#okay i lied have some fran

[dollypopup]

I can't stop thinking about Colin on his travels. Colin, alone, on a journey to 17 different cities, across several countries. Colin on his own.

Colin who writes letter after letter, to his family, to his friends, and barely gets a response back. How long before he understands that they didn't get lost in the mail? How long until he realizes that, just like when he was a boy, no one has the time for him? The space for him? How many letters unanswered before he lets it finally take root and fester in his mind?

He could have died on that tour.

Would they even notice? Would they see when the letters slow until they cease? Would they wonder why? His mum, surely (maybe, possibly, but she has enough on her hands, besides, and he's never been a concern, in need of her assistance, before), but anyone else? Anthony on his honeymoon, Eloise a stormcloud personified, Benedict taking on the familial responsibilities, Fran preparing for the marriage mart and in Bath, regardless. Daphne, his closest sister, a mum running her own estate.

Greg and Hyacinth who enjoy his stories, but are children.

Pen who ignores him. No explanation, no goodbye.

Colin who has no one in his corner. Colin who travels city to city, putting on personas. Will they like me? What about now? Colin who has hardly anything to read from the people he loves. Who do not think of him.

And yet he thinks of them. Brings them back gifts, writes his recollections for them until it hits him that, oh, they don't care. They don't care what he's doing, how he's doing. They didn't want to hear it before, when he was there with them, and they do not want to hear it now, either. Did they even open those envelopes? Did they see them come through the post, just as proof he's alive, and shrug off the contents? Did they look? Once, Colin sends an empty page. No one notices. Easier, then, to send just the outsides. People only ever care about the outsides. Pretty and prim in neat packages, uncaring of what lies beneath. Sea sick on the rocking boats, staring up at stars on the continent, Colin grows aware, but not bitter. Sad, but resigned.

He loves his family, he loves Pen, loves them to grace, loves them to it's okay. It was him, he determines. Too chatty, his letters too long, uninteresting, his passions dull or droll, or else, worse, he's displeased them in some way. Colin who takes refuge in stranger's arms and homes, who dreams and tries to sate his curiosity. Colin who pretends, because anyone, anyone but him would be received better, he's sure of it. Colin who must talk too much, surely, and with no one to listen. Colin who learns to hush.

Yes. Remarkable- as in, I have many remarks about it.

How many times did he go to excitedly write of what he did that week, and stopped himself, knowing it was a waste? How many times did he write and throw into the fire a letter asking Why don't you see me? Why don't you care?

If he didn't make it, how long would it take for anyone to notice? A month? Two? A year? Would they wave it off as his frivolity, denounce him as a flake and fume about the funds? Would they wonder where it was he had lost himself off at?

He cannot fall into that, so, he writes in his journal, instead. Of the ache of it, of how he longs for connection, for understanding, for someone to take him seriously. He keeps it with him, this log of his discontent, of his folly and felicity, of his pitfalls and pains.

If he didn't make it, would they realize all that's left of him is what he sent them, not even a body to bury? Did he look over the side of a bow of a boat and look at the churn of the ocean and think of how many bones it held? Did he tip his face to the sun? How many new scars did he earn? Who did he befriend?

Who did he become?

Somewhere along the line, Colin learned. He learned the real him wasn't wanted.

Somewhere along the line, somewhere between Patmos and Paris, Colin left Colin behind.

And, somewhere along the line, Colin laid face to face with loneliness in his bed, and it wrapped its arms around him.

[whatshehassaid]

“I LOVED HER.” “BUT SHE DIDN’T LOVE YOU. Not like he did. Not like I have”

That isn’t Armand saying Claudia didn’t love Louis. She did. What he’s saying is that Louis was so fucking focused on PINING for Lestats love, superimposing Lestat on Claudia AND Armand that Louis refused to accept love from them. Because he didn’t want Claudia. He didn’t want Armand. He wanted Lestat and he couldn’t have him (whether it be because Louis convinced himself Lestat was bad, or dead, or because Louis is in denial). He tries to make villains out of Armand and Claudia.

“Speaking of mistakes…”

“Vintage Lioncourt.” “I’m not Lestat, Louis.” “Okay….”

“Picked ANOTHER ONE over ME”

“It was NEVER ABOUT ME. Another chapter in the FUCKED UP ROMANCE OF YOU TWO”

“If you want to escape this cage of empathy I’ve trapped you in all you had to do was ask, Louis.”

“Imagine me without the burden of her”

Louis can’t face the fact that he was IMPLICIT in what happened to Claudia in Paris. She wants a companion in Madeline cause she’s not getting in from Louis.

I feel like we may be going the route of Armand and Claudia (probably immediately after the trial and before her death) bonding over their experiences. Not just to do with Louis and Lestat… but their childhoods… being raped… being used… being turned so young…

I’m not 100% on this but if they do include the head swap thing (which is still fucked up, I’m still upset at Armand for that) I feel like Armand will frame it or believe that he can save her if he can just give her a woman’s body to match her mind. And I feel like Claudia will jump at the chance. Again, not 100% with that and it’s STILL super fucked up.. but I think if that happens Armand (AT THE TIME) would believe he was helping her. Like how he “helps” his victims. How he was never helped as a human child and as a vampire. They relate to each other because they’ve never been someone’s first choice… and I think the moment Armand hears her say those words (“it was never about me. Another chapter in the fucked up story/romance of you two”) he’s gonna realize how much they really have in common and feel empathy for her.

It makes a lot of sense with how Armand’s character (especially in the books) is. He has a thing about consent (it’s a bit twisted because you could argue he assumes he knows what’s best for people… and acts accordingly thinking that he’s helping them) But he needs people to consent at least somehow. Even if it’s coerced.

That’s also why I believe after Paris… Louis initially agreed to have the memories of his role in Claudia’s death suppressed. He couldn’t handle the guilt that he didn’t care enough to save her. Armand just took it to the point of constantly suppressing the triggering memories. Plus on TOP of that I’m 100% sure Louis is schizophrenic and it’s causing blackouts.

Armand wasn’t really lying when he said that “I protect Louis from himself.” He WAS being honest. It’s in a fucked up way, but I believe it’s true.

And then with Daniel, that’s a whole other can of worms because I don’t think Armand wiped his memories right after San Fran. I’m starting to believe it wasn’t just Louis telling him to keep Daniel alive. The minute Daniel admits he finds Armand fascinating… and tells him “you can read minds right?” Alluding to the fact that he ISN’T LYING. Daniel is intrigued by Armand… and that immediately catches Armand’s attention. We’ve only seen up to Louis attacking Daniel from an unbiased POV (the tape recording). The rest is MOSTLY FROM LOUIS. Who had had memories taken whether by Armand or by the blackouts… and remember he has a habit of trying to make himself look good in Daniel’s eyes. He tries to convince himself constantly that he’s not a bad guy - but in reality…. He’s done some shitty things too. So it wouldn’t surprise me if some of that was also lies to Daniel. “You’re a liar Louis. Whether you know it or not.”

Something happened in those 4 days with Armand and Daniel that I’m not sure Louis realizes. He may come in and out of actual remembrance where he KNOWS Armand and Daniel fell in love… and he uses it against them both… and then goes back into not knowing what’s happening.

I have a feeling we’re getting the trial/claudia’s death/a reveal about the blackouts etc/the fire from ARMAND. Hence the “imagine me without the burden of her” line that Louis says. He would NEVER in a million years admit to saying that. Definitely not to Daniel.

The Merrick storyline plays into this here. Finding Claudia’s diaries… realizing that Louis really treated her badly and that she hates him for it. And Louis not being able to take it.

I also feel like Lestat and Armand have teamed up in Dubai without Louis or Daniel realizing it. They may be trying to help cure him with the help of Dr. Bhansali.

(Also, devils minion definitely happened in the past… you can just see it in the way Armand sometimes looks at Daniel - and in the books even though he was a stickler for rules… his only exception has ALWAYS been Daniel. He loves Louis, he wouldn’t have put up with any of this if he didn’t… but Daniel? Daniel is really the love of Armand’s life. And Lestat is Louis’. I need them boys to figure this shit out - and with the fact that Daniel wasn’t listed in the Talamasca victims folder? Even though he was attacked, held hostage and tormented… means he is probably in ANOTHER folder - *cough* ARMANDSPARAMOURS *cough* I hope they have Daniel find his name in there cause THAT is gonna be J U I C Y.)

[the-dust-jacket]

Okay @guardian-angle22 tagged me to name ten upcoming books I am excited about, and listen I have NOT DONE MY HOMEWORK this year, I have very little sense of what's coming up when, it's going to be a professional problem if I don't get some spreadsheets going. BUT here is a quick-and-dirty non-exhaustive list of ten fourteen upcoming titles I'm either already shouting about or super excited to get my hands on. (I'm also bad at tag games but thanks for prompting me to do this, I genuinely do need to be thinking about it!)

Pictured:

The Coven Tendency by Zoe Hana Mikuta

The Manor of Dreams by Christina Li

The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison

A Far Better Thing by H.G. Parry

Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray

This Ends In Embers by Kamilah Cole

Mirage City by Lev A.C. Rosen

The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar

A Philosophy of Thieves by Fran Wilde

Max In the Land of Lies by Adam Gidwitz

The Incandescent by Emily Tesh

Not Pictured:

The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli by Karina Yan Glaser

All of Us Murderers by KJ Charles

Hemlock and Silver by T Kingfisher

I'm sure I forgot or missed SO MANY, come holler at me about what I should be reading!

Passing this along to anyone who like to do it! @letsreadwomen @bookcub @sawthefaeriequeen @profiterole-reads @listentothestories @kingarthurflourofficial

[timothylawrence]

well folks........ weve made it to the end of the line.....

long ass review below...

wowza. okay. gonna start this by saying this'll probably be mostly a review about bridge to the turnabout...!!!!! before i get into anything juicy, i wanna start with the biggest shoutout to my partner in crime and bestie, @katagawajr... literally could not have played this game without her. hats off to the best edgeworth impersonation on the planet. <3

OKAY. TO start. I knew trouble was about when it had to do with the fey clan and channeling of spirits... i could just feel it. i was waiting for it and bam. its like the worst thing that could've happened lmao.

-ahhhhh..... when ive said it before and said it again... the love and friendship everyone has for each other!! are you kidding me!!! phoenix running across a burning bridge and addressing his worst fear ever for Maya!!! Edgeworth immediately hopping on a private chartered jett cus your man friend needs you.... man. so good. and for edgeworth to take the place of pheenie at first..... (also. sorry ill admit some cringe. i cried at the thought of not playing phoenix i was so distressed LMFAOOO i missed himmmm)

-and of course can we forget the best character in this game this franchise the star of every scene in which she presents herselfffff

-dude. the showdown we've been waiting for. the fact she quite literally flew in per miles request. their back and forth. oh my god. ohhh my godddd. oh my god. their back and forth, the way she acts all tough but would do anything miles asks of her (and DOES). easily one of my favorite moments.

-(takes long drag of my cigarette).... oh you two. oh you two. do i die or what. they care about one another so much. its literally so sickening. franziskaaaa milessss can we hug onceeee

GROUP SOBBING SESSION STARTS NOW!!!!!!

-okay skipping ahead a little because if i sit here talking about miles and fran i'll be here all day. um miles and phoenix... yeah you two are tied by the red string of gay fate... the way they constantly check in with either throughout the investigation was so cute to meee sorry.... esp with miles' little panic attack :(. awe. also phoenix wanting to hug miles AWWW

-okay wait i lied jumping back to Franziska for a second I LOVED HER FOLLOWING PHOENIX AROUNDDDD IT WAS SO CUTEEE... im glad she was as involved as she was that is my GIRL.

-ok idk what peoples thoughts on larry are but i think hes fucking funny as hell a lot of the time. love when a character is just useless but funny with it. his little loser shack with Pearl LMFAO (also... he looks like august borderlands so i might be biased- WHO SAID THAT)

-yeah. okay. this is the worst sprite in the history of sprites. genuinely so terrifying. my poor girl. my poor baby. when does she get a break?? she looks genuinely mortified. frozen in fear. quite literally a deer in headlights :( she went through SO MUCH and even her testimony was so heartbreaking. she was so scared and just. just wanted to get away from it all. the way phoenix screams into his hands when Dahlia says that Maya is actually dead. UGHHHHH

group sobbing session neow....

