#the remaining 10% a dabble of different things

[keets-writing-corner]

Bro, do you listen to Mac Demarco?

His song "For the First Time" is literally lucilith in a nutshell.

I've been thinking abt this for like a month but I've told nobody bc I don't want to slander Mac Demarco's name 😭😭

damn this for when they split up and Lilith leaves????

idk what's sadder, this song existing at all in the context of Lilith, or Lucifer just waiting for her to come back

Nothing kills me quite like someone waiting for someone else that may or may not ever come back 10/10 angst

[sharpsuite]

15. bookcase AND/OR 10. pantry for both

↳ PEEK INSIDE THEIR SPACE

10.     pantry.

Chishiya keeps an assortment of foods within his panty ; there's more in the PANTRY than there is in the fridge. Granola bars, oatmeal, some salted nuts - which he primarily shoves in a pocket to munch on at work. He also tends to have a bag of chips on hand, and various chocolate biscuits/cookies on hand to snack on. There's also snacks like Black Thunder bars and taiyaki as well. He also tends to have curries and a few different types of noodles. He also has a few ramen packets on hand for the times he's too tired to bother really cooking anything - that, and cooking isn't his strong suit. He keeps some vegetables like potatoes in there, along with staples like rice, sugar, etc. Popcorn too. He's a fan of that. Mostly because you never know when you might need it on hand. Napkins are also stored there.

15.     bookcase.

Already answered HERE!

10.     pantry.

Ann, unlike Chishiya, does a lot of cooking herself. So her pantry tends to be full of a lot of the basics needed for dishes. Flours, sugar, rice, pasta, vinegars, kombu, as well as spices like dashi powder, salt, pepper, garlic, anise, cinnamon, sesame oil, etc. She also keeps some cereals (usually a 'healthy' granola one and a more sugar-y one), and occasionally some candies like kit-kats or baum rolls. If she's baked or picked up any treats she tends to STORE them in the pantry as well rather than out on the counter top to keep her counterspace pretty clean and clear. In Ann's pantry, everything has its EXACT, precise spot and she always puts everything right back where it goes rather than just shoving it in to deal with later.

15.     bookcase.

Ann's bookcase is a MIXED VARIETY. Her textbooks and work related subjects are kept to the bottom rows - they're more references than things she chooses to ACTIVELY read most of the time. A good chunk are, admittedly, romantic novels and fantasy novels. It's nice to escape life for a while and just sink into the world within the pages of a book. But she does have fun reading and dabbling in others like sci-fi if it happens to catch her interest. She also has some biographies on experts or founders of different studies that she enjoyed reading about, and two or three poetry books. ( She's read one of them and hasn't gotten around to others. ) Romance, however, remains by far the largest genre in her book collection. She also has pictures of her, or her and her parents on some of the shelves, and a few knickknacks from travels or gifts she's received.

[amethystina]

I was tagged by @a-very-fond-farewell! Thank you so much darling 💜

1. Last song: Shishen Take On the Challenge from The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity soundtrack (which I paid a small fortune to get my hands on so you bet I've been listening to it almost non-stop ever since. The music is SO FUCKING GOOD OKAY)

2. Favorite color: Purple — which I feel should come as a surprise to no one xD

3. Currently watching: The Killing Vote, because I apparently need more dramas where the Korean public is allowed to vote on whether or not to execute people. Quite enjoying it so far! The characters are a hoot xD And I'm curious to see what they do with the Kwon Seok Joo dude.

I also just started The Guest because I want to watch it before they remove it from Netflix but BOI. That's not one I'll be able to binge, that's for sure. Horror is great but also, well, terrifying x'D

Though, I must say, I might have to take a detour and rewatch the Along With the Gods movies. I've been meaning to do so for ages and seeing Kim Dong Wook in The Guest makes the urge even stronger. Because, let me tell you, I'm SO EAGER to rewatch the movies and observe the characters now that I've seen the twist at the end of the second movie. A twist I figured out before I actually reached the reveal, sure, but I don't think that's a bad thing? Like, for real, guys. The AUDIBLE GASP I let out when I realised what the twist was going to be and then got to sit there and see it slowly dawn on the other characters? BEAUTIFUL. And it CHANGES SO MUCH. Like, I need to rewatch them because so much of what I thought I knew is now a lie! Circumstances have changed! My initial analysis might be wrong! Characters I thought I knew are now completely different! I need to do more research! I NEED TO KNOW.

(This is what happens when your brain works like mine. And one day I might tell you all about why Kang Yo Han is such a fascinating character to me, because, let me tell you, I've rarely seen a character remain so solid in his characterisation even through the kind of reveals we're given in the drama. It's fucking SPECTACULAR)

4. Currently reading: Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (I do it in bursts because it's not the kind of book I can just binge, okay? x'D), We Have Always Lived In the Castle by Shirley Jackson (I would have finished this LONG ago if it didn't give me so much anxiety (but in a good way?)) and Eld by Mats Strandberg and Sara Bergman Elfgren (though I should probably start over on this one since I was very distracted when I read the first chapter)

5. Last movie: No Regret, because why not dabble in older Korean LGBTQ+ content? It was a ride, that's for sure xD And the next movie will be The World to Come (also one I want to watch before it's removed from Netflix)

6. Sweet/spicy/savory: Either sweet or savoury — it depends on my mood, really.

7. Relationship status: Married! :D

8. Current obsession: I'm not sure if I have one right now? Though I am hoping to get back on track with that diorama thing soon. I've almost collected all the materials I need! I just need fake foliage (preferably red) and I'm going to try and buy that either tomorrow or on Saturday.

9. Last thing you googled? Why my phone kept taking only green photos. And everyone kept telling me I shouldn't have unlocked the bootloader (which I don't think can be done by accident and I sure as hell haven't done it intentionally) so in the end I just restarted it and now it works just fine xD

10. Selfie: I don't really take selfies but here's a cropped version of a drawing WIP of mine.

If you know, you know ;)

(... LOOK, the suspender-pulling had to happen eventually, okay?)

11. Currently working on: Chapter 5 of A New Dawn (Begins With Us) and, after that, it'll be either chapter 37 of Who Holds the Devil or maybe the sequel to Gravitational Pull which I'm STILL struggling to find the time to work on. I'm also working on, like, six different drawings simultaneously. Because why make things easy for myself?

Tagging: Whoever wants to do it! Tell me about yourself! :D

[boxkeith]

Video Games I Played in November 2024

I’m writing this only a few days after the end of the month and I’ve already played a bunch of new games that are etching away at my memories of the stuff earlier in the month. It doesn’t help that November was uniquely prolific with 15 different games started on top of perennials like Helldivers 2 or Picross 3D 2, as well as spillover from October with Sekiro and Twilight Princess. Slow work and high life stress means a whole lotta gaming.

Astral Ascent – I’m starting to think I don’t actually like action roguelites. Maybe it’s overexposure. Maybe it’s that the genre is incestuous and so there’s too little outside influence and far too much churning reiteration of the same concepts. The same boss patterns. The same metaprogression upgrades. Again and again. It’s tiresome, as if some demiurge were doing broadly the same thing over and over hoping this configuration would be a demonstrable improvement over the rest. But in all seriousness I tend to fall off roguelikes pretty hard if I feel like I understand the bulk of the systems early and this one I knew 80% of its deal from looking at how they drew grass.

Ori and the Blind Forest – What can be said of Ori? I played it a few times on release, played the Definitive Edition in 2017, and sat on it since then putting it on the shelf with Hollow Knight and Super Metroid as one of the pinnacles of the genre. Against my better judgment I took it off that shelf. Bash still feels like a dream, and when the game is at its best it’s atmospheric, flowing, and a joy to behold. However the added abilities from the Definitive Edition (a dash and a projectile you can bash off of) completely undermine the game’s flow, and the ending section remains tedious and frustrating. There’s a lot of charm here but time is unkind to works carried mostly by their aesthetics.

Peglin – I like peggle. I like goblins. I tolerate turn-based card battlers. This finally came out of early access so I gave it another go. It’s unfortunately the game that it is. Not much depth, a few too many trap options, and for me it hit a sourspot where the randomness inherent in pachinko was fundamentally undermining my ability to sequence or plan. If there’s no strategy and I’m just hitting buttons, then a roguelike gets frustrating quick because chance is such a huge component.

Rivals of Aether II – I really expected to have more of a fire lit in me by this but I did a few CPU matches, one ranked match, and put the game down. Dunno what’s up. Maybe it’ll be like Lethal League and in a year or three I’ll go fucking bonkers for it for a year.

Kao the Kangaroo (2022) – Mascot platformers are a genre I dabble in, and when one is 5-10 bucks and I’m in the mood it’s hard for me to say no. Unfortunately, the shallow gameplay, oddly stilted voicework (Polish speakers trying to do an Australian accent), and glitchiness undermined what I had hoped to be a few hours of jumping around punching stuff. One of these days I need to try Ty the Tasmanian Tiger or something, I guess. Or I can replay Vexx again.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps – Did you ever have a friend in high school who saw the wrong movie at a formative inflection point and you’re just gonna have to write off their personality for five years while they wildly chase after a version of themselves that isn’t real? The Ori devs did that after playing Hollow Knight. Gone is the atmosphere. Gone is the momentum. In its place you get a fiddly inventory, NPCs, sidequests, and themes that completely undermine the first game. Mechanically it’s much more solid but structurally it’s a bit of a mess and the designs don’t cohere. Taking bash off its own button is a monumental error and that snag cascades through the entire feel of the game.

The Rise of the Golden Idol – I should really finish Obra Dinn. I liked The Case of the Golden Idol well enough, though I felt the DLCs were full of overly complex puzzles whose ambiguity was such that without the solution as a framing device getting an intuition for what had happened was impossible. This game doubles down on that, and oftentimes it felt like some of the shakier Sherlock Holmes mysteries where he pulls a secret clue out of his armpit that resolves everything. It’s not a bad puzzle game but it doesn’t hit the highs of the first game which is a sad spot for a sequel.

UFO 50 – If nothing else this was an extremely efficient way to add bullshit to my steam library that I feel like I should play and then don’t. I tried a half-dozen of them, they’re all very interesting and cool, I like a lot of the concepts at play and the breadth of designs is truly impressive. I just can’t be bothered to filter through several dozen games that are each worthy of 2+ hours of playtime. Good lord.

Voidwrought – Speaking of games that took one look at Hollow Knight then gouged out their eyes… I keep trying indie metroidvanias and for every one that’s actually doing something novel in structure or in presentation there’s three that are slavishly copying Hollow Knight and/or the cultural memory of SotN (which is closer to Aria of Sorrow). None of them are copying Super Metroid wherein enemies are closer to environmental hazards than combat encounters and momentum is a reward for systems mastery and map knowledge. No sir. It’s stats, enemy pogos, and losing resources on death. This one was notable for giving me a projectile I could pogo off of very early, which I used to sequence break the everloving shit out of the intended progression. The end result of this was I did 99% of the game without double jump when you’re supposed to get that in the first few hours, but such is life when living on the edge. The final boss was touhou nonsense with far too much HP and I have learned to just set games aside when they get to that level. Exactly one game’s final boss was interesting and intricate enough to be worth five hours of my life, and that was Nine Sols. Y’all ain’t Nine Sols.

