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#so i might try some other stuff with it later we'll see
azidoazide-art · 1 year
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i thought it would be fun to try designing a monster form for Roxas a la Sora's anti-form, and you know what? it was
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medicinemane · 12 days
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I don't know, I get tired of a lot of positivity
Like yes yes, the world's wonderful and I'm so strong or whatever generic thing is being said (because it's always so generalized to the point of meaningless), but you know shit is what it is, and the only way forward is with changes I manage to make... which you're not helping with at all
And as for like... my internal mood, I'm deeply isolated, sorry if hollow platitudes don't sooth the gaping maw inside me
It is what it is, and I probably get my shit together enough to do stuff like teach out of my basement like I'd like, it's just I believe that I'll be alone in a crowd like I've always been
But positivity... I just... I kinda get sick of it. There's this guy on youtube I watch who talks about economics stuff, he's recently started doing positivity and... I just fucking know his personality enough where it's like sorry mate but I'm not interested in hearing you spout Secret light kinds off drivel
...I don't know, I suppose it boils down to this
One, I can barely fucking take in positive things said directly to me, about me. Generalizations don't help even a little... I'm a mess, I'd really like someone to toss me a life preserver instead of always tossing confetti at me while I struggle to stay afloat... doesn't help
Two, the world is a terribly imperfect place, and rather than taking a mentality of "everything will work out", I think it's important to acknowledge that sometimes good people live alone, die alone, and they never got the break they needed and slowly bled out
I think it's worth knowing that if you can't step in and help yourself, then maybe no help'll come at all
...I don't know, I suppose in the end the core of what I'm saying is a lot of positivity seems like self help tier stuff and... I get tired of that, and I see so many good people struggling and... eh... either I can at least come in and say something positive custom fit to them, or I can keep my mouth shut
Just fucking let me rot. Help or let me fester on my own, you know?
I got rid of the trailer, I maybe did something like cleaning though I can't tell... at what point will my pace on trying to make things better be good enough for people, and I'll be able to stop having people tell me to fix my life... as if I hadn't thought of that already
...everyone means well, it's just tiring
#it's like when people make you being suicidally depressed about them#I... don't really want to say some more specific details cause they might be able to pick themselves out of a line up#but it's just like... man... is this more about trying to get me in a better place; or about making you feel better#wears me out#mm tag so i can find things later#just seems impossible for people to not offer advice on things#the thing people never think of with advice; is that people living a situation often have thought about that situation a whole lot#it's like why... with my friend that's looking for theatre jobs; I don't offer a lot of advice because I figure they've done quite a bit#just kinda... offer to help the best I can and ask what they need; and then mostly just listen#it's not like I never ever say anything; it's just I try to back up advice with something concrete#like... for instance if I wanted to suggest someone do therapy; then I'm gonna be offering to help them find a therapist as best I can#cause I get that it's not like you just 'go to therapy'... getting started on things is often the hardest part#eh... keeping this as vague as possible cause I want the actions I took not the details#but when I had a friend who was someone who didn't treat them at all well#I didn't directly try to get them to leave cause I know that... it's hard; they were in deep#instead I just made sure to validate their perception of reality a whole lot#counter the literal gaslighting by just pointing out that they made sense and questioning how reasonable their partner was#and then I attempted to get them in touch with some other people so they were less isolated and had other people to validate them#and thankfully they're not with that person anymore; they're doing a great job at life and are much healthier now#...but advice... honestly I don't think I gave them much#I more asked leading questions to try and shine a light on things; or would brainstorm about what to do with various stuff#they were real stuck; and it was painful to see them stuck in such a bad situation; but... better to sit with them than push push push#it felt like if I gave them my actual advice; dump that abusive freak; they couldn't have heard me#it was easy for me to tell them the solution; but that didn't account for all the barriers to implementing that solution#in this case; many of the barriers were internal; but internal or external; barriers are barriers#I don't know... I just think sometimes you gotta be comfortable sitting with discomfort along side someone#unless you got an actual fix; and you're willing to put in the work to fix it... shut up about fixing and just be there for them#mhh... we'll take one of the only things I'm actually capable of doing instead of something more serious#if someone wants a minecraft server; I can either fucking help them set it up; or I can kinda keep my mouth shut#if I'm not helping them set it up; I can give them shit like 'that sounds cool; I bet you could do it'
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aberooski · 2 years
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Gonna go to bed in a minute but still in genuine shock that the Fatal Frame 5 x GX crossover won my poll ngl aksksk
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Hello! Because fuck it, I might as well, I'm running a tournament to find out what Tumblr's favourite fictional library/archive is!
Submit your favourite library/ies and archive/s here!
Submissions are open until 11:00am GMT on 2nd December (so you have just over three weeks to get them in).
Rules:
You can submit as many as you like.
Any library with over 3 entries will go through automatically. Anything with less may have to go through preliminaries, depending on how many entries there are in total.
I especially encourage propaganda! Please give me propaganda! But positive stuff, please. Lift your entry up, don't put down the others.
I will try my best to seed the libraries by number of entries. I've never run a tournament before, so we'll see how well that part goes.
Timeline:
Submissions: 10/11-02/12
Polls open: 03/12 (hopefully - if there's not enough submissions I'll extend that part)
I'm planning to do two polls a day for the first round, and have them last a day. And then we'll see.
Restrictions:
You can submit any library or archive that's fictional! Including things that aren't traditional libraries or archives but are counted as such in the media (can't think of any rn but I'm sure there are some. Star Trek comes to mind maybe? Honestly I'm half asleep rn)
Not librarians. If this goes well I'll do a tournament for them later
Published media, not OCs (can be webcomics, a book you've published, etc, but not 'just' like a fanfiction or OCs you've only written about on here. They're less likely to stand a chance anyway, tbh)
Tournaments who I think might be interested or at the very least share (please please share!): @tournament-announcer @best-book-siblings @best-childhood-book @best-childrens-books-hq-blog @tournamentcorner @librariesinvideogames @iamlibrarian @roguelibrarian @awesomearchives @haveyoureadthiscomic-poll @haveyoureadthisbook-poll @digitalnewberry @houghtonlib @badass-queer-couples-battle @jstor @mysterythemematch
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starryjoy · 3 months
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hi! why is tme/tma terfy? /gen q
anon I'm really glad you have taken the time to ask me this and inform yourself with ideas that, probably, aren't like those you are used to. I do absolutely suggest you take what I say and what other people may add to this post and then come to your own conclusions.
But first of all I want to make sure something is understood: under no circumstances I would say that those terms are terfy. Those are simply terms that help the view of Radical Feminism, which is the RF part in TERF. The terms were made on purpose to try to make the ideas of radfeminism as trans inclusionary as possible. sometimes people like these are referred to/refer to themselves as TIRFs.
They still are exclusionary terms, don't get me wrong. If anything they are Intersex-Exclusionary though, which isn't an acronym that i have ever seen used, but we'll get to it later
The ideas of Radical Feminism are based on Bioessentialism, an idea that, essentially (and please people who know more about this stuff correct me and expand on this I am not an expert), males are all one way and females are all a different way. You can see that this is the fundamental belief of terves, saying that males are all brutal and full of anger which they will always take against females.
TIRFism instead takes this idea and changes it from being something inherent to how one person was born to something inherent to how one person identifies; essentially, their gender.
These people think that women instead of females are the ones that will always be The Most Oppressed of all, because men instead of males will always want to be oppressors.
The terms TMA/TME specifically work under this assumption, that people who identify as women (specifically trans women) have The Most to be Scared about, because everyone else has power over us and will use it.
This is... at best, a very reductive way to see anything. No one is truly exempt from transmisogyny in the current world, and sure some people could not be the intended target of a transmisogynistic insult or they might not be systematically oppressed under transmisogyny, but saying "exempt" is so incredibly reductive that I have to repeat myself. Also, I really don't think any trans and intersex person isn't systematically oppressed by transmisogyny, but this post is already too long.
At worst, the terms are actively hurting people. Pushing people into neat categories that can then be observed. Making nonbinary people admit to their AGAB without their consent. Completely ignoring intersex people who have a much more complex life than something that can be put in these simple terms.
In conclusion: not terfy, radfemmy; have been used to silence trans people that do not agree with the radfems, and to hurt nonbinary and intersex people.
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babybluebex · 4 months
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no because let's talk about the breeding kink 🤨
sigh, i SHOULD be doing anything other than this... getting ready to move tomorrow... getting ready to start my job tomorrow... my daily cardio... but whatever let's do it
so BIG warning below the cut for explicit smut, if you aren't into that, maybe sit this one out :) cw for obviously breeding kink, a brief diatribe ab safe sex practices, edging/overstim, use of "mommy/daddy" but not sexually (you'll see), a surprise munch!dom shows up at the end
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but yeah. he has a thing about breeding you. he doesn't think he does, bc like?? doesn't everyone like that?? he has experience before you, sure, but he's not exactly up to date on what fetishes are normal and what fetishes appear in porn a lot (he is, after all, a 21 year old guy, we can't give him too much credit)
but you don't find out about this kink of his for a little while, you guys have slept together a handful of times but your relationship is starting to get a lot more serious than before, and even though it seems a little quick, it feels right to already be thinking about getting married to him
but you're talking about everything one night, just trying to have healthy communication with a glass of wine yknow, and you ask him like "how do you feel about kids?" and he seems a little nervy?? and he's like "idk... i never really thought about a future of mine that didn't have kids in it" "but do you want them?" "of course. it's just, like, i want them, but i've also never thought about not having them. it's just always something i've wanted" and you're like cool, cool... "i think i wanna have kids with you" and he gets a little pink in the face "aw... thanks... that's sweet"
and you move on from that part of the conversation, and you think it's been forgotten, until a few days later
your man has been fuckin stressed out, luckily he's filming in jersey so he gets to stay relatively close to you, and you manage to rent a little airbnb in the town he's filming in so that he can come home to you, but he's about to tear his hair out, he's trying to film this but then also learn lines for his next project, and he's still slinging out audition tapes for every door his agent can manage to get his foot in, and you hate to see him like this, so he gets home from set one night to the smell of his favorite dinner cooking, and he sets down his stuff and is like "baby?"
comes into the kitchen and yes you're cooking, but you've got your hair done up all pretty with those sparkly pins you wore to the baftas, and you're wearing that lipstick that drives him crazy, and... are you?? you can't be?? wearing one of his shirts and his favorite panties of yours that show off all your assets?? his favorite outfit on you!! and all he can manage is a dry-mouthed lil "wuh?"
and you smile at him "just in time, sweetheart, that oven's about to go off, and then we'll be ready to eat" and you go to him and kiss him gently, and he's still like ‼️ and you go "everything ok? you're quiet"
"what is this...?" and he grabs your hips and does the thing that vision did to wanda in ep1 of wandavision "what are you wearing??"
"well you've been so stressed out..." you start "i wanted to do something nice for you"
"oh baby this is very nice" he says and he can't get his eyes off of you "i might have to marry you if you keep this up"
"is that a promise?"
anyway yeah, he's worked up now and marriage is on his mind (therefore kids are too) and you have dinner, but he eventually gets you in his lap and is rubbing your thighs and kissing your neck and you're trying to talk to him like "should we put on a movie? or i can beam my spotify to the TV and we can listen to some music?" but he's got tunnel vision on your soft skin
so you give it up and start to get into it, kissing him back and tugging off his shirt, and he does the same to you so that you're skin to skin, and like of course you know what a loverboy dom can be, but this is something completely different, this is devotion and admiration and complete sickening love, and you just can't help yourself from whispering "want you to put a baby in me, dommy" and he doesn't skip a beat, almost like he was hoping you'd say something like that "yeah? you wanna have my baby? aren't you on the pill?" "yeah, but i can—" and you pause to bite him bottom lip gently as his hands slink down to your panties "i can get off it" "fuck, baby" he whispers, tilting his head to press a kiss under your ear "don't tease me like that" "not teasing you" you tell him
and he checks with you a couple of times as he gets you in bed and gets you naked, kissing down your body and dragging his tongue around your soft flesh, really making sure you're truly down for all of this, but even through his gentle care, you can see the brick in his jeans and like fuuuuck he wants this so badly too
finally getting him out of his clothes and closing your legs around his waist, and he kisses you deeply as he starts to lean off to the side to the nightstand, and he sorta chuckles "guess we, umm... don't need that... right?"
and you smile and shake your head, and dom gives you a soft melty look "if you change your mind, please let me know" he says gently, taking up his rock-hard dick into his hand and stroking himself a few times "i don't wanna, like, knock you up and it turns out you wanted me to put on a condom halfway thru, like just let me know—" "dominic, i know you're trying to be nice" you start "and i really appreciate that and love you for it, but i already told you: i'm all in. i want this"
and like you have never in your life had unprotected sex before, like the pill was really more for hormone management than actual birth control, and with past partners you've always been cautious and made them wear condoms "just in case" (which like irl is a good practice, it's never a bad idea to be cautious ab sex bc like sti's and various things can be spread without a condom, so like whatever, off my apple box, basically wrap it before you tap it pls) but with dom, you don't have any reason to worry bc you know he's clean and like the desired outcome would only happen without a condom
but maybe it's that safety and security that makes his raw cock inside you feel so much better than usual, and you whimper as he laughs a little "s'okay, baby" he tells you "i've got you, daddy's got you" and you smile and laugh, and you're like "is this me discovering you have a daddy kink?" "no" he scoffs "but it is daddy taking care of mommy. right?"
