#it would have made all of them randomly deciding to abandon their lives to go save this random girl make more sense

[kacievvbbbb]

I'm not sure they were necessarily trying to imply Klaus and Allison always had that relationship. They've been living together for 5 years by the time we catch up with them, only three of which he was sober. That leaves him with two years of getting into trouble and asking Allison for help. For all we know that's exactly how he came to live in her basement in the first place.

It would have really helped if s4 hadn't wasted so much time on useless storylines and focused on the character relationships instead... The Klaus/Allison/Claire dynamic was so interesting, I wanted to see more of them.

I thought that was the route they were going down as well and I enjoyed that relationship. The gaslighting I feel was mainly from the argument they had while Klaus was speaking of the last 5 years Allison was saying that she had been dealing with his shit since they were kids and she was always the one dealing with it which is just not substantiated by anything from the previous seasons. Also the flash back to when they were kids with the Jennifer Incident they purposefully add a little scene of teen allison corraling a drunk/high teen Klaus, trying to back up her earlier assertions. Which is just weird. And I would have honestly preferred if they just focused on the 5 years they've spent relying on each other and building a new sibling relationship that would have given the argument more impact on both sides I think.

I agree the Klaus/Allison/Claire dynamic was really fun and I really enjoyed it but it honestly felt like it went nowhere. Klaus became an extreme germaphobe got his powers back blew up at allison they get in a fight and then she saves him that's so surface level of the complex family dynamics we got a glimpse at especially with Ray walking out and Allison's stalled movie career. it was just such a missed opportunity. I'd have liked to have all the siblings interact with the kids more really show that this new life they've built for themselves isn't all bad and that further complicates the decisions characters have to make. the birthday party scene was really great to me and I wish we could have seen more like it.

[orcasoul]

The Plus One

Summery: You and Pedro have been in a relationship for a while but for some reason he'd stopped inviting you to social events. Has he grown tired of you...?

Warnings: swearing, angst (because I liiive for it!), mental health issues, low self esteem from reader, caring Pedro, fluff, use of Y/N.

This is inspired by the video of Pedro dancing his arse off at Sarah Paulsons 50th birthday party. God bless this man for randomly inspiring us when he's not even trying to lol.

Word Count: 3,516

It's a quiet evening at home. The living room fireplace is softy blazing, the crackling red and orange flames along with the Christmas tree lights and low lamp light bathes the room in a reposeful ambience. You're snuggled up on the settee in your favourite fluffy Oodie, sipping a hot chocolate as you finish reading a Christmas rom com by one of your favourite authors. And while this is something that usually helps you to unwind at the end of the day, you can't seem to shift that gutting feeling deep down in your stomach. You should have been with Pedro tonight at Sarah's party instead of here alone. With the book finished you're about to check Kindle for your next read but before opening the app, you'd decided to check your notifications on facebook.

Now you wish you hadn't. Of course the first thing to pop up would be a video of Pedro having the time of his life at the party. Not that that is the real issue here. You're not the controlling or possessive type who wants to keep their partner all for yourself and deny them any kind of social life; quite the opposit, in fact. The thing that really hurts, that makes your heart physically ache is that you're never included in Pedro's social events anymore. You would have loved to have been his date to Sarah's party and make memories with him like normal couples do. You've met Sarah on several occasions and the two of you had always got along really well, so why would he rather go alone than bring you?

You've been together for six months now, so it's not like you're in the early stages where you're both yet to meet the others' family and friends. It just doesn't make sense. You had attended a few ceremonies and promotional events for Pedro's movies with him before now and even though they had been quite intense environments to be in, you were just thrilled to be there with him, to support him and show the world how proud you are of him. And you'd like to think that you were adept at hiding the effects that your social anxiety had on you during these occasions. You'd smile, engage in chit chat and if it became too overwhelming you'd always secretly resort to your special coping technique to calm your nerves; stroking slow circles on the palm of your hand.

But it had been months since you'd last attended any events with him and as time goes on it just hurts more and more. You'd hoped time would have made it easier to accept, but truthfully it makes you feel abandoned, insignificant, like you don't belong in his world. Is that it? Is he embarrassed by you? It's true you're both from very different worlds, having met through friends of friends and not through working together in the film industry. Sometimes you still can't understand why he'd chose to be with a nobody like you when he could literally have any woman he wanted. As your mind continues to spiral, taking you to dark places, tears begin to roll down your cheeks.

To love him so much, only to feel it's not enough for him to want you around is... soul crushing. You'd been trying for so long to ignore that niggling little voice in the back of your mind; the one telling you that you aren't good enough for him and there has been times when you'd been able to mute it, especially when you're together and he looks at you with pure adoration in his eyes, or the times he would come home to LA between filming, even if it was just for a couple of days to see you or if he couldn't make it he'd fly you out to the set. No matter what he always made time for your relationship, but only out of the public eye. Pedro has always been a private person, especially when it comes to romantic involvements, but it feels like he's trying to hide you.

And now, this latest video has turned that niggling little voice into a full on megaphone, screaming an endless barrage of ugly truths at you; you're not enough for him. He's bored of you. You're an embarrassment, a stone around his neck. It was only a matter of time. You clutch at your chest as your heart shatters into a thousand pieces, sobs wracking your body. It's over! How could you have not seen it sooner?! He doesn't need you in his life. He's bloody Pedro Pascal for heavens' sake.

You were a delusional fool to ever believe you had anything to offer him. Maybe this is his way of subtly telling you it wasn't working for him anymore. Maybe he'd hoped showing you the stark differences between you both would have made you realise it couldn't continue, and being the kind and gentle man he is, he didn't want to outright dump you and hurt you, so this was the best strategy.

Now your sorrow is tinged with anger. If he wanted to end it all this time he damn well should have had the balls to tell you instead of dragging it out. So, it's down to you now; if he won't do it, you'll have to. Your tablet screen is now shining with your tears. You wipe it dry with your sleeve and throw it down beside you, Knidle well and truly forgotton. Fluffing up a cushion, you curl up on the settee while your broken heart mourns and weeps.

As the party came to an end Pedro couldn't help but feel a little relieved. He'd had a great time and wouldn't have missed one of his best friends' milestone birthdays for the world, but he missed you like hell tonight. He especially felt the sting of your absence when he would see couples dancing or sitting together, hand in hand or snuggling up. He feels selfish, but he wishes you could have been here tonight. And not just tonight, but to all his recent public appearances like the premiers for The Wild Robot and Gladiator 2, but he won't put you through that again.

The guilt still eats away at him when he casts his mind back to the last couple of times you'd attended high profile events with him, even low key and private ones where there isn't a constant blinding flash of cameras. He knows of your struggles with your mental health, in particular with social anxiety (something he can absolutely relate to) and even through your obvious facade he could see what the pressure was doing to you, often feeling a slight tremble in your hand while laced with his. He could see the difference between your forced smile and your genuine smile; the one that would make your eyes sparkle and he could lose himself in them completely.

But the worst thing was when you start rubbing the palm of your hand over and over when you'd thought he wasn't watching. He knew then it was all becoming too much for you and that's when he'd decided that he won't be selfish anymore, that he had to prioritise your well being and comfort before his own and if that meant attending ceremonies and large gatherings alone, so be it. Of course, he always felt incomplete without you at his side, but your needs far outweigh his own as far as he's concerned. Knowing he can shield you from even a fraction of discomfort makes the sacrifice worth it.

After slipping into his jacket, Pedro found Sarah at the front door of her house, waving some guests off. Wrapping her in a big hug, he said, "Happy birthday again, sweetie and thanks for inviting me." Sarah returned the hug. "I'm so glad you came, but I missed seeing Y/N tonight. How is she?" Pedro couldn't hold back the grin that broke out across his face at the mention of your name. "She's great. I wanted to bring her tonight, but I think the crowd would have been too much for her." Sarah smiled endearingly at her friend. "You really do love her, don't you?" Pedro chuckled. "What makes you say that?"

"Oh no reason..." she smirked. " Only that I've never seen you so smitten and protective over any other woman in all the years I've known you. You've got it bad." Pedro rolled his eyes, playfully. "Yeah, I guess I do." "So, what are you waiting for?" Sarah crossed her arms over her chest. "What are you talking about?" Pedro asked, knowing exactly what she meant. "You've been carrying that ring around with you for weeks now and still haven't asked her. What's holding you back?" Pedro shifted uncomfortably, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Just worried about her, that's all. The moment word gets out of an engagement, paparazzi will be circling like vultures. I don't just want her overwhelmed." "I think you underestimate her," Sarah began, "I don't think she'd ever let her anxiety get in the way of being with you. It's obvious how much she loves you. In fact when I'm around you two for too long, the sweetness gives me temporary diabetes." Pedro let out a deep belly laugh at that, drawing one from Sarah in return.

"Just do it..." she urged, gently. "You know she'll say yes." Pedro smiled and nodded, "I know." "Well..." Sarah yawned, "Get out of here. I'm fifty now and need my beauty sleep." She gave Pedro another hug. "So, I'll see you and Y/N for lunch next week?" "Sure," Pedro replied, "Goodnight, sweetie." He waved as he walked to his car. "Night," Sarah called out before closing the door.

Settling in his car, Pedro connected his phone to the car speaker and rang your phone. He promised he'd call after the party to say goodnight and couldn't wait to hear your voice. But as soon as you answered, he knew something was wrong. "Hey baby, everything okay?" he asked, worridly. His worry only increased when you cleared your throat, trying to hide the tremble in your voice. "Yeah um... I'm fine." You most definitely aren't fine! "You're a shit liar, you know that?" Pedro says, lightheartedly to help put you at ease. Now his tone turns more serious. "Tell me what's wrong." Silence... "Y/N? You're starting to scare me now." "I told you I'm fine. I'm just... tired." You tried to sound convincing but failed, spectacularly.

"I'm coming over -" "No!" Your abrupt outburst silenced Pedro. You've never turned him away in all the months you've been together. "It's... uh... it's late. You should just get home safe." Pedro sighed. "I know something's wrong and if you won't tell me on the phone I'm coming over." At that, you burst into tears. A pang shot straight through Pedro's heart at the sound of you crying. "Hey, baby, talk to me!" he pled. "What happened?" In between the the sniffling your voice became strained. "I didn't want to do this over the phone." Pedro suddenly had a sinking feeling in his gut, not liking the tone of this conversation. "Do what?" he asked, hesitantly. "Its..." sniffle, "It's over."

If Pedro hadn't already been sitting in the car his legs would have given out on him! "W- what?!" he stuttered in disbelief. "What do you mean it's over?!" His hands gripped the steering wheel for support. Where the fuck did this come from all of a sudden?! "Please..." you whispered, sounding mentally drained. "Don't pretend you didn't know this was coming. If you don't want me anymore you should have said something sooner." Pdero jerked his head back, blinking in shock. "What the hell are you talking about, Y/N?" You are full on sobbing now, your words just an unintelligible jumble. "I'm coming over, right now!" "No, please-" "I'm coming over!" he cut you off bluntly and hung up the phone.

His hands shook as he started up the engine and it took all of his willpower to not floor it to your house. Getting pulled over for speeding is the last thing he needs right now. The whole way over, his mind was a frantic mess. What could have happened between the last time he saw you (which was only yesterday) and now? Did he say something? Do something? When he got to your house, he practically flew from the car, his fist pounding on your front door almost as hard as his heart was pounding behind his ribs. "Baby open up, please. I'm not leaving until you talk to me." A few moments later the door cracked open and there you stood, puffy eyed and blotchy faced. Your lips had swollen and your nose shone red from crying.

Pedro could have cried himself from the state you're in. Without a second thought he pushed his way through the door and swept you into his arms, cupping the back of your head to his chest. To his relief, instead of pushing him away, you encircled your arms around his waist, holding him tight. He reached back to close the door behind him, then guided you to the setee, sitting beside you. "Now, what's all this about, hmm? I know this isn't what you really want." You shook your head, a small humourless laugh escaping you. "Of course it's not, but deep down I think it's what you want."

