#since you bother to actually read the tags i'll let you in on a little secret

[askhermesgrian]

Welcome to CAMP HERMITCRAFT! (Text Adventure Event) 02

(STARTING POST , PREVIOUS POST , NEXT POST , POLL AT THE END!)

Art by @ahllohehn Writing by @askhermesgrian (asst. @ahllohehn)

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LAST POLL RESULTS

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Show them. Show him. A voice had said. It felt like something was wrong, yet so right. It felt like you were sacrificing a part of you, but you felt compelled to follow nonetheless.

With half the awareness on what to do, you shut your eyes and flex your fingers. Suddenly, your body felt as if it was being pulled upwards and the breeze was especially loud in your ears. You couldn't feel the sun. It felt cold.

And despite the fullness of this world, you felt lonely.

You're aware that you haven't opened your eyes, but it feels as if you've seen everything. The pressure of the skies, the gloominess of the dark, the suffocating feeling of the ocean. Everything.

Your journey was cut short by your own surprise and you gasped sharply as you brought yourself back to your body, or it felt as if you were pulling yourself back to your body. You can't even tell if you moved at all.

You opened your eyes.

You don't know how it looked like to them, but that didn't seem to be the kind of magic Scar was expecting, judging from the way he was a little fearful of it briefly before slowly sighing in awe.

"Magic!" he exclaimed like everyone else needed anymore confirmation as to what you just did.

You were considerably terrified of your own unexplored magical abilities at first as you didn't know you were capable of such things despite your body moving on its own like it knew that part of yourself already. But at Scar's reaction, you felt the need to smile proudly.

You found yourself looking over at Grian to see his reaction as well, only to feel your smile drop at the flash of absolute terror in his eyes as he looked at you. He looked at you as if you were the bane of his existence.

But you blink once and the expression was gone, instead replaced with surprisingly friendly grin that showed no signs of the previous terrified look ever happening. You shook your head and examined Grian again, but he was still smiling. Was it your hallucination?

Something laughed amusedly.

"I don't really know what you did, but it looked cool! Maybe you'll be able to use whatever you did during your time here!" Scar perked up, cutting your moments of doubt short. You look over at the scenery of the 'camp' you were dragged to.

"During my time here?"

The teen on the wheelchair nodded, "Well, considering the thing you just did is nothing a normal person could do, no?" he said like a question rather than a statement, a question directed at Grian who seemed a lot more calmer and quieter than earlier.

Sensing your extreme confusion and Scar's plead for confirmation on your 'abnormalities', Grian cleared his throat and took over, "This camp isn't exactly your usual summer camp. Normal mortals usually wouldn't be allowed in here," he explained, but then quickly added to it after realizing how weird his explanation had sounded.

"But it's not a secret mental asylum or anything. It's also not a secret.. laboratory, or whatever is on at fantasy and sci-fi movies these days."

For some reason that added explanation made it all more suspicious and confusing than it is, but you kept quiet in mercy of Grian's flusteredness.

"Ahem- it's better that you experience it yourself, seeing as neither of us here are actually good at explaining anything.

Scar laughed unashamedly, "Clearly not! Hopefully you're at least a little aware of the G-Greek mythmologory!"

"Mythology, Scar."

"Exactly!"

You watch as Grian smiled wearily while Scar continued to laugh off his mistake. Have you ever felt an atmosphere this warm?

"Anyway, we can't exactly stay here, seeing as you're obviously unaware of the bump forming on your head," Grian unamusedly pointed out your priorities and looked a little hesitant on his next words, but he didn't let the feeling linger for too long, "How about you give your powers a go again?"

Your jaw drops doubtfully, "How? What am I meant to do?"

"Find out where the infirmary is," he replied, causing even Scar to react in a bewlidered manner.

"But we could just lead them there--"

"It's like a game," Grian cut him off. He was staring at you with that look again.

Is this a test?

He smiled at you and patted you on the shoulder encouragingly, "I mean, wouldn't it be more enjoyable to turn it into game? You get to explore however you want without having us argue on where to go."

Scar perked up and seems to accept that explanation, "Oh, fair enough! Seek the danger yourself and all!" he said, earning him a scolding pinch from Grian.

"There's nothing dangerous here," Grian said.

You raise an eyebrow.

Grian pursed his lips and scratched his cheek awkwardly, "Well, nothing now."

"Just give it a try. Practicing your powers might be... useful anyway."

You don't have to follow them.

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PLAYER STATUS Watchers' notes: This is where you can all check your status as one collective player. Please pay attention.

General Status: Possible amnesia. Numbness.

Reputation Status: 9/10

Current Run Notes: - Grian is wary of you. - (!) Scar is excited for you. - ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ||'∷ᒷ ∴ᔑℸ ̣ ᓵ⍑╎リ⊣ ᒷᔑ⊣ᒷ∷ꖎ||.

[meebles]

Several Sentence Sunday

I was tagged by @biscuityskies over a month ago, and I'm excited that I now have something to share! Thank you for the tag! This is another WIP for a @codywanfirstkissbingo fill, in which Cody and Obi-Wan end up forming their own little two-person bookclub to read a cheesy romance together :) here's the start of the lead-up to that:

“Those are my datapads.”

Obi-Wan doesn’t bother looking up from the requisition form he’s currently checking over. “Correct,” he says, waving a hand absently to shut his office door, having previously opened it to let his commander inside.

He can feel the irritation wafting off of Cody— purposefully, since Obi-Wan knows for a fact that Cody’s shielding is durasteel-clad should he wish it so— and bites back a smile. He signs the pad with a quick flourish of his finger, and sets it aside before looking up. When he does, he sees Cody reaching for the remaining stack of pads, which Obi-Wan quickly pulls through the air and into his own hands before Cody can grab them.

Cody huffs, but Obi-Wan doesn’t miss the barely-there twitch of his lips. “I don’t need you to do my datawork for me. Sir.”

“I know you don’t need me to, but I wanted to,” Obi-Wan shrugs. “I finished my own for the night, so I figured I might as well. I wanted you to have enough time for Waxer’s book club.”

Cody raises a brow at him. “I hadn’t realized you’d heard about that.”

Internally, Obi-Wan winces, afraid he’s overstepped. “They were talking about it in the mess. I know you like reading, and I know the two of you are close, so I just assumed. I apologize, if I— ”

“No, I— I do appreciate it, General, thank you. But I’m not going.”

“Oh,” Obi-Wan says, frowning. “Not interested in what they’re reading?”

Cody shakes his head, pulling over a chair and setting himself down. “No, it’s not that. I am actually interested in the book they chose, but it’s… ” Cody purses his lips, averting his gaze and staring into the middle distance behind Obi-Wan. “Everyone else who attends is of similar rank. My vode need some time away from the chain of authority, especially their commander. I don’t want to intrude.”

“Cody, I’m sure they would— ”

“I know they would let me join, if I asked. But I also know that bookclub is about 30% actually discussing the book, 70% drinking the starshine we don’t know about while shooting the shit.” Cody meets his eyes, shrugging. “It’s no big deal, really. We still spar and have our holo nights whenever the opportunity arises, but I want to let them have this.”

“Ah,” Obi-Wan nods. “That’s very considerate of you, Cody. However, I’m still sorry that the nature of the situation prevents you from joining them, especially if it’s something you wanted to read.”

Cody shrugs again. “If I want to, I can just read it on my own. Unlike my datawork, however, which I cannot complete unless you actually give it back to— ”

He cuts himself off with a snort, shaking his head as he watches the stack rise towards the ceiling of the room, just out of reach. Obi-Wan grins, ridiculously pleased as always when he can pull a laugh out of the other man.

I'll tag @countryboyskywalker @petrifiedforests @anxiousotters @bluemaskedkarma @loverboy-havocboy @goddammitjim and anyone else who wants to play!

[erinwantstowrite]

Let me just quickly say, cross-overs can sometimes get REALLY difficult to map out and write in a cohesive way but you have absolutely NAILED IT!! I absolutely ADORE LoF!!! I usually don’t even bother reading fics with the ‘Richard Grayson is Richard Parker’ premise cause I felt like they were super confusing and overcomplicated but this fic?? SUPERB. ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. OH MY GOD I ADORE IT. Everyone’s characterizations are so nice and wonderful aaaaaaah!!!! <33333

Ok ok I did actually have a question as well: would you be willing to share what your writing process looks like in terms of a chapter you’ve already posted? I was just wondering since I’m also currently working on my own fic (it’s been a few years but I managed to get fixated on an idea and it grew legs lol) and I’m currently fighting the organization of it haha.

How do you keep track of the plot points and/or foreshadowing you want to get a ‘lightbulb!’ moment for later? Do you have any tips?

Thank you so much! I absolutely adore your writing AND your art is so gorgeous omg it adds so much to the incredible story :DDD I hope you have a good day!!

I have a secret: I actually didn't like "Richard Grayson is Richard Parker' tag for a while for the same reason. Sometimes they felt like they missed the mark or it's just. A thing that's there? I almost didn't include it for LoF, but I'm glad I did because it changed the direction in such a big way.

Another secret: this made me incredibly happy because I have read so many wikis and scoured the internet to make sure that I had enough info on both fandoms so LoF could make sense to anyone who's reading it, whether they know Spider-Man, Batfam, or neither at all. Sometimes I worry a lot before I post that I'll miss a mark and will confuse people.

As for the question: I definitely am willing to share what my writing process looks like!

Be prepared for under the cut, I love to yap. It's in my blood to yap. And that's why it took a minute to get to this ask haha

(Spoilers for Leap of Faith!! Everything mentioned has already been published ((Chapters 1-11))

I had to go and find out which chapter I wanted to use as an example and I think we're gonna go with Chapter 5 for the most part :)

My writing process is, as described by alighterwood:

I think the description fits because while I'm all over the place, I have to be very detail oriented and I store everything in one spot.

Starting with the overall process, what I find is most helpful for me, when organizing, is having a notebook rather than doing it all digitally. I've been using a 70 sheet notebook that I had lying around waiting to be used, and as of yesterday, I officially filled the entire thing front to back. It's been an incredible help, for a lot of reasons, but mostly because it's a lot easier to remember something I physically wrote down than it is to remember something I typed. I'm now on to my second notebook for LoF, and I might even have to get a third.

In another ask, startupkat asked me this:

And I shared a little about my outline process there, but I'll try to go into a little more depth here. Emphasis on little because this is so long.

I write a truly insane amount of outlines in this notebook.

This is just what I can show you, but a good chunk of the notebook is just outlines. Over and over and over again. That's because they're always changing/adapting based on so many different factors. Sometimes I get to a chapter I thought I had fully planned out and then realize it just doesn't work anymore. Other times, I get to the chapter and realize I don't want to write that anymore/isn't as interesting as I thought it would be. A few times I got halfway through a POV of a scene I was struggling on and decided to switch POV's, which will change up the outline for a chapter every now and then.

Which is why I don't write incredibly detailed outlines and try to keep it vague until I actually get to that chapter. It's a lot less daunting to rewrite a chapter outline than it is to rewrite the entire outline.

Fic outlines and Chapter outlines look a lot alike.

This is what I said in the other ask, but I didn't elaborate on it all the way.

I make a list just like that, and then I try to put it in chronological order/in an order that makes sense. I keep the Fic outline vague by writing down "Goals" for a chapter rather than scenes. But I also keep notes to myself if I really think something is important. The more important I think a scene needs to be, the more details I write down to make sure my future self recalls what I had in mind when I thought it up.

Really simple example:

Chap 1 Goal: Peter gets to Gotham and meets Babs while running around. Meet Nightwing too? Get shelter.

Chapter 2 Goal: Bats are like "???" about Peter. Batfam dynamic important... Peter stalking Batfam back? Peter meet Batman >:)

When I get to a chapter, that's when I make a far more detailed list of wants/needs/goals. It's the Step 2 from the Step 1. Here are some examples from Chapter 5:

Needed to have:

More POV's from universe 1299 (Peter's home universe)

Tony's POV more specifically, how he's doing/feeling, what he's figured out

What they've figured out on 1299 side vs what's going on in 1300 (Gotham)

Explaining more about Peter's trauma/his past

Dick learning more about Peter, and vise versa

Wanted to have:

Ned being a more central character

Natasha :)

Loki being a little shit

Tony and Cap bickering

Peter talking to Nightwing again

The last name Grayson

Gymnastics!!

(This is the shortened list, because the chapters are so long)

When I looked at this list before writing my outline, I had to figure out how I could incorporate everything. If I needed more 1299 POV's, and I wanted Ned, Natasha, and Loki, there's one scene accounted for. I had to get their side of things and wanted that trio together. I needed a Tony POV, and I wanted Tony and Cap bickering, so those went together, plus I got 1299's POV of Ohnn and his plans explained.

I needed to have Peter explaining more about his trauma, and Dick and Peter to talk/get closer. I wanted a Nightwing POV, to have Peter say his last name, and them doing gymnastics. I knew Peter wouldn't willingly talk about that, so I had him have a nightmare. Not only did it give readers perspective but it made Peter more susceptible to talking to Nightwing because he was more emotionally vulnerable/lonely, and that's how that scene came together.

That's when I would write down the chronological order of these events by writing out "Scene Blocks." (This is what I wrote down but my handwriting was so bad I can't subject y'all to it):

scene 1- Ned talking to Loki. Natasha should be nearby and observing Loki's behavior. They are not on friendly terms. Ned is more worried about Peter than he is as to what Loki could be up to, so Natasha takes on that role.

scene 2- Tony is freaking out about Peter being in an alt dimension. He should attack Ohnn when he's not prepared for it. Beat his ass? Beat his ass. Cap there too.

scene 3- Peter's nightmare. "Ben, where do you go when you die?" "Where do you think?" "With you. Where you went."

scene 4- Nightwing and Peter.