and he's got those big eyes at you, gnawing on his bottom lip, and you gently use your thumb to pull his lips from between his teeth and you kiss him, and he gets down to business
he's being a little more feral than typical, just holding onto you harder and fucking into you with a quick pace, and he can't keep his mouth off of you, he's either kissing your lips or kissing your neck, and towards the end he presses his lips to your neck and just sorta pathetically moans as he nears his finish
and every sensation inside you is making fireworks pop, all you can do is moan and whimper and claw down his back as hot pleasure spreads throughout your whole body, and your breath catches in your throat when he reaches down and starts playing with your clit, your hips bucking at the sudden onslaught and near overstimulation, but he's being VERY attentive and he notices your breathing change and he goes "you ok?"
you nod quickly, biting your lip harshly "m'close!" you squeak, and he smiles, reaching out above your head and grabbing the headboard to keep himself up, and you really understand what it means to be animalistic, bc he raises his arm and you smell the sweat and pheromones seeping out of his pores and you go a lil crazy for a moment "dom! dom, baby, please, please..." "oh yeah?" he asks and he smiles when you sob out "is it good, baby?" "yes!" you hiccup and you reach up and wrap your fingers around his wrist and just fuckin hang on for dear life and then he suddenly stiffens and freezes and you gasp, worried something's wrong, but his smile is too coy, his eyes glittering too much "tell me how much you want it" he tells you, his fingers hovering so close to your throbbing clit that you swear you can still feel them and you can only manage to mumble a confused "wha...?" "tell me" he says "how much. you want it. tell me how badly you want me to cum inside you and get you pregnant" "you're fucking evil" you gasp and shift your hips to try to get contact with his hand, but he shifts further away, denying it to you "i never claimed to be anything else" he laughs "you want me to knock you up so badly, you gotta tell me" "dommy" you whine "please! you're close too, i can feel you throbbing" and like yeah he's so close to his finish that you don't know how he hasn't busted inside you in the last 30 seconds "well then you better hurry up and talk to me" dom says and you swallow with a dry throat and squeeze his wrist, and you watch his bicep flex and your mouth waters "want it bad, baby" you tell him "want you to fill me up, want it to leak outta me when we're done" "mhm" dom nods, and he leans down and gently kisses your lips "you're gonna get all pregnant, all big with my fuckin baby... walking around like that with my ring on your hand, and everyone'll know what a slut you are, what you let me do to you... s'that it, baby? you wanna be my little slut?" you nod quickly, trying to chase him back into a kiss, but his hand moves from the headboard down to grab your neck and force you back down, and he's not even remotely squeezing or doing anything, he's not even putting force into the push, his hand is just There, and you gasp "yeah!" you whimper, and you throb, flexing around him, and he hisses through his teeth "w-wanna be yours, baby, wanna be only yours"
and with his hand on your throat, he starts fucking into you again, his smooth stomach flexing with each thrust, his tattoo shifting with his skin, and he presses his forehead against yours and kisses you, and he mumbles "gonna..." and you just nod and curl your fingers in his messy hair (that's getting increasingly frizzy and crazy with the sweat and heat), and his eyebrows knit together as his reddened mouth opens against yours, and he chokes out a groan, and then you feel him spilling inside you as his thrusts slow down, filling you and making the whole thing like 1000 times louder with the wet sound of him still fucking you through it
and he keeps going even when he's panting and wincing, and you're like "baby, stop, it's ok" and he cuts you off "gotta make sure it takes..." and goes for a little longer before he slowly pulls out and sighs as he watches his cum seep out of your poor little cunt, and he chuckles lightly "cool"
and you smile and start to reach out to hug him, but he sours pretty quickly "did you cum?" "umm... no" you tell him and he rolls his eyes "fuck, momma, you didn't think to tell me that before i came?" and you laugh but try to hide just how much you love him calling you that "just didn't think about it" and he shakes his head and licks his lips "nah, that's not gonna fuckin work" he says, and he shoves his sweaty curls off of his forehead as he slinks down your body, laying open-mouth kisses on your skin as he goes, and he finally reaches his destination, looking up at you thru his pretty eyelashes before he dives in
and yay munch dom makes an appearance!! bc he's having the time of his life down there, holding your hips in his hands and smoothing his thumbs across your skin, and you're jostling around with every kitten lick he gives you, and he's getting messy and loud, and you just tug on his hair and squeak "dom!" and then the wave of warmth and energy washes over you, and you're just laying there, twitching and sobbing as he continues to eat you through it, and you hear him whisper "good, good, just like that, momma, so good for me"
once you settle down and dom wipes your tears off your face, he gets up and pulls on a pair of sweatpants and they hang all low on his hips as he bustles around, reaching into the bathroom and starting up the shower, find your panties that he had tossed across the room and now hung from the plant in the corner
and he notices u all quiet on the bed and he's like "you ok, sweetheart?"
and you know it's cheesy but you tell him "yeah. we're fine"
"you think it worked?" and he sits next to you and rubs your thigh soothingly
and you nod, and he smiles and kisses you "well, i can't wait to meet them"
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starhvney · 3 months
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𝐒𝐔𝐁𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝟑 | 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟕: 𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐏 𝐃𝐀𝐘
𝐂𝐖: more blackmailing lol, minor mentions of anxiety from both aphmau and reader, reader’s dad suggests self defense with a pocket knife but he’s not serious, possible bad translation of spanish pls if anyone is fluent let me know if it's wrong lmao i only know beginner level
𝐀/𝐍: next chapter is finally out guys!! i hope the obnoxiously long word count makes up for how long it took to come out lol
𝐖𝐂: 7,300 +
𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 ☆ 𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓 | 𝐀𝐎𝟑 | 𝐅𝐈𝐂 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 | 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐎𝐑��𝐒
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despite your better judgment, you didn't mention a thing to your mom about gene when you got home yesterday. what were you supposed to tell her?
"oh, hey! sorry i'm late today, i went to buy cigarettes with a delinquent from school who holds the outcome of the rest of my high school career on his phone! no biggie, mom!"
yeah, that would go insanely well.
you did text aphmau about it, and she reacted exactly how you expected—reaffirming exactly why you weren't going to say anything.
aphmau: we have to tell our moms!! that's awful!!
you: no!!
you: i already know it was bad, i don't need the biggest lecture of my life and possibly being grounded on top of already knowing it was a bad idea.
you: i usually tell my mom about these things but not this time
aphmau: :(
aphmau: well we can't just let him get away with it?? what if they get us in more trouble
aphmau: that would be just as bad if the pictures got out
you: i know i know
you: i don't have a plan yet but we'll work it out.
you: sorry that's not super reassuring but
aphmau: no it's okay
aphmau: i don't want to tell my mom either
aphmau: knowing her she might pull me out to be homeschooled again
you: the good thing is we at least are with each other on this
aphmau: yeah, that's true :')
aphmau: okay, i'm going to try to forget about it and get some sleep
aphmau: good night!
you: good night aph
laurance also texted you later that night—of course—with how observant he is and how loyal he's made himself out to be you'd be shocked if he didn't ask you more about it.
laurance: hey :) how are you?
you: hii! i'm good :) 
you: how are you? did you win against o'khasis? 
you: sorry i didn't come back to see the game after school 
laurance: not gonna lie i was a little sad you weren't there :,) but it's okay
laurance: T-T and no
laurance: but i already knew we wouldn't
you: that's why you lost!! 
you: you should've believed you'd win!!! 
laurance: hey!! tell that to my teammates lol i know i'm the best
you: wow cocky much
laurance: nuh uh it's not being cocky if it's true :P
laurance: hey
laurance: can i ask a question?
you: what's up??
laurance: i just was thinking about the whole thing that happened at lunch
laurance: i know i can't tell you who to hang out with, but i genuinely really don't think you should hang out near them at all
laurance: they can be very
laurance: influencing
laurance: i know cause when i hung out with them i ended up getting into some bad stuff
you: bad stuff? 
laurance: just stuff i'm not proud of
laurance: like pressuring me into vandalizing and smoking and drinking
laurance: i thought they were cool so i didn't say no when i should've
you: i know you said you had a history with them but i had no idea 
you: they made you do that? 
laurance: technically i had a choice??
laurance: i just made the bad ones
laurance: i really regret not saying no to them sometimes
you: well i can tell you're nothing like that now laurance 
you: it was a year ago but you were also a freshman 
you: i think it's really respectable that even after that you choose to be a really good person now who makes the right decisions 
laurance: that means a lot actually, thank you.
laurance: but that's why i wanted to ask you about it
laurance: cause i know you're also nothing like them so
laurance: i just wanted to make sure they weren't like, pressuring you or trying to threaten you to do something?
...shit. you can't go around or avoid the question now. should you really lie to him about this?
you: yeah i get why you're worried now 
you: i promise i haven't been pressured into anything and if they try i'll completely drop them 
laurance: hey if something bad happened and they're making you hang out with them
laurance: everyone knows by now that you're a good friend and a good student
laurance: so don't be scared to say something
the thought is comforting, but he doesn't know that it involves one of the most influential girls in the school.
you: it's just, complicated
you: i don't want to get into it right now but i just think i can handle the issue on my own
you: for now 
laurance: i really don't like this
laurance: but if you think you're fine then i won't stop you obviously
laurance: just know that i'll trust you over anything they try to hold over your head, okay? you can always come talk to me
you can feel your heart painfully twist in your chest.
you: thank you. you're an amazing friend laurance 
you: if i need help i promise i'll let you know 
laurance: okay, if you say so
laurance: and i know i'm pretty cool B)
you: the coolest B) 
you: good night laurance! see you tomorrow 
laurance: good night :)
while laurance was pretty popular, how much clean up work on rumors could he do compared to ivy and gene's influence? not everyone would believe him, and who's to say he wouldn't be affected by the rumors for sticking up for you?
you've already been friends for a few months now, but you don't want him to suffer because of you. and who's to say he won't get tired and drop you because of it? he seems like a super loyal friend, but would he die on a hill for a girl he just met this school year?
the walk to school with aphmau was quiet. you could practically feel the anxiety looming in the air around the both of you, zapping any urge to start a conversation. you hadn't felt like this since the first day of school here, your fingertips and cheeks feeling like pins and needles while your chest felt heavy with a sense of dread.
maybe a part of you was hoping that if you simply acted like it didn't happen, everything would blow over and be dropped. after all, messing with you couldn't be that fun, right? right??
wrong.
"leave us alone." aphmau says, her voice surprisingly quite firm as she glares up at the three delinquents, who had blocked the two of you off in the empty hallway.
how did you always manage to end up alone in the hallways?
"nuh uh." zenix quips back, laughing with a teasing smile at your friend.
"aw, c'mon. after our bonding walk you're already mad at me again?" he directs his question at you, mocking fake sadness. "tell the smaller kitty that we're friends now, kitty."
"don't call either of us that!" she protests, her grip she had on your hand tightening. a quiet comfort to you, but probably mostly her.
"why not? kitty's a cute nickname. when people give you a nickname it means they have a special affection for you."
"oh, so you like us?" she sarcastically raises a thin eyebrow, lips forming in a frustrated line.
"hm," gene hums, seeming to seriously consider her question, dark eyes darting between the two of you. "you? not really. i kinda like her, though."
aphmau huffs. "then why did you go out of your way to bother us?"
"i just like messing with people. thought that was pretty obvious, no?" he scoffs. "and you two, especially you little missy, make yourselves the perfect targets."
you suppress a tense sigh.
"which is exactly why you two are skipping with us today," gene says simply with a shrug, face smug as he leans on the wall, hands shoved in his pockets.
"excuse me?" you ask incredulously.
"you heard me. let's go." he lifts himself from the wall, not opening the conversation up for any more questioning as he leisurely walks away from the classrooms.
aphmau sends you a panicked glance, amber eyes round. the trio walks ahead of you once they see you both uneasily following along, beginning to whisper among themselves when a looming tall boy nearly runs into the two of you from around the corner.
you recognize him as that aaron guy, who outside of aphmau's stories had gained an even larger reputation of getting into fights and winning. he gives you a once over, making you tap your thigh nervously before you watch his nearly black eyes dart down to aphmau.
the short girl gives a very direct "hmph!" before turning away from him, grabbing your arm, and dragging you closer to the group. her distaste for him seemingly was much larger than what she held for the shadow knights.
you glance back to see aaron watching you two walk away from him, his eyebrows furrowed and mouth slightly agape in shock. truthfully, it was an amusing sight, and you have to stop yourself from laughing at his expression when his eyes dart back to yours.
his mouth snaps shut and he rolls his eyes, quickly turning away and stalking off down the hall without a single word being muttered.
gene huffs out an amused laugh. "see? that's so funny. no one but you of all people is able to look that guy in the eye. now c'mon."
you and aphmau stare at him, faces unamused.
"if not, i'm sure your friends and the rest of the school would love to see my photography skills!" he grins, raising his eyebrows challengingly.
soon you find yourself following the group down the sidewalk, with aph clinging onto your arm. you could feel her hands tremble nervously against your blazer, and every once in a while her head would dart around with a guilty look in her eye.
"if you get us into any more trouble than just skipping—" she starts, only to swiftly be cut off by the leader ahead.
"relax. you're both just going to get to know us better. we're gonna hang out and then get some coffee later. no biggie."
"you drink coffee?" aphmau questions.
