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livewireprojects · 5 months ago

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Pride Month 2024 Sonic Sketches

Second pic made in Procreate, kinda excited about it

Made a few sketches for pride month, kind of started out with a comic were Silver comes out to his mom as bisexual along with a pic of Blaze after telling her dad then decided to draw everyone at a pride parade & showing their pride

Everyone here is kind of based on my own ideas for the characters especially Mephiles since anything involving him has to do with the version I made for him for post-06 reboot. Also some stuff is in color(Blaze's forehead gem, Cosmo's necklace, Amy's headband, Sonic's hair clip, ghost aura stuff) cause it seemed fitting due to the meanings behind the colors on the pride flag.(Like purple for soul)

Middle row

Like the text says Blaze told her dad & he made her a frog hat to support her. He's a nice/friendly guy that cares a lot, it's unfortunate that Blaze's late mom was so terrible & left with Blaze for her own intentions.

Rouge & Knuckles at pride, I was a little worried about how well I got Rouge's bisexual flag makeup. I eventually fixed up the lipstick & added matching earrings. Knuckles unintentionally looks like a pirate cause I can't draw his hat at angles. So yeah my version of Knuckles & Rouge are bi, Knuckles use to date Sonic(in my ver) & Rouge has some interest in women in the past.(Especially Topaz at one point)

Here's Blaze & Silver, Silver has a bi flag cardigan. Pretty much at some point the two realized together they're bi. They eventually told their parents(well Blaze's mom is gone so she only told her dad) & they luckily have supportive families.

Surge isn't in my Lost Prince stuff but I thought she & Amy were cute together in the fanart people made. I also think Metal was interesting with Amy, at some point gets with her in the future in my Lost Prince AU. Metal at some point stops working for Eggman & tries to make their own identity after a talk with Sonic especially since they were becoming more sentient. Metal wasn't sure what he wanted but eventually figured things out.

Right row

The context of the sign is that this is meant to be Tails, Cosmo(revived as a plant/mobian chipmunk hybrid) & Cream when they're older & in their teens or later. The time skip is mostly cause at the moment Cream is pretty young in present day, Tails is too but he's slightly older. I guess you could say Tails & Cosmo had a puppy love or something then things got serious when they were older when Cosmo returned then later Cream joined them.

Cream is pretty accepting of who she's into, I dunno what Cosmo is into(I guess technically bi since she's dating Tails & later Cream when Cream joined the couple), Tails I think maybe straight but I dunno. At the very least Tails is supportive of his friends & brother.

Context for this is just I wanted to add Vanilla & her late spouse so them from the future. Added Vector cause him & Vanilla are kinda cute so he's her relationship from the future. So Vanilla's late partner is my OC Cake who despite willing to be called a dad by their kids(Cream & at some point Sonic cause I like the idea of the rabbits adopting him) & only them, Cake was nonbinary. The rabbit family is pretty accepting of people.

Decided to bring in Gadget & Zero/Infinite, the guy in the corner is Zero's late dad who I'll explain at a late point

And then there's these three. I'm not entirely sure what my thoughts on Shadow & Mephiles are, at some point I think I realized demisexual felt right for Shadow. Like I said before any of my thoughts on Mephiles are specifically for the version I made of him for post-reboot in Sonic 06. I was originally thinking of giving him the male gay pride flag but given what I've done with him in Lost Prince AU I kinda realized he fits in with demisexual too. While my version of Sonic identifies as male he likes dressing in whatever he wants & isn't exactly gender-conforming.

Sonic mostly dressed up for pride & tied a pride flag to his neck like a cape. For some reason Mephiles is the only one I tried making designs for on his outfit.

Here's a cropped version of the comic. Pretty much Silver & Blaze realized they were bisexual, at some point Silver got the courage to tell his mom & later his dads.*

For some context Silver's mom is male & in a relationship with men*, he's pretty accepting so Silver doesn't need to worry much. However his worries are understandable because of being around Blaze a lot & seeing how her mom treated her. Blaze's mom was strict & caused a lot of issues that Blaze is still recovering from. Blaze left with Silver & Venice at some point leading to meeting her dad & becoming estranged from her mom. Her mom is gone now but as said Blaze is still recovering. Silver's family(along with Blaze's dad) understand & reassure Silver, Venice & Blaze that the three are accepted/safe.

*I dunno if the marriage is legal at best I know Silver's dad & his mom's marriage is legal. Venice's(Venice is Silver's half brother) dad went missing for a few years(Eggman was behind it) & ended up joining the relationship after being rescued/talking things out. Venice's dad was able to be part of the wedding as another groom but I dunno if this counts as official/legal by human standards.(I guess technically official by Mobian standards)

Thought I'd make a version without the color for everyone to see. The text about the frog hat is missing because it was connected to the frame I made for the comic involving Silver & his mom.

