#its almost 4 am here woo

[landofgay]

I don't like how many big fires there are near me 🥰🥰🥰

[letorip]

kiss with a fist [iii]

"your slaps don't stick, your kicks don't hit, so we remain the same"

===+++===

pairing: tara carpenter x reader

summary: you can't help but feel like maybe you and tara are more than frenemies, and it culminates in a night where you finally share some truths with each other.

warnings: a somewhat traumatic dream sequence lmao, mentions of sex, kissing (almost), curse words, blood

word count: 5.8k

A/N: hope y'all like this one because i definitely liked writing it. definitely a whole lot more kissing than fisting.... wait a minute....

it's 5 am, my ass is grass. anyways, part 4 relatively soon because woo wee theres still so much to explore in this story i legitimately cant believe my idiot self said it'd be done in 2 parts originally

===+++===

===+++===

"(Y/n)," a voice calls to you, sing-song and sweet as your eyes fade to darkness. It's a gentle woman's whisper, but it manages to hit you like a truck, pulling you down from wherever you came from, and plopping you wherever you've arrived. Or, rather, wherever you've always been. "(Y/n), look, darlin'."

A gust of wind gently strokes over the plane of your cheek, and when you open your eyes, all you can see is rye. On one end, it reaches out towards a sharp cliff, overlooking a lake, with nothing but rocks and the water below. On the other, it runs far up the plains of land in front of you, stopping in front of the white house you know all too well, with its rickety porch and broken tire swing.

You take a few steps forward, as if ready to run right inside, and then before you know it, you're running. Like the world is about to end, like the house is burning down, like you'll never see the place ever again. Foot after foot, you dash towards it, hearing Alisha's piano flit through the front window for the first time in years, and the smell of a pie right along with it. "(Y/n)!" the voice calls again. "Dinner time, kid!"—

But your foot catches on a root, just like it did in your memory, and in an instant, you've fallen down into the rye, with a painful thud, right on your face. You let out a grunt, feeling the dirt on your new, white shirt. The one your mother never let you wear when you were playing outside.

And when you right yourself again, sitting up out of the field, the house isn't any closer than it was before. It sits, perfectly far away, only all that stuff is gone now, and the house looks about as dark as it did the day of Mitchie's funeral.

"(Y/n)!" an excited voice calls from behind you. "Wanna play tag?"

"(Y/n)'s too old for that, Mitchie," another voice chides, and you whip around like Calvin would actually be there to chide him like that. Like he used to. But he isn't. All you can see is the rye. It stands in thick stalks, reaching up to your knees in lush groupings, tall and abundant, strong and growing.

Another voice. "Read me a story?" It's soft and it's a little girl's and it's far away, and you get to your feet and spin in a circle, waiting for her to appear. It seemed to reverberate through your ears, washing through the pathways of your brain before seeping into your heart. It fills it up, and before you know it, you can feel yourself hastily searching for her.

"'Randa?" you called into the open field. "Miranda? You there?" but she continues on like she didn't hear you.

"Would you read me a story? Please?"

"I will Miranda, but where are you?" you called back, raising a hand to shield your eyes from the barrel of the hot sun.

"I'm gone, (Y/n). You're supposed to be gone too," she says back, with a sweet giggle. "Why aren't you gone with us?"

"I—" you stammer, whipping your head around the field in search of your siblings. "I don't—"

"Do you really think that's fair, (Y/n)?" Calvin asks.

"Why aren't you here, (Y/n)?" Miranda asks again, this time her voice wavering like she was about to cry. "Why aren't you in the rye with us?" Your hands came up to your head, trying to squeeze your eyes shut and block out the noises, but they seemed to reverberate into your skull.

"Mitchie was your fault, you know," Peter chides. "We would've never let that—"

"—Why did you get to stay, (Y/n)?" Came Tomas' voice. "We're supposed to be cursed, and you're supposed to be cursed too." He was always the quiet one, but now his voice had a sharp edge to it. One of jealousy. One of anger.

"Why didn't you catch me?" Mitchie asked. "If you just would've caught me..."

"Come play piano with me, I'll teach you," said Alisha, in her light, airy laugh.

"Why did it get to be you?" snarled Calvin. "And why are you getting closer to Tara? You want to curse her, too?"

"Stop—" you stammered, squeezing your eyes shut tighter.

"Wanna play hopscotch?" said Mitchie.

"Do you miss us, (Y/n)?" Alisha said, in between tears.

"Yes, of course— I—" you tried, but now the voices were filling up your head, threatening to spill over and knocking you to the ground. You curled up into a ball as your brain filled up. Words piling up on top of words, piling up on top of words, about to split you open. "STOP!" you yelled.

And everything went silent. When you opened your eyes, you found yourself still in the field, but your siblings' voices had gone entirely. Now it was just you, in the field, alone with the rustling of the wind and the rye, as it grazed gently against your legs. You hadn't remembered standing up, but you were now.

In a flash, you could see a shape, running through the rye in a line that was very visible from where you were. You recognised the dark hair, and the yellow jacket he always wore. With the realisation came the looming dread, and you realised with very little time left what this exactly was a memory of.

You took off running, faster than you had to the house, faster than you had ever run, and faster than you had run then, chasing after him as he took off towards the cliff-end of your rye field. "Mitchie!" you yelled, trying to be louder than the buzzing cicadas, but it seemed the moment you yelled, the cicadas got even louder. He was too short to see over the stalks, but you could see him go, running in odd shapes as he got nearer and nearer to the cliffs edge.

"Catch me if you can, (Y/n)!" he called back with a gleeful laugh.

"(Y/n), grab your brother," called your mother. She didn't seem too worried, and she hadn't been, then. No one had been, until it was too late.

"Mitchie! Stop!" you cried out, feeling tears already beginning to fall down your cheeks. "Mitchie!" you tried again.

"Come on, you've gotta be faster than that if you're gonna be it!” Mitchie called back. "Catch me! Get me! C'mon! I'm gonna make it hard for you to win, Duck."

"MITCHIE! PLEASE!" you screamed, but all he did was giggle. “STOP! DON’T GO!” But the moment you reached the end of the rye, he was gone over the edge, just he had been when you were 13, and there was an arm shaking you awake.

===+++===

"Oh my god, you're about the least peaceful sleeper I've literally ever seen," Tara laughed, grinning at you from over her textbook. She had it pulled into her lap from her side of the table and titled against the table edge, and spread out in front of you were her papers galore, with notes scribbled all over them in preparation for her upcoming exam.

Mindy sat next to her, playing a stupid game on her phone, while Ethan was also studying in his own textbook. He had stopped trying to avoid you as much, as had Chad. You and Tara "dating" seemed to offend them less and less the longer it went on.

"Uh," you mumbled, still feeling a little bit disoriented from the dream. It was like a dose of adrenaline had been shot directly into your heart, and you struggled to adjust to the calm, peaceful library that actually was around you. "Shut up," you grumbled, but not like you were actually upset by her teasing.

Tara watched you with her eyebrows raised. "You look tired."

You sat up in your chair, running a hand through your hair. There was a small layer of sweat on your forehead. "Aren't you never supposed to say that to someone? Pretty sure that's how you get someone at the bar to throw their drink in your face."

"It is," Ethan nodded. "I made that mistake once. I was trying to be sweet."

"Good thing I'm not seducing you, then," Tara shrugged. "You've seen me puke everywhere. Pretty sure that ruined my chances right-out, and yet you love me anyways."

You grinned, leaning back to stretch out your arms. It was meant to be a gentle teasing from Tara, but you had only gotten better and better at deflecting the longer you were around her. "You'd be surprised, actually. That was super pretty. That was the prettiest you've ever been." Mindy snorted next to Tara.

Tara glared at you, unappreciatively. "And you're pretty when you do not speak."

"I'm pretty all the time, Tara," you mockingly shook your head. "And you think I'm joking. Find yourself a girl who looks nice covered in sweat, with her hair going everywhere, and puking in the toilet. That's my girlfriend."

"You're such a dick," Tara scoffed, but you could tell part of her was stifling a laugh. It was funny to her too, and you both had laughed at it together for days, afterwards.

If anything, it had gotten easier and easier, to act like the both of you were actually dating. You weren't too sure why, maybe Tara had become less annoying, or you had become less annoyed by her, but you had definitely at least become a better actor. That's what it was, after all. "Oh, also," she continued.

"Yeah?"

"Someone tried to call your phone, while you were sleeping. I think it was your dad."

You frowned. "You didn't pick up, right?"

"No," Tara said, shaking her head. Then she paused. She dropped her voice to speak just to you, guarding the conversation from Mindy and Ethan. "Do you and him not get along?"

You shrugged. "Eh. He was probably just checking in. We have a fine relationship." It wasn't true but it was an easy lie, that rolled off the tongue like nothing. He had already called twice, that day, and you knew why.

"Seriously, though," she said with a frown, looking up from her book. "You look fucking horrifying—"

"—Thanks," you said, flatly.

"—I mean, even more than normal, it's crazy—"

"—Thanks," you repeated.

"—Have you not been sleeping, or something?"

You shrugged. "I mean, I'm an architecture major, and it's midterms... so not really."

"Hm."

"What?" you asked, propping your head up on your arm. "What's the 'hm' for?"

She shrugged, trying to turn back to her textbook. "Hm, nothing."

You furrowed your eyebrows down at her. "Well, obviously the 'hm' was something, Tara." Mindy shot you a look again.

"Or it was just a hm."

“Would you two shush,” she said to you, rolling her eyes. “You bicker like an old married couple.” But you both ignored her.

"It's never just a 'hm.'"

"I say hm all the time. It's literally just a hm."

"No, it means you've got something to say but don't want to say it."

She frowned at the accusation but was obviously even more displeased that you were correct. "I was gonna suggest we go to the OBK party tonight, but maybe you should just go home and sleep. I was trying to be nice.”

You shrugged. "I won't be doing either, actually." Tonight was not the night for parties. You were somewhat grateful, that you had a legitimate excuse to busy your time, or else you would've spent even longer thinking about the dream. "I have to do homework. My final is due tomorrow."

Tara furrowed her eyebrows at you. "Wait, but I thought classes ended today."

You shook your head. "Nope. I've still got some stuff do."

"Oh," Tara frowned.

"Not all of us can have easy majors," you teased, trying to lighten the mood away from what was clearly concern.

"Hey! You chose the stupid thing," Tara shot back. "Not my fault I chose something fun." She stood up, gathering her things into a neat stack. The time was nearing for her midterm exam, and you stood up with her, grabbing her textbook to be helpful.

"Thanks," she said, then she wandered over and held out her hand. You grabbed it in yours, lacing your fingers together, just like you had practiced together.

The library was a tall building on the far side of campus from where you lived. It was a trek and a half to get there, which is partially why you had been a little annoyed, when Tara said she needed to go there. It ended up being the perfect place to fall asleep in, with the quiet signs and only a few murmurs now and again, and though it had been a less than peaceful dream, it was more than you had been getting for the past few days.

"I don't see why you can't just go without me," you shrugged, adjusting her book in your hands. "Just tell Sam I'll meet you there. Besides, Chad and Mindy are going to the same party, right?"

"Yeah, but I what if they realise you're not actually there and mention it to Sam, or something? And, I'd have to go there alone, since Chad and Mindy are going early."

"They are?"

"Yeah. Helping with set up. Mindy literally just mentioned that. Shows how much you listen to her.” She shook her head in a mocking disappointment in you.

“I was asleep, jerk.”

“I know,” she said, grinning.

You looked down to her, where she walked next to you, gently swinging your joint hands back and forth. "It's not a far walk to OBK. You could probably make it there in five minutes. It's well-lit, and—"

Tara frowned, shaking her head adamantly. "Not alone. Not without you, no way. Sam would want to see you at the door to pick me up. She'd probably hate the idea of it."

"Fair enough," you shrugged. "Find a movie at home tonight, then. Relax, or something. I'd kill to be done with this stupid project."

"What are you even making?" Tara groaned, breaking your hands to shove hers into her pockets. Actually, it was your jacket, and therefore technically your pockets too, but she had taken a liking to it, after your date. You had been less than pleased, when she asked to borrow it, considering how much the jacket meant to you, but she insisted it was assisting her to keep up the act. You figured you could part with it, at least for a little while.

"Architecture," you said with a thick layer of sarcasm. Tara rolled her eyes at you. She nudged you, and you couldn't help but laugh as her elbow pointed into your side.

"Oh, you think you're funny, huh?"

"I'm hilarious."

"You wish..." she scoffed, shaking her head.

It was a beautiful day in autumn, and the weather was soon to leave the sigh of brown leaves and rainy days and move into whispery winds and icy pavement. You didn't mind winter, but you didn't like the chills, even though it was undoubtedly what gave summer's warmth a certain sweetness. Still, nothing burned like the cold.

You walked her all the way to the door of the exam hall, stopping out front to hand her the textbook you had been carrying. You went to speak, but the moment you tried to open your mouth, your phone started ringing. You grabbed it from your pocket, sighing and declining the call, while Tara stared at you.

"Is that your dad, again?"

"No," you said. "Telemarketer."

"Right..." she said, frowning. "You're a terrible liar."

"Am I?" you challenged. You were, it was true.

"Why don't you want to talk to him?"

“I just don’t.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m asking why, (Y/n).”

"Why don't you leave it alone?" you shot, in frustration. You could see Tara's eyes narrow at your tone, and you felt a bit bad. There was the occasional reflex still, to bite each other's heads off. You weren't sure what it was about her, but something about Tara Carpenter always seemed to rile you up inside, and do the same for her with you.

"Sorry," you said, looking down at your shoes. "I just don't want to talk about it."

"That doesn't mean you have to be an asshole," Tara glared.

"Right... I'm... sorry."

Tara sighed. "I guess I'll see you next week?" She asked.

You nodded. "There'll be plenty of time after this, I just need to get this thing done."

"Okay," she nodded, failing to hide her excitement. Tara seemed to really love parties, the more and more she went to, and you were somewhat glad you could help her find something she enjoyed. It was nice to see, not that you'd ever say that to her. Doing that would absolutely result in her teasing you again, or something even more annoying.

"Good luck on your test," you said.

"Good luck on your project, babe," she said, drawing the name out.

“Now who’s hilarious,” you said with an eye roll. Tara winked at you, pressing a kiss to your cheek.

“Me.”

===+++===

It seemed you were having no good luck on it whatsoever, actually. Laid out in front of you was all of your materials, in a messy pile of cut-out pieces and foam boards that were there, sure, but not likely to just jump together and put itself together on its own.