"yep. dark and bitter."
"calm down, edge lord. drinking black coffee doesn't make you any cooler." you grumble, earning a tiny chuckle from both aphmau and surprisingly zenix.
"after our last little walk together and you still don't like me?" gene sighs, shaking his head and clicking his tongue.
"i can't say buying cigarettes is a fun bonding experience for me, sorry to say." you quip back.
"...you know what, fair enough, kitty. i get both of your little goody-two-shoes attitudes—well i don't really get it, but—i'll strike you both a deal." gene turns to look at the two of you as you cross the street, walking towards an older park. "if you two still don't like us after skipping today, i will never ask you two to skip class again."
"you promise?" aphmau stutters, leaning forward with hopeful eyes.
"i promise!" he concurs. "i just want you to know us outside of the rumors you've heard."
you think you'd believe laurance's "rumors" over these three's catty smirks any day.
"we're not all that bad." gene shrugs, before turning to see sasha and zenix ahead going off the path into some shrubbery.
aphmau glances up at you, before looking back to gene with a resigned sigh. "ok, fine. deal."
"great!" he grins before waving a hand towards the shrubbery. "ladies first."
you stare at him as aphmau walks forward, raising an eyebrow. "and what if this is an elaborate plan to get us alone and murder us?"
"oh, kitty, if i wanted to do something to you i would've done it when you walked home with me." he scoffs, throwing an arm around your shoulder and guiding you with him after the rest of the group.
"uh-huh." you deadpan, earning a carefree chuckle from the boy.
when the shrubs part for a clearing, you look up to see an old brick bridge for a train track. it was likely abandoned a long time ago based on the trees and plants overgrown on the top and the layers of graffiti plastered on the sides. under the bridge ran part of the large river that goes through the whole city, though this part seems to be a thinner and slower-moving part of it.
gene releases you from his arm, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walks ahead a few steps.
truthfully, it was a really cool spot. you'd even hang out here alone to draw or read in your free time if you had come across it on your own. you doubt that's what the shadow knights did here, though.
suddenly, your phone buzzes, and you look down to check the notification.
kate: hey, you're not in homeroom today?
kate: you sick?
you curse under your breath, looking to aphmau who was distracted by something sasha was saying, before looking back down. your fingers hover over the keyboard as you contemplate what to say.
you: ugh yeah sorry i didn't tell you 
you: probably just ate something bad, i'll be better by tomorrow 
kate: ohh alright then
kate: i'll see you tomorrow then, hopefully?
kate: feel better! and rest up!
you: thanks kate! i will!
guilt eats at you from the inside of your chest, screaming at you how wrong you were, how you need to tell your friends the truth.
you slide your phone back in your pocket.
"alright, you two. make our new friends here feel welcomed. they'll be joining our group here pretty soon." gene muses, holding his hands out to prompt zenix and sasha to actually talk.
"join? they said yes?" sasha raises her eyebrows, eyes shifting to aphmau and you in mild surprise.
"not yet." gene shrugs. "i'm not gonna force a good thing. they'll join on their own, but they've got to get to know us, first."
"ah, i see." sasha's eyebrows relax to rest in their usual unimpressed position.
zenix scoffs. "neither of them are hardcore enough."
"shut up, zenix."
the boy comically huffs in response and crosses his arms, like an annoyed kid who just got told off. aphmau seems pretty uneasy by his aggressive demeanor, slowly shuffling to stand closer to you again.
"i swear zenix has the same temper as that zane kid. speaking of him, why don't we let him in the group?" sasha looks over at gene.
your eyebrows furrow at her words, the middle ro'meave brother popping into your mind. he was rude to you last time, for sure, but him? in this gang of kids? the thought of it makes you feel strangely... protective over your friend's bratty younger brother.
"zane is just a poser. plus, he's no fun to play with. he was so eager to join us it made him look pathetic." gene rolls his eyes, and you can't help crossing your arms. "i'll give him until next semester to see how he does on his own, then maybe i'll think of it."
you look at aphmau, who is also looking at you with an unappeased expression on her face.
"make him work for it, huh?" sasha muses.
"what's the point of us having an exclusive group if we just let any emo kid in?"
"we're not emo, though," sasha says, dark purple fingernails ironically raking through her chopped side swoop bangs.
"not us. zane."
"oh, whoops. my bad."
gene ruins his fingers through the mess of dark curls on his head as he starts walking back where we just came from. "anyways, i'm going to get the stuff. i forgot it. keep them entertained."
"kay. hurry up." sasha says, stretching her arms out before sitting down on a soft patch of grass by the river.
the stuff?
"stuff?" you repeat, lip curling up and eyes squinting in accusation.
gene snorts. "don't worry, kitty. it's not drugs if that's what you're thinking."
he walks off, not giving any further explanation before he's gone.
"it's stuff for our art. you'll see." sasha looks over to you and aphmau, waving you both over to sit next to her as zenix stalks off closer to the bridge.
"i don't think i like the sound of that." aphmau whispers before you both settle onto the grass.
sasha turns to look at you both, a small amount of interest shines in her deep purple eyes. you want to laugh at how cliche it sounds in your head, but they really looked like someone had carved out two amethysts and stuck them into her eyes. black eyeliner lined her eyes, one side a little smudged on the corner. she managed to pull it off, somehow still looking like a little doll with her smooth porcelain skin.
"so, what kind of grades do you two get?"
"huh?" aphmau blinks.
"are you a straight-a student? average? dumb?" sasha presses.
"oh, uh..." your friend stutters, picking at her fingernails. "so far i've gotten all a's and some b's. i'm not that great at math though."
sasha hums, her eyes lazily drifting over to you.
"...pretty much all a's." you say, curiously looking back at her. why did she want to know? was she gonna try to get you to do her homework?
"cool. good to know we're not letting in anyone with bad grades."
"you mean you guys don't?" aphmau unashamedly asks, her face baffled.
sasha doesn't seem offended by this, the corner of her lip lifting. "nah."
"but you guys skip almost every day? that doesn't make any sense, i don't get how that works." she insists.
"we're not dumb. we get bad grades because we miss class and tend not to listen to the teacher, so that obviously reflects on our records. it's an attempt for the "man" to control us with these letters that we find such validation in." sasha returns.
so they do make bad grades.
"huh...? that was really a mouthful."
oh, aphmau.
"just words, sweetheart." sasha returns with a tiny smirk. "honestly, gene, zenix and i are very smart when it comes to our studies. we're just bored because nothing challenges us in academics anymore. hence why we skip class. if i'm going to be bored, i don't want to be bored in that building we call school."
"oh, i see. well, that doesn't make any sense." aphmau says.
sasha hums with a raised eyebrow, prompting her to elaborate.
"it's just... if you're so smart that you don't feel challenged, why sacrifice your good grades to do nothing? why not go the extra mile and challenge yourself by making a presentation? or writing a report on how the teachers can help you more?"
sasha quietly stares at her, expression blank���though eyes seemingly deep in thought.
"the teachers don't know everything, they're trying to figure life out, too. so if you're super bored, why not teach them back?" you add, bringing up your knees for your chin to rest on. "not caring and being lazy every once in a while is fun, but i think everyone should have a goal. otherwise you'll find yourself stuck in the same place."
"hm. i can see why gene took an interest in the both of you." sasha looks out to the river as she says this, lips pursed.
suddenly she reaches out a hand, the dark metal rings and bracelets she wore clinking together. "give me your hands."
"what, why?" aphmau asks cautiously, watching as you place your hand on the older girl's one.
"i do palm readings as a hobby. just a little thing i like to do." she says, her thumb already tracing over the lines in your hand as she brings it closer to her face.
"you're not going to do something weird are you?" aph leans back.
"just give me your stupid hand." she flicks her free hand demandingly.
aphmau goes quiet, nervously giving up one of her hands to the girl. sasha brings both of your hands side by side, pursing her lips as she compares the two.
"interesting." she says, a few moments passing before she continues. "both of you have lots of creativity. i'm not shocked by the lack of openness for feelings and emotions on your hand—" she nudges up your palm. "—but apparently aphmau is more open. which isn't a lie if we were comparing you both together... but neither of you are open. otherwise you two wouldn't be here in the first place."
you and aphmau make the same little noise of surprise.
sasha's eyebrows furrow, as she stretches out both of your hands. she focuses on yours, humming in stumped confusion as she mutters to herself. "that's weird. i haven't seen a fate line like yours. it's all... broken up. what does that mean? interesting..."
"quit holding hands with them, sasha!" zenix suddenly shouts from where he had scaled up to the top of the bridge, looking down over all three of you.
"quit being emo, zenix!" she shouts back without a second of thinking, looking up at you with an eye roll. "so glad there's girls now. he's—"
"don't tell me how to live my life!"
sasha ignores his response, looking at aphmau's palm. "your life is pretty dull. according to your palm."
"uhh..." aphmau's shoulders slump.
"i don't need a fake palm reader who learned all her lessons from the internet to tell me how to live my life!" zenix continues.
"ignore him." sasha rolls her eyes again. "he's just yelling to yell."
"i like yelling!"
"i like when you shut up!"
"come make me!" he challenges, puffing out his chest.
"kitty." sasha coos at you, batting her eyelashes. "be a dear and go shut zenix up for me? i want to relax and take a nap before gene makes you do the hazing initiation thingy."
aphmau flinches. "hazing? initiation? what initiation?!"
sasha lays down, closing her eyes and ignoring both of your protests.
"what—are you serious?" aphmau huffs, as sasha continues to ignore her words. "great. we didn't even agree to join and they're talking about an initiation. what even is the initiation?"
aphmau looks up to zenix, before her round eyes slowly drift back to you. "...can you go ask him?" she whispers.
"huh? why can't you?" you cross your arms, hushing your voice back
"because he scares me! you go talk to him!" aphmau complains back.
"i'm not gonna talk to him. you do it."
"no, you!"
"you!"
"oh! suddenly i'm feeling really sleepy..." aphmau fake yawns, lying down in the grass like sasha and closing her eyes.
"oh my—whatever! he's not even scary, you baby!" you quietly shout, standing up with a huff and ignoring the quiet snickers from sasha.
you turn to march over to the bridge, looking up to the top where zenix was kicking stray rocks into the river. "um, zenix?"
"what do you want?" he looks down at you, eyes narrowing. "did sasha get you to do her dirty work for her already? of course you'd listen to her." he snorts.
"no. i was just wondering what this initiation thing was about?"
"i can't spoil the surprise." he grins, and you deadpan. "just know that if you do it, you'll be super hardcore in my book."
"right, because i'm so desperate for your approval." you raise your eyebrows, resting a hand on your hip. "what, skipping class isn't hardcore enough for you?"
zenix huffs, flustering rather immediately at your words as he turns to kick a rock rather harshly into the water. "skipping class isn't hard. it's whatever."
"why are you so huffy and angry?"
"why are you so calm and happy?"
you shrug. "cause it's better."
"says who?" he quips, tilting his head at you in a challenge.
"says me."
"well aren't you important." he sarcastically huffs.
"so are you."
he looks down at you with a strange look.
"yeah? says who?"
"says me."
the shrubbery rustles and leaves crunch, signaling gene was back from wherever he had gone off to.
"looks like you all are getting along well." he says.
"she's weird," zenix says, still looking at you with a confused expression.
"well we like weirdos, don't we?" gene raises an eyebrow with an amused chuckle.
"...i guess," zenix says, walking along the bridge to find a way down.
"you two, come here," gene says, the bag in his hand rustling as he waves you and aphmau over.
"so," he starts when you're both standing in front of him. "how do you like our group so far?"
you glance at aphmau, before speaking up first. "you guys are fine, but we aren't into the whole skipping school and breaking the rules thing."
gene raises an eyebrow, looking over to aphmau when she pipes up.
"yeah, we're not interested in joining. i just want to finish this day of skipping and leave."
he hums quietly, looking off in thought. "...alright. i'll let you two go."
"really?" aphmau eagerly says, eyes wide and hopeful. "and you'll delete the pictures?"
"who said anything about deleting the pictures?" gene shoots down the second request in a heartbeat, snorting in amusement. "i'm keeping them, i just won't make you two skip school again, is all."
aphmau scoffs in displeasure.
"now now, no need to get too worked up." gene tsks, waving the bag in front of you two. "there's still something else i need you both to do for me before i let you go."
"what is it?" aphmau huffs, crossing her arms.
"you're going to tag a wall with the shadow knights logo."
"what?!" she squeaks, jaw dropping in horror, and you feel your face drop.
"you heard me." gene snickers watching your eyes drift to the hidden bridge that had a ton of graffiti on it already.
"no no. not there." gene smirks, nodding his head for you two to follow him.
your group walks back to the more polished part of the path, where gene points to a clean concrete wall that would most definitely be seen by people going by on their walks.
"here." he grins, gesturing to the wall.
"no way!" aphmau stutters, stepping closer to you with that same horrified look on her face.
"we're not criminals. that's illegal." you say, glaring up at gene who merely widens his smile, leaning down by his torso and tilting his head at you.
"you're a criminal as long as you're mine."
you wrinkle your nose. "you don't own me or aph just cause you have those pictures."
"oh? then i'm sure garroth and the rest of your friends would love to see said pictures of the school's precious sweet ivy getting the shit beat out of her by two rando new girls." he shrugs, straightening his back and dangling the bag in front of him. "it's up to you..."
you snap your mouth shut, before yanking the bag from his hands. "just shut up."
gene ooh's in amusement, stepping aside with a smirk as he watches you march to the wall, crouching near the bag as you drop it and pulling out the spray paints from inside.
