#mental lyra activated

[yuesya]

The Pier Point Shopping Street is always a bustling hub of activity. As a well-known landmark of Pier Point and an attraction for visitors to the IPC’s seat of power, the shops lining the sprawling commercial district truly live up to the reputation of being a dazzling center of wealth. Food, drinks, clothing. Entertainment at its finest –and everything in-between.

There have been many who’ve lost themselves to the glamour of these gilded streets, luxuriating in the allure of satisfaction and gratification stacked upon gleaming credits.

The young Halovian girl sitting across the table from him in the high-class restaurant does not lack for wealth. Nonetheless, she is not one to consciously indulge in materialistic desires… save for her love of sharp weaponry, perhaps.

Aventurine smiles. “It’s been awhile hasn’t it, Lyra?”

Soft white hair, wide blue eyes. Contrary to her soft and seemingly-harmless appearance, though, Lyra of the Oak Family is anything but harmless. Aventurine would know, considering the manner in which they met each other for the first time.

“It’s been awhile,” Lyra agrees. Then, “Is there something wrong?”

“Wow, it’s always straight to the point with you, isn’t it?” Aventurine blinks, and laughs. Something inside his chest sinks helplessly at the girl’s immediate perceptiveness –for all her awkwardness navigating social niceties, Lyra could also be shockingly observant at the same time. “… What gave me away?”

His voice is careless, flippant. Teasing, the way it would be for a light joke. Aventurine maintains the expression of a smile unwaveringly.

Lyra shrugs, a non-response that Aventurine somehow finds himself automatically understanding anyways. Just a feeling. You don’t make a habit of inviting me to Pier Point.

Aventurine lets out a long, exaggerated sigh.

“Can’t hide anything from you, can I?” He straightens, and bats his eyes winsomely. “Y’know, if you ever stepped inside a casino someday, I bet you could–”

“My brother says no,” Lyra responds without batting an eye, and frowns lightly. “… Aventurine, what is this about, really? Do you need me to kill someone?”

This girl. The blond man huffs, wondering what it says about his own mental state that he actually feels a surge of fondness at this offer from her.

“We’ve got to talk about your habit of spontaneously offering to kill things for people at the drop of a hat,” he tells her. “Have you tried buying presents instead?”

Lyra tilts her head, wings fluttering in accompanying confusion with the motion. “… But I don’t offer to kill for just anyone?”

“… No, I don’t need you to kill anyone for me,” Aventurine sighs. For someone who could be so astonishingly perceptive, she could also be very obtuse. “It’s rather the opposite, really.”

Lyra stills, making the connection in a heartbeat. “There’s someone you don’t want me to kill?”

“Oswaldo Schneider,” Aventurine confirms, continuing to carefully maintain his perfectly pleasant smile.

Lyra takes one look at him and frowns anyways. Then, proving that she truly does know Aventurine a little too well to be good for either of them, “This is an order from the IPC?”

It is.

Aventurine holds no love for Oswaldo Schneider. Even putting aside the bad blood between their respective departments within the IPC… the man had been involved in the negotiations that had taken place on Sigonia-IV, which eventually led to what was now known as the Katica-Avgin Extinction Event. And Aventurine –as far as he knew– was the only survivor from that hell, a young boy who’d been captured by slavers and sold to the highest bidder.

Now… now, he was a slave to the IPC. Which wasn’t so bad, sometimes; nowadays, Aventurine was rich enough to never want for any materialistic goods again. But this did not change the fact that the IPC owned him.

The IPC wanted Oswaldo Schneider to live, and the IPC also knew that Aventurine was friends with the girl who’d nearly killed their rising head of the Marketing Development Department. The next course of action, then, was obvious.

Negotiate. Convince her to stand down.

Diamond had been the one to pass on the orders to him. An additional deal had also been brokered between the Marketing Development and Strategic Investment Departments, and there was a certain sense of vindication in seeing Oswaldo depart from Pier Point for ‘business’ just as Lyra arrived. Vindication… and also frustration.

But, this isn’t something that Aventurine can involve Lyra in.

(… ‘Can’t,’ or ‘won’t?’)

“One of Oswaldo Schneider’s ‘projects’ nearly resulted in my sister being killed by a stray bullet to the throat,” Lyra says eventually, blue eyes focused unerringly on Aventurine. “… I won’t go out of my way to hunt him down. But if I come across him, then don’t expect me to show mercy.”

That’s a lifetime ban from Penacony for Oswaldo, then.

“The higher ups should accept that,” Aventurine nods. “And what do you want in exchange for it?”

The look that Lyra gives him is one of uncomprehending confusion. Inwardly, Aventurine despairs.

“… If it were any other executive sitting in front of you right now, you would’ve very well walked away from this meeting with nothing.”

Lyra’s expression flattens into something unimpressed. “I’m not dealing with the IPC. I only agreed because you’re asking me.”

“And I’m negotiating on behalf of the IPC,” Aventurine reminds her.

“So the agreement stands in place only as long as you do not change your mind, regardless of what the IPC thinks,” Lyra shrugs. As if it’s nothing, the power and influence that she’s handing over to him so easily with this one act –if Aventurine is the one with the final say, then that’s another chip in his hands. Another card up his sleeve. Another point for him to gamble with, and Aventurine is nothing if not a consummate gambler.

“… So again I ask you, what do you want for it?”

Nothing in this world comes for free. No one does anything for no reason.

Lyra blinks, raising a finger to tap at her chin in thought. Aventurine studies her carefully.

“… I want dinner,” she finally says. “I’m hungry.”

…

Aventurine is no stranger to taking gambles. But when it comes to Lyra…

All, or nothing.

(… Which one is it? Really, which one is it?)

[secret0codename]

I went back! ^^ With a Headcanon

=/ Hello people, I disappeared but I'm back maybe I'll be less active but I'll post more that way! What happened was that I have anemia and it's getting worse, insomnia and some other things... But I'm back to writing!

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-☆☆_-_-_-_-_-_-__-_-_-

♣︎My Ticci Toby Headcanons ^^

I was looking forward to writing this, as I know the most about Creepy! Besides Sally hihi, I hope you like it, as always my English is not perfect :)

*Small start *

-This boy definitely has a passion for fire and is a pyromaniac; he plays with fire as if it were something simple, but who cares, he doesn't feel any pain!

-"S-shit, uhush, because it d-doesn't hurt" Toby did everything he could to try to feel pain, which didn't do any good and even caused his body to be full of scars, and when he's injured he rarely notices it because he doesn't feel the sting of the wound.

-But he uses this to his advantage, because if any victim tries to fight he will have an advantage because if he is stabbed* or shot* it will not hurt him in any way, which makes him feel "stronger" than his opponent.

- He loves animals, even so he doesn't get too close because he's afraid of hurting them, the fact that his favorite animal is a raccoon makes everything better, Toby feels much better around animals than people

*Appearance*

- Toby is an adult man, over 20 years old, after all he became a proxy at around 17 and 18 years old, his appearance is adult

-Is your skin always very pale, perhaps because of your condition or perhaps because you want to go out more at night? Here's your opinion

-His eyes are brown, almost black, dead eyes, with very obvious dark circles on his face, he doesn't care about it, and he clearly doesn't sleep regularly

-His hair is the size of a Mullet but it is not a mullet, it is tangled and full of curls, perhaps dirt like leaves or even dirt

-Body hair, just like every teenager, he had hair but he never cared about taking care of it, he has hair like anyone else, perhaps very rarely he bothers and tries to remove it but a small cut always comes out, his tics make he loses concentration, which makes him spend hours trying to shave any hair off his body

- "Stupid Ush- Pel-Pelo is sh-shit.. It won't come out" This man has a very dirty mouth, that's nothing new

-He has big hands, with some calluses, he also holds the ax tightly

-He has separate teeth, they are not aligned or much less just white, His teeth are yellowish and a little crooked, but he likes to keep his breath good, so he brushes his teeth slowly to avoid tics, he feels much prettier when he takes care of himself, even if it only happens a few times.