Pedro's forefinger gently tipped your chin up so you were looking into his eyes; big puppy dog eyes filled hurt, confusion and fear. "What I want?" His bottom lip twitched as if he was lost for words. You nod, wiping your cheeks. "W- why would you ever think something like that, sweetheart?" Pedro's shocked expression now has you doubting yourself. Were you wrong? But how could you be? For a while, you've been trying to ignore the feeling that he was slipping away but looking at him now... It's like he'd never even entertained the idea of leaving you. All this uncertainty is giving you whiplash and you can't hold it in anymore. You need to get everything off your chest.

"I..." you trail off as you feel more tears gathering, ready to pour out along with all your insecurities. "...I feel like you don't want me around anymore..." you begin, chest shuddering with nerves and hiccups. "You never invite me to anything, whether it's to do with your public life or even your social life. I'm never included like a partner should be. I need you to be honest... Are you ashamed of me? Because sometimes I feel like you don't want to be seen with me and that you've been pulling away..." You're rambling now, but you just can't stop. "I know I'm not on the same level as you and there are so many beautiful women out there throwing themselves at your feet. Maybe I don't belong in your world. Maybe I'm not enough for you-" Pedro's hands on either side of your face stops your self deprecating tirade.

"Baby, don't you ever put yourself down like that again, you hear me?" You're shocked to see Pedro's cheeks are now wet too. "I'm sorry. Fucking hell! I'm so sorry I made you feel that way. I thought I was protecting you this whole time." "Protecting me?" you ask in bewilderment. Pedro gave you a sad smile. "I Know from years of experience that being in the spotlight is tough. It can be draining and I could see how hard it was for you." Pedro took one of your hands and turned it over, rubbing slow circles into your palm. When you realised what he meant by that action, he nodded and kissed your forehead.

"I know you tried to hide it from me, but I noticed every time." "I'm sorry," you mumbled, shame burning your cheeks. "No." Pedro squeezed your hand. "You never apologise for that. I'm the one who's sorry. I was afraid if I mentioned it, you deny it for my sake, so I stopped asking you to come with me thinking it was the best thing for you." Pedro exhaled and your heart ached for him, seeing the guilt and remorse crushing him. "I didn't think it would have looked like I never want you around, 'cause the truth is I miss you, EVERY GODDAMN TIME I have to attend these things without you. I want you with me, now and forever. I'll tell you what..." he looked to be carefully considering his next words. "if you feel up for it, come with me to the next event and if you feel overwhelmed at any point, you tell me and we'll take some time out or even leave."

More tears fall, but this time from sheer relief. You hadn't realised you'd dropped your head again until Pedro, once again, lifted your chin. He looked into your eyes with a fierce and passionate determination. "Now, I'll say this only once; I'm not ashamed of you, we are on the same level, you are more than enough for me and you ARE my world. I love you, so much!" You couldn't fight the beaming smile that practically split your face and you grabbed Pedro by the collar of his jacket, crashing your lips against his.

A surprised "Oomph!" came from his throat and you felt him smile against your mouth. His hands slid to your waist and he pulled you flush to his upper body. His tongue licked your lips and you opened them, allowing him to deepen then kiss; a kiss filled with love, reassurance and a promise of forever. Pedro then broke the kiss, pulling you into a hug. "I love you too," you whispered into his ear. "And I'm sorry, I should have told you how I was feeling instead of keeping it from you." Pedro cupped your cheek, wiping away a tear. "I'm sorry too, for making that decision for you instead of talking to you."

You let out a lighthearted chuckle, Pedro's frown softening at the sound. "I guess it was just bad communication on both our parts." "Yeah..." he agreed. "Let's make a promise to each other, right now; that we'll always be open and honest with each other and not keep things bottled up." "I promise," you smile and kiss the tip of his nose. "And I promise, too," he returned the kiss. With all the tension drained from your body, you suddenly feel exhausted and can't stop the big yawn taking over you. Pedro smiled at you, adoringly. "I think we should get you to bed, sweetheart." He stood up, picking you up off the setee and made his way to your bedroom.

"Will you stay tonight?" You whisper as you snuggle into his neck, inhaling the scent you love so much. "Of course I will." He kissed the crown of your head. While you used the bathroom, pedro changed into a pair of PJ bottoms and an old T-shirt he'd left here for when he'd stay over. He used the bathroom after you, rushing through brushing his teeth just so he could return to you sooner. Walking into the bedroom, he laughed to himself when all could see was your eyes peeking at him from the edge of the quilt, which was pulled up to cover your nose. God, you look adorable. Your eyes creased in the corners as you laughed under the cover, then pulled it away for him to settle in next to you.

Pedro laid on his back, lifting his arm for you to snuggle into him. Sighing happily, you lay your head on his broad chest and lace a leg over his hips, the steady thump of his heartbeat and the warmth of his body soothing you instantly. "I love you." You tipped your head up to kiss him softly on his lips. "I love you too," he purred, tightening his arms around you. It didn't take you more than ten minutes to drop off, judging by your slow breaths. Pedro, on the other hand, stayed awake long after you'd dropped off, just relishing the feeling of holding you in his arms. He feels sick to his stomach when he thinks about how close he came to losing you tonight, and all because of a misunderstanding.

He thinks of the ring he's been carrying around, how he almost lost the opportunity to give it to you. Well, he won't wait any longer. If tonight has taught him anything, it's that nothing is guaranteed in life and, even though he never once doubted you'd say yes, just your devastated reaction to believing you'd lost him proves that you love and need him as much as he does you. Tomorrow he'll ask you; He'll wine and dine you at your favourite restaurant, take you on a stroll along the beach and then, he'll get down on one knee and invite you to share the rest of your life with him.

@greenwitchfromthewoods @picketniffler @liciafonseca @misscornelia13 @missadangel @southernbe

[bl0rbohandbag]

– some vampire the masquerade x changeling the lost concepts that will not leave me alone.

"but vtm and ctl are from different settings–" shhhhhh :)

— part 2.

before i begin: i have been dabbling in vampire the masquerade and changeling the lost content for a while, i am not a fan of changeling the dreaming and vampire the requiem is unfamiliar to me. anyway! buckle up, enjoy the ride, this is kind of long.

trigger warning for abuse/unhealthy parental relationships because vamps i guess.

first of all: i recently read vtm: bloodstained love. while it focus on the more romantic and sexual aspects of kindred relationships with a lot of references to obsessive/posessive behavior and grotesque acts of love, it also made me wonder how those would translate to platonic or familial relationships. add some changeling shenanigans to that and we have some interesting concepts to play with! and with that being said...

– you're a changeling. kidnapped into arcadia and trapped there for who knows how long. in your durance, you dream of going back home, of reuniting with your friends and family, escaping your keeper to finally, finally enjoy freedom in the world you were born in.

– and one day, you do escape. back into your world, never feeling completely safe with your keeper looking to get you back and huntsmen being a very real threat, but you're ready to rebuild your life and enjoy your newfound freedom.

– there are various mentions throughout the ctl books on how unsuspecting or heedless changelings might have their freedom stolen again, this time by kindred. so, as it turns out, you'll have to deal with creatures other than the true fae who are more than willing to keep you caged!

the angst potential in a changeling reuniting with ther parent(s) only to find out they've become something inhuman, and not all that different from their keeper is unmatched.

maybe you watch them from a distance first. maybe you excitedly seek them out. maybe you just randomly bump into your parent by complete chance, after presuming them dead or deciding to abandon your old life. maybe they find you.

but the point is: they're kindred. so different from when you last saw them, as a teenager, as a child, before you were taken. as if having huntsmen and your keeper after you wasn't trying enough, a vampire parent comes (back) into your life to make it even more complicated.

a ventrue dad will make his ghouls your bodyguards, following you day and night. it makes you insanely uncomfortable, as you liken them to changelings serving true fae back in arcadia. he says it's because of his own dangerous kindred affairs that might affect you, but after an unplesant encounter with the huntsmen he might just decide you shouldn't be out and about at all.

your parent is either a neonate or an ancilla by the time your return from arcadia. your fetch is dead for whatever reason, expired, after living a life in your stead, automatically making the vampire believe their child is dead– now imagine their surprise and confusion when they see you– real you, living and breathing. and maybe you're distraught, too, seeing that they haven't aged a day or should, depeding on how long you've been gone, be most definetly dead.

(this is absolutely NOT going to send the vampire parent into a mental breakdown and spiral into obsession upon discovering the child they have lost and buried was literally a soulless copy of their real child who got kidnapped by faeries. a clone made out of twigs and a cat's eyes that stole their child's place and they never noticed. everything is just fine. it does not them affect them mentally at all :3)

(bonus points if the fetch was killed by the vampire parent's enemies after being entagled in their mess. they feel like they are getting a second chance and will absolutely not screw it up! cue you, poor changeling, being locked away or put under heavy surveillance.)

on the other hand, a kindred parent who currently has a living fetch of their child just being EXTREMELY distraught when they keep spotting someone who looks exactly like their kid at random places they definetly shouldn't be at is very funny and kind of unsettling!

(a vampire mom just feeding on mortals at the club, socializing with other kindred, perhaps dealing with some unresolved issues with her sire, etc. Then she spots you, her real kid, unbeknownst to her, just chilling, among all those dangerous vampires, when you're supposed to be in your dorm room at least a thousand miles from there. she calls the fetch's phone, expecting you to pick up and start explaining yourself. your fetch answers the phone, talks to her, sleep-drunk and confused as to why she's calling so late, but the person she's looking at has made no motion at all. they're not talking. they have not picked up the phone. but that's her kid's face, she's sure. what the fuck?)

for low-humanity ancillae/elder kindred, having their child back might bring about long-forgotten mortal feelings of genuine parental love, although they might express in the very unorthodox way kindred would. they simply do not understand why their child does not want to be around them. they just want to bond with you and keep you safe where kindred and fae can't get to you, make up for lost time. what do you mean they're "just like your keeeper"?

i think a lot of kindred parents will leave you be, mostly brujah or gangrel, knowing you'll be safer if they keep you away from their world. provided there was no fetch to replace you, they think it's amazing enough you were found alive and well after years of being a missing person. you don't like talking about what happened in your... "durance"... fine, they'll keep the investigators off your back, too. they might not even know you're no longer human. but they are going to check on you once in a while, or keep tabs on you, or even have some of their people watch you from a distance. just to make sure.

(just don't let them catch wind of all the changeling shenanigans or huntsmen attacks on your person. that might just change their mind...)

kindred parents might believe you're safer away from their world, yes, but they can just as easily bring you into the mess of kindred society without a second thought.

not very fun being a fairest when your toreador mother insists you show your mien to impress her fellow clan mates and other kindred with your overwhelming beauty. she's always been a pageant mom, so this shouldn't surprise you. there's several layers of wrongness to this, from having your changeling identity exposed to multiple vampires to further your mother's social status to this very situation bringing back so many unpleasant memories from your durance, and it's bound to end badly.

(the toreador pageant mom could very easily be a nosferatu pageant mom, a cleopatra now living vicariously through your fae-given beauty.)

(she will realize how terrible a mistake that was when vampires start really paying attention to you. or not. who knows.)

(gifts that could easily have come from a true fae lord start pouring in. letters written in excessive passion, bouquets of bloody roses, dresses made out of human skin, all delivered by equally dazed-looking ghouls. perhaps your mother will know, then, she fucked up severely. or maybe she'll just tell you to be grateful for those wonderful gifts.)

on another hand, a nosferatu parent taking one look at their fairest child's mien and deciding "oh. no kindred can see you like. ever. stay away from toreador specifically". you don't know what a toreador is, but you'll try to heed the advice.

your ancilla mother meets your motley and proceeds to show them baby pictures of you, taken in the 1870s shortly before your abduction to Faerie. they are very well preserved and you look most proper in your little sailor outfit.

you have a beast/ogre seeming and your gangrel parent thinks you're pretty rad :) you go hunting together.

your tzimisce dad has living furniture made out of human skin, but it's nothing you haven't seen in arcadia before. he's a little disappointed by your lack of enthusiasm, and very offended when you tell him your keeper had better taste in couches. trying to evade a tzimisce dad after he's been made aware of your existence is a difficult task, and you will get caught and held captive at one point (for your safety, of course!). if there is a fetch currently living your life, they will be immediately killed or horribly tortured (read: vicissitude) for the crime of decieving the tzimisce and impersonating you, regardless of you already having decided to leave said fetch alone.