-okay... onto the story.... the actual case itself... im gonna be honest, i was very confused and still am about the whole channeling stuff. it feels like theirs a gap between when maya was in the cave?? and then when she was suddenly out and swapped with iris?? because dahlia wasnt there the whole time?? idk it hurts my head to think about. but i will say something.

i never saw this fucking coming.

-hoooolyyy shit. holy shit. amazed this was never spoiled for me but never ever did i even THINK Godot was responsible till the very end. till it was spelled out. and even then i wasnt fully convinced. holy shit. kudos to the writers again cus i never ever expected him. his story is so fucking heartbreaking. i feel bad for him. but damn. damn. his monologue at the end was so good. the way he goes on about how he wasnt even sure if he did this for the right reasons, that if he did, he would've told Phoenix from the start... (Damn id pay money for that reaction lol). It just... it felt so raw and real. and when he cries. man. man. just sorrow all around. the only time a lawyer can cry is at the end. while he bleeds/cries, the callback to what he told mia. just harrowing and sorrowful.

-okay. okay. the final witness being maya. my god. my god. the anguish. the pain. the way both maya and phoenix know the truth, and the way he knows she's lying and she knows he knows. its just so painful. its so fucking sad. maya knows its fruitless and she knows whats coming because the only person on the whole planet who knows her better than she knows herself is phoenix. its so similar to how in farewell my turnabout, maya was telling him to speak the truth no matter the cost, and now, phoenix was telling that to her.

speak the truth, let it be revealed. as godot and phoenix both said "Once you've eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." no matter how painful. damn

-the connection between maya acting okay for pearls and miles acting okay after dl-6 because someones they cared about would be in pain if they werent... oh miles and franziska... oh miles and franziska... oh i know this next game is gonna hurt....

-maya is the heart of this game, but Mia is the soul. their connection, their love, it was the beginning, the middle, and the end. it all came back to them. and i couldn't have been happier.

-all in all, this whole journey was a BLAST. i had an equal amount of laughs that i did cries, i was surprised, i was puzzled, and i was in awe. genuinely such a good fucking series no wonder it has had a fanbase that spans decades.... my fav episode was definitely farewell, my turnabout, but i enjoyed nearly every episode i played for one reason or another.

I'll miss Maya and Pheenie so much, i already do, but I know i'll have fun doing who knows what with Miles next.

[ciaossu-imagines]

a, j, l, p, and v for khr. thank u!!

No, thank you! This was fun and easy to write, while still being interesting to think about! I just hope the answers will be interesting to read too 😊

A: Is the most attractive (to me)

I have some characters that I think are only attractive to me, because I don’t often see people talking about them or fangirling over them. Those characters include Dr. Shamal, Iemitsu, YamaPapa, Lancia, and Kusakabe. Then there’s the characters that I found attractive right from the start, based on looks alone (though I grew to love them all very, very much based on other things) like Basil, Enma, adult Skull, adult Lal Mirch, Shoichi, Spanner, G. and Chikusa. Then there are others where I became attracted to them only after reading the manga all the way through – Byakuran is the biggest example of this, but also Gamma, Shitt P.! and Adelheid count, as does Adult! Reborn. The man is undeniably fine, though I feel no romantic attraction to him at all for some reason – I just appreciate the beautiful design.

Tells the most ‘dad jokes’

Iemitsu loves dad jokes and it’s kind of rubbed off on some of the other CEDEF members. Basil ended up loving bad puns, Oregano ends up using a lot of kind of funny, kind of dorky one-liners, while Turmeric goes all in on dad jokes of all varieties. The only one who seems completely unaffected by it is Lal, who doesn’t even crack a smile at any of their jokes. At least, Lal doesn’t crack a smile while they can see it. She won’t give them the satisfaction…when they turn away or when they can’t see, she might smirk and inwardly laugh though.

Lies the most

Mukuro, Byakuran, and Xanxus can all lie with a perfectly straight face, without any negative feelings about lying, and with complete confidence. None of them feel the slightest bit bad and Mukuro and Byakuran are slightly compulsive liars who tend to manipulate situations and people as they need to. I also think Kawahira has no problems telling lies but, in his mind, all of the lies he tells have purpose. He doesn’t just lie with no reasons – if he’s lying, he believes it’s needed and that the lie will serve a purpose. I think Fran lies just to fuck with people, because he finds it funny. Lambo, Ken, and Bel will all lie without a second thought to keep themselves out of trouble. Yamamoto, Kyoko, and Gokudera tend to lie about being okay when they’re not, but that’s because all three of them are emotional idiots at times.

Is the purest, most perfect cinnamon roll

I think Yuni definitely qualifies here. While she’s got a very sad aspect to her character, and is, by necessity, an older soul than she should be, with very adult responsibilities and thoughts, she’s also someone who is very soft, sweet, and who keeps a positive view of the world overall. Enma and Tsuna also kind of fall under that same banner, just for me personally, as does Shoichi.

Is the best at video games

I’m going to come with some obvious answers. Byakuran, Shoichi, Spanner, and Giannini are all really into video games and they’re all rather good at them. Giannini is the least successful at them, but he’s still better than most and he really excels at certain types of games. When it comes to rhythm games, both Shoichi and Giannini can beat the pants off of any challengers. Reborn actually excels at shooting games, while Tsuna is surprisingly good at fighting games like Mortal Kombat and such. Fuuta and Ken end up being really good at vintage platformers like Mario, Castlevania, and the like. While not the best at them, Gokudera actually ends up really getting into and enjoying a lot of heavily story-based games, especially if there’s some horror-based aspect to them. He gets progressively better the more time he spends on them.

[sara-likes-things]

I'm gonna preface this by saying I have no problem with representation. I love queer stories, especially when they're organic and natural. I'm bi, and I've had fulfilling relationships with women as well as men. Honestly, I would love a spin-off on Brimsley and Reynolds. It didn't feel.....forced. the characters were new and their story grew organically. Michaela? No. I'm trying to articulate how I feel without sounding like I hate the queer community because I genuinely don't. I appreciated Benedict's story line even if it was a little jarring. He's exploring, experimenting and that's fine. It still doesn't take away from his story. But the introduction of Michaela felt like a guy punch. It felt wrong. I've never particularly like gender swapping in stories based on an original IP, because it changes a lot of dynamics. It changes a lot of story lines. And yes, it's fiction, but I'm sorry I cannot get over it, especially when it's such a blatant case of pandering. It makes me feel as if I'm wrong to question this change and I've somehow internalised homophobia. If so, then why wouldn't I hate other queer characters or be similarly uncomfortable?

Okay I think I can make my argument clear with an example. If anyone has seen the movie Love Lies Bleeding, I think they'll get it. The sexual orientation of the characters didn't matter. It felt right. And it was not important to the story. It was just an established dynamic and we could enjoy the plot easily. It wouldn't have mattered if it was a heterosexual couple or a homosexual couple, the story is largely unchanged. If Michael becomes Michaela, here's the issues I see. Who inherits Kilmartin. We've already established an estate will go to the next male heir if the current owner dies. A major part of Michael's story was his guilt over his inheritance and his imposter syndrome. His story arc taking his place in parliament. It's all gone. I mean, I know the show isn't interested in the plots other than the main character pairing but this felt so wrong. If they wanted a lesbian lead, the just make another show with original characters why force this? I'm not looking forward to Francescas season at all. I'm sure a lot of people will like it and that's their prerogative but for me, personally, the only thing keeping the story moving forward is Benedict. Maybe Eloise. But I feel like the story of the show has lost its charm and has dug itself into a hole like Disney or marvel

I can see why you feel that way, for me its kinda like that but more so how they went about it.

I dont mind the gender swap but hate the way they went about it, diminishing the relationship francesca has with lord killmartin when they spent all season saying to violet and us how love stories are different but that doesnt mean theyre not as good but then go and do exactly the opposite??? I think if instead of francesca michaela reacted the way fran did then it would be less jarring because at the end of it its the same dynamic, but making fran react like that after just getting married means she doesnt really love lord killmartin as much as she told her mom and thats a problem.

Also i think the problem with the gender swap its that it doesnt really work with the overall story of francesca haha like if they wanted to gender swap one character there was sophie or maybe try that change with eloises story, you know, stories were someone getting pregnant isnt necessary.

I do believe bridgerton has lost some of the aspects that made it so good, the production feels cheaper and the writing too modern and simple, it feels like another show but even if im not that excited as before i know im gonna keep watching so 😐

[voxasks]

Tw: uhh...hook-ups. Bad dads. Unwanted pregancy (not mine) Smoking/Drinking. Mental illness. Adult content mentioned in the passing but not elaborated on.

Okay, soo...this seems interesting so I might as well interact. Nice to meet you. My names Mali, I'm 5'4, I'm bi-racial. (Taiwanese from my mums side and Hawaiian from my dads.) I've got grey eyes, curly hair black hair and tanned skin. (I've heard I look Filipino or Indian before, so...)

I'm an INFJ and I like writing poetry and stories and such, gardening, painting, etc., ect.

Artists I like; Maneskin, Nickelback, Poor Mans' Poison, Billie Eilish, The Neighbourhood, Fitz and the Tantrumz and Artic Monkeys.

Honestly, my movie/show tastes are kind of everywhere, Mostly old Disney movies, Nickelodeon shows (iCarly, Victorious), True Crime Documentaries, and cheesy Romcoms...yeah...

Same with my book tastes: I'm sort of addicted and I read anything honestly. Some favorites: Looking for Alaska and Our Fault in the Stars, John Green. Hoot and Chomp by Carl Hiaasen. The Little House Series, Laura Ingalls Wilder. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett. The Maze Runner, James Dashner. The Tower, Gregg Andrew Hurwitz. Any Goosebumps book, R. L. Stine.

And a bunch of manga, One Piece, Naruto, Haikyuu, Sword Art Online, Death Note, etc., ect.

My dad and mum basically had me on accident since they were both in the military, they got dumpy one night and hooked up, and my mums parents were super traditional, so they pressured her into getting married once they found out she was pregnant. My parents basically divorced when I was nine, and they did split custody.

My mum was having issues with alcohol and smoking and my dad had issues with smoking/drinking and adult content.

Then my dad got remarried, but my mum was still recovering so she stayed with my grandmother a bit before getting her own apartment.

The woman my dad was an immigrant from Portugal, she already had one kid from a past marriage, then she came to live with my dad.

They stayed married for four years, and he had two more kids with her, and then they divorced because my dad was being super toxic and she moved in with her family in San Francisco.

He got diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder and borderline personality after being evaluated by a psych ward for the case, and basically my mum got full custody of me and my two half-siblings and stepsibling live with my stepmom in San Fran. (Fifteen at the time.)

My mum eventually got remarried to this Navy Seal named (not gonna say his real name because pretty sure that stuffs supposed to be classified so lets call him Bob) when I was in sophomore year and he was okay. But the ended baby up being born with birth defects since she was pregnant during Bobs deployment and was smoking and stuff when he wasn't there.

Plus I still haven't come out of the closet to my parents. My grandparents on my mums side are staunch Catholics...and my dads side is estranged...My mums Catholic, and Bob converted to Catholicism too.

“i  wanna  say  you  seem  completely  over  this  but  then  you  choosing  to  tell  me  about  it  in  my  inbox  kind  of  negates  that.  my  expertise  lies  in other  familial  issues  so  apologies  but  i  don't  think  i'll  be  of  any  help  here.  though  i  am  supposed  to  give  you  my  inner  thoughts  so  here  it  is  :  i  really  think  it's  nice  that  you  seem  to  have  your  life  a  lot  more  together  than  i  would  have  expected  considering  your  circumstances;  you  have  good  taste  all  around  the  bases,  from  hobbies  to  music,  your  favorite  shows  and  all  that  jazz.  you've  had  it  rough  a  kid  so  i  can  only  imagine  how  it  must  have  been  to  get  yourself  to  where  you  are  today.  and man,  that  whole  'coming  out'  thing.  i  didn't  even  know  there  was  a  term  for  whatever  the  fuck  i  was  back  then.  i  didn't  bother.  i  like  whoever  the  fuck  i  like  and  that's  it.  though  i  understand  the  complications  of  your  situation.  if  you  want  to  come  out  to  them,  it's  completely  your  decision,  but  just  know  that  if  they  don't  agree  with  who  you  are  then  i  promise  it  will  be  a  lot  easier  being  alone  and  yourself  than  being  controlled  by  your  family.”

based off of the 200 follower event.