*People*

-He knows very well how to differentiate between friends, victims, lovers, enemies, etc.

-He has long dialogues with victims that he takes a while to kill, even if it could go wrong and the person escapes, he captures them and leaves them tied up listening to him talk for hours, or even days

-If he makes a friend, know that he values it. More like him, he makes people angry, mocks them, humiliates them, but deep down he just wants them to stay there forever, always, ALWAYS

-If he has crushes, that's a problem, he becomes crazy, persecutes, hurts, kills and kidnaps* and if that person doesn't want to, he will get frustrated, at first he would stay still but then he would kill you or something else he comes across your mind

-He doesn't mess with enemies, but if enemies mess with him... Poor things, he won't stay quiet he hates being taken out of the concentration area

*Bônus*

-He doesn't remember Lyra, just small memories or sometimes hallucinations with her, but he forgets. If you are similar to her physically or mentally he will have some dejavus and he will be tame for a while but will soon raise his guard again

[foressfaction]

:Ticci Toby:{A Rewrite}

CHAPTER 6

WARNING:: This story contains EXTREMELY triggering topics such as Domestic/Child/Substance abuse, Death, harsh language, GORE and dissociation triggers. This story mentions mental illnesses and disorders such as Depression, PTSD, ADHD, and Tourette's Syndrome. !!TICS MAY BE TRIGGERING!!

Chapter six

Toby got home that night, realizing what he had done to his hands on the way home. They were chewed, bloody. Most of the blood was dry, but it wasn't hard to wash off.

Toby found some old pairs of winter gloves, they were black. He cut the tips of the fingers off, pulling them onto his hands to hide his scarred skin. He mostly wore jackets and flannels so the gloves wouldn't stand out as much. He really didn't want to be bandaged up again.

Lyra came opening his door, looking at him wide eyed. "What's up? I had an odd feeling just now."

"Eh? Oh, I'm fine, just- sitting, yep." he shrugged, tugging his hands into the creases of his elbows.

"Wait, Lyra, I have to ask, why was dad so mad yesterday?" he spoke, now thinking about how his head was healing. A white strip of gauze wrapped around his forehead halfway.

Lyra came in and sat down on his bed, hopping a little as she did so, making the bed bounce. "I'm so sorry I forgot to tell you. I quit my job, and well now we don't have much income."

Toby looked down slightly, kinda upset too. "heh..let me guess, dad did-didn't like that because you we-were the only one making money?"

She nodded. "I couldn't handle the drama, I wasn't getting promoted, I was only getting yelled at, work used to be my only escape from the verbal assault but I just didn't feel safe there." Lyra explained. This made Toby wonder, was Lyra skipping school? She never talked about it.

"You're still going to school right?" Toby asked. This earned a guilty side eye from the blonde girl. "Look- don't tell mom and dad okay? It was just too overwhelming and i had to work and- and-"

Toby grabbed her hand with a weak smile. "it's safe w-with me, why would i tell them? I know how dad would react, and mom would nev-never see the end of it." He looked down, a few facial tics leaving him.

"Let's go somewhere." Lyra randomly suggested. "Anywhere, for a drive, walk, even running doesn't sound so bad, I bet I can beat you in a race." She winked childishly. Despite being five years older than Toby, Lyra was a rather playful person. She was just overall chaotic. All she wanted to do was to make her brother laugh, see him smile. He never smiled much, or when he did it was an awkward smirk.

"Nuh uh, i-im way faster than you, believe it." Toby responded, taking on her challenge.

Lyra laughed stupidly and got up, lightning the mood. "Get your shoes on." She left the room quickly.

Toby got up and pulled on his old converses, they were all dirty and worn out from wearing them for so long. Toby followed the girl who disappeared into her room.

Lyra was putting her hair into a loose ponytail. She had bangs that fell perfectly above her eyes, and side tails that were just too short to fit into the ponytail. Her hair was thick and naturally a yellow blonde color. It was rather messy too, a family trait. She pulled on her own pair of plain white converses. Despite being white, they were still in way better shape than Toby's. Her style was pretty casual for their time, baggy jeans, band T-shirts with flannels or other sweaters layered over. They did live in a colder area so thicker and warmer clothes dominated their wardrobe. Plus the family's poor income only allowed them to mostly thrift all of their things, and stick to the same pair of shoes for years.

It's a good thing they never really grow out of old clothes. Both of the siblings being underweight and pretty malnourished. Lyra keeps Toby in check by doing things like they are now, exercising, without knowing it. Lyra and Toby honestly just liked being active. Staying inside all day was a bummer, and so what if it was 50 degrees out, they weren't going to suffice being bored to death all day.

School or work was the only reason they left the house, sometimes it was good to get out.

••••••

[whateverurmomwants]

No cuz do you ever just realize how powerful lucy is?

She was able to conjure ALL of her celestial spirits, 3 or 4 of them being fricking ZODIACS, all at once and being powerful enough to be recognized by the celestial spirit king? And all in the first season? Where she hasn’t even had her star dresses and other abilities she has learned?

Not to mention this theory about her being a descendent of the goddess Anna, the best Celestial Spirit user.

And im rewatching it rn, and ive already encountered a moment where if she didnt interfere, natsu would have died. The arc with phantom lord where natsu is battling gajeel? Gajeel had eaten iron but there was no fire for natsu to eat, and so Lucy gave him that fire by using Sagittarius. Without that fire, natsu definitely wouldnt have finished that fight.

People are always saying ‘oh well that may be so, but if she hadn’t joined the guild-‘ Phantom lord would have most definitely attacked them for another reason. They wanted to remain the best guild in Fiore. Fairytail challenged that, so it was just a matter of time before they fought.

“Well, she always gets in their way-“ Yeah, considering the fact that she grew up in a household where her fathers only concern was the family line, she wouldn’t exactly have time to practice her magic. The only spirit she really had was Aquarius, and we can infer that she only brought her out on very few occasions. And she also wouldn’t have been able to build up any target practice or any muscle building, since Jude would say, in the stupid old fashioned way, ‘women don’t need muscles. All you need to do is make yourself look presentable to find a husband.’ He definitely wouldn’t have wanted her practicing her magic.

Meanwhile, all the others grew up in an environment where they could practice their magic freely with other wizards. They had teachers and activities that enhanced their magic and physical builds, she didn’t. So of course she wouldn’t be able to be on their level so soon.

Also, the amount of magic it takes to summon a silver spirit is a lot, but even MORE so for a Zodiac. Mashima explained that it pretty much is on a scale from 1-100. Plu being the easiest to summon at one, and her highest silver key being Lyra at 18. Her golden keys on the other hand, has Aquarius at 100 and the lowest being Cancer at 52. Others talk about the spirits only being able to use as much magical power as Lucy uses to summon them, but i doubt that theory/statement.

