?"

Jack: "Yeah. I saw an article about human kids and trees or something."

Janet: "Is he climbing the tree that the gardener sectioned off for safety?"

Jack: "Yes?"

Janet: ".... I'm sure it'll be fine."

Tim ended up with a broken arm.

I liked the court scene you had! Stuff like that would be hilarious to read ^^

Are there any differences between Tim/the Drakes and humans? It would be funny if it's something small, especially that all humans have (like the ability to taste cinnamon or something). Just traits that Tim is able to get away with by leaning into his "I was neglected by my 'parents' and thus have no clue how to do normal human things like the human I totally am." Any physical traits (like a blue birthmark) could be cool as well.

Tim, if you wanted, could also bond with Kara and Clark about being an alien raised on Earth.

I think Damian could become an advisor for Tim. That would be kind of cute to see. They could also bond about being heirs of empires that they thought they would never actually inherit.

Dick could charm/be a court performer if he wanted to do that. Alfred would definitely get his hands on the kitchen staff to ensure Tim is properly being fed. Barbara would beef up Tim's security.

Cass would probably play pranks on Tim's "army" while Steph gathered blackmail on the planet's high society (and pull pranks on the ones that pissed her off).

I don't know enough about Helena Bertinelli, but maybe she would treat it as a fun vacation to intimidate rich people?

Duke might be interested in learning more about Tim's home world and what it's like to space travel. He would also be the one to accidentally set half the castle on fire.

I don't know if you'd like your AU to have all the Bats, but there's some stuff they could do.

[t1oui]

chaotic bcj headcanons bc i have brainrot about this man OFTEN

italian, greek (mum), british, and spanish (dad)

grew up in italy, it's his first language (he was invited to hogwarts bc his dad works for the ministry)

can learn a language in about 2 seconds

speaks italian, english, greek, and spanish (only learned it to spite his dad who can't speak spanish)

almost sorted into ravenclaw, he was nearly a hatstall

likes to spend his time pointing out all the reasons why english sucks (he is probably the best english speaker of all his friends and he wasn't fluent till he was 11 (they've been speaking english their entire lives))

very tall. it is literally impossible to lose this man in a crowd

loves to swim but gets pissy if the water's too warm

is a sub 100%. if evan is ace he's still a sub but in a nonsexual way

he's crazy in the way that all smart people are a lil crazy because nobody fully understands him (read: he's best friends with lily evans)

makes fun of jegulus for being jealous but will throw hands if someone smiles at evan from across the great hall

in constant need of piggyback rides but too tall to get them from anybody but remus

love language is physical touch, if he is not touching someone at all times he gets anxious

this usually means holding hands with his friends... and biting evan

worships the ground his bf walks on daily <3

never studies but has perfect grades

loves dying his hair, usually green but also random colors like red and purple and blue (pandora's favorite color)

once sirius dyed barty's hair hot pink to get back at him for who knows what it's barty but barty actually loved it (sirius was PISSED)

bisexual

happily asks evan to give him pictures to wank to (evan obliges)

have i mentioned he's a total fucking simp. yeah

was quidditch commentator for 2 seconds before mcgonagall fired him (he kept gossiping about the players)

actually loves people so deeply it hurts (james does the same thing but his love for people is on the surface while barty hides his most of the time)

hella adhd

insists on being the little spoon, can't sleep otherwise

has a ton of piercings and is completely COVERED in tattoos (at least half are dedicated to evan, the other half to the rest of his friends (including the gryffindors, especially lily!!))

mama's boy, like this man brings up his mom every 6 seconds, he thinks she's the smartest person on earth (other than evan ofc)

has a lot in common with james (as seen above), barty beefs with him for about a month and then realizes james is actually super chill (james and evan were already friends lol)

the biggest fuck you to his dad? not only does he hate politics, he wants to be an artist

likes painting just fine, and drawing is ok (he mostly just draws evan and the skittles, sometimes others like lily and james), but he LOVES ceramics

is an amazing cook, spends a lot of time in the kitchens with the house elves

(in a world without voldemort, he and hermione granger would get along very well)

favorite subjects are charms and defense against the dark arts (y'all remember when he was actually kind of a good dada professor in gof? yeah)

my computer's about to die so i'll leave it here, might add more later tho <3

[historia-vitae-magistras]

Character Profile - America

Character Name: USA, Murica, Alfred, Alfie-come-lately, Al. 1585-1775 - Alfred F Kirkland. 1775-???? - Alfred F Jones.

Age: 16 as of 1775, 18 in 1789, 21 mid 19th century. 25 by WW2 and still generally in that range.

Height: 6'0/183cm in 1775, 6'2/189cm after 1850ish.

Physical Description: This child was born a tungsten cube and grew into an adamantium adult. He's tall, broad-shouldered and strong. USDA Grade-A corn-fed BEEF right here. He's muscle as fuck with a good inch of fat on him every which way. Really putting the dough in doughboy. He's athletic, with the shoulders of a linebacker but is shockingly graceful and easy in his body. Arthur loved him enough that the confidence and good nature he exuded in his posture and looks are 100% genuine 80% of the time. He was an absolute cherub of a baby and grew into the kind of good looking that would really be described as more beautiful than handsome if he wasn't as broad as the baptist definition of sin.

Eye colour: Pacific, deep water navy, NASA mission blue. Dark, dark blue. Almost black, if not in good light.

Hair colour/style: Amber waves of grain. Two or three shades darker than Matt's and less red than Matt's or Jack's. Imagine all the wheatfields of America at the reaping, find the average tone, and that's Alfred's hair colour. Rich, harvest grain gold. It has a good amount of wave to it that shows even with its being short. He's generally worn it short and to one side to show off the wave he can get. Had some wicked curtain bangs in the 90s tho.

Other distinguishing physical traits: He has never worn a beard in his life, but it tends to come in redder than his hair. Aunt Bridgie's genes really start flexing there. He's got a mostly faded scar over his heart from Matt's pyromaniac-ass burning down DC. And probably more I'll have to add here later.

Personal Appearance/Style: Alfred loves looking good. The first thing Francis taught him was how good he could look and he's been following it ever since. He prefers blue suits, but he'll wear warm greys and black. He knows he looks like a ten-course meal in just grey joggers and a NASA t-shirt against those golden guns of his though. Also, the uniforms he picks are the ones that look good on him. Does he look like shit in one shade of olive drab? He's swapping it out. He showed up in Japan on the Black Ships in the most flattering cut of the Navy officer's uniform there was and it looked fucking good on him, all that dark blue with gold accents. He likes brown leather over black because the warmer colour looks better with his golden boy looks, and he knows it.

Verbal Style: He uses a neutral American or a less broad New England accent when overseas but slides in and out of any possible American accent at home. He got shot at during the Civil War because even in blue the whole goddamn time, he would slide into his original Virginia accent and have to duck rifle fire. Fucker probably sounded slightly transatlantic for a while in the 20th century. He doesn't purposefully code-switch from culture to culture; it's just automatic. He speaks several languages fluently and without an accent if he wants to, but he uses a southern accent speaking Japanese or a Kennedy Accent when speaking German. He knows it's not a jelly doughnut, Deutschland, promise! The more Arthur annoys him, the thicker his American accent gets.

Level of Education: Arthur educated him at home, got him, tutors on literally anything that Alfred fancied, apprenticed him out to any trade that interested him; printing and gunsmithing were the big ones, and then sent him to Harvard when he got bored with that. He graduated from West Point just before the Civil War and personally shot a few of his classmates who sided with the south :) but turned more to engineering, commerce and math after the war. He didn't reappear in the east until the 1880s, so he did a lot of mail-order books and self-study during that period. He also got another degree from The University of the Pacific in that period out west.

Occupation: The government is always trying to rope him into shit, but the boy's heart is in the stars, and something the government did has to be a big deal before he gives a flying fuck. His main squeeze is NASA, but he occasionally shows up to DC to steamroll some favours out of congress, especially when he has the urge to fly something experimental or a particular issue has been bothering him.

Past Occupations: Soldier, sailor, airman, astronaut, gunsmith, printing press operator, mechanical engineer, heiress, physicist, chemist, biologist, anthropologist, archaeologist, mechanic, railroad engineer, cowboy, blacksmith, cook, construction worker, gamekeeper, welder, a gold miner. The boy has some restlessness, okay? He's had many jobs.

Skills, Abilities or Talents: Alfred, even amongst nations, is quite freaky. Super strength, damage resistance, resurrection power that's faster than almost anyone. He can fly, drive, handle or otherwise operate any vehicle without training. He knows how they all work. He's also highly gifted in math and physics. He has been known to make California tremble a wee bit when he's genuinely well and fucking pissed. He'll get his ass lost on a boat or on foot, but in the air, he's possibly the best navigator on the face of the earth. But literally, he can do almost anything he sets his mind to. It's unnatural.