“🫐 — tell vox about yourself and he’ll give his inner thoughts about you.”

[pavlovianpanic]

mark and max: an overlook

note that this does not include anything about max's nightmare sequence. that's a whole post of its own regarding mark, nathan, and her nightmare versions of them, including cut content that i do often reference.

this also doesn't go over max in the dark room. i think that post needs to be combined with the nightmare post tbh.

okay, to start: LIS is a rated M game for the following

disturbing terror, violence, drug and alcohol material, underage drinking and drug use, some sexual content, and pervasive language throughout.

with that out of the way, here it is: mark and max, the meta we've all wanted. i finally went over rachel and mark, as well as rachel and nathan, so that leads us here:

max as the "true innocence project" or "mark's new source of inspiration" ie his masterpiece.

some noteworthy things:

max comes to blackwell because of mark. she admires him, is fond of his work, and has been a fan for a long time. meeting her idol a dream come true. learning from him? even better.

max has a poor gpa. given that she just transferred here? that's probably a followup from her old transcripts to give an idea of what kind of student she is. likely this would follow the same idea for victoria, warren, etc. they're all good reps for the school, but max is suffering. rachel and nathan's gpas are carried over from last year. these are also probably "first looks" after their first real couple months (more month) at blackwell. a lot happens in LIS all at once, october is a busy month for the plot, it's when everything happens, and they literally haven't even been in school? that long? which is another reason why nathan has to be a second year.

so ... here we are. we can attribute that, despite the fact that the timeline is very hasty, kids make friends fast. bonds are formed immediately, rivalries stoked early, etc. kids, especially teens, do everything at hyper-drive. especially being "away from home" for the first time for a lot of them (max from seattle as she returns to oregon, victoria also from seattle, nathan from florida, etc).

notably, warren and kate are arcadia bay natives.

okay, so mark is here, max is here. now we're here.

i have to also point out that certain wiki pages are just ... so flawed. particularly when it comes to mark, nathan, rachel, and sean prescott. wowzers. they assume so much about mark without any evidence! so i can't trust a lot, but i can reference it a bit. [ part of my gripe is saying he was born in arcadia bay, he wasn't imo, but he is from oregon sort of ... ]

this is what max remarks of mark in her journal:

Not only is Mark Jefferson one of the best photographers in the world, he's also my teacher. And one of the reasons I wanted to come to Blackwell. How often do you get to be mentored by one of your inspirations? I've always loved his deco and goth style and he's so versatile with all of his incredible print and advertising work. Still, Jefferson can be a bit condescending. He's pretty hip for his age, but kinda aloof and sometimes pretentious. He has this smug smile when he thinks he's right... But I do think he's preparing us for how tough it is to be a full-time "artist". He acts like he understands my own work and obsession with analog images. He really wants me to enter a photo in this "Everyday Hero" contest but I've done a good job of avoiding that. The winner gets to fly to San Francisco to represent Blackwell Academy and get national exposure. I'd like to think my work could be good enough to win and I'm honored Jefferson even bugs me about the contest.

the prize of the everyday hero contest is to go to san fran, get your work exposed publicly in a gallery, and mark will accompany the winner. it's very ... to me? intentional he wants max to win. he wants to be alone with max outside of blackwell. RED FLAG.

also interesting to note because max is our narrator, so we need to notice these things based on how "right or wrong" her interpretations are (she is a young girl who is flawed, give her a break):

mark is condescending. pretty normal for the industry. he has a smug smile when he thinks he's right, as well as an aloof nature (which makes sense for him tbh). he does embody "an aloof energy".

mark favorites max. it's implied.

mark is pressuring max to enter the contest. she kind of likes it; she likes his attention. he is all too happy to provide. RED FLAG.

he does advertisement and print mostly. he makes a lot of books that we see in-game and in other LIS games.

his style is considered (to her) "goth" and "deco".

i think that max is a couple of things for mark:

an attempt to fix his mistake with rachel (thus keeping max and nathan separate by canon, i fuck this up by having nathan TA that class lol).

this has happened before. max and rachel are recreations of another girl. the incident. it's happening again.

max is true "innocence" embodied where rachel differed. they did different things for him, but their comparisons cannot be denied. even nathan thinks max is rachel when he sees her dressed up. they do not look alike, but ... they share an energy. this fits the "rachel bestowed max with her powers / rachel is the deer (confirmed) guiding max to her with chloe" idea.

mark likes "young teen girls" around the 18-19 range. legal, but so weird. wasn't as weird when he was that age. much weirder now. it's all weird, but that seems to be his 'go-to', and when he deems himself that innocence goes two ways: reared into hard ... or lost.

he wants to see max lose her innocence. maybe.

mark notices so much about max. how she changes. what she's like. he manages to be "there" for all his students, but max is special. he even says it. max has a gift. he's obsessed with her and her work.

"Shh, I believe Max has taken what you kids call a "selfie"… A dumb word for a wonderful photographic tradition. And Max… has a gift."

[apothvesko]

HELLO 🔥 thank you for the TAG

3 Characters I Like

uhh.

Descole……

Desmond Sycamore…..

Hershel Bronev….

OKAY BUT FR uhm Descole, Harumi (ninjago), Mahito (JJK)

3 ships i like

I have SO not been like proper into shipping recently but I Like greenflower (lloyd x brad)(you have fran to thank for that reading marigold changed my life) I like sakuatsu too even if i havent been into haikyuu for like three years now

3 Facts about ME

I ALWAYS make up ridiculous white lies. Like its just a habit now. Do not fret because its never realistic things but apparently my tone is really convincing and people keep believing me for some reason. Its probably why i was good at debating

I actually used to be part of the schools debate team but then i dropped out because this one girl in the year above me scared me. This was in Year 8 the girl has ling left but im still scared to gi back

I actually really like school. Like i dint think ive ever hated it and i think it’s baffling how people dont like it. Like yeah i dont like some subjects but iverall its a positive?

TAGS !!! I dont know if i have any mutuals on this accounts. Hrm its only been like two months 😭 OH.

@mysterysnail my aroace layton counterpart….

@falling-hand-in-unlovable-hand most frequent in my notes lrize still goes to you 🔥

tag game hehehe

tagged by the le epic @lilyg415

3 characters i like

it's hard to pick only 3 but i'd have to go with

Denji (chainsaw man)

Goro Majima (Yakuza series)

Nick Valentine (Fallout 4)

3 ships i like

I'm not too big on shipping these days so I had to really think about this one LMAO

Majima/Kiryu (i dont even take this one seriously i just think its funny loll)

Arno/Elise (SOMETHING ABOUT THEM COME ON)

Napoleon Bonaparte/ Tsar Alexander I (I HAVE A VISION AND I AM A BELIEVER)

3 facts

I'm a really boring person so you guys probably already knew all of these sorrrryyy

I adore videogames and have been playing them my whole life, especially the Assassins Creed and Yakuza series. Additionally, I love to finish games 100% and go for the platinum trophy!!

I've loved language learning since i was a young teen, I've taught myself Russian and i'm currently trying to learn Spanish because I think it is beautiful

Back when I was in school, history was the only subject I enjoyed and the only one I cared to pursue. These days it is just a hobby, as I didn't care to take it to the university level, I'm just chill and love to learn about the past without any pressure anymore, thank god for that hahaha

THANK YOU TO ANYONE WHO'S READ ALL THE WAY TO THE END!! I LOVE YOU ALL! TAGGING MY FAV SKIBIDI SIGMAS @phelon147 AND @burtn-rice TO PARTICIPATE (but please remember that you guys do not have to!!!!)

[findingjoynweirdstuff]

Dream SMP Recap (January 20/2021) - SEASON TWO FINALE

The Disc Saga has finally come to an end. With both L’manburg and the discs’ stories completed at last, it’s time for a new beginning and a new era, as Dream is locked away in Pandora’s Vault and the server looks forward to a more hopeful future.

Now that Dream is gone, though, there’s a power vacuum that needs to be filled...

And with Season Three on the horizon, a certain  empire has plans to do exactly that.

---

- Ponk makes graves for Tommy and Tubbo in the Graveyard.

- Tommy and Tubbo come online at last. They follow the compass down the Prime Path and start to reminisce about all the old times. Everyone is waiting for them on the Prime Path. They go through one by one and say a goodbye to each of them.

Tommy: “I’ll see you all when we get home.”

- They enter the wilderness and start talking strategy.

Tommy: “I need someone to get back and tell my story.”

Tommy tells Tubbo that while they have the tendency to look on the positive, they have to be honest with themselves. It’s going to be a good fight, but they’re on their last lives. Tonight’s the night they have to win.

- Tommy opens up a bit to Tubbo about the things that still bother him from the exile.

- They find a MASSIVE mountain and go onto land. They start climbing, watching one last sunrise on the cliffside.

- Dream is on top of the mountain with an Enderchest there. Tommy and Tubbo confront him and start attacking before he has time to think. He starts building up a tower of obsidian and plays Mellohi to taunt them. 

A build battle breaks out, reminiscent of the original Disc War. The two manage to snatch the Mellohi disc.

- Dream laughs and says to stop. He hasn’t even begun to try. He almost kills Tubbo, bringing him down to only a few hearts, and gives Tommy an ultimatum: Tubbo or the discs. Dream gives Tommy a countdown from ten.

Tubbo: “Keep this disc. It’ll be worth it! Keep the disc, I’m fine! I’ve done enough in my life! It’s fine! Keep the disc!”

- Tommy gives Dream the disc. Dream laughs and reveals that the disc wasn’t even the real Mellohi, just a fake.

Dream: “I just want to show you how powerful I am, how powerless you are... I could’ve let you just walk away, but no, I’m toying with you. I’m playing with my food. That’s -- that’s the fun in it! That’s the fun in it.”

- He tells Tommy to drop the Axe of Peace for him. Then he tells the two to drop their stuff into a hole and explodes it all, then says he can take them to the real discs. 

- Dream leads them to a chamber with a platform in the middle. He activates it and a redstone elevator leads them down into a blackstone base that goes to bedrock.

Dream: “Listen, Tommy. Ever since you joined the server, you’ve been a headache, okay? You brought war, you brought terrorism, bad everything. But, but, the cause of all the war, of everything, was attachment, right? Your attachment to the discs, your attachment to Henry. To pets, to friends, to land, to countries, to items, right?”

“That’s the one good thing that you’ve done. The one good thing you’ve done is you’ve brought attachment to the server. So it took me a long time to realize how important attachment was, but when I did, you know, it made me stronger, and I realized, y’know, you’re important, right?”

- He shows them the discs. The real discs. 

Dream: “Ever since attachment was on the server...I cut my attachment. I -- I blew up my house, I lost my friends, I lost my items, lost my crossbow, my...y’know...everything that was important to me. My pets. I cut everything! Because I realized that’s what gave people power over each other. The reason you’re here is because I have these dumb little items.

I don’t wanna be controlled, so I cut...everything. I lost everything. But...I had to lose everything. I had to lose everything, to gain everything.

Listen, if I can control the things that people are attached to, then I can control the server again! Because this isn’t Tommy SMP or Tubbo SMP, it’s Dream SMP, right?! So I can control the server if I have everything that everybody cares about, that everybody’s ever cared about, I can control everything, right? I can turn the server back to what it used to be...right?

- Dream leads them into a hallway where there’s a spot for all the things that everyone on the server is attached to. Beckerson and Mars, Fran, Skeppy, Carl, Enderchest, the shulker box...everything.

There’s even a cow named Henry and a sheep named Friend. 

- Dream explains that he needs Tommy to remain because he’s the person who’s brought attachment to things. Tommy’s the key to unlock the full potential of the server and power over people. That’s why he can’t kill Tommy.