And its also amazing even then because she can keep those gates open for a tremendous amount of time, and multiple on some occasions. I don’t know if this part is true, but i believe that the mage has to have at-least some level of concentration on the gate for it to keep open, so if that’s correct, then it makes it even more astounding that she is able to focus on the bond at all times while fighting. And i only say this because her spirits go back to the spirit realm when she is knocked out.

Also during the E.N.D arc, (haven’t gotten there yet, seen bits and pieces) she literally REWRITES the E.N.D book that Zeref HIMSELF wrote. She literally rewrote his fate. And yes, i know that Gray was there to help her out, but at the same time, most people would have still not have been able to handle the mental and physical strain that causes.

And im just guessing on this part, but didnt she learn an entirely new part of her magic by someone in blue pegasus and learned how to preform the spell in like a week? Month? Some other very short time span?

Anyways i just love lucy and i would litterally rather show everyone my ao3 library before letting her get hurt/bashed. Lmao

[narabea06]

Any insane chance that you have any general Jeff headcanons brewing up to yap about? 🤨🤨🤨

Sorry this took so long!!! This is only the tip of the iceberg of my Jeff hcs ngl 😭

Jeff the Killer Headcanons -

TW: Suicide Attempt, Implied Abuse, Bullying, Hospital + medicine talk, Manipulation, Talk of delusions, Murder, Toxic Relationship, Dissociation

Clockwork and Jeff both did a lot of sports and clubs in middle school and highschool, and would often get picked up together by Lyra or Liu. Jeff did it because his parents put him in a lot of activities to put a lot of pressure on him to have many talents and to be good at something so that he would get a scholarship, despite him hating the activities and never having free time because of it. These activities included hockey, soccer, STEM club, and karate. The only one Jeff actually enjoyed was karate due to it helping him get his anger out.

The incident was not Randy and Keith lighting him on fire. Instead, Jeff was relentlessly bullied by Randy for years, and was generally terrorized by people at school, that he tried to kill himself by starting a fire in his room when nobody was home. He left his suicide note in the mailbox, and it explained in detail what Randy, Keith, and Troy did to him and how they hurt him and Liu. While Jeff survived the attempt, his mother decided to publish the note in the newspaper, and everyone at school read it. Randy and Keith then actively got blamed for Jeff's attempt and everything that came after. Granted they deserved it for what they did, but it still was not a great experience for them.

When Jeff came home from the hospital, he barely spoke for the first week or so due to both his declined mental state and a side effect of the painkillers.

Margaret, Jeff's mother, was a infamous journalist who had many connections, and actually often lied and blackmailed her way to the top. She also often would write and publish about her sons, practically constantly sharing any personal moment they chose to share with her like she was a family vlogger. Because of all this, she actually ended up publishing Jeff's suicide note, exposing him to their entire state.

He's a manipulative bastard, but doesn't realize he is. He truly believes what he did to Nina, Liu, and Jane was for the best and was helping them. He doesn't have a good mental state in the slightest, but refuses to accept help because he believes he doesn't need it.

He still actively despises Randy and Keith. Hell, at one point when Randy and Keith were trying to go about their lives and move on, Jeff came after them and attacked Keith. He survived, but Jeff said he wouldn't let either of them live while he himself is still alive. Keith and Randy started staying with Troy and Jesse after that.

The only specific targets Jeff has are Randy, Troy, Keith, and Jesse. The rest are at random, though he steers clear from the Alliance, EJ, Lulu, the kids, Sadie, and Toby.

Jeff has ADHD, though his parents refused to believe he wasn't neurotypical, and would refuse to take him to therapy until after the incident, leading to Liu having to do the research for him.

Jeff has anger issues, control issues, a bit of a god complex, as well as a slight victim complex.

Jeff is terrible at social cues and body language.

Jeff often sharpens his knife as a stim during the times when he's deep in thought.

Jeff has big main character syndrome, and constantly believes that everything revolves around him.

Jeff absolutely adores copycat killers of himself, since he loves the idea of people looking up to him and his “work”, and seeing his crimes as he does, like art. He sees copycats almost like people just inspired by him, and even sometimes will stalk people and encourage them to follow in his footsteps to go down the path he did.

Jeff has had so many times where he will say stupid shit, and Liu has to get him out of trouble because he never watches his mouth. Due to Jeff having no self preservation nor any sense of consequences, they never end up realizing when to back down though.

Jeff is very impulsive and will do stupid shit a lot because "why not". As long as it's fun and doesn't include him eating or drinking anything, he'll do it. He has terrible self control.

He truly believes him and Jane are still friends and that he isn't in the wrong for killing their parents, because in the moment, Jeff made themself believe Jane's family was abusive. Jane actively expresses to him that she hates him, but Jeff just thinks she's joking around.

Jane has kicked Jeff in the shin with her heels too many times to count to the point where his heels are super bruised.

Ben and Jeff are frenemies, and BEN kinda sees Jeff almost like a weird cousin she doesn’t want to hang out with. She does enjoy Jeff's company though, and is happy to have a friend.

One of his best friends is Killing Kate. They hang out every Wednesday to do karaoke.

Jeff used to somewhat be in a relationship with Nina for a few months after the incident, though neither had actually verbally expressed that the relationship was anything romantic, leading to Nina believing they were in love and Jeff thinking that they were nothing serious and Nina would never be his top priority. Nina, heartbroken, left him after hearing him say to her face too many times that if she died, he wouldn't care.

Jeff learned Spanish from Nina. He still has a bit of a struggle with it though, and he always pronounces the words in the whitest way possible. Nina would tease him about his pronunciations a lot.

Jeff loves the Nightmare Before Christmas movies, and once dressed as Jack for Halloween pre-incident, and convinced Nina to dress as Sally with him.

Jeff can very easily lucid dream. He doesn't always know why, but usually when he's dreaming, he always realizes it's a dream rather quickly, and almost always, he will just shut down the dream he was in and start something else. Because of all of this, he has become unaware what is reality or not, and constantly just thinks almost everything is a dream. Most of the time he spends with his friends he assumes is a dream because he doesn't think in reality they would want anything to do with him. This is also why he's so careless about life, because he doesn't know whether or not anything is real or not and if he'll have real consequences, especially since he's even had times where he did actually try to do the right thing and make things right between everyone, only to realize that it was just a dream and he didn't accomplish anything.

Jeff talks in his sleep a lot. This has woken up and scared the hell out of anyone he shares a room with. Ben even has a couple videos of Jeff talking in his sleep on her phone.

Jeff secretly has a pet frog named Georgie. It chills in a pond behind the Refuge, and has a specific symbol on its back that Jeff uses to recognize it.

He has a huge fear of clowns, and absolutely hates the IT movies. A couple gag gifts that Liu got him growing up because of this were Pennywise merch. Jeff stuffed them all in a box in his closet never to be seen again.

He was a big music theater fan, though he was never able to actually take theater in highschool due to his parents seeing the class as useless.

Jeff often wears an eye mask when he sleeps so he can rest his eyes properly.

[kellycataclysm]

A, C, H and T 2 sweet, two spicy pls 🙏

Hello!! Thank you for dropping by!

A is for Aftercare. Harvey loves to care for Lyra after they have been intimate. This makes her blush and he adores that. He finds it fascinating how shy she can get, even after sex. He'll bring her water or tea, he'll massage her gently, he'll rub her wrists if... well, you know why. He will gently clean her, warm water and soft towels; he will run a bath or follow her into the shower, soaping up her body, washing her hair. This could end in more... activities, but typically would lead to him pulling back the covers and wrapping his arms around her in bed, all of this tenderness helping her to feel relaxed, practically boneless. Which leads to...

