#the author rambles

[again-and-then]

A Breakdown of Angelic Weapons

Because Vivzie hasn't made and likely won't make a concrete magic system and I read too many high fantasy books. My personal thoughts and headcanons about Angelic weapons, written mostly for my own fanfiction: Pride, Envy, Wrath, but anyone can use the ideas.

Angelic weapons are the primary tools of Heaven's armies and are valued due to  the following properties:

the ability to rend the souls of immortal beings (passed on mortal souls such and Winners or Sinners, Demons and Angels) and bring about final death**

The ability to bypass most basic forms of magical defenses such as the invulnerability that Exorcists normally possess against attacks from Sinners. 

The fact that any wound left by an angelic blade takes significantly longer to heal, even for beings with advanced regenerative abilities.

The abilities of angelic weapons come from the fact that wherever they cut the body, the weapon leaves an equivalent wound on the soul and causes damage far greater than mere flesh wounds. This is also believed to be the reason that such wounds leave scars that take years or decades to fade even on creatures with naturally potent Regeneration.

**While these weapons seem to deal final death to angels and demons, it seems that the natural willpower of human souls allows them to partially persist after ‘final death’. However, only fragments of the soul remain with little to no consciousness behind it. It is believed these broken souls have infused into the rings of Hell and are the cause of the many watching eyes seen throughout Hell. There is currently no known way for a soul to be restored after this fate.

How are these effects achieved: The ability to damage a living soul directly is due to the weapon being infused with holy energy at the time of its forging, this being drawn from the ambient energy given off an Angel's soul. Being infused with the nature of a soul at creation effectively allows it to become a weaponized extension of the soul to its user.

Drawbacks of Angelic Weaponry: While angelic weapons are typically superior to conventional weaponry in most respects, there are some slight drawbacks to their use:

They are not indestructible. Many people who get their hands on an angelic blade think they have found an unbreakable super weapon and become overconfident, leading to their own demise. While more durable, even the finest blessed steel will dull and lose its edge after extended use, needing to be sharpened and maintained like any other weapon.

This is the reason Exorcists drop weapons during exterminations, as the weapon tends to start losing its edge after a few dozen kills and becomes little more than a blunt instrument. Adam, being lazy, reasoned that carrying damaged weapons back to heaven would be dead weight, thus it would be better to leave them behind so Sinners can use them to kill each other… This logic backfired.

Due to the nature of the weapon, it draws a very small amount of energy from the user’s soul over the period of its use in combat. Very small, but notable. A person fighting with an angelic blade might exhaust themselves 3-5% faster than a person fighting with a mundane sword of the same design. This can vary due to the innate power of a person’s soul. For more powerful individuals such as Overlords and higher order Angels and Demons this drain is so small as to be negligible.

Availability and cost. While these weapons are easy to make and stockpile in Heaven, they are not so easy to  procure in Hell and virtually unheard of in the mortal realm (it is theorized that legendary weapons of myth were merely angelic weapons that somehow made their way to mortal hands.) There are no ways for demons to make their own and the infernal magic given off by demon souls cannot recreate the soul rending effects of holy magic. Even with the supply to be found after Exterminations, Carmilla Carmine has cornered the market on the gathering and selling of holy arms which she tends to keep at prohibitively expensive prices.

Melee vs Ranged Weaponry:

The majority of angelic weapons to be found will be melee weapons simply due to the fact that they are easier to produce and the simple fact that they are the preferred tools of the Exorcist army. Exterminations have long been seen as an entertaining sport by the Exorcists and flying down to stab people is generally more fun than picking them off at range.

Ranged angelic weapons can exist and are used frequently but they have additional drawbacks. Primarily, the fact that for bows and guns both the ammunition and the items themselves need to be made using angelic steel. The reasons are unclear, but trying to pair angelic and mundane items tends to backfire. For example, an angelic arrow being strung on a mundane bow might cause the string to snap or an angelic gun trying to fire mundane bullets will misfire. This tends to press their use heavily against the previously discussed cost and availability drawback. While Exorcists can afford to waste a bunch of arrows, even Overlords wouldn’t dare waste holy bullets.

The topic of ‘Power’:

Not all angelic weapons are created equal and in the next section we will discuss the variations of their make and how each type varies in power. Before we do, one should clarify what ‘power’ means in this context, as it can be a nebulous concept without context. While the standard issue angelic weapon is only marginally sharper and more durable than mundane steel aside, more magically infused variants manifest further benefits. Primarily, increases in power result in greater strike force, penetrative ability vs both mundane and magical protections, and greater damage to the soul. To visualize that last point, imagine an angelic blade cutting a person and therefore their soul as a sharp knife cutting into a sheet of fabric. Now, to visualize a more powerful angelic weapon cutting into the soul, think of the effects on the fabric if the blade had been heated until it was glowing red. Greater heat will burn the fabric and cause far more damage than the mere cut itself. 

