#the first one is very old but i want to finish+update it

[nightlyrequiem]

DIGEST

"Just the scattered remnants of a society frozen in its last moments."

Chapter 2. Rat King

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w/c- 5,724

Humanity has fallen, rotting monsters roam about freely, and you were bit. However, when the fever passes, you're alive and whole. For now. Soon the wound begins to fester, and you need to venture outside to get antibiotics or risk succumbing to an infection anyway. Though it turns out the dead aren't the only things you have to worry about.

A/N- Sorry for the wait! I had this sitting in the drafts for like a month. I think it would be cool to introduce different types of infected. Like the stages of infected in The Last of Us, or the variants from The Walking Dead. Also, this is the most words I've written for a single thing. Go Me.

Tags/Warnings: Tags Will Be Updated as Story Progresses, WLW, Dysfunctional Relationship, Gore, Apocalypse/Infection AU, No Use of The Word Zombie, Violence, Gore, Angst, Valeria is a Bad Person, Seizures, Mild-Body Horror, Horror, Thriller

Valeria wants to go back to Mexico. You thought she was joking when she told you, because Mexico is a long way away and safe transportation options have become very limited. But no, she wants to go to Mexico. 

You curl your feet up under you. Feeling the familiar fabric of your couch. It's the last time you'll feel it. The thought saddens you. It was the first piece of furniture you bought yourself. When you first moved into this apartment all you had was a mattress and a dresser. Over time you had furnished your home all on your own, proudly bragging to your mom when you had your monthly calls. It was just furniture, but she acted like you actually finished college and got that welding degree you said you would get.

You and Valeria left the pharmacy for your apartment as soon as it got light enough out. She wanted the extra food you had, which was admittedly not much. You were still very weak but every time you tried to stop and rest Valeria was shoving you back to your feet. At one point she got so annoyed that she struck you in the shoulder with her pistol. Hard enough that hours later, you're still sore.

You rest up on your couch while Valeria loots your apartment. Bagging any food that hasn't spoiled or won't spoil for a long time. You had packed a few things on your own. You grabbed the little plush racoon on your bed and stuffed it into your backpack. It's useless, old, and torn in some of the seams. Bleeding out its stuffing. But it was your mom's when she was a girl, and it's been yours since you were one too. You weren't even thinking, you just saw it and grabbed it.

"Let's go." Valeria says. Jerking her head at you to follow. You get up and fight back nausea at the sudden movement.  Valeria waits for you by the door. You step over your neighbor again as you leave. Shuddering at the memory of her teeth in your arm.

You walk in silence. Just the rustling of clothes and your bags making noise with your movements. The sun bares down on you mercilessly, making you sweat. Something clatters in a shaded alley next to you, startling the both of you. You freeze and stare off. Eyes searching along the dirt path and overgrown grass. Valeria roughly tugs your arm for you to keep moving.

You've never seen any of the... boogeys, as Valeria would call them, out during the day. You don't hear them much either. Not outside anyway. In the apartment, you could occasionally hear them shuffling around in the halls. It makes everything feel deceptively safe. The longer you stay in the sun the sicker you start to feel. You keep quiet about it, remembering how she treated you when you tried to rest last time. 

You look back behind you at your apartment complex. Missing the brick and white columns already.

"If you bit someone, do you think you'd infect them?" Valeria asks. Her voice sounds unnaturally loud when there's no other sounds to compete with it, and she lowers it on the last few words, correcting her volume.

"What?" You ask. Furrowing your brows. You immediately smooth them out. Frowning it only going to make your headache worse.

Valeria looks at you. "Do you think you're still infected?" 

"No," You say, confused. "If I was, I'd be dead by now." You think. Hope. The thought once again occurs that maybe you are dying, just doing it really slowly. The idea is distressing so you try not to think about. Out of sight out of mind.

Valeria reaches into her pocket and pulls out a granola bar, unwrapping it and shoving half of it into her mouth.

"What if you're asymptomatic though." She replies. Looking at you analytically. There's a gleam in her dark eyes that's making you uncomfortable. Like she's wondering what benefits that would bring her.

"I'm not asymptomatic." You respond. Stepping to the left so you can walk in the shade provided by a building. "I'm like, incredibly sick."

Valeria shrugs.

Valeria leans against the side of a building as you persistently vomit onto the sidewalk. Dry heaving and quivering in both disgust and discomfort. Your body aches are flaring up and you feel nearly blind from your headache. You feel like you're going to pass out at any second. It's a struggle to keep your body upright when your limbs are full of that numb disconnected feeling.

"We're almost out of downtown." Valeria says, not at all concerned by your sickly state or vomiting. She has, after all, seen worse. "We'll keep going until we find suitable shelter. We've got a couple hours of daylight left." She glances up at the sky.

Every step brings you pain. You try to plead with her into allowing you some rest time, trying to play into her humanity, but she has about as much of that as the infected do. You come across a nice house with a view of the river. One you've passed by many times before when life was normal. It's built on a hill, with stone steps leading up to it. It's painted a faded red colour. Valeria follows you up the steps and to the door. She makes you go in first, like always. You go in and creep around slowly. Checking all the rooms and almost freezing from the fear of not knowing what's inside. Though you (maybe) managed to survive being bitten once, you don't know if you'd survive again.

You stop by one of the upstairs bedrooms, getting a peak through the cracked door. The walls are painted a light pink and you see a shelf filled with toys. a child's room, you reckon. Pushing open the door you actually freeze this time. Crouched in the corner is a little girl. Subtly swaying. Her hair is thin, almost gone completely, just scabby patches of scalp left. The shirt she's wearing, blue at once point you think, is torn in places and darkened drastically at the shoulder with old blood.

You back away slowly, careful not to make any noises. Back outside with Valeria, you inform her of the little infected kid.

"Just the kid?" She asks. looking over at the towering downtown buildings in the distance.

"Yeah." You nod.

"Okay." She nods. "We'll stay here for the night." She decides. She grabs your arm and pulls you inside. Shutting the door behind you.

The first thing she does is go upstairs and dispatch the kid. Not sure if you can stomach it, you wait in the hall. You hear it some kind of high-pitched growling as Valeria disturbs it. There are a few thumps, more growling, then a grunt from Valeria. Everything goes quiet and Valeria comes out, wiping the bloody blade of her knife on her pants. She brushes past you and walks into the master bedroom. You stay rooted to the dirty floorboards. Staring into the child's bedroom.

You cautiously step inside and approach the body with morbid curiosity. As well as pity. She's so small. The bones in her hands and exposed shoulder jutting and sharp. You look around, spotting her bed. The covers have been pulled off and hung up between two shelves. A blanket fort, you realize with a sharp pang. you walk over and inspect it. It's been pinned to the two shelves using thick books that likely didn't belong to her. You bend down and peek inside. there are more blankets. And pillows. And a council of stuffed animals. There are smears of blood in one corner. You imagine her getting bit and not knowing what else to do but retreat into her blanket fort. Going to the only perceivable place she can think of. Holding her stuffed animals close as she bleeds. As she gets sick and her mind deteriorates. You wander who bit it her, if it was her parents. There's no sign of them, infected or living. You spot a fluffy notebook and grab it, flipping through the pages and seeing the barely legible writing most little kids have.

You leave the room and shut the door. Not before leaning down to whisper an apology into the little girl's ear. She has nothing to be afraid of now, at least.

Valeria pushes the heaviest furniture she can find, blocking up the staircase.

"We don't need access to the whole house." She explains. "I locked the doors and windows downstairs; this is just extra caution."

The sun sets over the river. Making the water look like it's on fire. You pretend this is your house and that you're just enjoying a simple sunset. Pretending that the yellow eyes of cars are flashing over the bridge.

"Come here." Valeria says, beckoning you into the master bedroom. With one final longing look out at the river you follow her into the bedroom. She pulls out a length of rope and looks at you.

You frown at her.

"No." You say. Stepping away. She steps forward.

"Yes." She replies firmly. "I don't want you running off in the night, or worse."

You stare at the rope dubiously. Vision swimming in and out. You're exhausted and want to lay down, you couldn't pose a threat to her if you wanted to.

"If something gets inside I'll be trapped." You argue, frowning at her and shuddering at the thought of not being able to run or fight back as a hungry infected tears you open. Valeria, completely unsympathetic, stalks forward and grabs your arm roughly. Fingers clamping around your tender bicep and making you flinch in pain.

You don't struggle too much. On account of your sever dizziness, headache, and overall weakness. Valeria securely raps the thick rope around you, tying down your arms. She forces you to sit and even ties your feet together. Something you think is completely unnecessary. You're learning firsthand that Valeria is a paranoid woman. The room is swallowed in darkness and she flicks on her flashlight. Flashing you in the eyes for her own amusement. She moves away from you and crawls onto the bed, rustling around with the blankets and laying down, turning off her flashlight.

Your back and ass ache from the position you're in. The noise of the awakened infected bleeds through the walls. Some cry out and sound like coyotes, some call out for loved ones.

"Can I have a pillow?" You whisper.

"No." Valeria answers. A disembodied voice in the dark.

"Please?" You ask. Voice pathetically cracking.

"Stop talking. I'm trying to sleep."

You try to ask a few more times, but Valeria stops responding to you. You shift around and throw yourself onto your side, grimacing at the loud thump you make. You try your best to fall asleep but it's not an easy task. 

You simply lay there. In pain, and with the sound of dead people for ambience. You think Valeria may have finally fallen asleep, though you're not certain. It sends a pang of loneliness through you. When you were young, you had issues with not falling asleep first. Your parents would put you to bed at 8PM and you'd fall asleep within the hour. But sometimes you didn't. You'd lay there until the sound of the TV in the living room went silent and you knew your parents were asleep. It was those moments where you felt an indiscernible, overwhelming loneliness. You don't like being the only one awake.

The older you grew the less frequently you felt that way until you forgot about that feeling all together. Even after moving out on your own. It probably helped that you had many nocturnal neighbors. Now though, that feeling has returned tenfold and you can't help but cry a little. Soft tears that dry out your skin and leave you congested.

The harsh, unnatural sounds of the dead give way to the gentle singing of birds as the sun rises high and proud in the sky. The sky is a vibrant cerulean with a few wispy pale clouds. A gentle breeze sends ripples over the river's surface, disturbing the reflections of the sky and trees. A boot nudging you in the ribs rouses you. Your eyelids stick together, and you struggle to open them. You can tell by the headache developing behind your eyes and the scratchy quality of your throat that you're not in for a good day today.

"Rise and shine, Niña muerta." Valeria says. Bending down and helping you sit up. She makes a face at you. "You look awful. Smell awful too." She begins to saw at the rope with a little switchblade to free you. Accidently nicking your wrist.

Valeria doesn't help you to your feet. Choosing to watch you struggle on your own, using the wall for support. Valeria reaches into her pocket and takes out a bottle of anti-biotics. Rattling it at you like a cat toy. You reach for it, but she retracts her hand. She pops off the lid and shakes out two little white pills and hands them to you. They may as well be made of barbwire. That's what your throat thinks, anyway.

"Come on," She calls, clicking her fancy little belt back on. You ponder if she even has anything in all those little pouches.

You spot the little notebook on the floor and bend down, grabbing it.

"What's that?" Valeria asks

You look up. "It's the little girl's diary," You tell her. You stuff it under your arm.

Valeria wrinkles her nose. "Why'd you take it?"

You frown. "I don't know," You say a little self-consciously. "she was a little girl, and I don't think she should be remembered as a monster." You picture her running around her yard, her parents looking out the window. She was clearly loved, judging by her room.

"She's dead, I doubt she cares about how she's remembered." Valeria snorts. She gestures for you to walk ahead of her, done with talking now.

 Valeria isn't in a very talkative mood. The silence is only interrupted by the sounds of your footsteps on the ground. You drag your feet. You chalk up your lethargy to barely getting any sleep last night. It feels like someone slipped bricks under your clothes. The sun beats down on you mercilessly, sucking up all your energy. Like reverse solar power. Valeria walks behind you, not as bothered by the light or heat as you are. When you start walking too slow for her comfort, she prods you in the back to keep you moving. Denying all your requests for breaks.

The city around you seems to swim as you observe it. If you didn't feel so ill you might even let yourself appreciate the architecture. Not that it's anything particularly impressive but you still admire the sight of the towering buildings in the distance. Your thoughts cut off when a dangerous, numbing chill settles into your limbs. The joining nausea warns you of an oncoming seizure. You know this feeling well. After being bit that was just your existing state. The chill, nausea, static vision. Then you'll collapse and be rendered unconscious for however long. Your reward for all that is waking up in a puddle of vomit with an extremely bad headache, and sometimes soiled clothing.

You don't say anything to Valeria though, even as you get progressively worse, and the dread of seizing gets heavier. You're just hoping that if you fight it hard enough the feeling will go away but you know it won't when your mouth begins to water. 