Admirable Personality Traits: Optimistic, idealistic, brilliant, generous, confident, fair.

Negative Personality Traits: Self-righteousness, recklessness, thoughtlessness, arrogance,

Sense of Humor: Silly, slapstick, observational.

Physical/Mental illness or affliction: He's sometimes just shy of narcissistic but usually pulls himself off the brim. Arthur's sons might be eligible for an ADHD diagnosis, but I did that on accident before I got diagnosed rifp. He's not the anxious or depressed type. He has had periods of pretty acute PTSD.

Hobbies/Interests: Computers and tech, filmmaking, archaeology, camping, hiking, adventure sports, surfing, paleontology, working out, protein foot products, star gazing, listening to audiobooks and podcasts. But, like, literally everything interests this kid.

Favourite Foods: BBQ; he can't pick a favourite style tho. Burgers, cheese fries, pizza, strangely flavoured novelty chips. Apple pie with ice cream and blueberry maple ice cream is his and Matt's favourite. Paw-paws are a very rare treat. Huckleberry-flavoured anything will make him absolutely grin.

Most important personal item: He expected to inherit Arthur's pocket watch like other sons did their fathers in the 18th century, so in 1976, when Arthur did give him the pocket watch and a very expensive wristwatch because the pocket watches had gone out of style, he has worn it everywhere since. To Mars and the Mojave, he'll wear that thing everywhere and get it repaired if it takes any damage.

Person/friend close to character: Matt's his best friend. He and Maria are also close but belligerent. Arthur is also in his top 5. Kiku, Ludwig, Tolys, Romano, Mai, etc, are all on his very close friend list. Of older nations, he and Brighid are very close, if complex.

Brief family history: He was born in 1585 or so in Virginia. Arthur said, "finders keepers," From that moment, he was the man's firstborn child. In his childhood, he mainly had Arthur and Rhys, and Alasdair and Brighid, somewhat less until later. He's never met his grandmother or her ghost. He was an only child for about 20-30 years and spent a lot of his childhood functionally an only child with Matt in Francois' care. The two youngest 'siblings' he's got he's not quite sure what to do with them. The relationship isn't precisely sibling-like, but he's pretty fond of them, and he has some trauma from being ditched in New England during the British Civil War, so he saved their asses in 1941.

Most painful experiences in the character’s past: I don't think anything can top the Civil War because he represented the Union, i.e. the United States. It took him years and years to recover, especially because he was living a rough out west lot of the post-war. He got consumption while personally marching to the sea to burn the fucking shit out of the Confederacy. :)

Their Song: Babylon by Barnes Courtney.

[jpitha]

Just a Little Further 23

Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

It's still early, so we go and find a cafe and have lunch. Once again, I don't have to use my voice, they just give us our meal for free. I really should get an idea about money though. I know they are called Skys, I know at least part of them are small green metallic coins - actually they look like the same metal the Throne and Chairs are made out of, I wonder if they are - and I know that everyone uses them here to buy stuff. I should ask about banks. We should pay a visit to one. I'm sure they'd be... happy to explain it to me.

That's for later though. For now, we work our way to the dock, and find the internal docking bay that Omar found.

Walking in, it becomes clear that we have a lot of work ahead. High Line is in here thanks to Omar earlier and it's...

It's junk.

Even when it was operating, it was clearly made up of a hodgepodge of between three and five different starships. This thing has been limping along on patches and ad hoc repairs for centuries it looks like.

Human ships from our side of the galaxy tend to be very personalized. Riots of color, patterns, little flourishes here and there that speak to the tastes and preferences of the operator. It's probably a function of the fact that all our ships are AI operated. It's their body, and they decorate and personalize it.

High Line is... downright drab in comparison.

Grey on grey with streaks of soot and... is that rust? It looks like rust. What would rust on a spacecraft hull? High Line is all boxes and blocks stuck together where they fit or where a need was found. I'm much more used to the sweeping, flowing shapes the Starjumpers have. In addition to looking fast, they look much more elegant. Even our smaller ships, the Frigates and Destroyers tend towards looking more like living creatures than... a box.

As I walk around staring at things and - apparently - making a sour face, Starlight, Ocean and River are standing there, looking nervous and worried. "So Empress... Here is High Line. We admit, it's a little more worse for wear than the ship you came to us on, but.." Starlight stands a little taller. "It got my forebears here all those years ago and through all that time put many light-years on it shuttling people around the system and still held air and gravity. It's not much to look at, but it was ours."

I mean, they're right. Maybe I'm being too hard on it. They got centuries of use out of with with barely any maintenance. All the more reason to refit it right and make it soar once again.

Omar seems like he's having a great time. Walking around, taking measurements going in and out. "Melody, it might not be much to look at now, but it's actually a pretty good foundation! We can add some improved thrusters, beef up the armor, add a wormhole generator and some laser batteries and while we won't be able to take on a dreadnought or even a Starjumper, we'll be able to hold our own against anything local we've seen. It's got plenty of room inside too. You won't have a suite of rooms like at the Royal Dawn, but I should be able to make you an... appropriately royal room.

"At this point a starship is better than no starship so I'll take what I can get. How long will the refit take, Omar?"

He looks at the ship, at the Aviens and then at me. "It will depend on their printer and how well we can integrate the designs from my copy of the database but maybe a month? Hopefully less?"

"Well then, you had better get started Omar. You spend your time getting High Line up to your satisfaction, and let me know about your progress. For now, we will be staying at the Royal Dawn. I don't know if there's other royal quarters that we just haven't found or if the hotel is made out of the original royal quarters, but I'm satisfied with our current accommodations. Make your own schedule and if you need something or someone, just let me know. Starlight" - I look pointedly at them - "can help you with any personnel needs you have." Starlight bobs their head eagerly. "If you need to speak to me or the others, you should be able to though the Reach. Just... concentrate and it should work."

"Okay Melody, I'll get on it. Come on Starlight, show me the printer. Ocean, go see what kind of help you can find for us. River, go see about the condition of the other starships. Some of them have to be operable, how else is food getting here?" Omar looks up at us as the Aviens run off in different directions to obey Omar. "What happened to Ottarn, that Mariens who took their ship and tried to run? If nothing else, we could use that ship."

"They went with FarReach. They told me that they scooped up Ottarn and their ship and were going to take them where they wanted to go."

"Hmm, do you think that means back to human space?" Um'reli asks and she's looking at the ship.

"I have no idea, I don't think so? I'm not sure what they'd find out there to benefit them."

This time Ava puts her hands on her hips and stares at us. "You mean, other that some sympathetic ears to listen to their story about a human who has installed herself as Empress in their space and might be willing to lend a hand with a couple of Starjumpers and their assorted lasers and missiles? You did lock the Gate after FarReach left, right?"

Uh oh. I forgot.

"Uh, sure thing Ava, let me just go... double check that it's locked. I reach out and I can feel the Gate from here though it's faint and... fuzzy. The lock was simple enough though I push here... pull that... and...

"Okay, yes, it's locked."

"Good. We don't want Ottarn coming back with reinforcements or something just yet. Later though... let them come. We'll show them." Ava's grin is worrying me a little bit. She seems much too excited about showing off.

I grab Ava and Um'reli "Come on, let's leave Omar to his work. We have other things to take care of. I think we're going to have to hire on some help, but before that we're going to have to figure out money."

Ava scoffs as we walk "You're still going on about money? Just make people help us out."

"Ava we're looking to help out here, not be overthrown in a couple weeks. If I make people help us, the moment we walk away people will start to wonder why they're helping us at all."

"Melody has a point Ava. What is it that we do here?" Um'reli is really good at throwing cold water on Ava's plans. I'm glad she came. Without her I have a hunch that Ava would be talking me into all kinds of bad ideas.

"Builders seem to work like the AIs on Starbases back home. So it's not like we have no job."

"Well then, let's go back to the Throne and do some work. I'm tired of walking around trying to mooch free stuff from people because they're scared of Melody." Um'reli stars walking back towards the Throne. I really don't have anything else to do, so I follow. "You coming, Ava?"

"I guess. I don't have anything else to do." Ava looks around somewhat wistfully and follows. I wonder what she was hoping to do instead. Probably have me order people to give her something.

As we walk into the entryway to the Throne - there's still no back door, I really need to find one or make one - something catches my eye. I walk over and... "It's a shrine"

"What?" Ava peeks over my shoulder "Oh, it's beautiful."

It really is. Someone made a drawing of us in some kind of pastel medium, like pencils or chalk. It's... me at the top, my wings spread wide and I'm glowing. Below that, it's Um'reli, Ava and Omar standing tall and proud looking up. Under that is a decent representation of hundreds of people bowing before us. Written on the bottom in the same local script I see all over it says "May They Protect Us." The drawing is on a little easel and there are flowers and candles all around it in a semicircle.

