#it wasn't on par with the originals but it was still good

[glow-in-the-dark-death]

My Sweet Intruder (Sleepwalking Love)

I wanted crack but also fluff, this was the creation. Enjoy!

~

Tim had recently bought a new place to live near a college since he decided to continue his education, the apartment was on the nicer side of things and even though he had gotten it for his civilian life it still had some security on par with his night life safe homes.

All of this to say that it would be hard for someone to break in and even more so to not be noticed.

Which is pretty what he thinks is going on.

Someone is breaking into his house when he's not there which frankly is not that often to begin with since he's so busy with all kinds of things.

But the intruder doesn't seem to be causing harm?

There's nothing damaged or stolen just some food sometimes.

Honestly the complete opposite of what you would expect from an intruder, his apartment was cleaned things were moved around the kitchen was stocked with fresh food and ready meals.

Honestly it took him this long to know something was wrong because he had originally thought it was one of his brothers coming by and helping out or something.

But no after some investigating it wasn't anyone in the family it wasn't even his friends or someone else he knew someone who would make sense as to why this was happening.

Also there appeared to be living there considering all the things appearing around his apartment making a home for themselves that were very much not his.

But the Intruder since he had no name for them was ..considerate?

Almost sweet in a creepy way if you think about it.

His apartment was cleaned he had meals ready for him to eat and a bunch of other small things that combined were making his life easier.

He would like to know who this intruder was but his surveillance and all other tech always died out when it seemed they were there, so no video proof and they always were gone before he could catch a glimpse of even their shadow.

~

Danny was having such a good time, he was honestly a bit worried about moving to Gotham for college especially since apparently his application to live in the dorms had somehow not been processed or something and they only bothered to tell him while he was already there.

Thankfully luck was on his side because only a few hours after that incident while inside a coffee shop stressing about what to do and venting to his sister on the phone a man sitting next to him who looked like he needed a mini coma of sleep and looked kinda high overheard him and offered to be roommates with him since he was also going to the same college.

So yes things were going wonderfully, he had a place to live where he didn't even have to pay rent, and Tim was such a good roommate, he barely saw him but when he did he usually was more asleep then awake.

~

Tim after a while: "Why are there so many spaced themed objects in my apartment?"

~

Tim inviting Danny to live with him

Danny 'What's Stranger Danger?' Fenton: "Bet"

~

Tim: "How do they keep getting past all my security measures?!*pulling his hair out*

Danny using the key sleepwalking Tim gave him: "Home sweet home!"

~

Tim trying his best to catch Danny in person:

Tim sleeptalking:"One day I'll catch him"

Danny who is used to Tim sleep talking and sleep walking helping him get back to bed for the umpteenth time: "You sure will boo!"

~

Danny being grateful that Tim is letting him live there without having to pay rent and gave him a credit card to pay for things: "He's so sweet guys!"

Sam & Tucker: " Dude..is he your sugar daddy?! "

Danny: *shocked Pikachu face* "But there's no sugar involved?"

~

Danny thinking that maybe they are in a relationship just taking it very slowly because Tim's shy

~

Also Danny's love language being acts of service

Tim's love language is coincidentally also acts of service

~

Tim slowly falls in love with Danny still not knowing who he is: "I think I have issues"

Danny still thinking they're in a relationship and that Tim is just super shy: "Maybe we could hold hands soon!" *sappy smile*

~

Tim:

Danny:

~

What a story it will be when someone asks them how they got together! (◠‿・)—☆

Just an Idea

[shyfoxsky]

I really think that the therian community needs more essays on former trends and general forms of conduct, because I've said it before and will continue to say it, but the way the community was structured in the mid to late 2010s when I was first awakened was fun and exciting and helped me really find the good in my identity, but also was extremely toxic, judgy, and detrimental to my overall journey.

In my first few years in the community, I was embraced into a corner of the internet that was all about animals and the ethical treatment of them and appreciating and worshipping nature as we all considered ourselves more a part of it than "others". I was also dragged by my tail into a corner of the internet that forced me to give up every single personal, little detail about my personal identity and how I felt about it and the step-by-step of how I got there just to be allowed to speak.

That community both sang the praises of wolf therians, put them on a pedestal, to the point that it felt like they were above all other 'types, while also simultaneously tearing down anyone who questioned wolves, especially certain coat colors, to the point that you had to defend a master's thesis in front of a panel of graymuzzles for anyone to allow you the label "wolf therian". From day one, you were conditioned to believe there was no fun and intimate community, no pack meets, no content for you, unless you were a gray wolf, but you had to be educated on par with the top experts in the world on both identity and the species to not be considered "another kid that likes wolves". If you were anything else, you were an outcast in a world of outcasts. You were just "trying to be unique". You never got edits, outfits, etc. without asking creator accounts for them yourself. The community's terminology was structured around wolves. Howls, packs, etc. You either had to accept that you were going to be outnumbered in any close-knit small group you joined, if you were even allowed and it wasn't "wolves only", or, you could make a group designed around 'types similar to yours, which would never be found by others like you, and would quickly only become a failed idea.

That community is what led to my complicated and painful feelings towards wolves. For the rest of my life, no matter what happens, I will always have doubt in my identity because of it all. I will either be a wolf who believes I'm one because of the community's influence, or I won't and will believe I'm not because I want to escape the stereotypes that come with being a wolf.

That community also was riddled with rigid, unspoken rules about what was and wasn't an acceptable therian identity. I never heard of systems during that time, never saw anyone identify solely psychologically, and no one identified only because they felt like that creature. Back then, you were a standard therian with a single 'type, maybe a second if you'd been researching and journaling every single day without fail for more than a year with statistics to back it up. You had a reason for your identity, but it couldn't just be that you imprinted on your pets as a child (that's not enough), or that it developed from trauma or autism (therianthropy isn't a mental illness), or that you simply feel that way (you're just a wolfaboo). You had to be a misplaced soul, someone with past lives, on rare occasions, you could be a permanent walk-in spirit (but definitely not in a plural way). Don't even get me started on the idea of polymorphs, conceptkin, etc.

I personally feel like a standard therian, but to this day, I still question the origin of my identity. So much of my identity as a red wolf hinged on it being endangered and from my area, because then I could be a misplaced soul due to there not being enough bodies for red wolves to be born into. When I first awakened, I thought my identity came from a past life, even though I personally don't believe I can ever find out what those were, if I even have any. Later on, when I realized being raised with dogs and always seeing and being compared to canines likely had something to do with it, and I considered it to have come from imprinting, I still felt as if I was required to find some spiritual side to it as well. I still struggle with this, to the point that I barely know what I believe in afterlife-wise anymore, and I certainly don't understand what led to my identity, if something even led to it at all.

Those kinds of things needs to be discussed more, because to an extent, I feel like it's still present, both in the same and different ways. The newly-awakened alterhumans of today, yesterday, and tomorrow, all deserve to have a truly accepting space to figure themselves out without pressure to conform to an unspoken standard of how one should identify. Tumblr is better about it than most sites, but ones like TikTok might set things back, if they haven't already, despite the attempts of well-meaning individuals who are trying to break through the algorithm and educate others. I just think more discussions need to be had and more perspectives and experiences need to be shared for the sake of awareness and making sure damaging practices don't continue forever.

[girlfromthecrypt]

I haven't posted to this account very much (or at all, really), so I figured I'd update you guys on the state of Such Happy Campers and Press Play. I don’t want to talk about the incident that led to me putting SHC on ice because it still rather upsets me, but honestly, I think it was a good decision. I was grieving the “loss” of SHC for a while, but I can't help but believe I made the right call. Continuing on under the circumstances would have drained me and likely taken me right down the road to writer's block.

Furthermore, and in hindsight, I find writing Press Play a lot more fulfilling right now. All my life, I've only ever written horror, so Press Play has been a wonderful breath of fresh air. It feels cathartic writing about struggles I myself have experienced, and it’s so easy to write about music. I love music so much, and I didn't realize how fun it could be to combine this with my passion for writing. You might have been able to tell from the sheer difference in word count between Press Play and SHC, but it's been so much easier working on this somehow. Also, I do believe SHC wasn't all it could have been. I only want to put out my best work, and I don't think SHC was quite on par with Press Play.

But what about SHC, you may wonder. Or you may not, but I'll address it anyhow. I have recently had an idea for what I might turn the original SHC into. It's only a vague outline right now and I won't turn it into anything more until I'm done with Press Play (I have learned that I can't really write several IFs at once, I'm not C.C. Hill), but I figured I'd let you know that the SHC characters aren't gone forever. My idea would involve the entire SHC cast, though some names/appearances/personalities may undergo changes. Also, I might exclude Anita because she was, admittedly, my least favorite to write and might not fit in with the new setting. Other than that, the IF would explore an interesting alternative to the SHC narrative— for example, the character equivalent to Basil Laurier would actually be a practicing lawyer in this one. Another prominent change would be the inclusion of Sawyer Wright-Garcia as a full RO. They’re the only one I actually have a clear mental image for as to where their story would go, and it is… nuts.

Without spoiling too much, the plot and setting would be very different. It'd be horror, except it'd start out very unassuming, light-hearted and sitcom-y, only to then spiral. I feel like I'd enjoy causing that kind of whiplash. Anyhow, that's that. I hope that if you liked and perhaps miss SHC, this post helped at least a little bit.

[the-curious-butterfly]

Merry UnBirthday to You.

My Dearest Daughter,

I am sending you this letter for it has been too long since I saw you last. Yes, I know you'll groan out how it's only been two months, but time moves rather quickly for an old Queen. Literally, I had to run just to keep up with him, perhaps I should stop going to his castle and have him come to mine if it's really so important. He has been going on and on about something rather odd concerning cupcakes and paradoxes lately, but I digress. The matters of Time are not for the concerns of youth.

What is of concern however is your birthday coming up next week. Oh, I've just been so excited I already had the frog and fish butlers start planning it despite not knowing if you'll even be able to attend. I do hope you can and will, you can even bring that little friend with you, the one you fancy so much. Chloe Charming. You know, Ella really knew what she was doing when she raised that girl, lives up to her name in every way. Unlike Charming himself, no matter what Ella claims he was all face, personality speaking he was a mess. I was definitely the better choice.

Ahem, I probably shouldn't have said that. Wait, oh quill, please don't write that either. Drat, I really should get into the habit of writing my own letters instead of dictating them out to stationary. You know how feathers are, no mind for things that really should be omitted. As straightforward and as honest as an ostrich. Please do not show this letter to Chloe, I would hate for her to know what I think of her father. He really was good to Ella.

Anyway, I'd love to hear back from you soon, with confirmation that you and the young Charming will indeed be capable of attending. Oh, it's going to be so much fun, and don't worry. I'll have something special planned for the two of you. You can always count on your mum.

With warm regards,

Bridget of Hearts

The proudest mum in the world to have you as a daught-

Wait, no no no you don't have to write that last par

Long after they finished reading it Red and Chloe, whose head was on her shoulder, could only stare at the letter in Red's hands. It was certainly a letter to say the least. Though what had both of them glued to its contents were vastly different things. For Chloe, it was the confirmation of seeing that Bridget did indeed once have a crush on her mother (perhaps still did) and harbored a mini grudge on her father for being the one she chose instead. Couldn't blame the Queen of Hearts for that though, her mother was a catch and deserved only the best. Even if her younger self was a little difficult to be around sometimes.

For Red it was learning the fact that she has a birthday now. Something she never had before since her mother from her original timeline outlawed them long before she was born. Though the letter didn't specify the day apparently it's in October, and also she's getting a party.