*                                             *                                           *

Valeria watches you closely. She's been studying you since leaving the river house. Watching as your walk becomes more and more unstable. The delicate sound of your panting reaches her ears. It makes her a little nervous. Are you finally succumbing to your bite? Just as the thought floats through her mind your legs buckle and you collapse, convulsing wildly. It startles Valeria, who immediately lunges down, shaking you and calling your name. Your eyes have rolled back and your teeth are bared in a grimace. You make an awful choaking noise and she realizes your choking on your own saliva. She rolls you onto your side, not being able to do anything more than watch.

The twitching stops and you finally go still. Skin slicked with sweat and taking on a sickly pallor. she leans over you and shakes your shoulder.

"Hey." She says. "Wake up." She's never seen a seizure in person before and doesn't know if this is normal. In the movies, people just wake up like nothing happened. She checks your pulse to make sure you didn't just croak on her and relaxes a little when she finds your heartbeat. She looks up at the sun, squinting at its brightness. It's almost noon. Roughly. She looks around, what for she's not sure. Then she looks back down at you. She doesn't want to stay here, it's exposed and she's not sure for how long you'll stay unconscious for. 

Carrying you probably wouldn't be too taxing. Food isn't exactly in abundance anymore. Valeria herself has lost a significant amount of weight. She doubts you've been eating any better than she has, not only that, but the infection must have been eating at you as well. She reaches down and grabs ahold of you, finding that she's actually struggling a bit. She relents that she won't be able to carry you and decides to drag you instead. She does you the curtesy of tucking your shirt into your pants, so she doesn't scrape your back raw. Something groans from under a car and makes Valeria go still.

She drops you and stands tall. Looking towards the abandoned vehicle.

"What the fuck is that?" Something calls out. It sounds human but Valeria is familiar enough with the unfeeling tone of the infected to know it's not. She unholsters her pistol and clutches it tightly. A part of her feels a little ashamed at how afraid the voice is making her feel. Valeria strayed up to the great white north to sniff out prospective business partners. Back then Ruberoculus was only a passing rumor. It was obvious to anyone with critical thinking skills that it would turn into something more but nobody was prepared for just how fast it spread. Valeria was only here for a week when the world went into a state of emergency and countries began closing their borders, effectively trapping Valeria.

She consequently ended up in the hospital for a minor flesh wound she couldn't patch herself. Having to share a room with six other non-emergency patients because the building was just so overcrowded. Probably the worst place to be when the pandemic reached its climax. Valeria worked hard to make herself strong and threatening so that she'd never have to afraid again, but when the alarms started blaring and that godawful red light began flashing, Valeria Garza froze with fear.

She had to fight her way out of the hospital. Up against hostiles that just wouldn't stay dead. She watched people tear open other people. The thing that disturbs her the most about the infected are their affinity for speaking. Mimicking human cries to lure out prey. A sallow, spotty arm suddenly reaches out from under the car. Its fingernails long and yellowed. Some missing entirely leaving just a blackened bed. Another, just as grotesque arm joins it. The wasting muscles flex as the thing pulls itself out from under the car. Revealing a sunken face and clumpy, greasy hair missing in patches. Bloodshot eyes meet hers and it screams. Valeria's heart kickstarts and she shoots in on instinct. The screaming is cut off abruptly and Valeria's ears are left ringing.

The area around her starts coming alive slowly. Growls and laughter echoing from the shadows. In the window of a building a face darts into view, watching with wide, glazed eyes before darting away. Valeria grabs you and hauls you off, dragging you down the street and zigzagging between cars. Going as fast as she's physically able to. A few boogeys venture out from the building. It's weird seeing them out during the day. These ones don't speak, instead rushing for her. Wobbling and stumbling but far too fucking fast for Valeria's comfort. She fires more shots, sending them sprawling into the cement.

Valeria learns two things today. The infected can go out during the day, and they're very attracted to loud noises. It feels like they're pouring out of every shadowy crack and seam. Running at Valeria and you. Valeria is tempted for a split second to leave you, make a run for it. You're already bitten; would they bother with you? Working on adrenaline and autopilot she grabs your ankle and drags you to a disturbed manhole cover, kicking it aside and throwing you down into the sewers. Your body lands with a loud thump and Valeria quickly crawls down after you, pulling the cover in place just as mottled fingers reach for her.

Breathing heavily proves to be disadvantage down here. Each lungful pulling in the smell and taste of sewage to coat her tongue and throat. Valeria pats herself down for her flashlight and turns it on, the great white beam cutting through the darkness. Little glowing dots dart around, followed by high pitched squeaking. She leans down to check on you, making sure the fall didn't snap your neck. You're alive and will probably be very sore when you wake up. If you wake up. Valeria's mouth forms a thin line. She spots the notebook beside you. She was a little girl, and I don't think she should be remembered as a monster. Valeria grabs it and slips it into your bag, pausing when she spots a stuffed racoon. She furrows her brows, wondering you if you took that from the girl's room too.

*                                              *                                             *

It's not until hours later when you begin to stir, eyes peeling open, nose assaulted by the rancid, potent smell of the sewers. Your head swims but you sit up anyway, wrinkling your nose in disgust.

"Ugh." You exclaim. Looking at the rat shit sitting in piles along the stone platform. 

"You're awake." Comes Valeria's low voice. "Good." You turn to look at her. She pushes off the wall and approaches you, an agitated expression on her face.

"Why are we down here?" You ask, confused. Struggling to recall what happened. Bright lights, walking, the river. You know you must've had a seizure.

"You had a seizure, and the noise attracted the undead." Valeria says sharply, like it's your fault. she also fails to mention her trigger-happy finger had actually set them off.

You stand up and lean against the wall, feeling weak. Valeria gazes at you with no sympathy whatsoever.

"I'm surprised you didn't leave me." You say, eyeing her curiously.

"Don't try to twist this into me being kind to you," Valeria scoffs. "There's still some use I can get out of you that makes you worth keeping alive." She continues ominously. 

"Okay." You shrug. Too tired and too in pain to argue. You wince at a sharp throbbing in your back. "Are we going to go now?" You ask.

Valeria doesn't reply. Instead climbing up the metal ladder and slowly pushes the cover away. Dim light of dusk falls through and spotlights you. You must have been out for longer than you thought. The idea of losing that much time fills you with dread.

Valeria climbs back down and sighs irritably.

"We can't go anywhere now. We're going to have to spend the night down here." She says angrily. Her form is tense and you instinctively inch away from her. She kicks the rungs of the ladder and curses loudly, her voice echoing off of the stones. You aren't too keen on the prospect of bedding down in a sewer either. Especially not with rats. Valeria's voice finally goes silent. You start to relax a bit when a noise jolts you right back into a stress response. A low gargling groan. Valeria's head whips to the direction the noise came from, reaching for her gun and resting a hand over the cool smooth metal.

The both of you fall silent and listen. Your ears ring from the effort of trying to distinguish the sounds of the rats and water to... other things. You cast a sidelong glance at Valeria, a look which she ignores. She suddenly doesn't feel like the biggest threat down here and you shift closer to her. Comforted by the fact that she has a gun. Something shuffles along, just behind the corner. You want to tell Valeria to turn off her light but you're too afraid of speaking. A bloated arm snakes into sight, the skin bubbly and charred. A hand clamps down along the wall. A third slaps down on the floor and pulls. A hulking beast lumbers into view, a horror of multiple bodies melded into one.

The beam of light shines onto one head, reflecting milky eyes and a gaping mouth of teeth. It cries out at the sight of the both of you. A shout of discorded screams. A second head stuck onto the shoulder watches with one wide eye from the side, jaw opening and closing, clacking it's teeth at you. The monster, surprisingly speedy stalks forward. Tripping over it's own, many limbs. It's blocking the only way forward. Terror squeezes you and threatens to overwhelm you. You could go up but you won't climb fast enough to escape and there's more infected running around above.

You imagine this thing crushing you into the ground with it's deformed body. Pulling you in like it's flesh is made of playdough and absorbing you, dooming you to join it. You're going to die down here, in the sewer. Valeria grabs her gun but you know she won't be quick enough. Without thinking you slam into her and throw the both of you off the platform into the still gray sludge in the canal. Barely missing being grabbed by swollen fingers. Sewage slimes to your face but you ignore it. Wading through it as the monster crashes down behind you.

Valeria hauls herself back up onto the platform and you try to join her. Your fingers, slick with sewage, slip off the edge. The infected draws closer, reaching out it's arms towards you desperately. You jump and scramble, trying to escape. Strong hands clamp down on your hands and pull you up. Valeria gives you no grace period, pushing you forward. Furious screaming follows you down the tunnel as you limp away. You look behind you, alarmed by the thing slithering back up onto the platform with barely any struggle. It's hulking body glistening.

It crawls after you like an animal. The way it uses it's many hands to move along it's stomach reminds you of a centipede. You and Valeria come up to a gate. She grabs it and shakes the metal bars.

"Fuck!" She hisses. You think you're going to be sick. You're not sure if it's from the infection, being covered in sewage, or the fear. Valeria turns and fires at the infected. Emptying her clip into it but it's not perturbed. You spot a broken pipe and grab it, trembling as you ready yourself.

You pull your arms back and use momentum to slam the pipe into the thing's head. You hear the harsh snapping of it's jaw when the bone shatters on impact. It squeals and jerks to the side. You don't hesitate to bring down the pipe onto it's hunched back. The charred, blackened skin splits open and begins to bleed. You try to swing again but it rears up and grabs the pipe, pushing you onto the ground. Saliva and blood drips down onto your neck and face.

"Help me!" You gasp, barely keeping one of the heads away. "Valeria! Do something please!" It stumbles away and growls wetly, the growl turning into a loud screech as Valeria digs a knife into it's back and rips downwards. The arms on it's back uselessly flail, trying to grab her. She knifes one of the heads. You crawl out from under it and blindly swing the pipe at it. It falls and you mercilessly beat it's head, cracking it open like a watermelon. Valeria grabs you and pulls you away.

"It's dead. Stop." She says hoarsely, very out of breath. You tremble, staring down at the lump of orgonic matter.

You and Valeria don't speak as you walk. Sticking close to one another, exhausted and sore. Wandering through the elaborate sewer tunnels you come across a gaping hole in the ceiling. The surrounding area destroyed and black with evidence of a fire. Valeria leads you away from it.

The night in the sewers comes to an end. You and Valeria emerge from a different manhole, greeted by the soft light of morning. You ignore the urge to crawl back into the dark and pull yourself up. Your back throbs with an almost excruciating pain. The sewage is starting dry and it's making you itch. You desperately want to get clean. By the set of Valeria's jaw you can tell she wants the same.

"We need to clean up." she says tiredly, echoing your thoughts. With no clean clothes, you and Valeria are forced to wander into a nearby store. There are a few dormant infected clustered at the back in the darkest corner of the store.

Cautiously, you and Valeria grab new, clean pieces of clothing as well as extras. Leaving before you alert the sleeping boogeys. Valeria makes you hold all the clothes.

"We'll wash up in the river." She says. "Do you know a quicker way down there?"

"No." You mumble. You didn't spend a whole lot of time over here. With a pang of regret, you realize you should've. You truly don't know what you have until it's taken from you. You and Valeria walk along the steep muddy bank. Finding a suitable place to wade into the water. You hesitate, wondering how you're going to do this. You look towards Valeria to see her stripping down without a second thought.

You look away, caught off guard. Then look back at her. She pulls everything off. You're surprised by how comfortable she is being nude around a stranger. You turn away politely, wanting to give her some privacy. You slump down into the dirt, listening to the sounds of her scrubbing herself clean with a balled up shirt. She walks out of the water and approaches you. 

"Clothes." She demands. You turn, greeted by the sight of her crotch. Looking up quickly and hoping embarrassment doesn't show on your face, you hand her the clothes for her to pick from. It's your turn. You're excited to get clean, but you feel a little nervous about being naked in her presence.

It's a little hard not to, when exposed to her body. She clearly took great care in herself before the end. You pause.

"Don't look." You tell her sternly. Valeria rolls her eyes and turns away.

"Wasn't going to." She says flatly. you're relieved, and a little offended. you pull off your shirt, gagging at the smell. Your bra and pants following. You discard them on the bank and shuffle into the water, relieved by the coolness. You didn't realize how hot your body felt until stepping into the river. The muscles in your legs relax too, making it easier to move. You glide your fingers over the sparkling water, watching it ripple. You lean down and dunk yourself under. Pleasure washes over you. You resurface and scrub off the sewage, cleaning yourself thoroughly. You check over your wound, it's already infected but what if it's worse now?

You gently prod the edges of the inflamed teeth marks and hiss in pain. It's still tender and hot to the touch. You hope neither the sewage or the river water make it worse.

Valeria barks your name from the sand.

"you've been in there for twenty-minutes. Stop wasting time and get dressed!" She snaps. You're sorry to leave the river. This is the first time since being bitten that your body hasn't been in pain. Even the light seems more tolerable. Your skin prickles with self-consciousness as Valeria watches you wade out. You put on some clean clothes and try not to go too fast. Not wanting her to see how embarrassed you feel. 