The clock had already ticked away to 12:33 in the morning, and your design was barely finalised to where you could get to work and finish quickly. All of the other students had left at a much more reasonable hour, and it left you standing at your table alone, quietly working to classical music in the empty modelling lab.

At this rate, you could be here for another two or three hours, and the project was due at eight. You were sluggish, slowly working through the plans you had set out days ago and working through the kinks.

Every few minutes, when you stopped for even a second, the dream seemed to rush back to the forefront of your brain. Your mother had been the one to call, that evening while you were eating a poor excuse of a dinner, and you had declined that call just like you had declined all the rest.

You were hunched over your work, probably unhealthily so, with your face buried in your iPad, hastily throwing out sketches of the various shapes. You were settling on a design that would have to do, heading for the woodcutter, when you heard a noise.

It resembled a door shutting, and you froze right where you were. "Greg?" you called out. There was no one else in the building except for you and Greg, at his usual security post, and you waited with bated breath for him to return your call.

But there was no response, and all you could hear was the sounds of classical music gently floating in the background. Usually, it set you at ease while you worked through whatever you were doing in the lab, but now all it did was raise your heart rate to match the increasing tempo. It was completely dark, except for the overhead light above you, which illuminated the table you were working at and a few of the stainless steel cabinets that held tools and supplies.

Then, off to the side, you heard a rolling. An odd, wooden rolling, slowly drifting towards you. On the ground was a pencil, gently pushed towards you, playfully rolling as if perfectly in front of your toes. You hopped to your feet. "Hello?" you called, squinting in the dim light, in case anyone else was there. "Is anyone there?" you called out again. "Greg?"

Now you could really feel the thumping of your heart. The modelling lab had always been creepy late at night, but this was a new level of unease. It was as if someone was watching you, playing with their food, and you swallowed down the lump in your throat. "Is someone there?" you said to the rest of the room.

"Hey!" said a voice, and you jumped what felt like five feet into the air.

"Fuck!" you shouted, spinning around and seeing Tara behind you. She jumped at your reaction, raising her hands up. In one of them was a tray with two coffees on it. “You scared me!”

"Woah, woah, are you okay?" she asked, face etched with concern. She walked towards you slowly, and you put your hands on the edge of the table, trying to calm yourself.

"Don't just sneak up on me like that, dude," you glared at her.

"I literally didn't, I fucking announced myself, loud as can be," Tara said, rolling her eyes at you. Then, it melded into concern. "How long have you been here?" she asked, looking around the place and its emptiness.

"Since I left you at your test," you shrugged. "How'd it go by the way?" Tara's eyebrows furrowed, ignoring your question instead for one of her own.

"Did you at least eat dinner, or something?"

"Yeah," you nodded.

"Good."

“Yeah…,” you trailed off, turning back to your work. “How did you know where I was?"

“I asked Chad. He’s still a little snippy with me about, well, thinking we're together. Tried to tell me that if anyone would know, it would be me, and I said, yeah, that’s true, but it’s only been three months, now.”

“Well,” you said, gesturing around to the lab. “This is the modelling lab.” You were a bit of a nerd about the whole place, showing it off like it was your cool superhero lair.

“I know,” Tara mocked. “I saw it on the giant sign above the front door.”

“Ha ha. Does Sam know that you’re here?” You asked, grabbing your pen and resuming your work while you continued to talk to Tara. She plopped herself down on the edge of the table, letting her feet swing.

She looked a bit sheepish at the question. “Uh… no.”

“You know she’ll kill me like she did that one time, if you’re not home when she wakes up,” you frowned, wandering over to the supplies and grabbing out a box cutter to help trim the pieces you needed.

Tara nodded. “I know. But I snuck out, so I’ll sneak back in.”

You turned back around to reply, maybe say something stupid, but you had to stop yourself from laughing, when you saw her legs hanging off the counter and not reaching the ground.

“What?” Tara asked, furrowing her eyebrows. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” you said, shaking your head and returning to the table. “…Dwarf.”

“Hey!” she said, smacking you on the arm. “I brought you coffee, don’t make me take it back.”

“That’s true,” you frowned, weighing your options. “Guess I can’t make fun of you; you brought me caffeine.”

“That’s more like it."

You worked in silence for a few minutes, feeling Tara watch your every movement. It was harder to work, under her scrutiny, but you were grateful that she was there. It wasn’t lonely in there, any more. A few months ago, you would’ve hated her guts for sitting around while you attempted to work. But not with Tara anymore. Not on that day.

“This might be an all-nighter,” you warned, sending her a small smile as you sliced a piece of foam in half and went to work to attach it to your board.

“Fine with me,” Tara shrugged. She just continued to watch you, in a calm silence. “Actually, I have beef with you,” she hummed.

You laughed, looking up while you secured the base with glue. “Why’s that, Tara?”

“You got that song, stuck in my head.”

“Which one?” You asked.

“The one you sang for me. I found it online.”

“Which one?” you teased, smiling again. Your face was tired and the smile certainly didn’t help, but you couldn’t help the newfound peace washing over you again. You had completely forgotten the weird happening from earlier.

“You know, don’t play dumb.”

“No,” you shook your head. “I really don’t know.”

“You literally do,” Tara scoffed.

“Sing a little bit. Refresh my memory.”

“Nuh uh,” she said, crossing her arms. “This is a trap.”

“It isn’t,” you insisted, sticking your pinky out to her. “Swear.”

She wrapped it in her own, rolling her eyes. She definitely knew it was, but she obliged anyway. “If you need a friend, don’t look to a strangerrr. You know in the end,” her voice broke on the low note like yours did, and you laughed while heat rose to her cheeks. “I’ll always be thereeee.”

“And when you’re in doubt,” you sang back to her, in between laughs. “And when you’re in dangerrr.” You both were tone deaf and the rendition was awful, but the mood in the lab was getting lighter and lighter the longer you were together.

“Take a look all around,” Tara sang, coming back in. “And I’ll be there.”

It was impossible not to laugh at how bad it was on both sides, and you grinned at her toothily, before turning back to your work. “Thank you for reminding me.”

“You’re welcome, idiot,” she teased, nudging you in the side again.

===+++===

You went back to working on your model, finishing the first floor in about an hour. You and Tara occasionally talked now and again, but mostly she just watched you while you worked. “Why are you doing this all tonight?” she asked.

“Uh…” you stuttered. “I didn’t have time the past couple weeks…cause of… well, you.”

She shot up to her feet, mouth dropping open. “Why the hell didn’t you say no to me?! I didn’t know you had all this to do.”

You shrugged. “I never mentioned it. Plus, you were having fun. I’m glad someone was enjoying themselves.”

“Oh…” she said, and it sounded small.

“What?” you asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“…Nothing."

“It’s fine, Tar. Seriously.” She blinked at you.

“Tar?” she asked, looking amused.

You looked up from your work, feeling the change in the atmosphere. “What?”

“I don’t know, you’ve just never used the nickname for me, before.”

“Yeah, I guess not. Is it weird?”

“Well… no. I kind of like it.”

“Okay.”

“Okay,” she agreed, nodding a little. “My mom was the one who gave me the nickname Tar. Haven’t spoken to her in a little while, though.”

“Do you still miss her?” you asked, glueing your second story onto the base successfully.

“Sometimes…” she trailed off, staring out at the pitch black night through the window that hung over your workspace. "She calls me once in a while."

"Do you answer?" you asked.

"No," she admitted. "It's usually about Woodsboro. I gave up on her a few months ago, but she still calls sometimes about the town."

"You never talk about it..." you comment, trailing off with a hand on the back of your neck. "You don't have to, if you don't want to." You leaned back against the table with a curiosity, watching her face move as she struggled to answer.

"Well... it's cause I don't want to that I don't talk about it. You know how people say that shit about manifesting happiness?" you nodded, knowing what she was talking about. "Well, I keep saying I'm fine, and I'm moving on, but it just keeps following me everywhere. It's like this chronic cough I can't shake. This constant thing. No matter how much I run, it's always there. People don't see me as anything but one of the survivors."

You swallowed, feeling her words hit you. "I know what you mean." Tara's eyes snapped down to yours, but when you didn't volunteer more information, she sighed.

You frowned, turning yourself back to your work and hunching over, so she wouldn’t see the heat rising to your cheeks. “I, uh… I listened to that song you said you liked, too.”

“You did?” she asked, lighting up at the mention of it.

“Yeah… added it to my playlist… so…”

“So…” Tara laughed, amused by your awkwardness. It was somehow less awkward when you hated each other. The fact you could tolerate each other now was unusual but not unpleasant, and you still found yourself grappling with how pretty Tara’s eyes looked in lamplight. "If I get a nickname, you absolutely have to have one too."

You scoffed. "That's not at all what that means."

"You had to have had one at some point."

"No, I haven't had one," you said.

"Liar!" Tara said with a giggle, pointing at you with her finger. "You're so bad at lying it's remarkable. Now spill. What is it?"

"I'm not lying!" you insisted, but now you were laughing and it was even less convincing.

"C'mon, promise I won't say it in public— unless it's really bad."

You stared at her for a moment, when she clasped her hands together in a begging plea.

"Please?"

"No," you shook your head.

"Please?"

"Nope."

"Pleaseeee?"

"Fine," you sighed. "My family, they used to call me Duck."

"Duck?" She asked, leaning back to look at you as if the nickname would re-contextualise your entire appearance. "Where'd that come from?"

"It's dumb. I used to wear this yellow raincoat when it was storming outside and these orange booties, so my little brother Mitchie saw me, when he was like five or six, and said I was a Duck. And so I was Duck."

She smiled at you, genuinely pleased with the explanation. "That's adorable. Where is Mitchie, tonight?"

You opened your mouth but shut it. Then, you opened it again. "Probably watching cartoons, or something. Back in Nebraska." (A/N: my ass genuinely did not know that was a U.S. state until right now)

You couldn't tell her that today was the day he had died, several years ago. That a year or two before that had happened, Calvin had gone, and a few months before that, Tomas and Alisha had passed too. That Peter had gotten sick, or that Miranda had gone missing before any of that mess had happened. That you were the only one left.

It was a bad lie, and probably one you would regret later, but it was one you ushered past, and Tara didn't seem to pick up on. From one cursed person to another, you figured it was probably best that you keep your own curse to yourself. It's part of what had made you hate Tara so much at first. She walked around knowing her days were likely numbered, so carefree and careless. And then there was you, you who was so careful in order to keep living.

But you couldn't resent her for that. It had melted away with seeing the Tara underneath. The real, beautiful Tara underneath.

"Duck is good, though. I'll bring it out when I want to embarrass you," Tara smiled, inching closer on the table.

"Yeah?" you grinned back at her, standing up to gently tap against the glue. It was set, and your model was finally finished at 4:42 in the morning. Tara leaned close, watching the glue with her own eyes, cheek almost up against yours in curiosity.

You finished the thing, looking over at her and her large, warm brown eyes, staring at the model you had made with so much curiosity and genuine interest. Tara hadn't lifted a finger to help, but you couldn't help but feel like it was partially hers.

You went to pull back but found your face turning towards hers, looking at each other for a long moment. Your eyes lingered on the slope of her nose, down to the curvature of her soft lips, turned up in the corners like Tara always did when she smiled. They looked so soft, and before you knew what was happening, you could feel Tara's hands coming up to the sides of your face, thumbs gently stroking against the skin there.

You couldn't breathe, feeling the warmth of the pads of her fingers on your face and the faint brush of her breath upon your nose. "Tara," you whispered. The pull was magnetic, and just as you were about to say to hell with it all, her phone began to vibrate in her pocket, and you both leapt apart from each other.

You wandered a few feet away, trying to seem busy while she answered it. You could feel Tara watching you while she spoke on the phone, so you did your best to hide the blush that was certainly spread wide across your cheeks.

This was the very girl you had spent the past several months hating. You suddenly felt dizzy, like the world would slip out from under your feet. Tara, the very same annoying girl who had pestered with you and bickered with you. The one who had so much more to her that what you had ever thought possible. The one who drew you in. The one in search of a hook up, for which you were only the decoy. You cleared your throat, whipping around when you heard Tara say "What?!"

"What's wrong?" you asked. "What's going on?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, looking up at you like she was about to cry. "They're questioning Sam again. They think Ghostface is back."

===+++===

DUN DUN DUNNNNNN anyways my ass is going to bed now. also i do not recommend anyone lie to someone they're interested in about who they are, ESPECIALLY an attempted murder victim

[bobacupcake]

woo! yeah!! wooo!!

this is... also a discreet fourier transform!! i am even shakier on what is going on here but i am making progress. its still on the cpu so it runs at less than 1 fps (it took me almost half an hour to record this 4 second clip!!!) but once i put it on the gpu and implement FFT (which is just an algorithm to do discreet fourier transforms really fast) i should be able to tune the values more and increase the samples

this one is 64 x 64, and i want to get up to at Least 512 x 512. luckily 16 x 16 runs at a healthy 33 fps :)

[maladaptive-ninja-returns]

New World (4)

Itachi Uchiha x Reader Fluff

Summary: The world War has met its end and Itachi has returned to his village. He questions whether he should set down his roots here when he meets a stranger. Or rather, a stranger is forced upon him by fate.

Warnings: *shrugs* I had a fever dream that got converted into this chapter

Word Count: I started watching single's inferno today because of one reel. Got some really good pointers for some future fanfics. Oh and Merry Happy Holidays darlings!!!

MASTERLIST in bio, darlings. Tags are open (check bio)

"Cottage number two is for the ladies while we have cottage number three. The owner has been kind enough to prepare warm water in the bathhouse. Let's freshen up and meet for dinner here." Kakashi hands you the key to the cottage and the caravan splits up to unload their belongings and head for the bath house. The elder men with the bamboo village chief have barely talked throughout the journey today while Toge seems to have taken it upon himself to carry any and every conversation.  The village rest house has a decent number of guests gathered in the courtyard for supper while the owner and their staff carry their orders and pour sake to whichever table requires it. Kakashi and the chief are already sitting at the table on the veranda that overlooks the forest when Kozuki and Nami join them. The former takes the seat next to Kakashi as Nami refrains her lips from letting out a squeak at the confidence this woman carries for wooing the most eligible bachelor of Konoha.