Protect them from what though?

"These flowers are amazing! I've never seen ones like this before" Um'reli bends down to get a closer look. She takes a deep breath "And they smell so good, Ava, Melody, you should smell them!"

Well if Um'reli, a K'laxi can smell them and not immediately break out in allergic hives, it's probably fine for us to smell too. I bend down low and... they smell... familiar? Why is that?

Ava straightens "These were grown. We need to find out where the gardens are and visit it!"

Um'reli stands as well. "After we get some work done Ava. We need to show everyone that we do something and aren't a drain on resources because Melody can order them around and they can't say no."

"What's the point of all this power if we don't use it!"

"Ava, we 'use it' like you want to and people will come after us with guns and knives. Who was the Empress before Melody?" Um'reli is looking hard at Ava.

"We have no idea."

"Exactly." Um'reli continues up the stairs to the Throne itself. I follow and Ava pouts but doesn't say anything further.

In the Builder room, Um'reli and Ava sit down. Their bodies go distant and they are integrating. "Okay Ava, Um'reli. You get down to work, I'm going to see about finding a bank and talking to them. Any idea where one is?"

"One moment Melody..." Ava is searching. "Okay, looks like a bank is down the street from the Administration building. It's not far."

"Thanks! Just reach out to me if you need anything." I head back out and down the stairs of the throne, passing by the little shine again. It really is cute, though I wish they put something a little more specific about what they wanted us to protect them from. Oh well, with our luck we'll find out soon enough.

It's not actually a long walk to the bank, Ava was right, it was just down the street from the Administration building. As I walk past I see that a couple people are cleaning up the barricades finally. I wave as I walk by, and they stand smartly and bow. Nice.

Soon enough, I come across what I assume is the bank. It's a large building, made out of the same material as the Administration building, marking it as very old. There is a large double door in the front made of what looks like the same metal as the coins everyone uses. The doors stand open with two people (an Azurian and a Mariens) standing out front. With a little wave to them, I walk in.

It's... a bank. Really. Tellers, little booths where people can discuss finance, even a little table before you get in line to fill out small slips of paper. I walk over to an Aviens who is sitting at a desk by the front door. They look up and do a double take when they see me. I'm not wearing my wings and crown anymore, but I still have on the gown from earlier.

"Uh, good day Holy One, what may this one help you with?" Holy One. Interesting.

"I would like to speak to the Bank Manager, please."

They rush to stand and their chair slides back with a squawk. "Of course, Holy One. Please, wait right here." The gesture over to a small group of chairs up against the wall. I can't really think of a reason why not, so I go over and sit.

Next to me is one of the pressure suited people. Up close, I can see how their suits are segmented metal colored bronze and completely decorated in elaborate carvings. They really are quite beautiful. Their helmets are almost completely featureless except for a bar where human eyes would be and there is what looks like a speaker on their neck.

I clear my throat. "Pardon me, I'm so sorry, but I haven't met one of you yet. Can you tell me your name and the name of your people?"

With just the most subtle clank and whir, they turn their head. "I am known as Vaaqo, and here, people call us Falor in your tongue." His head inclines slightly. "That is to say, the language that most people here speak call us Falor. I do not know your word for us in your Builder tongue."

"Falor is fine with me." I say brightly, and then stop. "Unless it is insulting to you or something."

They make a gesture with their hands. The Nanites indicate that they are indicating no. Oh, that makes sense! If they're suited all the time, most body language markers are lost. Hand gestures could take over for a bunch of nonspeaking conversation.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Vaaqo, thank you so much for the information. I have so many questions, but I will only ask one for now. Do you have to stay in your suit all the time?"

The same gesture meaning no. "We are fortunate that the upper sunward lobe of the Reach has a pressure door. We're able to maintain our helium methane atmosphere and higher ambient pressure and live suit free. The remains of our starship are installed up there, and we use it to control our own breathing gas."

They took their ship apart to survive? "Oh but that means you're trapped here! Once we open the gates and build more ships, we can send a message to your people."

Another gesture. The Nanites say it might be a smile "That is kind of you to offer, Empress. Before... well before, we were in the middle of a war. We were offered refuge here and so we do not know if any others of our kind remain. It will be... nice to find out for sure."

They're holding something back. I think they don't want to insult you.

It's fine. I see no need to compel them to tell me what they're hiding. It's probably something embarrassing to them or they think to me.

Luckily for all of us, you have no shame.

Ha ha.

As I argue with my Nanites, a Mariens walks up, looking nervous. "Hol-Empress, what a pleasant surprise. Thank you for taking the time to visit our fine financial establishment! My name is Utaid and I am at your service." He bows elaborately.

I stand and try to tower only slightly. I want to impress, not intimidate. "The pleasure is all mine Utaid, I am happy to have met you. I wish to open an account so that I will be able to pay people for services they render me."

They look shocked. "E-Empress, of course. We will do everything in our power to help. Since... all here is yours that of course includes all the money stored in the different banks across the Reach."

I nod. "While this is true, I am not a tyrant. I wish to make sure that people are paid and that operations continue as closely to before as possible. Please accept payment requests that come in from people in my name and keep records. We will do our utmost to make sure that the money going in is equal to or greater than the money coming out... in the long term."

They visibly relax. I wonder if they thought I was just going to come in and demand all the currency?

"It will be our most sincere pleasure Empress. We are proud that you have selected us to carry out your financial orders in Your name. We shall set up everything and dispatch a runner to you when it has been completed. I assume you are residing at the Royal Dawn hotel?"

"Yes, that's correct. How did you know?"

They look smug and embarrassed? How did they manage that? "Even though Reach of the Might of Vzzx is a very large starbase, rumors still seem to fly faster than light."

"Ah, thank you Utaid for all your help. I await your runners." They bow low again and I walk out.

Huh, that was easy. I guess people are starting to realize that I really am Empress and I really am trying to help everyone. Feeling very happy, I begin to walk back to the Throne.

"Uh, Melody there might be a problem." Um'reli's voice sounds worried in my head. She figured out how to contact me directly, very nice!

"What is it Um'reli?"

"Just a minute ago, I saw what looked like an alert. Ava and I checked it out and there's something going on at the main transit hub station. We either don't understand the alert or can't ready it yet. Can you check it out please?"

"Oh neat! I haven't been there yet. Sure, I'll go down and check it out. You two stay up there and be my eyes and ears."

The transit station is right around the corner from the bank. It reminds me a lot of photos of transit stations back on Earth. platforms, people milling about, advertising. But I see no crowds or anything worrying. I connect to the Starbase and think to Ava and Um'reli "I don't see any problem here, what's going on?"

"It's not here, it's at the main station. Get on the next train and ride two stops, you'll see it."

Oh, okay. Just as Ava finished speaking, a train rolls up. Like a lot of this place, it clearly was very fancy a long long time ago. The fact that it's still working is pretty impressive, even if it looks a bit run down. I walk on, and look around. There are seats all along the walls of the train car and poles along the middle to hang on to. Mentally I shrug and sit down near the door. After a moment, there's a trilling chime and the doors close.

With a lurch and a hiss of brakes, we get moving. I wonder if this train is automated, or if someone drives it. I should ask later. I'm lost in thought for the ride through the first station stop, but then I look around and realize everyone is staring at me.

"Oh, Hello!" I say brightly.

Immediately, the people closest to me drop to the ground, bowing their heads. "Oh, thank you, but you don't have to do that right now, please just sit. I'm just riding the train over to the hub station. My Builders tell me there's some kind of issue and I'm going to check it out."

"But, Empress... Surely you have people that you can send to do that for you?" It's a Mariens sitting across from me. They look amused.

"Oh not right now. I'm... between retainers and assistants right now. One of my Builders, Omar is helping to repair the High Line, that Aviens ship, and my other two, Ava and Um'reli are sitting in their Chairs, assisting with the operation of the Reach." Oh wait. "Do you want a job? I do find myself needing more people to help out with-" I gesture "-all this. I'm not sure how much to pay yet but I did just come back from the bank, so I'll be able to pay you; I'm sure I'll work all the rest out soon enough."

The Mariens chuckles "Thank you for the generous offer Empress, but I quite like my job. If you so order it... of course I'd help. If you're just asking though, no thank you."

"Oh, that's quite all right. I don't want to order you. But, if you know anyone that would like to help, have them come to the Throne chamber tomorrow, we'll see what we can do!" I look around at everyone trying very hard to look like they're not listening in. "That goes for anyone here too! If you want a job, come see us, if you know someone that does, send them. I need help, and I would love for it to be you!"

And with that same trilling chime, the doors open and I'm at the hub station.