(tzimisce dad thinks you should be thankful. he dealt with the imposter. shouldn't you be happy?)

(if he’s got cash and has some land within his domain to spare, he might let you build a little home not too far from his own to give you a semblance of independence to try and settle you down. might.)

(on the other hand, you have the chance to become a really good escape artist. take your time in captivity with your tzimisce dad to practice your escaping and running away skills, after all, every good changeling needs it! you also get the bonus of reliving your childhood/teenagehood with all the sneaking out.)

(quick intermission: all of these concepts might result in low-clarity for the changeling?? i'm not too sure how clarity damage works yet.

update: it absolutely might!)

your malkavian mother thinks she's plagued with visions of her missing child, glimpses of what they might look nowadays, wherever they are. this is actually you, visiting her in her dreams through oneiromancy.

(everyone thought, back then, that it was just a scare. you wandered into the forest and for ten hours people searched for you, only to find you safe and sound, without a scratch in your body or a speck of dirt in your shoes hours later. but she knew better. she knew that wasn't really you. it haunted her for the rest of her life, and it haunts her unlife even now. she never made it to the hedge.)

you can't take your tremere parent ANYWHERE. you give in after endless nagging and take them to a goblin market, but their arrogance will get them roped into terrible deals if you don't keep your eyes on them full time. you do take this as an opportunity to show off your changeling capabilities. you're in your element.

(you also drop life-altering bits of Faerie lore at random or inappropriate times. it sends them spiraling. you just hope they won't share it with anyone...)

darkling changeling just chilling with their nosferatu dad in the sewers, sharing rats.

and that's all for today, folks.

[thisgirlnamedblusy]

So hear me out, the first time Donna is close enough to reader while they sleep right? Well. Reader may have forgot to mention that they randomly stop breathing for a few seconds sometimes(it’s called sleep something that starts with an A) idk I think it’s kinda funny when I do that but yk. That or reader who had horrible depth perception and walks into things all the time so has bruises everywhere and forgets where exactly they come from

Yesss!!! Well, I chose the apnea option if you don't mind :))) Thank you for your request, I hope you like it and sorry about the language mistakes!!! :))))

Sleeping problems

Pairing: Donna Beneviento x Fem! Reader

Warnings: Fluff, reader has sleep apnea, protective Donna

Word count: 2,686

Summary: You live with Donna now, but maybe you forgot about telling her something...

N/A: Sorry about the language mistakes, Donna requests are open!! My other account problems are solved, but I've decided to stay here definetely :))) I'm gonna make a master list and rules soon. I love you all!! :))))

“Are you comfortable?” Donna asked, covering you with the sheets. Her hands trembled, revealing a more than obvious nervousness.

It wasn't like other times at the beginning of your relationship. This time you could say that her nerves were more than justified. After months of insisting, insisting and insisting, you finally decided to take the final step: abandon your old house in the village and live with her.

Donna was your first long-term relationship, and you had doubts too. If something went wrong, you didn't know what the consequences could be. She was still one of the lords of the place and if you hurt her, you would suffer her wrath, and probably Mother Miranda's as well.

But that absurd fear of discrepancies or disagreements disappeared as soon as you started to really get to know her. Donna would never hurt you, or at least it’s what your almost unhealthy heart made you think.

Donna Beneviento had many flaws…. Some of them were natural, others were caused by years and years of terrible loneliness. To get used to her fear of losing you or her completely unjustified jealousy didn't take you too long, although it's true that this obsession with possessing you was the hardest thing to adjust to. She was that way, and you could never change it.

“Yes, yes... I'm fine, Donna,” you replied amused, snuggling up next to her in bed. “Come on, calm down.”

“Okay, okay,” she sighed, freeing her black hair from the messy bun she always tied it in. “Forgive me, (Y/N), I'm just nervous.”

“Don't apologize,” you said, laughing, grabbing her hand tenderly making that tremor disappear. “By the way… What should we do now?” You asked, lowering your tone and purring very close to her ear.

“What do you want to do?” She asked back, avoiding one of your unexpected kisses.

“I don't know... You and me... A bed...” You said murmuring, running a finger along her waist.

She pulled away from you and shook her head, a tender smile on her face.

“No, tesoro... Not tonight,” she said in a soft voice, suppressing the shiver that your touch made her feel.

“Why?” You asked, disappointed.

“Tonight is a very special moment, I don't want to ruin it.”

“Ruin it? Hey…” You said, pretending to be offended.

“No, I'm not saying that because I don't like it, (Y/N)... I just... I just want our first night together to be special...”

“Oh, well, okay,” you said reluctantly, lying down again and forgetting the desire that had already begun to form inside you. “So?  We are going to just sleep?”

“Aren't you excited to sleep with me?” She asked, letting out her demons, the shadows that made her doubt your feelings.

“What? Of course, of course, darling,” you said, scared by her heavy breathing. It wasn't easy to deal with her problems. Sometimes you forgot how sensitive she could be.

“You don’t love me?” She asked, her eye shining, with an expression of genuine terror. Time to act.

“Well, of course I love you, Donna... Come on, relax, breathe, breathe with me,” you said, grabbing her hands, sitting on the bed and keeping your gaze on hers. “That's it… take a breath…”

She obeyed your instructions and finally relaxed.

“I'm sorry, (Y/N). I wish I didn't have these… Flaws,” she said, snuggling next to you under the covers.

“Don’t worry. We all have flaws,” you replied, caressing her body and kissing the palm of her hand.

“Not you,” she said with a hoarse voice.

“Oh, of course I have…”

Donna looked at you curiously, reaching out with her hand to turn off the light on the table and make darkness fall over your embraced bodies.

“Go to sleep, princess... The truth is that I'm very excited to wake up next to you,” you said softly, planting a soft and tender kiss on her cheek.

“Really?” She asked, excited again.

“Really…”

Moving the stuff you had in your house to the Beneviento estate was an exhausting work. You didn't really know why you were interested in doing anything different than sleeping. Tiredness made your eyelids close immediately and, with the heat of her body pressed against yours, you fell into a deep sleep.

Even though you weren't used to that bed (at least to sleeping on it), nothing could stop you from dreaming peacefully like every night.

“Mmm,” you murmured when the light on the table made you squeeze your eyes tightly.

“(Y/N)... You're awake,” Donna whispered, looking at you, sitting on the bed and running a hand over your cheek. You smiled when you felt her caresses and yawned lazily.

“Yes, now I am...” you murmured with your voice hoarse from sleep. “What time is it?”

“8 o'clock,” she responded, studying your gaze in a strange way.

“Oh my God, I’ve slept so well...” you said, sitting up and stretching comically.

“I don't think so, idiot... You...” Angie's squeaky voice made your ears tremble.

“Angie, shut up,” Donna said sharply, making her doll flee the room in terror.

“What is she talking about?” You asked, still with problems to open your eyes.

“Nothing, it doesn't matter,” Donna said, perhaps a bit abruptly. “Have you really rested well?”

“Of course, why do you ask?” You wanted to know, taking a sip of the glass of water on your table.

“Oh, it's nothing,” Donna responded, with that look that betrayed a filthy lie.

“Did you sleep well?” You asked, giving your girlfriend a quick kiss on the lips. She stood still for a moment, until she smiled softly and nodded.

“With you by my side, tesoro, I have rested better than ever," she whispered into your lips, kissing you again before getting up. There was something strange in her gaze, but you ignored it. “You want breakfast?”

“Of course, of course. I'm quite hungry,” you said happily, as she got out of bed.

That was the first day of many others. Living with her was the best decision of your life, without a doubt. Your relationship only got better and better. Although, it is true that strange things happened every night. Sometimes you had the feeling that you were waking up, or rather, that you were being woken up, by gently moving your body. You didn't give it the slightest importance.

One afternoon, as was customary, you rested on her chest while you took a hot bath. With the cold outside, it was an unimaginable pleasure.

Donna yawned loudly, making you turn your head in amusement.

“Are you sleepy?” You asked with a slightly mocking tone. The water moved when you wanted to turn around and face her.

“No, I... Well, maybe a bit,” she responded, cupping your face in her hands. “Come, I like to caress you.”

The doll maker turned you around again, making your head rest on her bare chest again, under the pleasant temperature of the hot water.

“It's 5 in the afternoon,”  you continued mocking.

“Oh, is it?” She asked, relaxing her breathing, gently grabbing your waist.

“Yes, that's what the clock says,” you said, amused.

Although everything was going perfectly well, Donna was weirder than usual.

“Oh, of course, the clock tells the time...” she said in a tired, almost delirious tone. You frowned and made another attempt to turn around, frustrated by her hands pressing you against her chest.

“Donna, honey… Are you okay?” You asked, joining your hands with his under the water.

“Yes, yes...” she sighed. You shrugged.

“Okay, then... Do you feel like taking a walk? I heard there is a meteor shower tonight,” you said, making her arm pass through your chest, surrounding it affectionately.

“Mm,” she murmured, taking advantage of the position of her arm to continue caressing you, slower and slower.

“I always liked to see how the stars fall from the sky... When I was little I always asked myself what would happen if they touched the ground...”

“Mm”

“I imagined that they would fall like diamonds, shining in the darkness of the night, and that I could take one home. How silly, don't you think?”

That time, not even a soft murmur left her lips. You moved, surprised. You always liked to talk too much and Donna always listened to you with her full attention.

You turned slowly, removing her now motionless arm from your body.

Donna had her head resting on the bathtub, breathing deeply with her eye closed. You couldn't believe what you saw.

“Donna,” you said, amused. “Hey, Donna!” You screamed louder, splashing some water on her face.

“Mm? What?” she asked, shaking her head confused, making a face of disgust at the water you threw in her face. “Dove siamo?”

“What? You’re asking me where are we? Donna, honey, we're home... In the bathtub...” You said in disbelief, watching as she looked erratically to the sides, blinking repeatedly. “You have fallen asleep.”

“Have I?” She asked, sighing, sitting up. “Oh, well…”

“It's not the first time in several days that I see you falling asleep around the house, are you sure you're okay?” You asked, brushing the hair from her face. She nodded, once again giving away the lie.

“Oh, I... Well... Yes, I'm fine, just... You know, the heat of the steam... Being here with you... I've relaxed too much, I'm so sorry.”

“Don’t worry...” you said with a suspicious look, kissing his wounded cheek carefully.

As the days passed, her sudden naps became more and more frequent. You knew something was wrong with her, but she didn't want to tell you. You began to believe that it had something to do with you, and that it had a lot, a lot to do with a small detail about you that you had never told her about.

“Angie, where is Donna?” You asked, closing the book you were reading. The doll shrugged. You looked at the clock on the wall and frowned. “It's almost lunch time, normally at this time she is already cooking.”

“Hey, stupid (Y/N), you think my Donna is your slave?” The doll protested, climbing onto the couch next to you.

You rolled your eyes.

“No, Angie. If she let me cook I wouldn't be asking.”

“That's because your food is garbage, garbage!” The doll screeched irritatingly.

“It's funny that a porcelain doll without stomach or sense of taste tells me that,” you said mockingly, crossing your arms. “Anyway, I'm going to look for her, I'm sure she hasn't noticed the time.

After avoiding the throwing of objects that Angie usually protested with, you took the elevator down. It was quite common for time to fly by for her when she worked on her dolls.

“Donna? It's me, are you there?” You asked softly, knocking on the workshop the doors. “Donna?”

There was no response, which made you a bit nervous. You decided to leave education aside and open the door yourself. The sight before you was funny and strange at the same time.