Types of Angelic weapons: The varieties of Angelic weapons can be most easily broken down by their method of creation and the material being used. The most common varieties are the following:

Blessed Steel: the most common variation one may encounter and the primary tool of the Exorcist army. Made using an alloy of Steel and Silver that requires holy magic to create. Their appearance is usually Silver or white with a soft glow and generally feels cold to the touch. These are to be considered the most basic, standard weapons.

Holy Aurum: a much rarer variation made from an alloy of Silver, Steel, and Gold. Aurum angelic weapons are much more magically dense and offer both greater power and lower energy drain, being generally superior to Blessed Steel in all categories. Unfortunately, the process required to create and infuse the alloy is far longer and more taxing, thus Aurum weapons are generally only made on rare occasions to denote positions of authority, such as Lute’s sword. It is incredibly rare that any of these make it into Hell and royal Demon houses will typically trade fortunes in order to secure them as status symbols. They have a fully gold appearance, a brighter glow, and are often described as giving off a slight warmth.

Carmine Pattern: The Overlord Carmilla Carmine has found a rather unique method of melting down holy weapons and reforging them into improved versions. They can be identified by the glowing silvery patterns that cover their surface, which while this seems to be decorative, the designs serve an important function. The glowing designs help to circulate holy energy throughout the weapon more effectively, increasing the natural power of the weapon by a small degree. They are unfortunately not as effective as Aurum weapons but a noted improvement over standard blessed steel. Carmine also seems to be able to imbue the holy metal into many varieties of objects to create unique weapons such as Husk's playing cards or her own Angelic ballet shoes.

Relic Weapons: Do note that this is pure fanfiction territory, more so than anything else so far which is more or less canon+creative license but Relic Weapons are a concept I created for my own story that you can use in your own writing if you feel inspired.

Relic weapons are the ultimate form of angelic weaponry, greater than all other variations by orders of magnitude. The difference between a standard angelic weapon and an angelic relic is the difference between a butter knife and a high powered chainsaw. The name was given to them due to the fact that the majority of relic weapons were made thousands of years ago, used in the war started by Lucifer’s Fall (if there was an angelic rebellion in you fic, if not then they are just fucking old). Relic weapons are vanishingly rare, likely only held by the Archangels and possibly Lucifer and the other Sins, with any others being locked away tightly in the deepest parts of Heaven’s armory, but its possible that a handful of others could be floating around. All Angelic relics are made of Holy Aurum, though their creation takes far longer, much more magic and very specific rituals. The resulting weapons are not only far more powerful, but manifest several unique features:

Relic weapons form a unique bond with their user that allows the wielder to summon and dismiss the weapon at will, recall it from any distance, and sense the direction of the weapon if it has been separated from them. Due to the ability to recall the weapon at will, they are virtually impossible to steal. The only way to break someone’s bond to an angelic relic is to kill them or through very long rituals where the user must willingly part with the weapon.

Near weightlessness. Angelic relics, when held by their bonded user, weigh next to nothing, making them very easy to use. Even massive and impractical weapons are as light as any dagger. When touched by someone not bonded to them, they become as heavy as a normal weapon of their size if not slightly denser.

External force generation. The bond allows the user to tap into their own soul and draw energy that the weapon can amplify massively and direct outwards. A relic bow might be able to create arrows of pure light, or a blade will be able to make sweeping arcs of holy energy as it is cut through the air. Doing this does tend to be rather draining, especially if the user is not already blessed with a powerful soul such as an Overlord, Royal Demon, or High Ranking Angel and can result in exhaustion if not used carefully.

Enchantments. Relic weapons can be inscribed with enchantments during their creation that allow for additional abilities or even the ability to recreate magical spells. An example of this would be Adam’s guitar which has the ability to alter its form (changing from a guitar to an axe) and its size at the will of the user.

It should be noted that Angelic relics also possess an additional property that is much harder to understand. While the weapons are not sentient, they do tend to possess a kind of… will. Its not as if the weapon will fly off and do its own thing or talk to you, but Relics do have a habit of subtly acting in ways that no normal weapon should. This can manifest in the surface temperature of the weapon seeming to change in response to its bonded user’s emotions or attempts to bond with the weapon failing seemingly because the weapon ‘rejects’ the person. Sometimes a relic can even cause rituals to break the bond to fail. In extremely rare cases, if the user tries to use the weapon in a way that is extremely antithetical to the purpose of the relic’s creation, then it can become as heavy as lead and practically unmovable but this is probably about the most extreme example of the weapon’s will and almost never happens.

…

And… yeah, that's my thoughts on Holy Weapons. Did I need to do this? No. not even a little. Use the ideas or don’t, rewrite everything if you feel like it, I’m not your dad.

[blackwolfstabs]

30 Day Writing Challenge: Day 16

LAUGHTER

Sam has been in a bad mood all day, and Tara handles it. She's not mean, she's just a younger sister.

a.n. mentions tickling (if you don't like it, i don't need to hear about it. i respectfully ask that you kindly move on.)

