#it's also from before the server was paid...wow....

[cunttom]

^^ hmmm i remembered a much more definite thing but from this reply on a post explaining a discord q&a from may last yr. it's almost been a year...FUCKED. UP.

hey wait where the fuck is matt's parakeet we were promised matt's parakeet

[gurugirl]

I love stepdad Harry! Always brings a smile to my face when i see youve posted (guilty pleasure yum). Thank you for the last one!

but i cannot get enough of stepmom reader. You’ve made that one into something really special. In fact I told someone about it last week and they were like ~ nope. Not into stepmom stuff or older yn. Nope ~

but then guess what? they wound up reading it and binged all three parts and admitted to me that they were wrong 😂 I’m like ‘yeah I know’

just wanted to share that with you! Your stepmom fic is so shockingly good (not shocking bc you’re not a good writer, shocking bc it’s a trope most of us were not interested in) that it’s quickly become my top 5 all time favorite.

i cannot wait for part 4! I adore them and you so much. Do you have any idea when part 4 will come out? Any sneaky???

ps.. sorry for the weird capitalization stuff going on there. My phone decided when to capitalize randomly and I’m too lazy to fix.

A Good Boy sneak peek under the cut below!

🥹 thank you so much, babe. Really glad you liked the stepdad!harry from yesterday! That was a quick little fun thing to write.

As for stepmom!reader - wow! I really love that you're liking it so much and talking about it with other people and that your friend changed their mind 😂 Seems to be the theme for that fic. So many of y'all didn't think you'd like it based on the trope alone but I'm surprised that you guys did enjoy it anyway! Makes me smile.

So, I'm almost done with part 4. I think I can have it out by Thursday? Maybe? I'm super busy today (well, busy for me LOL) and gonna try to write but I've also got something I'm working on that someone paid me to write so I'm prioritizing that. Thursday at the earliest I'll post part 4 but I'll let y'all know.

And the random capitalization? My phone does the same. 😂 The words can't, can, and don't often get capitalized in the middle of sentences and it's a crapshoot on when the beginning of a sentence will be capitalized or not. I need to turn it off so it just leaves everything lowercase. So no judgement from me!

Sneak peek below !! (just remember this is literally copied from the word doc I'm writing in and hasn't been proofread or edited so some changed may be made before I post part 4)

Y/n was wearing her newly altered peach silk dress. The alterations were simple. The straps and hem were adjusted and the back column was dropped down a bit to drape to her low back. Her strappy nude heels were well-worn but comfortable because she was just simply not in the mood to wear the stiff, new heels she’d just bought.

The estate of Rebecca Manera was impressive. Probably equally as impressive as Leonardo Styles’. Most of the guests had already arrived by the time the Styles’ walked through the front door a little late.

Leo scolded Y/n for taking so long to get ready and making them run behind but in all honesty, she didn’t give a fuck. They could be half an hour late. No one would care. Why rush to go to a party? It’s not like they needed to clock in and earn a paycheck.

“It’s rude, Y/n. That’s why it matters. You’re so goddamn rude sometimes. You only think about yourself.”

She turned sharply to look at her husband in shock. That was the first time he’d ever said such a thing to her. Normally he had no opinion on how she conducted herself. She was chronically late. Yes, she could admit that was a flaw in her character but she was on time when it really counted. But to get so worked up over a party? And to insult her on top of it?

That had set the whole mood for the night. And now she was even more suspicious about this Rebecca.

But when Rebecca did make her appearance and introduced herself to Y/n she was taken aback. The woman had to be in her 50s. She was pretty, sure, but not quite Leo’s type. If Y/n were any sort of indicator of a type.

Servers walked around with trays and served the couples in attendance. There were only ten couples there as well as Rebecca’s two daughters, Y/n learned. Quite the intimate affair really.

Leo brought a glass of wine to Y/n as she chatted with Mrs. Topman (she never learned her first name, as the woman literally introduced herself as Mrs. Topman).

“Here you are darling.” His green eyes shined down at her before searching the room casually. She was on to Leo. But she found it odd that the woman he was with in the Hamptons was Rebecca. She was intrigued.

She watched Rebecca mingle and sip wine and laugh and there was nothing there that made Y/n think Leo would be interested in her sexually. But maybe that was it, Y/n thought to herself as she cocked her head to the side watching the woman speak boisterously. Maybe it wasn’t sexual. Maybe it was a woman he felt a deeper connection with than he did with Y/n. Perhaps it hadn’t started sexual but led there.

The snack table was set up with decadent treats. Y/n picked up a toast smeared with something pink, topped with heart-shaped tomatoes on top as she scanned the room for Leo, wondering where he’d gone off to. It hadn’t been that long but knowing about Rebecca being with him made things feel like she was in some kind of true crime detective story and was trying to get to the bottom of a mystery. Though there was no crime being committed, she could entertain herself with that thought.

“Are you enjoying your time tonight?”

Y/n turned her sight to Rebecca who was next to her picking up the same toast with pink schmear.

“It’s amazing. Your home is so lovely, Mrs. Manera,” she smiled and noted the woman’s massive diamond ring in addition to her massive diamond wedding ring.

“Why thank you. Phineas has put in so much work to make this large shell into a lovely cozy home.”

Y/n nearly spat her bite out. The home was anything but cozy.

“It’s incredible. Where is Mr. Manera tonight?”

“Oh, just over there,” she pointed to a man in tweed with thick black-framed glasses, “You haven’t met yet?”

Rebecca led the way as Y/n walked in her wake to meet Mr. Manera. She had still not spotted her own husband.

“Phineas, dear, this is Mrs. Styles. Leonardo’s wife.”

The man held his hand out, “Very nice to meet you, Mrs. Styles.”

“Likewise. You can call me Y/n.”

 “Well, Y/n. We’re happy to have you here. Where’s Leo anyway? Haven’t seen him.”

Turning around quickly to look over her shoulder she shrugged and faced the man and his wife again, “Not sure actually. I haven’t seen him in a bit myself,” she laughed. And before she could even think about what she was implying she spoke to Rebecca, “But I’m sure you’ve seen enough of him since you saw him in the Hampton’s this weekend.”

Rebecca and Phineas’ smiles dropped as they looked at one another and then back to Y/n, “I haven’t been to the Hamptons in over a decade. Are you sure you’re not mistaking me for Parker? Our daughter? She was just there all weekend with her girlfriends.”

A Good Boy Masterlist

A Good Boy tags: @becauseheartsgetbroken-hs @shishcabobsworld @daphnesutton @spinnerswife69 @holy-macncheese-balls @cookielovesbook-akie @lilfreakjez @itsgigikay @amateurduck

[anonwyvern]

13. Dancing for CrossxEvelyn

Aaaaand

3. Holding hands for CrossxCharon (because I just know antics will happen with them 🤣🤣)

((Also I joined you Discord server 👀👀👀))

✨OTP ASKS✨

(Ohmygawd I ugly snorted at the holding hands prompt, that's some good shit 😂)

Dancing

(Cross x Evelyn)

Knock knock

Lydia lifted her head from the new schematic she was poring over, a singed eyebrow slowly rising in surprise at the sight she saw. Cross was standing just in the doorway of her workshop, dressed to the nines in a tailored dark green suit and shined black dress shoes.

He sheepishly held out a bowtie. "Ya mind? Kind of hard without all my fingers."

"Wow," she said as she wiped her greased hands on a rag. "You clean up nice." She pointed with her elbow to the suit as she quickly scrubbed her stained face. "Where in the world did you get something like that?"

Cross looked down at his formal attire, running a hand down the sleeve of his dinner jacket. "Let's just say it was worth the price I paid."

She dropped her towel and walked over, taking the bowtie in her hands and fumbling with it under his collar. "So, what's the occasion?"

He kept his chin raised slightly as she tightened the finishing touches. "...it's just somethin' I've been wantin' to do."

Lydia gave him a sly look. "Does Evelyn even know?"

"Nope."

She smoothed the bowtie and stood back to assess her due diligence before her face pinched together. “Please tell me you aren't taking her to Scuzzy’s."

He chuckled. "I bought the place last week and had it cleared out.”

Her jaw dropped. “You what?! How did you manage that?! How much did that even cost?! Is that what the guys have been doing this whole time?!"

His bony fingertip settled under her chin and clicked her mouth shut. He winked. "Helps to have some favors finally paid."

"So, wait, hold on...we own a bar?! Scuzzy's?!"

Cross patted her shoulder, slightly jostling her to the side. "You can have some fun with it when we're done, and only when we're done. Capeesh?"

She grinned. It was good to have the old Cross back.

---

Evelyn twirled in a circle, the navy blue sequins of her dress glittering diamonds along the wall. She then tapped the toe of her cream-colored heels a few times before looking upward and flashing the ghoul a dazzling smile.

"I love it. How did you know my size?" she questioned, snugging an arm around his as he opened the door of their room.

Charon softly snorted, grabbing her ass with one huge palm and giving a light squeeze.

They left the compound and walked under a rare, clear night sky, the stars just above their heads twinkling the ones on her dress. Evelyn shrugged into the merc's bomber jacket a little more closely to ward off the faint chill as they crossed the bridge separating old state lines, the Piscataqua River lapping beneath their feet and the soft lights of Scuzzy's on the riverbank heralding their destination.

"It's so quiet," she noticed, her breath fogging the air. She turned her head to his. "Do you think he'll be back soon?"

Charon nodded. "It is a simple package. I am sure he is on his way."

"Did he tell you what kind? He wouldn't tell me."

The ghoul playfully nudged her with his elbow. "He did."

They continued, her heels tap tap tap down the road as she waited for him to continue, but when it appeared he would take Cross' secret with him to the grave, she huffed and muttered to the side, "It's something totally perverted, isn't it?"

Charon halted, making her freeze in place. She blinked as he took his arm away to pull out a scarf that he then put around her eyes.

"Um, what are we doing?"

"It is a surprise," was all he rumbled, and then he carefully tightened it before leading her blindly along. "Do not peek."

The tips of her ears slightly perked up as she heightened her hearing for any clue as to what was about to commence. A door opened. The soft play of music. The door creaked closed. Footsteps. A mumble of words, too garbled and low for her to hear. More footsteps. The door again. And then-

Silence.

The scarf was carefully untied and lifted away, and she blinked at the new world she had been pulled into.

She gasped, "Wow."

Long gone was the dive bar known as Scuzzy's, the only joint this side of the water that was reputable for its distilled beers and drunken brawls. Nearly every piece of furniture had been initiated as an improvised weapon and accordingly destroyed and duct-taped back together. Mercs of all shapes, sizes, contracts, skills, and morals had come to Scuzzy's to pay their tributes with a baptized black eye and missing tooth, and now, all the blood, shit, piss, and cigarette stains had been washed away and sanded down to be reclaimed to its former Pre-War glory.

The floor was adorned with plush rugs, the furniture upholstered in velvet. The bar counter was no longer an old ship's timber nearly crumbling apart from musty wood rot, but was replaced by a marble slab that had been cut and polished. Strings of lights illuminated the once grungy, dim corners, and a pristine jukebox played Nat "King" Cole in the corner.

"I don't want to see tomorrow,"

"Hey, baby," a voice rasped behind her.

"Unless I see it with you."

She turned, her eyes growing wide and her cheeks burning warm and her heart beating much too fast behind her ribs.

"Wow," she repeated, breathless.

Cross was stunning. She drank in every drop of him, from head, to toe, every inch of well-defined muscle nicely fitted underneath the rich color of a dark green that she had only seen in her dreams of misty, old forests and their scented pines that dripped rain.

He scratched at his brow. "You ain't havin' another stroke, are ya?"

The quip blushed a shy smile on her lips, and she meekly clasped her hands together as she softly said, "You look very handsome."

"Yeah?" He grinned, fidgeting his hands in his pant pockets.

It was then that she realized he was flustered, too. It sunk a wet heat in the pit of her belly, and she nervously wrung her fingers together.

"Yeah."

He stepped forward, closing the space between them, and rubbed a hand over his bald head as he let loose a deep breath. "You're the most beautiful fuckin' woman I've ever laid eyes on," he garbled somewhat awkwardly. He then cleared his throat, shaking his head as he tried again. "Do you, uh, want a drink- shitsorryno, I mean-"

She took his hand and gave it a squeeze. "I would love a Nuka-Cola."

The merc nodded vigorously, pulling her along behind him as they made for the bar counter.

"Ya want to sit at the bar, or-?" he asked again, his rasp still unsure.

His endearing bashfulness exploded butterflies in her stomach as she pointed to a stool.

"Right there is okay."

She claimed her seat as he walked around to the front and unbuttoned his jacket to shrug out of. Her eyes glued to the swell of his biceps and the width of his forearms as he rolled up his sleeves to his elbows, the ghoul completely unaware of her ogling as he plunked a few ice cubes into a glass and popped the cap off her choice of soda.

He set the fizzing pops before her, raising a brow muscle at the hint of drool dribbling from the corner of her lips. "Ya that thirsty?"

Evelyn stupidly blinked as she wiped at her mouth and swiped at her drink, taking a sip before she could say something unintelligible. Forming a single, coherent thought seemed futile as he set an arm down to lean close to her, the fabric of his shirt pulling tight and the suspenders over his broad shoulders stretching and by God she could even see the bulge in his pants-

She choked on her drink, spewing soda to the side as she coughed and very ungracefully gargled like a warthog to clear her lungs.

Cross tapped his knuckles on the counter and took her iced drink away. "Ya want to dance?"

An inhuman sort of sound left her throat.

"...that a yes?"

She nodded after smearing sticky soda all over her lips, and he came around the counter to gently disrobe his bomber jacket from her shoulders. He set it aside, lightly tracing his fingertips down the naked skin of her spine.

"C'mere, baby."

She took his offered hand, and he pulled her towards him, gently circling them to the middle of the room and swaying under the soft light. She stepped on his foot.

"You'll one day get it," he rasped, then continued with a tease, "maybe 'fore the next bombs drop, if we're lucky."

She rolled her eyes and leaned into him, listening to the deep, smooth beat of his heart pounding in his chest as he expertly twirled them around in tempo to a mellow tune.

His hand guiding her at the small of her back crept down a bit further to grope her ass. "Ya like how we did the place?"

"It's beautiful. Is it yours, now?"

"I got it for you." When she instantly flipped her head up to stare at him, he chuckled. "Goin' to need a new name."

She tapped a finger to her lips before breaking out in a wide smile, and before he knew it, he was in love with her all over again.