"...if i do this, does it mean i'm part of your group?" aphmau nervously asks from behind you.
"nope, it just means that you're doing the work of tagging this place for me. plus, if you do this one time, i'll never ask you to tag this place for me again."
"tag any place." you interject, looking back to send a harsh glare at him.
gene looks you up and down, before quietly chuckling and raising his arms. "any place." he concedes.
"okay, fine." aphmau shakily agrees, coming up beside you to help.
you've never spray painted before, and neither had aphmau, but surprisingly the logo ended up looking pretty good. if it was done in a place you were allowed to tag and not vandalizing, you'd probably be proud of it.
but you were vandalizing, and you felt the opposite of pride as you and aphmau backed up from the wall, smelling like spray paint as some of it dripped from your fingers.
"not bad." gene grins, hands on his hips as he observes your handiwork.
"looks pretty great." sasha's voice pipes up, she and zenix appearing behind you two.
zenix crosses his arms as he analyzes the logo. "...maybe you two are hardcore enough." he admits.
"you're both free to go home now. we're gonna go to the coffee shop down the road if you two want to join us." gene says, snagging up the bag and cans to likely use later.
you and aphmau shake your head no at the same time.
"no thanks..." she stutters quietly.
gene shrugs, leading his two accomplices along the sidewalk. "suit yourselves. let's go."
you and aphmau silently watch as the group leaves, glancing back at the graffiti you both did with dejected looks on your faces. aphmau suddenly snatches up your hand, quickly walking away.
"i don't wanna be caught next to that." she mutters and you agree, keeping in pace with her if not speeding up.
you both walk in silence for a bit longer before you feel aphmau's hand tighten on yours and hear a quiet sniff. glancing over in surprise you see her round eyes filled with tears, her nose red as she looks away from you.
"i'm sorry i'm crying, i just feel so awful that we did that and so mad too..." she stops talking when her voice shakes a bit, burying her face in her hand with another sniffle.
"me too..."
your nose tingles as you rapidly blink to make your own urge to cry go away, breathing in a frustrated sigh. suddenly your feet stop on the sidewalk and you're tugging onto aphmau's hand, bringing her in for a hug.
"it's gonna be okay." you reassure when she hugs you back. "i'm sorry i let it get this far—"
"it's my fault, too." she interrupts.
"—we can go back and clean off the paint tonight. then we'll tell gene we're done with him and deal with the consequences." you finish, patting her back and pulling away from the hug. "we shouldn't let people like him make us cry, right?"
she looks up at you, blinking away the mistiness in her eyes and gulping down her urge to cry as she nods. "yeah! we can go clean it! that's a good idea. then no more shadow knights and... we can deal with the rest later."
you smile at the optimistic look in her eyes, patting her shoulders as you both continue to walk home.
cleaning concrete without a pressure washer or at the very least a strong hose is extremely hard. you honestly wouldn't force a prisoner to do this as work.
you and aphmau had been at it for ten minutes already, and you'd barely even scrubbed off a layer of the graffiti.
"dang it. i should've brought paint thinner." you groan when your hand slips and you scrape your finger against the rough surface. "this sucks."
"we're gonna be here all night," aphmau whines, focusing in on one spot and groaning when there's no difference under the sponge. "but we have to get it off. this is horrible."
you hear quiet footsteps nearby, and before you can react to it a bright light shines over the two of you, blinding the two of you.
"hey!" a man's voice calls out, the tone so stern and aggressive that you knock over the soapy water bucket and drop your sponge with a gasp.
"uh!" aphmau startles, before she realizes who it is, her words tumbling out of her mouth. "oh, officer! we—"
"we've been looking for the kids who've been tagging this place with that logo." he cuts her off, tone completely accusatory.
to be fair, you both decided on wearing black hoodies and sweatpants, making you look much more suspicious than you already did. but didn't he see the sponges and literal soap bucket next to your feet?
"wait! that's not how this happened! we didn't—"
"save it! the criminals always return to the scene of the crime. come on, you're both coming with me." he says, pacing over to you both and snatching you both by the arms, likely thinking you'd both run away.
you find yourself at a loss for words, mouth gaping and eyes filling with tears as you're dragged along with the cop. you couldn't even defend yourself, completely in shock that you were getting in trouble in the first place.
being in the back of a cop car on a tuesday night was never a possibility in your mind. yet here you are, at the ripe age of sixteen, being escorted to your parents on a school night.
aphmau hasn't stopped sniffling, the only thing keeping her from bawling her eyes out was likely the fact that you were in this with her.
to aphmau's relief and to your chagrin, the cop stops at your house first, marching you right up the sidewalk to your door and knocking, looking down at you like you had kicked a puppy and laughed. you knew nothing would change this guy's mind, so you merely watch your front door and hope it was your mom who opened it.
it wasn't, and dread fills every fiber of your being when your dad's figure stands in the open doorway. he looks at the officer in confusion, then down to you, his eyes blown wide open. his jaw clenches as he whips his head to the staircase where you were supposed to have retired for the night, before looking back at you with an immense amount of disappointment.
you shrink in on yourself when he doesn't say a word to you, turning to look at the officer who greets him. eyes drift and zone out on the floor as the officer explains why he's here, only to be startled by dad's deep voice.
"do you have any proof?" he asks, stopping the officer in his tracks.
"i... sorry?"
"do. you. have. any. proof? or do you like throwing around little girls into your car for a little power trip instead of catching actual criminals?" your dad grits, making you lean back against the doorway.
"that is not—sir, i—" the officer stutters, taken aback by the sudden accusation.
"let's talk." your dad yanks you inside as he steps outside next to the officer and shuts the door.
oh shit.
you hear a call of your name and turn to see your mom staring at you in confusion, her arms crossed over her robe.
"um..." you start, looking to the ground in shame.
"was that an officer?" she asks, eyes wide as she shuffles over to you.
immediately you burst out crying, leaning in to hug her while every emotion you had kept in about the situation tumbled out in fat tears that dripped down your face.
"i'm sorry! i didn't mean to do anything wrong!" you hiccup as mom shushes you, wrapping her arms around you and rubbing your back.
"just take a deep breath and tell me what happened."
and you do. from what you told her about ivy to the things she didn't know about gene, from the pictures to the gas station and the vandalism. the disappointed look on her face stings as you talk, but at least she was listening. with how distressed you were behaving and the fact you had never done anything like this before, mom clearly was open to hearing your side of the story on this.
as you finish your spill and calm down from your hysterics, the front door opens. aphmau comes in first looking uneasy, with your dad following behind.
"call sylvanna to come over here." he says, huffing and giving you a stern look as aphmau sits next to you on the couch.
"...what did you tell the cop?" you ask, eyebrows pinched together as you glance at the window to see the cop car not even parked in your driveway anymore.
he huffs. "don't worry about it."
...that's incredibly unsettling.
mom makes the call as you two wait in tense silence on the couch, and it's probably only a minute later tops that all hell breaks loose.
"¡aphmau!" sylvanna bursts through the door, hair a mess and pajamas crooked as she hops on one foot, sliding her flip flop off of her foot. "¡te juro que si estuvieras besando a un chico te golpearía con mi chancla tan fuerte que volarías hasta el año que viene!"
aphmau squeaks, shrinking into you like she was planning on using you as a shield.
"sylvanna, calm down. while what they did was disappointing, they weren't rebelling against us or being deceitful." mom says, interrupting sylvanna's heated rant and placing a hand on her shoulder. "actually, let me explain it to you in the kitchen."
aphmau sighs in relief as both of the moms and your dad go into the kitchen, voices quiet and hushed.
"she is so terrifying." she whispers to you, staring at the coffee table and tapping on her leg. "this day has been the worst."
"yeah..." you sigh, wringing your hands together. "i wonder how much trouble we'll be in when they're done talking about it."
"i don't want to be grounded." aphmau groans.
"me neither."
more tense silence passes, hushed voices barely heard from the kitchen before they all return to the living room.
sylvanna steps forward, arms crossed. "mija."
aphmau tenses. "yes ma'am?"
"i am," she inhales. "very disappointed that you didn't tell me about this when it was happening—"
the girl's head drops.
"—but. you did try to fix your mistake. and for that... i'm proud. pero si esto vuelve a ocurrir te juro que estarás castigado hasta el día de tu muerte. there will be no next time!"
aphmau cringes, before nodding. "yes ma'am..."
the two soon are out the door and on their walk home, seeming as it had already transitioned from late tuesday hours to the early hours of wednesday.
after a good talking to from both of your parents and truthfully some more crying on your end, you found yourself lying on your bedroom carpet, arms spread out as you tapped your feet on the ground.
it was just difficult to sleep now, your mind racing with what to do when gene will inevitably confront you again. your phone buzzes.
aph: are you still up ;-;
you: yeah, can't sleep 
aph: me neither...
aph: i'm so glad my mom didn't overreact
aph: i was sure i was a goner
you: yeahhh 
you: good thing my mom talked her down 
aph: yeah she's a life saver
aph: speaking of which i think both of them are talking to zianna on the phone right now about everything
you: what!! 
you: oh no i really hope garroth doesn't overhear the details or anything if they're talking loud 
you get halfway up from your floor, crawling over to your door and pressing your ear against it, straining to listen while glancing down at your phone again.
aph: oh crap i didn't think about that!
aph: hopefully not
aph: if he hears it from his mom i think he'd take it well, but that's still kinda awkward
you: yeah no kidding
you: then he'd probably tell the rest of our friends too
you: which wouldn't be the worst if they believed us
aph: yeah
aph: surely they would
aph: right???
you: i think they would 
you: the thought of drama with ivy veleno being public knowledge in the school makes my stomach hurt though 
aph: ugh i know me too
aph: i guess our faces look extra victimy to the bad kids
aph: because why are all of them out for us
aph: literally what did we do T-T
you: that's what i'm saying!! like since day one 
the conversation outside of the door is too muffled, so you slowly crack open your door and crawl towards the staircase to get a better listen.
"i swear if any boy puts a hand on either of my girls i'll go up to that school myself so help me!" you hear zianna shout over the phone.
"he didn't put his hands on either of them or trust me my husband would be in jail right now for murdering that little boy." mom says.
"i would be too!" sylvanna shouts, sounding the most heated of the three.
you: omg did you hear that??
aph: yeah
aph: we're zianna's girls ;p
you: and your mom is completely down with murder it seems
aph: i feel like we knew that already though
"oh, that just makes me so mad! they're so sweet and innocent, they shouldn't be having to deal with that punk ass kid! i swear i'll murder him too!" zianna huffs.
you: zianna cusses?? hahaha
aph: out of our three moms she seems the least likely lol
"well all i know is that if i find out either of them, especially my mija was covering up the fact that she was smooching with some boy i swear!!!" sylvanna gripes.
"i know when my daughter is lying and she would've told me if something like that happened. and i know you know aphmau was telling us the truth, too." mom sighs.
sylvanna sighs loudly. "yeah, you're right. i just worry about her!"
you: your mom is still stuck on the boy thing?
aph: yeah :/ she's kinda crazy about that stuff
you: my mom is protective over that kinda stuff too
you: but geez
aph: i know right?
you flinch as the door across from you opens, revealing your dad from behind it. he stops when he sees you hunched by the stairs, raising his eyebrows at your behavior.
"what're you doin', kiddo?" he asks, taking a step forward and sighing when he faintly hears your mom on speakerphone.
"...i couldn't sleep." you whisper back, clutching your phone to your chest.
he sighs again, pointing to your bedroom door. "well, sitting at the top of the stairs on your phone won't help. go to sleep."
"...okay..." you mutter, getting up and staring at the floor as you scurry back to your room.
a gruff call of your name stops you, and you turn back to see dad's contemplative face.
"and put away that phone."
"yes sir..."
"and..."
you stare at him, rocking on your feet. "...yeah?"
"...i put a pocket knife in your backpack."
"wha—" you guffaw. "dad, i can't bring a knife to school?!"
"says who?"
"oh my—says me! dad, that's illegal!"
he huffs. "not if no one knows."
"i just got in trouble for illegal stuff now you're encouraging me to stab people?"
"just one, possibly."
"dad, i am not taking a knife or weapon of any kind to my tenth-grade english class that is insane."
"i did it when i was picked on."
"you stabbed someone?" you ask in horror.
"no... but the threat worked well enough."
"okay well, i am a lot more likely to go to jail for that now than when you were a kid."
he sighs. "alright. but i won't be mad if i get a call from the school saying you kicked that boy in his balls."
"okay, dad! i'm going to sleep now." you back up, eyebrows raised.
dad's hardened eyes soften to amusement as he chuckles. "goodnight, baby girl. i love you."
"love you too, dad."
you shut the door behind you with a sigh.
you: got caught eavesdropping
you: gonna go to sleep before i get in more trouble
you: and before my dad suggests another torture method or weapon to use on gene
aph: your dad is so scary
aph: that seems like something he'd suggest
aph: and good night!
you: haha well he was just kidding
you: i think
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©starhvney, 2024. please do not steal or repost my works as your own.
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Hello I was wondering if you had advice on how to continue writing a story I start writing books but can't seem to finish them
Starting Stories But Not Finishing Them
There are a few reasons why you might be struggling to finish the stories you start. We'll count them down, because the biggest one is the most important one...