“Alright, T, the chicken’s in the oven!” Mindy announced down the hall and pulled out her phone to set a timer. “It’ll be about 25 minutes.”

From inside her room, Tara hollered back, “‘Kay! I’ll be in there to start the rice in a minute!”

It was Friday night again, that one night of the week when the Carpenter sisters, Meeks-Martin twins, and Danny got together to do dinner and a movie night. They started that “tradition” a couple weeks after Mindy and Chad had gotten home from the hospital. It was held in celebration of making it to the weekend. The college students didn’t have to worry about waking up early, or homework, or due dates for two whole days, and that was something worth kicking-off with a chill night. 

It usually went something like this: the night was held at the Carpenters’ apartment every week. It typically started at 5:00 PM, because that was when Mindy and Chad tended to show up. Then, a couple, few, or more would make dinner, and they’d sit down at the table and eat, while talking about anything and everything—venting about the week, celebrating the highs and lows, or just nonsense—until everybody was done. Lastly, came the movie. Usually, the decision on what to watch was rotated between Tara, Mindy, and Chad, because Sam and Danny couldn’t care less—and of course, they were teased for being older, so they were probably too tired to care. 

However, they enjoyed it, nonetheless, and always managed to make it happen, no matter what. Tonight, dinner was on Mindy and Tara, and they agreed to make orange chicken.

Tara weaved her way from her bedroom and into the kitchen, where she pulled a pot out from the cabinet and took it to the sink. As she turned the handle to begin filling it up, there was a knock at the door.

From one of the living room chairs, Chad yelled, “It’s open!” And once the newcomer entered, he dropped back down to casual. “How’s it going, Danny?”

“Fine,” Danny replied, then was greeted by the other two in the room.

“What’s up?” Mindy called from the table, while Tara’s voice came from the sink.

“You’re late!” But then she stuck her head out from behind the wall, “No, I’m just playing, you’re good.” She went back to the sink, voice following as she did so, “It’s orange chicken tonight! We have to keep it fancy on Fridays.”

“We love to keep it fancy!” Mindy emphasized.

“Fancy Fridays!” the other put a name on it.

“Fancy Fridays!” she repeated.

And then Chad had to add, “Fancy Fridays with the Core Four Plus More!”

As the three cheered in agreement, Danny glanced around. They were missing one member of the said Core Four. “Where’s Sam?” he asked, while taking a seat in the chair that wasn’t occupied.

“She’s in the shower,” the younger male answered. And before he could explain any further, Tara took over.

“Yeah, and, full disclosure, she’s been in a bad mood all day long.” She set the now-full pot on the stove and left it to boil, while she made her way out of the kitchen to continue her warning. “I don’t know if you’ve talked to her, but…”

Danny shook his head, turning himself so he could look at her. “No, I haven’t. Is something going on with her?”

But Tara just shrugged, “Just tired. She overslept this morning, and I had to wake her up, which she did not like. And then, because she overslept, she had a bad headache. I texted her in class, later on, and she said her head had stopped hurting, but her attitude hasn’t changed. Usually, she’s just very quiet when she’s tired, but she’s been really irritable today.” She gestured to both of the twins, “And it’s not just me. She snapped at Chad and Mindy, too, before she went to take a shower.”

The other glanced from Tara to Mindy. “Is it that time? You know… of the month?” He was sure Chad was used to the subject, given his considered family was primarily made up of girls, but he always felt out of place mentioning it.

“No, that’s not for another two weeks,” the younger Carpenter replied casually, unfazed to exploit that kind of information that may or may not be sensitive.

Mindy made her way to the right end of the couch, “If she was upset about something serious, we’d be the first to know.” Then she shrugged, “She’s just grumpy, because it’s America, and she can be. 1st Amendment people!”

“1st Amendment, my ass,” Tara retorted, “This is the day of the week we always celebrate for surviving another fucking week!” She put one finger up to make a point, throwing it towards Sam’s shut bedroom door. “And she’s gonna be happy about it, whether she likes it or not. I’m calling it.” She went on to vow, “I’m gonna get her. I don’t know how, but she’s gonna get it.”

Chad scoffed, “Yeah, good luck with that. I’m staying out of it. Sam’s kinda scary when she’s mad, and I’m trying to live to see tomorrow.”

But his girlfriend rolled her eyes. “Come on, Chad. She’s not mad, she’s annoyed. And for someone who’s a sibling, you should know there’s nothing sweeter and more satisfying than annoying your sibling.” A mischievous smile pulled at her lips, and her eyebrows raised in unison to hint at some sort of younger-sibling antic that she had yet to figure out.

However, Danny, being the gentleman he was, tried to veer that plan of action off its train of formulation. “I don’t know, maybe she’ll feel better after having taken a shower.”

“Bet!” Chad nodded in agreement. “We’re gonna hope for that.”

His sister gave them a look and clicked her tongue, “Y’all are no fun…”

Tara had already gone back to the kitchen, leaving the rest to the passing time as she checked on the water. And it wasn’t long at all before the door at the end of the hallway opened.