#my art #oc #sonadow #taiream #metamy #silvaze #tailsmo #mephonic #mephadonic #infidget #surgamy #pride month #pride 2024 #lost prince au #procreate #Knuxouge

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thesmallmeggles · 11 months ago

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Welcome to The Angst Cafe, what can I get for you?

I was scrolling through the self ship tags the other day and found a post related to the Unsent Project. I thought I would assign unsent texts for some of my personal non-canon ships: 3 with an SI and 2 with OCs

👇They're all down here👇

🍍Zanzo🍍 and 🟣Violet McCormick 🟣

I've talked about these two before. My poor babies, suffering through a second break-up 💔

🦋Ted🦋 and 🔮Pearl Seely🔮

When I encountered Ted for the first time in Bad Day On The Midway, I thought he was exactly the type of character I'd get attached to. And it happened! Lol

Suspension of disbelief is required since these characters exist in the 1960-70s before texting.

Alternate Text Version

(Combination of two different Unsent Messages. Only Pearl here.)

Pearl: I think about what we could've been more than I should... I wish you were still here

☎️ Spamton ☎️ and 🛡️Molly Ehlert🛡️

This one is more OC × Canon than SI × Canon. Miss Ehlert is a robot based on a Molly Guard, which is a (physical or virtual) safety device that prevents accidental activation shutdowns. Spamton dated her in his Big Shot era.

Nothing came up for Spamton obviously- pretend "Sam" is "Spam".

I think a more canon compliment Spamton response would be like:

Spamton: LOOKING TO ENJOY SOME SWE3T [Hyperlink Blocked] WITH [Man Woman Or Child] OF YOUR ?!?! E-Z!!! ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS- [Your Call Has Been Forwarded To An Automated Voice Message System]!!!

...

I miss you.

Alternate Text Version

(Still based on Unsent Project texts)

Molly: I am worried about you. You do not look or sound like yourself anymore

Spamton: YOU WILL ALW4YS HAVE A [Specil Place] IN MY [Heart Shaped Box] IT"S SICKENING!!! YOU WILL- YOU WILL- YOU WILL

🐔Shane🐔 and 🌼Marjorie "May"🌼

My very first SDV Farmer was a self insert lol. She and Shane married Year 2 on Jas' birthday (sorry Jas). I deleted that save a while ago, but I saved hundreds of screenshots from Savory Farm. No joke.

Because of the nature of how their relationship ended (dimensional travel and magic induced forgetfulness), there is only a text for May. (Shane's still around, don't worry.)

🐇William Afton🐇 and 🔥Lucinda "Cindy" Schmidt 🔥

A wild (former) Mrs. Afton appeared! Technically canon x canon but we never see another Afton spouse in game or print (if they exist). In my AU, Cindy moved to another state (Arizona or Nevada) post divorce and lives there still.

I used nicknames for both William and Cindy because they are that kind of couple. Cindy = Light and William = Bunny

Similar to Ted and Pearl, they were together pre-texting so suspend disbelief again.

Bonus two written in text because I maxed out image upload:

William: everyday

Cindy: Do I haunt you like you haunt me?