#5 - You're Getting Distracted
Writer brains get very excited by new ideas. Even when we're in the middle of a story we love and are excited about, we can lose all of our focus and motivation when the right idea comes along. But there are other things that can distract us, too... anything you like to do for fun or relaxation, other projects, school and work stuff, social stuff... anything you might be thinking about or spending time on that isn't your story can derail your forward motion. And sometimes it can't be helped, so you have to do some prioritizing and see where your mental energy and effort needs to be going. If there's nothing more important than your story going on, get your mind back on your story. And if new ideas pop up, write them down in a notebook or an "idea" file to save for later. Would Rather Be Doing Other Things
#4 - You're Getting Tripped Up on Quality
The more we write, and the more we read, the more we start to realize that what we're writing isn't quite where we want it to be quality-wise, and that can be really discouraging, especially if you feel like your story has to be perfect in the first draft. But the thing to remember is that quality is the result of two things: polishing and practice. Whatever level your writing is at, no amount of polishing is going to get you above that level. Only practice can do that, and practice means starting and finishing as many stories as you can. But... whatever level you're at, your first draft isn't necessarily going to reflect that level of quality because it's a rough draft. This is why we edit and polish. So, focus on finishing the story, then worry about polishing it up. And don't give yourself a hard time because you're not writing at a higher level than you're at.
Concentrate on Quantity at First, Not Quality #3 - You've Lost Motivation/Inspiration
Sometimes you just lose the spark of inspiration that made you want to write the story in the first place. Maybe you're just bored. Maybe you've forgotten what first excited you about the story. Maybe you're just not in a writing mood. Sometimes, doing exercises to rekindle your interest in the story can help. Try:
Guide: How to Rekindle Your Motivation to Write Getting Unstuck: Motivation Beyond Mood Boards & Playlists #2 - You're stuck on Something That Isn't Working
Stories are like a house of cards in that one misplaced “card” can bring the whole thing crashing down. Sometimes you get stuck because an element or event didn’t quite work, and you can feel in your gut that something’s not right, so the wind completely leaves your sails. It's not that there's a problem with the story, it's just that there's a problem with the path it's on. Try going back through what you've already written and look for the element that isn't pulling its weight. Can you identify the moment where the story loses its fizz? Maybe the addition of a character that's not pulling their weight and is dragging the story down. Maybe a subplot that is cluttering up the story or drawing attention away from the main plot. Or maybe a scene (or several) that don't really add to the story. If you can figure out what's draining your story's energy, you can usually start writing forward again. #1 - You Don't Know Where Your Story is Going
This is the BIG ONE. This is the one that is the culprit 99% of the time for newer writers, and the reason it happens is because newer writers are less familiar with plot and story structure. Your story's plot is the sequence of events that makes up the narrative, and this sequence of events is driven by a conflict. That conflict could be an external conflict (like having to defeat an evil sorceress... aka plot-driven), an internal conflict (like being conflicted between what you want and what someone else wants for you... aka character-driven), or a combination of both. Your story's structure is the order and placement of your story's events.
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The type of story you're telling and the way you want to tell it will decide what kind of plot points fill out this framework. The rising action will be kicked off by a catalyst/inciting incident. The climax may be preceded by a dark moment. The denouement may be followed by a final image. It's up to you to plot that out.
Basic Story Structure Plot Driven vs Character Driven Stories Understanding Goals and Conflict Fleshing Out Plot Ideas Creating a Detailed Story Outline
*** However, if you do choose to plot out your story using a known story structure guide, like Save the Cat! or the Snowflake Method, just remember you don't have to stick to it exactly. Always do what works best for your story.
Also: even accomplished writers who long ago mastered plot and story structure can still struggle with knowing where their story is going. That's because stories can change dramatically as you write them, and sometimes you get to the middle of your story and realize it's not going where you thought it was. That can lead to a "back to square one" moment that can be frustrating for any writer, but sitting down to do a little bit of plotting almost always helps you get back on track.
I hope this helps!
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sepublic · 6 months
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The Owl House's Ending Anniversary...
So it's officially been one whole year since The Owl House ended.
One year ago, I wondered how I would move on. How I would keep going. But I also knew I would, no matter what, because time keeps going on. Things will eventually pass, they always do, that's how so many moments and days for me have gone. Even entire periods of my life.
So I'm not surprised how things have gone on since then; I still had plenty more things to say about TOH, and I still love it just as I have. I've gotten new hyperfixations, and even returned to old ones as some of you can see with recent posts, so it's only a matter of time before TOH circles back again.
And man does it feel so slow, only to feel so brief, it really feels like this anniversary has snuck up on and surprised me! And once again, we have some other, appropriate event lined up; A solar eclipse on this anniversary! Luckily there's no sigils nor coven heads gathered to make me worry. But dang, it was raining in Connecticut when Luz returned there, and it was the rebirth of Jesus when Luz was resurrected.
Makes me wonder if anyone of the Boiling Isles, justifiably, has had PTSD from solar eclipses, and dreaded any that showed up, despite knowing it couldn't happen again. People must've held their breaths the entire time during the first eclipse, panicked at even the slightest fatigue, and then it passed and they realized it really was impermanent and over. And that there was another step towards moving on, which I guess I can relate to now, though this is something I'm much less happy to see gone.
I think a lot about how TOH has influenced both me and my writing, how I approach characters and stories now. I've found myself gravitating more and more towards personal, character-driven stories and situations now. I still have a bit of a taste for grander-scale stuff, but TOH was special for me in that it feels like the first time I really got and understood a show and its characters from the ground-up as I experienced it all in real time. The first time I truly grasped themes and character arcs and could make reasoned predictions based on those, some of which came true! It really feels like THE big start of my media literacy in a way?
It's been fun looking back at TOH as a 'whole' work more or less to reevaluate, and learning other things behind-the-scenes about the show. We've had a few more livestreams and stuff confirmed. Dana's done more drawings, including on her Patreon.
I haven't been writing as much TOH stuff lately, and tbf I've already said soooo much. I might have other, new things to say later down the line, and I do have a few thoughts I've written in notes that maybe could be fully-fledged posts in their own right. I've found comparisons to protagonists of other media, like Miles Morales, or Arin from Ninjago.
The Owl House still is and will probably always be something truly special to me; It feels like my first real fandom experience. My first time understanding and learning a show, appreciating it as it develops and even as I speculate. It broadened my tastes and horizons, my ability to participate with others in stuff.
I miss it; I miss new episodes, new developments. I'm still agonized over things that could've been, things I would've loved to see more of. I'm apprehensive over whether we'll get that Raeda prequel because I don't wanna get my hopes up. Plus Dana needs a well-deserved break and is trying and experimenting with new, different things. And I get that.
It's bittersweet, it's scary, it's freeing, it's sad, it's happy. I've gone so far, this show and fandom has gone so far. And it'll keep going, it has to, time keeps marching on. Luz had to lose her father Manny, process that, but still keep going and must be surprised looking back how much she's adjusted since then, how much she's still grown and gained and learned, while still holding him dear; The same applies for the Titan and the magic she once wielded. With grief and acceptance being a core theme in this show, I'm not surprised that it prepped up the viewers to do the same, and now we have.
And you know what? I'm gonna keep going on, like Luz Noceda, possibly my favorite protagonist of all time, one of the greats and a huge inspiration now for how I really want to write and focus on my own protagonists, too. I'm gonna keep doing this like it never ended. The rate and frequency might fluctuate, but every now and then I'll have things to say, and stuff to drop by and check, such as with the tag and the occasional trending post, others' reblogs, and so forth.
So again, thanks to Dana and the crew. Thanks to Luz Noceda, Eda Clawthorne, King Clawthorne, and the other many, many characters! Luz's story is one where it feels like the show really is about her at its core and wraps around to her, and I want to do a story one day that accomplishes the same feeling. And as I see how Dana has been inspired by past influences, I can't help but look forward to future generations and stories that will themselves have been inspired by The Owl House, I know I've been already, retroactively applying it to things that were already fairly compatible to begin with, and really needed the fresh breath of new inspiration.
I'm repeating a lot of the same things I've said last year. Will I say the same stuff another whole year from now? I'll see. But until next time... BBBBYYYYYYEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!
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drewstcrkey · 2 years
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Stuck In My Ways : Rafe Cameron .
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Summary: y/n is accepted by both kooks and pogues and after ditching your brother, john b for a kook party you realize you might just lean towards one side of the island than the other. Pairing: Rafe Cameron x Routledge!Reader Warnings: Handsy Rafe Word Count: semi long lol Author Note: so pretty much my intention is to turn this into a series. i already have part two halfway written. if you guys like this so far let me know because the ideas i have for this series are wild!! also i did not proof reach this so i'm sorry for any typos.
you tiptoed the line between two worlds. a happy medium most couldn't even fathom. you were both pogue and kook. moving to figure eight to live with your estranged aunt when your father disappeared. it was a easy decision on her part, given you were already enrolled in kook academy long before your father's disappearance. john b was quick to urge you to take the opportunity and you made the promise to help him out as much as you could. he was your brother after all. despite your life taking a 180 turn, you still managed to maintain your friendship with the pogues. to an extent. you didn't see them as much, your kook friends surprisingly needy once they'd decided you were officially one of them.
"did kelce tell you, y/n?" blonde, known as sav, questions as she finds a space on the beach towel. wet hair sprinkling droplets on your dry skin with a flip of her hair.
"party tonight? yeah," you nod, readying yourself to break the news you didn't intend on showing up.
"oh goodie, me and chloe are going to get ready at my place so just get there at like 7 and we'll pregame while we get ready," bright smile as the girl pulled her phone from her beach bag.
"oh my god yeah, i already got the truly's from my brother so we're good," chloe's giddy voice chimed in as she leaned over into the conversation.
"yeah... i'm not going," you sighed, rubbing your hand on the back of your neck awkwardly. both girls faces dropping as if their miniature puppies had been run over or something.
"funny," chloe laughed, "this is going to be the party of the year, what do you have better to do?"
a roll of your eyes as you looked up at the clear sky, "my brother-" before you could so much get the rest of your sentence out sav interrupted. "oh come on, what does he have another scavenger hunt he's trying to drag you on? you don't even like stuff like that," she groaned, pout prominent on her face. a laugh coming from you, she wasn't wrong. if you had to admit, kook life suited you much more than getting dirty out on the cut.
"i'm taking the silence as your coming," chloe's giddy demeanor returning, with a short clap of her hands. you decided to stop putting up a fight, knowing you were fighting a losing battle anyways. kelce's parties were always fun anyways, although there was no way you'd be able to tell john b you were ditching him and the pogues for a party at kelce's. there was no world would that could go over well.
your brother was always protective of you, even though you were a year older than him and he'd placed one big rule on the circumstances of you going kook. steer clear of the golden trio : topper, kelce, and rafe. for the most part you did. by no means would you consider the three guys close friends of your but you were friendly with them. it came in handy when it came to parties, the three over them known for throwing some of the best ones on this side of the island.
---------- later that night . ----------
your greeted by cheering from your best friends as you exit your white jeep. both girls stood at the front porch. sav holding out a truly, already cracked open for you. "we thought we were going to have to go make a detour to save you from the cut," sav laughed, as you took the truly. shaking your head, laugh syncing with hers before you brought the can to your lips.
once the three of you made your way up to sav's room you set your bag down by the door, conversation on how the night was going to go already in full swing. "do you think tonight kelce will finally make a move?" sav bounces on her bed for a moment. she's had a crush on kelce for as long as you'd known her and only recently had he started to show some interest. you hoped for her sake tonight was her night.
"oh for sure," you give an assured nod.
"he was all over you the other day at the country club," chloe added.
"speaking of all over someone at the country club," sav smirked, as both girls turned their attention your way. you looked at them both confused.
"what?" you asked, not fully sure what the two of them were getting at.
"oh my god, y/n/n, don't play stupid. rafe is so into you," chloe tilted her head to the side, her words coming out like this was some sort of common knowledge. sav's nod only reaffirms that. you this wasn't true though. rafe cameron was not into you and even if he was ... he was off limits. john b would kill you, himself.
"he is not," you groan, "he was just being nice," remember how he'd brought you over a drink from the bar while you were all by the course. the way his hand pressed on your lower back sent chills up your spine that you would never admit to.
"name one time rafe has ever been nice to anyone he didn't want to get into bed?" sav laughed, making you stop before responding. she had a point, but still, you refuse to even let your mind harp on the idea for to long. you'd heard your brother's stories of the eldest cameron and although you didn't necessarily believe all of them, they were enough for you to put your faith in heeding your brother's warning.
"lets just get ready," turning to your bag, any way to get off this topic. both girls shrug, giggling to each other for a second before you all fall into getting ready.
doja cat playing on full blast, girly giggles just nearly tuning the sound of the music out. you'd made your way through nearly all the truly cans between the three of you, a good buzz going. it was a good thing sav lived so close to kelce's house. the walk wouldn't be too long, both ways. seeing as you were planning to stay at her place for the night. her parents out on the mainland for the week.
"okay! kelce just texted me asking if we're on the way," sav squealed. you and chloe join in on the excitement as you all grab the last three cans and set on your way over to the party. it was only an hour in and you had a great buzz going, so good you and topper had beat out three other pairs at beer pong. something you were only good at with the right amount of alcohol in your system.
"one second," you called out, feeling your phone going off.
