#this came to me in a dream and was officially initiated once I listened to some splatoon music👍

[zappy-art-doodles]

this is what happens when I listen to splatoon music

I literally had no idea what I was doing the whole time it was just an experiment but anyways hiiiiii🤗 felt like doing a music career AU or something like that🗣⁉️ so here’s an album cover or whtver👍

Oc’s belong to @yummycrummy 🫶

[victorluvsalice]

-->Anyway – Victor finished his food and headed to the bathroom while I had Alice go to the corner and listen to the classical music on the speakers to get away from the townies. And once Victor was done with his business over there, I sent him over to initiate a slow dance. <3 Because I like the Cute Romance slow dancing, darn it. I had them dance for a minute, then tried to initiate a dip kiss –

Cue MC Command Center dropping an error on me (though it looks like that was actually the result of Alice’s attempt to wait for her coffee going bad in the background – game, keep up, she got her coffee a while ago) and the glitchiest kiss in the world resulting as another Sim -- that fellow with the big bushy ponytail, named Joaquin -- came over to butt in on their conversation. *facepalm* I was annoyed enough about the broken dip kiss, but figured I could work with it as Victor and Alice continued chatting and joking –

-->And then JOAQUIN STRAIGHT UP FLIRTED WITH ALICE IN FRONT OF VICTOR. LIKE, GRABBED HER FACE LOVINGLY AND EVERYTHING. I had no idea WHAT the fuck was going on there, especially since Alice didn’t even KNOW this idiot! Pissed off, I cleared all conversations, had Victor go outside to play some chess, had Alice officially introduce herself to Joaquin –

And then had her insult his feeble nature before straight up SNARLING at him. That fucking ended his interest in her fast. >( But what the fucking hell, game?! I know I have it set up so Victor and Alice are poly and don’t get jealous, so this won’t actually be an issue for their relationship, but that still doesn’t mean I want random Sims coming up to my Sims and just flirting with them out of the blue! *sigh* Gonna have to check my MC Command Center and Wonderful Whims settings, I think...

-->Anyway – with THAT sorted, I had Alice use the bathroom, then join Victor outside to chat with him some more and continue her date with, you know, her beloved husband. One of like two people she likes touching her. Victor handed Alice a rose as a Love Day gift, which she gave a thumbs down to (seriously, game?) before making up for her fickleness by hitting him with a passionate kiss. Further cuteness followed as they talked about dreams, did a little more flirting, and ended the date on a fake romantic selfie. :) Meaning, despite everything, the date DID end up as a Gold-tier date, and they successfully fulfilled most of the traditions of the holiday. Just took a lot longer than I expected to get there. *sigh*

-->With their time at the Steampunk Cafe over, it was time for the pair to head back home, where random people wouldn't be grabbing at Alice's face. Victor settled in for a little bit with some romantic TV, while Alice transformed into her werewolf form to go for a hunt -- which, happily, also scored her an ability point! I had her take “Immortal Wolf” so she’s truly immortal, much like Smiler is. Now I just have to do Victor...perhaps one day we will be able to turn aging back on for this save! XD

Anyway, Smiler at this point had moved on from video games to chess -- I let them finish their latest game, then stopped them from taking a bath by having Victor hit them with Scruberoo instead (though they did still insist on going all the way up the stairs -.-), before sending them back downstairs to give Victor a chrysanthemum. Victor was fortunately in favor of being given this flower, and they shared a tender moment as Alice came back from her hunt. I made sure she was good, wolfing down on her meat –

[sokovianheadtilt]

My Little Love

Bucky Barnes x black!reader, past Brock Rumlow x black!reader

Summary: Based on My Little Love by Adele, your journey from a loveless marriage to meeting the man of your dreams

Warnings: Brock. Fuck him

A/N: Hellooooooo I'm doing a new series type thing, and this is the first part to that, giving some backstory as to how Bucky and Y/N meet, so hope you enjoy!! and I will now be insinuating that the reader is black, cuz I'm a black woman, so why not, but anyone can read, lyrics are italicized

Word Count: 1.5k

My little love, I see your eyes widen like an ocean

Y/N let out a heavy sigh as she set the last box of her things down on the floor of her and her son's new house. It had been a difficult road during her divorce with her now ex-husband Brock Rumlow. Your relationship took a dark turn once you two tied the knot, everything only gets worse when you ended up pregnant.

Soon after you guys got married, he wanted you to be the typical housewife, something you both fought about almost daily. You didn’t want to be in charge of taking care the house. You wanted a job of your own, have your own source of income, not wanting to rely on Brock for money. And whether or not that was in case you decided to leave, well, he didn’t need to know that.

He also didn’t want kids. It was something you thought you had to sacrifice if you didn’t want him to leave you. You remember staring down at the positive pregnancy in your hand with a swirl of emotions weighing heavily on your chest. You were initially excited before reality came crashing down that your husband wouldn’t be happy with it.

And you were right. Brock was furious. He blamed the whole thing on you as if it didn’t take the two of you to create the life that’s settled in your uterus. In the end, Brock decided he would ‘let’ you go through with this pregnancy as if it was his choice.

Then little Logan Rumlow came into this world. He was the absolute love of your life. The moment those big brown eyes stared back at you when the nurses set him in your arms, you were head over heels for your little man, not that you weren’t already, but finally meeting him just made the feeling more official. 


Brock on the other hand was emotionally detached from Logan since he was born. Even when you gave birth he wasn’t even in the room, sitting in the waiting room as he didn’t want to deal with your screaming and whining. He barely put in any effort when it came to taking care of Logan. Acting like he was more of a nuisance than the little bundle of joy that he was.

When you look at me so full of my emotions, I’m finding it hard to be here, sincerely

Logan was now 5 and you were reaching your breaking point. By now he was in kindergarten where he was absolutely thriving in his class and you were so proud of him. You had also gotten your own job as an assistant to a high-profile lawyer, something you did without Brock’s permission which didn’t go over well but he would have to deal with it.

Before you left, you had told Brock he had to pick up Logan from school because you were gonna be too busy that day to do so. So, when you got a call from the school saying Logan was never picked up, you wanted to kill Brock. You wasted no time gathering your things and rushing out of your office building, driving to go get him and feeling anger rushing through your body. When you made it to the school, you saw Logan sitting in the office with tears streaming down his face. You quickly went and pulled him into a hug as your heart broke listening to his sob.

“D-daddy forgot me” he cried out into your shoulder

You almost wanted to tear up as you heard him say that, and that was the push you needed to make some changes in your life. You had brought Logan home, stopping to buy him whatever toy he wanted to try and make him feel better, watching his favorite movie, and making his favorite dinner before he went off to bed.

You sat on the couch with a glass of wine and watched some reality TV, waiting for Brock to come home. When he finally did, you sat and listened to his excuses as you set your glass down, not even turning to face him.

“I want a divorce,” you said to him as you stood up and turned to face him “I asked you to do one thing- pick up our child, and you couldn’t even do that” you watched him go to cut you off but you kept going, making sure your voice was low as to not wake up Logan “I know you didn’t want to have Logan, but he’s still your goddamn son! He’s not just some afterthought, he’s 5! You don’t care about him- you barely even fucking speak to him” you were letting all the anger you’ve felt over the years just pour out within this moment “You should be ashamed at the way you treat that boy. He’s the sweetest child on Earth and you won’t even give him the time of day. He does not deserve to be treated like some nuisance by his own father, so I’m done. I can’t let you ruin him” you huffed out, wiping away the tears you didn’t even realize fell down your face “We’re leaving in the morning and we’re staying at my parents until I figure some stuff out” You didn’t stay to listen to his argument before you went to the guest room, locking the door behind you.

And that’s how you ended up where you are now, moving into a new place for a fresh start, without Brock. He knew what he was doing making divorcing him hell, but you never let it sway your decision. Nothing else mattered besides your child’s well-being.

I feel so bad to be here when I'm so guilty

It was difficult trying to explain what was happening and why they had to leave. You sat Logan down and told him that despite making them stay with Brock for all that time, you loved him very much, but they didn’t need him to be happy. You could tell Logan was doing his best to try and understand but he always trusted his mother to make the best decisions.

You went back out to your car to see if you forgot anything inside it when you heard a door close and you picked your head up, seeing a man walk out of his house. He was a good 6’4, broad shoulders, hair that fell down to his shoulders and a long sleeve henley that was tight against his chest.

You watched as he looked back at you, staring at you for a bit before you flashed him a small smile and locked your car, going back inside, feeling your cheeks heat up a bit.

I'm holding on (barely)

It’s been a couple of months since the start of your new life, getting Logan into a new school which he claims he loved, and he seemed like he enjoys the new neighborhood they moved into. It has a lot of parks and their house had a big backyard so Logan wasn’t cooped up at school and home all day. You had found a new job, similar to your last one and you liked it. Sometimes people would make smart comments towards you but nothing you couldn’t handle.

When you lay on me, can you hear the way my heart breaks? I wanted you to have everything I never had. I’m so sorry if what I've done makes you feel sad

There were times where you felt lost like you didn’t know what to do. Brock was always the person to make the big decisions in your life, and sometimes you felt like you couldn’t do that. Taking care of Logan felt the same. You felt like a single parent when you were with Brock anyway so no change there. You just felt like you had no direction, and felt like you were failing, thinking you could do this all on your own. Sometimes you couldn’t help but cry in the living room after Logan goes to sleep, letting your emotions pour out from time to time.

You would also still see the mystery man mainly on the weekends when you and Logan would spend the day together. You two haven’t spoken yet, only exchanges of smiles and glances. He seemed like a nice man, and he was very handsome. You didn’t want to pursue another romantic relationship at the moment, still wanting some time to heal from years of such a one-sided marriage.

That all came to a halt one day when you had come back from dropping Logan off at your parent's house for the weekend so they could spend some time with him. You had pulled into your driveway and saw the mysterious man coming out of his house as you got out of your car. You looked at him as he looked back at you, as he always does. You watched him stay in his spot before he walked over to you

“Hello,” he said in a deep voice that kind of caught you off guard. A man built like that, of course, he would have a deep voice

“H-Hi,” you said back to him

“I’m Bucky”

“I’m Y/N”

[aminiatureworld]

Honesty

Characters: Kaeya, gn!reader

Word Count: 2,830

Warnings: None

Premise: Some habits just turn bad over time, and not matter how much we try they can be terribly difficult to stop.

In which Kaeya keeps to himself.

Author’s Note: This was requested by a lovely anon! I thank you once more, and I hope that this was as you envisioned it. Also didn’t expect this to be so incredibly long but I hope that’s not unwelcome!

Kaeya is one of my favorite characters to write, but I also find him one of the hardest as well. He’s very good at slipping through your grasp, and it can be hard to convey such an outwardly complex and flirtatious character without making him a cardboard cutout. But it’s also incredibly gratifying when you think you’ve done it well. I hope this is one of the times.

Non bulleted pointed version on Ao3

It wasn’t that Kaeya wasn’t used to attention. It was simply that he wasn’t used to your attention.

I mean Kaeya was hardly the most innocent man in Monstadt; almost everyone spoke of the handsome and slightly ill-behaved cavalry captain. Kaeya certainly did nothing to discourage the talk, or the flirting, not when it was so fun. It felt good to be looked at for reasons, well if not positive at least they weren’t in the same league as the notoriety he’d picked up otherwise. Disapproving citizens were certainly better than a disapproving brother, especially since said brother had a habit of parroting Kaeya’s darkest thoughts.

Of course Kaeya wasn’t looking for anything when it came to said flirtations. Not only because the appeal was never there, at least not in any legitimate sense, but because Kaeya secretly felt he was a bit of a burden, something he’d never even admit to himself. And no one wanted a partner with emotional baggage. If there was anything Kaeya was quite sure of it was that. And he hadn’t the time, nor really the ability, to fix all his problems, if he wasn’t permanently broken already. Better to keep away from any firm attachments, one that might ruin the lives of those around him.

This admittedly terrible conclusion was all perfectly fine in theory, but then you’d arrived and it’d all fallen to the wayside.

You were perfection to Kaeya, in more ways than he could count. He loved your smile, as well as the various other expressions you pulled, whether snarky or appalled or excited; he loved the way you laughed, even when you complained it sounded vaguely seal like at some points and like you were dying at others; he loved your every mood and whim, no matter how silly or reckless. He loved when you had a temper and when you showed more restraint than he did, he loved when you acted like a character you’d just read about and he loved when you later got embarrassed by it and begged him to forget it. The list went on and on and on, so many things did he love about you. Most of all he loved that you never seemed in a hurry, not that any of the others had, but the boundaries had shifted quite a bit this time.

So what had begun not so much as flirtation but as awkward friendship blossomed into something more, and Kaeya knew it. Not that there was any proper confirmation, but really was there a need? He told himself that the idea was ridiculous, no need to make things official. Besides, it wasn’t as if Kaeya had changed much at all. Indeed he’d done quite the opposite, determined not to let things shift in the way you two interacted.

Of course he’d excused his actions. After all, though the knight had many contradictory opinions of himself, of his actions, of his past, but they tended towards the negative. He was evil, he was cruel, a shameless opportunist and a failure even in that. Most importantly, in regards to the matter at hand, Kaeya tended to think that he was in no position to enjoy a proper and serious relationship; it wasn’t in him. He’d only bring disaster upon his head and upon the heads of those he loved. How could he let it happen?

That were what he told himself, what again and again he drilled it into his mind. And he ignored the small part of him that told himself it wasn’t any of that, the part which jeered that, if he were altogether truthful, the reason for a lack of meaningful reciprocation ultimately lay in the overwhelming fear he kept buried deep within himself. The fear of telling others about himself. About his actions, his opinions, his morality. The unpolished and deeply irritating bits that even Kaeya couldn’t stand.

But that was buried under too many layers of denial to play into what he was doing, and Kaeya had thoroughly convinced himself that his actions were for the good of everyone, yourself included. So the charade continue, with you saying more and more and Kaeya saying altogether nothing of consequence at all.

“Kaeya, what do you think of me?” You asked one day. It was a summer afternoon, the lazy kind, when all seemed static and half asleep. Kaeya was one of those things, and jolted to full wakefulness, surprised and ill at ease by the sudden question. You didn’t look at all upset, though maybe a bit bashful. The blush that dusted your cheeks and nose was the cutest thing, and if he weren’t so utterly afraid Kaeya might’ve wanted to tease you a bit, and see said blush grow a little bit deeper.