Sam came out into the living room without saying a word. The only person she acknowledged was Danny, who got up to greet her. She stopped in front of him when he came up, managing a slight smile that was more of a failed attempt at one. 

However, he took it anyway and leaned over to kiss her cheek, the scent of shampoo strong off her hair. When he met her eyes again, he asked, “Are you okay?”

She nodded but looked away as if it had been the thousandth time she had been asked that today. “Yeah, fine.” She looked back at him with a quick shrug, “I’m just tired.”

“Okay.” He backed away so she could continue on to where she was going, instantly detecting the irritability in her voice. It didn’t offend him, but as he watched her make way to the left end of the sofa, he found Mindy giving him an I-told-you-so look.

Meanwhile, Sam bent one leg beneath her as she sat down and brought the other one up off the floor, centering her focus on her phone.

“Feel better after your shower, Sam?” the girl to her left quizzed.

She didn’t look up from the screen. “Mm. More or less.”

The dryness in her voice was so neon against the laid-back behavior of the others, it made Mindy roll her eyes. “Oh, come on, Sam! Tonight’s supposed to be fun. Lighten up,” she told her.

This made her look up and shrug. “I said, I was fine,” she insisted. She had tried to make her voice sound lighter, but it didn’t come across that well. 

“I know, but like… just relax! Smile. Have some fun,” Mindy encouraged. “I know you’re tired, but the night is here! It’s just us having a good time.” But when Sam unleashed a sigh and looked back down, she took it a step further. “Your boyfriend would like to see you smile, right, Danny?” she put her hand out towards the appointed being. “He hasn’t seen you all day. He shouldn’t be punished by his girlfriend’s bad attitude.” 

“I don’t have a bad attitude!” Samantha snapped. “I’m just tired. I told him that, and I told all of you that.”

“Okay, so? We’re tired too. College ain’t easy, sister,” her friend countered with her smart mouth. “But the Core-Fuckin’-Four Plus One-Fuckin’-More wants to have a good night, and for that, we need smiles all around.” When she was answered with a wry scoff and a roll of the other’s eyes, she pressed, “Come on! Even if you have to fake-it ‘til you make it, I’ll let it slide tonight.”

The older Carpenter just sighed and stared at her, which made her bring Danny into it again. “Please? For him?” Her tone fluctuated in a sing-song voice, “He thinks it’s beautiful~”

“You know, trying to force me is only making me not want to, even more,” she retorted.

Now, Brackett jumped in, “Mindy, just leave her be.”

But—with Mindy being Mindy—leaving shit be without proper intervention wasn’t acceptable. She completely understood how Sam being tired and having headaches would leave her in a bad mood all day. That happened to everyone all the time, but this wasn’t just about that night… She wanted to see how far she could push her. She knew when enough was enough, but she and Tara both had a thing about persistence, and damn, did that give them a sterling charm. “Nope!” And that’s exactly who she’d bring into it. “Tara! Sam’s being a major drip!”

“Mindy…” Sam groaned. “Seriously?”

“You asked for it.”

“Snitch,” Chad accused his sister.

“Shut up,” was her reply.

Tara came out of the kitchen, immediately going behind her sister and leaning over the couch to rest her chin on top of her head. “Why are you being such a loser, Sammy?”

“I’m not! All I said was that I was tired! Why is that such a problem?” 

She crossed her arms in front of her chest to hold her there. “All we’re asking is for you to actually try and enjoy the night. We just want you to be happy.” She was quiet for a brief moment before she jumped to statistics. “You know, my professor said that smiling is proven to decrease stress and release endorphins. So, Mindy’s got a point.”

“And if smiling sounds even more tiring?” Sam countered as she looked to her right, where Tara leaned over, so they could look at each other.

“Hmm…” her younger sister pondered for a moment, then came back with, “Well, I’m tired and yet—” She cut herself off to give a big smile that reminded them both of when they were little—how she would always smile like that to make her older sister do the same on a bad day. Then she relaxed. “Smiling isn’t that hard? Remember when I used to be able to make you smile just by doing it, myself?”

This actually made the other feel the starting upturn of her lips, but she looked away, feeling awkward about it. 

But Tara caught it. “Perfect,” she enthused, “More of that, okay?” But she didn’t get any sign of a reply. “Okaaay?” Still nothing as her sister kept staring at her phone, but she knew she was getting somewhere just by noticing her avoiding eye contact. “Sam? Sammy?” She nudged her a little, still clinging to her. 

Sam just shook her head in a ‘you’re ridiculous’ way.

Then, she took it to a more playful level, pulling her close and whispering into her ear. “You can’t ignore me.” She knew she couldn’t stand it when she’d whisper directly into her ear like that.

And that still showed to be true as her big sister cringed immediately, jerking her shoulder up and tilting her head as she tried to pull away. However, it had managed to prompt a smile from her as she shook her head like a dog in trying to get rid of the feeling of Tara’s breath teasing her ear.