A party just to celebrate her existence. Something other children in other places got but she could only ever dream to have.

...

"Wow, I didn't know your birthday was so soon."

"I didn't either." There wasn't really much else to say but the truth, though if Chloe understood the nuance she didn't bring attention to it. "Should we ask Principal Uma for permission to leave?"

Red nods then shakes her head, finally folding up the letter but still holding onto it. "I don't know."

Which is fair so Chloe gives an understanding hum in response. "We'll have to find some way to figure out what day it is first, so you can think about it in the meantime. Just so that you know it's whatever you decide, Red, no one is going to make you."

Red wants to say she knows but "She's already planning it, Chloe, how am I supposed to say no."

"Of course she is, she's excited and she's missing you. But, I also know that the Bridget I remember would never hold it against you if you decided you couldn't show. She loves you too much."

Red wants that sentiment to mean something she really does, but the Bridget she remembers also managed to turn into the one they left behind.

"I'll give it some thought."

"Great, oh and Red."

"Yes, Chloe?"

Chloe takes one of Red's hands and brings to back of it up to her lips. "Happy Birthday, my princess."

This did indeed manage to bring a hint of a smile back to Red's face, just as Chloe had hoped for.

"In Wonderland it's Happy UnBirthday if it's not the right day. I really do have to find out what the right day is, so that you can do this again on the correct one."

"I'll do it every day for the rest of our lives if that's what it takes."

Clocks, that was so cheesy how was Red not supposed to shove her away.

[kittysarchive]

Baby Daddy trope, Enhypen

*this is just my understanding of baby daddies :(

warnings- baby daddy/ no relationship, single parent? talks of abandonment

Heeseung

One night stand

Cuming inside you shouldn't have lead to this.... Having a one night stand is bad enough...and getting pregnant from it is worse. You didn't have his phone number, his address, where he worked. Having taken him to your house, all you got from him was your name. Back tracing him, begging the bar for some camera footage and client in formation...finally you find him. Being already a month pregnant and finally tracking him down, you did not get a good reaction from him.

"Your fucking with me right?" Heeseung glared at you from over the counter. You had found his work and while on shift told him the news.

"I'm serious, why did you have to cum inside me!" You raised your voice, not caring f the customers heard. Cheeks blushing, Heeseung turned his face away, he didn't have enough money to raise a child at his age....how could this happen?

Jay

Boss

You were ashamed when you saw the pregnancy test. So much that you even quite the job, hoarding enough money to move house. Even just 10 minutes further from your old job, you never though you could show up there. Reason, sleeping with your boss who had a large age gap.... just to get a raise...and getting pregnant, you couldn't handle the incoming embarrassment. Having his number already, you called him over to your new house.

"What's this?" Jay gaslighted himself. He had a wife and three kids.....and he got you pregnant.

"You know what it is" You said annoyed. Being days pregnant, you felt the mood swings already. Hand covering his mouth, he didn't know how to react. All he knew was he wasn't going to let you suffer, he had enough money to help raise the child, in secret of course.

Jake

Brothers best friend

You were fucked. You had no other way then to say it like that. You couldn't tell you family and defiantly not your brother...whose father was his best friend. With only a three year age gap, it was bad enough with the relationship he had with your father, and you being fresh out of school... Contacting him was easy enough, actually telling him was the hard part. Meeting at a park....that's where you told him to meet.

"So what's so important?" Jake jogged over to you. Sighing, you had been hiding your pregnancy for a week and you had to tell him now.

"You know...how multiple flings?" You confessed, having exactly three flings beofrehand.....tahts all it took to get pregnant. Jake nodded his head, slowly getting anxious.

"Well....I'm pregnant" Jakes eyes widened. The last hookup being a daze, he always wore a condom....he never even though of cuming in side. But...last time you were both drunk.

Sunghoon

Collage

He was cute, you asked him out, he fucked you nice and now your pregnant. A month to be exact. Your roommate was aware, well are in fact but your hookup, Sunghoon wasn't. With your roommate begging you to tell him, he in fact could be of help. What if his parents were rich! Or he actually wanted to be in a relationship with you..... waiting outside of his lecture, you pulled him to the side when he came out.

"What would you do if I was pregnant?" You asked, no smile on your face. Sunghoon gulped, what type of prank was this.....what was your name again?

"Did I hookup with you?" Sunghoon didn't even know who you were. But you voice did sound familiar. You nod your head. Mind pacing back to the original question...why did you ask that?

"Are you...." He begins.

"Yeah" You smile as if this was some kind of sick joke.

Sunoo

underclass man

You took you only live once seriously. Hooking up with the cute and seemingly innocent boy who was a grade below was a thrill for you and him. Not going all night.... but you still made a mess with him. And of course, no protection, dumb highschoolers led to pregnancy. Being a senior....it was acceptable? But for hooking with a younger grade and getting pregnant and your parents not even approving of it, yeah you were ashamed. Finding him in the school halls, you pushed Sunoo into the girls bathroom.

"W-What" His eyes widen, he didn't want to be pushed let alone in the girls bathroom. Looking gup and seeing you made him nervous for some reason.

"You got me pregnant" You say blankly. Sunoo stumbles, finding the right words.

"H-hang what!" His face reddens, he still has another full year at school, his family could kick him out...he would loose all of his friends. Nodding your head as if you agreed with his inner thoughts, Sunoo couldn't stop the tears from coming out.

Jungwon

Same friend group

Having the same friends, in the same friend group, having many things in common led one thig to another. It was an accident! You never though of Jungwon in any romantic way or setting yet one night...you were all over each other. Unable to stop the passion, you became pregnant from the event/fling. Now here, staring at the pregenacy result, you felt weird. He was your friend! Not best friend but you knew a some decent facts about him and some, very honest truth and now he was a baby daddy...

"Heyy" You smile at the camera as he picked up the video call, smiling back he greeted you.

"Do you ever want to be dad?" You asked, turning serious, he laughs.

"No" Smile fading, there goes your helper for this child...lets hope he doesn't abandon you.

"To bad, I'm pregnant" You laugh, seeing Jungwon's smile fade as you tell hi the news, on a video call.

[yanderes-galore]

Fandom: Souls-Like Game

Character: Scrapped Watchman “Murphy” (Lies of P)

Pairing: Platonic

Type of Fic: Scenario

Plot Idea (or go off the rails if the idea isn't up to par ^^""): Human! Survivor! Darling was a teacher before the puppets of Krat went rogue and was a parental figure to many children before they were infected by the plague or murdered by rogue puppets. Darling was able to save one child and is fighting tooth and nail to not only escape but protect this one child.

Thank you for hearing me out. :)

I'm still incredibly new to Lies of P. However, Scrapped Watchman is like the third boss... so I don't need to know all the lore to write yet. I will continue watching cutscenes and lore videos though :) It looks so cool and the STORY is fantastic too!

Btw, if I got the whistle thing wrong my bad. The lore made it sound like kids used the whistle to summon him so that's what I was basing it on-

Cold Dark Streets

Yandere! Platonic! Scrapped Watchman "Murphy" Story

Pairing: Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Stalking, Murder, Blood, Dark themes, Overprotective behavior, Kidnapping, Forced companionship.

You remember the days where things felt... simple. Before the city of Krat began to rot, before people died of plague or were torn by puppets in a frenzy... you were a teacher. A teacher who would teach the poor kids in the slums useful skills to survive.

You loved all the children who came to you for lessons. They were attached to you, you felt like a parent to them. Naturally... since they trusted you enough... you often heard childish rumors.

Such as nearly every kid in Krat obsessing over the mascot known affectionately as "Murphy".

You knew of such a puppet, the one condemned for being a hazard to kids due to its battery continuously discharging. There wasn't much you could do to stop the kids from seeing the mascot puppet. You simply told them to be careful... but were unfortunately not surprised when you hard of injuries involving the puppet....

Murphy... you forgot such a name ever since the city went downhill. All you ever focused on was surviving, avoiding malfunctioning puppets and preventing sickness the best you could. These streets... you remember them as being so lively...

Now they were just about as dead as many of the residents here.

When things began, many abandoned the children in the slums to fend for themselves. Many children had died as a result, the bloodbath staining the streets with many others. It was a cruel reminder that with one wrong move... you were as good as dead.

You were just happy to save one child.

The child you found was originally wounded on the street, a young boy, cowering before a malfunctioning puppet. You were quick to take a metal pipe from the ground and bash the head of the puppet in enough to take the boy with you. That was...

Do you even remember how long ago that was?

Ever since then you have become a surrogate parent for the young boy. Said boy only had the clothes on his back similar to you, far as you knew at least. You were quite protective of the boy when you took him in, said boy being around nine years old.

Protecting him made you remember your days as a teacher. The mere thought of him being attacked makes your grip around the metal pipe tighten. You may not have been able to save the rest...

But you'll save this one.

You are often on the move within Krat. It was a struggle to find sustainable food and survive frenzied puppets. So you often found yourself sneaking around areas.

City Hall was one such area. You had to cut through the area to look for supplies. Oddly enough... the boy by your side seemed oddly eager to be around here.

"We'll be safe here!" He chirps at you, causing you to look at him in confusion. Your hand was still tight around his smaller one as you quickly glance around.

"What makes you say that, my heart...?" You whisper, an uneasy feeling stirring in your gut.

"Murphy's here! He'd never hurt us!" He chimes, causing you to pause for a moment.

Murphy... you haven't heard such a name in forever. You vaguely recall the mascot the kids were so fixated on. Was... This kid also fond of the puppet?

That wasn't hard to believe....

You had no idea Murphy would even still be around. In fact, you were worried he would be. Murphy would never hurt children... but you...?

That... was another case entirely.

"... Were you close to Murphy?" You ask the boy beside you before he perks up, looking at you excitedly.

"Yeah! Me and my friends would blow whistles with Murphy all the time! It was so fun!" The young child rambles before going quiet, pulling a small item from his pocket. "We'd blow whistles... like this!"

You notice the young boy pull out and old police whistle. However, before you can stop him, he then put it to his mouth... blowing the small tool as it makes a shrill sound. You flinch a little at the sound, looking around.

You really should've stopped him... but the surrounding area was so quiet...

"Careful...!" You warn, looking around, "We can't alert any puppets... we need to go-"

Before you can make any attempt to leave, a whirring screech occurs along with the clicking of gears. You immediately look up, a large puppet sparking and crawling about the City Hall building. You don't waste time, grabbing the boy and running.

"Murphy...!" The boy cries, making your heart clench at his excitement. He didn't know how much danger you were really in... too young to understand.

You jump as suddenly the large bodied puppet smashes onto the ground as you run. The puppet looks like a hunchback police officer, peering red eyes scanning the area only to find you. A screech, one akin to a war cry, echoes as you try to flee from it.

The puppet is frenzied, running on all fours like a wild animal as it chases you. You try for the large door your entered through, yet the puppet quickly cuts you off. Warbled speech pierces through the air as the puppet stalks closer to you like a predator.

You then remember the whistle.

You quickly ask the boy for the whistle, the young kid giving you it quickly. He was beginning to feel scared at Murphy's frenzied state due to your panic. You waste no time blowing the whistle, the sound echoing through the area again.

The puppet... Murphy... pauses its hunt. The puppet closes his mouth, red eyes scanning you both over. Clicking gears go off as he tilts his head, sparking electricity occasionally spitting as it watches you.

The tension between you and the puppet is thick as the puppet studies you. He looks you over, noticing the child and the whistle. You hear Murphy's gears click and eyes blink as it takes in the information.

