#or wolf since those are a heck of a lot bigger

[trashbatistrash]

,

[amethystina]

Fanfic Tag Thingie

I am choosing to be tagged by @miss-ingno because this sounded like fun and I need an escape from the realisation that I am literally on the edge of burnout and my life is a mess. So here we go! :D

How many works do you have on AO3?

76

What's your total AO3 word count?

2 237 636

... and I have around 200k more just sitting in my WIP folders. I can't write short things x'D

What fandoms do you write for?

Right now it's mainly various Kdramas (The Devil Judge, Black Knight, plus my bold venture into Strangers From Hell) but, before that, it was mostly The Losers, Marvel, Pacific Rim, and Teen Wolf. With the occasional detour here and there.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Who Holds the Devil (The Devil Judge, Gahan) at 3 390

Tech Support (MCU, Winteriron) at 3 217

Autonomy (MCU, Winteriron) at 3 137

I Won't Hold My Breath (MCU, Winteriron) at 2 914

Conflict of Interest (MCU, Winteriron) at 2 173

It's honestly a little wild to me that Who Holds the Devil has somehow managed to race to the top despite the other fics being at least four years older (sometimes more). And for a much bigger fandom, at that. You guys are not fucking around.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! Every single one if I can, though it can sometimes take a while before I get to all of them. And I just can't help it, I guess? Partly because I want to show that I've read the comment and appreciate the time and effort that went into writing it, but also because it often gives me an opportunity to talk about my writing and the choices I made in the fic.

And, apparently, the fact that I reply to all comments has become a bit of a thing at least when it comes to Who Holds the Devil, where readers will search through my replies looking for tidbits and extra information about the fic, characters etc.

(you guys are so weird and so dedicated and I love all of you xD)

What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Grief (The Losers (Comics)). Because it is, predictably, about grief and how to keep living after someone you love has died. Though I would argue that the ending has a hint of hopefulness to it since it's also about moving on from said grief?

But yeah. Definitely that one since it's Major Character Death that I choose not to fix.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Literally every single fic except for the one above xD I LOVE my happy endings, okay? And it's kind of difficult to rank them since it depends a lot on the setting, characters, and the personal preference of the reader.

Heck, I even managed to give my Strangers From Hell fanfic a sugary sweet happy ending! That's dedication right there!

Do you get hate on fics?

Yeah, from time to time. I've gotten everything from childish insults calling me a bad writer to backhanded comments questioning my choices, writing style, grammar, spelling, dedication, intelligence, etc. I've even received more targeted, personal hate where people I thought I could trust were making fun of me behind my back in private chat rooms.

Most recently, though, it's less hate and more the "I simply must tell you that you're not writing this fic as I want you to write it" type of deal. Often paired with "It's my personal opinion and I have every right to express it." Which, fair enough. But that means I get to do the same, which I've noticed is something those kinds of commenters kind of hate. Especially when I point out that they've now made me a lot less keen to write the fanfic they're supposedly so fond of.

Turns out people don't like being reminded that their actions have consequences.

All in all, though, I've learned to just delete the comments I find too offensive or hateful.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Oh god no. Sex scenes are the bane of my existence and I spend the entire time writing them looking like this: ლ(ಥ益ಥლ)

I've been told I'm not bad at writing them (the ones in Until Death Do Us Unite were quite appreciated) but anything involving sex or sexual tension is just a nightmare for me. Even more so when it's supposed to be kinky or extra spicy.

So why is one of the main ships I write for right now clearly a Dom/sub ship, you ask?

Because I'm an idiot. That's why.

Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you've written?

I rarely do. The only crossover I've written is Resurrection where Derek Hale ends up in Purgatory together with Dean Winchester and they fight their way back to the world of the living (so Derek replaces Benny, basically).

I also have this one random fic (yet unposted) where Tony Stark and Eddie Brock are a couple (from the MCU and Venom movies, that is). But they're technically both in the Marvel universe so I'm not sure if that counts?

Long story short, crossovers aren't really my thing. I rarely write or read them.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of, no.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have! Several, in fact, from various fandoms. Mostly into Russian, Spanish, or Mandarin. And I am honestly so flattered every time someone asks me if they can translate one of my fics 💜

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have not, no. I made plans to write a fic with a friend once, but we never got to the point of actually writing it. And, in all honesty, I think that might be just as well. I'm a perfectionist and writing a fic with me would probably be very exhausting for the other party xD

What's your all-time favourite ship?

I really don't know. Like, I'm tempted to say Jensen and Cougar from The Losers, or maybe Destiel or Stony, but I think that's partly founded in comfort and nostalgia. My ships change as I do and I really can't pinpoint an all-time favourite.

But CURRENT favourite? Definitely Kang Yo Han and Kim Ga On because they present such a wonderful challenge to someone like me, who loves to go real deep into character motivations, behaviour etc. They're a delight.

What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I'm not sure. I plan to finish all the ones I've started posting but there might be some in my folders that I'll decide to abandon if I truly can't revive my interest in them. But, usually, I can.

And, speaking of that, to all my MCU peeps (if there are any of you still out there): I know you've waited six years for the Tech Support sequel but it's finally been written and just needs to be edited. It's coming, my darlings. I promise.

Basically, when I say I'll do something, I will do it — even if it takes me six goddamn years, apparently x'D

What are your writing strengths?

Characters, tone, and emotions. I'm good at capturing the essence of the characters and write them in a way that feels believable and close to canon. I'm also really good at making people feel things with my writing, I've been told. According to testimonials, my readers can often see what's happening play out inside their heads like a movie, and feel the characters' emotions as they're living through them.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Aside from the aforementioned sex scenes? I think it's my inability to keep things short. I use a lot of unnecessary words and could definitely get better at being more concise. In a similar vein, I sometimes focus so much on the details with lengthy, wordy descriptions that I accidentally forget about the big picture, which is understandably confusing to my readers.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I've done it from time to time (since my man Cougar speaks Spanish) but I'm pretty careful with it. And if it's longer sentences I always make sure to double-check with a native speaker.

First fandom you wrote for?

Teen Wolf! Which, admittedly, was because I didn't care if I fucked it up x'D I enjoyed the first two seasons of Teen Wolf, make no mistake! But I chose it mainly because it wasn't the ship I was the most emotionally invested in and so I figured it wouldn't feel as bad if it turned out that I sucked. Luckily enough for me, I didn't xD

Favourite fic you've written?

Just like with the all-time favourite ship, I'm not sure if I can answer this one. Because I like all of my fics but in different ways.

I'll always have a fondness for that first huge Teen Wolf series I wrote, for example, and had a lot of fun with Autonomy because of the world-building. Same goes with Hyperborean. But Who Holds the Devil is definitely my favourite when it comes to character work. While Allies is my favourite when it comes to tone, since it ended up just the way I wanted it to. And Until Death Do Us Unite was an absolute BLAST because I got to write horror and some really weirdass shit, which I've never done before.

So, truly, I can't say. Each one I've written has something I cherish and while some definitely stand out more than others, I wouldn't be able to just pick one.

___

And that's that! I tag whoever wants to do it! :D

[jaceyneedsabetterusername]

Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

Pairings: Arvin Russel x Fem!Christian!Reader

Summary: Arvin knew he shouldn’t have left you alone with that new preacher... 

Warnings: Sexual assault, physical assault, cursing, Teagarden being a perv, really nothing out of the ordinary for this movie. 

Word Count: 5250

_________________________

“Arvin! Stop!” You giggled, pushing your boyfriend off of you as he nibbled up and down your neck. There wasn’t anything sexual about it, he just loved to hear you laugh and he knew how much the action tickled your skin. “You’re so annoyin’!” You laughed, cheeks flushed red as you gently pressed on his head to try and move it. 

He pressed himself up, looking down at you like you were the most beautiful thing he’d ever lay his eyes on. Arvin was straddling you, his knees trapping your hips beneath him. A hand was placed on either side of your head and he looked down at you, “But you’re so pretty when you laugh.” 

“Oh? And I’m ugly all the rest of the time?” You asked jokingly, hands reaching up stroke up and down his arms. 

Arvin leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to your lips before pulling away ever so slightly, hovering just above your lips. Both of your guys’ eyes were still closed as if it were a romantic moment until he whispered, “Ugly as a mule.” 

You both busted up laughing and you shoved him, his body rolling onto the blanket beside you, “I’m breaking up with you.” You teasingly told him. 

“Ah, c’mon. You know you love me.” He looked over at you, loving how the autumn sun lit up your features. 

“I tolerate you. Don’t get it mixed up.” You rolled your head over to see him already admiring you. Your smile got bigger when you locked eyes with him. 

“Well I love you.” Arvin admitted sweetly, bringing a gentle hand to your cheek and kissing you one more time. 

Arvin made you feel beautiful and special and safe, all those things that no boy had ever made you feel. He always had. Even when you were children back in middle school and neither of you really talked to each other, when you saw him around the halls, a peace just settled over you that made you feel like you were on top of the world. When the two of you began dating ten months ago, that never changed. 

“I love you too.” 

The two of you laid back against the yellow blanket with little orange flowers on it, the one that you’d taken from the linen closet back home. This was yours and Arvin’s favorite place, a little clearing in the woods. The grass was tall enough to be soft but not so tall that it hid critters. Flowers lined the edge of the woods in the spring. It wasn’t springtime now but that only meant that instead of a display of white and yellow flower buds, the pair of you had a beautiful show of brilliant reds and oranges from the falling leaves. 

Everyone in town knew you were together. Word spread fast around Coal Creek and it was nearly impossible to hide anything. Your families were both supportive of the relationship. Emma loved that you were involved with the church and put effort into the community when you could, often participating in bake sales around town. She liked to tease that you won Arvin over with your “man catching apple cobbler” as she now called it, since he officially asked you to be his girlfriend over a slice of the delicious dessert after a Sunday service. 

Your parents liked Arvin as well. Even after Fred Dinwoodie had told your dad about what Arvin had done to Gene, it surprisingly made him like Arvin more. “You got yourself a good man who knows right from wrong and ain’t afraid to stand up for the people he loves.” Was what he’d said, which had surprised you. You knew that Arvin had beaten all the boys right after he’d done it, since he came to you to help him calm down and ice his knuckles. You were terrified for your parents to find out, though, sure that they’d tell you to break up with him for fear of violent tendencies. Thankfully, that day never came. 

It was nice out there, bundled up in a warm brown coat, laying on Arvin’s chest, and watching the leaves fly across the crisp sky in the breeze. 

“We should probably get headin’ back.” You said reluctantly, pushing yourself up to sitting. 

“Why’s that?” Arvin perched on his elbow to watch you tighten the jacket around your frame, a cool breeze hitting just right. 

“The new preacher asked me to come by this afternoon. Said he needed help planning a fundraiser to raise money for the less fortunate families in town.” You traced a finger over his knuckles gingerly, small pink marks littering his knuckles from his attack on Dinwoodie and his boys still healing over. 

“Ain’t you one o’ them less fortunate families in town?” He asked, trying to find a way to talk you out of this. Ever since Preston Teagarden had humiliated Emma on his first day, Arvin had it out for the man. 

You scoffed with a chuckle, “Yeah, but you are too and your grandma is still always bringin’ stuff to church. Just cause I’m broke as shit doesn’t mean I can’t try to help other people who are broke as shit.”

Arvin stood up with you and helped you fold up the blanket, “I just don’t like that new preacher. Somethin’s off about ‘im.” 

“I agree that he was totally out of line callin’ your grandma out like that two weeks ago but I’d like to think that maybe I can talk to him about it.” The two of you began to walk back to Arvin’s car, grass swishing under your steps. 

Arvin’s face twisted, “I just don’t trust the man. He’s always up there on that damn stage actin’ all high ‘n mighty every Sunday like he ain’t done nothin’ wrong.” He reached forward and opened your door for you, closing it after you slid onto the seat. He walked around the car and got into the driver’s seat. 

“He’s a sinner like the rest of us. It’s just about doing what you can to make yourself better.” You responded, looking over at Arvin sweetly. He gave you a skeptic look and sighed deeply as he turned his attention back to look towards the road. With one hand on the steering wheel, he slid his free hand over to hold yours gently. The rest of the drive was in comfortable silence, with the exception of the radio quietly playing in the background. 

Arvin loved you. He really really loved you. You generally had your wits about you, a heck of a lot more than most of the girls in Coal Creek, not allowing your religion to totally cloud your vision. You were a good girl, good enough to make his grandma happy and not cause too much trouble around town, always helping those in need, but not so pious that you made everyone else around you feel like a sinner. You were still fun, you still made mistakes. Arvin felt like you were something between ethereal and real, somehow elevating him as a person but also showing him just how good life could be. 

Nevertheless, he couldn’t help but feel like you were making a mistake with this preacher. Of course, with your caring nature, you would help him, especially knowing it was for the poor folks in town. But something about Teagarden just made Arvin’s skin crawl. He just couldn’t put his finger on it… 

The tires rolled to a crunching halt on the gravel outside of the church. The graveyard to the side looked dark and gloomy as always, the cloud of loss looming over almost everyone in this town in one way or another. The church, though, stood small and humble in the field, white paint chipping after years of weathering. 

“Thank you for the ride.” You leaned over and pecked Arvin on the cheek. 

He let out a heavy sigh, “You really sure you don’t just want me to take you home?” 

You rolled your eyes at him with a sweet smile on your face, “Yes, I’m sure. It’ll be fine, Arv, but thank you for the concern.” Opening the door, you climbed out, “I’ll see you tomorrow?” 

“What? No. I’m givin’ you a ride home.” Arvin looked offended that you even suggested such blasphemy. 

“I don’t want you to have to drive all the way back here for me and I don’t know how long this’ll take. Besides, I don’t live too far from here.” You shook your head, leaning against the open door.

Arvin raised his eyebrows, “What kind of man would I be if I let you walk home alone at night? I’m givin’ you a ride home ‘n that’s final. I have to run to the market anyways to get some stuff for my grandma so I’ll just do that ‘n come back here for ya.” 

With loving warmth welling up in your chest, you leaned into the car, holding onto the roof for balance, while you kissed him on the lips, “I’ll see you in a few then.” 

Pulling yourself back out of the car, you closed the door and waved before spinning to walk towards the church. Looking behind you, you gave Arvin one final wave before disappearing through the door. 

The church was empty, though you expected nothing less on a Saturday afternoon. The pews were empty so you wandered into the building curiously. You closed the door behind you as you walked further in. “Hello? Reverend?” 

Preston Teagarden approached from the door off to the side of the main stage, where his office had been located, “Y/N! Forgive me, I expected you to be a little bit later.” 

You stopped in your tracks, “Oh, I’m sorry! You didn’t say an exact time. Just afternoon…” You chuckled awkwardly, suddenly feeling bad for arriving early. 

“No, no, it’s no problem at all,” He waved his hand dismissively. Teagarden made his way down the aisle a few rows before stopping, “So from what I’ve heard, you are the one to talk to about fundraising” 

Flattered, your cheeks turned a light shade of pink, “Oh, well I don’t know about that… I’ve done a few fundraisers but I wouldn’t say I’m the one to go to.” 

“Nonsense, girl! I’m sure you’ll help plan something amazing. Now, why don’t you come over here and we can start talking about it.” He gestured towards the pew he was leaning on and waited for you to sit down before sliding in next to you. 

Your legs crossed when you sat down, “So, I was thinking about this for a few days and the high school has a harvest festival every November. If we set up a bake sale, we could easily raise a few hundred dollars, at least. Everybody loves Mrs. Lyle’s lemon bars and I’m sure those alone could rake in a small fortune.” You giggled a little at your small joke and the preacher did as well. 

As he did so, his arm slid behind your shoulder so smoothly, you almost didn’t notice at first. Almost. Though the action took you off guard, you chose to write it off. People had done this before to you platonically so this probably didn’t mean anything. Just a show of interest in what you had to say. 

“Mmm, you’re makin’ me crave some sweets,” Teagarden chuckled, looking over his shoulder and then back around the room. 

“Well I can guarantee that you won’t be disappointed. Coal Creek ain’t got much but if we got one thing, it’s some mighty good bakers.” You dug around in your bag that you’d brought, searching for the journal that you’d been planning this event out on, “I actually did some math and I was thinking… we could charge a dime per cookie or a dollar a dozen, yeah? And then maybe a quarter for a slice of pie and then a dollar twenty five for-” 

The preacher stopped you, placing his hand on the notebook, “You really thought this out, huh? You sure are one smart girl there, Y/N. You go to the high school?”

The older man had scooched closer to you sometime during your ramblings and suddenly, you began to feel suffocated by his presence. His body was nearly flush against yours and his arm around your shoulders were trapping. 

He’s a preacher, he wouldn’t do nothin’, you tried to convince yourself but Arvin’s voice came ringing in your ears: I just don’t like that new preacher. Somethin’s off about ‘im. Trying not to be obvious, just in case you were misreading things, you slid away from him just slightly to put some distance between your bodies. As you did so, however, Teagarden’s hand closed around your left shoulder, rubbing it firmly but gently. 

Your eyes widened when you looked over at his grip and your heart began to pick up pace. “Yeah.” Your voice was shakier than you thought it would be. 

“What are ya? Junior, senior? You look young… but definitely not a little girl.” His eyes raked tactically over your body. Your legs were shaped out well in your cuffed denim jeans and your white and pink striped boat neck long sleeve shirt was far from revealing but Preston was well aware of the way the stripes curved out of place over your breasts. 

“Senior. I’ll be graduating this June.” Now your voice was solid and low, just teetering on threatening. 

The preacher smiled, “Ah, ain’t that exciting. Such a smart pretty little thing going out into the real world. It’s good to see a nice Christian girl going out there but y’know, the real world is real bad. Believe you me. You gotta be real careful out there. Temptation and sin ‘round every corner. The devil hides himself, y’know? Wraps up all his evil and disguises it as everythin’ you ever wanted.” 

“A wolf in sheep’s clothing.” You stated quietly but firmly, looking up to lock eyes with him. Arvin was right. Something was certainly off about this man and you were becoming more and more uncomfortable by the second. 

Preston smiled proudly, “That’s right. Now, you gotta make sure you ain’t fallin’ into any o’ his traps.” 

Your jaw clenched and your eyes darted around the room before landing in your lap, “I’d like to think I got a good ‘nough head on my shoulders to see Satan working in disguise.” 

He tsked, “That’s a good start but you can’t go relyin’ on your own knowledge of the world. You need to let God tell you what’s right ‘n wrong. Trust in Him.” His hand on your shoulder shook you slightly for emphasis while his other pointed upwards towards Heaven. 

There was a brief moment of silence in which you could have heard a pin drop before he spoke again, “How is your walk with God?” 

You looked over at him with narrowed eyes, “It’s alright. Could be better but everyone’s could, I s’pose.” 

“I agree,” Preston’s leg started bouncing and he looked towards the front of the church, where he typically stood preaching, “E’ryone could walk a little closer. Myself included.” He gestured to the front of the church, “Why don’t we pray? C’mon over here.” 

He stood up and walked up to the head of the room, just below the cross. Cautiously, you followed him. “I like to think as a man of God, I can do some of His work. Or rather put the good word out there and try to save as many souls as possible. Why don’t you get on your knees? Lemme pray for ya.” 

A shiver ran through your spine as you knelt down on shaky knees, eyes going up to the large black cross that hung on the wall. Please, Lord, get me out of this. You prayed silently. 

Preston stood behind you, his hands coming to your shoulders as he began, “Lord, today we pray for Y/N and her excursions into the world as a young woman. Help her see through the devil’s delusions and guide her through this world. Lord, I pray that you see Y/N in everything that she is as she dedicates her whole self to you. Give her strength, amen.” 

“Amen.” When your eyes slid open, your whole body was shaking. 

“So you say you got some good judgement?” Preston asked as you stood up, “Say you walk in the light?” 

“I try to but we all have our slip ups.” You answered humbly and honestly, avoiding his eye contact. 

Preston hummed, “I seen you with that Russell boy. Y’all going steady?” Silently, you nodded in response. “There’s a lot of temptation in relationships like that.” 

It was clear what he was insinuating and it actually made you mad. What right did he have to be poking around in your romantic and sexual life? “Has he ever touched you?” 

The bluntness of his question hit you like a rock, “With all do respect, Reverend, that ain’t really none of your business.” 

He put his hands up in surrender, “I don’t mean to pry. I’m just concerned ‘bout that boy dragging you down into temptation. Sullying your position with the good Lord, ‘n all.” 

“Arvin is a perfectly respectful man. He ain’t draggin’ nothin’ or nobody down.” Your voice was getting more aggressive. 

“So he hasn’t touched you? He hasn’t seen you…” 

Your eyebrows furrowed, “Like I said, that ain’t none of your business. Thank you for your concern for my soul but what Arvin and I do is between us and the Lord. I don’t need no middle man reverend to redeem me.” 

He shrugged, “But you know, one of the best ways to get right with the Lord is to surrender yourself. Fully.” He took a few steps towards you and your breathing hitched. There was a sexual tension in the air that made your skin crawl. 

“I’ve already given my life to the Lord.” 

You weren’t giving in quite as easily as Preston had expected. Those other girls, Lenora and Jeanette Reaster, had been easily manipulated into giving Preston what he wanted. Just tell them they were unclean and needed to get right with the Lord and right into his trap they fell but you… you were different. Smart in the worldy kind of way. You were the first girl to give him a hard time but Preston would be lying if he said he didn’t like the chase. 

You were staring daggers at him, your jaw clenched, and your body standing tall and strong. It was almost as if you were trying to prove a point. You could have run, could have darted out screaming about what had happened, but you didn’t. There was no proof and Preston knew it. This was how he got away with it all. No proof, all words and small touches that were just innocent enough to be misread. It wasn’t until he got them in the backseat of his car or in the office in the back of the church that he actually touched them but by then, it was consensual. Sure, for Lenora and Jeanette there was the issue that they were minors but that was the fun of these little towns like Coal Creek, The girl always took the fall. It was always her fault. Preston could get off scotch free and he knew it. He loved it. 

Almost like something out of a movie, he reached down and gently settled one hand on your hip and the other on your cheek, pressing his lips against yours without giving you a chance to object. You yelled indignantly against lips but when he pulled away, the hand on your cheek moved to cover your mouth. Preston leaned in close to your ear and whispered, “I am an extension of the Lord’s work. Surrender yourself to me fully to surrender yourself to Him.” 

** 

Arvin watched as you walked into the church with a distrusting pang in his gut. There was just something about that reverend that didn’t sit right. It killed him to watch you leave, knowing that you were alone in there with him.

But he also knew you were a big girl. The logical part of his brain kept screaming at him that he was being irrational. The reverend was probably an okay enough guy. He’d never be number one or even number twenty on Arvin’s list of favorite people but that didn’t necessarily mean that the preacher would kill your something. Besides, Arvin really did need to run to the market. Lenora had requested some pecans for a pie she wanted to bake and his grandma  needed more milk. It would be a quick trip as town was just a short drive down the street. 

Reluctantly, Arvin backed out the driveway and sped off down the street. 

The entire time that Arvin was at the market, there was an unsettling tingle all around his body. It got harder to ignore as more time passed. The longer he left you with Teagarden, the worse he felt. 

“Just these.” Arvin threw a bag of pecans and a gallon of milk on the counter and paid for it quickly, rushing back to his car. He wouldn’t be having these feelings for no reason. Best case scenario, you were absolutely fine and Arvin was just being paranoid. Worst case scenario… Arvin couldn’t think about it because every time he thought of one, another worse one popped into his brain. 

It had only been about twenty minutes since Arvin left you alone with the preacher. Honestly, he wasn’t sure how long planning a fundraiser would take. Church activities had never been his thing but he supported you as long as it made you happy. 

He sat in the car in the church parking lot, lighting up a cigarette to calm his nerves. Arvin’s leg bounced anxiously as he watched yet another late autumn storm roll in. The clouds cast a dark gloominess, turning the minimal light left from the mostly set sun a shade of grey.. There Arvin sat for another five minutes, awaiting your exit from the building but it never came. 

Fuck it. Arvin twisted his hat on straight and threw the door open, nearly stomping out. He couldn’t put his finger on it but something was wrong. He could feel it. 

Sure enough, when he threw the door open, he was horrified. Preston Teagarden had you locked in a tight embrace, his hands running over your breasts. The two of you were standing in the middle of the aisle, right in the center of church. You had a furious look on your face, “I swear to God you touch me like that again and I’ll cut your damn dick off!” You gripped desperately at his hand that was groping you, trying to pry it away but to no avail. 

The sound of the door swinging open was enough to draw both yours and Teagarden’s attention. “Get your fuckin’ hands off her!” Arvin wasted no time running into the conflict. Teagarden dropped you and your knees buckled from the unexpected action, landing you on the ground. 

He put his hands up in surrender, “Hey, now, let’s talk about this like real men.” 

Arvin threw one solid swing to his chin, sending his head flying sideways, “You ain’t no real man. Real men don’t gotta go around gropin’ girls to get off, you sick fuck!” Another punch landed on his opposite cheek and it sent Teagarden to the ground. 

You scurried away from him and stood up just ahead of Arvin. Preston cowered, hiding his face, “Please, please, have mercy.” His pleading eyes went from Arvin to you and he lingered on your gaze, knowing that he had a better chance with the mercy approach with you. 

He found none. Even with his blood smeared face, his teeth stained crimson, and the way his body shook, you just scowled down at him, “I’m gonna tell e’ryone in this town what a disgustin’ man you are. You think you can get away with this, you’re dead wrong.” You sent a swift kick straight to his stomach, making him curl into the fetal position with a loud groan of pain. 

But then he laughed. He actually laughed. 

“What’s so damn funny?” You and Arvin both spat in unison, blood boiling. 

Preston laid his head back and closed his eyes, an almost serene look of confidence contrasting the blood that covered him and the swelling of his lip, “Ain’t nothin’ gonna happen to me. You came to visit the church after hours under the guise of helping me with a fundraiser. But then you used your womanly charms to try and seduce me, a married man of God.” 

“That ain’t what happened!” Arvin yelled angrily, fists clenched by his side. 

When the words left the preacher’s mouth though, your heart dropped. You knew the truth, Arvin knew the truth, the reverend knew the truth. But none of that mattered if the Reverend told everyone his concocted story because he was a man of God. Why would he lie? 