There's no time for rest. Valeria wants to cross the bridge. You're not sure how she plans on making it back to Mexico. Even if she had a vehicle, driving there would take over a day. You can't imagine how long it would take to walk.

"It's less packed up here." Valeria comments, looking around. There's more space between the abandoned vehicles. 

"We should start checking them, see if any still have keys in the ignition." you suggest. Eager at the thought of getting out of the sun, even if it's just by getting into a car. you're tired of walking, too. This is the most walking you think you've done in your life.

"Yeah." Valeria mutters her agreement. Valeria walks towards a little white sedan and tries the door. 

Unsurprisingly, they open. She looks around, fishing for keys.

"Will it still have gas...?" You ask uncertainly. Gas expires after a while, has it been long enough?

"Maybe." Valeria answers. "Assuming the owners left for another reason and not because they ran out." You slip up behind her, watching silently. She searches through the glove box and pulls out the keys. She looks behind her at you, smiling triumphantly. She crawls into the driver's seat and inserts the key into the ignition, pressing the start button. The engine purrs to life. Giving you and Valeria a shared moment of joy. You shove yours and Valeria's bags into the backseat and get in beside her. Settling into the warm, sun-bleached leather seats. Valeria sets the car into drive and expertly pulls out from between the two cars it was parked between, setting off towards the bridge.

[ddwcaph-game]

Happy Birthday Wayne and Roselyna!*

Oh look, another year, another birthday where I don't have a present for my favorite goobers. I know this is a bit late*, but I'm still chugging along with the update, and I wanna finish that first before I get back into drawing again.

But instead of beating myself up again for not having done anything special, I want to take this moment instead to reminisce a bit about my early days with these two gremlins.

This was buried in the very first post I made on the blog, but if you haven't seen it yet, this is the first drawing I have of Wayne and Roselyna together, back when they were still 8 year old twins!

You can tell it's really old because they still had black hair, Rosie still has the (amethyst) heart locket, and Rosie's nowhere near as huggable as she is now. Hehe.

And this is the very first drawing I had of Roselyna. Minor spoiler, but that is supposed to be Wilboar, back when he was still named Waddles. He obviously has a different design now, and as you can see from the tiny scribble on the sign above, she was celebrating her birthday at the inn/tavern of Cordelia's parents.

(Please ignore the ferret, it's a joke character from one of my old RPs back in the day)