"The Crossroads," she decreed.

Cross rasped thickly as he stared at the perfect view down the front of her dress, "Hmm. Got a nice ring to it."

Evelyn giggled as she pulled him down by the collar, saying with a tinge of husk, "Damn right it does."

And it was christened with a kiss.

Holding Hands

(Charon x Cross)

“Oh my God,” Evelyn breathed out as she pointed to the Pre-War kiddie's marvel just out of reach. “What the fuck is that?!”

Cross came around the side, shoving his hands deep in his bomber jacket pockets and snapping some bubbles from the gum in his mouth. “Huh. Ain’t never thought I’d see it in person.”

The neon-green ball of ooze set high on its pedestal in the middle of the dilapidated toy store glowed with all the promise of a child’s wonderment and delight. Faded posters plastered on a board that advertised the (slightly) radiated slime beamed pictures of smiling children…and a five-page, very finely printed, warning disclosure.

Cross scratched at his brow as he squinted at the barely legible liability statement, mumbling to himself, “…loss of vision, loss of limbs, addition of limbs (heh), vomiting blood, uncontrollable diarrhea-" He paused for a moment before rasping without looking up, “What’d ya have for lunch again?”

No answer, and he raised his eyes.

Evelyn had bypassed the ‘employee-only’ stanchions and was on the tips of her toes, going to make a grab for the gelatinous (not) repurposed nuclear waste.

“Hey!” Cross barked, and she froze mere inches from the ball of slime as he scolded her, “Fuck did I just say?”

Her hands instead came to her sides as she crossed her arms in a pout. “What?! It wouldn’t be here if it was that dangerous.”

“You shittin’ me?” he rasped as he pointed a bony fingertip to the piles of skeletons lying ominously around. “That ain’t too much of a fuckin’ clue for you, Space Cadet?”

Her eyes squinted slightly, the insult not sticking the landing. “Space Cadet?”

A thud of heavy boots from deeper within the cavernous remains of the store announced their third party member. Charon took in the scene and simply sighed.

“You are lucky you are immune,” was all he said.

Evelyn curtly shrugged and turned to eye her prize again, but the merc growled as he stepped forward, a human skull crushed to dust under his boot.

“I ain’t takin’ any chances,” he said firmly- no ifs, ands, or buts.

The frown of her lip dipped a little further, venturing from peeved to disappointed.

“But it looks cool,” she said sadly.

Cross’ glower slowly crumbled into indecisiveness under the pressure of her pleading puppy look. The big eyes and the quivering lip somehow seemed to always slip past his defenses, and he was soon standing before the pedestal to grab at The Ooze!

“Damn lucky is right,” he muttered under his breath as he placed a hand over the thing. It immediately swallowed his fingers, his palm, and all the way down to his wrist with a sickening slurp! He grimaced at the icky sensation of the slime having devoured his entire right hand, and he held it up and wiggled it in the air, unable to unlatch it.

“What’s it feel like?! Can I try?!” She began to extend her wiggling fingers for it, but he simply lifted his arm to keep her out of reach. “Hey!”

“Not till I know it’s safe,” he growled.

She scoffed, “Oh please, it’s a children’s toy!”

“You would be surprised,” Charon rasped flatly as he came to make his own inspection of The Ooze!

The merc held it over for him to take, and the ferryman dipped a few fingers in the squelching slime to be completely enveloped. He pulled, and Cross grunted as he was nearly tipped over.

"Just take the damn thing," Cross growled.

The muscle of Charon's brow twitched as he gave a second attempt, to only receive the same outcome.

He snarled as he yanked with more force, “I am trying.”

The merc stumbled into the man as he partially swept him off his feet, and together their captive hands interlaced at the fingers. Both ghouls shrugged the other one off and looked down at the slime, before raising their eyes simultaneously to share a single thought of I don't know what we expected. They then glanced at Evelyn just standing in her spot, her barely contained laughter threatening to burst her at the seams.

“You passin’ gas over there?” Cross rasped dourly at her flushed face and cheeky smile.

“Oh my God!” she cackled, unable to contain herself any longer as she burst wide open with a bellyful of laughter. She wheezed, wiping the tears from her eyes as she began to walk away, “Where’s that camera?!”

Charon took a step forward just as Cross took his own in the opposite direction, and both their shoulders practically dislocated from their sockets as they refused to yield to the opposing force. The ferryman whipped a glare around just as Cross snarled at him.

"Hey!" Evelyn called over from a side room. "Think I found something."

Cross grumbled to himself, "Thank Christ."

Their smoothskin came bumbling over with a sheet of yellowed paper in her hand, waving it in the air like a battle flag. "It says on this to 'Please see the manager in the event of contact with The Ooze!'"

Charon pinched his brow as Cross directed his smoldering glower to her instead.

The merc gave a quick look around, his rasp dripping with sardonic sarcasm. "Don't think he's in today."

"Do you think I'm stupid?" she bristled, and when he said nothing to refute it, she scoffed and tossed the paper over her shoulder to stomp off. "Have fun jacking each other off for the rest of your lives."

"Evelyn."

"Yeah, yeah," she snarked as she took to the stationary escalator, stomping to the upper levels without looking back. "I remember seeing the manager's office somewhere up here. I'll be right back."

The ghouls waited a few moments in silence before the merc sighed and indicated with his chin to a bench against the wall. With coordinated steps, they both came to sit beside each other, their fingers still interlocked together in the dense mass of goop.

Cross wormed around his jacket for a pack of bubblegum, popping two pieces free. "Might be here awhile."

Charon took the stick of stale gum. "I sincerely hope not."

Cross pocketed the carton away and chewed, blowing a few bubbles for a moment. They quietly indulged themselves with their treat and private thoughts, and then Cross titled his head to the side to peer up to the second-floor landing. There was no sight, or sound, and he grumbly sighed and leaned back.

"Got to take a shit," he grumbled to himself.

Charon shifted in his seat, rasping just as lowly, "...I as well."

Cross cupped his free hand around his mouth and yelled, "Hey! Fuck you doin' up there?!"

There was a sudden great big BOOM, and both ghouls jumped to their feet and whipped out their weapons, making a race for the stairs when their legs tangled together in an uncoordinated tango. They collapsed to the floor in a heap of limbs, skittering guns, and pained grunts. Cross coughed while Charon lifted himself partway with his free hand, and then they both blinked. The merc was pinned beneath the slightly bigger ghoul, Charon's thighs straddling him at the hips and their heavy breathing washing over their faces.

A thundering of feet made them quickly glance up. Evelyn had raced down the stairs, pausing for only a very brief moment to take in the scene.

"It sure as hell ain't what it looks like," Cross rasped.

A flutter of...disappointment, downturned her lips and smoothed her brow, before she seemed to have remembered the dangers coming for them and proceeded to scurry for the safety of outside, leaving the duo in their rather intimate position.

Cross yelled after her, "Hey! Evelyn!" He then growled as he put his weight in shoving the other ghoul off, "Get the fuck off me!"

They both awkwardly stood, but not without a tangle of buckles and snapping of leather straps and the laces of their boots snagging one another. Something skittering whipped their heads on a dime, and they both slowly followed the journey of a very sizeable glowing radroach crawling to the base of their feet.

Its antennas twitched, once, twice, and then it very cautiously stood on its hind end and wiggled its mandibles for The Ooze!

The ghouls shared a look.

"...do you think she will come back?" Charon rasped quietly so as not to scare their mutated friend.

The radroach continued to nibble away as they sat on their bench and waited with tedious patience for it to free them from their 'get-along' slime.

Cross squinted his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. "Probably back at Kittery by now." He then twitched as he felt the radroach chew on his index finger. "Watch it, ya little bastard."

Charon snorted. "You are probably right."

More silence, and then the merc turned his head.

"We're never tellin' anyone 'bout this."

"Agree."

[smoshidiot]

💛Smoshblr December Asks Final Day💙

We‘ve done it! We’ve finally reached the end of this lil ask game and also the end of 2023! 🥳 Thank you so much for joining in on this, I truly appreciate it so much 🫶! I wish you a wonderful start into the new year and that all your hopes and dreams for 2024 will come true! ✨💞

But, since the year isn’t quite over yet, I thought this might be a nice time to reminisce a little bit. Therefore, the final question of the Smoshblr December Asks Game:

What are your favourite smosh-related memories of 2023? 💖

(no specific amount required for this one; and you can ofc also include older smosh memories, if you want to 🤗)

so firstly, of course i'm gonna have to say the friends i've made since june 20th. when i first started to really get back into smosh again, i wasn't sure if i should make a smoshblr blog because i wasn't sure how active the community would be and wow i am so glad i jumped back in ♡ i made some absolutely incredible friends here (hi @smoshmonker ilysm you're the best) and if it weren't for becca in particular, i wouldn't have upgraded to smosh royalty and joined the smoshcord on july 28th. that day means so much to me and that server in general has brought me SO much joy this year. i am unbelievably grateful to be part of such a wonderful community and meet so many friends through this silly little youtube channel. and i am SO excited to meet them come vidcon next year!

food battle and the lead up to it was fucking incredible. this goes for anthony's funeral as well! getting hyped up for a big event like that was genuinely the most fun i've had in such a long time and the events themselves absolutely paid off. that being said, i ate so many donuts and taquitos that week that i'm genuinely sick of them lmao. (one other vid that had a surprising amount of hype leading up to it was the letter video. becca and i were going THROUGH it as that video aired and we were screaming to each other.)

ok this is fully self indulgent but i HAVE to mention... that first time that anthonypadilla liked one of my posts.. then two more of my posts.. then POSTED my art to his story? i had never had an interaction with any smosh boy before that point and when i tell you it shook me to my CORE. it was absolutely a memorable moment from this year and i definitely cried lmao. these boys make me feel so appreciated and loved and it truly made my year. now i just do what i can to not totally embarrass myself in front of ian and anthony (i'm failing)

we bought smosh. :] i still can't fucking believe they bought smosh

[wooahaes]

i hope i'm not too late for the ask game! how about ceo! hoshi with minimum wage service worker reader? i've always found this trope funny - ☁️

omg no ur good! i answered a few last night before i slept for a bit and now im finally back after getting dinner <3 (as u can probs tell from the gap between the last ask and the one before it)

sdfkhdsf i both love and hate this trope bc i both would and wouldnt date a rich bitch. like eat the rich but also.... i would enjoy a money.

despite the nice place you work in, all you get paid for ur server job is minimum wage. the only thing stopping you from quitting is the fact that rich people tip rly fucking well half the time, plus if you laugh at their stupid jokes they'll like you more. insert: kwon soonyoung, the CEO of some company you stopped caring about minutes after you overheard business talk. for some reason, he always comes to this restaurant and he apparently always requests you (your coworker, vernon, says that he said you 'take really good care of him' aka you literally just do your job??? you don't understand it). but the guy does give really good tips (and sorta nudges for his partners to do the same there)...

so u and soonyoung are friendly enough with one another. he asks what you do outside of this (hobbies or school or w/e), you tell him you're a grad student, and hes impressed bc wow u must work hard considering ur always also working here during the day (to which you admit you switched to the online program for personal reasons).

more convos. sometimes he asks how you're doing and its genuinely sweet. sometimes he comes in alone for a lunch by himself and he still requests you. and then one day he asks if you actually aren't interested in him. ur confused, and he mentions he left you his number like... three times on a napkin. he even drew a lil tiger next to it and wrote 'call me! :)' too. ur confused and he says he thinks you're sweet and wanted to ask you out for drinks one day. u admit that u weren't the one to clear the table the last few times, and kinda outright say 'you should have just given me ur number' but he admits he got shy w tht. idk what else to put here rn but maybe u take him up on the offer for drinks and ur worlds kinda open up a bit more as u talk to him more genuinely. he talks abt the struggles of family pressure, u talk abt grad school n family stuff, and u just kinda find a home with one another through tht even though u have two very different living situations.

[eternailee]

Commission Information

Wow! You’re considering commissioning me! Thank you so much for your attention and support! My name is eternailee, though you can call me Bun! I’ve been roleplaying and writing in various formats for 12+ years. From DMs and Forums to Deviantart roleplay and Voice roleplays, I would say I’m pretty experienced in the written field. I would like to offer you my services in the form of Roleplay and Writing Commissions. Please see below the line break for more information

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❧ I am committed to your commission: if I am unable to complete it, a refund will be issued.

❧ Communication will take place via DM (tumblr or discord) or via email (eternaileebun@gmail.com). I will update you weekly on my progress.

❧ Payments are taken through Paypal. The cost of the commission must be paid upfront. I also take tips on Ko-fi if you would like to tip me.

Mediums

Currently, my roleplays take place in Discord DMs. I will make a server for our rp and you will have access to the server. I will also keep a google doc copy for logs in the case something happens to the server and you will have access to that as well. Your written commission will be delivered to you as an AO3 or Tumblr link.

Cost Breakdown

You may be curious about what a commission from me includes, so I’ve broken each commission and what it includes down below. For all of your commissions aside from written commissions, you will have my relatively uninterrupted time. It is just as it sounds: My attention is on you once I’ve started my timer. The only exceptions to this will be if I need to get up for small things, like a bathroom break or getting a glass of water. I will let you know before I get up and stop the timer in those instances, so your time won’t be wasted! ♥ Consultation - Free I use our consultation time to discuss several things with you. Firstly, I want to know what it is you would like to commission! Whether it be roleplays, written commissions, imagines or otherwise! I’ll let you know at that time if I can accept your commission or not, and we can discuss details. If you are contacting me regarding roleplay, I want to know if we’re a good fit for each other! This will include discussion about who you are as a person in relation to how you roleplay, relevant experience, expectations, boundaries, triggers, etc.

♥ Roleplays - 10 USD / 1 Hour

Roleplaying commissions include 1 hour of relatively uninterrupted time. My attention is yours! I’m partnered with you until the time ends, so we can spend our time in any way you want! If you prefer headcanons in Discord DMs, we can do headcanons. If you prefer for us to focus on replying and not chat as much, that’s fine too! Essentially, I’m down for whatever you prefer to do! And the best part? We focus solely on you and yours! Where you might have to double for others, I do not need that! Your character and experience is my priority! 

♥ NSFW Roleplays - 15 USD / 1 hour

This option is the same as SFW roleplay options, but there is 18+ content involved! By commissioning me for this, you acknowledge that you are 18+. I may require some form of ID stating your birth date before I allow a commission of this nature. 