Instead, he tells them that he’s constructed a prison.

He says his plan is to lock Tommy up and kill Tubbo. If Tommy wants to be a hero...Every hero needs an origin story, and Tommy’s is Tubbo. Dream gives Tommy a chance to say one last goodbye before it’s Tubbo’s time to die.

Tommy is desperate to keep fighting and keep hope, to always look for another option. Tubbo, meanwhile, has accepted their defeat. He’s accepted his death. All good things must come to an end eventually.

Tommy: “What am I without you?”

Tubbo: “...Yourself.”

Tommy: “Tubbo...even though for this entire server, I’ve always regarded you as my sidekick...really, Tubbo...I was your sidekick. Please don’t go...please don’t go...”

- Just as Dream is about to kill Tubbo, though, Punz comes through the Nether portal at the back of the room.

Punz: “I’m sorry Dream...but you should’ve paid me more.”

Suddenly, everybody comes through the portal at once. Everyone that they had said goodbye too suddenly gathers around Dream in a crowd as Tommy and Tubbo snatch the discs and put them into their Ender Chests.

- Tommy goes up to Dream, knowing he’s too important to kill. Instead, he digs a hole into the floor and tells Dream to drop his items.

- Dream says that Tommy wouldn’t kill him. After all, they have so much fun, don’t they? Tommy tells him that he’s caused nothing but pain and kills him with the Axe of Peace, promising to kill him again and again until he’s dead for good.

- Dream tries to word his way out of it but Tommy kills him a second time with Nightmare.

- Tommy asks Dream for his last words. Dream tries to convince him that he doesn’t need to kill him, that they’re friends! He begs Tommy to stop. As one last move, he lets slip that he can bring people back to life.

That’s what Schlatt’s book was.

The secret to reviving the dead.

- Tommy boxes Dream in obsidian. They know they can’t just let Dream go, and now they can’t kill him either, but Sam suggests an alternative: 

They put Dream in Pandora’s Vault.

Tommy: “Tubbo? ...Let’s make Wilbur proud.

 “SUCK IT GREEN BOYYYYYYY”

- Sam takes Dream away. Tommy says that he’ll be the first to visit him, that he’ll visit Dream tomorrow.

- Tommy tells Dream to confess to what he did. Dream tells everyone that he blew up the Community House, but goes silent after Tommy brings up the exile. Tommy gives a speech to the others. Now that Dream is gone, the server can finally be what it’s meant to be. 

- Dream is taken away, and Tommy and Tubbo say their goodbyes as they return home.

- They make it to Tommy’s house and sit on the bench, finally listening to the two music discs that started this whole thing off in peace.

- A familiar voice speaks.

“Tommy, I’m very impressed..”

“Hello...have you missed me?”

- It’s Wilbur -- the real Wilbur -- speaking with them from beyond the mortal plane. He tells them that he’s proud. He doesn’t want to come back to life. Tommy and Tubbo break the news about possible resurrection. Wilbur realizes that “he’s gonna bring Schlatt back as well.”

Wilbur’s voice fades away before long.

- Tubbo returns to Snowchester after Tommy leaves and realizes that they can declare their independence without Dream now that he’s gone. He wants to speak with Quackity as they talk about the future. 

- Jack is pleased with the outcome. Sure, he was against Tommy, but as a reminder! The Manifesto stated that his goal was to help Tommy and Tubbo get rid of Dream first. Tommy can be dealt with later. If he kills Tommy, not only will he get his revenge on Tommy himself, but it will also hurt Dream. 

Dream said he’d gotten rid of all the things on the server that mattered to him, but he was lying.

He hadn’t gotten rid of Tommy.

And Jack Manifold wants to be the one to do that.

- Jack plans to visit Dream in the prison to taunt him and tell him about how he’s going to kill Tommy and there’s nothing Dream can do to stop him.

- Ranboo is happy that he was right. It had to be everyone against Dream for them to win. But...he’s confused about why Dream said he’d blown up the Community House. Didn’t he do that?

He says he has to talk to Dream and get the true answers.

- Ranboo questions whether he’s a bad guy if he’s done the same things as Dream. Is he a bad person? Does he deserve to go to the prison to?

- He wants to work on his house, but Mellohi suddenly starts playing from somewhere. Frantically, Ranboo starts looking for the jukebox it’s playing from. It gets louder at certain spots...

- He runs back to the Panic Room and the music gets louder.

He clicks the jukebox in the room and Mellohi pops out, the music coming to a halt. Is he a bad person if he does bad things without meaning to? Or while under peer pressure?

He let bad things happen to all the people he wanted to help. He’s betrayed everyone he’s ever spoken to.

The only person who he hasn’t betrayed...is Dream.

He wonders if the Dream voice lied to him about the Community House? The voice has no true connection to Dream, but is it truth what it says? Could it have been wrong? 

Ranboo: “I think...I think he covered for me.”

“There are seventy different stories, but only one of them is right.”

He wonders if he can alter the page where it admits t hat he did those things, but he can’t bring himself to do it for some reason.

Even if the walls are down, they’re still up. Dream still has influence even when he’s locked up.

- He heads back to his house to start working on it and goes into his Comfort Room. It seems like everything’s okay until Mellohi starts playing again. It gets louder just outside his house.

- He starts running again, back through the Nether. Back to the Panic Room. He’s tired of this and wants to get rid of it.

Nothing comes out of the jukebox.

He breaks the jukebox and the song still plays.

He starts shouting at the voice. Why isn’t it appearing? 

- Ranboo wonders what he’s doing wrong, why the song is still playing. He starts denying that he did any of the things he thought he did. He just wants closure so that he doesn’t have to see Dream in prison.

He deletes one of the smiles and the music stops playing. He then deletes the rest of the page.

Ranboo says that he’s still going to visit Dream, but now he’s not looking for closure. Instead, he’s going to tell Dream everything that Dream did to end up in there.

- He opens the chest in the corner. Inside there are two pieces of TNT and...

A new book.

On the black screen, the crown flickers without the smile. The smile flashes for only a few seconds, which spells out in Morse code: IT ISN’T OVER.

- Later, Sam comes on. Now that he’s finished with the prison, he plans to protect it as though it were his child. But he needs a new project.

- So what he plans to do is create a bank and a system of currency for the server.

- Captain Puffy reflects on Dream now being locked up. She says she has plans for business in Snowchester later. 

- Ant’s eyes have turned purple. Bad comes online and Puffy shares her misgivings. Bad and Ant come up with the idea to establish a better headquarters, and want to build a base right above the Egg, but find out that Sam has already claimed the land for his bank.

- They start building the meeting room.

- Sam comes over and gets into an argument with Bad. He still thinks the Egg is bad juju. They show him the meeting room.

Bad: “Dream was just the uniting force where everybody was against him. Now that he’s locked up, things are just gonna get worse, alright? But the Egg can be a uniting force to bring everybody together! And that’s why we all came together and decided to unite our factions and form the Eggpire! The Egg Empire!”

Sam: “The wh-- don’t say that again. Whatever you just said, no...that’s a no from me.”

- Sam still thinks they should destroy it, and is angry that they didn’t tell him about this. Bad argues that they already tried containing it and it didn’t work. He also says the Egg has feelings.

- They take Sam down to the Egg Room with Punz. He’s horrified.

- Bad restates the purpose of the Eggpire, and explains that now that Dream is gone, there’s a power vacuum that needs to be filled. And if it’s not filled by the Badlands, then it’s going to be filled by someone else and that isn’t good for them.

- Sam escapes the Egg Room and the rest of the Badlands are left to discuss their future. Bad is hopeful that Sam will come around to them, and he has plans to speak with Eret as well.

Bad and Ant mention to Puffy that they have a “back up plan,” but won’t tell her what it is.

- Puffy also plans to start a therapy office on the SMP! 

She will be the third one to do so, but hopefully she’ll have more success than the others.

--- What happens now?

- Tales From the SMP Futuristic Episode (Saturday)

- Nuclear weapons test (January 26th)

- Tommy’s visit to Pandora’s Vault (Tomorrow)

- Ranboo’s visit to Pandora’s Vault

The Crimson’s Vines continue to spread across the server. 

Though the Syndicate has been recruiting new members in its fight for anarchy, the Eggpire’s influence grows ever stronger, and who knows where Snowchester will fall in the conflict when these new forces begin to clash?

Only time will tell.

---

ONTO DREAM SMP: SEASON THREE

---

[honknam]

Idea: What would happen if c!Tubbo would've stayed at Puffy's party and was on BBH, Ponk, Eryn and CPK's team in the search for Puffy, thus convincing the others to let them see the Egg because they have the majority of the votes or something

Ooou

(Lazy to draw so im gonna write lol)

To say this situation was strange was another thing, the last time he interacted with the egg he sobbed from the mere feeling of it rushing through him; he saw things he never wish he didn't. It saw him as a threat, he wasn't but still. Tubbo clinged to the side of eryn who was honestly more forcused on being on the same side as bad, something about demons i guess. But they rushed around, finding bits by bits of evidence that could answer this all. Ants axe, Hannah's roses, bits of blood- even Fran's collar which even made him pause. Sam never lets fran get this far out, he's only seen her play around his house/area and that was enough for him to get suspicious.

There's this pit feeling in his stomach, he can't understand why but it's there and it's growing the farther they get into Puffy's house. There's a single part they reach, a hole. Dug in by something, someone; it makes his heart pound out his chest, his throat dry and his imagination go wild with ideas, "you two stay here, don't want you getting hurt." Ponk said tapping our shoulders sliding pass us,

eryn huffed annoyed "stop babying me!" He grumbled following him, leaving tubbo to anxiously stay right there; he hears his heart in his ears remember how that, thing, ruined everything- broke into his mind, pulling his worst nightmares out almost consuming him. He knows how those who were in the eggpire feels, hating the thing to death, regretting everything- he hates it too but it touched bases that he wish was true.

"Tubbo.." he perks up hearing the voice, anxious he turns his head stumbling back afraid, hands grabs his shoulder; he screams "woah, you okay?" Bad asked towering over him, cpk peeks over to him worried, "i- yeah, I'm..I'm fine, great even." He lied smiling. "Cpk, you and tubbo go chill out for a bit- alright? We'll be out soon once we hit the end" bad said, cpk nodded

It was hours but that was enough, this was enough. They ran out, "it's there! The egg is there! We need to check fast!" Ponk yelled, we looked at him shocked; "puffy could be in the egg!" We have to go to the egg. I mean, my therapist is endanger but- it's the egg. How is it possible for the pit in my gut to grow more? I think i might vomit. "Come on!" Eryn yells rushing out, of course we all follow

"Explain this!" That's the first thing everyone yells, they all have evidence against all of them. Except eryn, cpk and i- it's all the original eggpire victims. We don't know why but its panic inducing seeing how fast this turned into a game of who did it. Everyone's throwing names and accusations at people, "you all are acting insane! Have you not thought maybe- just maybe, something is up? Like us all finding evidence is too.." cpk said trying to find his words

"planned, perfect even" I said; he nodded, "don't you think its them setting us up!" Ant yelled, bad growled annoyed "that's rich coming from you ant, you only joined the egg for sick gain." He said crossing his arms, he chuckled shocked "you lost absolutely nothing! We had reasons, you started this for nothing!" He yelled fangs out. Instantly the chaos started again, it was jabs and harsh words to friends suddenly turned enemy in one moment. "Let's check the egg! Maybe then we can prove both our theories." I said, they all looked at me.

"Fine. I agree, as well as the rest. Majority vote" ponk said, the rest of the group nodded; cpk and i looked at eachother sighing. "Fine. Let's do it." Ant said succumbing to the mere mass. We made our way over, passing through the creepy area; sam and bad talked about some "sam bucket" fella but it seemed like some sick joke with a crazy execution but that's not the main point. The point is, the big bad is about get cracked open- with the hit of many axes, the wall comes down. Showing the room in all it's slimy glory, it reeks of blood and rotting- something. Which isn't a great sign when your looking for- "puffy!" Eryn yelled, we all looked up to see her in a cage.