You jump when Murphy relents, crawling closer to greet you both with more warbled speech.

Your grip on the metal pipe is beyond tight now... yet you know a pipe won't do anything to Murphy. The whistle was certainly the best tool in this situation. In fact... Murphy now saw you as friend rather than foe.

While all other humans remain enemies to him.

"M-Murphy!" The young boy soon manages to say again once the puppet stops, Murphy's gaze quickly snapping back to him.

You watch hesitantly as the puppet appears to be friendly towards you and the young child you swore to protect. Perhaps he was right... with this whistle, Murphy saw you as friends. In fact...

Murphy himself was pleased to have friends again.

The old puppet originally had many friends. Many young children came to play with him near City Hall. Ever since the puppet frenzies began... Murphy was forced to watch his friends die.

But now, now that he's heard that whistle, Murphy was met with more friends. He was met with an old friend and you. Murphy couldn't help but listen as his old friend introduces you.

You had helped his friend...

Which meant you were also his friend.

The City Hall courtyard became a temporary spot for respite. While you were used to most puppets being hostile, Murphy just seemed affectionate if you were careful of his electrical arcs.

The puppet was quite aware of how dangerous he was with you.

You began to see Murphy as, well, a companion... but you couldn't stay forever. Staying in one place for too long could become problematic. Plus, you needed to find supplies to care for you and your... son.

Eventually you had to make it known to Murphy that you had to go...

But Murphy doesn't want his new friends to go.

When you try to make it known you need to provide for the child you took in, that you need to leave, Murphy screeches. The sound is once again that of a feral animal. You go to blow the whistle again, only for Murphy to ignore it.

He just found new friends...

You weren't going to leave him alone again, were you?

Before you know it, the puppet snatches you into his arms in a lightning fast grasp. You struggle in his hold, the boy tightly pressed to your body in a tight hold. Murphy ignores your scolding and the child's cries.

He was careful to not harm you with his battery as he begins to crawl the building of City Hall again. He doesn't understand why you'd want to leave. Did you really want to abandon him...?

Your reasoning does not matter to him... unlike other puppets, he can feel emotions.

His emotions tell him he doesn't wish to be alone again...

So he'll never be alone again... not if he keeps you both hidden away from everyone.

[my-plastic-life]

Behind the Scenes: Making Melody

Ah, Melody. The daughter of Ariel and Eric. Ariel, the only princess to have a child (Descendants doesn't count). Since the sequel to The Little Mermaid launched in 2000, I've wanted a Melody doll. To this day I can't believe the Disney Store hasn't made one.

Technically, one was released back in the day. I remember going to Toys R Us to get it, and upon seeing it, put it back on the shelf. Why? Because it looked nothing like my favorite princess's daughter.

A bit scary, right? Her eyes, for one, are brown and they should be blue or at least greenish-blue. And her face overall just gives me an uneasy vibe. I can't explain it, but she just doesn't look right. Even back then I couldn't fork over the money for her. Now, try to find her on eBay, and I swear she's ranged in price from $400-$800. Definitely out of my price range for a sub-par doll. Yes, I'd like to have the clothes, but no way am I forking over that kind of cash for clothes that I'm sure I can have someone make. And while I've come a long way with customizing and could easy change her eye color, it doesn't change the fact that she looks... off.

And thus began my journey of creating my own Melody doll. Again, Disney Store should really make one. A lot of us fans and collectors want one, and we know they have the ability to make smaller dolls because we've gotten Alice, Wendy, and Tinker Bell. Come on Disney Store...

But when a company fails to provide a doll you desire, you do the logical thing - you make your own!

The first step was determining the best candidate to transform into Melody. Obviously I wanted her to have one of the aforementioned Disney Store bodies designed for smaller characters. It would match the Ariel dolls I have, and I'd been eyeing an outfit made for that exact body (Melody's primary outfit, her bloomers).

So the body was simple. Next was the face. Obviously either of the three heads that came with the body would have sufficed. Skin tones were a good match to the Ariel dolls I have, so another easy step. The face, though... Melody is often portrayed as having a very large, toothy grin. I've seen people create Melody dolls using Ariel's face, and while that does make total sense, I felt her smile was a bit too "small" for this girl.

If I wanted to keep the original head with the body, Tinkerbell was out because of her pointed ears. That's one thing I can't fix LOL. Sculpting and drawing are definitely out of my area of expertise.

That left Alice and Wendy:

Great candidates, but their smiles definitely aren't right. Melody rarely had a closed mouth smile, if ever, and while I've seen some people customize these dolls into Melody and other characters and add painted teeth, the original issue still exists - the smile isn't big enough.

And yes, Tinkerbell, of course, has the open mouth smile - but the ears!!! Why?!

Another issue with using a Disney Store doll is the head itself. Disney Store doll heads are significantly harder than Mattel and Azone dolls, meaning it takes extra strength/work to reroot them. I could try dyeing the doll hair or using fabric markers on it, but A) that could possibly stain the doll, and B) I've tried fabric markers before and it makes the hair feel like straw.

I was convinced I'd inevitably have to use Wendy or Alice and have someone else reroot her for me, but then I thought of something else. Mattel has reacquired the rights to make Disney Princess dolls. That, of course, includes Ariel. I've made hybrid dolls before (my Inuyasha dolls combine two or three different dolls into one amazing creation), and I remember seeing the princess dolls when Mattel brought them back - particularly Ariel, who had a large toothy smile.

Plus, because she's Mattel, I know how the mechanics work with swapping heads and that the head is a lot softer and easier to work with in terms of rerooting. So I ordered her, but I wasn't yet sure if she'd work. Would her skin tone match either of the Disney Store bodies? What about the head size - would it be too big or small compared to the Disney Store Ariel? And of course, Mattel = pixelated faces... though I'd be repainting the lips anyway for sure because Melody's lips are a more natural pink shade rather than the bright red Ariel has.

Well, luck was on my side - the Ariel head not only matched the skin tone of the smaller bodies (which were also very close to the Disney Store Ariel), it was actually smaller than the original Wendy and Alice heads! I don't know what's up with that, but what a happy accident!

However, there was still another step. I've put Disney Store heads on Barbie bodies before, but not vice versa. And these are smaller bodies. How would it work? The verdict was a bobble head, but some rubber bands around the neck peg took care of that. I think it completely works!

The next step was the rerooting process. I don't know why it's so satisfying to pull all those little plugs out of a doll head, and then poke new hair right into it. :D Of course, before the poking, I had to use acetone to remove the factory paint on the scalp, then paint back over it with black and seal it. This time I was determined not to use too much hair, as in making it too long. When I rerooted my Azone Kagome, I didn't trim the hair until it was completely rooted, and not only did it make a huge mess, it was very wasteful because of how much I had to trim off to get it to the right length. Melody's hair isn't that long (it seems to hit just past her butt I think), so I felt fine cutting each piece I plugged in half. In the end, that proved to be a good decision because I only had to trim a very small amount to even it out and get the look I wanted. Yay!

Once that was done, I gave her a boil wash, allowed the hair to dry overnight, and then added the special glue inside from The Doll Planet Hair (I also got the hair from them). After that dried overnight, it was time to start on the face. I decided to start at the top and work my way down to lower my chances of messing up something that was finished. So I did the eyebrows first. Melody has significantly thicker eyebrows than Ariel, and of course they're black rather than red. Surprisingly enough, I was able to get them thicker and still even... this coming from the person who spent two hours on eyebrows on a different doll. >.<

Next was the eyes. At first I wasn't sure if I should leave them or not, but in the end I decided they needed to be changed. They were way too blue, and they're really supposed to match Ariel's and Eric's. She is their child, after all. Plus, thanks to Mattel, they were also pixelated. BOOOOO!

Many of the scenes in the movie show Melody as having green eyes, so I started there. But then I thought, I better make sure they match Ariel. So I got an Ariel doll out and used her as a guide. Let me tell you, matching that color was insanely difficult. Too green, too bright, too blue, too dark, etc... Then I kept going back and forth because, again, she seems to have green eyes. But then again, they should match Ariel's eyes. Remember, being a perfectionist can be super exhausting.

I finally had what I thought was a good color, so I used that to help shape the eyes. I kept the original white part of the eye and just painted over what was already there, trying to match the Disney Store style (large portion in the darker color, small ring in the lighter color, and then the pupil). But then, after holding it next to Ariel, I was still dissatisfied with the color (way too bright). I kept looking at Ariel, and then I even saw some other custom dolls with blue eyes and some shots of Melody do depict the eyes as being more blue than green (Ariel, too):

So, after literally a week of just trying to get the best color, I finally got it!!! Victory dance!

Last was the lips. Should be simple, right? I like the color of my Barbie self's lips. They're a natural shade of pink, and I have the combo of paints I used to pull that off saved, so I could just replicate that, right? WRONG! I didn't factor in the original factory paint, which serves as a base coat and affects what goes on top of it, plus this doll has a warmer skin tone than Mini Me, so the color turned out to be super bright and very unnatural-looking. So I did a ton of mixing and modifying the paint recipe until finally I was satisfied with the shade. I had to go over the teeth a couple of times too because A) pixels and B) I went over the white a bit with the lipstick.

Once her face was done, I could start styling her hair. Melody just has a simple ponytail with large bangs like her mom. The hardest part was definitely those bangs. They're not straight or flat bangs, but they have kind of a "poof" to them.

The part was a little off - it should have been more to the side and less to the center. However, I was following the original factory root line, so I didn't really pay attention to where it was. That was my fault lol. I took a few strands of hair and held them out of the way as I tied the rest into a ponytail. To give the bangs their ideal effect, I tied that hair back separately with a hair tie I'd bought that resembles Melody's green one. Then I started pulling them out little by little, hoping to achieve the desired look. This was the first result:

Not bad, but I thought I could make it a little better. I noticed some small bald spots around that area in the scalp (oops), so I added some more hair to those areas to make the bangs a little fuller. I re-tied the bang strands (didn't boil wash the second set of hair because I didn't want to risk messing up the paint and I wanted them to stand up somewhat anyway), manipulated the positioning a bit, and came up with this:

I think that's a little better and gives the desired effect. I may still try to manipulate it some more, but I did put some of my special doll hair spray on it to hold it in place. The ponytail bottom just needed a small curl, and while I tried my curling iron on it, I found it to be better to just curl it by hand and spray it.

The final part was the outfit. I got the outfit from malanedoll on Etsy (she makes gorgeous Disney outfits!) The outfit also came with Melody's symbolic seashell locket.

I know what you're thinking - where the heck is her tail? Well, I can't sew that well (I can make little pillows, relatively decent curtains, and maybe some garden flags, but outfits? Nope lol), and I haven't been able to find a tail that would work with this body in the right color. By next year I might have her tail, but for now, she'll stay in her signature bloomer outfit. That is what she's wearing most of the time, and she did ultimately decide to stay a human in the end. :D

And with that, Melody was complete! Probably not 100% perfect, like most of my creations, but satisfying enough for me! Of course, if Disney Store makes an official Melody doll, I'll buy her - and totally do a comparison LOL. And I do intend to eventually get her that iconic red tail!

Thanks for reading my journey on creating Ariel's daughter! To this day, she's still the only Disney princess to ever become a parent lol.