Headlander – Y’ALL DEFINITELY AIN’T NINE SOLS. Games like this are why people stopped giving DoubleFine money, good gravy. The core conceit of being a head that body-hops to use various body-specific traits like unique weapons, traversal powers, or keycards is solid. However the 60s retrofuture aesthetic gets old quickly and after the opening half hour there’s no changes in complexity or structure for the rest of the 5 hour game. Writing was also pretty loose, which is what DoubleFine usually leans on when the gameplay is shoddy, leading to a game that really underlined how much Psychonauts was lightning in a bottle.

Final Fantasy I: Dawn of Souls – This GBA remake is older now than the original was when this came out. My Final Fantasy exposure is mostly playing XIII in high school, Kingdom Hearts, and watching Advent Children at least five times. I felt I owed it to myself to go back to the source. The source showed me we’ve been making the same damn game for 40 years. It’s a pretty good game. If I wasn’t able to fast-forward the emulator and hold down A to autoattack I might’ve lost my marbles though. The GBA bonus dungeons were the highlight of the game, so I’m glad I went with this version.

STRANGER OF PARADISE FINAL FANTASY ORIGIN – Playing FF1 was also homework for playing this. I want to kill chaos. I do not want to play a Team Ninja game. This leads to conflicts. I expect to stick with this because I’m genuinely fascinated by the game’s delirious genius, but it’s also bewildering.

Noreya: The Gold Project – Metroidvania map design is hard. It’s been said that in many ways the map is the main character of such a game, and the player avatar is merely the means of exploring and understanding that character. Noreya has interesting ideas of save points being shrines to one god or another, and the god you choose to install both unlocking parts of your skill tree and whoever is winning sets world tendency which alters around a quarter of the map. The issue is the game’s laboriously labyrinthine tunnels, with constant linear corridors ending in a switch to open up progress in another corridor that requires a six room detour to return to. It’s cumbersome, it’s boring, and it’s incessant. I ended up dropping the game at that point, because the good parts of this game’s lore and presentation I already got from Blasphemous years ago.

Metal Gear Solid 2 – Substance – Same as MGS1 I’m going to be playing this 1-2 hours at a time for several months when I hang out with a buddy. This means I’m on a drip feed of Kojima’s bullshit. Any other game series I would assume the named woman who establishes her familial relationship with other characters, history with various factions, pregnancy status, and combat skill would be a recurring antagonist or otherwise a driver of the plot. However, we’re in Kojima’s house so he used every polygon available to the PS2 rendering her armpit hair then drowns her offscreen. Maybe I’m wrong! Maybe she’s alive! Maybe she’s 16 rats in a trenchcoat! Possibilities abound.

Thread – Games like Thread are why I buy random shit off steam and give it 5 hours of my life sight unseen. I only heard of it from an offhand comment in the steam review of another metroidvania and it quietly snuck its way into being one of my favorites. Dense, consistently clever, and a joy to move in, it’s everything I could want out of a metroidvania that deliberately eschews bosses. What an absolute joy to discover.

[many-gay-magpies]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by @babyseraphim! Thank you lovely, yk i love this kind of thing <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

17!

2. What’s your total AO3 wordcount?

94,685

3. What fandoms do you write for?

These days it’s pretty much all Dead Boy Detectives, but before this I was writing a lot of Teen Wolf stuff. I’ve also written some BBC Merlin fics, some for the Sandman (although those were both BBC Merlin crossovers), and one The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance fic!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Circular Entrapment - BBC Merlin/Sandman crossover

A Dream of Avalon - also BBCM/Sandman crossover

The Curious Tongue - DBD

Where Primroses Bloom - DBD

To a Grave Dug for Fear - DBD

5. Do you respond to comments?

As often as I can, yes! I absolutely love responding to comments and do my best to respond to every one I get, but I think some of my older fics (mostly the Sandman/Merlin crossover ones that got pretty good traction) might have comments I’ve forgotten about.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I think it would have to be that short little Teen Wolf Scisaac goodbye fic I wrote, Nothing Wrong With a Little Space (But not Right now). That one ends (and is overall) decently angsty, but I’m allergic to solid angst so it’s still somewhat open/hopeful.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably Where Primroses Bloom lmao; that is, like, THE sappiest shit I’ve ever written, the ending included. Like I said I’m allergic to solid angst so most of my fics have happy endings, but that one is definitely the most tooth-rotting level of fluff I’ve yet committed.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not as of yet; like Nimm I’m guessing I haven’t been writing for long enough/haven’t written ENOUGH yet to get a big enough audience to attract hate. I am okay with this

9. Do you write smut?

Once upon a time I would have said a solid no but I have been dabbling lately! Idk how much I’m gonna do, and I don’t think I’ll ever consider myself a smut WRITER, but it has been quite fun :>

10. Do you write crossovers?

Yes! Not any recently, but my first (and only) two fics for the Sandman were both crossover with BBC Merlin, and I have, like, an insane amount of crossovers with Merlin and other fandoms just rotting in Scrivener lmao. Doctor Who crossovers, a Tales of Arcadia crossover, more Sandman crossovers, Good Omens crossovers, Dead Boy Detectives crossovers (though those are barely written), the concept for a Teen Wolf crossover… I love to but that twink wizard in situations

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Also nope

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Triple nope—although I might be, maybe, at some point, soon-ish, if my and the other writer’s motivation for the fic ever returns from the war TT (mostly mine unfortunately). It’s definitely something I think could be fun!!

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Right now Payneland has consumed me mind body and soul, and they seem the type to stick for years to come, even if my overall DBD interest eventually fades. Merlin and Arthur are my eternal beloveds, however, and I will never NOT be a Merthur lover at heart. Even when my BBC Merlin interest is at a low (like it is right now), Merthur remains in my heart.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

SO MANY MERLIN WIPS DEAR GOD. As I mentioned before I haven’t had my Merlin interest surge in a while, so there are, like, five different half-written crossovers where I just yeet that wizard at other fandoms, and a lot of them are REALLY REALLY GOOD, but like. I can’t fully commit to them without reawakened interest in the fandoms involved, so. For now they shall be left to rot in my fanfiction doc. Also that one fucking 24k Merlin fic I fully wrote, like to completion, and want to rewrite now that my writing is better and I have the ideas more fleshed out, but haven’t yet due to lack of interest/motivation.

I do have a bit of hope though that one day my Merlin interest will return from the war, so in the interest of sharing some WIPs with less hope: the Triptych series for Teen Wolf. I have a fourth part of that in progress, and I think it has like 11k of it or some insane number written, and I want to finish it SO BAD because my girl Allison deserves some time to shine, plus that is the first and only time I have committed to a serial project in a fandom, believing I would follow through, but I. Very much have not. Triptych readers if any of you still follow me I am sorry, the Teen Wolf interest did not last as long as I hoped it would—but at the very least, the way the series is formatted makes it so the ending now is still a nice, solid, if slightly open ending, so if you didn’t know there’d been a fourth part planned you probably wouldn’t assume anything was missing.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I feel like I’m generally good with prose, dialogue, and emotional and atmospheric description! Which is like. Quite a bit actually. But I feel like I’m generally a pretty good writer, and I enjoy all the different processes a lot! I’ve gotten a lot of compliments in comments on my fics about how I get the characters’ voices and vibes down really accurately, which is EVERYTHING to me because that feels like one of the most challenging parts of fic—actually making the characters read LIKE THE CHARACTERS. So, that is a point of pride for sure kjshdkfjhksjh

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Run-on sentences. I am so, SO guilty of abusing the em dash (—) and semicolon (;) to hell and back, my goodness. Half my editing process is going through and shortening sentences, reordering clauses, etc etc. I also feel like I could definitely improve in the actual plot-driven area, at least when it comes to fic—pretty much all my fics are emotion and character-focused oneshots, which isn’t a bad thing and certainly has its place in fandom, but I so enormously admire the fic writers who think up whole plots for the characters and put them into so many situations… granted I did do that with Circular Entrapment, and I’m in the process of doing it with my (finally-named!) post-canon casefic, but I want to do it MORE. Also, committing!! I pretty much only post oneshots because I’m terrible at committing to longer-form stuff!! A big part of it is that I can’t exactly control the whims of my brains and its interests, but god just for ONCE I would like to commit to and actually FOLLOW THROUGH WITH a longer-form project, like a serial or a multichapter.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I mean, I’m not sure what exactly this is asking. I have one unposted ficlet where I use my very intermediate French knowledge to write Isaac Lahey speaking very rudimentary French, so I think it’s fun? I think generally if I ever used another language for dialogue I’d put a translation in the end notes, and like. I don’t see myself doing it that often? It can be fun to read though.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

If we’re talking first fandom I wrote fic for ever, in my life, that would have to be either My Little Pony or How To Train Your Dragon. If we’re talking first fandom I ever wrote fic and POSTED the fic for, that would be Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.

20. Favorite fics you’ve written?

Aughhhhh. I think at the moment I’m super proud of The Curious Tongue, because it was just so much fun to write and I’m super proud of the results! It was my first foray into posting slightly more nsfw writing, which was a bit nerve-wracking, but I really just adore the character dynamics and emotional vulnerability in it. Exploring the same events from two separate POVs and seeing how DIFFERENT they were was so fun, and the great reception it’s received has been a big plus!

I’m also really proud of To a Grave Dug for Fear, because I really love the ideas, intrapersonal conflict, and emotional/character dynamics explored in it, and I feel like I did a good job for it being my first fic for the DBD fandom! But on a non-DBD note, Circular Entrapment. It’s still just such an entertaining concept and execution to me, and seeing how those two incredibly different characters meshed together was so much FUN.

For this I will zero-pressure tag my usual writer mutual tag, @blusandbirds, and also @edwinspaynes, @wordsinhaled, @shadowquill17, and any other writers who see this and want to participate! As usual, if you are tagged and DON’T want to, just consider it a notification that I’m thinking of you :3

[shark-myths]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you so much for the tag ((and drag)) @carbonbased000! this was very fun and thoughtful to do.

who is writing things right now? i never remember. i will tag a wide and perhaps not terribly relevant range of: @toorational @just-about-nothing @27-royal-teas @leyley09 @alienfuckeronmain @stereostatic @setting-in-a-honeymoon and anyone else so inclined!

++

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

65

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

968,103, but as i’ve said before, i have orphaned a lotta fic as well

3. What fandoms do you write for?

pretty much just Fall Out Boy, but i will occasionally dabble in something random! this includes tony stark femslash (not sorry, will not apologize), cobra kai, and anything about girls or characters who could compellingly be made into girls.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Difference Between Real Love and the Love on TV

Stranger Danger

Boys Next Door / Assholes

From Russia With Love (this is one of those random sidesteps, a MCU femslash epistolary)

Jet Black Crow

(As an aside, it is so wild to me that older fics have so many more kudos than newer ones—you can really tell that fob went 5 years between albums! imo this is NOT a list of my best fic.)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

for years, I responded to every single one! then at some point i fell behind because of my high standards for trying to put the same thought and effort into my responses as all you lovely people put into the comments, then i became overwhelmed, then i stopped. I AM SO SORRY IF I OWE YOU RETURN COMMENTS, i read them and i treasured them and you are a huge part of the reason i keep writing. love u all!!!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I only write happy endings, man! I stopped writing tragedies a long time ago. My angstiest fics are red and unafraid of living and In Every Universe. the end of Made One Way (Cobra Kai) is ambiguous and potentially brutal, depending on how you take it.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

um, every single other one! I’m a big fan of the gory fairy tale ending of The Boys Time Can’t Capture, and transmuting the hiatus into an act of mutual care and love in Sell Out Girl meant so much to me.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

not since my first fandom and god, don’t

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

yes, a bit, could probably write a little less about feelings and a little more about feelings if u know what i mean. I’m super into sex as a person so i almost never write about intense romantic connections without bringing smut into it somehow; they feel really tightly linked for me, and i think i also crave media with HOT and INTIMATE connections between queer people. In terms of kind, i guess i’d have to say it’s largely rushed vanilla emotion-and-orgasm driven scenes. not a very flattering oeuvre i've created here.