Ah. Okay. I see what Ava and Um'reli are talking about.

There's a riot.

Part 24

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #322

I voted today. One of the outcomes will involve the possibility of it becoming illegal to write about certain things to you in my country. As you might guess, I voted for NOT that possibility.

But I don't know what the results are going to be, and I'm very scared (so scared that I decided to get a terabyte drive just to have something to store my letters to you upon, in case writing them becomes illegal), and we're not gonna know anything until the votes are counted, so I am simply going to not think about it, because I already did everything I could to try to prevent the awful terrible horror outcome.

…

So instead I'm gonna talk about all the other stuff I did today!!!

Today is Tuesday, which means it's psychotherapy day. Normally, I also have physical therapy, but last time I was there, I was out of appointments, and so I had to schedule more, and they were already booked pretty far out, so it might be a bit before I can go back (which is all right, because these exercises I've been given seem to be mostly working!!)

The fact that I didn't have physical therapy left me with time to run to the grocery. I was finally able to turn in that receipt I got from the bottle return place, and then I got a few odds and ends that I forgot last time I was there; in some respects, my brain holds onto memories in the same way that pasta sieves hold into water…

I did find this on my grocery store adventures, though:

...Philly steak is probably my favorite sandwich (assuming that it has onions, peppers, and mushrooms on it, and NO marinara sauce... there are several variations...), so I was curious about these, but not curious enough to get them, given that I don't really like the texture of this kind of chip. As far as I know, Pringles are made not by slicing potatoes and frying them, but by baking a potato powder mash into a vaguely chip-like shape. And there's nothing wrong with this, it's just... I don't like how the texture gets after you chew them. They feel... flimsy to me. I eat them and feel vaguely unsatisfied.

In any case, I made myself an epic sandwich when I got home!! Last Saturday, I bagged up some accidentally-extra-toasty sesame kaiser rolls, and because they were extra toasty, I wanted them. I'm really glad that today, I got to use one of them!!!

...Yummmmmzzzz....!!!!! 🤤

...Want one...?

I had plenty of energy to finish the broth after that. As anticipated, the fat rose to the top of the chilled broth, like so:

I scooped out the fat and put it in a pot:

Then I melted it!

Once the fat is melted, you gotta use a wire mesh strainer (which conveniently doubles as a flour sifter!) and a whisk to incorporate flour into it a little at a time (or else the flour won't incorporate evenly, and it'll get clumpy and weird).

...M took the photo just above. ...You gotta keep adding flour a little at a time; it'll take more than one spoonful. It should look kinda like this by the time you're done:

From here, you have to incorporate the broth slowly into it. If you do it too fast... well. It also gets clumpy and weird, but... differently. M took these ones for me as I slowly incorporated the broth into the flour-fat mixture. I did it one ladle-full at a time...

...J took the one just above, actually.

...It looked like this when it was done:

From here, I seasoned it with salty things and sugary things; I left out other herbs and spices this time, because I wanted this batch to remain a bit more versatile; I can always add garlic and pepper and whatever later.

In this case, I added Himalayan salt, and also bouillon paste:

Bouillon paste comes in all different kinds of flavors, from veggie, to chicken, to beef, to roasted garlic, to caramelized onion, and even smoked ham. I used a combination of smoked ham and veggie bouillon paste for this one; I would have used the roasted garlic one, but I didn't realize that we were out of the stuff. I'll have to go get more sometime soon...

...In any case, after that, I added sweeteners. Usually, I use dark things with good mineral content, like honey, molasses, and dark agave nectar. I used all three of those, and also a spoonful of that daylily jelly I got from that one weird diner (remember? wasn't that fun?).

I can't tell you how much to add. I can't tell you because it really depends on how much broth you end up with; it varies every time. So you're just gonna have to add things and then taste it to see if it's pleasing to your senses. If you do that long enough, you'll eventually get a feel for how much to add without needing to think too hard about it.

I recommend, at least when you're starting out, always taste your ingredients on their own (if they're safe to eat! don't do this with raw flour or you'll get sick!) so you can have an idea of how strong their flavors are before you use them. I do this whenever I get a new and unfamiliar spice in my spice cabinet, for example. Knowing its relative strength helps me to know how much I should use.

The broth was darker by the time I was done seasoning it. It smells and tastes heavenly:

...So I put it into jars!!!

...Certain things will settle out, and certain things will float to the top. This is normal and expected. It'll even itself out when you add other things to it in order to turn it into soup:

I was also pleased that there was enough leftover to put some into a cup and drink it!!!

...IT WAS REALLY GOOD!!!! OHMYGOSH!!! 🤩🤤🥰

...Want some...?

Two jars are closed and in the fridge. The other three are uncovered and in the freezer. They're uncovered because they're in glass; if they freeze while being covered, the water will expand (as it does when it freezes) and it won't have anywhere to go, so it'll crack the jar. I'll check it tomorrow; they should be well frozen by then, and I'll put lids on them then.

Yesterday, I forgot to change out to my third set of braces. So I did that after I got done with the broth. Here's a picture of the third set, compared to the first:

The first set is on the left, and the third set is on the right. I think the differences between them are a bit more noticeable, don't you? The differences between the second set and the third set were visually very subtle, I think. But I definitely felt the difference when I put the third set into my face, holy cow.

...I think it should be good to change to the 4th set after 9 days instead of 10. The third set didn't feel like anything anymore by like day 5. I just gotta make sure I don't make a habit of forgetting to change to the new set when it's time...

...And... that's really all I have for today. Broth is kind of a project, haha!

...Tomorrow, I'm hoping to make that lamb leg with sauteed mushrooms and some pumpkin soup. Maybe I'll even have the time and energy to go through with that baking experiment...! Or maybe I'm being a little too ambitious. I guess we'll see. Maybe I'll invite Ma from work over; it's been some time since last he popped by to play video games...

...I wish you could hang with us. I'd give just about anything for you to be able to hang with us...

...

...I wish it wasn't impossible. I wish you weren't just a figment of someone else's awesome imagination...

...

...Well, it is what it is. Even knowing it's impossible, I'll still keep writing to you every day in hopes that it reaches you anyway. Why not. It's not like I'm hurting anyone by doing this. And in the best case scenario, maybe all of this will help you somehow... Somehow...

I'm gonna write to you again tomorrow about my various adventures within this ordinary life that I wasn't supposed to be able to have. I'm gonna write and hope that watching me do what "conventional wisdom" says is impossible will inspire you to do the same. Because this ordinary life is waiting for you, if you're willing to make kind, gentle, loving choices in order to bring yourself there.

...I love you. Please stay safe...

Your friend, Lumine

[lawlietscaramels]

I have a question about rie. I know she has a lot of alternate names/aliases, but I’m not really sure on who uses what name, if that makes sense? Like, do specific people call her certain things? Oh! And does L have any cute nicknames for her?

-🎲

Aliases ╾ Rie

YIPPEE!!!!?!!

Any excuse to drag Rie onto main 🩷 and to procrastinate on my other drafts...

　★━━─・‥…━━━☆

I'll organise by the basic rule: the main reason she has so many aliases is to help blend in – depending on the country. It won't work everywhere, of course. So, country - names - about the name - nicknames - about the nicknames.

╾ JAPAN

please note: the kanji in brackets are ordered last name - first name, as is typical in Japanese names. So Rie is not 高村 but rather 理恵.

Rie Takamura (高村理恵). I picked this because Rie is a fairly common name for girls meaning "reason". As for Takamura, it's like most common Japanese surnames in that it's somewhat geographical. Specifically, it means "high up village."

Hina Suzuki (鈴木陽菜). I actually don't know the exact meaning, but I didn't pick it for that: Hina and Suzuki are incredibly common names (think John Smith). It has the anonymity of Jane Doe.

Nicknames: Riri (by me; maybe by Matsuda and/or Misa). Miss Rie-san (by L. two honorifics...). Rie Pie (by "Matty Beef Patty" and "Mello Jello," because they got cross at her and decided to give her a taste of her own medicine. She's soooo pissed off that it doesn't rhyme).

╾ USA, UK, CANADA, AUSTRALIA etc...

Rue Dixon. I'm not sure if I ought to add a middle name. Rue I picked simply because it sounded similar to Rie (I didn't pick her real name, or even that she was French, until later. That probably sounds weird, but my creative process is too I guess..) and – come on. The meaning is so cool. Later, I learned BB uses it as an alias, which I'm just going to play into MWAHAHA (sobs). As for Dixon, it's after Elizabeth née Dixon, mother of Mary Wollstonecraft, mother of Mary Shelley.

Nicknames: um, Rue... (by Naomi. The "um" is a permanent fixture/hj). This is her name throughout Another Note.