“What do you mean? You’re my fine adventuring friend.” He said, trying to relax once more, hoping the initial jolt of shock hadn’t been evident. It was hard to keep alert at all times around you, especially in what had just been such a relaxing atmosphere. But he had to keep calm and steady, suave as always. Who knows what might happen if not?

“Well I’m glad to hear that,” you began, cadence becoming a little slower, “I’m very glad to hear that. But, well, I was sort of wondering… if it might be a bit… different than that.”

“Is this a sudden confession?” Kaeya asked, tone light and playful.

“No!” You blurted out, gaze dropping. You started tearing at the grass slightly, but the action didn’t worry Kaeya too much. If it wasn’t a confession then it’d be easy enough to sneak out of, and then you two might go back to enjoying the afternoon as usual.

“It’s just…” you continued, staring intently at the ground “it’s just that I want to know. I mean I’m sure it’s obvious how much I care about you, well and truly care about you. You’re my closest friend Kaeya, but you’re also more than that. You’re my confidante, the first person I go to talk to about, well, anything. I said this wasn’t a confession, and it isn’t. But I want to know where we are. And I want you to be honest, what do you think of me?”

You lifted your head up, gaze piercing through Kaeya’s soul. He felt nothing in that moment but terror, the feeling of the ground suddenly giving way below him. What was he to say? What could he say? What did he think of you, the question seemed so simple but Kaeya found he couldn’t answer it, not truthfully. What you meant to him, well you meant almost everything. Kaeya loved you, loved you so much. He wanted to tell you everything about him, wanted to learn everything about you. He wanted to hold you in his arms and listen forever to your voice, to the things you had to say. He wanted to bask in your presence, to drown in it. He loved you, and he knew you loved him too; but it wasn’t that simple. He couldn’t do it, couldn’t tell you what he wanted to say, what you wanted to hear. It was for your own good, and, Kaeya was realizing very quickly, the idea of doing so, of confessing himself, of laying his soul bare, was something so utterly and completely frightening.

“Like I said you’re my dear adventuring friend.” Kaeya managed to get out, hoping there was no streak of falsehood in his voice. Picking up some of the torn up grass he scattered it onto your head, causing a groan of annoyance. Laughing at his childishness Kaeya steered the conversation towards another topic, hoping the former one would never come up again.

It didn’t, but Kaeya still sensed a change. It was gradual enough, indeed it was so gradual he hardly noticed at first. But eventually the change became too great, and Kaeya felt a distinct sinking sensation the first time he’d passed you on the streets on Monstadt and you’d done little more than smile, instead of running up like you usually did to ask him where he was going and tease him about missing work, sure that he was up to no good.

The initial realization having passed a bunch of little things came to the sudden forefront of Kaeya’s mind. Come to think of it you two never met outside of work anymore; gone were the days it seemed when you two would go for a walk after having sandwiches together, both complaining about the others work and wondering when you might ever have a break.

Gone too was the familiarity in some ways. When you two spoke now there was a formality, a distance that seemed to have popped up. You no longer asked Kaeya about his brother, and in return he stopped asking you about your own family, uneasy by the sudden loss of intimacy, and unwilling to be the one to break the barrier.

As the weeks passed by and you grew more and more distant Kaeya grew more and more frantic. He found himself thinking incessantly about you, about what you were doing, where you were going, whether or not you’d ever smile at him the way you used to, if you’d blush again at his teasing. A small piece of him knew that it was his own fault, and knew that it somehow connected back to the conversation you two had had in the summertime. But self-awareness doesn’t always mean change, and Kaeya still refused to do anything about it.

Then he started dreaming about you. He wasn’t sure why, you two saw each other less and less, and there was no reason for him to suddenly start these dreams, but somehow it’d happen. The dreams were mundane, painfully so. They were much like any other dream in content; the only difference being your presence. You were as before in his dreams, as if he’d somehow been able to rewind the clock, but only in his sleep. The two of you did this and that. You saved reckless Pallad, you rode Dvalin with the Traveller, you ran around the Winery, stealing glasses when no one was looking. Always you two were off, doing something completely normal, and always did Kaeya feel such joy that waking up felt rather like torture. He began to dread it, meeting you in his dreams. It felt painful, so very painful, as if he were betraying himself, as if he were betraying you too in some way. He shouldn’t’ve been dreaming of you, and yet he kept right at it, as if his mind were somehow unable to let go.

After three weeks of not seeing you Kaeya relented. He couldn’t go on like this, not one more moment. His work was becoming sloppier and sloppier, and he felt as if he hadn’t slept in years. He’d woken up in the middle of the night, so wretched from the whole situation that he felt like crying out of frustration. In the dark there was no one to pretend to, and he found himself staring at the curtained window, suddenly hit with his utter selfishness. He loved you, he loved you and you loved him, at least you had. And he’d thrown it all away, not out of any kindness or nobility, but out of his own fear, his own inability to be honest for even a moment. It was his fault that this was all happening, and as such he had to make amends.

He found himself at what had been your normal after-work meeting spot, leaning against a squat sort of maple tree. It was the perfect meeting place, far enough from the city to be picturesque, but close enough not to be a trip. Now Kaeya waited, praying to Barbatos that you might, by some miracle, appear.

Evidently the Anemo Archon was in a somewhat favorable mood, that or Kaeya was simply lucky, for he spotted you about fifteen minutes later, walking leisurely towards the tree. You weren’t truly paying attention to your destination, instead glancing in the direction of Cider Lake, expression slightly clouded. Turning your head you stopped dead in your tracks, shaking your head slightly, as if you truly couldn’t believe the sight in front of you.

“I…have something to say.” Kaeya began, not altogether sure what that was. Once he’d come to the conclusion that he was the source of the whole problem it became evident that the only was to solve such a thing was through honesty. But it had been so long since Kaeya had been honest, really truly honest, and he now felt awkward and slightly shaky, as if learning to walk all over again.

“What is it?” Your tone, though surprised, held no hostility in it, instead it seemed vaguely curious. The thought gave Kaeya a bit of strength, and he drew himself up a little more, determined to see this through no matter what.

“I want to apologize for how I’ve treated you. I haven’t… haven’t been honest. I think you realized that, indeed I think you realized it long before I did. But, now that I’ve realized it I want to say I’m so deeply sorry.” He paused for a moment, not sure how to continue on. “Do you remember when you asked me what I thought of you?” He finally asked.

“Of course I do.” You smiled slightly, though it didn’t reach your eyes. “You said I was your friend.”

“Well I was lying.” Kaeya’s voice was blunt, the flirtatious tone that he usually put on nowhere to be found. “In truth you mean so much to me, so much more than I could put into words. You said that you weren’t making a confession, but I am. I like you, no, I love you. You mean more to me than everything, than my past, than my work as a knight, than my shame I carry in regards to my brother. Being around you is like soaking in the sun, or gazing at the moon, and I took it for granted. I took your entire presence for granted, and I understand why you felt the need to distance yourself. Our friendship was built on dishonesty, all because I was afraid. I am afraid still, so very afraid, but I find what I fear more than telling you all of this is never having the opportunity to. You’d don’t have to reciprocate, don’t have to approve of anything I just said. But if there’s any little bit of you that felt as you did this summer I want to apologize to it, and tell you I feel the same.”

The silence was deafening, oppressive. For once Kaeya found he couldn’t keep your gaze; his entire affect, his personality, it was all gone, and what was left was raw and badly kept. Shifting his gaze towards the lake he held his breath and waited for your answer.

He felt your fingers glance his. Snapping his head towards where you were he searched your face for something that might reveal what you were thinking, but you quickly looked at the ground.

“Thank you.” Your voice was no more than a whisper, but to Kaeya it was a lifeline, the fact that he was able to hear your voice once more. “Thank you for being honest.” You slipped your hand into his. “And to answer your unsaid question, I do feel the same way I did when I asked you before. And this too is now a confession, or rather an assent. I love you Kaeya, I’ve never stopped loving you. And though I may still feel a bit hurt by your lack of honesty then, I only ask you this,” you finally moved to look him in the eyes, your gaze misted over by hope and joy and a hint of sorrow, “will you be honest with me now?”

“Until the day I die.” Kaeya breathed out.

“That’s all I needed to hear.” You replied, dropping his hand and flinging your arms around his neck.

Kaeya immediately wrapped his arms around you, burying his face in your neck. “Thank you” he whispered, over and over again. The fear that had once filled his mind was no more, instead he felt as if he were floating, kept tethered to reality only by your embrace. He was relieved, but more so he was happy, so unbelievably happy. You’d given him a chance he’d never give himself; you’d opened your life back up to him, and now you two might never have to be separated again, not truly anyways.

 “Want to know something?” Kaeya asked, tone playful, as you two walked back to Monstadt, hands linked.”

“What?” You asked, slightly curious. Kaeya smiled, before leaning over and giving you a kiss on the cheek.

“I love you.” He whispered against your skin. And he meant it. With his whole heart he meant it.

[hangekitty]

Tea for 3

Erwin x Levi x gn!Reader Headcanons

Scenario: the three of you decide to open up a tea shop together

Warnings: none!

Genre: fluff! Polyamory

Universe: Modern AU!

A/N: it’s a little short, but it’s definitely sweet. These headcanons have been on my mind a LOT and I just had to write them down. I feel like I mostly write polyamory stuff (even my private work is like 70% polyamory) but I am working on monogamous relationship stories as we speak! Should I keep writing polyamory? 🤔

First of all, it was Levi’s idea to open up a tea shop, even if he doesn’t want to admit it. He had first brought it up out of curiosity to see what you or Erwin thought. It wasn’t brought up again till Erwin found a little shop that was up for sale, to which Levi pretended not to be excited; in truth, if Levi was better at expressing himself he would have been jumping up and down with pure happiness.

Levi will probably need some convincing to actually go for this opportunity. I can see him being a little insecure as to whether he deserves such a chance at this; so hearing the two of you, the people he loves most, give him so much affection and encouragement he couldn’t refuse.

You three spend long nights together designing the interior and exterior of the tea shop; going for a sleek botanical look with a hint of rustic charm.

You were the creative of the three, designing the logo and even the menu; Erwin would be like 😧 being super impressed with your talents. He is very good with his hands in the DIY department, but can barely draw a stick figure!

You decide to call the tea shop Ackerman & Co. (as much as Levi tried to argue against it, it is of course his dream and thought it would be a lovely gesture of yours and Erwin’s love towards him). Needless to say, Levi loved your reasoning and eventually accepted it.

The three of you visiting the store before buying it, Erwin ever so vigilant with his questions. From “Is there a persistent mould problem” to “are the neighbours noisy?”

Luckily it seems things are perfect, the store is located just off the high streets but close enough to attract some wandering customers. A little detail I would like to add is that the store is close to a cathedral and one of Levi’s favourite things to do (especially at night) is to open a window and listen out to the bell chimes.

“Is it big enough for your bed?” The answer to that is yes! As you insisted that the three of you share a King size bed (although Levi doesn’t sleep that often as it is, he still enjoys the company) you worry that the living space may not be enough. Don’t worry, Erwin sized out the place; he measured the entire flat above the shop out with only a measuring tape.

You ask Miche, Hange and Moblit for help when it comes to building up the tea shop! From painting to decorating, Hange goes a little overboard with the plants, but it only adds to the charm. “Who the hell is going to water all of these?” Levi groaned, “don’t worry love, I will” you reassure him, he will of course make you keep a diary so you can keep an eye out and record watering times!

Erwin insists on adding a bookshelf into the shop; this means that customers can read whilst they are there, even setting up a weekly book club! You also suggest keeping a spot out for a book exchange, keeping an on-going flow of new content for the regular customers.

Before you officially open the shop, Kutchel (Levi’s mum) visits with a gift; it is a large kettle decorated with a giant green bow to ‘baptise’ the place (also came with a bouquet of flowers because she is a sweetheart). “I am so proud of you baby”

Levi won’t cry, but he’ll cry

Let me just say, Kutchel adores the two of you and is so proud and glad that Levi has people in his life who adore him as much as his mother does (although initially explaining polyamory to her was a challenge, she just didn’t understand at first! But she supports and loves you once she grasped the concept!)

The first day of opening was BUSY. Little did you three know, but Hange had invited EVERYONE they knew and even going up to people in the streets to come to the opening.

The most confident was Erwin, he was the main spokesperson in announcing your new place. Levi barely spoke, mostly to contain himself from just crying out of happiness. So to keep his strength, he will hold onto your hand all night, giving it tender squeezes if he started to feel overwhelmed.

Levi would be the manager, mainly working on the teas and coffee orders, Erwin is most definitely the baker, making muffins and cookies and all sorts! You were the waiter/waitress but you also had your hand in baking and/or tea making when it was needed!

You put up a message board in the main room so that customers and/or friends and family can leave post-it-notes on the board. Most of the notes you get are compliments of the establishment, but you will get the occasional “I love Erwin/Levi/Y/N” notes from your loved ones; those notes you keep up forever. - if ever you get any missing cat posters, Levi will make it his mission to look for said cat.

Levi insists on getting WIFI, but Erwin annoyingly will point out the large bookcase, stating that books are enough. He does eventually give in, but will purposefully set the password annoyingly long and complicated for the sake of being petty. The password would look something like L1v1nYNrmYl0vr$

You notice that Levi spends more time in bed with you three! He has definitely settled down a lot more, feeling so much joy that his dream came to light. You and Erwin of course enjoy the extra person to cuddle in bed.

Frequent visits from your friends, Hange will bring their laptop into the cafe to finish their thesis or other scientific reports; they would quite literally spend all day there and will sleep on the sofa if they could get away with it. - you do at least have a spare bedroom so if Hange stays too late, they have a place to sleep.

Levi putting out cat food for the local strays, a cute little quirk you only started noticing when a dozen cats were lined up outside the back entrance of the store.

The tea shop will of course be successful, so Levi decides to experiment and start his own line of teas. Starting off with the basic breakfast and earl greys and then into the fruity and herbal teas. Once he got his customers approval and satisfaction, he then sells the tea bags (and loose tea leaves) to customers to take home. He calls his tea ‘Teas of Freedom’ (like wings of freedom lmao) which become very popular.

GLASS TEAPOTS; you get to see the water change into beautiful colours once the teas infuse. The most popular being the jasmine tea where the flower blooms when the hot water is applied; Erwin’s face lights up EVERY TIME Levi prepares this kind of tea.

Can you imagine Levi’s face when someone comes in and asks for a Starbuck’s like order, he would be like “HUH???” But don’t worry, you step in and take the order effortlessly; Levi is a tea man, coffee is somewhat a foreign concept to him.