That made a light bulb go off in Tara’s head, and she kept her hold on her captive as she looked up to Danny. “Hey, Danny,” she grabbed his attention with a spark of mischief in her eye, “If you didn’t know, your girlfriend’s ticklish.” She didn’t spare a second as she went on to prove the statement, the current placement of her arms allowing her fingers easy access to the older’s torso. 

Samantha bit back the spontaneous urge to laugh, instinctively moving to block her. “T-Tara!” 

“What?” Her sister didn’t let up as she took the upper hand. She dodged the defensive arms by removing her own from draping over her shoulders and slipping behind her. “I thought you were ignoring me,” she teased, now targeting her open sides.

The victim yelped, losing her balance in her uneven sitting position and faltering to lean into the arm of the sofa. Doing so had the feathering on her corresponding flank disappear and travel to her neck instead.

“You can’t ignore me, Sammy!” Tara crowed, hearing her sibling’s snickers start to turn into giggles. Every move Sam made, she made her own better, moving her small hands faster than she could react. But she was winning, nevertheless. Well… technically she’d already won. 

The other was well aware that everyone was watching a weakness become an advantage, and that made her entire body run hot with embarrassment. She and Tara grew up driving each other mad—the way siblings typically did—so they knew the exact places to hit. But it felt childish and made her feel very vulnerable in this moment, especially under a reputation as strict as her own. By now, she had been forced into an awkward lying position, pulling her knees up and hugging her torso to keep from being assaulted any more. But it was to no avail. “Sta-haah—” was all she could get out before she broke off into a silent laugh. Tara was targeting her neck with one hand, while the other went from her ribs to the slip of exposed skin that had been revealed from her cropped tank top, and then to wherever else she could harness. Her voice only came out as a wheeze as she managed, “Stop!”

But Tara wasn’t done playing her cards. “I’m sorry, what?” She acted innocent. “I can’t hear you.” She may seem a bit mean for doing this, considering she would pass the opportunity for it to be her on the wrong side of the gun, but it had been forever since she’d heard her sister laugh. Literally, she couldn’t remember the last time she genuinely laughed, and she had forgotten how it sounded. If she were honest, it was healing to see her get back in-touch with her youthful side. “Maybe stop laughing real quick so I can understand you?”

“Taraaa-ha-ha!”

“Listening!” she replied.

From the other end of the couch, Mindy decided to tag-team with the younger Carpenter. “Hang on, Tara, let me help you out.” She grabbed Sam’s ankle and pulled it to straighten her knee, allowing more access to the owner’s expense. “Now, get her.”

The underdog found her voice, giving a small whine as she was ganged-up on. “No-ho! Mindyyy!” This alteration left the majority of her lower abdomen exposed, which was gladly taken advantage of, drowning her into another laughing fit.

Over yonder, Chad and Danny exchanged glances, before Chad backed Sam up for both of them, “Come on, guys, now that’s just mean.” 

Tara shrugged, retorting, “She was mean first.” Beneath her, Sam bucked and twisted to face the back of the sofa, trying to pull her ankle out of Mindy’s grip. “This is her problem.”

Finally, her sister got some air in her lungs. “Okay! Oka-ha-hay, stop!” she barked, “I got it!”

But she was ignored as Mindy took it upon herself to skitter her own sly nails up her leg. “Tickle, tickle!”

Samantha went deathly hot in embarrassment upon hearing this, but she couldn’t break her instinctive temptation as she yelped. “Mindy, stop it!”

“Can we get a ‘please’, Sammy?” her little sister above quizzed, snaking her fingertips beneath her arms.

But before the other could deliver that desire, Chad took matters into his own hands. “Okay, you know what? That’s it.” He got up from his chair and went straight to Tara, scooping her up in his arms. “You’re going in Air Jail!” He pulled her away from the sofa. “Hey, feel free to give Mindy a smack to the head,” he called to Danny.

“Hey!” Tara fidgeted in her boyfriend’s hold. “Chaaad… you ruined it!”

“No, I don’t wanna hear it. You leave Sam alone,” he scolded and carried her to the kitchen. “You get back to making the rice, you little ankle-biter.”

With the initial instigator having been taken away, Mindy backed off too without any intervention, releasing her friend’s ankle and going back to her business with a smirk. “Wow, Sam…” she began, crossing one leg over the other to view the owner of the name panting as she recovered from the onslaught. “I didn’t know you were that ticklish.”

The older Carpenter ignored her as she pushed herself up from her lying position, tugging the hem of her black top down and pulling her legs closer to her body. She sighed a recovering sigh and pulled her long hair back with her fingers, before glancing over her shoulder to Mindy. “Don’t ever do that again,” she warned.

“No, I know.”

“I’m serious.”

“I won’t.”

But the smile the female twin wore wasn’t convincing in the slightest. She was like a fox; she had a million things up her sleeve. But when it came to her family, she meant them in the best way.