Anyway, time really flies, huh? I can't believe my little goobers are already 17 years old. They've been living inside my head for almost a decade now, but I'll have to wait until November for that. Maybe I'll have time to draw them as teens by then.

~~~

Speaking of Wayne and Roselyna, I'll be posting some more sneak peeks on the new update about them later today/tomorrow! If you have any presents/messages for either of them, I'll be sure to let them know too!

[laphlaces]

more WIPs... this time with hypnos!

[crystalkitty1220]

Welcome back to tumblr! Hope you enjoyed your break

It was very stressful. Ended up failing the marking period for English, but not by as much as I was failing before. Could still pull up the overall grade by the end of the semester.

[you-know-honey]

Dance

Viktor x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 3k

Jayce has a plan: convince Viktor to attend the most important charity party in Piltover. But, as expected, Viktor refuses. What he didn't expect was that his assistant would show up at his workshop with a dazzling dress… and an invitation that Jayce secretly gave her. Could he really refuse now?

N/A: English is not my first language, feel free to correct me in the comments and I'll update it. Remember share if you liked it.

Viktor was focused, hunched over his desk as he fine-tuned one of the delicate pieces of hexcore. The dim lamplight illuminated his tired face, with dark circles under his eyes and strands of hair falling across his forehead. He didn’t notice Jayce’s entrance until the echo of the door closing resonated through the workshop.

“Viktor, old friend,” Jayce said, his tone bright and already foreshadowing trouble. “I have news.”

“If it has to do with that charity party, the answer is still no,” Viktor replied without looking at him, adjusting the tool in his hand.

Jayce sighed dramatically, dropping his weight into one of the nearby chairs.

“Mel has insisted that we go. We represent the future of Piltover, remember? Innovators, role models…” Jayce made a wide gesture with his hands, as if he were giving a speech.

“If Mel insists, you can represent us alone,” Viktor replied indifferently. He knew he wasn’t really required here, inviting him was just a formality. Then he looked up and looked at him seriously. “I don’t have time for parties, there’s a lot of work to finish here.”

Not to mention that dancing was something he had crossed off the list of things he could still do.

His friend really wanted Viktor to go, mostly because he had been very down lately, he barely left the lab and there were days where he would find him with his face on his notebooks after falling asleep at some point in the early morning, he was the first to arrive and the last to leave, if he ever did.

Jayce watched him in silence for a moment, before giving him a sly smile.

“Okay, I understand. You can’t just drop your projects. But what if I gave you a reason to go?”

Viktor frowned, distrusting his tone.

—What kind of reason?

Jayce didn't answer. Instead, his smile widened as he glanced towards the door of the workshop, as if he was waiting for something. He had recently discovered what he thought was a clue to the kind of feelings Viktor had for you, the long longing glances, the little smiles, the casual approaches of his hands, he answering any of your curiosities and letting you sing soft melodies while he worked were all very obvious clues to his eyes. Viktor followed the direction of his gaze just as the door opened.

And there you were.

Viktor felt the air leave his lungs. You weren’t wearing your usual practical attire. Instead, you were sporting an elegant iridescent white dress that flowed like water with your every move. The color perfectly complemented your skin tone, and the design highlighted your figure in a way Viktor couldn’t ignore. Your hair was delicately arranged, and a glint in your eyes suggested you was nervous, yet excited.

“Y/N?” Viktor asked, still processing what he was seeing.

You gave him a shy, yet warm smile.

“Jayce invited me as your date,” you said, your tone a mix of apology and expectation. “I hope you don’t mind.”

Viktor slowly turned to Jayce, who now wore an expression of unabashed triumph.

“What have you done?” Viktor asked, his voice low, but laced with disbelief.

“I gave you a reason to go,” Jayce replied, raising his hands in an innocent gesture. “I knew you wouldn’t accept if there wasn’t something… or someone to make the evening interesting for you.”

Viktor felt his face heat up as his thoughts struggled to organize themselves. Of course he felt a certain special affection for you. It had been a secret he had jealously kept, even from himself, and he had refrained from dwelling on it too much, after all they were coworkers. But now, seeing you there, so beautiful, waiting for his answer, completely disarmed him.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to, Viktor,” you said softly. “I just thought it would be… nice.”

Viktor’s heart skipped a beat. There was something in your tone that made him immediately doubt his usual refusal. For the first time in a long time, the idea of ​​getting away from his work, even for a few hours, didn’t seem so far-fetched. Mostly because he didn’t seem able to wipe that beautiful smile off your face by refusing. His mind searched for excuses for himself, to justify that he had now changed his mind, and that this change had nothing to do with you.

Finally, he stood up with the help of his staff, running a hand through his messy hair, although it didn't help much.

"If you insist…" he murmured, looking at you more than at Jayce. "I suppose I can make an exception."

Jayce smiled widely.

"Perfect. Now, change. You can't go dressed like that."

Viktor let out a resigned sigh as he took the suitcase that Jayce had left with his suit, in another attempt to convince him, but he couldn't stop a small smile from appearing on his lips as he headed to the bathroom to change.

When he left he felt a little silly, he tried to arrange his hair in front of the mirror but it was totally impossible. Jayce see proudly that his plan had paid off, but the most important look for Viktor and the one he looked for as soon as he opened the door was yours. He watched your pupils dilate rapidly as you saw him come out in that elegant suit. Your hands went to your mouth trying to hide a smile. Viktor forced himself to look away to avoid them seeing the small blush that ran across his pale cheeks.

“Oh! I almost forgot.” You quickly went to open one of the tool cabinets, rummaging through the back with the curious gaze of the boys behind you. After a moment, you pulled out a small box, and as if you were a little girl skipping, you approached Viktor with it. “I hope you like it.”

Viktor looked at you in surprise as he took the delicate box in his hands. He opened it delicately to discover a maroon tie between the strands of paper. His gaze traveled from the gift to you several times before giving you a warm smile as he took the tie between his slender fingers.

“Would you have the honor?” You nodded with a smile, as your hands took the tie you got closer to him, managing to smell the coffee aroma that you loved so much, you brought the tie behind his neck inside the collar of his shirt and tied it perfectly over his chest. “Thank you.”

The evening was everything Viktor had expected: lavish, loud, and filled with Piltover’s elites. Laughter and lively conversation echoed between walls adorned with gilded chandeliers and silk curtains. Viktor had always considered these events a waste of time.

When they arrived, Viktor could barely take his eyes off you. Jayce had already gone after the councilwoman, leaving them alone, as Viktor knew he would. His discomfort was evident in the way his hands played with the handle of his cane, which he tried to hide as soon as he began to walk through the crowd. You seemed to radiate confidence with every step, politely greeting the other attendees, as if these events were common for you.

Viktor, however, felt out of place. He held his cane tighter than usual, trying not to trip, but it was difficult given the state of his leg and the huge crowd.

“Relax,” you whispered with a reassuring smile as you tangled your arm through his. “Is it that bad?”

Viktor looked at you, his eyes softening instantly.

“Easy for you to say. You seem made for this.”

She let out a soft laugh.

“Not as much as you think. I’m just trying to look like it.”

A waiter passed by with a tray of wine glasses, taking a couple, offering another to Viktor. He reluctantly grew taller, though he hesitated before taking a sip.

From a safe distance, Jayce watched the scene with a satisfied smile. Mel approached him, arching an eyebrow in curiosity.

“What did you do this time?”

“A little push in the right direction,” Jayce replied, nodding towards where you stood with Viktor.

Mel let out a light laugh, shaking her head.

“I didn’t know you were a matchmaker.”

Jayce said alarmingly, shrugging.

“I’m not. But sometimes, a man needs help to see what’s right in front of him.”

Meanwhile, you and Viktor had climbed the stairs to the second floor, so you were more isolated from the hustle and bustle, it was a big job for him, but he really wanted to get away from the crowd. Plus the second floor was an even more beautiful place than the main hall, full of huge stained glass windows and a balcony at the end.

“I never imagined I’d end up here,” you said, looking at the lights that dyed the floor thanks to the stained glass. “When I was a child, I looked at the towers of Piltover from Zaun and dreamed of seeing them up close.”

“Zaun leaves its mark on all of us,” Viktor said softly, his fingers drumming against the handle of his cane. “But it’s not always a bad thing. Sometimes, it pushes us to… be better.”

You looked at him with a shy smile, your eyes meeting his.

"Do you think we've accomplished that?"

Viktor was silent for a moment sighing before answering, then slightly tilted his head at you.

"You certainly have."

Your eyes widened in surprise, a slight blush coloring your cheeks.

"That's quite a compliment coming from you."

The sound of music filled the air, and the guests began to make their way to the main hall for the dance. Jayce didn't hesitate to take Mel's hand and head out onto the dance floor.

"It's time to dance" you said, looking over the railing at the rest of the guests dancing with their partners with some longing.

"I don't dance" Viktor answered immediately. It was one of the things he had crossed off the list of things he could still do.

You looked at Viktor, shaking your head.

"I can't…"he didn't like saying that at all, but he didn't want her to be disappointed for failing even in the attempt to do it, all his life he had known that those things weren't for him, so he didn't give himself the time to even try. "I'm sorry to disappoint you." Viktor approached the railing, to look at all those couples dancing next to you.

"Disappoint me?" you answered incredulously, carefully bringing one of your hands closer to his "I don't think you can ever do that."

Your pinky gently caressed his hand, it was okay if he didn't want to dance, you had already witnessed what the pain in his leg could cause him and you didn't want that to happen today. You were pleased to just have his presence by your side, that was enough for you.

Viktor sighed, feeling guilty for 'ruining your night' he looked at you and knew he had to take the risk. He reached out a hand to you, more shaky than he would have liked.

“This time I might try.”

You took his hand carefully, leading him away from the railing, to his own little dance floor. As the music continued, Viktor tried to focus on following your steps, but he realized his attention was completely fixed on you, the way you held his hand, the way he felt your body close to his, your warmth against the cold of your skin. He couldn't help but blush as he finally worked up the courage to look at your face, your smile, the way you looked at him as if he were more than just an inventor addicted to his work.

For the first time in a long time, Viktor allowed himself to let go of the cane that made an almost imperceptible sound as it fell to the ground, he allowed himself to be enveloped by the moment, by the sensations, by you. He forced his leg to be useful to him for the first time, slowly under the silver lights of the moon, the outside world faded away, the pressure of his work, everything that tormented him left him to live the moment with you.

"Viktor, your cane…" you rushed quickly to grab it, thinking that you had dropped it by mistake but his hand in yours stopped you.

"I want to try it like this." He said as he extended his other hand for you to take. You weren't sure if that was the best thing for him, but the confidence on his face, the way he looked as if he were begging you to let him live that moment like that ended up convincing you.

Jayce, watching the scene from a safe distance at the bottom of the stairs, smiled to himself.

"It's about time." he said before Mel appeared and he happily let himself be dragged back to the dance floor.

The dance continued, and although Viktor's movements were a little stiff, your slow, gentle movements managed to relax him little by little. Despite his lack of experience, Viktor was surprised to find a natural rhythm next to you. The murmur of the rest of the guests, the echo of laughter and conversations, faded as your eyes remained fixed on his, with your hands resting on his shoulders, and his own hands caressing your waist.

"See? It wasn't so terrible after all," you murmured with a smile as you buried your face in his neck.

Viktor looked down, his lips curving into a slight smile. But he knew he couldn't last much longer standing without his cane, he was starting to feel that stabbing pain in his leg, he tried to control it as best he could, he didn't want that moment with you to end.

"It's… bearable." He tried to keep his body as relaxed as possible, to avoid you noticing and he feeling like a dying man again.

You laughed, a sound so warm and sincere that it caused Viktor to have a strange tingle in his chest.

"Always so enthusiastic?" you joked.

"Maybe the environment has an influence" he answered, keeping his tone sarcastic but with an unusual softness that you didn't miss.

A comfortable silence settled between the two of them as they continued to sway to the music. Viktor, normally so oblivious to social interactions, couldn't help but wonder how someone like you, so kind and brilliant, was more than comfortable being in his life. And more importantly, how he had been lucky enough to have you stay in it.

As the music began to become softer, both of their movements became slower, until they stopped completely. You stayed close, your hands still joined, until he spoke in a voice barely audible to you:

"Thank you for joining me tonight."

You nodded.

"Thank you… for making it bearable."

He smiled, his gaze lowering for a moment before meeting yours again, as you picked up his cane from the floor and surrendered.

"Thank you. We should do this more often, don't you think?"

The suggestion took you by surprise, you didn't think Viktor would want to repeat something like that, but instead of responding with a negative and referring to his leg, you simply said:

"Maybe." with a sweet smile, now that you both shared more than just work. Without the bustle and inquisitive glances of the attendees, it was as if they were in a world of their own.

The party had reached its moment of recess, with laughter and soft music filling the air. The guests began to disperse throughout the place and some began to climb the stairs. The moment you shared was abruptly broken when a visibly drunk councilman stumbled towards you with a smirk on his face. His ostentatious attire and wine glass in hand made him seem out of place in the serene atmosphere you had created.

“Ah, there are the strangers!” he exclaimed, his tone heavy with mockery. His eyes assessed you both, lingering a little longer on you, an expression that made you shudder in disgust. You had received such looks before, you knew them and knew they led to nothing good.

Viktor tensed instantly, straightening up with difficulty and leaning more heavily on his cane to take a step forward.

“Can we help you with something?” Viktor asked coldly, clearly uncomfortable with the man’s presence.

The councilman let out an exaggerated laugh.

“Oh, I don’t need any help from you.” Though I must say, Heimerdinger has strange priorities, letting a couple of second-class citizens mingle among us.

Your brow furrowed and you clenched your fists, more than ready to throw him down the stairs and pretend he slipped. But before you could say anything, the man turned to Viktor with a sly grin.

“You… Viktor… How admirable that you accomplish so much in such… poor health. It’s a miracle you can stay on your feet, don’t you think? Though, of course, when all you have to offer is your brain, I guess there’s not much else you can use to impress.”

The comment hit like a whiplash, but Viktor didn’t respond immediately, it wasn’t the first time he heard someone talk about him like that, he didn’t care at all. His grip on the cane tightened just because you were there, and his jaw clenched, of all people in the world, he didn’t want you to be the one to hear that. He remained silent, his gaze fixed on the man.

The councilor, seeing that he wasn’t getting a response, turned his attention to you again. His eyes scanned you shamelessly, his smile twisting even more.

“And you, my dear… I guess it makes sense that you’re here with him. The girls of Zaun always know how to… adapt to circumstances, don’t they? A perfect match: a disembodied brain and a… well, you know.”