"oh c'mon, y/n, we're just heating up," topper whined, arm wrapping around your shoulder before you raise your phone up. showing an incoming call from your brother, he sighs and lets you go on your way. legs carrying you up the stairs and into a guest bedroom so that you could answer john b with some peace and quiet.
"where are you? your locations off?" was the first thing he said when you tapped the green button. a sigh coming from you.
"calm down, fbi, i'm with sav and chloe like i said ... the guy sav likes pulled a real dick move," you lie, plopping down on the bed in the middle of the room. you hated lying to john b, but he just wouldn't understand if you told him you chose to go to a kook party over hanging out with him and the rest of the pogues at the chateau.
"i'm just making sure you're safe," you could tell in his voice he'd missed you. you missed him to. a loud thud coming from somewhere in the house, followed by cheering. pulling your phone from your face for a second , mouthing 'fuck' to yourself, hoping he hadn't heard anything.
"what was that?" he asked. of course, he'd heard it. the sound probably echoed throughout the entire neighborhood.
"uh, nothing, just the tv," you tried to explain away, "i'll call you tomorrow, okay? i got to go, love you," before he could even get his own i love you out you were already hitting the red button on your phone screen. fear that the partygoers downstairs would find another way to try and get you caught in your lie. dropping your phone onto the bed for a second, relieved sigh falling as you shoulders slouched for a moment.
"i didn't take you for a liar," a familiar voice announces itself. startled you look up, to find smug grin right above you.
"rafe," you stutter out. when did he get here? and why was he just lurking around listening to your phone call.
"y/n," he let out a dry laugh before finding a space beside you on the bed.
"what are you doing in here?" you ask, as if he can't throw the same question your way.
"well, this is my room for the night," brows raises as he licks over his lips. your own brows knit together, was he really planning on getting that drunk that he couldn't even make it back to tanneyhill? you notice the half empty bottle of whiskey he's offering to you and you've already received your answer to your own question.
"uh, sure," you give him a smile, taking the bottle and taking a swig of it. liquor burning every inch of your throat. you'd always been more of a hard seltzer kind of girl. as you regain your composure you can feel blue eyes studying you and your cheeks heat up under his gaze.
"good shit, right?" he says before you give the bottle back. all you do is give him a nod before you stand up, kneading out your pink sundress that you now were hyperaware of how it hugged every curve of your body.
"yeah, thanks for that," a nervous laugh tumbles from you. normally you weren't so awkward around him but you were in a bedroom, just you, rafe, and a bottle of whiskey. you may have been buzzed but even you knew that wasn't a good look. before you can much headway toward the door you feel a hand tug at your arm, just strong enough to pull you back toward rafe but gentle enough not to hurt. your eyes widen as you look down at him and you notice the small pout on his lips.
"yes rafe," you try and laugh off the random action, free hand flipping through your hair.
"where do you think you're going?" his strong hands find their way to your hips and that's when you realize you're positioned right in between his legs. your heart nearly jumping out of your chest. "looking like that," his teeth raking over his bottom lip as he takes a moment to look you over.
"i-" you don't even know how to respond, not sure if your brain was fuzzy from the alcohol or from the shock of rafe cameron giving you a compliment. he had to be trashed, right? hum coming from the guy in front of you, your mind focused on the way he thumbed at your hips through your dress.
"i should really get back to the girls," you gulped, trying to get out of his grasp but his hold was firm.
"don't go, y/n." smirk playing on his lips as he stands, now towering over you. "we never get any time alone."
you face drops at his words and for a moment you can't help but to think back to what chloe and sav had said earlier in the night. were they right? did rafe actually have a thing for you? shaking your head slightly. it didn't matter. whether he was or not, your loyalty had to stand with john b, if not on anything than on this matter. rafe's hand moves up to your jaw, lifting up head up to look up at him. blue eyes searching your for a green light from you.
"my brother, he hates you," you choke out, skin tingling under his touch. your words don't have the effect you thought they would they and he leans his head back for a second, laugh taking over the silence in the air.
"yeah, i'm not his biggest fan either," he shrugs, gaze falling back onto you. hand on your hip pulls you closer to him, his body now pressed up on yours and for second you question whether you'll crumble under his touch. you had eyes like everyone else, to say he wasn't attractive would be a flat out lie. even if you didn't love that you thought so. "from what i saw earlier you don't let his opinion dictate your decisions anyways," his comment leaves you biting at your cheeks. eyes falling to the floor.
"i'm just not this girl," you finally pull yourself out of his grasp, once again straightening out your dress. heavy sigh falling from you, one you hadn't even realized you'd been holding in that entire time. eyes flutter as you look back at rafe. a disappointed look on his face.
"what kind of girl do you think i think you are?" he asked, sitting back down onto the bed. hands push into the bed as he leans back, eyes still very much so glued onto your figure. it makes you self conscious, even though no one's gaze has ever made you feel like that before.
"i don't know," you shrug, shifting in the spot you were standing in. "the type that would fuck you in a guest bedroom at a party," your brow raising at him and all he responds with is a laugh that almost makes you question if you made up everything that had just happened in the last few minutes.
"i wasn't going to fuck you," he his licks lips again, "i mean, i'd love to, but that wasn't the plan," he shrugs, your heart feels like it's about to fall out of your chest again at his words. a knowing look etched onto his features. you are too stunned by the whole interaction to even try to piece together another sentence.
"i won't make any moves," he holds up his hands before patting the space you once occupied on the bed. you look over at the door then back at rafe. "unless you think you'd have more fun out there," he leans over to grab the whsikey bottle set on the floor. bringing the bottle to pink lips as he looks you over, awaiting your decision. the look on his face lets you know he thinks he knows your choice before you even make it. rolling your eyes and settle back onto the bed, crossing your legs so that your facing him, hands quickly pulling at your dress to cover yourself as best as possible. admittedly, rafe had always intrigued you and he was right the two of you never had much time alone. only ever having interactions when you were with your respective friends.
"why aren't you trying to get back down there?" you ask, eyes searching his face for an answer before he gives you one, but he was always so hard to read. if you were going to spend your time with him, you'd mine as well shed the awkwardness you felt from being in a bedroom alone with him and just be yourself.
"the only reason i'm here is right in front of me," he smiled and weirdly he sounded genuine. you didn't understand.
"shut up," you laugh, slapping at his arm. "seriously?"
"i'm not joking," he laughed, arm reaching over towards you. free hand thumbs at your bottom lip. silently telling you to open up so he can pour some of the whiskey in your mouth for you. you follow his lead, tapping at his arm to tell him when to stop. "she can drink, huh?" he teases, giving you a playful nudge as you swallow the big pour he'd just given you. you just look at him for a second, you'd be lying if you said you knew where any of this was coming from. maybe you were just too drunk to accurately piece together what was actually happening.
"okay, so now that you got what you wanted from this party..." you start and you can feel the whiskey now taking it's toll on your brain. body heating up, although you can't decipher whether thats due to the alcohol or rafe training his gaze on you.
"i wouldn't say i got what i wanted," he picks up where your words left off. your bottom lip pokes out, now extremely confused. "not yet atleast," he shrugged, he leans over again placing the bottle back down on the floor but he doesn't go back to regaining the distance between the two of you. a comfortable distance might you add. his hand finds it's way back onto your hip as he pulls you down further onto the bed. laying you down onto the bed, his body hovering over you. you can feel your breath hitch under him, you're freaking out.
"rafe," you mumble as he runs his thumb over you lip.
"shh," he hums, taking in your how beautiful you look under him. "i want you, y/n." his voice gentle, a tone you'd never heard from him before now. it made your stomach rumble with butterflies. "but i won't do anything you don't want me to," his words sound like a promise and your heart tells you that you can trust him. his eyes search yours and before you can even catch yourself your hand snakes over the back of his neck. your lips pressing against his, he returns the kiss. the two of you moving in sync as his tongue darts in and out of your mouth. you're kissing rafe cameron and as quickly as the thought enters your mind it goes away when you feel his hands moving up and down your body.
the kiss growing deeper, both of you becoming more hungry for one another and it hits you in this moment...
you wanted him too.
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hroscek · 2 months
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Il Dottore segments - what I could gather
⚠︎Massive spoilers for the Sumeru archon quest and other Dottore-related media ahead⚠︎
Okay so as far as I can tell there's little to no official info about dottore's various segments. Nevertheless they're an important part of my fav lunatic ✧˚ so I decided to document what we know so far and what we've made up within fandom.
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Keep in mind this is in no way 100% canon or conclusive, just to help myself (and perhaps you) keep everything somewhat consistent. If there's anything I missed PLEASE let me know and I'll try to keep this up to date.
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Okay so first the canon stuff.
We know that Dottore made segments of himself at various stages of his life in order to gain additional perspective and transcend the limits of a mortal mind. We can also make a few educated guesses as to how many there are and what their personalities might be.
There were at least 3 different segments seen trough various media. Firstly there's the two segments we see during the Sumeru archon quest. One of them is the one that talks to Tighnari and later leaves on a boat. The other we see in a cutscene talking to Nahida. He is also the one that ends up killing the others in exchange for the electro gnosis. The last confirmed separate segment that we get visual confirmation of is the one from the manga.
To make is easier we can assign them names since we'll talk about them a LOT in this post.
The original - Zandik
He is the real Dottore who created the other segments and the one they are based off. We haven't seen him on screen yet and due to his standoffish nature we can't really get a good grasp on anything about him because we can't confirm whether the source talks about a clone he sent in his place or not. The only confirmed info I feel safe about concluding is accurate to him is his backstory/pre-fatui days.
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The Prime - Omega
This is the segment Nahida talks to and presumably (if he is to be believed) the last segment standing after the archon quest (unless Dottore already started working on new segments in the meantime). He is said to be the most selfish of the segments and is shown to be quite proud. The label of omega comes from the in-game cutscene where he is introduced as the omega build. He is said to be "in the prime of his life" which is why many call him that. This also causes confusion in many that assume that Prime is the Original, likely thinking Prime is just short for Primary.
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Webtorre - ???
This is the segment that appeared in the manga and was later killed off by Prime. We don't know his build or much about him, with many speculating that he's actually two different segments that are just never explained to be separate by the text. He's also shown with a different design and a more offhinged personality.
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Boattorre - ???
Another mystery build. This is the one we see confront Tighnari in the Sumeru archon quest and later leave by boat. From his interactions as well as dialogue from the fatui guards around him we can deduce he's more "friendly" and upbeat than the other segments. An NPC speculates that the Doctor's picked up the attitude of people in Sumeru, which could also mean that even most fatui don't know (or at least can't tell the difference) when it comes to the segments.
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That's it for the 100% confirmed on-screen stuff (with some generally agreed upon speculation)
What we're guessing
Then we get into speculation territory. From the cutscene where the segments are allegedly destroyed we can hear 11 distinct voices. Combined with Prime and the original that's at least 13 Dottores.
Some people also interpret the use of Omega as there being 24 separate segments since there's that many letters in the Greek alphabet.
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Personally I think both are valid trains of thought, but realistically we're probably lucky to see six segments so unless there's a Dottore expansion or he gets his own universe there's really not much point in speculating on how many there really are and who they might be. Not saying it's not fun though!!
Another thing we might guess about is any other appearances. I placed these under speculation as there's always an argument to be made that either of these could just be an already named segment. Nevertheless, if we take each instance to be a separate segment we end up with quite a few new Dottores to take a look at.
First we have the one seen at La Signora's funeral that talks with Columbina. The discoure around him is often focused on whether he is the one "in the prime of his life" as Columbina puts it. Personally I think omega takes that title and is also the one seen burning irminsul (logically speaking it's him as he's commiting blasphemy by burning the sacred tree as well as physically the last one standing after the archon quest).
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Then we have the Snezhnaya segment, who could as just well be any of the previous but for the sake of extending the list I'll treat him as separate. In the conversation between the fatui in the Boattorre scene they remark that in Snezhnaya he's much colder (ha) than the one they're with.
Also the likelihood that Webby is multiple segments due to his varying personalities, but again that might just be him ❤︎.
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I might update this with more fanon names, but I'm still not confident enough to deal with all the different OCs and whatnot. Hell, I'm still not fully confident in what I wrote here with all the conflicting opinions. I tried my best though. If there's any new info I'll definitely try and update as soon as I can. If you have anything to add or I forget to update please don't be afraid to reach out!!
Thank you all for reading! ✿
Last meme cred to XS_DENIED on hoyolab
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claudemblems · 1 year
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Patching Your Wounds | Kaveh
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"You're injured."
Kaveh's face fell as he gazed upon your hand, the skin littered with dozens of bloody cuts and scratches. How you got them, he didn’t know. All he did know was that the sight broke his heart.
"Kaveh, I'm–"
"Don't 'I'm fine' me," he said sternly, his voice coming out sharper than he meant it to. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before trying again. "You're not going anywhere until this is taken care of. Sit here. I'll be back with medicine and bandages."
You didn’t have the heart to refuse him, not when he looked at you with such sorrow in his eyes, so you opted to make yourself comfortable while you waited.
Less than a minute later, Kaveh returned from the bathroom with all the necessary supplies in hand. He crouched down on the wooden floor beside you, motioning for you to give him your hand. You did, and he gently took it into his own, assessing the extent of your injuries. He frowned slightly, and a twinge of guilt pricked at your heart.