On quiet days, Erwin will come up behind you and wrap his arms around your waist, whispering sweet nothing into your ear and rocks you side to side. This man is so in love with you. He does this to Levi but not as often...mostly because even on not so busy days Levi is busy.

Imagine catching quick little kisses whilst its busy, hugging is one thing but a quick kiss on the cheek is honestly so cute; Levi would 100% get distracted and a lot more clumsy if you plant a forehead kiss on him whilst he’s preparing tea.

EEEEP I hope you enjoyed it!! I love EURI as it is, but being a x reader it meant I got an excuse to write them!

[rat-typewriter]

HCs with Izuku with an S/O who grew up alongside him as childhood friends with her always protecting him from bullies and constantly cheering him on? Let’s say that Izuku harbored a major crush and confessed to her but she kindly rejected him, always viewing him as a brother which he accepts. Now, what would happen if S/O had a crush on someone in class? Besides Izuku obviously supporting her, what about his overprotective brother tendencies?

aaaa!! this is such a cute request!! thankyou for requesting - and i'm sorry for the waittt!

Platonic!Deku x Reader

(gender neutral)

you and deku had been friends ever since you were kids

and once you both got into UA - you only grew closer!

you had always stuck up for him and joked with him when no one else would

you listened to his dreams and shared your own

nothing would ever separate you two, you always cheered one another on and picked yourselves up when you were down!!

so really, it came as no surprise when he dropped a love letter onto your desk one day

his face was flushed, and his hands shook - but when he offered you that kind smile of his, your heart melted a little

it was true that you loved Deku

but you loved him as your brother and your best friend

you let him down gently - and he took it really well!

he admitted he was a little glad that you and him would continue to be friends

he never ever wants to lose you

if anything

you become even better friends! like you train together and share all of your secrets

you know you can always confide in Deku

so naturally he's the first to know about your little crush

he's super excited for you!!!

probably teases you a little too

but he'll stop if you ask him to

once he gets over his initial excitement - he wants to hear about everything

and i mean everything

'when did you realise, y/n?'

'what is it about them?'

*excited squealing*

he will be honest with you if he doesn't think they're right for you

but he'll support you never the less

that's what brothers are for!

when you and your crush finally become official - he's over the MOON for you!!

the second you're alone you call him and scream down the phone about everything

he screams back

hes genuinely so happy for you

h o w e v e r

this does not mean that your s/o gets any special treatment

absolutely not

he'll pull them aside one day during training and be like

'y/n is like a sibling to me - if you break her heart or hurt them in absolutely a n y w a y then I will d e s t r o y you'

as all best friends should

naturally

dont get me wrong - he ships you both and loves you to bits

but he's always there to protect you!!!

best big brother!!

love him

[voyeuristicvixen]

Captains Log 31_ You Down W BPP!?

So tonight was Meroe, Uglee radio X KTA Black Panther Founders Day event. It was fkin litty! The kind of shit I LIVE for and makes me wanna get on SL more! Things like that just remind you that there are many kindred souls here on the grid and we all have a collective purpose in our individual journeys whether we realize it or not. A shared intention to continue carrying the torch of those that came before us and that made differences in their communities. Just little things like this can just spark memories in our DNA.

EPIGENETICS.

Its a science to this and the metaverse is a big part of this whole story we writing. Right now (whether we realize it or not) we are being apart of history, something our forefathers couldn’t have imagined. To be able to connect with each other anywhere and anytime in the world and share knowledge FREE.

When we do evens like this on the grid we make em proud.

So everybody understood the assignment, one thing SL folk will do is DRESS UP AND SHOW OUT OKAY! & I was so invested in getting good pics the whole night I was just like yelling at black dragon to stay loaded. Thats one thing I need to figure out what the best settings are to load all people at once and the background pictures and textures FAST! Is that asking too much?? *tear*

The Meroe team is really top tier I am super grateful for Gigi and Ras, never thought we’d be all the way to this moment when we first came to Meroe. It was a dream enough just to know it existed but to actually be able to volunteer my time to the cause, makes me feel like I am putting my best effort any way I can. I feel like this volunteer work is training me for taking initiative in my RL, in having more confidence with the work to connect the diaspora. Its like a foundation to stand on when I propose collabs to people I’ll have sum to back me up! Aye my favorite female rapper princess nokia liked one of my posts on our IG so I feel I can do anything now lmao. One day Meroe will be visited by people who never even had an SL account before. Inshallah!

Bae also did his second official SL grid performance but first one with Meroe! He’s such a dope MC! African Soil is one of my favorite songs I listen to legit every week and not just because he my man either! He inspires me so much to take risks and try new things. I love how he barely joined SL but he puts himself out there even though things are still new to him. He kills it everytime too and always impresses me in the end. I basically forced him to make me his Manager. Im his baeager now, (ima make baeager happen idc! ) XD I feel like we came up with another title for that but im blanking rn. Oh well!

These two looked soooo good, their energy also reminded me of myself and bae. It just made me feel so cozy to see like vibrations around. I think one thing I want to branch away from is the awkwardness that comes with meeting new people on the grid or reaching out to them. So many times I want to just IM folks that I find interesting and I get this feeling like “I dont want to bother them” or “what if they dont wanna talk right now” a lot of times, I think i mentioned before people don’t respond to me or have a weird vibe like instantly don’t fw me.

Sometimes I feel more sensitive than others. Like if in my RL I am getting that energy too much at work I can’t handle getting that same thing in SL too. I think thats why I didnt hit this beautiful kindred soul sis up. But I hope that I’ll run into her again at another event! The best connections form naturally. I want to invest  a little bit of time into making a “spot” again. Like when I first joined SL and the commune, it was a place people would always just set as their home and sit around and talk to each other at. Naturally people would go there just to hang and I miss that. I am still gunning for that! God will show us the way haha!

Gigi, Ras and their daughter are just so classy and dope. I loved seeing them all together having fun and just admire everything they have built here at Meroe. I respect them so much ! The vibes are immaculate and just getting better every time we pull off another event!

Another beautiful soul sis that I did not message but wanted to XD lmaooo I know someone out there gets me with the whole PTSD of relationships on SL!! It be so rocky but when you come together it is priceless! I think about some of my personal friendships on SL and I have a few that have lasted as many years as I’ve been on, some people completely disappeared and some left notes first. I myself was one of the ghosters, I feel like maybe I gotta get karma back for the friendships i’ve personally fucked up before God gives me more new ones to try. EEK! PROMISE ILL DO BETTER THIS TIME!

[etherrreal]

"when you drag them to a karaoke bar on a date"

Pairing: tanaka x reader ; bokuto x reader Genre: fluff, headcanons+drabbles Word Count: 1258 Warnings: mentions of alcohol/being tipsy  A/N: after that fun karaoke banter, i was excited to see this request pop up in our inbox ; hope you enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it! (psst, requests are still open btw!!) -Luna

#1 champion at karaoke for the past 5 years and counting and no one can beat him

(no, there are no official records or awards, but don't crush his dreams by telling him that)

he was absolutely ecstatic when you suggested a karaoke date

he’s....not the worst?

generally, he can carry a tune decently well but he tries waaay too often to sing a riff or add some spice like he's Mariah Carey and that's when it all goes wrong

initially, you were going to a place that allowed private rooms for groups so you can just fuck around as a dynamic duo

but he wanted to show off his skills so you and everyone in attendance could be jealous of his vocal talents, so you went to a local bar instead

As soon as you arrived at the bar, Tanaka ordered you both some drinks and wings to munch on. Grateful for the liquid courage, you ordered a second to help keep the nerves at bay. Tanaka was happy to sit back and eat so he could "gauge his competition," whatever that meant.

You could tell that he was pumped to be there; his head was nodding to the beat, his hand was tapping away on his thigh, and he was mumbling along to the words. You enjoyed watching him more than the couple screeching on stage to the tune of "Don't Go Breaking My Heart."

A few drinks and two baskets of wings later, Tanaka finally decided that it was his time to shine. He left you with a quick peck on the lips, the leftover taste of gin lingering on your lips. You watched him wave at the audience before browsing the song selection. When he settled on “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond and stumbled his way back to the mic, you knew you were all in for a treat.

"I'm going to be dedicating this one to my baby back there." He blew a kiss in your direction, a few people turning to look at you cringing in the back of the room. “I hope you all enjoy my amazing rendition of this song.”

He started out fine, pretty good, actually. The low, flat tone worked well with his voice and he knew every single word without glancing at the screen, most likely due to hearing the song incessantly play during commercials. 

Then the bridge came, and as the note became higher and louder, the singing became more and more horrific to listen to. And once the chorus started, he finally let go, bouncing around the stage with the detached microphone in hand, letting the spirit of Neil Diamond flow through him. 

Meanwhile, you had broken out your phone and decided to record him for all of your friends to see later. You were sure that your obnoxious cackling was caught on the video, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to care. This was going to be a precious memory for you hungover rockstars to look back on in the morning.

You knew that somewhere in America, Neil Diamond was cringing and didn't know why. Little did he know an overzealous Japanese man was enthusiastically butchering his song to impress his partner.

And gosh dammit, it was working.

you don't know what kind of beast you've released, oh no

before the entire question had even left your mouth, he already found a place nearby that had karaoke nights every saturday

bokuto...bless his heart

you ever heard two cats fight? they’re screeching, yowling, and making all sorts of alien noises? that’s him.

he definitely thinks that louder means better and while he’s got the spirit, the spirit wishes that he would let it go to spare its ears

bokuto waited forever to have a girlfriend, and he was sure as hell going to take advantage of the fact that you were finally in his life 👀 

You arrived at the bar as soon as the event started, the host filling in the guests about the fun times that were about to ensue. At your table, Bokuto was practically vibrating with excitement as the host went on about the rules. You both learned that at the end, everyone would vote for 3 winners for the night and the index cards and pencils laying on the tables were to cast your votes. 

After the explanations, the host asked for volunteers in the audience. Bokuto’s hand shot straight up, wiggling his fingers and waving his arm in hopes of getting the man’s attention. While he wasn’t the only hand up, he definitely was the most enthusiastic, which was most likely the reason why he was chosen to go up on stage. 

You thought it would be just him, finally having the chance to watch him be the true Beyoncé he thought he was. But when you felt him grab your hand and yank you out of your seat you were utterly confused.

“Where are you taking me? You’re the one that said you wanted to go,” you asked suspiciously, dragging your feet to slow him down. He was parading his way towards the stage quite quickly before stopping suddenly at the edge to turn back to you, hands grasped in his. 

“We’re going to sing a duet,” he announced matter-of-factly. He left no room to argue when he tugged you onto the stage, positioning you awkwardly in front of one of the mics so he could pick a song. You tried to peer over his shoulder to see what he chose, but his broad shoulders blocked the view.

He turned back to you and stood next to the other microphone, a wide grin painted on his face as he waited for the music to start. The first few notes to “I Got You Babe” by Sonny & Cher came through the speakers, your eyes instinctively rolling into the bad of your skull. That song was one that Bokuto had played countless times before, insisting that it must be the song of your relationship. You told him that wasn’t how that process worked, but it didn’t prevent him from playing it on repeat-- or simply serenading you with it-- almost every single day. 

Which you supposed you had to be grateful for, because now you had to know every single word to the song by heart to sing it with him or else you’d make a fool out of yourself. 

The words flowed effortlessly from your mouths, but the musical talent absolutely did not. The only way to describe Bokuto's voice was by saying it sounded like he was being actively tortured live on stage. It would explain why his pitch was all over the map. 

To make up for the lack of talent, Bokuto improvised some moves, grabbing your hand to twirl you about, sometimes tugging you back into his chest to rock gently back and forth with you. The embarrassment you felt in the beginning easily melted away by the end of the performance. It was the most fun you’d had in a while, and seeing him beaming with happiness by the end was all you needed to reassure you this night out had been worth it. 

Somehow, despite believing that you were the absolute worst couple to grace that stage, you both managed to win 3rd place. Bokuto was convinced that it was because of his sickening dance moves and smooth but powerful voice, and you didn’t quite have the heart to tell him otherwise so you let him brag about it all night long.

Written by: Luna

Requests: OPEN!!

[sorry-i-ship-drarry]

16. Sinful dreams

Prompt used- massaging them | WARNING- implied smut | shout-out to everyone reblogging and commenting on these. Ps. Sorry for no update yesterday ( it's hard to keep up )

" well hello the man who thinks it's his house" harry gave Draco a grin who had presumably came to his house while he was out shopping using the spare key Harry had given him.

" I needed a change of space. Did you bring my biscuits ?" He asked

" I would go shopping and not bring your biscuits, you really are Dim witted " Harry placed his palms on the kitchen top before he took out Draco's biscuits and threw it at Draco in the living room who immediately caught before it would've fallen to the ground and get cracked up.

" what are you even working on ?" Harry asked as he started putting things into the refrigerator.

" just grading some papers " Draco replied opening the packet of biscuit and eating it slowly " still as delicious as ever " he groaned. Chuckling Harry turned to see Draco eating his biscuits, he seemed like Someone who had just been given his Christmas gift.

" I thought you already did them ?" Harry asked

" well turned out the question I had basically wronged of every student was infact right, I was the one who made a careless mistake in the question paper, so now I have to recheck every paper and grade them over again " he sighed as he simultaneously went back to grading his papers

" sometimes you work harder than I do " Harry gave a light laugh as he got his juice box and went into the living room to sit with Draco.

" well being a professor is hard. You should see the answers sometimes. They're worse than yours " Draco groaned changing the answer sheet.

" hey, I wasn't that bad. I just didn't like potions because of snape " Harry defended himself as he watched Draco grade the papers. He randomly picked one of the Answer sheet of a kid named ken wood, chuckling almost immediately after reading the answer

" I remember I wrote the exact same answer once and it turned out to be surprisingly right which I see you've crossed at "

" what?" Draco huffed as he took the sheet from Harry, Peering over the answer and as if upon realising his mistake, sighing he corrected the answer and grade all over.

" you do work hard " Harry's Voice echoed as he went into th bedroom.

" you've got no idea Harry, if only one day you accept that job at school, you'd understand " Draco voice echoed as well from where Harry heard it.

He soon came back in the living room carrying his guitar and sitting down next to Draco's feet, tuning it instantly.