Indignation took hold of you. Your chest rose and fell rapidly, but before you could respond or move to fit his nose with a punch, Viktor grabbed your hand, stopping the hurricane of thoughts in your mind.

“Stop it,” Viktor said, his voice low but firm.

The councilman raised his eyebrows, feigning surprise.

“Oh, did you hit a nerve? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“No,” Viktor interrupted, taking a step forward, despite the obvious annoyance the movement caused him. “Don’t be sorry. And I don’t want your fake apologies. Just… shut your mouth and get out.”

The man snorted, but before he could say anything else, you faced him, walking steadily in front of him, your voice clear and determined.

“It must be exhausting carrying so much shit around,” you said, with an icy smile. “But I guess I couldn’t expect anything else from someone whose only virtue is his last name.”

The councilman looked at you, surprised by your bravery, and then snorted before turning to leave, muttering something unintelligible and spilling half of his glass of wine on the floor.

When you were alone again, the air was still tense, your fists still clenched at your sides. Viktor finally let out a long sigh, closing his eyes for a moment.

“You shouldn’t have… faced him,” he said softly. “I’m used to his usual nonsense.”

You looked at him with a determined expression.

“And you shouldn’t bear that in silence. No one deserves to be treated like that, especially you. They should lick your shoes, thanks to you this city really became the city of progress. You shouldn’t have to get used to it, Viktor.” You intertwined your hand with his, like an instinct you couldn’t ignore.

He looked down at their intertwined hands. He could feel the warmth of your touch breaking through the cold barrier he had built up over the years.

“I don’t believe his words, they’re irrelevant to me,” he finally admitted, his voice laced with honesty.

You gently squeezed his hand, forcing him to look at you.

“Then stand up for yourself, because you know what I believe? I believe you’re more than just a brilliant brain, Viktor. You’re not just a man with a cane or someone who comes from Zaun. You’re so much more than that, a genius, a visionary. There’s so much about you that’s amazing besides your wit.”

Viktor let out a short, dry laugh, but there was a spark of something else in his expression. Maybe gratitude, maybe something deeper that he didn’t dare name yet.

“You’re… persistent,” he said, with a slight smile that quickly faded as he looked back into your eyes. “But I don’t understand why.”

You tilted your head, confused.

“Why, what?”

Viktor looked away, unsure of how to continue, but he knew the words were already on the edge of his lips, and he couldn’t turn back.

“Why do you care so much about me? Why are you still here, by my side, despite everything. Helping me with everything, always taking care of me, looking at me as if there was nothing more interesting than me when I talk to you…even now.”

You looked at him for a long moment with a huge blush caught in your cheeks, and then, with a warmth in your voice that almost disarmed him, you answered, “Because I see you, Viktor. I see who you really are, and… I care about you. Much more than I should.”

The world seemed to stop in that instant. Viktor swallowed, feeling the air grow heavier, but also clearer at the same time.

“Y/N…” His voice was a whisper, as if he was taste out your name in a different, more intimate context that even he didn’t know about.

Their eyes met again, and this time, Viktor didn't look away, just watching your eyes sparkle and your pupils widen, it warmed his heart to know it was because you were looking at him.

"I should tell you now, but well…it's something new."

You smile softly, giving him some relief.

"You don't need to be good at it. Just tell me what you feel."

Viktor took a deep breath, as if he was preparing for a leap he had feared for a long time.

"I admire you. Not just for your intelligence or your ability to put up with my…quirks. But because you make me feel different…alive. With you, I don't feel alone. With you, I feel like…I can be something more."

His words were clumsy, but the sincerity in them was undeniable.

“And I think… I feel something really deep for you, Y/N.”

The silence that followed was overwhelming, but not because you were hesitating. But because you were taking in each word, feeling them deeply. Slowly, a smile spread across your face, and with a determined step, you closed the distance between you.

“That’s good, Viktor,” you whispered, leaning in just enough for him to hear each word clearly. “Because I’m already in love with you.”

Viktor looked at you, a flash of something soft and warm crossing his eyes.

“Thank you,” he finally said, his voice almost a whispered gasp. Despite everything he believed made him unworthy, you always saw him as something more.

The air seemed to vibrate between you, charged with an energy neither of you could explain but both of you understood. As the lights of Piltover continued to shine in the distance, the two of them towered over high society, standing together in a pure, private moment.

Jayce, who had been watching the scene with a mix of satisfaction and pride, decided not to interrupt. Mel, at his side, looked at him with an arched eyebrow.

“Happy with your masterpiece?” she asked, taking a sip of her glass.

“More than I imagined,” Jayce replied, crossing his arms as a triumphant smile lit up his face. “Viktor deserved it, although he’ll probably hate me tomorrow.”

“Oh, I don’t think he’ll hate you,” Mel said, watching the couple. “Maybe he’ll even thank you… eventually.”

As the night progressed and the lights in the hall grew dimmer, you and Viktor remained close, away from the bustle of the rest of the guests. For the first time in a long time, Viktor wasn’t thinking about the Hexcore, or his work, or his body, or the expectations he had placed on himself.

At that moment, there were only the two of them, and that, for Viktor, was a discovery as fascinating as any scientific breakthrough.

[lemonlover1110]

Pairing: Toji Fushiguro x f!Reader

Summary: Your boys want to pamper you for Valentine's day

Warnings: Fluff

*A day late but anywho!! A little fluff before updating bonds of fruition🥹

Discord +18 - Twitter - Ko-Fi

Toji has never gone all out for Valentine’s day, but it seems that his little guy is a romantic. Little Megumi insists on pampering his mommy on the very special holiday. 

First thing in the morning, the four-year-old wakes up Toji to help with breakfast; in other words, Megumi wakes Toji up to cook while the child takes all the credit. Toji, who can’t even properly boil an egg, is forced to make the best breakfast of his life.

Then Toji has to set up a tray with the breakfast, some flowers and a card. The man won’t even mention the chocolates and teddy bear that he has to give you after you’re finished with breakfast. Toji doesn’t even know how Megumi found out about the holiday, but the little guy wants to go all out. He doesn’t know what you told the child, but Megumi took it to heart.

“Mommy, wake up. It’s Valentine’s day.” Megumi enters your bedroom, finding you asleep on the bed. Toji follows behind him, holding the tray with your questionable breakfast.

“Five more minutes…” You mutter, only for Megumi to come by your side and poke you. The little guy calls out your name until you’re forced to sit up. 

“Happy Valentine’s day, mommy.” Megumi says, climbing  onto the bed and wrapping his tiny arms around you. You can’t help but be a little upset that he’s woken you up so early, but his warm hug makes up for all his faults.

“Happy Valentine’s day, Megumi.” You answer, kissing the top of his head. Toji clears his throat, reminding you that he’s standing there with a tray. You pick up Megumi and set him down on Toji’s side of the bed, making way for the tray.

“Happy Valentine’s day, my love.” Toji finally gets to say it, followed by a sweet kiss. You repeat the same words back to him, before your eyes land on the beautifully decorated tray– The food looks out of place though.

“Oh the flowers are so beautiful.” You comment, and Megumi quickly takes credit, exclaiming,

“I picked them!”

Toji rolls his eyes, quickly arguing back, “Well, I bought them.”

“Thank you, my loves.” You tell them, ruffling Megumi’s hair and kissing Toji’s cheek. 

“I cooked breakfast too.” Toji adds, wanting to one-up the child. Toji knows that he wouldn’t go all out if it weren’t for Megumi, but Toji can’t help but take all the credit. The last thing he wants is for a snot-nosed child to take all the credit for his hard work.

“I helped!” Megumi claims, and you praise him. Perhaps a little jealousy seeps into Toji since the man isn’t getting praised for what he did, which is the majority of the work.

“Let me read the card.” You grab the card from the tray, and as soon as you open it, you see that it’s signed by both of your boys. However, Toji made it his mission to make his name huge, while Megumi’s is miniscule.

You swiftly look at Toji, who shrugs as he reads your mind.

Sure, Megumi came up with the idea but Toji made it all happen. That’s why he’ll make sure to take the credit.

[figmentforms]

Part 247 of  “A Tale of Two Rulers” (Jan 24, 2024)

I managed to finish something!!! ᕙ(⊙ᴗ⊙')ᕗ

Thank yo all so much for your usual patience and kindness! Next update will be in about two months. Hopefully sooner.

I won't be able to go do conventions for a while since getting sick right now would be very very very bad timing with my medical situation, so I took on a big commission and a kickstarter to supplement my income a bit, so that will slow me down. If you happen to like Mothman or/or ita bags, you may like the upcoming KS. I will make a post when it's ready, but I promise I won't spam about it.

(Also, comic will be looking a little different like this from now on because my old set up broke and i had to switch to another one. ^_^')

★ Webtoon-  https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/a-tale-of-two-rulers/list?title_no=292453 ★ - I’m still building up this archive.

★Patreon- https://www.patreon.com/LorIllustration ★

★Store - www.etsy.com/shop/FigmentForms

for those that wonder how the medical stuff is going, I'll put that below the cut so anyone who doesn't want to see it can skip it easier:

Yay for not having cancer! A nice relief there! I'm now taking the various medications required to start my first embryo transfer. I'm really excited but also nervous. It will happen in just a few weeks and i'm really praying that the lil' guy lives and gets to be born. lol, now to enjoy the impossible task of trying to NOT be STRESSED as HARD AS I CAN.

[snapscube]

I FINISHED TURNABOUT BIG TOP! Which means here is my updated autopsy report ranking for cases and characters!

Both have actually shifted around quite a bit so you may find it an interesting update. I'll explain some of my current thoughts on the new placements as well as my thoughts on 2-3 in general below a break if ur curious.

Okay so first thing let's just address the elephant in the room: We have an all new category on the character ranking!! One that I sure wish I didn't have to include but unfortunately Big Top made some... very Interesting decisions with specific characters. It would be one thing if this content was featured and then addressed, but it was particularly off-putting and frustrating to me that everything was played entirely straight?? So yeah. New lowest of the low category for a couple freaks who are actively courting a 16 year old!!!! yayyyyyy

OTHERWISE, I do have to say.... I was really pleasantly surprised at 2-3 as a case. I can say now I completely understand people having a distaste for it especially in regards to the unsavory age gaps, but literally..... almost everything else in this case was well put together and generally on-par with the quality of the rest of the series? As an overall package I actually still find Turnabout Samurai infinitely more dull. Like, maybe it's just because the lead-up to actually playing it was so uniquely frustrating for me and forcibly lowered my expectations by a ton, but there was so much good shit in Big Top. Maya, in particular, is in top form during this case. She is so fucking funny. I loved almost every word that came out of her mouth and it really solidified her top spot in the character ranking for me at present. But past that, I think the second half of this case is EXTREMELY strong compared to its opening half. I'll admit during the first trial section I was getting kinda tired with it and finding it hard to care given how much I just do not root for Max, so I had tentatively placed it at bottom of C tier. But then once von Karma arrives in the investigation section and then Acro's storyline enters the equation I really think it finds its footing. I actually found the last few scenes of the trial very emotionally effective, especially Acro's breakdown at the witness stand and mentioning how he couldn't follow through with taking his own life to escape his crime due to his desire to see his brother wake up. Like... I legitimately teared up.

And FURTHERMORE.... von Karma. Oh my god. I don't know if I'm picking up on anything here, nor do I want to know until I maybe see it for myself, but something about her conduct in the final trial really spoke to me. I feel like a surface read makes it apparent that she's just as frustrated as she is because she's losing the case to Wright again, and I do think that's a huge factor still to her reaction... but I don't know, I felt something else with her. Particularly when it came to her reaction towards Acro's attempted murder of Regina. I felt like she came across as PARTICULARLY disgusted towards that revelation and towards her own client in a way that subtly humanized her and had me just CHUCKLING AND CHORTLING in evil anticipation towards potential character arcs. I really hope I've grasped onto something here because... I love her so much. I love the idea that in spite of her reputation we're still gonna get to see this spark of humanity light up. AHHHHH.

Okay. Anyway. In summary:

I understand why people have a distaste for Big Top now, but it does not change the fact that I desperately wish I had been given the chance to experience the story myself going into it without that baggage. It genuinely did not help my experience in the slightest to just have that cloud of expectation over it and it is generally irritating that I couldn't even bring up that I was playing it without people jokingly apologizing to me or telling me that I wouldn't be able to handle it or whatever. Really not a great vibe.

As a case, it has a couple MAJOR, GLARING points of discomfort but I'm still really glad I gave it a chance and was able to find a lot of good in it anyway. It inspired me to unfortunately lower some of my other rankings because this is what I kind of consider a more middle-of-the-road quality for the series now. Solid B tier. I have played much worse.

Maya Fey is a god damn treasure.

As for some of the other character shifts, particularly in relation to some of the characters who got bumped from S to A rank, that's less because I decided I like them less now than I did when I first ranked them and more that I decided my initial interpretation of my feelings was incongruent in some cases. Like, for example I LOVE Mia I really do she's great, but in no way at this current time is she on the same level as Maya or Lana for me. So I just needed to adjust the ratios a bit.

Anyway, I'll be back eventually with posts about the next case and the last one of AA2! :3 I hear it's pretttyyy long but pretttyyy damn GOOD. Can't wait.

[letorip]

Can you do headcanons for Jenna’s characters with a tall reader?

tall reader

it's been a little bit since i've been back on here and actively posted, but you know what i felt bad that i hadn't, so i did this to kind of assure everyone who didn't see my last thing that i'm still alive and well. sorry for not responding sooner to this request. also, if you see this, do not panic, i promise, i'm still finishing kiss with a fist [iii] and we’re only a few days from casual [iii]. the last thing i want is someone seeing me update and then immediately jumping into my inbox to ask about those, because i'm hard at work at them anyways

also, if you're not tall, just imagine it for a moment, lmao

wednesday addams

she’s not especially expressive, so she’ll never admit to it, but she absolutely loves that you’re so much taller than her. it’s cheesy and she knows you'll tease her about it, if she does mention it

she fumbles the bag at first, when during one of your first conversations, she says "you remind me of lurch." it's not exactly flattering to be told you remind her of her 40 year old butler who looks like a skeleton, and it makes you think she doesn't like you, at first, but to be fair, she meant it as a compliment

you try to brush past it, and wednesday too, and she's confused as to why you didn't seem flattered. enid's mouth drops open when wednesday recounts your interaction, and she tries to coach her through fixing her mistake

unfortunately your next conversation is only more awkward, when she walks it back and says "you DON'T remind me of lurch." she thinks it's a good way to recover from her previous error, but you just look even more confused, and she's suddenly walking off before she fucks up anything any more

she does manage to have an actual conversation with you later, after you take the turn to initiate, and that's how you two actually begin to grow closer and closer

even in her big ass platform boots, you’re still taller than her. it closes a little bit of the distance, but you're still much taller

she grabs your tie or bunches your shirt and pulls you down to her level, in order to kiss you. it hurts your neck sometimes, but you’d never ever tell her not to do it