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

mash-ups are my favorite thing to do! I especially like ripping off movie and fairy tale plots and making them stranger, or else taking a really specific constrained timeline from someone’s life or a piece of media and transforming it somehow. best sandbox ever. my craziest one is probably the coyote ugly / beauty in the beast peterick fic, Wolves Dressed As Wolves. and i love this type of transformation in everything, whether it's the weirdo gender shit i just learned duchamp was doing or katherine addison's destructively beautiful 'sherlock holmes except there're ANGELS' novel or the buenos aires re-imagining version of vivaldi's four seasons by piazzolla, my life and taste keeps taking me into the various ways we fold and refract and remake the same experiences over and over again through different lenses or angles or selves. to quote some author whose identity i forgot years ago, though the quote remains: "there are no new stories." all art is iterative, and the most interesting thing we can do as creators is deviate in new, unexpected ways.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

yeah, a million years ago on deviantart

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

yes! I have had a few translations and a podfic. I love it when people want to interact with my stories in their own way, all interpretations are welcome.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

one day i hope to be domesticated enough that @carbonbased000 can write with me. I used to co-write by passing the laptop back and forth with my bestie in high school; we wrote self-insert x-men fanfiction based on the comic books in like 2004 and it was an absolute blast; but generally i am considered impossible to work with, by both myself and others.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

i feel completely unqualified to answer this question. i have been driven insane by any number of pairings in my life. when i was younger, i was more interested in internalized homophobia themes in ships, because that's where WE were culturally in the early 2000s and where i was in relationship to myself, and i think each change and growth and greater empowerment and self-possession in my own life is mirrored in what i am interested in. i feel the most drawn in by dynamics between people that are creative and give me a new way to access and explore interesting ideas and themes; i’m a real sucker for shared art products and touring bands as unique and agonizing ways to connect people. there are so many different ways to express that someone is your soulmate and you'll never convince me throwing away all trappings of a traditional life in order to rove the earth and make art with your friends isn't one of them.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

do you not just block out your WIPs from your mind so that you can live in moment-to-moment freedom?? I am a finisher in general, i have a few peterick drafts lurking around in my gdocs but if they remain untouched, it’s generally because there are only a couple thousand words to them and i’m not very excited about the possibilities of the fic. there is a sequel to a meticulously historically accurate pirate fic i wrote long ago called Providence, i got to about 30k and then lost all of my extremely painstaking notes and research in a software update. I’m still very interested in and excited by the idea, but i lost the notes and felt too traumatized to continue with the project genuinely a decade ago, so the idea that i will return and finish the fic seems fairly unlikely. Providence is one of my greatest pieces of writing ever, though, so hope springs eternal, i guess!

16. What are your writing strengths?

lyrical prose and conveying humor via unusual sentence construction. i was recently told i write arguments well and feel tough as a result, like, watch out! you don’t want to fight me!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

i am lazy and easily distractible, i don’t plot in advance, i barely edit because i get really rigid and have trouble seeing any other way to say something than how i’ve already said it, i have an unwillingness to delete and rewrite even when that’s the only way forward (see: my eternally 90% finished age swap peterick au), i use up all my emotional energy elsewhere and then neglect my craft for weeks at a time. 

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

sometimes i’ll use pet names in another language if it makes sense for the character, but i avoid this in general as i’m not fluent in anything other than english. I would, have, and do sound like a duolingo lesson.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

afi bandom, when we used to call it slash, when i thought i had invented it with my friend at summer camp, when i was 13 and sent her kidfic stories i wrote out by hand in pink envelopes.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

genuinely i almost always write things i personally want to read, so i love them all! except the fucking fixed stars of heaven, everyone knows that fic tortured me to within an inch of my sanity. My most personal and personally meaningful fic is Girl Out Boy. i have a tattoo of it on my arm.

[lambsonburn]

Sedir-Mei (they/them)

1 Falkreath is absolutely the most beautiful for them because of the beauty but also since that’s where they live and so are biased. Most dangerous would be the Reach because of potential Forsworn attacks - even if they are sympathetic to their cause.

2 Whiterun is definitely their favourite city since it’s not as dingy as some others. However the do frequent Winterhold, Solitude and Riften either for trade or other business.

3 Since they were born in the Black Marsh they uphold the beliefs passed down to them from their parents and so they revere the Hist as well as offering Serana a traditional wedding band.

4 To them, they don’t believe the college was behind the collapse believing that purposely causing it would do them no good. They have no solid theory to what caused it, but remains in the belief that it was an act of freak weather

5 Although they are they thane of two holds, due to the nature of their career they would absolutely be able to live off of the land. Furthered by the fact that they are skilled in alchemy so understand what things would harm and heal them.

6 The “bandit problem” is absolutely a cause of the civil war, as it uprooted many lives forcing some into poverty leaving banditry as the only source of income. As annoying as random attacks can be for them and the traders they trade with, being able to sneak amongst bandits and pin the blame of their misdeeds onto them allows them to continue their exploits.

7 Absolutely not - this is where they met their wife and child. Moreover, they gained so many new skills as well as furthering ones they already had. Plus it les to new job opportunities.

8 Their favourite Skyrim foods would most likely be Nord Mead or sweetrolls. They still claim the Black Marsh’s food is better.

9 All they have heard of these whales are drunken rumours. So no, no they don’t.

10 They have quite the ability to work themself into different guilds, whether out of actual curiosity or to better themself, who knows. Dark Brotherhood; Thieves Guild; College of Winterhold. They have quite the fondness for the Greybeards as well as a hatred for Delphine.

11 Destruction and restoration are definitely their favourite only occasionally dabbling into the other schools. They only had a basic understanding of magic before hand, but after joining the college and studying became more well versed.

12 They don’t particularly hold much hatred for the groups of Skyrim, sympathetic to the Forsworn, Khajit and most Elves due to the joint discrimination at the hands of the Imperials and Nords. Their “hatred” is aimed at the Imperials and Nords for this reason, but also towards the Thalmor.

13 Dragonborn was originally only heard as tales to them, sparked after their close call in Helgen. It was only after they were summoned by the Greybeards did their attitude shift. This has made them feel more burdened and have a right to do good.

14 They don’t particularly have a teacher as such, often getting scraps of knowledge from here there and everywhere. Although they do hold high respect for the Greybeards and the teachers at the college.

15 With their lifestyle? They absolutely commune with the Daedra, being a follower of Hermaeus Mora as well as a follower of Nocturnal and Sithis. Hell they killed a priest for the mace of Molag Bal - this being before they learnt of who he was.

16 They don’t favour a side, preferring that they keep to their own devices as long as it doesn’t affect their work.

17 There is their family back in the Black Marsh, but in Skyrim it is Serana and Lucia.

18 As said previously, being a part of the guilds they are and having certain affiliations with Daedra it really doesn’t bother them.

19 They prefer to hoard their cash, only occasionally splashing out. Hell they built their own house plus they own Breezehome. Although the main reason for the large sum would be to protect their daughter, lest anything happen to her.

20 They may as well have a miniature library. So yes.

SKYRIM OC ASKS

I wanted to make a more in-depth and lore-building set of questions for people's Skyrim-specific OCs! This can be used as an ask game, or if you just want to answer them all without waiting for people to ask, have at it!

(Thanks to my good fandom buddies for all the suggestions!)

Which areas of Skyrim do they find most beautiful and most dangerous?

Which cities do they prefer to stay in and why? Which cities to they avoid at all costs?

What are their religious affiliations, and how does their worship (or lack thereof) affect their day-to-day life?

Do they believe the College of Winterhold caused the Great Collapse? If no, what is their theory?

Would they be able to live off the land if they were lost in the wilds of Skyrim? How skilled are they at foraging and hunting?

What is their opinion on Skyrim's "bandit problem"?

Do they regret journeying to Skyrim? Or, if they were born in Skyrim, do they wish they could leave?

What is their favorite kind of food that can only be found in Skyrim?

Do they believe in snow/sky whales?

Are they a part of any factions, guilds, or organizations?

If they are a magic user, what is their favorite school of magic? Do they have a natural talent for magic, or does it require diligence and study?

What are their prejudices? What groups have they come to think of as 'other'? Mages? Nords? Elves? Lollygaggers?

Do they believe the old nordic tales about the Dragonborn? If they are Dragonborn how has their experience differed?

Who is their mentor? Who do they go to most for lessons?

How do they feel about consorting with daedra? Do they collect their artifacts? Are there some they would never interact with vs. some they would consider calling upon?

What are their opinions on the civil war? Do they support a side or leave them to their own devices?

Do they have family? Who doe they consider to be family?

What is their stance on taking a life? Do they kill without a second thought, in the name of a god or daedra, or do they adhere to pacifism?

How are they with money? Do they hoard, or do they spend until their pockets are empty and they have to find work again? Have they saved for any houses?

Can they read?

[edennypmhie]

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ✦ ‧₊˚ ⋅ Supernatural World Building Lineup:

⊹ ࣪ ˖ Species lineup: ˎˊ˗

— .ᐟ.ᐟ Supernatural/Mystical Beings of my World. 𖥔 ݁ ˖ ✦ ‧₊˚ ⋅

.ᐟ.ᐟ Will be tweeked if necessary if it becomes overwhelming: UPDATED 2/10/25

.ᐟ.ᐟ Current listing: ── .✦

• Coyote Shifters

• Crocodiles Shifters

• Alligator Shifters

• Bear Shifters (all types)

• Jaguar Shifters

• Lion Shifters

• Black Panther Shifters

• Leopard & Snow Leopard Shifters

• Komodo Dragon Shifters

• Fox & Fennec Shifters

• Panda & Red Panda Shifters

• Squid & Octopus Shifters

• Orca Shifters

• Shark Shifters

• Dolphin Shifteds

.ᐟ.ᐟ Mystical Creatures:

• Werewolf Shifters

• Vampire (Different Types)

• Banshee

• Hellhounds (Demon Dogs)

• Fairies

• Nyphms (all types)

• Phantoms & Wraiths (Demonic Ghost Beings)

• Succubus & Incubus

• Krakens

• Sirens

• Merfolk (Mermaids)

.ᐟ.ᐟ Clarifications ── .✦ I have my own unique ideas about certain mythical creatures, so they may function and appear a bit differently in my stories. For instance, I’ll be putting my own spin on Nymphs, Hellhounds, Phantoms, Wraiths, and Merfolk. I plan to do some research on their origins—ensuring that Nymphs stay true to their Greek roots while adjusting aspects such as their lifespan and appearance. Merfolk, on the other hand, appear in many different myths across various cultures, so I intend to incorporate those diverse interpretations as well.