[jamiethebeeart]

Danny Phantom AU for the League (explanation under the cut)

There's a common (?) idea in the phandom that Sam dyes her hair black (or that her mom bleach her hair from black) and asdfghj that fits so well for Dabi. I can also see him being edgy and wearing eyeliner (he would tightline and you can't convince me otherwise) and eyeshadow to piss off Endeavor. (You can hardly see it, but I promise he has purple eyeshadow under his eyes.) I've been thinking about it and I'm not sure how Natsuo, Fuyumi, and Shoto would fit into this AU. Cousins? Maybe just siblings, and ignore Sam's only child-ness.

LINK (X) ok so I have drawn this before and I stand by Hana as Jazz and Tenko/Tomura as Fenton/Phantom. :)))) Danny's hair in the og art style makes no damn sense. Many an artist has bemoaned it (me included), so I decided to make Shigaraki's also confounding. (it's like??? a mullet???? but the mullet has layers????) Danny having Lichtenberg figure scars has recently had a resurgence in phandom and it's the perfect excuse to keep the scars around Shigaraki's mouth/eyes. (To symbolize the "scary eyes" and ghost sense.) Shigaraki gets to keep Danny's whole "getting new powers every time he needs to" shtick: one - because it's funny and two - it ties into the whole AFO quirk plotline. SPEAKING OF. AFO gets to take Vlad's place :)))) except!!! I think it'd work better if AFO was a "friend" of Tenko's grandmother and that's how he's weaseled his way into the family. No Vlad wanting Maddie and killing Jack subplot. Just AFO up to his usual shenanigans. I'm on the fence about whether or not Dabi would secretly be a kickass gamer (Sam was, but only kept it a secret because of 2000s misogyny about girls playing games.... idk how that'd transfer to Dabi other than Dabi trying to maintain a "too cool for that" image....)

(Hana as Jazz. Jazz loves her brother and tries to support him but is also overbearing and ignores what he says in favor of what she wants. I feel like an older Hana would fit into that well.... not that we know much about Hana, but from what can be gathered I think it'd fit. And Danny wanted a dog! Eventually has Cujo tagging along! Also a very good mirror for Mon and Tenko.)

Tucker! Spinner! my loves!!!! I wasn't sure originally if I wanted Spinner to be a ghost or a human, but as we can see I plopped him in Tucker's role. Because it fits so well. (I still vividly remember the post about "who loves Danny more? Valerie or Sam. the answer: neither, it's Tucker. Savant Par and Spinaraki mimicing the much larger fanbase for Amethyst Ocean and Shigadabi) Also, Spinner getting to connect with Tenko over games (DOOMED) and technology. I imagine that Spinner wears a bandana to cover up his roots showing. I see Tucker as taking special care of his appearance, but I don't see where Spinner's like that, so he gets a lazier option :) Oooooh should I give Spinner glasses? ooooh I bet he'd have glasses, but never want to wear them because they'd make him look nerdy. Anyway, just like Tucker and Danny, Spinner would face his fears to help and support Shigaraki :))))) (crying over his devotion)

Other Characters:

Dash, Paulina, Kwan, and Star? Maybe Uraraka and Toga as Johnny 13 and Kitty? hehehee could be cute. the fights and getting back together and Toga having to blow off steam in the human world? Kwan befriends Sam and Tucker, so maybe Twice would fit into Kwan's role? OH!!! And then have Hawks be Dash. (I don't think anyone has ever shipped Sam and Dash but that's why this is an AU.)

Deku can be Poindexter.... cause bullying (asdfghj yea it sidelines Deku a bit and sticks him in a very minor role and is an easy choice, but!! some fics make Poindexter and Danny kind of friends!! I think that'd be a nice mirror to what Shigaraki and Deku could've been - along with the initial misunderstandings that Poindexter has about Danny mirroring the way that Deku had to learn more about Shigaraki.

Ember? Maybe as Compress.... he has the theatrics DOWN lmao. And Magne as part of the band perhaps? That'd be cute.

(I don't feel like I know enough about Mustard to put him in any specific role.....)

OOOH Bakugou as Dora! The Dragon Amulet transformation mirroring Bakugou's angry outbursts!

[melverie]

⸺ LESSON 11 ⸺

Solomon

Lucifer

two bitter exes

demons & angels (& humans)

strange feelings & soup

records of a banshee

fragments of the past

misc

- lesson 10 || lesson 12 || all posts so far -

Since season 3 releases starting July 2, I hope I can finish the recap by then ;-; I actually have a few more thoughts on the 'two bitter exes' & 'records of a banshee' categories, but I'll put them in their own posts. It also has to do with 10-A btw :) General spoiler warning for all of Obey Me Nightbringer, as well as for the original Obey Me taglist: @lonely-north-star

⸺ SOLOMON ⸺

treat for the Solobesties <3 [11-1; pic below]

Solomon says he hasn't been to the reaper's cave in a long time [11-4], but we went there in OG season 2?? Was that really that long ago??

Solomon apologizing to MC for putting them in this situation [11-8; pic below]

we learn that the rule at the Fountain of Knowledge is that no promises can be made there and Solomon claims he forgot about it [11-8]

Solomon reminds us that we can't return home even if we wanted to [11-12]. Thanks Solomon ._.

Thirteen gives MC the brothers' grimoire and adds that, since grimoires are born at the Fountain of Knowledge, that's probably why Solomon wanted to come here in the first place [11-16]

⸺ LUCIFER ⸺

apparently Diavolo and Barbatos wanted to come with Lucifer, but Lucifer somehow managed to talk them out of it. He also told Belphegor to stay with Beelzebub [11-14]

if MC tells him that he isn't actually angry, Lucifer doesn't answer and instead just looks annoyed [11-14]

he has moments where he seemingly calms down for a second only to immediately go back to trying to recreate the OG's lesson 16 incident [11-14]

⸺ TWO BITTER EXES ⸺

(hi the category title is a joke. That being said, re-read lesson 11-14 and you'll know what I mean)

Solomon calls Lucifer out on essentially needing Diavolo's permission to do anything because he swore complete loyalty to him for all eternity [11-14; pic below]--which is SO funny to me btw?? Like, Solomon is really out here acting like Lucifer wasn't actively committing treason the first time they properly met back when the exchange program first started -> that being said, he does seem to put a lot of emphasis on Lucifer having sworn his loyalty to Diavolo... -> also why is Solomon provoking Lucifer further btw, the situation does NOT call for that

Solomon mentions that Lucifer already sees him as an enemy which then caues Lucifer to fall silent and change the subject [11-14]

Lucifer casts a spell on Solomon and MC to immobilize them. I have a few problems with this because

1. I might have misremembered, but wasn't it (offhandedly) mentioned in NB season 2 that Lucifer was still learning demon magic? OG Solomon should definitely be able to easily break free of the spell then 2. Solomon easily overpowered pissed off Diavolo once 3. Solomon thought a war against the entire Devildom by himself 4. even if Solomon isn't necessarily stronger than Lucifer, the OG has stated multiple times that they are on par with each other

You can argue that Lucifer's magic was enhanced because he was so pissed and overprotective of his brothers in that moment, but Solomon is also super protective of MC. He should have absolutely been able to overpower Lucifer here -> also, Solomon later does break free from the spell, however he was only able to do so because Lucifer lost his composure after seeing the grimoire [11-16]. I call shenanigans, but that's for another post... (-> also just wanted to say that I love overprotective Luci. That was such a good moment ❤️ [11-14; pic below])

when MC decides to hand the grimoire over to Lucifer, Solomon seems saddened by their choice, and Lucifer questions if they truly know what they are doing [11-14]

⸺ DEMONS & ANGELS (& HUMANS) ⸺

Solomon asks MC to side with humanity [11-8] -> he wants the other realms to see humans as equals -> he does kind of make it sound like he won't be able to side with humanity himself for whatever reason [11-8; pic below]

⸺ STRANGE FEELINGS & SOUP ⸺

Leviathan calls Thirteen the 'mean and scary type'. Asmodeus rightfully points out that Leviathan should have no idea what kind of person she is [11-12]

both Leviathan and Asmodeus seem kind of bothered by how much Thirteen loves MC [11-16]

⸺ RECORDS OF A BANSHEE ⸺

once again, the only two brothers that originally went to free Beelzebub also happen to be the only two that now attack MC for being human. Who knows what would have happened had Solomon and the rest of the brothers not shown up when they did

while discussing the lesson @misc-obeyme (hi CC!! Thanks for letting me post this <3) pointed out that the entire situation with Beelzebub was probably orchestrated by Nightbringer to force MC into revealing the truth [discord server lol; pic below]

⸺ FRAGMENTS OF THE PAST ⸺

Solomon's past!

1. he and Thirteen met back when he was a kid [11-8] -> he was looking at her through a lattice window from the basement and shrieked when they made eye contact [11-10] 2. Thirteen says that back when they first met Solomon's soul was captivating [11-10] 3. Barbatos brought Solomon to the Fountain of Knowledge when he was on the verge of death and nursed him back to health. Once his wounds were healed, Solomon left. Thirteen doesn't know where to [11-10] 4. Barbatos gave Solomon the title as "the Witty Sorcerer" and told him that he now has to look after the Fountain of Knowledge [11-10] -> ever since then, Solomon's soul has changed 5. Thirteen says that Barbatos let him experience whatever he wanted which is why he lost his innocence and why nothing scares him anymore [11-10]

⸺ MISC ⸺

Thirteen lore Thirteen lore Thirteen lore Thirteen lo--

1. she lives in the 'Otherworld'. [11-4] Solomon says it's called that because Thirteen enjoys her freedom 2. she already has the RAD uniform because Diavolo gave it to her in hopes of her attending the school. After modifying it a little, she now wears it because she likes it [11-6] 2. each level in the reaper's cave has a different rule that must be followed, otherwise One Must Pay the Price™ [11-6] -> the rule at the Fountain of Knowledge is that no promises can be made there [11-8]. MC later promises the brothers to help them and Must Therefore Pay The Price™ [11-16] 3. she has an older sister called Candy ( @too-much-gacha is that you? XD). Solomon says he hasn't seen her ever since she fell victim to one of the traps decades ago, Thirteen claims she's fine [11-6] 4. she hated the human world back when she first met Solomon because of how depressing it was with people dying left and right due to diseases [11-10] 5. apparently reapers are supposed to stay neutral, but Thirteen does her own thing [11-16]. Queen <3

Leviathan gives us the basics on how grimoires work [11-16; pic below]

Asmodeus turns into Leviathan's personal interpreter for a second, you love to see it lol [11-16]

Satan and Luke bonding over a cat ❤️ [11-A] -> btw has anyone else noticed that they've sort of become a dup lately? They keep sharing Nightmares and events...

[spaceorphan18]

I just have some thoughts and, I just... they're just thoughts with zero intention of being inflammatory or derogatory. (I do respect all the other ships on the show, enjoy Kanthany and am looking forward to Benedict/Sophie, and am slightly annoyed I even have to have a disclaimer, my god fandom, sometimes...)

I think that in one way that Bridgerton, as a show, struggles a little (and I suppose I mean struggle loosely) is that it's chaffing between wanting to be (what is essentially) an anthology show vs a regular TV show where the characters are developed long term.

I think Simon and Daphne's story works within season 1. But like the book(s), it's a self-contained story that isn't intended to go beyond the happily ever after other than a cameo here and there. (I do hope Daphne comes back eventually to cameo, it's a shame she wasn't in season 3.) But their story isn't meant to go anywhere else.

Anthony and Kate is the most awkward story at the moment. Anthony is one of the few well rounded characters in the book, as he's the head of the household and in most of the books. And Anthony and Kate having to run the household feels a little like a missed opportunity to be developed on the show. Now -- I know it's because Jonathan Bailey is becoming hugely successful actor -- and the original premise of the show is supposed to be self-contained stories. But it's a shame, because I think Anthony and Kate have so much potential for good stories to tell, and I have a feeling they won't be.