♥ Group Roleplays - 15/20 USD per person / 1 hour + Possible Prep Fee 

15 for SFW. 20 for NSFW. This option is the same as SFW roleplays, but it includes multiple people. Specifics will be discussed in DMs.

♥ Literary Commissions - .02 USD per word SFW / .04 USD per word NSFW

I offer traditional written commissions as well. Whether this be short stories, chapters or imagines, I can write it for you! Please specify how many words you want (100 word minimum). The only thing I cannot do is poetry. I will keep you updated weekly on where I am with the commission during the process. 

♥ Requests - Free

I do have an ask box here where you can request imagines and related content, but I cannot promise that I will be able to fulfill these requests.

[starkers-lair]

Hello watchers and stalkers, welcome back to

Desired realities masterlist

this took unnecessarily long to put together. Also, I'll make the introductions for them when I feel motivated to and when I'm more focused on that dr, so it might take a bit bare with me

navigation | general masterlist

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──

✶ ATEEZ DR

"The international superstars have paid us a visit! Let's give ATEEZ a warm welcome!"

✶ Cat Kingdom DR

"Joong, will you and Star be sweethearts and watch the kittens for us?" Seonhwa asked his brother, his eyes a silent plea.

"Ugh, fine, but only because they're cute!!" Star answered before Hongjoong even had the chance to process the question. "You guys act like you're not the king and queen of a whole kingdom and can't get a single kittensitter to watch your kittens but, okay!" Star continued with a more sarcastic tone, finally looking up from the papers on his desk.

✶ LUCY DR

"The band that has innovated the world of kbands! Welcome LUCY!"

✶ Boarding School DR

group shift with oona

Oona hurriedly opened her phone to text Hongjoong. "Come get your boyfriend before I kill him. He keeps bullying me and I already have to deal with Jongho’s mean ass!"

"You dealt with Star before Jongho tho? You don't claim him anymore?" He replied.

"I'd rather deal with MY bf than YOURS. For now I only know his government name."

✶ Mafia DR

group shift with oona

"Sinclair will prevail!"

"And Django will choke on our guns :3"

✶ Hermitcraft DR

"HERMIT CHALLENGES INITIATION" Mumbo screamed as he ran around the server, collecting his friends one by one to join the hermit challenges. Soon came Star's turn.

"Mumbo, the sun has barely risen..." Star groaned as Mumbo burst into his room.

✶ Secret Life DR

"You killed him, Scar. You won." Grian said as Scar searched for Star.

"How did the guy with no friends win?" Scar laughed.

✶ Detroit: Become Human DR

"Our duty is to serve the police force, Lieutenant."

"Even if we sacrifice ourselves for it."

✶ Pirate DR

"Captain, are you sure we're going in the right direction?"

"You're more annoying than this parrot on my shoulder! Yes, I'm sure we're going in the right direction."

✶ Vampire DR

"Who dare disturb my beauty sleep?" Star said, opening the door of his mansion.

"Wow, so vampires aren't that scary after all," the person on the other end said, eyes stuck on the vampires' fluffy slippers.

✶ Study room DR

A chill place to catch up on studies or learn new things I'm interested in.

✶ Waiting room

A calm environment where I can relax before going to other realities.

- yours truly

[frostbite-the-bat]

OK, I'm on mobile so it May Be Goofy BUT - here's the story of how I got banned from advertising and selling commissions on a furry server. Full edition because (beffica voice) DRAMAAAAA.

This WILL be long. I have adhd, it's 4 am, and I overexplain. you should know me by now, however. have fun reading!

vvvv under the cut

Also, warning - when a piece of this happened, it left me very upset, but nowadays I just kind of laugh at it and go "wow what an asshole that other guy." so don't worry about me (aside from the fact I have trust issues with commissions now)

------

Okay so, years ago on discord, around 2018 when I first got the name Guzma (that's where it stuck), I joined a furry server. I wasn't doing well mentally and wanted like minded people to talk to, so I joined a furry server

I befriended people there rather quickly, as I was active all day for hours in the pokecord channel. I even got past like 2k messages there which was a requirement for a level up thing and I did it in ONE day.

I became buddies with the staff and the owner. like many people she jokingly adopted me as a kid into the goofy server family tree and I considered us all friends there. (many of these people I know to this day, we just don't chat often)

However.... She turned out to be not so great. Throwing the n slur around like it's candy alongside other questionable things I cannot remember too clearly. The server was in hot waters, and despite it's popularity, it vanished one day and I was invited into a side server for people the server owner liked. It was.... Horrible. Slurs everywhere and inappropriate images (not sexual I believe tho, just bad shit.) were shared. Most of us were minors at the time, but there were some young adults, too, I think. Still doesn't excuse the shitty place it was. I was madly uncomfortable and I left.

Also before I move on, run fact! In this server and my friends were in a quackity video - I think I saw him join but didn't react and thought of just some generic raider we're gonna get rid off... I kinda always sniffed out the new joins who were raiders well. But yeah, he joined the vc, said "wanna do the owo and the furry" and then got banned. My friend who shows up next and the server owner were in this call. After the video dropped we began getting more raids, and negativity towards the furry Fandom in general got a bit more aggressive with teenage kids with war pfps joining the server to call us furfags and to die. So yeah! Fuck quackity for underestimating his impressionable fan base and for doing joke raids in general. not my only beef or drama regarding him, but I'm not sharing that.

Eventually I got contacted by one of my still good friends who I met there, about joining another furry server - where the actual story takes place! But, I believe, backstory with these people is necessary. And we did want drama, didn't we?

A lot of people from the old server moved here, so I adjusted quickly. Most of them were ex staff, and so they became staff here eventually too. I chatted there daily and constantly, and I'm still considered a trusted highlighted member there even if I haven't spoken there in over a year. (well, I stopped speaking there like around 2021 in general... Only joining for small chats and sharing my art only. A year ago I stopped entirely.)

But like yeah, I was a respected member there and people knew me there. I was basically friends with all of the staff. I was like the only og person who didn't join staff there.

And, as always, I became friends with the owner and we had our own little adopted family tree again. things were good! It was fun.

Until I did some commissions for Minecraft skins (2019ish going into 2020 at the BAD part of the story I believe), and a friend of the server owner contacted me. I did his commission (HAD TO WORK WITH A CRUSTY SHADED PAINGING JOEG AS MY REF BTW. BAD.) and delivered him his skin! He'd ask a lot for updates, but... I didn't mind it.

I got paid in discord nitro, as I was and still am unable to be paid in real money. Especially back then as a minor.

That went smoothly! He then commissioned me again, this time for a full piece. It was to be of his fursona and the server owners fursona, full-body - got an drawing as a pose reference to use. I forgot my work process here, but it was slower. Back then I tried a more realistic style before I grasped anatomy as well as I do now - without much stylization. Especially back then in furry spaces this sold better than heavily stylized cartoon styles... I yet had to accept this type of style even if I wanted. So... I wasn't having fun with it.

I'd get asked a lot for updates, again, but I did get the drawing done! Both loved the piece and at this point it was clear they trusted me for commissions. I mean I was recommended to the commissioner guy, who I'll call Ourple at this point(his sona was mainly purple colored) BY THE SERVER OWNER, who was my friend.

until, I get a commission again... And it's of the two characters again! I forgot the secofics, but it was meant to be tropical themed. I... Struggled with this one deeply. I didn't have fun with it and I struggled with school and my grades and my pretty severe bullying.

on top of that my undiagnosed adhd, and this was before I learned about any mental health or disability positivity. I knew I had adhd but I didn't know what it did yet. In my eyes and to everyone else, I was just lazy - even if it was painful for me to just.. Want to do something and my mind and body not cooperating. Its HORRIBLE.

And, issue is, I already got paid, and claimed my 6 months of nitro as payment... I couldn't give a refund. You see where this is going.

So, he gave me approximately 6 months to work on it, saying to take my time though, and that he'll check on the progress. I said that's fine... And I began initial sketches the day of. I didn't like them much and I struggled a lot. I dropped it a bit and just did things in my own life... With this kind of in the back of my mind.

Sometimes he'd ask me for updates and I'd deliver. And then about 2 months in, he noticed I was posting doodles and shit posts that took me just.. Super quick to like 5 minutes. Tho this memory is fuzzy and I max mistake it for another dms call out incident from him. He annoyed a Lot.

he finally snapped and went into my dms, asking me how DARE I draw other things when he commissioned me.

His "uwu hii hugs how's da commission doin? OwO?" talk was gone and he suddenly began speaking very formally and scarily, and well. It scared me. I forgot what exactly I said but I did mention hey I'm a kid and I'm stressed??

But he didn't speak to me he said something and bitched out, using the server owner as someone to speak for him. the server owner knew how stressed Ourple made me and how bad this kinda was - seeing I couldn't refund and I simply wasn't doing the commission.

OH I FORGOT TO MENTION. IM NOT GOIGN BACK. HE CONTACTED MODS ABOUT THIS FIRST INSTEAD OF GOING INTO MY DMS. I JUST REMEMBERED THAT. THE OWNER DMS CAME FIRST. my memory is a bit bad when it comes to unpleasant situations, apologies.

so he got THE STAFF INVOLVED WHO WERE NOW SOLVING THE SITUATION WITHOUT ME EVEN INVOLVED. the person IT WAS ABOUT.

AND I even explained to purple hey I have adhd and I'm like a kid you're an adult you should've known better commissioning a fucking child (15 at the time?? Idk... Years and numbers may be incorrect in the story.)

But he was still angry and refused to speak to me. And I was too scared to speak back. I cried and cried and I was so worried.

At this state I could not do the commission especially as my mental state was just... Bad in general at the time mostly due to school.

And then... A saint old friend from the previous server... A total sweetheart of the sweethearts, who was also dating someone who I called uncle who was genuinely the bed test ever who I had MANY pleasant commissions with - came in and offered help and that the staff discussed things.

they would finish the commission for me and I take some time off to focus on myself and get better. and this was someone with basically professional level art. Fancy fun very well rendered art, could so stylized and cool as hell realistic too. And I couldn't thank them enough for the offer and their kindness.

Eventually... Time passes... And I get over all this. I continue my school life and my art life as I did. I began posting more art and at this point I think it was 2021 and I was into bugsnax so this is my early new Tumblr era I believe. he noticed I've been drawing again - and demanded I finish the commission.

Turns out he also denied my friends help to get a free commission from an arguably better artist, because he was so bitter over me. He basically saw that I was better and wanted the commission done. I think this was told to me through server owner, too.

So... I did finish the drawing. More quickly put together because I couldn't care less, I wanted to be done with it. He got his stupid commission and we were done.

But... Then... As I was switching up art styles (this could've been before it, too, remembering the styles I used... But I think it was After.) I decided to open quick headshot commissions, for steam stuff and nitro! it was fun as the ppl who commissioned me were my good friends from the server. It was advertised on the server, too, in the advertising chat where artists can advertise their commissions for all to see.

And then I was contacted by a different mod, or server owner I can't recall ... And my commission advert on the server was removed. I've been informed that I'm BANNED from posting ANY AD on the server, as it was something that was discussed between the mods when Ourple went whining to them instead of asking me about the commission. I was NOT INFORMED ABOUT THIS. so I was like?? What load of BULLSHIT??

And WELL.. TIME WENT ON... SERVER OWNER GOT INTO DRAMA... RACIST SHIT AGAIN... I GOT SCREENSHOT OF THINGS AS THEY WERE DELETED I CAN PROBABLY SPILL SHIT ON THIS GUY IF I WANTED...! one day a small argument in general broke out basically and Boy, Were Messages Being Deleted. But... I stopped being active because of some Of My Biggest Life Trauma Ever when I broke up with my ex friend. It scarred me horribly I won't elaborate however.

So I was inactive... And the server got a new owner (also a friend of mines, we still chill we just don't talk. Tho someone else may own it now idk) and I eventually asked mod friend if I can advertise there again since CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP and I was told yea ur fine lol.

So yeah. That's how i got banned from advertising on a furry server

In retrospect, it shows to be more knowledgeable when doing commissions, and to have a way of refunding someone. But also, thay the commissioner, an adult in the situation, should've been more responsible as he knew he is commissioning a minor who Most Knew Is Unwell.

He should've handled it with more nuance instead of harassing me and scaring me at first (Literally pulled up the doodle I did and went What is this? You do this while daring not to work on your PAID WORK? YOU DARE HAVE FUN??) and then refusing to speak to me and get help and free shit from others - and used someone else to speak for him. Big props for the other mod friend for being so nice to me and willing to take matters into their own hands, prioritizing my mental health first.

I've learned a lesson from this, of course, but wow I didn't need to get through all that. delightful!

[poppyseed799]

MY NEW LIFE SERVER WITH MY SIBLINGS ALL DEATHS AND NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES SO FAR

100Cat (my older sister) and I exploring the catacombs. I (a bee) get cornered by a skeleton with a sword and have to hold up my shield at half a heart waiting for my sister to save me. She comes and kills the skeleton and I’m safe! I say “wow that was a close one I’m glad I didn’t die” as I eat food, zombie comes completely out of nowhere we have one second to react before it kills me. Laughter ensues.

Shortly after previous death, with 100Cat (phoenix) alone in the catacombs, suddenly a BUNCH of zombies show up as well and she dies as I am now a Guardian (fish) so I cannot go back in there to help her.

We are now a Guardian and a Crab but we haven’t died again yet so that’s good. I’ve had many near death experiences as a Guardian tho. Here they are.

Tried to kill the cows in the cow pen with a knife. It did no damage, I fall in the pen and continue trying to stab the cow, no damage dealt. (After further testing, I realize this is because the weakness on land makes me do -4 damage and the knife I was using did less than that). Start suffocating from lack of water. Try to leave pen. Cows are in the way. Finally leave pen and jump into water at half a heart. Does not talk about it.

My sister made a bikini and crocs which if you wear them boost your swim speed. My swim speed was already naturally faster since I am a guardian, so she tells me to put them on and see how fast I go. The answer? Really really fast. It’s not even the full set. I decide to leave the beach and explore the jungle a bit. Find a big hole. Need to breathe, so I try to place water next to me, but the leaves are waterlogged. Panic and try to find a place without leaves to put water, fall out of tree closer to the hole. Place some water against the wall, but my swim speed is so fast due to the bathing suit that I slip out and fall straight into the hole. Zombies and skeletons chase me. I try to shield but I am already suffocating and the fall damage plus skeleton arrows is making me at like one heart. I manage to run to the wall of the cave and place water (I forgot to mention at some point I also managed to switch my armor back on) before I die (it was REALLY close I remember saying I was gonna die so confidently but like that doesn’t mean you stop trying and it paid off). Shield and thankfully water pushes zombies away (I think I killed the skeleton in the panic) so I manage to recover and kill the zombies. Go back to the beach and give my sister the bikini and crocs back.