(...We came in? Isn't this where...)

~~~

Cindy: How can our very last conversation end in the most hurtful lie you ever told me.

#launch the megalleon #self ship #oc x canon #ouch the angst #hi fi rush #deltarune #stardew valley #bad day on the midway #fnaf #hfr zanzo #sdv shane #william afton #edited

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popironrye · 6 months ago

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🐥☁️🎀🧸 (just on anon cause I don’t really have a main blog (I do roleplay) and didn’t want to make you uncomfy with that just cause I love reading your stuff! Haha)

Oh, no need to worry! There's not much that will make my uncomfy, I promise. 😊 I like roleplay too. But WOW! Thank you so much! 🥰That means so much to me! ❤️

Since this is technically a self ship post, I'll do Erin and Dwayne (The Lost Boys) since the last question one was with them, but I would love to info dump about any of my ocs, fcs, or sonas if you're interested. 💞 🐥 - how are mornings for you guys? are you groggy and grumpy when you first wake up?

While she may get a little groggy, Erin is a pretty chill person first thing in the morning. Just kinda going about her normal routines. Dwayne is much more on the grumpy side. I imagine as a vampire it's not so much any feeling of tiredness, rather than immense hunger first thing. Like he and the boys need to take at least one person off the town census before they're ready for a night of fun.

☁️ - whats your nighttime routine? is it easy for you guys to fall asleep or does it take awhile? do you have anything you do before bed, like reading or journaling?

It doesn't take too long for Erin to sleep, especially if she's had a hard day. Stomach sleeper all the way, only a couple minutes after hitting the sheets and she's out for the night. Sometimes she has to toss and turn a few times, but usually once she's asleep she'll sleep all night. Dwayne's sleep schedule is like a tight switch. He follows the time of the sunrise to a t and once he's set on it, he's out and he's a very heavy sleeper.

🎀- do you two enjoy dressing up? or would you rather stick with comfier clothes? what are you guy’s favorite outfits?

Erin LOVES dressing up, at least to the best of her abilities. She loves feeling cute with minimal makeup, spinney skirts or dresses, high heels, and all sorts of accessories. She doesn't get the chance to dress up often, so when she does it's all or nothing. Dwayne on the other hand is comfort over style every time. Although there was a time Erin convinced him to wear a white button down with suspenders and black slacks, and the look on her blushing face was worth every moment of it.

🧸 - do either of you have any stuffed animals? how does the other feel about them?

Erin has a few stuffed animals. Mostly cat ones, a couple dogs, a bat cushion, and a purple unicorn from when she was a small child, but her favorites are the sea based ones she has including a giant puffer fish and an octopus. She doesn't sleep with the animals, instead they're on display in a book case where Erin keeps other knick knacks like figurines and desk ornaments. Dwayne doesn't mind them and in fact when Erin gets one to show him, she'll light up in excitement and hug them which he finds very cute. While they're mostly decorative, they're a comfort to Erin, and Dwayne wouldn't risk them getting ruined even a little bit.

I have SO MANY ocs it's actually crazy, and like 99% of ocxcanon ships. I am open to any and all questions for any of them. I'm afraid to talk about them without people asking cause I don't want to annoy anyone, but if there is a specific one you wanna know about, LET ME KNOW. pls :3

#my asks #ask me anything #dwayne tlb #the lost boys #my sona #shipping #oc x canon #self insert #oc insert

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sanrielle · 1 year ago

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To any of my readers who might be interested:

I know I haven't posted anything lately, but I've been working on a character study for an OC (Korra's daughter) that plays a significant role in my post-Lok fic. You don't need to know anything about that story to enjoy this sweet mother-daughter scene!

Setting: Sixteen-year-old Kiriko has decided to meditate in her backyard in preparation for her firebending mastery test. Korra joins her after a few minutes.

Rating: General

They sat facing each other in a lotus position, eyes closed, for several silent minutes. It was just like the other hundreds of times Kiriko meditated with her mom, except totally different at the same time.

For once, the sounds of birds didn’t distract her. There were no random itches to pull her focus. There was just…breath. The air around her was hot. Sweat dripped down the back of her neck and it only barely flitted across her awareness.

A clear sky overhead seemed to open up and swallow her whole. The sun at its zenith—so bright, even through closed eyes. Breathe. In and out. An endless cycle, a solar storm. And she sat with Korra in the center of it.

Kiriko let her eyes drift open. Her mother’s face was as tranquil as she could ever remember seeing it. But where had those lines around her eyes and mouth come from? When had that happened?

“Mom.”

“Mm?”

“Will you take me into the Spirit world?”

Korra finally opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times. “Really?”

“I’m ready to try again. I think– I think I can do it this time.”

She’d been through the portal a few times, of course. It was right there in the city—a highly regulated tourist attraction. Korra had never wanted to take them too deeply in, so it hadn’t been as exciting as it could’ve been.

Anisa had meditated in loads of times, with Korra guiding her, but every time Kiriko had attempted it, she’d failed miserably—to the point where the mere suggestion of trying would piss her off.