C is for Cuddles. Lyra and Harvey are big cuddlers. She loves to feel his arms around her, resting her head against his chest. Harvey, being much taller, also loves this, feeling protective of her as he rests his chin on top of her head. When cuddling before falling asleep, he loves to be the big spoon, burying his nose into her hair, breathing her in. This makes her giggle as he will do this every single night, but they both love it. She also likes being able to wrap her arms around her tall man, running her fingers through those soft brown waves, the salt and pepper hint of grey at his temples, as he rests his head on her chest so he can listen to her heartbeat.

H is for Hair. Well, we know Harvey keeps that moustache impeccably well groomed. As for elsewhere, he just likes to keep things neat and tidy. As for Lyra, that bright red is not her natural colour... her natural hair colour is dark blonde, and like her man, she likes to keep things trimmed and tidy.

T is for Try. In the long fic, they are trying to rekindle what they once had. They always made so much effort for each other. Like the beautiful and luxurious New Years in the city, like the beautiful and thoughtful gifts they gave each other for Winter Star, and in the next chapter, Harvey gives Lyra a romantic date night at home as they build up to that all important third date. There is also a special one-shot coming up about Harvey's Birthday in year one... In other areas, they put in a lot of effort. While their marriage was a little rocky for a time, Harvey and Lyra always shared the mental load at home, sharing parenting responsibilities and domestic chores, like Harvey's routine of always making breakfast on the weekends, or getting their daughter ready for bed.

I love them your honour.

Thank you so much for these fun asks! I hope you liked these! <3

[topazshadowwolf]

GoopTales 19: Two Weeks Later

Sponge Bob Narrator voice: Two weeks later

Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19(you are here)

AO3: Ch 1 (1-4), Ch 2 (4-8), Ch 3 (9-12), Ch 4 (13-16) Ch 5 (17-19)

---

The mental, physical, and emotional drain on him could not be any more clear than how he slouched on the sofa. Nightmare was not one to sit in a slumped manner. The powerful and generally active tendrils sprawled out around him, one mustering what strength it had left to twitch now and then like the tip of an idle cat tail.

A week and a half. He had lasted that long before the thought of needing help crossed his mind as being something he could no longer avoid. Determined to prove himself wrong, he struggled through the rest of that week. It was now the start of week three, and he knew he was being a fool. That pride, which has been the cause of failure in others that he tried to keep in check, got him in the end.

Glancing at the clock, he saw it was time to start dinner. Before he could, he had to make sure the boys were occupied. If he didn’t, then there was bound to be a disaster within minutes of him leaving the room.

Cross was playing a video game, thankfully an age-appropriate one. He had quickly gathered up and put away everything that was not “child friendly.” Still, Killer has somehow been getting into the mature games Nightmare had put away. Naturally, Cross is too well-behaved for that.

Unfortunately, that is not true for them all. For example, Horror was about to sneak up behind Cross. Nightmare has learned that Horror, even while younger, enjoyed giving others a scare now and then. Considering Sanses and their pranks, the dark guardian understood why. Still, that does not mean the others appreciate being startled by Horror.

“Horror, what are you doing?” Nightmare asked, and Cross paused his game to look. 

Seeing his plan of scaring Cross was thwarted, Horror sighed, “nooothing….” He then shuffled over to play with toys while Cross glared at him. With that settled, though, Cross returned to playing his game.

Dust was curled up beside him, sleeping. Feeling the tiny skeleton’s negative emotions increase, he knew a nightmare was starting. He drew out some of those emotions while placing a gentle hand on the child’s skull. In return, Dust’s body relaxed, and he continued sleeping peacefully.

Wait… where was Killer? Nightmare quickly looked around the room, trying to figure out where the more active of them was.

A crash from the kitchen answered the question of where. 

“sorry!” Killer called out.

With a long-suffering sigh, Nightmare stood up and made his way to the kitchen. The child had flour and other ingredients all over him and the floor. A bowl was upside down beside him, and he was trying to pick it up the best he could. But it was a large bowl and likely too heavy for one so young.

“Killer…,” was all Nightmare could say.

“you looked so tired… i just wanted to help…,” Killer explained, a feeling of regret emerging from his soul.

That was it. The guardian surrendered to the children tonight. He had planned on doing this in the morning, but the dark guardian needed rest now. Nightmare was exhausted after watching after them, tending the animals, filling in for missions, and being in charge of chores. He needed a moment, a chance to close his socket and sleep. 

With that, he pulled out his cell phone and made a call. As he kept the phone to his head, he shuffled into the kitchen and picked up the bowl.

“Greetings,” said a soft, sweet voice. A part of him felt some guilt for this, calling her back to play nanny for him. But, he knew she offered and would likely not mind or see it that way.

“Could you come over in a half hour?” Nightmare asked Lyra. As he spoke, he grabbed the broom and dustpan, then set to work cleaning up.

There was a pause before the Guardian replied, “I can. Though, I must ask, are you alright? You sound different.”

“I just need to rest. If you could watch the boys for five… ten minutes?” Nightmare was ashamed he was pleading but was too tired to stop himself.

“you need longer than that!” Killer insisted, real tears in his sockets.

“Are you sure you don’t want me there now?” Lyra replied.

“I need to get the boys washed up… normally I would do dinner first…” Looking at Killer, Nightmare sighed.

“i’m sorry…,” the child said as he started to cry. Nightmare winced as he knew he would need to comfort Killer before Lyra arrived.

“we’ll be good…” That sounded like Cross, and Nightmare looked back at the doorway. There the other three were, looking into the kitchen with worried expressions. Meaning it would need to comfort all four.

“Let me give them a bath, as I need to talk to them anyway. Once that is done, they will be ready for you. All you need to do is watch them and then wake me to make dinner.”

“Night…,” Lyra started.

“Please.”

“Alright, I will give you time to wash them up. But I am making dinner, no exceptions,” Lyra said. “I will see you soon.”

“Thank you,” Nightmare replied as he relented dinner duty without any more fight. He then hung up and sighed as he looked at Killer.

“i’m sorry!” Killer then said before bursting into more tears. His soul had succeeded in changing back into the monster soul shape, which meant he could feel some of the emotions that had been cut off before. The poor thing was drowning in regret.

He wanted to pick Killer up in his arms, but Nightmare didn’t want to get covered in flour. Later, he will have to comfort the boy. Using a tentacle, he scooped the child up and then walked over to the others. “come along, bath time,” he said as he grabbed the others.

Walking was a kind way to put it. Nightmare shuffled down the hall until he arrived at their bedroom and set them down in the connected bathroom. There, he started to run water. Luckily, by then, Killer’s crying had calmed enough that Nightmare could speak. “I understand you wanted to help, Killer. I am not angry, just disappointed. You could have assisted me instead of trying to do it on your own. Your body is… you are small… and fragile right now. If you got hurt trying to do that, I would have been… very sad.”

Killer sniffled, “i’m sorry.”

“I know… now, come on, undress for a bath, all of you,” He said.

One by one, they each were placed into the tub to wash up. The bathroom was warm and smelled pleasant. The soft sound of them splashing around as they played in the water was calming…

“mr. night?”