even when she tugs you down for a kiss, she still has to stand on her tippy toes, especially if she’s only in socks

it does make you the ideal height for cuddling, though

wednesday claimed at first that she would cut your fingers off if you tried to hold her, but she slowly learns to crave it. all you have to do is give her a look and lift up your blanket, and she’ll crawl right in, especially if it’s after an investigation and she’s exhausted

theres just something oddly relaxing about curling up and feeling you wrap yourself around her. you’re definitely big spoon in this scenario. not that she wouldn’t hold you the same— she does, especially when she’s worried about the investigation but doesn’t want to say anything— but she likes how you’re able to completely wrap around her and how she can almost burrow herself into you

wednesday absolutely adores to sit on your lap. she’ll sit on your lap whenever and wherever she can. sideways with her arms around your neck, back to front with your arms around her waist, facing you in a straddle, during the more heated moments. she said she’d never be like her parents, but she also finds your lap to be the most comfortable seat around

she plops herself down onto your lap whenever she feels the person you're talking to is laughing a little too much at your jokes. she'll wander right over, wordlessly, sit down on your lap, wrap an arm around your neck, and stare at the person you're talking to with a usual disinterest, and they very quickly get the memo and leave

not that you realise this pattern, of course

you also use your height to help in the investigation. getting books for her off of high-up, dusty shelves, giving her a boost through windows that she shouldn't be breaking into, you name it. your willingness to assist her in her crazy plan is just part of what she loves about you

"can you reach that for me, cara mia?"

she does miraculously know your measurements, of course, when it comes to buying clothes. being tall makes clothes somewhat hard, but she always manages to buy the perfect sized thing, and you're starting to wonder if she somehow measured you, when you weren't paying attention

tara carpenter

you guys begin as sworn enemies after meeting at blackmore, and it results in a lot of mean insults about each others' height. she calls you the jolly green giant and you call her dwarf. she calls you giraffe, you call her stuart little. neither of you will admit that you find the other obnoxiously attractive

she says you're freakishly tall, but you're only a little taller than chad. she never annoys him about his height, only you, but for what it's worth, you annoy her right back

it culminates one night during a drunken hookup after you've shouted insults into each others faces. tara won't admit her anger is from seeing a random girl grind on you, and you won't admit you're annoyed that ethan and chad are obviously in love with her, and doing their best at flirting

you don't know who closes the distance first, but the next thing you know, you're messily pressing your mouths together and tara is climbing you like a damn tree, i mean, this is literally her

immediately after, you and tara try to pretend it didn't happen, and it lasts all of one week before she's jumping your bones again, only this time neither of you are drunk

you get together shortly after, but best believe the teasing doesn't stop. she'll still call you her little construction crane, and you'll smile with a faux sweetness and call her your little hobbit, until she smacks you on the arm

you're definitely a fiery couple, on both sides, but you do have your sweet moments

you give her piggyback rides because you're tall enough to do so, and she just happily wraps her arms around your neck and lets you carry her places. pretty much any time she gets tired enough (or even when she isn't really tired at all), she'll give you a cute pout and put her arms out, and you'll pick her up

tara loves to cuddle with you, but even then, sometimes you both squabble over the blanket, and she'll start complaining about how you hog the whole thing because of your height. it turns into a playful wrestling match, and while you have the obvious advantage and could flip her right around at any given moment, you let her climb on top of you and pin your arms above your head in a proud victory (which takes a lot of effort, considering how short she is)

of course, like all of your play-fights, it turns into something more

she doesn't like to talk about woodsboro, but she does find a comfort in how tall you are. it makes her feel a bit safer with you around, not that a couple inches would stop ghostface or anything

but she feels a genuine relaxation, when you can both be in bed together, and you're completely holding her in your arms, and it's not a thing she thought she'd feel again

you give her your jacket when she's cold, and she has to bunch the fabric around her elbows, or it'll absolutely swim on her. she always teases you about it, but the moment you jokingly threaten to take it back, she'll roll her eyes with a smile and tug it on with a kiss to your cheek

sometimes when you're cooking in the kitchen, she'll wrap her arms around your waist and let her head rest against the small of your back

you also help her when she's studying in the school library, by similarly grabbing books off the shelf for her

when she wants to rest her head on your shoulder, you still have to crane your neck down to let her. it's not super comfortable, but you still do it, because she looks adorable when she sleeps

she's figured out something seriously cruel. you complained about her feet being cold once, when you were snuggling, and ever since you mentioned it, tara realised she's the perfect height to press a cold foot right onto your back. she does it when she wants to start a play-fight, and it works like a charm every time

you're annoyed by it, but it definitely does make her laugh

lorraine day

your height is immediately what lorraine clocks onto, when she first sees you, because she's coming back from a shoot, getting dropped off by RJ, and she sees you in the distance, hopping a fence like it's no effort at all, when the same fence is a pain for lorraine to climb

you're the new ranch hand that her father hired while she was gone, and when she officially meets you, the both of you don't exactly get off on the right foot

you don't actually say much, which is something her father warned her of before you were introduced, but she at least expected some kind of "hello." instead, you just stare down at her from the shadow of your hat with a neutral nod, and then go off to get back to work. no giving her your name, no asking her any questions, no interest whatsoever

she doesn't know if she's more offended by your lack of manners or more upset you don't seem anywhere near as curious about her as she is about you

your height makes you ideal for most ranching activities though. you easily climb up and down from your horse and you're a speedy, fast rider.

when lorraine is on her shorter breed of horse, you're still as tall as her shoulders, and you help her get ready to go out on her horse with you and her father, even if it is wordlessly

she's only heard you speak a few times, and it's mostly been laughing with her father, which abruptly stops when lorraine gets close enough

after a rare bit of rain, lorraine's boots are slippery, and she slides out of the stirrup when dismounting way quicker than she was ready for. luckily, you're there to catch her, and she collides against you, pretty much right into your arms

unfortunately, you both fall back into a pile of horse shit, and the next thing she knows, she's hearing a nice, airy laughter coming from you. she's damn sure it's the first time she's seen you smile or laugh, and it's got her laughing too

she apologises, but you say "it's nothin," and you both kind of naturally grow closer from there

you help her up onto her horse, when she's without a saddle. you're tall enough to do so, and you hoist her up gently and set her on the animal's back with a small smile, and it kind of makes her heart beat real fast

it turns out the rough and tough cowboy exterior is a false image of you lorraine created in her mind. you're actually just a quiet, hot, tall, dork

you're feeding her horse a carrot or something, about to go out and do your job with lorraine eager to tag along, and she doesn't know what comes over her, but she leans down a little and plants a kiss right on your lips

she's the champion of sitting on stuff to reach your face: a fence, her horse, a hay bale. she likes being above you for once, and you're not complaining whatsoever

she tugs on the belt loop of your jeans when she wants you to lean down and kiss her. she also absolutely steals your baseball cap, and then to be funny, your cowboy boots, and she laughs about how big on her the cowboy boots are and clomps around in them

her family house has low ceilings, so it's kind of a pain to walk through, especially in your boots. for the most part, you live above the barn because of the higher ceilings, and sometimes (most nights) lorraine sneaks out to see you

she absolutely loves to sit on your shoulders. it's not especially comfortable for you, but you let her do it at the town events like fireworks and festivals and stuff. she sits on your shoulders for a "better view," and she'll rest her chin on top of your head

sorry to RJ, he's getting dumped the moment he comes back into town

cairo sweet

she doesn't even really realise you're tall at first, because she just sees you in your chair, on the second day of the new semester

you're new in town, a transfer kid and a cross country prodigy, with record times and future athletic scholarships up the wazoo, owed partially to being much taller than average. but the two most annoying things about you is that you can write, and you've read mr. miller's book

mr. miller seems rather pleased with having you in his class, and immediately it makes cairo hate you. her whole plan pretty much crumbles with you now in the way, and she absolutely loathes you for it

her new plan becomes to seduce you and distract you from school, and it works because you do harbour a giant, absolutely massive crush on her

your mother, who's also your coach, wants you to stay focused on athletics and not let cairo get in the way, but talking to her makes you melt, and when she finds you one day, in the locker room after everyone's left, you immediately cave when she sloppily kisses you and shoves her tongue into your mouth

your height is ideal for picking her up and pushing her back against the lockers, while her legs wrap around your waist

tree climber core again

she says it's just a scheme, but after you earnestly ask her out on a date and you both have a fantastic time, cairo's master plan goes out the window, and she just enjoys you for you

she goes to all of your meets, and she'll stand at the railing of the bleachers, and watch you with a smile (she's too fancy to cheer like a soccer mom out loud, but know she's really rooting for you on the inside)

you're like that one track couple at the olympics, if y'all have seen the clip. you finish your run in first place, qualifying for the state competition, and before anyone can congratulate you, you're running in cairo's direction, at the bleachers.

you're tall enough to the point that you just stand there on the ground, and cairo leans over the railing and kisses you, pulling away to cup your cheeks

your height is definitely a plus, in that when cairo is especially miffed at something mr. miller said or another student, after class, she'll grab your arm and wrap it around her shoulder

you barely fit on your twin-sized mattress, but cairo owns a king in her massive ass house, so it's a plus, whenever you go over to her place to "study"

just like with wednesday, when you're over at her house, you're the person who grabs her books off her shelf for her. she'll whisper a thanks and press a kiss to your cheek. sometimes she'll stand behind you and watch you grab a book off the shelf, just to see the stretch in your muscles and watch you move. she's just thinking "i'm no better than a man" while it happens

she love love loves to lay on top of you, on the sofa, when she's got a book to read. she'll just lay back against your chest, in your embrace, with a book in hand

she'll borrow your jacket, even though she complains it doesn't match her style, but it still swims on her

absolutely loves to be princess-carried to her bed when she falls asleep on the couch reading. she'll fall asleep because it's just too comfortable there, and you'll carry her up the stairs and tuck her in

she also grabs your collar and tugs you down to her for a kiss. either that, or she'll tug on your sleeve, which you now know is cairo saying she wants a kiss or a hug

[strang3lov3]

strang3lov3’s masterlist

I do not give consent for anyone to copy, plagiarize, translate, post my work elsewhere, or put my work into AI chat bots.

all fics are f!reader and I’m a sucker for cream pies. Just pretend Joel/Roman are shooting blanks.

Updated 3/3/2025

Joel Miller

One Shots

Lookalike - Joel finds your dirty mag and makes you get off in front of him.

Everyday I’m Shufflin’ - Joel is horrified to find out that you cannot shuffle a deck of cards, so he teaches you in a rather unorthodox way.

Cream - Joel is insatiable. He convinces you to get it on at his aunt's house on Thanksgiving. He's also got a lot of dirty Thanksgiving jokes he thought of last year that he's been saving to annoy you.

Fighting Fair - Joel doesn’t know what or who started this fucking thing, but he’s finishing it. Tonight.

Love Spell - After eating some mysterious berries, you and Joel spend a very memorable and unexpected Valentine’s Day together

Enjoy the Silence - You trespass into Joel’s house in search of some peace and quiet so you can get yourself off. Joel catches you in his bed in a compromising position.

Chevelle - Joel figures out that you’re the one who hit his baby, his precious 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle. He needs you to make it right, but he doesn’t want your money.

Play Stupid Games - who woulda thought you could make Joel come by playing with his nipples?

Dirty Laundry - Joel's best kept secret is the washer and dryer he's not supposed to have. Your best kept secret is that you've been using that washer to get yourself off.

Click Here - You and Joel both know how he got that virus on his computer, and you can’t help but to relentlessly tease him in more ways than one…until Joel’s had enough.

Bite Me - You learn two things on a particularly boring patrol shift - Joel loves to bite and you love to be bitten.

Seeing Red - Joel’s sorry that your period sucks, but he's reached the end of his rope with your attitude.

On Display - You crave more than just Joel’s eyes on you, so he gives you an audience.

Safety First - While camping, Joel insists on thoroughly checking you for ticks. Safety first, after all.

Catnap - Joel interrupts your nap on his thighs.

Dinner and a Show - A corrupt FEDRA soldier catches you and Joel sneaking back into the QZ. He’ll look the other way, but you’re gonna make it worth his while.

Bad Habit - Joel helps you to quit smoking.

Bedridden - you knock Joel out with a blowjob to put him to sleep when he’s sick.

Scrub Daddy - QZ Joel visits you for a bath and a little extra.

Jingled Balls - What has four paws and ruins not only Joel’s Christmas, but his orgasm, too?

Wants and Needs - Joel makes it fit.

-

Series

Dad!Joel - straight incest. Read at your own discretion.

Dark Daddy!Joel - one shots and a series involving Joel as your father figure who also fucks.

Comfort Zone - sleazy adult store owner!joel au/series Upcoming at some point. I had momentum and then got distracted so it’s on pause.

Dog with a Bone - upcoming dbf!joel series/au situation. slime puppy!reader. iykyk

Can’t find something? Check my old fics.

Roman Roy

Because my Roman audience is so small, I have a taglist for him. If you leave me a kind/excited comment/rb/ask about my Roman writing I tag you on the next fic 🩷 you’re also welcome to send me a message/ask to join or leave it.

One shots

Invisible Line- boundary after boundary is crossed when your boss is left with no choice but to share his bed with you.

Raise - Roman will increase your raise substantially, so long as you don't lose his game.

Indecent - Roman manspreads in the hot tub.

Dinner and a Show - Roman, a corrupt FEDRA soldier catches you and Joel sneaking back into the QZ. He’ll look the other way, but you’re gonna make it worth his while.

Dark But Just A Game - You and Roman play tag.

Tear You Apart - Roman hatefucks you.

My Treat - Roman gives you a special present for your birthday whether you want it or not.

Underfoot - You get off on Roman’s shoe.

The First Taste - Roman puts just the tip in (it’s more than just the tip)

Boys Will Be Boys - Logan Roy cucks Roman by fucking you.

Series

Stepdaddy!Roman -(incomplete) You have a weird thing with your stepfather.

Gyno!Roman - mini series coming soon

Stalker!Roman - coming at some point

-

Jack Delroy

One Shots

Downpour - Jack gives you a ride home, pulls over during a storm, and fucks you in his car.

Crimson - You’re bleeding, and Jack just can’t help himself.

-

Ezra (Prospect)

One Shots

Lavender - Ezra gives you a pleasurable massage.

Rescue Mission - Cock pronouns. Uncle Ezra. Old man dick.

-

Frankie Morales

One shots

The Real Deal - Frankie demonstrates why exactly he’s less than impressed by your rose toy.

[tk-duveraun]

LBH is SO NORMAL About Shen Yuan

Part 1/?

1 (here), 2

Based explicitly on @sunderwight 's idea here

System dialogue modified from the 7seas translation of svsss

-