Of course, things come to attention when writing. Like originally, Tony and Cap were arguing in the Tower. But it was a little too much like his and Natasha's argument, and I kept in mind that Tony is smart. Sometimes I forget that the characters are smarter than I am, so I have to account for what they would figure out. So Tony would have picked up the puzzle pieces and come to more conclusions than I originally thought about, and I figured he'd be way more proactive about it than just. Being in the Tower and waiting.

Which means that that scene ended up being as listed above: having a squabble with Cap, learning more about Peter's dynamic with the Avengers in this universe, and seeing how Tony is reacting to it by throwing himself head first into trying to capture Ohnn.

I'll realize I need something else to be mentioned or put in and I'll have to shimmy things around, but that's basically how it goes.

As for other forms of organization:

Keeping a timeline is so important because it tells you a lot about the environment your characters are in. It's also important to remember what a character has on them, what money they've spent, who they've met/who you have mentioned, every alias that is being used, to read your work and write down edits you want to make before you make them, to write down ideas beforehand of situations you can use, and, most importantly: MAKE A MAP!! This has saved me so many times. Sometimes your brain WILL trick you or make it harder on you to envision a scene. Make a map of where your characters are physically!! It will save you too!!

As for foreshadowing and plot points, I'll let you in on yet another secret:

Your subconscious is doing a lot more than you think it is.

Sometimes when I foreshadow something, I didn't even know I was until I got to it. I very often go back to read chapters that came before this to see what I've mentioned and what I haven't, and when I do, I'll see something and go "I have to bring this back" or "I almost forgot about that!"

Other times, I am very aware of what I'm foreshadowing, and that's because I follow a mystery plot formula. You have to keep in mind everyone's intentions, all the time. How are they feeling? What are their motivations? And: what are they doing right now, while this character is doing this?

Like Beck and Ohnn. From the very beginning, I knew I had to make sure that it was obvious Ohnn wasn't working alone. From there, I had to weave through the story and slowly build him up as someone who's working behind the scenes. Even from Ned's first POV, I made sure to mention that this person knows Tony and is tech savvy.

My biggest tip is to make sure you reread your work or at least skip through it, because sometimes you don't even know that you placed something there.

And sometimes, it's very purposeful. :)

I hope this helped! I really tried to keep it short but I am insane and the process is sooooo long. It sounds complicated but it really is simple when you're actually doing it I swear

[fishfingersandscarves]

I don't even bother scrolling the ao3 armandaniel tag anymore, I just wait for your glorious art and then read whatever you illustrate...

That being said if you had any recommendations I'd happily take the o' knowledgeable one

ah nonnie i am happy to pull some from my meticulously vetted list

remember to read and mind all the tags

a haunting just for company by valkyrisms

"I know what a breakup looks like," Daniel says. "The better question is, why are you coming to me about it? I'm the one who broke up your little sham." "This is what humans do, don't they?" Armand asks, letting his voice drop. "Crashing on their friends' couches when there's a blip in their romances?" "Except we're not friends. We're actually very much not friends." Daniel shrugs, as if it's all the same to him. "And I can't imagine the great vampire Armand deigning himself to sleep on my fucked-up sofa. That thing's been here since the nineties." "Well," Armand only says. "I saw you have a guest bedroom."

Lie Back and Let Me Unlock You by Thunder_Puss

Independently wealthy man, early 30's, seeks arrangement with young male aged 18-25, not too muscular and no more than 200lbs (anything more would be most unmanageable) to share my apartment and affection with for 1 year until slaughter. All needs up to that point will be met -surpassingly so, I must admit, as I can be rather doting. There will be no need to consider expenses as they will be covered entirely by myself- "-There will be a rigorous interview process consisting of correspondence by email..." Daniel shook his head, laughing. "Of course, buddy. I'm sure I'll have a lot of competition." He raised his whiskey glass to his lips and wet them. "If this sounds like an amenable blah blah... Christ, this guy is verbose. I'll have to bring along a thesaurus to keep up." Daniel Molloy was 24, not too muscular, and no more than 200lbs. He was also steadfast and enterprising -when he could keep his nose clean- and had nothing more interesting to do than chase a story about an independently wealthy man with the screen name Botticelli_Angel who seemed to have the world's most taboo kink. Daniel could play the part, see where the story took him for a while. If shit got too weird, he'd dip. (Spoiler: He doesn’t dip.)

the sin and this mess we're in by ringfinger

He’s sitting on a beach he hates, trading shitty jokes with a centuries-old monster whose body count would put Ed Gein to shame and who is almost certainly also plotting to turn him into a flesh lampshade. “Don’t be dramatic,” Armand says, picking up on that thread, “I do wish you’d stop returning to that.”

how memory makes monsters into myth by blueskiddoo

“I said I’m fine, Alice,” Daniel snaps, and time itself grinds to a halt. Not literally. Ha. The things you have to specify with vampires. Daniel wishes he could laugh, but the sound is stuck somewhere in his throat, along with his heart. Now, of course, his hand chooses to be perfectly still. Why the fuck did he say that? * daniel keeps slipping up and mistaking armand for his ex-wife and the more he looks back on his memories, the less reliable they get. he's pretty sure he married alice molloy, but how do you marry a woman who apparently never existed? armand is armand about it.

chase away my heart and heartache by sahwen

With nowhere to go and an eternity ahead of him, Armand decided to work his way backwards. Or: Armand's Tour de Divorce in six acts.

to stretch the night, to fill it fuller with dreams by typefortydeductions

Armand and Daniel return to Venice to confront some of Armand's oldest demons. Louis comes with them, trailing ghosts of his own.

I am the least difficult of men. All I want is boundless love. by cannibalenthusiast

“Did we call each other boyfriend? Surely not. Sounds weird even saying out loud.” “You were my beloved,” Armand says. “My lover. My boy.” “Your human pet. Your mortal fool. I get it,” Daniel says, not neglecting to notice his use of the past tense. “You want to go see a movie?”

such a pretty box (all fancy wrappings, and a bow on top) by snuffreel

“That is a fascinating shade of scarlet. In the dark, now, it almost matches the color of her blood.” Or: Armand, Daniel, and the age-old question of what's really inside a girl.

flash the camera (you're a star) by exastris_scientia

Daniel is starting to think he should put a little more thought into the promises he makes in the heat of the moment. He’d qualified it a little, sure, so technically he doesn’t have to do it. And it’s not like he needs the money, not after Louis and Armand had thrown his that’s my whore number comment back in his face by actually paying him ten million fucking dollars. But a promise is a promise, even if it’s one literally no one would expect him to follow through on. Whatever. He said he would, so he will. It might be fun. So he starts an OnlyFans.

bang it up inside by leavethebes

"Come on," Daniel goads. "Come the fuck on."

she will be your living end by kanxie

Daniel reaches his hand out for Armand to take. They wait a few moments in silence as the world stops moving around them. The animals hush. The air stills. A faint smell of smoky dust drops from the sky and lifts from the ground. Rural Armenia has always been too quiet for Armand, but this is to a level where noise itself seems to atrophy into a cold, nightmare-like state. Armand takes his hand, and the usual dampened sounds of movement are stark in this nothingness. “It's okay to admit you're scared,” says Daniel. His deep and rumbling voice. Armand keens for it in the lamplight.

Armand and Daniel are at home when the bell tolls.

Backroads to Sonoma by burntcrimson

Where the hell have you been, Daniel wonders, and why me? A bloody American summer in the belly of the AIDS crisis.

open eyes and behind your teeth by tisiphones

It wasn't fascinating, the way the boy didn't know whether to lean into the touch or away from it, confused by the comfort and the pain it offered in equal measures. It wasn't. Armand could do the same thing — did do the same thing, whenever Louis deigned to touch him at all — and Louis still thought he was boring. It couldn't be this that had captivated him. But that didn't mean it wasn't fun. --- Armand weighs the pros and cons of dog ownership.

[cirqosmos]

untitled project, corpse bride (teaser)

author's note. a jungwon 7k oneshot corpse bride inspired with him as a 'psycho serial killer butchering everyone in the train' i did since a year ago, but im not satisfied with it yet but here's a teaser! i haven't written in awhile so it might be crusty rusty lol but yep it will be out this month, hopefully ♡ trying to get back into my momentum.

warning. subtle graphic description of murder, gore. / excessive tagging wouldn't be used but a tagging system of playing card symbols i've created so please read at your own discretion when the full fic is out.

Horrendous. Awful.

Not quite like the picture perfect image he had been fantasising about whenever he'd like to.

But he likes it, more than he would like to.

Awfully likes it.

He just needs to fix it a little more. Just a bit would do.

A bride on her merry way down the aisle of promised vows of happily ever after, a sweetened pursed up glossed lips and irises, couldn't she grow any more sweeter than this? Perhaps, it could. But to him, your shattered delicate state was much more sweet than he could taste, he could even sniff it into his soul—dark, dark, terribly dark soul.

Your bouquet, strip to nothingness where restorations could no longer be made was evident with madness. Or was he, the madness in itself? Perhaps, it is. What is there to deny?

Now the question is, what happened? Was it an arranged marriage on the foundation of a million bucks or perhaps even better, a mine of gold? Or was it actually true love at first sight? A runaway bride with her lover but was unfortunately shot to his death, or maybe, maybe fell to his death down the cliff? Or was it betrayal?

Which one is it?

Which one did actually happen that it has this tremendous effect in making this sweet of a delicate bride stranded somewhere in the city, boarding a train in all her fleeting gloriousness that was all for her cherished husband-to-be to relished on?

How amusing.

Where did your smile go? Your pitch black mascara smeared, tainted with pearl tears. Glossed lips now chapped and dry. The overall makeover he was sure took a horrendous amount of preparation was replaced with an image of a decomposing corpse bride.

But he likes it.

Of course it would, why wouldn't he?

He wouldn't need to go through the tremendous hassle of butchering another one when you're all here, all ready to be his next corpse bride in collection.

It just needs a little more, a little more — effort.

To make you his perfect corpse bride.

Silence.

Nothing came.

Only a deafening silence in constant rhythm of beats, accompanied by (Name)'s rampant heart as the main vocal. The train's intercom and the sound of the train tracks was what served as the instruments, side vocals by the distant screaming ahead the carriage.

All of it, the entire piece of orchestration of all led by the conductor with his baton. However, the conductor was eerily silent. Weirdly, horrifyingly silent.

"Whose bride do we got here?"

A hiccup escape from the bride's throat as soon as those words reverberated from the conductors lips.

Amused by the unusual sight you don't often see everyday especially while boarding a train, the man let's put a satisfying groan as he sat down facing the bride, comfying himself for another break session.

He's sitting down? Are you fucking serious right now?!That particular sentence echoes beneath everyone's mind in varying volumes and expressions. No one knows how long will it take. But everyone was sure as hell didn't want him to sit that long.

Get lost. Just get fucking lost!

But one should know that one single wrong step is only a foolish's mistake.

Therefore, it was a silent agreement of all;

To stay still.

Do not anger the lion.

Or perhaps, the conductor if we were being classy here.

"Since you didn't hear it, I'll repeat my question," Jungwon grins behind the cat mask, "Where's your husband?"

An orchestration of a bloodbath; scream once, your head gone. Try to run, don't bother, just crawl. But Jungwon wouldn't mind a bit letting your head stay intact a little more, he just thought you would look a lot sweeter with your delicate face and piece of dress splattered with the perfect ingredient.

© pieroulette (previously ateliertale)

[littlexscarletxwitch]

── ༊*·˚⋆ 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴

paring: florence pugh x innocent!fem!reader

tag(s): nsfw, smut with no plot bitchez, innocent r (or at least I tried), dom flo (or at least I tried)

warning(s): MDNI, wlw sex, explicit smut, legally age gap, oral sex (r receiving), vaginal fingering (r receiving), kinda innocent virgin r, grammatical error

word count: 2.3k

note: here's the winner of the pool :D. So, go easy with me on this one. I'm still practicing how to write smut, so bare with me. I'll get better in time. NOT ME WRITING 'Don't worry, darling'. I SAW AN OPPORTUNITY AND I TOOK IT, NO REGRETS. Also, I just want to say how hard it is to write this shit. Like I can picture the whole thing in my head, but I need to add emotions to it, you know. It's not as easy as I always thought it was. Anyways, I'm not a native speaker, so please let me know about any sort of mistake. Hope you guys enjoy! <3

note 2: would you guys be interested in dark smut content for Florence? Like I've seen it for Lizzie, Scarlet and their marvel characters. But there's not much for Florence. And I'm a really kinky bitch, so I wouldn't mind writing it. But would any of you read that kind of content? 🤭

requests are open! + check my rules here <3

The fact that you were Florence’s little sister’s best friends and off limits, because Raffie said so, was a major turn on for the blonde. 

She wasn’t sure if it was because of your big doe eyes, your obliviousness towards her dirty jokes or just your shyness. But there was something about you that just set her skin on fire. 

You had always piqued her interest. And now that your body resembled the one of a young beautiful woman, she was even more curious about you. Well, maybe just curious about your body. Lucky for her, her curiosity would be soon satisfied. 

You were waiting for Raffie to get off work. Naturally, you were at the Pughs, since it was pretty much your second home. But no Pughs were actually around. Just Florence. 

The both of you decided to kill some time while watching a movie that was already playing on the telly. You were so bored that you were actually paying attention to the movie. Florence, on the other hand, was paying attention to your every reaction. 

It was a +18 film. Florence knew that, but you didn’t. And she knew the film would get a reaction out of you, that your cute little body would react to the adult scene. At least, that was what she was expecting. And man, you did not disappoint her.