But make it simple for me. I’ll dabble in the Greek and Japanese folklore with tweaks, and for the Hellhounds, Merfolk (mermaids), English and Greek stories as well.

— Now for the Society we are working with.

.ᐟ.ᐟ The Hunters Community ── .✦

The hunters have different factions across the globe and work in secrecy. For example, there’s a separation in how hunters operate and how they keep organized, which makes it easier for this (corrupt) community, to protect humanity from harm.

All hunters work differently in terms of what and who they hunt.

.ᐟ.ᐟ Werewolf Hunters: The Eclipse Covenant

This faction is primarily dedicated to hunting werewolves—and occasionally coyotes, as these shifters are sometimes connected. The faction’s presence is deeply rooted in a particular town (currently unnamed), where its name still carries weight.

At the heart of this faction is the Hoffmann family, a long-established bloodline of hunters who have either been born into or married into the cause. Their primary responsibility is to monitor the Collins family, a lineage of werewolves. While not every member of the Collins family inherits the wolf trait, the two families have upheld a long-standing peace treaty. However, over time, the Hoffmanns begin to stray from their original code, shifting toward a more ruthless approach.

As both families grow and new generations emerge, circumstances begin to change, straining the fragile balance between them. Yet even as tensions rise, love finds a way to defy the rules—leading to a forbidden romance that some see as dangerous, while others view it as an unforgivable betrayal.

.ᐟ.ᐟ Sea Hunters: The Abyssal Order

The faction in question specializes in hunting large sea creatures, essentially functioning as an advanced form of fishermen. Their primary activities include mining for ores beneath the ocean’s surface while simultaneously ensuring that dangerous entities, such as the Kraken, Sirens, Orcas, and Sharks, do not proliferate in the waters. Among these, the Kraken remains their primary concern.

Despite their focus on large marine life, this faction has established a long-standing treaty with the Merfolk. Under this agreement, neither side is allowed to attack the other unless provoked. However, in recent years, tensions have arisen regarding the methods employed by these hunters, leading to a precarious situation in their relationship with the Merfolk.

.ᐟ.ᐟ MORE COMING SOON ( Small indefinite pause) : Busy with college, so a lot of things on this blog will take a while to be put on here. This post will focus on the world-building..

[goddessofroyalty]

Wait wait

Facial features aside, would that mean that Mylo has a rather attractive body type (like maybe something like the equivalent of an hour glass ?)

Like Piltover traditionally prefers more lean builds while Zaun traditionally prefers the sturdier builds for their omegas but Mylo is like in the perfect middle of them? (eg: Lean but not skinny like Jinx and actually has some ass and pecs unlike Viktor/Jinx/Silco?)

Plus, I feel like there could be a phase where the idea for omega beauty standards in Piltover did diverge from lean to curvy amongst the younger generation.

It would definitely be a win for Mylo in this case but, I feel like the remarks made for his facial features would be even meaner or more talked about.

(my poor boy can't catch a break, huh)

If we're continuing the trend of Mylo inheriting stuff from both his parents but in the most awkward way for him he could end up as a pear-shape - his hips filling out but his top half still remaining very slight. But, no, I do think he ends up more hourglassish. Probably not true hourglass (in the 'exact 20cm difference between his waist measurement and his hips and bust' but probably 10-15cm with their being 3cm or so different between his hips and bust).

Basically he isn't like stunning by Zaun or Piltover standards for body type but he's like... safely attractive in both (you know not so attractive to be seen as vain or threatening but attractive enough). He also does grow into his face a bit but I think it's still probably the 'weaker' part of his looks (the very prominent brow especially I think is a big "shame about that" kind of feature when people discuss him). So he always feels like there's something holding him back compared to Viktor and Jinx who are safely 'pretty' at least when they're younger (the sickness does take some of Viktor's beauty in the eyes of Piltover and after he starts dabbling in the Machine Herald stuff he really doesn't care about looking 'pretty' and how he presents himself does reflect that).

So funnily enough thin being the ideal beauty in Piltover I think is actually fairly recent. They still have the more Victorian/Edwardian styles around (although they tend not to be the very Upper Class) and thin being in fashion tends to be the result of high enough economic prosperity that everyone can afford to eat as much as they want if they so wish. I want to say in the last generation or two it came in as the dominant style. So you could absolutely see a swing back even if it was only for like a 10 year period of style.

But yeah even if it did there would still always be the 'shame about his face' thing. But I mean that's his whole family's experience in Piltover generally (for Silco 'shame about the scar'; Viktor 'shame about his illness'; Powder 'shame about her mannerism').

[moveobjectsonblogs]

Zodiac Challenge

Welcome to the Sims 4 Zodiac Challenge!

This idea came to me in a dream after a month of um-ing and ah-ing over whether or not I should start my very own Sims inspired Youtube Channel.

This is also inspired by the Not So Berry Challenge over on my queen, lilsimsie’s page, since I recently started playing that myself and found myself engaging with aspects of the game I never used to before. 

SO, the Zodiac challenge... It’s a legacy challenge inspired by Zodiac traits*, aspirations and careers with a little extra spice to keep the story moving along.  

*Please keep in mind that this is not a direct reflection of Zodiac traits, but merely an inspired challenge based on some common information surrounding each sign and a need to make a workable legacy challenge. I love all you little start signs out there equally and I believe we all have some positive influences on society as a whole. 

Okay, okay, cut to the chase already. Here are the rules of the challenge: 

No excessive money cheats (freerealestate is acceptable, as well as moderate transfer of household fees when a sim moves out) 

You have full control over CAS for your sims/partners/children, however traits are to remain according to challenge 

The color attached to each generation/sign needs to be visible on all sim outfits as well as in household, but you can decide to what degree

You can create looks inspired by the signs, but again, you can decide to what degree 

Make it your own! Where a generation requires pack-specific traits, aspirations, careers etc which you do not own, please substitute and come up with your own unique spin on it!

If a skill, aspiration, or career is listed, the expectation is to MAX IT OUT!

Please tag me! I want to see your videos, characters and creations on this

Generation 1 - Aries / Red - The Go-Getter

You start out as a runaway teen, trying to make it in the Big City. You believe you have what it takes to be the next National Leader, and the City is the place to be! You have a quick temper and a fiery personality, so in order to appear calm in the public eye (everyone wants a piece of you!) you need to practice Wellness every day. You don’t have time for marriage, but your PR Manager advised you it would look good for your political career to adopt!

Traits

Hot Headed

Self-Assured

Ambitious

Aspiration

Leader Of The Pack

Career

Politician (Politician branch to become National Leader)

Skills

Charisma

Wellness

Additional Requirements

Reach Level 3 Fame

Must have no biological children, only adopt

Don’t have a good relationship with child/ren

Never marry

Never retire 

Generation 2 - Taurus / Dark Green - The Loving Nurturer

All your life you tried to get the approval of your always-too-busy presidential parent. You were pawned off to day-care, baby-sitters and after-school activities to fill your time and never knew what a parental figure or family time was. You were told to always appear perfect in terms of good grades, a good university degree and a stable career but in your heart all you ever wanted was love! You spend quality time with your children and your greatest pleasure is helping them grow and succeed in life. You believe in taking the time to grow your own produce in order to eat only the healthiest food and other sims would describe you as ~earthy~.

Traits

Foodie

Family Oriented

Romantic

Aspiration

Big Happy Family

Career

Freelancer (any branch you want)

Skills

Parenting 

Gardening

Additional Requirements

Marry your High School/University sweetheart

Have minimum 3 children 

Work part time in order to help children with meals & homework everyday

Generation 3 - Gemini / Yellow - The Open-Minded Adventurer

You loved your cozy (some would say sheltered) and unconventional upbringing with your earthy parent and many siblings; however, you want to see the world and all it has to offer for yourself! You love people, creativity and being busy and you want to see it all, try it all and be it all. Thanks to your loving mom, you were always made to believe you can be whatever you want in this world. You can never sit still. Due to that, you have many different careers, many different worlds you live in and many different lovers...You’ll try anything once!

Traits

Outgoing

Adventurous

Creative

Aspiration

Renaissance Sim 

Career

Any 3 (as per Aspiration)

Skills

Flower Arranging

Video Gaming

Fitness 

Additional Requirements

Have a love child before marriage 

Have 3 failed romances before marriage 

Move to 3 different worlds in lifetime 

Generation 4 - Cancer / Grey - The Intuitive Gossip

You want a nice and normal life, no surprises, everything as it should be and in the right order. You want to settle down, and live an uneventful life. But when do plans ever work out like that? You earn a university degree in something sensible, and you follow that route with determination; however, you’ve always been described as psychic by those who know you, and you always have the dirt on the town folk. Finally, late in your life you understand that this ability can bring in some serious cash. You switch to the social media career and always work from home to protect your identity from those who’s secrets you spill. Who would ever suspect you, the nerdy Brainiac who barely speaks up? xoxo, Sims Girl

Traits

Neat

Unflirty 

Materialistic

Aspiration

Academic

Career

Initially something connected to Degree, but switch to Social Media (Internet Personality Branch) in late Adult Life Stage 

Skills

Logic

Writing

Media Production 

Additional Requirements

Attend university (Business or History degree)

Change careers when in Adult life stage to Social Media Career

Always work from home

Marry for convenience and not love (not attracted to partner)

Have no relationship with child/ren

Generation 5 - Leo / Gold - The Romantic Star

Your life growing up was boring. Your mom and dad were the least romantic people ever and everything was cookie-cutter perfect (and devoid of any emotion) growing up. So, from a young age, you throw yourself into movies and get lost in the romantic, passionate and fairy tale aesthetic of it all! You move to Del Sol Valley straight after high school to try and make it as a big star and start your own fairy tale! But it turns out not all fairy tales are perfect, and you have to kiss a few frogs to find your prince/ss!  

Traits

Cheerful

Self Absorbed 

Romantic

Aspiration

World Famous Celebrity

Career

Actor/Actress 

Skills

Acting

Singing 

Additional Requirements

Move to Del Sol Valley straight after high school with very little money (10K max)

Cheat on 2 different partners

Date both genders

Generation 6 - Virgo / Beige - The Critical Perfectionist

Owing to your famous parent, you always attended red carpet events with the best food imaginable. Let’s face it, you always thought your taste was just a touch above everyone else. And when you’re good at something never do it for free! Your dream is to criticize others and earn a pay check for it.For you, life is about experiences, perfection and having something to show for it in the bank account. You want to wear and eat the finest things!

Traits

Perfectionist

Genius

Snob

Aspiration

Fabulously Wealthy

Career

Critic (Food)

Skills

Gourmet Cooking

Mixology

Additional Requirements

Marry a famous sim or a sim at the top of their career

Have a house worth over 100K

Have 1 child

Generation 7 - Libra / Pink - The Classy Advocate

You grew up in a very classy home, with only the finest things. You believe in the value of beautiful art, intellectual discussions and physical beauty. From behind the thick, gilded window panes in your childhood mansion, you always witness the injustices of the world and felt a calling to help those without a voice.