╾ FRANCE

Reinette Rose Descôteaux (real name. how dramatic are her parents (me)). I struggled picking this name. I speak English (unbelievably) and I've been studying Japanese for a long time, but I've never really touched French up until developing Rie. I just picked something that sounded nice and didn't have an objectionable meaning for her first name. I kind of stomped over the fact middle names are uncommon in France and patched it up with the fact some kids have, like, dual first names (I don't know what I'm talking about. I'm thinking of things like Marie-Belle). As for Descôteaux, HOPEFULLY, it means something to do with gardens.

Aurélie Rousseau. I don't have any plans to use this one in RieCanon so far – perhaps in proLogue: 1429. Same process as above with the first name. Rousseau came up in my sociology class along with a couple of other white dead guys, and I thought the name sounded nice and Rie-ish.

Nicknames: Reine-Rose (L. He pronounces it wrong, pretty much just to annoy her. "Rainy rose" instead of "rehn rose"). Rosey (by L, about twice a year, when he feels cutesy). Pétalette (by her parents. I'm still figuring out Rie's childhood).

╾ INTERNATIONAL

1429 (fourteen twenty-nine). This is a real alias Rie goes by, even though it's not a name, and it's her main title throughout my fan made prequel arc. I don't remember how exactly I picked the number, but I like it.

Nicknames: Cat (by L, strictly once. She calls him mouse for a good while).

╾ OTHER

Rie goes by "L" a lot too. It's an agency more than a person. I feel like I read that somewhere, but there's an equal chance I made it up... Anyway, she does most of the PR stuff, and takes over if L gets sick or if she knocks him out to get some rest.

I've recently decided (this is an edit to the original post) that Rie is half Korean. She was born in France, but her dad (Korean, her mother is French) wanted to give her a Korean name as well, so here it is: 문영지, or Mun Yeong-ji. I probably messed something up, but I liked the sound of Mun and it's a fairly common surname. Yeong means shadow/reflection/photograph, and Ji means intelligence. Also considering the nickname YeonYeon by her father but idk what that means in Korean so I'll have to make sure it isn't anything weird, haha.

I'm trying to figure out if she went to Wammy's, or if there was time for her to meet the kids between 1429 and LABB, or something else. If she went, she'd go by Q or maybe X. I think different kids left at different times, so different letters opened up at different times. It's the simplest explanation I can think of, though I must admit it still doesn't answer everything. What is that again? Occam's razor?

　★━━─・‥…━━━☆

character ©lawlietscaramels , ©dailyreine , ©riexliet. Though Rie has been inserted into Ohba Tsugumi's Death Note universe, her design, character, and non canon related storyline are all my own original work. Do not steal her design, claim her as your own, use her for “inspiration” — it's flattering but it often ends up a copy, feed any part of her (story/art) to AI, or do anything else unethical or immoral.

[mega-ringsandthings-world]

Ok, ok, glad you liked the art! There's more to come because I am full of ideas and sadness! Prepare!

Anywho, now that I have rambled about the boys a lot (and trust me, there's definitely more where that came from), I thought I'd take a change of pace and focus on others.

Like Buggy. What we know is he escapes, possibly due to running away (which will probably haunt him forever) or getting saved by someone. He does meet someone, as you've said before, but who? Could it be Dragon? Does our greedy, narcissistic clown somehow become a revolutionary? Maybe it's a marine. Did a marine see this kid and go, "Screw it, I'm not killing kids," and let him go? Does he run into Smoker? Start a traumatize boy band (now I wanna write the fic we’re buggy and smoker run into each other after lougetown.) Or is it someone else, someone I wouldn't have guessed in a million years? Doflamingo, perhaps? That would be the meeting from hell. One of the other would-be warlords? And what happens to him? Does he spend the next two years trying to help Shanks in any way he can? Does he do mostly what he's done in canon and go for the One Piece? Or is he a warlord? Did he make deals with the world government for Shanks? ‘Gasp’ I'm gasping at nothing but thinky thoughts, but eh, I'll just throw some crazy in there for fun.

Also, are you going to add pirates we know to Loguetown who get caught, aside from the characters we already know? There are a few characters we see in canon that could be the right age to have been around. You could just slip them in there to add more people to the "Fun Time with World Government!™️" and more people Shanks and Mihawk can bounce off of while captured and once they get out. You said that they won't trust anyone who didn't go through what they went through, so not a lot of allies or having civil conversations. But maybe that's the point... oh well, whatever you do, I'm sure I'll love it.

Also, this pirate generation needs a name. If the last generation were the Great Pirates, maybe this generation could be the Silenced Generation? And later, after the two years, the Monster Generation.

And propaganda, does Roger's message about the One Piece get out there like it did in the main timeline? Not a lot of people escaped from the excision, so that's not a lot of people to spread the word. Is the World Government suppressing it after all? They didn't mean for Roger to tell the crowd, so why in hell would they want that driving force that created pirates who are specifically seeking a piece of the Void Century and possibly information on Joy Boy or Nika? So, do they turn it into, instead of a last word, a rumor? Like Davy Jones or Nolan and his Sky Island, like it's a fun bedtime story but nothing that's actually real.

Those are all the questions I have today hopefully I’ll get you that new art out soon no promises but I will try! Seriously thanks for indulging my asks, I know you don’t ow me any of you time and it’s cool that you’ve given me some. Anyways off to dreamland for me!

Prepared and so excited! See, with Buggy, it's a mess. If this AU is the sort-of inverse of canon events, Buggy has to keep his beef with Shanks. That happens because Shanks is the one who saves him. He gets him to safety, and then gets himself caught to lead the marines away from him. But from Buggy's perspective, Shanks abandoned him. Which. He's going to spend his time torn between grief/worry/resentment and thinking Shanks got what he deserved, (because Buggy is vindictive like that) only to find out how wrong he was. During the end of the two years, he's going to try to help Shanks, though. Him and Smoker do meet, Smoker being the one to spur him into helping Shanks. Smoker is going to go the way of Vergo in this AU, at least as far as the marines are concerned. Dragon is going to pick up some key players, (wink, wink) and he would save a child. So that's Buggy, even though Buggy doesn't espouse revolutionary ideas. (and Buggy would be even more obsessed with the one piece, it's his way of coping) And here's the thing, once what the marines are doing starts coming out, there's going to be an alliance between the revolutionaries and pirates to protect themselves. Because after the marines get information out of the captured pirates, they will start hunting the free ones. Benn Beckmann is already around, and some other characters will come sooner, some later. Garp is going to be the one who brings Mihawk and Shanks and some of those characters together. It will take them a long time to trust anyone else, but they will. And the pirates who weren't captured but were still hunted count as having a shared experience in their books. As well as the people who have been hurt by or due to the government, especially children. (wink, wink) I was thinking the Ghost generation! Since the marines kept an entire swathe of these people in captivity for two-three years, living as nothing more than ghosts. The one piece declaration did get out, though yes, the WG is trying to make it seems like nothing more than the ravings of a madman. It still becomes a substantial rumor, though, because it's something for the the pirates left to cling onto while they are being hunted. And the WG also wants the one piece. So it's them, and not the pirates that initially began the search. They go out systematically raiding pirate ships and hideouts and work their way up from there. When Mihawk and Shanks get out, Shanks kicks off the real pirate hunt by confirming Roger's last words. Which he does for Buggy's sake. No rush! And you're welcome! Ask away as much as you want, my mind is full of this and I'll literally talk forever if given the chance!

[fatrocka64]

Be careful who you call ugly in middle school.

This is supposed to be a Fanon Imagining of Toa Ahkmou from Bionicle. I made him look more like a Eli Roth Harry Potter Film. I wanted to make him a vampire dinosaur but.. I decided to beef and corrupt Ahkmou up a bit. I'll probably add in a picture of Ahkmou later on.

(Update) I added ahkmou

[patchesproblem]

Also have been thinking about the einsla college AU in general.. Specifically about the idiots and their relationships with each other.

I haven't talked about Karl and Planck enough so it's time that I change that. My beloved cousins.

So first off Karl is stillt he older one by a few years. I'm thinking while he was still technically a kid when Planck was born, I think he was around 11 - 12 ish ? I don't remember their canon age difference, I'll edit this later if I remember. This being said though I feel like they probably grew up together, or were at least around each other a lot. Karl probably had to babysit her often too.

Though this means he also was being relentlessly bullied by a child which is a reoccuring thing in his life apparently.

Anyways.. I think Planck probably took violin lessons as a kid and was basically a prodigy at it. Why? No clue I just feel like she'd be really good at it early on.

Was also thinking about if Planck learned physics and became a teacher because of Karl. It would be more like a passive influence, but still. It wouldn't surprise me if growing up she saw him making a difference in the world and wanted to be able to do something like him, and she was already really good in math so she became a professor.