Sure enough, Donna was there, sitting in one of the chairs. But she wasn’t focused like she usually was. No, this time her head was resting on the table, making soft sounds, suspiciously similar to the ones she made when she fell asleep.

“I don’t believe what I see,” you said, holding back your laughter, slowly approaching the woman. “Hey, Donna,” you said, moving her back slowly, caressing it so as not to startle her.

“(Y/N)?” The woman in black growled, raising her head from the table. On her cheek, she had stuck a color palette, which had smeared paint all over her face. Your desire to laugh only increased.

“Were you putting on makeup?” You joked, under her disoriented gaze.

“What? No, no... I was... I was painting a doll and...” She said in a hoarse voice, running her hands over her stained face. “Oh, not again…”

“You fell asleep again, huh?” You said, crossing your arms. “Look what you've made to your face. Come, let me help you.”

“Yes, yes I... Oh...” She murmured confusedly, letting you help her to stand up.

The two of you walked to the sink in the next room and carefully cleaned the paint stains from her face.

You ran the water over her face, removing most of the paint.

“Sit down, my love,” you said lovingly, grabbing a towel that was near the sink. She simply nodded, embarrassed.

While you passed the towel over her face, definitively cleaning it, you decided that it was time to talk about those naps.

“Donna,” you whispered, sighing and bending down, putting your hands on her shoulders so she could look at your face. “I’m worried about you.”

“About me? Why? I'm fine,” she said, pathetically looking away from her.

“You lie terribly,” you said, amused. “I've been living with you for two weeks and... I don't know, Donna, something's wrong with you, you're constantly exhausted.”

“I don't…”

“Come on, tell me what's happening. Look at you... It seems like you haven't slept in days,” you said, delicately lifting her chin. “You don’t sleep?”

She didn't respond. She simply shook her head slowly.

“Don’t you? Wow, am I moving too much?” You asked, sitting in a chair next to her.

Donna shook her head again.

“Okay...” You said to yourself, thoughtful.

“You... Sometimes you... No, you stop breathing,” Donna said, with trembling hands, as if the mere fact of saying something like that disturbed her. “Every night I hug you and… Suddenly, your chest stops moving, I can't hear your breathing. You always do it again but... I'm, I'm really afraid that one day...”

“Oh, that was it!” You said, with a tone perhaps too high. “Don't worry about that, Donna. It's normal, it's happened to me since I was little.”

“Don't worry? I'm saying that you stop breathing, (Y/N),” she said with a serious, stern tone.

“Yes, I know,” you whispered, amused, relieved to finally know the problem. “It's something that happens to many people. It's called sleep apnea.”

“I've never read anything about that,” Donna said, feeling ashamed of her ignorance.

“Well, it's nothing you have to worry about. Sometimes I stop breathing for a few seconds while I'm sleeping, but I always do it again. The doctor said there was nothing to worry about.”

“Why hadn't you told me before?” She asked, offended by what she believed was a lack of trust.

“Because I don't consider it something important...” You sighed, smiling in relief. “Wait, wait,” you said, frowning, when some revelations crossed your mind. “Haven't you slept all these nights?”

She shook her head, looking down again.

“I stay awake to watch you. If, if something happens to you while I'm sleeping I... I don't know what would happen to me.”

You couldn't help but burst into loud laughter.

“Does it seem funny to you?” She asked offended.

“No, no... It just, it just seems very cute to me, Donna... So that's why you fall asleep anywhere, because you're awake at night... Have I ever told you how much I love you?”

“This is serious, (Y/N),” the woman scolded you, her gaze cold.

“No, no... You shouldn't worry so much, really... Do you trust me?”

“I do”

“Then forget about it, okay? Stop watching me at night. Nothing will happen to me, I promise. Not sleeping is very dangerous for your health.”

“Losing you would be even worse,” she stated sadly, looking for your hand to squeeze it tightly with hers.

“You're not gonna lose me”

After those sincere words, you leaned to kiss her tenderly, to say with a kiss how much you loved her, how much you were happy about the enormous love she felt for you.

“Now, honey, go to bed, get the rest you need. I'll make the food, even if Angie says it's garbage.”

“Oh, come on, she doesn't mean it,” Donna said, amused, getting up from the chair with your help.

“Shh, shut up and go to sleep, my beautiful Donna... I love you so much...” You sighed, not being able to avoid kissing her again.

“Me too, (Y/N), me too...”

[cup1dt3a]

Well, I had an idea for you to do. The reader is a streamer who enters the Welcome website and, together with the live people, gets to know this Welcome and Yan! Wally... Well, how would Wally react to that? And as time goes by wally falls in love with the reader, how would he see the reader's fans and his job of doing live, playing games, watching videos?

-🐰

Tysm for the request! I love this idea I don’t think I’ve seen anyone do it yet but I could be wrong too! Hope you’re doing well or that things get better 🐰!

this hasn’t been spelll checked so sorry for any errors in my writing!

“Hello everyone and welcome back or to my stream! Today I’m looking at this website called “ Welcome Home.” You greeted explaining the website you found while starting your stream.

You’ve been a streamer for a few weeks, but you’ve managed to gain a lot of popularity due to keeping up with the popular topics of the months. And out of nowhere you had found the website “ Welcome Home”. You don’t know how or why it just one day popped up in one of your emails probably from some fan of yours wanting you to review it. Strangest thing about the email was how nothing was said about the website and the email even seemed to be sketchy, but curiosity got the best of you.

So without thinking or whatever had possessed you made you click on the website. For a second the bright colors and themes of the website blinded you as your eyes tried to adjust to it. The bright colors and theme of the website amazed you. As you looked further into it the website explained it was an abandoned puppet studio they had found. And wanted to revive or find out more about the old show that seemed to have been wiped from history.

You’ve heard a few things about the website and it’s fast rise to popularity so it would probably do you some good to check it out. What’s a little curiosity going to hurt?

” There’s glitches in the website?” You questioned as people flooded your comments with all the glitches in the game.

You decided to check them out after previewing the characters information about them. Though one character in particular caught your eye. Wally Darling he was the only character who ever made eye contact with the viewer. Especially in official art or any on the website his large black eyes almost followed you around in a way. It was creepy, but you guessed that might have just been something the maker of the website did.

Little did you know it wasn’t. As the lively black eyes followed you are still peering into your own eyes. Even peaking onto your stream. As you chatted to your so called “chat” about the website.

“ Hello and welcome to or back to my stream!” You said doing your usual intro for your stream.

“ Sorry if the quality is bad! I’ve been having some trouble with my computer, but that won’t stop me.” You announced.

Ever since you went onto the welcome home website you’ve been having technical difficulties with your computer. You’ve rebooted it twice, brought it to someone for repairs, and after all that you were told nothings wrong with it. Now here’s the oddest thing today as you streamed your graphics and everything was fine. No buggs or anything it was fine. Acting as if there wasn’t anything wrong with it for the last week!

“ Well I’ll just end the stream here. Thank you all watching!” You said as you finally ended the stream.

Sighing out you looked at your now glitching computer. You brought your lips to a pout still thinking of what possible way your computer would be fine. How could it be fine if it’s doing this? And what’s with the eyes that would always pop up randomly. The eyes seemed so familiar in a way too. Were you being hacked? This was just starting to get ridiculous. Who and what is doing this shit?!

Your ‘streams’ as you called them were always so interesting. He’s never really seen anything like this and you even do it for a living? A very fun job in his opinion! To just info dump, review, and give your own input on whatever you were doing sounded like a dream.

As you talked he couldn’t help but become mesmerized with your voice. It was just so addictive to just watch you all day doing your streams without a care in the world. Especially as his dark eyes watched your face contort into so many different emotions. Whether it be anger, sadness, disgust, or even adoration all of them looked so beautiful on your beautiful face. He looked forward to watching you ever day. In a way you could say he was your number one fan because he was always the first one to watch your streams every day.

But once they ended he still had front row seats to his next favorite stream. What you did when the camera was off. This was when you didn’t put on your little persona for the camera and everything was just artificially you. He loved this part of you the most. Even if you didn’t know he was there he always was watching you. You were all his thoughts had clouded over with. A fog of nothing but your sweet face saying his name in admiration just as he hoped to someday say to you.

Oh, how he just yearned to be with you! But not yet, no it’s not time. Not yet…

Tysm for reading this hope you’re alll doing well or that things are getting better!

sincerely- Cup1dT3a💖

[woodchipp]

So. The friends.

A somewhat popular topic of discussion in the OMORI friends seem to be (or have been when the game was still fresh for discussion) the reaction of the gang at Sunny's confession before he gets to start his life anew and away from all the people he hurt.

Most fans, who mostly care about how Sunny feels, seem to assume that they will, eventually but surely, forgive him and Basil because Power of Friendship, or "but they didn't mean to and they suffered enough :<"

But I'm sure you have a different opinion, right? :)

Oh, I definitely have.

In general - The group would dissolve, for real this time. There is no way they could stay together after learning the people they considered close friends were willing to lie to them on such a scale, no matter their reasoning.

Kel - At first, he’d obviously react with disbelief that his friends would even do something as vile. Then I think he’d be torn between empathy for the two’s situation and empathy for Hero (and, more distantly, Aubrey). He’d be the only one who’d somehow try to understand their point of view (mostly the “we didn’t mean to” part), but at the end of the day, the fact they are the ones who made his beloved big bro so miserable would still stand, and I don’t think he’d be willing to forgive that. 

He might try to imagine what he would do if he hurt Hero, and the thought of pretending he killed himself would repulse him. I can also see him blaming himself for getting Sunny to go outside - from his perspective, if he wasn’t such an idiot and reached out to the latter, his friends wouldn’t be hurt like that. (Wouldn’t be the first time someone got hurt because he cared enough to reach out.)

Lastly, given how much he values the group’s friendship, I think he’d feel awful that neither Sunny nor Basil seemed to consider him (and, by extension, the rest of their friends) trustworthy enough to tell them the truth immediately.

Hero - Wouldn’t beat Sunny and Basil to death like in all the memes but wouldn’t ever forgive them either. After the four years he spent blaming himself and trying to live with the idea he will never get an answer as to why his girlfriend decided to leave him the way she did, the guilt he felt would very much not be assuaged by Sunny randomly revealing that he cut Mari’s life short and then let Basil defile her corpse but chose not to tell him that for those four years. On the contrary, he’d most likely refuse to associate, much less speak, with the two of them again.

Aubrey - I don’t see any other outcome for her than reverting to the violent and unstable girl she was after the first time she got the news about her surrogate older sister’s “suicide” except she’s a thousand times angrier now. She’d get even bigger trust issues because her two best friends - one of which she introduced to the group in the first place - turned out to have ruined her life in every single way possible and, combined with the group’s dissolution, would feel even more abandoned. Even with the fact the character development she went through was miniscule aside, she had just put on the band-aid on her wound before Sunny ripped it off and poured lemon juice on the wound - do you really think said development would stick?

Also she absolutely would beat both of them to death. With her trusty nail bat 💖

[decks-writing-blog]

Emotional Support Gnome

Summary: Alyx helps transport the gnome.

[A/N] In my recently completed play through of the HL2 Ep 2 VR mod I found the gnome (I didn't in my play through of the normal game) so I decided to get the achievement. It was fun until I reached the car but then it got better when I figured out how to glitch the gnome into being much more secure in the car. Also, I didn't know you could leave the gnome behind when going off with the Vortigaunt to get the stuff to save Alyx (I only know now because I looked up tips for the car bit which only kind of helped and skimmed through and found that tidbit of info) and thus because of the way climbing ladders works in the VR mod, getting it out of the pit that you fall into in that part of the game was a bit of a pain but I managed. While I was there I came up with the idea to write a fic about Gordon transporting the gnome in which Alyx and the Vortigaunt helps him with said gnome because that's a neat idea. It provides some nice championship opportunities which Gordon desperately needs.

Also, Lamarr gets dragged out of the rocket because I'm sad she gets sent to space. I love her with all my heart and soul and want her to live. Gordon probably doesn't like her but Kleiner is his pal so he saves her for him.