The thing about Pen and Colin, though, is that they haven't been treated like the anthology format the two previous couples got. Their story has been treated in a more traditional, long-form tv style, in which the characters have grown and developed, and so Season 3 was their spotlight, but we've past that and... I still think they'll be getting a considerable amount of screen time in Season 4. (Obviously, not as much as Season 3 - and I hope people don't get their expectations up too much). But look at how much they both got to do in Season 1 and 2. It's A LOT. And Season 4 will probably be on par with that.

I'm super curious as to where we go from here. Season 4 kind of has its expected trajectory, and I can pretty much guess what we're in for (and am looking forward to it!)

But what happens after? Do Benedict and Sophie now fade into the background completely? What are we doing with Anthony now - which is still rich in possibility? Pen and Colin's story probably will wrap up (in a way) in Season 4 -- where do their individual arcs go, or will the by pushed back?

[And, as an aside that I don't really want to make -- if Nicola wanted to get off the ride, after Season 4 would be a good place to do it. I guess that depends on whether or not she becomes the next Jonathan Bailey -- and as much as I would love that for her as an actress, the Pen fan in me's heart would hurt]

And if you don't have these subplots in future seasons, what do we have? Neither Eloise's book or Francesca's book really have any sideplots (Francesca's especially) -- and yet you have all of these characters. I know they want to develop Gregory and Hyacinth more, but idk idk.

But I guess, back to my original point -- the further we go on, the less the anthology style works because we've started spending A LOT of time with these characters. I think the central romances will, for the most part, be fine, but the subplots and the previous couples and the long standing characters -- what does the show do?

I don't have answers, I'm mostly thinking out loud....

That all said - I really, really hope they get to Gregory and Hyacinth's books -- because I think there's potential for a lot of fun to be had in them. (I personally like them way more than Eloise and Francesca's books, so at least Netflix has one long term fan...)

[its-in-the-woods]

The Woman Who Couldn’t Die Part 13

master list

Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Par 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10 , Part 11, Part 12,

Pairing: The Ghoul/Cooper Howard x Original Character

Synopsis: “Mind if I take your shirt off?” He asks as he straddles her hips. Jade nods he can feel her tremble as his fingers go under the well-worn material.

MINOR GET OUT. Rating/Warning: This is based on Fallout expect typical horror as well as: scars, lovely dovey, fluffy, , soft!cooper, angst, slow burn, Smut, p in v, age-gap, oral F receiving, mention of scars, multiple Os, Fingering, monster?fuckery, idk look these two finally get to have fun k?

Notes: Thank you all for reading :) I won't do this without all of you <3

“Lay back,” Ghoul says quietly, Jade hesitates for a moment but does as he asks. Laying on her back looking up at the ceiling. “Let’s make some new memories,”

The Ghoul feels a familiar ache form in his stomach as he looks the girl up and down. He can hear her heart pound, his eyes running over the different marks on her skin. The need to memorize each scar, mark, divot, and texture of her skin consumed him. It feels wrong to be touching her, for him to be granted access to something so pretty. 

“Mind if I take your shirt off?” He asks as he straddles her hips. Jade nods he can feel her tremble as his fingers go under the well-worn material. Noting that he needs to get her something newer tomorrow, he takes it slow. He is watching how her expression changes, looking for any indication of discomfort. 

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Jade answers, sitting up so he can take it off of her, the material dropping on the floorboards.“Not like you haven’t seen it.”

Ghoul rolls his eyes at this comment, “Not like this, want this to be-.” The term special seemed like an understatement.

“A good memory?” Jade adds her fingers running across his arm, eyes not meeting his. 

He uses one of his hands cupping the back of her head. Cooper pulls her against him, tipping her head up so he can kiss her. It felt different this time, how her way body pressed back against his. She had scars, but her skin was still so much softer than his, it felt deviant to have Jade underneath him. It had been so long, long enough that this all had a thrum of being new. Something he had almost forgotten, and yet felt as if they’d done it before. Her kiss was soft like she wasn't sure if he was as eager as she was. He pushes back, teeth nipping at her lips as one of her hands runs down his back.  His skin can feel each new scar, the way the skin draws together, the ones he sewed up; and how she was permanently marked by their journey together. 

He pulls back, Jade’s green streaked eyes following him, Cooper grins pushing some stray hair back so he can lean down to nip at her neck. It gets him a surprise moan, her hands running over his smooth head, her heartbeat picking up pace as she grabs him. He licks at the mark, deepening it, the idea that someone would see it and know it was him was thrilling. Cooper keeps moving down, following along every mark and scar. Making sure to commit them to memory, every noise she made, sound, locked away for what he didn’t know. All he knew was he would savor this for as long as possible. 

Teeth and lips find skin, trailing down to her nipples, her hands digging in as he sucks at it, rubbing it along his teeth. Jade’s hips push up against his, his fingers spread across her stomach running against the edges of scars. He gives each equal attention as they perk up against his tongue. She whimpers, strings of unintelligible words urging him on as he moves from her nipples to lick down between her breasts. Trailing his tongue under her breast, fingers grabbing and massaging as he cups the flesh, palms rubbing against her nipples.

“Oh, oh damn,” Jade whimpers, her hands running from his back, up Cooper's neck, fingers digging into his scalp. “That feels so good.” 

Cooper grins at the encouragement he licks around her navel, her stomach sucking in as she squirms. His texture lips made her skin shiver as he laid a path of bruises. Now at the edge of her pants, he leans back, locking eyes with hers. Jade nods her head eagerly. Cooper doesn’t wait for a verbal answer, hooking his fingers into her pants and sliding them down. He hums at the sight before him, there are more marks here, some are in patterns, and others are more random. Her leg hair prickled under his skin, the texture pleasant as he starts at her ankles, kissing inside against the joint. Jade moves her legs back and forth, squirming at the attention. The sheets ruck up as she squirms, her hand clutching the pillow behind her head.

“You are a tease,” Jade huffs, fingers moving to clench at the sheets as she groans. Her eyes roll back as he moves over to the other ankle,

“Nothing stopping you from enjoying yourself,” He grins as he licks across her calf, watching her face go red as her hands run over her lower stomach. Cooper pauses watching as her fingers go lower into the dark curls that sit just above her center. A slick wet sound making his cock twitch against his pants. 

A growl leaves his throat, as her fingers dip between her folds the smell of her deep and sweet. Cooper Can feel his mouth get wet as he watches, entranced by the way Jade touches herself. Lip caught between her teeth as she tries not to make noise, he leans forward and bites into the flesh just below the inside of her knee. Her mouth opens as she lets out a gasp. Cooper keeps at it sucking more flesh into his mouth. The hunger grew in his stomach as a welt grew under his tongue.

“Oww,” Jade grimaces, despite the protest her fingers don’t stop. The Ghoul moves to the other side, biting his teeth into her skin, not enough to draw blood but close. “Fuck, Cooper.”

He lets go with a smack of his lips, a dark purple bruise spreading out from where he bit, “Seems like you're enjoying the pain.” The Ghoul adds emphasis by moving a little further up and nibbling along her thigh. The smell of her arousal fills the small space. Her fingers move more fervently as he adds more marks.

“Maybe, maybe.” Jade teases, her fingers moving further down in-between her lips. The Ghoul nips a little harder leaving a trail of little purple and pink bruises which gets him a louder groan from Jade.

Moving Cooper pushes her legs open further, a little gasp escaping Jade as he grabs her hand and pulls it away. Bring it up to his lips, he opens his mouth, eyes locked on hers as he takes her fingers into his mouth sucking on them. One at a time licking and sucking her fingers, his tongue swirling around each individually. A groan left his lips, she tasted like nothing he'd ever had. The sweet taste of musk and something just her, made him shiver. Cooper’s fingers find the soft curls, Jade whimpers her body shuttering as he twirls the curls in his fingers. 

“No maybes here. Not from what I am feeling,” Cooper hushes, kissing along the inside of her thigh, moving up to where her hip and leg join. “You taste so good. ”

Jade groans, trying to squirm, her hands pushing against the bed. The Ghoul grins, fingers along the edges. “Please touch me,” She wiggles more, her face pink, chest heaving as she tries to catch her breath. “Please Cooper, stop being a tease.” 

Cooper keeps teasing, kissing, and licking along her soft skin, paying extra attention to any mark he finds. Committing them to memory, hating himself that he had waited so long. Now that it was here he was going to drag it out. Jade’s fingers run along his head, latching on and trying to direct him. He moves up and puts her hands above her head, glaring down at her when she tries to struggle away. 

“Keep’em there, Tiny,” He growls peppering kisses along her forehead, down past her cheeks. Making sure to keep her legs spread open, dragging his worn pant-covered legs across her bare ones. Feeling her body finally relax, the girl loved putting up a fight. Knowing that she was at ease with him made it so much better.

Jade whimpers hips moving as she grabs at the pillow by her head, her eyes nearly black.“If you don’t get moving-”

Cooper nips hard right below her belly button, enough to leave a deep purple bruise. She whimpers, goosebumps spreading out across her skin before he goes down further. The hair tickling the inside of his nose he shakes it off, instead using his fingers to move the hair where he needed it. Sneezing was not on menu tonight. Jade’s legs clench as his hot breath blows on her pussy, he flicks his tongue out finding her swollen clit. Jade’s reaction is instant, her hips moving up, fingers moving from the pillow to his head. Which only spurs him onwards as he laves at her clit. 

“Fuck, Cooper,” Jade whimpers, he licks in small circles around it, having no nose made it easier to get to what he wanted. Being able to press right against her body, feel the heat radiating off of her.

Using his fingers he spreads her lips open, making more room for his tongue to suck and continue to lick Jade’s body bucking and jumping. One hand is tucked under her thigh, the other moving down to feel the wetness. He growls as he feels how slick she is, Jade, gasping as his finger goes into her. 

“That-” Jade shutters, “So good, fuck.” She keens whining as he starts to move it in and out. “Fingers are thick.”

The Ghoul chuckles, pulling back with a slick pop, “One finger.” As he crooks the finger just right to find that spot that made her eyes roll. 

Jade’s insides flex around him at the words, he can’t help the chuckle that leaves him again as he goes back. Making her clit swell under his ministrations, sucking it into his mouth and humming. Feeling Jade get wetter as he pushes a second finger in alongside the first, tongue going from her clit down to where his fingers are. Her hips twisting and moving down against him, he moves his fingers out to taste her. The smell alone was driving him up the wall, her back arching pushing against what was left of his nose. Covering his face in the wetness, wanting to drown himself right there. He moves his head back and forth, tongue and fingers working to open her up. 

“Don’t stop, please,” Jade groans, Cooper continues before switching up and going back to lick at her clit. Two fingers moving inside, he leans up kissing her stomach. Feeling her stomach flex, eyebrows furrowed as her orgasm builds. 

“Let go, Jade,” He hushes, before returning back to his work, wanting to feel her come apart under his hands. 

Her whole body arches, the muscled walls around his fingers clenching and unclenching around his fingers in waves. He looks up at her, Jade’s head tipped back and mouth open in a silent scream. 

“Breath, girl.” Cooper teases, croaking his fingers just right at the spongy spot that has her gasping. “There you go, fuck your pretty.” 

Jade’s chest moving up and down in gasping breaths, she tries to squirm back, “Too much, too much, oh dammit.” 