" no joke honestly, I am thinking over it. I do enjoy working in the Muggle world but sometimes i just feel like it's better being really who you are and being with people of your sort " Harry explained

" well Ms. McGonagall would be very glad to have you " he replied.

" you're gonna play ?" Draco asked as he finally noticed Harry had set his hands to play

" you don't want me to ?" Harry asked looking up at Draco

" yes please, I will kill myself if I have to do more of these with no source of enjoyment " Draco rolled his eyes..

Smiling Harry started to play lightly. When after the war Harry set out on his path to discover himself and trying out new things, he had instantly fallen in love with playing guitar. It took a great deal of practice but Harry had successfully learned how to play it last. Often he plays for his friends if they ever go out on a trip or if they're stressed out and he had played on a bunch of their bonfire nights. For Draco it had always worked out pretty greatly. He loved listening to harry play, he played it to so whimsically that he mostly found himself lost in the tunes and just hearing Harry hum along as he played. It was soothing and mildly attractive to Draco, not that he's ever going to tell Harry that but he liked to imagine that he already knew and that was why he used to play it more attractively each time.

The thing was Harry never really realised if he ever started to sing lightly along playing or humming, Draco never pointed. So when Harry was lightly humming and singing to the song, Draco found it much easier to grade his paper more fastly and without wanting to kill himself however in between he had groaned because of craning his neck downward and harry immediately took notice of it.

" what happened ?" He asked concerned putting away his guitar.

" nothing, just my neck hurts now from all the looking down just like I have to look down on you " even in slight he hadn't missed the opportunity to tease Harry who flipped him off.

" here, let me massage " Harry got up from the floor and went behind to sit over the edge of the couch, his feets alongside Draco's body.

" you sure, you know- ooh " he immediately moaned in relief as Harry started massaging the bottom of his neck.

" better ?" Harry asked

" much better " Draco mumbled as he closed his eyes and let his head fall back a little enjoying Harry's hands over his neck.

" you overwork yourself Draco " Harry complained knowing Draco, he probably had time but still tries to do everything beforehand

Draco hummed in response. It soon became ritual between them for Harry to give him massages whenever he was tired or very much worked out and harry happily complied. It was only during one Massage when everything became weird, Harry was simply giving Draco a massage when he had accidentally moaned loudly when Harry has massaged a specific spot on his back. Assuming that none of them heard it, Harry resumed giving him a massage when he elicited the same moan out of Draco and suddenly it became too much for Harry to go on and had to immediately stop Because of the sudden sensation going down south.

" Why'd you stop ?" Draco asked embarrassed

" oh nothing, I - I just need to use the restroom " Harry said as he not so subtly got up from behind Draco and ran for the bathroom to cool down but nothing really worked. Hearing Draco's moan was like a cardinal sin and harry had happily became a sinner. His voice rang over and over in his head which only troubled everything. All he could think about was how beautiful his moan had sounded and how in many more sinning ways he could elicit the same moan. Inappropriately thinking about Draco only worsened everything because the images he had thought about Before of Draco now had a sound and it only turned him on more and more.

Harry was leaned against the kitchen sink waiting for his hard on to go away when there was a knock on the door. He must've been in there for longer than Draco could've anticipated because now he was concerned about Harry.

" is everything alright, Harry?"

" yeah, ev- everything's fine " everything was not absolutely fine, how voice sounded much more strained and he was fighting urge to shove his hands down his pants for relief

" you don't sound so fine, open the door Harry " Draco commanded from the other side of the door

" you go, I'll be out in a few" Harry leaned furthermore onto the sink, almost palming over his jeans

" I'll break the door open if you don't open it right now, I'm giving you 3 seconds "

" 1"

" 2 "

" 3 - I'm openi-"

Huffing Harry opened the door " what ?"

" nothing-oh" Draco eyes widened as his eyes fell over Harry's prominent bulge. They remained in a moment of silence where Harry looked anywhere but Draco's face while Draco found it hard to resist to not stare at Harry's pants.

" i- I don't know how it happened- think you moaned and I've just have had pretty off days and somehow- nmph" it was too late for Harry to continue that sentence since Draco had shoved harry inside the bathroom, pining against the sink and kissing him over the lips. One of his hands making its way under Harry's shirt while the other one enclosing him between him and the sink. Travelling his hands on Draco's neck he made the kiss more heated and rough. It was beyond anything Harry could've ever imagined Draco's soft lips could've done but once his lips were against Harry's, it had aroused a wild sensation in him to have him right here and right then. The kiss became more sloppier with each second, not hurriedly but am urgency to discover what else he could do. The hand pressed against Harry's chest under his shirt was exploring the deeper depths of his chest and slowly moving downwards, Which continuously made Harry release moans he had only thought he could produce with a man. As if the heat was unbearable between them, Draco separated for air and travelled from Harry's lips down to his jawline, pressing small kisses before he has finally reached his neck and pressed warm kisses.

" ar- fuck - you sure ?" Harry moaned as Draco resumed kissing and licking over Harry's neck. His grip on Draco's neck had travelled into his hair and grasping enough to make him lose his control.

" I've always wanted you Harry " Draco moaned in his ear. He would've collapsed on the ground if he wasn't pressed against by Draco's body. Biting his lip he suppressed his desperate moans only for a few seconds until he found it hard to resist when he had managed to kiss Harry's sweet spot and initiated giving him a hickey. Losing control Harry rutted softly against Draco in a desperate attempt to gain any sort of friction for relief which made both of the men's moan in pure ecstacy of the moment and deepening kisses.

" you want to move to bed ?" Draco asked as he went back to kissing Harry's lips.

" thought you'd never asked " Harry mumbled against his lips and held onto Draco's neck, wrapping his legs around his body as Draco placed his hands under his thigh and carried them onto the bed and resumed kissing each other, losing one article of clothing one by one until none were left.

It was the night that had officially ruined their friendship, taking things to next level , doing things to each other they had only dreamt off but who would've known that their dreams of having the other men pressed against the bed, desperately moaning their name would've come true.

Requests open

I couldn't come up with any better idea for this prompt. Sorry if it seemed rushed.

Day 15- nobody can ever be you | Day 17- their own song

[robininthelabyrinth]

i dont know what would cause this, but how about an au where the outcomes of the wen attacks on lotus pier and the cloud recesses are reversed? the jiang have some losses and more injuries, perhaps their sect leader is in hiding, but the twin jades of lan have lost everything

Wei Wuxian had stopped smiling.

It wasn’t that Lan Wangji didn’t understand why the cheerful disciple who never remembered pain that he had known at the Cloud Recesses was gone. The stories had reached even Gusu: Yunmeng’s Lotus Pier had been attacked, its defense breached, its buildings burned. They said the sect leader and his lady wife were both dead or in comas, lingering briefly before death; they said that the sect heir had disappeared with the sect’s treasures.

They said Wei Wuxian had tried to defend his home, and that they’d broken his leg for it.

Despite that, he was here – by choice, even, since he wasn’t officially a direct disciple of a clan. He didn’t count.

Jiang Yanli counted.

She was quiet and reserved, her manners excellent and her temperament calm; she was polite to everyone even as they distanced themselves from her as if she carried the plague. No one wanted to anger the Wens by showing favor to a sect they’d already shown themselves inclined against.

Wei Wuxian stalked her heels, weight heavier on one leg than the other, pain creasing his face into a constant scowl. He never let her leave his sight, not even for a moment; it was as if he had turned into a snarling dog, suspicious of everyone.

Lan Wangji missed the brightly smiling boy that had so occupied his thoughts.

Things were hard at the indoctrination camp. As Lan Wangji’s uncle had gloomily forecast, the Wens did not care about their hostages; they took their swords away and forced them to do work, often for many hours, as if they were simple laborers.

When the rations began to be reduced, the quality turning from merely mediocre to actively rotten, Jiang Yanli quietly offered that she could make soup if enough people turned their rations over to her.

Wei Wuxian turned his over at once, of course; there had never been any question about that. From everyone else, there was silence: they’d all practiced inedia, of course, but that couldn’t be done for too long – and what if someone took what little they had?

Lan Wangji walked over and offered up his plate.

Jiang Yanli smiled at him. “Thank you, Lan-er-gongzi. I promise you’ll enjoy it.”

He nodded silently. It wasn’t her smile he’d hoped to see.

“ – you can have mine, too,” another voice said, and Lan Wangji turned his head in surprise: it was Jin Zixuan, holding out his place. “I like soup better.”

His tone is defensive, almost as if he were afraid of being called out for his kindness.

Jiang Yanli’s smile spread, softening, and Lan Wangji hadn’t realized how formulaic the one aimed at him had been until he saw the real thing. “I’ll make sure it’s good, Jin-gongzi.”

He huffed and sat down some distance away, not looking at her.

Lan Wangji looked at Wei Wuxian, hunched over and staring at his hands, from the corner of his eyes and felt a sudden, unexpected stab of sympathy for Jin Zixuan. Perhaps it would be more accurate to describe it as a feeling of fellowship: they were in the same boat, it seemed.

The soup ended up being more delicious than Lan Wangji had expected – significantly so.

Even Jin Zixuan looked impressed. “You made this out of those ingredients?” he asked Jiang Yanli. “How?”

She smiled. “Do you have an interest in cooking, Jin-gongzi?”

He wrinkled his nose, that old Jin arrogance coming back in a sudden rush, and Lan Wangji could see, clear as crystal, the mistake he was about to make. Out of pity, he decided to intervene.

“I am interested,” he said, and Jiang Yanli turned her head to him with surprise in her eyes – not surprise at the professed interest, but surprise that suggested she’d entirely forgotten he was even there.

“I am, too!” Jin Zixuan put in at once. “I’ve always been curious as to what happens in the kitchens, but I’ve never been allowed to go too close.”

An obvious lie, particularly when it came to his professed interest in cooking, but Lan Wangji’s work was done. He listened to Jiang Yanli’s explanation of how she’d done it and slipped away when she offered to walk Jin Zixuan through the steps of how it was done the next evening, if he was interested.

He wasn’t expecting Wei Wuxian to follow him into the woods near their camp.

He reached a clearing, then turned to look at him.

“You’re a better choice than him, Lan-er-gongzi,” Wei Wuxian said. He looked tired. “But she likes him for whatever stupid reason. So don’t – don’t get your hopes up. You’re not going to get her attention.”

“I didn’t do it for that,” Lan Wangji said.

Wei Wuxian looked surprised. “Then why…?”

Lan Wangji shrugged.

Wei Wuxian came over to him and nudged his shoulder with his own. “Come on, Lan Zhan –”

It was Lan Zhan, still, despite everything, and Lan Wangji had never been happier to hear his own given name.

“– you can tell me. You’re not interested in how to cook pork bone soup – you Gusu people eat only vegetables whenever you can, don’t think I didn’t notice. If you didn’t do it to get shijie’s attention, why did you do it?”

He went on in this vein for a while, pestering, and eventually Lan Wangji gave in and explained.

“He needed the help.”

Wei Wuxian stared at him. A moment later, he laughed – unwillingly, the initial huff of laughter growing into a giggle, a snort, and finally succumbing to a full-bellied laugh.

“You’re right!” he exclaimed. “He does, oh, he really does, doesn’t he? He’s awful at this. The only thing that made him make a move at all was because he was drinking vinegar – oh, this is fantastic! You have to keep this up for a few days – at this rate, we’ll have them married by spring! I’ll owe you for this one, Lan Zhan; you ever need anything, you just ask me, okay?”

Lan Wangji looked at how Wei Wuxian was finally smiling again, and felt he’d done a good thing.

“Think nothing of it,” he said.

“I’m serious!” Wei Wuxian insisted. “We’re partners in crime now! If you ever need anything, anything, you come to me first. You hear me? Me first.”

Lan Wangji hummed lightly in agreement, thinking nothing of a light-hearted promise made under the moonlight. He did not expect he would ever think of it again, except perhaps in his dreams; he did not expect he would ever actually take Wei Wuxian up on his offer.

But when the Cloud Recesses burned and he had fled into the night, leaving his father’s corpse behind and carrying his brother’s broken body on his back –

He went to Yunmeng.

[jisungsmochi]

valentine’s day with the dreamies ❤️

hella belated valentine’s day scenarios / dates with ot7 dream hehe <3 

mark lee:

took a while for him to decide on a plan for the day

didn’t want to disappoint you )):

settled with a nice trip to the beach, waiting to watch the sunset as you both had a nice dinner together

he wanted to take you away from the chaos of both your busy lives and just have time to relax with each other

he knows how tired you’ve been lately and just wants to give you some healing time

and he also wanted to profess his love for you on the beach

listening to the waves crash on the sand, the calling of seagulls, the laughter of other couples and families around you

as the sun started setting, you were leaning into mark’s side, his arm draped around your shoulders

he wrapped the both of you in a blanket as you reminisced about your relationship

“remember how you were scared shitless to ask me out? i thought you were going to faint”

“i was not scared! i just ate a bad sandwich that day” mark grumbled, hiding his face in your shoulder

you gently stroked his hair as you continued the trip down memory lane

the sky was now a mix of purple and pink hues

you immediately jumped up, pulling out your phone, to snap a picture of the gorgeous scenery

mark slowly met you, pulling your phone down, holding his hands in yours

he leant down to place a soft kiss on your lips, causing you to smile in between the pecks

“i love you” he mumbled, barely loud enough for you to hear

“i love you too”

he ended up pulling out his own fancy camera, taking quick snaps of you being silly infront of the sunset

he eventually asked a nice lady to take some photos for the both of you in which she couldn’t help but coo

“you two make a beautiful couple”

heat rose to both your cheeks, too flustered by the compliment of a stranger

you spent to the rest of night chatting, too caught up endless conversations

huang renjun:

“hey, if your cute ass isn’t here in 10 minutes i’m packing up all the paints and sulking in my room for the rest of the day”

renjun texted you the morning of valentine’s day

you were already on your way to surprise him with your own small gift, having him rush you was adding to your nerves

this would be be first official valentine’s day you’d be spending together so you wanted everything to be perfect

you enthusiastically knock on his door, in which he opened instantly

he pulled you inside, dragging you to the backyard where he set up a nice picnic blanket with paints and canvases on a small table

you couldn’t help but admire all the effort he put in

you gave him a quick hug, your hold lingering on him for longer than he thought

you handed him your gift bag, filled with snacks he loved and a panda plushie with a heart attached to it

he pouted at how adorable your gift was, pulling you down to sit with him

“thank you for the gifts, babe! i hope you also like out little painting date!”

he queued up a tutorial video as you both started recreating the beautiful landscape shown

although you weren’t the best artist he had ever met

renjun couldn’t stop giggling at how concentrated you were with every stroke

“something funny?”