Everything hurt. Considering the last thing Luo Binghe remembered was metal and glass flying everywhere thanks to a truck t-boning his car, pain everywhere was only to be expected. Less expected was the mobile phone ringing so loud it felt like it was inside his own head. No one should have their mobile in his hospital room. Not since he was taken in by his biological father, who was the very definition of more money than sense.

He opened his eyes a crack to see if he could glare at the phone's owner until they silenced it. The ringing stopped, but his eyes were assaulted by an electric-blue floating window out of some badly CGI-d scifi movie.

He had to blink a few times before his vision was clear enough to read the words.

[Activation Code: "Who wrote this? Knock-off Chat GPT fed only a twelve year old's wet dreams?" System automatically triggered.]

The fu— Luo Binghe's eyes snapped fully open to stare at the screen. Yes, he had been reading the latest update to "Intricate Rituals with my Shixiongdi" while his driver took him to his father's house, but—

[Welcome to the System. This System operates in lie with the design concept "YOU CAN YOU UP, NO CAN NO BB"; we hope to provide you with the best possible experiene. It is our sincere wish that during your time, you can fulfill your desires and, in accordance with your wish, transform a stupid work into a magnifcent, high-quality, first-rate classic. We hope you enjoy.]

My wish? Luo Binghe went cold, then hot, adrenaline flushing through his body. I can finally wife Shen Yuan? He wanted to cry, to scream, but he was still saddled with enough pain that even the adrenaline didn't give him much energy to get up and run off his excitement.

"Ah, Shixiong is awake. Good," a voice came from his right.

Luo Binghe agonizingly turned his head away from the blue screen and saw an older teenager in neat hanfu and a starched apron standing next to him. The teen had a handbound book folded open and was holding a stick of charcoal.

"How is Shixiong feeling?"

"Hurts." Luo Binghe said. His voice was rough and his throat felt like he'd swallowed every shard of glass from his windshield. He tried wiggling his hands and feet and found the movement easy, if excruitiating.

"Mmm, to be expected given the severity of Shixiong's qi deviation." He reached out and took Luo Binghe's wrist. Having his arm moved hurt as much as moving it himself. It felt like being injected with saline to have his meridians checked or whatever the trainee healer was doing. "But Shixiong's system has stablized nicely. One of this shidi's seniors will be by to release you to Qing Jing Peak with the next…" The teen glanced at something outside of the room and finished, "half shichen."

"Thanking Shidi," Luo Binghe croaked. So it was confirmed: he had transmigrated into IRS. Had transmigrated into Shen Yuan's own peak. And as a disciple, if he was the same generation as this kid. Was he part of Shen Yuan's cohort? His heart thumped at the thought.

IRS was an excrutiating mess of will-they, won't-they between the protagonist, Shen Yuan, and his ever-increasing bevy of admirers. It was a mess with character growth and subplots dropped in favor of introducing another man in love with Shen Yuan's poise and genuine goodness. If Luo Binghe was part of Shen Yuan's cohort of disciples, he could cut through ninety percent of the garbage and save his beloved the indignities of countless 'wardrobe malfunctions' and plants with extremely dubious tentacles.

The teen — a Qian Ciao disciple — nodded politely. "Luo-Shixiong would be wise to consult with Shen-shibo before resuming normal cultivation."

A klaxon went off between Luo Binghe's ears even before the blue screen returned to his sight with a merry jingle.

[This system was sucessfully actuvated! Bound Role: Shen Yuna's demonic student, Luo Baixiao. Weapons: Amature Spiritual Cultivation, Demonic Cultivation (locked), Demonic Abilities (locked). Starting S-points: 100.]

Luo Binghe's mind raced with swear words in a rainbow of languages. He finished with an emphatic kurwa.

[You have triggered the System's execution command and have been bound to the Luo Baixiao account. As the plot progresses, various point types will gradually become available. Please ensure that no score falls below zero, or the System will automatically mete out punishment.]

What kind of shit luck. Luo Baixiao was boogie man of the entire second half of IRS, used as a punching bag by Shen Yuan's various suitors to show off. It was stupid, senseless! How was Luo Baixiao so powerful that he never died, yet so weak he was constantly defeated by the man of the week? Why did he start as Shen Yuan's student only to disappear after a few chapters only to return as a villain?

It made no sense!

Luo Binghe — Baixiao now, he supposed — bared his teeth at the empty room. Actually, that was weird. Who did that? Was that a demonic instinct from his new body? He'd have to do some intense examination and introspection when he could move his limbs without wanting to curl on the floor and whimper.

He was supposed to be Shen Yuan's worst nightmare? Well that whole plot could kindly fuck itself. Luo Binghe knew exactly how Shen Yuan's squirrely mind worked and he was going to slot himself irremovably from his shizun's life while the suitors of the week failed in attempt after courting attempt.

[Warning,] the System warned, flashing again before his eyes. [This proposed plan is incredibly dangerous and qualifies as a violation. Please do not attempt or the system will automatically mete out punishment.]

"What do you mean dangerous? Shen Yuan would never hurt one of his disciples, let alone one that made his life easier," Luo Binghe asked inside his mind.

[Currently, you are at the beginner level, and the OOC feature is frozen. You must complete a beginner-level quest to unfreeze it. Before unfreezing, any act in violation of the original Luo Baixiao character settings will result in a deduction of a fixed number of S-Points.]

"You must be joking," Luo Binghe deadpanned. "Disciple Luo appeared in three chapters. I managed the wiki. He didn't have a characterization at this point."

[This System utilizes all resources in defining characters.] Okay, that meant nothing. So it was going to pull characterization out of its ass and hold him to it? [To aid user, multiple reply options will be given during critical dialogue. User may complete side-quests to unlock Luo Baixiao character motivations. For now, review the complementary character sheet.]

Luo Binghe wasn't really much of a gamer, but the character sheet displayed by the System was pretty basic. Strength, endurance, charisma… It also listed the same 'weapons' the System initially told him about. Near the bottom right it said simply: Internally cold and resentful, externally polite and aloof. Thanks, System.

[User is welcome (✿◡‿◡)]

He was going to have another qi deviation.

[nonameonlyflowers]

Pillars of the Light -new blog, reupload-

-this is a reupload of the old intro post that was deleted with the old blog-

You were six when you were taken by the Sun clan.

You spent most of your life in a limbo of sorts: your childhood was comfortable enough, yet you're expected to spend your adult years serving the clan that took your away from your family. You're an agent for the people that care little about you, in a time when tensions are brewing between clans and the demonic threat is rising in the wastes to the north.

An unexpected mission changes your life… again. But maybe, for someone determined it can be an opportunity. Gain Freedom through Power.

Reach Heaven through Hell.

Or, maybe, you’ll decide that Hell is a nice enough place.

A fantasy story I’m working on-and-off in my free time, so updates will be slow. I’m intending for it to remain a free game from start to finish. 

As of 09/07/24, the prologue and ch1 are done and can be found here.

Current word count: 62k words w/o code/67k with

CoG forum thread is over there

Planned features:

a story with a focus on plot and character interactions;

elements of horror and thriller;

a MC that is not a completely blank slate, but whose stats and relationships will affect their behaviour;

a mix of adventure and political intrigue storylines;

though there will be opportunities to build relationships, this won’t be a romance-focused game (romance will be a possibility, but not a focus).

(eventually) gain a voice in your head (for free)

(eventually) gain special powers (not for free) (and maybe decide it was not worth it)

(very eventually) decide that maybe you just want to burn it all to the ground

an attempt to mix western and eastern fantasy

The story is expected to eventually touch upon some pretty heavy topics in addition to the usual (by usual I mean profanity, fantasy violence, blood and injury etc.). More details in the game itself.

Characters:

The Guard: Throughout your childhood, Ember had been by your side, whether either of you wanted this or not. If he detested his position, he never showed it; in fact, he showed very little at all. You don't know what kind of person lies behind the polite mask, so if you ever see him again, you might find him to be very different from what you'd guessed about him.

The Princess: Neith had a sheltered childhood. A very sheltered childhood, mandated by her mother's fear for the life of the family's sole heiress. Now she's trying to fight, but not against the role of the heir itself; rather, she feels that to become a worthy leader to her family, she must grow and learn first. Her behaviour is continiously putting her in opposition to her mother, and you sometimes wonder just how far she is willing to go.

The Priestess: An unusual priestess of the Temple dedicated to the Crying Goddess. She had asked to be sent along with you on your mission, but shows little interest in the mission's success. Cold and irritable, she seems to have personal reasons for following you, and occasionally you notice anger burning in her eyes - one that is not aimed at your enemies.

The Ascendant: He's the one you're supposed to be helping. He's also perhaps the one whom you can trust the least, no matter how friendly his smiles seem. You're all using each other, and as time passes, you realize more and more how precarious his position is. You suppose it's to be expected: if he didn't need help, you wouldn't have been sent to aid him.

tags: @interact-if

[hypewinter]

Prev

Tim came down the stairs with an empty mug in hand. As he entered the dinning room he found a kid happily eating pancakes. Ah this must be the new adoptee, he thought to himself as he recalled last night's group chat.

"This is not a new adoptee," Bruce said looking up from the boy. Man, Tim hated when the old man guessed their thoughts like that.

"Say whatever you need to convince yourself B," Tim replied with a shrug as he went into the kitchen.

Bruce shouted after him, "He already has a family!"

The boy immediately interjected, "She's not my family silly! She's my friend."

Tim chuckled to himself as he filled his mug and came back into the dining room. "Aw B," he said smugly, "he doesn't even have a family. You're not saying we're gonna leave him on the streets are you?"

Bruce for his part, glared halfheartedly at Tim before turning back to the little boy. Tim also took this time to observe the boy. He believed Oracle had said his name was Danny. Danny was currently happily kicking his legs as he stabbed at his pancakes. Tim couldn't help but note how the pancakes had already been cut into bite sized pieces. Other than that, he seemed perfectly fine. No apparent injuries or adverse reactions to sudden movements. His clothes were also nice and clean. Probably Alfred's doing. Speaking of the old butler, he came in and set a plate down in front of Tim.

"Oh I'm not-" One eyebrow raise was enough for the young man to shut his mouth. He looked down at his plate only to immediately turn back to Alfred with an eyebrow raise of his own. "Mister Danny claimed it was not fair he was the only one to receive such special pancakes. He was rather insistent that everyone experiences such happiness this fine morning," Alfred informed.

Ah, that explains why Tim had gotten star shaped pancakes. He looked over at Danny who was smiling giddily at him. As Tim took his first bite of pancake, he couldn't help but agree with that assessment.

Bruce cleared his throat. "Danny?" the boy looked up at him. "As you know our... mutual friend left you in my care. As such after you're finished with your pancakes, what do you say I take you back home?"

"Ok!" the boy replied before shoveling more pancakes into his mouth.

"I think I'll tag along too," Tim said. There was no way this little "drop off" was going to go as planned and he wanted to be there to see it. After all, someone had to keep the group chat updated. Besides, he took great joy in Bruce's half perplexed half annoyed expression.

"Don't you have some meetings to attend today?" Bruce asked through gritted teeth, guessing his son's angle. "Nope," Tim answered sweetly. "My schedule's all clear today."

"Fine," Bruce relented. "If you want to come along on this very quick drop off, I won't stop you."

Tim smiled into his mug. This was gonna be fun.

-----

"We're here!" Danny exclaimed as they pulled up to an abandoned looking apartment building.

"Are you sure this is your home?" Bruce asked cautiously. Tim couldn't blame him, this place was on the outskirts of the Bowery and looked like nobody had lived there in years.

Danny opened the door and hopped out. "Yep!" he said. "I know because I'm a big boy and big boys know how to get home." He puffed out his chest proudly.

"Right," Bruce muttered pensively as he examined the building.

They all entered the building and began ascending the questionable stairs with Danny taking them two steps at a time. As they climbed, both Bruce and Tim noted how rundown the building looked. Walls were peeling and there was rubble and trash all over the floors. The railing on the stairs looked so rusted that a gust of wind could probably knock them over. Most of the lights didn't work because of one thing or another which luckily wasn't a problem considering it was daytime. But none of that was even the most concerning part. No, the most concerning part was how silent it was.

As they walked down the hall, it was simply too silent. Even taking into account that most people would already be at work right now, it was still too quiet. There was no hint of people coming back from work the night shift. No sound of those staying home sick or someone with a day off. No dogs barked, no cats made any noise. It was an eerie silence that seemed to blanket the whole building. It was unnerving.

Danny stopped in front of a door and opened it with ease. There was no lock or anything. Once again adding to the list of concerning evidence. They entered after Danny to discover a shabby looking flat past the door. There was barely any furniture, and the furniture that was there looked like it should have been thrown out years ago. The floor boards seemed as if they would give way at any moment too. The windows to the far side allowed lighted in but that only served to illuminated the mountain of dust everywhere. The apartment didn't even look lived in. There were no clothes anywhere, no dishes, no sort of decorations, nothing.

Danny seemed undeterred by any of this and happily pranced into a room off to the right. Tim followed him as Bruce stayed behind to look around more.

As he entered, Tim was relieved to find that at least this space looked lived in albeit barely. The bed had Superman themed sheets on it and there was a backpack leaning against the closet. The bed also had a blanket laying on top of it which Danny ran to and grabbed. He came back over to show Tim.

"This is my most precious thing!" he explained excitedly. "My friend gave it to me. Feel it! It's super soft."

Tim knelt down and felt the blanket which was black and had stars all over it. "You're right," he said. "It really is soft." Danny beamed. "Told ya!"

Tim smiled at the boy's obvious excitement despite his less than stellar living arrangements. Just then, Bruce called for him. Tim returned to the main room with Danny in tow, still clutching onto his blanket.

Bruce turned to him and handed him a piece of paper with an unreadable expression. The paper had cursive scrall on it that simply read, Take care of him my knights.

Danny looked up at them both curiously and Tim just sighed. So much for this being a quick drop off.

[lychgate]

i haven't posted a really poorly drawn thought piece adventure in years so here's a brief update!

hope i hit the read more thing right oh well anyway:

"Spent a lot of time applying for a home loan. I had to pay -fucked up- to have a convincing income for a decent loan. It was very confusing but cody helped me a lot."

"Cody proposed to me It felt wonderful that someone wanted to share their time and love with me. Cody proposed Anthrohio weekend, it's the con we really met at."

"We saw the listing that sunday morning before we had to go to our table to vend."

"It was a perfect house. We were the first people to view it and we immediately put in a bid. And we got the house. Many papers to sign."

"Moving was not easy. It took 2 whole months. Cody was out of town helping their grandma recover from a big surgery and we had to sell their old house/move that as well as move from my apartment. ALSO THE PETS: My cat dick wolf + Cody's 3 birds. Until we could get some doors installed and separate the house, I had to live between two places every day to feed and care for them."

"Still, life was good. I bought my first house! It has a swing in the backyard. I've never had my own backyard. I've never even lived somewhere that had trees (in said yard) It felt nice. Living together with the love of my life and 4 pets."