He slows his movements before gently pulling his fingers out, not hesitating to bring them to her lips. Jade parts her lips, the green-streaked eyes watching him as she sucks at his fingers. The Ghoul feels the heat burning low in his stomach pushing forward, his breath getting caught in his chest. He wanted to feel her lips somewhere else, but that would have to wait. 

Cooper leans up to kiss her, tongue pushing as hers pushes back. Jade’s hands are moving to his belt and jeans, pulling at the scorpion buckle, he grins at her eagerness the two fumbling over one another. Finally having enough Jade rolls so she’s on top of him, dragging his worn pants down and tossing them aside. The Ghoul groans as his cock plops heavily onto his lower stomach, Jade swallows looking down at it then back at Cooper. 

He shifts a little, the attention making him feel exposed and raw to the world. Jade moves, her fingers reaching towards it, watching it twitch and leak at the tip. She bites her lip as she wraps her fingers around his cock. It’s not a thing of beauty, he had been average before, but radiation enhanced some things. Now it was thicker, more textured, and overall bigger than what you’d typically find. How she looks at it makes Cooper's stomach clench, her eyes wide with desire.

“Well,” Jade licks his lips, her fingers squeezing at the base before giving it a few strokes. Her small hands squeezing and twisting just right. “How the hell you hide this thing?”

Cooper’s head tips back laughter rolling out of him like thunder, Jade joins in the laughter, “I got two belts for a reason, Tiny,”

Jade raises her eyebrows as she starts to stroke him, the Ghoul rolling his hips back, “There is nothing tiny about that.” She comments, doing her best to hide the grin at his eyeballs. She licks her palm, making sure to watch Cooper as she reaches lower to cup his balls, the feeling making him twitch more. 

“Thought you-,” He groans as she twists at the top of his cock, rubbing her thumb over the slit. “Didn’t remember much.”

Jade continues her movements, the speed picking up, as a mischievous smile spreads across her face. “Muscle memory or something.” 

Cooper reaches up for her, she moves towards him, keeping one hand on his cock as she captures his lips. His hands find her thighs digging his nails in, the soft flesh a stark difference from his. She lifts herself up, rubbing him against her slit, before pushing back just enough for him to start to sink in. Jade's lips in a tight line as he starts to stretch her open. 

He groans, pulling her against his chest as Cooper stills himself so she can guide herself down onto him. It was torturously slow, and so perfect, their fingers digging into the other's skin. Arms wrapping around Jade’s waist holding her tight against him, her heart pounding rapidly against Cooper’s chest. She is incredibly tight, her muscles slowly easing him inside. Can feel his own heart picking up, as she slowly fits him entirely inside, her chest heaving as she sits there for a moment. It’s too long and too short all at the same time, then she is moving. Her hands are on his shoulders so that she can start to lift and arch her hips, a moan rips out of both of them. 

“Fuck me,” Jade groans, her voice breathy and broken, as her hips start to swivel in circles. “Please,”

Cooper grips her hips, helping her up and thrusting as she comes back down. The two have given up on being quiet. Raw sounds vibrate around the room, as they pick up the pace. Cooper can feel Jade’s nails dig into his shoulders, as his fingers dig into the flesh of her hips.

Groaning Cooper flips her over, steps off the bed, grabs her ankles, and drags her to the corner in one fluid movement that has her eyes wide and chest heaving. He doesn’t wait, instead manipulating her legs around his waist, Cooper lines up with one hand and slowly slides back inside her. He feels her clench down around him, making his mouth drop open.

“Damn, you feel so good,” He groans as he starts to fuck into her, looking down to watch as he squeezes inside of her. Jade bucks up as he pushes down, the heat in the place making her chest glisten as her tits bounce. It’s hypnotic to watch them move together, not able to take his eyes off of her.  

They find a rhythm quickly, as if they’d done this a hundred times before. Jade drags him down kissing him deeply, holding him close her hands moving against his skin like his own hands had. Knowing she wanted to remember this made the delirium so much better. He could feel the pull coming deep from within, he pulled back resting his forehead against hers. Jade leaning up to kiss around where his nose would have been.

“M’close,” She mumbles, her eyes rolling back as she keeps up with the brutal pace. 

Cooper wiggles his fingers between their hot sticky bodies, finding her swollen clit. She jolts as he touches it, “So sensitive,” He murmurs into her ear, finger making soft circles around the edges of her clit. 

Jade’s body reacts, hips arching, “Oh fuck,” She whines her body trembling, as he keeps going adjusting his hips ever so slightly. The way her body arches up, ridged, mouth open as she lets out a guttural moan. Cooper is not far after her, sliding back he slips out of her Jade wrapping her legs around his hips. They kiss deeply as Cooper quickly strips the over-sensitized flesh, his teeth biting into her lip as he growls. Cum shooting thick ropes out onto her stomach

The two collapse onto the bed in a sweaty mess, Jade has a lopsided grin on her face as her hands run up and down his back. Cooper’s heart pounding against her own heart, their breath ragged gasps as they come down from the high. 

“Gonna need another shower,” Cooper mumbles against her shoulder, carefully rolling onto the bed beside her. The two staring up at the ceiling, the two working on catching their breath. The whole place smells sweetly like sex and sweat. 

Jade snuggles against him, leaning her head against his chest. “Only if you scrub my back, and we do this again.”

Cooper chuckles, turning to face her. “Careful what you wish for darlin’. Might end up with a hitch in your step.”

“So many promises,” Jade teases, kissing under his chin. “Remember I regenerate, have to keep up with me.”

Cooper gives her a look, “And who in this bed has been regenerating longer.”

Jade giggles, “Look at us, arguing like a couple or something.”

Cooper smiles, leaning down to kiss her, holding her tight against him. “Or something.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Part 14

Need some happiness for these two! Let me know if you enjoyed it below <3

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@pixelatedprofilepic @hiddlebatchedloki @toogaytofunctiondangit @dionneroyal49 @dichromaniac

@whatsorceressisthis

[max1461]

One of the most frustrating things is making a post that you think is right, and also important, but which unintentionally conveys something that you think is subtly wrong. Especially when the post gets popular. You want to keep it circulating, you want your point to keep spreading. But you worry that you're spreading something bad along with it, a misconception that your readers might not even know they're absorbing.

That post I made about the Meiji restoration a while ago was one of these. I ended up making in unrebloggable, mostly because I was just getting tired of that discourse. I think it was a good post and I stand by it. I criticized the Meiji government for an ideology that saw "Westernizing" and "industrializing/modernizing/becoming competitive with the Great Powers" as necessarily part-and-parcel, and I criticized contemporary political leaders who think the same thing. And I think that's a fair criticism in both cases.

But I did have a major concern about that post, which is that it I think it played into this idea that the Meiji restoration was some absolute break in Japanese history, where Japan stopped being... idk, "authentically Japanese" and started being "a Westernized country". Which is almost exactly the type of narrative I'm trying to critique! Like, no! Disregarding even the general dubiousness of those categories: there was serious continuity between pre-Meiji and post-Meiji Japan, this wasn't an early-Soviet-Union-level reshaping of society.

Maybe I shouldn't say that, I don't know enough about the early Soviet Union. But you get my point. I worry that my post made it sound as if the Meiji government were ripping up shrine gates and shit left and right, shredding kimonos and foisting Western suits upon people, and banishing nay-sayers to the gulag. No! That would not really be an accurate description of what happened.

So I worried about giving the wrong impression. I think I've posted about this already.

But my whole point, really, the point I was trying to make with that post and the point I am perennially trying to make, is that the modern world is not inherently "Western". Not in principle or in actual fact. Modernity was made across the whole globe. That sounds like a sort of trite statement, a meaningless inversion of the typical Western chauvinist narrative, but it isn't! The more you learn about early modern history the more clear this really becomes.

Japan was an early industrializer. Not among the very first wave, but ultimately still early. This means it was not only "on par", in terms of access to material wealth and technology, with many nations in Europe, but that its industrialization also meaningfully predated that of much of Europe, especially Eastern Europe. The core element of industrial society—the industrial factory—is a technology. A technology invented in Britain, which just like any technology spread first to nearby regions and later to far off regions. Of course in the increasingly interconnected modern world, sometimes technologies make big geographical jumps, as industrialism made to Japan in the nineteenth century.

And of course I'm oversimplifying the history here, but my point is that this is all ordinary. There's a narrative which sees the whole process of the spread of industrialism as almost mystically exceptional. A divine enlightenment was given to the West, which from then on separated the West and the Westernized in their very essence from the rest, the unenlightened masses, the savages. The White Man's Burden. But, aside from being a perennial justification for colonialism, this view is intellectually immature. It's a just-so story.

Like all inventions, the industrial factory and the technologies which emerged around it have a geographical place of origin. But like all inventions, they spread—both inside and outside the West—and people in the places to which they spread immediately started iterating on them and adapting them to local conditions and contributing to the larger sum-of-effects we call the modern world. Modernity was made all over the globe. Japanese modernity is not a mere Western importation, layered on top of indigenous pre-modernity. It was made right there in Japan, by Japanese people, in Japanese institutions, and so on and so forth. It drew from ideas developed elsewhere (as cultures always have! As Japan did with China just centuries before!), developed in France and Germany and Britain, and it contributed ideas which were then taken up in France and Germany and Britain.

And these kind of effects are easy to see with Japan, because it was an early industrializer, but once you pay attention you see them everywhere. The making of the modern world not as a unilateral imposition of the West upon the rest, but as a mutual engagement of many societies across the globe making something new together—sometimes cooperatively, usually competitively, and very often at the expense of the most marginal. But, still, together, as an aggregate process.

Our world was made everywhere. I do think it sounds completely trite, especially because I'm rather tired and don't have the wherewithal to source more specific examples. But I really do think this because meaningfully clear when you engage with the history.

[lovecolibri]

SaL anon here bestie, ready with the gin to endure whatever nonsense Eddie's plot is devolving into this week. God I hope the focus on Henren or Bathena so I can walk away with some sense of satisfaction. I'm not even going to attempt to say something good might come out if it, since history isn't on our side this season wrt Eddie. Tim needs to lay off his Hitchcock obsession, he did Psycho on LS last season, is doing Vertigo now, and both plots were utter nonsense. At least I got a good laugh today looking at the stills from the Oliver and Lou interview. Somebody should have told Oliver to blink 3 times if he's there against his will, though the fact that he looks like he's actively leaning towards the nearest exit probably says it just as well.

Yeah, the sooner bucktommy ends the happier I'll be. The relationship itself is fine, on par with every other BS relationship Buck was in really, but the fandom around it is exhausting and the active attempts to erase any semblance of Eddie in Buck's life is just so, so dumb (and pointless, like Buck wouldn't be the same without Eddie in his life just as Eddie isn't the same without Buck). Anyway cheers friend, we're on the precipice of something that looks both exciting and annoying, let's hope the scales tip in our favor 🍷🍸🥃.

Well, as I'm sure you guessed by my late answer, I saw this and waved at you from post limit jail, due to the d20 finale last night. I wish Tumblr would have a pop up like, "hey, you have 5 posts left before you hit post limit today!" or something so I could prepare!

So, good news, the Bobby and Henren stuff was *chefs kiss* angsty and dramatic and pulled at my heartstrings! The Bobby montage as he's giving his Captain Dad advice and having Buck cook, and calling Hen "Mother Hen" (while looking at Buck and Eddie 👀👀👀), giving the prayer book to Eddie, giving tips to Ravi, calling out orders on scene, it was all so much! And GOD, them taking that poor little girl away, and Denny stepping between that man and his sister, I was in TEARS! The Bobby and Athena talk got me too, and then him seeing his dead dad?! Bobby is going THROUGH IT and I ate it up!