In answer, Korra held out her hands, which Kiriko took. There was no need for words; they’d done this many times. Calluses gripped calluses. The summer heat seemed to ripple between them on a breath of wind as she closed her eyes and tried to find her earlier tranquility.

It came more easily than expected. All she had to do was focus on those hands. The hands that had carried her, held her, fed her. Picked her up when she fell. Wiped her tears away. Hands that had fought off countless enemies to make the world a better place. Hands that were as gentle as they were strong.

She was falling, but slowly.

“Open your eyes, Kiriko.”

They fluttered open with a soft gasp. “I did it…” She looked around and swallowed hard. The grass they sat on was a vibrant green—a vast meadow with rolling hills and a distant forest. The sky was a burnt orange, like sunset but far too bright, and a flock of rainbow-colored birds with huge wings flew overhead. “Well, I guess technically, you did it.”

“It wasn’t just me. I can’t force someone into the Spirit world, only guide.”

Though she already knew exactly what would happen, Kiriko stood up and tried to summon her chi. “This feels…weird. It’s like I’m empty.”

“Yeah, that feeling doesn’t go away.”

“I feel so vulnerable.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t let anything bad happen.”

The confident smile she flashed made all of Kiriko’s concerns evaporate in an instant.

“I’m not afraid. Not with you here.”

“C’mon. Let’s take a walk.”

They strolled through the grassy meadow, hand-in-hand. Kiriko looked around in wonder. Everything felt so big, So open and colorful and just…endless, and she was so small.

“Where are we? It’s different than when we went through the portal.”

“This is a secret place. A hidden place.” Her large hand gave Kiriko’s much smaller one a squeeze. “I found it years ago, before you were born.”

Kiriko peeled her eyes away from the bizarre sight of what looked like a tree slowly roaming across the open space. She craned her neck to look up at Korra, who no longer had lines around her eyes. It was a vision out of the deep past, back to Kiriko’s earliest memories.

They stopped walking and Korra crouched down to be at her eye level. She took Kiriko’s head in her hands and pressed their foreheads together.

“If, one day, you can’t find me,” she whispered, “look for me here.”

“Don’t cry, Mommy,” Kiriko said when she noticed the tears, though her own eyes were welling up. “You won’t get lost.”

They separated and Korra’s hands fell to her shoulders. There was now a strange, distant look in her eyes. Her attention was elsewhere. “Time to go, Fireheart.”

“Go where?”

But the question didn’t need to be answered. A thick fog rushed in and swirled around them. Kiriko squeezed her eyes shut, scared for just a moment, and opened them again to find herself back in her body. She was tall and strong once again, no longer the child she had temporarily become. Chi flowed through her veins and chased away a lingering sense of loss. What had they been talking about? Like a dream, it kept slipping out of her grasp.

Asami was crouched next to Korra with a hand on her shoulder, but it was Kiriko she spoke to with a fond smile. “It’s almost time to go. Are you ready?”

#lok #legend of korra #lok fanfic #korra #korrasami family #questions? comments? speculations?#let me know!

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acacia-may · 5 months ago

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Have asked already? Gosh, I getting tired! 3, 55, 73 and 96 <3

Hello friend! No, you hadn't asked already, but thank you so much for this one! I'd be happy to answer these questions for you!! 🥰

3. On a scale of 1-10 how much do you enjoy incorporating romance into the average story?

In general, probably a 1 or (a very generous) 2, but I think it really depends on the story. I'll admit I will sometimes use romance as a plot device or just to make jokes and then I have a little fun with it, but I took this question to mean legitimate and serious incorporation of romance, in which case it's generally not my cup of tea and even if it's a pairing that I really like, I don't find a lot of enjoyment in it because I don't have a lot of practice writing romance and really get in my own head & worried that I'm going to mess it up. Meet-Cutes and Established Relationships are okay (because they're not super dependent on me being able to write a compelling relationship progression), but when it comes to writing characters actually falling in love or focusing on them deepening their relationship, I get really nervous because I know that's not my strength as a writer.

This is true even when I have a pairing that I made up myself. I had my sister laughing at me when for my self-indulgent birthday fic, I actually wrote our OC into the story but kept her relationship with her (eventual after a decades long slow burn) love interest platonic on purpose. My sister was editing and there's this scene where they like unintentionally brush hands and she just stops and says, "It's your birthday. You know, you can make this relationship super romantic if you want," but I was like "No. I don't think I will. I like them as friends." Cue my sister just deadpan blinking and pointing out, "You literally made her up just to eventually marry him [under these ultra-specific circumstances]" And yeah, that's technically true, but if it's up to me and what I enjoy writing, I prefer writing them as friends (with like optional, super subtle somewhat romantic undertones). I don't mind the hints at possible romantic feelings, but when it comes to anything overt, I think it stresses me out to write more than I find enjoyment in it.