The spicy scene finally made it into your sight. She carefully watched as your eyes and body were taking in the scene. 

At first, you thought it was a simple kiss. But then the kiss became more passionate and now they were taking each other's clothes off. You took a big breath as the couple undressed themselves. Your brows were furrowed, a lump had formed in your throat and you, unconsciously, rubbed your thighs against each other, noticing that a certain part of your body was getting weird.

“Are you okay, Y/n?” she asked innocently, as you shifted in your seat. 

“Yeah, I’m good,” you said, your eyes not moving away from the screen. 

You slightly tilted your head to the side, trying to understand what the couple was doing and why your body felt like burning and weird.

“You sure you’re okay?” she asked, once again. 

She knew you were getting hot and bothered, that was what she had expected of you. She wanted you like this, so she could help you out.

“Yeah, I just feel a little weird.”

“How come? Are you feeling sick?” she played dumb. 

“No, not sick. I just feel like I need to pee but I don’t want to,” you whispered, looking down at your feet in embarrassment. 

“Hey, it’s okay. I know how you are feeling,” she placed her hand on your thigh. You felt your skin burning under her touch.

“You do?”

“Yes, I do,” she smiled at you. “Does it feel wet down there?” she quickly looked down and then up to meet your eyes. She noticed they were filled with confusion. It was an adorable sight, her cute little Y/n didn’t know what was happening to her body.

“Yeah, I don’t know why,” you shyly admitted.

“Oh, you poor little thing,” she caressed your cheek. “You know, I can make it go away if you want to,” Florence bit her bottom lip, her heart picking up its pace waiting for your answer. 

She was afraid that you would back down, since this was a whole new territory for you. But she would have a taste of you even if you said no, she would find another way. 

“How would you make it go away?”

A grin formed on her lips at your curiosity and innocence. It turned her on seeing you like that, all confused and pure. She almost felt guilty for doing it, key word being ‘almost’.  

“Well, there’s a few things I can do. But I can’t tell you, I would have to show you. Do you trust me?” she squeezed your thigh, making your heart flutter. 

You only nodded, too dumbstruck at her closeness and her touch. 

“If you want me to stop, just say it, okay?” you, once again, nodded. “But I have a feeling you’re going to like this.”

She closed the small gap between you two, connecting her lips with yours. Your eyes winded, you weren’t expecting that. But soon, you gave in and deepened the kiss. She gently bit your bottom lip, making you whimper and her tongue found its way into your mouth. You felt the weird feeling starting to grow down there. 

“Flo, it feels even weirder now,” you whispered on her lips. 

“I know, sweet girl. Just be patient, okay? I’ll take care of you, I promise.” 

Her lips found your neck, leaving small kisses and bites on your sensitive skin. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head at the new feeling, your mouth was slightly parted. Your hand, instinctively, found its way into her hair, gently pulling it, earning a low moan from her. 

“I need this off,” she tugged the hem of your shirt. 

“Flo, I–.”

“It’s okay,” she cut you off. “I want to see you.” She carefully took your shirt off, and much to her surprise you weren’t wearing anything underneath it. 

You were now self-conscious of your half naked body, you crossed your arms over your breast trying to hide them from her. 

“Hey, don’t do that,” she said, gently moving your arms. She pecked your lips and whispered in your ear, “You’re gorgeous, Y/n. Don’t hide from me.”

She softly pushed you into the couch, now laying on your back she was straddling you. She trailed a path of kisses from your jaw down to your breasts. Your breathing became heavier the closer she would get your nipples. When she finally reached your left one, her tongue sucked on it. At first she was gentle, letting you take in the new feeling. But then she got rougher, not only sucking it but also biting it. You were a moaning mess under her. 

Her right hand found your other breast giving it as much attention as the one that was on her mouth. She would massage your nipple, pinch it, twist it and rub it. Your back arched at all of the new feelings that your body was experiencing, your aching core gently brushed against her body, making you moan at the feeling. 

“Flo, please…” you begged. 

You weren’t sure what you were begging for, she was taking care of you as she said, but you felt like it wasn’t nearly enough. 

“Let’s take this off then,” she said, her fingers finding the waistband of your pants and pulling them off your body. 

Your legs instinctively closed. She raised her brow at your action. 

“What did I say, Y/n?”

“Yeah, sorry I–.”

“No uh, tell me. What did I say?” she cut you off.

“Not to hide from you.”

“Exactly, do as I said, okay?” you nodded. Even though she was sort of scolding you, her tone was still gentle. A perfect balance of kindness and demand, which sent shivers down your spine. 

She kissed your breast one last time before moving further down your stomach, getting closer and closer to your aching core. You gasped as she left kisses on your thighs, carefully spreading your legs open. She noticed the only piece of clothing left on your body was soaking wet from your arousal. 

“I will take care of this now, okay?” she looked up to you, wanting to know if it was okay. 

“Yes, please.”

She gently brushed her tongue over your slit, making you whimper at the small lick. Her fingertips soon found your clit, still covered by the thin soaked cloth, and started to rub tight circles on it. Your eyes once again rolled to the back of your head, pleasure covering your whole body. But still, it wasn’t enough.

“Flo, take it off,” you looked down at her. You needed skin to skin contact, the piece of cloth was in the way. She raised her eyebrow at you again. “Please,” you finished. 

She chuckled, glad that you were starting to get how things worked.

She teared open your panty, making your eyes wide open. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll buy you a new one,” she winked at you as your cheeks turned crimson red.

She traced a finger down your slit, gathering all your arousal on her fingertips. 

“Well, look at that. All of this for me, little one?”

You weren’t sure what to answer her. But you figured you would agree to her words, giving the amusement look on her face. 

“All for you.”

She went to kiss your lips, “I want to eat you out. Can I please eat you out?” she whispered on your lips. 

You were so lost in your pleasure that you said yes, just giving yourself in enterily to her. You weren’t sure what she meant by that, but you knew she wouldn’t do anything to cause you any harm. 

She positioned herself in between your legs and her lips found your clit. 

“No, Flo. That’s dirty,” a moan escaped from your lips, even though you really thought it was a dirty thing to do.

“It’s not,” she said. Her words were muffled as she tasted you. 

Her lips were sucking on your clit, making your skin feel as if it was on fire. Gently biting from time to time. She licked up through your folds and then pushed her tongue inside of you. Your hands went to find her hair, pulling her closer to you, making her nose brush against your clit. The feeling of dirtiness washing away, replaced by bliss.

“Oh, shit, Flo.” 

“How does it feel?” she blurted out, still attacking your cunt. 

“Feels so good,” you said through moans and groans.

“You taste so good, peaches. So good, baby,” she pulled back, you whimpered, missing her touch. “I’m going to use my fingers, okay?”

You noticed her voice got rougher and she seemed to have stars in her eyes. 

“Your fingers?” you looked at her in confusion. 

“Don’t worry, darling. You are going to love it,” she sent a wink your way. 

She adjusted herself in between you, once again. Her tongue found its way back to your clit, and she gently pushed her index finger inside of you. You loudly moaned out her name, making her groan into your pussy, which caused your body to tremble at the vibrations. 

“You feel so good, baby,” she felt as you clenched around her finger. “Do you think you can take another finger?”

She didn’t let you answer before pulling her index finger out of you and pushing back in two of her fingers. 

“Damn it, Y/n. You are so tight.”

“Flo, It hurts,” you cried out. You’d never had anything inside you before, you weren’t sure if it was a pleasant or an unpleasant feeling. 

“Shh, it would be okay,” she cooed. “Just relax, baby. Tell me when I can keep going, yes?”

You whimpered, trying to adjust to the feeling. You took a big breath and nodded, letting her know she could carry on. 

She slowly pulled her fingers out and back in you, thrusting deeply into you while her tongue sucked on your clit. She curled her fingertips making you whine in pleasure. Your grasp back on her hair became stronger, pushing her into your cunt, wanting more of her. Her free hand found your breast and massaged it, adding more into your pleasure. You were biting your bottom lip, trying to contain all the moans and whimpers from coming out of your mouth. 

Florence looked up at you, her mouth and fingers still doing their work, and took in the sight right before her eyes. You were glowing, and not just because of the thin layer of sweat covering your cute little body. No, it was more than that, it was the pleasure she was giving you. She rubbed her thighs together trying to ease the arousal in her own core. She swore she could cum just by looking at you. But that moment wasn’t about her, it was about you. 

You soon started to feel a knot in your stomach, growing tighter as Florence’s mouth and fingers worked wonders on your lady parts. You were starting to feel as if you were going to pee. 

“Flo, I think I need to pee,” you said, almost out of breath. 

She sensed the worry in your tone, which only turned her on even more. How could you not know all of this stuff? 

“It’s okay. Just let it go, peaches.”

“No, Flo. I won’t pee all over you–” your own moan cut you off. 

She could feel your cunt clenching her fingers even harder. She ignored your distress, her hand went back to your waist, gently pushing you down, keeping you steady, and continued her assault on you. Thrusting her fingers even faster and sucking on your clit even harder. She felt as your legs wrapped around her, as if a part of you knew better than to let her go. She could almost feel like she would suffocate with your cunt, but she couldn't care less. 

“Stop, Flor–” you felt as the knot in your stomach untied, a wave of relief and pleasure bursting all over your body. You couldn’t stop moaning out her name. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head, your back arched like a cat, your legs were trembling at the overwhelming feeling, your breathing was uneven and your heart was beating so fast, as if you had been running for hours. 

Florence slowly pulled her fingers out of you, sucking all of your juices, not wanting, not even a drop, to go to waste. Once she was done, she licked her fingers clean, her eyes not leaving yours. A lump formed in your throat as she did so. 

“You did great, Y/n,” she said, taking her finger out of her mouth, making a pop sound. “Do you think you can help me out now?” a grin formed on her face as she looked at your dumbstruck face. 

Likes, comments and reblogs are appreciated! <3

-M

[simplegenius042]

Music Monday & WIP Wednesday

Tagging @imogenkol @josephseedismyfather @direwombat @noodlecupcakes @socially-awkward-skeleton @adelaidedrubman @hollywood-is-bleeding @derelictheretic @inafieldofdaisies @voidika @cassietrn @aceghosts @icecutioner @shallow-gravy @strangefable @statichvm @cloudofbutterflies92 @carlosoliveiraa @g0dspeeed @wrathfulrook @starsandskies @ladyoriza @la-grosse-patate @thewanderer-000 @omen-speaker @alypink @shellibisshe @josephslittledeputy @skoll-sun-eater @afarcryfrommymain @strafethesesinners @turbo-virgins @florbelles @minilev @justasmolbard @softtidesworld @yokobai and @seedsplease + anyone else who want to join.

Music Monday for two The UnTitledverse WIPs and one from A Radioactive Calamity of Love, Bombs & Gore and a WIP Wednesday for the The Silver Chronicles. For the next three-and-a-half weeks I'll be posting on Music Monday's songs traditionally about Five Nights At Freddy's and how I try to justify how they fit into my wacky little worlds (even the non-FNAF ones). Enjoy listening and reading below the cut:

Can't have a Five Nights at Freddy's WIP without The Living Tombstone's original "Five Nights At Freddy's Song" in the playlist. More Than Bargained For? is a FNAF WIP where my OC Lillian "Lena" Elliot becomes the Night Guard of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza after Fazbear Entertainment opens up the restaurant back up eleven years after 1994 (the events of the first game and when Mike is fired), because they find there are people who view the pizzeria as a "cult classic" type thing and are still fans since childhood of the place (Lena being amongst them), and Fazbear Entertainment will make a profit on that. The original animatronics (Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy, along with Golden Freddy but he's in the Parts/Service room) are brought back to the stage. There's a... stranger animatronic in the kitchen but he doesn't bother leaving there so Lena won't have much trouble from him. Follow Lena as she discovers how many skeletons are actually in the Fazbear Entertainment's closet (Like seriously, the amount of children and employees who have died under this company's watch is ridiculous and the fact they managed to come back many years later after their reputation was tarnished beyond repair). Listen below:

"We're waiting every night To finally roam and invite Newcomers to play with us For many years we've been all alone

We're forced to be still and play The same songs we've known since that day An imposter took our life away Now we're stuck here to decay

Please let us get in Don't lock us away We're not what you're thinking

We're poor little souls Who have lost all control And we're forced here to take that role We've been all alone Stuck in our little zone Since 1987

Join us, be our friend Or just be stuck and defend After all, you only got

Five nights at Freddy's Is this where you wanna be? I just don't get it Why do you want to stay?

Five nights at Freddy's Is there you wanna be? I just don't get it Why do you want to stay? Five nights at Freddy's, oh

We're really quite surprised We get to see you another night You should have looked for another job You should have said to this place goodbye It's like there's so much more Maybe you've been in this place before We remember a face like yours You seem acquainted with those doors

Please let us get in Don't lock us away We're not what you're thinking

We're poor little souls Who have lost all control And we're forced here to take that role We've been all alone Stuck in our little zone Since 1987

Join us, be our friend Or just be stuck and defend After all, you only got

Five nights at Freddy's Is this where you wanna be? I just don't get it Why do you want to stay?

Five nights at Freddy's Is there you wanna be? I just don't get it Why do you want to stay? Five nights at Freddy's, oh!"