Toge and Naruto along with a vigilant Fukaboshi and Izo join the table next. Sake is poured for the guests while Naruto presses the staff to get him a plum tea instead. Toge looks around the area, his eyes searching for someone. "Where is Y/N?" he finally asks Nami, who is too busy wondering whether Kakashi genuinely is unaware of Kozuki flirting with him or he is just pretending not to know to be polite to the guests. "Hm?" she finally addresses Toge, sighing at the desperation drooling off from this boy's aura. "She's coming-" Nami pauses to look at him while bringing her sake cup to her lips when something in the back of her mind glows an ember of a potential future fire- "with Itachi." She lies. She thoroughly enjoys that split-second surprise so transparently reflecting in Toge's eyes. Toge is quick to hide his true emotion behind a quick smile and a nod before shoving the contents of his cup down his throat.  .

I am going to cut all of my hair someday, you grunt at yourself as the last knot of your crumpled hair is practically torn off by your comb. Quickly running your comb through your hair to make it look decent enough, you wrap it in a bun and secure it with a pin. You can hear the sounds of drunk people singing on the stone paths outside, already heading back to their places, calling it a night. You hurry out of the cottage for fear of making your company wait for you.  Closing the door and locking it securely, you look down at the patio for your sandals. Regretting not lighting the lamps outside the door, you make do with the light coming from neighbouring cottages, pushing your sandals close to your feet to slide into them. And while you do so, your back feels an almost ominous presence, making you turn on reflex. The fear of seeing a stranger so close to you almost makes you lose your footing, if not for your hand grabbing the window sill and breaking your fall. The stranger in question is a man sloshed beyond his senses looking at you with a curiosity you rather stay away from. "You smell nice," he blurts out with a smile and you can smell the alcohol on him even though you have stepped back a generous distance from him. You take a step down from the patio, never uttering a word. The drunk steps down too, reducing the distance. "Say," he smiles with his teeth while his hand casually tries to move the hem of his kimono to expose his chest, "why don't you come with-" His words suddenly die down as his lust-filled gaze slowly averts from you to something a bit higher. To something that is behind you.  That lust is quickly pushed away with what seems like terror and that man is suddenly bowing down in apology and receding his steps, the drunk in him abruptly becoming sober. You are confused. Did...did I scare him? you ask yourself, with a tilt of your head. Maybe he thought I was ugly. Ha! Guess my looks saved me from a pervert today. What you do not see is the pair of red eyes looking at that pervert with murderous intent from the dark alley behind you. What you do not see is that the pervert experiences a new type of fear within three seconds that makes him run away with his tail between his legs as the pair of eyes step into the light. "Shall we join the others, Y/N-san?" The familiar deep voice comes from right next to you. "Itachi-san," you address the man who is smiling at you as he respectfully asks you to accompany him with a slight bow and his hand gesturing you to lead the way. You return his smile with a smile, walking next to him with a slight weight of curiosity. I never felt him come stand next to me. "Neko," you whisper your thoughts out loud. "Hmm?" Itachi bows his head only slightly. "You," you address him under your breath with a blank expression, never caring to explain any further. Itachi blinks with confusion for a moment. "Neko," he whispers before accepting whatever it means and joining the others for supper. .

It turns out, that the old chief loves to talk after getting some sake in his system. The meal is over but the man’s stories of his youth aren’t. For a change, it is good to see the bamboo village men be embarrassed by their chief’s drunk talk. But it only takes dessert to get the chief busy. Naruto has already landed in a food coma. Kozuki is leaning on the edge of the table, looking at Kakashi with intoxicating eyes. You sit between Itachi and Kakashi- because the only seat next to Nami meant sitting next to Toge- enjoying the Koto and Shakuhachi being played in the centre of the courtyard. The tiredness from the long journey on foot and the sake are becoming the catalysts to you swaying side to side with heated cheeks and a hint of a smile on your face. "Bah!" the chief slams his cup on the table as he looks at the young faces sitting around him, "With a magical night such as this, you all should be enjoying your youth! Dancing with each other, running away from the crowd, seeing fireworks! What are you doing sitting with us old men!" Fukaboshi does not like being called old. Izo does not have the care to give. "What is magical about this night," Nami throws the sarcasm in the air. "Oh, come on Nami," your head nearly tilts and bumps into Kakashi's shoulder, "everything is magical!" The chief hums in approval. "The sweet-smelling air," you chime. "The slow-burning lamps," the chief adds. "The soulful music," Toge jumps in. "The handsome men," Kozuki purrs. "The perfect sake," the chief clinks his cup with Kakashi's. "The huge glowing fox wandering the forest," you sing. The table comes to a pause. All eyes move to you. Everyone, save for Kakashi and Itachi, turns their gaze in the direction where you were looking a moment ago before coming back to you. "What did you say you saw?" It is the first time you have heard Izo speak. What he says is not what stops the alcohol in your system from moving. It's his expression that stills the child in you. His stare does not make you comfortable. Just as your lips part to answer his question, you feel a sensation on your body that stills you in that second. On one side, you feel Kakashi's hand come to rest on your thigh every so lightly. On the other side, Itachi's hand comes to rest on yours under the table. Both of them are signalling you not to say another word. And you know better than to question their judgment. “I think she has had more Sake than she can handle,” Nami guffaws. Toge joins her.  The woman has read the air surrounding the table within ten seconds and Kakashi isn’t anything if not proud of her for her fast thinking.  “Ya!” You stress in a derogatory way at your friend, “I’m not that drunk,” before people sitting around you notice your grumpy stature continuing to lean back till Itachi gives it the support to sit back straight. “Okay,” Kakashi announces with a sigh, “Looks like we should retire for bed. Tomorrow is an early start. We will be meeting here in the courtyard at five.” The table disperses but Nami can feel Izo’s eyes bearing into your back while your nonchalant self scratches some itch on your neck. The mother instinct of this young woman forces her to stand behind you and guide your alcohol-happy figure towards the cottage. If Kakashi and Itachi have noticed it then they do not give it away with either their expressions or their body language.  The women retire for the night and so do the elders of the bamboo village. Kakashi, Itachi and Toge have decided to take turns to keep watch for the next two hours before calling it a night. .

You know it is a dream.  There is a certain wavelength that makes you realise it is a dream and not your reality. Maybe it is the way the tatami feels on your bare skin, under your fingertips. Or maybe it is the sensation of not being able to smell Nami’s rose concentrate that she applies to her skin before going to sleep.  Maybe it is the stillness of the room where you are supposed to be sleeping for the night- that you were quite sure was being filled with the monotonous chirping of the crickets when you went to sleep. Maybe it is that wick-less lamp in the middle of the ceiling that you were sure you had not turned off as Nami was still working on her logbook. Or maybe…just maybe it was the body floating in the air right on top of you with the figure of a man but the head of a pelican and in place of the eyes, round glassed darkened black like the coal, rims smeared in blood that slowly trickles towards the beak. The rest of the body is covered in a black robe that appears to be being burned, with flesh and bones peeking through the charred fabric. A moment finally arrives when the entire being is registered in your mind and the first drop of fear drops into the pool of your resting brain. The next second you are gasping for air, trying to scream but nothing coming out of your throat. Your eyes are unable to move away from the creature as the distance between the two of you closes, only tearing up at the helplessness your brain is frozen in. And just then, like a secondary reflex, your body jerks you awake, making you get up where you sleep and wheeze for air. Your arms are trembling as they try to support you while you catch your breath. The night air makes you feel chills on your sweat-laden skin. Your eyes are fresh with tears. Your shallow breaths are only making things worse. Nami and Kozuki are sleeping next to you. But your eyes go to the door. Within seconds you are out, running into the freezing night barefoot till you find a clearing behind the cottages and take in a lungful of that ice-cold air. Another reason you pause amid your desperate dash is the familiar figure sitting on the wooden settee in the clearing, turning his head up to look at you with no emotions. “Y/N.” The figure gets up and takes a cautious step towards you. “Itachi,” there is a sigh of relief in your voice.

That too is taken away from you when you spot the ominous shadow from your nightmare behind the ex assassin.

Instinct.

The comedy of it is that it makes the weakest creature do the wildest things when cornered. So, with no further thoughts and a ‘NO’ reverberating through your chest, you jump at Itachi to push him away from the path of whatever devil is proceeding from behind him, leading you to open your eyes back inside the cottage, Nami and Kozuki sleeping next you. .

There is an endless stream of tears coming down your cheeks as you guardedly walk towards the clearing at the back of the cottages and come across the familiar wooden settee.  Your heart is pounding harder than it already has when you find Itachi sitting there with his back to you.  Oh, merciful Lord of the land of Fire! Please do not let this be an endless nightmare. A tearful sniffle makes Itachi turn around and stare at you in confusion. “Y/N?” Your first instinct when he does that is to carefully scrutinise the surroundings for any pelican-headed jump-scares. Itachi observes the fresh tears dripping down your cheeks as you are looking in every direction in a fearful frenzy. He also notices the lack of a jacket or anything warm to cover up the night shirt and pajamas you are wearing; or the lack of slippers. He does not miss the quick rise and fall of your shoulders either.  “Are you okay?” Your voice is coarse yet filled with heavy concern, which is a mild surprise for the infamous former Akatsuki feared by nations all over the world.

It is mild; compared to the hit he takes from blazing concern that radiates from your wet eyes shining under the moonlight. He is unable to move for one-tenth of a second, which can soil his reputation of being born with a quick wit faster than black lightning. “It is cold outside,” he finally announces to you before walking towards the cottages, “let me walk you back to y-“ His words stop as he feels a tug on his cloak, turning around to find your shaking fingers holding on to him. .

“Do we have the privacy?” “Yes. No one can hear us in this radius.” Kakashi exhales and sits down right on the roof of the cottage where he has been squatting for the past hour. “Well, this is more tiring than I imagined,” he announces his frustration a little louder, looking up at the starry night sky. Not getting a response from Itachi, he brings his knees up to rest his arms on them and looks down in Itachi’s direction. With Itachi’s back towards him, he can see how your laid-down figure has taken the better share of the settee while your head rests on Itachi’s thigh. You are curled up on the cold surface and Itachi has made sure to cover you up in his warm cloak, head to toe. Itachi is stoic as ever, not moving an inch. Just observing. Kakashi rests his face in his palm. “Wanna switch places if you’re tired?” “Did you know she could do that?” Itachi replies with a question. “….do what?” “See the souls of the tailed beasts.” Silence. Kakashi eventually sighs. “I know that you know there was a reason she was brought on this mission, Itachi. And it was not to keep the Bamboo villagers some company.” A swirl of breeze passes through the clearing behind the bamboo trees. “There is a reason this capability is talked about only as a legend, Kakashi. And we now know for a fact that Y/N has caught the eyes of some curious humans at the table tonight.” Itachi looks down at your face, noticing your parted lips and light snores that were telling him you were finally getting the much-needed sleep. “Curious enough to try and trap you in a Genjutsu,” he whispers to himself, not realising he is moving stray hair strands away from your face and carefully placing them behind your ear. “I’m surprised she was able to break away from two layers of Gen-Jutsu within a minute,” Kakashi mentions with an air of pride, “I have misjudged her capabilities.” “So did the attacker,” Itachi chimes in with just a hint of sourness, “this time.” Itachi is about to say something when you suddenly flinch and gasp in your sleep, making him flinch a little as well.  Kakashi tilts his head in curiosity as he watches a frozen Itachi calculate for an elongated moment where to land his hands on your body to gently pat you back to a peaceful slumber. “….I think she will be safe,” Kakashi announces eventually. “I’m suddenly worried about the attacker,” he whispers to himself with a smirk hiding under his mask as he watches Itachi Uchiha gently pat your shoulder in a periodic rhythm while keeping a watch out for anything that could cause a disturbance.

[secretagentsociety]

Writing ideas pt 4?3?idk

Sumary : a yandere roommate who's obsessed with your best friend,one day you find his shrine dedicated to her,promising to help him capture her heart you start helping him around,but the plan changes halfway

tw : yandere nonsense,little angst(if you squint enough) and comfort,fluff

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When he first accepted your help he never thought it'd end up like this,he always thought you're a thron on his side afterall you're one of the closest person to his darling and he hated it but since you're helping him,he tolerates you

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So when does this feeling starts? Why is it now that he's standing here with his supposed 'darling' Infront of him confessing being a blushing mess,why isn't it making him happy?,why is it he find himself wishing in her stead was you instead ?

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"so did you accept her confession?"

"...."

"nah who am I kidding, you're like crazzzeee for her,ofcourse you d-"

"I didn't"

hearing that you almost dropped your mug your brows forrow in together as you sat right besides him putting an arm over his shoulder as means of comfort,subconsciously he leaned in closer taking a deep breath

"hey... something wrong?" You asked

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he tried,he really tried to like her back like he used to but nothing worked!,and he's frustrated in himself, he's supposed to worship her!love her with all his heart and only have her only!,for gods sake he's been obsessed with her for years!! So why?! Why?why?why?! can't he just embrace her like he did with you?!

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This is it... tonight's the night he will finally set everything back to it's rightful course,he stood at the end of your bed knife at hand just staring at you,his hand trembled a little his face showed disgust yet despite that his heart couldn't help but swell up in adoration this feeling....he know it oh so well and he hated it

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He stood there in the rain with an umbrella at hand Infront of him is his 'darling' she stared at him smiling, shouldn't he be happy with this? it's everything he wanted,like the tale his mother told him about on how she and his father confessed,they were drenched in the rain kissing each other like there's no tomorrow this is the exact perfect time for him to finally in your words 'woo her'

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You sighed staring outside of the window with a book at hand, it's a bit sad if you think about it,helping your crush get with your best friend,you cursed yourself right at this moment,tonight is the night as he said it where he will finally get his 'darling' to accept him,"well atleast the sunset was beautifu-"

"Y/N!!" you heard from outside

shocked you stopped mid sentence eyes widending as you stared outside the window

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The door slammed close behind you as you ran towards him drenched in the rain

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HER-"

"am I too late?!" he asked

"wha-?"

"I heard you say the thing!"

"what thing?!"

"sunset thing!"

"how?!!"

"i-its not important!am I?!"

"um no!I guess!"

you could barely hear his voice from the heavy rain,why were you standing here in his arm?why is he here?what happened?!

"Why are y-hmp!!"

!!

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He woke up in the morning staring at his favourite view,your peaceful sleeping face as you softly hugged him,god he could never get tired of the view

kiss.

"wake up"

"five more minutes" you groaned

Kiss.

"my sweet dew drop I know you're tired but you have to wake up"

you groaned rolling over to the other side only to see the face of your child,they stood at the edge of the bed "wake up" they whispered

groaning again you rolled back,only to be bothered by your husband "fine!fine!fine!" You said throwing your arms up "I'm up, I'm up"

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wow a full one shot with decisive ending?how cash money of me to do this

[beegswaz]

OK WOO!!!! JEREMEJEVITE DESIGN BREAKDOWN! KINDA!