“nah you’re just the cutest”

subtle compliments like that was his specialty

you continued to paint as you snacked on various fruits and biscuits as well as caught up on current events in your lives

it was now time for the big reveal of your artworks...

renjun obviously outshone you but he still insisted you hang both paintings in his room for the memories 

he’d take lots of polaroids to put into his photo album of your memories 

huang renjun didn’t see the big deal in grand gestures for valentine’s day, as he saw every day, as a day to treat you well

lee jeno:

this boy would wake you up at the crack of dawn, practically jumping on you to go biking with him

you had flashbacks to the previous night where you agreed to go with him but immediately regretted staying up to watch new episodes of your favourite drama

jeno dragged you around your shared apartment like a rag doll, helping you change and stay awake

you knew how excited he was to take you biking for the first time, you didn’t want to crush his spirit

so you started slapping your cheeks and jumping up and down to remain awake, which jeno found amusing

you followed closely behind him as he led you through the trail

his initial idea was to get to the top before sunrise so you both could watch it together

but once he reached half way, jeno had an inkling that you were way behind

he was right

he stopped completely to wait for you, more concerned about how you were holding up rather than getting to the top

you were huffing and puffing

“why’d you stop? we have to get to the top!”

“have a sip first, babe” he pats your back as he hands you his water bottle

you felt bad for holding him back, but his concerned expression eased your mind

“we don’t have to get to the top, the sun will rise either way! who says we can’t just watch it from here?” he smiles widely at you

what did you do to deserve him?

you both stood with each other, his arm draped around your waist

the sun slowly started rising, your tired eyes glimmering in admiration

jeno’s eyes were fixed on you tho,, so proud that you attempted to bike with him

he was usually the one who always wanted to do things you liked

but when you agreed to go on this date with him, it just about made him pass out

he felt on top of the world with you by his side

this was a date he will never forget

lee donghyuck:

“really? a couple’s cooking class?” your boyfriend whined (he really loved doing that)

“yes! renjun suggested it to me, it will be fun, i promise!” you plead

as much as he loved to bicker with you, he saw how excited you were to participate in this class for valentine’s day

“do you know what we’re cooking at least?”

“i think we’re baking a cake, actually”

shouldn’t be too bad...he thought to himself

but boy was he WRONG

you both came to realise that you were not the best cooking duo in your friend group

but it didn’t mean you were gonna give up, after all, having donghyuck as your boyfriend made you as competitive as him (if that’s even possible)

he read the instructions as you grabbed the ingredients and threw them in a bowl

he would hype you up from the side like

“that’s my baby, you beat those eggs!” “our cake is gonna look so freaking good”

you would get flustered, earning a smile from the chef teaching the class

once the decoration stage came along, donghyuck insisted he do it on his own

he refused to let you watch him as he did the finishing touches

the chef revealed each cake one by one, when he got to yours, he gave you both a soft smile

“you two make such a sweet couple”

you looked down at the cake, the words

“i love you always and forever” were written on the surface

you were about to burst into tears at how sweet your boyfriend was

when you got home, after taking hundreds of photos with the beautifully decorated cake

you both devoured it like animals while watching tv together 

a simple, yet memorable valentine’s day date — you couldn’t wait to tell your friends all about it

na jaemin:

as some of y’all know, jaemin used to be a short speed track racer

so naturally he was down for your idea of going ice skating for valentine’s day

you weren’t aware of how skilled he was at skating — as you yourself were merely a beginner

so when you saw how knowledgeable jaemin was when you entered the ice skating rink, you started feeling nervous 

jaemin helped strap your skates on, carefully guiding you to the rink

you were still under the impression he was just as bad as you, but once you both stepped on the ice, he was immediately stable

god, he could even skate backwards 

this must be so embarrassing for him to see 

you started pouting,

“what’s wrong, baby?”

“i didn’t know you could skate so well! i’m so embarrassed, i can barely skate two metres!”

“i can teach you, don’t worry so much” he smiled softly at you, hands gripping yourself tightly

you couldn’t stay mad at him, immediately following his instructions

thirty minutes later, one really bruised butt cheek and some elbow bruises from falling down so much, you started getting the hang of it

jaemin let go of your hands and let you skate towards him, once you reached him, he wrapped you in his arms tightly, still gliding on the ice

your faces were so close, you could feel his breath fan your cheeks

you gave him a quick peck, mumbling a quiet ‘i love you’

jaemin couldn’t contain how adorable you were, giving you another quick kiss before telling you he loved you more than life itself

you both skated for a while, listening to throwback love songs playing over the speakers

he rarely let go of your hand, even when you insisted you were getting the hang of skating alone 

he treated you to some french fries and ice cream after you finished skating 

you laughed and chatted the day away, without a care in the world 

being inlove with jaemin was something you would never trade for anything else in the world

zhong chenle:

a homemade dinner was always something you raved about to chenle

so once valentine’s day approached,, he made sure to give you the best dinner you could have ever imagined

he was on a call with his mum, following her instructions for the most perfect creamy pasta

you on the other hand, decided to make chocolate covered strawberries to have after dinner

you asked jaemin for help but then he just screamed he hates strawberries and left

you were placing the finishing touches on the desserts when your phone dings that chenle was ready for you to come over

you dropped everything, rushing to find the outfit you had picked earlier that day

you carefully wrapped the box of strawberries before making your way to his place

he practically swung the door open for you, pulling you to the dining table

he was hella dramatic and had those fancy covers for the food,, so he could surprise you

you just chuckled at his antics, placing a soft kiss to his cheek which made him heat up

he slowly revealed the meal he worked hard on the entire afternoon

your eyes glimmered at the sight, your mouth beginning to water

“how’d you know i love creamy pasta?”

“i listen to you when you talk, ya know”

you both enjoyed a pleasant dinner, chatting all about recent events in your life

the meal was delicious,, but it was now time for dessert

chenle practically ripped open the box, devouring one strawberry before you could even show off your creations

“you animal” you softly shove him, taking one for yourself

the rest of the night was filled with commentating cheesy romance movies and snacking on the desserts

once you finished eating, chenle handed you a small box

you opened it slowly, your jaw dropping at the gorgeous ring he had bought for you

he bought you both promise rings oop 

you squealed before tackling him in a warm embrace

nothing felt better than being wrapped in his arms

park jisung:

sungie: meet me on the rooftop at 8:30

you: uhhh you’re not gonna fight me, are you?

sungie: shut up and get ready

you giggled at his response, giddy about seeing your boyfriend on valentine’s day

you weren’t sure what he had planned, but you were sure he put a lot of thought into it

even tho jisung doesn’t voice his thoughts, something is always going on with that boy

you made your way to the said rooftop he referred to, cautiously walking over to him

he set up two beach chairs with a small table filled with both of your favourite snacks

you also noticed two telescopes placed in front of the chairs, smiling widely to yourself

“is this what i think it is?”

“yes! we’re stargazing tonight! i know how much you’ve been wanting to do so”

you sat down next to him, taking your own telescope in your hands

you couldn’t believe he organised this date, from the fairy lights around the railing of the rooftop to the soft r&b playlist playing in the background

it was perfect

jisung couldn’t take his eyes off you, too eager to determine if you truly liked the idea

when your eyes met, you couldn’t help but lean closer to him

jisung didn’t pull away, smirking to himself before suddenly pecking your lips

jisung also wasn’t usually the one to initiate affection, so this was just another surprise you could never get over

you both giggled, pointing out the different constellations you could make out

you chatted about random things, from video games to school, to when jaemin yelled at chenle’s s/o for making chocolate covered strawberries

everything felt at ease when you were with jisung

he knew you didn’t want such a big fuss for valentine’s day, but you could have never suspected he’d do this all for you

“thankyou for all of this”

“anything for my baby”

and in that moment, you knew, you were falling inlove with park jisung.

[felassan]

The rest of this post (quotes from the article) is under a cut due to length. [source]

(There are discussions of colonialism under the cut / in the article.)

After speaking to various devs who worked on MEA I’ve learned quite a bit about what happened here. First of all, there were several more species designed for this galaxy. One writer lists having proposed “five or six” new alien types, while another states that the ones BioWare opted for in the end were specifically chosen for being in “cosplay-safe” territory. Another dev mentions that an entire system was constructed just to facilitate communication between species who were indigenous to Andromeda and those who had arrived from the Milky Way. The “species who were indigenous to Andromeda” part is important, given that there were also different ideas for how to handle first contact - making the Pathfinder a violent colonist who shoots first and asks questions later wasn’t something that was set in stone from the get-go.

“I think it was a project that couldn't have possibly lived up to expectations,” Neil Pollner tells me. Pollner was a senior writer on Mass Effect 3 before going on to write parts of Andromeda. “Not just the high bar of the original trilogy, but the logical expectations anyone would have of Mass Effect going to a whole new galaxy. Because the scope of [the first] Mass Effect was so incredibly massive, there was an inherent promise that you'd be getting a massive new experience with a ton of new things in [what was supposed to be the first] Mass Effect Andromeda - new species, new lore, an entire new galaxy at your fingertips, etc.

“But we were only given the budget for two new species, plus the Remnant. Not to mention that we couldn't even include all the Milky Way species. And we weren't going to be able to let you travel throughout the galaxy. This meant that we had to develop the story around some pretty glaring inorganic limitations. So, not only did you get something that felt (and was) much smaller than what you got before, almost everyone playing the game probably had something that they really liked about Mass Effect that just wasn't there.”

Pollner goes on to explain something I mentioned above - that there’s an inherent disconnect between making your character an explorer in a game where the vast majority of gameplay involves killing. “Ryder the explorer should have a challenging and dynamic first contact experience,” he explains. “Instead, you're almost immediately killing kett. So, some very basic pillars just weren't lining up.”

When I ask about the fact that several species had apparently been cut from the game - something I had already learned in previous interviews - Pollner assures me that I had “no idea” of what was dropped in the early days of Andromeda. He also lamented the iconic narrative and branching complexity of earlier BioWare games, stating that he wishes the team had been able to maintain the same level of variation, options, and consequences as the revered RPGs the studio was known for.

“The other BioWare Montreal writers and I were dreaming up and developing things for Andromeda months ahead of Edmonton officially starting the project - i.e. before the budget and scope had been decided/communicated,” Pollner says. “We just knew that we were going to Andromeda, with almost nothing else established, including even when in the timeline it would happen. And we set out to brainstorm and grow ideas that could organically serve that general premise. “That first contact expectation I mentioned? We'd developed ideas for how the player would navigate that. We were working on a process for the Milky Way species to learn how to even communicate with the new alien species. We were developing several additional species for the new galaxy, as well as several different storylines for why the expedition had been undertaken. Most of that pre-development work ended up not being used.”

“I proposed five or six new alien species when Andromeda was in its infancy, and I still think they had a ton of potential,” Hepler says. “[Ex-BioWare writer] Jo Berry came up with a few, too, they were awesome.

“However, I'm pretty sure those ideas are still property of BioWare, so even though I'm 100% certain they won't be used, I can't talk about them without getting some kind of permission.”

Given that Pollner had his own ideas for new species, and that Hepler had “five or six” on top of a “few” more from Berry, it’s reasonable to conclude that concepting was done for up to ten additional species that never made it into Andromeda.

“I remember some early concepts that were pretty out there,” Dorian Kieken tells me. Kieken was a design director at BioWare Montreal for Mass Effect 2 and 3 before being promoted to franchise design director at the beginning of Andromeda’s development. “One of the strengths of the original Mass Effect trilogy is that you can actually cosplay most of the alien characters - except the Hanar, although I wouldn't underestimate the creativity of some cosplayers. The intention in Mass Effect Andromeda was to introduce new races that would still be in the realm of cosplay, which is probably why more crazy concepts were abandoned.”

I was surprised that this was even a consideration, so I followed up. Kieken assures me that after Andromeda’s two new races had been decided on, their evolution of their design gradually went into more “cosplay-safe territory,” with the team consciously steering away from “jellyfish” types of aliens. “In the early development of the game, we explored a lot of new species. I'm not sure why we settled on the specific number that were in the final game, but my guess would be a mix of production reasons and having a reasonable amount of races to deal with knowing we were already bringing quite a few from the Milky Way as well.”

As Pollner mentioned earlier, the team only had the budget for two new species plus the Remnant. On top of that, they weren’t able to bring all of the Milky Way species, which corroborates Kieken’s recollection of why so many species were cut.

Given the context of these conversations - species being cut from Andromeda, first contact being muddled with militance, and even cosplay potential governing alien design - I also ask why, in the devs’ eyes, Andromeda was poorly received in relation to the original trilogy.

“I think it’s more story-related than setting-related,” Kieken says. “Andromeda has strong core gameplay that improved a lot over the trilogy, but the story didn't feel as strong. I didn't connect with the new character cast as much as I did with the original trilogy.

“It's also not a fair comparison as the trilogy is three games, so you have a lot more exposition and time to bond with the characters. That being said, I seem to recall a stronger rollercoaster of emotions in the original trilogy, which I think led to more memorable moments. From the tension of almost blowing up Wrex with your shotgun or gathering everyone on a suicide run, to the lightness of listening to Mordin sing ‘I'm the very model of a scientist Salarian’ or shooting cans with Garrus in the Presidium.”

Pollner also explains why Andromeda was perceived so differently from the original trilogy, citing differences in the amount of time the team were given to make the game, but also noting that the core issue was more systemic in nature.

“I think the thesis statement for why is that the Mass Effect trilogy was an incredibly demanding endeavor,” Pollner says. “The checks that were written for it, the complexity of the experience was insanely massive. The team worked their asses off non-stop for so many years, on back-to-back-to-back games. The prospect of doing the same thing again was not only exhausting to imagine, but totally impractical. Some of the ‘lessons’ learned from the original trilogy are ones that are important for game development but result in the player experience being less. When you're talking about triple-A development, the original trilogy is actually the anomaly, not Andromeda.

“Because I moved on from BioWare after my work on Andromeda was complete, I have no idea what, if any, future plans there might be. At the time of my departure, there were none.”

It’s worth noting that Pollner is clear about Andromeda being better than a lot of people give it credit for. While some of the concerns people had have now been verified by people who worked on the project - that there could have been more species and that the core premise of Ryder the explorer becoming Ryder the killer is inherently flawed - the team still worked hard on delivering an ambitious game within the constraints of what they were given.