From his place, Danny watched his girlfriend resituate herself to her former position, shaking her head to let her hair fall back into its natural placement. “Are you alright, baby?” He wouldn’t say it out loud, but he had to agree with Mindy about not expecting the reaction given to be given. There was a first time for everything, but it put pieces from other reactions together. He figured her secret sensitivity was probably why she flinched when he kissed her neck, or shifted when he stroked her side, or tensed when he squeezed her thigh. However, he couldn’t say he didn’t take pleasure in seeing her smile or hearing her laugh, even if it was at Tara’s unruly persistence.

Samantha nodded but avoided making any eye contact. “Yeah, fine.” She leaned her head into her hand as she revisited her phone, her face still red from embarrassment. She glanced out of the corner of her eye at her 2nd tormentor. “Happy now?”

She gave an approving nod. “Yep. Now, cut the attitude, miss ma’am.”

The older just shook her head. “You give me a headache,” she accused, earning a chuckle from across the couch.

Chad’s voice came from the kitchen. “Mindy, come make yourself useful and check the chicken!”

And surprisingly, his sister obeyed, purposefully taking the long way around to give Sam’s head a good-dog-like pat on the head. “Love ya,” she promised as she rounded the sofa.

“Mm-hmm,” was the hummed reply. After she’d disappeared into the kitchen, Sam sighed, hesitant to raise her gaze to meet Danny’s, which she knew was on her. However, they were the only ones in the living room at the moment, so she did.

He smiled at her. “I guess it’s true that you learn something new every day, huh?” 

“That depends on who you ask.”

“Maybe I should talk with your sister more often?” he teased, which made her roll her eyes and pull a smile.

“Don’t get any ideas,” she warned, “You can do your homework, but I bite more than I bark.”

He nodded with a chuckle, “Yeah, that’s true.”

Carpenter tilted her head in that gesturing way she was known for, before resuming focus. It was safe to say that she was even more tired than she had been a few minutes ago, thanks to Tara and Mindy’s shenanigans, but she had to admit, she didn’t feel as aggressive. Maybe it was from the adrenaline. Maybe it was the forced change in behavior, which was more like a punishment, if you asked her. Or maybe it was simply what her little sister had stated: smiling decreased stress and increased endorphins released by the brain.

Maybe the exact thing she wouldn’t spare was the exact thing she needed. Of course… there were different ways they could’ve done it.

reeeeeeee idk how i feel about this one, but i think that's just me being anxious af about being judged 🫣 i have reasons for writing everything i do, so this wasn't me regurgitating something thoughtless, i promise.

all i'm gonna say is that i've grown up with younger siblings and have witnessed the playful dynamics between other siblings as well.

All my love and my best! ♡ - parker

[shameonmeeguiltypleasure]

SMB Author's Life Update part 2:

Well my dearest readers..... A discussion was had.....

I'm opening up here, because I just.... I don't know how my life is an actual cliche romcom plot.

So when I say " a confession was had" it was not the type of confession where one was asking for anything romantic or relationship wise. It was more like " You're my friend, but I'm getting super deep feelings that feel more-than-friend like and it's terrifying me cause I don't want to lose you. So I'm telling you now so you know where I'm at right now, but I'm not asking for you to be my boyfriend or anything more than your willing to give. I just need you to know this is what I'm feeling, and you need to put boundaries in place with me or I'll get even more confused and possibly blur my lines further"

I was mean, blurted this all out at the train station, 5mins before he had to catch his train (it was not as suave as I wrote by the way, I word vomited and was shaking like a leaf and then tried very hard not to runaway 😂). Then left him to think it over for a while 2days (the weekend).

But we did indeed talk about it and i am so very grateful...... That of all the guys for me to ever feel this deeply for the first time in my life it was for him.

We are not together, an honest blessing because I am very much not in a space for a relationship. I have only just gotten back to a healthy mind space. I'm still in the process of learning how to love myself.

He never thought of our friendship being anything more than friendly, but he loves how it's developing and he doesn't want to lose that either. (He's a bit sheltered if I'm honest, so kinda innocent and so very sweet. I call him Golden Boy in my writings lol).

We talked about our friendship and how important it is to the both of us because nothing about it's development was planned or ever felt forced it just fell into place.

We talked about how we wanted to see each other grow and thrive in life, and how neither of us plan to stop being an important person in each others lives.

And then we thanked each other, and proceeded to have a greeeeaaat laugh at how oblivious he was to my teasing/flirt comments, how I was fighting to be normal when he would talk to me etc.

We hugged it out and then we went Maccas for food 😂🤣🤣

I can't even begin to describe just how utterly happy I am that I haven't lost a friend, and that despite the romantic inclination of my feelings, our friendship is strong enough and mature enough to talk this through.

If I'm honest .... This didnt feel like a rejection, much like how I told him it wasnt really a question.... This felt like a "I'm scared of how important you have become to me so very fast, and I don't know if I'll survive if you leave" with a " I don't know where the future will take us but you're important to me too, and I don't plan on leaving".