But that's just me. I have nothing against romance on principle. I just don't trust myself to write it and find more enjoyment in writing even my favorite pairings as friends or in an intentionally ambiguous relationships. I have been trying to push myself to write more romance, but I don't think I'll ever consider it a strong suit of mine and I go out of my way to avoid it. In the series I mentioned above which actually does have a CC x OC pairing in it that's actually integral to the plot, the (eventual) couple didn't even officially meet until literally over 55,000 words into the story. And now they're just going to be friends for like 10 years before any dating happens. The story is just not about that. This is what I mean when I say I don't do romance lol 😅😂

But I do try my best because I want to grow as a writer. It's just when the question asks "how much do I personally enjoy writing romance," the answer is not much at all (even for an OTP or a ship I made up myself).

55. Do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them?

Yes. Too many to count 😭 In most cases, I lost momentum, changed interests, moved on from the fandom, or just couldn't figure out how to make the story work. I also tend to get distracted by other projects and ideas. I'd like to return to some of my wips someday because it bothers me to leave things unfinished (especially if part of them had been posted), but we'll see.

73. How do you visualize scenes? do you see it like a movie in your head, or do the words just flow?

Both actually, so it kind of depends. When I'm initially planning/drafting a scene, I see it like a movie (often watching the scenes from the eyes of my POV character, though occasionally watching from the outside like an actual audience). When I'm ready to start writing, I can actually see the words I want to write like I'm reading them. That's generally when I know I'm ready to sit down and get typing (because otherwise I'm just outlining or mapping out scenes in my head).

96. Romantic/social sideplots: interesting or irritating?

It really depends on the work and on why that subplot is in there, but in general my favorite kinds of romance in all of fiction have always been subplots. Honestly, I think if I listed my favorite ships of all time they were all romantic subplots in stories that were otherwise just not about that, and I really liked that because I could enjoy them without them overtaking the story and overshadowing all of the other meaningful (platonic) relationships.

But, on the flip side, I think I am very sensitive to and adverse to "romance for the sake of romance" or just when a ship is shoved into a story gratuitously without it making sense or needing to be there beyond the creators deciding "well there has to be romance somewhere." Like...no, there doesn't have to be romance in anything, ever. In fact sometimes there probably shouldn't be.

Some of my least favorite ships of all time fit in this "romance for the sake of romance" category because it just feels so forced, unnecessary, and uncomfortable to me. But to be fair there are even pairings that I genuinely like & would have even said I "ship," and I still get sour & upset when they get forced together at the end of the story just because it's the end, when I feel they're not ready and/or there wasn't proper build up. In those cases, even though I technically shipped the ship & wanted to see them together eventually, I would have preferred if they hadn't forced it and had just left the relationship open ended.

This is an extremely random example but since I just changed my profile picture to Naomi & Gabe... Elena of Avalor actually did this open-ended ship thing really well imo, and I am immensely grateful that the creators stuck to their promise not to give Elena a canonical love interest at the end since she had so much going on in her life and her story and character journey was never about that. No matter how much I (and from what I've seen, a whole lot of the fandom) want her to (eventually) end up with Mateo, it was NOT the time and this show did not play. They literally had a magical alpaca cut off Mateo's ill-timed almost love-confession at the "expected" (but objectively bad) moment, and it was AMAZING! This was hard core and has my ULTIMATE RESPECT.

So yeah...it's a very fine line between compelling & irritating and understandable & forced when it comes to romance subplots. I think when romance subplots are done well and thoughtfully they can be super compelling and interesting, but when they're done badly or are thrown in there "just because," it's honestly kind of the worst... 😝

When it comes to my own writing, if romance is going to be in there, it is probably going to be a subplot and I hope it's not too irritating lol. 😅 Even in a "romance" story, I feel like the romance is usually still a subplot because it's vying for attention with the friendship between the characters in the ship or their own personal struggles as people or (more often than not) one the character's strained/otherwise complicated relationship with their sibling(s) or family members [i.e. all my fics that have any romance for either of the Spatial Mage Brothers are also heavily focused on the brothers' relationship with each other in addition to their respective romantic ships. I just can't seem to write Finral x Finesse or Langris x Finesse or Finral x Vanessa or ect. ect. without Finral & Langris' platonic brothers' relationship being in there too, at least to some extent]. I find it hard to get into a story when the only thing in it is romance personally, so I prefer when it's a subplot or just one part of a story with multiple things going on.

#thanks for the ask friend!!#romance writing and i have a complex relationship lol #but i think subplots are the way to go (if they're done well & fit in the story in a way that makes sense)#sorry for the unsolicited eoa rant #but seriously that show rocked on so many different levels especially when it came to shipping (or...er...*not* shipping) its characters #acacia's ramblings #writers ask

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doueverwonder · 11 months ago