Nightmare’s head shot up, and he blinked a few times. How irresponsible. With a sigh, Nightmare sat straighter beside the bathtub. He will have to do better about staying awake for their sake. Granted, skeletons don’t need to breathe and can not drown, unlike other beings. Still, now was not the time to doze off.

“Are you four ready to get out?” Nightmare asked.

Killer moved closer and stretched a hand out to pat Nightmare on the head. “can you please sleep longer than ten minutes? i… i don’t care if i have ta go to bed hungry! you’re too tired, and you need sleep.”

“we’ll be on our best behavior!” Cross added.

“And you will have Lyra watching you, and she insisted on making dinner for all of you. So, you will eat, and I will get some rest. Still, you are my responsibility,” Nightmare said, then yawned. “Ready or not, you are getting out. Lyra will be here soon enough.”

Nightmare got the towels and wrapped up each tiny skeleton. “Go get your pajamas,” He said as he walked with them into their room while holding Killer. “Thank you for caring about me, Killer. I forgive you, but please let me know next time.” He then set the child down.

Killer hugged Nightmare around the legs. “all right, mr. night,” the child replied.

“Go get dressed,” Nightmare urged, and Killer nodded before joining the others. Horror and Killer both do well at getting themselves dried off and dressed. Cross, being younger, and Dust, who is still learning, need a little coaching and help from him.

Finally, all dressed in PJs, they walked over and cuddled beside him. He could feel how sorry they were, and he wished he could say or do more. This guilt will be something they will just have to work through on their own, which is unfortunate but good for their development. 

Just as he felt like he was about to drift off again, there was a light knock on the bedroom door.

---

next

[mamaluigi2018-commsopen]

Could you tell us more about the Pokegirls Roommates AU? Why did each of the girls choose the majors they did? What's their life gonna be like after graduation?

Sure! So for like half the girls, what they choose as majors are legit careers and passions they want to look into, the other half choose just whatever just to have a degree in something

Leaf: (Music) So the reason why Leaf choose music was cause she's the defacto party gal. She's like to have fun and just go wild with her friends. She wants something just to have so that as a way just to "Flex" on people, but if she doesnt end up with a degree, she'd most likely flip off the teachers and still just preform small gigs on her own

Kris: (Health) For Kris, this was influenced by her depiction in the Adventures Manga were she was very atheltic out of the protags, so I made it so she's just someone who likes to be in her best shape. She's another example of, If she gets a degree she gets a degree but if she doesnt eh no harm no foul. She can prob still be a personal trainer on her own or just get a job at a gym to still keep fit.

May: (Drama) May is depicted as, while very ditzy and an airhead, is the most romantic of the group, is very emotional and is suppose to be a reference to Anime May who enjoys performing in Pokemon Contests. So May is one of the few actively does have a passion for her major and when after graduation, while most likely not a big hollywood star, would be doing lots of local plays and musicals.

Dawn: (Business) This Dawn is taking major points from Platinum of the Adventures Manga. Here, Dawn is the daughter of a large jewelry conglomerate so she's taking Business as a focus so that she may be able to take up the company her family has been maintaining. And this isn't like those kinds of having to live up to expectations, Dawn legit enjoys what she does and does find the value of maintaining a business. For the moment til she does become the next CEO, she'll most likely be a manager at a smaller side business or have a high level job in the company.

Lyra: (Teaching) Lyra is the most gentle of the group and the most patient with kids, so she wants to be able to be someone that kids can look up to so for her she wants to be become either a kindergarten or elementary teacher. That would be what she'd want to once she graduates.

Hilda: (Mechanics) Mechanics was the one I choose for Hilda because I wanted to enforce more on the "New Yorker" aspect of her since she is from Unova. She's a bike rider so she decided on something that gives her an excuse to just work on her bike and give it the maintenance she needs. If she graduates, she'd most likely go work at an auto shop and if she doesn't get a degree, she can still ride her bike and prob become like a courier rider.

Rosa: (Sociology) Rosa's always been an empathetic person and always a person willing to listen to people's problems and wants to be able to help. So she's pursuing sociology to become a counselor for people, help them out with any mental issues or are troubled.

Serena: (Fashion) Massive fashionista she is. Always have to be the most glamour gal in the room. Looking your best is her top priority. So she wants to be someone who makes outstanding dresses and clothes and have them up on the walkways. Though she prefers her designs to be on HER instead of just some random model.

Selene: (Art) Selene just has an extremely overactive imagination and growing up from Alola has many beautiful scenic shots that she loves recreating them. And she's also the person that if she gets a degree, cool, if not eh not gonna bother her, she's still just gonna draw and paint what she likes. Maybe some will like em and buy it from her, some wont and she's cool with that.

Gloria: (History) Literally chose it cause she knows Sonia was able to get her degree in it no time at all. So she thinks its easy and you just have to remember dates. She actually despises it alot and has no way to get out of it without having to spend alot of money and more time at school changing majors so she has to put up with it. Very unlikely she gets a degree but if she does, she's doing nothing with it. Probably go work a retail job or go work an intern with Sonia and Hop just to do something.

Juliana: (Library Science) Juliana is the very studious type and loves to learn about many types of trivia and cultures from anything. She chose this major so that she can become a librarian and always have many books to read and to help educate others on knowledge.

Hope this helps out answering your question!

[going-to-ikea-for-the-fries]

Sidenote: I started both of them before you put the Canon in my ask. They're a bit wonky

--------

Price who can't stand seeing Johnny's face anymore, so he starts to put little sticky notes over it in any photo that shows him.

He refuses to fill the spot soap left empty, regardless of how many times laswell presses the topic. Mumbling something about honor and respecting the dead.

Price doesn't want to admit it but soap dying hit him harder than anticipated, he feels responsible for getting him killed. He starts contemplating if maybe just maybe he is getting too old for active duty. Somebody younger would've noticed the ambush he thinks.

He gets to a point where he takes gaz off the team, just for this mission he says. It's nothing more than him being selfish, not wanting to see another mother lose her son.

A son that looked up to him, he doesn't want to let another person down, especially not if it's puts them six feet under.

--

Gaz who doesn't want the gloves off anymore, he's wanting to hole up somewhere and never go out again. His entire world is breaking apart right in front of him, he knew that this kind of career would bring tragedies like this but he didn't think that they would happen.

He isn't a coward, he never has been, kyle always prized himself on his strong mental game but for the first time in his life he finds himself waking up at 3am, drenched in sweat, dreaming of that God forsaken tunnel. If a stellar soldier like soap was so easily taken, what stops the enemy from taking himself.

Kyle doesn't want to admit it but part of him starts to distrust Price, it's not something he's proud of. It's a mix of soap dying, prices self justice and ghost going off the rails somewhere in Scotland.

Extra: something about Kyle replaying Johnny telling him that he would beat his course time someday

JOKES ON YOU, I ALREADY THOUGHT OF THIS SCENARIO BEFORE DOWN TO GAZ BEING REMOVED OFF THE TEAM BECAUSE HE'S YOUNG AND THEY DON'T WANT ANOTHER KID TO DIE!!!

IT ALREADY BROKE ME IT CAN'T HURT ME ANYMO-

"Johnny telling him that he would beat his course time someday"

GOD DAMN YOU!!!!!