~

After hanging up the call, Alyx turned to face Gordon again. Whatever she’d been about to say vanished from her mind at the sight of him though. “Is that a garden gnome?” She’d seen garden gnomes before so it wasn’t that out there but turning around to see him of all people randomly holding one made it a bit more strange.

He looked up at her for just a moment before turning his gaze back onto the gnome in his hands. Taking one hand off, he lifted it to sign a, “Yes.”

“Where’d you find it?” She would’ve noticed it if it were out in the open. It was fairly big and even with the faded paint, it was eye catching.

Gordon pointed to old rickety bed frame, angled down a bit. So under the bed. An odd place to find a garden gnome since one would think they mostly resided in gardens but with how messed up the world was why wouldn’t one somehow end up under a bed?

She almost stepped over and bent down to see if there was anything else interesting under there but… they had important stuff to do and the Combine were who even knew how close to finding them? They didn’t have time to goof off and look for hidden lawn decorations. “Uh, okay. We should probably get going.”

Switching his hold on the gnome to one armed hugging it to his chest, with it faced outwards, Gordon started for the door. Apparently the gnome was coming with them. With a shrug, Alyx followed. Who was she to question Gordon Freeman? Maybe he just liked gnomes. They were kind of cute after all.

And even if the situation was rather urgent it was good to see a less serious side of him finally. Before all this she’d have never thought she’d meet someone as cool and badass as the Gordon Freeman. But now they were somehow good enough friends for him to relax around her a little. How cool was that?

***

The fall shouldn’t have killed the Freeman. He’d survived much worse many times. And if his time were to ever come it wouldn’t be at the bottom of a pit. But still he was taking an awful long time to come back up. Time they did have – the others could keep the Alyx Vance stable for days if need be –but it wouldn’t be wise to push it if they could help it, especially with the Combine on the hunt for the Freeman and the Alyx Vance. … Perhaps the ladder didn’t descend all the way down and thus he needed assistance.

Abandoning the watch for antlions – none seemed likely to be coming anyway – they made their way over the edge to look down over it. … The ladder did seem to descend all the way to the watery bottom so that wasn’t the issue. Instead it was the little statue the Freeman had been carrying since they’d met up. He held it to his chest with one arm, twisting his wrist so he could grasp the ladder, allowing him to let go with the other and raise it to a higher rung. Not much higher though, too far and he’d likely loose his precarious grip on the statue. As a result, his progress was slow, he wasn’t even halfway up yet.

“Do you require assistance, Freeman?” They were not going to ask him to drop it. It was clearly important even if its purpose was beyond their comprehension.

The Freeman flinched at their raised voice, freezing in place. He then tilted his head to look up at them. But alas with his hands busy and his voice seemingly nonexistent, he had no means of giving an answer. Oh, if only he could connect to the Vortessence, eliminating the need for such paltry forms of communication.

“I will lower down a rope with a loop for your statue.” The least they could do for the Freeman was assist him in what was clearly an important endeavor.

Finding a rope long enough was surprisingly easy. Upon tying a loop at the end of it big enough to allow the statue to fit – all the Freeman would have to do was tighten it to prevent the statue from falling out – they lowered it over the edge. The Freeman had made it up a little further but not by much. Ever intelligent and dexterous, he managed to get the statue into the loop and tighten it while remaining on the ladder.

As he started climbing properly now, they slowly pulled the statue up, careful not to bump it against the wall. As a result, the Freeman reached the top a few seconds before the statue did. He stood by as they finished pulling it up to hand to him.

Before accepting it, he lifted his hands to sign, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” For humans repeating something meant emphasis, meaning this was quite an important statue indeed.

“We are glad to be of service. Now let us continue.”

***

There were not one but two giant fucking antlions. Did the deterrents work on them too? … Hopefully because Alyx was about to find out the hard way as the pain radiating up from the freshly healed wound in her back and abdomen made the prospect of continuing forward into the fray proper a very unappealing one. Lucky for her she had a vortigaunt and Gordon on her side.

Speaking of Gordon, he turned to her, his gaze intent. Checking on her? … No, to shove the gnome into her arms, giving her almost no option but to accept it. He then immediately turned away, pulling his shotgun off where it was magnetized to his HEV suit as he rushed towards the antlion guardians.

“What am I suppose to do with this?” She called after him.

He didn’t even turn back to look at her.

“One would assume he wishes you to keep it safe while we deal with the antlions,” the vortigaunt said as he blasted one of the braver antlions that had dared to approach a bit closer than the others.

Damn it. She wasn’t good for much else in her current state so she’d been put on gnome guard duty. “Fine, whatever.” Only because Gordon had asked her to though. At least she wasn’t completely useless; she could keep a garden decoration intact, no problem.

~

After the battle, Gordon returned to her. “You okay?”

“As okay as I can be.” She was still weaker than she’d like and would’ve appreciated a chance to sit down but they didn’t have the time to so no use complaining. “I kept your gnome safe too. See? Completely intact.”

“Thank you.”

“Can I ask what’s the deal with it though? I mean like… no judgment of course just… it’s a bit odd. Not that that’s a bad thing, nothing wrong with being odd, some people think I’m a bit odd and that’s fine. But like… you know.” She was messing this up real bad. Way to go her. “There’s a lot going on and it’s a bit much to carry around and stuff.” She’d have assumed he would’ve left is somewhere as soon as carrying it became inconvenient.

Gordon lifted his hands as if to answer but held them there for several seconds before finally doing so. “I don’t know.” He then took the gnome from her with the gravity gun before turning away and continuing.

“Wait. What do you mean you don’t know?”

He didn’t turn to respond. Odd as the gnome was, that answer was even odder. How could he not know why he was carrying around a gnome even despite all the problems keeping it intact was already causing? He was running around without a proper weapon out for Pete’s sake, there had to be a reason for that. But… they didn’t have time to sit around and talk about it. So with a sigh, she set into a light jog, about as fast as she could make herself go currently, to catch up.

~

Well if Gordon was wondering off into a toxic filled pit while Alyx was stuck up here… “You want me to keep the gnome safe for you?” The amount of times it had almost taken damage had seemed to cause him some distress. Not that he was easy to read, especially when he had the HEV suit’s helmet up, but he had looked the gnome over rather closely every time something almost happened to it.

He turned to face her, the gnome held by the gravity gun in his hands. Seemingly he thought about it for several seconds before nodding and lifting it up for her to take.

“I promise I’ll take good care of it.”

He lifted a hand to sign a quick, “Thank you,” before turning and heading through.

After closing the door behind him, she turned to the vortigaunt. Some of them came up with names for themselves that humans could pronounce, some didn’t. She’d have loved to have a name for this one after everything they’d done for her. Would it be rude to ask for one? … Possibly so for now she wouldn’t. Instead… “What do you think might be Gordon’s deal with this gnome?”

“It is clearly of great importance.”

“Well yeah, but why?”

“It is not my place to question the Freeman and what is important to him or why. Besides, you are both human. I feel your ability to understand him far exceeds mine.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s fair.” Understanding other people was never something she’d been particularly good at either though. She’d spent too much of her time growing up working in the lab to waste time getting good at interacting with people. “It’s just… at fist I thought it was for fun. Like it was something that was silly and not a big deal. That he thinks it’s cute or something so he wanted to carry it with him for a bit. But now I’m not so sure. And I’m not sure why but it just feels really weird. Like maybe it’s… not necessarily a bad thing but uh… like I should be worried about it or something.”

“Ask him when he returns?”

She could and maybe even should but… “We don’t really have time to stand around talking about stuff.” And she wouldn’t at all know how to ask without it perhaps sounding like she was suggesting he abandon the gnome which would be rather rude. “And it might be nothing, just him being a little weird. Which I think he’s earned the right to after everything he’s done for humanity.” She hadn’t thought about it before but he’d had an awful lot of weight resting on his shoulders for a while now. Even if he could bear it well and had so far fulfilled those expectations, it was probably still stressful. So why shouldn’t he be entitled to a little weirdness and an emotional support gnome?

~

Naturally, when climbing into the car with Gordon at the wheel, the gnome ended up in Alyx’s lap. She was quickly becoming just as much this thing’s protector as Gordon himself was. That was fine though. Even if it was a bit inconvenient at times, it was the least she could do. It still struck her as vaguely worrying but… probably it was just stress from the whole almost dying thing and the Combine being after them. Gordon was just a bit weird, she could respect that and it was rather charming.

~

Despite Gordon having been the one to almost end up as the Advisor’s meal – or whatever it had planned to do to him with its long tentacle tongue thing – he was the one helping Alyx to her feet. He had the HEV suit, yeah, but still.

“You okay?” he asked, his hands moving fast enough that she’d doubt she’d have been able to read it if it had been signs she wasn’t as familiar with.

“Yeah, I think so. What about…” She cut off as he turned and hurried away. Had he heard more Combine coming or… no, he was looking for the gnome. Which did at least mean he was probably okay… physically at least.

It didn’t take him long to find it. The bit of its hat that had been chipped off at the tip was a bit more pronounced now, the whole tip had broken off, noticeable even from over here. Gordon rubbed his thumb over it as he stared it.

“It’s mostly intact,” Alyx said as she joined him. “It’s got a flat tip now so uh… we could maybe paint over it later and it’ll look fine.”

He looked up at her for a moment, his face utterly unreadable, before looking down at it again. What he might be feeling was impossible for her to even guess but it couldn’t be good, could it? The gnome wasn’t just a silly fun thing if he’d been that worried about it. Before she could ask him about why it was so important to him though, a familiar thud of boots came from uncomfortably close to the room they were in, coming their way. “Combine.”

Gordon turned and quickly found a hiding spot for the gnome, turning back around just in time for said Combine soldiers to burst through the door.

~

A clatter and a familiar headcrab call drew Alyx’s gaze up to the rocket. Gordon was at the hatch, pulling Lamarr out of it. She wasn’t going easy but fighting and struggling the whole way. To no avail though, Gordon was far stronger than her, forcing her out without seemingly much effort at all. Then, holding her to his chest, he jumped down over the railing, landing with a clank that betrayed how heavy the HEV suit was. He then made his way back over to them and extend Lamarr towards Dad, clearly wanting him to take her as she squirmed and shrieked as loud as she could. Which was just loud enough to be annoying.

“Get that thing out of here or make it shut up,” Magnusson called from over by the control panel.

Dad let out a long suffering sigh as he accepted Lamarr from Gordon. She didn’t like to be held by him either but did calm down a little bit. “I suppose I’ll get her out of her before Manugsson gets any more insistent about it. I’ll finish catching up with you two later, okay?”

“Sure thing, catch up with you more in a bit.” Alyx might’ve gone with him but her curiosity about what Gordon was up to as immediately upon his hands being freed of Lamarr he’d turned head back up to the hatch again, was too strong. So as Dad left for the elevator, she followed Gordon.

There being only room up there for one she couldn’t follow him up it and thus couldn’t see what he did as he reached into the hatch. “What are you doing up there?” Was he doing some kind of super smart fix the others hadn’t caught? … Probably not. Likely he was just fixing whatever Lamarr had disturbed.

Either way he didn’t reply as he pulled back and shut the hatch before jumping down again, once more not bothering to take the safer way down. Hopefully once it came time for him to take the suit off, he’d remember to not do that anymore. For now though, she wouldn’t say anything as he sat on the railing surrounding the rocket. Instead…

“Where’s the gnome?” She looked around but… it was nowhere in sight. Gordon had brought it in as always and of course he’d had to have to put it down to grab Lamarr. But he should’ve picked it up again immediately like he’d been doing. Of course they were in a safe space now so maybe he was more okay with not holding it as much as possible but it still had to be nearby, right?

As she looked back at him for an answer, he pointed up towards the top of the platform by the rocket’s hatch. The gnome wasn’t up there though so… “In the rocket?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, uh… why?” That was the least safe spot for it around here.

He lifted hand hands and held them there for several second before replying. “I’m sending it to space. It’ll break if I keep carrying it around.”