Gaaaaaaah, now reading all that.... You bet I have sooooooo much inspo now for my writings 🤣😂

But thank you everyone who wished me luck and sent their support xxx

I greatly appreciate you

[valeskhoe]

I think i developped an hyperfixation by writing that one fic and it's taking my whole strength not to project my transness onto one of those idiots in a fic

[johndnormal]

Just started digital art thought I make another bestiary page

[notaisho]

 ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ’★,｡･:*:･ﾟ’☆ Hi everyone ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ’★,｡･:*:･ﾟ’☆

I'm glad to find you here at the start of the new year and sorry for my absence the past month because of my work schedule. But don't worry, I'm coming back as the place I work as a barman/barista is entereing slow season. My mental state was also very affected by health issues, but I'm starting to be all better now.

I hope 2023 is going to be generous to all of us and the artists with follow with passion. Concerning my writings, I truly hope I can keep up with a regular updating schedule that includes posting twice a month about a main story (please remember to check out WYLM) but also from time to time to include one shots. If I can keep up with this type of schedule, it means I would be able to still post while being oversea.

Some might known here, but I try to travel to Korea as often as I can. Last summer after the pandemic finally calmed down I was able to stay in Korea for a month and I hope I can do that during summer of 2023.

In my personnal life, I will work hard to achieve my goal to become a bookshop owner. My next step is just around the corner and I hope I can update you with good news when I release a project or when some of you ask. I also opened up a Kofi this year, I will try to come up with interesting content (or you can suggest it) so if you enjoy my work and want to show some support, please click on the link in my bio.

Hope happiness and joy find you.

The Author ━━━★

[ryemiffie]

Guys.. Stan canonically writes fanfiction, presumably posting it to ao3.. I bet that man has got the ultimate author's curse notes

"Sorry I'm late to update guys! Got arrested by the federal government for stealing materials from them to rebuild an interdimensional portal to save my long lost twin brother! But hopefully things will be more consistent now that I'm done saving him!"

"My bad for this being so rushed, currently living through the literal apacolypse!"

"Didn't mean for this too take so long y'all, had to reread the whole fic to refresh my memory after getting my brain wiped to kill the demon who used to date my brother, y'all know how it is!"

[bonesandthebees]

ao3 commenters PSA: even on older fics with a ton of comments the authors still get the notifs for every single comment

re: the person who just left a multi paragraph comment on one of my older fics talking about how much they disliked the ending and detailing several alternate endings they came up with instead that they thought would be better, and ending the comment with "no one is going to see this but oh well" authors see your comments yes even on old fics and it really doesn't feel good to see a comment like that even years after I finished the fic

[aethersea]

the question of fic comments is very straightforward actually. readers do not owe writers comments. writers do not owe readers fic. there is no bargain, no transaction, no debt.

fic is a gift. comments are a gift. gifts are exchanged between friends, out of love, not out of obligation.

I write for myself. I post it for others, as a gift, because their joy brings me joy. I read for myself. I comment for the author, as a gift, because their joy brings me joy. perhaps we were not friends before, but we are now, however fleetingly, because we have given each other gifts out of love.

[symeona]

When fic authors are like "teehee thank you for reading this silly little thing :3c" Under a fic that ruined my goddamn life like how dare u, drop your location in the damn chat I just wanna talk

[again-and-then]

Here’s another Vees question: what led you to make Velvette Carmilla’s daughter? I can definitely see potential hints in the show, I’m just curious about what caught your eye specifically while plotting

Look, I could write a goddamn essay on this subject and believe me, I'm tempted. However, in the interest of saving time or saving my extended theory posting for the future, let's make this quick.

Look at these two side by side.

They could be goddamn twins.

Now, for the nail in the coffin. Consider their pilot designs.

Velvette underwent a significant aesthetic change and seemingly personality alteration from her pre-official show era. The old look read manic and goofy, but she became more a smart and sassy business woman

Clara probably has one of the most significant redesigns in the entire Hellaverse. Her original design looks much more like Odette, while her new design looks... Oddly similar to Velvette.

Look, I'm just saying. Clara and Velvette seem to be some of the only ones to get this intense of a redesign from pilot to canon and it's pretty damn weird that redesign made them look almost identical.

Also, before anyone brings it up. I'm aware that Carmilla is Spanish coded and Velvette is obviously British. Consider this. She's an influencer. Her public persona is fake. Faking a British accent is incredibly easy.

I rest my case

[king-nyx]

The life of writers:

[shameonmeeguiltypleasure]

SMB Author's Life Update:

Have I been MIA? Yes.

Am I ok? kinda.

Real Talk:

To put it bluntly my fellow romantic lovers/writers, I am experiencing my own type of Penelope/Polin love story right now in real time..... And we have just reached the will they/won't they point of the plot.

As in: A confession has happened... And now we wait......

This man..... Ooooh this man.... Is either going to be the death of me or the greatest adventure of my life.

Unfortunately, he is very much like our beloved Colin Bridgerton in that "Penelope is my friend" sense yet his actions are saying so much more.