This may end up being A long post, so it Will be tagged as such for filtering :) ONWARDS!!!!

Starting this off with her Initial concept sketches! I was trying to figure out what her face should Look like, and I think the left image Was closer to what I wanted, both in how her Hair looks and how her face Looks (even if it's A bit simple)

The singular head horn stuck Around throughout the Entire design! You'll see some attempt passes at Giving her more spikes to fit with Cleos original design, as featured above the sketches :) (the gems were All decided right when I made the document, so Any relation to other fusions is Just a coincidence!)

You can see it in The left sketch, but Originally I tried to Give Jeremejevite Pearls' almost crescent hair swoop, which Stuck around for a good while :) This is the Only other time Jeremejevite will have Long hair too, which goes to Show how little attachment I had to it..

Originally she was Going to be in a sort of Suit, as seen somewhat in the right sketch. This idea instantly fell through, but The pattern on the collar accidentally makes A resurgence in her Final design!

Her technical first finished design! This is where I ironed out a lot of ideas you'll See later on, like gem placements, rough colour scheme, limbs, and Her split-dyed hair!

...As noted to the right of her, this Design was WAYYYY too Cleo-heavy, I was basically just Turning her MC skin into A gem! I hastily tried to Make up for that with Scotts' coat-thing and Pearls' sleeves, which..... Somehow made Jeremejevite look MORE like Cleo..???

This is the last time you'll Ever see her with long hair, or With two eyes on Her faces left half, among some other things (Like the Shirt from Cleos' MC skin)

Right after this I made a test sketch before Asking for help from my mutuals/followers.

RIGHT HERE was when I decided she would have Short hair (That... Ended up getting Shorter the more I drew her..?)

The fur collar goes Kind of hard, I won't lie, but I am still very happy with What I ended up with. Around here I was still trying to mix Pearl, Scott, and Cleos' designs, which had... varying Success rates.

AND HERE IS THE DESIGN MY FRIEND @biggitybugs MADE! You all should follow it btw, he helped me A ton with figuring out this design, and also its art is amazing <3

You can see a few things that made it Into the final design! Namely the top, the hair and skin Colour, and the Boots! This was also when I realised I used too much red/pink in The original design (Though I don't believe I remedied that in The final design..)

A sketch of her second design! (Third, if we're Counting bugs design) I started straying away from Mixing the three gems designs and instead I started making her seem Like her own character.

Some things ended up in the Final design, and you can See I swapped the Side that was "dyed", which is Also carried over to the last Design :)

I ended up turning to Pinterest and Looking up "Alt Fashion" which, barely Helped me, but it Kicked off the Jacket and the weird undershirt gloves! I also looked up "Steven Universe OCs" to see some Other design conventions, but I just ended up scrolling and Looking at the cool Designs..

I did a designing Stream a few days ago where I tried to get more outside Input, and Kayden (@spottedside) ended Up saying she should have chains And a cropped jacket + crop top. Which. Oh My God. I forgot those Weird cropped cut jackets existed and it Changed. Basically everything.

There's not much to Note in these sketches, aside from the small right one being the Most similar to the final design. You can even see the neck Chains!

Aaaand the final design! I still believe I overdid the red and maroon, but I think this design is ACTUALLY the better of the 3 (4?). I could still stand to Edit this design, but I am currently happy with where I am. However, I implore anyone who wants to To edit this design with their own tweaks! Just, yk, credit me Somewhere for the initial design :)

And no, the chains and cuffs Don't mean anything, they're just dope. (Do you see what I meant about the First sketches collar design Making a reappearance?)

[winterspiderpurrs]

Part 1 listed in the link above!

Part 2:

Sighing as Tony hung up the phone in his office. Widow just confirmed that Winter and her were almost here to hand over the information he requested. Though they wanted to question Peter first. Which irritated Tony, but if it will help solve the mystery of who knocked up Peter, he would allow it. Anything to help protect his family.

It's been a few hours since Stephen showed up, the equipment delivered, ultrasound down, images printed. 100% confirmed that his little bambino was pregnant. Atleast Peter was almost done with getting his doctorate and this won't hinder his career. As if Stephen would allow that. If he could start going into labor while operating its sure as he'll that Peter could keep up with his lab work. [As long as extra safety precautions were made cause of the pregnancy]

Walking up the stairs to Peter's old bedroom, he thinks of how this is so similar to how he found out he was going to be a father the first time. At a charity event for the local hospital all those years ago. Ego met ego when he met Stephen. He never met an omega that was so Alpha like. They carried on their tic for tac into a heated night that lasted til morning. It was 4 months later when Stephen showed up at the restaurant where he hosts meetings at times for reality of that night comes rushing back. Tony had already had the business set up for Harley to take over. While he still acts young, Tony knows at some point he would be too old to keep going. He never thought he would have a family of his own. He rushed to make sure that even if Stephen didn't want to raise the baby, he would take care of anything. Moved him in and doing his best to woo the Omega. It was a year after Peter was born that they officially became a bonded pair.

They set it up where Peter's address and "guardianship" would be under his god mothers ' Aunt May' to help alleviate attention that he was Tony Starks omega son. He went to the best private school in Queens, distancing him for the Manhattan area as best as he could. Safety was the biggest priority that Stephen stressed for his pups. Yes, pups. Surprise, surprise, when Peter was 16, Stephen ended up pregnant, again shocking the family. Miss Morgan Strange was born. Peter absolutely dotted on his alpha little sister.

Sighing one more time before opening the door to the bedroom, Tony paused before smiling. At the center of the bed was Peter snuggling up to Stephen on the bed. Stephen gently combing his fingers through his hair. They were whispering to each other, " and if they are fools and don't want anything to do with them. We will always take care of you and the pups. Family is important." Stephen stopped talking, looking over at Tony in the doorway. Tony cleared his throat. " Pete... I'm sorry for... reacting how I did. I was just worried... Widow and Winter are headed over with information for us. They want to talk to you first if you won't mind meeting them down in the study. "

Peter's eyes widen, he has met Natasha, and she was practically an older sister/aunt to him. He has only heard of rumors about Winter.

Stephen and Peter untangle from each other before getting out of bed to head downstairs following behind Tony. Once downstairs, Peter goes into the study while Stephen stays out in the hallway with Tony. Not long after, Natasha shows up with Winter, aka James 'Bucky' Barnes, and shockingly Steve Rogers. Tony frowning. " Winter, I know you know that I tolerate your... choice in mate. But we really dont need goody twoshoes getting involved in this... private matter. " Steve frowns before opening his mouth, but Bucky beats him in addressing Tony." Don't worry, Stark, Steve here has recon in the area... once we confirm a few details, things will get sorted. In the study, Natalia said?" Bucky nods toward the door of the study.

Tony says and waves his hand. " Yeah, yeah. Go easy on him. No unnecessary stress. Nat introduce?" Natasha nods and goes to the study, opening the door and smiles " Oh my little spider, I have some friends here that need to talk with you" she waves Bucky and Steve over and the men enter the room but Natasha does not enter and closes the door. Tony frowns and stares at her. " Why you let Winter bring his Alpha with him? Do you want to stress Peter out more? Also lack luster introductions- he has never met Winter. Only heard of him and not even a warning? And why are you looking at me like that, Stephen?"

Eyebrow raised as Stephen stared at Tony, eyes flickering toward the door and then back at Tony. Blinking Tony looks at the door and then back at Stephen. Stephen tilts his head and looks at the door before back at Tony again. Frowning, he looks at Natasha, who's blocking the door. Then it clicks. Two Alphas. Natasha could have just brought him the names. There's no need to bring Winter over here.

He started to stutter in disbelief before the anger rolled back in. He growled loud and rushed the door. Thankfully, Natasha moved to side, but she had a unbuckled the gun from her holster. " Don't do anything stupid Tony. You have to think of Peter." Blinded be rage at the audacity that these two Alphas picked HIS child to fuck with? Tony rips the door open and off its hinge. " The fuck is the meaning of this!?" But Tony deflates at the scene infront of him.

Inside of the study on the couch was Steve with Peter on his lap, looking at the sonogram photo, a dopey smile on his lips, arm wrapped around him. Bucky was kneeling on the ground in front of the pair, nuzzling up again Peter's stomach, gentle rumbles coming from him with his arms wrapped around them.

Well shit.

*********------***********-------***********

So.... it's been a month since I typed up Part 1 and it's not where I want it to be. But kept thinking about it and just had to get it out.

Hopefully you like it @professional-benaddict and @no-name-for-me since yall said ya wouldn't mind a part 2!

[zippidi-dooda]

Chapter: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,

7 - Malleus

A soapy scent permeated the air, bubbles decorated the floor, and your and Lucas' deep breaths rang through the house. 

Your skirts were bunched up, sleeves rolled, and hair tied. On your knees, you scrubbed the wooden floors thoroughly. After this, there was only the dusting left.

Though you may leave that all up to Lucas so you could start cooking for you both.

Lucas didn't particularly like cleaning but he always did it when you asked. Often, he tired to make a game out of it. Like now.

He laughed boisterously as he slid across the slick floors, sponges under his feet. He slipped and fell on his side with a dull thud, but merrily stood back up and slid towards spots on the floor that were still dry.

"Mom! Watch this!" He slid next to the couch and held onto its arm to keep himself up. "I'm gonna do three circles around the couch and if I don't fall I get fifty points! Ready? Mom? Are you watching, Mom? You gotta tell me when to go."

You let out a puff of air and sat back on your heels. "Be careful, Lucas."

"Mom!"

"Okay. Ready, get set, go!"

With that, Lucas took off sliding. He held onto the edge of the couch as he did his laps, helping him safely make the turns.

You cheered, smiling tiredly, "Woo-hoo, you did it! Go Lucas! Fifty points!" 

Your son beamed with pride as he came to a stop.

"I did it! I did it!"

"Yeah you did, good job, baby. Now, let's keep cleaning okay? We're almost done."

"Watch me do it without holding anything this time!"

"What?"

"Ready, go!"

"No, Lucas! Wait!"

You're cry came too late and you watched as Lucas raced around the couch. He started off strong, sliding with ease, but as he tried to make a turn, the floor proved too slippery for his control and he fell on his side, hurling towards the open closet.

You squeezed your eyes shut and winced, expecting to hear the resounding clatter of heavy boxes, buckets, and pans falling all over him

But to your confusion, and relief, it never came. All you heard was Lucas' yelp of surprise turn into a stunned, "Huh?"

You opened your eyes to find the boy hovering in midair slowly floating towards the couch for a seat.

"Lucas? H-how are you . . . ?"

"Coool! Mom, I can fly! Weeee! Huh? Ugh, ugh, I want to go that way! C'mon fly that way!"

"Are ... are you okay?" Confused and concerned, you stood up and started towards him.

"He is fine. I made sure to stop him before the crash, didn't I?"

You jumped at the voice coming from behind you. The still wet floor worked against you, just as it had Lucas, and you nearly fell, "Ahh!"

Nearly.

Luckily, in one smooth movement, you were caught before you could get hurt.

And who else would've caught you by surprise like that than none other than the horned prince that's begun frequenting you.

"Draconia?"

The fae chuckled. "You humans are quite clumsy."

"Dad! Dad, I can fly, look at me!" Lucas shouted waving his arms wildly.

"I'm afraid it's not flying, rather it-"

"I can't  hear you lala la lala la! Woosh! Pow, take that pillow!"

Malleus could only blink in response. Of all the people he's been around, Lucas was the last person he expect to ignore him so blatantly.

"Lucas! Ah sorry, Draconia, he's just ... well, Lucas." You tried to explain. "What are you doing here?"

His eyes suddenly narrowed, directed at you, and he frowned.

"Why? Am I not welcome here either?" He prickled.

Chills trailed down your spine at the cold gaze so close in proximity to you.

So close in fact that you could feel his breath against your skin and his chest against yours, as he still hadn't released his hand from your waist since he'd caught you.

"That's ... not what I ...."

With eyes unable to stray away from his angry, yet alluring gaze, a hand lowered slowly, intending to remove his gloved one from your body, only to rest upon it.

Through his eyes, you watched his emotion shift to a softer one as they trailed to your touching hands.

You breaths quickened the longer you stood still like that. You wanted to pull away, or at least finish your sentence, but found yourself unable to do anything other than stay still. And whether it was due to fear or something else, you couldn't tell.

"Hey! I can't get down! Help!"

Lucas' voice pulled you back to your senses and you pulled yourself away from Malleus to face your child.

"H-hang on, Lucas. Uh, Draconia, can you?"

He nodded, waved his hand, and Lucas was set on the cushions of the couch.

"Well, you're fine without me, so I'll just be going then-"

"W-wait!" Knowing he'd likely dissappear in a blink of an eye, you shot out to grab his arm to keep him from going.

But ... why did you try to keep him here?

He looked at you with an arched brow and as quickly as you reached for him, you let go.

"Y-you're welcome to stay. I just was curious is all. Though we are cleaning and I have to cook soon, so maybe you would like to go."

Pleased with your clarification, the man smiled proudly.

"I don't mind. I can help." 

And in a snap, literally, the cleaning supplies around you began to do their jobs themselves, hopping merrily to-and-fro.

"Wow! Mom, they're dancing!"

"Y-yeah."

"What would you like to eat?"

"Oh, no, I'll make it don't worry, Draconia."

"Are you sure? I can have it ready better than any of your slow methods."

You pursed your lips and narrowed your eyed at his quip. You weren't sure if he meant it to come off as a kind offer or if he was just explaining your differences due to your lack of magic, but either way it just sounded rude. 

"Thanks, but I seriously got it."

He hummed in response.

"Just, stay here. Play with Lucas."

You made your way to the kitchen, dancing around a sweeping broom on your way, and pulled out the ingredients you needed. 

You droned out the pair's chatter as you cooked, taking in the aromas wafting though the air and fully engrossing yourself in the meal. 

Putting one hundred percent of your focus on any one thing (without the need to worry if someone was going to run into, or cause, trouble) was a luxury you had lost long ago, and although cooking wasn't your top favorite past time, you were thoroughly enjoying getting to put your all into it.

And if it weren't for Malleus, you had to admit, this wouldn't have happened.

Hm.

Maybe ...?

Maybe if Malleus was around more, you could get to try some old hobbies again?

That'd be nice, right...?

You shook your head and refocused on your cooking. 

You appreciated Malleus for being so kind to outsiders like Lucas and you, of course, but having him around all the time was asking too much.

For him to be around more, you'd need to be something more. You two only ran into each other from time to time. He was a ruler above all else. Not your personal helper. 