"Replay Your Nightmares", although a song usually meant for FNAF: Ultimate Custom Night or at some stages, FNAF 3, is a song I closely associate to my The UnTitledverse Original Work, the sequel to A Blast In The Past, known as The Dark Awakening. Pretty much near the conclusion to when Calvin escapes the clutches of his captor's purgatory and re-enters the physical human realm several decades after his death/imprisonment, though he is being severely gaslighted worst than he has before while on his way to finally escape. He manages to make a little comeback at his captor near the final verse of the lyrics though. Listen below:

"In a loop inside the screen Your own prison in a dream Try to run and try to scream Even death can't save you

We replay your nightmare Replay, play, play your nightmare Replay your nightmare Replay, play, play your nightmare

Get in a cage While we rattle it While we rattle it Our eternal revenge We know what you did We know what you did." "IT'S ME", "It's Me", "it's me..." "We're all here just for you Get in a cage While we rattle it While we rattle it Forever!"

"Torture, torture, don't you know How your seeds of evil grow?

Replay your nightmare Cause he won't stop Replay your nightmare Come, it's your time to hurt."

"Get in a cage While we rattle it While we rattle it Our eternal revenge We know what you did We know what you did." "IT'S ME", "It's Me", "it's me..." "We're all here just for you Get in a cage While we rattle it While we rattle it Forever!

Over and over and over again Replay your nightmare Over and over and over again Replay your nightmare."

"We are remnants of your sins It's a game you'll never win When it's done it just begins Again and again, and again, and again You will pay for what you did Forever!"

Last song is "It's Me", and while not entirely connected to the Fallout world (especially my A Radioactive Calamity of Love, Bombs & Gore), I do believe it does fit in one specific section of The Waters Of Life Flow; after Alph (my Lone Wanderer OC) and Ore (Ortega Brantley, Ress' older half-brother) rediscover Blackhall as a corpse (without the Krivbeknih) in his manor, plus reconvening with Amata before they go look for Ress, both humans inform Ore of what they discovered down in the Dunwich Building's basement, Ore takes investigation there. When he finds the Obelisk, he discovers a recently failed ritual, and puts the evidence together to figure out who was behind the recent emergence of this "Occult"; his and Ress' father, Arcane Urias, the exact man he's been hunting down. Although he should go out and warn the others, he regrettably finds out he was, in fact, not alone in the office building. Listen below:

"Welcome to your office, settle down and take a seat Please pay no attention to the terrifying screams You should head the warnings of the voice that's on the phone Tonight, you might be by yourself, but you are not alone

The masks that we wear Pretend they aren't there But you can only hide for so long

Why don't you Spend the night Then you'll find There's evil that waits inside Spend the night Then you'll find There's evil that waits inside Spend the night Then you'll find There's evil that waits inside Spend the night Then you'll find There's evil that waits inside

It's me Me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me Me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me

There's evil that waits inside It's me!"

Now it's time for another WIP of my FC5 Bloodborne AU from my The Silver Chronicles series. Here the Seed Brothers (along with some disgruntled Hunters aka this version of the GFH and certain OCs) have stormed the Convent in the Henbane and confronted Vicar Faith on her betrayal and wanting answers for what Paul has planned for the "Hunt of the Long Night" that has made the scourge beasts ten-times worst. I haven't shown it (for reasons) but Faith calls Joseph specifically out for, quite frankly, abandoning and disregarding her (after all, he did hand her alone to Paul and his monastery as an inside-woman but neglected to actually keep in touch for about six long years) as some kind of tool instead of the "sister" he once claimed her to be. In the snippet below, the Voice shows it's ugly head and urges Joseph to dispose of Faith, something that John and Jacob are already advocating for, with some varying reactions from the Hunters. They're interrupted by... someone not affiliated with any of them. Will probably fix this up in the final product. Now introduced in her first debut... may I officially have you acquainted with my new-ish OC, Priestess Lillith; and she's also probably a witch. Read below:

Joseph stepped back from the Vicar and her vicious words; shocked by the accusations of the woman in front of him, once a sister he had brought into his family, by choice and virtue. The girl healed of her vices, given new life, a new purpose.

"Enough of this," John said with vehement venom, his blue eyes fueled with rage towards the cretin kneeling in the middle of the Convent's hall, "She won't tell us anything, if she even knows anything. We should vanquish this sinner while we have the chance brother, given she's chosen who she stands by."

Joseph saw that Jacob nodded in agreement, scowling at Faith's small form. He noticed the other Hunters made no dissuading moves, apparently in silent agreement. Before the Father could make any response to his eager brothers, he heard the Voice

John is right, He told him, tone even and still, the humming warmth pressed to the edges of his mind, She is a vile, treacherous locust strayed too far from the Path, Joseph. Unable to be saved from the doubt she drowned in.

Joseph's breath hitched at His words, the panicked, yet still sneering wrath in her green eyes only proving Him correct, followed by, She is no longer your family Joseph. This wretch has forsaken My light. She is nothing more than a rival. And she must be eliminated as such.

Joseph hesitated, took a moment to glance at Faith's form, as she lowered her head, holding the Vicar's pendant to her chest as she whispered. Maybe a prayer? Maybe a silent confession, apology, or vow? He didn't know, but what he did know was that the Voice spoke truth; she could no longer be considered the young woman he selected to hold the honor of being his sister.

It pained him to admit, considering all she gave to them in her devotion, but she was no longer family, like the previous two before her.

She was no longer his Faith, instead, she was Yellowjack's Siren, twisted and stained with the false shepherd's sinful ideals to spread false hope to the scholars of his Monastery, to turn their devotees against the Project.

He gave a disappointed sigh as he watched the woman below him refuse to lift her head up, shaking as the consequences of her betrayal was upon her, and nodded in agreement to his brother's words.

They couldn't let her warn Yellowjack, nor let her lead the Church Hunter's after them. This was God's Will.

"You... were once so precious to me, sister," Joseph tells her, and saw how she only curled into herself more, the fear she let dominate her heart sting his own, "I had thought you would be with us when we crossed the Gates of Eden... I now recognize my own blindness and... my own fault, for leaving you alone surrounded by those vipers and their venomous lies."

John tried to step forward, perhaps to refute Joseph's words, but Jacob stopped him, holding him back with a stern shake of his head. To allow Joseph this final moment with someone he put his faith in, even if they didn't necessarily understand it.

"But now, with the responsibility as your Father, I shall free you of their lies... of the burdening weight of your sin, my wayward child," Joseph heard how she sobbed, and had to breathe to not falter now, "The gates may be shut to you Vicar, but know, even now, that I pray God will have mercy upon your soul."

Joseph removed the revolver from his holster, clenching it as he left it to his side for just a moment.

His hand caressed her small, frail head, fingers pinching close the tube connected into her nose.

He cocked the hammer back with his thumb, and with an exhale, aimed it to her head.

He remembered how her small legs kicked as the monitor increased in its beeping, his resolve weakening, for only a second, before gripped tighter. God's repeating words ringing in his head.

"Shall you find peace amongst the angels, Vicar," he whispered softly, that he was unsure if she even heard him.

"Join the angels, my sweet Faith," he had murmured into what little hair she had, lips grazing softly as his tears slipped onto his little girl.

His finger curled around the trigger, coiling it back as he once more took responsibility-

Di-di-ding ding!

Joseph found himself thrown back by a harsh force that knocked the air out of him, grip on the revolver lost as it was flung elsewhere.

He felt hands on him, one tattooed and the other scarred. He recognized he was in his brothers' arms, lungs forcing him to heave for air from floor he laid back on.

But... hadn't I been standing before?

He leaned up, and saw he was a few feet away from the Vicar, who now had her head up, confused green eyes glancing around the Convent's room.

Joseph's eyes caught a glimpse of something on one of the upper balconies on the right side of the room, and saw a slim figure, cloaked from head to toe in dark shawls. She wore a mask, a pale one that's appearance was ghastly, jagged tear lines going down past the mask's edges, with a small mouth shaped in a "O".

He saw they held a silver hand bell in one hand, some sort of symbol carved in its waist. They shook it once more, the ringing echoing in the small chamber. The symbol glowed a bluish hue, and he felt his hairs prick up.

"Foul brethren," the smooth, matured voice of a woman reverberated through the Convent, the person unseen.

Another cloaked figure stood upon the left balcony, their mask depicting a false eye of a cyclops, with two slits for them to see through, the mouth carved with gnashing sharp teeth. They, too, held a hand bell, with a different symbol carved into the silver.

Their bell shook, the clapper tinging against the rim of the waist.

The Hunters with them placed their hands on the handles of their weapons, alert and cautious at these newest intruders.

Joseph was lifted to his feet, Jacob pushing him into John's embrace as he took to protecting their front.

"Fickle in your promises. Deceptive in your loyalties," the unknown woman's voice returned, a scathing tone behind it all, "Are you always shirking responsibility over your sisters?"

Through the middle balcony came the owner of the voice; another cloaked woman, but her embroidery seemed more intricate, the jewelry she adorned was more in quantity than her companions, like the Vicar who looked above at them.

The woman was taller too, her mask similar to that of a demon, an angry one at that, hairless brows furrowed, the mask's mouth full of sharp teeth, but two prominent tusks projecting from the lower jaw. It also had two horns protruding from the head, and through the eyes Joseph could see burning orange eyes glaring down at them.

"Why are the lives of your sistren worth less than that of your brothers?" she asked from atop the balcony, her eyes boring down at Joseph, "You are the one to bring them in. You are the one to feed them, to guide them. Ultimately, you are the only one to claim care over them, in spite of your brothers' vile envy and appalling apathy."

She gave scathing glances to both John and Jacob respectively, before her full focus stayed on Joseph, "And yet, when your charges' displease you... their lives are forfeit by your own hands. A more permanent punishment than what your brothers earn. I wonder..."

Her head tilts, the jewelry shifting as she ponders, "Is it because they are not of your blood that makes it so easy, even when it is your hands that molded their clay bodies?"

Joseph watched with an uneasiness when the nose of her mask held up while looking down at him, "Or do the opposite sex simply hold no value in your eyes, and the eye of your Lord, unless their role is nothing but flawless?"

Her words earned Joseph and his brothers some raised brows from some of the Hunters, though it did not last long as they focused on the unaligned women.

Joseph was shocked by the accusatory words, and he went to speak up, to defend him and his brothers, and the word of his Lord.

However, he was stopped by the lead women's scoff, "Regardless the reason, your hypocrisy is clear. But your familial responsibilities are not the only oaths you have attempted to break."

She brought out one of her hands, the gauntlets fingertips sharpened not unlike claws, holding a hand bell of her own.

However, it was not like that of her accomplices; it was bigger, and rusted in an ugly maroon, matted with the dripping red of the flesh stuck to the metal, with the bloodied fur of beasts clinging to the small clumps of flesh.

There was a sinister aura emanating from the ugly carving of the symbol etched into the rusted metal.

She rung the bell, and the atmosphere of the room shifted. A darkness flowed down from the bell, like a small waterfall plummeting out a mountain's mouth.

Down the balcony, the darkness encompassed the corpse of a Church Hunter, just as it consumed the surroundings.

The women were also covered by the dark mist, gone from Joseph's eyes.

Alarmed, Jacob aimed his rifle in search of their new enemies, while the Hunters twisted their weapons to enter the second forms. The darkness spread across the room, including blocking the only in and out of the Convent.

The Vicar remained where she was, staring at the silhouette of the corpse from behind the dark mist.

The lead woman's voice stated unperturbed, "I enforce upon my coven my unspoken vow. The protection for that which is precious to one of our own, against the iniquitous efforts of these men's greed. I call upon your essence from the past to the present, my kin. Stir from your desolate slumber, from your sleepless dream."

The bells rung once more, and the silhouette of the Church Hunter's corpse soon arose from within the mist, not unlike their smaller more angelic counterparts, the shape shifting and smoothing into something leaner, smaller than the alterations made by Saint Matilda. It soon began to walk through the darkness towards them.

"Through this corporeal form shall you defend your heart."

Emerging from the mist was a familiar face. The tawny brown complexion, small healed cuts littered across her face from fights long ago, though fewer in quantity unlike from last he saw her. The dark blue of her formal leather-layered coat covered the dark vest and white frilled blouse, adorned with a cravat.

Joseph noticed how young she looked, the expression on her face without the calm neutrality he had been accustomed to before she fell into a dreadful coma, instead replaced with an emotion he recognized within John.

Wrath. Directed at us.

He realized that her irises held no shine of silver, the indication of someone who had become enlightened, who become an other to everyone... no, they were a dull grey. She looked human.

The brothers soon realized they were not the only ones who recognized who this was, as the Hunter's froze; in fear? Shock? He couldn't tell.

He did see how his former sister stared at the woman. There was a longing there, a pang in her heart as the other approached past the Vicar.

She expertly spun her twin blade around, dragging one blade across the ground between herself and the Vicar, the same darkness she emerged from summoned once more to cover a veil of it on to Faith.

No one could see the Vicar anymore, but the more pressing matter was the scowling and sneering ghost enraged by their very presence.

"Through this corporeal form, shall you vanquish these fiendish intruders."

She pointed her the end of her blade at Joseph himself, glare calling for his blood.

"Welcome back from beyond the great consciousness, Elite Hunter."

She split her twin blade in two, twirled her weapons in both hands, and in a few blinks, Joseph saw her in the air, blades crossing as they cut down on their target.

"Silva Omar."

Joseph could only recall a great pain across his chest and the shouts of his brothers before he fell unconscious.

[kimbapisnotsushi]

hi! please share your headcanons about jay. thanks!

ooooooooh sure thing let's get it!!