“I find the game to actually be pretty darn fun, and once the technical flaws were ironed out, and the initial reactive disappointment faded, the game does stand on its own,” Pollner says. “There's some really good stuff in there.”

[source]

[starlightrealmofficial]

Nina Hope- An Interview With A Nerdcore Artist

Rouga: Hello ladies and gentlemen from all across the multiverse! Today marks a special day! for you see I am not alone, yes today we have a guest, those who remember back when I was active on YouTube I did a couple nerdcore song reactions, and I am very much a fan of the scene, so today I have invited a new face in nerdcore for a little interview, Let me officially welcome, Nina. and thank you once again for agreeing to do this!

Nina: Hi everyone!! So stoked to have been asked to do this, I'm really super excited, thank you!

Rouga: Pleasure to have you with us. So, as a little introduction before we get to the interview proper. Nina herself's also done a few of those as part of her podcast, the Nerdout Space. so this time we're flipping the script a little. Everyone make sure to check out her YouTube channel. and as for us, Let's get down to the questions unless you've something to add of course.

Nina: Nahhh I'm just super ready for this!! Let's start!

Rouga: so, first question, what inspired you to start YouTube in the first place? and did you do anything prior to the podcast?

Nina: Great question! So actually, I first just started with my podcast on other streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts etc. through Anchor. At the point of publishing my first episode, it's been a year since I started talking about it but didn't exactly have the means to make it happen. To be fair, my motivation to make a podcast was the fact that I really wanted to have a safe space to rant about my current hyper-fixations without the need to try and bother people in my close proximity that have been listening to me ramble for 20 years at that point. Then I had to get an iPad for school and suddenly I had the chance to start making something decent. "Doing Youtube" and making music came much later, but that is a story of its own.

Rouga: I definitely see how that came about then, and I'm glad it did, and since you provided such a nice segway for us, What exactly inspired you to get into nerdcore as a creator? and why specifically nerdcore?

Nina: Ah, well, to be honest, Nerdcore wasn't really the goal, initially, that is. I just wanted to talk about nerdy things and so I did, but then I got more and more into the actual musical nerdcore community and I saw all the amazing, hardworking artists as they progressed and evolved and helped each other and I just had two things on my mind:

1) These are some truly breathtaking people, I'd like to find out more about them. 

2) These people are following and living their dreams. I want to do that too.

For years I was so insecure about myself and even though I started with singing live at seven years old, I constantly doubted myself and dismissed my passions for not being good enough to execute them. But then people like Mir Blackwell and Breeton Boi really showed me their interest in seeing what I can do and where I can go musically and it felt like my dreams made sense for the first time after so many years

Rouga: Big big BIG shout-outs to them for that, Your voice is absolutely heavenly and your passion is just so infectious, when I first heard you sing, I had to run the song back like thrice back to back to back. I simply could not get enough, and then you collaborate with Kenzie, AKA LesserCrab who at that point I'd gotten quite friendly as well and I was just in love. And funnily enough, before the Ragyo track dropped, I actually talked with Kenzie and told her it'd be awesome if the two of you collabed.

Working with LesserCrab was just so so so nice! I can not stress it enough, she's so hardworking, she does so many things by herself and I really hope she can get more recognition in the community. I think she was the first-ever person to ask me for a collab and I think it worked out really well!

Rouga: oh yeah, Kenzie's awesome as an artist and the fact that she does dang near everything herself? I can't not just stand up and applaud her. Nerdcore's full of incredible artists, and to think the new wave has people with such passion and talent already? it only makes me more excited for the future, don't you agree, Queen? 

Nina: Definitely! I've worked and I'm working with so many hardworking and passionate people like Abhimax, AfroLegacy, Dakuto, and so so many more and they are all incredibly talented and showed me nothing but love and kindness.

Rouga: We'll definitely speak about Abhi and Johnald in a little bit here, but since we're in the mood of spreading love, let's spread it some more, Do you have any artist or artists in mind who you believe deserve more recognition than they get?

Nina: Oh, definitely! Apart from those already mentioned I'd like to mention André Gaël, YellowBladeMusic or Tere Chi, all very talented and passionate people under 500 subs!

Obviously, there are so many more I could mention, most of which I plan to work with such as Cola Cong, RhyceRecords, Tozoku. so many amazing people it's hard to name them all.

Rouga: and just in case those reading needed to be reaffirmed, out of all those names you dropped, I don't think I actually heard a single one. Well I know how I'm spending my weekend then chuckles 

 so, coming back to you as an artist, it's honestly impossible for me to think of Nina Hope, and not start humming Favorite Song lyrics. how was that creative process? since we talked about you featuring on another track, how was making your own with a feature?

Nina: So, the making of Favorite Song was actually so overwhelming. I absolutely fell in love with the beat Abhimax made and I knew I had to make it into something. And if there’s something I can express well, it’s love. Actually, the lyrics of the hook were in my head for a while (inspired by not only Kirito and Asuna but also my partner), I wrote them inspired by a different beat and I was so shocked when I found out how perfectly they suited the Abhimax beat. Now, I most certainly didn’t expect it to turn out as it did. When I first heard the rough mix, I cried. Like, legit cried. I listened to it over and over, showed it to my family and it just seemed so unreal that I was a part of making that. That it was made under my name. It would never have been possible without the help of so many people.

Rouga: You all can't see it right now, but my face is a freaking banana of a smile, like a sheepish grin. 

I needed a moment to recompose myself here, so, if we're talking about working with other artists why don't we finish off the set and talk about you working with Afro Legacy? because I won't lie, I've things to say about the song.

Nina: See, AfroLegacy is the biggest fucking gremlin ever that's simultaneously my favorite nerdcore person hands down. We got the same gremlin energy, love his music, he's so so hardworking and so open to whatever I had to bring to the table. Both songs we've made together so far are doing really well and people seem to like them, and I give all the credit to him for making it happen. Cosplay Chick was such a meme thing to happen though. Like, going into it I had no idea I'd be in my dorm room recording how I giggle and sigh and shit for the track. It kinda just happen and I'm here for it! 

Rouga: It's slightly funny to me because based on that and how you reacted on Discord, I'd have thought you were super embarrassed about it. But in the song itself you sounded like you just had a blast, and complete confidence in what you were doing, and I am not just talking about the sighs and giggles. 

Nina: Well to be honest I did have a blast, but I was still very self-conscious about it, no doubt. I had no idea what reactions to expect but mostly all the feedback was positive! That made me feel so so much better about it and I'd certainly do something similar again.

Rouga: I'm sorry if this comes out wrong but, that's quite a different reaction to "please do NOT show my parents!" 

Nina: Lmao please STILL DO NOT show my parents😭 it's enough that my sibling heard it.

Rouga: So, I think this is a natural progression at least, how do you go about making music or a podcast? What're the creative processes like? 

Nina: That's a very broad question! Can you specify what exactly interests you so I know where to start? 

Rouga: like, how you go about making a song how it all begins forming in your mind.

Nina: I see! Well, I usually have the general idea about- This is the character I'm currently inspired by and this is the vibe I'm going for. Then It's all just about finding the right beat for the vibe and using it well. I usually write things as "inspired by" because while I do throw in a bar here and there, I'm mostly a singer, not a rapper, and most importantly, I'm still learning how to write songs in English properly, since it's not my first language and it can be a little challenging here and there! 

Rouga: so we're following a Divide Music school of thought here, always nice to have that, as for English not being your first language, all I can say is hats off to you for doing so well, especially when you decide to go into Spanish, which also is not your first language. The blend is just something else. 

Nina: Thank you so much, I really try! I'm hoping to bring all the other languages I speak to the game sooner or later.

Rouga: Well then we have even more to look forward to. speaking of stuff to look forward to, what are some of your dreams as an artist in the scene? 

Nina: There are so many things that I hope to do! I want to do the podcast (as well as everything else) more often, but mostly I hope to work with some of the people I highly admire such as HalaCG, Divide, Rustage, Shwabadi, Connor... the list goes on. Hopefully, after this summer, I would like to start streaming too and bring more content to the community. I don't precisely have a goal in views or subs or anything, but it would sure be nice to make a living out of something that you love to do.

Rouga: That sure sounds like a lot of fun. and I'll tell you right now, nay, I am calling it, by this time 2023, one of those names on that list at a minimum, will be checked.

Nina: I certainly hope so, that really would be a dream come true!

Rouga: Well I believe in you, us Slavs stick together right? 

Nina: Always!

Rouga: So, I can't really think of much else nerdcore related, but you do not limit yourself to simply nerdcore as we stated before. You love to nerd out over a bunch of stuff. So let me ask you this what is your most recent fixation? 

Nina: Whooo that's actually such a good question... I think my current fixation is mostly spending time and making new nerdcore friends, talking to everyone has been so fun! But as to what I spend my time on nerd-related right now is a lot of Arcane content, especially the ships, ah, the ships give me life! And I've always been a shipper at heart, there's no changing that.

Rouga: I'll be honest I never got those hardcore shippers, and I don't typically ship characters, but sometimes, sometimes you just find that one pair that just clicks and it's so right. 

Nina: I wouldn't say I'm a hardcore shipper, I just love... love, at the end of the day, hehe 

Rouga: And that's a very positive note. also yes, I am 1000% a pro-Vi and Cait person, and Ekko as much as I like him can buzz off about it. 

Nina: I am literally every arcane character person I just love them all so much 

Rouga: Silco I adore as an antagonist, as a person tho he can go die in a ditch for all I care, and I love him for that. 

Nina: Don't we all just love a good, good villain?

Rouga: yeah, why Danzo's cool well he's not, but you get the idea.

Nina: I totally do!

Rouga: I absolutely hope for another series set in the Arcaneverse that'd be awesome!

Nina: There are a loooot of characters in League of Legends, so I most definitely hope so! especially some of my favorites.

Rouga: May I ask you list a few?

Nina: Definitely! I love characters like Nami, Miss Fortune, Illaoi or Taliyah, but there are many interesting stories happening in Piltover and Zaun too with characters such as Seraphine (nowhere near my favorite, but lore fans know) and Skarner, Zeri and Renata etc! 

Rouga: Taliyah is a character I always liked too, Nami was one I also played in my day and I quite enjoyed, being a support player and all, even tho it's a thankless job. but yeah I definitely agree with you, and I know that what I am about to say may not be the flashiest, but I'd like to get a story focusing on Varus, that Darkin had always interested me, even back when it was only Aatrox, then as Kayn came around and Varus got retconned into a Darkin? I was very excited!

Nina: Yesss there are so many interesting plot lines, I'm super super excited to see them unfold like this!! 

Rouga: yeah, and let's not forget one of the biggest memes of the game and his mystery that being "Who in the blazes killed Yasuo's master?" 

Nina: YUP!!! So many questions.

Rouga: And just because I am curious, what's a series/property that you hope or want to get more love or time in the spotlight? 

Nina:hmmmmmmmm

I really hope more people get into Percy Jackson now that the new show is being made!! 

Rouga: it's actually something I'd been meaning to give a shot funnily enough.

Nina: please do!!! It’s so great!

Rouga: why don't you give our readers a little incentive and try and sell them on it briefly? how's that sound? 

Nina: Hmm, sure! So Percy Jackson and the Olympians, while not without fault, is the fantasy series with all that Harry Potter hoped to have - lgbtq+ and racial representation and diversity, amazingly adapted chosen one and found family tropes and so many more! It's so so soft and heart clenching at the same time! I personally can't imagine not having read it! 

Rouga: You've me sold, let's cross our fingers and hope the readers feel the same way.

I think that's a good place to call the little interview. Do you have any closing thoughts or anything you want to tell our readers to look forward to? 

Nina: Aahhhh so many things! Mostly just, don't give up on the things you love to do because life's too short to lose time on self-doubt!! And there's gonna be so much more music from me this year, I hope you can be here to witness it 

Rouga: I am literally smiling at this, and for such a wholesome conclusion, you deserve a hug. Well then ladies and gents, I've been Rouga, and my lovely guest was none other than the absolutely amazing catgirl nerdcore queen, Nina Hope. Thank you for being with us!

[bistaxx]

Observations and discussion- the 11/29 streams

Part 1 George’s stream| Part 2 Tubbo’s stream ( will be linked when it’s done )

George logs onto the SMP because his chat was freaking out about his home.

Dream tells George to not worry and tells him to not look at his now burnt home.

George already heard that Tommy was the one who torched his house from chat but the first SMP member he actually hears it from is Karl.

I don’t remember if Quackity knew it was Tommy or not but when he follows George to his house Quackity never blames Tommy and tries to convince George that it was BBH and Skeppy because of that one sign Tommy (I think) placed. ( Though I think this is most likely because Quackity likes trolling BBH. )

After Quackity leaves the VC Karl immediately starts complaining about Tommy’s actions to George ( and Ranboo but mostly Tommy. ) 

Karl advices George to not fix his house immediately, and tells him to “harp on it”. ( To me this feels like Karl trying to rile George up and get him even angrier at Tommy. )

Continued under the read more

( Karl is an interesting character in this plot. He tends to be overlooked and he’s very aware of that: it annoys him but he also uses it to his advantage. He is both clever and very blatant with his power hungry tendencies: he doesn’t immediately try to obtain the highest levels of power and instead is trying to climb the political latter one step at a time. He’s not at all subtle about it but because he’s Karl and people underestimate him he can get away with it. )

( We we’re all out here going: Fundy betrayal arc, Quackity corruption arc, Tommy villian arc and ended up forgetting about a possible Karl arc lol )

Karl is the one who suggests George talks to Tubbo about Tommy’s behavior and flat out says “Tommy is the vice president I think we need to overthrow him and... I don’t know who the Vice Vice President is but whoever is just needs to step up and become the Vice President... That’s just my opinion though.”

( FYI: Karl pressured Tubbo into naming him vice vice president. )

Karl keeps on attempting to make the V.V.P look better to George who is focusing on rebuilding and doesn’t seem to care about what Karl is saying. Karl also wants George to leave the mess as is to provide proof for Tubbo but George once again ignores him.

They join VC5 but Tubbo gets overwhelmed by all the talking and moves into VC6 with Quackity.

Karl informs George about Dream’s wall and speculates that Dream did it for George.

The King flat out admits that he doesn’t understand politics ( lol )

George initially agrees with the wall but Karl keeps on pushing for a change in power instead.

Tommy joins and George accuses him, Tommy denies the claim but Karl doesn’t believe him. When George considers that Tommy might be telling the truth Karl says that Tommy is lying.