GOD DAMN YOU LYRA! 🫵🫵🫵🫵

WHEN I GET YOU WHEN I GET YOU

Also, proof that I did think of this scenario before (for my OC's fanfic) but in it it's Ghost making the call:

[tic-toc-clock77]

My personal AU Clockwork timeline

Tw: mentioned rape and abuse

1996

-Born on November 6th

2002

-Family moves from Windsor to Denver

-Her father starts to beat her

2004

- Clockwork gets the worst beating of her life and in influences her drawings

2005

-Her brother begins sexually abusing her

-bullies attack her for being abused for 4 years

2009

-She pushes her brother away and he stops abusing her

2010

-She begins high school and starts to make friends

2011

-She meets a boy named Chris and begins dating him

2013

-Clockwork's life starts to crumble, she gets broken up with and her friends start to leave

-She reaches her breaking point and sews a pattern of X's into her cheeks, she is sent to therapy for this.

-After therapy, she is sent to a hospital to administer a new treatment to cool her homicidal and suicidal tendencies

-The treatment backfires, turning her eyes from brown to green. Along with that, her homicidal tendencies increased wildly to the point of insanity

-She kills the doctor with no remorse and breaks out of the hospital, she runs to her home.

-She opens the door and startles her mother who she kills gruesomely seconds after

-She kills her father and brother shortly after

-She also dismantles a pocket watch and shoves it into her eye, making the remains of that eye non-usable mush

-High on the adrenaline of the backfired procedure and the murders she commited, she burnt her house to the ground

-She begins living in alleyways and continues to kill people whenever she can

-She goes to Chris's house to kill him and meets Ticci Toby, who takes her to the main cabin

-She meets the others and begins staying in the main cabin

-Toby becomes her mentor for a short while before their relationship becomes romantic and he drops the authoritative power imbalance

-Clockwork becomes friends with Nina Hopkins/Nina the killer

-Clockwork and Jeff the killer form a sibling like bond

2020

-Clockwork begins questioning her sexuality and tests it out with Nina (With consent from Toby, of course.)

-She decides she's bisexual

-For a short while, she, Toby and Nina begin a polyamorous relationship until Nina confesses to being a lesbian

2021

-Toby and Clockwork go on a dangerous mission which results in what she believed would cause Toby's death

-Toby gets stabbed by Zalgo's proxy while Slenderman's magic is fading

-She reluctantly returns to the main cabin and spends 2 weeks in Toby's room, not speaking to anyone, eating or sleeping.

-Toby eventually returns and they vow to never let something like that happen again

2023

-Clockwork and Toby start to build a cabin in the forest together and move into it by Spring

-Soon after, they get 'married'

2026

-At 30, the couple have their first child; Erin Rogers.

-Erin is a male who was born with heterochromia

2029

-Toby and Clockwork have their second child, Lyra "Ly" Rogers, named after Toby's sister

2031

-The "Forest Breakdown" begins as Slenderman's magic fades and they barrier around the forest fades along with it.

-Cops instantly come into the forest once they're able to pinpoint the locations of all these serial killers

-Clockwork is arrested and separated from her family and friends

-During interrogation, she realizes nobody knows she killed her family and only think she killed that doctor

-She tells the detective about the treatment and her unwell state of mind causing her to panic and kill the doctor which is a lie but they detective doesn't see through it.

-After trial, she is taken to a mental hospital after clearly showing signs of needing help.

-Her children are not given permission to see her or Toby.

2037

-at 41, Clockwork is deemed sane and allowed to leave the mental ward.

-She reunites with Toby and plans on reuniting with her children.

-an 11 year old Erin is less than enthusiastic to be seeing the parents he deemed "awful people" still alive and actively denies their efforts to reconnect with him.

-Meanwhile, 9 year old Lyra was ecstatic to be reunited with her actual parents and encouraged their efforts to be in her life.

-Shortly after, they found they'd need a lawyer to get custody of their children or at least, Lyra. They'd decided to respect Erin's wishes to keep their distance from him.

-They began working up the funds for a lawyer by working minium wage jobs (it's all they could muster) with people like Nina, Jeff, Tim and Brian, the only few who made it out of the "Forest Breakdown"

2042

-After 5 years of trying to gain custody, they eventually decided just to be happy with seeing Lyra and maybe Erin, as much as possible seeing as how they couldn't exactly provide a great environment for their kids to live in.

-They focused their money on paying rent or going out for food with their kids to spend time with them or going places by themselves or with their kids.

2046

-By 50, Toby and Clockwork got legally married and counted it as they had been married since 2023. They only did the paperwork and didn't actually have a wedding.

2049

-Clockwork and Toby were introduced to their first grandchild, Evelyn Rogers, as Ly had become a single mother.

2051

-Sometime in 2051, Toby was killed by a police officer who mistook him helping someone as trying to kill them and shot him to death.

-After this, she retreated to the forest and began living in their old cabin together and fixed it up.

-Ly and Evelyn stayed with her frequently and they planned a nice burial for him.

2058

-Her life was as peaceful as it could've been for the last 7 years of her life

-She eventually decided to turn herself in for every murder she ever commited and when Erin got word of this, he had one final talk with her about their lives.

-She found peace with her son and the rest of her family and was put to lethal injection for her crimes.

-After her death, she was buried next to Toby despite some distant family of Clockwork's trying to put her burial in Windsor with her family which Ly and Erin both dealt with swiftly.

[starrytimepod]

Lyra: Pop Culture Superstar

Hello. Hi. Greetings!

Long time no post. We've been active over on Mastodon, so if you're inclined to visit us there, here's a link:

Or, I'll try to get better at popping over to say hi here!

Why I am suddenly back? Well, our most recent podcast episode on Lyra in Pop Culture seems to be cursed. We've recorded it twice and had fatal errors. Twice.

So, this week we'll do something a little different. I made a visual post of our Lyra: Pop Culture Superstar and recorded a shorter solo companion pod for the post.

Here's your audio guide:

Favorites

Jordan Favorite 1: Lyra Belacqua from His Dark Materials Trilogy

Sources: https://www.hbo.com/his-dark-materials/cast-and-crew/lyra-belacqua & https://www.philip-pullman.com/hdm

Kit Favorite 1: Lyra Veronica Esmeralda Taylor

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyra_Taylor

Jordan Favorite 2: Lyrebird (Kit addendum: SCARY!)

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyrebird

Kit Favorite 2: She-Hulk (aka Lyra -- from an alternate future, daughter of Femizon (!!!) Thundra & Hulk)

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She-Hulk_%28Lyra%29

Jordan Favorite 3: Lyra Dawnbringer

Least Favorites

Kit's Least Favorite: Lyra Health -- okay, okay. wait. I don't know anything about this health company, but I do know they provide mental health care which *is* broadly good. However, I dislike the "lyra" brand use here considering... well... Orpheus. Listen to the last episode of the podcast for more details: https://starrytimepodcast.podbean.com/e/lyra-myths-and-retconstellations/

Jordan's Least Favorite (prepare yourself for CONTROVERSY): Lyra Heartstring (although this was Jordan's least favorite, she agreed that this name was very good):

Source: https://mylittleponyyt.fandom.com/wiki/Lyra_Heart_Strings

Wished For

Kit's:

Lyra's Lyres and Other Stringed Instruments Shop (... i know, it's a lil lazy, BUT, my alternative was just the world "Lyracal," which I couldn't make into anything good...)

Jordan's: Lyra Video game -- think Guitar Hero (but with a Lyre) meets Zelda meets Hades. The ultimate prize?! Your LYRE in the night sky! Jordan had a very detailed storyline, which I'll try to tell yo more about on the pod (and if we ever recover the audio, we'll be sure to release it!).