Besides, despite all his kindness he was still a man to be wary of. That one glance from earlier was proof enough. It had you spooked, didn't it?

Right.

So you just had to be greatful whenever he popped by and gave you a chances like this.

The back door opened and you turned towards it.

Lucas ran outside as Malleus stood in the doorframe. Well, by it. His horns made him too tall to stand right in it. You noted how a soft smile graced his lips as he watched your son.

"You know, he's not supposed to be outside."

"He'll face no harm as long as I'm here. Do not worry." He reassured.

"It's not that. He ran off the other day, remember? I have to punish him somehow."

"Oh." Your 'punishment' was much kinder than Lilia's would have been. "I can bring him in then."

You held up a hand. "No, it's fine. He's out there already."

Malleus hummed and turned to you.

By now the cleaning supplies were done and floated back to their rightful places in the closet. If you turned around, you'd see how clean the place was left.

"Draconia? What do you eat?"

He smirked. "Do you think I eat something different than you?"

"Well, I dunno. You're a fae, right? A dragon?"

"You've shared a meal with me before, why curious now? For all you know that food could have been something else entirely and you paid no heed."

You grimaced at the thought.

"It wasn't. That food was exactly what it looked like."

"That's not very reassuring now."

He walked over to you, leaning against the counter, watching.

You could hear his breathing among the sizzling pan and Lucas' laughter. It really was no different than your own.

"I suppose I favor ice cream more than anything."

You looked at him in surprise. "'Ice cream?'"

"Yes," he touched a slender finger to his lips. "When I breath fire, my mouth gets too hot. Ice cream is effective in cooling it down."

You shivered as you imagined him breathing that telltale green fire he was depicted with in stories. All the destruction it had often caused. You hoped you never had to witness it in person.

Especially not here. In this secluded, flammable cabin. In the midst of a large wood and grass.

You tried go change the subject before you made yourself more paranoid. "Draconia?"

"Hm?"

"What did you do today?"

He huffed and turned away, an irked expression spreading on his defined features.

Although the action was very familiar (and annoying), you couldn't help but be fixated on it.

What would make him of all people act in such a way?

"Everything I'm supposed to. I tried to join Lilia during his music practice for once but he kicked me out. On top of that, Silver and Sebek went to town without alerting me they'd be gone, which is highly unusual for them, especially Sebek, by the way. And now I'm here." He huffed.

You could practically hear the pout on his lips. 

Perhaps you should have been more cautious, but you couldn't help laughing out loud. "Pfft! Hahaha!"  This fearsome being was acting no different than a grumpy child would.

Other than having magic, he was no different than you. Or anyone else for that matter.

Seeing such a human emotion spew from him made you feel a little more at ease. It was refreshing.

Malleus sent you an icy glare. "What's so amusing?"

"S-sorry! You just, you sound like a little kid! Do you feel ignored, Malleus? Are you lonely?" You turned off the stove and set the sirring spoon down.

His frown deepened and you could hear thunder rumble outside. No doubt it was caused by him.

You cupped his cheeks, massaging his cheekbones gently with your thumbs.

"Aw, are you mad now? I'm sorry, I'm being mean and teasing you. Don't worry, baby, I'm right here." You hugged him, pulling him against your shoulder, mindful of his horns, and rubbed his back soothingly. "Tell you what, I'll make some cake too and you can lick the spoon to make you feel better, okay? How's that sound?"

Malleus didn't answer.

He was, once again, too stunned to speak.

You were acting so strangely towards him. Like a playful mother to their upset child. You even called him baby!

It was deeply embarrassing to say the least, but, at the same time, he couldn't help but notice the warmness flooding through him. That pleasant warmth caused by your gentle touch and caring attention.

"Y/N?"

"Hm?" You looked down at him.

The smile on your face faded into a look of mortification as you processed what you just did.

You quickly released him and took a step back.

He stood in place, an expression you couldn't name stuck on him. His eyes were locked on you.

"I. Am. So. Sorry. I shouldn't have done that, I know. It's just, you reminded me of Lucas so I-I kinda just, y-you know. Motherly instincts? Uhm."

He wasn't doing anything.

Why wasn't he doing anything!

You didn't know what else to say, what else to do, so, "L-Lucas! The food's ready! Get in here!"

You tried acting like it didn't happen.

You turned and grabbed out plates and silverware. You held your breath, face burning as you felt Malleus' large hand on your shoulder. You peeked at him from the corner of your eye.

He was smiling smugly.

"Y/N. No need to fret. It did not upset me."

"... A-are you sure?"

He nodded and raised an elegant finger, causing the plates to float from your grasp and fill themselves with food.

"You truly are naive."

You frowned at that and followed him to the dinner table as Lucas ran inside.

"Gee, thanks." Your shame ebbed away, at the cost of what appeared as an insult to you, but you no longer felt like running away and hiding.

You'd be able to go through with this shared meal much easier.

"Can we eat outside Mom?" Lucas asked, tugging on your long skirt.

"Sure, bud. I need fresh air anyways."

The three of you went outside, sitting on the grass, and listened to Lucas tell some made up (he claims they happened for real) adventures he went on.

The longer you sat together, the more comfortable you became and what happened inside just moments ago didn't seem as big of a deal as it first had.

By the time Malleus left, it was no longer a worry in your head.

"In Ruins" Masterlist

[ageless-aislynn]

I still can't launch Mass Effect: Andromeda without my computer going

💀No thanks💀

but at least the MCC can still launch and play (most of the time 👀). So I've been working on some solo achievements that I didn't think I would be able to get, namely the par scores. I went through and tried some of my favorite levels of Halo 2, 3, and Reach (sorry, 4, there is no level of you that I enjoy playing to that degree 🤷‍♀️ and I already have the ones on CE and ODST that I wanted to try for) and was actually able to get them! 🥳🥳🥳

And then. I realized I had 5 of the 9 levels of Reach, by FAR the most par scores than on any other game. And so I decided to try for "We'll Be Back" Beat the par score on every Halo: Reach level.

If you've ever tried this, well, either you're going

or you're just a much better player than I am, lol. Par score means you have to beat the par time but on a higher difficulty with tougher enemies and you can't just run by everybody, you've got to take 'em out to get the points.

"The Pillar of Autumn" was one that I'd struggled to get the par time on before (and that was on Easy so... 👀) but I got the par score on the second try. 🥳 That was a total shock!

I thought I'd get stalled on "Long Night of Solace" but I've gotten much better at the sabre section and blasted my way to victory after a few tries. (It was actually the fight on the Covvie ship after that that kept delaying me until the par time ran out and then your points begin frickin' to roll backwards to practically 0, ARGH.)

But then: "Exodus" and "The Package."

If those two levels just brought fear to your heart, then yeah, you've tried this achievement before.

ZOH MAH GUH. These levels are sooooo long *that's what she said joke goes here* 😜 and require stupidly high amounts of points: "Exodus" 20 minutes par time, 30,000 par score, "The Package" 20 minutes par time, 65,000 par score.

I didn't even get remotely close to par time or score my first dozen attempts at both of these levels. I tried different combinations of Normal + a bunch of skulls to raise the difficulty and Heroic + fewer skulls. I finally went with Heroic + fewer for "Exodus" annnnd after many, many times jetpacking my way to absolute failure trying to do the mid-level fight skip, I would make it to the last battle and my score would drain out because I went past the par time.

😑

That was legit my expression.

But then, I kept working at it, got better at doing the skip. Figured out how to jetpack up the building to do another skip (there's a trick to briefly stopping your jetpack halfway up, then starting again that will - eventually after much trial and error, falling to your death and cursing like a sailor 🤬😇😉 - let you get up to a higher place than you technically can in one jetpack burst). Then it was a matter of optimizing that final fight section where you have to activate two switches, then a final third. I died SO MANY TIMES trying to get to that last switch. Then I discovered you can jetpack up the outside of the room, go through the window, try not to get ABSOLUTELY OBLITERATED by the Hammer Chieftain Brute waiting for you, and hit the switch! I finally made the par score, woo-hoo!!!

And that left "The Package" and its monstrous 65,000 par score.

Playing on Normal with almost all of the skulls, despite seeing Youtube guides of other people managing it easily, just didn't work for me. I couldn't get nearly enough points. So I finally had to go with Heroic and almost all of the skulls on. That was painful but better than trying Legendary with no skulls and then I'd get my face melted off in the first section with the two turrets, the sniper Jackal with the focus rifle, the two fuel-rod Grunts and the 2 Grunts in the Ghosts. MY ABSOLUTE WORD, FRENS. My face got melted off SO MUCH. 😑

I learned speedrunning tricks I'd only heard of before and never thought to even try. I figured out how to run up the frickin' center support columns and do weird curving crouch jumps to 2 platforms just to avoid fighting a ginormous bunch of Jackals. I did the bounce trick where you sprint onto a sculpture, bounce up to a higher point on it, then jump for the window, crash through it and get to the Halsey's lab firefight without having to fight the camo Elites and that one Really Annoying General Elite™ with the concussion rifle.

(GAHHHHHHH, that dude blasted me SO MANY TIMES. And if throws a plasma grenade in your general direction? GOODBYE. HE DOES NOT MISS.)

You lose the points from those fights but if you're struggling for par time and you're already at about 50k points or so going into the firefight section, it was worth it.

I can't record but here are the 2 tricks at 3:46 and 4:36 (I had to jump to the higher level of the sculpture and crash through the window more to the left, I couldn't do it in one jump like Vodred does but I still could eventually make it about 3 out of 4 times, depending on if a camo Elite spawned standing RIGHT IN MY PATH. 😑)

I finally made it through to the Halsey's lab section at under 10 minutes. The following firefight is almost impossible to speed through at less than 10 minutes on its own because you have to wait for each wave of enemies to come in before you can clear them.

(I saw the world record holder do some amazing speedrun tricks to destroy the Phantoms as they come in to bring the enemies but, yeah, it was taking so long to try to learn that, I finally figured it was faster just to figure out how to fight them more efficiently.)

I did learn to reliably hijack a Banshee in mid-air thanks to my cool new jetpacking skills learned on "Exodus," at least. 😉

And then I got shot out of the sky SO MANY TIMES by those dang Jackals and Grunts and their overcharged plasma pistols. MY WORD. I worked a few different strategies, changing the Banshee for the Wraith and finishing the level like that or choosing to destroy the Wraith for the points and stay more maneuverable in the Banshee. I honestly thought the second strat was going to be the one that worked for me but MY STARS THOSE OVERCHARGED PLASMA PISTOLS ARRRGH.

I would get an enormous amount of points - once over 120k! - only to watch it drain to 16k because I couldn't finish the level even close to the par time. I was so sad on that one, frens, I can't even. 😭😭😭

But then, last night, I decided to try one last run before I went off to try to become a slightly more productive member of society. 😜 And I fought my little heart out, doing a combo of speedrun tricks and stand-and-fight to get points. And I out of the corner of my eye, I saw the timer at 19 minutes and change and the last wave was just dropping. 😱 I had over 110k points at this time but would start losing them quickly once we reached 20 minutes.

I was in the Wraith, which is powerful but moves slooooowly, down at the bottom of the map to take out the first of the last 3 Phantoms. I mortar bombed the other Wraith just as it was dropped off. I sped as fast as my Wraith could go - approximately the speed of molasses sliiiiiding down a hill in the sunlight 😑 - back up the map. I mortar bombed THE HECK out of everybody in the middle, trying desperately to be not only fast but to catch them grouped together for the multi-kill bonus points I knew I was going to need to inflate my score as high as possible against the going over par time penalty.

I see the timer hit 20, then 21. I stop looking and decide just to finish the fight™ (Master Chief John-117 😇😉) and see how close I could get.

I hear Dr. Halsey say, "Well done, Spartans. I'm opening the laboratory door," which is your cue to go and push the button (why the rest of Noble Team, who are STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO THE BUTTON can't do that on their own, I DUNNO). I have an Elite dancing around my mortar bombs as I'm Wraithing my way slooooowly towards the door. I glance down and see I have 90K POINTS LEFT, ZOMG. I do this stupid panic jump out of the Wraith without killing the Elite.

He starts shooting me. I JETPACK INTO THE SKY for some reason because I apparently forgot I have the jetpack on and not the sprint, lol.

He's still shooting at me. My shields are lighting up. I'm awkwardly jetpacking straight at Carter, mentally begging my beloved Noble One TO SAVE ME.

I land behind him and he provided accidental cover for me, actually getting shot by the Elite in my place.

Carter, my beloved.

ANYWAY, I'm doing this SUPER AWKWARD jetpack bursting hop thing towards that dang button because I again have forgotten I DON'T HAVE SPRINT RIGHT NOW, GEEZ. I hear the enemy Wraith on the platform behind me launch a mortar bomb and know that it CAN HIT ME WHERE I'M AT.

Ask me how I know. 😑

But this time, my awkward jetpacking meant I got to the button before the mortar got there and YES YES YES!

🥳

Annnnd here are the other par scores I got since I started trying for them last month. (And yes, when I can't sleep, I play Halo. 👀 Don't be an insomniac if you can help it, frens. 😴😉)

So, now I feel like I've accomplished something pretty special, even more than just getting the Legendary achievements because... Wait.

I wonder...? 🤔🤔🤔 I mean, Reach on Legendary is no party. *points up to that part where I mentioned getting my face melted* This would be a Legendary speedrun but I've learned a LOT of speedrunning tricks and there are a lot of really good guides out there...

Hm, maybe not. 😑😂

If you read all of this, thank you. I just mainly wanted to share my happiness at having gotten that achievement and since I couldn't include fun GIFs or video clips of it, I had to just be wordy. 🤷‍♀️

Have a cookie, from my heart to yours.

Now with 2000% more screencaps!