But Kaveh didn't speak a word, probably because he knew his concerns would come off as a harsh scolding instead. So he silently began his work, first disinfecting the cuts and scratches before treating them with antibiotics.
"Some pesky treasure hoarders decided it would be a good idea to try to jump me," you began, choosing your words carefully. It wouldn't be wise to mention any details that might make Kaveh even more anxious. "It would have worked on any average civilian, but I'm a seasoned adventurer. Their plan was doomed the moment they underestimated me."
"And what were you doing that led you to be in an area filled with Treasure Hoarders?" 
"Uh…just some adventuring stuff. Look, Kaveh, I wasn't in any real danger, okay? I only left with some scratches."
"Scratches that armed strangers left on you!" Kaveh closed his eyes, biting back all the emotions threatening to burst. "I'm just…worried about you, okay? Whether your injuries are miniscule scrapes or cuts, they’re a visible reminder that I wasn't there to protect you. I let someone else hurt you. I let someone mar your skin with wounds that have to heal. I should have been there to whisk you away to safety, but I wasn't. And for that, I'm incredibly angry at myself, and I'm sorry to you that I wasn't there when you needed me."
The sadness pooling in Kaveh's eyes made yours sting with tears. With your free hand, you pulled his head against your chest, fingers gliding through his silky strands of hair. "Even if I had far worse injuries, I would never blame you, Kaveh, and you shouldn't blame yourself either. Unexpected circumstances are bound to happen, and we should be glad that I only left with a few scratches on my hand."
"...I know you're right, but in a perfect world, I'd never let anyone with ill intentions lay a finger on you."
"And the world we live in will never be perfect, so we should be prepared for whatever may lie ahead. We'll both end up with our own bumps and bruises, but they're a testament that we made it out alive. We can always patch each other up afterwards."
You felt him relax against you, his quick heartbeat finally beginning to slow. "I just don't ever want to see you hurt..." he whispered, wrapping an arm around your middle. "You are the best gift I've ever received, and if anything were to happen to you, my life would lose all its meaning. I could never continue on without you by my side, so please, look out for yourself, My Treasure."
Your heart skipped a beat at the pet name, one that Kaveh reserved only for the most intimate of occasions.
"I promise you, Kaveh, that I'll never leave before it's my time." You held him tighter, placing a kiss atop his hair. "I'll make sure you will never have anything precious torn from you ever again. And I'll do everything in my power to replace all the grief of your past with a future of never-ending happiness."
Kaveh pulled away to meet your eyes, one of his signature bright smiles gracing his lips. “My Love, you’ve already made me the happiest man in all of Teyvat just by being mine.”
Heat rushed to your face as you buried your head in the crook of his neck. “You sure know how to say such pleasing words.”
Kaveh chuckled, lips pressing against the crown of your head. “What can I say? You’ve made me quite the hopeless romantic, Darling.”
“All these pet names at once are going to make my heart burst.”
“Oh, that just won’t do. We still haven’t finished patching up your other wounds. How would I patch up your heart as well?”
You thought for a moment before giving Kaveh a cheeky smile. “Maybe a few kisses would suffice.”
“Oh? Well, that I can do. Let’s get you bandaged up right away so I can administer the rest of the medicine. Don’t worry, the healing properties of the kisses can be felt immediately. So the sooner I can kiss your symptoms away, the better!"
And you received many kisses that night, even long after your heart returned to normal.
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saltynsassy31 · 2 months
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Whats bothering about this grand festival me is the fact it has every reason to be the final fest
But, again, its been promoted as anything but that.
This season's catalogue has "thank you for playing" title. They are soon to release the switch 2, which is more the reason for them to start working on the next game now more than ever (and I am 99% sure we are getting a 4th game for many, many reason, but main one being that Splatoon has become Nintendo's new cash cow). Like the previous two games, it would have finished its 2 year run and they said they only had 2 years of content planned. The splatfest we are having next is the same one (according to a comment, I haven't checked this one yet) that they had in splatoon 1 before the final one.
It makes sense.
But something feels off.
And I'm wracking my brain over not having that final piece of the puzzle. Somethings missing and I can't seem to tell what that something is! Its frustrating, but we'll just have to see.
Because there are also reasons pointing to them doing it for at least another year. Things I found odd when I first noticed. Those being:
Off the Hook was added so much later, they missed better part of the special events like Splatoween and Frosty fest. It would be interesting if they brought it back one more round to see these two beloved characters have their chance to shine. They obviously know Off the Hook's popularity.
They introduced 2 new spaltfest mechanics way too late into the games life span, to the point we've got to enjoy it very little. It is odd also that they didn't add in sooner.
They only said they had two years PLANNED. Some people had speculated that they might do more.
Splatoon 1 only had two years because the Wii U was dying and they needed to quickly move to the next console. Splatoon 2 exists so that they could bring new stuff along side whay splatoon 1 already had. 2 years for splatoon 2 cuz, well, splatoon 2! Splatoon 3 brought in so many new things to the table. It be cathartic to have the final fest happen in the 3rd year of its life, a fitting end.
This fest is being pointed as "Grand Festival" and has only been said to celebrate the game's 2 year anniversary. Never once was it said to be its final.
Now, these aren't reasons enough to say they'll do more splatfests or catalogues. But it's something to keep in mind, at the very least.
The first point is a little iffy because, as much as I'd love to see reruns of it like many others; commercially, they'd want something new. We might be getting new outfits for EVERYONE if they do reruns, of just OtH.
Another theory is that this is technically the "final" fest, or at least the fest which choices affect the next game. But not the final fest of the game, the final fest might compliment this one. (Less likely, but a possibility to keep in mind)
I can't think of much else besides this, tbh. It's really driving me nuts here XD I like to be prepared for everything, so I've calculated this being the final fest since I first got the game 2 years ago. This is throwing me off incredibly hard 😫.
We'll just have to wait and see what they have planned. Splatoon 3 was already a huge change to the game, I wouldn't be surprised if they were trying to do something completely new and different after this Splatfest.
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katy-l-wood · 8 months
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Disasters in Film: The eras of disasters in film.
Here we go! The first in a series of posts I'm going to do giving my thoughts on the college course I'm taking this semester about disasters in film. I made a post with the film list and reading list as well, which you can check out here.
Also. One of the professors teaching this course LOVES quotes. And I mean loves them. 90% of his presentations are just quotes that he then rambles about. So be prepared for lots of quotes in this series. 😂
And I'll open this up with the same image the professors did, which is an image from the Mayfield Kentucky tornado. Because damn is it fitting and evocative:
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This is a theater that was damaged by a tornado, revealing the world outside the theater while leaving the interior of the theater itself untouched. The photo was taken by Shawn Triplett.
And a quote:
“Disaster is one of the oldest subjects of art.. It is concerned with the aesthetics of destruction with the peculiar beauties to be found in wreaking havoc.” —Susan Sontag, The Imagination of Disaster
Now, onto my thoughts on the eras of disaster! We covered the basics, obviously, which is that we started off with biblical disaster movies in the 20s and then swung into more exaggerated/"imagined" stuff. Then in the 50s and 60s we kind of swung back to biblical and historical stuff for a bit before going back to exaggerated/"imagined" stuff like aliens and monsters. Then, of course, we had the big resurgance in the 70s which moved away from aliens and monsters and that sort of destruction and swung more towards natural disasters and using them to frame various discussions of class and the real world. The 80s were dominated by action disaster movies with lots of focus on remasculinization of America (aka sweaty men with their shirts off kicking ass). Then in the 90s we just went in all fucking in on completely destroying the world. There were 83 disaster movies released in the 90s, with 21 of them being released in 1998 alone.
And then we've got 9/11. Now, the professor's have stated that we'll talk more about pre-9/11 and post-9/11 disaster movies later, but what I found interesting here is that the professor stopped separating the decades after this. We just went from the 90s to the 21st century as a whole. Which felt weird. We're nearly 1/4 into this! There's two complete decades of it so far! I think we can at least make some broad strokes generalizations about the sort of differences in disaster movies in each of those decades.
But, with that said, I do wonder if the lack of breaking it down farther stems from the sort of cultural stall we're in as a whole. This has been talked about a lot in other realms, such as how quickly fashion trends turn over to the point they hardly count as trends anymore. The same could, potentially, be said of disaster movies. I'm actually tempted to sit down and try and figure it out, to see if I could put a specific trend to 00's and 10's disaster films, but I haven't had the chance yet.
Then, of course, we have the fact that Hollywood is pretty broken right now. Obsessed with remakes and churning out the same content over and over again. Killing unique studios left and right. Constant layoffs. Terrible treatment of its workers. Etc. Etc. Might that also speak to our lack of easily discernible trends in disaster movies?
Either way, it's interesting!
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scienceoftheidiot · 2 months
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do you have any royai fic recs?
Ah Nonny, I have been wanting to make a royai reclist for ages, because some of my faves never make it on the ones I see ! So thank you so much for this !
Let's talk about the good stuff.
There's some I haven't re-read in ages, so if I don't say much about them it doesn't mean they're not good, just that I need to read them again 😜 also beware, I like Royai FOR THE ANGST so there'll be plenty of it there. I've decided to share fics that aren't smut (doesn't mean some of them can't be explicit but the smut isn't the only thing in them). I might make a smut rec list one day, we'll see.
(PS if I don't tag authors who are on Tumblr feel free to manifest yourselves so I can tag you !)
First and foremost, here's my fave fic ever in this fandom, one of the first I have read and still so good for me, Your Warmth Against My Scars by @lassusog characterization is on point, and it never fails to make me feel so much when I read it.
and when you can't rise (I'll crawl with you on my hands and knees) by starsinherblood. A great story, with tension and action on point, and perfect angst 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻
The Last Train Home by @rizaposting who has awesome 03!Royai fics, and this one makes me all warm and fuzzy inside 🥺
Under a Blood Red Sky by @liber-what-ia Ishval angst, great characterization and I was so happy to see Charlie ! It's not complete but I just love it anyway, especially the way the prose flows, it'w just beautiful (no pressure, friend! I just don't want to stop myself at only complete works!)
you can only touch him when he's dying, by lilantis. I love to see the story progress. So angsty and bittersweet, aaahhh ❤️
Like you do by wordslinger. This is a very intriguing story both in subject and the way it's written. Also I bawled my eyes out. Haha.
The meaning in each keystrokes by WorryinglyInnocent. Riza centric Violet Evergarden AU, knowing that : I don't know anything about Violet Evergarden AT ALL, never heard about it before, and I tend to avoid AUs most of the time for reasons, and yet I found this one randomly and it caught me. I really like the premises, and the fact that Maes and Gracia especially play such a big part. It was a very refreshing read.
Couldn't finish without The King's Counsellor by @qs63, since she's my partner in crime in writing royai, and while we share the exact same brainrot, which is already a perfect reason to share her fic(s) there, I love how much more gravitas she manages to give to Royai than I do.
Finally allow me some shameless self advertising, because I myself am a royai fic writer, so linking you my masterlist 😅
This is by no means a complete list ! I will probably come back and reblog with more if I think about others or find new ones ! I just wanted to reply quickly, because I have been trying to make such a list and always let it drag because I felt I was missing some good ones. I still know I am missing them. I'll just add them later 🥰 thank you again !!
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fictionalsownme · 28 days
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More Than A Woman | wilford warfstache x gn!viewer / reader |
chapter one - "I've known you very well"
A/N: hi everyone!! I'm so excited to post this! Usually I spend a long time on the stuff I write but I wrote a good chunk of this in a feverish burst haha, I've been wanting to write for Wil and had such a clear idea of how I see him in my head for so long :)) This fic will probably be around 10 chapters~ish and progress will probably be a little slow but I'm also trying to get faster at my writing so I guess we'll see! Getting it down is always the hardest, then you spend a bit of time hating it, then the fixing can start! Anyway, I hope you guys like this, I love this dorky weirdo a lot for whatever reason, and I'd love to write for other egos too :) ((there might be a guest appearance or two in here in the last few chapters if plans don't change 👀)) hope you guys enjoy the first chapter at least! lmk 🥰! word count: 2.9k notes: reader is gender-neutral, similar to all of mark's stuff :) -- the title is just after the song! no pronouns or descriptors are used other than the occasional they/them. reader is the viewer (& district attorney) from wkm, adwm, ahwm, iswm, etc, but that won't come up until later. wmlw wilford. story will be mostly fluff, some hurt/comfort & angst, lots of romance and flirting! story is adapted from an idea I had for my self insert. we will get into some lore stuff (or at least my understanding of the lore 👀) and filling in gaps with headcannons, but it's mostly about wilford & reader and I'll try to explain as we go so don't worry about it too much if you don't know all of it. especially since I don't know if my understanding is always 100% accurate 👉👈 let's have fun yall! 💞
masterlist | AO3
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The music playing softly over the convenience store speakers was pleasant, if slightly boring. Like elevator music— there only to help ease the passing of time. Your night shift would end soon, and the sky could be seen as it lightened more every minute through the windowed front of the building.
Other than that, the old store was quiet. Dusty. Pink and orange neon strips lined the walls near the ceiling. They overpowered the dated fluorescent lights, casting everything in a slightly peach haze. Like a dream. 
Different sections of the store were marked with neon too, the letters glowed against the wall denoting the drinks, the snacks, the hot food… You liked your little store. Even if the unyielding isolation of your work made you a bit… complacent. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d truly talked with someone.