As for Eddie I- legitimately do not know what to say. The whole thing was a mess, Kim giving herself bangs?? to roleplay with a stranger?? was just SO WEIRD and off-putting. Sorry I guess I'm just a hater but I think Eddie getting stuck with actresses like GW and EG means that him having scenes with anyone else feels good? but I'm not falling all over myself about any magical chemistry 🤷🏻‍♀️I hate this storyline and I'm tired of the narrative that this was some great love Eddie is missing out on when season 2-3 gave us actual canon evidence that it isn't true, and it feels more like Tim wanted Devin back and thought he could get away with it now that the audience had some space and KR spent all last season pretending Shannon was some saint (when he killed Shannon off so quickly originally because he said the audience wasn't going to forgive her and he didn't want to waste screentime on that when grief tied in with anger and abandonment was a more interesting storyline for Eddie and Chris). I'm also VERY curious about where the "Eddie realizing he's been looking at the relationship with rose colored glasses and living in delusion about it" is because GIRL that wasn't it. Eddie crying about her being the great love of his life and how they could have had it all is NOT him taking off the rose colored glasses, no matter how pretty Ryan looks when he's crying.

ANYWAY. I was already not on board with this but the writers dragging Chris into it too just gives me the ick. And it might resolve fine, but GOD!! THE JOURNEY MATTERS!! It matters how the characters get places! And this is just...not just a mess but a completely unnecessary one. They could address Eddie's grief and delusions about his relationship with Shannon (and her relationship with Chris because don't think I didn't clock him bringing up her (shit ass guilt trip) letter but not that she abandoned her son and cut off all contact for years) without resorting to trashy soapy doppelganger nonsense and cheating drama. And it's WILD because Bobby's arc this season and his relationship with Athena, and Henren's storyline have been SO GOOD, and even though there were some pacing and tone issues, even the Madney stuff has been good (and Kenny always slays the dramatic arcs!). Buck has taken a mostly supportive backseat this season which, while I ADORE him, was needed after the mess KR made of his character and her apparent lack of interest in the majority of the other main characters and his personal storyline (the bi realization, being Eddie's partner for all the big emotional talks) is also fine, it just got hijacked by some absolutely bizarre shipping strangeness over a couple minutes of screentime. But GOD Eddie's shit has been such a weird mess! It wasn't enough to be stuck with the transphobe all season, we also had to add in this nonsense?! Thanks, I hate it. At least we might finally be allowed to let Shannon go?? I am literally begging at this point.

As for th b/t of it all, I have literally blocked it from my mind and out of my existence (the ONE perk of my tumblr app still not working and having to do most of my stuff in my phone browser means I haven't really seen my dash lately and I've been smart about staying out of the tag for once) because it's just not worth the headache the bad takes give me. I'm just...so tired. I was willing to watch it play out (felt very much like Ali as the first step post-Abby, something background setting up for more later *cries in s4 Buddie canon*) but go at this point I just need it to be over for EVERYONE'S sanity. Especially Oliver's because like, girl. Why do you look like you're trapped in that loft with MW again?! Why so haunted? Girl, are you okay?? Oliver?? And how he continues to just post Buddie/Ryan stuff?? Loud.

I'm just...tired. So tired. And I need a drink. Imma go find some absolutely filthy/funny/fun Buddie fic and drown myself in that because I have the unfortunate feeling it's gonna be a LONG fucking hiatus.

Cheers friend. I know I always say if we can survive RNM (with it's own doppelganger storyline) then we can survive anything but GOD it would be nice to not have it be so hard.

[irenethewoman]

Mrs. Shelby - Chapter Two- First Shot

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December 1914, Birmingham:

As I settled into life within the Shelby household, it became apparent that observing and adapting were my best courses of action. Even though their workforce was currently absent due to the war, the Shelbys were far from ordinary laborers. When Polly and I went out shopping, I noticed passersby respectfully addressing her as "Good morning, Mrs. Grey." I had encountered workers in my grandfather's factory, but they never held such prestige and status. "Mrs. Grey," "Mrs. Shelby," "Miss Shelby" – the Shelby surname wielded an almost magical influence in Birmingham. I was beginning to grasp their line of work. The Shelbys were undoubtedly the same sort of people who had caused my father endless headaches and filled Nurse Claire with terror. Truth be told, when I had a clear understanding of their activities two months ago, I couldn't help but shudder. Gangsters weren't much better than brothels or No. 10 King's Road. It was akin to moving from one perilous situation to another. If my father knew that his little princess had landed in such a predicament, it would break his heart.

But as time passed, my perspective on the past 15 years began to shift. Yes, they were gangsters who earned their living through gambling, extortion, and collecting protection money. However, wasn't that the way of the world? How could they support such a vast family on meager factory wages? They relied on squeezing ordinary people to secure a better life, just as gangsters, politicians, and capitalists did. In essence, nobility was not fundamentally distinct; it boiled down to whether one's actions were legal or not. But who decided what was legal? If the law itself was one-sided and severe, where did justice originate? My noble relatives had either aimed to divide my inheritance due to my parents' demise or had avoided me for the same reason. After I was rebuffed when seeking aid from my aunt and uncle, I disregarded Nurse Claire's objections and ventured north alone. Furthermore, the Shelbys, the gangsters I had tried to avoid in the past, hadn't treated me unkindly. Even without the title of Baroness, I could still enjoy white bread, bacon, and chocolate that factory workers could only dream of.

After work, I'd rest on a comfortable bed by a warm fireplace. While it might not have been on par with my previous accommodations, it was leagues ahead of my recent fugitive lifestyle. All of this was thanks to the Shelbys, particularly Polly. Although she wore the mantle of the family's matriarch and appeared stern, she was not the kind of boss who criticized her employees relentlessly. In fact, she displayed more consideration for her workers than my maternal grandfather or the officials of the East India Company ever did. Beneath her veneer of cold and ruthless efficiency lay a softer, more compassionate core. While she hadn't immediately believed my story, like Ada and Martha, she had at least not sent me back to London, albeit explaining it as not wanting to "waste money on strangers."

Martha, with her oval face, was Finn and Ada's sister-in-law. Apart from her slightly protruding blue eyes, she was rather attractive. With three children to support and one more on the way, Martha was the only member of the family who could appreciate the poetry collection I had purchased with my earnings. She was kind and gentle, and she, along with Bo, regularly attended church services and provided food for the less fortunate in our community. She claimed to have been a pastor's daughter in the past, but her actions contradicted that background. I had encountered pastors before, and none of them resembled Martha. It was evident that she, too, grappled with hardship on the fringes of society.

As time passed, I found myself missing the life of a young lady from when my parents were alive. However, my new existence no longer held the same allure it had when I first escaped, and I refrained from incessantly comparing it to my past. These two months had wrought profound changes in me, challenging nearly every preconceived notion I held. Virtue and vice were not permanent fixtures in this world; no one could lay claim to absolute goodness or wickedness. It was a realm governed by natural selection, survival of the fittest. Initially, I had found this concept to be harsh, but now I recognized it as the unvarnished truth.

I no longer concealed my past. I had come from a privileged background. For the first fifteen years of my life, I had been a sheltered heiress. My sole misfortune was having a contingent of ill-fated relatives. Initially, Polly had tasked me with maintaining the household accounts and teaching the children arithmetic and reading. The Shelby family possessed few books, and the poetry collection I had purchased wasn't suitable for educational purposes. Thus, I had to buy a newspaper each morning during our grocery trips. I learned to read at the breakfast table, gradually absorbing the words.

My father had always read newspapers, both in English and German. Perhaps because my investigation had been thorough, Polly gradually began granting me access to the Shelby family's external accounts. These documents contained receipts related to horse racing, protection money, and dealings with the police station. It wasn't easy for Polly. The war had not ended as swiftly as we had anticipated, and the cost of living was steadily rising. Finn and his three nephews were still quite young. Ada had no desire to engage in the family's "business." Martha was pregnant and exceedingly gentle. This left Polly as the family's sole provider, responsible for the entire household. She had to be tough when dealing with others, ensuring her family's betterment, only to return home and seek solace in her prayer room. She was good to me, and as December approached, I planned a surprise for her on Christmas.

However, what could I possibly offer? As Bo grew more comfortable with me, I found myself assuming additional responsibilities. I had become the Shelby family's accountant, tutor, nanny, and even their cook. Despite the decent life I was leading and the kindness shown to me by the Shelbys, I still felt like an outsider. Perhaps it was because I couldn't master the art of smoking or tolerate the pungent taste of whiskey, or maybe it was because I couldn't casually toss around expletives as freely as the others did.

One day, as I finished my work and wandered the streets lost in thought, I suddenly heard Ada's scream, "How dare you! We're Shelbys!" My heart clenched in anxiety. Despite her upbringing in this environment, Ada retained an underlying romanticism and innocence that even surpassed my own. "Oh my God!" I recalled Martha mentioning the family's intention to confront Liz Stark today. I found the address and knocked on the door with urgency. Upon entering, I was greeted by chaos. "Ada!" I called out, searching for her. Please, let them be safe!

"Diana! Get your filthy hands off!" I hurried upstairs but found myself unable to open the locked door. It was then that the person who had let me in followed me up. He was tall and bald, with sparse black hair on his forehead. Even his touch on my forearm made my stomach turn. "Unlock the door," I demanded,

withdrawing the pistol from my bag and aiming it at his belly. It was a firearm Polly Shelby had loaned me, and I hadn't returned it yet. My hands trembled; it marked my first time pointing a gun at a living being. I feared that his appearance was deceptive, that he possessed greater strength than me, that I wasn't capable enough. I was anxious about getting entangled in a violent confrontation. I worried that my impulsiveness might harm Liz Stark, preventing her from earning a living. All these fears churned within me.

He seemed to notice my apprehension and boldly placed his other hand on my waist. I clenched my teeth, loaded the pistol, and jabbed it into his gut with determination. "Unlock the door for me—now!" He reluctantly acquiesced, fumbling with the key, and I allowed him to depart before rushing into the room.

Inside, I found Ada protecting Martha, while Liz Stark was being held by the hair and struggling. Another man had his back to me, undoing his belt, and turned around when he heard the door open. "Oh! We've got another visitor." He smirked, his mouth tainted by yellow nicotine stains. His lewd words, ones I didn't fully comprehend, made the man holding Stark's hair burst into laughter. "It was you who begged for this…" he muttered.

"Bam!" In a decisive moment, I fired my first shot at a living person, striking the man in the left thigh. He screamed and crumpled to the ground, clutching his injured leg and wailing like a banshee. The stench of blood and urine filled the small, enclosed space, nauseating me. I struggled to suppress the urge to vomit and aimed the gun squarely at the remaining assailant's head, "Release them. Let them go!" After firing the first shot, my hands steadied, and I possessed a firmer grip on the gun. This time, I pointed it directly at him.

"Don't mess with the Shelbys, not even with a woman." I declared firmly. Afterward, when I returned to 6 Waterley Lane, I rushed to the bathroom and, with as much grace as I could muster, promptly emptied my stomach. Gazing into the mirror afterward, I couldn't help but feel a sense of strangeness. The girl with black hair in the reflection looked pale, her mouth smeared with remnants of vomit and dirt. As I raised my hand, she mimicked the motion. I had genuinely transformed.