Finally he was leaving it, making things easier for both of them. But… “Why don’t you just leave it here? I’m sure Dad would gladly keep it safe for you.”

Another long hesitation before Gordon answered. “I need to cut ties. It’s not a person so I need to stop and get rid of it but I don’t want to throw it a way or break it. Sending it to space feels right.”

Alyx’s hunch that the gnome had long ago ceased being a small fun thing was right. Whether it was a sign of something she should be worried about was still unclear. She leaned back against the wall as she lifted her hands to sign back. It meant she spoke a bit slower as she was still better at reading sign language than forming her own sentences in it but Magnusson was still on the other side of the rocket and if they finally had some time to talk, she wanted to do it without him overhearing if she could help it. “It’s okay to care about objects. Nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I know but… this isn’t that. It’s not normal. I need to stop.”

So… it was something to be worried about? Gordon certainly seemed to be implying it was but he was just so hard to read. His face was impassive and his hands as he signed weren’t particularly expressive. … He looked tired. She was too. Everyone was, right? Who couldn’t be tired when all of this was happening? They were getting closer and closer to freeing themselves of the Combine and that was great but as far as they’d come, there was still a lot to do. But he’d done the most out of any of them and was likely to do even more. And he was only human.

Everyone put him up on a pedestal, expecting so much of him. Even she had, how could she not after growing up hearing the ways people talked about him? After seeing from a distance the things he’d done that seemed almost inhuman? But the more time she spent with the more obvious it became that he was just guy like the rest of them. Smart and strong and blessed with a seeming endless supply of luck but still just a man. One who’d been through a lot. After the Black Mesa incident he’d been put into stasis and dropped into all of what was happening now.

“Are you okay?” How had she never thought to ask that before? She’d always assumed that he was despite how obvious it was was in hindsight that he might not be.

He lifted a hand but paused for a few moments before forming it into a, “No.” Sighing, he lowered it again, offering no further explanation.

Alyx pushed off the wall and walked over to stand next to him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered because she didn’t know what else to say. Putting a hand on his shoulder, the HEV suit’s metal was surprisingly somewhat warm, probably because of the power running through it. “Do you… wanna go find a place to sit down and rest a bit? We don’t have to talk about it or… anything if you don’t want to. But I think you’ve earned a rest.”

For the first time perhaps ever, certainly since she’d met him, his mask cracked, revealing the same kind of look a dying man gave a potential savior. “Please.”

Keeping her hand on his shoulder, offering whatever little comfort it could give when he probably couldn’t even feel it, she started guiding him back towards the elevator. Before they were even halfway there though, alarms started blaring as lights flashed, making both of them flinch.

Magnusson cursed, damn he was still here. “Gosh dang it. Gordon, since you’re still here, go make yourself useful and deal with that. It’s probably just crows again but maybe you can use your smarts to figure out how to make it stop going off all the time.”

Gordon’s face hardened once more as he pulled his crowbar off his chest and turned to obey. Alyx wanted to protest, insist he deserved a rest, let someone else handle it for once. But if it wasn’t a false alarm, he was still the best man for the job. It wasn’t fair but… life wasn’t fair.

~

[A/N] I imagine the way Alyx interacts with him following this is a bit different but ultimately the events would play out the same and this is about the gnome so I decided to leave it here.

[thebnha-auhoard]

There isn’t enough past OFA user development so I’m making my own and doing it through an au.

Au where everything is the same but One For All has an unknown function of just being able to revive its users after a certain point of time, provided that the Quirk is passed down of course.

No one knew about this. They thought that OFA was simply a stockpiling Quirk that goes and stockpiles strength. Turns out it also stockpiles life and with Midoriya getting One For All, that stockpile goes to the past users! So essentially, One For All just spits out the most recently dead OFA user after enough life is stockpiled to go and make a living person with no injuries and does it until it gets to the first OFA user, Yoichi.

And the first one who gets revived is Shimura Nana during Midoriya’s very own Entrance Exams.

This of course, leads to chaos.

Other things include:

-Nana taking one look at Torino Sorahiko and Yagi Toshinori and calling him old. And then all of them just cry because Nana is alive and so is Torino and Yagi and they lost so much potential to just spend time together

-En popping around USJ and being an absolute little shit towards all the villains there and just being on top of Shigaraki's shitlist after the guy punched him and insulted him

-Banjou punching Stain in the face about 5 minutes after he gets revived. Then immediately after that he just goes and pretty much becomes the weird fun uncle for Iida, Todoroki, and Midoriya. "Oh Iida tried to murder someone? Yeah that's understandable. I'm getting all of you ice cream after you're out of the hospital"

-Shinormori being friends with Nedzu. No one's safe.

-Midoriya getting all the Past Users Quirks unlocked in the order they get revived. Fun on paper, not fun when one of those times was during Summer Camp and he's fighting Muscular.

-Toshinori digging deep on who the past Users are so that he can find out who's next on the list, help Midoriya learn about the past user's Quirks ahead of time, and just in general prepare for the generational difference that comes when you are revived after a certain amount of years

-The difference really comes in when Third and Second are revived

-Aizawa getting headaches as he realizes that the Problem Child summons dead people randomly without warning and having to help with the paper work most of the time

-Third popping up in dorms during the moment when they show off their own dorms. Midoriya is just met with a very disgruntled Third as he just awkwardly closes the door realizing what happened

-Second deciding to take the simple route of just killing the League before they start causing bigger problems. And then a small voice in his head that sounds like Yoichi tells him that he was once in their situation. And then another voice that sound like Third is asking him "If they're so irredeemable then that should apply to you. Why do you think I gave you a chance?"

-Long story short, Second appears during the Overhaul meeting and strikes the fear of god in Chisaki Kai, says to himself that he is only sticking with the League to keep an eye on them, and then accidentally getting adopted in the family they made

-And finally, Yoichi being acutely aware that his brother would abandon his pursuit of One For All temporarily if he gives himself up and willing to do that. If it means protecting the other users and giving them time then he'll go back in that cold vault again

[cthomashoodstory]

Best Years but not In the Same Way (31)

Calum Hood x Reader

Previous Part

Hi all thank you for still reading this crap story that i can’t ignored. After 3 years abandoned it, i came back and continue. I hope i will be able to finish it! Enjoy.

Masterlist

-

Since you and Calum made up, everything went back to normal. And about the RSVP for Justin’s wedding, you decided not to come. After a long talk with your boyfriend, alongside with consideration that Calum will go to the tour with Chainsmoker on September 25, You will release a single called Memories and will do promo and you two were busy.

And the real reason behind it was… you couldn’t. It was your ex fiancé big day and people’s eyes will judge you if you came. And you weren’t ready to face it.

Counting days to the release of your single. It was inspired by your late father. You have been missing him since the day you left him. You still regret it until today. What if you never run away from home and accepted that he married someone you hate. You might eventually love your step mother and became a real happy family. And all of the event that been going on in your life would never happened.

Out of nowhere, Mike Posner called you and you picked up.

“Hello sister!” He greeted me. “You’re not going to the studio?”

“No,” you shook your head. “I’m going to my dad’s. Is okay if I skipped helping you just for today? Please?”

“Sure. Sure. You go take your time. I will see you tomorrow, okay?” He hung up the call.

Then you get ready to go to the flower shop to get some flowers.

Hours later you arrived with a bunch of flowers and put it on their graves.

“Dad.” You called him. Obviously no answer. “You know what? I think you’re here and you could read what’s on my mind.” “He’ll get married in two weeks. Yeah, he was so easily moved on. He got engaged last year, when I struggled myself with my mental health. He legally married 2 months after, while I embarrassed myself in front of thousands people.”

“But I survived, dad. I’m here. Calum helped me through it. I just wish i never chose Justin over Calum.” You said it as if your dad listened.

You said goodbye to them and when you turned back you saw someone stood before you. You yelled but immediately covered your mouth with your palm.

“Sorry, i didn’t mean to scare you.” Barry said while giggled.

“No it’s fine. What you doing here?” You asked him. But you answered it right away. “Oh, your mom.”

He smiled. “How have you been, Bar?” His smile is truly genuine. You missed him so bad. The last time you saw him was January ‘17 when you were still engaged to Justin.

You returned his smile. “I’m doing good.” You paused. “It’s been a long time since the last time we met. How’s your dad, Iris and Joe?”

“They’re fine. They asked about you sometimes. Oh by the way, i have my own place now. No more staying with my dad.” He grinned. “At the apartement we used to lived.”

You stunned.

“It’s still cozy, by the way. Nothing has changed since i left.”

He way he said it was really calm and cheerful. He really made you speechless and couldn’t speak any single word. He really forgave you for all of your mistakes and it even made you adore him even more.

“Hey, you okay? You haven’t responded anything i said before.” Barry caught you. “Look, if i said something that might offended you, I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean any of it.”

You smiled. “I was just…,” you looked at his eyes. “I’m so happy i met you today. We never talk since 2017 and now, in 2019 we randomly met here and you came to greeted me and…” you couldn’t finished the rest of the speech because you ran out of words.

-

“Thank you for driving me here.” You said it while you and Barry walked to the lobby. “I know, i can drive and I’m supposed to have a car by my own. But… i still enjoy being this way.” You still need one moment to reassure yourself that you need a car. Well that was weird and stupid.

Barry laughed. “Okay okay, you really read my mind. Alright. I have to go to the police station.”

When Barry was about to turn back, you saw Calum opened the lobby door. You waved to him and he walked towards you smiling.

“Hey love.” He kissed your forehead. “I thought you still on your way here.”

“I got here faster because he drove me.” Your eyes pointed at Barry. And he was just smiled at both of you and Calum. “Cal, this is Barry.” You introduced him, your ex to your boyfriend. This wasn’t awkward you swear because there wasn’t any beef between them.

“I’m Barry, Barry Allen.” Barry gave his right hand. Calum was silent for 5 seconds but finally he shook Barry’s hand. You sighed in relieved and kinda giggled a little. Dude, this is one of the most angst moment you ever felt.

“Alright, i gotta go. Bye.” Barry went outside and you and Calum walked to the lift.

“Wow, i finally met him in person.” Calum talked when we inside the lift.

“Why is that?” You asked him curiously.

He chuckled. “I don’t know. He’s a good person and i had no beef with him. He’s very nice to you and I’m grateful for that.”

You nodded.

After minutes you and Calum made it to the apartment.

“Hey Cali,” you called him when he walked to the kitchen table to put some stuff. “What if i never ran away from my dad, and we never met?”

“I guess my life would be less drama and boring.” Said him. You just chuckled. “Seriously, i’d rather being in this complicated life with you than living with someone else.”

You smiled and hugged him tightly.

-

To be continued

(Sorry this is so boring)

[bandhyukoh]

I've been following you for years now and am always amazed at how dedicated you are, Thank you so much for always keeping us updated!!

I've been curious about you if you don't mind sharing! Where are you from, how you discovered Hyukoh for the first time and what made you create this fansite? Do you know korean to some extent to perhaps understand their lyrics on a deeper level, in their original form? Have you ever seen them live?

I feel like I've known you for long but not actually lol. Thank you again!<3

Thank you, thank you! I try my best!

I’m from Denmark and I randomly watched a dance cover of Wi ing Wi ing and liked the song. Afterwards I watched the Panda Bear music video which includes the following lyrics; Being alone makes me feel more comfortable + Don’t ask me what kind of person I am cuz I too myself don’t know who I am – and I remember thinking; "yeah, this band now owns my ass". And then it all just spiraled from there.

I actually did not create this fansite it was created by a now retired admin in may 2015 and in august-ish 2016 I became a co-admin and I’ve been the only admin since late 2017-ish. Initially I was only supposed to post a couple small updates from time to time. But when the former admin withdrew I at some point just decided to completely take over the everyday management step by step. It seemed like a natural thing for me to do because I’m not really the kind of person who does things half-heartedly. It was very much trial and error but I found a way of doing things that worked for me. I applied to become an admin because I just really love their music and thought it would be a fun thing to do. I decided to go all in because it is kind of a way for me to keep up with the band and still get to experience their performances and events while living on the other side of the world. It makes me feel as if I’m not as far away from them as I actually am. I also really like that it’s something that other fans enjoy and appreciate!