The ice creams chilled your fingers through the wrappers as you pulled them from their box and slotted them into place. Even with the cold air of the freezer wafting over you, you could smell the cool summer air coming in the sliding front doors.
You liked to prop them open on dawns like these. The convenience store lights did draw in the occasional pestering bug, but they usually found their way out again before long. You did get a bat once. Albeit a little crazed and frantic, you were surprised to find it harmless. Maybe a little lost. Now that thing seemed like it would never leave. 
Refocusing on your task, you brushed your condensation-soaked fingers on your work apron, tied tight behind your neck and around your back, and shut the freezer door. 
The motion alert chimed a pleasant tune through the staticky old speakers as a customer entered the open doors from the street.
You called an automatic, “Welcome in~,” and went about straightening a shelf of snack bars and chocolate. You didn’t bother to look in their direction as you heard them make their way through the aisles.
“Pardon me,” said their strange, nearly British accent from beside you now. You turned to the source of the voice, the man who’d just walked in, and your eyes went to his outfit first. 
A silky-- almost sparkly in how it caught the light-- lavender shirt with mismatched buttons revealed expanses of his bare chest. It was paired with white bell-bottoms and a fake pink afro hanging half-off his head, about to fall off. He had olive skin and dark hair-- nearly black--, fluffy and sticking up every which way like hands had been running through it. Scruffy facial hair framed a thick mustache that tinted slightly pink where it turned up at the ends.
He looked… honestly, he looked ridiculous. But the 70s getup was fun, you supposed. And his eyes-- dark brown and monolid-- were handsome. Underneath all the… extra mess. You blinked, slowly, in a way that felt like waking up.
“Uh, hi. Are you coming from a costume party or something?” It was August, but you supposed it was never too early to start the spooky season. 
“Oh! Do you know of one? I do love a good costume. But no. Just the regular-sort. Just woke up from one.” He scanned the products near his head, grabbed a protein bar, sniffed the wrapper, guffawed, and put it back.
“You just woke up? Are you alright?”
“Oh, worry not, friend, this is normal for my level of reverie! I’m not even hungover!” He laughed, his hands going to his hips.
You stared at him.
“I was just looking for something to gnaw on! To nourish myself before I’m on my way.” His eyes were still traveling all over, not really seeing you.
Now in theory, a strange man coming in at this hour, acting even stranger, with his clothes disheveled? You knew you should be on your way to your safe space behind the counter to get him checked out and exiting the store as fast as possible. But there was something about him… 
Something you couldn’t place…
Instead you raised your eyebrows and relaxed against the cooler door. “Uh, I guess that depends on what kind of food you like,” You offered. After a moment, his gaze landed on you and he seemed to finally take you in. Your uniform, your crossed arms, your patient expression, your features. His face scrunched into confusion.
A moment passed, staring at each other like that. “Your shirt’s looking a little rough, you know.”
“Have we met, friend?” He asked as he began to fix his buttons. 
You watched passively as more of his chest came into view. He either didn’t notice or didn’t mind your blatant staring. You weren’t sure why you were staring, or what you were feeling as you did so. 
You weren’t gawking at his abs or anything-- well,-- not that he didn’t have abs. He did, sort of. The expanse of his chest and abdomen were tight with toned muscle. He definitely wasn’t lacking abs, anyway. Either way… this was about something different. 
You wondered for a moment if a vague familiarity was what you were picking up on, but quickly dismissed it.
“I feel like I’d remember meeting you.” 
You realized with a start that your comment could be seen as flirtatious, and added quickly, “Just, you know-- generally.”
But he just hummed and spun on his heels, turning away. You sighed and found yourself in-step behind him, hands in your uniform pockets. Like it was the most natural thing in the world. 
“Well, either way!” He started, his energy returning tenfold. “Let's see what this cute little shop has to eat!” 
For some reason, you asked, “Do you have money?” 
He froze. “Er, no~. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Mind what?”
“Well, spotting me of course! Let’s just say I owe you one, eh friend?”
You rolled your eyes, smiling. “Thought so.” 
Thought so? Maybe you did know him… 
It was your turn to squint in displaced confusion. “What’s your name?”
His voice came from behind you and you spun around, your shoes squeaking on the tile floor. When did he sneak around you? 
He bent over and twirled his hand, a flamboyant bow finally knocking the afro off his head. “Wilford Warfstache, at your service.”
“That’s your name?” 
He righted himself. “For now.” It suited him well enough, but for some reason it sounded misplaced.
… But no, either way, you definitely hadn’t met him before. You didn’t know many people in the first place, let alone someone so eccentric.
Still, you were curious about him. Curious about his personality and who he was. He felt sort of like a puzzle waiting to be solved. And so far, despite his quirks, despite how admittedly weird you’d also been acting, he’d been friendly. You couldn’t say the staring and prodding questions were too in-character for you. At least not when it came to customers. 
His hair looked softer without the wig to weigh it down-- parted at his brow and long enough to fluff over the tips of his ears and end where his neck met his spine. You reached down to scoop the curly mop of synthetic hair up off the floor.
“Where did you get this thing?”
He hummed something like ‘I don’t know’, his eyes sort of wide like a clueless puppy’s. 
“What, you just kind of have it?”
“Yea’p.”
You squinted at him, a smirk forming on your lips. “How about I do you a favor and throw this away?”
He shrugged, hummed an ‘alright’ sound, and turned away. 
“Oh no, I was kidding! God, here--!” You had to grab his wrist to stop him from wandering off further and placed the pink afro in his hand.
You had just been trying to tease him, but now you just felt bad. “Look, Wilford, you want something to eat? We have to throw the hot food out every night. You can have a taquito or a slice of pizza or something if you want.”
Then he was frozen again-- staring down at where your fingers wrapped around his wrist. Your eyes followed his gaze down and then you were staring too.
A moment passed. Then two. Finally, you let go and crossed your arms again, tucking your hands away where they couldn’t embarrass you again.
“... Fuck, I’m sorry. I-I don’t know why I did that.” You did your best to clear your throat.
But he was still stuck there. He blinked a few times and his gaze met your eyes, his brows gathering together. 
“Wh-What did you say your name was, friend?” He seemed so… serious all of sudden. So dire.
You hadn’t mentioned it yet, but told him with a hesitant voice. 
His expression blanked, eyes widening. He brought his arm, the offending afro in tow, to his chest, touching his wrist where you’d held it.
“Oh…” 
You raised your brows and asked softly, “Sorry, do you know me, then?”
“Hm?” And he blinked like his mind was clearing, like he’d forgotten you were there. 
He cleared his throat, smiled-- ear to ear-- his mustache lopsided like a cartoon. “Oh-- nevermind about that! Some food would be lovely, if you don’t mind.”
His eyes were sparkling. 
“Sure. I mean, it’s nothing fancy. Here,” And you walked over towards the front counter. Wilford trailed close behind you-- holding onto the wig in his hands like a school kid holding a lunch box-- his gaze wandering over the store again like he hadn’t seen it the first time.
You arrived at the hot foods section, a glassed-off section of day-old food over heated rods. You shrugged. “If you have a sensitive stomach, maybe don’t,” you started, “but it’s mostly fine to be honest. I eat it if I’m in a pinch, you know.”
You hopped up to sit on the counter, your legs facing Wilford, and leaned back to reach around and grab the tongs waiting there. You straightened and clapped them together twice. You offered him a smile. “What’ll it be, Mr. Warfstache?” Then a quieter, “--that was your last name right?”
“Do you gravitate towards anything yourself?”
“Can’t go wrong with a slice of pizza, I guess. Even here.”
His smile grew sort of soft. “Then that. If you please.”
“You got it.”
You leaned over again and served up the slice of moderately warm and slightly greasy pizza on a brown napkin and passed it off to him. 
“Much obliged.”
You got one for yourself too, and when you righted and your eyes found Wilford again, he was sitting in a retro-style diner chair you’d never seen before-- his feet against the edge of the counter beside you.
You couldn’t help the surprised laughter that choked out of you. “Wha-- where did you even find that?”
The chair teetered on its two legs as he leaned precariously back, tilting his head at your question. The pink wig sat in his lap and you couldn’t help thinking it looked like some weird dog.
“Well, there’s no need to worry! I’m only borrowing it, I’m not a barbarian.”
And you just knew you weren’t getting more of an answer than that.
“So who even are you?” You asked as he took a bite of the pizza, somehow pulling all the cheese right off the top in one piece. He pouted down at the offending mozzarella, slurping it into his mouth and swallowing it. “Do you live around here?”
“Mm. I don’t really live anywhere. Much more the exploring-- ever on the move-- type.”
He was so expressive. It really felt like talking to an old cartoon come-to-life or something. You turned to lean against the side of the glass cover, swinging your legs so your feet rested on the counter, not far from his still against the edge. You weren’t touching at all, but you were surprised at how quickly the two of you fell into a casual-- albeit timidly curious-- rhythm. 
“So what do you do?” And you began to eat too.
He beamed, his smile reaching all the way to his eyes. “I’m an interviewer! Warfstache Tonight, that’s what my show is called! It’s quite a professional endeavor!”
You smiled and hummed around your bite of pizza, impressed. That actually explained a lot. And it suited him nicely enough. “Sounds pretty glamorous.”
“And what about you? You can’t just be a convenience store clerk!” He seemed so affronted by the idea. Crinkling his nose, dropping his voice an octave. “How dreadfully boring.”
You winced. “‘Just a convenience store clerk?’ Ouch, Wilford…” You couldn’t help frowning down at your slice. 
 “Oh! No no, pardon me!” He let the chair fall back to four legs, waving the idea way with a panicked hand. “I only meant that… this isn't what truly stirs your passions, is it? Do you do anything at your leisure? For work or just… something you enjoy?”
You squinted at him. But you didn’t really think he was trying to insult you. And he wasn’t wrong. It just… wasn’t always the most fun when someone pointed it out. Especially like that. 
You sighed, fidgeting as you considered his question. “Not right now… This job keeps me pretty occupied. But you know, it’s not too bad. It keeps me, I don’t know, grounded I guess.”
He thought for a moment, then nodded, taking another bite. “I do hope you get more opportunities soon, then.” He said, surprisingly grounded.
You looked at him. “... Thanks.” And you meant it.
“And… my apologies for the earlier, uh, miswording.”
 “That’s fine… I’d be curious to hear more about your show, though! Have you interviewed anyone interesting or anything?”
A beat. A sort of tiredness settled into his shoulders and he peered up at you. “The odd gold-star guest did wander in from time to time. I’m not sure if my skills were quite deserving of them at the time.”
Was that… shame?
“The truth is, I couldn’t quite live up to the role. I--” He laughed, pained. He cleared his throat. “I’m taking a bit of a break from show business for the moment.”
Ah. So that’s what happened. You offered him a sympathetic smile. “To party? That’s probably why you don’t have any money, Wilford. And why you have to rely on shitty convenience store food?” You held up your greasy napkin like it was evidence.
“Now don’t underestimate the power of a good party! And this food is fine, I’m grateful for it,” He crumpled the now empty napkin and gestured wildly with it. “The truth is I get by just fine. I’m just not sure what else I should be doing.”
You looked out the front windows. The sky was getting lighter. The timer marking the end of your shift would go off any minute.
So maybe that’s why he’d been asking you about your passions. You felt bad for him. He was strange, to be sure. And a little hard to follow. But he was also… sweet. He had a softness about him.
And still… there was that feeling that hadn’t disappeared since meeting him. Like… like your soul recognized him. Maybe not deeply. But distantly. Like you’d met him in a dream. It was a ridiculous notion. Ridiculous didn’t seem beyond his territory.
You turned, legs coming down from the counter once again. You leaned forward, your hand landing at the junction of his shoulder and neck. His silk shirt was soft under your fingers. His eyes jumped up to yours and you looked down at him with a smile. 
“You liked doing your show right? You want to be an interviewer?”
He nodded slowly. His lashes fluttered. 
“Then that’s what you should be doing! You just have to try again!” You shrugged with one shoulder. “It might suck a lot. And you might fail again. But pick yourself back up. Keep going. I’m sure you can do it if you keep at it and think outside the box, you know. Failing only means failing if you stop.”
You leaned back, your hand sliding away. He stared at you.
“That’s what the rest of us do, anyway. Honestly, maybe you should do your show online! You know, livestream it or something. I’m sure you’d find your own way to it.”
Slowly, a smile crept back in, the corners of his eyes creasing. 
“What a wonderful idea…” 
God, his eyes… 
You looked down at your own napkin, laughing a little at yourself. “Wilford, I promise, the advice I just gave you was nothing crazy.”
“Well, perhaps it’s just a little too rare that I get a pick-me-up.”
You hopped down from the counter. “Swing by whenever, I’ll hand them out for free. Though, if you’re always on the move, I guess you’re probably not in town for long, huh?”
He quickly followed your lead and stood, his chair nearly falling in his haste. “Uh— w-well I, I don’t know, I could always… linger for a day or two. Hard to say really.” 
“Uh huh.” You smirked at him, raising your brows. “Well, if that constant partying you have going on brings you back here, feel free stop in, okay? … It’d be nice to have someone in here every once in a while. Well, someone friendly, anyway.” 
“Right. Will do. Of course.”
You gave him two solid pats on the chest and turned to throw the napkins away behind the counter. When you turned to face him again, he was gone.  Only slightly confused, you quickly recovered and yelled a quick, “bye~!” to the now empty store.
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