A sadistic smile spread across his face, “It is if I say it is. Ain’t nobody gonna believe two teenagers over a preacher.” 

“He’s right.” Your voice faltered as you spoke, nearly coming out as a shattered whisper. When Arvin looked over at you, your face had paled and you looked utterly broken. 

It wasn’t so much that the assault itself was enough to break you, though, of course, it had definitely left you with the lingering ghosts of his filthy hands on your body. It was the fact that you knew he’d get away with it, that no matter what you or Arvin said, the town would believe Teagarden. 

Arvin swallowed hard, trying to see through the blinding rage. As a boy, he never truly understood the bias that women faced when they were victims of sexual assault- how it was perceived as their faults in towns like this. It had never happened to anyone he knew so he never had much reason to think about it. Now, you were forced to live with knowing that you assailant was going to keep his position as a fucking preacher in town and that you couldn’t do anything about it. 

Arvin wouldn’t let it stand. 

He stomped forward yet again and knelt over Teagarden, sending blow after blow into his face. Bone crunched bone with a disgusting crack with every hit and you flinched every time. 

Your eyes were wide with terror. Arvin’s violent past with Gene Dinwoodie and his boys was not unknown to you. You were the first person he’d gone to after the attack, in fact, and you’d actually supported him for the most part, only wishing that maybe he didn’t send them all to the hospital and only roughed them up a bit. Actually watching him beat someone to the brink of death though was something else entirely. 

“Stop!” The word left your mouth before you even knew you’d thought it. 

Arvin stopped and looked over his shoulder at you in surprise. He was doing this for you after all. 

“Don’t kill ‘im. Please.” You begged, your voice heavy.

“What?” Arvin wasn’t actually sure what he’d intended on doing to the preacher. Sure, he wanted to kill him. That horrified, angry look in your eye as he touched you made a fire burn in him so bright, he didn’t know if it could be put out. But Arvin had never wanted to be a killer. He only wanted to prove a point and make sure that the message stuck. Now that he thought about it, though, he would have to finish the job or the preacher would tell him he’d attacked him. 

Your eyes were almost brimming with tears, though none fell. This whole evening had been too much. First the assault and now watching the love of your life throw his good conscience away for you. You wanted the preacher to pay as much as he did but this just didn’t feel right. 

“P-please… I don’t want you takin’ the fall for none o’ this. He don’t deserve to die but I think a good beatin’ will give him some time to reevaluate ‘imself.” You’d walked towards Arvin and placed a warm hand on his shoulder. 

Arvin couldn’t fathom why you’d be protecting this monster. The question was clear all over his face. Why? 

“I’m not asking you to stop for him. I’m asking you to stop for you. I don’t want you to have blood on your hands for me. Not for this.” His heart broke seeing you look the way you did, your eyes shining with tears, and your hand a little shaky. The last thing he wanted was to hurt you more. 

Arvin grabbed the preacher off the ground by the collar and pulled him up almost a foot, leaning down to get in his disfigured face, “If I ever hear that you went near Y/N or any other girl again, I will find you and kill you. If you so much as look at her again, I will kill you. And if you tell anyone what happened here tonight, I will fucking kill you. You understand? Consider it that mercy you kept beggin’ for.” 

He dropped the preacher gracelessly with a thud and wrapped an arm comfortingly around you. For a moment, he was scared that you’d flinch away. You’d never seen him when he let his anger get the best of him and he preferred to keep it that way. He didn’t want you to think that he was a violent man because he really wasn’t. Arvin just cared for a special few so much that he’d do anything for them. He’d never hurt someone he loved though and needed you to know that. 

Thankfully, you leaned into his touch, resting your head on his shoulder as he walked you back to his car, leaving the preacher an unconscious mess in the middle of the church. When you exited the building, night had fallen upon Coal Creek, casting a fitting darkness over the town. 

“Thank you.” You said simply and quietly, looking over at Arvin sincerely on the drive home. 

“For what?” 

“For everything. Just bein’ who you are.” You paused with a heavy sigh, “But promise me something?” 

Arvin looked over at you, taking his eyes off the road for just a second to show you he was listening. 

“Promise me you won’t go gettin’ yourself in trouble for me.” 

He shook his head, “He deserved-” 

“I know what he deserved,” You interrupted, “And I am so grateful that you stepped in to help. But I don’t want you gettin’ yourself thrown in jail or killed for me.” 

There was short silence before Arvin looked over with the most sincere look you think he’d ever given you, “I can’t promise that. ‘M sorry, Y/N, but if I ever see you in danger, I’m gonna do what I need to do.” 

It wasn’t the response you’d been hoping for but this boy had the ability to make you feel more loved than anyone else you knew. You only wished he understood that you only wanted what was best for him, just like he did for you. “I love you, Arvin.” You admitted, sliding across the seat to lay your head against his shoulder while he drove. 

“I love you too.” 

[bedbellyandbeyond]

Wolf Training

(Story Post)

The next morning, Dax made sure Nathan was comfortable to be alone with Kent before he went for a run. He hadn't had a very filling dinner the night before, but he made a good smoothie with Kent's wild berries. Since the only protein option around was dead deer, he was very glad he'd brought the protein powder Ollie had let him try, and he blended it right up with the fruit. As soon as Nathan was ready, Kent started teaching him about his half form. They went outside to the back of the house facing the lake and Kent started asking him questions to get a sense of what triggered Nathan's transformations recently.

“I told you, both times I was really angry,” Nathan said. “I figured those extreme emotions fuel it.” “No, it doesn't work like that. You were plenty angry with me yesterday and you never changed nothin',” Kent said. “Tell me what the scenario was. Who was with you? What were they doin’? What were you doin’?” Nathan sighed. “The first time was with Wano, this alien guy I have staying over.” Kent furrowed his brow. “‘Nother boyfriend?” “No, just a friend I'm helping out,” Nathan said. “He's around my kids?” Kent asked. “He helps take care of them, yes.” Kent kissed his lips. “Pissin' me off… I don't want all these people ‘round my kids.” “Tough shit. I make the calls.” Kent wrinkled his nose. “What was the bastard doin', then? When you wolfed up.” “We were arguing because he had a friend over without my permission when I wasn't home,” Nathan explained. “Were the kids home?” “No, they were with me. I don't leave Wano alone with them.” “As you shouldn't.” “Are you going to keep focusing on your pseudo-father ego, or are you going to help me?” Nathan asked. Kent crossed his arms. “Positioning's important. Where was he, where were you in the moment?” Nathan shrugged. “I was standing in my kitchen behind my island, and he was there.” He pointed to a spot a few feet away from him. Kent moved into the spot. “Here?” “Yeah, then when I told him he couldn't bring his friend over anymore, he stepped right up to me and said to me that he couldn't stop me, or something of that nature,” Nathan explained. “Then I transformed.” “So, he stepped up to you like this?” Kent moved closer to Nathan. “Closer, he was right in my face.” Kent moved closer glaring down his nose at Nathan, making him sway back. “Like this?” “Yeah, back off a bit,” Nathan said, taking a step back. “I can smell your breath.” “Is he taller than you?” Kent asked. “Yeah. Not as much as you but a couple inches.” Kent rubbed his chin. “And the second time. What happened?” Nathan clenched his jaw. “Well, I imagine you know Korsgaard and Camilo now, right?” “Black suits who sent me up here,” Kent recalled. “Well they just told me you were alive,” Nathan said. “That really pissed me off. More than Wano.” “I'm alive. Get used to it,” Kent huffed. “But paint the picture again. Who was closest to you? Who did you direct your aggression to?” “In that moment, probably Korsgaard,” Nathan said. “Dax was closest to me though since we were sitting next to each other. Korsgaard and Camilo were on the other side of a desk.” “You're there and Korsgaard is here?” Kent moved back a bit and stood imagining the desk between them. “And you were sitting when you transformed?” “No, I believe I stood up,” Nathan said. “I remember, I stood up when I got really upset and I slammed the desk with a fist.” “Did you change then?” “No, Dax was trying to calm me down but then Korsgaard stood up too and tried to calm me by touching my arm. And then I transformed.” Kent raised his chin. “If I recall, Korsgaard’s taller than you too.” Nathan nodded. “Why? Does height have something to do with it?” “Somewhat, not exactly,” Kent said, scratching his stubble. “Ya see, the transformation is somethin’ you will. There has to be somethin' in those moments what makes you want to use your half form to your advantage, whether you realise it consciously or not.” Nathan blinked. “I wanted to transform?” Kent nodded. “In both situations, a guy bigger than you was trying to control you. Likely felt like they were trying to intimidate you and, in those moments, they felt like a threat. By transforming, you become the bigger, taller, stronger person. You dominate the situation.” Nathan looked at Kent. “…So how is that not because I'm angry?” “It's not that it's not,” Kent said. “But it's more than that. And with practice, you can take the anger out of it. You can make it happen whenever you want. You're not Bruce Banner.” “But I don't want it to happen,” Nathan said. “Sure you do,” Kent said. “You've got the two little beasties at home running around. You can't tell me you haven't wanted to wolf up when they do, have the same control they have. Heck, they're probably what's been influencing you to start these half transformations. They're rubbing off.” “I thought since they were born into it, they're just different from me,” Nathan assumed. “Being born into it just means it's easier for them. They're born with the instincts,” Kent said. “You can do everything they can. You just need practice.” Nathan rubbed his neck. “How do I practice it?” “This might sound stupid, but you just gotta start wantin' it real bad,” Kent said. “You're scared of it now ‘cause you're afraid of lack of control an’ hurtin' someone. But the half form is safer than the full form. You remain in control. You're conscious. Anything you do in that state is your full responsibility. You just have to want it.” Nathan nodded slowly. “Okay…” “Try it against me,” Kent said. “Try to be the bigger, stronger man.” Nathan just spread his arms. “What do I do?” “Well, first you probably want to take off your shirt and pants,” Kent said. Nathan hesitated, but he knew Kent was right and his clothes would be destroyed if he wolfed out in them. “Don't watch while I strip...” Kent just put his hands on his hips. “Behavin’ like a coward’s not gonna help you transform.” Nathan sighed and just tried to take his clothes off in the least sexiest way possible. He didn't remove his boxers because he’d always had special stretchy ones that didn't rip in transformation. He was still a bit self-conscious about his chest though and covered his pectorals with his hands. Kent shook his head. “Can't transform when you're embarrassed of yourself. Put your hands down. It's not like I haven't seen a man’s chest before.” Nathan huffed. “My chest changed with my pregnancy… Everything’s sensitive and swollen… And veiny.” Kent put his big hand on top of Nathan's head. “You feed my kids with that chest. You should be proud of it.” Nathan just sighed and lowered his hands, exposing his puffy pectorals. Kent looked at them and chuckled a bit. “You really do have tits, huh? That shewolf side of you has really taken over.” “Don't laugh! I'm really sensitive about it!” Nathan said covering himself again. “You have no idea what it's like!” “Relax, milk tits, it's not a big deal,” Kent said patting Nathan's head. “You're just being the mother you're supposed to be.” “I'm not a woman!” Nathan growled. “You bear bastard, stop touching me!” “Push my hand off then,” Kent said, keeping his hand planted firmly on the werewolf's head. “You can't. You're too weak.” Nathan took his hands off his chest to try to push Kent's arm off of him, but the bear man was incredibly strong and his hand didn't budge an inch. Nathan's hands went back to his chest. “Asshole!” “That’s it?” Kent scoffed. “That's your best try? Or are you too busy fondling your titties to actually try?” Nathan wrinkled his nose and grabbed Kent's arm again, this time putting all his effort into getting it off of him. After a few seconds straining to lift it, he suddenly felt the shift, a sort of swelling sensation, as he transformed into the half wolf. With the added strength that came with it, he tore Kent's hand off of him and shoved him back, letting out a loud snarl as he did so. “There you are!” Kent said, his eyes wide from seeing Nathan's half form for the first time. “Now hold it! Don't be scared of it!” Nathan looked at himself and felt that fear creeping up, the dread of being a monster. He tried to hold it down, but he watched in vain as the fur started to fall from his hands and he began to shrink down again. “No! Don't let go of it!” Kent stepped forward and then he transformed too. His huge half bear form towered over Nathan and he let out a bellowing bear cry. Nathan felt a sudden surge of strength and he regained the wolf form, letting it take over. He flung back his head and a powerful long howl sprung from his throat. He kept it going longer than he even thought he could and then when he was done, he brought his head down again to see that Kent was back as a man. “Good. You can let it go now,” Kent said. With that, Nathan immediately transformed back. He felt winded and tired, but a lot of his usual fear wasn't there. He just panted and looked at Kent. “That was… That happened…” Kent smirked. “It was somethin’, weren't it?” “Yeah… It kinda felt… Well, I don't know.” “Just say it,” Kent grunted. “It felt good, didn't it? Exhilaratin’.” “Yeah, a little,” Nathan admitted. “But I still did it when I was angry with you.” Kent rolled his eyes. “I just needed you to feel the feelin’again. You know what it feels like, right in here, right?” He patted the middle of his chest. “You feel it build in there. That's what you need to feel to trigger it.” “Okay… I did feel it,” Nathan said. “…What now?” “You drink some water and we do it again.” “Right.”

[minerstatus]

Teyvat’s School for the Gifted

Summary: He's cruel, mean, and sadistic. Lumine cannot fathom why he has the followers he does, but she won't fall into his hands like the rest of them.  It was unknown to her at that time how such a stance would cause the biggest uproar the schools ever seen.

This is the silly drama filled high school/college parody AU nobody asked for filled with Lumine not giving a shit and Childe trying to buy his way out of problems.

Ship: Lumine/Childe

Tags: Highschool AU, Enemies to lovers, Slow burn, Jealousy, lots of side ships.

Status: 5/? on Ao3

Chapter 1

The school located on an island inside the neutral zones between nations is a blessing for anyone without a swimming pool filled with mora. Without money you have to be gifted a vision to attend. That is why Lumine thought she would never be accepted to such a place. Instead cursed to live her life on a small farm on the outskirts of Mondstadt, killing small monsters for money to aid her ailing mother.

She had become quite the prodigy around the area. Her sword work was nothing to be trifled with. Some would even gush about what it would be like if she did have a vision. Then it happened, a strange string of life changing events.

-

 She enjoyed spending her free time sitting under the statue of the seven in windrise. It gave her a reprieve from her day-to-day life of school, killing, then sleep. She polished her blade most days she sat there, enjoying the sounds of the wilderness around her.

 As she sheathed her blade, wistfully thinking about what it would be like to magically summon and desummon it as a vision user, a light began to shine behind her. There was a flash, she thought maybe a vision might appear in front of her. But this was no test or life changing event. It didn’t make sense.

 Wind surrounded her body, lifting her skit in the breeze. She turned, it followed with her. She lifted her hand as a power surged through her. A burst of wind jetted from her palm and sliced across the water. It trimmed the tops off the over grown grasses lining the ponds edge. The wind died down and left her for elsewhere as the light slowly faded out of existence.

 Befuddled, she stared at the palms of her hands. She felt a power emanating from her core. With a trembling arm she raised her palm again, calling forth on the energy. It darted from her as before. Shocked, she tried it again and again, smiling gleefully with each blast of wind. She twirled around, searching for her vision, but came up empty.

-

That is how the first visionless anemo user was born. At first people didn’t believe her. Delusions were not unknown to the common folk of Teyvat. They were a staple favorite of the mafia families across the regions. But she quickly smashed those theories to pieces. Not only was she a poor farm girl fighting to survive, but where on earth would she have the money to afford such a thing. She allowed an inspection of her things and a pat down to prove it.

After the authorities decided that she did not have a vision she was free to do as she wished. That was until the head master of Teyvat’s school for the gifted showed up on her doorstep. The scholarship she was offered would give more money to her mother per month than she could in six months of hunting. She took it without question.

That’s how she ended up here, gawking at the building in front of her. The school defied the rumors. Statues carved from marble, fountains that defied gravity, even the wood it was built from looked impossibly expensive. Heck, the wildlife looked like they ate from golden platters.

The only thing that held her from running right back to the boat was a woman pinning her down with a chemically assisted cheerful gaze. A shiver ran up her spine as she waved her over. She obliged only because her eyes looked a hair away from snapping into crazy land.

“Welcome to Teyvat’s finest Lumine!” She cheered and began to clap.

“Thanks,” She mumbled, intimidated by her nature. She looked like a robot. Sleek black hair, not a strand out of place. Perfectly pressed blazer and pencil skirt in matching shades. Her glasses glistening in the sunlight, even if they were just plain black frames. She hoped not everyone in this school looked or felt this way.

“Follow me and I'll take you to your dorm. Then it’s a trip around campus!” She quipped then turned on her heel. Even her footsteps were a perfect tempo.

They walked through the faculty building, which thankfully looked normal inside. The site quelled her turning stomach. It was into the garden next that, as expected, looked immaculate. They even had a massive sand garden. Back in Mondstadt something like that would be destroyed in seconds.

Eventually they came upon another wooden building with a large ‘girls’ over it. The woman stopped and spun so fast on her heel Lumine almost let out small scream.

“This is the girl's dorm; your roommates are waiting for you inside with your things. I'll be back in thirty minutes for the rest of the tour,” she said, smile never once faltering as she left Lumine to her own devices.

Her roommates were nice, they greeted her in the common room just as her guide stated. Amber was a bit too enthusiastic for just about anything. Barbara was a very cheerful girl but was more reserved. It was a breath of fresh air to see two friendly faces. They led her to their dorm to get settled.

“So, what do you think?” Amber asked as Lumine began to unpack her luggage. Placing her uniforms carefully into her small closet along with her own casual clothing. Her own things almost felt dirty comparted to the schools uniform she was provided. And the room was much bigger than what she expected from a dormitory.

“It's overwhelming,” She admitted.

“You'll get used to it,” Amber laughed.

“Are you?” Lumine began to ask.

“Scholarship,” Amber answered, holding up her vision, “They keep the poor kids together so we don’t infect the rich kids.” She laughed.

“Hey!” Barbara yelled at her. Lips pointing into a pout.

“Except for Barbara, she requested to room with me. She's the exception.” Amber smiled at her friend.

“So, it's exactly how I thought it would be,” Lumine grumbled. This school was probably dripping with rich kids causing trouble for the normal folk, like she expected.

“Some of the students are alright, indifferent you might say. But there are,” Amber held up her hands as air quotes, “those types.”

“Will you guys be in my classes?” She asked.

“Nope, third years!”

Lumine felt her insides twist. Great, now she would be alone on her first day. At least her dorm would be nice. Amber was warm and friendly and Barbara seemed sweet even if she wasn’t talking as much. The pair would only be a year below her so they were still close in age. Hopefully she wouldn’t be moved to another dorm with the ‘adults’ if she attends the next four years after this one.

“You don’t want to be in our year anyways,” Barbara laughed.

“Whys that?” Lumine felt a small smile form for the first time since she set foot on the island. Barbara wiggled her eyebrows and gleamed over at Amber. She turned red in response and threw a pillow at her.

“Stop! Its not my fault!” She shouted.

“It’s gross the way he drools over his desk for you,” Barbara added.

“Mind filling me in?” Lumine asked.

“No!” Amber shouted.

“She has this wolf boy that follows her around and causes trouble. Its adorable,” Barbara said anyways.

“I didn’t ask for it he just did it!” Amber defended herself.

“It's like a comedy slash horror show every day,” Barbara giggled.

“Stop teasing me,” Amber whined.

“Wolf boy?” Lumine asked. Mondstadt had a steady population of people descendant of shape shifters or animals, but she had never seen a wolf before. Most of them were cats. Granted, she did keep to herself and didn’t really mix with the town folk, even at school.

“Half werewolf, half human, grew up in the wild before coming here earlier in the year,” Amber explained.

“He can smell everything, it's awful,” Barbara moaned, “one time I tried to bring some leftovers from lunch and he almost ripped apart my bag looking for it.”

“Sounds like a nice boyfriend,” Lumine said, hiding her smile as she sorted items into her desk drawers. Amber gasped from behind her. She swallowed a laugh.

“H-he's not my boyfriend!” She yelled. Lumine busted and began to giggled along with Barbara. She was interested in seeing the exchanges between the two now.

“Very funny guys, I'll make sure to make fun of your pain in suffering next time I get the chance.” Amber crossed her arms.

“Alright I'll stop,” Barbara waved her hand at her. A sharp knock on the door quickly soured the cheerful mood. The door swung open and Lumine’s guide walked in.

“Fantastic, I'm so glad you are getting along with your new housemates. We must complete the tour now.” The woman said, still as cheerful as ever. Lumine noticed Barbara and Ambers shoulders fell on her entrance. “I'll be waiting out front,” she chirped and left.

“God, Mrs.Lee always gives me the creeps,” Amber said.

“Glad it's not just me,” Lumine laughed as she stood.

“Good luck! See you at dinner,” Amber waved as Lumine exited the room. She heard faint whispers of gossip as she left but knew it was nothing bad, those girls didn’t have a mean bone in them.

-

They walked around campus and Lumine slowly became accustomed to the wildly expensive taste. She was shown the inside of the year one through four buildings, for the fourteen-to-eighteen-year old's. Then the outside of the adult facilities. Mrs. Lee assured the only real difference between the two was the uniform requirement and some extra freedoms.

After taking the tour she felt less overwhelmed, but it was the final stop that really cemented the reality most of the students lived in. It was the cafeteria of the school, but should have been classified as a food court. There was the line for the scholarship students where they could use one of three free meal tickets per day, or a snack coupon, all loaded onto her school ID. Wich was normal, same thing that she had in Mondstadt, minus the dinner.

What was different was the restaurants lining the walls. Everything you could imagine from each region on tap. And the prices were nothing to scoff at. A Fishermans toast was going for ten thousand mora, she could make that for less than three hundred back home. Lines scaled out to the isles as students waited, eager to be robbed for food.

“Lumine!” A familiar voice shouted. She sighed in relief. A distraction to this insanity was required right about now. She carried her tray adorned with less appetizing food from the school over to the table Amber sat at.

“This place is crazy,” Lumine sighed in exhaustion.

“My first day I ran away,” Amber laughed. She placed a spoon full of mac and cheese into her mouth.

“Those prices are more than I make in three weeks back home,” She said as she began to eat. Pleasantly surprised that even the free food was delectable. The pasta was perfectly cooked, cheese sauce an ideal creamy texture. She moved on to nibble at her cookie, baked expertly with a crispy outside and a gooey center. “God,” she murmured, savoring the taste.

“I told you, you get used to it,” Amber smiled sweetly. A book bag slamming down on the table instantly cleared her face. She looked up to see what she assumed was the wolf boy from earlier discussions. Lumine wondered why Amber felt it was bad to have his attention. He was attractive, silver hair and red eyes, giving him an exotic look. His arms were coated in scars and a massive one gashed his face, not a bad look if your into that type. Some of the girls back home would swoon over the attention.

“Why,” She groaned as he pulled out a seat, pushing it right up against hers as he sat a plate of meat and potatoes down. It must have been one of the free creature meals from the school line. He sat, making sure he was as close as physically possible to her.

Okay, maybe that’s why. Lumine began to understand.

He tilted his head like a new puppy, “Why?” He asked, voice thick with an unknown accent.

“We talked about this,” She shoved his chair away. “This is Razor,” She sighed as he sunk into his chair to pout. Lumine nodded and greeted him with a smile.

“I bought brownies!” Barbara sang as she skipped over to the table, “For our new friend,” She handed out the sweets, “And beef jerky for you,” She said as she handed Razor a slim piece of dried meat. He perked up and took it, chewing on it greedily. After the experience with the cookie Lumine thought the food couldn’t get better. But the brownie was smooth decadent layers of velvet chocolate that melted in her mouth. She had to suppress a groan.

There was a pickup of chatter in the room that pulled her from her chocolate induced fantasy. She looked towards the entrance of the café where a group of boys walked in. They were followed by a gaggle of other students, mostly female, all adorned with an expensive accessory or more.

Lumine was an honest person and she did not deny to herself that these boys looked like royalty. They walked with an air of confidence even through the crowd, knowing that the sea of students would part for them. She counted each of their visions, anemo, geo, cryo and hydro. There was a distinct leader to the group out of the four. A redhead who wore his vision on his belt, showing it off by messily tucking in half of his unkept shirt. Like he wanted people to see it, unlike the rest of them that wore them on chains by their side, as did everyone else in the school.

“Don't stare,” Amber hissed. Lumine snapped her eyes to her friends.

“Who are they?” She asked. Amber eyed her wearily before divulging the information.

“Sons of the school's elite,” She glanced back at the group to ensure they were distracted with food or girls before continuing, “The shorter one with green hair is Xiao, the son of the wangshu inn owner. The geo looking guy is Zhongli from the Wangsheng funeral parlor. Blue hair is Kaeya, one of the sons from the dawn winery.” Amber stopped speaking as she got to the last subject. Lumine quirked a brow as both Barbara and Amber swiveled their heads to check on the group again.

“It's not really them you should be weary of though; besides Xiao they are nice. Xiao has always had a stick up his butt,” Barbara added to the conversation.

“Then what is it, why are we acting like we are defusing a bomb?” Lumine asked.

“It's Childe, the redhead,” Amber whispered.

“Childe? That’s a dumb name,” Lumine thought out loud. The girls hissed at her to keep her voice down.

“He smells mean,” Razor added. Amber pulled on his ear.

“I told you not to talk about him,” She growled at him. He grasped her hand in his, forcing her to release.

“But you are!” he argued.

“Thats because we are warning her!” Amber explained. Razors eyes darted from Ambers to Lumines and he resigned himself back to his half-eaten steak.

Amber rolled her eyes and turned back to Lumine, “It’s not his real name, no one even knows his real name.”

“Childe is an awful nickname,” She whispered back to her friend.

“He’s mean, and evil, once he has you in his sights there's no stopping it.” Amber warned her.

“What about his friends? Don’t they say something?” She asked.

“They are rich, us poor folk don’t matter to them even if they act cordial towards us,” Amber told her as she leaned back, “Besides you don’t have a vision, he will probably just ignore you.”

Lumine widened her eyes, “well...” She felt a tint come to her cheeks, “Actually...”

Amber slammed her fists on the table, “NO WAY! YOUR THAT GIRL!” she screamed. Drawing the attention of half the students.

“Show us!” Barbara insisted.