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Do you have Faroe Islands and Aaland islands OCs? 😊 Or other children of the Nordics. How do you view them? I would like to know

I do have Faroe and Åland oc's though they're both kinda work in progresses still 😅

for a total list you have

Denmark's kids

Kalmar Union - Henrik (deceased)

Kristiania - Benedikte

Sweden's kids

Åland - Kristiina

New Sweden - Johan (deceased)

Ladonia - Arvid

Norway's kids (not particularly in age order; my man got around during the viking age lmao)

Shetland - Liv

Orkney - Bodil

Faroe - Ida

Iceland - Ari

Isle of Man - Erik

Caithness - Ailsa

Sutherland - Solveig

Greenland - Sia

Helluland - Anders (deceased)

Markland - Aksel (deceased)

Vinland - Dagny (deceased)

how I view all of them would be a really long post so i'll just do what I have for Åland because out of the two you asked for I have more on her haha ( side note; I hc Finland as being trans and all three of Sweden's kids were mothered by Fin)

So anyway; Kristiina was born in the 1380s around the same time Kastelholm Castle was built. That makes her younger than all of Norway's kids by a good 300 years, but older than Denmark's oldest by about 10-15 years (aka her and Henrik were physically about the same age). Her childhood was interesting, cause not only was it a time when upper class/noble parents weren't all that involved in raising their children but also Björn wasn't around all that often, and Kasper really didn't get along all that well with Björn at the time and was distant not wanting to acknowledge they had a child together. All of her cousins were either far older, or had more responsibilities than her; because I do believe her and Henrik did a few years of their basic schooling together he reached about ten and suddenly was being taught things 'not appropriate for young ladies'. So she's alone again.

In August of 1521 when Harald and Björn got into their Last Big Fight, the Straw that would break the camels back; all she remembers about actually leaving are snippets where she woke up to her papa carrying her, and her parents whisper arguing about something (she couldn't tell you what). She was told she woke up at some point and asked where they were going but was just told not to worry about it, and to be quiet. There was a year or two where she was left in Lübeck in Germany with a couple different people to watch over her. She didn't really see either of her parents for those two years, they didn't even technically come back for her. A letter just came one day asking for her to brought to Stockholm. At the time she was just relieved to see her parents again, but now she sometimes look back at it in a bittersweet way, it took two years of being apart for them to be excited to see her.

I'm gonna jump forward to 1809; she's about fifteen physically when Finland and Åland are ceded to Russia. For the first time in her life she had no one to speak to except her mother, Kristiina had always gravitated towards Björn because he never well... he never seemed as if he regretted her existence, to be blunt. Even when he was gone on months long trips for some reason or another she would beg to go with him to avoid being stuck with just her mother. But her uncle was there at least, and Kasper turned into an entirely different person around Kalev; a happier person, even if comparatively the situation was worse.

It was still super odd for Kris, she had been around mostly her dads family her entire life and suddenly she's been moved from her home and is interacting far more with her mom's side of the family (her Finnish is iffy at best at this point). And her mother, a woman she had always known to be very quiet and fidgety was suddenly loud and always getting in dumb fights with her siblings. The big turning point in their relationship would be a fight they would get into where something along the lines of "Don't you want to go back to Stockholm? Don't you want to go home?" "Stockholm was never home." would be said.

jumping to modern day bc i'm bored

she's kind of distant by now, her relationship to both her parents became odd once she went to live by herself, and even a little more when Arvid was born because both of her parents were happy about him and it upsets her seeing them treat him differently.

It's not as if her relationship with them is absolute garbage, and she's bitter and isolates herself now. She's just an adult, and there's things from her childhood, and with her relationships to her parents she's had to reconcile. I think she's accidentally become very close to Kalev because he seemed like Kasper's opposite while still being family and someone she could see regularly. She did want to be apart of Sweden again for a little bit, but not in a 'would be upset if it didn't happen' way because she is also trying to be on better terms with Kasper.

I don't know... she just had a long and complicated childhood most nations do, and now she's just doing her best to hang on to the things she did like about it, while also trying to forget most of it? If that makes sense.

also kinda random side note: I think she prides herself on being more 'quiet and stoic' like Sweden but anyone who's been around her for more than five minutes knows she is neither of those things and is far more like Finland. Though no on is going to tell her that.

#hws åland #hws sweden #hws finland #sorry this took so long!!#hetalia #i know it's kinda rambly and long i'm bad at talking about oc's personalities without giving entire histories about them

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masschase · 2 years ago

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SR Boss Asks Answers

I realised how much space long reblogs take up on the reblog page (yeah, I'm new to tumblr) so I've copied this onto a new post.

But yeah, did them all, and I implore anyone who wants to talk about their Boss to do these, because even if no-one reads it, it was fun. There were a couple of things I didn't really think about, like the #16 Casey-cat moment which is my new favourite thing.