There’s honestly many more times I’ve almost died (that’s just life as a Merling type origin trying to be on land without respiration enchants or water breathing potions) but they aren’t as interesting. For now OUR OTHER, YOUNGER SISTER (Sky) JOINED THE SERVER! We couldn’t all play at once (only 2 computers) and Cat and I were away from home on an adventure so she had to follow my waypoints to find our base all on her own.

Sky dies many times on her way to our base. Mostly because when she joined the server it was night time and a thunderstorm (minecraft servers when new players join them fr). She ends up with 2 lives left on Sugar Crazed origin (one I made! She really liked it and wanted to stay as it which made me happy)

On her second to last life (we’re gonna give her lives back it’s no fun keeping all those unfortunate deaths when we’re trying to have fun) she makes it to our base. She decides to go exploring. She finds a village. It’s getting late irl so I decide to go to bed. I consider telling her “don’t die” but I figure she’ll stay safe, I mean she’s just in a village and will probably log off soon. I go to the bathroom before going to bed. While I’m in the bathroom I hear Sky enter the bedroom and say “I died 😢”. Apparently she tried to jump off a cliff and land in water and failed. BRUH. We stop playing for the night.

[esperanta-dragon]

I feel like there is a need to write down why so many people hate Sylvanas so much, me included. Maybe you can’t stand her too OR you love her and you don’t understand why the hell people can hate such an amazing character. Here is why. And I will try to write this down logically as possible. No “hur dur I hate her because she is a bitch!”. No, I will put down all things so you can understand. And one sad disclaimer... it’s not the character’s fault.

WHY WE STARTED TO LOVE HER

Sylvanas showed up in Warcraft III as a Ranger General of Quel’thalas. She was protecting her country for quite some time when Arthas attacked Eversong Woods in order to get to Sunwell and resurrect Kel’Thuzad as a lich. Sylvanas paid with her life and her soul to protect her people and her country. She was made banshee and was forced to do things against her will and serve the Scourge she hated. But she was still plotting her revenge, didn’t give up until the moment came and she took the chance. She reclaimed her body back and almost killed Arthas, and took over Lordaeron City. Then she took over the undead slowly freeing from the Lich King’s grasp and gave them a place where to stay, becoming their Queen. And since then, she was planning to kill the Lich King for good.

That’s why we loved her (I never did, I will explain that later why). She really kicked his ass. She slapped the Scourge in the face. She never gave up and was doing everything to achieve her goals, her revenge. There are not so many such strong female characters, so resolute. She was not good but also not evil, she was shady, she was not the boring good guy. So why the hell people hate her? She is perfect! Let’s go to what happened during and after WotLK... Because here it starts.

WRATH OF THE LICH KING

As I said, many people adore Sylvanas since Warcraft III. But they don’t understand the character is not the same. She was never good, she was an anti-hero, that’s the fact (the Ebon Blade are also anti-heroes and they are not bad, they just do necessary things to keep the Scourge in check). She was doing everything to take revenge on Arthas. And everything means that she had no problems walking over corpses of her allies. Causalities because of my fault? Pfft! No matter as long as the piece of trash sitting on the Frozen Throne will get what he deserves!

This was pretty much visible after Wrathgate when Varimathras and Putress tried to take over Undercity and Alliance and the Horde saw what she is doing inside the city. Still fine, it was in character, she was doing EVERYTHING to take revenge on Arthas. Everything. That’s why she existed, why she kept going. Even back then, I didn’t hate her. She was still a very well-written character. This is what a character in her position would do. 

But once everything was done, the Lich King was taken care of, she realized there is no point in her existence. She saw the Lich King was not destroyed. They only replaced him. So she threw herself from the Icecrown Citadel and fell on saronite spikes, the only thing that could definitely kill her.

And she ended up in a dark place. And the pain she felt was not like anything she felt before. It was the most horrible, the most inconsolable place. But val’kyras came down to her and sacrificed for her to get her back. Now we know what happened as we progress in the Shadowlands but... let’s say this was the beginning of the end for a good character Sylvanas once was. This was a start of cliché, inconsistency, and a great example that good characters should be allowed to go and leave so they can be remembered as a good characters.

WHAT CHANGED

Look, I came to WoW really late. I was playing on WotLK free servers as I could not afford to pay for official servers. But I knew the story in WotLK and I was still pretty ok with Sylvanas. I don’t remember hating her this much. She was well written.

It was Cataclysm Firelands patch when I finally could come to official servers. And Sylvanas was already doing pretty shady and disgusting stuff. I played Forsaken starting quest line so I know. Raising undead like the Lich King did? No problem for her. She even said she is like Arthas but she is working for the Horde (she never cared for them anyway, it was just more beneficial for her). What happened in Gilneas was not alright. Who gases the whole zone and making it inhabitable? Alright, let’s say Horde was expanding and Gilneas was next to Lordaeron. Alright. But back then, I finally dove deep into lore and I’ve noticed many people are really devoted to Sylvanas. It seemed almost like a cult. And every time I asked people, why they love this psyhopathic banshee, they were like: “She is my Queen! I love her, I would die for her! She is cool, she is taking care of us, she has a good heart!”

Something was amiss here... I couldn’t understand this. I couldn’t see what they saw. I saw a shady, ruthless and careless psychopath who is using her loyal subjects to save herself from something. And many people believed it even in BfA. Me and my friend had to show them excerpts from short stories where she say that “once they were arrows in her quiver, now they are bulwark against the darkness”. They couldn’t believe they loved Queen would not love them back!

But hey, still, I wanted to understand why people love her. I would understand if it would be still Warcraft III or WotLK, that’s fine. But Cata? Legion? BfA? Shadowlands? 

So I started reading all books, short stories where she was. Articles about her. I tried to catch the glimpse of why people loved her: the majority told me she is still good and has a good heart and she is an amazing person. But I didn’t see it. Maybe I am stupid and I don’t understand, I am missing something... So I kept studying, trying to see anything good in her, I was failing. I saw a character falling more down into a pit full of anger and hate. Her loyalists said she was an amazing creature, loving, caring.

And the more I was told by people that she is caring and she has a good heart, the more I was getting disgusted and angry because the more I was reading about her and the more her loyalists told me, the more I saw what Sylvanas is: inconsistent character.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH SYLVANAS

In one book she was written like this. In another book, she was written like that. In one quest it was like this, then it was like that. In one expansion she behaved this way, in the next expansion, it was that way. She was doing more and more twisted things and her loyalists kept telling me she has a good heart. My frustration was growing to the point I could not stand her. It felt like I’ve met the person I knew was torturing her friends but when I met them, they told me with bruises on their faces and definitely mentally abused that she is amazing and it’s not her fault, she is just misunderstood and I should love her too.

When she killed Liam Greymane, loyalists were like: “I have no clue why Genn hates her so much! That stupid dog should die!” Yeah right, somebody kills your son and destroys your home, you have no reason to be angry, it’s ok.

She burns down Teldrassil and they said: “Why Tyrande wants to kill her? I hope Sylvanas kills her first!” Sure, somebody burns down a city with thousands of innocent people, it’s fine, let them go, no hard feelings. And sometimes these people are able to justify her actions with: “But this is fantasy! There is different morale than in real world!” Please, guys, never ever write a story. Never touch it. You will end up like Steve Danuser making characters to behave like idiots and without emotions. Stay away. Please. Do world the favor.

I was trying really hard. Trying to figure out what kind of character she is. Find a pattern. Because you can write a chaotic character and still find a pattern and it can be still a consistent character. But Sylvanas? I felt more and more that not even Blizzard knows what to do with her, how to write her... she felt more and more inconsistent and out of place with every expansion. And you know what? That happens to characters which are kept in the story longer than they should. If character losts a meaning of their existence, there are only two options: you either let them go or you have to find them a new meaning. And in case of Sylvanas, the second option led to a narrative disaster.

We were told by Blizzard: “Don’t worry! Everything falls in place! It makes sense what she does!” But after the Sanctum of Domination finale? It was a big fat lie...

Before I come to the cinematic, let me tell you what made me hate her beyond every possible measure: her fandom.

HITLER HAD A GOOD HEART!

In Legion, she was doing shady stuff. But in BfA? She became a Hitler. She burned down Teldrassil because... IDK she snapped and wanted to show one elven archer that you can kill hope? And what kind of catapults she had has reach 20 km? What kind of catapults can burn down incredibly big tree SOAKED in water with thick bark. Was that azerite or... no, I am not gonna get angry. And I won’t even start with the b*shit Blizzard pulled: “Look, just because Sylvanas is right in front of Teldrassil doesn’t mean it was her who burned it down!” They had to lie to us to look that they can create a better story than what it actually is.

She destroyed Undercity so Forsaken lost their home. Is this how you take care of your subjects if you are loving and caring? I think not.

And with her actions, millions of souls from the whole cosmos are going right into the Maw for eternal suffering. And why? Because she was scared. Because instead of thinking about herself and trying to change, she rather schemed with the god of death... who was responsible for her misery. And even teamed with Kel’Thuzad, who was reason of her fate in the first place! And yet, after all this, after mass genocide, destroying souls, millions, maybe billions of souls are suffering because of her... and you can still tell me there is still good in her and she deserves redemption arch... And with love say: “She got us into this, she will get us out of this <3 ^_^” So somebody is making everybody suffer and some people are like “Ooooh it’s fine, I support her! I bet she will realize what she is doing and she will save us!” Would you say the same about Hitler? That he was misunderstood, he was trying to fix something that’s why he murdered millions of people? I am just asking what kind of people her loyalists are in real life.

I have a question... would you still love her if she was a man? Or decomposing undead? Or if she wouldn’t be sexy elf at all? If she would be ugly? I think we all know the answer (disclaimer, beautiful people are not always kind and nice, what a surprise). I bet she would be already killed or hated by majority of the community at least two expansions back. Why Garrosh had to stand trial for war crimes and Sylvanas doesn’t? To be honest, I never liked Garrosh, I hated him, but I never hated him as much I hate Sylvanas. He was at least consistent to his very last moment. But I am fed up by the fact that everybody keeps excusing what she does just because she is a sexy elf. This is not character I can respect. How can you say about such character that she is cool when you know she is commiting genocide? Let’s replace her with ugly elf and let’s see how many of you will still love her.

If you love her because she is a crazy homicidal maniac and you want her to do evil stuff, go ahead, nothing wrong with you, it’s fine. You love her because you think that she has a good heart and she is sending millions of souls into hell because she wants to help us? Take your pills and think twice before going on date with a manipulative person who will use you, beat you but will tell you they love you so much while cheating on you. Thanks.

If you are lying to yourself that she is good and has a good heart because you are afraid you wouldn’t like her anymore as a bad guy, then you love illusion you made around her, not the character itself. And you should seriously think if you really love the character if you need to change it that much in your mind to keep loving her.

GRAND FINALE

“If they are gonna give her redemption arch, I am gonna puke.” Many people told me, they would not. They are not gonna do it. She is beyond redemption, she is antagonist, period. Guess what, they did. The cheapest way possible.

Blizzard kept telling us everything will make sense in the end, why she did all these things. But it did not. And it only confirmed my greatest fear: Sylvanas is an inconsistent character since Cataclysm.

Sylvanas was afraid to go to the Maw. So she got an amazing idea. Let’s free the god of death, the malevolent creature trapped there because for sure he is suffering just like me, and injustice was done to him. He is the reason of my suffering because he made Helm of Domination and Frostmourne, that’s why I was killed and I am like this? I am sure he is a good guy, in the end, let’s remake reality so there is no life and death! That guy must be pretty ok. Oh wait his job is to torture souls? No, I don’t believe he is bad.

So when Jailer gets all he wanted, ofc he say that he will remake all reality and everybody will serve. And Sylvanas realizes: “Oh my, he is just like the Lich King! I didn’t want this! I will never serve!” Even she served him for the past few expansions. And suddenly she sees he is a bad guy. Suddenly.

And then, Jailer gives her half of her soul back... So... this is the explanation? She was doing all this because she was not whole? Is this an excuse for genocide? Now we will all feel sorry for her? Tell her it’s ok, you were not yourself?

I am saying this all the years and I will say it again: the Ebon Blade are order full of those with a fate like Sylvanas. The whole order. Multiple characters suffered under the Lich King like her, lost themselves, were made to kill their friends, their families. And they, too, took revenge on him. But instead of going crazy and trying to hurt everybody because they were hurt, they tried to help and protect people. Maybe they are missing part of their souls too. But are they running around, burning innocents, committing genocide? No. So please, the is no excuse, she was aware of what she was doing. I am not buying this and for sure this won’t make me feel sorry for her. It was her choice. You can be depressed and hurt into the very core and still decide not to be homicidal maniac.

Another annoying thing is, Blizzard kept telling us she is a master strategist and she is highly inteligent. Would a highly inteligent person try to help somebody responsible for her suffering? Being ok with them? There was not shown how come she is ok with the Jailer! Look I thought she is smart but after the cinematic, she does not look like that.

What was her plan anyway? Did she believe such creature won’t betray her, he won’t dump her? I was hoping he will dump her and kill her. That would be the only ending fitting for the character. I didn’t want another Kerrigan, I didn’t want redemption arch for her... I was hoping I will finally like her as a villain. Now I can’t... there is no way I will like her ever again because Blizzard probably can’t do just evil characters. There always must be something behind, some explanation why they are like this. “I was good this whole time!” And I am tired of this... Suddenly I like Garrosh because he was an asshole but he was consistent. He had a good ending. He “died” like a boss.

THEY SHOULD HAVE LET HER DIE

And I mean it. If they would let her go after WotLK, it would be a good ending for her. Tragic end for the tragic character. She fulfilled her purpose and she would be remembered as a good consistent character. But she is making a lot of money, many people love her (not anymore, even people who liked her hate her now and her fanbase is getting smaller) so Blizzard decided they have to milk her as much as possible.

I think everything good should come to an end. “You would either die as a hero or live long enough to become a villain.” In this case “You would either die as a good character or live long enough to become inconsistent and annoying character.” And it happened.