Im currently terrified outta my mind because holy shit I have so many emotions right now, but I'm healthy in both mind, heart and soul.

I don't know how my story will end, and with this Bridgerton s3 halfway break, I can't even find an escape through my comfort characters 😭

So in saying that, I officially won't be updating any of my Bridgerton work until after s3 is completely over.

The best thing about falling for someone who was your friend first, is that if the friendship is healthy and strong enough, they know how to best be gentle with your heart....... And he's a good one to give mine too.... Even if he can be a bit slow to process ( y'all I literally didn't hide anything beyond actually having to near spell it out to him💀😂. He asked me "What's a song you know all the lyrics to?" And i stared straight into this man's eyes and said "Hopelessly devoted to you by Olivia newton John from grease" and he was just like " Oooooh that's a good one!" 💀)

Either way, I miss writing, I miss my dear readers, and I especially miss losing myself in Polin/Bridgerton ficideas etc.

If anything, this man is probs to thank for all the inspiration he's given me for my Polin ideas 😂😂

But yeah..... I'm alive......

But also.....

Wish me luck x

[phantompasta]

more If you find a vigilante in a dumpster by @lunamugetsu art because I do not feel normal rn

The lady on the left is Lady Gotham btw that's kinda how I picture her until the author describes her current appearance

Lady gotham-less art after the cut in case she wasn't the evil mastermind behind that last chapter ending + a meme

Also, for so you can see Danny's drawings in the background

[bababaka]

Yall need to interact with fanfiction author's more.

So. After the ddos attack on ao3.

I was encouraged to write more comments and make my love known to fanfic writers.

I dont really like commenting. Because im a bit shy and soooo lazy.

Now though. I am writing more comments. And dude. This is so heartwarming. Ya'll need to treat writers better. They are doing the lord's work.

Take for an example, couple of days prior, i was searching for something interesting to read, and found an oneshot quite compelling.

I read it. At the end of it, i was blown away by how good it was. It promised me something and it went beyond my expectations. But then i saw a crime, zero fucking comments!

At that moment, i wasn't feeling up to writing a comment. Because, normally i like to write huge paragraphs. But because im lazy i decided to be brief.

Next day, the author answered that the comment lift their mood for the whole day.

That warmed my heart.

Duuuuuuuude! Write comments! Suport the writers of the fics you like! No need to be something super elaborate. Just give your thoughts. Freak out. Ramble. Ask something. Make theories. Compliment. Make a joke about how you wished to give kudos every chapter but ao3 sucks(not true bby) and won't let you.

Truly. Just. Comment. It can make someone's day. And that is part of the apeal of writing fics. Interacting with people.

Just give love to fanfic writers yall. They deserve this and so much more.

[foldingfittedsheets]

My beloved is very particular about their belongings. I was surprised when we first started dating about the scrutiny their loaned objects would be placed under when returned. Their car would be checked carefully for scrapes if someone loaded a bike into it, all returned objects were carefully and thoroughly looked over. Even now if Korben has bitten something left out like a dildo they’ll carefully look it over for damage it has one tiiiny tooth dent.

It won’t surprise anyone to learn that books they’d loaned people had previously been returned with broken spines and dog eared pages, and now it's very important to them to maintain their things in good condition. Their things weren’t treated with care and now it’s a sign of respect to them.

The first time they loaned me a book I was a little shocked that they received it back and began immediately investigating it for wear. To my chagrin there was indeed a tiny scuff at the corner where I’d put it in my bag too hastily. They said nothing, but nothing needed to be said.

Going forward I treated each book they gave me as utterly precious. I dogear my own pages but I’d never dare on a book that wasn’t mine and on their books I elevated to special protocols, handling them as gently as possible.

When it came to books I loaned them I got them back exactly as I’d handed them over. I had them read American Gods. They weren’t totally sold and I suggested the lighthearted sequel Anansi Boys might be more up their alley. It’s about a trickster god and his sons.

I was lounging when I got a call from my beloved. We usually texted, they’re not a phone talker so I picked up right away.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m so sorry,” they blurted.

“What happened? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, but I was getting in my car, and I had a coffee and I was trying to juggle things and well-“

The silence stretched out.

“What?” I asked gently, afire with curiosity.

“I left your book on top of my car and I drove off. When I realized I drove back but I couldn’t find it. I’m so sorry!”

As the words sank in a laugh started rising out of me. “You lost my book?”

“I’ll buy you a new copy! It was an accident!”

“I’m not mad, it’s okay! Its just really funny, you’re always so careful.”

I then realized that they were holding themself to their own standard, beating themself up for something that to me was just a silly mishap.

“It’s really okay! I’m not mad, you can get me a new copy.”

They did, and when I chuckle about it they still pout a little like the funny part is that they made a mistake.

But honestly the thought of someone coming upon a copy of a book about trickster gods being left in a coffee shop parking lot and taking it is the funniest part. I hope they enjoyed it.