(also please keep in mind that soke was literally my first time dipping back into dc after a LONG while, so i have a bit of catch-up to do in terms of characters and stories, and thus some of my knowledge might be outdated!!! also i love jay but i do consider myself still very new to understanding him and thus most of these will be silly fun :333)

damian makes fun of him for that all-black ninja-esque stealth suit he wore to sneak into star labs because there was literally NO POINT in jay trying to disguise himself like that when he didn't bother covering up his BRIGHT FUCKING PINK hair

yes i'm still mad about yes i would like to know his thought process

is it natural btw??? i've seen different takes around where people think it's dyed bc of his other version in aos:jk, but i feel like that's pretty unlikely considering it was shaved all the way down when he got taken prisoner and experimented on and it grew back exactly like that

for the record i'm not a hater i'm just saying 1) it made him a walking beacon and 2) it being natural is so fucking funny to me since he clearly didn't inherit it from his mom, which begs the question:

who the fuck is jay's dad

while jay does care for all of the revolutionaries as their ally and everyone at the truth as their boss, and as an overall friend, i think that wink and the aerie are especially close to him and they consider each other family. they were pretty much the closest thing to adult supervision jay had for a while, and he relied on them a lot when he was settling down in metropolis and figuring out how to live alone

this meant that he called them for stupid things like "if something explodes in your microwave do you call the fire department", and not-stupid things like "help me open a bank account because metropolis bank has laws that won't let me do it by myself as a minor"

they were also the first people he came out to

jay loves them even if they CAN be really annoying

jay: "are you—are you guys ACTUALLY planning on shovel-talking superman" wink: "technically, he's superman's son" the aerie: "and if he's late to the coffee shop, i'm taking points off"

i think jay would get along with tim actually

the dude is an underground hacktivist refugee, investigative journalist, and a former president's son. he's probably used to always looking over his shoulder, ready to be jumped at a moment's notice. he's got a plan for everything but the plans only exist inside his head because he can't risk hard copies being found or digital ones being hacked. he's memorized them all. they're either alphabetized or mentally color-coded. we're talking levels of elaborate just-in-case getaways and meticulously planned investigations that would get a normal reporter killed if they asked the wrong question. it's dedication to a terrifying degree

yeah tim would definitely rock with him

jay has this neat little trick where if he's in a situation in which someone's poisoned his food and he has to eat it/can't let them know he knows, he just partially phases his organs so that the food falls through his body a little bit at a time and never enters his digestive system

jon is HORRIFIED when he finds out. damian is really fucking impressed

does gamorra have its own language???? i feel like jay would be fluent in it if so. of course he would be. he'd do anything to keep part of home as close to his chest as possible

oh that's another thing i'll probs mess up on btw i am legit so confused on gamorra considering it's apparently in asia and i would assume has its own distinct culture? but jay's surname is japanese and that random kid on the boat has a japanese name so are they like. japanese-adjacent??? or is gamorra made up of multiple asian identities blended into one (read tags for clarification)

i should probably read absolute power shouldn't i

okay sorry that got WAY off topic but yeah jay is definitely someone who loved his home despite not being able to go back and did everything he could to maintain his ties

ALSO can we talk about jay being a student at metropolis college at seventeen???? did he skip a year of school when he got to the u.s.??? did he lie on forms or something??

like i don't think he's taking extra credit classes as a high school student because he was also advertising the media department when we saw him, and i don't think he'd be doing that if he was in high school

jon makes sense because he had a fake identity which COULD put him in college. but jay???

honestly lying on paper is such a jay nakamura thing to do if he doesn't want people tracking him down by cross-referencing his birthday with government records

jay nakamura's number-one tip of running an anonymous underground activist stream: hide all identifiable information from the government

(this does not work when you are widely recognized as superman's boyfriend)

also now that dick is backing the truth can we PLEASE get tim in on it. i think it'd be so fucking funny. i think he and jay would have a grand old time breaking into firewalls and digging through internet archives and exposing corrupt people

tim is like "FINALLY i have something fun to do at all those fucking galas bruce makes me go to" because jay needs some rich guy's vacation itinerary so he knows the prime time to break into his house and gather evidence for something

i just have so much appreciation for jay nakamura you guys i love him so much

[thisapplepielife]

Written for the @steddieholidaydrabbles December challenge.

3AM

Prompt Day 14: Angst with a Happy Ending | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: T | CW: None | Tags: Post-S4, Self-Sabotage, Post Break-Up, Hurt/Comfort, Making Up, Eddie POV

it's all gonna end, and it might as well be my fault

Eddie can't sleep. Hasn't been able to in weeks. Not since Steve's been gone. Eddie ran him off for good this time, he's pretty sure. You can only push someone away so hard, for so long, before they actually listen and stay gone.

Steve has stayed away this time. And Eddie's been too stubborn to just call him, and say he's sorry. That he didn't mean it. That, of course, this thing between them is something real. The look on Steve's face when Eddie'd argued that this was just fumbling hands and mouths, just fucking, just bullshit, is seared into Eddie's mind. He can't see anything else but that look on Steve's face. That hurt.

That hurt, he caused. 

Just because he was scared. He pushed Steve away before Steve had the chance to leave on his own. Jesus H. Christ, he's a goddamn idiot. 

He rolls over onto his other side, and decides that's not any better, and rolls back again. He looks at the clock, and it's three a.m. It's useless. He climbs out of bed, grabbing his cigarettes and lighter. He walks out onto the porch, and lights one up. Inhaling deeply.

He looks down the street, and sees a familiar car parked along the curb. 

Eddie's barely dressed, just a t-shirt and his boxers, but he heads down the sidewalk. He leans down to look inside the car, and Steve is looking back at him. 

Eddie flicks his cigarette away, knowing he can't smoke in Steve's car, and slides inside. 

"What are you doing out here?" Eddie asks. 

"Couldn't sleep," Steve says quietly, leaning his head back against the headrest. 

"Same," Eddie says.

"Sorry for lurking," Steve says, eyes closed.

Eddie just hums in acknowledgement that he heard Steve. 

"Is this ever gonna get better? Between us?" Steve asks. 

"There is no us," Eddie says. And it's mean. Too mean. He's just tired.

"Yeah, trust me. I'm aware you don't want me around. That's a signal I actually read loud and clear." 

"Steve." 

"I know. Don't bother. I'm bullshit." 

"You're not bullshit. Stop saying that," Eddie says, cutting a look his way. 

"Then why don't you love me? Why doesn't anyone ever want me to love them?" 

All Eddie wants is for Steve to love him.

"Steve, this has nothing to do with you." 

Steve laughs, low and dry. It's cynical. 

"Yeah. It's not me. Right. It's never me." 

Eddie reaches over and touches Steve's thigh, "It's not. It's me. You're too good for me. You're going places." 

Steve laughs, a little unhinged. "I'm not going anywhere." 

"But you could. You should. Run. Flee. Get out of this town and never look back." 

"Well, that's not happening. So, I guess I'll just stay here and be miserable. And you can stay and be miserable, and we'll both just be miserable."

Eddie hates to hear Steve sound this weary.

"You don't want me," Eddie says.

"You're all I want! How do you not know that?" Steve yells in the confined space, scrubbing his hand over his face, pinching his nose. He's worn out. Exhausted. Eddie can tell, and he hates it.

"Steve, I don't-"

"No, it's fine. I shouldn't have been out here. You don't have to talk to me. You don't have to do anything with me," Steve says, turning the key over, bringing the engine of his car to life.

It's Eddie's cue to go. Eddie knows that, but he can't seem to make himself budge. He thinks if he does, that this might be the last time he ever sees Steve Harrington.

And as much as Eddie doesn't want to drag Steve down with him, he can't seem to let him go. Not again.

"Steve," Eddie tries again, and Steve's put the car in drive and has pulled up the few feet to the little house they moved into after the trailer collapsed into that split in the earth.

"We're at your stop," Steve says, eyes forward, not looking at him.

"I just want-"

"Either get out now, or I'm leaving and you're coming home with me."

Eddie crosses his arms, not reaching for the door handle, and true to his word Steve pulls away from the curb. 

It's a quiet ride back to his big, empty house. When Eddie gets out, he's acutely aware he's in his underwear and has no shoes. But he follows Steve into the house, and straight up the carpeted staircase. 

Steve pushes open the door to his bedroom, and starts undressing. Stripping down to his underwear, crawling in bed. 

That's when he finally looks at Eddie, and stretches his arm out. An open invitation. 

Eddie takes it.

He slides into bed with Steve, and buries his face in Steve's chest. Steve wraps both arms around him, and holds him close. Resting his chin on the top of Eddie's head.

"Are you done being an idiot?" Steve finally asks. Soft and quiet in the darkness.

"Yeah," Eddie says, because he is.

Eddie's quiet for a few seconds, then laughs, "You kidnapped me."

"Guess you shouldn't get into cars with strangers, then," Steve says, teasing, pulling him closer, "See you in the morning."

And Eddie knows it's Steve's way of saying Eddie better be right here when he wakes up. Eddie understands that fully, and he will be. He's done running. He loves him too much. Even if deep down, Eddie thinks Steve would be better off without him.

Eddie's eyes are heavy, the lack of sleep hitting him hard. He closes his eyes, and that's it.

The sun is streaming through the windows, and right into Eddie's eyes. He whines, and rolls over, cuddling against Steve who is still sleeping through the onslaught of sunlight ushering in the brand new day.

They have a lot of things to work out, Eddie knows that, but he is also certain that he never wants to run from Steve Harrington.

Notes: Title and lyric at the top is from Matchbox Twenty's song 3AM. Thank you Spotify for feeding this to me when I didn't have an idea for this prompt, lol.

If you want to write your own, or see more entries for this challenge, pop on over to @steddieholidaydrabbles and follow along with the fun!

If you want to see more of my entries into this month-long challenge, you can check them out in my Steddie Holiday Drabbles tag, right here!

[comfortlesshurt]

2024 Skyler Wrapped

Little 2024 update because my ass can never get enough statistics! (I enjoy the writing, but I fear my true love is math.)

Anyway, skip this post if it will bother you reading about a year of someone else's achievements! I will totally understand. Literally jerkin' myself off under the cut on this post, my dudes.

This year's new fics (in order of date first posted):

Ratings and TWs can be found at the links. Please check the TWs before reading!

09-Jun-2024: 5 Times Lance Doesn't Matter +1 Time He Finally Does (my first fic after an 18-month break!)

01-Jul-2024: Smiling 'cause you're used to it (a house that's always haunted) (first fic where I truly let myself go wild & write for my own dick & no one else)

03-Jul-2024: Chemicals, chemicals in my brain (where'd you go, where'd you go anyway?) (first time writing the fluffy part & enjoying it)

01-Aug-2024: Nowhere to call home (so I'll pack and run away) (first time completing a writing challenge on time)

10-Sep-2024: What are you wondering? (What do you know?) (I hate this one actually, but I wrote it this year so we'll just give it..... shortest fic I've written in AWHILE)

15-Sep-2024: On it, yes, indeed (on it, watch me bleed) (ugh opposite problem... I loved this one! but there's nothing really standout about it, I guess. just accept that I love it even if it doesn't have a Special Thing)

14-Oct-2024: 5 Times Keith Relies on the Blade +1 Time... (first time creating something to celebrate a fictional character's birthday. also first OCs with more than one line of dialogue, I think)

07-Dec-2024: With talk of love (as I make-pretend) (first work for a gift exchange! whole new scary experience for me!)

22-Dec-2024: Maybe this thing works out (if I'm lying too) (longest thing I have EVER written and shared. the inspiration for this thing is endless, I fear)

Stats I thought were interesting:

I wasn't actually back in fandom until June 3rd, 2024, so all the AO3 stats are based on the difference between my snapshot of that date and my snapshot on December 31st, 2024. Not a huge difference; it's just chopping out all the January through June interaction with my Spider-Man stuff that was already up since the last time I took a stats snapshot before that was 2021.

Published in 2024: 92k words, all VLD!

Written in 2024 but not yet published: 188k words, also all VLD

General new stats in 2024: 128 new work subs (we're so back), 20k new hits, 1.2k new kudos, 94 new comment threads (and i happy screamed at every single one), & 339 new bookmarks (and i crept through every single one with comments or tags attached... like a creep...)

New finished works: 7

New unfinished works: 2

Top artist for title lyrics this year: Those Who Dream at 16 unique titles (1 work title & 15 chapter titles)

Word count range for 2024 published fics: 527 (complete snippet) to 26k (WIP)

Most common additional tags: Keith-centric, POV Keith, Hurt/Comfort (these are surely surprising to you....)

Number of times I used the word 'just' in published & unpublished fics this year: 993 (0.355% of all words I wrote were this word.......)

Other milestones: first time writing someone who was Not My Blorbo and having fun with it, first time writing without it being an escape from something terrible, first shipfic, first time participating in a fandom event where there would be Consequences if I'd backed out, first explicit content posted on my main account, closest I've ever gotten to finishing NaNo* with one single project, first time c*mm*ssioning art for my fics, first time learning you have to censor the word c*mm*ssion to avoid getting scam bots in your tumblr DMs (just a huge milestone year actually)

New word count for this year technically doesn't beat my previous record of 315k in 2021, but 1) I was only employed full-time for 5 months of 2021 so I had way more free time then and 2) I didn't write a single word in 2024 before June 3rd, so 280k in 7 months of 2024 feels like a lot more than 315k in 12 months of 2021.

Also since literally no one IRL cares, some non-writing achievements I'm also proud of for 2024! Going in rough order from earliest in 2024 to latest:

Quit the most abusive job I've ever experienced

And immediately got my first job in my intended career field

Finally coded an AO3 stats tracker after 6 years of having it in the back of my mind

Grew my first ever eggplant (it was very small....)

Paid off my car

First semi-solo business proposal presented with a base price totaling more than all of the bids combined that I supported over 2 years at my last job

Made new friends I love <3

Acquired an unquenchable thirst for vld merch....