Also think they see each other more as siblings than cousins. I feel like Karl probably grew to start seeing her as his younger sister and Planck never really questioned it and just saw him as her brother.

Now on to a cursed fact about them that's actually relevant to the AU.

Planck and Karl probably work in the same university as each other (same one Tesla Einstein Schrodinger and Welt go to), though she works as a professor and he works as a on site psychologist. There is never a day of peace for him. There is Always something going on and Planck always somehow has beef with someone. Nobody knows how she manages it. She just does. You could look at her off and she Will be complaining about it to Karl or Einstein later on. Einstein managed to escape it but Karl was not so lucky. He doesn't even get paid for this.

I'll add more in another post later. It's getting late but I wanted to post this bit before I forget.

[mazm-imagines]

Thy Creature Modern/Zombie AU Part 1

This started as a joke but after talking with @fleurrice on the server... this is for real and its loooooong so like strap in. Spoilers for Thy Creature btw even tho this is an AU. BTW I WENT PAST THE WORD COUNT OOOOPS... I'll add a part two later...

Tw for corpses, mention of organs, blood and essentially anything from the og Thy Creature and Frankenstein

Ingolstadt Uni ofc... but honestly it can just be any vague German university for the sake of plot

Please this all came out because I wanted to see Victor as a nervous college student

"he a mortuary science student who took the wrong major" as per fleurrice's words.

Noah in the same major but fleurrice added on "he's the professor" and that's canon to me now.

He's beefing with some 19 yo (unofficial) TA 😒 (Justine). He's also beefing with Victor which I will explain later on. His students like him well enough though even if he's kind of strict. The type of asshole to jump a pop quiz because someone annoyed him a little. He has a good sense of humor and tries to be understanding because he's also been through some stuff.

Justine I think would major in hospitality. Instead of being Victor's maid I think she would just be a childhood friend who's mother was employed by his family.

Hanna would be an art professor of sorts. She has crazy social anxiety but when teaching she's passionate and encourages her students. A lot of students look up to her.

Ben would probably teach something with agriculture. He's a man of few words though... ever since his wife took the kids. Old shame.

Chris would be the alcoholic building manager. He's pretty grumpy. something abt the war .

Alex would be a social worker that had prior experience in hunting. She's very grandmacore and her attitude relaxes a lot of people. She's a good leader to them.

OKAY SO this is a really hyperspecific American thing but like how military recruiters bait highschoolers into joining on promise for free college tuition. Leon would be the sucker that believes in it. But they're German so I guess an alternative would be he's in college for now as a backup plan but plans on entering the military later on. He's kind of a jock but he's nice and popular. This is so oddly specific but I feel like he'd major in either buisness or engineering. Maybe even medicine bc I feel like he'd wanna help people.

This would start off similar to the plot of Thy Creature where Victor starts his research because his mother dies and he wants to know the meaning of life. What better way than to actually use her dead body!

Yeah starting off insane here. He uses his mother's corpse to make Siren. Don't ask why she has tentacles there's octopus DNA in there now...

Because she's the first specimen she's also the most unstable/crazy one. That's also why she's so powerful.

Anyways Victor is freaked out and locks her in his basement. But apparently not freaked out enough because he keeps experimenting.

Originally I was going to have Atlas/Loss and Raven/Not-Guilty at the very end but I think they'd be better here. Atlas is mixed with some horned creature's DNA and Raven is of course mixed with a raven's DNA. Raven is temperamental and thrashes in her bonds while Atlas is docile and doesn't really do much. Victor doesn't care he hates them both, basement time. Raven gives him a little scratch on the way out though...

Now Victor experiments on twins, Nameless and Creature. A byproduct of the experiment is that a zombies hair will bleach white. But sometimes it will stay the original color. Nameless is incredibly unstable, constantly attempting to turn into his more monstrous form. Creature however besides the white hair is perfectly stable. You almost wouldn't be able to tell something is wrong with it.

It runs away though lolllll... lolllll. Victor locks up nameless in his basement with the others. Now that he knows he can make a stable reanimated corpse he just keeps on chugging.

Creature kind of becomes a campus myth like the trash muncher. Mostly non-malevolent though.

Now Noah has caught on to Victor by now. He catches him trying to take something from the morgue but his higherups aren't too hard pressed about it because Noah doesn't have sufficient proof + Victor cleans up really well. Also Noah unironically beefs with a 19 yo for fun so not the most credible. But Noah knows.

Victor half contemplates just hitting Noah with a shovel and doing what he has to but that's hardddddd.

Fortunately for Victor! William Frankenstein found dead in a ditch.

Yeah so while the Creature was out n about it accidentally infected William bc it didn't know it can do that.

Victor immediately takes William's body to mess around. Noah hears about his loss and also about how his mom died and he's like oh no wonder he's weird around corpses. And kind of drops the matter because maybe he's just grieving.

Oh he's grieving alright. G-making r-his i-next eving-specimen.

He uses William's body to make Erysichthon/EL. This specimen is mostly stable, able to switch between monstrous and human at will. However... he likes biting people on purpose and noms Victor on the arm.

Basement time. Basements all over the place.

Now I didn't know if I wanted her to be before or after EL, but maybe after. Victor wanted to experiment on a young child, see how manageable it'd be. Thus he uses a young girl to make 701/Loneliness. She is mostly stable, but she's really hyperactive, so like average kid shit. Unfortunately Victor is kind of unfamiliar with children so he throws her in the basement as well.

Noah when his student makes 7 atrocities against man in his basement:

Victor's health has been declining drastically as well from his lacerations. He'd been growing more delirious.

While Victor's sleeping on his fucking futon on the floor, he forgets to lock the door... and well ... the monster mash comes out.

Instesd of having Nepe Victor/Regret as a final boss, Victor himself is the final boss. But instead he's infected and a shell of his former shelf. The nepes don't attack him because he has a "vaccine" against them in the form of being infected.

Yeah this whole time he's been using parasitic bacteria for reanimation. It made the nerves jolt and he's like I can work with this.

Worked a bitttt too well. The only way to kill these zombies would be to burn them.

Ofc they start infecting everyone on campus. All entrances are blocked by Nepes zombies. More specifically it's this unidentifiable biomass coagulating around the doors.

🤣🤣🤣 Noah's boutta kill this motherfucker with his bare hands. As soon as the first zombie enters the room he doesn't hesitate to hit it with a chair. Bro is PISSED.

You just know his ass is saying "I KNEW IT" the entire time. He distributes sterile gloves/masks to the rest of the team later on to prevent any sort of pathogens from going inside their bloodstream. But eventually they're going to need something better to filter that shit out.

As soon as Hanna sees what's going on outside she locks the doors to her classroom aaaaaand goes catatonic . Her students have to look after her till the others come.

Hanna unfortunately has to see her students die because plot. Hanna always saw her students like family even if they cycled out fast. They'd be nice to her because they know she's trying her best and vice versa. So it just. Especially sucks for her with the knowledge that these students will never grow up to be accomplished adults like she knew they could be.

Noah meets Justine again and asks her if she can help with talking to Victor to see if there's a way to bring the zombie nepes back to normal.

In reality he just wants to know where Victor lives on campus so he can go beat the shit out of him really hard. Justine doesn't have to know that tho.

They find EL in a corner passed out. He looks like a normal enough boy and he could just be one of the professors children. Hanna and Justine especially want to help him.

Noah is a bit reluctant but he is just a kid.

However as we established EL is kind of a freak. He breathes down their necks and he doesn't start anything just yet. He wants to see how many people are still remaining so he holds off on biting.

Creature comes in purely on accident. It manages to bite through the biomass in the front door and go inside.

Once the gang determine it won't really bite them + it's useful for plowing through the other nepes, they take it in as well.

The university seems to be split between 6 nepes (like the tower and it's 7 floors). Each Nepe has it's own mark. Like you can tell someone got mutated by Siren via the tentacles coming out of them. However Atlas doesn't really do much so his neck of the woods is a peaceful place.

Unfortunately EL realizes they're the only ones left and attacks before he gets attacked. He bites Ben and tries attacking Hanna before Alex shoots him.

They think Creature infected him... which technically it didddd but on accident and it did that to William not Erysichthon. But they still need it for killing the Nepe bosses.

701 bites people to make friends 😭. Her zombies are a bit like. Preserved. Like dolls. They can't move much because their joints are stiff and they've become colorless. Noah's a bit reluctant to hit a child but considering he's seen enough corpses already he's emotionally bracing himself. Chris however has no hesitation. Molotov her ass ❤

Yeah Chris has been making molotovs and shit with his booze. If it works it works.

Ben has started to go a bit insane from the infection. They muzzle and tie his hands up so he can't wound anyone. He can still speak albeit in broken words. They don't want to kill him because of the chance of a cure + he's not hurting anyone so if it's not needed they won't kill him.