“Ah, I don’t think now is the best time.” Lumine tried to quell her friend's voices but both girls were oblivious to the attention they were attracting. She glanced over at the red head she was warned about to make sure he was still entranced at whatever activity he had chosen.

“Awh comon I wanna see!” Amber whined.

“First anemo user in history without a vision! Don’t hold out on us!” Barbara added.

“Fine! Just stop yelling at me,” Lumine finally conceded. She put her palm face up on the table and gathered a small amount of wind to it. It tinted green with her power as it swirled into a miniature tornado in her palm.

“This is so cool!” Amber gasped.

“It's the same as anyone else,” Lumine said, closing her hand to cease the wind. She was more than a bit tired of people going ballistic over her powers.

“Let's get back to the dorms,” Amber suggested, “We have much to talk about,” She smiled gleefully. Razor whimpered next to her, “fine you can come too,” She sighed. Razor looked up with a beaming smile.

“Boys are allowed in the girls dorms?” Lumine asked as they gathered their trays and bags.

“Only until eight with a strict open-door policy,” Barbara told her.

She hummed in response as the group made their way over to the trash bins. Eyes were on her now, some searching for a vision trinket she didn’t possess. She was the last one out the door when a chill tingled down her spin. She grabbed the back of her neck and turned, expecting a cryo user to be standing there with a smirk on their face.

Instead, she was greeted with sea blue eyes cutting through the crowd. He smirked when they made eye contact. The chill went down her entire body. She glared as the door to the building swung shut, cutting them off.

Shit.

[lisinfleur]

Buble Gum, Time is fun!

The request:

Author’s Notes | Two of my favorite things reunited: Sigurd and time travel plots! I love it! I decided to post it like this, because you said you liked it how it is, love. But I’ll probably use this request later for a bigger work! It really has potential! Universe | Vikings Pairing | Sigurd x Reader Info | Time Travel plot, Viking Age AU, Modern AU, prepared for the Patron’s Holiday Event Words | 3706 ⁑ Warnings: Cursing a lot.

Damn foggy night.

Damn stupid idea of accepting your co-worker's invitation into his house for a Christmas celebration!

Of course, you should've noticed his intentions! Of course, he was luring you into a trap!

What were you thinking? Ivan had tried to lure you into going out with him through the whole year! How could you think he was serious about a party with his family?

In the end, it was just a lie to "finally get some time alone with you, pretty..." Oh, GOD! You hated so much his stupid way to make that word sound doughy in his voice!

And there you were, walking away from his house, all alone on Christmas' Eve - because OF COURSE, he refused to drive you home since you wouldn't give him a chance... Asshole.

The problem is: it was easy to reach his cottage exactly because he was driving the 4x4 through the woods to take you there. On foot, the trail would surely allow you to see Santa Claus' reindeer flying through the sky, going away and coming back home before you were able to finish that God damn way!

"Wonderful!" you cursed when your eyes found a bifurcation and the plaque that should indicate the way was broken, leaving you without a choice but betting which way would take you down, back to the town, which would take you deeper inside those woods into some wolf lair or something like this.

With your luck?

You would end up frozen in the middle of that stupid fog!

Walking into that fog, you caught yourself thinking. Sadness taking your heart... If you weren't all alone... If your family wasn't a bunch of assholes like Ivan... Perhaps you wouldn't have accepted his invitation. Maybe you would be celebrating with her instead of all alone, lost in those woods.

Where was the trail?

"Oh, crap!" you cursed, looking around, trying to find yourself again, anything but trees that could serve for you to locate yourself.

Your heart clenching inside your chest.

If you were to disappear that night... Who would miss you?

Damn Ivan! It would be perfect to know he would probably be arrested since you were last seen entering his car but you didn't want to disappear!

Even less into those woods!

"Shit... Shit shit shit!" You cursed.

Your feet, lost, stumbled on some roots and you fell straight to the ground, rolling down a small hill and hitting your head against a tree.

You weren't sure, but you saw a silhouette right before everything blanked out.

You remember you thought it was better to freeze in those woods than being found by Ivan in that place.

You couldn't precise how long did you blank out. But it was warm when you woke up. There was some strange cloak over your body, with a marine perfume that resembled the sea right after the dawn, or the dew evaporating on the first hours of the mourning.

"You woke up," a strange voice, kinda hoarse, with a heavy accent spoke to you.

And you turned yourself to see a blonde man sitting near a fire, noticing you were somehow into a cabin. A pretty rustic one! He was shoving the pieces of wood into the fire, making it warmer. But his clothes were so strange!

You could bet they were handmade!

He was dressed beautifully, like those medieval peasants from old Scandinavia. His hair had braids with leather straps decorating it and beautiful curls you couldn't stop yourself from admiring.

You sat, observing the beautiful handmade embroidery of the cloak over your body. That man wasn't a peasant. Such beautiful work wouldn't be made for someone that wasn't noble.

But why the fuck was he dressed like that?

"My head is aching..." you mumbled.

"You must've hit it against the tree I found you near. Your clothes are strange... Too thin for the cold. What is your name?" he asked with that strange accent, coming closer to sit beside the fur you were laid upon.

Too thin for the cold?? Those were your best warm trousers!

"I'm Y/N," you answered, confused. "Excuse me, but where am I?"

Everything around was so realistically rustic! You felt like waking up into a movie!

"This cabin is mine," he answered, "A small secret place I use as a refuge when I don't want my brothers to find me. I'm Sigurd, son of Ragnar Loðbrók. You must've known about my father." he sighed.

Sounding so genuíne for someone who was speaking, for sure, a scripted line for any stupid theatrical spectacle that was - for some reason - including your dizzy self. Right?

Cause there was no living way for you to be speaking to a son of THE Ragnar Loðbrók he was talking about. No-living-way!

You chuckled, looking at him.

"Fine... You're pretty good, for real. But I'm seriously lost here and... Can we leave the characters behind for a moment and give me some real information?" you said, looking at him "I'm lost for real, you know? I got lost in the woods while fleeing from a night into the house of the biggest asshole I've ever known in my whole life, so... Could you be gentle to me and tell me how I can reach the town so I can take a bus and go back home?"

The more you spoke, the stranger was the frown in that man's face.

"What is a bus?" he asked, looking at you as if that wasn't the most absurd nonsense someone could ask you at all!

"O-k... A persistent actor uh? So... Let us do it your way, ok? I need to go back to the town, uh? Where can I find a... a chariot?" you tried.

"You must've hit your head too hard... Come. I have a horse outside, I'll take you back to the village, but I suggest you visit a healer," he said.

Genuinely looking as confused as you were.

You got up, looking around. It was really a small cabin, seeming to be handmade as well, for a single person. Maybe you just invaded some kind of fantasy for him or anything, you thought. But the horse outside his door was pretty real.

"Fuck," you mumbled.

He really had a horse. And you would really go back home... In-a-freaking-horse. How the heck could that night become stranger?

Never doubt life.

It can ALWAYS overwhelm your expectations.

"What in the actual fuck?" your mouth mumbled when his horse reached the streets of what was an entire Scandinavian village. "Is this a joke? What kind of... Look, Sigurd uh?" you said, looking back at him from upon your shoulder as he guided the horse forward into that village.

A lot of other people like him were finishing putting things inside, the houses were decorated. It was Christmas night in that place as well... But how the heck?

"I need to go to the real town. Like, the real one! Not this scenographic thing for whatever you guys are filming ok? I need to go back to Kattegat!" you insisted.

Just to see his frown becoming even bigger.

"Woman, what is your problem? We ARE in Kattegat!" he said, convict.

"Then take me to the bay!" you demanded, almost as a touché.

They would never be able to reproduce the bay perfectly! It was a beautiful natural arch of mountains where the sea would make a pool, almost a beautiful natural circle of water you saw yourself stunned looking at a few moments after your ask.

"You see? We are in Kattegat, woman. I'm Sigurd, son of Ragnar, fourth among the princes of this place. And I demand you to visit a healer right now!" he said, full of himself.

But you'd barely heard his voice.

Your heart was pounding, your ears were throbbing along with your whole head. How the fuck was you standing in Kattegat's bay?

How in the actual fuck was that place a Scandinavian village again?

How hard did you hit your head?

"Be patient, son of Ragnar," a hoarse voice came out of nowhere and you turned yourself too quick, falling at the sand, afraid of that black-cloaked figure that looked at the two of you - and seemed not to scare Sigurd at all! "A strange thing happened and sometimes it happens, indeed..."

"Who are you? Where am I?" you asked, fully scared.

But that burned man looked at you calmly. You could feel he was looking at me although he had no eyes.

"The correct question would be when are you, Y/N, future’s child. You are where you think you are. You are in Kattegat such as he was. Time is not what you think it is."

Your heart started racing.

If what he was saying was real then you were far away from home now!

"But if you were to disappear tonight, who would miss you?"

That sentence in his hoarse voice seemed to shock both of you, you and Sigurd, cause you could see the same surprised expression in Sigurd's eyes as well.

"Time is a spiral... It swirls and swirls and sometimes its rounds touch each other. Two thought like one, two desired like one. One was heard by the night and its mysteries," that burnt man continued. "You shall be back to your time, back to your life, when the night is over and the magic with it. Unless your desire to come back is not strong enough to take you out of here," he said, starting to walk away.

Leaving you at that beach, sitting on the sand, almost panicking.

"So... You came because of my desire?" Sigurd mumbled, breaking the silence first.

And you looked at him.

"He said... Two thought like one. What were you thinking, Sigurd?" you asked, trying to rationalize.

To avoid freaking out.

"I didn't want to be home with Ivar being the usual spoiled brat he always is.  But I didn't want to be alone... After all, it's Yule."

After all, it was Christmas...

"It makes sense..." you mumbled. "I didn't want to be with Ivan... But did not want to be alone either."

Sigurd crossed his arms, sighing. And you looked at him with your heart clenching. Maybe he was as lonely as you were. And if it was strong enough to throw you into that situation then... Then why not?

It would be over in the morning.

"We could keep each other company..." You suggested.

"Then none of us would be alone." Sigurd completed. "Come. It's cold here... I have some food in my cabin we could share and you can tell me about this future you come from." he said, extending his hand for you to get up.

Sigurd didn't seem to be a bad guy at all. And what choice did you have, anyway?

He walked you back to that cabin, pulling the horse by its reins but walking beside you at a slow pace. It wasn't such a short path, so you had some time to know each other properly. The craziest it was sounding; Sigurd was indeed a Viking prince who definitely sounded like everything but a Viking. Whether your time's acknowledgment of his kind was awfully wrong or he was something different from the barbarian raiders his mutuals were described to be.

Instead, Sigurd was gentle, helping a total stranger he found wounded in the forest, taking you inside his cabin, ensuring you would be warm and cared for. He lighted a campfire in front of the cabin where he placed a piece of meat to roast intending to divide what was supposed to be enough for himself with you, and you noticed he just didn't ask for his cloak back - somehow he was really apprehensive about how cold it was for your "thin clothes".

Sigurd's presence was completely different from Ivan's and despite being a total stranger for you, soon it became more comfortable than having your co-worker you worked with for a whole year beside you.

To be honest? It was better. Way better.

Sigurd's curiosity about your shoes was funny, his surprise seeing your elastic hair tie was the most innocent and sweet thing you've ever seen and you could laugh for hours at his funny face when the thing escaped his hand being shot against his nose.

When you started talking about your time's music, he entered the cabin and brought back some kind of guitar he called an oud and played for you some amazing songs you wish you didn't have lost your cell phone so you could record to hear again later.

When he wouldn't be there to play...

For a moment, that sensation made you think about your loneliness and how it had just vanished with Sigurd's presence there. His gentleness was able to make you forget completely you weren't in your time and even more, that you were alone.

The two of you shared the food he made and when the night became colder he made the fire higher to warm the two of you as you sat at the door of his cabin, looking up to the sky.

So much more stars!

"The sky is not this beautiful where I come from," you said.

"Did the stars fall from the sky?" he asked, looking at you.

Making you smile with that sweet innocence he seemed to have.

"No. There are too many artificial lights. The night is not dark enough for us to see them all..." you explained.

"Your time seems to be amazing, but at the same time, it seems colder," Sigurd said, looking up once again.

Silence landing between the two of you like a solid wall his voice broke once again.

"I'll miss you, Y/N. When you go home, I'll miss having you here."

You thought about your lonely life. It would be so good to have the chance to stay... But at the same time, you were so far away from your time! And you couldn't just be impulsive and stay in a place and time you barely knew just out of your need for company... You would come back at the end of that night, you knew that. But your heart would be broken.

"I'll miss you too..." you mumbled.

Feeling when something touched your hand, looking to see Sigurd was messing with a leather strip around your wrist.

"What is this?" you asked when he finished, showing you the wooden beads with runes he had tied to your arm.

Lifting your eyes, you could see one of his braids was undone: he had turned the leather strip from his hair along with his beads into a bracelet for you.

"A gift, so you can remind me," he said, "A Yule gift."

You smiled with tenderness looking at that loving gift. Nothing was ever so sweet in your life.

You would miss him so hard...

You weren't as good as he was with the crafting, but you took off your necklace - a golden chain with a small butterfly pendant - And you placed it on his neck, watching as he touched the delicate piece.

"A Yule gift," you repeated, smiling at him.

Feeling his fingers touching and caressing your face.

Silence was made as you laid your head on his shoulder. There was nothing to be said anymore. You wanted his embrace around you. He wanted you to stay forever.

Both of you woke up alone the next morning...

The magic of that strange night was gone when you woke up sitting against the tree you had fallen near the previous night. You lifted your hand to touch your head searching for any kind of wound, thinking that the whole night could've been a dream.

But something was weighing on your hand and your eyes filled with tears when you saw the leather strap with his beads there. You touched your neck, your necklace was gone.

It was real.

He was real!

And now it was gone...

You found out you had fallen out of the way and into the woods some few meters before reaching the road. You went back home with that knot on your throat.

You searched for anything about his story just to find out Sigurd had died one thousand years ago, murdered by his own brother's ax.

The following days made no sense for you. Everything was missing color. You wanted to cry every time your eyes would look at the beads on your wrist. You never took that bracelet off.

When the third night came, you decided: You had to change that! You had to go back, to find a way to make his fate different.

To be with him once again.

But how?

The following days you passed searching for any information, finding anything that could help you, getting yourself more and more despaired with the hopelessness of that journey. When New Year's Eve came, you made your last try...

You came back to those woods, you went away from the trail, you tried to find the ruins of his cabin or that location. But all you could find were some stones placed in a specific way that could resemble that house.

You sat in the middle of it and you felt the tears pouring down your face. Your fingers caressing the leather strip on your wrist.

"You were such a gentle man... Such a sweet company. You killed my loneliness and... And you found such a terrible fate," you cried, thinking about him, the sweet smiles you exchanged, his laughs from that night.

"I wish so bad I could change it... I wish so bad I could come back one more time..." you closed your eyes, lowering your head.

"It's a one-way trip this time. And you know you can't change the cycle of life. He will die. You will die. Each must die someday," the hoarse voice of that burnt man you knew now was the Seer from his time invaded your ears, startling you up.

If he could be there, then...

You could come back.

"But I can make it different!" you said, looking up to see the black-cloaked figure standing where it was supposed to be the door of that cabin.

"What if you can't?" he asked, looking at you.

"I can!" you yelled, getting up.

"What if you can't, woman?" he repeated.

Remembering you maybe Sigurd's fate wasn't changeable...

Maybe you would go back just to lose him that awful way.

"Then I can make his life different," you mumbled, looking at the Seer. "Then I can send his loneliness away. And kill mine. And make it better as long as he lives."

"Cross the line... And find your fate. Time won't touch itself once again. Don't look back, future's child. Everything forward is lost for you now."

With his scepter, he traced a perfect line on the ground from one stone to another at the entrance of the cabin's ruins, turning his back to you and vanishing in the middle of the trees.

You swallowed dry.

You could just jump the stones and go back to your life.

But time wouldn't touch itself again, he said.

You could cross that line and everything you knew would be lost.

But who would miss you anyway?

You touched the leather bracelet on your arm and took a deep breath, walking forward and crossing the line without thinking any longer. And then... His voice filled your ears...

"... and I don't know where or when you are now. But I wish you were here. It would be good if time could swirl that strange way one more time."

Your eyes caught Sigurd's figure sitting beside a campfire. Almost the same scene from the Yule night you spent together. Except, you weren't there, and his hands were messing with the necklace you gave to him, tenderly caressing the pendant. He missed you. He wanted you back.

And it filled your heart with love to think someone would care.

He cared.

"Maybe two thought like one once again," you mumbled from the door, startling him, watching as he jumped up, standing to look at you, first scared, then, with the most beautiful smile you've ever seen on someone's face.

"Y/N!"

Sigurd came closer, without a warning pulling you into his embrace. Such a tight embrace, so full of that feeling only he was able to make you feel!

You embraced him back, maybe as tight as he was embracing you. And Sigurd cupped your face, touching your foreheads.

"You came back... I wanted so hard to see you again!"

You went on your tiptoes, following the will of your heart, and touched his lips with yours, surprising Sigurd with a gentle and loving kiss, full of that need you had inside your heart to change his life. To make his fate different.

"Y/N?" he mumbled your name when the kiss was over.

Looking at you full of doubt in his eyes.

But you caressed his face gently, smiling at him.

"I came back for you, Sigurd. For you..."

His tone changed as you felt his hands gently pulling you closer. His forehead touched yours and you saw as he sighed, almost in relief, nuzzling his nose to yours.

"You took my heart with you when you left..."

He felt the same. That need, that sensation you were everything he needed and he had lost it. Sigurd fell in love with you as well. And it was good for him to notice he wasn’t alone.

"Tell me you'll stay this time." He asked.

"I'll stay," you answered, nestling your face against his neck, hiding into his embrace. "I'll stay, my prince."

"That's good..." he mumbled, kissing your hair, embracing you tighter. "That's good, my love."

You knew everything you ever knew was lost for you now and you would've to learn everything about life in his way. You knew you could lose him not far from that day. But you would fight to change his fate and if you had to lose him then, at least, you could say you loved him till the end.

And Sigurd loved you back. Like anyone else before.

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[regrettablewritings]

Preferences: Guilty Pleasures

Characters: Okoye, Lucifer Morningstar, Dewey Finn, Peter B. Parker, Ahkmenrah

Okoye

Okoye is straightforward and stony upon first impressions. And, admittedly, even afterward. The only real difference is that, if one gets to know her better, they might find shock in the fact that in spite of her appearance, she Dora leader actually likes sweets. However, it’s not sweet things in general that Okoye feels guilty for enjoying: It’s Starbucks.

Starbucks is the antithesis of everything Okoye is associated with: Supremely un-Wakandan, a chain establishment, and overall just not worth the absurd cost. Not to mention superbly unhealthy when compared to the rest of a fighter’s typical diet. But yet you can bet that every time she needs to go out of the country or off-continent, there’s an invasive shout for joy at the possibility that she might be able to get her hands on a Frappucino (followed by an internal scolding).

She can’t even explain exactly why she likes it; there are plenty of good, even healthier sweet things back in Wakanda -- heck, back anywhere else!

But it’s a bit like when someone craves the cheap taste of school pizza over a legit pie cooked in a stone hearth: She just loves the sugary sweetness, the application of whipped cream to an already tooth-rottingly saccharine icy drink, the addition of chocolate. But Bast, she also hates it. But ever since T’Challa practically shoved a grande cup of caramel frappucino into her hands, she hasn’t felt entirely the same.

Against her better judgement, she’s more or less unintentionally tried 45% of the menu drink-wise. She doesn’t particularly care much for the food part of the establishment, though if she should ever find herself in one during the fall, she might indulge in a chunky slice of pumpkin bread under the conviction that it’s healthy enough for being gourd-related. Never mind that it’s just a cinnamon mixture with more sugar than actual pumpkin-derived anything.

Really, of all those mentioned on this list, Okoye is the one who probably feels the most disappointed in herself whenever she indulges in her guilty pleasure: It’s a betrayal to her patriotism, to her dignity, and to her attempts to eat healthy. But damn, if this type of betrayal doesn’t taste so addicting . . .

Lucifer Morningstar

The thing about Lucifer is that it’s actually a bit hard for him to feel any regrets over liking anything; he’s the Devil, after all, so his whole thing is about embracing the things that make you feel good. And even besides that, he’s mostly managed to skate by in his time on Earth by categorizing things as Stuff He Likes, Stuff He Tolerates, Stuff He Doesn’t Bother With, and Stuff Humans Seem to Enjoy But He Doesn’t Quite Get. It’s a tad restricted of a system but you can’t argue with results.

However, just because something is difficult doesn’t mean that it’s impossible. The Devil can, in fact, recognize absurdity in liking certain things. Hence why, to a point, he’s fallen prey to his own bizarre pleasures: The Devil has guilty pleasures, and it’s in stupid YouTube videos, Vine, and TikTok.

After he finally drank the Kool-Aid and got himself a smart phone, it was only a matter of time before Lucifer fell down the rabbit hole that is YouTube prank videos and strange uploads about nonsense and animal humor. It was also only a matter of time before he found himself stumbling into Vine compilations. The Celestial is terrifically mystified by the creative power of humans, managing to tell entire stories and peak comedy in only a span of seven seconds. But he’s also quite loathe to have realized it’s been long defunct by the time he’s discovered it.

He’s even more loathe to find himself making references in his daily life: He has actually quietly blurted out, “I sure hope it does” in response to seeing a Road Work Ahead sign, causing Chloe some confusion (and Lucifer lots of embarrassment). He has referred to a culprit as “Jared, Age 19″. Since discovering Vine, there has been at least one night wherein he and a bed mate were sitting there with barbecue sauce on his tiddies, but that was by sheer coincidence.

But eventually the Vine compilation well dried up, and the inevitable transfer over to TikTok happened. And Luci honestly doesn’t know what to make of TikTok. He would describe it as Vine’s Molly-addicted cousin based on its obsession with dancing, but the dances are so stationary that even that doesn’t seem quite right. The videos on the platform are also much more . . . bizarre. And some of them admittedly trigger a fight-or-flight response in him, to which he always chooses the third option of freezing if only so he can keep watching the train wreck unfold before his eyes.

The trouble with TikTok, he’ll admit to himself, is that it’s not as easy to find iconic content the same way he could with Vine. However, this isn’t to say that he hasn’t found anything worth watching over and over and over again . . .

(Let’s just say the “Wolf Pack Compilation” lives in his head rent-free, and he’s both too amused by it and too overwhelmed by its vibe to try and evict it.)

Dewey Finn

Dewey is . . . a special case. Given that he associates messy living and indulging in one’s pleasure a part of the rocker lifestyle, he’s generally quick to embrace whatever makes him happy. He’s very upfront about his interests and is arguably almost incapable of feeling shame. But it’s in there: Deep down. No, not in himself -- in his Spotify. Specifically, a Spotify account made on an email he never uses because it was made specifically to create this separate, uber secret playlist.

One marked “Actual Musical Bops.”

Dewey hates musicals: They’re cheesy, uninspired, gaudy, ridiculous, totally aimed at chicks with weird fantasies that he could never aspire to, and the music is just overall unimpressive. And yet, somehow, against his music elitist nature, a handful have managed to slip through the cracks. At the very least, a handful of numbers have clawed their way past his defenses and into his ear, where they now live rent-free.

In spite of his best efforts, the problems are that he’s a New Yorker, so it’s inevitable that he hears a song or two; and also that, as an instructor (to wealthy New York tweens whose families can afford frequent tripes to the Great White Way, no less), he’s definitely going to wind up hearing about some shows and their stand-out numbers: Against his will, he knows the lyrics to “My Shot”; he has cried in the secrecy of his apartment to “When I Grow Up”; in the never-necessary reason he needs to remember how many minutes there are in a year, he sings it inside his head; hell, he’s even found himself trying to figure out the electric guitar riff from “The Phantom of the Opera” during his down time.

What’s all the more embarrassing is that, given how he presents himself as a music elitist, there’s just no way he can come back from this if anyone were to know. He has to catch himself when he finds himself humming “Johanna” in the teacher’s lounge. He scowls at himself when he can’t sleep and gives in and starts playing “No One is Alone.” He wants to kick his thick ass every time he realizes he’s excited to have stumbled across a “slime tutorial” on YouTube, this one with better quality than the last. The reason he actually put a password on his phone wasn’t out of privacy like a sensible person would, but out of a need to make sure that no one ever found out that he had downloaded the entire Beetlejuice soundtrack, including jankily-recorded songs that never made it to the official cast recording for whatever reason!

And should anyone ever find out about any of this, Dewey has a plan: “Oh, I’m doing research. I’m studying these songs so I can give the kids a lesson on what not to do as actually competent musicians.”

But the lesson would never actually come. Mainly because he keeps prolonging his “research” . . .

He’s also developed a bit of a soft spot for My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic due to some students gushing about it, but he would rather sooner die than ever be associated with the term “brony.”

Peter B. Parker

Peter is at a point where he’s too tired to really care about the idea of guilty pleasures. The way he sees it, there are bigger priorities at stake than worrying about someone finding out about your love of some hokey activity or food or form of entertainment.

Besides, he’s a New Yorker: There’s way weirder stuff for people to just not pay any real attention to. Hence why he thinks nothing of his bizarre eating habits. And no, this isn’t referring to his disastrous appetite: This is about his tendency to eat food with his hands. Foods that, well, he really should probably utilize eating utensils for.

To be fair, this habit has always existed in him in some form or another, especially since, as Spider-Man, he often needs to eat food on the go. But during the time he spent living the life of a depressed bachelor, it came out in full force. On the rare occasion he wasn’t eating a food that deserved to be eaten by hand, he often found himself loathing the idea of doing the dishes afterward. There would be days he’d feel only slightly less depressed; enough to make a box of Kraft Mac n Cheese in the pot, but not enough to avoid cutting out the middle man.

He’s thankful the craptastic apartment wasn’t also see-through because if it were, he’s positive his neighbors would’ve thought they were bearing witness to a man’s breakdown as he wept into a pot of macaroni and cheese, his hand full of the stuff, while wearing a Spider-Man costume. (And, to be fair, they actually would be.)

In addition to this, there were also those nights where he would be prepared to actually tuck in to a plate of spaghetti, only for some crime going on elsewhere in the city to drag him away. By the time he’d return, the plate would’ve been cold and his energy too depleted to want to even dream about cleaning more than he already had to.