Immediately, hannah removes the rope around her; she throws it up with her heel attached to it, she pulls it down making the cage hit the ground; the sight of her going to her as she stood there. "Are you okay?" She said, she nods then grabs hannah "but you aren't." She throws her into the lava making us all jump in shock, "hannah! Puffy what the he- shit.." sam says as the realization hits, "you locked her with the egg?!" Ant yells pointing into bad's stomach, "me?! I would never come down here!" He yelled, its pure chaos. Only tubbo can seemingly see the vines move, he backs up afraid; he can't do it, he can't die here. He needs to be there, needs to be there for Michael! He has to!

Then he feels something creep into his brain, suddenly he can see into the egg; it's clear, beautiful even. No, it's not! It's a monstrous thing, i need to get away! I ran out but fell. I looked behind to see vines grabbing his leg, panicked he clawed at the ground. "Tubbo!" Bad said trying to grab me, sam jabbed blocking him. He jumped shocked seeing the Male's body glitch and flash with electricity, he screamed sobbing gripping onto eryn who stared shocked. "Please, please- help me!" He looked at me, "i..i am." He said before stomping making him scream as it pulled him

"Tubbo! Tubbo! Get up!" Loudly he gasped coughing, completely covered in slime and bit of egg failing to claw into his skin; tubbo could only sob and cry struggling to grip where he was, cpk grabbed his face. "It's me, calm down" he couldn't even process the situation only the calm voice speaking to him. "Where am i? Wha- where's- Michael, i need to get to Michael!" He mumbled trying to get up but hissing in pain due to his leg. "Don't worry, he's at base 4 with tommy. I need to get you out of here." He said looking into his bag.

He put two wood planks on my leg then a bandage around it and my leg, he helped me up. I looked at the egg, it was grey and caved in. The whole room was, "where- they're gone, puffy-" i said quietly. She helped me out as we made it through the house, it was run down. Nature clearly took control, how long was he trapped in that thing; "more survivors, south bound near base 2. It's tina, she's injured but seems to of been defending herself well with sapnap- might need back up, paranoid is high." A muffled radio voice said, "survivor also found in puffs old house, tubbo's out. Spore 10 is down." 10..wait, that was only a spore..?

◇

:] hopefully this is good, it's been a while since i wrote

[missyling]

Okay, I know I literally just said I had only vague ideas for historical ocs and didn’t know when I’d flesh them out only two days ago but last night my brain reminded me of the Lady Grace Mysteries!

Set in the Tudor court in 1569-1570, Lady Grace is an orphan and maid of honor to Elizabeth I.

She’s thirteen in 1569 so she must have been born circa 1556.

Descriptions of Grace are pretty minimal given it’s her daybooke (like a journal or diary) where she records everything that goes on but some details we have are:

Hair color:

“Now I know it isn’t true because no one with mousy hair can outshine Sarah Copper-locks Bartelmy, but it was nice of her to say it, so I kissed her back.”

Tomboyish -> she likes to climb trees and playing with the Queen's dogs and isn’t as interested in fancy dress as some of the other maids of honor, she is often chided by Mrs. Champernowne, the mistress of the maids, for her disregard for clothes/lack of grace (haha), she doesn’t like to wear facepaint:

“Mary Shelton just came in and made moan to me about Lady Sarah not wanting to walk the dogs—even though it is her turn. I see an opportunity. I must run!”

“So when I want to go there, I generally volunteer to take the Queen’s little dogs for a walk. Everyone knows I’m the only one of the Queen’s Gentlewomen who actually likes them. They’re small and hairy and smelly and quite fierce and a bit snappy if they don’t know you—but I never have any trouble with them. They like me.”

“This time Mrs. Champernowne caught me on the back stairs. I think she lies in wait for me. ‘Lady Grace!’ she shouted. ‘Lady Grace! Stop at once and wait!’

She’s Welsh, you know, and very strict. But I have to be respectful to her, because she’s served the Queen longer than anyone else—since Her Majesty was just Princess Elizabeth and everyone thought she’d be executed. So I stopped and curtsied. I knew exactly what she was going to say. And she did.

‘Lady Grace! When will you live up to the pretty name your poor mama gave you? How many times do I have to tell you not to clatter down the stairs like a herd of cattle?’”

“‘I don’t like wearing face paint,’ I said, and pushed the pot away.“

Tall:

“When they had finished, they turned me round to look in the Queen’s own looking glass, which is huge and made of Venetian glass and worth as much as a good horse! It was as if a tall lady had come in and was facing me. While Fran tied a small ruff round my neck, I curtsied to her—the reflection did the same. Well, I knew it was me, really, but I didn’t believe it until then.”

“‘But wherefore is Lady Grace’s kirtle still not finished, Mr. Beasley?’ the Queen asked disapprovingly. ‘Surely this is not your wonted service to me. Why so long a-making? I had desired to see it before she wears it.’

‘But Your Majesty,’ the tailor said desperately, ‘the beauteous Lady Grace keeps on growing, but the cloth does not!’”

Flat-chested:

“So for the Volta I got Sir Gerald. He smiled and bowed and looked straight at me. The new gentleman was staring at Lady Sarah’s chest, but Sir Gerald was looking at my face. (Well, I’ve got nothing to see further down, even in a French-cut bodice.)”

The covers of the editions I’ve included are likely all meant to represent Grace (I’ve excluded the cover for Exile which features a main character in that mystery who decidedly cannot be Grace). I’m unsure if it was all done based on the same model but it certainly seems so.

I’ve decided to take my cue from the covers.

Mousy-hair is a descriptor that pops up a lot in historical fiction and that I’ve never been able to nail down an exact shade for. It seems to be somewhere between blonde and brown, which is what I’m going to go for for my Grace, with brown eyes.

I don’t know which AG doll looks closest to the girl portrayed on the cover (happy to take input/advice), and I will probably go for what I can find inexpensively secondhand since I don’t see the point in paying full price for a doll I’d most likely be modifying anyway.

I could also go for an Our Generation doll. I’m not picky. I am eliminating Carpatina, A Girl for All Time, and Magic Attic dolls as options since they’re all slimmer and won’t fit the same clothes. Unfortunate, since the Carpatina and Girl for All Time dolls do have a bit of an older look to their faces but none of them looks close enough to Grace for it to be worth it for me to use one.

(The Hampton Court dress is to die for but it’s a few decades too early for Grace anyway.)

The only thing is that Grace wouldn’t work for the zoominag project twice over, given she’s not American and her time period is before 1580, so I will have to keep pondering my other ideas for historical characters.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #175

Today on Fate and Phantasms we’re entering the Dead Heat Summer Race! That’s right, we’re finally doing some Summer servants... in the Summer! We’re still a year off, but at least they’ve got the spirit!

As an added challenge, I’ll make sure all the teams get their own car! Fran & Maid Alter get a pass since they’re teamed up with people that already have cars (Babbage & Nero, respectively), but the others will all have their own vehicles to ride!

Anyways, today we’re building Nero Claudius... again. I promise this is... probably(?) the last time. She’s a Creation Bard to build up her golden theater on the sea as well as a sick car. She’s also a Draconic Soul Sorcerer to grab those giant guns she’s got on her back.

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Next up: Team Electric Steam feat. Papa!

Race and Background

Nero is still a Human Noble. This gives her +1 to any two stats, and her Constitution and Charisma will need rounding up in a second, so go with those. She also gets proficiency with History, Persuasion, and Performance, plus the Lucky feat to re-roll her attacks, saves, and checks plus incoming attacks three times per long rest. You might be in a bikini, but you’re still the emperor. You get what you want, and what you want is just about everything.

Ability Scores

Surprising no one, your Charisma is your highest stat. The race was basically a popularity contest, and you won almost every leg of it. Second is Dexterity- you’re fighting in either a dress or a swimsuit, but in either case it’s definitely not armor. Your Constitution is next, races take a while and there’s no time to stop for snacks, so you’ll have to toughen up a bit. After that is Intelligence. You’re flighty, not dumb. Your Strength isn’t amazing, you don’t really need big muscles to look good, but we’re dumping Wisdom. It wouldn’t be high at the best of times, and the caster class suits you to a dangerous degree.

Class Levels

1. Sorcerer 1: Starting off as a sorcerer may get you less health and fewer proficiencies, but you still get Constitution and Charisma saves, as well as Arcana and Religion. You’re a caster now, it’s time to act like one.

The big reason we’re starting here right away is for the goody you get from being a Draconic Bloodline sorcerer, Draconic Resilience. Thanks to your great-great-great-great-great-grandparent Dragon Ancestor being a red dragon, you get an extra 1 hp for each level of this class, as well as a doubled proficiency bonus on charisma checks involving dragons.

You also get an unarmored defense of 13 + your dexterity modifier. Now you can wear a swimsuit anywhere you like without issues. I’d still recommend you don’t meet the king dressed like that, but you’re a noble, I’m sure he’s already expecting a bit of eccentricity.

You can also cast Spells using your Charisma, grab Light and Minor Illusion to put on a good show, Sword Burst so you can actually use a sword (we’ll get better options later), and Magic Missile and Create Bonfire for some quick shots from your cannons. You also get Absorb Elements, because this and Blade Ward are the easiest to get “weakness nullifying” spells, and this one’s actually good.

2. Bard 1: Bouncing over to bard real quick gives you another set of Spells that also use Charisma. You also get Bardic Inspiration, d6s you can hand out as a bonus action to allies. While they have one, they can add it to an attack, save, or check they have to make. You have Charisma Modifier inspiration dice to give out per long rest.

You do whatever you want, and while Prestidigitation isn’t quite that open-ended, it’s still pretty good for a single spell. You also get Friends, Command and Charm Person to be your usual charming self. Grab Cure Wounds for just a touch of healing, and Feather Fall. You’ve got giant metal wings, they should be good for something, right?

You get proficiency with Animal Handling as well.

3. Bard 2: Second level bards are Jacks of All Trades, adding half their proficiency bonus to all ability checks. You can also perform a Song of Rest on short rests, adding 1d6 to healing done. Your dulcet tones inspire everyone around you! (Usually to put as much distance between themselves and you as possible, but hush)

Your inspiration also turns into Magical Inspiration- creatures can use your inspiration to add to their spell’s damage or healing potential.

Finally, you get the spell Unearthly Chorus, which doesn’t have any damage or healing potential! It just makes you even better at charisma checks. It’s also very flavorful for someone about to open a theater.

4. Bard 3: Third level bards graduate from their college, and the College of Creation will one day allow you to afford a car! For now, you only have a Note of Potential, adding extra effects to your inspiration depending on how they’re used. Adding one to an ability check gives the user advantage on the die roll. Adding it to an attack roll deals thunder damage to the target and each creature next to it that fails a constitution save. Adding it to a saving throw adds temporary hp to the user equal to the roll plus your charisma modifier.

You know how I just said you only have the note? We lied. You can also make a Performance of Creation once per long rest or by spending a second level spell slot. You can create any nonmagical item, as long as it is worth less than 20 times your bard level in GP, and medium or smaller. Neither of those restrictions will help you make a car, but they’ll improve as you level up.

Finally, you get Expertise in Animal Handling and Arcana, doubling your proficiency bonus in both skills.

For your spell, Enhance Ability makes it easier to do whatever you set your mind to, giving advantage on one kind of ability check for the duration.

5. Bard 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Charisma for stronger spells and more inspiration.

You also learn the Dancing Lights cantrip so you can put on even better shows, and Pyrotechnics for pretty much the same reason. You need an existing source of fire to set it off, but you can always combo it with Create Bonfire in a pinch.

6. Bard 5: Fifth level bards are a Font of Inspiration, recharging your inspiration on short rests instead of long ones. Also, your inspiration grows to d8s.

You can also make a Motivational Speech with a third level spell slot, giving your party temporary HP, advantage on wisdom saves, and advantage on its next attack if it gets hit by an attack.

7. Bard 6: Countercharm is okay, spend an action to give advantage to your party on charm and frightening saves, but we’re really here for your subclass specialties. Your Performance of Creation can make Large objects now, and you can spend an action to make an Animating Performance, turning a large or smaller (gee, that worked out nicely) object into a Dancing Item for up to an hour. It’ll only dodge on its turn unless you use your bonus action to command the thing, but you can inspire people and command it in the same action. You can make a dancing item once per long rest, or by using third level spell slots. Also, you can only have one at a time. I’m pretty sure a functional car in a medieval setting is worth more than 120 gold though, so we’ll work on it some more later.