Went to my first con

And finally as of today, I'm under 89% of my original mortgage balance & on track to own this thing in half the original loan term! (praying this series of words doesn't wake up the sugar daddy bot again, he LOVES when I discuss my mortgage)

Also, some shoutouts for the year! In order of when we first met:

@zelandiangelo for being one of the few OGs I know still around and always being so nice to talk to and supportive. ;_; In case anyone's forgotten, they're the one who convinced me to write and post my first ever hurt/comfort fic and sucked me right back into fandom after I'd been clean for like... six years at that point.

For the record, there are other OGs and I'm glad to see them around! We're just not as close (but you can change that in 2025 ;) )

@hurtwithabitofcomfort for also being crazy supportive through all the fandoms I've been through. I didn't get to shout 'em out last year since I wasn't active on Tumblr then, but they're the one who kicked off me getting back into writing in 2023. I know I didn't SHARE anything from 2023, but they made me see how much I loved writing again around that time when the rest of my life kinda sucked and I was giving up on everything.

@perpetuallylatetothefandomparty for their incredibly nice comments! Deadass, I probably would've just posted my first one or two fics of this year and disappeared for another year or two if they hadn't been such a constant presence this summer, hyping up all the gen fics I was working on then.

@voltrohgodwhat for being so easy to talk to and being the kind of friend where either of us can like... disappear for a month and still be totally cool with each other. Also for sharing WIPs that still haunt me on a weekly basis because they're so unique and good ;_;

@existwound for being too intimidatingly cool for awhile but STILL hyping me up. If you've liked anything I've posted in the past three months or so, you've probably got Astra to blame for brainstorming it with me, letting me ramble about it, giving me fresh ideas when I'm stuck on something, or hyping it up.

@langst for always yapping to me about Klance and ALSO hyping up my WIPs and letting me ramble about ideas. Also special shoutout to El because she got me back into writing sprints and that is the source of a LOT of this recent word count. There is something so special about getting to stomp people's asses as you write.......

I'm not gonna harass all the writers I like who aren't like... people I talk to regularly, but even though this has been a VERY light reading year for me, there's a whole little list of VLD writers who I read over and over and like... instantly got motivation to write on my own fics afterward. If you've been in any of my 2024 fic rec lists, it's you... you are my motivation....

(Also, I am OLD and don't have my incredible teenage memory anymore, so if you see me add someone to the shoutouts later, no you didn't and I'm SORRY for not remembering in the first place.)

And final thing! Goals for 2025!

500k written in 2025: Just a little above my daily average in 2024 when you account for the 5 months I wasn't writing this year. The goal is to keep up the pace I've had since June 2024, but extend it through the full 12 months of 2025. Might be a bit of a reach but hey, I'll be happy to get anywhere near 500k in a year, so it works!

Start posting In Love and Death by the end of 2025: I'm running SO behind on where I thought I'd be with this project when I started, but there is no excuse for this to not be close enough to finished to start posting by the end of next year. Mark my words.......

Continue posting work I love: I fell out of habitually writing the last time because I was writing based on what I thought other people wanted to read and holy shit, it is so much easier to write what I want to read. So I'm gonna keep doing that in 2025. In 2024 we moved between gen whump, semi-shippy whump, and shippy non-whump, and I enjoyed them all because that was what I felt like writing at the time. I'll slide between them all as I feel like it again in 2025.

Prioritize my mental health online: I've mostly gotten through it fine, but every burst of bad mental health that affected my writing this year was a direct result of continuing to follow people who are just plain assholes and ruining my mood for no good reason when I'm trying to enjoy scrolling my dash. In 2025, I'll be reminding myself more often that no one is talented enough to make up for being a dick, and I will be more brutal with the unfollow and block buttons for anyone who's making my fandom experience worse.

[elvisabutler]

OK, I'll bite: since your requests are open, may we please, with all the cherries on top, get a Dove pregnancy fic? If you have the time and energy, of course - I know your WIP list is crazy, and I'm sure you have all kinds of things going on irl too, as we all do! 😘

if your child needs a daddy, i can help

summary: you find yourself pregnant with your first kid and you and austin make room for them in your lives despite how sometimes the whole pregnancy makes you feel emotionally and physically. fandom: austin butler | elvis ( 2022 ) rating: m, i suppose. he does get his finger inside of her. pairing: austin butler x priscilla actress reader ( little dove verse ) word count: 2261 warnings: the normal warnings apply for this verse. daddy kink. dom/sub dynamics. brief mentions of past relationships that were not at all pleasant. anxiety. negative self talk. pregnancy kink. breeding kink. THESE WARNINGS MAKE IT SOUND MORE SMUTTY THAN IT IS. but it's actually quite fluffy. austin's just horny for his wife. referenced/implied fingering. future and past p in v sex referenced. author’s note: consider this canon for the main verse? obviously set in the future so- god maybe 2024/2025? generally speaking i loved this prompt and technically meant to keep it short or at the very least fluffy but uh- well austin's a horndog is really what happened. thank you anon for this prompt, truly, i'm really trying to get up the courage/gumption to restart actually actively writing for dove and austin and stuff like this and the asks really help more than you know. also thank you for acknowledging my crazy wip list. didn't actually think i'd write this as quick as i did, and truly i meant to have it up on mother's day when i realized how quick i was writing it but this past weekend. lord she was a doozy in my work real life. anyway i hope you like it and anyone who actually wants to be tagged for this verse, either hit me up in my ask box or my dms or someway. i didn't do my normal austin tag list for this because i know this verse has been known to occasionally bother some people and i don't want to put it in your face if you don't want to read it, you know?

It happens- as all things do with you and Austin- quickly. It comes within the two months of you telling Austin you want to make Austin a real Daddy. A daddy who can hold his child and rock it and sing it little lullabies until it grows up to be and strong like their parents. You'd think since you're a grown woman and a surprising amount of your life has become regimented in ways it wasn't after dating and then marrying Austin that you wouldn't miss your period and not notice. You wouldn't miss it one month, two months and only realize something's strange when you go to visit Austin to see his show and hiss and practically yelp in pain when he presses up against your chest. They were bigger but they always got a little bigger around your period, it was fine. But then Austin is murmuring in your ear and pressing his hand against your stomach where he can feel a firmness where there wasn't one before.

"Are you pregnant?"

That's a weird question to ask, you're due for your period any day now, you think, thinking that you're close enough to the beginning of the next month that you're due for one soon. Not that it'll be your third missed period in a row. You shake your head, "no, I'm due for it next week, I think."

Austin raises an eyebrow and presses against the firm spot, waiting for it to give only to realize it's staying firm, there's something there. "When was your last one, Dove?"

You open your mouth to answer once, twice, three times before you look down at his hand against your stomach and see how your breasts are practically spilling out of your bra and you let out a noise of delight and shock rolled into one. Your voice is soft when you answer him finally. "I don't remember."

The squeal of delight you let out and the way Austin laughs and laughs and laughs twirling you around before setting you back down so he can kiss your belly is something the cast talks about for the next week or two.

It's a flurry to try and get things rescheduled, have projects pushed back or dropped all together as your belly starts to curve outward, becoming harder and harder to hide as the weeks go by. You and Austin had made an agreement to not announce a single thing before 12 weeks. It wasn't a guarantee nothing would go wrong but it put you in a safer territory than you would be if you announced earlier. Austin argues every so often that you shouldn't make an announcement, not because he doesn't want people to know but because he's so fiercely protective over your private life with him beyond what the two of you have to show that exposing your child to this nonsense fills him with dread. He worries about the judgment he figures you'll get over having a baby like this. Worries about how if you want to book something short that people may look at your belly and realize that it's not worth it. Maxwell and Simon, your agents and managers and pseudo dads rolled into one promise to get you just one more thing even if you'll have an obvious belly for them because they care about you and your career almost if not more than Austin does.

You tell him- no, you explain to him that you can't do that, you can't go into hiding because you're pregnant. You want to be able to tell the world that you're carrying his baby, that your belly is growing because you told him you wanted a baby. This baby may not be their child, but they're your fans and what would you be without your fans? No, you have to announce it so that you can finally stop hiding in oversized hoodies and dresses tailored to hide your bump. Besides, you've been known to read the gossip blogs and the magazines while waiting for your doctor's appointments. You know very well there's theories as to what's going on and how people find it suspicious you've gone from full body shots on instagram to above the waist shots. There's theories about why you had to drop out of a film that you'd be filming while nine months pregnant and ready to pop if you did. This is the only real way to put them to rest.

"Looking forward to this little one and I having many more mother's days to come. Your daddy and I can't wait to meet you." is the caption you go with on Mother's day with Austin's hands and your hands on your stomach. The comments make you cry though if Austin asks you're only crying because of the hormones. Not because of your little Elvis family bombarding your comments with congratulations or the way any negative comments get overwhelmed by happier comments. Even Kaia and Vanessa say congratulations and you feel something in your chest loosen at the knowledge. You feel the fear that had gripped your heart deep down that whispered how you'd have to hide this pregnancy like you hide your submission to Austin- like you hid your relationships with your other doms- disintegrate and evaporate into thin air.

Austin knows the second he sees your smile and sees your response to a few messages that he's doomed, he's lost the fight of getting you to remain a little more private about the pregnancy. Truthfully he's just thankful you agree with him that the two of you are going to try your absolute hardest to keep the baby themselves out of the limelight. And - as he murmurs, cupping your growing bump one night- their three siblings. Your feed is split between promoting your new project, random other things you'd do and posts about your growing bump, your occasional sickness and how pregnancy isn't really all it's cracked up to be even when you want a baby.

It comes to a head one day when you're seven months pregnant with your big long baby that Austin felt the need to gift you with all his height genes and you're posting something about how this week has just been rough.

"I'm not speaking for everyone, obviously, and all you infertility moms can tell me I'm wrong, but for me- I'm- society gives us all some rose tinted glasses when it comes to pregnancy and from what some of you guys have told me, motherhood." You sigh, wincing as your daughter kicks your rib cage and does this somersault that has your stomach rolling and twisting. "I want more kids but- this hurts. This hurts and I feel huge and I can't breathe sometimes because they're pressing on everything and I know you guys have seen the pap photos, I can't even really hug Austin right any more."

Austin for his part knows better than to interrupt when he hears you talking to yourself and despite his better judgment waits outside your shared bedroom door until he hears words that stop his heart.

"It's selfish, I guess, but I worry sometimes that he doesn't- he isn't going to like me nearly as much when the baby comes out. We've all heard about how guys do that and Austin's but- I don't know. I'm being melancholy and that's not what you signed up for today." You lift up your shirt to show your bump as your daughter does another roll that you manage to catch on camera. "I guess they wanted to show off at the expense of mommy. You are definitely your father's kid."

When it's been silent for a few minutes and he hears you grunt in pain he finally walks inside the room to see you standing in front of the mirror, cupping your bump before running your hands over your chest. There's a part of him in the back of his head that finds the action arousing beyond belief but he sees the look on your face and sees how you're playing with your necklace as the hand that was on your breast moves up. You're so engrossed in looking at your body and allowing your mind to whisper things to you that you don't notice Austin until he's up behind you and his hands are lifting up your belly just so.

"Oh, Aus- Fuck, Daddy, keep your hands there." You moan, the relief palpable in your tone. "That feels so good, she's been-"

"Growing too fast and too big for my little Dove?" Austin's tone is light and playful has he kisses your neck, watching the two of you in the mirror. "The joys of having me as the other half of the genes. Two more months and then she's out of you and you're free until the next one."

Your jaw tenses just a little at the words. It's not that you don't want another baby but who's truly to say he's going to want you enough to make one. The silence after his joke is what makes Austin pause and has him kissing at your jaw. "What's wrong?"

Because something is wrong and you have to communicate with him, if you need something you need to tell him, that's always been the rule in your relationship. A sigh leaves your lips. "There's- you're not going to find me attractive-" you pause and try to take a breath before the first thought that comes to your mind leaves your mouth in a rush. "Elvis didn't like Priscilla after she had Lisa."

Austin drops your belly gently against your protests and turns you to face him while shaking his head, taking your head in his hands. "Dove. Don't- we're not them, remember?"

"I know that!" You practically whine before rubbing at your eyes that are quickly filling with tears. "I know we're not! I know you're Austin and I'm me but I look and feel like a beached whale and my boobs are huge and will probably sag everywhere-"

Austin places his finger on your lips before shaking his head. "I'm going to stop you right there and tell you to look down." He watches you as your eyes slide down his torso and stop between his legs. He's- he's hard just from looking at you and touching you. There's his arousal staring you in the face in his grey sweatpants and you can't help but bite your lip. It twitches a little.

"You're- Daddy."

"I'm hard. You know how I've been the bigger you get. I thought you were attractive before but carrying my baby? Watching your belly swell and seeing your boobs escape every bra you put them in? Dove, if my dick had it's way you'd be pregnant every second you could be." He murmurs, allowing his hands to slide down your neck to your chest where he gives your breasts and nipples a squeeze before sliding down to your stomach. "And when this belly is gone? When our daughter is suckling at your chest? I'm going to remember that you did this. Going to remember how my wife grew our daughter and is feeding her from her own body still. I'm going to know that you're strong and perfect. And I'm going to remind myself we have a baby schedule to stick to. That I can't just immediately put another one inside of you."

His words cause a shudder to ripple through you and Austin smirks just a little, moving his hands down lower and lower, "Dove, if I put my hand between your legs how wet is it going to get?"

You feel your breath shakily leave your mouth. "Soaked. Please, Austin-"

A kiss cuts off your words as Austin's hand slides in between your leggings and your skin, inching ever so closer to where he's ignited a fire. He pulls away just a hair and shakes his head. "Try again, lil Dove. Please who?"

The eyeroll you give him holds no malice but you can't help it even as your arousal threatens to overwhelm you. "Daddy, please."

"I'll always give my Dove what she needs," he murmurs, finally sliding his fingers inside of you with a low groan from both of you.