"Through all this i never closed my shop. How could I? It was my income, and I just bought a house. It needed to stay open. Moving that much inventory, setting up a new office, the house is a nice size but it's not huge, so, very careful organizing had to be executed if I wanted my apparel laid out right. (Which I totally managed to do)"

"but i Did get really good at baking pies. the two are connected."

"sacred_crow on instagram!"

"there's like 25 of u bastards i would absolutely die for, and about 75 more that i would go nearly dead over."

"We have an extra bedroom so I got to turn it into a toy room. There's games, crafts, stuffed animals, movies, a sick loft I painted the shit out of. It rules. It brings me a lot of Joy."

"Under the loft we have a dug out where we can watch VHS tapes. I love to sit with Cody and watch movies and play Donkey Kong."

"I am not good at Banjo Kazooie, but Cody is. Cody is so talented. I love watching them play games. (Depicted is not banjo kazooie but donkey kong country 2 as we are currently playing that. I'm good at DKC but I will still swear and make sounds like im about to throw up)"

"Half the basement is finished, so we turned it into a dual office space. It rules. Cody has a whole side for fursuit crafting, and my side is mostly my gigantic gamer computer area/shipping area. I took a whole wall to put all my non apparel merch like pins charms and notebooks also. for hte love of god someone buy the notebooks they take up more space then i wanted"

"I love to look over from my computer and see cody working. They always look so focused, yet peaceful."

"It's winter but it rains. I miss the snow. I lived by the lakes growing up. I miss piles of snow. It's just wet and cold here. Yes i'm quite aware of global warming"

"I got kicked off both my health and car insurance. I fixed the car one but health insurance still no. All my meds have gone away. The past few months have been hard. I think way too much lately. I can't get myself to do anything. -this is a whole page of downer bullshit and i cropped it!-"

"We had a leaky ceiling that took a month to fix. Cody did all the work because they are smart and kind."

"Oh yeah I had my uterus removed earlier this year. They let me keep it. It's in a jar in my living room."

"We threw a very nice halloween party. I was the green m&m. Cody was the monarch."

"We adopted 8 beautiful kiwis from a crane machine at the mall. we spent over 100 monies to get them but it was worth it."

"

It was a rough year. My health is in decline. Our country may try to end my life for being trans soon (lol?) I am in hte middle of a colossal mental breakdown of my core fundamental behavior (depression advanced) BUT ALSO: I am engaged to my favorite person. We bought a house together. I'm beginning a new chapter of my life. I have a swing in my backyard. The negatives suck but there are also many positives. The cycle of emotions is immense, but there is beauty in it. There is beauty in life, and isn't that wonderful?"

[moonheavens]

moonheavens' (wolfstar) fic recs, Nov 24

hello! since my last list of fic recs is now over a year old (Aug 23), I figured it's about time for a new one, especially on the back of the recent discourse about shouting about work you love, which I'm always happy to do.

so without further ado, here are some fics I have "recently" read and loved and whose praises I'd like to sing, very loudly. please do note this only includes wolfstar or multi-ship Marauders fics.

authors, if you want to be untagged, have your fic removed or have the one line summary changed, just message me.

all recs with ao3 links below the break <3

WIPs

All's Fair in Love and Trivia, by @cancerravenclaw ~75k, Explicit, Muggle. exes to lovers years after a huge, painful break-up. I've been eating this up with a spoon and re-read multiple times so far, it's soooo good. really hot ex-sex, yet also handles the complex emotions beautifully, and I love the group dynamics.

The Labyrinth, by QuillNib ~45k, Explicit (check tags), AU. Sirius is forced to sign a contract with an A/B/O breeding facility. really interesting take on omegaverse dynamics, very handmaid's tale vibes. great writing and plot, and keeps you on your toes constantly.

How To Jeopardise Your Friendship With Remus Lupin, by @amberlink ~200k, Teen, Hogwarts. everything you could ever want from a Hogwarts-era best friends to lovers fic. beautifully written, amazing characterisations and also just super funny and sweet. I love this Remus dearly, and this is one of those fics where you drop everything else when the update email comes in.

A Song for the End of the World, by @wannabelilybriscoe ~200k, Mature (check tags), AU. zombie apocalypse wolfstar!! amazing plot so far that really keeps you guessing, with great links to canon yet entirely fresh and inventive. wonderful friendship dynamics and writing, and I would die for this Sirius (but also lowkey steal his man).

Shorter finished works (<30k)

back to the old house, by @saintlupin 20k, Explicit, First War. Sirius, Regulus and Remus get stuck in grimmauld place and have to deal with the tension between them. absolutely beautiful, and painful in all the best ways like only saintlupin can achieve.

Sirius Black and the "mystery girl", by Anonymous 30k, Teen, Hogwarts. the marauders try to guess who Sirius is mysteriously dating. this one is so much fun, really light-hearted and joyful and a great twist with the Lily POV.

What I Heard, by fishcommuter / @fishpilgrim 28k, Explicit, Hogwarts. definition of idiots to lovers; wolfstar acting like a couple and having to be told they're basically dating. light-hearted, sweet, and a lot of fun.

The Barista, the Burglar, and the Sofa, by orphan_account 21k, Explicit, Muggle. summary reads "the story of how Sirius tries to seduce a man by slowly furnishing his flat" and.. that totally checks out. absolutely hilarious and very sweet, and I too would fold if Sirius Black bought me a bookshelf.

Wishes on Stars, by Quietlemonhush and @theresthesnitch 19k, Explicit, AU. Remus makes a wish upon a star and gains a friend. without spoiling too much, this one is a wonderful journey - so sweet, so beautiful, so poetic, so heart-warming.

A Good League Hence, by @eyra 15k, Teen, Muggle. a country hotel in the wintertime. I could put eyra's entire bibliography here as they're incredible, but this is one of my favs. sweet christmas fluff with animals and eyra's ever-incredible writing, just perfect.

June: or how Sirius finally figured himself out, by MarigoldWritesThings / @marigold-hills 15k, Explicit, Hogwarts. does what the title suggests, and wonderfully so. I adore this version of pining yet oblivious Sirius, and the writing here is stunning. tender and heart-warming.

Just a Little Bit of Magic, by @cancerravenclaw 25k, Explicit, Muggle. music journalist Remus falls in love at first sight with model Sirius at a club. flirting ensues. one of my favourites ever - sensual, delicious, beautifully written. the kind of fic I'm grateful exists, and secretly wish I could write.

Tear My Chest Open, by @puuvillaa 22k, Explicit (check tags), Post-Hogwarts. Remus never goes to Hogwarts and meets Sirius, who is taken, in a writing class. complicated feelings ensue. this one was painful, but beautiful. a beautiful expression of care and tenderness.

nothing sweeter than my baby, by damagecontrol 7k, Explicit, Muggle. wolfstar dads on a date night at a Hozier concert, except it's mostly sex. ridiculously hot and sexy, yet sweet and fun. one of my favs if I want something nsfw.

Match Point, by @billspaid 14k, General, Muggle. wolfstar as husbands who are both tennis players, inspired by Challengers. exactly what you want from it; ridiculously fun. competitive yet sweet as they go head-to-head. a blast.

lunch poems, by aeridi0nis / @steelycunt 5k, General, Muggle. tourist Sirius bothers bookstore employee Remus into adoration. aeridi0nis and their gorgeous gorgeous writing never disappoints and this was so much fun. swotty Remus my beloved.

Three Card Monte, by @enjambament 14k, Teen, Muggle. I love heist AU's and this is one of the best ones out there. tensive and exciting the whole way through, and this wolfstar... I want what those bitches have.

The Right Reason, by softsilkentofu 11k, Explicit, Post-Hogwarts. wolfstar get married (as friends) to evade anti-werewolf laws. incredibly funny and heart-warming, with great writing, and a fun twist on fake dating.

Longer finished works (30k+)

Dunes and Waters, by MarigoldWritesThings / @marigold-hills 36k, Explicit, AU. curse breaker/convict Sirius is forced to work with ancient Egypt researcher Remus on a riddle. I loved the mythology aspects of this and the twist on canon, and it was beautifully written.

The Road to Sweetwater, by @euripidestrousers 57k, Explicit, AU. Wild West AU, with outlaw Sirius and bounty hunter Remus. I've been yelling about this one a lot recently - one of my all time favs, beautifully written and so brilliant. I'll be coming back to it for a long time.

The Spy Who Loved Him, by OptimisticDinosaur / @mostlyoptimisticdinosaur 35k, Explicit, AU. James Bond AU, with spy Sirius and 'man in the chair' Remus. intensely exciting and tensive, and so much fun. I really had a great time with this one.

an endless sky of honey, by @colgatebluemintygel 35k, Mature, AU. Greek mythology inspired; Sirius is a God, Remus is a mortal. that's all I'll say, you gotta go into this pretty blind, but it's just. incredible. toothpaste never misses and this one is really special.

through the gaps of sunlight, by grumposaur / @pancakehouse 48k, Explicit, AU. victorian era exes to lovers wolfstar with aristocrat Sirius... this one was so much fun, the yearning! the pining! the longing glances! I ate that shit up with a spoon.

The Waste Land, by afieryfox / @a-fiery-fox 51k, Mature, AU. Remus is a resistance fighter for the Order; Sirius joins the fight. brilliant wartime-wolfstar characterisation and a really tense and engaging plot, plus amazing writing. one of my favs of 2024.

love finds a way, by @littleoldrachel 60k, Mature, AU. Jurassic Park exes to lovers... who doesn't love dinos? Rachel always delivers with her writing and characterisations, and I'm obsessed with these nerdy, mopey versions of R & S.

Lie to Me (Another Secret), by Whoops_e 151k, Explicit, Hogwarts. Sirius is expelled from Beauxbatons and joins Hogwarts late. beautiful fic with a focus on mental health, with amazing dialogue and super tender wolfstar (one of my favs). the bathroom scene in ch40 is everything to me.

back when we were dinosaurs, by epicblueblanket / @kaaaaaaarf 37k, Explicit, Muggle. Remus and Sirius meet at their workplace, a museum in Toronto. paleontology!!! nerd Remus!!! sexy Sirius!! this has everything you want, just a perfect fic in every way.

Bonus recs that you've probably already read, and if you haven't you absolutely 100% should

Harry Potter and the Dog and the Wolf (series), by thewholeofthemoon ~605k overall, Mature. a retelling of canon (starting from POA) but with Peter captured and Wolfstar taking care of Harry, aka how we all wish canon had been. beautifully written and super original take on the story. it's long, but it's worth it for the wolfstar alone.

Hey, Sharpshooter, by @tortoisebore 200k, Explicit, Muggle. college, basketball player Remus meets figure skater Sirius. recently finished, and I couldn't not include it as this is in my top 5 most re-read and loved fics ever. it makes me want to pull out my teeth one by one (affectionately). they're engraved in my memory at this point.

on another ocean, by @colgatebluemintygel (WIP) ~133k, Explicit, Muggle. recently dumped Sirius drags Remus on a holiday across through Europe. if you haven't read this, please, please do. it's literally my favourite thing in the entire world. like, no competition. I would sacrifice my firstborn for this fic, and like, raze the city of Troy for this fic (my Helen).

Chimaera & The Wolf (series), by lostmy_keys / @lostmykeysie 337k, Mature, First War. Regulus and Remus work together to find the horcruxes. this one is popular, and for good reason; I devoured this, one of my favourite things I've ever read in my life. so exciting and tense, and the wolfstar is everything to me.

and if after all of these you’re still looking for more, may I humbly inform you I’m also a wolfstar writer myself—you can find my fics on my ao3.

and that's all, folks. this is just a small selection, I have read dozens more so if you want more you know where to find me. love always, Ames <3

[reimenaashelyee]

TCM 10th Anniversary

I haven't been very online and posting much art as of late, due to a surprising number of OBLIGATIONS (teaching gigs, job-hunting and catching up with lots of other comics work, which includes what I am gonna talk about in this post) and some disillusionment about posting art on platforms.

Some of you are gonna be shocked by this but 2026 is going to mark 10 years since I posted the first page of The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya on my webcomic's website. This is a pretty big meaningful event to me -- TCM is my first ever completed graphic novel and the reason why I am able to have a comics career now. So obviously I want to celebrate it big and wrap my journey with TCM with a nice fancy extravagant bow.

I've been wanting to do a full FINAL remaster of all of 600 pages of the comic. Not so much revamping the art because I already did a lot of art fixes for the hardcover print editions, and I am still pretty chill about how everything looks! More like updating the lettering (again), correcting colours, fixing the dialogue and strengthening the themes between books, and presenting the entire two-book series at the best it could be. I learned a lot about the realities/logistics of publishing and making comics since I finished TCM, so I'm excited to be redeeming the webcomic sins of my naive past self and update TCM to the current standard of the rest of my author catalogue.

Right now I'm about 3/4 of the way of remastering the 600 pages. So close!! But I want to talk about the stuff I've already done for it!

Everything's under the cut if you are keen to hear me yap.

First thing I did for the remaster is a complete revamp of the title design. I designed the original in late 2015 - early 2016 when the webcomic began to form and never changed it. But the 10th anniversary means I can pull all the stops and go wild, especially now that I have improved in terms of design and all the skills needed to make a historical comic.

The old title was meant to evoke Ottoman calligraphic brushscript without being too cheesy. I carried this over in the new one - I still don't want it to be cheesy and I'd prefer to evoke the feel rather than the look of Ottoman/Arabic calligraphy, since the Eastern calligraphic arts (by this I mean non-Latin script. i.e China and Japan are also equally sophisticated) is no joke and I'd prefer not to attempt replicating linguistic brushstokes and patterns for Aesthetique. Not to mention Latin letters don't lend themselves to Eastern calligraphy very well.

Luckily, Latin calligraphy already exists. I wanted to include more of the 18th century English stylings of the comic into the title, and for this I looked at English Roundhand/Copperplate and the French Ronde. Lots of curlicues and flourish. The outcome is this more condensed almost stamp-like design.

The second thing I did is the book cover. I am not really sure what the final cover will look like as it's dependent on whether I get a publisher for this edition of TCM - but I've made a mockup for now!

The 10th anniversary cover has more of the Ottoman carpet influence compared to the previous covers for TCM. I'm thinking of weaving in the Rococo S-and-C leaf scrolls and other motifs into the cover too. We will see!

The third thing I did is update as many of the Turkish marbled pages as possible.

So Volume I has a fair number of marbled backgrounds - but I didn't have a lot of resources back then, so I drew all of those pages digitally. It's not authentic, per se, but it worked.

As part of the remastering, I want to emphasise the imperfect, hand-drawn, there's-a-person-behind-this feel of TCM. Not to say the personnage wasn't there before, but I wanted MORE of that, especially given the AI nonsense that's happening for the past 2 years.

So this time I went to a Turkish marbled pages workshop, taught by an ebru master (shoutout to Eslem at Anatolia Art Studio), to make my own pages ... the traditional way!

I made 6 prints, and they will be appearing in some shape or form in the final remaster. The first image at the top of this post - which is the title page - is one of those prints! The marbled pages aren't perfect - there is so much technical skill involved in transferring the prints from plastic container to paper, and I bunged that part up too much lol - but that fits the point of TCM as a project? It's all me, it's all the artist's handiwork, and it's imperfect, but that's what allows the love to show.

The fourth and final thing I will be yapping about is the actual remastering work.

Top is the 10th anniversary 2025 remaster. Bottom is 2016 version.

The differences are not that extravagant - any tweaks I am doing, including the relettering, is for consistency and clarity.

Mainly I just wanted to fix the colour sins I committed in the past. In 2016 I didn't have any idea what printing a comic entails and would require - so I naively coloured everything in RGB... and failed to consider how dark colours will print in a CMYK space and on paper... and there are a lot of DARK COLOUR SCENES!!!

Top is the 2025 fix. Bottom is the original.

You can imagine how poorly the original printed on paper. :)

It took me a month and a half to work on Volume I, as I had to reletter everything and implement so many colour fixes. Luckily Volume II has been easy, and with any luck I will be done with this project in March.

I am considering rerunning the webcomic at some point! Sound off if you want to reread TCM again. :3c