For your spell, I’d suggest Suggestion, it’s very useful for making the world revolve around you.

8. Sorcerer 2: Second level sorcerers become a Font of Magic (you are just becoming a font for all sorts of crap, huh?), giving you sorcery points equal to your sorcerer level. You can turn spell slots into points, or points into slots, or even cooler stuff next level!

For now, the big new thing is you can cast Shield. Those giant metal wings make it harder to hit you than you’d think.

9. Sorcerer 3: Third level sorcerers get that cooler thing I was just talking about, Metamagic! When you get it now, you get two metamagic options that can alter how your spells work; Heightened spells force disadvantage against their save on one creature they effect, and Twinned spells target two creatures instead of only one (Note: twinned spells only work on spells that target a single creature.)

You also get Scorching Ray, giving you a macross missile massacre of fire out of those organcannons you’re hauling around with you.

10. Bard 7: We’re stopping back in bard real quick to grab your fourth level spell, Hallucinatory Terrain. Somehow you always bring the waterfront with you when you use your NP, and now you really can do that!

11. Sorcerer 4: Use this ASI to max out your Charisma for the best spells possible. Speaking of the best spells possible, you can cast True Strike now for advantage on an attack next turn! You can also cast Shadow Blade so you have a sword you can attack with. A cool, spooky sword that deals psychic damage and has advantage against targets in the dark. Yes, it took us half the build to get a sword, that’s what happens when you’re a cavalry class.

12. Sorcerer 5: Fifth level sorcerers are even better at skill checks now thanks to their Magical Guidance, using your sorcery points to reroll failed checks for, essentially, permanent advantage on whatever you do.

You can also cast Water Walk. Eventually your NP will involve actual water, so you’ll want to be prepared for that. Forcing your whole party to do the doggy paddle every time you want to cut loose isn’t a great look, be a team player here.

13. Sorcerer 6: Our last stop on the sorcerer train is sixth level, giving you an Elemental Affinity for fire. All your fire damage spells get your charisma added to their damage, and you can spend a sorcery point after casting one of them to gain resistance to fire damage for an hour. Always remember to apply sunscreen throughout the day. Now more than ever, that shit gets hot.

To take advantage of this new affinity, you can cast Melf’s Minute Meteors, launching chunks of those cannons off and firing a couple per turn at your enemies, dealing fire damage in a small area around their destination. Creatures have to make a dexterity save, and if they succeed they take half damage. Like scorching ray, these are multiple instances of fire damage, so add your charisma to each one.

14. Bard 8: Back in bard for good now! Use this ASI to bump up your Dexterity so you can start being good with a sword. Just in case that’s still not enough, you can cast Charm Monster now too. You have enough gravitas to bend the authors to your will, I’m sure you can handle a manticore or two.

15. Bard 9: Your Song of Rest grows to 1d8 now, but more importantly you get fifth level spells! Animate Objects is another way to build your car (we’re still 5 levels away from performance of creation building it) or to get your cannon bits into position.

16. Bard 10: Tenth level bards get another cantrip! Honestly, we probably should’ve gotten Mending earlier. Adventuring in an outfit where a single snapped string can completely remove your top isn’t a great idea. You also get Magical Secrets, giving you two spells from any spell list. Flame Blade gives you a more thematically appropriate weapon, and Fireball is a big boom you can fire off.

On top of that, you get another round of Expertise, doubling your proficiency in Performance and Persuasion.

You also get a bigger inspiration, letting you hand out d10s.

17. Bard 11: Eleventh level bards get sixth level spells, like Mass Suggestion. It’s like Suggestion, but for the masses.

18. Bard 12: Use this last ASI to bump up your Dexterity again for a higher AC and better swordplay.

19. Bard 13: Your song of rest increases to a d10 as well, and you get the seventh level spell of champions, Mirage Arcane! If you make an illusion you can really feel, is it still an illusion? Anyways, you can make your golden theater now and the ocean surrounding it, and it all lasts for 10 days!

20. Bard 14: Your capstone level of bard lets you hit a Creative Crescendo, creating up to five items at once when you use your Performance of Creation. One of those objects can be Huge, the rest all have to be Small or smaller. You also don’t have to worry about cost when making objects, so that car is finally within reach! 

You also get Magical Secrets again for two more spells. Prismatic Spray gives your golden theater some big ass cannons, creating a 60′ cone of light that deals different kinds of damage and effects. You also get Tenser’s Transformation, turning you from a full caster class into a proper fighter once more. You get temporary HP, permanent advantage on weapon attacks, you deal extra force damage, gain proficiency with all weapons as well as strength and constitution saves, and you can attack twice per action. The downsides are you can’t cast spells and after it ends you have to make a constitution save afterwards to prevent exhaustion, but I think it’s appropriate that we finally gave Nero those migraines she’s always complaining about.

Pros:

As usual, nero’s build is pretty adaptable, with a little bit of everything to help out any dedicated role in the party. She has healing, dps spells, utility, social graces, pretty much all skill checks, and also literally the ability to make whatever item she might need in a given situation.

Tenser’s Transformation is meant to turn wizards into melee fighters, and you’re (more or less) a bard. With almost 200 HP thanks to this spell and the ability to make your own armory, you can turn yourself into a terrifying war god practically at will.

Elemental Affinity can be really scary if you game the system right. Max out a casting of scorching ray to deal 20d6+50 damage to a single target. That’s better than a 9th level fireball. It also gives resistance to one of the most common damage types!

Cons:

Fire is one of the most common damage types, so it’s also one of the most common resistances. You have other stuff to fall back on, but it’ll put a crimp in your style if you go up against fire elementals. Or water elementals. Or fiends. Or- you get the picture.

We don’t improve on physical stats until level 14, which means you’ll be stuck with an AC of 15 for a majority of the game, and your sword skills won’t be that useful until very late in the campaign.

The big moment where the build really comes together as Nero is around level 19-20, meaning most players will never actually reach that point. Sorry guys, Nero is a luxury few can afford.

[afriendlyblackhottie]

plastic

Summary: No one had really expected Ransom to never set foot back into the Thromby house just because Harlan had left it to you, right?

Pairings: Ransom Drysdale x Black!reader

Warnings: smut, swearing, degradation, humiliation, oral (male receiving), dubcon, bondage, drugging, sex pollen

(A/N: Happy Halloween! Reblog, like, and comment. Most importantly enjoy.)

@titty-teetee

Sure his Grandfather had left you all of that money. He may have loved you for your kindness or whatever the fuck he’d said. You were some little orphaned girl with no family to run to so no wonder you spent all your time with him. You were the perfect target. 

He could kind of see why the old man had been so fond of you. During the time you’d spent together while he was lying to your face the whole time about not knowing what happened, he actually kind of enjoyed your company. You had this sad girl charm to you that normally he found exhausting which is why he didn’t enjoy mixing social classes, but on you it was quite becoming.

The way your pretty brown eyes welled up with tears as you confessed to him what you’d thought to be true. The way you were trying to protect his grandfather’s wishes. The way you’d lied so easily for him to everyone to protect Harlan’s dying wish.

He liked seeing such a loyal bitch. He didn’t want to let that go to waste. Of course you were never going to trust him now. Not after he’d tried to stab you with what turned out to be a stupid plastic knife. Fuck as he thought about it, though, he kind of liked the feeling. Of pressing that into your beautiful brown skin.

Fuck you deserved it after stealing his family’s fortune from right under their nose. 

He knew this house like no one else. All of the little tricks. Just like Harlan. Unfortunately you did, too, but he didn’t care as he climbed through that secret window that you’d stupidly left open.

You were already sound asleep in your bed. Good. That mean the drug he’d slipped into your wine was already working. He wondered if the other one was working, too. You’d kicked the covers off and groaned as you turned over. 

That time was now as he touched your soft skin. If only his Uncle Walt could see him now. About to fuck a little brown skinned girl until she was full of his cum to guarantee his share of the fortune because she’d be too ashamed to not share with him.

You stirred a little as he tied you up. He’d cut off your panties with his knife before working on your tank top. God your tits looked so beautiful. He heard you gasp behind your gag before letting out a scream.

“Shhh, don’t panic, Baby.” He leaned on the floor in front of you. “Do as I say and I won’t fucking kill you.”

Tears welled up in your eyes as you your eyes connected with his. You shook your head. “Nnnaha!” You tried to scream behind the cloth, but it was impossible. You tried to fight against your restraints, but again. 

“What the fuck,” he growled, grabbing onto your neck to force you to look at him, “did I just tell you?”

You sniffled and stopped trying to fight feeling the restraints growing tighter now as you nodded. You couldn’t understand why your body suddenly felt hot. Like a star had erupted and was engulfing you in it’s flames.

“That’s my girl.” He moved his knife along the swell of your breasts. He’d tied you up so you were spread wide open for him. Ready to take his dick whenever he finally decided to give it to you. 

Your eyes stayed trained on his knife as you waited for him to stick the blade into you like he’d wanted to do that day he’d been arrested for what he’d done to Fran. You sniffled again, feeling your tears dripping down your cheeks now.

“I won’t hurt you if you just behave for me, okay? Can you do that? Be a good girl for Daddy?”

You nodded reluctantly. The worst part about it was the way your cunt was reacting. Your pussy was begging for him to touch you. He could see your glistening cunt all dripping and wet. 

He bent down beside you to put his mouth on your nipple, biting into your flesh. You gasped as worked his tongue over the nub. He used a clamp over your other nipple.

“Heeee,” you begged because as much as you didn’t want to admit it, it felt so fucking good. He switched to the other one, smirking up at you as he bit into the other. 

“I always knew you were a horny little slut.” He squeezed your titty before smacking it. “Look at your dripping cunt.” His fingers went to your pussy as he set the knife onto the nightstand. “You know, with the right amount of money you can get anything,” he started. “Rope, a knife, nipple clamps. Sex pollen. You really should know better than to leave that window unlocked.” 

The bile raised up in your throat. He wished he could have snapped a picture of you in that moment. That look of disappointment in yourself. It was worth a million dollars. Fuck you were gorgeous.

“I’ve always thought about fucking this little cunt,” he said. “I should have done it when you’d first started working here.” He rubbed your clit even faster and as much as you hated it, your body was reacting. “And, this fucking ass.”

You shook your head, your body now wrecking with sobs as he violated you. Fuck why did it feel so good. It shouldn’t have felt so good. He was a fucking monster and you didn’t need him violating you like this.

“Been wanting to make you my little slut for a long time,” he whispered in your ear.

-

“Now, remember. If you bite me, that knife is slicing into one of your pretty little tits, okay?” He asked, pulling away your gag away from your mouth. 

You looked at him with those pathetic little eyes as you were right about to scream as he shoved his cock down your now open mouth, going so deep into your throat. 

“See what happens when you try to play games with me,” he said with a chuckle, moaning as he fucked your throat now. He groaned as spittle pooled out of your mouth as you gagged around him. “Promise to be a good little slut for me,” he said

You nodded. 

“No more screaming, right?”

You nodded again.

He didn’t stop fucking your mouth, though. Rocking his hips like he was fucking your pussy. You stuck your tongue all the way out almost like you were accepting your fate. Besides your body had been screaming for you to just let him do what he wanted. You needed the relief of him.

He reached down to play with your cunt again. Fuck you were dripping. It felt so damn good. His other hand grabbed onto your braids so he could help you. 

“Tell Daddy thank you for letting you suck my dick.” 

You nodded as he pulled you off of him. “Thank you for letting me suck your dick.” You took a deep breath before he could stick his dick into your mouth again. 

“Perfect,” he said. “Such a good little mouth.”

Your pussy was aching so much. You needed him to fuck you so bad. It felt like you would explode if he didn’t give you his cock. 

Finally he pulled you off of him. “Good girl. Not screaming or anything. I think you like it.”

You nodded again.

“Use your words.” He grabbed your chin, using his thumb to enter your mouth. Fuck you looked so pretty all needy and with spit drying on your face.