Martha convinced Ada and me to rest, and I prepared mulled wine for both of us. We huddled together, wrapped in blankets, sipping our drinks in silence by the warm fireplace. I, or perhaps we, were awaiting Polly's return. A gunshot had rung out; a man had been shot in a brothel, nearly disfigured. It was odd that neither Liz Stark nor Polly Shelby had received word of it. Perhaps Polly would dismiss me at the height of the impending storm, perhaps she'd grow infuriated over my use of the Shelby name. Regardless, I needed to explain myself face-to-face.

"Why did you use a gun?" Ada's question broke the silence, interrupting my reverie.

"What?" I hesitated, unable to meet her gaze, fearful that she might perceive me as a ruthless assailant.

"I noticed you often drift into thought... I mean, why did you use a gun?"

"My father taught me to hunt, ma'am, and I know how to use a shotgun." I replied, averting her eyes.

Another uncomfortable silence ensued, eventually broken by Polly Shelby's return.

Upon seeing her in the living room, relief washed over me. Even if she decided to expel me, I wouldn't be left homeless.

"Are you alright?" She checked on Ada before turning to me. I watched as she examined me, patiently waiting for her verdict.

"Go get some rest, Ada."

"Don't blame her, Aunt Polly. It was for me and Juliet that Diana fired." Polly remained silent but gave Ada's shoulder a reassuring pat before pouring herself a glass of wine. Despite the uncertainty of what lay ahead, I exchanged a reassuring glance with Ada.

"Why did you use a gun?" It seemed everyone was curious about a young woman who could wield a firearm, especially considering my age.

"My father taught me to hunt, ma'am, and I know how to use a shotgun."

"You rarely speak of your past," Polly noted, and I confessed, "But you never asked, ma'am."

Polly smiled, "I wasn't interested in a secretary's past before, but it's different now."

"My name is Diana Elizabeth Turner. My father was Baron Charles Turner, and my mother was Elizabeth Barton. I have an older brother, a younger brother, and a younger sister." I shared this information as Polly's gaze remained fixed on me.

She then put down her cup and embraced me. At that moment, tears welled up, and I allowed myself to cry. I did know how to use a shotgun, but the first time I had threatened someone with a gun, I was terrified. Fear had consumed me, fearing that his appearance concealed great strength, fearing that I wouldn't be effective enough, fearing I would become embroiled in violence, fearing for Liz Stark's safety, fearing Martha and Ada might view me as a merciless demon, and fearing Polly Shelby might expel me from her home or send me back to King's Road.

"Silly girl, go rest." Polly comforted me.

"Madam, are you going to send me away?" I asked, my tears finally subsiding.

Polly seemed to find my question amusing. "Why would I send you away? Because you protected my family?"

"Silly girl, right now, the Shelbys only need to use their guns to show Birmingham that even when the men are away, the Shelbys are untouchable. Besides, you and I are the only ones in this household who can handle a firearm."

Following that day, Polly asked me to address her as "Polly" or, like Ada and the others, as "Aunt Polly." On Christmas Eve, Polly presented me with a gift. She instructed me not to open it until everyone else had retired to their rooms. Inside the box was an elegant lady's pistol.

"The old gun I lent you belonged to Tommy. This one is more suitable for you," Polly explained, her cheeks slightly flushed from wine. "Just remember, don't let the children see it, let alone play with it, unless it's empty."

I held the unloaded pistol in my hands, examining it, and then looked up at Polly, questioning, "Who is Tommy?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Tommy is one of Finn and Ada's nephews, the second brother. All three brothers enlisted in the army. Tommy is a handsome young lad, inheriting his mother's striking blue eyes." Polly remarked, gazing at me. "You bear a striking resemblance to him."

"Really?" I responded, my fingers tracing the contours of the gun, my gaze still locked onto the pistol. Polly's words had left me pensive, and I couldn't find the right words to reply.

The town bell chimed, signaling midnight. I leaned down and planted a kiss on Polly Shelby's cheek. "Merry Christmas, Aunt Polly."

[seriously-mike]

Don't Fear Your Tears, Binge on Your Cringe

So, there's shitstorm brewing lately that Tears for Fears' new album uses AI-generated imagery for the cover and related promotional purposes, and rightly so because on that level of money and fame not hiring an actual artist to make those for you feels insultingly cheap. Also, just look at this:

This is some ridiculously basic bitch shit cooked with zero effort in Bing Image Creator. Look, if I'm disgusted, you know it sucks shit big time. It's as bad as Saxon's video for "Madame Guillotine".

So, I thought "fight AI with AI" and came up with a chorus that skewered the idea, asked for 80s synthpop with male vocals, got the right vibe in the first batch. Then, it kinda went downhill from there.

"You want Tears for Fears' new single? But we have Tears for Fears' new single at home!"

This is the cheapest kind of Temu knockoff that I could accept, and since it's in English and relevant to current events, I'm expecting a shitton of hits in no time. Hell, if the short teaser clip featuring the chorus exploded right out of the gate, I'm expecting the full version to be a smash on par with the original Chinchilla song.

But, the lyrics:

There was a day I ruled the world, When I made people shout, Girls fell head over heels for me, Then we had a falling out, I laid so low, and tears rolled down, I broke it down again, Then by some kind of God’s mistake Dined with the Kings of Spain I want a spaceman, Standing in the field, Made by an AI, People will be thrilled! I want the limelight, I want to get laid, And I don’t give a shit If the artist gets paid! I want the limelight, I want to get laid, And I don’t give a shit If the artist gets paid! (See!) I rode the wave and I forgot About how much he sucks, And then he just called me one day To help him pay some tax, This happy ending, a fresh start, The crowd will love this crap, We’re going past the tipping point, And numbers spin back up I want a spaceman, Standing in the field, Made by an AI, People will be thrilled I want the limelight, I want to get laid, And I don’t give a shit If the artist gets paid! I want the limelight, I want to get laid, And I don’t give a shit If the artist gets paid! (Say!) The getting’s good, we’re on the road, Touring with some old hacks, We rule the world with our old hits, But we still need new tracks, We’re nervous and we’re getting old, So let’s run a new scheme, The cover of our record will Be designed by machines! I want a spaceman, Standing in the field, Made by an AI, People will be thrilled I want the limelight, I want to get laid, And I don’t give a shit If the artist gets paid! I want the limelight, I want to get laid, And I don’t give a shit If the artist gets paid! (SUCKERS!)

If you look up the history of Tears for Fears on Wikipedia, you'll see an absolute shitton of references to their songs and albums, particularly in the first verse. There are also references to the acrimonious split between Orzabal and Smith and the unusual reason they reunited (basically, Smith moved to the US and after several years asked Orzabal to sort out some bureaucratic issue regarding his UK property).

It wasn't that difficult to write, considering that once I spent almost two months on trying to put together a song based on Minsc's quotes from Baldur's Gate 2. The total creation time for this one was a couple of hours, including the video for Youtube. And please do remember that the lyrics are all-natural, free-range, fair-trade, hand-crafted and GPT free.

[justalilguyoops]

What made you think about writing LAWS in the reverse perspective? Felix being obsessive and Ollie being....less

omg.....this is such a good question!!!! hello anon and thank you for this hehehe

okay so I'm pretty sure i had a eureka, light bulb over the head moment but I don't remember what or when exactly it was

BUT! there were a few things that led up to it! I wasn't originally planning on doing another fic and definitely not a long fic, but idk i think i was possessed probably

one of the things that made me go "huh. interesting idea" was reading a post on tumblr about how Felix probably thinks he's in a romcom, how his party outfit is reminiscent of Baz Luhrmann's Juliet in R&J. So that got me thinking about the film from Felix's perspective.

Another thing that also caught my attention is how much this fandom (and me) eats up an obsessive/possessive/jealous lil bitch Felix. I also think there's proof in the film that Felix IS possessive over Oliver.

Barry Keoghan's rizz was also another factor. I can't remember what video or what really triggered it, but I thinkkkk maybe his Hot Ones interview? But I think there was another video way before that too that gave me the initial idea, since I think LAWS originally sprouted in my brain like....20 chapters before WIPIP ended.

I was just like "wow....his power...." and I do think Oliver had like a bit of his charisma, but...what if....i dialed it up to Barry Keoghan's innate level? what if oliver had that goin awn?

I also came up with the line in chapter 7, where Oliver asks if Vee is pretty and when Felix gets defensive and asks why, oliver just responds with "Figured. Y’know, because you are."

i wanted....to use that....so badly once my brain produced it

Oxford days of the film also particularly captivated me, mainly the moments of the montage. The guitar scene was a HUGE contributing factor for me wanting to write LAWS in Oxford days.

why did I do LAWS in modern day?

Primarily because I wanted Felix to vape. truly. that was like the main reason.

Along with just a generally more accepting culture of LGBTQIA+, cellphones, and social media. I wanted to make all of them even worse by giving them access to tiktok <3

So, more or less, I did want to write LAWS as a college romcom, something much lighter and totally different from WIPIP.

I wanted to do it from Felix's POV because WIPIP was more predominantly Oliver (despite switching POV each chapter; it was still very much Oliver's story and we all tended to view the story as a whole from his POV).

The reversal of role was motivated by Felix being the possessive one first!!! This was a SUPER long answer and I'm going to include a bit more beneath this, but warning: It contains spoilers for PART ONE of LAWS!

DON'T READ BELOW IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED LAWS PART ONE!

------

I was also just really interested in exploring the Quick family. In the film, we view them as kind people who care about their son, which y'know, makes oliver look terrible for his lies.

HOWEVER! There has to be a reason that Oliver is what he is. Obviously, people develop individuality on their own and not everything is a product of nurture vs. nature, but I do believe that there's something to that. Parts of us can be a product of our environment.

Also, if you've read my past writing, you know I really enjoy religious themes, specifically Christianity.

Fun fact, but I am and have been atheist my whole life, my whole family is. I've never attended a church service.

BUT i am extremely fascinated by it (which def reflects in my writing lol) and enjoy exploring all the ideas, stories, and culture. I did notice in the film that Paula wears a cross necklace, which kinda indicates that they are religious in some variation.

What if the Quicks always knew that Oliver was bisexual? What if they never spoke of it? Oliver, always on his own at school. Never had any friends. Why were his parents OKAY with that?

Personally, if my parents noticed something like that they'd want to have a conversation with me or my school: was I being bullied? were there any issues on the playground? why did I not have any friends?

Instead, Paula uses excuses of him being "so clever", kind of brushing off her son's loneliness? idk, they very clearly love their son, but there are some little indications that Oliver struggled in his youth and his parents never really addressed it? (obviously all of this is just a theory and think i've kinda come up with)

SOOOOO i wanted to investigate that in modern day. The kind of outdated and conservative ideals of a religious family and their bisexual son. (of course still happens all over the world, but in my personal life I feel like I don't hear about this experience as often. I live on the west coast of the USA which I think is a contributing factor)

AND I WANT TO SAY I hope that my stories and references to religion are never harmful to those that are religious. I try hard to be respectful and honest with information.

I find religions to be super interesting and never intend to be insensitive! I try to do a lot of research, but obviously as someone kinda standing outside and looking in, I may get things wrong.

I don't intend for LAWS to be disrespectful towards Christianity; I'm merely trying to write a story about what has and is happening to many LGBTQIA+ youths in strict religious households. I know of many religious families that unequivocally love their queer children, but there's always the other side of the coin.

anyways!!! longest answer ever!!! sorry for this word vomit!!! and thank you again for such a wonderful question hehe