The great news is that he’s thankfully done a 180, now able and willing (if begrudgingly) to clean up after himself. But bad news is that this feral man will still eat a fully-loaded baked potato like an apple. In a park. In front of women and children. He’s just too tired to care anymore. He’s aware of the guilt in this as a concept, but he’s also aware that he needs to take whatever happiness he can get out of whatever he does. And if that means eating everything by hand, then so be it!

Ahkmenrah

Funnily enough, Ahkmenrah doesn’t seem to experience much of any shame for enjoying the things most might feel the need to hide: He’s constantly curious and has missed out on a lot over the centuries, so why should he feel bad for wanting to indulge in them? Celebrity gossip is just a more fun version of the palace gossip he’d grown up hearing as a boy; reality TV is like watching a play, but with much more fights, less deaths, and more faulty romances; and sloppy meatball subs are like a feast for a man of his time!

Besides, he’s a king: Kings shouldn’t have to feel embarrassment over what the common folk might think.

And yet . . . It took some time, but eventually Ahkmenrah did experience it: Guilt in his pleasures.

He couldn’t even recall where it had all started. Maybe he was searching for more content to swallow after the most recent season of his new favorite show had ended? Whatever the case, he wound up biting off more than he could chew when he stumbled upon . . . fanfiction.

The adorable yet sad thing is that he didn’t even think anything of it at first. It wasn’t until he brought up a ship he’d invested his last few nights awake exploring on the computer: Nobody knew what the crap he was talking about, so of course he felt the need to explain it. But the more he talked, the more perplexed his friends looked. And the more he could feel his cheeks and ears burn.

Oh, he thought. Is this . . . embarrassment? Is that what this feels like? Oh, this is just foul.

Thankfully, nobody pressured him to keep talking about it, but the poor king sure as heck didn’t feel much of a desire to talk any further about it. But he needed to talk to somebody about his newly acquired “feels” as those online were calling them.

Joining fanfiction-oriented sites was the next obvious step, of course, but he’s experienced mixed feelings about it: On one hand, it’s nice to talk with people who share similar views and excitement about a fictional couple. But on the other, the digital wars that have broken out both disturb him and bring out the worst in him.

Like, of course there are bigger things to deal with than whether or not So-So is better off with Him-Ham, but if you truly think that Blah-Blah and Himhaw are a healthy relationship, then you can go do a service and bury yourself in the desert sands to provide substance to the hungry beetles with your flesh --

Suffice to say, a lot of the guilt in this pleasure seems to come from the fact that Ahk can get a little too emotionally invested if the work is really good. He tries to limit his interactions to commenting and praising certain works, and encouraging content creators. However, he’s also contemplated contributing his own pieces of fiction to the fandom . . .

[connorspiracy]

Fangs and Fries || Connor & Rio

Timing: Current Location: Rio’s hospital room Parties: @connorspiracy & @3starsquinn Content: References to violence, injuries, death and abuse Summary: Connor visits Rio in hospital after the werewolf attack and Rio opens up to him about things.

Rio hadn’t talked too much about the Winston situation or his parents’ death or much of his life at all, and now that he was living by himself, Connor was pretty worried about him, and not just because he’d been in a fight with a werewolf. He got a selection of burgers and chicken stuff and fries from McDonalds, skipping the deserts because he figured they’d melt and taste like arse before too long. “You alright mate?” he said by way of greeting as he walked in. “They’ve not got you on too many painkillers?” He put the bags of food on the little tray in front of Rio, pulling up a chair, then he took off and unzipped his backpack, pulling out some other stuff. “I also brought my Switch and some comics so you have something to do ‘til you can come home.” Hospitals were loud. Connor could hear the screaming from a room next door, someone who’d just left their body and was yelling at the doctors to please bring them back to life. He could hear crying and faint whispers, and he could feel the particular brand of heaviness in the air, but he needed to focus on Rio right now.

Orion had some preparation time when he heard Connor coming down the hallway. He had been occupied staring at the TV screen, waiting for news to break about another attack by the wolf. Nothing yet, but that hadn’t meant that nobody had been hurt. Connor had done Rio a service by not only bringing him food, but launching right into the conversation without too many questions regarding his wounds. The bruises across his face were bad enough, but add onto it the IV’s didn’t make it possible to wear his usual hoodies. He stuffed his arms under the blanket, then attempted to position them under the swinging table once Connor set the food down on it. He had no reason to hide it, but it still wasn’t his favorite conversation to bring up. “I’m fine. Probably not enough painkillers honestly,” Rio laughed, trying to sound convincing. Connor had brought an entire assortment of options, and even as Rio stared at the food and realized that he didn’t have much of an appetite, he still wanted to eat. He grabbed a handful of fries first, plopping them in his mouth one by one as Connor pulled the game system and comics out of his bag. “Woah! Thanks dude, that’s so nice holy crap. I appreciate it. I’ll be out of here in a couple days though probably. So not too much time to kill.”

Connor usually played it cool. He was a curious person, someone who liked to have all the answers and would do as much digging as it took to get to the bottom of them. There were some things you didn't ask questions about though, so while he knew not all of the scars on Rio's body could have come from the wolf attack, he didn't mention them. "Are you wearing one of those hospital gowns where your arse hangs out? Damn, if I knew, I'd have brought you some pyjamas too," he snickered. "And a couple of days sitting in a fucking hospital bed is more than enough. At least this way you'll have Pokemon and Mario." He helped himself to a serving of fries and a quarter pounder. "So," he said, after taking a copious bite. "Werewolf? Tell me about it. What'd it look like? Was it huge?"

If it wasn’t bad enough that the hospital gown was already embarrassing, Connor’s comment drug a blush out of Rio almost instantaneously. “Uh -” Rio started, a nervous laughter escaping his mouth, “Yes, but I have like underwear and stuff” Rio eventually found the words and mumbled them quickly. There was no way he’d ever be caught dead completely exposed out in public. He already felt naked enough without something long sleeve to cover his arms. “It’s fine, my sister brought some clothes to me. I just haven’t put them on yet because nurses keep coming in to check the claw and bite marks.” Connor was right, regardless of how long he was here a game or comic would do wonders to help pass the time. It may even distract him from watching the news so much. “Thanks. Seriously this is awesome. I really appreciate it.” He had certainly said that a lot recently. “The wolf? Uh-” Rio tried to think of the wolf in relation to the other werewolves that he had seen. His experience seeing them transformed in person wasn’t as high as many other hunters, but he had definitely seen his fair share by now, “I mean he’s definitely bigger than a normal wolf or a human. They weren’t the biggest one I’ve seen, but they were definitely the scariest.”

"What, it's not an arse out kinda look?" Connor teased gently, but he could tell Rio was embarrassed. Hopefully knowing Connor didn't take any of this seriously would help him feel better about the whole thing. "What'd you tell them?" he asked. "Do they think it was just an out of control dog or something? There's no actual wolf-wolves in Maine, right?" He remembered reading that. "I haven't seen a normal wolf in person. Or a werewolf," he said, chewing the inside of his cheek. "At least not a transformed one. Did it--are you--" His throat was dry. He took a sip of Diet Coke from one of those McDonalds cups that always made it taste like shit because it went flat so fast. There wasn’t really a polite way to phrase this. "Will you turn? Did it like, bite you?" 

“Nothing about me is an ‘arse out kinda look’” Orion laughed again, copying Connor’s statement and bubbling them around quotation marks that Rio made with his fingers. Rio’s own style was very much covered, for multiple reasons. The scars didn’t help, but they certainly weren’t the only thing contributing to Rio’s irrational fear of anyone seeing him shirtless. “I didn’t tell them anything, honestly.” Rio shrugged, taking a bite of a burger and chewing before speaking again, “I sort of played the whole traumatized victim card. I just sat outside the restaurant until I got in the ambulance. But I heard some others talking about a wolf. I’m sure the police report is just going to say it was a wild animal attack.” Connor’s next question baffled Rio for a moment. Admittedly, he had never even considered the possibility. He had known his entire life that he couldn’t turn, so the fear had never crossed his mind during the fight last night. But at the mention of it, Rio thought of the bite mark on his leg beneath the blanket. It would be easy to say that he hadn’t been, but Connor was one of the closest friends that Rio had. He was also one of the few that Rio hadn’t been forced to show his hunter heritage too. He had taken advantage of that blessing for too long it seemed. “Oh uh- I guess technically yes they did bite me. But I’m not going to turn.” Rio spoke slowly and carefully, unsure exactly how he wanted to word it, “I can’t turn, actually.”

"Oh, c'mon. You're proper cute. If you weren't taken, I'd flirt the heck out of you," Connor said, dipping a chicken nugget in some BBQ sauce and practically swallowing it whole, flashing Rio a big grin. "I thought you were massively hot that time I first met you when you broke a lock with your bare hands." He was sure that would make Rio blush a bit more, but he hoped the fact he was shoving McDonalds down his gullet with no concern about looking attractive reassured Rio that he just meant it as a compliment and wasn't looking to make a move. Connor watched Rio's face when he answered the question about being bitten. He'd had a few curiosities about him ever since Nell had insisted Rio come with them to apprehend moon-murder Adam. Like she knew something he didn't. "Ah," he said, simply nodding. "You're immune." Now the easy padlock breaking made sense. "Sick." 

“So I’m supposed to believe that the whole time we’ve been friends you haven’t been flirting with me?” Orion teased, fully aware that Connor couldn’t get through an entire conversation without flirting at least once. He was that way with most people. Rio didn’t feel the need to mention that he technically wasn’t taken anymore. Doing so might imply that he was anywhere near to being over Winston or ready to be in a relationship again. Neither were true. “You’re a natural flirt, dude. It’s very charming.” He knew that by now Connor was aware that any complement towards Rio would immediately result in blushing. By some miracle, none of those made Rio dizzy anymore. The two were clearly close enough to talk like that now. “Ha ha. Well, I wouldn’t say hot. But we had to get in somehow.” The fact that Connor even remembered that factored into what Rio was trying to tell Connor now. Connor’s specialty was ghosts, so Rio had no idea if telling Connor that he was immune to the bite meant anything to him. It wasn’t exactly common knowledge, especially since only certain types of hunters were immune to it. It really only left Rio the option of just coming out and saying it. “Right. Yeah. Which uh- in case you aren’t aware… is because my genes carry certain abilities. That I got from my mom. Who was a werewolf hunter.” Talk about beating around the bush. He just didn’t want to claim that word for himself. Not out loud. “So I guess technically speaking, I have those genes. But I’m not a hunter. Just to be clear.”

"Trust me mate, if I was flirting with you, you'd know about it," Connor teased. He usually sounded a lot less confident when he was actually trying to flirt and not just... flirting as a friend. "Yeah, but it's just me being English and charming. Not actually trying to get into your trousers." He chuckled softly, flashing Rio a wink. "Cute as you are in that hospital gown." He stopped joking around for just a moment, listening to Rio talk. "Yeah, I know about people with abilities. Not a lot, but... enough. Adam talked to me about it too." Adam was no secret. They'd all seen his powers with their own eyes. It made him feel better that Rio was so quick to clarify that he wasn't a hunter. Connor gave him a small smile, nodding. "I know. You're a librarian."

Despite Orion’s lack of an appetite, he found himself eating far more than he had originally intended as he got lost in the conversation with Connor. Soon he had downed a burger, most of a ten piece nugget and the entire thing of fries. Maybe he had been hungrier than his stomach was letting him acknowledge. “Yeah, well I sure hope you’re not. Because I’m not even wearing any trousers.” Rio used an appallingly awful british accent for the last word. It was good being able to have talks like this. Even after what he had seen inside that restaurant. He needed the distractions. “Right. Makes sense. Was it after that night?” Rio wasn’t sure he actually wanted to know. The less he had to talk about Adam right now the better. Those feelings were far too confusing to add on top of everything else he had going on. “Adam and I are similar. Sort of. We both come from hunter families, but mine is a bit more focused. It gives me certain advantages that typical humans don’t have.” At least Connor was willing to move past it quickly and acknowledge that Rio wasn’t using the title for himself. “Yeah, a librarian. I guess it is something like that in a way.”

Connor laughed as Rio said trousers. “I know, right? Hospital gown's just a bit lacking on the sex appeal, mate." He finished the burger he'd been working on and started on some mozzarella bites. He nodded. One thing about White Crest was that it made you pretty bloody good at switching between jokes and serious topics. That Gallows humor came in strong. "It was, yeah. After the Moon Murder Spree. Which... that was a bloody hell of a time." Literally. Connor was still trying to process it. It wasn't that he didn't trust Adam. He didn't feel that Adam would ever hurt anyone maliciously when in his right mind. It was just still a bit weird. "Good genes but none of the murder," he said with a little smile, offering Rio some fries. "Sounds good to me." 

As far as Orion was concerned, everything about himself was lacking in sex appeal. But knowing Connor’s all too charming way with words, he wasn’t about to mention that. He preoccupied himself by staring at the uneaten food. He couldn’t believe Connor had grabbed all of this just to make sure Rio had something he liked. It was really nice. “Yeah. It was something like that. I’m just glad he’s back to his normal self.” Or at least the self that he presented to others. Rio still wasn’t convinced he was as easy going as he liked to claim. But he also couldn’t pretend to have spoken to him much recently. Ironically, Adam had been the first person that Rio had wanted to talk about the wolf attack with. “Right.” Rio agreed with Connor. He had discussed the hunter heritage, but he wasn’t exactly ready to break the news to him about his parent’s death. That might elicit a slightly different response. “I’ve never been much of a fighter, honestly. I definitely prefer safety.”

Connor continued to blank out the surrounding ghosts. They were growing a little louder now, as if beginning to realise that he was here. “I’m sorry, mate.” He paused sips of his coke and trying to decide whether he should even ask about this or just leave it to Rio to bring things up when he was ready. He had never been very good at holding in questions though. “So, what’s up with you and Winston? You never like, said very much about it. I know you were together at least since I moved here. They left town and you guys are… maybe broken up, or maybe not?” There was no blame in Connor’s voice, no judgement against Winston for what they’d felt they had to do. He just wanted to get Rio’s side of it. “I reckon that’s the hardest bit. The not knowing. That’d drive me nuts.” 

Figuring that eventually it would come up, Orion managed a grin when Connor mentioned Winston. Looking back, making a dramatic and sappy post about heartbreak may have been a bit more melodramatic than needed. Though he felt the pain of Winston’s absence, the breakup itself had hardly been the source of his anguish. It barely constituted being considered a breakup at all. “Great question. I don’t exactly know for sure. But I don’t think it’s that bad of a thing. At least I don’t think so.” Rio shrugged. He wasn’t sure how to explain it. “When they left town, we talked about me going with. I thought about it. But eventually I decided that I couldn’t leave yet. So we left things open ended. That someday Winston might come back and the two of us will see where we are at in our lives and if we still make sense. And if anything has changed than that’s fine too.” At the time, the conversation had made sense. Rio was happy with how they had chatted. Rio had gone to sleep crying, but overall he had been content. Now, Rio stressed about what that future may hold when Winston got back. The wolf attack definitely hasn’t helped anything. “Overall, I’m really freaking sad. But I’m okay too? If that makes sense.” 

"Not a bad thing?" Connor posed, expression quietly curious. He was pretty full now. He'd been casually picking away at his food the majority of this conversation. "The person you love leaving town isn't a bad thing?" He sipped his Diet Coke, shrugging. "I haven't really had a proper relationship before, but it sounds like a bad thing. They have to do what's best for them though. I don't hold it against them." You couldn't really blame anyone for wanting to leave White Crest with all the awful things that happened here, especially when someone close to you was killed in the awful circumstances Todd had died in. "Did you talk about if you can date other people?"

Orion shrugged as an answer. He couldn’t answer that question with any certainty because he wasn’t sure about his own feelings. “It’s hard to explain.” Another nervous laugh that Rio calmed by taking a drink from his cup. “They needed to go. I needed to stay. I hate not being with them, sure. That part is very bad. But I think they needed this. That makes me happy.” And it truly did. He hoped that Winston got everything needed out of their time away from town. No matter what that meant for their relationship. Winston’s happiness was the priority. “I’d say technically yes. We decided to leave things up to life.” Rio spoke slowly and carefully, “But I’m not sure it matters. I don’t really see myself dating anytime soon. It took a long time for Winston and I to even DTR.”

"That makes sense," Connor answered. “Well, last date I had, we were starting to get down to business and there was a fucking monster beaver eating my bed, so, even with this set-back, your love life’s probably better than mine,” he said with a laugh. Connor and Winston didn't know each other pretty much at all, and if Connor had a dog in this fight, it'd be Rio, but it didn't sound like there were any hard feelings. "Alright bro. I don't do relationship advice, so, stop me from eating the rest of these bloody chicken nuggets, and pleeeease tell me all the cool shit about your super powers?" 

“Oh god. That’s so awkward. I can’t believe I actually feel second hand embarrassment for you about a relationship. That’s supposed to be my thing.” Orion was full on cackling now, every single breath stinging his side. He didn’t care though, because it felt so good to not be so sad. “I think we could probably battle back and forth on that one. Did I ever tell you that my sister slept with Winston? I never even did that.” He wasn’t saying it for sympathy. He wasn’t even saying it angrily. He had moved past that long ago. This was simply matter of fact, a way for Rio to tell Connor more about his life. Connor was one of the closest friends that Rio had, it was time to start being a bit more open. “Deal. I’ll stuff my face some more. I’ll even tell you about the time I got fireballed through a window.”

[viciousgracearc]

LYANNA STARK IS A WARG & A GREEN SEER

I would like to preface this headcanon by saying that this is borne out of my own imagination + analysis of the text + hours of conversation with @luxfurem. There’s a very high possibility that I’m completely off the mark here and of course, you don’t have to agree with me on this headcanon specifically. But as far as this interpretation is concerned, I’M ADAPTING THIS HEADCANON IN ALL OF LYANNA’S MAIN VERSES.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND BEFORE READING FURTHER (based off of my PREVIOUS HEADCANON):

LYANNA IS THE KNIGHT OF THE LAUGHING TREE. I think this is as good as canon at this point.

RHAEGAR FOUND OUT THAT LYANNA WAS THE KNIGHT OF THE LAUGHING TREE. As a sort of acknowledgment, he crowned her The Queen of Love and Beauty by the end of the tourney at Harrenhal. It doesn’t go any deeper than that (a.k.a. they’re not secretly in-love, sorry).

THE MAD KING ALSO FOUND OUT AND ORDERED FOR LYANNA’S ARREST. I’ve written extensively about this in the headcanon linked above, but pretty much the mad king was triggered by the KOTLT and couldn’t let shit go.

ADDITIONALLY, CONTRARY TO FANON:

LYANNA DID NOT RUN AWAY WITH RHAEGAR TO ESCAPE THE BETROTHAL WITH ROBERT. While I don’t think Lyanna was the most eager to be married to Robert Baratheon (or to be married at all ), I also don’t think she ran away with Rhaegar to escape her betrothal. She could have run away, point blank period. But with a married prince? I don’t think so. (Considering too, that Lyanna’s initial reservation against Robert was his inability to keep to one bed. Based off of that alone, I don’t think Lyanna would willingly participate in infidelity of any kind. In this separate essay I will –)

LYANNA WAS DUTIFUL to a certain degree, but not in the same way as Brandon could have been or Eddard was. Lyanna’s upbringing was focused on being a proper lady who would marry a highborn lord someday, so she can pop off male heirs. She won’t inherit Winterfell, unlike Brandon, and she’s not even next in line unlike Ned. The expectations of her were quite different compared to the expectations of her brothers, thus, she wasn’t as committed as they were to the idea of duty, or at least not in the same way. That being said, she still held her family’s honor to great esteem and she went out of her way to defend and uphold that honor.

LYANNA WAS NOT SELFISH. I see this around a lot and it’s the most mind-boggling of all. This was the girl who, at 14 years old, was ready to throw down against three grown squires to defend the honor of her father’s bannerman. She later fought in a tourney and won, and asked the lords that the squires served to teach them manners. If she would go that far to defend a sworn bannerman to House Stark, who was not just being bullied but also discriminated upon because of his culture, then I’m pretty certain she’s the type to stand up to injustice without regard for herself. In that similar vein, I don’t think she would besmirch her family’s honor on a whim, knowing how seriously she took the meaning of that honor as made clear by her defense of Howland Reed.

Now that we’ve gotten all of those out of the way, it’s time to dive in into the void.

As is already previously established by canon, ALL STARK CHILDREN ARE WARGS. I know this mostly pertains to the six children of Eddard and Catelyn Stark, but there’s literally no reason why it could not extend to the generation of Starks that came before them. Brandon and Lyanna for example, possess the legendary “wolf-blood” of the Starks of old, and thus are tied very closely to the Stark mythos of being descended from the First Men. According to AWOIAF, “Greenseers had the greensight and were wargs as well.” While not all wargs are greenseers, we have evidence in Bran that the greensight is definitely alive and well in the Stark line (and in the North, as evidenced by Jojen Reed, a crannogman, and Brynden Rivers a.k.a. Bloodraven, whose mother was a Blackwood).

Following this logic, I don’t think it’s far-fetched at all to say that Lyanna might have been a green seer (and a warg). The ability in Bran was triggered by his fall, whereas it almost came too easily and too naturally to Rickon. Rickon and Bran shared the same dream about Ned’s death (which they predicted even before Maester Luwin made the announcement), and Rickon also knew when Catelyn and Robb left that they would never see them again.

In Lyanna’s case, I don’t think she knew what she was (I don’t think the Starks ever realized how closely they were tied to what’s left of magic in the world). She knew she was said to have the wolf-blood, which she thought had something to do with her temperament (a trait she shared with Brandon). By all accounts, Lyanna was wild and brave; she thrived off of independence and did not do well with restrictions. She rode horses “like she was half a horse herself” according to Roose Bolton, and maybe that’s because she understood horses like no ordinary human could?

I’ve already headcanoned that my Lyanna is a warg, so I’m going to take it a step further and say that she’s a green seer as well. No, she’s not as good at it as Bran, mainly because it was not a talent she cared to develop. But this ability ties her up with Rhaegar, who we know to be prophecy-obsessed. This even ties her up with with the Ghost of High Heart, who Rhaegar sought out time and time again just to hear her foretell the future, no matter how disjointed these predictions were.

So my theory essentially is that Lyanna had a run in with a wildling (most likely raiders caught by Rickard’s men) and before this wildling was executed, they told Lyanna something about the same prophecy that consumed Rhaegar to the end of his days. I imagine it had something to do with blue roses and blood, which are the images / symbols closely associated with Lyanna. I also imagine it mentioned the same fire and ice prophecy that Rhaegar so determinedly chased throughout his short life. In addition, I also think that on the way home from Harrenhall, Lyanna contracted a fever which triggered her green dreams. This drove home the urgency of the prophecy and you could even say, it gave Lyanna clues — about what she should do and where she should go to play her part in it.

In my FIRST HEADCANON, I speculated that Rhaegar (a good year after Harrenhal) went to rescue Lyanna in the Riverlands from his father’s men (who found out she was the Knight of the Laughing Tree), but I also think that for some reason they were fated to cross each other’s path, and they knew it, because by this point both of them were aware of the prophecy (by virtue of each of them being in contact with green seers, by virtue of Lyanna being a green seer herself albeit an untrained and unskilled one). But before any plans were set in motion, they visited the Ghost of High Heart to confirm the prophecy, and only then did they decide that yes, for mankind, we will fulfill our roles in this prophecy TOGETHER.

Worth noting: At some point, Lyanna realized that the prophecy, to come into fruition, would have to mean her death (blue roses and blood). But after everything she’d seen through her green dreams and after what she’d been told by the wildling green seer, by Rhaegar, and by the Ghost of High Heart, she determined that this cause — saving the world — was worth losing her life over.

Something you have to understand about Lyanna Stark: she wanted to be more than just someone’s betrothed, someone’s wife, someone’s mother. This prophecy — to a young, idealistic, romantic, wild, and by all accounts, good girl — was almost irresistible. This was something bigger than herself; she had a real chance to do something here, to be both the maiden AND the hero in a tale where she saves the realm from an ominous threat (and wasn’t Lyanna like Sansa in this way? In love with stories of maidens and heroes?). The KOTLT incident showed us that Lyanna had a strong sense of morality, and also a penchant for risky yet grand gestures of bravery. Saving the world was the kind of thing that she would not even think twice of doing, no matter the cost to herself.

Things Lyanna did not foresee: Brandon’s reaction to the news that she was missing and Brandon’s fast assumption that it was Rhaegar who took her. AT MOST, LYANNA EXPECTED THEY WOULD NOTICE HER ABSENCE AND WOULD ASSUME SHE RAN AWAY FROM HER BETROTHAL, BUT FOR HER BROTHER TO ACCUSE THE CROWN PRINCE AND STORM THE CAPITAL WHILE DOING SO… DID NOT OCCUR TO HER. Also, IMPORTANT: Lyanna and Rhaegar had no idea about Rickard and Brandon’s death until after the Battle of the Bells, when Gerold Hightower finally found them in TOJ and asked Rhaegar to return to King’s Landing. By this time, Lyanna was already pregnant.

Whether or not Rhaegar and Lyanna were right about the prophecy doesn’t really matter here. They could be completely wrong. Dany could be the TPWWP and not Jon. Heck, it could be Aegon (who really isn’t Aegon, LBR). Basically, this was just how they interpreted the prophecy, and they both paid in blood for it. Since they’re both alive in mine and Bubbles’ main timeline verses, the blood is of their loved ones, which was infinitely worse for both of them than if it were their own blood.

Is this a ship now? Well, no. At least not during TOJ, and heck, not many years after that. Lyanna was miserable in that tower and I can’t imagine Rhaegar was all too happy either. They’re doing what they thought they had to do, and Lyanna was going into it thinking she would die. All things considered, that might have been her preferred outcome, now that she knew just how much blood she had to pay to assume the role that would make the prophecy come true. The only real consolation in the aftermath was Ned’s forgiveness and the fact that Jon was kept alive because her brother loved her enough to give up his honor for her. But even then, it was a bitter consolation, and Lyanna would spend all her life trying to make up for her mistakes.