Traits

Materialistic

Art Lover

Outgoing

Aspiration

Party Animal

Career

Law (Any Branch)

Skills

Charisma

Violin

Additional Requirements

Attend university, join the debate guild

Marry a sim you find extremely attractive

Volunteer weekly

Own art pieces worth over 20K

Generation 8 - Scorpio / Black - The Beautiful Empath 

You’re a sweetheart deep down and you find beauty in all things physical. Where your parents saw beauty in materialistic things, you see beauty in yourself and others. You always dreamed of perfecting your own body as a testament to your intense passion towards your goals. You meet a beautiful partner along the way and together, you create a perfect image of love, beauty and emotional intensity.

Traits

Jealous 

Active 

Romantic

Aspiration

Soulmate

Career

Athlete (Bodybuilder career)

Skills

Fitness

Mischief

Additional Requirements

Marry a sim seen as extremely attractive

Have 1 child minimum and encourage active side (from toddler to teenager)

Go on a date night with your partner every weekend

Generation 9 - Sagittarius / Purple - The Traveling Spy 

You’re fun to be around and can never sit still. You’ve used this to your advantage to lure people into trusting you, and you have friends all over the world! Little do they know, you’re a secret agent with some top-tier missions to accomplish. Your passion for love and romance means you have a few slip ups and made some (unexpectedly great) mistakes along the way. You can’t ever be tied down. Keep it moving, blend in with the locals and you’ll never get caught!

Traits

Non-Committal

Adventurous

Cheerful  

Aspiration

Serial Romantic

Career

Secret Agent (Any Branch)

Skills

Comedy

Photography

Additional Requirements

Live in Mt. Komorebi and Sulani in lifetime – dabble in local culture and activities  

Have children from both of the above worlds with one of the locals

Never marry  

Generation 10 - Capricorn / Brown - The Idealistic Pragmatist

You’re smart – scary smart. You are a quiet, intelligent soul and you love to lose yourself in the mountains when life gets overwhelming. You approach life with military intelligence, routine and perfection and never thought you could meet someone who cracked through your tough exterior. When you do meet them, you marry them after the first few dates and start your family. Your partner adores you and your family and quits their career to take care of the large brood of kids and animals in your rustic, outdoorsy home.

Traits

Loner

Genius

Loves the Outdoors

Aspiration

Extreme Sports Enthusiast

Career

Military 

Skills

Pet Training

Logic 

Additional Requirements

Marry a spouse after a maximum of 3 dates

Have spouse quit job to raise children

Have 4 children minimum

Go Climbing/Hiking or do Snow Sports every weekend

Generation 11 - Aquarius / Blue - The Outspoken Activist 

You grew up with nature and animals taking preference over technology and humans. Therefore, you are sickened by the state of the world that humans have created and you decide to pursue a green future. You are all for eco living, off the grid lifestyle and conserving the environment for generations to come.

Traits

Vegetarian

Green Fiend

Creative

Aspiration

Eco Innovator 

Career

Civil Designer (Green Technician) 

Skills

Fabrication 

Logic 

Additional Requirements

Live in Evergreen Harbor (all 3 neighborhoods) and convert all to Green Eco Footprint

Live off the grid at least once

Adopt children and animals until household limit of 8 is reached 

Generation 12 - Pisces / Light Green - The Creative Overthinker 

You’re a dreamer and you want to heal everyone. Due to your parent’s ideals growing up, you want to make a difference... but you also want to create art and move souls. You tend to internalize your dreams and fears and as a result often feel misunderstood. You move around as a doctor trying to heal the world and as a result, love is last on the list of accomplishments.

Traits

Creative

Gloomy

Loner  

Aspiration

Painter Extraordinaire 

Career

Doctor 

Skills

Painting 

Baking 

Additional Requirements

Have no friends apart from future spouse

Gain fame through paintings  

Marry for the first time as an elder

Never have children

Live in all worlds through lifetime

[eeliasm]

ELIAS MILTON has been accepted to participate ! they are a 23 year old all the way from  CALIFORNIA. HE is currently studying COMPUTER SCIENCE at the interchange.

tw: SA, substance use

elias june milton spent the first 10 years of his life in foster care. he was adopted at 10 by a family who seemed like they’d be a loving fit at first, but quickly proved to be the opposite

no one ever suspected the sexual abuse elias endured from his father, not even his mother. as the oldest of his adoptive siblings, all he could hope was that he was the only one it was happening to and they wouldn’t have to go through the same thing he did

by the time he was 18, he’d begun dabbling in too many recreational substances to count. he coped in waves of highs and inviting different people into his bed. the abuse from his father had stopped at 14, but the trauma and inability to protect his siblings for certain remained

after a big blowout fight with his dad, elias knew it was time to leave or life was going to get worse for his little sisters. at 23, he applied to the interchange program on a whim with barely a high school diploma. getting in was a huge surprise to him, but he tried to look at it as a chance to eventually get his sisters away from home

as he has always had a love for technology and computers, he chose computer science as his major in hopes that it would keep him interested

elias is a man of many personalities. he is sarcastic, spiteful, and sometimes downright mean. however, if you were to make it onto his rare good side, he could be the greatest friend there was to have.  seemingly, his only soft spot is his two younger sisters

elias still enjoys many of the things that are bad for him. illicit substances, sleeping with people he barely knows, and picking fights when there should be none

wanted connections: close friend enemies hook ups friend with benefits trouble makers together anything else you can think of!!

[mamomare]

Legacy Challenge - Gen #3

Heir: Kaila Partner: Amos Children: Sarah-Jane, Demi and Gunnar

Unfortunately for our large family of five, both Yukio and Peppino died relatively young, leaving all five teenagers to fend for themselves. Luckily, it was close to Elliot’s 18th birthday and he took over guardianship of his brothers and sisters. It became clear that they had outgrown their shared bunks, and a new family home was finally constructed, including individual space for each sibling. However, when they were all finally young adults, the boys moved together to Henford-on-Bagley and Macy found herself a small apartment to rent in Evergreen Harbour. Leaving only Kaila on their ancestral land in Del Sol Valley. Growing up angsty and listless, Kaila finally found herself when she journeyed to the Magical Realm and became a spellcaster. She specialised in potions, but dabbled on the side with practical magic. Despite wearing all-black, Kaila was a hard-working responsible adult who enjoyed spending time in nature. To assist in her potion making, she entered the gardening career as a florist and could often be found in the Sylvan glade hunting for frogs.

While in school, Kaila had multiple possible suitors, dating some, but never really finding the right one. She kept being invited to duel with Amos, and although she enjoyed their rivalry as a teen, she never pursued it. However, it wasn’t until later, after building up her career and skills as a witch, that she finally decided to give Amos a go. The attraction was electric and soon after their wedding, they welcomed their first child, Sarah-Jane. Sarah-Jane, although romantic, was extremely pragmatic and logically minded. Once her mind was set, she was dogged in achieving her goals. Next came Demi, a purple haired innocent girl who loved her mother with all her heart... oh, how things would change. Finally, came Gunnar, who followed in his grandfather’s passion for music and played the violin from an early age.

Unfortunately, tragedy struck the family early. Poor Amos was electrocuted whilst repairing a wind turbine on the property, leaving Kaila to manage everything on her own. She was constantly busy, trying to maintain her flower garden in her greenhouse to advance in career, whilst simultaneously practicing her potions making in a secret basement lair hidden under the family cemetery. She did her best as a single mum, but there was one child in particular who suffered... Demi. Demi worked tirelessly at school to get amazing grades and was constantly doing chores around the house to try garner praise from her mum. Who got all that praise? Sarah-Jane. Despite this, Demi never became angry with Sarah-Jane and the girls grew up super close, despite being very different. However, the resentment towards her mother grew in Demi and as she finally aged up to a young adult, she became evil. 

Sarah-Jane was the first one to move out. Whilst in the pursuit of answers to the Strangerville mystery, she met townie Samantha Tanaka. After their marriage, Sarah-Jane joined the science career and moved permanently to Strangerville. Not able to stand it in the house with her mother, Demi was soon to follow, marrying Haven and moving to the spooky neighbourhood of Forgotten Hollow... a premonition for things to come, perhaps?

That left Kaila with her last child, Gunnar. Kaila still loved Amos with all of her heart, but before her death had finally begun a relationship with an old flame and enjoyed her remaining time swimming laps in her pool or tending to her garden. ---

Honestly, I wasn’t that excited at the start to play with this Gen, especially since I had only started actively play with Kaila as a teen. I had to do a complete 180 in my mind, because my original heir was supposed to be Macy. However, the heir is supposed to be eldest child of the opposite gender, so when I realised Kaila existed, I had to go with it. But I’m beyond glad I did, because this was by far the most fun I’ve had since I started the challenge. I loved the storylines that came out and it forced me to play in a lot of new ways. I had so many ambitious plans with Kaila, I actually really wanted her to master potions and floristry and open up a retail store where she sold her potions and flowers... but these skills TOOK SO LONG TO MASTER. Getting to level 10 in the florist career was a nightmare and the potions thing took just as long!! Not to mention I spent her entire lifetime breeding frogs... in the end I think I actually just got all of them Sylvan Glade and all my elaborate research and breeding plans were a waste of time. This was also the first time I tried to make my own house completely from scratch. It was hard to find a house for the siblings on the gallery, so I had to make my own. I really liked the interior and the yard was quite nice, but the outside was a mess.

I absolutely LOVED Demi and it was devastating that I had to move her out and choose Gunnar as the heir, but I’ve been playing with strict equality rules, so only a sim of the opposite gender can be the heir. Gunnar is sweet, but a bit bland.... I miss Demi and Sarah-Jane, they were so bad ass. :( 

[hains-mae]

Flowers - Pt. 5 (The End)

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 (The End)

(Damian x Reader) Soulmate AU

The Flowers: @call-me-prodigy @annoylinglyaries @zphilophobiaz @comic-brew @biglilwing @awkwardspontaneity @lozzybowe @mariiecapo @distressedearie @diyosku @dracoaereum @thesuitelifeofafangirl @chims-kookies @blade-xingston @danicalifxrnia

Rating: T

Ages: Damian and you are 16, everyone’s ages follow after.

Summary: Soulmate AU where the wounds on your soulmate turns into a flower tattoo on your skin, if it heals with no scars the tattoo goes away, if it heals with a scar then the tattoo stays.

Notes: Wow that was a fun ride. But every story comes to an end, I hope you guys enjoy the final chapter! And thank you everyone who has taken their time to like, comment, and reblog. I appreciate it a lot <3

Disclaimer: I do not own DC. If I did, I wouldn’t make it as confusing as it is now.

Robin visited every other night after that. It was surreal to have a hero that you’ve so long admired become your frequent visitor. Then again, nothing seemed normal anymore.

“It’s past the convention week. How do you keep coming here?” I asked curiously one night.

Robin gave me a lopsided grin and tapped the side of his nose. “I have my ways.”

After Mom’s week long leave was up she begrudgingly had to go back to work. The hospital assured her that I was healing fairly well, and that I would be transferred to Gotham Hospital the following weekend.

I was never really lonely though. Besides the friendly staff, my midnight visitor always came right on time. I wondered why he would take the time. Maybe it was to get to know me better? Perhaps my speech that night managed to get through to him. I had hoped it was both.