Remember how people were angry how Thrall is getting a lot of attention in Cata? Haha, good old times. How about Sylvanas in 3 expansion cinematics (and some side cinematics like Reckoning, etc) and 2 expansions fully focusing on her (and some other expansions where she is a lot too). How about the 15th figure in a row. And 4th Blizzcon art. And I can keep going.

Metzen had favorite characters... but they were never overused as much as Sylvanas. Vol’jin was warchief for 1 expansion where he did nothing and then he died so she could take lead in story. So many characters are forgotten, pushed down so she can be on the spotlight. And I am sick of it. This is not single player, this is MMORPG. The world feels ridiculously small thanks to this, we have more characters than Sylvanas + 5 characters they keep using and recycling all the time.

And keep using Sylvanas and putting her into the spotlight all the time did not help. You can start hating character you liked before just because you have enough of them and you want to see other characters. This world has a big potential. So many characters are unused because of Sylvanas. Because the lead narrative designer loves her so much that he had to make her the main character of WoW and doesn’t care there is a whole world to take care of. And he does the worst job possible. Because he tried to make her complicated and complex and in the end he was just trying to make it look like that but it didn’t work out. It was just inconsistent. It didn’t fall in place.

Her plot armor is so laughable and it’s the most annoying thing about Sylvanas. How characters around her are so stupid and dumb so they can let her do such stuff (hello Horde in BfA). The whole universe and Blizzard especially is protecting Sylvanas of any harm. How can you like such character when it behaves like Mary Sue? I didn’t want to see cinematic how she comes and beat up really powerful guy without any issues. You know how interesting would be if Four Horsemen managed to arrive earlier and they wouldn’t know if to fight the Lich King or Sylvanas? No, Blizzard wanted to show lady Sylvanas Plotarmor.

And the worst thing is, I feel like Shadowlands are my last expansion in WoW. This is where the story ends for me. And I know that many characters won’t get resolution, many story arcs will never close because they’ve put too much effort to work on Sylvanas and ignore other characters. So many characters could have met. Lore in Shadowlands could have been expanded about The Scourge, death knights, rune magic, etc... it did not. 

So no, Sylvanas is not one of the best characters created. If this is the best WoW can muster then there is nothing to be proud of. We would have good or better characters if Blizzard tried to work with more characters and give them space and a chance to develop. But we will never have them because Sylvanas took the spotlight.

Sylvanas for me is the character who will be put on guidelines on how to not use a character. This character will be perfect for DO NOT character development guidelines. And the whole story of WoW at least in BfA and Shadowlands is a great example of how to destroy the world with an amazing setting and characters. 

I hope I’ve made this clear why many people hate her. Because it’s much more complex problem. This character was misused, written horribly, overused, was given a poor and cheap story arch, made look stupid and it no longer makes sense. And on top of that, many characters will never get a resolution, many storylines won’t be finished because all story was focused on her and not on the world. World which was supposed to be “everybody’s story” was made story about Sylvanas. Just because she sells.

Good job Danuser, I hope you are happy.

Tl;Dr: Sylvanas is inconsistent since Cataclysm because Blizzard tried to make her complex character artificially and failed horribly. She should have died after WotLK and never made Warchief. They should have let her go so we can remember her as a good consistent character

P.S.: I am not native speaker, sorry for grammar errors.

[violetmuses]

Black Rose || Chapter 14

Author’s Note: New character alert! Meet Sean. 

J Krew: @nerdysuperchick @a-reader-and-a-writer @babblydrabbly @lacontroller1991 @loverhymeswith @justin-hammers @weallhaveadestiny @xoxabs88xox @katjnordstrom96  @skvatnavle @mayhem24-7forever @lilisangel @peakyrogers @sociiallydiisoriiented @heresathreebee

Black Rose - Masterlist ���

====

2013

Sean Lemus 

I started working fresh out of college. Now, summer had already kicked by the time Club Shadow reopened. All different kinds of people showed up to enjoy weekends, but frequent clientele always knew what happened behind the scenes.  

Almost every night, Russ chilled with other people on the highest floor, but sometimes headed downstairs with his crew to scope this premises for suspicious behavior. We’d also spot assholes who picked fights or even dared to spike drinks. 

Never saw the cops. I’ve seen Russ dump countless glasses himself and tell our servers to give any upcoming drinks for free. Seconds later, his guards would charge out to plummet the same idiots who put guests at risk. No tolerance whatsoever. 

And yet, tonight seemed vastly different. Even his recent birthday wouldn’t compare to what happened now. He cornered near my section of my bar while sitting down on one sofa with Drew and laughed. Genuinely laughing with his friend. 

Even Drew had taken one selfie after another and he wasn’t even buzzed right now. I could only imagine what these two discussed if the music cut off and I could actually hear them speak with each other this time. Music still thumped out loud. 

“Hey, Sean.” Someone greeted me over these rhythms. It wasn’t until I looked up that I realized exactly who had arrived. 

Eric Morretti, in full form. 

Rumors had swirled all over the place that he and Cyrus finally called for their much-needed truce. Still, we kept our guards up. On our end of the city, nothing had been even confirmed in the past few weeks, but animosity calmed down. 

“What’s up, what can I get you?” I remained cordial, prepping to craft whatever drink he asked, just like everyone else. 

“Whiskey on the rocks.” Eric said. His New York accent seemed thicker than Russ’s, but I never judged that voice, of course. 

“You got it.” I affirmed, working as usual. 

“You like working here, or is Russ paying everybody under the table?” While shifting my hands to make various drinks, Eric offered this sly question. Knowing better, I stopped myself from rolling both eyes. 

“I’ve loved working here, but my pay is actually none of your business.” I lowered my voice, keeping myself away from bullshit of course. This place had to run with employees somehow. 

“Do you even know who the previous owner was?” Eric cleared his throat and uttered the most obvious question. 

“Underwood.” I clipped the name of that now dearly-departed man, but still handed over Eric his glass of whiskey. “Back then, my father was assigned to the murder investigation.” 

 “Wow.” Eric furrowed his brow, but took careful sips from the glass this time. “Did you pull some strings with Russ to get here?” 

“Nah. This place was only struck with tragedy. Drew vetted everyone on staff before this relaunch, including bouncers.” I offered the truth. 

“Do you know who Bianca is?” Eric finished off the drink and questioned me once more. 

“Who doesn’t?” I scoffed, helping out different customers while still facing Eric in one way or another. “Don’t try anything.” 

“I’m not stupid, kid. Cyrus would risk prison time for her, even if they never saw each other again.” Eric drummed his fingers against this wooden panel of the bar while looking at me. 

“Someone sounds bitter.” I narrowed my eyes. 

“So what?” Eric lowered his voice. “Cyrus worships the ground Bianca walks on and Drew treats her like family.” 

“That’s a good thing. Why are you so annoyed, Eric?” I asked. 

“Don’t be surprised if things change.” Eric paid for his drink, but tipped me as well before walking off. 

Damn. I thought to myself. What’s his problem?

________

Not long after Eric visited Shadow again, Cyrus asked for a favor. I didn’t know what to think until one group of our bartenders was called off-shift and even paid upfront. This country club sprawled on greenery like almost my college campus. 

“I don’t know what Cyrus is planning yet, but this place looks incredible, man.” One of my coworkers spoke up in one of the large-scale rooms. Meanwhile, this stone-crafted water fountain spruced like artwork just outside sunlight windows. 

“Gotta pay top-dollar to cover membership alone.” I lowered my voice and whispered, remembering what Cyrus had detailed before this point. “He probably knows somebody who visits this place often.” 

“That’s fair.” My coworker shrugged, but still moved elsewhere to keep working and assisting guests who visited this afternoon. Music gently played instead, especially when this live instrument band had been hired rather than Cyrus picking up a DJ. 

“Excuse me. Hello, everyone.” Ms. Reynolds, Cyrus’s mother, tapped his glass of water to grab attention here in the room. “For those who don’t know, my name is Tanya Reynolds and I would like to thank everyone for joining us this afternoon.” 

Joyful applause filled the space soon afterward and I couldn’t help smiling in anticipation. We all, including Drew, had traveled here on our own and hadn’t seen Russ in person at all today today, so he probably drove to this place with Bianca. 

As if on cue here, more steps echoed into the room before long. Applause heightened when Cyrus and Bianca walked through. This couple looked dapper than expected since Russ slicked his hair and hid dark ink by sporting one tailored suit. 

The couple waved happily towards everyone and greeted Cyrus’s mother. It wasn’t long before these two ended up sitting down together at a table located up front. Of course, I continued watching and beamed another smile near my coworkers now. 

Just then, two other people stood up from their table. One man cleared throat to introduce himself. “Hello, everyone. My name is Timothy Martin. I’m here with my wife Eartha and we are Bianca’s parents. We’ve also brought along our daughters, Bianca’s sisters Natalie and Taylor.” 

“Thank you, Tim.” Cyrus’s mother spoke up again once Bianca’s family sat back down at their own tables. “And now, here’s the movement you’ve all waited for this afternoon. Cyrus, I love you beyond words. Go on. You may take the lead, Son.” 

Cheering amplified out of nowhere once and Cyrus and Bianca had risen from their table again. Cyrus then reached to take Bianca’s hand. I didn’t even realize at first that one small but hidden microphone clipped onto the lapel of his own suit today. 

“When we met for the first time, I had no idea that you would’ve meant so much to me later on. I’ve lost you once, but if you give me another chance, I will never make that mistake again. I will love you with all my heart, no matter what.” Cyrus affirmed his words, hyped by everyone who almost cheered out loud in the room. 

“Yes, Sir. Tell her, man!” Drew shouted from one corner of this space, prompting brief laughter now. 

“Bianca Denise Martin, I should’ve asked this question years ago, but….” Cyrus trailed off the question. Once he knelt onto this marble floor and it all clicked, everyone else lost their minds, started screaming like children. 

“About time! Let’s go, ya’ll.” Even some of his longtime goons from the club wouldn’t stay composed for once. 

One of my coworkers handed tissues to us. Even I quickly tried to dry tears of my own before Russ finished asking that ultimate question. 

“Baby, will you marry me?” His voice nearly trembled as Cyrus glanced up towards Bianca. In all honesty, I’d never seen this man look so vulnerable before during the short time that we knew each other. 

Collective but needed silence fell into the room, waiting to break due to Bianca’s upcoming answer. 

“Yes.” Bianca smiled downward and blinked away her own tears, nodding almost feverishly before Cyrus slipped this gorgeous engagement ring onto her finger. 

[alexboehm55144]

Alex Final Wars 2: Dark Alex, Chapter 39 - Before The Storm

"So what did you guys get out of the stuff we pulled from that Chinese base? One that was apparently supposed to be impenetrable." Nick asked before muttering to himself. "Heh, they were no match for this sly fox."

"We went to hell and back to get that stuff," Judy said.

"Thing is… we don't know yet," Jack responded. "There was a lot of information on those maps and papers you guys pulled. It will take time for the eggheads to go through it all."

"I have to say I really respect the analysts," Skye noted. "I mean, how much stuff have they looked at from just Heroes alone?"

The four mammals were sitting in Jack and Skye's Aston Martin as they drove through the busy Zootopian streets. Nick and Judy were in the back seats while the two ZIA agents sat upfront. All around the car, mammals moved and went about their business as the city entered the evening. Most mammals were probably heading home as the sky began to dim. While others were getting ready for a night on the town.

"You guys over at Heroes have recovered a ton of intelligence throughout this war." Jack said, "Servers, documents, maps. Knowledge is power."

"Yeah, that is true," Judy responded. "I can't believe how much action we've seen. This is a lot more than a normal day at the ZPD."

"Hey, sometimes things are pretty action-packed at the ZPD," Nick said. "There's a lot of dangerous crooks and thieves out there. Though none of them as crafty and talented as this sly fox."

This got a chuckle out of Judy.

"And here we are!" Jack said.

The car pulled into a parking lot of a one-story building with Japanese architecture. The walls were made of white-colored stone with wooden support pillars, covered by a pagoda-style roof made of matte green tiles. Mounted on the front wall was a red and white light-up sign that said:

"Tanukchi, Japanese Grill."

"Well, we'll certainly be eating good tonight!" Nick said, the four mammals stepping out of the car.

"Isn't this place pretty high-end?" Skye asked. "How did you get a reservation?"

"Well… heh…" a slightly mischievous look crossed Judy's face. "I may have let it slip that we were brave ZPD officers, and you two were selfless ZIA agents."

"Clever bunny," Nick said.

"And… I may have also mentioned that we were war heroes."

Sky and Jack laughed.

"Well, at least you got us a nice dinner," Jack said before the group headed inside the restaurant.

Inside the building, the walls were made of wood and paper, resembling traditional Japanese walls. However, there were also support pillars made of marble-like, red-colored rock with messy streaks of white running through it. A short distance from the two glass doors was a desk made out of bamboo, behind which was a fish tank teeming with aquatic life. The entire restaurant was filled with the sounds of people chatting and the metal clang of cooking equipment being used.

"Reservation for Hopps," Judy said to the fox behind the desk, prompting the mammal to check her computer.

"Hopps…. Ah! Right, this way!" The fox said, grabbing four menus and leading the two couples into the dining area. There were 4 grills, 2 for smaller mammals, 2 for larger mammals, set up in the dining area, each surrounded by stained wooden chairs. Above each grill was a vent to the outside. On the walls of the room were paintings of trees and natural landscapes.

The waitress handed out menus as the group sat down at a grill for smaller mammals. "Would you like to order your drinks now?"

Nick got a soda while Jack went for an ice tea. Judy had carrot juice, and Skye got water. The fox waitress left to get their drinks and appetizers.

"You know, it kind of surprises me how quickly life has got back to normal here," Skye said. The fox looked around at the families and groups laughing and enjoying their meals. "You would never have thought that a short time ago, this city was under assault by the Chinese military."

"I know," Judy said. "It's almost like a distant memory to everyone. But I suppose they're just looking ahead towards a brighter future."

"And the future is bright," Jack said. "We're really pressing hard on the PLA now. But regarding what you said, there are plans to make a memorial to commemorate the Chinese attacks on the city. The full-scale assault, the airship strike, and the concert."

"Well, I hope that helps the citizens of Zootopia remember what happened. And that we must be vigilant against those who want to hurt us."

"Hmm… well, we should get some fried rice," Nick said, perusing over the menu.

"Heh, thinking with your stomach, I see." Judy chuckled.

"I agree," Jack responded. "let's get some fried rice."

The waitress returned with drinks, as well as salads and miso soups for everyone. She also took their orders for meals.

"A chef will be with you shortly."