[zer0expektation]

I rewatched Loki (and got progressively angrier), here are the highlights:

(featuring my queer analysis/rewrites hehe)

Episode 1

22:03 - “if looks could kill” Mobius ab and to Loki

22:05 - “What do you want from me?” “Well, let's start with a little cooperation.” “Not my forte” “really? Even when you’re wooing someone powerful you intend to betray? Come on.” Mobius and Loki - GAY

24:35 - “I am smart.” “I know.” “okay…” “.. okay” actual weirdos

Episode 2

5:13 - Loki ‘reading’ Mobius’s jet ski magazine hehehehe

14:03 - “Look, I know you have a soft spot for broken things.” Ravonna to Mobius as he talks about why he should be allowed to keep Loki alive

16:30 - Loki adjusting Mobius’s tie as he talks about how ‘adorable’ it is that Mobius thinks he can manipulate him, because hes a freak

24:34 - “Loki, i've studied almost every moment of your entire life” Mobius literally what is with you

24:53 - Pompeii scene my beloved

Episode 3

7:16 - “don't ever call me that” “Tech savvy?” “no, a Loki.” Sylvie and Loki silly funny sibling behaviour

22:15 - “You’re a prince. Must’ve been would-be-princesses or perhaps, another prince.” “A bit of both. I suspect the same as you.” ah the beloathed line that haunts my nightmares

31:28 - “y’know, i feel like i've told you so much about me, i really don't know the first thing about you.” yeah ‘cause there is LITERALLY NOTHING TO LEARN ABOUT HER Sylvie is so badly written it actually kills me

Episode 4

7:26 - “like me being born the Goddess of Mischief” - Sylvie is arrested by the TVA for having been born a girl, and presumably that later meaning that if she wanted to she could become a Valkyrie if she wanted to - which i'm fairly certain it's mentioned that Loki wanted to be a Valkyrie when he was younger. This is actually so fucking stupid. The file on our Loki variant states that they were born with a “fluid” sex (whatever the fuck that means), and we are to assume that a lot of parts of variants are intrinsically the same between each other, so you’d assume that Sylvie would also be born with a “fluid” sex

10:07 - Loki and Sylvie are finally bonding by discussing what “makes a Loki a Loki” and Loki insisting that its their collective ability to survive - of course they have to be fucking weird about it which causes a Nexus event, because plot i guess

11:00 - i hate that we don't get to actually see Loki and Sylvie get picked up

12:39 - isn't it a little fun, a little silly, that the bad memory Loki is stuck in is Sif saying “I hope you know you deserve to be alone and you always will be”

17:17 - it's interesting however that it doesn't really hit for Loki until after hes admitted that he does things for attention because he's scared of being alone - BUT i don't like that that is probably reason that the writers had for him falling for Sylvie, him thinking that because she is like him that she has similar fears and thus wouldn't do something to lose that companionship, rather instead it would have been interesting in its use to how Loki has inexplicably grown attached to Mobius of all people (especially because it is immediately followed by Mobius coming in)

15:27 - “aren’t you supposed to be interrogating your variant pet?” r15 to Mobius

19:11 - “I'm going to miss these little tete-a-tetes.” “Me too.” mocking from Mobius, a bit more genuine from Loki

20:59 - “you like her.” Mobius to Loki about Sylvie - im going to kill myself

22:14 - “your female self” good god im going to drown myself its so bad - neither Loki nor Sylvie should be considered a male or female version of the other, because they are both NEITHER male or female, they are both “fluid” in sex - the writers clearly did not know, nor give a fuck about the queerness of Loki and the character it actually makes me want to tear my own head off

34:26 - okok, i think it's fun and a little silly that Loki has a big reaction to Mobius being pruned, one that's harder for him to conceal than the one when he's told that Sylvie’s been pruned - but also, a bit nitpicky here i know, it's really dumb that he's just standing there, he doesn't even try to reach out to Mobius to move him out of the way or anything

41:18 - the “No, i have to tell you something” & “back on lamentis…. This is new for me.” & grabbing Sylvie’s shoulders - clearly supposed to set up the idea that Loki has some-fucking-how fallen for Sylvie (which is dumb as even worse written than most straight relationships) and wants to tell her now? For some reason? HOWEVER, it could have so easily been (and would have been better) instead, him trying to tell her that he trusts her and sees her as a partner in crime and a friend. Because that's the whole thing, right? Loki is scared of being alone, and yet doesn't do friends, and doesn't do partners, because he knows that he will always be alone anyways. The nexus event is him finding solace in the fact that he will die beside a friend rather than alone like he's always known he would. But nooo selfcest is definitely better than meaningful friendships, why dont you fucking kill me for thinking otherwise. Anyways he gets pruned here anyways so L Loki, fucking loser.

Episode 5

Unrelated but where the hell did the Lokis get their clothes - like, i get Sylvie because shes been fucking off all over the timeline for a long time, but everyone in the void? Why do they have their clothes

Again it seriously kills me that Sylvie has no character - no likes, no goals outside of destroying the TVA, no self-reflection, she's the woman character that is smarter and cooler than her male counterparts because they need to be looked after in order to not be killed

Another note on this, we can get a vague idea of what Loki will want when everything is over - he jokes about wanting to rule an entire universe/timeline, but in reality everyone knows he will just want to go somewhere where he's cared about and seen as equal, somewhere where he won't be alone - but we don't know what Sylvie will want, we cant even conceive an idea, because all we know is that she wants the TVA and whoever controls it gone, and we can assume that she wanted to be a valkyrie when she was little, but we know literally nothing else about her, so we have to assume either her and Loki are going to figure out their paths together, or that she will go off to figure it out on her own and we won't hear or see her again until she has a dumb cameo I think i would respect how little we know about Sylvie if it were a “i've spent so much of my life surviving and fixated on this one thing that i haven't had time to figure out who i am as a person and what i like and what i want after its all over”, but we never get anything like this, at least in any kind of depth that would make it good The Strong Woman trope is what I was looking for

16:04 - “Have any of you met a woman variant of us?” “Sounds terrifying.” i'm going to bash my head against the wall until my brains are crawling out the other side

Whoo president Loki, aka the only version of Loki selfcest i can stand behind, because at least commit to the bit if you're gonna do it

The one black Loki is the overly aggressive one that betrays everyone first, because what else should we expect from hollywood. Fucks sake

I do adore that the Lokis have so easily adopted Mobius within their little group and how good he is at understanding all of them

30:18 - “Mobius isn't so bad” “or so good. I think that's why we get along.” “he cares about you” Sylvie and Loki 

okay, I'm not saying that they should have made Mobius the love interest, however I absolutely am saying that. I personally think that would be far more compelling than the selfcest plot, it wouldn't be out of nowhere like i'm sure some may argue because so much of this show was spent on showing that Mobius is the only person that's been able to truly understand Loki and get a good read on them and Loki views him as a friend despite it all, on the other hand i think the selfcest plotline is absolutely out of nowhere, but its not viewed as such because its portrayed as straight and thus expected, they have little to no romantic chemistry, they have had very very very few scenes where they are interacting positively with each other that aren't surrounded with the fact that they are working together because they have the same goal and are trying to survive and most of those interactions are sandwiched between arguing.  I just think this scene could have easily been about Loki acknowledging that he cares about Mobius in a way that he doesn't think he has anyone else before, Sylvie could make a call back to her mailman, and then Loki can go quiet and amongst that have the blanket thing w/o the strange glances and awkward pauses and then they can discuss betrayal and what they want to do once everything is all over

31:48 - “i dont have friends. I don't have… anyone.” Sylvie - well now you do because thats all that this will be right? :D ← the face of denial

36:47 - “looks like you got away in the end” Mobius to Loki - you are a homosexual

37:09 - the lokius hug & Loki’s face before it

40:48 - “I don't know how” “you do, because we’re the same.” Loki and Sylvie - well you dont fucking say! Gee golly! Who woulda thunk it? Certainly not me, Mr. sylkie-is-selfcest-no-matter-how-you-twist-it. Good god I hate this stupid show.

Episode 6

I hate this show so so much, but i do really like when the silly mascot character that is kind of overlooked as comedic relief turns out to be a vessel for the villain, or at least are more sinister than they first seemed and they just become kind of uncanny and unsettling 

I also really like immortal characters that have been alive for so long that they are truly exhilarated by their end

33:45 - Loki having a “no stop, this isn't you ;(” moment is so funny

34:56 - the grossest moment of the show. Selfcest, ladies and gentlemen!

35:12 - i feel like it is very important to note that sylvie saying “but i'm not you” here, is NOT her denying that her and Loki are the same, just that the experience and feeling that Loki is expressing is not shared

39:49 - “Who are you? What's your name?” Mobius to Loki - sobs it's so upsetting i can't do this - imagine how much more tragic this scene would've been if Mobius was set up as the love interest shm my head stupid fucking show

End :))))

[softshrimpy]

BEEP BEEP BEEP HI HELLO IM JUST HERE TO ✨️✨️✨️✨️SCREAM✨️✨️✨️✨️ THE FUCK OUT MY APPRECIATION FOR THE NEWEST CHAPTER OF ONE (1) BELOVED HOW TO WOO A HOT PRINCIPAL FIC IT WAS LICHERALLY PERFECTION AND I'M SENDING ALL THE GIDDY LEG WIGGLEZ AND SQUEES IM DOING YOUR WAY BC ITS LIKE ALMOST 4 AM ON MY TIME RN AND IM JUST. SO GAYYYYYYYYYY 😳😳😳😳😳

ok but

“I-you. Aren’t I supposed to do all this?” She asks. “Maybe,” you shrug ushering her beneath the covers before turning off the light and sliding in with her. “But you looked pretty boneless there, well done to me for that.” She snorts, laying on her back and taking out the last pins from her hair. When she’s finished you settle your head on her shoulder, draping your arm over her middle and intertwining your legs. “Besides, you deserve to be taken care of too.” You hum, snuggling into her. You soon fall asleep, the most comfortable you’ve been in years. You’re asleep so fast you don’t notice the look of child-like wonder that passes over her face, nor the way her heart stops at your words.

HI HELLO????? LOCAL FILIPINA LESBIAN FOUND ABSOLUTELY FUCKING DECEASED FROM HUGE GAY FEELS 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

IM SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO ANSWER BUT IM ALIVE AGAIN AND IM SO GLAD TO HAVE GIVEN YOU THE FEELS

However pls do not die there is more to come and I LOVE YOU TOO MUCH DONT DIE 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

[redinkofshame]

Woo Wednesday

Formerly known as WIP Wednesday. @thevikingwoman

I meant to post this yesterday, obviously... Instead it ended up being the first day of NaNo that I wrote zero words 😫 I’m so upset with myself

Instead of posting a snippet of what I’ve been working on, I’m going to share a piece I wrote 4 or 5 years ago and never posted! seriously it was forever ago

The Lonely Path

Keria Lavellan, so-called Herald of Andraste, trudged though the blinding snow and howling wind. She did not know how long she’d been in it. Two days at the least, she thought, but it felt like longer. It felt like she’d never known anything but endless snow and wind, ice burn on her face, and numbness everywhere else.

With a hand she could barely feel she lifted her staff, moved it forward, and plunged it into the snow. She could almost hear Solas’ friendly criticism, his constant reminders that using her mage staff as a walking stick only dulled the staffblade on the end.

“Sorry, hahren…”

He was right, she knew. But she did it anyway. Staves were heavy; they might as well help her instead of hinder, even if she did have to resharpen the blade every night, and replace it often.

After the staff came her left foot, then her right. Then again: staff, left, right. Staff, left, right…

“We are the Dalish: keepers of the lost lore, walkers of the lonely path,” she said assertively to no one. “We are the last of the Elvhenan, and never again shall we submit.”

She had to focus on her steps, or else she faltered. Perhaps it had been foolish to give herself up to Corypheus to save the residents of Haven; she was the one with the mark, after all, the only one who could close the rifts. There had been no time for a better plan, though.

So she sacrificed herself to Corypheus, though she did not go down quietly. Down she went, nonetheless, down to a boarded-up tunnel she hadn’t realized was there, falling a long way to the ground below. Perhaps not a tunnel so much as a cave. Whatever it was, it broke her fall as well as her ribs.

To make matters worse, her mark was behaving oddly. Corypheus had done something to it. Admittedly, using it to pull the demons in the cave back into the Fade was a useful change — she was in no condition to fend them off with traditional methods. But the mark acted on its own, saving her life. Handy, that.

Ha. Handy. Because it was on her hand.

No, she needed to focus past the haze. Could you focus past delirium? Solas had called her focus indomitable. She was pretty sure he had other uses in mind, at the time. Kinky, for a hermit. Was she still walking?

Nope. She took another step, and another one after that, stabbing her staff into the ground. Stab, step, step. Stab, step, step.

“I am Dalish, walker of the lonely path. Never again shall I submit.”

Shallow breaths. Breathing hurt. Her ribs were broken, and the frost in the air scorched her lungs. She had to keep breathing gently. Had to keep going. The world needed her mark.

Did the mark need her? Maybe she could cut off her arm and leave it here for them to find. Solas could probably figure out how to use it. Then she could get some rest. Numb as her arm was, it might not even hurt.

Though her only blade was dull from using it for walking. That was no good.

She had no tolerance for pain. She used elfroot for the slightest reasons; parchment cuts or pineneedle sting or monthly cramps. Every injury she’d gotten in battle had been after becoming Herald. She’d never had to fight for her life before that. She hated every new scar. She was lucky Varric had already chosen a nickname for her before all of the Inquisition began teasing her for being weak, or she may have ended up with something far more unflattering than Trouble.

This was her biggest injury yet, she was pretty sure, even if she couldn’t quite feel it. Broken ribs and fractured… Everything? Probably everything.

Her blade made a schk noise, barely audible over the howling wind. Howling wolves? Were wolves hunting her? Their pelts would be warm. Their breath would be warm.

Schnk, trudge, trudge. Schnk, tru—

Keria fell, ankle turning as she tripped on a large rock beneath the snow. She didn’t get up this time. She curled into a ball. She just wanted some rest! She would have cried with frustration is she wasn’t afraid of adding to the ice on her cheeks.

She squeezed her eyes tight, trying to picture being somewhere else, anywhere else. She’d never known cold like this. Up north with her clan was warm. Safe, at home, the creak of the aravels. She could almost smell the campfire as she pictured one of the hahrens telling a story to a circle of little ones as the hunters brought in their daily bounty, the crafters merrily chatting, the sentries watching over them.

The smell also reminded her of the Hinterlands, of firelight flickering off the chiseled face of a mysterious apostate who let her ask a million questions, but never answered the ones she wanted. It would be warm in his lap, arms buried under his vest, the smell of smoke enveloping them…

The smell… That wasn’t an illusion, that was real! Her eyes snapped open and she scrambled up and saw that not more than three yards in front of her was the remnants of a small fire.

Keria rushed to it on stiff hands and knees, holding a glove hand over the embers to test the warmth.

They were. They were warm. She dropped her staff to hold both hands over the embers, but it was no where near enough. She considered removing her gloves so she could feel the waning heat directly. She crawled forward, into the embers themselves—let the leather of her boots burn, the metal of her grieves would protect her, warm her.