If I was being honest though, I was a little more than glad he did. I had meant it when I told the boy that I found him intriguing. He was a tough nut to crack though. I couldn’t blame him.

During the day when I would shower, I’d trace the flowers across my frame and wonder just how much he had gone through.

Soul marks start to appear at 10 years of age. You could imagine the shock (and worry) my parents had gone through when they found me one day absolutely covered in flowers.

From a young age I would hide them. Always wearing my sleeves till my palms, my neck constantly covered with either my jacket, scarf or high placed collars. It wasn’t that I was ashamed, but Gotham liked to talk – and when you’re the subject of attention, then you’re an easy target for criminals.

As I got older, the marks around my neck forearms slowly faded. I had worried about my soul mate and their well-being. Now that I understood everything, it was a different type of worry all together. The kind that would sit at the pit of your stomach and tie knots, heavy enough to keep you on edge.

My T.V in the hospital room was always on the same channel, Gotham News. Every battle would have my heart clenching as the camera’s desperately tried to follow the fight. Most of the time’s they wouldn’t be able to capture the end, and I’d be left holding my breath.

That’s one other reason I looked forward to our nightly visits. I could relax knowing he was alright.

I still wasn’t sure what I felt for this enigma of a person. But I knew that I wanted to get closer.

“I have an idea.” Robin said one evening. There was a glint his eye, the mask was off since my mom wasn’t around anymore. “And it’s got something to do with your invention.”

I arched a brow. “The bullets are complete but I still have yet to finalize the counter measures.”

He nodded understandingly. “Counter affect can wait. We don’t want to encase anyone in rock at the moment, but I’m putting it out there since you wanted to help.”

Intrigued, I urged him to continue.

Damian was quite brilliant in his own way. After much thought and planning, we had about 3 more types of chemically enhanced concoctions laid out. All of which were to go through Batman before beginning the experimentation process. He has assured me that I would be leading the research team for that under Wayne Ent.

I couldn’t wait to get out of the hospital.

“Do you like sweets?” He asked randomly.

Arching a brow I studied him. He was slouched on the couch with his leg dangling on one side and a book in his hands.

Charles Dickens.

“Yes.” I said, noting his obvious attempt to look natural. “Do you?”

“On occasion.” The boy shifted a shoulder to mimic a shrug.

The very next visit he had a black bag slung across his shoulder. His face gave nothing away but from the times I’ve spent with him, I realised it was his eyes that did most of the talking.

“Whatcha got over there?” I asked curiously, scooting closer to him at the edge of the bed.

“Patience.” He said and pulled up the make shift table that was attached to the side of my bed. Placing a medium sized box on top, he carefully undid the lid and opened it. “I present to you, baklavas.”

In the dim light I saw that they were flaky, almost like a croissant. There were some with a mix of nuts, from pistachios to almonds. Others were plain but still looked heavenly. They gleamed with a moistness, as if coated with a syrupy substance. I picked one up and popped it into my mouth.

It burst with flavour and dissolved much too fast. I squeaked at the exotic taste.

“Oh my gosh these are so good.” I said, licking my thumb.

Robin looked pleased.

“You should have one.” I pushed the box towards him but he shook his head.

“They’re yours.” He said.

“Nonsense. Food always taste better when shared.” I picked another one up intending to eat it.

“If you insist.”

I had barely managed to register the wicked glint in his eye before he took hold of my wrist and brought my hand that was holding the sweet close to his mouth. He took it carefully from me in one easy motion and lightly licked my finger.

“You’re right. It does taste better when shared.”

I felt the burn on my cheeks and ears before I heard the warning blare of the heart monitor. Immediately, Robin slipped behind the couch just as the nurses for the nightshift burst into my room in a panic. They fussed over me as I repeatedly tried to tell them I was alright. My heart finally calmed and once they left, Robin got up covering his mouth. He was trying to keep himself from laughing.

-x-x-x-

The weekend came much faster than I had anticipated. When the doctors checked on my progress, they gave the thumbs up for me to be transferred to Gotham’s hospital.  Mom was relieved, and wouldn’t stop fussing over me when we got there. I let it be though, thinking it was more for her own peace of mind than mine.

After that it was a short two weeks before I was fully discharged.

Robins visits never wavered though. If anything, he had stayed for longer periods of time. I got to know the boy under the mask more than I had hoped for and opened up in return more than I had intended.

I found out his brothers were vigilantes too. He pointed them all out one evening with a family picture he’d secretly stashed in his wallet. They were a “thorn” to his side — as he had so eloquently described, but I could see just how much he loved them. That was another thing I learnt about him, his speech patterns were very posh. He liked to use formal names and slang was not completely in his vocabulary. I asked him about that one time, to which he only replied “another time”. It was probably a touchy subject, where he exactly grew up.

His favourite colour was green, and his adoration for animals was as deep as black hole. It was crazy how perfect my mind painted him to be, and the more I knew, the harder it was to ignore the feelings growing inside me.

He enjoys reading, but would gladly spend the day locked in his room with his tablet and pen drawing the day away. He is good both in traditional and digital art, and sometimes dabbles in graphic design when he feels like it. He prefers his tea without any additives, but would not hesitate to pour bucket loads of milk and sugar in his coffee during the rare moments he drinks it.

I could list everything down but it would just solidify my attraction to him, and honestly I doubt this was he needed right now. Juggling a double life sounded a lot more stressful than he showed it to be. He hardly ever talked about it but from the amount of flowers blooming on me, it was difficult to see it any other way but exhausting. He’d kick butt at night, get hurt, then go to school the very next day like nothing happened.

He arrived one evening like he normally did and I had rushed up to pull off his glove. I felt a sting earlier and found a Sakura branch littered with pink flowers. I was right, his arm was soaked in red, and the gash looked bad.

“It’s just a scratch.” He promised me.

I didn’t reply. Taking him straight to the bathroom, I rinsed out the remaining blood and addressed the wound. After bandaging him up I finally looked into his eyes and showed him just how worried I was.

That evening we sat next to each other, with our fingers intertwined and his thumb randomly brushing against my knuckles.

-x-x-x-

Finally I was able to return home. Being able to lie down on my own bed, inside my own house, I could let loose and properly relax. I threw myself onto the soft comforters that smelled like fabric softener and smiled to myself.

Home sweet home.

But not for long, I reminded myself that this evening I would be dining with the Wayne’s. Swallowing hard, I hurried my face onto the pillows. I can’t mess this up, not after everything they’ve done for me.

Damian’s smirking face suddenly came to mind, and all his welcomed visits. It made my stomach grow warm. Remembering us sharing the sweets he gifted – soft lips against my fingers.

I groaned into the pillow, the room was getting a little hot. Getting up gingerly, as to not aggravate the newly healed stitches, I manoeuvred my way to the window and pushed it open. The cold evening air felt good against my heated skin. I sighed in content.

If I were being honest, I didn’t know what exactly was happening between us. I didn’t know if I wanted anything to happen between us. Wouldn’t it be weird, considering that I’d be interning for his dad in just a couple of months. Possibly work there if my luck doesn’t run out first. Not to mention WHO he was.

You’re just a normal girl, I chided myself. Not someone important enough to stand beside such a prestigious boy and his ridiculously wealthy family.

But even then – I found myself wondering. Seeking. Imagining… What if we were to become something more? What if it works? What if we fall in –

“Y/n!” Mom’s voice broke through my reverie, waking me up from the needless train of thought.

Closing my window, I poked my head out the door and found her putting on a bracelet.

“Are you ready? The cab is nearly here.” She asked.

I nodded and took a step closer to her. Looking quickly at the vanity mirror in the hallway, I gave myself a once over to make sure everything was in place. I had on a slightly fitting turtle neck sweater, paired with a high waisted pleated skirt and dark stockings. On my feet I sported on my boots. It was safe to assume no one would be able to see my soul marks.

My mom grabbed her purse and headed downstairs. I followed close behind her, handing her her coat before locking up the front door.

The cab driver arrived a few minutes in, and we drove off straight to Wayne Manor.

“This is exciting isn’t it?” She said to me with a lift in her voice, as she exited the cab to get the gates opened.

Once we could enter, we were greeted with a very large land that was pristinely kept. The grass was cut evenly, and the trees lining the estate were trimmed to perfection. Bushes were perfectly shaped into different animals, and flowers systematically grown to create swirls and shapes beside the road. A big fountain was situated just in front of the mansion while a man in a black suit waited beside the opened doors.

We exited the cab after paying and did our best to take it all in without looking like fishes out of water.

“Ah, Mrs. & Ms. Y/l/n.” It was the man who I saw pick up Damian that one night in Metropolis appeared. I also remembered him in the family photograph. His accent was thickly laced with British poise. “My name is Alfred Pennyworth, I shall be you’re attendant for the evening.”

“Thank you.” Mom was quick to compose herself.

As soon as I entered the house I felt my breath stolen away. It was huge. Everything looked so new and polished.

I barely registered my mom and Alfred chatting away as he led her to the dining hall.

“I know what you’re thinking.”

I nearly jumped at the voice that startled me. Whipping my head around, I found Jason standing with his hands in his pockets.

“I remember my first time coming in here. Completely floored.” He chucked.

I waved a small greeting. “Everything looks so –“

“Expensive? Exorbitant? Grand?” He tried to guess.

“Beautiful.” I breathed out.

He laughed. “Not what I expected. But you’re full of surprises aren’t you.”

I blushed. “Ah, I’m not sure about that. I’m just me.”

“Hey, no stealing our guest before dinner.” Dick walked down the stair case with Tim beside him.

“Feeling better Y/n?” Tim asked as we grouped just below the stairs.

“Yeah, thank you.” I answered, suddenly feeling flustered as they surrounded me.

Stay calm.

“Don’t be nervous.” Dick said with an air of comfort.

I wanted to ask what made him think so, but he answered before I even began to articulate the words.

“You’re fidgeting like a college student during a thesis debate.” He said simply.

“You’re… very good at reading people.” I arched a brow at him.

“One of my many amazing abilities” He winked.

Jason let out an air of playful frustration and pulled Dick aside. “And now you’re stealing her. Can’t hold a normal conversation can you Dickie, always a flirt.”

“First of all – do I need to remind you who mostly does all the talking during dad’s parties. And second of all – I am not a flirt. I can’t help it if I’m charming.” Dick mocked a suave look and shot it as his brother.

Jason looked like he was about to gag and Tim was less than pleased. I laughed at their antics.

“What’s funny?” Damian appeared beside me. I jumped and held a hand to my racing heart.

“Jeez, do all of you have a talent for sneaking up on people?” I wheezed out, trying to gather my bearings.

They all grinned at me without answering.

Robins, my inner muse whispered. I brushed off the thought as quick as it had come.

We had made it to the dining area just in time for Alfred to begin serving the meals. My mother was already chatting up a storm with Mr. Wayne. A wine glass in hand and a slight tint to her cheeks. She looked happy.

I began walking towards the seat beside my mother when Damian pulled out the chair like a gentleman. I bit the inside of my cheek and mumbled a thank you.

He took the space beside me and the rest of his brothers seated themselves opposite us.

As we opened our plates for dinner, I was amazed to see how well it was presented. Mr. Pennyworth continued to serves other dishes, and once he was done he left the room.