#17 is something I've just done a longer post on.

Apologies for formatting issues.

1.What’s their backstory? Cassandra ‘Casey’ Michaiła Clark was born in Stilwater. Her dad left when she was very young citing that he couldn't handle two kids. Ofc he leaves and has two kids with his new wife and barely sees Casey and her sister. He later claims he wanted to leave their mom, not them. Her sister rightfully points out that for all her flaws, their mom never actually stopped him seeing them so that's on him.

Her mom was from a slightly more affluent background than her dad (they met in college but dropped out when her mom got pregnant) and they were scraping by until he left. After that, her mom worked very hard to maintain the appearance to the outside world that they were not struggling with money, even though it sent them into debt. She was always very judgemental and religious, but also had a genuine anxiety disorder. She eventually got addicted to Xanax and would drag Casey with her to make excuses like that she'd flushed her last lot down the toilet/took them to school and they got confiscated etc.

It got to the point where she was pretty checked out and Casey's sister had to make sure they were getting to school on time, that there was food on the table etc.. When she was 14, her sister left home and this derailed her pretty bad.

Her best friend Mori(OC: Moriarty Alleyne- hoping to post more about him soon)'s mom Angela was instrumental in taking care of her from about the age of 12. She always made sure Casey was fed when at her house and gave her some of Mori's old clothes when she outgrew her sister's hand-me-downs. She did try to help where she could but wasn't fully aware of the situation for a long time. Even though Mori's friendship with Casey became a little strained due to his girlfriend disliking her, Angela would still invite her around.

When Casey was 15 her mom caught her making out with a girl she liked and it led to her mom throwing her out of the house. She stayed with Mori and Angela for two weeks straight but Angela started saying Casey should go check on her mom, and offers to go with her- having realised by this point that drugs are involved she's worried her mom might have OD'ed (Casey doesn't realise that's why until years later). Casey assures her she has been in contact with her mom (technically she has been, she's been sent texts about repenting her sins and guilt trips about leaving her at home the whole time) and pretends to go home but obviously can't.

So instead she finds herself on Saints Row at a really stupid time of night and… well, you know… Saints Row happens.

2. How old were they when they first joined the Saints? Fifteen, almost sixteen. Weird little angry kid born 29th June 1990. I think she has pretty obvious millenial tastes and tendencies. I find the post-SRIV dynamic pretty fascinating actually. She probably has a lot more in common with Pierce and Shaundi who I hc as similar ages compared to Johnny who is xennial, Kinzie and Asha who I think are borderline millenial/gen z, and 110% zoomer Matt. Then you've got Keith and Ben complaining that the ship is ran by kids and CID, Jane and Jezebel being extreme outliers to the whole thing.

3. Did they have a happy childhood? I mean overall she says it wasn't terrible. She had some nice moments with her sister. Kinzie calls her backstory "tragic" when she hears it and Casey disagrees calling it "just, y'know, a bit shitty". She heard stories of other kids going through physical and sexual abuse, she saw how Mori was affected by his dad's death and had to help him through some very dark times with his depression. She doesn't class her borderline sociopathy as a mental health issue until much later on. She starts therapy around the time the Saints rise to fame, around 2012-2013.

4. Do they have any siblings? Yes, she has a sister called Phoebe who is approximately 4 years older than her and as above, pretty much had to raise her. She left home when she was 18 which led Casey to feel pretty abandoned all over again, especially because she didn't fully understand her reasons.

5. Did they graduate high school? What about college? No, she dropped out of high school. She had plans to study English Literature at college had she got that far. She held on to school for almost a year after Phoebe left, still scraping Bs, but eventually it all took its toll. She got a job as a dishwasher in a small restaurant. If it wasn't for stealing food off of plates for a few months she wouldn't have had the muscle mass for the physical strength she displays in the first game.

6. What’s their sexuality?She self-defines as bisexual. Later she wonders if it should be pansexual. She didn't know what pan was in like 2003 when she was figuring it out, but either would fit her. Equally she would describe herself as panromantic but many of her friends assume she is fraysexual or otherwise arospec based on her choices around relationships.

7. What do they look for in a partner? She doesn't. She ignores or downright avoids that sort of interaction if possible. Suddenly becomes fucking mute again if she tries to talk about feelings. But she seems to be romantically attracted to people that are quite physically affectionate because she is very friendly emotionally but has trouble initiating non-sexual physical contact.

She does have the odd short-term partner, but tends to be drawn to people she doesn’t like all that much as something in her brain knows it won't last (talking days, I think her longest was like 10 days for many years). She has a lot of one-night stands/other casual hookups.

8. Are they currently dating anyone? Currently when? ;) Throughout the games, no, unless it’s a matter of days as described above. She's capable of romantic attraction but as above, doesn't want a relationship for practical reasons (actually fear) because a partner could be used against her.