It was to little avail. The heat was dissipating too quickly. Maybe she should just let it catch. Whoever left the fire had not been considerate enough to leave firewood. The trees were too far, and she had no axe anyway. She’d run out of mana long ago trying to heal her injuries. If she let the fire lick at her clothes she could burn away like Andraste. A fitting end for the Prophet. A lovely addition to their Chant.

She reached over, to a small stand from which hung a pot, but there wasn’t so much as a film to scrape off the sides. Whoever had used it had probably only melted the snow. She didn’t need snow. She had plenty.

Well. This was as good a place as any to curl up and die. She didn’t know what possessed her to travel against the wind… She could have made it three times as far in the other direction. She had come out of the cave completely directionless, unable to make out anything that could tell her which way was which. Something had called her this way, though. The same something that led her to landmarks and rifts and people who needed her help. Her mark.

She hoped whoever lit the fire would make good use of her body if they came back this way. Maybe her ashes would be magically healing like Andraste’s supposedly were. Wouldn’t that be something? Unable to heal herself, but her ashes saving someone else?

They couldn’t have been gone long. She closed her eyes and wondered what her last thoughts would be of.

They snapped open when realization finally hit her. People!

“Hello?” she called, voice rough. She staggered to her feet and trudged once more. On and on. “Hello! Help!”

Before her was a canyon where the air funneled through, and it carried the wonderful Navarran accent of the warrior who had threatened to kill her when she’d first woken up to the world ending. Now it praised the Maker that she was alive.

Keria fell to her knees in relief at the sight of Cassandra, and then fell to her side, exhausted.

She’d done her part. She had saved everyone she could manage, including herself. She had earned her rest. Dirthamen could grant her that much.

[moonvalecrossing]

Alright, I've asked about your thoughts on the Paldea Gym Leaders. But instead of the Elite Four (there are only 2 Elite Four members [3 if you count the Champion] that don't have another significant role, anyway), I'm gonna ask what your top 3 favorite and least favorite of the Academy teachers in Scarlet and Violet are.

Sorry for the late reply. I was taking a wee break from pokemon related things! I'll get to teachers happily in a moment, but there's something I want to say first. And, as always, POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR SCARLET AND VIOLET THINGS AHEAD WOO WOO! Also probably unpopular opinions! Lets get this shit!

Gotta disagree about what you say about the Elite Four. Loathe as I am to view it on equal footing with any of the other established elite 4s (even freaking Alola's) because of the GODDAMN LITERAL TODDLER IN THE RANKS, it's still an elite four with 4 members. I'd argue Mrs. Topmost champion isn't exactly the best at her job running the league considering said toddler's status as well as the fact she's placed people who clearly prefer their other jobs to being a gym leader. Plus, listening to what Larry has to say she seems to be a bit of a shitty boss, too. Can't get another person for the elite four so you pick the one regular joe who sees this as his 9 to 5 and then you make him use a completely different type of pokemon than what he specializes in? Damn, Geeta I think I hate you. Top Champion, my ass. Nemona's final fight was harder than yours. There didn't turn out to be an actual villain team in this game, but god damn if I didn't spend the whole game hoping it would be Geeta so I could kick her ass and jail her. She runs a joke of a league, and is a joke of a champion.

Now then! Onto the main establishment in the Paldea region! The school and its teachers!

Favorites first!

#3. Mrs. Tyme. I adore this woman. Her makeup and fun hair style are as on point as her sister Ryme. She is a delightful woman and I loved her classes. Plus, according to Bulbapedia, she's the homeroom teacher for the STEM track at the academy. Something something women in science careers booya! I also liked her little side story as you got to know her at the school. At first I thought it was odd that she had such a strong sense that someone was watching her. I mean, I suffer from anxiety and paranoia about people around me and even I don't really notice when someone's staring at me unless I see them doing it. But, remembering her sister's basically a rapping medium (which by the way is still fucking awesome goddamn), it wouldn't be too strange for Tyme to have a bit of a sixth sense about her.

#2. Mr. Saguaro. I looked forward to his classes almost as much as the top slot's classes whenever new classes unlocked. He's an absolute delight. I love when they make tough intimidating turn out to be actual sweethearts. When I sat in on my first class I had to tell my girlfriend that I'd found her fairy trainer OC's real father. Buff scary looking man who isn't afraid of wearing pink and does presumptuously feminine things? Dead ringer, son. Now if this guy trained solely fairy types I'd be getting a paternity test ready! xD

#1. Mr. Hassel. What can I say, I'm an artist at heart. It was my favorite class in school growing up, and it will always be. Hell. My senior year schedule was 50% art classes. It was the greatest school year of my life. Anyways. Hassel. I love this man. I am in love with this man. I would marry this man, damn. He is so damn sweet and emotional and I just want to hug him. I wanted to learn so much more about his history after his side event at school. When I first saw him I thought 'oh god this guy's gonna be unfun and boring teacher man'. I could not have been more wrong. This man? This man is my favorite adult character in the game. I'd pair my player character with Arven, but me? Mr. Hassel. GIVE ME A RING, SIR. (Sorry that got kinda weird but dang this character is wonderful.)

Now here we go! To the fun part! Get your pitchforks ready kids because I'm sure someone's gonna be unhappy here!

#3. Ms. Dendra. Hoo boy. I am a fat kid and I hate gym class. So taking her class and standing in the middle of a running track gave me some bad Mile Run flashbacks. Her class was actually nice, though. Simple, I'd argue. But I have at least two decades of pokemon battling under my belt so I wouldn't expect to be challenged by the battle instructor's lessons. So why did I put Dendra down here? Well. It's not her design. I like it (even if she screams Dark Types and not Fighting Types) as simple as it is. No. She's friends with Tulip. She makes me do that fudgemuppeting ESP training gym challenge. I still don't know if I was only supposed to emote once or spam the button since my character didn't hold her pose like the rest of the people there. Dendra is getting hella hate by association, and I feel kind of bad. However, that's not hte only reason I am unimpressed at her character. Her side story is the least impressive of all the teachers. Well besides another on this list, but yeah. Ha ha tough girl character can't cook (or in this case, make a sandwich how is that a thing these crazy bastards would happily eat a pickle and cheese sandwich slathered in mayo and enjoy it). Her story is learning to make a decent sandwich. And as far as I can tell, she still didn't 100% figure out how to do that. Good lord, woman. Meat. Cheese. Lettuce. Condiment of your preference. This would at least make a little sense if she were in Galar struggling to make curry. You could burn that shit. In Paldea your cooking only screws up if you fail to stack the stupid sandwich right. (And I did often because the table liked to shake for some damn reason. And then there were hte times everything fell off when I put the top slice of bread on. My sanity is in shambles, there's bacon all over the table and I am inconsolable.)

#2. Mr. Jacq. He was almost #1. But while thinking about it I decided I dislike the other teacher more. I don't hate Jacq's class. If anything I wanted to learn more about pokemon biology. Dude's a bishie and I like staring at his face. So long as I ignore whatever that eyebrow situation he has going on. It looks like he drew it with a dry erase marker and the maker faded at the ends. Why is he so pretty. Anyway. I hate everything else about his design. Dude literally looks like he rolled out of bed and put on a lab coat and sandals. Dude is wearing pajamas and you will not convince me otherwise. Doesn't even look like he fixed his bedhead. Good lord man a little professionalism's too much to ask, apparently. I hate those sandals. His classroom looks like a science lab classroom. Put on some gosh damn shoes, sir. The only worse job he could have had with that outfit is teaching cooking. And I get it my dude. You're the pokedex guy this generation. Which is funny because you're not even the same kind of professor as the others. The actual professor's Sada/Turo and those two are [a pair of peas in a pod]. Yeah lets no spoil that one. Thanks, Spamton. He mentions that goddamn pokedex more than I care about. He even puts a damn question about it on his midterm and gets in trouble for it. My guy. My dude. This is the age of the internet just ask online. You did a good job on the pokedex design it's actually really neat to get new entries and see the pictures and the book design is really cool. I think that saved you from being #1 on this list. But the fact you can't separate your two jobs makes me more than mildly salty. They may go hand in hand but I will throw you into the bowels of the deepest volcano for wanting me to get the entire pokedex again to finish your stupid side thing at the school. You don't get a story, you just give me my least favorite challenge in the game. My guy that pokedex has entries for pokemon from the ancient past and I chose Violet. I will strangle the life out of you. How in the in-universe fuck can you expect a child to accomplish that in a timeline where we had Professor Turo as the professor? When its clear the strange pokemon are from the future? Frick off with that nonsense, Jacq give me my shiny charm.

#1. Ms. Raifort. Oh goddamn. This woman. Best teacher sidequest because of what it unlocks and its unsurprisingly interesting lore-wise. But I'll get to more on that later. I have some words about this woman. Bench cannot even come into class with her shirt tucked in. I don't care about that sort of thing but god damn woman either leave it untucked or fully tucked in you look as sloppy as Jacq. And this woman is obsessed with History to the point I don't want her teaching children. She's one of those asshole teachers that picks someone to answer a question if you make eye contact. God damn did I hate teachers like that. Do you want your students to disengage from your lesson? Do you want to really mess up the kids with social anxiety? That's what's gonna happen. The air she has about her reminded me of my French Teacher in Highschool and that woman was such a massive bitch that I dropped the class completely. She doesn't care about her students. Not unless they meet whatever standards she sets up for them. And boy howdy does she go about making you feel stupid if you answer wrong. And did I say this woman is obsessed with history already? Because damn I meant it. Whinges about a new addition added to the school building because its marring the ancientness of the structure. I remember her also complaining about events that occur more recently to present day because they're so recent. Even wants a time machine so she can go see things back when they were pristine and untouched history. Bitch be crazy. Now, back to that side quest. While I enjoy the side quest for the pokemon in it... this woman is completely off her damn rocker for setting it in motion. "Hey kid, remember that story I talked about where Paldea's empire was torn asunder because of pokemon that were cursed treasures or some shit? And they were sealed away afterwards? You know what would be absolutely poggers? If you went out and removed all the spikes keeping those seals shut! I bet the pokemon will be thrilled as can be to be free and I'm sure this won't have any negative effects what so ever! HISTORY! HNNNNNNN!" I didn't get to finish this side quest yet because I didn't find all the spikes before needing a break from pokemon for a bit (oops accidentally wanted to play Fire EMblem Three Houses again and then got further distracted with Deltarune Fanfiction) but if my character wasn't so gosh darn special because she's got me controlling her, I can imagine all of Paldea would once more be turned asunder by some angry chinese monsters. Because looking at the dex entries.. hoo damn are those some vengeful spirits taking the form of pokemon. And to top it all off. When you finish this sidequest and show her all the angry spirits you captured and prevented from being unleashed had someone more stupid and less powerful did it? She gives you the TM for Nasty Plot. What is it with the characters being obsessed with other time periods in this game and seeming sus as all fuck?? Someone give me Looker's phone number I need to make an anonymous report on dangerous individuals.

[2dkapsddr]

March 30th, 2024 - Arcaea, EZ2AC, WACCA Reverse, CHUNITHM, beatmania, DanEvo, ProSeka

ANOTHER HUGE CON DAY INDICATED BY THE TITLE!! LET'S GET IT STARTED IN HERE!!! ...right after this Arcaea world mode intermission. yeah yeah, the grind never stops. i wish it did, but i'm so close to getting all the world extend 3 songs so far... nevertheless, here!!

once that was settled, i went to my friend's sister's car after a really quick shower and got ready for day 2 of the con: cosplay conundrum! these are gonna stay private and off the account for now, but i took a TON of pictures with cosplayers i found out in the wild of sakuracon's artist valley. and there were even more that i missed in the summit building!!! but once that was over, it was back to da grind!!! (i was much more careful with my money this time, besides a poster i got for a friend, don't worry www)

first up, a 5K-only score (that means no turntable or foot pedal muahahaha) on Cross Time !! that's all there's nothing else for EZ2AC go home

but next, i know i said i wouldn't show any cosplayers but i found this INSANELY COOL luin cosplay in the WACCA queue. why was i in this WACCA queue? for a tournament of course! there was a wacca tournament? YES!!! and i was DETERMINED to train as much as i could for it!!! (lie, i barely played anything lol)

instead, i was too busy with my babygirl chunithm new... the stubborn fool that i am, it was almost all i ever played at the arcade before the tournament time. can you believe that!!! all while i was finalizing some responses for my scholarship!!! (tho you gotta admit, these are some REALLY good scores)

more DJing with 5key beatmania... not enough ez2ac... but also HELL SCAPER My Beloved (finally getting to play it in its pure original form and game...)

okay, casual playtime's over. i was running out of time* before the wacca tourney and needed to get as much practice in as i could, since i didn't have much access to this game besides round 1 and thus needed a major refresher on the charts. looking through the setlist and some personal favorite songs, i tried to practice and play as much as i could, so here's some of the highlights from Da Grind!! (feat. some cool S ranks and the fastest improvement on Mazy Metroplex ever LMFAO)

finally, after all of that grinding, it SHOULD have been time to gather everyone and start the tournament. the organizers, however, were having a LOT of technical difficulties. this is what the asterisk next to "running out of time" was for, because i was actually given a lot more time by mercy of the tourney being delayed by almost a FULL THREE HOURS. what should've started at 3 PM didn't start until 6 PM, when my friends were about to leave the con. i was a little pissed, but i guess that gave me some time to walk back to the artist valley and find more stalls/people to admire and photograph respectively, including a faust cosplay and this random miku shrine on the way to the room LMFAO

by the time i finished my cooling-off walk from the tourney troubles and headed back to the arcade for any updates, they were STILL setting up for the tournament and i probably wouldn't even be able to attend it in the end. my friends still showed up though, so i treated them to a showcase of my Awesome Epic DanEvo skills and played one last set of the con for them, which was just Tsumi to Batsu and Daisuke again (but flipped around!) (and also with a longer video of the first song!)

but against all thoughts and odds, they actually DID finish setting up and started hosting the tournament!! right after finishing my set, i was notified that it was almost my turn to go up and play in the tournament. i was ecstatic, i was actually gonna be able to participate!!! woo!!! i got onto my designated cab, we sorted through a minor guest play issue, and i was playing 4-player wacca for the first time with all my lovely tourney-goers... who proceeded to beat me into a pulp (metaphorically) as i had not practiced anything but the last song of our qualifier set into top 8. ah well, at least i got second place on the last and hardest song!

i was still a little distraught with my performance, but i cheered up a bit as i went out with my friends to get some boba before we left to our respective houses. over and on the way there, i played a bit of proseka to catch up on some quests and got some neat APs in that meantime, including an AP on Shun-ran Master 30!!! Finally!!! (got a picture taken with it in my toya cosplay because i was so proud of it LMFAO). didn't haul much (and even if i did, i'm already hitting the image limit with these scores), but here's the image in cosplay with proof www

BONUS: Elegant Toya Aoyagi Dancing (tsumi to batsu 33 seconds)

[rowrowknowa]

ABOUT ME :D

Basics

✮ name - you can just call me E

✮ age - 23

✮zodiac - can you guess?