[letsbenditlikebennett]

Here Kitty Kitty || Ariana & Grace

TIMING: Afternoon August 24th PARTIES: @silveraccent & @letsbenditlikebennett SUMMARY:  Ariana tries to use her craft fair prize to lure Layla the cat to her new building and accidentally summons foireaux cats, much to Grace’s dismay

To say things had been hectic lately would be a complete and utter understatement. There was only one day left before Ariana was supposed to change Ace and she was riddled with anxiety. It was a big responsibility, yes, but she was only half sure it’d actually get Lydia to leave him be. Otto was out of her head now, but she was still worried about where the hell Layla the cat had run off to. Conveniently enough, the prize she received for her submission to the craft fair was a cat whistle. Of course Layla wouldn’t run back to the trailer filled with dogs, but maybe she could lure her here so she could get her somewhere safe. After dropping off her security deposit and proof of income to her new landlord, she stood outside the building and used the whistle. Another girl was approaching, but she didn’t think much of it until a few little black cats ran up to her. Something didn’t feel quite right with the way they were looking at her, so she tried to get on their level and be friendly. “Well, hey there, kitties,” she said warmly before turning to her new neighbor, “I promise I’m not bringing all the cats with me when I move into a building. Heck, I’m not even bringing one. I’m sure my dog would lose her mind.” 

Despite the utilities being included in her rent, Grace refused to run her window unit longer than a few hours. This often resulted in walks around the neighborhood, and to the corner store to buy a supply of cold drinks and ice cream. On her way back, she spotted an unfamiliar face leaving the landlord’s office. Though she had only intended on giving her a firm nod and being on her merry way, the girl spoke to her, making her stop in her tracks. She looked down at the cats, not having noticed them at first. “If you were, I wouldn’t mind, there’s a mouse in my apartment.” Grace kneeled down next to the stranger, looking over the cat with a smile. They looked rough around the edges, certainly not house cats. She hadn’t seen many in this area, so seeing them now was a bit odd. “Where did they come from?” Grace asked as she slowly stuck the back of her hand towards the cat, not wanting to scare it. She looked down at the girl’s hand and noticed a pair of keys. “Oh, are you moving here?” Quite the observer, idiot. Grace thought to herself. 

It dawned on her that something with these cats didn’t seem quite right, but they approached her anyhow. Moira was really the only cat Ariana had gotten on well with and these cats were very much not Moira. She wondered if they could sense the wolf in her and if that made them uneasy. One seemed to dart through her legs so quickly that she almost fell over. She braced herself against the wall, the bricks slightly scraping her palm, and responded, “Hm, I could probably help with the mouse thing cat-free… I’m not much of a cat person. I think these little ones could tell.” Her tone was a little nervous as the cats continued to congregate around her and now Grace. Maybe the whistle only lured over cats out of frustration, but they all seemed rough and darker in color. She slowly backed away from them and extended her hand for Grace to shake. “Yep, I move in on the first so guess we’ll be neighbors. I’m Ariana,” she introduced herself brightly but was quickly tripped up again by another cat weaving through her legs. 

“Are you okay?” Grace asked as the girl leaned against the wall. She could see scratches on her palm. She had had her fair share of run ins with that wall, and it hadn’t ever been fun. “Really, you think so?” Grace asked as she ran her fingers along the top of the cat’s head. It rubbed against her hand then flitted away, its tail straight up. She straightened up and rubbed the back of her hand against the backs of her jeans. “Somebody mentioned no-kill traps, so I might try that first.” Grace watched as a few more cats rounded the corner, all of which at their feet, weaving in between them, their paws swatting at the air. “Ariana?” She smiled at her, “that’s a pretty name. I’m Grace.” She stuck her hand out to shake Ariana’s. “That’s cool though, there are a few cool people around here, I’m sure you’ll run into them soon. Grace watched as a cat ran forward and darted between Ariana’s legs. Grace reached out to steady her. “They’re really active, aren’t they? I have some canned tuna upstairs, I wonder if they’re hungry.” Grace turned her attention back to Ariana. “Are you from here? Or are you moving from out of state?” A part of her hopes that Ariana is new, like her, that way she won’t feel so lost, but something about her tells her that that isn’t the case. 

“Yeah, yeah, totally fine,” Ariana responded as she dusted any dirt off her hand. With the full moon approaching, it’d heal quickly enough. While her initial instinct may have been more to use her wolf-y instincts to get the mouse, it became clear she’d rather take the humane route. “Oh, yeah, I’ve seen those at the shop before. They should totally do the trick and you can release the mouse. You’ll want to do a quick check and make sure the walls and any nooks and crannies are all sealed too… that’s the part I’d be more of a help with.” She wanted to get excited when Grace introduced herself, Blanche had mentioned her after all, but it seemed like more of these cats were showing up and they didn’t look happy. “Grace,” she exclaimed weakly as she eyed the cats, “Blanche mentioned you. She’s one of my good friends and is how I even knew about this building.” She slowly backed away and looked back at Grace, “I’m not sure that’s the best-- something doesn’t seem right with them and more keep showing up.” Not taking her eyes off the cats, she answered, “Technically, yeah, I’ve lived all over but been here since Mar--” Oh hell no, was that cat getting bigger? It looked like it was. In this town, it was hard to know if claws and teeth alone would cut it and she didn’t really want to shift in front of her new neighbor. “I think we should probably… get away from here.” 

“Why would you be more help with--” Grace looked at the cats as they seemed to have multiplied in numbers. Hadn’t there only just been a few? She had lived at the complex for a while now and hadn't ever seen this many cats. There were a few who liked to hang around, but never in this big of a group. “Blanche?” Grace asked as she cut her gaze away from the cats, back to Ariana. It made sense, they all seemed to be similar in age. “Oh, yeah-- she’s really nice.” Grace wasn’t sure what was happening, the sudden shift in emotion, the unease, it was leaking into the air between them and made it hard for Grace to concentrate. Her eyebrows pulled together in confusion as she listened to Ariana, the urgency in her voice becoming a lot more clear-- she didn’t even need to feel the shift. “Is everything okay?” Grace asked as she looked back to the cats. A few had gotten noticeably bigger, but how was that possible? “Are you okay?” Grace asked again as she cut her attention back to Ariana, following her move to back away from the crowd of cats. They didn’t seem as nice as before, and it made Grace begin to grow uneasy. “I’ve never seen anything like that,” Grace muttered under her breath. 

Fuck, how did more cats keep showing up? Ariana knew that transforming to scare them off in front of her new neighbor definitely wasn’t an option. She wasn’t even entirely sure that would actually work as these clearly weren’t normal cats. Of course her craft fair prize wasn’t a normal cat whistle and she cursed herself for being this dumb. “I’m fine, but we gotta get out of here,” she insisted. As one of the growing cats approached them, Ariana grabbed Grace’s arm and pulled her away from the cat. She backed away slowly, keeping a very close eye on the cats. Perhaps it wasn’t the most human move, but she let out a low growl to intimidate the stupid cats. If anything, Grace would hopefully attribute it to the weird cats. She heard Grace’s hushed words and assured, “I’m sure you haven’t but it’s going to be fine.” Her voice sounded a lot more convincing that she felt. They were backed up a little closer to the door now. “You go in first,” she directed, “I’ll follow behind you.” If one of these things really was going to come at her, the wolf in her would take it from there, but she hoped they could both go away and the cats would just leave. 

“Oh-- okay, okay.” Grace knew to listen when she was being told to do something, at least, in this town-- she knew that if this girl knew Blanche, it was possible that she knew other things that Grace didn’t know yet, and she was very clearly disturbed by the cats that surrounded them now, and though it was dulled, she could feel something frantic off of Ariana. She followed Ariana’s guidance, and raised an eyebrow in question at the growl that clearly left Ariana. She didn’t question it, Grace had barked at geese before to get them to leave her alone, so wasn’t this the same? The door was behind them now, and Grace splayed her hand behind herself to grab the knob. She opened it and slipped in through it. She left enough room for Ariana to slip through, too, before she crowded by the door and pressed her face against the small window pane so she could look at the cats that now were angrily meowing at them. “What the hell was that?” She asked as she looked at Ariana. “They didn’t scratch you, did they?” 

It was a relief that Grace listened to her without questioning it. Ariana quickly slipped in the door behind her and let out a sigh of relief. The cats still seemed to be getting closer to the door and meowed angrily, but they couldn’t get in the door at least. She let out a long breath and thought of how she was going to answer Grace’s question. To be fair, she didn’t actually know what those cats were, but they were definitely supernatural. How much did Grace know about this sort of thing? Not that she was particularly great about beating around the bush, but she legitimately couldn’t think of a normal explanation. She shrugged as she still kept a close eye out the window. “I have no idea what that was. Thought they were cats, but something clearly wasn’t right with them,” she explained. She hoped Grace didn’t push too much because her only other explanation was definitely supernatural. “I’ve never seen anything like them before, but no, they didn’t scratch me, just tripped me up a bit. Didn’t really care to see what they’d do if they got any bigger.” 

Unease hung in the air, which in turn, made Grace’s stomach churn. She cradled her hands around her abdomen and watched the cats through the window in the door. Grace wasn’t sure what needed an explanation and what didn’t. Her time in White Crest had only become more confusing, and with every little thing happening, she wasn’t sure if she could hide it under weird or confusing anymore. She looked at Ariana as she began to speak with a raised eyebrow. “Maybe rabies or something.” That could be it, right? Grace only had experience with reanimated corpses, treasure hunts, and flying airplanes thrown by nobody. She didn’t know about cats, but who was to say there wasn’t something else going on? She moved away from the door in an effort to distance herself from the cats. “That’s good… that you didn’t get scratched, I mean, because if they are sick, then--” She stops herself, “maybe we should call animal control?” Her mind flickered to Kaden and her discussion of mice. Though, she had already brought up the mime breaking in through her window. How much could she go to other people for? “You can come up, if you want, until they’re gone.” She blinked at Ariana, “I have some tea and some leftover soup, if you want any?” 

It was very convenient that Grace had happened upon the idea of rabies on her own. Ariana would have never come to that rationalization would have definitely spilled the beans about the supernatural. Not that it was a secret she was particularly great about keeping that secret to begin with, but still. She didn’t need her new neighbor thinking she was a total freak. “Rabies, that has to be it,” she agreed. At the mention of Animal Control, she added, “Oh, that’s a good idea. Family friend of mine actually works for them. I’ll shoot him a text.” She could practically hear the lecture from Kaden coming about summoning demon cats by accident, but it was almost amusing. He liked to act all tough and like she was just a werewolf and then warned her to be careful. She didn’t want Blanche coming home to all those weird cats. She was surprised at the invite but smiled and nodded her head. “Yeah, that’d be nice actually. At least until the coast is clear and all, I don’t want to like impose or anything.” She followed Grace up to her apartment still a bit weary of the cats, but there was little she could do now. They weren’t following at least, so she relaxed a little. “I’ll definitely bring something delicious by once I’m all moved in. You like venison at all?” 

“Maybe it is,” Grace muttered under her breath. Though, once she said it out loud, she wasn’t sure if she believed it. She pushed the idea that it could be anything else from her mind. She smiled at Ariana at the idea that animal control could help them. She wondered how small the department was, but didn’t bother asking any questions. She didn’t know Kaden well, only that he was afraid of mimes and that he was dating Regan, which was still odd to Grace. “You won’t be imposing, don’t worry.” Grace fished her keys out of her front pocket. “I live on the fourth floor, it’s a bit of a trek, I hope that’s okay? I don’t like taking elevators.” She looked over her shoulder at Ariana before making the climb to her apartment. She unlocked the door and pushed it open. She had great timing in getting the window replaced, that was for sure. She took her shoes off before dropping the keys onto the table. Her studio was small, but with the two of them barely stacking up to amount to anything, they didn’t take up much room. “Oh, you don’t have to do that.” Grace opened her instant pot and stood on her tippy toes to peer in at the soup. “It’s almost done!” She looked over her shoulder with a smile, “I’ve never actually had it,” she admitted. “Is it anything like beef?” She didn’t think it was, but she couldn’t be sure. She grabbed two mugs and began to heat up water for the tea she had promised Ariana. Her gaze swept over the apartment, the only thing odd being her one-eyed fish who stared at the two of them, unmoving. “What kind of tea do you want?” She asked as she rifled through her cabinets. 

It dawned on Ariana that Grace didn’t seem entirely convinced by her own explanation of what was wrong with the cats. First meeting probably wasn’t the time to push on that though. She’d rather not be labelled the crazy neighbor before she even moved into the building. She opted to not push it any further. Instead, she offered a warm smile and said, “Good. It’ll be nice to get to know each other a little better anyway. I’ve never lived alone before, so having some neighbors who are friends sound nice.” At the mention of a trek, Ariana shrugged lightly and assured, “I do a lot of hiking and running. I don’t mind stairs. Elevators aren’t my favorite either, but I very generally don’t enjoy feeling confined.” She looked around the studio and noted it was pretty cozy. The smell of soup was very welcoming and made her stomach rumble slightly. She hadn’t even realized how hungry she was. “Mmm, it smells so good! I can’t wait to try it.” She took a seat at the small table near Grace’s kitchenette and asked, “Do you do a lot of cooking?” At her question, she responded, “Kind of? I like it a little better. It’s a bit of a sweeter meat though it can be pretty gamey if you don’t season it properly.” Not that she minded gamey, especially not in wolf form. Hell, not even in person form did she truly mind. “Next time I make venison stew or something, I’ll bring some by for you,” she added with a wide smile now mostly forgetting about the cats. “Oh, I’ll take Chai if you have it. I like black and green teas, too. I’m not like super picky or anything.” 

“Living alone is nice,” Grace nodded as if to amplify her words. She liked living alone, it meant that there wouldn’t be anybody else that interfered with the way she was feeling that day. Not to mention, it made figuring out how she was really feeling that much easier. “I don’t like being in small spaces either, but you wouldn’t know that given I work at the morgue.” “I don’t really cook, but I got reprimanded for continuing to eat mac ‘n cheese out of the microwave, so I got that..” She pointed to the instant pot in the corner, “and I’ve been making some soups that my Grandma used to make me.” She smiled fondly at the thought. “I’d love to try it, but no pressure.” She smiled at Ariana before she turned back towards the cabinets.  She grabbed the small canister of oolong from the back of the shelf and two biodegradable sachets. She filled them and dunked them into the mugs before she filled the kettle with water. Putting it onto the burner, she turned the heat on before leaning against the counter adjacent to it. “I have a really good oolong I brought from Portland, it’s my favorite.” It had been from her favorite tea shop, and she wondered if she’d have to go back in order to get a refill. She grabbed two bowls after grabbing a spoon. Grace held it tightly in her hand as she ladeled out the contents. She set one of the bowls in front of Ariana, and the other at her seat. “It has ginger and lemongrass in it, I hope that’s okay.” She waited by the stovetop for the water to finish boiling before taking it off. She filled the mugs and mimicked her actions by setting the cup down in front of her new friend. “There’s sugar in that little thing there,” she pointed at the elephant, “and if you want creamer, I have oat milk?” She smiled at Ariana as she picked up her spoon and stirred the soup around. 

The idea of living alone had never really appealed to Ariana. Maybe it was a werewolf pack mentality sort of thing or maybe it was because she never thought she’d have to live without Celeste. There was a hint of sadness to her tone as she agreed, “I’m sure it is.” At the mention of working at the morgue, she wondered if Grace knew Kaden’s girlfriend. She probably had to though given the fact Regan had wanted to find her sister’s body when there was none to find, it was probably better to not mention it. “The morgue, huh? That’s pretty cool. I guess that would be considered a small space.” The idea of being around all those bodies definitely wasn’t appealing to her. At the mention of microwave macaroni and cheese she shook her head. That was not how macaroni and cheese was supposed to be cooked. “Thank goodness for the instant pot then! Microwavable macaroni and cheese is… not great,” she responded with a laugh, “Soup is much better. Plus, family recipes sound fun.” She had plenty of things Celeste had shown her how to make though she had to admit, those things were harder for her to make now. She hadn’t even made waffles since Celeste died though maybe she could get back in the routine of it. Honor their tradition even though it was still bittersweet. As Grace made tea, the gentle scent of ginger and lemongrass reached her nose. She let out a content sigh. “It smells good and I love lemongrass. If it’s your favorite, I’m sure it’s great. Plus, I love Portland.” There was a soft smile on her face as she settled into her seat as Grace made tea. This was nice and brought a certain sense of comfort. It seemed they would be fast friends, weird cat incident aside and she looked forward to being neighbors. “Oat milk sounds perfect,” she said as she poured some in her mug and took a sniff before taking a small sip. “Mm,” she started, “ This is perfect. Thank you again for letting me wait out the whole cat thing here. I think we’ll definitely be doing this more in the future.”

[venus-says]

Healin’ Good Precure Episodes 31-35

The anti-vax go crazy at the sight of the new Healin' Good power-up weapon.

I honestly don't know how to start this post, I think I never actually knew how to do these ever since I began this thing, but anyway back for more Precure! It only took me five weeks to get back this time, hooray!

You know, I wish I was more happy and excited to be back, but being frank, I'm not really? Part of it is because I feel like I lost the touch for writing, but the biggest reason is that I will be kinda negative about the things I have to say and I've been trying to stay away from negativity, especially now that my cat is sick, and I didn't want to be a source for negativity. But it's already December, I've neglected this blog a lot already and I feel bad for it so I decided to do something about it.

But to be honest, those weren't the only reasons why it took me a month to be back... I've actually been avoiding watching Precure. Well, I've been avoiding watching most of the things I write about because I've overdone it at the beginning of the year, and burn out hit me seriously, but from everything Healin' Good is what I've been avoiding the most. I know it doesn't seem like it, considering the last 3 posts I've made in the past 4 months (wow) were of Precure, but I've been watching the other shows here and there, I've just been sitting on a huge pile of drafts in my Evernote because I can't put my thoughts on those shows in a cohesive way for some reason, but when it comes to Precure, while it's easier for me to write about, I didn't feel compelled to get back and watch this show.

Every time I would sit down to watch a Precure episode at the same time I would open YouTube and Twitch in the hopes of something else I was more interested in would be there in my subscription box so I could avoid watching Healin' Good. And it's not like I think the show is utterly bad or isn't even like I don't have a good time when I actually sit down to watch the show, I just... lost interest. I think ever since Earth's debut my interest in the show has been decreasing more and more, and I don't know how to pinpoint if it's actually a problem with the show or if it's just me and the headspace I've been in ever since the pandemic hit Brazil. Yes, the story had plot points that I didn't like and the flaws of the show have been more apparent in my eyes with each time I watch it, but at the same time sitting down to watch one episode isn't an excruciating experience (especially when i'm not live-tweeting, istg i don't know why I ever thought that would be a good idea), I just don't feel attached to these characters as much as I did before and I'm not engaged in seeing what their story will become in the future.

With that being said, I think you all are already prepared for a post that won't be very positive so I guess it's time to put my personal rambling aside and talk about what y'all came here for, episodes 31 to 35 of Healin' Good Precure.

When I left in the last post I know I've said the cliffhanger of Episode 30 was a good one, and well... Episode 31 used its boots to step on my fingers and made me fell from that cliff. I forgot that since we were ending in that action the next episode would begin with the Cures being defeated, the major portion of the episode would be for dealing with the tension, and the new power-up would come at the climax. And that was exactly what happened, except that there was no tension at all and the power-up didn't feel like a cathartic experience just a Deus Ex Machina. The episode was very anticlimactic and just very uninteresting as a whole and once again, I know I'm going to be very repetitive here, it all comes down to the villains.

Everything that is depending on the villains' side to make me feel something 9 times out of 10 won't make me feel anything because of how boring they are. They made such a big deal about the villains evolving after using the Mega Parts, but it feels like anything changed. Shindoine is still just "the girl", Guwaiaru is still just the dumb strong guy, and the so-called power we're supposed to see from these new forms don't really make much of a difference since these two never get into actual fights with the cures, only the MOTW do. Daruizen is the only one they make stuff with, but it's more because they're really desperate to make him and Nodoka to be deeply connected and so they'll mold his character and personality to forcefully match him with whatever Nodoka's problem will be in that episode, if they need him to be the bored one he'll be, if they need him to be the curious type running experiments he'll be that, if they want him to be a selfish lone wolf they'll make him be. And that's just boring, at this point this villainous team and a cardboard cut-out are basically the same thing.

While also speaking about this "evolution" from the villains, you would think the new human-powered Giga Byogen would bring something new to the table, but no. It's just the exact same thing as before just with a bigger range for creating infections and a slightly higher defense stat. They aren't used in creative ways neither proposes a different treat that the other Mega Byogens did, proof of that is that in Episode 35 instead of a Giga they bring back a Mega just to show how irrelevant they are. They're also different from other monsters who draw their power from humans like a Nottrigger, or a Desertrian, or a Zetsuborg, where in most of the cases the summoning of the monster would be relevant for "solving the problem" afflicting either the victim of the week or the people around them. The teacher being affected didn't make his son appreciate the father more than he did before because that wasn't his conflict, Nodoka's doctor didn't have a revelation about his talents for medicine and Nodoka also didn't get anything new that she hadn't already learned before in the episode, neither did Chiyuu and her rival, you could completely delete the fight and that episode would've reached the same conclusion. Heck, the victim of episode 32 had only TWO appearances before he was turned into a monster, I doubt he was on screen for more than a minute, and they didn't need Touji to be there protecting the dog in the middle of the fight BECAUSE CHIYUU WAS ALREADY AWARE THAT HE'S A BRAVE HARD-WORKING KID BEFORE. These monsters are completely irrelevant and they don't add anything else to the show, and that's just really sad.

Back to Episode 31, let's talk about this power-up, shall we? Being straight to the point, I don't like it, both in the visual and narrative aspects. I visually like them even less now that we already know how the movie power-up looks and how much those forms are way more interesting than just a bigger hair and bigger skirts with a set of wings in the back that you could find in a Halloween costume sale. But who cares about how they look when this power, that is the manifestation of the the four cures combined powers together with their respective healing animals, comes out of nowhere without anything specific happening for them to trigger the appearance of the Healin' Good Arrow and the Special Healin' Good Bottle. Guess is needless to say that the Special Healin' Good Style doesn't feel special at all, it's like it only exists just to sell toys. Well, it's not like everything in this franchise is just to sell toys, but they usually know how to merge this with the story of the show and this didn't happen here. Also, for Christ's sake, this is the second year in a row where the name for the group powered-up attack is just the name of the series being used in the more boring way possible, where has their creativity gone to? The only good thing I have to say about this is that it gave us the healing animals doing some sort of rhythmic gymnastics and Pegitan twirling in that is prime content.

Overall complaints done, let's move one. (these will be quicker)

Episode 32, at first I thought I wouldn't like this one because they brought back this weird rivalry Pegitan has with Chiyuu's brother that doesn't have much of a reason for existing, but it was actually pretty sweet and heartwarming seeing Pegitan leave behind that and showing that he actually cares a lot about Touji, this silly rivalry is just his silly way of showing it (Showing it to who? I don't know, since no one but Pegitan and the audience seems to be aware of this, but shhh). This episode also made me like Touji, before he was just a background character to me and I didn't care much for him, but now I see him as more of a character of his own and not just Chiyuu's brother.

Episode 33 was my least favorite of the bunch because it connects to what to me is the worst plot point of the show: Nodoka's illness being a magic thing. If this had never been a thing, I'd be completely here for this episode. Nodoka's Doctor leaving his job because he felt powerless regarding Nodoka's disease and that being what drives him to go overseas to start doing medical research?? That seems great, and Nodoka feeling guilty for him leaving, while in actuality she's his inspiration is actually pretty emotional. But to me, it all just loses a lot of its importance because Nodoka was never sick after all, and unless this dude discovers on his own about the Byogens he pretty much went through all of this emotional trauma because and for nothing, it all becomes sad when you remember this aspect of it.

Episode 34 was going very well to me up until it's last moments where instead of sticking with a somewhat unique perspective on how to do a story like this they just throw it all through the window and instead of making Chiyuu and Tsubasa friendly rivalry exist outside the world of competitive sports they make Chiyuu change her mind and decide to pursue the World Tournament because you obviously can't have other interests and want to pursue different things when you're out of school, you gotta do that all your life, no other option allowed. This got me so disappointed, y'all have no idea.

Last but not least, Episode 35 which was my favorite, probably because it felt completely disconnected from the rest of the show and I could freely enjoy it in a separate pocket dimension without thinking about the rest. But regardless this was just a very fun and over-the-top episode that wasn't concerned about anything else other than just being fun, and that was exactly what I've been needing. Also, volleyball and beach volley is just cool as heck and seeing that incorporated in the fight of the episode was just fun as hell and a good change of pace. Akane sure is proud.

And that does it for now. Much like at the beginning, I also don't know how to close this one, especially after writing all those bad things and the fact that I'm not that excited for what's to come next. Well, let me know how you feel about all this, I don't know when I'll be back with another post but I promise I'll at least reply to any comment I receive. Without much else to say I'll leave you all with my usual sign-off. Stay healthy, stay safe, never stop resisting, thank you so much for reading, and until the next time. Healin' Goodbye~

[ladyanuzin]

Alright! So I decided to sit down and look into this. We have loads of theories floating around, and everyone is definitely aware of the whole ideals surrounding Galar being based around Norse Mythology. There are other Welsh ideals at play too, as I saw in another post while I was looking more into the actual designs of Zacian and Zamazenta. Alright. 

So we can take everything from here on with a grain of salt. Since these are just convoluted theories I bounced with a Co-Worker primarily, before the reveal of our Z-Doggos, or Z-Wolfos. Afterward, we delve into the actual reveal of Zacian and Zamazenta, mixed with the mythology surrounding Fenrir, Skoll, and Hati. After that, I want to look into their designs for a more lighthearted theory, that likely isn't true but I really like the overall idea.

Okay, so starting off, I'm going to go back onto a conversation with one of my co-workers, and my wife too! When sword and shield came out, before the nintendo direct, I was super pumped to see the Wolf logos. But when my co-worker pointed out the Norse theme, I was absolutely over the moon! As I played Dawn of the New World, a game not Pokemon related, but sparked my interest in Norse Mythology originally!