“What do I get out of lying to you George?” ( Now Karl isn’t lying to George but I find this line interesting because it’s VERY clear what Karl could get and has been pushing for this whole conversation. )

Karl hits the nail half on the head. “Listen, here’s what it is. It’s two people that are just obsessed with power: Tommy and Dream... They are using the ashes of your house as a political statement.”

( Now I say half because Tommy isn’t interested in political gain or political control, he just wants his discs back... now Dream. I was actually writing a draft about this but never finished so I’m just gonna say my own thoughts here: Dream has been looking for an opportunity to make his move and Tommy attacking George, the king of the SMP, was exactly what he needed. He could’ve just punished Tommy but instead he targeted all of L’manberg because he knew that 1.) they are in not in ANY position to fight back against him right now and 2.) Tommy would face major consequence for what was essentially a small prank that was fixed in like less then 10 minutes. To quote Tommy “It was the perfect crime.” )

( Also no one confronted Dream about him burning Manifold Land and that upsets me! >:( Jack Manifold deserves better!!! )

George travels to L’Manburg and finds Dream. Dream informs George that it was Tommy who burned George’s home and since George is the King it would be considered a very big offense. So Dream decided to make his move and boarded up L’manburg to pressure Tubbo and the rest of the cabinet into punishing Tommy. Karl agrees with the idea of punishing Tommy.

Dream tells George not to worry about it again, George asks Dream where he got all the obsidian from and Dream refuses to give a straight answer aside from “Not from creative mode.” ( I’m pretty sure Dream took it from Fundy... interesting that he doesn’t want George to know about that. Does George even know that Fundy is engaged with Dream? )

Dream continues to try and keep George out of the situation meanwhile Karl switches his target over to Dream asking if Tommy should step down as VP to which Dream agrees but also adds that it isn’t enough. Karl also asks if the V.V.P should step up and become VP to which Dream shrugs “ I guess...”, Karl latches onto this as his official endorsement and runs off.

( I’ll talk more about this later but I when I watching Tubbo’s stream I got this overwhelming feeling that Dream is trying to separate Tommy and Tubbo or at least drive a wedge in their bond. )

George expresses concern that the wall wont be enough, Dream once again stresses that he is handling the situation. Dream says “Do you see how much I’ve already done for you... trust me.” and leaves shortly after it. ( It almost feels like a parent talking to a child; a bit of a patronizing energy from Dream to George. Dream wants George to stay neutral and stay out of conflict but recently it seems like George has been wanting to get more involved- just a tiny bit. )

George however stills feels uncertain about the wall, Karl argues that it’s a step in the right direction “it sets up a precedent.” and while George agrees he still doesn’t see how it’ll help in the long run while Karl continues to drag Tommy.

George and Karl join the L’manbergian VC and they argue for a bit before the cabinet move to a new VC without George... and Karl which infuriates him.

Karl vents his frustrations to George about being treated like a second class citizen despite his status as a member of the government.

Karl sulks and George legitimately feels bad for him.

Dream whispers to George to get out of the borders, George asks if Karl should come with them and if he’s gonna hurt the L’manburgians. Dream just says for George to stay away from the conflict and remain neutral

( I saw someone else bring this up before but Dream seems to stick around ‘neutral’ people: George being the obvious one, Callahan being appointed the royal squire, that one time he told Purpled of all people to stay away from Manberg before the war, and last night when Dream was trailing after Puffy who has recently been feeling conflicted about her place in the SMP. I can’t tell how much of it is Dream genuinely caring and how much of it is just him wanting easy people to control and use. )

Karl talks about going “back to the grind” and George, somewhat cautiously, says that Karl should “just get out of here.” ( here being L’manberg )

George gets out of L’manberg but quickly hops back in to watch the discussion between the cabinet members but since he can’t hear anything he leaves- not wanting anything to do with a possible war.

( Which is probably what Dream wants George to do- stay out of it and let Dream handle it. )

Karl continues to vent about not being respected and George sympathetically listens

George stumbles upon the L’mantree, this prompts Karl to say “I’m not telling you to, because I’m the vice vice president and the only reason I’m letting this slip is because they’re being mean to me,... but that tree is very important to them I’m just saying.”

George comments about how interesting it would be if something were to happen to that tree. Karl eggs George on to do something but George gets distracted by Dream.

Karl gives George 24 blocks of obsidian, Karl continues to talk about how disrespectful it was of the others to not include him in the meeting.

Karl joins their call, promising to recount anything to George. George calls Karl his little spy.

( funny little moment: George kidnaps a L’manberg salmon and drops it on Quackity’s head. Your honor they are brothers! )

George joins the VC with the others: they discuss George’s home and if Tommy is guilty.

Dream and Tubbo go to talk in private.

George listens as the other cabinet members beg for Tommy to just tell the truth.

They all start leaving the call until it’s just George and Karl again

Interestingly Karl brings up supporting the idea of Quackity being VP in place of Tommy ( with Karl perhaps aware that because of the lack of respect the others have for him trying to make Quackity the VP instead would be more realistic )

George and Karl continue to bond over disliking Tommy.

Karl joins a VC and George soon follows but they’re immediately told by Tubbo to leave, this just frustrates them even more.

“I’m peeved George.” 

Karl encourages George to read his chat, who are telling George to burn down the tree.

George finds the ingredients to make a flint and steel in a nearby chest ( I don’t know if it was just a coincidence or if Dream or Karl placed those items in there. )

George decides against burning the tree and instead takes some of it hostage.

George and Karl are asked to join the VC and they all travel to the courthouse

I’ll cover the court stuff in more detail when I watch Tubbo and Tommy’s streams because it concerns them more and I don’t want to make this TOO long.

George listens as the cabinet continues to argue along the way, Niki and Ranboo join.

Pretty much everyone is vocally against Tommy, except for Ranboo who is mostly keeping to himself

George blocks tommy off with his obsidian. Karl and George play dumb about where the obsidian came from ( Though Karl might not have realized it was George who placed it or forgot that he gave him those blocks )

George jokes about Tommy already being done for with Quackity as his lawyer ( Your honor!! They are brothers!!)

Niki immediately tries to defend Ranboo when George brings up Chats claim of Ranboo being involved with the house burning. ( Sibling moment Pog <3 )

Tommy also defends Ranboo, and Tommy keeps defending him even after admitting to the crime.

( I’ll talk more about interesting Tommy stuff I noticed when I watch his stream )

Niki and Tommy vouch for Ranboo’s innocence and since Ranboo’s memory is apparently very spotty they all decide to let him go, except for George who wants them to review the footage ( Tommy’s vod I presume ) to see if Ran is truly innocent but George is ignored.

George tags along after the trial while the L’manberg cabinet continues their discussion.

George listens as Tommy talks about his goals to piss off Dream until he gets his discs back, the rest of the cabinet argue that his actions are irresponsible since as a member of the Government he represents all of L’manberg ( Though something tells me that even if Tommy wasn’t VP Dream, opportunist and conniver he is, still would’ve tried to make Tommy burning George’s house into a big deal since Tommy is still a L’manberg citizen. )

Dream shows up and Tommy chases after him, everyone follows in a panic.

Karl confronts Ranboo about him helping Tommy burn George’s cottage but let’s him off easy and tells Ran to apologize to George.

Ranboo apologizes even though he can’t remember doing it ( allegedly )

Niki is on Ranboo’s defense, she blames Tommy for being a bad influence on Ran.

Ranboo says “I never said that I couldn’t remember any of it- I just said that I have bad short term memory... “ he also tells George that the fire was an accident and that neither him or Tommy meant for it to spread.

Ranboo does also confirm that Tommy stole stuff and Ranboo did too but Ran put the stuff he stole back because he felt bad.

Ran says that he’s not good at standing up to people and George forgives him but George still wants his stuff back- Ranboo promises to try and help.

Ranboo questions the construction of the walls just because George’s house was burned.

George decides to interrogate Tommy and joins their call, he hears the cabinet argue about the discs ( I’ll cover this more in another post )

( This is when Tommy’s mom tells him about the dishes LOL )

Sapnap joins in confused and George tells him what happened alongside Karl.

Sapnap officially declares himself one of Gogy’s knights. For now George asks Sapnap to keep an eye on Tommy.

Sapnap gets anxious when Tommy and the rest start punching each other ( in reality they’re doing a handshake ) and protectively gets in front of Karl and George

“Dream’s not here, so I gotta protect you guys!” ( Just a nice little moment)

The cabinet go back into the Camarvan, the others watch from the top of the van. Ranboo and Niki decide to respect their privacy.

Sapnap is vocally on George’s side and against L’manberg

“These L’manbergians George, they should’ve learner their lesson the first time when we dealt with them.”

Niki takes offense to this

Karl reveals why he was on Schlatt’s side during the war “ I didn’t feel welcomed...” ( Interesting!! Not feeling welcomed was what caused Quackity to create Swag2020 and later join Schlatt!!!!!!)

Sapnap agrees that the L’manbergians don’t make people feel welcomed. Karl adds that even as vice vice president he still doesn’t feel welcomed since he’s not included in the meetings, Niki agrees that it’s pretty rude of them to do that to Karl.

( This might be important later on: Last night Puffy considered joining Dream but she doesn’t want to turn against Niki but Puffy might try to convince her to join Dream’s side- but I don’t think Niki would go without Ranboo and he needs to be a citizen to run in the next election.)

George and Sapnap agree that it’s wrong of them to not include Karl

Sapnap criticizes Tubbo for not keeping his people in check

Niki doesn’t defend Tubbo, instead she brings up how Ranboo is running for the next election ( interesting!!!!)

Sapnap calls Karl their “ambassador”

George wants to help Karl break down some of the walls around party island but decides to not get involved- Sapnap agrees once again brining up how the king mustn’t get involved and neither can Sapnap as a royal knight.

“I’m the kings right hand man- one of his right hand men. One of the knights, I represent the king.”

George warns Karl about Dream having the walls be in specific places for a reason and gets him to stop, the two are about to listen to some music before Dream whispers for George to come over to him.

Dream gives George the fish Quackity took for his pond in exchange for the parts of the L’mantree he took. At first George questions giving back the leaves but does so.

( In Tubbo’s stream I saw him give the pieces back to the L’manbergians as a show of good faith, but too me this rings more of Dream trying to make himself seem like a good guy to the other L’manbergians while he tries to make Tommy look worse. )

George goes back home to return his fish

Tommy gets blamed for damage done to Karl’s walkway ( I don’t know if he did that )

( George hears a Minecraft cat meow and meows back at it????? )

Tommy asks George for some leather and to two have a little spat, Tommy also remarks about how he hoped that him and Sapnap would be on better terms after Mars but it seems that ship has sailed- Sapnap is loyal to George first and foremost.

Karl’s loyalty to L’manberg has been deeply shaken, Sapnap apologizes to him.

George see’s the rebuilt L’mantree.

George and Sapnap try to cheer up Karl, encouraging his growing negative feelings towards L’manburg.

Quackity is concerned and joins the call after Karl drowns himself three times.

George and Sapnap take Karl back to his house and try to cheer him up with help from Quackity but Karl tries to drown himself again until George orders him as king to stop, threatening to never “pop-off” with him again if he keeps drowning himself

The group decide to have a serious conversation at party island

They all climb into the tree house to support Karl

Quackity promises to talk to Tubbo about Karl getting ignored.

Quackity mistakenly thinks that Karl kissed George (unless he’s talking about a different situation idk ). Quackity then hits George and the two start fighting before George orders Sapnap to get Quackity out of there.

Sapnap draws his bow ordering Quackity to leave while Karl begs them to stop fighting. Things get tense between the trio and Quackity asks if Sapnap still loves him. Sapnap says he does and that this is just a formality before George shoves him out of the tree accidentally killing Quackity.

Quackity says “he understands” to Karl and leaves.

( Damn, Gogy out here destroying relationships left and right! /lh )

Quackity comes back for his things and is asked to rejoin VC

More relationship drama ensues: Quackity is upset at Karl for not standing up for him when their other fiancé, Sapnap, pulled a bow on Quackity. Karl claims that he didn’t just stand there but Quackity moves on to Sapnap, asking for them to just leave Karl. George is confused.

Quackity asks for his “yeezys” back from Karl but George takes them, promising to give them back so long as Karl stops drowning himself

Karl says that’s he’s gonna be fine since Quackity promised to talk to Tubbo, the trio decide to make up to “ not make their wedding awkward”

Hbomb joins and George gives the boots back

(Sapnap clearly cares about both Karl and Quackity but in the end of the day his duties as a royal knight come first- things might get messy if another war starts up. )

( Edit: Addition to the above point, Quackity and Sapnap actually bring this up during Sapnaps 11/30 stream and my point is kind of reaffirmed but not quite in the way I expected. Sapnap listened to George because George is the king and he’s already seen what happens when you disobey the king; it’s certainly fear over respect in this case. He quickly shifts the topic to Karl after this- revealing that, while he still loves Karl, Sapnap views Karl as the “3rd wheel” of their relationship. Quackity basically agrees with this. Ouch. )

Alright back to serious stuff: George, Sapnap, and Karl speculate about what’s going to happen next. George still hasn’t gotten the stuff Tommy took from him back.

Hbomb suggests that George looks through Tommy’s stuff and see if any of his stolen goods are there, George agrees and goes but Sapnap has to leave, he tells George to be safe.

since George doesn’t remember what exactly Tommy took from him he decides to just take what he wants ( Hbomb noting about how that’s just the way this server works lol )

George takes useful stuff from Tommy, chat freaks out about how this could break George’s neutrality and Karl later asks if George was committing war crimes via stealing: George denies this.

Later George joins the VC with Tubbo and they start talking about making a chess tournament.

Some more little humorous moments happen- nothing really plot related I think. George plays chess with Fundy, Karl tries to make a rollercoaster in Philza’s house since he got rid of the school, a global warming arc is jokingly discussed, George tries to enforce some rules as king ( things like flight licenses, and shop permits. Nothing serious), I think George and Karl kiss in the kissing booth ( hard to tell with Minecraft; but George- I know it’s hard but please stop being such a darn homewrecker!! /Joking )

Also Jack briefly logs on but I don’t think he noticed the destruction to Manifold land yet ( He most definitely noticed during  Fundy’s stream today and is pissed )

Karl attacks Maid!Hbomb in church prime

George asks Hbomb to keep an eye Tommy, Hbomb continues to do cat maid things~ to George’s dismay

( George has never watched ATLA wtf )

Punz joins and George tells him about what happened. 