All right, folks, let us know your fav, least favs, and what you wished existed in the Lyra-verse!

With Love,

Kit & Jordan

[florbelles]

✘: Who do they detest the most? Do they typically avoid this person or antagonize them? ✨: What motivates them? Is it a deep rooted passion/motivation, or is it something they struggle with from time to time? ✪: Have they ever let a rare opportunity slip them by? for Lyra beloved <3

✘ WHO DO THEY DETEST THE MOST? DO THEY TYPICALLY AVOID THIS PERSON OR ANTAGONIZE THEM?

(under the cut for brief gore description bc of lyra lyra-ing).

lyra, funnily enough, has a very difficult time actively detesting anyone; she's a very social creature who very much wants to be liked and who, as a rule, likes others as individuals, in at least some capacity. she doesn't hate the resistance; she doesn't hate the damned, condemned to her judge's domain—they are quite useful and necessary to her, if nothing else, and anyway, is she not taking their sins upon herself to cleanse them in their suffering, to make them purposeful, to make them beautiful? (they are eyeless and tongueless and strung on that beam over there by their entrails for the next poor unfortunate soul to choose to save or leave to their fate in her little gauntlet, but isn't that just lovely? if your right eye causes you to sin...)—and anyway, who is she to judge? she winks coyly. the crowd boos loudly.

the closest she's come to actually loathing an individual, as opposed to an individual's actions or their conflicting ideologies (which is what stokes the deep, undying flame of rage that burns inside her, exacerbated instead of lessened by the fact that she likes, instead of detests, humanity—she would find it far easier to be apathetic and pragmatic if she cared less and disliked the species on principle), comes in the form of her father and his ilk (she spent the ten years prior to the project killing them wherever she saw them in those she encountered, though she fled the entire east coast so as not to harm the originals). she also loves him, in spite of everything, in spite of wishing she did not. in that sense, though she antagonizes them in theory (aforementioned killings and the thefts that preceded them, the instructor she shot while returning from archery and the colleague of her father's whose hand she crushed with a croquet mallet, the party she drugged the night she left for good), she also avoids them — she left, quite simply, because she was afraid of what she would do if she stayed.

✨ WHAT MOTIVATES THEM? IS IT A DEEP ROOTED PASSION/MOTIVATION, OR IS IT SOMETHING THEY STRUGGLE WITH FROM TIME TO TIME?

to make herself, all that she is and all that she isn't, mean something. if she cannot be good, if she cannot be loved, she will be what she is; she will be the monster that hunts all others. she will be the predator the predators deserve. she will be the wrath of god. she's already damned—it will not be for nothing. it cannot be for nothing. arguably she only falters in this the first few years past the collapse, because she had fully intended for her life to end then and there—she did not count herself among those who belonged in the real world, she meant to burn along with the rest of the damned, and that she did not, that she has lost everything, that others have died and she is still breathing, leaves her physically and mentally comatose. (she is pulled from this the only way she could be—the voice returns, and she has a purpose again. her work is not done, and that is that.)

✪ HAVE THEY EVER LET A RARE OPPORTUNITY SLIP THEM BY?

truthfully? no. she will wonder this, of course—might things have been different at this moment, or this one, or this one?—but ultimately she finds little use in it. if an opportunity passes her by, it was likely not by her will, or it was something she did not and never would see an opportunity. on a meta level, sure; she missed the opportunity to use her family's abundant resources before she fled at the age of sixteen to get some goddamn therapy and reframe her thought processes instead of getting herself kicked out of every single boarding school in the country and one or two abroad. alas. otherwise, she is far more likely to seize upon a perceived opportunity she should not have done than to watch it slip through her fingers.

[n7viper]

Hiii for the Guardian OC ask:

6. What's their Ghost's name? (I'm always curious about this one 👀)

20. Is your Guardian jaded and bitter? Or are they still doggedly determined, after all that's happened?

Hi, Gin! Thanks for these :3 I forgot I'd queued those asks and was so confused when I woke up and checked my notifications 😅 This brought back a bunch of inspiration to work on some other asks that have been marinating in ye ole aske boxe, so thank you! I also rambled WAY too much whoops

(Destiny OC Questions)

6. Maeve's Ghost is named Lyra! I answered here a while ago, and all of that still stands. Lyra is a nice reference to one of my closest friends and someone I play Destiny with but also just a name I felt inexplicably drawn to. I still haven't really developed any lore around how she gets the name. Though, with how Mae is about naming stuff; that's probably the name that Lyra gave herself and then Mae didn't feel the need to change it (since I know some guardians like both of them to get new names after being reborn). It's Ghost-Loving Hours, so I'm just gonna ramble about her even if it's not relevant to the question. :P Lyra is playful, chatty, and comforting - a weird little mix of Sagira, Glint, and the in-game Ghost. Mae has a lot of insecurities about her abilities and her place among the other Guardians. Lyra helps keep her grounded with lighthearted reassurances and more serious ones when needed. Over time, she's able to help speak for Mae when Mae is stressed and nonverbal. Lyra also recently got a shiny new paint job! I just gotta show it off again because it's my favourite. She's had that same shell for some time but it was a holographic blue before. She and Mae are pink girlies, so when Tess had the Springtide Faint shader this week, I had to get it for them.

20. Mae is still doggedly determined, though she isn't sure how that's still the case some days. Not only has everything been so much since the Red War*, but she's actively fighting herself at the same time. Her insecurities are her greatest enemy. She still manages to get the job done at the end of the day, but goddamn can that girl do some mental gymnastics to tell herself that she isn't really that good of a guardian and the Vanguard keeps her around out of pity because of her getting lucky and killing Ghaul. * I say Red War only because I'm slowly working through D1 now and haven't finished it. I didn't get the chance to play until recently! I originally jumped into the series at the end of Year 1 in Destiny 2 in 2018. She's hanging on by a fucking thread right now, though, Strand jokes aside :P That determination is really being tested with current events--the whole impending end of the universe, friends dying, and a boyfriend who seems like he's teetering on the edge of doing something really fucking stupid (time for Forsaken 2, baby! lol). She thought she was doing better after confronting and making peace with her worst Nightmare in Season of the Haunted (herself! masquerading as other people), but being stretched between protecting Neomuna and the resistance on Earth, Mae is tired. We'll see how the rest of the Lightfall seasons work out for her and if she still manages to have a little hope by the time we get to The Final Shape...

[minutiaeoflife]

In a world that is constantly telling you to fit in a transformative phase in your life, marking the shift from childhood to adolescence. In this story, we will dig in on the stage of life where the complex journey is not only on the physical growth but also involves emotional, social, and mental development. During the interview session, I was also reminiscing about the things that I've been through when I was her age. Upon hearing those words that come out of her mouth, she's still searching for her soul. While others map out their future, she's there, bravely moving forward without navigation and letting the world shape her. She may not have a vision for her future life yet, but she's trusting every unplanned journey she's into, even if it's unclear.

Our soul searcher is named Lyra, a 16-year-old Grade 11 Humanista girly and currently studying at DRANHS.

During Lyra's pubertical period, she noticed some changes in her physical attributes, such as breast growth, her rapid increase in height and weight, and changes in more mature body shape. The changes happening in her body make her feel happy, and she was comfortable about the growth in her body because it was her sign that she's mature enough for something that adults prohibited her from doing.