The waitress left, and the group began to enjoy their appetizers.

"Wow, this is really good," Jack said, trying the salad.

"Hopps told me this place is highly rated," Nick said, sipping the soup. "You did a good job getting us this reservation."

"I agree." Skye said, "thank you, Judy."

Judy smiled "aww, guys are too sweet."

A few moments later, a tanuki wearing a traditional chef's uniform came over to the grill with a small cart of ingredients and tools.

"Hello! Welcome!" The chef said, going over the group's order. "Let's get started!"

The tanuki started up the grill and began to cook the various vegetables for the fried rice. Skye took out her phone and captured the exciting moment in a video while the chef performed tricks. He spun his spatula and tools around in his hand and juggled an egg for the rice.  

The chef then set up an onion volcano, filled it with edible oils, and lit it on fire. A tower of flame shot out of the small volcano, eliciting gasps from the officers and agents watching the show.

"Dinner and a show," Skye said.

The tanuki chef finished the fried rice, taking a small portion of the rice on his spatula and launching it in the air towards Jack. The rabbit opened his mouth to catch it, but it just bounced off his nose onto the floor.

The chef tried again, & this time Jack caught the portion of rice in his mouth. All the while, the other mammals laughed and watched the spectacle.

The tanuki then launched a portion of rice at Nick, who managed to catch it in his mouth on the first try.

Judy laughed clapped a little as Nick looked smug that he got it first try.

"We should hang out more often," Jack said as the chef began to serve the fried rice.

"I agree. It's just that we've been busy lately." Nick chimed in. "But when the four of us hang out, it's always fun."

000

"Come on, Toothdee, you'll enjoy it!" Laval said. "Arcades are fun. Although in Chima the arcades are usually less tech-savvy… but… same principles apply."

"I don't know…." Toothdee said, looking over some maps and papers in her room. "The end of this war is in sight, and I want to focus on my work so we can make the final decisive push to end this conflict once and for all."

"Hey, we've got them on the backfoot." Eris said, "besides, we're on shore leave right now. It's not the time to work. It's time to rest and recuperate."

"Yeah, you can't just keep fighting constantly. Evening though I do think that would be fun, you'll get worn out." Laval noted.

"Oh, alright, fine." The Heroes commander said, getting up from her desk and grabbing her phone and wallet. "Let's go."

"Great!" Eris said. "Laval spotted a place just down the road, within walking distance."

"Well, lead the way, Laval."

The trio left the typhoon and headed out of the guarded compound where the airship landed. The landing zone was in the city, giving Heroes good access to any part of Zootopia they needed to reach in the event of an emergency.

However it was not right in the center of the city, instead situated near the airport. This was to avoid buildings acting as flying obstructions and to cut down on noise pollution.

"You guys really love exploring Zootopia, don't you? Getting out and seeing the sights." Toothdee said as they walked.

"Totally!" Eris said. "It's a gorgeous city. I can see why Nick and Judy love it here."

"Yeah, I love exploring, so it's great to get a whole new city to explore!"

After a few minutes of walking, the group arrived at a building with big glass windows and a bright blue sign that said "arcade" on the front.

The inside of the building was dark, lit mainly through light from gaming machines. The air was filled with the sounds of said machines. Various boops and chimes were used to attract customer's attention. The floor was covered in a dark blue carpet, and a tired-looking mountain lion sat at a desk near the door.

The trio walked over to the desk, and the mountain lion didn't flinch upon seeing an evolved eagle.

"Hi, can we each get a card with $30 on it, please?" Toothdee said, "that seems reasonable, right?"

"Works for me," Eris said.

Each member of the group took out the required money and placed it on the counter. The cashier nodded and quickly transferred the money to 3 plastic cards that could be used to purchase games from the machines.

"Thank you," Laval said, the group heading towards the machines.

"What are you going to play first?" Toothdee asked.

"Uh… hm, well, I've seen this before," Laval said, walking over to a skeeball machine. "Now Chima does have games like this."

"I'll play against you!" Eris said, standing in front of a second Skee-ball device next to Laval.

"Alright! Your on!"

The couple slid their cards through readers on the machines, and balls were dispensed in return. As the two started rolling the hard plastic skeeballs down the length of the device, Toothdee went to examine some other games.

She spotted an arcade game with a large screen, and fake plastic guns hooked up to it. Across the top of the machine were the words "Terminator" along with a scary-looking robot head. Toothdee went over to the arcade machine and paid for a game before picking up one of the weapons. She could also keep her skills sharp while having fun.

The young warrior selected a level and began. Terminator robots appeared on screen and engaged. But toothdee fired the toy weapon at the screen, and the terminators in-game were struck down by gunfire.

As her character continued to move through the game world, gunning down robots, toothdee heard Laval and Eris behind her.

"Yes!" The eagle said. "I win! Don't worry, I know you let me win on purpose."

"I thought YOU were going to let ME win." Laval chuckled.

The pair came over to watch Toothdee, who continued to gun down terminators, even as her own player character took damage. Eventually, a game over screen appeared, and toothdee put the plastic toy gun back down on the machine.

"You know what's funny is most of the stuff here we can do for real," Laval said. "That motorcycle racing game over there? I can just hop on my speedor. That game you were playing where you shoot robots? You could just get a gun and charge into battle!"

"Heh, well, why don't you do that then?" Toothdee asked.

"Well, fighting can be fun. But it's nice just to do it… what's the word I'm looking for… Fictitiously! Without any worries, where you just have to get points."

"Alright, I can understand that. Now, what do you want to play next?" Toothdee said, turning towards the rows of game cabinets. "You guys were right. It is good to get out and relax once in a while."

000

Haida looked at a map on his phone and struggled to figure out where he was in relation to the roads and structures on the map.

"I'm telling you it's this way," Fabienne said, pointing down a roadway. "Trust me, I know this city."

"But it looks like it's this way on the map!" Haida said, pointing down a different street."

"It's not! Your just looking at it wrong!"

"Retsuko, what do you think?"

The red panda, who had been patiently watching the two argue, looked at Haida's phone. The hyena smirked, expecting his girlfriend to agree with him. Plus, he was pretty confident his examination of the map was correct.

"Hmmm…." Retsuko said, "I think Fabienne is right."

Haida's jaw dropped while Fabienne smirked.

"Alright then, this way."

The snow leopard started walking down the street, Haida and Retsuko in tow.

Haida looked a bit down that he was wrong, but Retsuko gave him a playful jab to cheer him up.

Eventually, the group arrived at a large stone building situated by the coast. The American flag was flying on a pole outside. There was a large wooden sign reading "Zootopia World War 2 Museum."

"Told you," Fabienne said.

The trio went inside, where a bunny attendant was waiting in a booth near the entrance.

"Hi! 3 please, general admission." Retsuko said.

The trio paid for their tickets and entered the museum, which was not very crowded. The rooms were filled with equipment, posters, flags, pictures, all from the Second World War.

Pictures of troopers in combat. Guns those soldiers would have used. Maps of the battle formations they would have been in.

Retsuko and Haida went over to a giant wall of black marble. Upon which were carved the names of soldiers from Zootopia who had distinguished themselves in combat during WW2. Above the wall was a black and white mural of US Soldiers of many different species.

Fabienne was busy looking at an exhibit about war correspondents during the Second World War. There was an old camera on display, articles published by war reporters, and photographs of correspondents. This sort of thing was right up her alley.

"It's amazing how much we've progressed," Fabienne said, looking at old photography equipment. She spotted an old camera that was a lot bigger than her phone and probably could only photograph in black and white.

The snow leopard moved on to a small exhibit that contained mannequins of different mammals in combat gear. There was a small video screen playing a video comparing the biological system of various mammals as soldiers.

"Humans make the best soldiers." Said a disembodied voice on the video, as the picture changed to show a human soldier on a long trek in the desert. "They have unmatched endurance and survival skills. Not to mention their skills in combat have been continuously refined and improved over millennia, in the many wars and battles fought by humans."

"Maybe that's why a human is the leader of Heroes," Fabienne asked herself.

"This does not mean other species are incapable of waging war. Many other types of mammals serve in specialist roles."

A picture of a Russian polar bear in arctic camouflage appeared on the screen as the announcer continued.

"Polar bears and other arctic mammals make good soldiers for sub-zero environments."

The screen changed again, showing a picture of a cheetah soldier.

"While cheetahs and Pronghorns make good couriers, depending on the distance being traveled."

The snow leopard found this fascinating. Every species was unique in some way.

The ZNN reporter moved to rejoin Haida and Retsuko. They were looking at an exhibit about imperial Japan and the war in the pacific.

"Wow, look at that," Retsuko said, examining a model of a US aircraft carrier.

Haida and Fabienne looked at a map of battle formations around an island, complete with pictures of soldiers.

One photo showed Japanese troops digging trenches around the island as defenses. Another picture showed US pilots getting into planes and preparing to launch from the deck of a carrier. A third picture showed US marines charging against stubborn and dug-in Japanese pillboxes on a hill, firing down at a beach.

"My God, it's so reminiscent of the current war," Fabienne noted, looking at another image of American and Japanese warships engaging each other as planes crisscrossed the sky.

"I know…" Retsuko said, "I mean, we're fighting in the pacific, with warships and planes. I guess history repeats itself."

"What I find amazing..." Haida said, "the US and Japan used to be such bitter enemies, and now they are great allies."

"Yep, it only goes to show you how things can change with time," Fabienne responded.

"Here we are, mammals from Japan, doing an important role in a US military organization," Retsuko said. "And there is no place I'd rather be."

The three mammals continued through the museum. Examining the past and how it could tell them about the present and future.

000

JayJay was in her cabin on the typhoon, putting away some clothes she had just washed. The wolf put a dress on a hanger, hanging it in the closet, before turning her attention to some stockings and a few shirts.

As the young hero finished putting her clothes away in a drawer, there was a knock at her door.

The wolf opened the door and smiled, seeing captain Boehm in front of her.

"Hey Jay, what are you doing?"

"Just putting away some clothes." The wolf said, quickly fixing her hair and making herself look presentable. "What brings you around?"

"Well… I was wondering if you would like to hang out?" The captain said, trying to speak confidentiality. "We could go somewhere. There's plenty of attractions around Zootopia. Or just stay here and watch a movie or something."

JayJay's tail started wagging.

"Oh! I'd love to take you out clubbing!" The wolf said.

"Clubbing? Eh… that's not exactly my thing…."

"Please!" JayJay said, giving Alex puppy dog eyes. "I'd love it if you came along!"

"Sigh, alright, fine."

"Yes! Trust me, you'll have fun! Let me just get my things and get ready to go."

"Ok, I'll go get my wallet. Meet you back here."

Both mammals used the bathroom, got their personal effects, and met back up outside JayJay's room before leaving the typhoon.

"I'm really excited," JayJay confessed. "You, my favorite person in the world, going clubbing and dancing with me, which is my favorite thing to do!"

"I mean, I'm not exactly big on that sort of thing… but I'll bite the bullet if it means spending time with you."

The wolf wagged her tail in excitement. The pair then came upon Kion and Jasiri, who walked down the hallway. Each had an arm around the other.

"What are you two up to?" Alex asked.

"We're just going out," Kion said.

"Oh! So are we!" JayJay responded. "I'm taking him to a club."

The wolf gestured at the human.

"Heh, didn't think that would be your kind of thing, Alex." Kion teased. "You are usually a very reserved person who tends to keep to himself."

"Your correct." The captain responded, "But I just like spending time with Jay."

"Well, I like spending time with Jasiri." The lion kissed the hyena on the cheek, making her blush. This prompted JayJay to turn to her companion. Giving a look that almost saying "What? Where's my kiss?"

"If you two are going out, what if we come with you? We could all hang out." Jasiri said.

"I'm fine with that," Boehm responded. "Jay?"

"I'm down! Let's go!"

The four left the typhoon and headed down the street, led by JayJay, who knew where all the excellent dance parties and nightclubs were.

"I am going to bring you out of your shell tonight." JayJay said to Alex, "you can't be so reserved all the time."

"I think you are the right person to do that." The human responded to the wolf. "You're so outgoing and social. I'm an introvert, your an extrovert."

"Opposites attract." Kion laughed.

After a few minutes of walking, the group reached a building with dozens of bright neon lights outside, shining in all colors.

"Hey! It's the party animal!" Said the bear bouncer, opening the door for the team to go inside.

More bright lights of all colors flashed above a dance floor made up of light-up squares, which also changed color frequently. Mammals packed the dance floor, moving and cheering as they enjoyed themselves.

A bar that glowed white from internal lights was stationed against one of the walls. Behind the bar were shelves of liquid backlit by blue light. Tables and chairs were set up around the main dance floor for mammals to chat and rest.

"Say what about loud noises?" Kion asked Alex. "I heard that introverts like things to be quiet."  

"Yes, but Kion, I'm a soldier. I've heard the blasts of artillery strikes and the engines of rockets and jet planes. I can take some loud music."

"Do you guys want to get something to drink first?" Jay asked as the group drifted over to a table. "We need to stay hydrated if we're going to be dancing."

"What time is it?" Alex asked, "ah, I'll just have lemonade or something."

"Coke, please," Kion said. "No ice."

"Water is fine for me," Jasiri said.

"Alright! You guys have to pay me back, though. Kion, could you give me a paw? I can't carry all the drinks."

The wolf and lion left, heading to the bar.

"Say do we have any Glocks onboard the ship?" Jasiri asked.

"Yeah?" The captain said.

"I think I'm gonna try those as my pistols. See how they do in battle."

"Well, if you're going to use them, akimbo, we have plenty of attachments you can use. Sights, flashlights and lasers, muzzle breaks, and suppressors…. Heroes is well supplied."

"I can tell. I suppose all the money spent is worth it, though. We get the job done."

"Maybe you should get yourself another weapon if you find the pistols aren't cutting it. Like an SMG. Maybe an MP5 or UMP."

The human and hyena continued to discuss their weapons of warfare until Kion and JayJay returned with four glasses containing the drinks. The two giving Alex and Jasiri their beverages. JayJay had apparently ordered a beer, as her glass contained a foaming brown liquid.

"Jasiri and I were just talking about our combat gear," Alex said, taking a sip of his lemonade.

"Yeah, he thinks I should get an SMG for when the pistols don't cut it."

"I recently changed my armament as well." Kion said, "I quite like the LMG I got my paws on."

"Well, as I told Jasiri…" Alex said, "we have plenty of attachments you can put on."