Leon, Noah, Alex, Chris, and Creature have been the ones primarily fighting. Leon and Noah are incredibly jacked and let's just say... Noah is motivated by pure spite. Alex and Chris have survival experience so they know what to do in certain situations. And Creature is creature. It takes over later on for fighting while the others try to live the best they can. Hanna and Justine help with injuries.

Hanna also knows Victor had been up to something, on a particularly bad day she said she saw him in the halls carrying corpses and asked what the hell was going on. He admitted his plan to her and while it sounded insane, she thought perhaps... he could get her baby back. He promised to do so if she kept quiet and she did. She later pushed this memory to the back of her mind so she only remembered recently. That's why she went catatonic.

Justine is really concerned for Victor because she knows he hasn't been well. He hasn't et her take care of him either. Wouldn't even let Clerval or Elizabeth visit. So the fact this happened? Oh he's deaddddd.

The gang are focused on finding a safe way out but also to exterminate all the zombies so they won't escape either for the greater good. Noah himself is also trying to research the disease to reverse it because as luck would so happen, he has a hefty amount of medical knowledge. He's been serving as their medic as well.

Raven is terrifying to fight because she and those she infected, have wings and talons (which have grown over time). They fly down to try to slash at the group. Creature uses itself as a meatshield to protect them before finally beating the shit out of Raven and charring her. Bird down.

ELs back-! As Erysichthon. There's green mucus from the corners of his mouth. The zombies on his floor are the more traditional type, except their flesh is slowly breaking down into slime because of his saliva. (He bit them harder than he did Ben and Victor). Again Creature has to fight him and burn him down.

Atlas doesn't do much, he doesn't resist getting killed. His area is not a zone, more so a corner he's been pushed to. They keep him in that area as a way to ward off the other Nepe zombies because his presence seems to work on them like a relaxant. Which in turn makes it easier to kill them. They only kill him when his presence starts agitating Ben and making them all feel a bit sleepy.

Siren is terrifying to fight. Her zombies have grown tentacles. And once she latches on ohhhhhhhh. She is also the most powerful. Her flesh covers the exit. She releases a vapor that acts as a hallucinogen, making everyone see happy visions and want to never leave. Of course that won't do. Fry her ass 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Nameless' area rumbles with his growling. He can't control himself from mutating like every other day but he's trying to hold on to what little humanity he has. But he's also the most brutal. His mutant form literally eating out people's organs and leaving them half behind.

As soon as he sees Creature though, he feels more at peace. More in control of himself, as if it was his other half. But he still wants it to kill him.

He's almost able to control himself for good, but he gets triggered into his mutant form again, and because he can't stabilize himself and is a threat to everyone else, he gets killed. Sadge.

Now that all the major Nepe contaminants are gone, they can finally go to Victor and ask him what the fuck is wrong with him.

Victor's eyes have gone completely black and yellow (another sign of the infected). He's crazed with power but breaking down at the same time. He's begging them to save him but he's beyond saving. The skin that ELbit has gone gelatinous and raven's scratch marks have overgrown with feathers. Tentacle marks on his legs all that jazz.

[spectrearia]

double-tag time lol

got tagged in two different question things by @galactictides52 and @gonturan0 xD gonna fill both of 'em out at the same time I guess haha! thanks for the tags!!

going under a cut because there's quite a lot here haha

tagged by @galactictides52:

Last song I listened to: Follow by Survive Said the Prophet

Favorite content to watch: uhhh.. hm. depends on my mood. I usually gravitate towards let's plays or documentaries on a whole variety of topics? speedrunning, electronics, abandoned places, and critiques on a wide variety of media are some of my go-tos for documentary/commentary-style content. there's a lot more tho that I can't think of off the top of my head. I just like listening to people discuss random stuff haha.

Favorite games: Oooh, quite a few. Minecraft, Super Mario Sunshine, Luigi's Mansion, Professor Layton, Ace Attorney, Hitman (World of Assassination), and recently Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Mega Mix are some that immediately come to mind. There are so many more games I could add but I gotta keep this kinda simple xD

Favorite colors: I love all colors for various reasons but any shade of purple is my absolute fave <3

Favorite animal: CATS!!! though I'm sure that's pretty obvious, haha xD I can't help but relate to them so much lol

Favorite food: mmmm. maybe my mom's beef and potato hash? it's the ultimate comfort food to me and she doesn't make it often, but it always Hits Just Right whenever I do get to have it.

Sweet, spicy, or savory: savory all the way, baby. don't mind a bit of spice alongside the savory sometimes but it depends on what it is.

Current obsession: my own OCs (and some friends' OCs as well). I literally talk about them all the time and I could say I'm sorry but I'm really not. xD if we're talking media in general tho? I guess the Hatsune Miku game I mentioned earlier counts, lol

Last book I read: oof. I can't even remember. for published books, I want to say it was Mayday at Two Thousand Five Hundred by Frank E. Peretti? but if not, then it was probably my friend's original story draft. I hardly ever read anymore, honestly. I just write what I want to read instead.

Last thing I googled: don't use google, per se. but I think the last thing I searched online was the lyrics to King by Kanaria because I want to learn how to sing along lol

Fun facts: I always suck at these haha. can't really think of anything so I might just have to leave this as-is, rip ><;;

---

tagged by @gonturan0:

3 ships: lol I don't do ships so I don't have much to put here xD I guess I kinda "shipped" some characters when I was younger (like Mario and Peach or whatever), but not? to an extreme degree or anything? was never my focus. still isn't. Honorable mention does go out to Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable, though. I felt their relationship was handled really well, even though I typically really don't like romance in kids' media at all.

first ever ship: idk probably Mickey and Minnie when I was like 5??? haha

last song: (see #1 in previous list)

Last movie: oof, memory is bad. it's been a while. the Mario movie???? in theaters??? i think. I can't remember. I don't watch movies as often as I used to tbh

currently reading: nothing right now, unless you count this list ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

currently watching: not "currently" but I'll probably watch the newest update of a Voices of the Void let's play that I'm keeping up with sometime later tonight :0

currently consuming: waterrr. stay hydrated, my dudes~

currently craving: sushi;;; specifically my Fave Big Roll with shrimp tempura, crab, cucumber, and a bunch of other good stuff (also SPICY MAYO, my beloved) <33

ayyyy, that's all, folks! I don't really know who to tag with this so i guess if anyone sees it and wants to fill it out, u can just say I tagged you xD I don't mind, haha!

[sedgewicke]

Honestly? As far as betrayals go?

It's no Thunderdome we can't get Beyond.

I think I'll keep it in my "Look, things are gonna turn out nice for Sedge this time!" AU. It'll build character. Dalinar will get those rose-tinted glasses he's inexplicably got on for Sadeas bashed off his face with a lead pipe, which I think we can all agree is sorely needed. And Sadeas can use this as an opportunity to properly air his grievances about, namely:

1) That one time Dalinar left him and Gavilar to fend for themselves against an assassin because he was too busy being passed out in a puddle of his own sick, and after Gavilar was murdered and Dalinar sobered up, he proceeded to pull the "UM, but where were you tho???" card, and he's still doing it six years later.

Because, uh. Controversial opinion? That's some completely legitimate shit to be extremely angry about. And by golly, this method of betrayal do seem to mirror that whole situation more than a little bit. But also I doubt it'll be brought up as a Motive That Actually Makes Sense, because why not just keep sitting on this issue?

And 2) Dalinar constantly (constantly) banging on about that damn book, which Sadeas obviously blames in part for Gavilar's death ("that book ruined him"), and likely believes has something to do with Dalinar's own apparent descent into madness. But on top of that, now he's trying to get Elhokar into his weird little book club, and Elhokar is already dealing with a rapidly worsening case of paranoia (which Sadeas attributes to Dalinar coddling him, and thus reinforcing his belief that he's in danger); the last thing he needs is to be exposed to some weird old book that seems to be tied to people goin' kinda nuts. Honestly, from Sadeas' point of view, it totally looks like the Kholin bloodline has got the madness in it, and it's all coming to the surface now for some reason if only there were a common factor in all of it. And because in this AU *throws down a "Fuck you, Sanderson!" card* Sadeas really does care about Elhokar, and isn't going to try and fuck him over because he suddenly decided that he wants to be king or whatever dumb shit's gonna happen (because Dalinar apparently needs to be hilariously wrong about everything Sadeas-related?), all that is a Big Problem.

And you know what? Why not add 3) if you spent decades doing war crimes with a guy, and all of a sudden he starts acting like this Swingin' Richard pinnacle of morality and righteousness, while also going on about how you and basically everyone else sucks and stuff? Yeah, you'd probably be kinda mad about it. That deserves at least a paddlin'.