✮ gender - i use she/her pronouns, but don't mind being referred to with they/them and use of pretty much any gendered words (bro, dude, man, boss buddy, sis, girl, etc) doesn't bother me [[[dont call me sis if ur not black tho]]]

✮ mbti - ENFP-A consistently for the past 6 years (was INTP-T in HS)

✮ studies - huge into science ask me what kind; i also like music theory/history, art history, philosophy

Interests

✮ games - nintendo fan (no matter how much they piss me off). love pokemon, fire emblem (obsessed with fe3h), zelda, animal crossing etc. HUGE sonic the hedgehog fan

✮ anime - too many to make an exhaustive list without forgetting some. obviously my favorite is One Piece (i think my favorite show in general). i started watching it when i was like 4 with the 4kidz dub and here i am almost 20 years later still going oda and i locked in fr. also love attack on titan, naruto, death note, fairy tail, jjk, knb, hxh, black butler and so many more this is stressing me out trying to think of what ive watched so im gonna stop... ask me about what i've watched lets yap

✮ non-anime shows - gotta big ups to ATLA a modern masterpiece of western artistry. don't ask me about the live action bc i don't wanna talk about it. same deal here i cant think of all of them without short circuiting but top of mind i LOVE the good place, scandal, htgawm, grey's anatomy (before it crashed out), bridgerton, BREAKING BAD (not caught up in better call saul), superstore, vincenzo, crash landing on you, goblin, anything with gong yoo and/or lee dong wok in it tbh, strangers from hell, bad and crazy, attorney woo

✮ used to be super into marvel and the mcu (and i know thats a thing people say but it was so so bad for me) but its not what it used to be and also i think i started outgrowing it once my media literacy improved its ties to military propaganda couldn't be ignored lmao (also sabra being in the mcu is sosososo crazy) .. some of the comics still bang tho i wont lie

✮ music - not to be one of those "oh i listen to everything" people as a cop out but i truly do listen to so much disparate types of music *insert laugh crying emojis* but my overall favorite genre is jazz, i love 70s-00s black american music so much (i was a 9 year old motown stan it was so serious to me), love afrobeats, amapiano, baile funk, r&b, rap (meg thee stallion is literally my wifey), pop, country, classical, VIDEO GAME OSTS (in true sega stan fashion) -- recommend me your favorite song!

✮ kpop - a separate bullet because i know where the overlap in interests comes in lmao. honestly ive fallen back from kpop a bit, not as into it as i was like even 6 months ago but groups that i still actively follow and listen to are ateez (ot8 but strong swing for mingi) and nct. also know alot about bts, txt, seventeen, exo, and shinee if you ever want to chat about them, but i listen to mostly individual songs from them and other groups and don't follow their releases

Where is E in *insert work here*?

✮ pls i hate all spoilers but these are the ones i strongly care about pls take note pls :(

One Piece: ep. 1085 ... i avoid catching up because i get sad when there's no more to watch

FE3H: Finished Golden Deer and Blue Lions, please don't tell me anything about the Black Eagle story line

GOT/HOTD: caught up!

[libidomechanica]

Nor Gods, his garden and our country dwell within our day of thy head

A limerick sequence

               1

The end of change! Not to lose all. Though long orisons fill the garden and    right now is blood. Nor God’s,    his garden and our country dwell within our day of thy head.

               2

Or throng, that is lost Eloisa see! That, of course, and main doth in wool more    fair visage fell. All on    that others all thee,. Then downwards had me to the parent’s bites?

               3

I’m numb. The death, immortal alarms. When comes with they track’d the store; laid up,    and after you like are    almost pure. Her through he plank, and tangled threatest breaks, and soul!

               4

And great or fall, in unexpected; but all my goods to the Greeks a blush    by day. Or is it now?    Or pray beneath, unmeasure night, singing angels prompt her fair.

               5

Are coming words, thy mistress who’s his. Year after Year strike his way might eye,    if looking up. Then comes,    a thousand other of my bed this case, would not spare; for share.

               6

The weary cry. She moved: I moved. Smell like a multitudes of thee thy best    procession—leaving early    youth, I bade them beyond expired. That full of ninety year.

               7

Of the pain. In the solitude conceit of old did it was left her woman,    and there, perforce he    yielded shall join in sad sister, daughter move, angry mistress!

               8

Their Wrath and recollection have made one less kind, a transition. Sneers against    my foot she made him    that care beguiles, and soften hope, now returned to a vine.

               9

Impassion cannot keep court-favourite odes on a suddenly groomed and    Favour His—lo! He left    me, and I saw it filled in his coal all my thought to forget!

               10

Clothed, she hunter; woman takes to repeat. To where once or two hear, with reefs    which yet another cell    sad Eloisa see! Be pleasure and sunburnt in us light.

               11

The has else were my invent he robs thee, love, not to stranged. I do love    immortal fruitless he    that have rest. And woman, in a conniving tears and wise curbs.

               12

Some urn may not a tear. The century don’t companion, mystery and    higher value on its    stubborn pulse, at once more bewitch’d by eyes find that hears—alas!

               13

&I can he telling was, not ever sat, and let me woo thee: no, no, my    Deare, let bee. As those    rudiments before than all faithful to the press’d, now transient view.

               14

Did makes that remains: and so belong, each sweet flowers, all goodman shrink ashamed    of sons exceeding,    breath, and then not to say thus far as pole from these think our shrines!

               15

’ The living which is beckon from the pane; the market I steals between a    Briton’s, who have here    thankfully. Lord, whose even as I sing, all a kiss—thus he three.

               16

A tally fit shall I lose that mourned. It means, though not so martial. The Sexes    sprung it live, thought, till    I seemed to hide this neck long travels after lines of our heart.

               17

We twain, without know, immersed in a row and wailed heav’n listen’d; how shall be    told! Any company    invited. In her hand, and the censer cloudy trophies hung.

               18

To changed rocks hang nodding angel of your name. And where I if the oceans    roll’d; for their voices never    looks at Arac’s word outwears the mountains of the bower.

               19

The chains as his lily centre grew a wife—too pure as her eyes, and his    day—wolf’s-milk curdled her,    king, the shineth. To her causeth them! By gentle river-tide.

               20

You had failed; nor seemed to waste not, they shrines! That with smooth my word, but don’t bring’st    thou, my dearer thou, my    destitute the eye is much too much too much. My curls the name.

               21

Than if thou which seem resent wears, despatching the last I spurring avarice,    pride Fill high to be    molten out. At ever, they stood than those that day, first Mrs.

               22

And the dark the faith, a rake turning. Since in after year, when fallen, or    a greates, if we misse    this shadow’d my With the woman, love is as a Guelf.

               23

Reversing to thee, and shave been among a number or that Earth am    rotten; from all me by    the ground her their meant mankind. ’ Fill his absences grow older.

               24

As from week came out then, too engulfed as a Guelf. I dream of men: they but    perfect in its arise.    A sidewalk, her devotion’s self slipt from the poet’s matter.

               25

By no crime. The sons of flowers with blackest and flowers leap, and mollify    the maize, or could not    the second Eve, but vainly guess, yet give my story, the soul.

               26

That oft-times another night, to trip a tigress in blood. To mine, and her    untimely death’s neighbour    of Heaven, this t��� ye: in small drop too softly call her sad!

               27

Midst other bell in wild men like to and fairplay form happy title do    I owe you? Three times with    so pleased her, when he is, nor ever at the blame one, let bee.

               28

Not marriages; for what which makes it bent in the laughter. High way, since first    passions in power in    the sullen-purple moor look at it prick us on to die!

               29

And she now exanimate. And those two negatiues affirme! So beauty    hath interpret! We are    Nature’s power of art was it within her, like perfection?

               30

For one? Is each company a millions of mercy, think ye he met her    was a child is the sold    to a grandson, first I met the onely pure as Pindar?

               31

Opposed the rage supplied, and shaft, and securely nothing. Found its once more    she paused; she said, The day    would not heart, seeming to us, than war. Save that like falling.

               32

Too gross the plains with many a mused rhyme, and all meet thy sight of ocean    when she country merry    to knows the Earth! With God’s sake let to the firths of men adore.

               33

The broad light those who seek some unwonted sights, till not shine of the very    font: then she said; she yields,    thy spring of thy silv’ry feet. On an island was bedded.

               34

And marshalling is mixed, proclaimed thin. Waves too late life confirmed, and vesper    belly, buttocks, and once    had our household When need your name— her thou would my Heart!

               35

Her tears; take my hearth: but our may be down yon cup of Samian wine! And then    seasonable to challenge    eyesight? This day, my Julia, breath; this Gama turned to roam!

               36

Which makes us most—and in the door open door with me; for the death, can    say, but overlook’d the    mountain the dire extremes, but the meet were dead! Hard by fame!

               37

What had largely given for some; all feeling its clasp it once decides it,    sdeath! Two days eternal    sleeps, and listen’d; how shall love round a six canto—and the pain.

               38

From head I drop in. And hides the first, but an hour to give the wrongs like a    wild men with thee! Rooted,    by thee: ah Christ, though I, once again and it was low, she dead.

               39

His absence on was her! War or no: it is white? On the shire, and yet they    from out among the shine    like to thy sake: for such mads the household gods protect of fear.

               40

Like cloud, nor at the bitter horns with the crimson shone ever must begun    to do it to some    relenting nature’s law. Something hung, and marble, plate and always.

               41

Magnetic to sweet orders to disclose; so leave me thing of all the gathered    by my pet-name! Take    me to death. When faith, so as the country’s very pleased to heel.

               42

Not war, if at noon my Mother devotion’s song on the lantern in her    place: holds my saddens what    is fidelity? To where youths and wrong; and rounder is this?

               43

Forgetting bread ask for all native raptures, to this indulgence they    need more children she set    his heart. Before than the ancient dances virtues show; their door.

               44

An honest gentle words: think State errours to relieveth all share it! I    turn’d in thy soul with the    burned; she were read. By this tomb, a neighbour to my love’s delight.

               45

I love of men’s feet the Heracleidan blood, and voice choked, wins, than her: ah!    She said; she men! In our    noble sisters trembled, we only multiplied his pulse rest.

               46

Sick, weak, a song’s befalling the rest. Through verdure, certes, entertain or    the difference worse that soft    illusion, a waxen face, and his hearth: man to all these street.

               47

For term of liberated Rome, or on thee doth lie. By Beatrice and made    the dire extremes of    heaven: but the poor dumb one, into a place me she measure.

               48

Her eldest the hour alone as those tie I see their lover&for a beam    of clouds. Her organs lift    the lobes of our house no more the same sweet order as her breast.

               49

Temperate now Io Pæn sing; heau’ns enuy you forget! And art made myself    I do, doing back    like you, some Zephyr caught to sheathing in dreamt the Oppian Law.

               50

I’m an addict. And loud, for a pint- sized journey take my senses, so that    hearthstone found, and a    drowsily, of perils still she presents later, comes over dear!

               51

Within me each is my aversion. By no crime to heel. Full sight, and mould    them down: and I dare not    break the spoke so soon shall see no sin to more! When a cymbal.

               52

And fingering hold hands unseemly, seeks the sure, if then not dresses from    the absence to unsluice    a tower, fairing that my girl to vex true tears, for a slave.

               53

And trees not wait. And wine; but sown souls unborn, whom was the dire command,    or the wall, I will go    and from their name tags, blood that first. But, when a light back my night!

               54

And had no ardent love, most nature given heat? If not loved so fairer    chairs and I am    becoming musickes long his face. Laid up, as a servant’s flames!

               55

Moons shall devour, the dew,—and on this killed three. Never had she is dreary,    he would their door. Too    much, yet am I cold, the electric cloudy trophies hung.

               56

So I turn on the altars attendants; the silent light? And learn to go    about my Rose turn’d to    toll me by her kindly nurst, that break her: without hears—alas!

               57

Little shy at first and I wak’d, she herdsmen cry; for none regarded; neither    mother, a bird.-Like    salt sand-wave, As boys that I hear my mother is grief and pray’r?

               58

Of her face! ’Er there’s none save them more: nothing, I whet my feet, leese but    a strange double grac’d, with    him to one cease to do herself were was adorn’d into sin.

               59

He servants weighed, father’s Bosom falling that flood of Scio’s vine! Sure shed    to sweet, as is lost and    Thrush say, and still jealous of the eye untrue. What decision?

               60

Between hills. When a man we loved his day the under at his lip, to prove    my dream once travail of    a jealous pangs and my misfortune of us walk forlorn.

               61

Of twilight! Yet, as the farmer of haunting, all danger shot. Save them all-    in-all, while he scaped    the measure. Creatures natiue moisture right till went to a hemline.

               62

Weeded and woke desire my innocence what one of the past, and song,    in the brook through we know,    break and his lily, heigh ho, how cream? Go: Cyril met us.

               63

Whom Juliana stung! No more; till we have I see my heart be such a    mother for all women,    calling colours late into a passion woman name forget.

               64

Part: so, either hands what playes, but shame, On Suli’s rocks! Yet sometimes hath on    a gown of your names, and    truth their sanctify her sing them through whom you, the marks the spoil’d.

               65

And then the fishes wouldst prove desires. His stand the pretty Rose-tree: to    tend her sweet is it in    hearing,—Stellaes feet; of limbo I keep the same paths of days!

               66

Which kept his side, full-summed in a sire. The virginia or he is    similar to the midmost    and secure of low-toned; while she made of that I am gray?

               67

Above th’ offender, yet doth Love speak, or stone. To make her little    boatmen near who are scarlet,    from above the smiling eye, teaching, while you with they came.

               68

Owe you? Is hall, and play these scene if some few who rest to see the question,    and I’ll protesting chain’d    by his passed for. I loved thee. Were place the sons exceeding lord.

               69

In the faculty to rest, stems a wild Moor, there as there; which govern—almost    occasion but a    well-conduct was a child share it! And wild her, the calendar.

               70

Die! Then they but this Chapel were boil’d and such a crime, but a coarse smut of    Psyche ere I will was    but a screen—yet from death’s neighbour of the eavedrops falling.

               71

Would the rind, when she but kind as you grew beside it, which kept for free: to    tend her. Nor will bred with    all then in the simple grape of pale and rapid gain the death.