“I like it,” you replied. “I need it.”

“Good fucking slut.” He kissed you so roughly as he kept his hands on your cunt. He kissed down your body, nipping and sucking along your body until he could get to your pussy where he got back on his knees in front of you. 

He entered you so quickly. You cried out, wishing you could wrap your arms around his neck. Fuck he felt so damn good. Why was he so damn god big.

“Fuck me,” you cried. “Please. I need it, Daddy.”

“God, I always knew I could turn you into a little whore.” He wrapped one of his hands around your neck. 

“Please, don’t ever stop fucking me, Daddy. I love it.”

“Yeah?” He groaned. “You love Daddy’s dick?” 

You nodded. “It’s so fucking good. So big.”

“You’re taking me so damn good,” he said. “All your little holes belong to me, huh.”

“Yes, Daddy,” you replied.

“I want you to fucking say it.” He squeezed your neck a little harder, just enough to where it only made it all feel that much better.

“All my holes belong to you, Daddy,” you said. 

“Even your little asshole?” 

You nodded. “Especially my asshole,” you cried. “Can you untie me, please. I want you to fuck me from behind.”

“I don’t know, Baby, what if you run away?” He asked.

You shook your head. “I won’t,” you replied. “I promise.”

He leaned forward to undo one of the ties around your wrist before untying the other. Soon he flipped you onto your stomach so he could slam into you. You gasped, trying to work back against him.

“I want it harder,” you begged, putting your face into the pillows. “Please. More. Rougher. Fuck me dirty, Daddy.”

“Good fucking bitch,” he said. He did as she’d asked. Smacking her ass as he rubbed his thumb over her other hole.

The way you tightened around him as he watched your cum all juicy on his dick. “I’m gonna cum!” You gasped.

“Cum for me, Bitch. Cum for me.” He rubbed your clit furiously trying to bring it along as you exploded around him. It was like you were seeing stars.

-

He groaned as he flipped over onto his back. “You’re fucking insatiable you know that.” He pulled you into his arms.

You giggled kissing his face. “It’s your fault for giving me that drug or whatever.”

“I told you it was strong.” He chuckled.

You reached over to grab the knife he’d used at first, trailing it up and down his chest before pressing it into him.

He let out a soft hiss as it pricked his skin. “Ow.” He furrowed his brow as the blade disappeared into the casing.

You giggled. “Who would have thought we’d end up fucking like animals after you tried to stab me.”

“I find it pretty romantic.” He smiled lazily before kissing your forehead. “I love you, Sweetheart.”

“I love you, too.”

“I’m really glad that knife turned out to be plastic.” He closed his eyes getting all comfortable with you in his arms.

“Me, too.”

[egopocalypse]

L’Manberg’s Heart

(Inspired by @dyinginlava‘s story here. Please read first for context.)

(Read on AO3)

Tommy never knows what Dream wants from him.

He tried to understand it before, back when he was first exiled. It kept him busy during the long, painful stretches of time between Dream’s check-ins where no one -- not even Ghostbur -- visited him. He thought back to the discs, to L’Manberg’s independence, to the sudden way Dream turned against them in Pogtopia; still, it made no sense to him at all.

Descending the elevator; however, finally allows him to see.

The gold platforms -- shrines, really, from what it looks like -- stand stark against the blackstone walls, drawing his gaze away from the shimmering purple portal. He gapes at the giant portraits and item frames, his prized possessions so close and yet so far from his reach.

His hands twitch. Maybe if he sprinted, he’d be fast enough-

“Don’t even think about it, Tommy.” A sharp blade scrapes across the back of his neck, a shiver rippling under his skin. “They’re not what you’re here for.”

Tommy shakes his hands, suddenly finding them clammy. “Wh- why are we down here, anyways?” he says, hating the way his voice wavers. He turns to Dream and fights the urge to fidget under the mask’s impassive stare. “Do we have to go through the portal or something?”

“You wanted answers, didn’t you?” Dream pulls the axe back, enchanted netherite gleaming against a black backdrop as he twirls it in a precise circle. “Here’s where you’ll get them.”

“Okay, okay, but what answers?” Tommy asks. “What the fuck is this place?”

“You’ll see” is his answer as the platform comes to a stop. “Follow me.” Tommy holds back as Dream steps off the platform, axe now resting on his shoulder. He flexes his hands, wishing he had some weapon, item, anything he could hold or pick at.

But Dream told him he had to leave everything behind. Dream told him to put all of his items in a chest. Dream told him to put all his armor in a hole-

“Tommy.”

His head snaps up, eyes wide and panicked. Dream stands displeased over by an open hall, tapping his foot against the ringing stone. “If you don’t want answers, I can just take you back to L’Manberg.”

He shakes his head vigorously. Remember who you’re here for, he thinks.

The struggling country, heart threatening to stop as its lifeblood drains. The people, weary and anxious, treating each moment as if it’s their last. 

The President, who disappeared without a trace the day it was meant to fall.

(He sacrificed himself, Tommy argues with his own head. He didn’t leave. Not when everything he cared about was in L’Manberg. He wouldn’t.)

“Tommy,” Dream scolds. “Don’t keep me waiting.”

“Sorry, sorry,” he says, stumbling over. “I’ll come. I’m coming.”

He trips on his way to Dream, almost falling on his face before the other man grabs him by the back of his collar and pulls him up again. He tugs his shirt away from his neck the moment Dream lets go of him, coughing to rid himself of the uncomfortable feeling lingering on his neck.

“Come on,” Dream snaps. “There’s something I want you to see.”

Tommy nods and follows without another word, massaging his raw throat. Upon turning the corner into the next hall, he freezes.

“What the fuck?” he can’t stop himself from saying. “What the fuck is this?”

Empty item frames and posts stretch out towards the end of the hall, signs posted above denoting the missing possessions: Axe of Peace, Enderchest, Fran, Squeeks, Shulker, Mars, Beckerson. At the back, a small stable is set up, holding Friend and-

“Henry?” Tommy whispers. 

His legs are leaden, bolted to the ground. He saw Henry die months ago, didn’t he? He’s sure of it. How the hell did he end up here?

“I saved him and brought him here while everyone was fighting,” Dream says. “It took a while, but it was worth it in the end.”

“I-” Tommy tries to swallow down the lump in his throat. He fails. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

Dream shrugs. “It wasn’t time yet.” The axe spins again, arcing over his head as he turns. “That’s not what I brought you down here to show you, though. This is.”

Tommy steps closer, far too aware of how his feet drag against the floor. There’s a two-block-tall hole in the wall he failed to notice earlier, blending in so well with the blackstone that he wouldn’t have seen it if Dream hadn’t pointed it out to him. But as he moves away from the hall’s entrance, silver bars peek out from the hole, blocking him from reaching out and grabbing-

“Tubbo.”

Tommy sprints to the hole and squishes himself as close to the bars as possible, drinking in the sight of his best friend. The President lies curled up in the corner, back pressed firmly against the wall. His clothes are rumpled, the suit jacket he always kept ironed and stiff nowhere to be found. Patches of sweat-soaked cloth release a musty, overpowering odor, matching the dampness of his tangled, greasy hair. Scorch marks litter his pants and shirt as varied and widespread as burns scatter across his skin.

He’s not moving, and for a single, horrible moment, Tommy wonders if he’s dead.

“Tubbo.” He reaches through the bars, though he hesitates. What happens if his skin is cold? “Tubbo, it’s Tommy. Wake up.”

No answer. Tommy bites the bullet, grasps Tubbo’s hand, and yanks.

A strangled yelp wrenches out of Tubbo’s throat. His eyes open, wide and wild, as he tugs out of Tommy’s grip, and he pushes his feet against the bars, pressing into the corner. 

“Tubbo!” The older boy stifles a whimper and tucks into the fetal position, ducking his face into his knees and clamping his hands over his ears. Tommy winces. 

“Tubbo,” he says, softer now. “It’s me. It’s Tommy.”

Tubbo doesn’t respond. If anything, he curls up tighter, clenching his eyes shut and shaking his head. He heaves quick, shallow breaths, murmuring pleas for mercy under his breath. 

When the first sob wretches from his throat, Tommy’s thoughts run ablaze. A lit match drops in a dry forest, burning through fallen leaves and fresh kindling. Faint wisps of smoke rise above the treeline as he turns, Dream’s only warning as wind stirs up and stokes the flames.

“What the fuck did you do to him,” he demands, hands curled into bloodless fists. “Tell me right this instant.”

The axe has not stopped moving. Dream spins it rhythmically, never failing to lose the tempo. “I didn’t do anything,” he says. “He did it all to himself.”

“That is such a fucking lie, let me tell you-”

“...Tommy?”

He cuts himself off, snapping his head right back towards the cage. Tubbo stares at him with wet, shining eyes, shock still and pale. He’s horrified.

Tommy, however, pretends to notice none of that. “Tubbo. Holy shit, Tubbo! You’re okay!”

“What are you doing here?” Tubbo says, hands dropping to his sides. “How are you here?”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m getting you out and we’re going home,” Tommy declares. Rain comes and douses patches of flames, soothing the burnt trees and soaking into the soil. Everything is going to be okay. Everything is going to be fine.

Tubbo drops a bomb on the forest in one moment.

“I can’t leave, Tommy.”

“What? Of course you can!” Tommy says, taken aback. “There’s a portal right over there. We can get out and run-”

Tubbo shakes his head. “I can’t risk L’Manberg’s safety.”

He stops short. “L’Manberg? Wh- what do you mean?” Yet even as he says it, the cogs click together in his head. “It was you, wasn’t it? You stopped them from destroying L’Manberg.”

Tubbo’s grim smile is enough of an answer. “You saw the obsidian, Tommy,” he says. “If I hadn’t done anything, there would be nothing left. I couldn’t let it blow up on my watch again.”

“Again?” Something breaks in Tommy’s voice. “Tubbo, it’s not your fault Wilbur pressed the button. You couldn’t have stopped him if you tried. I tried! And I failed!”

“Not that,” Tubbo says, holding his head up with the wall. “It blew up when I exiled you.”

For once, Tommy’s speechless. “Tubbo-”

“Think about it,” the other boy continues. “If I hadn’t done that, Quackity and Fundy wouldn’t have made the Butcher Army, we wouldn’t have tried to execute Technoblade, Quackity wouldn’t have lost his second life, the Community House wouldn’t have blown up, and I never would’ve given up your disc!” Tubbo’s voice rises, growing hysterical. “It all ties back to that one thing. It all connects.”

“Tubbo- Tubbo, listen to me,” Tommy pleads. He clasps Tubbo’s hand through the bars. “There wasn’t anything you could do. I know that. It hurt when it happened, but I let go of it a long time ago! I forgave you!” His eyes sting with the threat of unshed tears, but he blinks them away before they fall. “Look, we’ll think of something with Dream. We’ll make a new deal, and you can come back to me with L’Manberg, and it’ll all be okay-”

“That sounds nice,” Dream says, startling both boys, who had almost forgotten he was there. “But there’s a problem with that, Tommy.” 

“Oh yeah?” Tommy draws himself up and puffs out his chest. “And what might that be?”

The axe stops twirling. “You’re not going back to L’Manberg.”

Like a balloon, he deflates. “You can’t do that. Tubbo and I- we’re leaving, and we’re going home.”

“You can go to a home, sure,” Dream says. “But it won’t be L’Manberg.”

Tubbo’s face goes sheet-white, tainted by a faint shade of puce. “No,” he whispers, voice cracking. “No, please. Not there. Not the prison.”

“The prison?” Tommy clutches Tubbo’s hand tighter, shielding the other boy behind the bars. The fire inside catches a second wind. “You’ve kept him in the prison?”

Dream shifts his grip on the axe, dropping into a more relaxed stance. “I’m not an asshole, Tommy.” Even behind the mask, Tommy could sense the eye roll. “Do you think anyone could live in that tiny space he’s in for more than a day?”

“No, but I don’t fucking expect you to get that, bitch.”

“I gave you free roam during your exile,” Dream snaps out. “There were exceptions and some rules you had to follow, but other than that, you could do whatever you wanted. Even up to the point where you ran away.