I wanted to see Fenrir, but as it was just one mythological wolf, it wouldn't work. But then, I thought, why not Skoll or Hati? Of course I near instantly shot this idea down as I was talking with the wife, I mean, legendary wolves destined to devour sun and moon? Poor Lunala and Solgaleo! But regardless, it didn't shoot down the idea they could be based off those too. 

When we get to the actual reveal, I was, put off, for lack of a better way to say it. Of course, after rewatching the Direct a few times, watching Zacian and Zamazenta interact, I noticed something. Dynamax makes Pokemon bigger, it's nothing we haven't seen before in older episodes of the Pokemon anime. With Dragonite, Gengar, Tentacruel. This would make sense. But then, I remembered something else.

I've used Fenrir as a base for a lot of my fanworks and original works. One of which being a RWBY Oc made with by the wife, and others just for monsters or spirits, etc. But there's one thing about Fenrir that is always true. Fenrir is strong, and grew fast, much larger than your actual wolves of today. The Gods feared this, as Fenrir was also one of Loki's children. Tyr, one of the gods who genuinely loved Fenrir, aided a hand in sealing away Fenrir. Fenrir always grows large, strong, and is always betrayed by those he loved. Tyr literally lost a hand.

But moving on. If Zacian and Zamazenta *are* based on Skoll and Hati, we need to break down which could be which. That itself is a little difficult. But, given that Zacian is a play on Cyan, and Zamazenta, off Magenta, we could concur, by color theory, that Zacian is Skoll, and Zamazenta is Hati. ( Again, grain of salt! ). 

If so, this third Legendary may very well be based off Fenrir, and may hold a part in this Dynamaxing! It ties it up nicely. But that moves on to this.

Skoll and Hati would only chase the sun and moon to devour in Ragnarok, when Fenrir broke his binding, ( in mythology, Fenrir is also responsible for the river Expectation, signifying that this was not his end. ) 

Which implies the antagonistic team, could have either already captured this third Legendary or had awoken it. I stated once that it seemed that Zacian and Zamazenta were almost confused at seeing each other, squabbling almost. But they both teamed up, and got really amped up, to an unknown source.

Whether this is the Third Legendary, or the team of the games, remains unseen. ( Heck, the third legendary may already be under the control of the team, and they simply want to capture Zacian and Zamazenta as well! )

This brings me to the lighthearted theory. That the sword and shield off the Z-Doggos are detachable and can be used as a show of power, but also in controlling Zacian and Zamazenta. Perhaps, a Royal could be seeking them out for their own gain? Or the antagonistic team, for power? 

( I'll be sure to post a sketch of what they may look like without the sword and shield respectively! )

That's all I have for now! What do you think?

[officialthiamlibrary]

Hello! Hello! Hope everyone is having a glorious weekend thus far.  With enthusiasm, we are finally introducing you to another spectacular creator, pettigrace. The author of buy and sell gravity, its sequel free fallin’ in the jungle lights, and other fantastic works across 5 fandoms! Why don’t we just dive in?

Omg, Yas! Hi. It took us a while to get here, but we finally made it haha. Why don’t you start by telling us about yourself? The twist, the word count has to be either equal to or less than the number of letters in your two favorite Teen Wolf episode names.

Motel California and The Divine Move are the only episodes I remember by name, so I guess they must be my favourites. (15 + 13 = 28)

My name is Yas, I am an aroace being from Germany and I absolutely fucking hate time travel. I work as a journalist sometimes and I love writing.

Oh wow, a journalist! I love meeting people who’ve made a living out of their writing! What’s a typical day like as a journalist?

Mind you, I am not your typical journalist. I may look like Clark Kent most of the time, but I don’t do the stuff he does (that extends also to the superheroing, sadly) - I work for the youth page of my local newspaper, which means I get to write a few articles about/aimed at children a few times a month. I usually go for reviews of media (as in books and tv shows most of the time but movies, games and all that jazz, too!) but every once in a while I get to do something bigger as well. That means (typically) interviewing people in sports clubs, writing about my personal experience about a topic or doing surveys about things. It’s not much, but my name is in the paper pretty much every week.

I’m trying not to be super impressed and failing, but that’s honestly phenomenal! Obviously, you’re a huge fan or movies, books, and tv shows. Did that influence your name, pettigrace?

It refers to Peter Pettigrew from Harry Potter! (But Yas, you go, isn’t that the guy who doomed James and Lily Potter? To which I say: He also killed Cedric Diggory! And faked his own death! And gave Voldemort back his body!) No, hear me out. I don’t love the guy. Hell, I hate Peter Pettigrew as much as we all do. But he’s an important character in the world of HP and doesn’t get the recognition for it. He’s the unsung villain of the story. Is he a good villain? Heck no, he’s probably one of the worst. He doesn’t even have his own agenda! Still, he symbolizes something that’s important to me when I look at characters: The way they develop. How they used to be in certain situations. General character development. We don’t talk enough about the secret talents and thoughts of him.

Also, ace. Because like many characters, I headcanon Peter Pettigrew as asexual. Thank you.

And, how did you find your way to the Thiam fandom?

Here’s the funny thing: I think that I only started shipping them as much as I do now while I already wrote fic for them. I don’t know, I saw the appeal because I love those ships with awful banter and the enemies-to-lovers trope, so the arguments Theo and Liam kept having right from the beginning practically screamed at me to ship them – even if it didn’t fully hit me yet and I hated Theo during season 5 (which is to say, I loved him as a villain. He has always been a great character, just not a good person.). I’ve read a couple of fics for them at the end of last year and then decided to write my own and both of those actions made me realize how well they fit together and helped me learn to appreciate them both in their own ways.

Gasp, How can anyone hate Theo?! Though, I might be a tad bias lol. I think a lot of people would agree with you about how well they fit together. Since you’ve only had time to grow in your appreciation for their relationship, why don’t we try a little game?

Let’s pretend this was a Stranger Than Fiction situation and you could predict any aspect of their lives with your writing. How would you set up the follow scenarios:

a. Their first postseason 6 interaction:

Okay, I’m a sucker for canon so let’s stay with that. I think that after the hospital scene, after Theo’s taken Gabe’s pain and the battle is won, it would not be Liam who approaches Theo to talk about. In my head, it would be Mason – he’s the one who realizes the significance of this, he’s the one who told him he doesn’t care enough to take someone’s pain (I think Liam doesn’t know about that in canon? If I remember wrong, let’s just pretend he doesn’t know.).

So I don’t know, maybe Theo leaves the hospital while everyone’s celebrating, completely overwhelmed and also feeling wrong there – he’s not part of this friend group and now that the battle is over, they don’t have any use for him any more, right? So he slips out; only to be followed by Mason. And we know Mason.

He’s clever and determined and he doesn’t back down from confronting someone. He doesn’t like Theo, he’s said as much, but now he’s seeing progress in him. He knows what an aide Theo has been for Liam, both in the fights and with his anger. He addresses all of this and Theo reacts like we all expect that he would: dismissive and sarcastic. Mason doesn’t buy into it for a single second, but he doesn’t try to make Theo stay when he says he needs to leave. I feel like it would actually be good for him to leave for a while because boy, does he need a time-out. Let’s be real. It’s clear that Theo isn’t as much of Liam’s responsibility any more. Liam doesn’t keep him close and he can leave and Liam wouldn’t feel like he needs to watch him. Theo’s come back from hell and then he’s had to fight battle after battle. He’s not friends with any of them and there’s no reason for him to stay around. So, he leaves, and Mason lets him leave, both because he gets it and he doesn’t really care if Theo is around or not.

Now Liam. I feel like even at that point in canon, Liam doesn’t really see Theo as a person. He knows him as a villain and as an ally but never just as Theo, and even with the almost-kiss between them (because that’s what the elevator scene has been, goddammit. There’s an attraction between them and it’s only been increased by the adrenaline, but especially Liam doesn’t really realize that he cares about Theo), he doesn’t even notice at first that Theo is gone. He’s too full of ecstasy and when he’s reunited with the rest of the pack, that only becomes more. It takes him a few days, maybe even weeks until he truly notices that Theo is gone. It’s not that he just forgets about him – Theo’s been present enough in the past few months, especially to him – so the remainder of him helping clings to Liam’s mind. He doesn’t ask anyone about Theo, though. It’s not like anyone really cares, he thinks. And he knows Mason’s dislike for the chimera, so bringing it up to him wouldn’t be fruitful either.

Of course, Theo comes back. Beacon Hills is his home and he just feels this draw back to it and (that much he can admit to himself) to Liam. He’s also the only one whose phone number he has so after much thinking – and Theo’s logical, so he doesn’t try to convince himself to ignore it – he calls Liam. It’s awkward because Theo had just disappeared like that (which Liam would call him out for) and maybe that leads to a fight between them; one that ends with Liam admitting he’s needed Theo around because he’s felt so restless and he’s not stupid, he knows that’s what it feels like to lose your anchor. Theo grows silent at that, not sure what to answer, and Liam almost hangs up because he’s too embarrassed by that confession and hell, they’re not even friends. He practically admitted to be in love with him, which is not even the case. They’re not in love yet, that’s for sure. But then, suddenly, Theo just says, “I’m coming home,” and that’s a promise.

The call would end shortly after that, with awkwardness hanging in the air, but Liam’s excited and content at the prospect of Theo coming back. And Theo, completely beside himself, sets off towards Beacon at once.

I have the image in mind (and heck if I knew if that works time zone-wise but maybe Theo’s still in the same) that the next day when Liam comes out of school, he finds Theo chilling in the parking lot, leaning against his truck like that’s his usual spot. Liam, not sure whether it’s appropriate to hug him or whatever but shit, is he happy to see him, jogs up to him and beams, saying, “You came.” And Theo, the little shit that he is, just rolls his eyes and clicks his tongue and goes, “Yeah. You’re paying lunch.” And then they climb into the car and ride off into the sunset.

(God I can’t believe this became almost two pages of basically just relationship study, I’m so sorry!!)

Never apologize for passion! What about a Thiam Double Date with any other ship from the show?

Well, Morey is obviously a given. Seriously, once Thiam started dating, Liam would definitely make the two of them see how much Theo has changed – I have no doubt it would become somewhat awkward, with Mason outright having stated that he despises Theo and Theo having worked with the people who killed Corey… Still, I think they’d go out for a movie or something or maybe just happen to be all at the Geyers’ home at the same time and maybe they would bond over video games or something.

I could also see that after some time, Theo would make up with Melissa. If he stays in Beacon Hills, he might end up being the one who brings her lunch – a weak attempt at making up for all the things he did to her and her family, but it’s the best they can do. After a while, Melissa would probably inquire him about what has happened and try to make him deal with the guilt; at the same time, she could see he’s different now, so then she insists that Scott and Stiles see it, too. So, she’s the one who’d set them all up. Probably a giant dinner or something at her house where she invites Thiam, Scalia and Stydia. And maybe she has Papa Argent over, too. It would be awfully tense, especially with Stiles’ and Malia’s hatred for Theo and maybe it ends in a disaster, who knows? But maybe Melissa mentions a fun story from when they were kids and Lydia, though she isn’t completely at ease either, would remember something she saw the guys do in elementary school (remember, she was there, too, even if they weren’t friends) – and then they would forget themselves and explain how they came up with the idea of stealing a toilet seat or something. They’d just chat about how things have been and then suddenly there’s a silent where they all swallow and remember that it can’t be like that anymore, can it? But there’s a promise: If they all can remember and laugh about it, and if Theo’s truly changed, then maybe there’s hope.

Finally, one conflict they’d have as an official couple:

Liam’s anger, without a doubt. I don’t think Theo can be as patient as fics make him out to be. He probably doesn’t know how to actually react to one of Liam’s outbursts and the way he talked to him during 6B wouldn’t always help. If Liam lashed out at him, Theo would probably let him – that’s another topic between them, the way Theo will accept anything as a sort of punishment for what he’s done. Liam would be overwhelmed by guilt and Theo would try to talk him out of it, say it’s okay and it’s not like he didn’t deserve it. And then Liam would tell him that no, he doesn’t. Theo’s already paid for his sins and he’s learnt to do better and anyway Liam isn’t his judge. It’s a vicious cycle because they’d argue and then Liam would get angry again and maybe then he’d just walk away and punch a tree, but the problem stands. I just made myself sad :(

If you could magically write any Thiam story with your mind, what story would you craft?

I have a few stories in mind that I want to write, especially for Thiam, but there’s one I keep putting off because it would require me to rewatch some of season 5 and basically all of season 6. I just don’t have the time or spoons for that at this point. If I had, though… Oh dear, hold on to your seats.

It’s told from Mason’s point of view, believe it or not. Either while or after he’s been possessed by the Beast, he’s developed powers of his own: He can suddenly see some kind of aura around people. It’s kind of a count for karma, with bad people having really dark colours while good ones have bright colours – later, though, he finds out that was aren’t general ratings but how the people view themselves. So, the last glimpse Mason gets of Theo is before he goes to hell. 

His aura is really bright except for a few specks here and there. When he comes back from hell, it’s the darkest Mason’s ever seen. 

Basically, the story would be about character growth and the way people see themselves. For example, both Stiles and Liam have darker auras than you’d expect them to have, because they’re good people, right? It wouldn’t surprise you after the nogitsune and Donovan that Stiles doesn’t think that of himself but Liam? It gives both the reader and Mason new insights into the characters of Teen Wolf.

The fic stays close to canon as it plays out, only that with Mason being the narrator, you get to see more of the puppy pack, of course. The way both Liam’s and Theo’s auras change as they interact with each other and Theo truly betters himself until in the end… Well, that’s it, right? Does the end stay lie in canon, too? Would Mason do something about the way his best friend feels better about himself when he’s around Theo? Who knows, definitely not me yet.

I’m excited to jump into your writing! First, if you could describe your creative process as a living entity, what would it look like? Wear? Listen? How does it handle conflict?

Hm, they‘re always around, though usually pretty chill in the background. Like, you turn around and they’re there but it’s not like they’re really annoyingly present, if that makes sense? I’m always working on something in the back of my head, and a lot of time it becomes more pregnant, so from time to time this person would be more active. And maybe they would be annoying from time to time, like when an idea doesn’t let me sleep or occupies my thoughts at all times, though that’s become a rarer happenstance lately. They’d be dressed pretty casually, maybe just a hoodie and sweatpants or something – my writing isn’t anything extravagant, and neither is the process of it for me. Actually, I don’t think they’d be a person, to be honest. I literally just described my cat.

ALOL, well, looks like we’ve discovered one of your writing influences haha! Do you and your cat have any Writing Kryptonites?

Oh, probably action. Which is especially sad in regard to Teen Wolf because you can come up with such amazing fight scenes in this fandom! But I’m struggling with writing motion, actually. No idea if it’s just that my vocabulary is limited in that area, being non-native to English and all, or if I generally suck at it, but it always feels so wrong to me. I write from a single person’s perspective, usually, so I’m limited to what they see and how they move and even then, it doesn’t feel swift enough. I’m working on that, though – there was a time when my writing basically only consisted of dialogue, and that became much better during the past years.

That’s amazing! What are some ways that you try to better your writing? Besides, well...writing haha. Have you done any type of skill building that you thought worked for you?

Most of it has definitely come just from continuing writing, to be honest. I’ve only once told myself to actively focus on something (it was really early in the beginning of my writing where I tried to get more skilled in describing people - the way they look and move, stuff like that). Otherwise, it’s basically just that. In writing class ,there were a few things you could try out, such as focussing on different emotions while writing or something.

Things that do the trick for me, usually, are PoV switches (meaning one chapter from A’s perspective, the next from B’s, stuff like that) and waiting to write something specific until I’m in the same mood as well. So if a character’s particularly sad in one scene, I’ll leave that for a time where I am sad as well. It works well for me because I don’t write chronologically anyways.

And is there one trope or scene that always ends up in whatever you’re writing? 

Well, I barely write anything that doesn’t include an asexual character. Also, there’s always some meta-ish reference to canon in AUs and, weirdly enough, I always have characters either watch or talk about Star Wars. That even happened before I watched the movies myself!

In case of Teen Wolf, there’s always the act of redemption for Theo. I feel that it’s an essential part of both him and Thiam as a relationship – the way Theo grows as a person and becomes better. I’m a sucker for parallels to canon, so that’s always a topic in one way or another. Of course, Theo doesn’t kill someone in every AU, but he deals with something that holds him back, makes him kind of a bad person, every time.

And then, I always come back to his friendship with Scott and Stiles, especially the latter. I’d have loved to see more of that in canon, maybe in stories or flashbacks or something. You’ve always had Scott and Stiles as practically one entity up to season 5 and suddenly Theo comes along, and you’re supposed to believe they used to be three? And nothing was ever mentioned? Of course, the writers only came up with that plotline for season 5, it makes sense they didn’t have anyone discuss Theo before. Still, it feels like something is missing there to make you truly believe it and I love to reflect on that, play with it. Stiles’ stance towards Theo draws me in a lot – how come he doesn’t trust him right away? Was something happening between them? How would it have been if Theo never left? I love to dig into that.

Mental illness is also a big thing for me. We have canon evidence for mental illness, even if they’re never named. They all must have PTSD. Stiles shows extreme signs of ADHD. Lydia is practically a survivor of sexual abuse. Multiple characters have attempted suicide. Liam is canonically diagnosed with IED. It would be ignorant not to refer to any of that while writing. Lots of fics I’ve read mention the struggles, depict them greatly, but only a few talked about handling them, about recovery. It’s about time we make progress in that department.

Hmm very true. And not a thought, as a perpetual fluff writer, that I’ve considered until now. You deal with quite a bit of mental issues within your main story, Buy and Sell Gravity. Before we chat about it in depth, can you give us a quick synopsis?

Buy and sell gravity starts with one of Liam’s outbursts of anger. In his social studies class, Monroe has talks badly about adoptive/step-parents and Liam started arguing with her until said he sent him out. So, then he goes and slashes her tires in classic Liam-style. Theo, who has only moved back to Beacon Hills recently and is surrounded by awful rumours, but nothing specified, catches him and decides to take care of it. He saves Liam’s ass and in return he demands that Liam pays for his food during lunch. But then they actually become friends and Liam learns more and more about Theo.

And did anything inspire you to create the premise?

The idea just came me at random – I just had that image in mind of Thiam making a deal. It’s classic romcom stuff, right? And I had thought it would just turn into a lengthy oneshot at most but now it’s the longest thing I have ever written. It’s crazy.

The story is told from Liam’s perspective. Do you think the story would unfold differently had we’d experienced it from Theo’s POV?

I’m actually writing a sequel at the moment, which is from Theo’s perspective. There’s references to buy and sell gravity, of course, so you actually do get part from Theo’s point of view! In general, though, had you seen it all from his point of view, the slow burn would have felt even longer, I imagine. The sound of the fic would have been darker, because that’s Theo’s mindset for the most of it, and there wouldn’t have been so many questions. Theo doesn’t really wonder about anything in this fic, he reflects and draws his own (mostly correct) assumptions. I feel like it would have sounded pretty monotone – it made sense to only pick up his PoV in the sequel and if you’ve read buy and sell gravity, you might be able to tell why. He’s opening up more towards the ending and a more pleasant person to be around to.

I’ve noticed most of your stories turn into longer fics. Have any tricks for keeping yourself motivated to write those longer plots? (Clearly, this is purely self-indulgent here haha. It’s a near miracle if I stick through a long, complex plot!)

I usually only start posting multichaptered fics once they’re already finished. This way you can motivate yourself by going “Well, if you don’t finish it then you won’t post it, nobody will see it and you worked for nothing.” That method works well for me because I love recognition for my works, even if a lot of them are for obscure pairings.

In case of buy and sell gravity, I’ve already started posting while working on it, however. I’ve felt stuck because it’s been my first fic for Teen Wolf, so I was very unsure about whether I hit the characters correctly, if it felt believable; stuff like that. I needed feedback from more than one person and since I’ve never really been in the fandom, going ahead and posting it was my only option. I wanted to know whether it was worth continuing working on it. the feedback was amazing and the fact that a few people came back for every new chapter was a wonderful motivator. Oh, and it certainly doesn’t harm when you have someone literally show up on your doorstep and demand you write a new chapter.

Your first Teen Wolf fit?! Impressive!! Is Teen Wolf now your ultimate favorite fandom to write? (*Wink Wink*) Or, do you have another favorite fandom/ship to write for?

The Arrowverse is generally my favourite fandom. I love all the shows and the way it consists of multiple worlds give you so many things to take away from! You can write any AU, you can write for abandoned timelines or worlds, crossover between the shows and ship practically anything. You can go all out, have doppelgängers appear (like one evil and one good version of the same person, stuff like that). There are no limits. Writing for it is fun because you can draw from so many shows and even include the original comics, if you want. Right now I’m (and have been for the past one and a half years) working on a Groupchat AU set in the Arrowverse where everyone is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and even that doesn’t seem too out of character.

As to a ship, I probably enjoy Simon Lewis/Raphael Santiago from Shadowhunters the most. Writing for them is almost easy because I can relate to both so much. Depending on which mood you’re in, you can write Simon’s optimistic and reference-heavy rambling or maybe you write the angst that constantly underlines Raphael’s thoughts. I can always find a way to write for them because they’re so different and yet fit together so well.

Yoooo, we could honestly strike up a whole subconvo dedicated to Simon x Raphael lmao. Since we’re supposed to be all about Thiam around here, I’ll restrain myself and simply agree about your opinions on Saphael. (I’ll miss them, sad face)

Being a writer of many fandoms then, what’s your ultimate Teen Wolf crossover with any other show or movie universe? What character would you see interact?

God! I’m a sucker for crossovers with DC! There’s a few I read where Stiles is always the person in question (whether he’s a member of the Batfamily or the brother of The Flash, I’ve read both of those cases, haha). I love the connection of the Teen Wolf world with DC Comics. I wrote a retelling of a Flash episode with Thiam in the focus and someone else wrote a Under the Red Hood AU which still keeps me in awe. (And also, it’s too funny how much the casts overlap, the double identities practically overlap – suddenly Liam is Superboy, Derek is Superman, Allison is a mafia daughter, Jackson as Red Arrow… It’s great.)

Otherwise, what I haven’t seen yet: Twilight. I’ve (re-)discovered my love for it last year and honestly? Let those mix up! Washington and California are both on the West Coast!! I have no idea about how far exactly but let them meet! Let Emmett Cullen beat up Peter Hale! Have Edward and Derek suffer together through their depression and Scott and Jasper try to comfort everyone. Lydia and Alice? Nobody’s dying on their watch. Let Rosalie and Malia kick ass together and Melissa and Carlisle swap hospital stories! Stiles and Bella hanging out together, being sarcastic little shits and also way too much into all this stuff. Hell, I’m gonna write this myself if I have to! (Otherwise I accept fic recs. Thank you.)

Before we wind down, what’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten? Any advice you feel compelled to share? 

I used to be really bad at discussing plot ideas with people – I dunno if it was an irrational fear of them running off with what I thought of, but it’s been there. I’ve been in a creative writing class about two years ago and there I was basically forced to do it. It helped somewhat with the progress of my story and being around people who like to do the same thing as you is always a great motivator.

I don’t listen to those conventional writing tips, like what atmosphere you’re supposed to have around you and how to depicts things. Writing is a personal experience and you can do it in a way you seem fit. Not everyone feels at ease in the same environment, so just write when you feel like it. Forcing yourself to do it doesn’t help anyone – except you can only work under stress, of course! See? There’s that individuality again, ruining my own writing tips.

Ahahaha, advice giving is a definite catch-22. Thank you for hanging out with us!! What’s next for you in the world? Both creatively and lively?

I’ve started an apprenticeship to become a bookseller this month! It’s a huge change compared with the life of a student that I had before, but after finishing my Bachelor‘s degree last December, it’s what I needed. Sadly it means that I don’t have as much time to write as I’d like, but I’m doing my best to squeeze in some of that. For Teen Wolf I‘m meaning to wrap up free fallin‘ in the jungle lights finally - otherwise, there’s a few WIPs in the Arrowverse and (uncharacteristic for me) MCU lurking on the back of my brain.

Anything else you’d like to share, in general. The floor is all yours!

I’m not really in the Thiam fandom, I think (really, the number of people I actually chatted with outside of ao3 comments can be counted on one hand), but here’s a massive shoutout to everyone! To the people who write, the people who read, the people who leave long comments, the artists, the meta-people, the ones with the headcanons. The people here from the officialthiamlibrary! You make writing a better experience and your opinions and reflections upon the show and characters help me become better at understanding them. Thank you all for being so lovely and just… into it. You’re all amazing!

And Behind the Screens presents Yasmin to you! Naturally, the conversation doesn’t have to stop here. Meet them at these places:

Main Tumblr: @joanthangroff

Inbox/Ask: joanthangroff ask

AO3: Pettigrace

Twitter: LI4MDUNBAR

Thank you for letting us get to know more about you! And thank you all for reading and requesting her. As always, if you have a Thiam Creator that you fan over, send us their names. Likewise, if you as the creator, would like to be a part of the Behind the Screens series, give us a shout too! We’d love to get to know you, as well.

@joanthangroff

[sunnyborabora]

Alpha (Jungkook x Reader) Chapitre 3

Y/n is a powerful alpha. Nothing bad in fact except for the fact that she is a female alpha, something so rare that only a few are existing at the same time. Despite this, she is living her life as she wants, until she met Jeon Jungkook. An omega that wants everything but being what he is. They are undoubtedly attract to each other, but they don't seem to know why. As they are trying to start a relationship they have no idea that bigger forces have already planed something.

Yoooooooooo, what’s up my babies ? 1 month... Don’t blame me please... Adult life had been kicking my ass since I got my first job (I need money lmao). But I am back !My contract is over at the end of the week and I’ll be free again! I’ll have more time to write! Next thing I am going to publish is a one shot about Minseok (I miss EXO) and I’ll update this fic soon too! This chapter is.... Well I don’t know... Hope you’ll enjoy it! Take care of yourself, eat well, sleep a lot (not like me lmao) and don’t hesitate to come and talk to me ! 

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Jungkook was surprised when he didn't see Y/n the next Monday. She wasn't there with Yoongi at lunch to see him, and when he asked if she was just eating with one of her friend he told him she wasn't in class this morning. He was a bit worried but Yoongi did not seem to care.