"Oh sweet! I'll have to check those out."

"Well, while your running into battle with a sword and a big gun, my own equipment is a bit smaller," JayJay said. "Just a simple pistol and a machine pistol for when the going gets tough."

"Yeah, Kion, you are like the tank. With an LMG, a powerful sword, and your own strength to punch right through enemies." Captain Boehm noted. "Jay is more focused on her agility and speed."

"I've been thinking of getting a sword more like what you and Laval use. Chima style!" Kion said. "Also, JayJay, isn't your pistol an older design? 1911?"

"Yep! And not just any 1911. That very pistol was wielded by my ancestor, Jim Burdel, during WW1!"

"Wow, That should be in a museum."

"Hey, I like to think I'm doing right by my ancestor by carrying his weapon into battle. Though I don't know if he would like the paint scheme I've given it, he's not here to complain."

Suddenly the loud dubstep music slowed down, and all the lights on the dance floor turned a light blue as their movement speed slowed down.

"It's time for a slow dance!" The DJ said, "Maybe grab that special someone and bring them out onto the floor!"

Jasiri smirked at Kion and jumped up, gesturing for Kion to follow her, which he did. They headed out onto the dance floor, joining in the crowd of mammals.

Jasiri playfully pushed Kion, trying to figure out how exactly he should dance with his hyena. Fumbling with his paws and where to put them in a way that was not lewd.

The lion's lover just hugged him close, prompting Kion to wrap his arms around her and slowly turn and dance.  

"Come on, Alex!" JayJay said, standing up, prompting the captain to do the same and follow her.

The two mammals reached the dance floor, surrounded by other mammals and couples, moving slowly to the music.

Under the blue light, the pair embraced, nuzzling against each other's fur and skin. Alex and JayJay closed their eyes, enjoying the moment with each other, along with the other couples on the dance floor, including Kion and Jasiri. But the human and wolf were just focusing on each other. Both of them were, to the other, the most important mammal in the world.

Moments like these were what they were fighting for. China was an autocratic nation, curtailing freedoms and liberties. But here, people could be free and enjoy themselves without fear of the government or military.

It was these moments of peace that made their battles worth it. Worth fighting for a million times over.

[smeraldos]

Love by Daylight (1/2)

➸ characters: Seokjin x Reader

➸ genres: Sailor Moon!AU, fluff, sort of e2l

➸ tags: sly friends, petty enemies/secret crushes, running away from the mortifying ordeal of being known

➸ words: 2K+

➸ summary: The day you find out who your suave partner in saving the world is, you're absolutely, positively, without a doubt sure you'll be over the moon. You'll be so happy you'll think you're dreaming. Turns out you're right. You do think you're dreaming. Because this? This can't be real. You're being pranked. Someone, somewhere, is going to jump out and say you're on Candid Camera. (Please.)

>> PART 2

When the lights fade and the facades fall, this is what you’re left with: Tuxedo Mask without a mask, you without your moonlit glamor. Tux the civilian is handsome, you can tell, and this is it—the moment you’ve been waiting for.

He lifts his face.

The youma's words come rushing back: Let the truth be known, the city’s deepest secrets shown.

Tuxedo Mask is none other than Kim Seokjin.

Suddenly, you’re reminded of a crystalline city; people bowing before you; Seokjin taking your hand, your matching rings gleaming in the light. Was it a memory or a dream?

You stand there, dumbfounded, until Tux/Seokjin dons his mask and brushes past. “Come on, Sailor Moon,” he says, sensible enough to use your alias. “The coast is clear. We’ve got a fight to finish.”

☾

“Why does it have to be Seokjin?" You whine, collapsing into bed and disturbing your sleeping cat. (In your defense, he was on your pillow. Which you’ve told him numerous times not to lay down on because his fur would shed.) Luckily, Agust is acquainted with your dramatic side and simply gets up to move.

“Well, why do you have to be Sailor Moon?” He points out. “It could have been someone less bothersome.”

“Hey,” you retaliate. “You’re the one who came to me. You could have given anyone the Lunar Key.”

“I didn't have a choice.”

“What do you mean you didn’t? You could have walked away and picked someone better, just like that.”

He scoffs. “Not when it’s the Queen.”

“Queen-schmeen." You flop back onto your bed, the springs creaking in protest. "I bet Her Royal Highness is on her throne right now, all nice and comfy. She couldn't care less."

Agust doesn't reply.

At first, you think it's because you've won and nothing else can be said, but when the silence stretches on, you know something is off. You sit up to see Agust no longer curled into himself, but sitting. He stares out your window into the night, his normally keen eyes empty. "She's dead."

Judging by his somber tone, she'd meant a lot to him. "I'm sorry," you whisper.

Agust sighs. "No need to apologize, kid. She was your mother, after all."

"My mother?"

"Not now," he amends. "But she was a long time ago, when you were the princess of the moon and Seokjin the prince of the earth.”

☾

The next morning, you head to school on time.

Your mom—present day mom—was surprised to see you up early, and Jeongguk called you out like the bratty brother he was (wow, no morning run today?), but the truth was you couldn’t sleep.

Last night, Agust recounted your past, how the dark eclipsed the moon. Although the queen tried her best to protect the kingdom, it was to no avail. Seokjin died in the fray, and you fell shortly after, helpless to save your beloved. In the end, the queen sacrificed herself to give you and Seokjin another chance at love, her people another chance at happiness.

A chance to rebuild the Silver Millennium.

The thing was, you didn’t know if that was what you wanted. Not that you’d want the Dark Kingdom to reign, but you weren’t sure whether you wanted to rule in your mother’s stead. Or marry Seokjin. Past you might have wanted to, but the you now could barely stand him. And neither could he. Or so you thought. You’d gotten along just fine with Tuxedo Mask, even grown a crush, but that wasn’t enough to warrant a marriage.

“Hello? Veen to Selene*?” Someone nudges your shoulder, and with a start, you notice Mina looking at you in concern.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

“Nothing yet, but it looks like you’ve got something on your mind. What’s up?”

You’re about to tell her when you see Seokjin approaching, his uniform blazer neatly pressed.

“Morning, ______,” Seokjin says. “Mina.”

“Morning,” you reply, ready for whatever biting remark he’d say next. But once Namjoon comes up, he leaves. That's it.

Even Mina, who hardly sees the two of you interact, notices. "That's the first time I've seen you guys polite. It's weird. What happened?"

After a discreet look around, you grab her by the elbow. “He's Tux,” you hiss, but Mina doesn’t look the least bit shocked. Her face breaks out into a giddy grin, like a child who’s finally tall enough to get on the big kid ride.

“You knew?” You ask, a little hurt she didn’t tell you.

She pouts, squishing your cheeks together. “Don’t be mad. You don't know how hard it was to keep it a secret.”

◑

You don't blame Mina, for the most part. It would have been better if you hadn’t known who Tuxedo Mask was, and vice versa. You felt like Cinderella running away from the ball, her beautiful dress giving way to rags and ratty shoes. If the prince caught up to her then, she’d probably be humiliated.

Just like you are now.

Tuxedo Mask has seen you at your most embarrassing moments, fighting to have the last word (or milkshake) as Seokjin, and also at your best, saving civilians with grace. You've only wanted him to see the best of you, for him to think of you as the perfect wonder-girl heroine everyone else saw you as, but he's seen almost every side. You don't know what he sees in you now, if anything. And frankly, you don't want to know.

"Have you ever thought that maybe he's thinking what you're thinking?" Mina asks. "You've seen all the good and bad in him, too."

"But it's different when he doesn't have a crush on Sailor Moon!" You say, exasperated.

"Oh, I wouldn’t be sure about that if I were you."

Seokjin thinking of your alter ego that way is embarrassing, but considering he's also Tuxedo Mask...now your face is red, you can feel it. Red as roses in bloom. "You're joking, right?"

"Why don't you wait and see," Mina replies, as cryptically as when she was Sailor V and you hadn't known any better. Having sympathy for you, she gives you a warm smile. "Don't stress out too much, Moon. You're amazing either way. Just talk to him."

◑

You think there's some reconnaissance to sort out first. When you walked into Crown Arcade and saw Seokjin talking to Jimin pretty intently, you didn’t want to interrupt...okay, who were you kidding? You chickened out.

But Jimin is his best friend, so he'll know how Seokjin feels the most, right? It's the next best alternative to actually speaking to Seokjin, which, well, you aren't ready for. Case in point: you've done the impossible and made yourself scarce. You aren’t about to break your streak now.

So the instant Seokjin leaves, you walk up to the counter. Jimin looks up from sprinkling a milkshake. "Hey. The usual?"

"Yeah, just double on the chocolate."

"You got it," he says, passing the drinks he finished making to a server. You watch him blend milk into ice cream, then reach over for a new cup to pour the mixture into later. It's all done with practiced ease, and you marvel at how quick he is, not to mention how beautiful the finished milkshake looks after. The chocolate is perfect, the whipped cream a cloud of snow drizzled with dark syrup.

Jimin slides it over with a grin. "Mademoiselle."

"Why, thank you," you say, digging in with gusto. This is exactly what "stressed is desserts spelled backwards," meant: Jimin's milkshakes never fail to kick your worries down a notch.

"Good?" He asks.

"Mhm," you mumble, more to your milkshake than to him, when the thought that you haven't paid yet crosses your mind. Oh gosh. You pull your purse onto your lap, but Jimin chuckles, stopping you.

"I've got it covered. Besides, I heard you weren't yourself lately."

"Really?"

He shrugs. "From the way you're devouring that, it's kind of hard to believe…"

You take an extra large mouthful to prove his point.

"But you only lay on the chocolate when you're bummed," he finishes, and you’d protest if you hadn’t made it a habit to drown your sorrows in his milkshakes. They were just too good to resist. Not to mention Jimin is a great listener. Your girls, although you love them, aren't always the best. You'd catch the moment they crossed over from attentive to "Is she done yet?" but with Jimin, you've never had that issue. Turns out you have a different one.

"I hate how perceptive you are."

He laughs. "You're just predictable."

"You know what? You can take back your milkshake and go back to work," you say in a fit of grumpiness, pushing the glass back to him.

"Are you sure you want me to do that?"

You meet him eye to eye. After a minute—a long, impressive minute might you add—you take it back. "Fine. What do you want to hear?"

"Anything you want to tell me. And if it's something you can't share, please tell someone you can. It's not great to keep things bottled up, trust me."

You sigh.

"Here's the deal," you begin, feeling a little weird telling your old crush about your new one, but marching through nevertheless, "I met someone on...online. He's nice and funny and understands me even though he's different. I just click with him, and eventually, I want to tell him I like him. The thing is, I don't really know who he is. We've been chatting on Discord and his profile picture is Tuxedo Mask, but he can't be Tuxedo Mask. Or maybe he is, who knows?"

Jimin laughs. If only he knew.

"Anywho," you continue, "I meet him and find out he's someone I actually know...but he's a pest. He always gets on my nerves and it's like he's a completely different person! I don't even know how that's possible, but apparently it is and it's just so frustrating."

Jimin doesn't speak for a while, which is fine by you. You take the time to jam spoonfuls of chocolate and cream into your mouth.

"You know," he finally says, amused, "that sounds a little like the plot to You've Got Mail."

"That isn't funny.” You huff. “Joe Fox was a jerk and I don't know why they played him off as charming."

"Isn't that what you think of the guy?"

"I never said he was a jerk."

"But you said he was a pest."

"That isn't the s—" You pull at your hair. "Ugh. I don't know anymore."

"Did you talk to him?"

"And what? Spill my complicated feelings?"

"No, just talk to him. You don't have to confess right now. Just air out the laundry and see where you guys are at. Chances are, if you're confused, then he's confused, too, and there's no way either of you can get out of it without talking to each other."

"I can't talk to him, Jimin. I avoided him for three weeks! He's going to hate me."

"He isn't," Jimin says firmly, and you wish you could have the same conviction. "Sure, he'll be upset, but if he's really someone who cares, he'll listen. Look, during that time you avoided him, did he try to reach out?"

"Well, I told him I didn't want to talk and he stopped asking."

"So he'll listen. If it turns out he hates you, give him a piece of your mind and I'll give you triple chocolate milkshakes on the house."

When he puts it like that, talking to Seokjin doesn't seem as dreadful. "You're not just saying that?"

"Have I ever said something I didn't mean?"

You get your answer when someone comes trudging in, holding up a bag from your go-to fast food joint. "Jimin! You better be grateful I drove all the way downtown to get you these burgers. Since when did you like ______'s favorite, anyways?"

"Since now," your traitor of a friend says. You glare at him, which he conveniently ignores.

"You're the best," he tells a surprised Seokjin, leaving with a pat on his shoulder. "Enjoy your meal!"

>> NEXT

...

note:

*Venus to Selene, like "Earth to [insert name]?" but replace Earth with Venus and [name] with Selene, Greek goddess of the moon

[winterrose527]

Unnamed chef + critic fic, pt 2.

Dry, and weirdly tasting of olives, she typed on her phone.

She hated these assignments. Though she was a critic, she really didn’t take any pleasure in writing poor reviews. Regardless of the outcome, these people had put their heart and soul – not to mention their time and money – into their restaurants. It seemed wrong that she had the power to swoop in and just tell them and the world that it was all for naught.

Though in this case, she couldn’t imagine it would be a surprise.

It had only been open for three days and it was in one of the city’s trendiest areas, and yet it wasn’t crowded whatsoever. There had been multiple seatings that she’d seen, no one seemed to be lingering for dessert, or over their drinks.

It didn’t help that the wine list was poorly selected and overpriced.

“And how is everything this evening?” a voice asked.

She placed a fake smile on her face and looked up, only for it to fall. It was not her server – not any of them. She’d had three that evening. There didn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason to it. That was the sort of thing that could be explained away by a new team working together for the first time, if at least two out of three hadn’t been ruined and the other hadn’t been high.

She would have taken any of them, though, even the second one, rather than the man standing in front of her now.

“Robb Stark,” she straightened in her chair.

“Myrcella Baratheon,” he said, his hands on her table. It wobbled and he looked down at it in surprise and then back at her, “May I sit?”

“Um…,” she said.

He sat anyway.

It was presumptuous behavior, but he’d always been like that.

“So I saw your review,” he said, smiling at one of the servers who brought over a wine glass.

The server poured him a glass of wine and he took it, swilling it around in his glass before taking a sip. Myrcella focused on his face, rather than his hand holding the glass so gingerly.

“You could have sent flowers,” she noted.