“But Tubbo here” --he points the axe at Tubbo’s chest-- “Tubbo gave himself to me. He made a trade, L’Manberg’s protection for his life, and I’m keeping my end of the bargain.” He throws his arms up, the axe sweeping wide through the air. “And maybe, maybe if you hadn’t broken my trust, I would let him out in Logstead or somewhere new, but I can’t. I can’t trust that he won’t run away like you did.”

“And if we try to run now?” Tommy says, his mouth dry. “What happens then?”

Dream tilts the axe, watching the light glint off the blade. “Then I’ll kill Tubbo.”

Both boys make a noise in the back of their throats: for Tommy, a startled yelp; for Tubbo, a scared whimper. 

“No way, you’re not killing him.” Tommy says, his thoughts racing. He couldn’t, right? “I won’t let you.”

“There’s nowhere for him to go.” Dream shrugs, bouncing the axe off his shoulder. “If you run, you leave him vulnerable.

“Well, then get him out of there. You’re gonna have to move him anyway.”

“I don’t think you get how this works, Tommy,” Dream says. “Tubbo was a lure, a pawn. Something to get you here: just like Henry, just like your discs.” The axe swings again, revolving at a slow, hypnotic pace. “I planned on bringing you down here for weeks, even before I made Tubbo exile you.” 

Tommy slinks back, pressing his back against the bars. Tubbo’s breath hitches. 

Dream never pauses, “Sure, the prison wasn’t meant for either of you, but how can I pass up that opportunity when it shows itself?”

Acid burns in Tommy’s throat. Dream has everything, doesn’t he? The discs, Henry, L’Manberg, even Tubbo, for fuck’s sake. What’s next? 

“That wasn’t part of our deal,” Tommy says. “You said that if I left all my things behind, you would show me where Tubbo is.”

“And I did. We never agreed on what would happen after.”

The fire flares, though it’s muted: a burn pile surrounded by threats prepared to muffle out the flame. 

““You’re a wrongun, you know that?” Tommy says, pointing at Dream’s chest. “A real dickhead. And I’m going to stop you.”

“What makes you think you have any chance?” Dream laughs. “You said it yourself, you have nothing. You’re defenseless!”

“He’s right,” Tubbo says, his voice small and devoid of hope. “We don’t have a choice.”

“Listen to Tubbo, Tommy. Even he’s telling you to give in.” Dream closes the gap between them and sheathes the axe on his back, then grabs Tommy’s shoulders in a bruising grip (ignoring the way Tommy’s breath quickens and he flinches upon contact). “Move out of the way, agree to cooperate, and maybe -- just maybe -- I’ll let the two of you stay in neighboring cells.”

Tommy ducks his head down and studies the floor as he stalls, mulling over his options. There’s no other choice. All his other cards are scattered across the table. He has no more moves, no more tricks, nothing left that can weasel their way out of this mess.

Tommy eyes the swirling Nether portal and smiles. Maybe he has one left.

“You know, Dream,” he says, “when you brought me here, you fucked up and forgot something.”

“Oh, really?” Dream said, drawing out a drawl. “And what would that be?”

“Me and Tubbo? We’re friends.” He levels his gaze at Dream, staring directly into the eyes of his mask, and his smile grows into a big, triumphant grin. “And friends never leave each other behind.”

As if on cue, the portal spits a group out one-by-one in a mass of purple particles. Quackity, Fundy, Ranboo, Sapnap, Sam, and Techno pile out of the portal, all decked out in glowing armor and weapons, and surround the entrance to the trophy hall, blocking Dream off from the exit.

And leading the charge is Wilbur, fueled by the same fire in Tommy’s eyes, gripping a compass in his barely translucent hand. “I’m only going to say this once, Dream,” he says, all traces of Ghostbur’s innocent air wiped clean from his voice. “Get the fuck away from My Tommy.”

@scarlet-mangata @miishae @skyewardlight

[perriwinklesblog]

There are so many possible endings for the egg arc but the one I’d love the most would be a confrontation with Bad.

Once again I got carried away and wrote something way too long.

I know we have many battles and the game would limit the actual things I’m describing but just imagine if they were able to have like the natural disaster mod on the server. Like the wind whipping around as the egg starts the crack the ground. During all of that you have the eggheads versus the others who are trying to destroy the egg before it destroys them. 

Puffy is trying her hardest but every time she gets close the egg physically pushes her back. Purpled is trying to snipe from a distance when Punz confronts him. Sam and Ponk are pushed into a corner by Antfrost and Bad before Puffy backs them up. 

Eventually they regroup, heal slightly but the situation outside is getting worse. 

Puffy: If we can get past Bad and Ant then we can drop TNT on the thing and run. One shot, one shot is all we need. We cannot physically touch it but that doesn’t mean we can’t throw explosives at it. 

Ponk: I don’t think we can even get close to them! Have you seen the weather out there? That is crazy man, I swear I was going to be shot into the sky. 

Purpled: If I deal with Punz then you wouldn’t have a sniper on you. That takes out one threat. I can’t deal with him by myself, I need the back up. Ponk?

Ponk: Huh? What? Me?

Puffy: We’re running out of options. 

Ponk: Goddamn. Alright. 

Puffy: I can try and lure out Ant from Bad and the egg’s side. Hopefully he’s weaker away from the egg. 

Sam: I guess that leaves me with Bad and the TNT. 

Puffy: Yeah. Well you are the creeper King right?

Sam: Hm. I guess so. Alright. Do not kill unless absolutely necessary. I mean it. 

Ponk: Yeah yeah. 

And so they get back to it. The buildings around them are starting to look a lot like the L’Manhole. The wind has picked up and every now and then things are flying through the air. One by one everyone enacts their plans. Ponk and Purpled deal with Punz. Puffy lures Ant out and Sam confronts Bad. 

Bad: Sam. There is no point in fighting. You’ve already lost. Look at this place! Look what the egg has done! Isn’t it beautiful? Come on Sam. I know you hear it too. Just embrace it. There is no need for this foolish fight. We can all live in peace with the egg. 

Sam: Bad. Look around you, this isn’t peace! There would be nothing to live with if we let this thing win. 

Bad: It just needs some sustenance. And as soon as you and Puffy hand over Tommy, all of this will stop. 

Sam: He’s a child, Bad. He’s gone through enough.

Bad: He has done enough to this server. 

Sam: This is no way to deal with it. What is really the route of this Bad? What did  it offer you? What does it say to you?

Bad: What does it offer you Sam? What does it offer anyone! Their hearts desires! Happiness! 

Sam: It told me to kill Fran. That is not happiness. That is not my desire. 

Bad: No, no no. You don’t understand. You clearly haven’t spoken to the egg properly. 

Sam: What did it offer you Bad? What did it ask you to do? What did you sacrifice for this Bad? What did it ask you to kill? Was it Skeppy? How long have you been corrupted? Did it get you to sacrifice Skeppy so he would stay with you? Stay by you? Or did you sacrifice yourself so you’d be with Skeppy? If you’re both under the influence of the egg, both corrupted, both on the same side then there would be no arguing, there would be not tension between the two of you? Was that it? Bad, it didn’t work. It drove him further away from you.

Bad: No. You all did. Your meddling set things off course. If you all had just succumbed-

Sam: Bad. Listen to yourself. Really listen. Don’t listen to the egg and I know it’s hard, its whispering can be so loud sometimes, it can be overwhelming. You just want to relax into the words, let it wash over you and forget the pain but thats not how you deal with life Bad. You’re fed up with the way people treated you? With the way we’ve all treated you. I know how often we’ve pushed you aside. Fundy told us what this place was meant to be, what he asked you to do but it turned out he lied to you. We all haven’t taken you seriously and Bad I am truly, truly sorry about that. I really am. None of us listened to you. All you had was Skeppy but then he... Skeppy was your friend and you two had a fight. You drifted apart a bit and it was scary because this was your best friend, this was your family and you felt like they were leaving you right? And he had seemed like the only person that listened but now he was gone and it hurt. That hurts. The pain, that agonising pain, the grief, it hurt you and this thing, it’s taking advantage of that, Bad. This isn’t how you deal with it. This isn’t how you heal. Forcing the pain onto others isn’t how you heal. We all need to do better and it’s not always going to be easy but we will try, we will try together. Skeppy isn’t gone forever, your friendship with him isn’t gone forever. We aren’t going. I’m not going. Please Bad. Help me put an end to this. Let me free you. Please. 

Bad: You all think I’m a joke.

Sam: I’m so sorry. 

Bad: He was my best friend Sam. Skeppy was my best friend but the egg, it forced us apart and then it promised me it could bring us together again. I just had to do as it said. 

Sam: I know, Bad. It’s really persuasive. Step away from it. 

Bad: No. I can’t. This is the only way Sam-I.

Sam: There is always another way, we just need to find it okay? We will find it. 

Bad: I-

So like whilst they’re speaking its just been getting crazier and eventually Ant manages to back Puffy into a corner and either takes one of her canon lives, placing her away from the main fight or forces her to retreat once more. Upon “defeating” Puffy, Ant returns to the room where Bad and Sam have been monologuing. 

Ant: Don’t listen to him Bad. He’s lying to you. 

Sam: Antfrost. Where is Puffy?  

Ant: I’m not entirely sure but it doesn’t matter now does it. Come on Bad. If we can’t give the egg Tommy, we can give it Sam. 

Bad: No, that wasn’t the plan-

Ant: Plans change. They’re adaptable. 

Bad: But-

Sam: BAD GET DOWN!

And Sam just lets off the TNT. Bad and Sam run for cover, taking some of the damage but not dying. Antfrost screams no as he rushes towards the egg. Puffy manages to run into the area, as it explodes, she shelters behind something panicking about everyones safety. Purpled, Ponk and Punz stop fighting to watch what's happening. Punz grabs his head as a loud piercing noise is heard. Back in the room. Sam and Bad are both covering their ears as they too can hear the noise form the egg. Anyone the egg has spoken too can hear the noise from the egg. 

Once the dust settles, Ant is no where to be seen and there is a hole where the egg used to be. But it isn’t a bedrock hole, no its a void. Just emptiness (I realise this also probably couldn’t be done but just for this scenario, imagine). Everything is eerily quiet. 

Bad: Ant!? ANT?

Sam: Where the fuck did he go? 

Puffy: Sam!? Sam!? Are you still here? Sam where are you? 

Sam: Puffy? We’re over here!

Puffy: Are you two okay? Where’s Antfrost? 

Sam: I-I don’t know. What is that? 

Bad: Nothing. Everything. It’s just emptiness. 

Puffy: Let me just cover it up. Do you think thats where how far the roots went down? Out the earth?

Sam: Possibly. Bad? 

Bad: It’s quiet. 

No one says anything else but Puffy and Sam go to bad and hold him as he cries. Soon Ponk, Purpled and the others arrive to see the destruction of the egg. The remnants of vines still all over the place but the root of the plant gone. They slowly leave the place and head towards Puffy’s (new) house where Bad rests. One by one people rest for the night, waiting until tomorrow to start anew and rebuild what was lost. 

Sam and Puffy watch the sunset together.

Puffy: I can’t find Antfrost. I don’t know what happened to him. 

Sam: We’ll find him. Don’t worry. 

Puffy: What if he...

Sam: I’m sure he still had his lives. Plus he’s a cat. Surely he had extra. And we still have Dream. 

Puffy: I’d rather not call in a favour from him. 

Sam: Agreed. 

Puffy: The voice really gone?

Sam: As far as I can tell, yes. 

Puffy: It doesn’t feel like it’s quite over you know? I feel like until I’ve see Antfrost, until I know he’s no longer corrupted, I’m never going to be quite at ease. 

Sam: I can get that but we can’t control everything. We’ll sort each problem as we get to it. One day at a time, one second at a time. 

Puffy: Yeah. Man, my therapy office is going to be busy.��

Sam: Pfft. Got room for one more?

Puffy: Always. 

In the distance, Antfrost appears. Eyes are normal. Skin is normal. Everything appears normal. But something isn’t quite right. Something is off. A faint whisper in the wind he blinks and for a second his eyes appear red before going back to normal. A smile appears on his face. He fades into the shadows.