It's funny how after that night your sex life with Austin up until the end of your pregnancy became a little more intense. More frequent as if to reassure you any time the voice inside your head got too loud and any time every trick your therapists taught you failed. Austin loved you and there wasn't a single doubt about that. Even if there was, the way he was by your side throughout your labor with your daughter would have done away with any doubts. There wasn't much more you could ask for in a partner than what he did for you that day and what he does for you as you recover.

It's a week before any of you are ready to take a picture but you're thankful for Ashley recommending a good photographer for the newborn pictures despite Austin's protests that he could take his own. After all, you wanted him in some of them, and you didn't trust an autotaken picture for this. When it comes time for Austin to post that your daughter's been born he goes for a simple picture that shows your hand on top of Austin's and Loretta's on yours with a simple caption: isn't she lovely, isn't she wonderful.

He saves the other photos for you to post.

[zara-renata]

caleb

i feel like i need to address this because tomorrow is caleb's livestream and the fandom is already being hilarious in the tags, and by hilarious i mean benafflecksmoking.jpg.

I'm really excited for caleb's release. i think infold should have just double downed with the adopted sibling backstory, as it's a cultural nuance that is known and popular in the region where the game is made and where the bulk of its market lives. i understand that they're changing translations and the storyline for the EN audience probably for legal and shareholder, as well as cultural reasons. i have no idea what motivated them to dissolve the adoption through caleb/josephine's deaths, because i know absolutely fuck-all about chinese adoption law--whether the dissolution is realistic in terms of actual law or just for managing the PR of caleb's story, I can't say. but what i do think I know for sure is that the devs always intended for caleb to be a love interest, and I'll be a little pissed if it turns out he's not being released as a LI, won't lie.

i started playing the game back in feb or march 2024 and didn't know they killed caleb, and he was my fav until they blew him up. after i googled and realized they intended to bring him back in the future, i have been excited ever since. If you're bothered by him as love interest, if you are squicked out by the fact that he was raised with mc and was adopted with her, then you're probably not going to enjoy my blog if i end up liking him as much as i hope to like him. i will always love sylus and intend to keep writing about him and enjoying him, but i have room in my heart for more than one LI and the likeliest candidate imo is caleb because of the angst possibilities and meat of his story.

I love dysfunctional relationship dynamics, of the familial, romantic, platonic kinds, and finding the humanity in them. There is potential for so much angst just from the MC and Caleb being raised together aspect alone, and that's delicious to me. And THEN! his death! MC's grief! his coming back potentially a cyborg, and filled with rage, of the trauma of what he went through, MC's rage and trauma of having lost him, there's so much meat. and i like his character model-a guy as big as Sylus, with his soft downturned, pretty purple eyes. before he went boom, he already expressed the fact that he likes to provide for and care for mc, that he wants to protect her. All the things i love about sylus too. sign me the fuck up. And her response was a struggle for him to see her as independent, to prove that she's strong, doesn't need looking after, doesn't need anyone, when he's like please just let me do this for you. I really really am looking forward to them continuing that angle if he hasn't changed so fundamentally because of dying/being brought back.

We likely won't even get half of what i want, if sylus's story is any indication. because despite sylus's introduction, his unhinged, awful behavior has never been properly addressed by the writers. they even make jokes about it in the anniversary event, when we never saw the conversation where sylus is like 'hey maybe i shouldn't have fucking choked and starved you.' So it could be that i end up being disappointed at the writers' lack of exploitation of all of caleb's potential, and he's just a sweet LI in the same vein that the other guys are, and i won't end up loving him like i want to.

but the point is:

i do not have time or interest in arguing with people about why media and fiction are often most interesting when they contain meaty, uncomfortable conflict, and how even silly mobile gacha games can provide a safe vehicle for exploring unhealthy human experiences in an entertaining, thought-provoking, empathetic way. So that's my take, do with it what you will, thanks for reading.

as for my fanfic writing: i have an idea for mc/sylus road trip + hozier lyrics, i have an idea for bestfriend!sylus where mc has a shit boyfriend and sylus just... slowly eclipses him lmao, i have a codependent calebmc fic that i've already started that may never see the light of day because caleb may end up being wildly ooc, but i'm having so much fun writing it, i have a request for zayne + sylus + kidnapped/injured mc, i have some cute ideas for sylus that have come into my inbox in the last week, and of course I'm still thinking about the sylus series, and scenes i want to write now that mc realizes that sylus is in it to win it. I want to do all of these things, I want to enjoy the game. updates may be slower because post-holiday surge at work, lots of contracts to snarl over, and my non-work time is busier this month as well, but i'm still intending to and enjoying writing for lads. thanks for getting this far, i wish you the best of luck and health and happiness whoever you are.

[drpeppertummy]

Giuliana and marianne perhaps?

spent some time pondering over whether i could make this work & truthfully i think there was more to be explored in the whole Stoic Tough Lady Rendered Submissive Feedee By Pushy Milf scenario but What Ever i tried

[hunger, stuffing]

Giuliana gazed blanky at the menu, her eyes wandering over what seemed like a million words and not reading a single one. It had been an exceptionally long day at work. Everything that could possibly have gone wrong did so profusely, the majority of the day's customers had been a pain in the ass, and between the mess, the chaos, and the slow eaters, closing had taken ages longer than usual. It was well past midnight now--closer to two, actually--and Giuliana, who hadn't eaten a thing since lunch, was absolutely starving. Fortunately, the diner was always open.

As she looked over the menu, struggling to comprehend the wealth of text covering the beat-up laminated sheet, an approaching figure drew her attention. A tall, broad waitress, almost intimidating in stature but with a friendly face, strode cheerfully up to the booth, smiling warmly down at her. Her name tag identified her as Marianne. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but it was common enough; she couldn't recall ever having seen the woman before.

"You look like you're running on fumes, sweetheart," Marianne said playfully. "What're you feelin' tonight?"

"Um…" Giuliana glanced back at the menu, brow furrowed. Her belly rumbled loudly.

"I'd ask if you need a couple minutes, but it sounds like you can't wait," Marianne teased, and a blush crept onto Giuliana's face. "Need a little help?"

"Hm…" Giuliana hesitated, then gave up with an exhausted sigh. "Yeah, I guess I do." Marianne smiled and leaned over her, resting a warm hand on her shoulder. She tensed up, caught off guard by the oddly intimate contact, but didn't feel compelled to pull away. The waitress studied the menu for a moment, tapping a thoughtful finger to her lip, then pointed to a line that Giuliana's weary eyes could barely read.

"Judging by the sound of your belly, I think you need something nice and big to fill you up," she said, tapping the menu with her long pink nail. "How about chicken Alfredo? Comes with linguine unless you'd prefer a different pasta, and then you'll get a soup or a salad, two sides…"

Giuliana, being a restaurant owner and a fine cook herself, rarely went out to eat, often preferring to make her own food the way she felt it ought to be made. When she did go out, she tended to be very deliberate in her choices. Tonight, however, she nodded her way through the ordering process. The long day had left her brain fried, and while it wasn't her preference, she wound up letting Marianne talk her into whatever she thought was best, although she did pick the soup. She'd had the crab bisque on her mind from the moment she'd walked through the door and seen it listed among the specials.

In addition to the bisque and the Alfredo, she had a baked potato and pickled beets coming along with it for the sides, and Marianne had talked her into an order of clam strips as well. The appetizer came out at the same time as the bisque, and Giuliana's stomach let out a long, whining growl at the smell of it.

"That's what I like to hear," Marianne giggled. "Eat up, cutie pie, I'll have your Alfredo out in just a few minutes."

Giuliana watched her go, blinking in delayed confusion at the pet name, then, brought back to attention by her growling belly, dug into the bisque. Her stomach eagerly welcomed the hot food, and she ate quickly, too hungry to bother with taking the time to properly enjoy it. The bisque was creamy and filling, and the clam strips were wonderfully fresh and crispy, and between the two, it wasn't long before she began to feel comfortably full. As a matter of fact, after wolfing it down so quickly, she felt a little bloated. She leaned back in the booth, a little surprised at herself for having cleared the food away already, and burped quietly into her fist.

"Oh, good girl! Cleaned your plates just in time for dinner," said Marianne with a grin. Giuliana looked up, startled. She hadn't heard the waitress approaching. Smiling, Marianne cleared away the empty dishes and replaced them with full ones: a big, steaming bowl of pasta topped with grilled chicken and creamy Alfredo, a hefty baked potato accompanied by a dollop of butter and sour cream, and a bowl of pickled beets. It smelled fantastic, and Giuliana's mouth watered at the sight of it, but without hunger clouding her vision, it suddenly seemed like an absurd amount of food. She doubted she'd be able to eat much before she had to quit. Still, she was here and so was the dinner, and she supposed she ought to enjoy it as much as she could.

Marianne left her alone once again, and she brought up another quiet burp. With the pressure in her stomach slightly lessened, she picked up her fork and started on the pasta. Personally, she didn't think it quite held up to her own, but it was still pretty damn good, and even on a full belly, it was easy to keep eating. She dipped into the sides here and there as she ate, but the Alfredo was her main priority. It wouldn't heat up as well as the potato would, and she could take or leave the beets, although they certainly weren't left untouched.

Giuliana was eating at a more standard pace now, but it didn't take long for her to slow down even more. Her belly quickly began to feel fuller and fuller, filling up with the thick, bulky pasta and chicken on top of the heavy soup and the clam strips that were almost certainly not intended to be eaten alone. The potato wasn't helping matters, and her stomach soon began to reach its comfortable limit, not quite aching but undeniably far past full.

"How're we doin' over here, sweetheart? Not too full yet, I hope," said Marianne, eyeing Giuliana's rounded tummy as she approached the booth. "Y'know, as good as they make it, it just never seems to heat up quite right, don't you think?" She turned away with a smile and a wink, and before Giuliana could react, she was gone.

She couldn't argue with Marianne's logic. As full as she was, she supposed she could fit a little more. She paused for a moment to force up a small burp--it didn't help much--and scooped up another forkful of linguine. Each bite felt heavier than the last in her already-snug stomach, but where she ordinarily might have called it quits, she went on eating, wanting to make the most of her dinner while it was fresh. She was vaguely aware of the fact that her belly had long since begun to bulge out over the waist of her jeans, but she didn't care. When the jeans began to dig uncomfortably into her distended middle, however, that was an issue. She reached down to tug the waist down a little, hoping to ease the irritating pressure.

"Oh, pumpkin, you are looking absolutely stuffed," Marianne remarked, sounding pleased. Giuliana looked up, startled and a little embarrassed. With her jeans sitting lower on her waist, her belly looked impressively round and poked out almost far enough to bump against the table. She wasn't typically one to care about appearances, but with Marianne's approving eye on her distended tummy, she felt uncharacteristically bashful, and held a defensive hand over it. It felt shockingly firm to the touch, packed tight as a drum full of heavy, bulky carbs, and she blushed.

"Oh, sweetheart, don't be shy," Marianne giggled. "You know I'm always glad to see our customers enjoying their food. Now, you go ahead and finish up, alright? If you can fit any more, that is. You look just about ready to pop." She gave Giuliana a friendly pat on the back and left.

Giuliana didn't just look ready to pop, she felt like it, too. Her belly felt taut, heavy, and bloated, and she didn't think it could take another bite. Still, there was something persuasive, almost alluring about Marianne, and she felt oddly compelled to eat a little more. She forced up another little burp, gave her distended tummy a cautious rub, and dipped her fork back into the pasta. The chicken was already gone--it had been an entire breast, and that alone occupied a large space in her stomach--but there seemed to be an endless sea of linguine, and what remained would likely last her another day or two.

Her stomach stretched as yet another bite of pasta was forced into it, and it let out an uncomfortable groan as it strained around the enormous meal inside it. She scooped up one more forkful, and, though her hand faltered as she brought it to her lips, she managed to swallow it down. That was as much as she could stand. Her belly couldn't take another bite. With a sigh, she set her fork down and leaned back, holding her aching tummy with both hands. A small burp escaped her, forced up by the sheer amount of pressure inside her stomach, followed by a soft groan. She was fighting for consciousness now, her tiredness only amplified by the warm weight in her belly, and just as her eyes began to flutter, Marianne caught her attention.

"Well, I must say, I am pretty darn impressed," she said, the smile on her face almost impish as she looked down at Giuliana. "That is an awful lot of food in that belly. I'm gonna go ahead and grab you a box before you pass out, you look like you're about to fall right into your pasta." She gave her shoulder an affectionate squeeze and disappeared from sight.

[fullmetal-scar-simping]

I am!!!! Immensely enjoying your blog!!! Because yes yes YES by all means call out the nonsense both canon and fandom pull on Ishvalans!!! I haven't gone to check recently but when I checked a long time ago, the Ishval tag on tumblr was filled with white Amestrian Royai angst... and nary a shred of Ishvalans... BUT ANYWAYS

I don't know who the anon that talked about Scar's religious, theological, and academic pedigree because it's so so so good and I will think about it forever and also it made me think about an AU I haven't touched in a while (because not many are interested in Ishvalan centric thing, much less an OC thing I guess) and I won't rattle your ears about it here obviously I don't wanna bother you with it but man. I had this mixed OC character who's actually Miles' daughter who had Complicated feelings on him bc he was gone far too soon from her life due to getting arrested and held for who knows how long while her Amestrian mother died during that time and she just... fell through the cracks, and in that AU I characterized Miles as “yeah be a model citizen and change how Amestrians view Ishvalans :)” to his young little daughter who faced much bullying and discrimination at school, couldn't pass on any part of their Ishvalan heritage, and as a result the girl... felt insecure in her own blood and belonging and eventually finds a mentor/father figure in Scar and that ask about Scar's role in being a record-keeper and studied his people's history just reminded me of the dynamic the two had in my AU. I think I've rambled enough about my own AU despite saying I won't so I'll end the ask here but thank you for being a ray of hope for me and also hello anon I love you whoever you are!! (I might come back and maybe even off-anon!) Have a nice day, both of you!