He chuckled and took a sip, grimacing. Though whether that was at her or the wine she couldn’t be sure.

He asked, “Flowers?”

“I gave you a rave review,” she pointed out, “Flowers, a bottle of wine… these are the usual responses to that, as opposed to whatever this is.”

“I can make my Nan’s kidney pie,” he told her.

Her brow furrowed and then she remembered the line from the review and laughed, “Alright.”

“You don’t believe me,” his eyes narrowed.

“What I can’t believe is the fact that you’re sitting here right now,” she told him, “This is entirely inappropriate for one thing, but it’s also incredible to me that you found fault in that review.”

“You made me sound like an upstart,” he noted.

She laughed, “Well, you sort of are.”

“I paid my dues,” he told her.

She nodded, “So that’s what it is.”

He squinted at her, “That’s what what is?”

It was nice to feel like she had the upper hand for once. They’d only met a handful of times and somehow he’d always gotten the better of her.

She leaned forward, picking up her own wine glass and raising it to her lips before remembering what it was and held it instead.

“You feel guilty about leaving your position as sous-chef at Cassel’s, you feel like a fraud,” she suggested, “That’s what this is about.”

His jaw clenched, “What this is about is that you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Pity that they gave me a column, then,” she forced steel into her voice.

“Is that what you really think this city needed?” he wondered, “Another traditional restaurant like Cassel’s? Another by the book kidney pie? Mine’s better and you know it.”

“And I said as much!” she reminded him. Then shook her head, “You know this is why I didn’t want to write your review, I knew you would be like this.”

“Like what?” he asked. She gestured to him sitting there and he shook his head, “You’ve had it out for me ever since you tried my vichyssoise.”

She blinked, “Wow.”

“What?” he asked.

“I can’t believe you managed to say that sentence with a straight face,” she said and admitted, “Impressive.”

He smirked and then removed it from his face, “You know it’s true.”

“If I remember correctly, I was very complimentary,” she pointed out.

“In such a way that made it clear you didn’t think it fit in the restaurant,” he reminded her.

“Well,” she shrugged, “Have you ever considered that I might have been right?”

“You know what your problem is?” he asked her. “You’ve been too long in this job. You’re not even thirty and you’re already jaded. You think that someone choosing not to do something as the same as them not being able to do it.”

He’d worn her down, or maybe it was just the awful dinner she’d had to sit through but she leaned her head back, before sitting up straight, “You’re truly exhausting but if it will make you feel better and more importantly end this conversation, then I will just say that I’m sure you can make a kidney pie exactly as your Nan did.”

“No,” he shook his head, “You’re not.”

“By the gods,” she whimpered.

“But you will be,” he told her.

She looked at him, unable to focus on his blue eyes she looked right about them, “Why do you say that like a threat?”

“The restaurant is closed tomorrow night,” he told her, “Come there at 7.”

Her brow furrowed, “What are you talking about? You can’t just summon me. You are so arrogant.”

His brows raised and he smirked, “Hmm… starting to sound like bias.”

Her mouth dropped open, “How dare you?”

He grinned and stood, “7 o’clock tomorrow night, at the restaurant.”

“And why should I agree to that?” she wondered.

“Because I’m gonna blow your mind, Baratheon,” he informed her. Then looked around the table, “Enjoy your… meal. See you tomorrow.”

He really was arrogant. To just assume that she would show up.

So arrogant, she thought, as she decided what to wear.

[iprobablyneedtherapyhaha]

Childe discord daddy x Reader

Once again, i am so sorry. this is all satire and a joke, it is 1 am dont come at me pls im so sorry 

basically if childe became a discord daddy and you were his little kitten <3

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Childe was, well, very rich. He was also your boyfriend, though you only ever communicate on discord. But that was okay. You were his little kitten and he paid for your discord nitro. You felt like his cool masculinity best showed through your discord calls and roleplays. Today was a tiring day from work, so you were glad to kick off your shoes and slump into your chair. You turned on your computer and smiled seeing that tartaglia69 (aka, childe) was online. He knew you were usually home by now and sent you a message. “Hey baby girl” a grin on your face grew when you saw this. You replied, “Hi daddy.” and he immediately responded. “How’s daddy’s little kitten doing today *winks*” “teehee good now that you’re here *nuzzles u*” you replied. You genuinely appreciated how thoughtful he was. Some may find it a bit odd, but you liked that he remembered to text you as soon as you got home, and he never failed to ask how you were. “Kitten get on the discord call” he commanded. But you felt really tired tonight, honestly you just wanted to heat up some instant ramen and go to bed. “Sorry babe, i think i’m just gonna heat up dinner and go 2 bed” you replied. After a few minutes, he finally responded. “Wow disobeying daddy? What a bad kitten. Someone is gonna get their discord nitro taken away.” You loved childe, but sometimes he was a little needy. But, you couldn’t risk your discord nitro! I mean, it meant so much to you. You’ve always struggled with self esteem, but this nitro really gave you something to be proud of. This nitro… it was everything. It was your special gift from daddy. You rushed to reply. “Daddy no! *pouts*” after a minute, Childe had replied back. “Get on the discord kitten, now *shakes angrily*” you join the call with him and have ensured the safety of your discord nitro. You two talk while you heat up your ramen. “How was your day babes?” you asked him. “It was alright, boring without you though. I had to ban a lot of people in the warrior cats roleplay server. It’s so hard being a full time mod sometimes… y’know?” You understood. People could be quite taxing and difficult to deal with, especially when that’s all you did all day. “Im so sorry daddy.” you said, half dozing off. “Its okay kitten. You’re cute when you’re all tired like that. You should get some rest though.” It took you a minute to process what he was saying, as you were half asleep, nested in your bed hugging your Childe body pillow. “Mmmm, yeah got it.” The last bit of your sentence trailing off. “Goodnight girlie.” He gave his phone a loud kiss before he hung up, you passing out before you got the chance to even turn your phone off or plug it in. 

In the morning, you sat down with a mug of coffee, opening up discord on your computer. Your chair had really nice cushioning, so it was relaxing to sit in it in the morning. The morning sun lit your room, not too brightly though and the smell of coffee completed the mood. You see a message from tartaglia69 pop up. “y/n! *tackle hugs and pats lap* come sit on daddy’s lap” you chuckle at seeing this, you love your discord daddy so much. “Daddyyy *hops on cutely* owo” you happily replied. Hmm? What’s this? You just noticed you had another month of nitro! “Ur such a good girl y/n, daddy thought i should give u a gift uwu *pats ur small head*” he sends another message, “girlie thats just the first of it, u should have a new package just 4 u <3” very excitedly, you reply to him “omg omg omg childe daddy thank u so much ur the best everrrrr <33333” you push back your chair a bit so you can get up and run for the door like a little kid, excited for your package. But when you rushed to your mailbox, it was just an envelope. A little confused, you went back inside and sat down. The smell of parchment was refreshing, the envelope was colored a light orange. Opening it, you couldn’t believe what you saw. It was… a membership to an exclusive fitness program for your buttocks?! Even worse, there was a letter attached addressed to… Zhongli? Who is this? This wasn’t for you, or was this some messed up prank Childe was playing on you? You text him, with an urgency. “Who is Zhongli” you sent. You see him typing, but after a few minutes, the icon goes away. A few minutes pass and he finally replies. “Haha kitten what do you mean?” feeling a bit pissed, you begin to type furiously. “Is this some kind of fucking joke? I thought i was your special kitten, who the fuck is Zhongli and why are you so interested in his ass” after a few minutes of silence again, you finally get a reply. “Girlie im so sorry… i promise he isnt as special as u, ur my #1” you begin to feel tears swelling down your face. Your stomach twists and you feel a bit sweaty. “NO *kills u*” you sent on pure impulse, and that was the tragic end of your discord nitro. 

[sapphire-innit]

MEXICAN L'MANBURG LETS GOOOOOOO

(rp)THEY GOT NO PROOF AND HE KNOWS IT

Quackity is the only MFer who can talk CIRCLES around Dream and I LOVE HIM FOR IT

AGAIN, AGAIN, "Why are you getting involved" I LOVE EVERY TIME QUACKITY POINTS THIS THE FUCK OUT

Dream resorting to threats, his only resort is violence, it always is and thats why QUACKITY IS GONNA TROUNNCE HIM

"I think you're forgetting that I designated this the holy land" - wow they pushed him this far aND THEN CALLED HIM ON IT LIKE FUCKING CHAMPS LETS GOOOOO

"SO YOUR A TYRANT THEN" - Karl

"So your breaking the rules AGAIN" - Quackity

Quackity is so on point in shutting down Sapnap's instinct towards violence, he's right they HAVE to win this with words they HAVE TOO. They have Dream backed into a corner as long as they aren't the ones to instigate violence on the Holy Land and its AMAZING

also hes EXACTLY RIGHT there is LITERALLY no proof other than meta gaming that they caused the explosion its SO PERFECT

"If you pull that fucking [rocket launcher] that is actual terrorism. We're playing a politics game, this is easy, this is easy, we have the upper hand here" Quackity KNOWS how much of an upper hand he has in this and I LOVE IT I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

he's even talking about 'pushing narratives' hes so smart hes so smart I love him

...also I love the character arc Sapnap's on where he's realizing that Dream really really doesn't care about him. I saw it a little bit when he came to bully Tommy, trying to reclaim what it used to be like, to bond over one of Dream's interests really. But now, now Sapnap's stated it out loud and actually acknowledged it, and I love it

"raid MY castle, MY THRONE" omg

KARL POINTING OUT THAT DREAM THREATENED THE HOLY LANDS KING KING KING!!!!!!

lol Eret reaching out, they're too good for this, they don't deserve this happening to them lmao

"I literally don't care about the throne" gOD "its just a bunch of gold blocks" once again Dream not giving a SHIT about sentimentality and how this server RUNS

"KINDA SOUNDS LIKE A TYRANT TO ME" heyyy buddy, you know who likes to call his political enemies terrorists Dream?? Hey you know who likes to do that, huh buddy????? TYRANTS MOTHERFUCKER GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE

"WE PUT HUMAN LIFE AHEAD OF A FEW BLOCKS AND THAT MAKES US TERRORISTS???" KARL I'VE NEVER PAID ATTENTION TO YOU BEFORE BUT I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU OK, YOU, YOU GET IT

But seriously I think Karl is just catching on to HOW FUCKED UP DREAM AND HIS POWER IS, and is fully behind this, even knowing that Eret's not behind the explosion. Because the thing is, that DREAM doesn't know that (maybe not even cc!Dream knows that it's unclear!) so if Eret really HAD killed him, this is the kind of response he would have gotten. For getting KILLED, PEACEFULLY PROTESTING. and THATS REALLY FUCKED UP!!!!!

Also I would like to point out that they have made no indication that they're going to continue ''''griefing''', and yet Dreams goal is for them to "Stop". I think the reason Quackity had to do this, the reason Dream's so upset, is exactly because Dream does NOT like to be made to acknowledge the factions as actual Things until he has too (and even then he likes to declare war on them and say they aren't a country at the same time. Like a Tyrant.)

"In my mind Mexican L'Manburg doesn't exist" "So no one can form a country????"

"And I'll talk to Tubbo about it" FUCKER LIKE U HAVE THAT PULL ASS. what u gonna put the walls back up if Tubbo doesn't agree with you???? He really does see Tubbo as fully in his power now that Tommy has been exiled huh

"we just want to be recognized as a country" "THAT is the ONLY time you have ever stepped foot and EVER recognized us as something" BOOM THERE IT IS THIS IS WHY THIS HAD TO HAPPEN THIS WAY

Quackity trying to give up the Tyrant angle, because he knows its ineffective, Absolute King Karl not giving up on it because he BELIEVES (to the arguments detriment to be fair lmao)

Nothing is the operative word Dream, you like to ignore these things because as long as you don't acknowledge them, they're just another part of Dream SMP to you

"A country that is established has to have a fair and just and logical ruler" FIRST OFF, first time we're hearing these rules Dream thanks for laying that out to us soooooo clearly and definitely not just covering your ass bc your hypocrisy has been pointed out :) :) :)

SECOND, what bULLSHIT, to say that a ruler has to be "fair and just and logical", has to be up to YOUR STANDARDS basically to rule!!! its not enough for them to form and have people follow them, oh no, they have to be up to YOUR IDEALS. EPHEMERAL IDEALS that can CLEARLY be taken away, as seen by the L'Manburg walls being put up after a time of peace!

And lets talk about why you think Tubbo of all people is someone you consider up to your standards AFTER exiling Tommy. Because it wasn't TUBBO who changed, those standards have NOTHING in them about a cabinent or who lives in the country. NO, its because now Tubbo has proven to be CONTROLLABLE, and therefore a PUPPET GOVERNMENT

AND QUACKITY HAS ALWAYS ALLLLLWAYS SEEN THROUGH YOUR SHIT DREAM, NO WONDER YOU DON'T WANT TO GRANT HIM LEGITIMACY

lol its so much clearer because Tubbo has SO much chaos energy the HYPOCRISY

"Do you think through anything you do" the sheer AUDACITY, QUACKITY IS THE MOST CALCULATING PERSON ON THE SERVER ARE YOU KIDDING ME. It just goes to show HOW MUCH Quackity has this in hand and has Dream FOOLED, how much Dream DOES NOT UNDERSTAND QUACKITY AT *ALL*. He's had SO MUCH CONTROL over EVERY ONE in the confrontation, from Dream himself down to keeping his men in line, to keeping the conversation on track. ARE YOU TELLING ME SOMEONE WHO CAN CONTROL THIS ENTIRE CONVERSATION with HIS WORDS ALONE is someone who DOESN'T THINK THINGS THROUGH????

Poor Eret, they truly are just a figurehead at this point, and nothing shows it more than the fact that they are only NOW joining the 'leaders' call. They were USED to get to Dream because Quackity completely understands that the crown is just a symbol and they really have NO say, despite the fact that it was really them who has been wronged in this case!!!! Dream isn't even PRETENDING he's upset on Eret's behalf!

Even Eret's body language, its looking up to Dream, its crouching, its supplication

Dream is really going off of either meta knowledge or PURE Assumption

the SMILE on Quackity's Face when he starts laying out terms he's COMPLETELY willing to do

"How about we start from a fresh slate, it's a bloodshed history, we'll change it" ayayyyyyy a dawn of a NEW DAYYY

"I'll Apologize to Eret but I won't Apologize to you" KING SHIT KING SHIT

WHAT A RUSH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!