The food tasted just as good as it looked.

Easy conversation wafted around us, the usual topics of school, and future plans. Mr. Wayne brought up the internship which I nearly gushed over due to my excitement. Damian held back a laugh with a cough when he noticed my little slip up before I composed myself again. I bumped his knee under the table and playfully glared at him. He smirked and bumped me back.

“My compliments to the chef Mr. Wayne.” Mom said.

“I’ll be sure to tell him.” He smiled through a glass of wine. How many glasses in were they at this point? Damian and I were the only ones who weren’t allowed so both our glasses were filled with water and juice.

“And, please,” Mr. Wayne continued. “Call me Bruce.”

“Hey, we should give the women a tour.” Dick suggested. “I’m sure you’ll both love it.”

Jason and Tim had excused themselves, and I had an inkling as to what they were up to. Patrols were a common thing, as Damian told me.

And so with Dick and Bruce leading, my mother and I followed as they showed off the grandness of the manor.

I couldn’t help but be awestruck all over again. The library was huge. Their shelves towered from ceiling to floor, and filled with all kinds of books. From novels to more informative documents. I recognised a couple of titles from the times Damian spent the night reading.

The sunroom was next. The glass was near invisible. I took in the sight of the gorgeous garden just beyond the panels, being able to outline a gazebo at the far end with flowers twisting around its pillars. I unconsciously touched my stomach where the stitches were, randomly pondering what kind of flower had bloomed from such a brutal wound.

“Are you okay?” Damian was beside me immediately and his hand supported my elbow. His voice was laced with concern.

“Oh.” I realised what he was talking about and pulled my hand down. “I’m okay, just a little tired.”

“Honey?” My mom’s face pinched in concern. “Is it hurting again?”

“I just need to rest Mom, I’m fine.” I assured her. “You should continue, I’ll just sit here for a bit.”

Mom was hesitant but there wasn’t much she could do, and she knew it. So they moved on, but not without Mr. Wayne asking for some painkillers to be brought to me.

After taking the medicine, I thanked ‘Alfred’ (as he had asked me to call him) before he left.

Damian was sitting on the arm rest of the couch. My hand was in his and he rubbed random circles around my knuckles. His brows were furrowed, and his features were set in a deep scowl. I could practically feel the guilt and worry radiating off of him.

“I have to be honest, I thought I’d see more animals around.” I said, trying to lighten up the mood.

“Father asked me to keep Titus in my room for the time-being, he didn’t know how you two would react to a Great Dane, or vice-versa.” The boy said simply.

“Great Dane?” I asked flabbergasted.

The corner of Damian’s lips turned upwards. “When you feel better I’ll introduce you.”

“It’s a date.” I answered before thinking. All at once I realised what I said and felt my cheeks burn. “Ah – I mean, not date. If you aren’t comfortable with that, people just use the word date as a meeting time or –“

“It’s a date.” He brought my fingers up and ghosted his lips over them. I had to hold my breath fearing that my heart would stop.

I was momentarily stunned by his forwardness and calm. Looking away I managed to slow down my heart rate to a regular beat.

“I still need to guess the rest right?” I asked coyly.

He gestured for me to continue.

“Let’s see.” I rested my head on the couch and closed my eyes to recall our conversation back in the ball room. “We’ve got a dog, a cat.”

“Mhm.” Damian nodded, moving from the arm rest to the empty space next to me.

My brain brought up an old song from the Princess and the Frog, when they had to ‘Dig a Little Deeper’.

A dog, a pig, a cow, a goat – the lyrics were sung in my subconscious before I could stop it.

“A cow.” I guessed.

Damian’s eyes grew a little wide, before a grin made its way to his lips. “Yes.”

“What seriously?” I giggled. “You actually have a cow?”

“Bat-Cow.” He chuckled. “I was a child, and that was the first name to come up.”

I was full on laughing now. “I cannot wait to meet them. But that was seriously a random guess, now I feel like my confidence is dwindling.”

“Then how about you wait till you see them?” He suggested.

I bit my lip and shifted in my seat, our knees brushed and I felt that warmth spread across my chest. We’re close. A little too close.

When I looked at him I found he was staring at the garden outside. I didn’t mean to be rude, but I couldn’t take my eyes off him. There was something about this boy that just drew me closer, making me want more. I traced the little moles across his cheek and wondered when I had let this magnetic pull take over me.

“Take a picture. It’ll last longer.” Damian commented. His intense green eyes bore into mine as he threw a deviously charming smirk my way.

I blushed and looked away, suddenly finding my shoes a lot more interesting than it was. “Sorry, I was just thinking.”

He turned towards me. And I made the mistake of facing him again, because now our faces were just mere inches apart.

I found myself gazing at his beautiful green eyes that contrasted so well with his tanned olive skin. There were so many different shades of green looping and mixing with one another, it felt like a maze – one that I would willingly get lost in.

My fingers rested in the spaces between his, and I marvelled at how everything in that moment felt right.

I tilted towards him, and he did the same towards me.

“What are we doing?” I whispered, stealing a glance at his lips.

Heart pounding.

Blood racing.

It left me dizzy.

“I’m… not sure.” Damian replied, his tone low. “But if you asked me to kiss you, I would.”

His thumb grazed the inside of my wrist with a feather-light touch and I burst into flames.

“Kiss me.”

And he did.

-THE END-

[ohmygillygoshoppler]

A little snippet of a larger story im working on for my homies on discord. One of our prompts for this month gave me a little bit of inspiration, so I just started writing.

This takes place during the scene where all of the kids get together and play a good wholesome game of hide-and-seek. :)

=======

"1... 2... 3... 4..."

The brotherhood boys and the X-kids all made a run for it as Callista started counting. A game of hide-and-seek, from the Brotherhood Boarding House, to Xavier's institute. About a mile walk, fifteen or twenty minutes away. The objective is for everyone from their respective teams to make it to the institute without getting caught. If Callie caught you, you were out. The team with the most members left would be the victors. The Brotherhood boys were all more than eager to play a scary game, but it was Xavier's bunch that needed some convincing.

So Dominik, Pietro, Fred, Tabitha, and Todd faced off against Scott, Evan, Kitty, Kurt and Jean. Callie was it. It was almost 10 o'clock at night. The perfect conditions for hide-and-seek.

Todd didn't pay much attention to where his boys had run off to, but he noticed Kitty and Dominik making a run for the school together. Toad was thankful he had decided to take the long way home from school today, otherwise he wouldn't have found- the perfect hiding spot.

Todd bounded over the fence and landed in an overgrown backyard with a filthy swimming pool turned green from disuse. It was haphazardly covered with a blue tarp covered in rotting leaves. He spotted it earlier when he, Cal and Kurt rode down to their favorite food hangout. This was a pretty snobbish neighborhood, but he could already tell that nobody had been there for a few weeks. He'd be safe here.

This is not my idea of a good fun game of hide-and-seek, Todd thought to himself as he slipped his shirt off and slinked into the pool. Callie not only moved where she wasn't supposed to, while they weren't looking, but was coming for them specifically. It was almost a nightmare scenario. He wondered where the others decided to hide.

Todd was trapped in a single spot, the filthy pool in someone's abandoned summer house. He gulped down a deep breath and submerged, the bottom of this pool covered in algae; thick, slimy and slick to the touch. The shapes and shadows of things up above darkened the spot in the pool where he was hiding, but there was no way she'd guess he was in there; nobody really had any idea.

He couldn't breathe underwater, but he could hold his breath for a long time. When he first discovered he was pretty good at staying under, he tracked his time on a stopwatch, but he hasn't been to the lake in a while. His longest time was about twelve minutes. He wondered if she would hear hi if he came if for air? The thought frightened him.

Dominik initiated this horrifying game, and now they all had to survive it. A lot of variables affected his way of making it through this, but one thing was for sure, he was loud when he was trying to be quiet. It's kind of flipping the switch of hide and seek. In addition to listening out for the once again minuscule sounds that allude to the nearby mutant, he had to do tasks like coming up for air- the least noisiest task- and keep the tarp on the pool from falling inside. Those sounds attracted her and made it more difficult to hear the sounds he was looking for underwater, and even worse, there was no real way to get out. She would hear him running around squishing with water. He suddenly regret his decision in its entirety.

At least the quiet gave him some time to think. He thought about the first thing that came into his mind; what he was up against.

Callista's mutation capitalized on a broad discomfort with things that fell into the uncanny valley; things that are too humanoid to be something fake, but moved to spastically or mechanically for something to pass as living. Similar to how she fits into the visual uncanny valley, the sounds she makes fit into the audio uncanny valley, where they're definitely closer to language than any other sound in her Library of Noises, but they're too distorted for anyone to recognize who made the words or what they mean. She dabbled in both unfortunate arts. She litters these sounds throughout the entirety of the space she controls, from quick flickering hallucinations to phone rings that sound a little too much like a real phone. Her laughter also counted as a vaguely vocal sound, as it sounded like a demented version of a child laughing.

These are some of the ways Callista flavored her games to make less complex scenarios more stressful. Todd had a sinking feeling that this was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to her scary games. Perhaps this was Callista's way of establishing herself as the Top Dog.

But since this was a game, there was a condition; something had to be sacrificed to allow them the chance to think under pressure and win the game. At least she gave them all a fighting chance, telling them all he needed to know about visual signals and audio clues.

"Don't stop. Don't make any noise. Don't let me catch you." He remembered that warning as he peered up at the water's surface. He thought he heard something.

While it was never silent out here, it was remarkably more quiet the rest of the house. There's a dog somewhere, and it's howling. There's some car horns blaring in the distance, and the sound he was told to listen for: clicking.

Yes, if he heard clicking when checking the area, he was to hide to stop her from getting him right there. But her clicks were quiet. The sound that indicated she was in the area rose only a little above the ambient noise of the space, and so he had to parce sounds very carefully. His ear was searching for small differences in volume, which made any change in volume even more intense. That's only when he was checking above the water. In other parts of the yard, there were other subtle sounds. Focusing on such minuscule sounds was stressful, scary even.

A loud noise and a dark shape moved up above him, frightening him. Todd was just about to peek his head up and take a look outside, but now he wasn't budging. Was it her? He slid out from the shadows to get a better look, but it was still too dark to see.

The amphibious mutant blinked, squinting real close before a wave of relief washed over him. He recognized the silhouette: It was Kurt. He couldn't help but stifle a snicker as he watched the other mutant frantically search the yard for a place to hide.

Todd slowly ascended, barely peeking his head out of the water, hiding under the tarp. Despite his movement, the water remained mostly placid. Kurt was fussing with the patio umbrella, trying to get it to open for him so he could hide inside. Todd just watched him silently.

Kurt was wrapping himself around the umbrella's pole when he caught a glimpse of something staring at him from the pool, and for a split second, he thought he was going to have a heart attack. Todd just gently shook his head, pressing a green finger to his lips.

Kurt was going to kick himself for almost getting scared by Todd Tolansky. He knew though that if he made too much noise, he and Todd would both be caught. So he just gave his frog friend a thumbs-up and stuffed himself inside of the umbrella, carefully closing it shut.

[moonwavesmotionpictures]

Authoritarianism?...