« Do you know why ? -No I don't, it's not like she was telling me her life or something... Go ask her friends. -But I don't know them... -You know Hana, she is in philosophy with Namjoon just go ask her she'll tell you. » Jungkook was not sure if he must do it or not. It was okay. She had the right not be in class, she may be sick, or she may be working at her internship. He sent her a text asking if she was okay. She did not answer. He went to class but he could not concentrate. He was not really feeling well since Friday night. He had not talked about what happen to any of his friends, they would have snap. But he kissed Y/n and that was really cool. But now she was missing and maybe it was because he had made a mistake. Maybe the kiss was lame, and she did not want to see him ever again. He decided after his afternoon class to go see Namjoon. He tried when he spotted the tall man to stay casual and not to seemed too interest. « Oh, Jungkook, what are you doing here ? -I am here to see you hyung, of course. -You, you're a mean kid... Lying to your hyung like this.... » Jungkook didn't know how to lie. « Technically I am here to see you... Because Yoongi hyung told me you were in the same class as Hana... -What do you want from her ? -She is friend with Y/n … -You're such a fake friend... You are absolutely not here for me... » Jungkook shrugged at Namjoon and this one just started walking again. « She must be this way... » And indeed, Hana was talking with a group of people : «So this is why Bergson see the word « Intelligence » as the capacity that have living subject to adapt. It is not a question of self consciousness or something. His thesis is that everything we lived, is conserved in us under the form of memories. There is a presence of everything that we ever lived in us, that can't be lost. It is the beginning of computer when he wrote this so it's a parallelism with the human brain... -Hana ? -Joon ? What do you want ? Oh Jungkook ! -Hello Noona -Oh you must be here because Y/n is not. -Yeah...I was just wondering if she was okay... -She is a bit sick. She is not going to be here this week, but call her in the afternoon, I think she'll feel better. » Jungkook really hoped it was okay. Hana did not seem to worry in the slighest, she was laughing with Namjoon, talking about their class, and something about a person called Arendt that he could not comprehend. « She'll be fine don't worry, she'll return next week. » He left on those words, ready to return to his apartment. He took the bus, for the first time in a week and had all his time to think. He thought about his exam that were soon to arrived and that he was sure to fail, about that alpha from Friday and finally he thought about Y/n again. He entered his apartment and was not surprised to see Jimin and Taehyung on his couch, playing some random video games. He was happy, he didn't want to be alone right now. « Jungkookie ! There is nothing to eat ! -Return to your home then... -This is how you welcome your friends ! -You're the second person today who tell me that I am ungrateful, stop it. -Maybe it's because it's true » He threw a pillow at Jimin, who was now laughing. « You're the ungrateful ones here ! It's my house, I do what I want ! » They just laughed even more. « You're lucky you're living on your own ! » Jungkook did not answer as he took something in the fridge. « So what you're playing ? » They started a game, and after loosing three times Jimin was done with it. « Honestly... -Practiced makes perfect -You're such a nerd.... » Taehyung passed some ramen bowl to the two others. « You know what happened in my class today ?, Jimin said swallowing a bite of kimbap -You always have rumors to spread like this... -It is not a rumor, I saw it happened ! You know Jaebum ? -Yeah, he is good friend with Bambam and Jinyoung. -Yeah well he beat the shit out of an alpha in the middle of the class today. » Jungkook was surprised. Jaebum was more of an awkward, nice beta. He could not imagine the other guy fight. « What happened ? -Jaebum is friend with Yugyeom since they're children, and a douch may have harassed him a little bit. I am not repeating all the homophobic and anti omega words he used but this guy is fucked up. -Who was the other guy ? -An alpha. Don't know is name. -What's the deal with alphas lately... » Jimin and Taehyung turned in his direction. « What do you mean ? -Nothing. Just that it is not the first time I heard a story like that... -And it is not the last. The dorms are secure and I have to say that their system is pretty good, but we are not protected during class. -If alpha knew how to control themselves maybe we would not need protection. -If it was as simple... » Jungkook could not control himself : « It is so easy to be an Alpha ! Because of your nature people are excusing you for everything you are doing ! If you are a douch well it is fine because you are an alpha. And when you are an omega and that you are assaulted by some asshole it is because you've been looking for it and that you should be grateful for it. » Jimin did not say anything. As an omega he knew more than anyone what was the price of presenting as that. « They are not all like this... But they all have this privilege... -I know they are not... But this is not normal... -What happened to Jaebum ?, asked Taehyung, trying to lightened the mood -Well they've been convoked at the president office. Jaebum is not expelled but neither is the other alpha. -He isn't ? -No... He is considered as the victim, so they kinda forgave the fact that he is a homophobic asshole. -What the heck... -Yeah..... » Jimin and Taehyung finished their ramen and decided to leave. Jungkook was tired and wanted to sleep more than anything. He could not think of anything except the conversation he just had and what happened some days ago. He wanted to sleep and it was only 8 pm. It was like something had sucked out all his energy. He tried to study but it was useless. He did not remember anything. He decided to call Y/n because, Hana told she would feel better in the evening. « Hello ? -Hi Noona, It's Jungkook -Yeah I know, how are you ? » Her voice was quiet and a bit shallow. « I am fine. And you are you okay ? I didn't see you today and Hana told me I could call you this evening when you would feel a bit better. -Yeah I am a bit sick, but I feel a bit better now. I won't go to class this week tho … -Is it this bad ? -No it is nothing ! It's just that it's a bit handicapping. But I'll be back next week. -Oh okay. » Jungkook told her about his day. About Jimin and Taehyung. And about what happened with Jaebum. « Well I don't really know Jaebum, I know Jackson because, it's difficult not to be friend with Jackson. But for what I remembered he did not seem like someone who'll fight.

-Yeah me neither. -But we all know that Yugyeom is his mate even if they are not a couple. He reacted to protect his mate. Totally understandable, I would do the same. -They are mated ? -Not yet but give it a year again, and they are married » Jungkook laughed. « I am happy that you called me. I wanted to apologize. -For what ? -I kissed you and then I disappeared for the week end and I wasn't in class this morning. -Oh -I swear Jungkook I am not playing with you. I don't want you to think of me as another douchbag alpha. -I am not Noona. -I am kinda ashamed of myself... For Friday... -Why ? » He could hear her sighing at the other end. « Deep, deep down, I wanted to find this guy and kill him. -You did not... -Yeah but it was harder than usually to control myself. It kinda scared me. And I was scared to scare you. -You did not » he said again, with a quieter voice this time. « You can handle yourself. You're probably stronger than I am anyway. -Thank you Noona -I didn't do anything -You're trusting me. Even if I am an omega. You don't make me feel inferior to you. -I have no reason to make you feel inferior. I am an alpha, well yeah, and you are an omega. There are no differences in our human nature that force you to submit to me. -You're the only person I know that is making such a difference between their wolf and themselves. -We are pretty much in harmony. My wolf want things and I want them too, I am just not forcing my way through it. Alpha should control themselves. -Yeah... -Jungkook if you want to talk about what happened, text me, call me whatever you want, okay ? » Jungkook did not say anything. « Jungkook, I-I have to leave, I am... feeling a bit tired. Good night. -Good night » Y/n hang up immediately. When she had seen his name on her screen she hesitated a long time before answering. She was not sick. Well not really. Her rut had kinda surprised her though. Her cycle was pretty regular. So when she woke up sweating, a burning hash in the pit of her stomach. She didn't understand at first. But it was obviously because of Jungkook. The kid had not done anything and Y/n was kinda feeling like a pervert. But here she was in front of her tv, watching a star treck movie, she did not remember which, a bag of ice on her stomach. It was not the pick of her rut. This morning had been a nightmare, but she was okay now. As okay as she could be. « Are you going to be fine ? -Yeah, go away -Do you want me to stay at Joon's -It's your house too, I'm not gonna make you leave -I'll come back after class then -Yeah yeah » Hana had left her, a gentle smile on her face. Y/n was simply grumpy. Sexually frustrated for sure, and it wasn't helping her mood. It was the first time since she was 18 that she will spend her rut alone. She knew she could. A lot of alpha were sleeping with other omegas or betas even if they were in a relationship. It was okay. They were alphas and everyone would simply say that they could not do anything against it. It was obviously all bullshit. Even if she was not in a relationship with Jungkook. Or were they ? She didn't want any other omega than him. And there was no way that she would ask him that. The idea of just mating him was enough to send her over the edge. She had spent her day in her couch or in her shower. She ate ice cream, not the best but everything was so hot, even if it was freezing outside. She never drunk that much water in her life. At the end of the day she was as much as a mess she thought she would be. …... Y/n did not indeed return for a week. Jungkook was so busy that he did not really have time to miss her. His basketball practice were more intense, and he tried to concentrate a bit more on his class. He spent all his time with his basket ball team or at the library. He ever had been this productive before. « Eat healthy ! You should buy meat, it is good for people who are practicing a lot of sports. -But Noona, meat is expensive... -Just wait for me to be back, and we'll go grocery shopping. -You are not my mom. -Jeon Jungkook don't be stubborn. » He called her every evening, and she seemed to feel better every time. When she came back on Monday, Jungkook was happy to see her, and even if they had not been separated for a long time, he had the impression that it had been an eternity. « Oh Jungkook ! You grew up so much my child ! -Noona, stop... -Yeah he may be growing up but you're aging Y/n -Shut up Hana... » They did not have that much time to talk because Y/n had miss a lot of classes and had a lot of things to catch up, but he was just happy to know that she was back. Anyway Jungkook spend his day to the library, he was quite ashamed to admit that now that everything was back to normal, he could concentrate on his studies a bit more. He was writing something in his textbook about Biochemistry when someone grabbed his shoulders. « Keep calm Jungkook it's just me ! -Noona you scared me... -Sorry, sorry » Her cheeks and nose were flushed from the outside cold. She was wearing a big yellow scarf, hiding half of her face. « I thought you had work to do ? -I do. This is why I am at the library. -Oh, yeah... » She put down her text book and looked at him. « Am I disturbing you ? I am sorry I just came and sat down without even asking you if you wanted to be alone... -No I don't want ! You are not disturbing me... » And they just started working. Y/n was looking through her notes, turning the pages of a book about XX th century music while highlighting some parts. She probably had an essay to do. Jungkook wondered what it was about. Was Y/n favorite time period the XX th century ? Or was it just for class ? « Aren't you supposed to work ? » His head fall off his hand. « I am taking a break... -Really ? » She laughed. It was adorable, making his wolf howl inside him. « What are you suppose to study ? -Biochemistry and anatomy ... -Wow... I know nothing about this. I don't even know the name of all my fingers. » Jungkook wheezed at that. « It's pretty easy but... There is something wrong with my memories I swear... I can't remember anything. -Have you tried doing flash cards  . -Yeah... It's pretty useless for me... -Okay...Well I have a technic, but we can't do that in the library. -What is it ? -You look like someone who need motivation to learn, I'll give you motivation. -You're going to cheer for me or something ? -Not really, except if it's what you want. I still have a cheerleader outfit from high school if you want. » Jungkook blushed hard, gaping like a fish. Y/n would look extra cute in a cheerleader outfit. It was also super kinky but... « I am joking Jungkook relax. -Yeah, of course... »

And this is how they decided to head to his flat. Y/n sat down on the couch, his book in her hands, her legs crossed under her body as she was facing him. He tried not to panic, not to squirm too much from the other hand of the couch, but what if something happened ? What if they kissed again or something ? He would love that honestly but the pressure was big. « So are you ready ? » Jungkook gulped. Fuck he wanted this, but he was so nervous that if he wasn't contracting every muscle in his body he would be shaking like a leaf. « Y-Yeah.... -Relax, it's not a big deal » she laughed « So what are the rules ? -It's the simplest thing ever ! I am asking you question and if you answer well you'll get treat. -And if I don't answer well ? -A punishment obviously. » Punishment ? What type of punishment ? It was not like he had not fantasized about Y/n spanking him or something but... « What type of punishment ? -You'll see. » Jungkook could not stop a squeal escaping from his mouth. That was embarrassing. « Let's begin ! she said excited, so, anatomy breaks the human abdomen down into segments called... -Quadrants. -That's right » She came closer to him. It was not helping him to concentrate at all but his heart started to flutter and it felt good. Her scent was everywhere around him, and the closer she was the more distinctly he could feel the heat of her body. « Give me an example of humans homeostasis. -Fluid balance. -Yes » She came a bit closer. Their knees almost touching now. « Nervous tissue is specialized in ? - Teach the person to relax... -Nope ». Then she moved back to the other side of the couch and Jungkook understood. It was so cruel. What type of punishment was that. « It was to react to stimuli -But... -No but. You were wrong -It's cruel... -Hm You think so ? » She was reading his book, thinking about another question. « Joins are an example of what within the musculoskeletal system ? I didn't even know that word existed … -Connective tissue ? -Yes » She smiled at him repeating her earlier game. « Isometric resisted hip flexion will affect the pectineus through ? -Autogenic inhibition. -Indeed, function testing of the glenohumeral joint reveals restriction with a stretch end-feel in external rotation, which muscles would you stretch ? -Anterior deltoid, lattisimus dorsi and pectoralis major... -Yes ! » He could feel his memory actually working, looking in his brain for the answer. « You see you're actually thinking. » Her breath was on his lips as they were now sharing the same air. « Most of the people just need some motivation and a buddy to work with to succeed. -Thank you -You're welcome. I had no idea of what you were talking about but hey it was interesting ! -Noona -Yeah ? -My treat. -You seem impatient » He didn't say anything but as she started to lean closer to him and Jungkook body was almost vibrating. What was that ? Was it normal ? Were people supposed to react like this when they were kissed ? Was he just weird ? When her lips touched his, he melted. His wolf howled inside his body and a connection, a bound, connecting their body. It wasn't normal, it wasn't supposed to be like that but it felt so good, so right. « Jungkook are you okay ? -Y-Yeah, I.... -It's just a kiss baby. -It feels good Noona... -Oh... » That was embarrassing. « I forget everything was new for you. Are you okay ? - Yeah, I am perfectly fine » She smiled and returned to the kiss, this time a little bit stronger. She bit into his lower lip, soothing the sting with her tongue. It felt good, Jungkook was feeling tingles everywhere in his body. He opened his mouth allowing her to enter and as she started exploring his mouth, a whimper escaped him as she sucked on his tongue. She moaned in response the vibration transferring from her lips to his causing shivers to run down his spine. When she drew away from him, a thin line of saliva still connecting their mouth. It was so dirty. « Baby, you're all flushed... -Noona... -You wanna try something else ? » He nodded violently, trying to sit up straight, but she pushed him down again. « Tell me if you want to stop... -I don't want to. -I didn't do anything yet babe... »

Her lips touch his again and it was like an electric currant was running through his body. Her lips slipped away from his mouth kissing his jawline, and his neck. « Fuck... Y/n... » She hummed slightly, sucking on the skin just below his ear, her hot tongue licking the sensitive skin at the same time. It was so good, feeling her so close, her body so hot, on top of him. He was feeling protected. What could he be worried about when his mate was sucking at his skin. The moment she hovered around that peculiar spot. His scent gland. « Y/n ! Please ! More... » She licked him, making him moan, but not using her teeth once. It was driving him crazy. He wanted this so bad, for her to seek her teeth into his skin, to mark him, make him hers forever. He was growing hard by the second. He was trembling, and he could hear her growl at that. But finally, she stood up. She was panting slowly, looking at him, admiring how he was a mess. « Baby... I... -Jungkook ! Open the door ! » Jungkook jolted out of his trance. What the fuck was that ! « Jimin ! What are you doing here ! » Y/n stood up, trying to adjust her clothes, her skirt way too high on her thighs. Jungkook gulped at that but walked toward the door. « What do you want ? -What were you doing... You look like a mess », Jimin laughed but stop when he saw Y/n. « Y/n ! What ? Oh my god !! -Please don't... » Y/n simply laughed. « Noona please ! -Sorry sorry ! I am going to leave now. Leaving you alone. » She grabbed her bag and her coat and walk toward the door. « See you tomorrow ! -Wait Y/n ! Do you want to come with us tonight ? We are going out in a bar, just to chill. » Jungkook looked at her expectantly. He wanted her to come, but he was cursing at Jimin internally for not asking him before. He didn't want to impose her anything. « Yeah for sure. I have to return to my flat first but I'll be there. Just send me a text. » She smiled and leave. « Jeon Jungkook, you bitch, tell me everything ! »

They arrived at the bar at 7. It wasn't crowded, and they easily find Namjoon, Hoseok et Yoongi. They had ordered some beer and cocktails. Jungkook sat next to Taehyung just in front of Y/n who was already chatting with Namjoon. They started drinking and Jungkook knew he should go slow but it was so fun. He was surrounded by people he loved, they were all happy.  «Well hello... Jungkook lifted his head to see, two guys and a girl in front of their tables. The guys were lurking at someone behind him and the girl had a sick smile on her face.  "Who are you ? -Doesn't matter. All I know is that there are two fine ass omegas here, and I am pretty sure that none of you would object if we take them out of here ? » Jungkook tensed up. It was this guy from the basket ball game again. Why was the situation this fucked up ? « Look at you sweety... -I don't know who you are but you should leave » Hoseok voice was as cold as ice, even Jungkook who was friend with him since forever had never heard that tone. « I don't think so. I don't want to. I am having too much fun right now, right... » He pointed his arm at Y/n. She didn't answer she didn't even look at him. She seemed unfazed. « So what playing cold sweetheart ? I wouldn't fuck you anyway... -That's enough …. » Yoongi was tensing up from the other end of the table. His eyes were yellow, his fist clenching over the table. « What's the deal alpha. Wanna fight ? » Yoongi was ready to stand up but Y/n stoped him : « You should leave... Right now... -Stop giving me orders, you bitch, like what are you even... Some nature mistake or something.. » His dumb friend laughed behind him. Jungkook was feeling so humiliated. He wasn't the one being insulted, but he was so angry, he couldn't stand this. Why wasn't she saying anything ! « Leave her alone ! What's wrong with you ! » He could not help it. His blood was boiling in his veins. He couldn't even see things clearly. « Jungkook stop... » He wanted to fight, he wanted, to kick the ass of the guy who was insulting the girl he loved. Someone grabbed his hand, Jimin was clenching his wrist hard, not allowing him to go further. « So he can be a douch and nobody is going to tell him anything abut it ? What the fuck ! -Jimin is right. Sit down Jungkook » Y/n had been silent all his time and Jungkook was even more furious. « And you, what's so unsatisfying about your life that you have to devote your time to make other people inferior ? Is that an ego problem ? Did your mama failed you when you were a child so you have to spread you masculinity all over us ? How pitiful » Everyone was silent. Until the guy threw his glass at her. The entire content splashing over her face. Namjoon stood up suddenly at the same time than Hoseok. « Look at you... Who's pitiful now... » And they left. Namjoon checked on Y/n, Hoseok giving her a tissue to clean herself. Jungook knew he should be checking if she was okay. But he was blinded by anger, his rage tacking the best of him. « What was that ? » Y/n turned around, watching him, her eyes being the same color as before. So she wasn't affected by this at all ? « You didn't even stand for yourself ? Why were you playing weak ! What didn't you defend yourself ? » She returned her gaze on the glass she was holding in her hand. « Jungkook it's really not the moment... I think you don't realized well... -I do... He is right... You're pitiful right now... -Jungkook ! » Everyone was watching him. Most of them in shock, some with anger in their eyes. « I have nothing to do here... I am leaving... » And he left. The only thing he heard was shattering glass in the background, but he did not take time to watch. He was already gone.

[brokenmusicboxwolfe]

On a photo of a not exactly human face I sculpted....

labratbren said:                                                                                                                            What do you do with them when they are done? Do you ever post pictures of the finished product? 

Ah, well, um....short answer? Nothing.

Here’s the longer answer (VERY long)....

While I was always drawn to sculpting, I really didn’t sculpt growing up. 

I mean, I tried to use clay I dug out of the ground, drying it in the sun, when I was tiny. Naturally it crumbled except for this lump of a head I still have. In Kindergarden the art teacher had his own kiln and let us use the scraps left over from the pots he had us make. I still have a loop armed alien and creature head I made, but he left with his kiln the next year. The dough art they had us make in second grade was gone by the next year, ‘cause this buggy and humid climate doesn’t agree with it. My parents gave me modling clay, but I hated it. I wanted something that would “stay”. 

But everyone acted like sculpting was hard, so maybe I wasn’t missing out. 

Then one day, when I was 19 or so, my hands got bored. Anyone would have laughed if I’d said I was bored right then. I had a book open to one side of me, a magazine on the other, as I went back and forth reading both. I was also  listening to music AND watching the movie The Brothers Karamazov at the same time. I have this problem where I always feel like I should be doing more, and when I am doing something I get itchy to be doing something else. Like my brain isn’t fully occupied even if I’m really enjoying whatever. That day my hands needed something to do, and there was this block of clay left over from a project one of Pop’s projects (a river system display, I think) It was just sittin’ there on the porch so....

And it turned out sculpting was easy! I mean, maybe not art bit doodling around having fun making faces. Do NOT be intimidated by sculpting! It comes so much more easiy than trying to convert our 3D world into some 2D drawing. Seriously, try drawing a nose head on! But toss on any wedge on a sculpted face and you have a nose...

Ok, maybe I just am bad at drawing! But I really do wish more people would try sculpting.

Anyway, the clay was another dead end, but it did inspire me to hunt for something I could “make stay”. And that something was sculpey. 

Whenever I was certain I would have the place completely to myself for a full hour I’d go stand out on the ramp behind the house and sculpt. It wasn’t too often, what with the house also being the office of the family business and my family being the sort of close one that did everything together. I couldn’t sculpt and be watched. All I needed was an our because I sculpted quickly. In an hour I’d have a little bust, rough as heck but with some detail I liked.

But then I ran out of places to put my busts in my already overstuffed bedroom. I solved this by just slicing the faces off and just baking them. I could glue magnets to them and line all the edges of my metal bookcases.

I did dabble in other things. I tried a full figure and made a few little stick figures. I sculpted something from Babylon 5 for my brother, mixed my box painting (I used to paint boxes when I had a table) with sculpting for a Discworld box for Mom, Easter bunnies for my parents, magnets for everyone, Christmas ornaments...

When she saw the Christmas tree ornaments my cousin Katharine, dollhouse collector, roped my into making her a doll. She had specific requirements for a 6″ tall Beast in what I gathered were Regency era clothes from her decription. In my ignorance I assumed the doll would have to have a jointed body, fabric clothes and furry fur, which kinda drove me nuts! But somehow I pulled it off! I sculpted a few more of those little dolls (no sewing on these!) as gifts for my parents and brother, as well as a bit of goofing around for myself (I liked my little  Sleestack a couple decades late for little me). But that was that.

Then the weirdest darn thing happened: I was suddenly stricken with a full imaginative block!

I stopped sculpting. I stopped painting boxes. I stopped writing stories. Worst of all I stopped dreaming! I still remember how upsetting that was, this sense of loss. It was like having a part of me paralyzed.  

It lasted years. Terrible years.

When my father became sick right after my irreparable rift with my brother, as I was facing the most terrible external loss of my life, something woke back up in me. Constant, vivid dreams, elaborate epics spiraling through night after night, images and stories that writing didn’t full  satisfy the need to express. I started painting miniature boxes again. Box after box after box....

But no sculpting.

I dunno why I still didn’t sculpt. I just didn’t.

Then my father died.

Pop’s death was a devistating moment. My father. My best friend. When Pop was sick I told him he couldn’t die because I wouldn’t have anyone to talk to. There is a lot of truth in that.  I love Mom dearly, but our brains work very differently. Pop might have been smarter, and his depth of knowledge was certainly mind blowing, but our mental wiring followed a similar eccentric pattern. That said, somewhere along the line my parents and I had become a sort of unit, functioning as one. Think one of those anime giant robots made of smaller ships, Voltron or something. Then imagine it functioning with the head section missing. Five years later we still feel that void.

So anyway, Pop was dead, the family business gone with him, and I was unemployed with no qualifications in a rural area with few job opportunities anyway. This was, and frankly still is, not a good situation. And my cousin Katharine thought she had a solution.

Katharine sent me a letter suggesting I make dolls. She’d shown the doll I’d made her to a dealer who said I had talent, and she sent me a copy of Art Doll Quarterly to show me that my “weird” stuff might have a market...

Honestly I felt inspired by this. I immediately seriously considered it. I’d work a bit bigger than 6″ scale, sculpt the clothes instead of the stress and tedium of sewing, and figure out a way to do ball joints. Because each thing would be unique (until I could teach myself mold making) and letting go of something I make is soooo hard for me, I decided to use the story of one of my painted boxes as inspiration. I’d make wolf people, which I figured would create enough sameness to help me let go, but enough variety to keep me from being bored. I quickly sketched out a reasonable design and got to work.

Obviously things didn’t turn out to be so simple. Sculpting ball joints by hand is fiddly to manage. It would need a bit of experimenting. I could do a head on day, casually. I could do the upper body, arms and waist joint  with a lot of effort another day. A third day would be waist and legs. Fourth day was the hellish threading. I wasn’t set up for safely storing unbaked work in progress, so I had to do these marathon one sitting sculptings on the bodies. Then I’d rest up a few days and just sculpt a few heads.

The ball jointing drove me nuts. So I gave myself permission to not worry about wolfheads, but just sculpt whatever head happened. From the backlog of heads I’d just pick one to experiment with body making. In just a couple months I was making progress.

The first discouragement came with an art show. The county has a sort of art society and they were having a sculpture show. I was scared silly to show my work to anyone, since at that point it was 2014 and I wasn’t even on Tumblr. No one had seen them. Still, when I went to see about entering the lady there was encouraging. I was soooo nervous and tentatively hopeful when I went to the grand opening with Mom amd my cousin Shirley. I was soon deflated. No one seemed to notice my figures. My work was the odd one out anyway in a sea of found object sculptures, colored paper masks and ceramics abstractly suggesting the figural. Also, everyone there knew each other and so no one was talking to me. At one point I did this really sad thing of hovering near my figures in case anyone came near so I could sorta maybe get them to notice them....

When the show ended a few weeks later the lady very nicely said at least a couple school children had liked weird figures, ‘cause, you know, kids like that fantasy stuff.  I definitely should sculpt a lot bigger and maybe use terra cotta instead....

Yeah. I felt my stuff was crap. I was crap. Why had I ever thought anyone would like my crap? Heck, I’d thought I’d at least find a club I could join, belonging, friends....