When I became an admin I knew a little bit of Korean. It was always my plan to become fluent/better after I completed my education in early/mid 2020. But then in 2019 I sustained a brain injury and basically my entire life got completely fucked up – to put it mildly – and the Korean I knew (literally) got knocked out of my head. I did hand in my master’s thesis earlier this year (wooh!!) while still suffering from the brain injury (NOT wooh!!). But I’m expecting to fully recover sometime early next year – so my life is getting back on track. And I now understand some Korean again, but not on the level as before my brain injury. So, no at the moment I don’t know Korean well enough to understand the lyrics on a deeper level.

I have seen them twice! The first time at a festival in Korea in 2016 and then in concert in 2017. I know this sound sappy but seeing them live just makes me so happy and I always get teary-eyed! I just forget everything else and just gape at them while smiling!

It’s fun with the whole knowing-people-thing. You – the followers – see a side of me that people in my life actually don’t. They know I run this account and they know I’m a passionate person, but they (except very few) do not see it to the extent that you all do. Some also do not understand it – I have been doing this for 8+ years so I have reached an age where people think I’m getting too old to do this. But I do what I want and don’t want to wake up in 10, 15 or 20 years and realize I have no interests/hobbies and sense of self because I abandoned everything I enjoy in order to live up to other people’s boring-ass-expectations.   

As always, I’m rambling – but you people apparently like it when I do that <3

[jpat82]

Death Lives

Chapter 1

It was just another day, get up go to work, put in a long nine hour day. Get off work and go to my parents. Most days I would hang around until seven and then actually go home, my kids live with them because I work crazy hours sometimes and it's easier on them if I don't wake them at four or five am, on the flip side sometimes I get off at eleven pm. I hated it but at the same time it was nice. I deal with people all day and I'm usually done with dealing with others by the end of my nine hours.

Today was supposed to be just a usual day, my parents decided to take me and the kids out to dinner. There was no reason to celebrate, no justifiable reason to just randomly go to a restaurant other then it was easier to not have to worry about what was being made for dinner. My teenage daughter had her headphones on while she happily munched away on her fries, watching some random YouTube video. My elementary age son rambled on about things going on in his game of the month. I nodded in response half checked out for the day, exhaustion slowly taking hold as the last remaining ounces of my energy drink I had on lunch faded.

Today was like any other day, I had driven separately to the restaurant and I watched as the silver van roared to life after I had buckled my son in and gave him kiss telling him I would see him tomorrow. He continued to talk about his game, throwing in an I love you mommy, and then going right back to his description of how kill to a character in his game. My daughter threw up a peace sign without so much of look.

Except today wasn't like any other day, I briefly looked across the street waiting for my family to pull out onto the side street to wave goodbye to them. There stood a young man, his dark hair curled out from under the edges of his black beanie. He was wore a thick black leather jacket over a deep maroon colored shirt, and had a deep red and grey flannel tied around his waist. He looked at me, and soft sad smile crossed his smooth face.

     The young man pulled his hand from his pocket and gave me a small wave, to which I waved back in reply. His smiled drop as his eyebrows pinched together, his head slightly cocking to the side, his eyes narrowing just a bit. With his hand still raised I saw him take a deep breath before he snapped his fingers.

Today was the worse day, the van passed us, and headed toward the intersection. The light was green and my dad pulled forward into the intersection. I heard an unmistakable sound, the sound of air brakes, the smell of rubber burning against a quick stop. Everything slowed down, my body turned as my brain attempted to register the white sixteen wheel semi colliding with the four door silver mini van. The sound of metal on metal crunching, the glitter of broken glass skipping across black top, the horn that wouldn't stop.

My heart pounded heavily in my chest, as I watched in horror, the semi's continuous push of a vehicle that stood no chance. The frame twisted and buckled, distorted beyond belief. I was glued in place as I heard a scream, my rib cage constricting around my lungs. The warmth of tears sprung forth and trickled down my cheeks with abandonment as everything began to crumble.

I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think, my knees buckled as my body slowly descended down, gravity taking it's hold. A whine of sirens in the distance, cars slowly going around the wreckage that how become my life. My kids, I can't move, I can't think, my life, world, everything in the twist of fiberglass and metal that used to my parents van. People slowly started to surround it, someone trying to pull open fiberglass that used to resemble a door. I could hear yelling but it sounded so distance, the words mumbled and jumbled.

Then I watched as my family walked out of throng of people that were obscuring my view of the van. My daughter looking around, completely unscathed, not a violet hair out of place on her spiked head. My dad had a bewildered face as he looked back towards the wreck, eyes wide, mouth slight open. My son, he looked to me, tears streaked his face as my mom held his shoulder keeping him from running to me, I could see him screaming for me. He pulled against her grip, desperately trying to come to where I was. There was a sadness in my mother's eye as she looked over to me, and a small shake of her head I knew and she knew.

I knew after today there would be no more normal days, no more usual day, no more days like the last. Today was the end of that.

My body slowly started to become heavy as I watched my family slowly leave me, just a shimmer and all traces were gone. I felt the warm cement under my body slowly start to fade as a shadow fell over me.

"You are so not going to do this me, are you?" His smooth voice questioned. "You've got to kidding."

The sound of shuffling next me as I stared up a crystal blue summer sky. I could no long feel the rapid and irregular thumps in my chest. I could no long hear the chaos going on around me.

"It's not your time, not yet." The young man from across the street told me as he knelt down on the sidewalk next to me. Deep blue eyes looking down at before everything went white.

@kitkatkl @devilbat

[roughandtumble-r]

RoughandTumble-r talks about the Sonic IDW 2024 Annual!

The 2024 Annual came out a few days ago, so it's time for me to talk about its stories! This one only has three stories, so let's start with the first one...

(Also, spoilers ahead)

Hero's Calling:

Surge and Kit are trying to stop a runaway trolley filled with people in Westopolis, and while they do eventually succeed in stopping it, they cause so much damage and injuries that one of the people they save is mad at and yells at them. It gives Surge a lot to think about, and when Kit returns to their room at the Restoration later and finds her still thinking about it, Surge tells Kit that she now believes that Starline was right about the cycle of Sonic beating Eggman and how Sonic just lets it continue, and she also calls the civilians that he and them save not bad but weak for also just letting Sonic save them and not saving themselves. She then uses this line of reasoning as fuel for her and Kit to continue their plan to eventually overthrow Sonic and Tails as well as beat Eggman, and Kit decides to go along with it and also gives him the idea to cause some mischief in order for Surge to not run out of people to save. I think this story's alright and gives some insight on Surge and Kit's thought process as they try to continue living with their built-in hatred of Sonic and Tails, although it feels more like a teaser of stories to come rather than a story of its own and also supposedly leads into Issue 75 (...although one of the asterisks referring to a past event refers to something in Issue 75 that apparently already happened? I don't really know what's going on there, it could be a typo)

For my Destiny:

Knuckles is hanging out on Angel Island and wondering what Sonic and the others are up to when the Master Emerald begins showing him visions of his past adventures with them, and he realizes how thankful he is for both his friends and for his duty to protect the Master Emerald before Sonic, Tails, and Amy suddenly show up to see how he's doing. I also think this story's alright despite not much happening in it, and it shows how Knuckles is doing while everyone else is busy with the plots of the main story and is also apparently a teaser for Issue 80.

Shattered Diamonds:

Tangle, Whisper, and Lanolin are all waiting for Sonic to arrive at their campsite in the woods, and while they do, Mimic is watching them from afar and internally tells the story of how he became one of the Diamond Cutters and why he betrayed them. He was originally an actor who wanted to use his shapeshifting skills to upstage other actors, but he would always be casted to the sidelines until the war began and ended his career. He noticed during the war however that there were various groups standing together to fight against Eggman's forces, some of which he ended up joining before abandoning them to save himself. Whisper ends up catching a glimpse of his shapeshifting powers when the two randomly meet one day, and she requests that he join the Diamond Cutters, who accept them into their group with open arms. Everything seems to be going well for him for a while and it seems like he may have finally found his place, but when Smithy reveals that he made masks to help with their work and unify the team to each other, Mimic feels a deep pain that he never felt before due to him actually growing close with them and his prior ditching of his other teams, and not wanting it to hurt even more when he inevitably has to do the same with them, he seeks out a way to break away from them as soon as possible, which he finds in a partnership with Eggman. Back in the present, Mimic pulls out his knife and is intent on finally eliminating the last remaining remnant of that past connection he had with the Diamond Cutters, being Whisper, but he's cut off at the last second by Sonic's arrival, and he, Tangle, Whisper, and Lanolin all prepare for their attack on Eggperial City (revealing that this story takes place right before the events of Issue 57) without ever knowing that Mimic was there watching them. I think this story was easily the best of the three, and it does a great job explaining why Mimic did what he did and also shows us what Whisper was like prior to Mimic's betrayal.

And that's it for the 2024 Annual! I would have liked to have seen more than three stories in it, but the three stories it had were overall still pretty good and I especially liked Shattered Diamonds, so I'd recommend checking it out if you're a fan of the series.

[aita-blorbos]

(oc thing)

AITA for abandoning my world for 103 years?

Ok I know this sounds bad but let me explain.

I (NB, don't really have an age) am the creator of two worlds but only one is important to this story. The one that isn't relevant is more like a world-sized computer, but the relevant one is just your average world with life and stuff, and was the first one I made.

Before you mention it, I know there are guides and templates for life created by the God community. I know the best way to make stable life is to put a simple organism on the world and let it evolve to fit the environment. I know. Believe me, I know. But I certainly didn't know or care back when I made this world because I wanted to make everything from scratch. That was foolish of me. I know. I should have at least read a guide or something.

All this to say I made a bit of a mistake with my initial thought algorithm. Because thoughts work quite fast and I wanted to see everything so I could troubleshoot, I introduced an intentional "throttle" into the algorithm; it would wait for me to acknowledge the thought before it progressed. It's all fun and games until you forget to remove that throttle and create countless creatures all using that flawed algorithm. Yeah.

I didn't want to wipe everything out and start over because that seemed needlessly cruel. Applying patches to anything, especially something like brains, live is a difficult and risky process for the person with the brain. So I just kinda set up a "server room" of power that would just auto-acknowledge anything coming through. That was a temporary solution.

I spent a good couple centuries working out a method to patch the throttle out of my beings. The expansion of life was beginning to overwhelm my temporary measure. I was tired. So tired. I finished it and found blissful silence awaiting me. Wonderful.

In fact I was so tired I wanted to take a bit of a break. I'd also use the time I would be out to test and workshop a self-sufficient, hands-free (for me at least) way to keep my world safe from any existential threats. They're not common, but it's always a good thing to look out for.

So I decided that I would randomly give out my power to people, disappear completely (except for a couple recording devices that were hidden ofc), and come back in a year and see how things went. Then I'd adjust things accordingly. Simple right? What could possibly go wrong?

I think you probably get what happened, but I'll explain it anyways. I essentially had NO IDEA the flow of time was usually different between universes. I didn't know I was supposed to chrono-lock my universe and the universe I was in together to preserve the flow of time between them. And I just so happened to take my year-long vacation to a universe that was REALLY slow compared to mine.

So I come back, 103 years later. There was a war, and this lady somehow consolidated everyone's power and is now acting as the goddess of my world (which I'm honestly fine with, I was never one to take an active role in my world). There's a cult worshiping me, using the hijacked power of one of my observation devices to shield themselves from the lady who made herself the goddess and doing terrible things in my name. Things kinda sucked.

And I'm sort of thinking things would be a lot better if I didn't accidentally spend 103 years of my world's time on vacation. So, AITA?

[blursed-ninjago-ideas]

Whumptober 2

Decided to let myself have some Kairro. It's been ages since I touched that AU and every time I do it feels self indulgent. Don't know why, a lot of people seem to really like it.

Prompt: "They don't care about you."