Talking about her appearance, she's partly more confident than before the pandemic happened. We cannot deny the outbreak phase in our lives; she also experienced that thing, and that made her confidence decrease. She's not a skin care guru; she just sleeps a lot, which makes her believe that her outbreaks would disappear.

At some point, she noticed that her sleep pattern didn't change. She usually sleeps from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., which is surprising for her age. Some adolescents experience a delayed sleep phase, which is that they usually sleep late and wake up late. However, in her case, she values sleep a lot more than scrolling through social media. Despite sleeping a lot, she noticed also that her energy level dropped than she was before, including her interest in life. Due to the drop in interest, she classified her physical abilities as proving. She was once a player of volleyball, which means I was the culprit influencing her. She isn't making progress or learning new things.

On pubertical stage of a girl, they experienced menstruation. It is one of the most challenging part that almost girls wishing it would vanished, they call it "menstruation cramps". During the red days time, Lyra feels tired of everything that makes her lazy and unproductive. It also affects her mood, sometimes she feels happy but most of the time she feels like a storm. On the other part, during red days she loves to eat a lot and experience hybernation. Lyra complains that her tummy wont get smaller but she refuses to do diet. When she craves for something but can't eat it, her mood swings would activate.

Lyra's ability to think was different than a few years ago; she was trying to perceive more positive energy than negative vibe, as it holds the best. She categorized herself as indecisive even though she lacked confidence in her ability to make decisions and was unsure of how to approach learning new things. Her capacity for thought focuses more on the process of self-learning. Lyra's college plans were dependent on her mother and brother, despite the fact that their decisions didn't align with her desires.

As time passes, Lyra's bond with her mother and brother grows stronger. Her family was one of her support networks; she received so much assistance that she was unable to make and abide by her own judgments. She claims that her mother is domineering and that they frequently quarrel over trivial matters. She has been trained to suppress her seething emotions and to remain mute during their arguments. strengthen their mother-daughter bond after all of their disputes and arguments. Her lack of boldness in expressing herself causes people, even her mother, to misinterpret her. Although others perceive it negatively, she cherishes and keeps her private life and feelings secret.

She found herself in a brand-new setting with unfamiliar people, locations, and atmosphere. She was thrilled to reestablish a new circle and was on her way to establishing new friends. She is not happy with the idea of leaving her previous group of friends; they are currently in a low-maintenance friendship.

[engbergsinfinland]

A sunny Friday, with a big mid-morning rain shower …

Today is Friday and we've made it to the end of the kids' first half-week of school. Cece gets out at 1:00 today and Rowan gets out at 2:50. It is strange that their timetables for school each day are: a) different between the two of them many days, and b) different from day to day, sort of like a college schedule. Getting the hang of this has been a bit of a challenge, but luckily, through the school app ("Wilma"), I can reach their teachers and ask these "beginner" questions.

So, Cece's teacher's name is Tytti and she is very lovely and told Cece to have me come up to the classroom Wednesday at pickup so she could get to know me, since we're a new family to the school. I also got to talk with Rowan's teacher, named Annariikka, in the schoolyard at pickup on Wednesday. They were both so warm and friendly. 

The school is an international school and there really seem to be children from all over, including Finnish children. There are many children from India, China, the Middle East, Africa, and more.... plus one little girl who Cece has now declared her good friend,  named Lyra, who has one parent from New Zealand  and one from Australia. Many of these people come to this area to work, as there are many telecommunications and digital technologies companies here.

Some interesting aspects about the schooling here, gleaned so far, are that the kids take themselves to school after age seven, and our kids have gotten on board with that, literally getting on board the tram around the corner from our building and taking the "1" train for less than ten minutes to the stop near the school. I did give Rowan an old Android phone of mine with a Finnish SIM card so he can look after himself and Cece and I can track them with the Google Family Link app. There are no other apps on the phone (I am very, very, paranoid-edly, not a word, against kids using smartphones, as there are so many proven mental health impacts and scholastic achievement-related impacts ... but I could eat these words eventually!). Rowan can call and message me and he's to turn the phone off and put it in his backpack pocket when he gets to school and turn it on when school ends until he arrives into our flat. It's worked well all far, three days in! They also take themselves to most of their after-school activities.

Speaking of after-school activities, Rowan started ballet this week, and this ol' gal took an adult beginner class after his last night! I had to ease back in somehow ;) Rowan's teacher (& mine) is named Sari and she's about ten years older than me and is great, very affable and kind. Rowan said he has a hard time following the combinations in Finnish, but luckily the worldwide language of ballet is French, so I think he'll be able to feel accustomed to her class pretty soon.

Other highlights of this week were that yesterday I went to coffee with a colleague from Tampere University named Maija. She's also in technical communication. After our coffee, we walked over to the university and she gave me a bit of a tour and showed me our building where my office will be, where I will share with her in a graduate student. Everyone in their unit is in transition because of remodeling. I met two other colleagues, one of whom is also in technical communication and spoke English like a champ and then she explained that she was actually from Indiana 😆 But, she's lived in Finland for 35 years. It sounds like she is married potentially to a Finn and has children and will have grandchildren here, according to some of her remarks. They were so wonderful and friendly.

Other big news of this week is that yesterday we got the email that our Finnish national ID numbers were assigned! We just went to the DVV office last Friday and were told that it would take 4 to 6 weeks. How's this for a quick turnaround! Now that we have those, so many doors are now open to us, including getting a bank account for my paycheck to go into. We can also get discounts on our yearly bus pass and I can register the kids now officially for their activities and much more.

A weird phenomenon in our apartment building, which is about 130 years old, is that because there are two pretty happenin' bars on the ground floor and five restaurants in the block, there seems to be a ventilation issue so that the interior corridor smells like a grease trap at a diner when it's a warm day. We know we won't have many more warm days to come, but the last few days have been just glorious and in the 70s and so the interior hallway has been ... pretty darn rank. That's probably our least favorite thing about our apartment building. 

On a positive note, we've had a very good week and I guess we'd say we're settling in. Rowans been super busy with a drawing project and Cece's finishing off the last book we brought with us from the US! Up next week is Alex's veterinarian appointment to get his EU pet passport and appointments at the bank for me and Eric. I have another meeting with colleagues and I really have to buckle down on a few projects and the planning of my course that starts on the 28th.

Enjoy your weekend!

[emeraldtied]

↳ @familylightfox asked: While they had the spring festival just a few days prior, there was still plenty of decorations still visible for the small family to see. Harmony was more than happy to lead her cousin through some of the activities. With Fafo right on their heels the whole time, it was fun to watch as the teen stopped at a tree that was decorated with offerings at the base and held out an apple to Lyra. “Make a wish and put it on the plate.” The branches above swayed in the breeze and brought one lone leaf to land on the little hybrid’s bangs. As a thank you.

{➹} – LYRA WAS ALL too happy to follow Harmony around the village while her parents stayed back to talk to the teen's dad and a few of the other locals. Of course this meant that every few minutes the pair were stopping so the little one could get a better look at the decorations that caught her attention, but if Harmony minded Lyra was none the wiser.

It was only when they stopped at the tree that a sort of confusion washed over the little hybrid. Why would people leave food outside like that? Was the tree hungry...?

"Wish..." She knew the word, even knew the concept but the whole thing was confusing to the toddler. Nonetheless she did as her cousin instructed, going as far as to close her eyes as tight as she could to make the mental wish before placing the apple where it belonged.

But one shake of her head and the leaf was off.