Ahhh, thanks for the kind words! I'm always excited to hear how this blog has offered people something the fandom at large doesn't bother with. Scar and the Ishvalans/Ishbalans are so sorely ignored.

I haven't touched the Ishval tag on tumblr, but going by the abysmal results on other platforms that make Ishval and the genocide of Ishvalans all about the damn war criminals, I can't say I'm surprised. It likely hasn't gotten any better since you last checked. :/ Man even what little Scar posts and fanworks I can find often somehow revolve around the war criminals (he's just flavouring for their angst/battles/found family bonding and that content in particular tends to be mad derogatory).

:0! Oh shit, a pair of anons like ships in the night. I hope you two manage to find each other. If you're reading this, cool Miles/Scar shipper anon, you have a kindred spirit here too.

You're welcome to expound on your AU and your oc! If anything, thanks for sharing. Interesting that Miles gets arrested; had he been rounded up by the State for being half Ishvalan, or had he done something that his superiors wanted to punish or suppress? And poor kid got functionally orphaned, all while carrying the burden of "healing" the racism rampant in Amestrian society. It's perfectly in-character for Miles to teach his child that they have to prove to the world that the bigotry they all suffer is wrong, that they are 'worthy' humans all along. He himself seems to think that the racism and fascism Ishvalans are made to suffer from Amestrians is all some "big misunderstanding". That alongside the relentless bullying would mess anyone up, let alone a child.

Finding a mentor in someone who actually loves his people, and who can guide her in seeing where the true problems lie, listen to her pain, and teach her about her heritage (and how to fight) would be a boon to any Ishvalan kid. Scar would make an amazing guardian. 🥺

Aw, you're welcome! I don't know what else to say, but your message made me smile! I hope this blog can continue to be a bright spot for you for as long as you need it. Crossing my fingers that you and the other anon get to connect with one another real soon.

Hope you have a nice day too!

[scriv3lloirl]

Your response to my first ask made my day, I cheered and jumped for joy (I didn’t literally jump since I read it in the car, but you get the idea). Sorry I read it an hour late, I didn’t get the notification 😔 Also I hope it’s fine I’m sending a response, I don’t know if you saw the tags I reblogged with and also talking with you just seems delightful so yeah—but if I’m ever annoying or a bother just let me know and I’ll stop! :)

Bit of a fun fact is we had a fall/winter musical theatre showcase on December 19 and I actually sang Dentist! for it! It was my first time singing or performing in front of people (shocker that the guy with social anxiety also has stage fright), but it went well! :D There’s gonna be another showcase in April and I’m hoping to sing as Audrey || in Feed Me (Git It!) and mayhaps Mean Green Mother from Outer Space as well, but I don’t even know when auditions for it are yet so we’ll see what happens for that.

Saw your last post and hope rehearsal went well! They can be exhausting so hope you rest up well. I’d draw fanart for you but my drawing skills aren’t too good yet, I like drawing and want to improve but as of now yeah—I could write you like a Little Shop of Horrors fanfic if you want though? Like if you got any requests I could try, but just to warn you motivation’s a struggle with me…but I’d try for ya.

You thought you ramble? Try my autistic ass, I yap a lot and sorry that this proves my point 😅 Rest up and enjoy yourself :)

I always try t' match m' responses t' th' length of th' ask I receive so.. hopefully I did that.

This is such a sweet ask, thank you. N I'm 100% fine wit responses! I actually encourage them. I might not always respond right on time (seein as this ask has been sittin in m' inbox fer a few days,) but I always get around t' em!!

Don' worry, I see yer' tags when ya reblog m' posts. I always love readin folks comments when they do that. Makes me smile. N I promise ya ain't ev'r gonna be annoyin, sweetheart. I love receivin notifications from ya. It's nice.

'Dentist!' is such a fun song t' sing, n I promise thas' not me jus sayin that. I bet you sounded awesome! Th' first song I ev'r sang in front of folks was, funnily enough (at least t' me,) 'Suddenly, Seymour.'

Dunno if anyone else finds humor in that like I do, but I sang Audrey's part in a karaoke. You be sure t' keep me updated on that showcase, lemme know what song ya pick n how it goes when ya audition!

You don' gotta make me fanart if ya don' want, or a fanfic, but thas' quite th' offer. I'll be sure t' keep that in mind, but I'm sure yer drawin skills are great! Not forcin ya or anythin, but I'd love t' see some art you've if y'ur willin t' share.

Motivations always a struggle fer us too, we burn out so damn quick it's almost embarrassin. Right now we're kinda forcin ourselves t' draw jus so we can make a few posts later but God.. I'm not proud of how any of them look, lemme be so honest. I'm sure you'll see one up later t'day actually.

Anyway. I'm distractin m'self so I'm gonna post this b'fore I muck somethin up.

(I ain't gonna reread this again fer th' 5th time again, so forgive me fer any sorta spellin errors n th' like.)

[itsahotminuteinbetween]

Heey, back again with Chapter 6 :) Nothing too major goin on here, really. Nothing actually important happens until later. @itsberrydreemurstuff, @bibooby, and @laegume, I saved you all seats. (Also, @andyssilly, thought I might tag you in case you don't see this.)

Uh, before I start our little performance, I have a few lil things I'd like to say reaaal quick. The first is thaaaat... *brp bada brp brp brp boooo (that was a trumpet noise if you couldn't tell)* I have a tag for the fic now! I tagged all the chapters under the title "Where the Stars Don't Shine", so if you type it into my lil thing, it should come up! I'll probably pin a post with a the chapters linked eventually, I just keep forgetting to do it. And the second thing is slightly less important, but thought I might put it here anyways. Guys, I post polls sometimes that help me make decisions on things regarding the chapters. Nothing major, of course, just small tidbits and whatnot, but I'd really appreciate it if more people could vote on those. It's cool though, I don't mind.

Anyways, that's all for now, I guess! Soooo...

On with the show!

Word Count: 1,514

The day thankfully passes by without much issue, though truthfully you were in a daze for most of it. All you remember is the lights being unusually bright (you thought nothing of it) and a puppet show. Sun hadn’t spoken to you since your wake-up, which was a bit of a relief.

Cleaning had been a bit slower on your end. You think Sun had mentioned it at some point, though you could be mistaken. You know for a fact that he told you not to bring your pills to work on account of the kids getting access to them after you took one to ease the sharp throbbing in your head that had not let up after your nap. Strangely, you felt worse afterwards. You were sorely tempted to put in your earbuds, if only to block out that awful buzzing. You refrained, however; you really didn’t need Sun chastising you for the third time today.

You said good night, getting no response, and left. You don’t remember getting home, but you do remember trying to find something to eat in your nearly bare pantry. You found some eggs and semi-decent bread, made french toast, and passed out.

The pounding is not evaded today, either. Your head feels like it’s stuffed with cotton, and it takes effort to keep your eyes open. You splash some water  on your face as a temporary fix, drink a bit of cough medicine to fight back your sore throat, and head to work.

You head straight for the desk, not bothering to say good morning to the animatronic in charge this time. Your bag hits the floor with a hard thunk, and you open it. You hope you thought to pack a lunch earlier, though you seriously doubt it with your frazzled state. 

Evidently, the source of the noise is actually a brick. You’re not even sure how you managed it, but it does explain why it felt so heavy to lug around. You assume it’s Moon’s work and think little else of it, placing it off to the side before Sun spots it and accuses you of vandalism or burglary or something. 

From the things you actually packed, most are your typical. Laptop, two books instead of one, earbuds, keys, your phone, and a second set of clothes. No lunch, though you weren’t expecting that one. You do find a granola bar instead, and tuck it in your pocket for safekeeping. Maybe you could eat it on the break you never used.

 You interest yourself in the books you brought. You’d already read (book) from cover to cover a dozen times over, but one more couldn’t hurt. The other was one of your additions for the children, and something you were hoping Moon would approve of as well. You hadn’t seen a copy of Brambly Hedge anywhere, but you’d love’d it when you were growing up. They’d liked the Peter Rabbit copy you’d put in, so with any luck, this one would garner a similar reaction.

You remind yourself to bring something for your coworker some other time. Moon may be a prick, but he seemed to get pretty bored when the children fell asleep. Perhaps something to keep him occupied would help, and maybe even get him off your back when the lights cut. What kind of books would he like, though? He’d stolen one of your Sherlock Holmes novels in your first month of work, and you’d caught him peeking over your shoulder on several different occasions when you’d brought your gothic horrors and dystopians, which also tended to mysteriously disappear. You couldn’t just walk up to him and ask, though. Asking either of them for something hardly ever went well.

You brush off the thought and remind yourself to actually request some funding for an idea you’d gotten some time back. The Daycare, action packed and entertaining as it was, didn’t really have much reading material outside of little kiddie books featuring corporate’s mascots, and while you weren’t opposed to donating your old children’s books, some newer ones would probably be more appealing. You’d noticed that Moon also seemed to enjoy the greater variety. He tended to gravitate towards classics and fables for naptime, though you made sure to only plant a few at a time do as not to arouse suspicion. You were pretty sure they thought it was the higher-ups’ doing, and you weren’t going to be the one to correct them. 

You whip around, scanning the Daycare for any sign of the animatronic before taking off with the book in hand, shelving it among the other books you’d brought. You walk back to the desk, feeling almost proud of yourself, until a voice pipes up behind you. “Friieeend, what are you dooing?” 

For the record, despite what the security cameras captured, you did not screech and trip over nothing. 

You flip over and jump back up onto your feet, hastily responding to fend off any conclusion he’d make about this. “Who’s doing something? Me? No, I’m not doing anything, nothing at all.”

Yeah, that didn’t sound suspicious at aaaall, nice going.

Sun’s faceplate turns, static grin growing wider with each click. “Reeeally now? Because it seems to me like you were trying to sneak something from the shelf.”

Great. Now he thinks you’re a thief.

You shake your head frantically, crossing your arms to further prove a point. “No, no I’m not, promise.” Yeah, that’ll help, Y/N, way to seem like a criminal.

His face reverts to its normal position, and you think you’re in the clear (until) he speaks up again. “Glad to be wrong then! Still, I think I’d rather be safe than sorry. You wouldn’t mind if I checked, would you?”

This smug little- You shoot him a strained smile and a thumbs-up that does not display your panic in any way. “Nnnnnnope, go right ahead!”

His own smile stretches. He stoops down to your height and surveys the shelf, default smile forming an unreadable expression that you’re not sure you want to uncover the meaning of. He speaks after a few moments. “This wasn’t here earlier.” He taps the spine of the newly added Brambly Hedge on the shelf for emphasis.

You swallow, arms locked at your sides. You question whether you’d prefer him accusing you of thievery or stupidity. 

He pulls it out and flips through the pages, gaze snapping back to you quizzically.

“How did it get here?” He muses out loud, putting you on the spot with a look that makes you freeze.

Your brain races to find an acceptable response other than the actual truth, and lying will only get you in more trouble. 

You pause. Moon can’t know. 

“Is Moon listening?” you probe.

He pauses, rays doing a half-spin before he responds, “Not at the moment.”

You seriously doubt that, but it’ll have to do. 

You’re so screwed. 

You fiddle with the hem of your shirt, rushing what you want to say at speeds that leave your lungs gasping as you stumble over your words. “I noticed the older kidsandsometimesMoon get bored so I thought I could bring some booksforthemfromhome but I haven’t asked management forper-permissionyetIwasgonnadothatintoday’sreportsorryandthekidsreallylikedperterrabbitsoithoughtmaybethey’dlikethisonetoopleasedon’ttellmoonormanagementIcan’tlosethisjob.” 

Your eyes are tightly screwed shut by the end of your tirade, hands clenched into fists. You peek an eye open to find Sun not in front of you, but on the other side of the room.

Yep, you are so dead when naptime rolls around.

—---------------------------------

Sun was at a sort of standstill with this new information. You were the one responsible for those books mysteriously piling up on their shelves, out of your own pocket, and you hadn’t thought to ask management? 

He hadn’t been lying when he told you Moon was absent: his brother was never active when Sun was out, preferring to stay offline unless called upon. 

He should tell Moon. This was probably something he’d want to know, something that could possibly get you fired. 

He paused. Would it get you fired? On one hand, you were required to report everything, including any changes you requested. On the other, you were the one paying for said changes, which meant the company didn’t have to do it themselves. If anything, they’d probably just issue you off with a warning and make you pay for everything.

Besides, while the Daycare was practically perfect in his humble opinion, he did have to admit he appreciated the new additions, and he wasn’t going to refuse the benefits, even if they were from you. 

Sun had a feeling his brother wouldn’t agree.

Another lightbulb flickered on in his head. You’d bought the books. He wondered what else you’d brought under the guise of management. 

He sighed, conflicted. You were right, the kids did like Peter Rabbit, along with every other book you’d brought in.

He supposed he could keep this little revelation to himself. Not for you, he reasoned, but for the kids. And speaking of the kids, a handful of them were already entering through the doors now, signaling the start of the day.

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Aaaaand that's a wrap! Hope that was up to standard :) Y/N seems to be getting a little worse, hehehe...and I suuure hope Moon doesn't find out about all this, that would make for an interesting confrontation...But yeah, the Assistant's basically been funding most of the stuff for the Daycare at this point. They buy groceries when Management forgets to, restocks for emergency supplies and cleaning stuff, and buys new things for the kids sometimes.