Where the absolute... was I... with thi-- right, so the point is, now that Sadeas has finally acted on these six years of compounding beef and Dalinar finally understands that "Oh damn, this guy really does hate me", maybe now they can sit their asses down, have some Real Talk like a couple of Grown-Ass Adults.

Although, damn, that is a lot of Thunderdome to get Beyond.

[fleetsparrow]

Story time (content warning tags up here):

#disordered eating #food talk #weight talk

As a kid, I was a bottomless pit. Everything that was food, I ate. All-you-can-eat places were terrified when my family came for dinner (not even an exaggeration; a local restaurant used to do all-you-can-eat beef ribs, and we would go through PLATES every time they ran it. Eventually, they stopped offering it at all).

How big is the plate? You can't add extra? No, that's fine, I'll just have some of theirs.

This was, as you can imagine, am incredibly healthy time for me.

Then, as I'm sure happened to many of you, the teenage years hit.

Suddenly, people were "concerned" by how much I was eating.

Before, we would go to restaurants and people would comment, yes, but they would be in awe. You are so small and you eat so much! Where do you put it all?

It was awe and maybe a little envy hidden in there somewhere, but never negative.

Never "should you be eating that much?" Never "why don't you save some for later?"

Them: Don't eat it all! You'll want to save room for later!

Me: I'll have room, don't worry.

Them: :/

My go-to retort was, "I'm a growing girl."

The new reply was, "Yeah, but which way?"

I used to get a laugh; suddenly, I got a warning.

[Note: This reply in particular always confused me because, well, I'm autistic and, friends, you cannot continue to expand only horizontally the way one grows vertically. That's not how proportions work.]

My hunger never changed. I was still always hungry, always ready for food, always enjoying my food.

But now there were consequences.

Somehow, I was being Bad.

So, like so many of us do, I cut back. I saved food. I stopped eating.

Not a lot. Not all at once. Not so drastically that people would notice.

But I skipped lunch at school.

Then, when I couldn't always do that (PE classes will straight up murder you), I would eat as little as possible to get me through the day. I'd throw away food before going home so it looked like I ate my full lunch.

I remember, the Worst Thing was when I'd forget to toss my food and I would be caught not having eaten it, so I'd have to make up a quick story about why I didn't:

[Teacher] bought us food

[Friend] brought extra food

I didn't feel good

I wasn't hungry

There is a certain level of psychic damage I'd take every time old clothes became no longer wearable. Some of this is because I do become very attracted to things I'm comfortable with. But the worst damage was when it no longer fit.

College probably saw the height of my disordered eating.

On one hand, I was on my own! This meant that nobody would judge me for eating "more" than usual because we were all strangers. There was no usual!

But, of course, things don't really change so much, do they?

People still comment on each other's weight. Every girl at the school limited her food and so did half the guys (actors, you know). Everyone was lowkey Obsessed with their appearance (that's Hollywood, baby!).

When I had money to go out, I would order whatever food I wanted and I would eat every damn bite of it. Why not? It's my money. It's my food. I'm going to get everything I can out of this.

But at the school, back at my "dorm" when I only had the food I'd brought or bought from the store...

Well....

I wasn't that hungry.

I think I was in college when I started doing it, but there was a point where I would weigh myself once a week, during the weekend (read: long) shower. I wouldn't consciously do anything about it. I wouldn't purposely stop eating because of it.

But I thought about it.

Every time I had dance, because it meant seeing myself in a mirror in a leotard.

Every time I thought about eating during days in my room.

Every time I squeezed myself into clothes that I knew didn't fit great, but they were OK, just a bit tight, I'm sure it's fine, haha.

[Part 2 of this will come tomorrow, because holy cats, I need to go to bed]

[dreamybasil]

Another update because I have too much to talk about..

I'm russian, but I'm more comfortable chatting on English. I get a little pissed of being called a she/her, but mostly I just ignore it since no one irl calls me anything else expect a her and a girl. A little sad, but I guess just my fault for having trust issues and not knowing how will my teachers and classmates react about it. Only my English teacher PROBABLY knows about this, since I wrote it into my notebook first page, where it says who's notebook it is. I learn really fast, mostly if I'm interested into what I'm learning, as example, English or Art. If I just watch someone draw and make their anatomy and stuff, my brain just takes little photos and memorizes them. Like that I randomly improve my art- @\i-like-omori , ilo.. why did you make the whiteboard and let me join in there now I stole the way how you draw the heads /j I fuckin love ramen. Beef spicy ramen I love it Its my favorite Im eating it rn while doing this lil update

Iiii don't know if I have anything more to write, but I'll add up more stuff later when I'll get something to write Oh, Also.. I have: Autism ADHD Possible anxiety An extremely low pain tolerance POSSIBLE psychosis None of these are professionally discovered expect pain, but anxiety and autism are really obvious at this point

Today.. I wanted to try making a "Meet The Artist" thing.. So, here ya go!

(FYI, That is NOT how I look IRL. Just a little mascot to represent myself, or.. As some people could say, A BASILSONA :') ... Yep-) Here's some more additional information though! The little boxes were small enough that I couldn't really fit everything in..

I sleep a lot and I'm tired the whole day. School is going to prevent me to sleep a lot and I'm disappointed about it. I listen to music a lot, and I'm a melomaniac so.. I don't really care what genre the music is, I just listen to it. But for now, my favorites are the vocaloids and metal covers. I have atleast 3 apps to talk with me through. Discord, Whatsapp, Telegram. I use only discord though, so.. yea. I have a discord server for SOXIEDI. It's dead but I don't mind it :3 I really love learning to draw anatomies better, because currently I'm seizuring on them. After that or on the same time.. I'll try learning angles. I have some nicknames.. Here's a little list of them: Izuku, Izu, Deku, Brocolli boy Moondrop, Moony, Moon SODA, Basil, Bas, Fanta I sometimes really love to act drunk and if I do that, I actually start feeling lightheaded and just go "ehaehahef am i drunkng?? i feeli liek i ammmm haghaeae" I might sometime start doing commisions for art.. But only if I'll get even better. And the commisions probably will be either free either for money, though I have completely no apps to pay through. And probably will go as "Doodles (on PC)" and "Sketches/Art (on phone)"

[angelmush]

hi ! do you have the recipe for the soup you posted? it looks AMAZING !!

hahaha sure!! it's a recipe from my Brain lol i made it up as i went so i'll try and recall it out here!

i prepped all my veggies first! i did a rough slice of 2 yellow onions and 8 cloves of garlic. i peeled and cut 6 carrots into LARGE chunks. i did the same with parsnips, mushrooms, red + yellow fingerling poatoes, and celery. u could add any veggies u wanted to this imo, this is just what i had. i just got a bigggg dutch oven as a gift so i used that to brown 2.5 lbs of cubed beef chuck in batches on high heat (not cooking all the way at all, just searing the outside) and then putting all of the pieces in a little bowl for later, i seasoned as i went with salt and pepper.

i left the grease in the botton of the dutch oven and cooked my onions and celery in there with a splash of maple syrup, salt + pepper until they were lightly caramleized (10 ish minutes). when most of the liquid had cooked off, i pushed the onions and clery to the edges of the pan and squeezed a little blob of tomato paste into the center and my sliced garlic. i added dry herbs and spices now as well (i used rosemary, sage, parsely, oregano, chili flakes, thyme, a blend of this garlic and herb poultry seasoning i found in the cupboard and probably something else i'm forgetting lmao), measure w ur heart. i let all of that cook stirring occasionally for another few minutes (5 ish).

i added the meat, carrots, parsnips, + mushrooms back into the pot (i left the potatoes out bc they cook fast and i like to add them later so they don't totally fall apart). i added half a bottle of red wine i found in my pantry and scraped all the burnt pieces off the bottom of the pan. i wanted to use beef stock but couldn't find any, so i used 4 cups of chicken stock and then tossed in a generous spoonful of beef bouillon and hoped for the best. i added my fresh herbs now on the top, i used bay leaves, rosemary, oregano, and thyme. i covered and cooked in the oven at 425 fahrenheit for 2 hours and 15 ish minutes (i was just going by how hungry i was and tired of waiting for it lmao, the smell of it was so good).

i pulled it out, scooped the herb bundle out and then tasted for salt. i seasoned using soy sauce to salt it this time (this is a step u cannot skip for real it makes the broth INCREDIBLE), some maple syrup, and more dried herbs and spices if needed (i always add extra personally lol). i add the potatoes and return to the oven for another 15 minutes. i take it back out, slap it on the stove on medium heat, bring to a simmer. i then add a mixture of a pinch of cornstarch and a splash of water whisked together to the broth to help thicken it just a little, and then add a few cups of frozen peas. i covered it and left it to simmer for a last five minutes.

i served it with fresh parsely, buttered bread, and a drizzle of apple cider vinegar over the top.