I watch a lot of classic films. I also dabble in a decent amount of literature. The goal which I set in Apple Books some time ago is 10 pages a day. Not a shockingly large amount, I know, but consistently taking in a little something to think about and come back to the following day. Sometimes I go far over and read 40 pages. Other times I get five pages into a thing and fall asleep or my attention is taken elsewhere. Tangentially, I love that it counts when I’ve listened to x-amount of pages worth of an audiobook that's being read to me. I find it funny when someone mentions reading a particular book and then, always at the end of this discussion, mentions it was an audiobook. Deciding whether or not this constitutes actual reading is subjective I suppose. It's also an extremely modern, iPhone Age phenomenon. On the other hand, you didn't look at anything! Isn't looking at letters a stipulation for reading? From everything I know and all that I've forgotten from my schooling, it would seem to me that seeing letters on a page, or nowadays on a screen, is fundamental to the task. On the other-other hand, when you read to yourself you do speak to yourself (even if it's in your own mind) in the same way that the reader reading the audiobook speaks to you, right?!

As you can see I'm not going to be able to pin down an opinion on this one without careening recklessly into a 1930's/1940's slapstick comedy routine so I'll just move on...

Watching old movies and reading isn't all I do, but it’s a decent portion of my weekly consumption of art, culture, media, technology, and so on.

In that vein, I’d like to celebrate a quirky set of intersections I've recently run into on this front by looking at two rather lovely films. Each with a literary bend. Each investigates the dynamics of being a writer and ideas of authorship. The differences between how a person relates to what they create when the creation moves from out of the privacy of the shadows and becomes public. These films involve writers who for one reason or another would like to remain undiscovered as the authors of their works. Both have shrouded themselves from recognition as authors of their titles by using pseudonyms. The spark that sets each story into motion is the threat of being unmasked; push out away from the comfort of anonymity. The fear for them is that others, the people they are closest to, the people they love, and yet have been lying to, will find out the truth.

The first film is---

Theodora Goes Wild (1936)

In Theodora Goes Wild, Irene Dunne plays the title character, Theodora Lynn. She is secretly the author of a salacious novel written under the pen name, Caroline Adams. She must hide her identity from the residents of her small, conservative Connecticut town. Their disapproval of the material in the book is fierce. When Theodora goes to New York to visit her publisher, she meets the book's cover artist, Michael Grant, played by Melvyn Douglas, who tries to convince her to reveal herself as the real author. When Theodora falls for Michael, she soon finds that he has secrets of his own.

The film is a raucous, slap-stickesque comedy that is never dull. I say "esque," because it doesn't too far into the ridiculous. It stays grounded. It has some real heart to it. Especially in the relationship between the two leads, but also with every family member, friend, and townsperson along the way. Some of those living in this small town though cast aspersions on this mystery writer unnecessarily. Their actions cause a lot of tension and grief and in the end, they must come face to face with their own hypocritical natures.

And, the second film is---

Footsteps in the Dark (1941)

In Footsteps In The Dark, Errol Flynn plays Francis Warren, an investment adviser who moonlights secretly as the author of detective novels. He writes under the pseudonym, F.X. Pettijohn. When a client who wants to cash in a stash of jewels is murdered, Francis believes that -- with his insight into the criminal world -- he can solve the case. His first suspect, however, meets a mysterious end. As the investigation grows more complicated than Francis imagined, he is unexpectedly accused of infidelity by his wife, Rita played by Brenda Marshall, and also suspected by the police.

This film is light, but not without its serious moments. Flynn is his usual suave, debonair self, with flourishes of boyish innocence and witty charm. It’s a whodunnit where the gifted amateur who shouldn't be the one trying to figure out this case is just as confused as we are throughout most of the investigation.

---

For ages writers, musicians, actors and performers of all kinds have used pen names. Did you know that Michael Caine’s real name is Maurice Joseph Micklewhite Jr.?...

Okay, okay Michael Caine it is! Gosh!

Sometimes for artists, it is a decision due to “the times,” like in the case of George Eliot, author of the 19th-century novel Middlemarch, better known to her friends as Mary Ann Evans. Other times, the name just sounds cool and who says you can't, right?! Whether it be to conceal a true identity for consideration of one's own reputation as the characters in these films do, or just to spice life up a bit, the truth is we cast judgments (positive or negative; fairly or unfairly) on the thing which represents a creative works existence. The name of the entity which penned the letters. That can be a very scary thing that every creative person must wrestle with in their work. The burden of ownership. But, that's what makes putting your name on it or giving a name to it so very interesting.

I myself find it quite exciting and I like to think up names from time to time in the hopes of just such an occasion coming along.

How about you?! What would your pen name be?

All and all these two films are splendid. They feature old Hollywood stars who I completely adore. They hit on themes that I am always interested in seeing onscreen and they cover topics that enrich my life. I can't recommend these films more highly. You won't regret a second you spend enjoying them. So what are you waiting for?! Go!

[meliaaizawa]

MARRIAGE STORY

Inspired by the intro to Marriage Story, when Charlie and Nicole go over what they love about each other, but Sho and Mei are NOT getting a divorce.

Word count: 1,478

~What I love about Shota~

What I love about Shota… Shota doesn’t care what others think of him. He is sure of himself and his abilities. He is skilled and strong yet is never proud. Shota loves coffee and drinks at least two cups a day… the caffeine doesn’t affect him in any way, he just loves the flavor. Shota is a simple man and is content with the things he has and is never in want of anything new or improved. Though Shota is always grumpy, deep down, I know him to be soft and incredibly kind. Though he rarely lets even his friends see that side of him, I can see through his tough guy act. He especially enjoys cuddling our cats and taking care of them at home. Shota is incredibly fit and healthy. He doesn’t diet… in fact, he usually eats like crap. His metabolism and hero work manages to keep up with him though, so there’s really no need to worry about what he eats. His genuine smile melts my heart, but it can only be seen during rare candid moments. If he actually tries to smile, the result is horrifying… but cute.

Though he’d never admit it, Shota loves kids. He is a wonderful teacher and mentor to so many. He knows the best way to push his students to make them become better. Even if his methods are more strict than the average teacher, he is well meaning. I know he would make the best father. Shota isn’t a fan of PDA, much like me. When we are alone though, he loves touch… whether it’s his arm around me, us holding hands, or even just our feet barely touching under the kitchen table, I think physically feeling that I am with him brings him comfort. Shota can play the bass. He hates playing in front of others, and he doesn’t have any opportunities to do so, so hearing him play is rare. For a guy who doesn’t care about appearance, Shota can be bashful when it comes to the attention of others, especially when he is dressed up nicely. I think he likes his appearance to be overall disheveled so that most people wouldn’t give him a second glance… plus he’s just lazy. Anytime he has to dress up in a suit, he hates it. I think he looks handsome either way.

Though he seems irritable at times, Shota never raises his voice at me and is so incredibly patient in dealing with my indecisiveness. He makes quick decisions, so he is always willing to help where I struggle. He is also the best at giving advice. He thinks everything through rationally and is able to view a situation from every angle when assessing it. Shota is an immense help around the house. He helps me with the dishes and folding laundry and cleaning. It gives us even more time together, even if we don’t say a word while cleaning. Shota is rarely cleanshaven, which I prefer. I always love the familiar feeling of his scruffy face when he kisses me or rests his head on me. Part of me thinks it’s because he’s just lazy, but at the same time I’m convinced he keeps the scruff because I just love it. Shota is a good listener. I don’t always have a lot to say, but when I do, he just sits and listens. He will also comfort me when I am sad and knows just what to say if I am feeling lonely or unworthy.

Shota is an incredibly hard worker. He stays up late nearly every night, either out on hero patrol, or finishing grading his papers. He never procrastinates and gets everything done in a more than timely manner. If Shota cared about ranks, he would easily be in Japan’s top 10 heroes. He is incredibly accurate in the use of his capture weapon, his strategy when going against villains is always spot on, and he makes the most of his quirk, despite its many drawbacks. He is also strong- both in mind and in body, and has saved countless people, even if they didn’t realize it, since he always works behind the scenes. Shota is very eloquent in the way he speaks. He may look homeless, but the man is incredibly smart. He puts a lot of thought into what he says and how he says it. He never wastes his words. He is also not afraid to speak his mind and is always willing to put people in their place if he must.

~What I love about Meiya~

What I love about Meiya… Meiya loves to eat. I don’t know where she puts it all away, as she has an overall fit body, but she seems to always have a pair of chopsticks or a snack in her hand. She always has food in the house. Not just enough for us, but also enough for any unwanted guests that may show up. Meiya has an air of self-confidence. Though I know that she often doubts herself, she doesn’t let it show. She doesn’t care what others think of her and is always genuinely herself no matter the audience. Because of this, others are often comfortable being themselves around her, so she had a lot of friends because of this. Meiya is diligent in everything that she does. She keeps our home clean despite its unorganized appearance, and she always decorates our home in her own way. I never cared about decorations, but our home is more presentable thanks to her. Meiya is loyal to a fault. She trusts others easily, and until that trust is broken somehow, she is fully devoted to that person and would sacrifice herself for them. She likes being unique and never conforms to those around her. In fact, she oftentimes goes out of her way to try and be different.

Though I can be incredibly stubborn, Meiya is constantly patient with me. She knows how to convince me to do things I don’t want to and is usually willing to stand in the gap between me and those I don’t want to interact with. I can’t tell you how many small talk conversations she has saved me from. Meiya doesn’t necessarily need to be romanced in the classical sense of giving her flowers and chocolate. She prefers to just have quality time. A simple kiss on the cheek, a nap together in the sleeping bag, or a bowl of freshly made ramen are enough to remind her how much I love her. Meiya is one of the most competent heroes I know. She is proficient in using many different kinds of quirks, she is a skilled fighter, she cares for others deeply, and is willing to do whatever it takes to protect her loved ones and society. She is also a wonderful teacher. The kids are all just drawn to her, and she is incredibly kind and helpful in the way she helps the students learn more about their quirks.

Meiya loves karaoke. She gets overly competitive when going out with Mic and Ectoplasm. Although she claims she can’t sing well, she has a nice voice, but even more amazing is how well she knows all of the songs and is able to hit every word and note with accuracy. I just enjoy watching. Though Meiya is not a huge cat person, she was willing to get cats with me. She loves them too, though I doubt she would admit it, and she takes time throughout her day to play with them and care for them. Meiya is emotionally strong and a dependable wife. She remains level-headed in stressful situations, and she knows how to support those around her. Despite this emotional strength, she still cries frequently when watching movies. Meiya goes to sleep early and wakes up early, though I am more of a night owl. She will often fall asleep on the couch with me while I grade papers. Even her tired, unconscious presence is enough to make me feel at home. It also gives me the chance to carry her to bed and tuck her in on those nights.

Meiya is a responsible adult, but she is also a child at heart. She would prefer to go to an arcade or festival over a fancy restaurant or party any day. And as far as gifts go, she would much rather have the latest volume of her favorite manga over a piece of jewelry. Along with being a pro hero, Meiya also enjoys dabbling in support things like costume designing. She has an eye for art, and she is good at anything she sets her mind to. Meiya packs us both lunch every day, because she knows I like her food over Lunch Rush’s. We often eat in the teachers lounge, but we also find ourselves on the rooftop, where we used to eat as high schoolers.