Later Punz confirms that he is one of George’s knights.

George considering granting Punz a flight license so long as he serves under him.

Punz comments on L’manburg’s loss in territory, George says it’s justified.

George, Punz, and Hbomb notice an odd cobblestone bridge structure in that starts around Hutt’s pizza and ends over L’manburg. Punz investigates it with the others. It ends right above the little town square area, with the Technoblade wanted posters.

Punz and George speculate the importance of the bridge and find out it’s a good ledge for jumping into a pool of water in the nation.

After a few awkward moments with Maid!Hbomb George and him considering making a deal: George would get one of Hbomb’s Pigstep discs in turn for renting a room out to Hbomb in George’s cottage. Nothing is set in stone yet and George decides to end his stream.

And that's about it! Thanks for reading!! I’ll try to cover the other streams ASAP.

[chaolie]

Fundywastaken week, Day 5 - Fireworks

Yet another day of participating in @fundyfiles' fwt week! This chapter has a big time skip basically in the middle because I love stories that show how everything changes with time. So now you "have" to read that too, and you can also do so on my Ao3!

Characters: Fundy, Dream

Words: ~1.4k

Dream silently watched the walls of L’Manburg, sticking to the treeline to make sure no one would see him. There were people patrolling around, he could see their torches from miles away, and he was starting to lose faith that Fundy would come to meet him that night. It wouldn’t be the first time either, but they both knew that it was out of the fox hybrid’s control. Being Wilbur’s son, there were days his father or his father’s people would keep an eye on him for a bit too long, making it impossible to sneak out for a secret meeting. Being his own ruler, in a way, Dream didn’t face the same issue, but he could understand it whenever his boyfriend had to deal with that.

Just as he was contemplating turning back and going home, he heard something go off inside the walls. It didn’t sound like TNT, but must’ve been an explosion of sorts… oh no. Did his people attack without his orders? Oh, this was terrible- The citizens previously patrolling the walls all disappeared on the other side of them, presumably to help with whatever was happening, when some more explosions sounded out.

While listening to the people inside call for each other and deal with whatever was causing the sounds, Dream seriously contemplated running in there, too. If he covered his face with something else than his mask and found a cape or something, maybe they wouldn’t recognize him? So he could check if Fundy was okay? Oh, but if they did-

“Hey!” came a greeting in a hushed tone. The man turned and saw his boyfriend sneaking over, quickly using the trees as a cover for himself.

“...You’re okay,” Dream breathed out a sigh of relief. “Oh, I got so worried! Do you know what caused the explosions?” he asked.

“Hm… Do I…” Fundy hummed, and the man noticed a little mischievous glint in his eyes.

“What did you blow up?”

“Nothing! Nothing blew up!” the fox hybrid assured quickly, raising his hands in a defensive gesture.

“Okay. Then what happened?” Dream asked. Fundy glanced between the man and the walls of L’Manburg before finally turning his gaze to the forest.

“Can we walk?” he asked, and Dream nodded a short confirmation before the two got on their way. “So… You know how sometimes I miss meeting with you because it’s too quiet and I can’t sneak away?” he started.

“Yeah, that happens,” Dream confirmed.

“Yeah! And it’s annoying! So I thought about it, and I came up with a good solution! Just a few little fireworks here and there, and… boom! Enough commotion for me to get away! And when I’m back, I can say I got scared and hid somewhere!” he explained his idea. Oh.

“So those were fireworks?” Dream asked, and his boyfriend confirmed with a nod. Well, that made a lot of sense. Not quite TNT, but still loud. “Smart,” he complimented finally.

“Thanks! And, uh, sorry for worrying you with them. I probably should’ve told you about this before, but I wasn’t sure if it’d work,” Fundy explained, but Dream wasn't upset even before the apology.

“It’s alright. I’m glad you could join me tonight,” he answered, and Fundy smiled at that. “Should I get some gunpowder for you when we meet again?” he offered.

“Oh, please do! I promise not to weaponize it as TNT,” the fox hybrid smiled sweetly, and Dream sighed.

“Should I get some rockets for you when we meet again?” he made another offer, and Fundy snickered.

“If it makes you feel better,” he shrugged.

Dream still started to give him some gunpowder every opportunity he got.

***

Walking down the prime path was always a good feeling, but doing so this evening was truly delightful. With the anniversary of the war officially ending just around the corner, the decorations finally started to pop up all around the road, serving as a reminder of peace. There were flags hanging from almost every building, invitations to celebration parties, and some people even put out food they made just to cheer everyone else up.

All those little things were enough of a change to catch Fundy’s eye even if he was in the middle of excitedly running down the path and dragging Dream right behind him. Unluckily, he was too much in a rush to comment on them anyway. Well, ‘rush’ might’ve been the wrong term to describe him, there was no deadline he was racing with, no danger he was running from… But there was a destination he wanted to reach soon. Just earlier that day, he finally finished his little project and he wanted Dream to see it so badly. And it was dark already!

“So, where are we going again?” the man asked when the fox hybrid took a turn and left the prime path behind. Fundy looked at him and grinned.

“We’re almost there,” he assured. Initially, Dream nodded and even tried to speed up.

“Wait, that doesn’t really answer the question,” he pointed out after a moment, and Fundy laughed quietly before slowing down.

“Fine, fine… Just a bit further into this field,” he answered, pointing forward. And sure enough, there was a big, open plain in front of them. “The rest is a surprise.”

“Alright,” the man nodded again, and the two continued running. Yet just a couple of minutes later, Fundy finally came to a full stop.

“You can wait here,” he said, allowing his own hand to slip off of Dream’s. “Take a seat, get comfortable, and give me a second.”

“Sure?” the masked man said before sitting down. With curiosity, he watched Fundy walk further for a moment before kneeling down in the grass and doing something.

Fundy’s hand lingered above the lever hidden by the plants growing around it. Pulling those like this one usually filled him with guilt and was something he dreaded. It would always make him wonder, was this considered sabotage? Would others consider him a traitor if they knew? Tonight, however, putting his hand over the lever made his heart feel lighter and pushed a smile onto his face. Ah, how fast the times changed.

He pulled on it and immediately got to his feet, running over to where Dream was waiting and almost falling at the final stretch. Still, he managed to keep his balance and ‘gracefully’ sit down by his boyfriend’s side. The man snickered briefly, but stopped himself from commenting on Fundy’s slip.

“So?” he asked finally, and Fundy pointed at the spot he just returned from.

“Look over there,” he answered, and the man did what he was told to. Nothing happened. “...Come on, it’s not broken, is it?” he muttered to himself.

Just then, a single firework shot up into the sky with a long whoosh before finally exploding brightly with colours. Instantly, Fundy’s grin returned to his face and he let out a quiet “Yes!”, it worked! Then, another firework appeared, once again lighting up the night sky and assuring him that the redstone circuit wasn’t flawed either. Dream stared at where the last explosion happened in total awe.

“...Fireworks?” he muttered finally, and Fundy nodded.

“Yeah! Oh, this took ages to set up!” he exclaimed as more and more colorful explosions appeared in the sky. Despite still looking up, Dream had no trouble finding the fox hybrid’s hand and squeezing it gently.

“You did amazing,” he complimented, causing a sheepish grin to appear on Fundy’s face.

“Thanks!” he answered. After that, there came over a minute of watching the fireworks in comfortable silence.

“...Where’d you even get enough gunpowder for all these?” Dream asked finally, and Fundy turned to look at him.

“That’s a funny story, actually,” he answered. “I’m pretty sure you supplied most of it? Like, a year ago. I wasn’t sure what to do with the stacks I didn’t use, and, well… I figured this could be fun?” he explained.

“Oh? Well- I’m glad it’s still useful!” Dream nodded, still admiring his boyfriend’s work.

It was… strangely poetic. The fireworks they once used as a distraction, the gunpowder meant to grant them just enough cover to meet, now lighting up the sky with colorful explosions, making their presence obvious for miles and miles. And just a year later, they didn’t have to worry about that. Everyone knew they were dating anyway, they didn’t have to sneak around anymore. And if they ever dared to doubt that, those beautiful explosions were there to remind them - it was okay. Times were better.

[twstarchives]

Star Send-Off Garments・Voice Lines

● Event: Wish Upon A Star (August 28 - Sept 14, 2020) ● Exclusive Cards: Deuce, Ortho, Idia, Trey

Ortho’s outfit is called “Stargazer Gear,” instead of “Star Send-Off Garments” like the others.

Trey Clover - R

Unlock Card “I feel tense wearing the Star Send-Off garments. I suppose this is the ‘weight’ a traditional costume carries.”

Groovy “Nothing’s wrong with having a realistic wish.”

Home Setting “They’re so fluttery... These clothes don’t feel that secure.”

Home Transitions “I once used my allowance to buy my little brother a ticket to a magift game so he could live out his wish of seeing one live.”

“You think this school has too many traditional events? Haha, don’t say that. This school has been around for a very long time, so it makes sense.”

“Next, you do a... there. I can’t get lazy with practicing. I haven’t danced in front of an audience since elementary school.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “A Stargazer, huh? Since they picked me to be one, I guess... I just have to do it.”

Home Taps “I never thought I’d get picked to be a Stargazer. The Headmaster said it’s based off astrology, but... is there really no other reason?”

“It’s really hard using an oven in the hot weather. I wish all the desserts for our tea parties could be ice cream...”

“They say the puppet boy’s nose would grow every time he told a lie. You’d be in trouble if you had that kind of curse on you, wouldn’t you?”

“Ortho is so honest and loveable. But then there comes a time where he’ll switch into trying to fire his laser beam...”

“Are you looking at my tassels? They’re supposed to look like shooting stars if you do the Star Send-Off dance correctly.”

Idia Shroud - SR

Unlock Card “Right, and now we’ll officially get to be the laughing stocks of the whole school. Good job everyone.”

Groovy “Wishing upon a star, huh...? I don’t believe my dream would come true anyway.”

Home Setting “This looks like something a loud person would wear... This is torture.”

Home Transitions “My wish is to vanish from this event along with the stardust... I’m kidding; I’m going. I swear I’m really doing it!”

“I’ve made wishes on stars with Ortho before, for things like having all the candy I want, or playing games as much as I want. How innocent this humble otaku was back then!”

“Sir Trey is so calm and mature. Well, sure he looks like that, but I dunno what he’s thinking deep down.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “I’m a... Stargazer...? Nonononono! Absolutely not, please!”

Home Transition (Groovy) “Could you take my place for me? I'm sure even someone of your caliber could handle banging a drum! ...Huh? ...Are you mad?”

Home Taps “There’s no way a wooden puppet could turn into a real human. Miracles only happen in fairy-tales for plot convenience.”

“S-Stop looking so curiously at me... I mean, I know these stick out compared to my usual clothes, but still.”

“Look at this traditional costume. It’s got all kinds of stars all over it! You can see how people in the old days were drawn so badly to space.”

“So, collecting Wishing Stars... Having to talk to everyone has been an impossible mission from the start. I’m tired.”

“Hey, you know... If you have enough time to keep annoying me, maybe you should be a Stargazer in my place.”

Home Tap (Groovy) “Hah? You want to post a picture of me looking like this on Magicam? It’ll just be sad without anyone reacting to it, so forget it.”

Ortho Shroud - SR

Unlock Card “I am calculating the optimal route for increasing the possibility of our wishes coming true.”

Groovy “Above the clouds, at the ends of the universe... I can fly anywhere at all!”

Home Setting “Now initiating preparations to break through the atmosphere.”

Home Transitions “You know, Big Brother and I used to count stars together in the past! Should I tell you how many stars there are?”

“I heard the puppet who came to life went on a big adventure that led him all the way to a whale’s stomach. I wish I had an attachment that would let me go underwater~”

“The number of trials you do is important when analyzing data. Deuce Spade told me it’s important to always think about your wishes too!”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “Part change complete. I will now begin to operate from my attachment designed for breaking through the atmosphere, the Stargazer Gear.”

Home Transition (Groovy) “I wonder what everyone wished for… Would your wish be to go back to your original world?”

Home Taps “The Stargazer Gear was created with powerful heat-resistant material, so I’m able to get past the atmosphere without damaging my body.”

“It’s too bad Big Brother didn’t have one of the dancing roles. He’s always yelling and dancing around his room while looking at his tablet!”

“In the past, the alignment of the stars was considered very significant. Is that kind of like what they call horoscopes nowadays?”

“This gear is decorated with lots of stars! It looks just like everyone’s Star Send-Off garments, doesn’t it?”

“Request approved. Now launching a beam to obliterate space debris. 5... 4... 3... Hehe, just kidding!”

Home Tap (Groovy) “I might even be able to take you to the ends of the night sky! Don’t be shy! Ah... But it might be too dangerous for living people.”

Deuce Spade - SSR

Unlock Card “Wish upon a star... And trust that your dream will someday come true.”

“I’m going to try my hardest at every event we have. ‘Cause I’m striving to be an honors student!”

Groovy “Since I was given the important role of being a Stargazer, I have to take the responsibility to carry this out!”

Home Setting “Shah! I’m gonna make the Star Send-Off a success!”

Home Transitions “The puppet boy got himself into a horrible mess when he tried skipping school. Maybe you should tell this folk tale to Grim.”

“The Star Send-Off garments aren’t embarrassing to me, but I have one problem with them. The ends... are so easy to step on. It’s dangerous.”

“I keep stumbling over my feet when I practice the dance! And here I thought I had good reflexes...”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “Have you been collecting Wishing Stars over there? Come let me know if you ever run into trouble.”

Home Transition (Groovy) “My dreams for the future... I’m definitely going to make them come true someday. So when that happens, come celebrate with me!”

Home Taps “Shroud’s vocabulary is full of words I’ve never heard before. Are they all technical PC terms?”

“I used to make wishes with my mom when I was in elementary school. This brings me back.”

“I heard my birthday is the luckiest day of the year this year. That’s why they gave me fancier accessories than my seniors.”

“All stars look the same to me, so I’m bad at astrology... What? ‘I’m also bad at all my other subjects’? Kgh...”

“Don’t come near me! ...When I was practicing my dance just now, I accidentally hit Clover and knocked him over...”

Home Tap (Groovy) “It's just childish to think that working hard is something to be ashamed of. If anyone tries to make fun of you for it, don’t listen to them.”

Duo Magic Deuce: Let’s actually start going now, Shroud! Idia: You don’t have to tell me, Deuce. I was already planning on it!