Randomly Selected Whumpee: Kai

Selection method: Asked a student I passed in the halls to choose a number.

TW: Blood mention, manipulation

--

“How many times do I have to beat you over the head with it!? They. Don’t. Care. About. You.” Morro snarled.

Kai raised his bloodied face and debated what comeback to use.

“I don’t know. How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not going to let you use your paranoia against me?” Kai said, his lip dripping wine red drops onto the concrete.

“They’re your abandonment issues.” Morro countered.

He was calming down and changing tactics. Probably realized that Kai’s temper had gotten the best of him again.

Morro made an excellent mirror to show Kai how ugly his anger could get if he didn’t control it.

“As if you didn’t have any of those yourself.” Kai laughed, wincing from the pain it caused him.

He just had to buy enough time for the others to find him. Nya was going to turn the whole room into a water park as soon as she saw Morro.

The trick was holding the line against the emotional manipulation. Hard to do when the manipulator lived in you head so long he left some of his things in the guest room.

“I left Wu, remember?” Morro said.

His smirk had Kai convinced he was looking at a mirror for a moment. It was to be expected. It went both ways after all.

Kai knew why Nya looked at him like a stranger sometimes. She never said anything about it, but Kai saw her every time she did it.

It had an effect.

Kai had slowly stopped bragging after Lloyd was forced to admit that he sounded more like Morro when he did it. When all of your friends get noticeably uncomfortable every time you get excited that you won a video game, you stop commenting on it.

Kai wondered how he used to sound when he would brag. How was it different? Did Morro get that trait, or did it disappear? Which one of them had “stronger” bragging mannerisms? If Morro got his way and they fuse, who would they sound like?

Would they sound like Kai when they told jokes? Would they keep that smirk, or would it disappear?

“And I never trusted anyone else long enough to get left behind.” Morro finished, yanking Kai from his thoughts.

He couldn’t think of a good retort. It had only been half a second, but Kai’s mind had wandered miles away from the conversation. It must’ve shown on his face, because Morro snarled again.

“I see you don’t have my focus.” Morro said sarcastically.

It wasn’t Kai’s sarcasm. It was a difference they still had.

Morro grabbed Kai’s face and dragged him up.

“Listen to me. They are waiting for the chance to get rid of you. You serve them now, but what happens when you get annoying? Too angry?”

Morro leaned in so close, Kai could smell the strange ghostly scent his spirit had.

“They will leave you.” he whispered.

“Like my parents?” Kai said with an eye roll.

He saw where Morro was going with it and he was sick of the line of thought.

“If the people biologically programmed to love you couldn’t manage it, why do you think they can?” Morro said as he dropped Kai.

Kai scrapped himself off the ground.

“Because they’re good people.”

“And your parents weren’t?” Morro said with a predatory grin.

Kai shivered and looked away, but he had thoroughly been caught off guard and didn’t have a response.

Just when he thought he had control of the conversation; that he had everything guarded, Morro came at him from an angle he didn’t think of and crawled under his armor. It was how it work from the very beginning.

“So, we agree he doesn’t ‘deserve’ to be the Green Ninja?”

Kai shook his head clear.

“So you don’t think your parents were good people?” Morro asked in a mocking voice.

“I-” Kai could only make the one sound.

“Because you’ve always defended them to Nya. You wanted to be a blacksmith and continue their legacy. You honor them every year on the Day of The Departed.” Morro continued.

“I do.” Kai whispered.

“That doesn’t sound like you hate them.” Morro said.

He was leading Kai to something. Kai didn’t like it, but he didn’t know how to break out of it.

“I don’t.” he confessed.

“But you should.” Morro pointed out.

He sounded so much like Kai’s therapist when he said it. It make Kai’s breath shake. He didn’t like the conversation. He wanted Morro to go back to trying to convince him the other ninja didn’t care about him.

“You should, but you don’t. Is that right?”

Morro didn’t give Kai a chance to answer.

“Then wouldn’t it be a good thing if I could hate them for you? If I could be angry for you? Then you can hate them like you should!”

Kai covered his ears. He knew what he was feeling. It was the same thing as the first time.

“He didn’t ask to be the Green Ninja. We did! Destiny passed up not one, but two perfectly good options to force the responsibility onto a child. That doesn't seem fair. You’re right, he doesn’t ‘deserve’ that! We could not only take what we worked so hard for, but relieve Lloyd of all that pain. That’s a good thing, right? We could work together and fix it!”

That sinking feeling that Morro was making sense. Scrambling for an argument, but nothing making as much sense as Morro’s words. Desperate to not agree, but finding no other thought in his mind.

Kai could only bite his lip and hope his friends were just around the corner. He wasn’t holding out for much longer.

--

That was just pure fun to write. I'm glad I did this.

-Ivy

[randomnameless]

Rhea was an amazing villain in CF. She finally wasn't a hapless uwu victim waiting to be rescued, she took charge, kicked ass, showed her determination to take back control by burning a city down while she was in it, and went down fighting without any "mommy are you there?" nonsense like in SS. Also Cheremy turned in an epic performance showing all the rage and tragedy as her millenia of work collapsed in on itself. 10/10 female villain with agency, would experience again.

I'd say antagonist, rather than villain, but sure, the lack of uwu is surprising!

There's no "sad uwu" with sad music and violins and "choices" ending with a very meaningful "i wanted to walk with u" to a person she might only have talked to 3 times in the past 6 years!

CF!Rhea shows her determination, in a twisted way, as she loses more and more control and relieves her PTSD, doing everything she can to survive and failing - failing to survive (well duh she's killed), failing to reunite with her mother, failing to live with humans, etc etc.

Seeing her lose more and more and her ultimate breakdown when Flayn'n'Seteth is really something - I have already made my point known about the different VA directions - and while Cherami Leigh's anger is really well conveyed - Inoue's performance conveys how you litteraly broke her! There's anger yes, but also despair and sadness.

She wants to reunite with her mother, even at the end - that's all she wants, and it's Inoue's peak performance between anger, anguish and despair that really sells Rhea as a character.

I think I felt as bad when this was over as that moment in ToX1 where you defeat Muzét on Jude's route, and she begs Maxwell to help her, only for him to, uh, don't do a thing. Then she goes bananas, and the ultimate line to Gaius where she replies with anger to his "well think by yourself" with her own "I don't know how" is just - that awesome. It's the perfect blend of off-putting, to make you understand that this character is more than just angry, but this character is feeling "feelings" (duh!) and they're shovered in your face, and sometimes, those feelings are uncomfortable and you can't ignore them.

In ToX1, imo, we're supposed to think that yes, while Muzét is an ass a bit too happy to be a perfect tool, the second she is abandonned she's a complete mess - and why the old fart abandonned her? Well...

Ditto for Rhea - her actions grow and grow more desperate, culminating with Bernie's Firdhiad adventure - but that anger and pain? They can't be ignored.

Alas, where ToX1 ends Muzét's breakdown with Milla accepting to make a place for her by her side (as unsatisfying as it is!), CF ends with...

Well, nothing.

But back to your post (I disgress too much lol) :

Yep, CF!Rhea isn't brainwashed, lobotomised, randomly "berserk" or anything, nope. Now, we can have other discussions about a genocide victim being hunted again and forced to relieve her PTSD until she breaks down.

But for a female character with agency, who decides how she will go down and is fully on board with her own plans, I think Azure Moon's Edelgard takes the cake.

She will meet Dimitri and her enemies in her palace, even resort to transform in her Hegemon Husk form if it means killing them to make her ideal world see fruition. No uwu, no crest stones used as poke balls, nope, nothing. It's only her, her ideals and her vision of the world.

[fluffypotatey]

OK SO!! DOUBLE LIFE PEARL!!

i think i've told you the double life gimmick before (randomly assigned soulmates share a health bar, so when someone takes damage so does their partner), so i'll cut right to the pearlo.

in session 1 of double life, almost every player set out to find their soulbound before anything out. every player... except pearl pearlescentmoon and martyn inthelittlewood, who went to the nether to get geared up and try and find rare loot for their soulmates. pearl was initially hesitant on this idea, but martyn convinced her it'd be fine. (several times during this nether trip, martyn makes fun of their soulmates, only for pearl to step in and defend hers).

when martyn and pearl return to the overworld, they decide to focus on finding their soulmates, and run into scott and cleo. martyn sets up a little game show, and lo and behold, pearl is bound to scott, and martyn to cleo! pearl is ecstatic- she and scott had been very close partners in the previous series, and she was excited to be his teammate again! however, it was not to be. unbeknownst to martyn and pearl, scott and cleo had already discovered, through process of elimination, that their soulmates were pearl and martyn. they had also decided that, since pearl and martyn hadn't come to find them first, and had risked their lives by going to the nether, that they were going to team up together and reject their assigned partners.

after being rejected by scott and cleo, her teammates from the last game, pearl turned to martyn, only to find him leaving her too (he intended to play solo and try and win cleo back). pearl had been abandoned, rejected by everyone, and the only companion she had left was her dog, tilly. she builds an extremely tall tower near the center of the map, and lives alone in it.

in the next session, pearl tries to befriend a nearby soulbound pair (ren renthedog and bigb bigbst4tz, called the Box Boys because of their ugly, box-shaped base), but ends up accidentally causing their first deaths. after this event, the box boys reject her too, with ren saying "whether you tried to [kill us] or not, there is something wicked within you!"

(she also spends a lot of this session standing in powdered snow blocks, which causes her to take progressive ticks of damage, in order to annoy scott and force him to waste food to keep them alive).

her participation in events that tend to leave people dead (the box boys, her starting some fishing rod shenanigans with joel and etho that cause their second deaths, her presence at other major deaths) and general unhinged behavior (especially masquerading as a red life) cause the rest of the server to fear and reject her even more, calling her the "scarlet witch" and other such names (scott refers to her as his "crazy ex", (made funnier because he's gay irl)).

as things on the server heat up, pearl is forced to team up with scott (because they're soulbound), cleo (because they're scott's teammate) and martyn (because he's cleo's soulmate) several times in order to survive, but always manages to alienate herself from the group anyways by trying to injure scott on purpose.

during her final episode, the already unhinged pearl goes COMPLETELY off the rails and starts hunting down and killing people, directly killing two soulmate pairs herself (impulse + bdubs and martyn + cleo), defeating both pairs in 1v2 pvp. (her killing impulse and bdubs was insane- she hunted them down slowly, methodically, all while menacingly chanting "Something wicked this way comes" louder and louder, until she caught and killed them.)

martyn and cleo's deaths at her hands means that now it's just her and scott left. the "ghosts" (the other dead players in spectator mode) and the rules are clear: this game will have only one winner. she turns to face scott, ready to get closure with one final fight and. you know what. im just gonna transcript this.

PEARL: Hi, Scott.

SCOTT: I didn't think it would end this way.

PEARL: [crouching] I honestly didn't have a lot of faith in us.

SCOTT: [crouching] I think... [stands] Pearl, you deserve this more.

PEARL: [stands] Excuse me?! What do you mean?

[Scott jumps up, and places a block of TNT beneath him. Pearl flinches as he does so.]

SCOTT: In the same way... [He takes out a flint and steel, and lights the TNT beneath him]

SCOTT: [Looks up to make direct eye contact with Pearl] Tilly death do us part, Pearl.

PEARL: [panicked] Wait, Scott, what are you doing?

SCOTT: [yelling, almost triumphantly] Tilly death do us part!

PEARL: [at the same time, panicking, rushing towards him] Scott! What are you doing?! SCOTT-

[She is cut off as the TNT explodes underneath Scott, killing him- and, a second later, her. Pearlescentmoon is now the winner of the Double Life SMP.]

tl;dr: she's a very sad and pathetic wet cat who is also an unstoppable, terrifying omen of death (one might even call her. a harbinger of chaos.) she's so lonely but she drives away anyone who might otherwise accept her. she hates scott and wants him to hurt but he's the one person she can't kill and in the end she still cares about him, even though he's cut her off completely. shes so blorbo.

oh my god i love her