But, I kept at the doll making experimenting, crap or not. That winter it was too cold for much sculpting in my unheated house, but I could work on trying to figure out how to paint them....

Then life happened don’t ya know. At first I thought it was a temporary break while I dealt with crisis after another. I kept sculpting heads, strictly sculpting a head a day (still just an hour each)....until the spreading collapsed floor situation forced me to move the box I’d made for storing the bodiless heads out. And that was that for doll making.

Still, I kept sculpting. I went back to just the faces....

And that’s where I am now. I gave up sculpting every day, because I no longer have time. I watch a movie and sculpt. I bake the face and take pics I post on here. I wrap ‘em in tissue and put them in a storage container....

And that’s it.

I don’t do anything with them. I’m not entirely convinced there is any point anymore. My life isn’t going to include free time. Or tables to work on. It has been years after all, and it gets less and less likely I’ll make anything more than a few boxes full of chipped up sculpey faces for the nephews to find when I die. Well, unless they follow my brother’s advice and throw them out unopened! LOL

I sculpt just ‘cause I sculpt. I post pics of them on Tumblr, ‘cause Mom isn’t really all that interested in looking at them. They aren’t ever going to be anything, but I guess if I enjoy making them and someone out there likes looking at them that’s okay. They may be nothing, but that’s something.

[ask-the-chan-family]

Tira Bright and Friend: School Life

The perfect gift Somewhere inside Lavender bedroom at Queen Ember castle. Lavender was hanging out with her older sister friends Tira Bright and Timber Night Wolf, and all three of them were busy reading through a long list of things that Nightshade wanted for her birthday tomorrow. Pumpkin Spice was there also too, but she was busy eating some of the candy she saved from the Harvest Night Festival, while drawing a picture at the same time. Tira and Timber were doing their best to reading Nightsahde birthday wish list, Tira drop her portion of the list on the floor, and start asking Lavender of what wrong with her sister. Tira Bright: Lavender, is it just me, or Nightshade have a very twisted mind that we don't know about. Lavender: what do you mean, Tira? You know my older sister is crazy in her own way. Tira Bright: I know that, but some of the stuff your sister wants for her birthday is sort of on the kink side. I mean look at the stuff your sister is asking. One set of clear view lacy panties, a black leather lingerie outfit for special night, and *she blush of what she about to read*, a one year membership of super dragon magazine. What the heck is that? Lavender: oh yeah, I forgot to remove that one from the list. It one of Nightshade personal magazine she like to read at night, nothing serious there. Tira: ..... Remind me again why we're still friends with her, Timber .... Timber? Tira look at Timber notice that she was stiff reading Nightshade wish list. She also noticed that Timber face was all read as well. Tira sigh to herself, knowing that Timber must the read something, knowing that Nightshade must the write something that she wanted Timber to read. Tira try to yell her name again, which got Timber attention, after tossing the list on the side, like she wasn't doing anything wrong. Timber night wolf: oh Tira! Were you calling Timber? Tira Bright: I was, but I'm guessing you was a little busy reading something interesting that Nightshade wrote on her wish list. Timber night wolf: *she blush* Timber sort of did, but Timber sorry for not paying much attention. Timber still shock with this list. Even more shock of the things she wrote about Timber. Tira Bright: what did she said about you? Timber Night wolf: *she blush even more* you really don't want to know. Tira Bright: ugh, Lavender, does Nightshade have another list we can look at. You know, a list of things that a normal person ask for their birthday. Lavender: she does, but she prefer for us to concentrate on this list instead. The other list is already being taken care off by mom and Dad. Tira Bright: so in other words er stuck with something that nearly impossible for us to get. Timber Night wolf: surely it can't be that hard to buy some of the stuff, right? Tira Bright: of course, unless you have a bunch of folks looking at us for buying some random things that we are doing dominatrix action. Lavender: shhhhh would you keep it down. Pumpkin Spice is here, and she had no clue about these things yet. Look, I'm sorry this list a little weird. Nightshade wanted some sweets for her birthday, but mom been very strict on her diet for the past couple of days. Tira Bright: Tira couldn't been that big. I remember that she did alright passing the obstacles course with me. Timber night wolf: Timber remember seeing that, but didn't Nightshade barely pass that test. Tira Bright: ok so she barely pass it, but at least she tried to stay in shape. Lavender: true, but it not good enough for our mom. Since my sister, and I are Princesses, our mom wants us in our best look. As for my sister with her eating habits, it not going so well. Tira Bright: man, I don't want to be in her shoes, and my mom only nags me for not paying attention in class. Timber Night Wolf: that because your head is always thinking about something else all the time. Tira Bright: whatever. Well if we can't get her sweet, and there is no way we going to get those other stuff? What exactly Nightshade want for her birthday? Lavender: ... well, there is one thing she been wanting, but it nearly impossible to get. Tira Bright oh! And what is that? Befor she answer Tira question, Lavender walk by her bed, where Pumpkin Spice is sitting. She check under her bed to see where the thing she kept hidden, but notice it wasn’t there anymore. Lavender was supried the thing she was looking for was gone, she double check under her bed to see if it was move somewhere else, but so far no luck. After she was done searching, Lavender look above her bed to see if it was there, but she notice something by Pumpkin Spice that catch her eye. Lavender look at Pumpkin Spice, and see that her cousin was drawing something. At first she thought it was just a piece of paper, but instead it was the magazine she was looking for. Lavender look at Pumpkin Spice, and ask her to see if she can give back her magazine. Lavender: Pumpkin Spice! Where did you get that magazine from? Pumpkin Spice: um, I found it under the bed, and use it as a drawing book. Lavender: Pumpkin! I thought I told you to never take things that not belong to you. Pumpkin Spice: sorry, cousin Lavi, but I really needed some paper to draw a nice picture for cousin Shadi birthday tommrrow. Lavender: for the love of …. Sigh, did you at least save me a certain page that look like to be Nightshade birthday gift. Pumpkin Spice: *she nodded her dead, and look through her large breast to grab something that she kept inside. After searching, she found a piece of paper from the magazine, and hand it over to her cousin* here you go, Lavi. Safe, and sound. Lavender: ….. Why did you kept it between your breasts like that? Pumpkin Spice: that where I always keep things that are important safe there *she look through her large breast again, and grab a piece of candy* I even hide a few candy in there for emergency. Want some pumpkin flavor candy? Lavender: …. I think I’ll past, but thanks anyway. Pumpkin Spice didn’t said anything else, but open the wrapping, and start eating the candy. She even sniff the wrapping, liking the smell of the candy she is was eating. Lavender then to forget that her cousin was very weird, but after she was staying with her, and Nightshade, Pumpkin Spice was very happy to hang out with her favorite older cousins. After she gotten the piece of paper from the magazine, she walk back to Tira, and Timber Night Wolf, and finally show them what she was talking. Lavender: alright you two, take a load of this! Timber Night Wolf, and Tira look at the paper that Lavender was showing. On the paper they saw a necklace that was made of pure Onyx metal, and some Silver Diamond. Tira, and Timber were impress of how the necklace look, and curious to know more about it. Tira Bright: wow, Lavender, that necklace look amazing! Timber Night Wolf: indeed, what kind of Necklace is that? Lavender: this my friend, is the lunar eclipse necklace. It one of the most coolest, and rarest of jewelry that ever been made. Tira Bright: why they call it the lunar eclipse for, there something special about it? Lavender: the onyx metal that made the necklace, is actually came from an actual meteorite that crash landed on this planet. Plus the diamond itself were produce from the diamond that a few miles from the other side of the country. Timber Night Wolf: woo, this necklace got to be very expensive. Lavender: trust me, it is. The material itself are hard to come by, and only a few places that have them, charge a heavy penny. Tira Bright: well lucky for you that you, and Nightshade are princess, get some heavy allowance. Lavender: not quite, our mom cut our allowances when we went a little crazy on our expensive. Timber Night Wolf: what you guys spent on? Lavender: *she blush* we sort of went to the new clothing stores, and spent on some very expensive panties that were cute. Tira Bright: really! You guys spend all your money on lousy panties. Lavender: they weren’t lousy, some of them have some cool solar system on it. Tira Bright: …… *face palm* alright then, how are we going to buy this necklace for your sister. If it cost a lot of money, we got to find a way to get the money for it. Timber Night Wolf: maybe we check our finances, and see if we can buy the necklace together. Tira Bright: no can do. After my little transformation issue from being a Pegasus to a dragon, I have to buy some new clothes. Timber Night Wolf: same goes with Timber. Timber had to get new outfits, and Timber still feel weird going to female store by myself. Tira Bright: you know I was there with you the whole time we were there. Timber Night Wolf: yes *she blush* so was Nightshade too. Tira Bright: oh yeah, I couldn’t help you with that part. Lavender: great, so neither you too don’t have the money, nor do I. How are we going to buy my sister the gift? Pumpkin Spice: I have the money you guys needed. All three of them look, and saw Pumpkin Spice was standing a distance where they are, while holding the magazine she was drawing. Lavender: really, you actually have the money to buy the necklace. Pumpkin Spice: of course, aunty Ember give me bigger allowance for being good the past few months. In fact, I have the money right between my. Lavender: ok, ok, we got the point you are talking, Pumpkin. So it look like the money part for Nightshade gift is solved. Now the hard part for this task, is to keep my sister from knowing what we are doing. Tira Bright: wait, don’t tell me that your sister doesn’t know what we are up too? Lavender: only a little bit. Nightshade know that we are looking at her birthday list, but she have any clue about the necklace we going to get for her. Timber Night Wolf: aw, that is a clever idea, Lavender. But is it going to be hard to keep this a secret from her, especially how good Nightshade is finding things out. Lavender: true, it not very easy to hide thing from her, but this year with your help, I might actually be able to surprise her with this gift. Tira Bright: well we had no problem to help you, no offense with Nightshade, but she is a total sassy dragon on my rear. Timber Night Wolf: Tira, manners! Tira Bright: what! You know what I said about her is true. Timber Night Wolf: *face palm* so Lavender, what exactly you want us to do to keep Nightshade from knowing about the gift? Just when she was plan to tell them idea of what they would do, she look at her cousin Pumpkin Spice was standing by her laundry, showing of her drawing to it. At first she though Pumpkin Spice was pretending to talking to someone, but when she look at the back area of the basket, she saw a chubby dragon like tail, which happened belong to someone she knew. Lavender was very specious with the laundry basket, and figure to investigate it a little more. She head over where it was, and stand right next with Pumpkin Spice. She hand over the picture of the necklace to Pumpkin Spice, and tell her to hide it back between her cleavages. While Pumpkin was doing that, Lavender examine the laundry basket, and saw a few extra things that wasn’t there before. She saw two horns was sticking out, and the basket itself was a lot wider like she had several more laundry inside. Lavender already figure who it is inside the basket, but came up a funny idea. She back Pumpkin Spice again, seeing her eating a handful of cookies she grab from her breast. She barrow one of the cookies and leave it on top of the basket, waiting for the person to take the bait. After a few second of waiting, she see the basket pop open, and out appear of Nightshade head. Lavender roll her eyes that her older sister was hiding in there, but still surprised that she put herself inside there. Nightshade look above her head to grab the cookie, and start chewing it. Nightshade: oh chocolate chip cookie, you’re always be one of my favorite snack in the world. Lavender: you do relies you eating a cookie that was stuck between Pumpkin Spice cleavages, right? Pumpkin Spice: that where I keep most of my snack at. Nightshade: …. Eh, I been hiding in your dirty laundry basket, so eating a cookie from short cake breast won’t stop me. Lavender: speaking of hiding, how long had you been in there. You, and I both know my laundry smell can easily put anyone to sleep in second. Nightshade: *she try a few time to get out from the basket, but got tired out easily* oh I haven’t been in here too long. Maybe at least a few hours. Lavender: a few hours, then you must the heard everything of what me, and your friend are doing. Nightshade: not exactly. I was able to hear you, timber wimber, and the half breed, but Short cake stop in front of the basket, trying to show me a picture she drew. Pumpkin Spice: it was a special birthday gift for you, mommy. Nightshade: *she patted Pumpkin Spice shoulder* and it was a wonderful drawing too. Now then, if you would me asking, exactly what kind of gift you guys are getting me? Lavender: oh nothing much really, we just getting something we saw from your wish list. Right guys? Tira Bright: um, yeah, a special gift we think look great for you. Nightshade: ……… you do relies all three of you stink at lying, and I can easily tell it something else you’re getting me. Laveder: hold on, how you know we are lying. Nightshade: *she walk pass her sister, and head over to her two friends. She stand right next to Timber, and stare at her for a moment* because out of all of you, I can tell Whenever Timber lying, just by looking for certain sign. Timber Night Wolf: *she sweat a little* what do you mean, Nightshade. You know we aren’t lying to you. Nightshade: come now my dear sweet wolfy. Why not drop the act, and tell your future girlfriend what you getting for me, and I might not try to send you all to the dungeon Timber Night Wolf: what, you actually have a dungeon? Nightshade: no, but I can tell my mother to have the servant build one, if you don’t tell me what your hiding. Timber knew that she can’t lie to her face, but she can’t tell her the real truth about the birthday present either. Timber trying her best not to say anything, until her friend Tira blur it out for her. Tira Bright: alright, Nightshade, you win. I’ll tell you what we are doing? Nightshade: oh that good to hear, half-breed. Now, what sort of gift I‘m getting? Tira Bright: oh it not just some ordinary gift, it one of the best gift you ever wanted. Nightshade: how about stop playing, and tell me already. Tira Bright: alright, you going on a date with Timber. Everyone stood quite of what Tira just said. Timber was relief that Tira didn’t mention about the actual, but shock on what she said about her being Nightshade date. Nightshade on the other hand was smiling happily, knowing that she finally getting the number one thing she been wanting for a long time. She look at Timber showing her smiling face, but Timber look at her, and already know that things going downhill already. Nightshade: OMG! My birthday gift is a date with Timber. I can’t believe one of the many things I wanted is coming true. Lavender: you wanted to go on a date with Timber was on your birthday wish list? Nightshade: I wrote it with invisible ink, just in case if Timber read it, and try to come up an excuse. *she look to see where Timber went, and saw her sneaking for the door. She use her magic to teleport in front of her* where you think you’re going, dear boyfriend. Timber Night Wolf: wait, Timber is not a boy anymore. Nightshade: true, but until you turned back to normal one day, you’re going to be my boyfriend for the rest of the day. Timber Night Wolf: Tira, help Timber please. Tira Bright: hold your horses, Nightshade, maybe you should get ready first, before you go on a date with Timber. After all, you had been hiding in the laundry basket all day. Nightshade: ……. You know, I know you’re playing with me Half-breed, but your right. I might take me a quick bath, but since Timber here is a girl, she can join me. Timber Night Wolf: *she blush* Nightshade No! Nightshade: Nightshade Yes! Before Timber could try to run away, Nightshade use her fire breath, which both of them teleported out from Lavender room. Tira face palm herself, knowing that she sort of screw Timber with another problem she created. Lavender walk up to Tira, asking her of what she was thinking. Lavender: Tira! What were you thinking, why did you tell my sister that she was going on a date with Timber? Tira Bright: I don’t know, I thought would be a good idea for her thinking she was going on a date with Timber. Lavender: yes, but now we have to go and rescue Timber from my sister, before she does something crazy. Tira Bright: how much crazy she would do to Timber, other than the things we saw on her birthday list. Lavender: ………. Tira Bright: ……… ok, silly question to ask. But what about Nightshade birthday gift, did you say it super rare to buy. Lavender: it is, and the only store that have it, is at the mall that not too far from here. Tira Bright: alright then, since both of us going to deal with Nightshade, and rescue Timber, who going to buy the gift? Both of them think for a moment, and then relies the only person that can do the job is Pumpkin Spice. Lavender know that Pumpkin Spice can’t go out on her own without supervision, and she might cause some major problem if they don’t pay attention to her. Lavender don’t like the idea, but she had no other choice to rely on her cousin. Lavender: the only person that can do it, is Pumpkin Spice. Tira Bright: are you sure you want Pumpkin Spice buy the gift. No offense, she can be *she look over where Pumpkin Spice is, and see her picking up one of Lavender panty that was from the laundry basket, and place on her head like a hat* a bit odd on the side. Lavender: she can be a bit odd, but she’s our cousin, and Pumpkin Spice willing to do anything to help Nightshade. Lavender call out to Pumpkin Spice, and she walk up to them to see what they need from her. Pumpkin Spice: you call me, cousin Lavi? Lavender: yes, Pumpkin, there is something important I need you to do for me. Pumpkin Spice: oh, does it have something to do with cousin Shadie birthday gift? Tira Bright: yes Pumpkin. Your cousin want you to buy the birthday gift for Nightshade. Pumpkin Spice: you want me to get the gift, but I though we going together? Lavender: we were, but after Nightshade kidnap Timber, we might be a little busy for a moment. Pumpkin Spice: I see, so you want me to buy mommy birthday gift, but by myself. Lavender: I know it sound a little scary that you had to do it on your own, but part of me know you can do it. Pumpkin Spice: … I don’t know, Lavi. I’m still afraid to go places without you, and cousin Shadi. Tira Bright: then how about this, think of this a special quest from one of your favorite books you like to read. Pumpkin Spice: oh, like one of the adventure book your mother write. Tira Bright: yes! And as such, it your mission to find the perfect gift for Nightshade. Pumpkin Spice like the idea that she was going on a quest to find the gift for Nightshade. She clap her hand and agree to buy the gift. Pumpkin Spice: ok, I go buy the gift for mommy. Lavender: that good to hear, Pumpkin Spice *she grab something from her pocket, and handover a crystal to her cousin* here, this is a special teleporter crystal, which help you travel to the mall and back. Tira Bright: you guys have an actual teleporter to take you to the mall. I been asking mom for one of those, but keep on telling me to get better grades. Lavender: usually mom, and dad not a big fan for us to go to the mall, but Nightshade was lucky enough to buy these to sneak out the house once a while. Tira Bright: I give Nightshade credit, she a total sassy dragon, but a evil genius when she put some effort. Lavender: yup *she hand the crystal over to Pumpkin Spice* now remember Pumpkin, this crystal will teleport you to the mall. Once you get there, just head over to the store call “Nigel Treasure Cove” Pumpkin Spice: that the store I need to go? Lavender: yes, and from there, just ask them about the necklace from the magazine, and they should allow you to buy it. Tira Bright: sorry to interrupt, but we need to get going. I having a weird feeling that Timber is calling for help. Lavender: how can you *she pause for a moment, when she heard howling noise that echo the room* sigh, never mind. It up to you now, Pumpkin Spice, and please don’t mess this up. Pumpkin Spice: ok, cousin Lavi, I make sure to do my best on this quest. Lavender: great! Now if you excuse me, we need to save Timber from my crazy sister. Pumpkin Spice wave goodbye to her cousin, and Tira Bright. Pumpkin know that they counting on her to do a great job by buying the birthday gift for nightshade. Before she go on her quest, Pumpkin remember that she wasn’t wearing that much a clothes on, all she had was her tight shirt, and a pair of pink panty. She also can’t forget about the panty that she wearing as a hat. After several minutes of getting herself ready, and seeing some random items that catch her curiosity. Pumpkin Spice was able to teleported to the mall that have the store she needed to go. Pumpkin Spice always amaze how big the place was, and all the cool stores with different things inside. Pumpkin Spice walk down the aisle, and she saw a candy store that was having a big sale from harvest festival candy they trying to get rid of. Pumpkin Spice lips started to droll a little, so desperately wanted to go in there, and buy all the candy she like the most. But Pumpkin remember that she was on an important quest, and she need to contrite. Able to walk away from the candy store, Pumpkin Spice walk down a few more aisle, and finally reach “Nigel Treasure Cove” She look at the store a little bit, and notice that it carry more than just jewelry. The place had some old artifacts, and sailor ship equipment, for going off to sea. Pumpkin Spice already liking the store, and can’t wait to go inside. Once inside, she look around to see if she spotted the necklace she needed. Pumpkin Spice check between her cleavages, and grab the page of the necklace to buy. Pumpkin Spice kept on searching, until she run into a female shark that was taking a nap on the counter. Pumpkin Spice wasn’t sure if she should wake up the sleeping shark, especially she had some bad experience with the one at the school. Pumpkin examine the counter, and see there was a bell right next with the female shark. She push it a few times, until another shark appear. The other female shark was fixing her hair piece back in place, and look at her costume. She stare at the one was sleeping on the counter, and try to wake her up. Tsunade: hey sis, will you wake up already. We got a costumer. Morgana: give me five more minutes, Tsunade. I was out to see finding some sunken treasure all night. Tsunade: and who was it that forgot to do during the morning time. Morgana: *she raise her head* oi, it not my fault that I’m the only one that dive underwater, while my little sister is too afraid to touch any water. Tsunade: *she blush* you promise you wasn’t going to say that. Pumpkin Spice: um, sorry to interrupt, but can you two help me? Both of them stop fighting for a moment, and then relies they were dealing with a costumer. Tsunade: we’re sorry about that, my older sister, and I tend to nag each other once awhile. Morgana: hmph, more you think. But any case, welcome to Nigel treasure, where every item you see, have a smashing price deal. Pumpkin Spice: …… Tsunade: sorry, that slogan was actually our older brother Nigel Sharkberry. He thought it would be funny. Morgana: I told him a million time it was silly, but he insist that the slogan is brilliant. Tsunade: but any case, how can we help you miss? Pumpkin Spice: *she place the paper on the counter, and show them the picture of the necklace* do you happened to have this? Tsunade: oh my, the mystic onyx necklace. That a special item right there. Morgana: one of our best seller in this shop. Pumpkin Spice: then I’m guessing you have it for sale? Tsunade: sadly no. We sold the last one a few days ago. I forgot who the costumer was, but sure wanted it very badly. Pumpkin Spice was shock to learn that the ver y necklace that she wanted to get for her cousin was already gone. She know there wasn’t much she can do, but wasn’t going to give up that easily. She assistant on asking them to see some other way to get the necklace. Pumpkin Spice: please mam, there got to be a way to get the necklace. I promise my cousin, and her friend to get that necklace for my cousin birthday. I can’t go back home empty handed. Morgana: listen kid, I understand what you’re saying, but it not that easy. Tsunade: but we can order another one, although it will take about a year to get here. Pumpkin Spice: oh, ok then. I guess I won’t be able to get Shadie gift today. Morgana: sorry about that kiddo, is there anything else you wanted, let us know. Pumpkin Spice nodded to them, and then left the store. She was sad that she was going home empty handed. A quest she thought it was going to be easy, but instead a much difficult one. Pumpkin Spice found a bench to sit at, and sulk for a moment. Pumpkin Spice wanted to cry, but Pumpkin doing her best to be big girl. But some of the tears were coming out her eyes, and she use her scarf to clear them. While doing her best not to cry, she didn’t notice someone was standing in front of her. Pumpkin Spice look at the person, and notice it was Britney Fear standing in front of her. Pumpkin Spice pause for a second when she look at Britney Fear, remembering the bad things she did to her. She know that her older cousins aren’t here to protect her, and she not sure what to do. Britney Fear remember seeing Pumpkin Spice before, she know that Pumpkin is the young cousin of Nightshade, which she follow all the time. Britney is pleased that she see fear in Pumpkin Spice eyes, knowing that she still afraid of her. But ever since she started dating with Lydia, she doing her best to give up her bully days. Britney went to grab something from her pocket, and hand it over to Pumpkin Spice wanted to flinch to hide her head, but when she look, it was nothing more but a handkerchief. Britney Fear: Here, I notice that you was crying, so I figure I give you this to clear your eyes. Pumpkin Spice: ….. Thank you *she took the handkerchief, and blow her nose* you want it back. Britney Fear: you can keep it, the thing already dirty anyway. So what are you doing here by yourself? Usually I see you with Lavender, and Nightshade. Pumpkin Spice: I was on a mission to find a perfect gift for mommy, but once I got there, they said the thing I was looking for was gone *her eyes start to tear up* now I don’t have any gift for mommy, and she will be sad on her birthday. Britney Fear: birthday! Who birthday is coming up? Pumpkin Spice: cousin, Shadie. What! Her birthday is coming up. Wow, it been years since I last remember her birthday. Knowing her she going to have a good time. Pumpkin Spice: yes, but now she won’t have a good time without perfect gift. I failed both Lavie, and Mommy. Britney Fear look at Pumpkin Spice once more, and knew what she is going through. She had try to forget the moment that she lost the chance to be with her, but thanks to her, and Timber Night Wolf words, she finally fall in love with someone that care about her. Britney Fear look inside her shopping bag, and grab some sort of package. She hand it over to Pumpkin Spice, and place it on her lap. Britney Fear: here you go, this should be a good enough gift for Nightshade. Pumpkin Spice: what is it? Britney Fear: just open it, and you will see. Pumpkin Spice: *she unwrap the package, and notice it was the necklace she was looking for* oh wow, it the Necklace from the picture. But how you were able to get it. Britney Fear: the two shark you spoken to were actually my aunts from my dad side of the family. I stop by their store, and brought the necklace. It was meant to be a nice gift for Lydia, but since tomorrow it going to be Nightshade birthday, I figure Lydia won’t mind missing *she was cut off when she felt Pumpkin Spice hugging her* Pumpkin Spice: thank you so much, cousin Shadie is going to be happy with this gift. Britney Fear: no problem, but would you mind letting me go, your large breast is killing me. Pumpkin Spice: *she relies what Britney said, and let her go* sorry, I then to forget about my own strength. Britney Fear: … Sigh, no problem. Now if you excuse me, I have to go and buy another present. Maybe you should get going. I bet your cousin are worrying about you. Pumpkin Spice: oh, no, I nearly forgot. I need to head back home, and fast. Thanks again for the gift Ms. Fear, you’re a really nice person. Britney Fear: no problem at all, but also, would you mind not to tell anyone that I done something nice to you. I may not a big bully, but I still have a reputation. Pumpkin Spice: sure thing, I make sure not to tell anyone about it. Now where was I going again? Britney Fear: back home? Pumpkin Spice: oh, yes, back home. Bye again. Britney Fear once again say goodbye to Pumpkin Spice, and saw her ran off. Britney Fear nod to herself knowing that Nightshade have a weird cousin, but pretty cool dragon in her own way.