9. Who do they love most in the world? Her friends. They are her family. She is unwavering on that. This doesn't change when she gets a partner or meets a blood relative from the pods. But it does shift a little some time in 2024.

10. Is there someone from their past they will never forgive?

Her parents. Anyone who contributes to the several deaths of her friends also but the difference there is that she doesn't let them live. So no need to forgive them. Hell she only considered letting Matt live because he reminded her of herself when she got dragged into the gang life at 15-16. The upgrades just sealed the deal.

11. What is their favorite food? Mori and his mom are Bajan-American so Barbadian food is a comfort food for her, especially salt fish and macaroni pie. Unfortunately none of the lieutenants stationed with her are of that heritage, so she often seeks out Carribean restaurants while still on earth. Phoebe's pecan pie is also a comfort, it was their grandma's recipe but she died when Casey was 6 and Phoebe was 9-10. Casey has the recipe but can't cook anything besides like frozen pizzas, instant ramen etc. She eventually tries to make the pie and realises burnt pecan pie is still good pecan pie! Despite this, lemon meringue pie is her favourite dessert. When the nice manager was on shift at the restaurant she would sneak her a piece every night. She also has a soft spot for fries because when she the dishwasher in the diner they were the easiest things to eat off plates before scraping them. Also pieces of burgers and ribs.

12. What are their pet peeves? She gets really restless when waiting on someone. Like she'll say meet at 2 and by the time Johnny gets there by 2.03 she's been pacing back and forth for five minutes. She doesn't mind all the gang being sarcastic with each other but if they all start talking each other at once she usually has to silence them. She is open to being called out on things like her white cis privelege or some of the hetronormative bias instilled by her background but she doesn't much like being challenged on some of her more bullshit 'rules' or lieutenants pushing back on her decisions once she's made them. She does eventually mature out of the latter.

13. What are some of their fears? Her biggest fear is losing someone she cares about. Unfortunately she's frequently had to live it. This is one of the things that contributes to her feelings on relationships.

14. How do they deal with injuries? Major: the Saints have a heavily bribed doctor in Stilwater, Steelport and DC. Minor: She usually asks Johnny to bandage if needed bc everyone else is too slow and gentle. Then more or less runs and hides until she's feeling better.

15. What is the MOST embarrassing moment in their life? That time she almost slow danced with Josh Birk at the 4th of July party is certainly up there.

16. Are they a cat or dog person? Cat, I think. I think she wouldn't have thought of herself of much a pet person in general because she grew up without any and she assumes she'd be too lazy to take care of them. But then she goes to a friends house who has a cat. Maybe Mori(which would be funny because his mom affectionately compares Casey to a stray cat). And she doesn't really know how to react around them so she's just kind of like "Sup.". Then the cat just kind of comes and sits on her lap and she's like… oh… warm! Soft. You are my new homie now.

17. Beside the 1950s sitcom, what else would their hell be?Again, just losing all the people she cares about. The only reason that was not her simulation is because Zinyak/the system he uses has a very shallow understanding of the human psyche, not surprising because Zin have a very conscious mind compared to humans where a lot is subconscious. This makes them fairly intelligent but also means they can adapt to changes due to their time travel easily because they just go "oh, a memory has changed.". See also: Pierce's simulation. Maybe everyone's.

18. Which death affects them the most? (Besides Johnny)

Oh this is different because they all impact such different areas of her life. Lin’s death probably had the greatest impact on her actions as a leader.She becomes very front-and centre/self sacrificing because of Lin.

On a more personal level I was going to say Carlos because she had pretty strong feelings for him but actually it's Aisha. Watching how her best friend, who she looks up to more than anyone and basically wanted to be, was just walking around with a piece of him missing really solidified her fear of relationships and anger at the injustice of life and death; things she might have otherwise grown out of/conquered with therapy.

19. What is their favorite music? She likes a pretty wide range of music because she doesn’t want to let anyone down by not following their recommendations and always finds at least one song she likes from the artists they like. Not taking that into account, she really likes '80s shit' and also ska but as a 00s teen she went through the pop punk phase pretty hard too.

20. What are some of their hobbies? Reading, definitely. Almost every spare moment when she gets to the stage where there are spare moments. In high school, Yu-Gi-Oh cards were big for her. Tbh she is pretty nerdy but because she's so technologically challenged her friends don't seem to pick up on that. I feel like in an AU 2020 she would get really into cottagecore during the pandemic then get really pissed because she can't bake or draw or knit.

#saints row #saints row boss #saints row headcanon #i apologise to anyone who actually read this #questions welcome as always

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decadentrot · 2 years ago

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2023 🎉🎉🎉

Ok new year and I thought since this blog is basically an archive of my fandom art, I'd also archive some "milestone" art and archive my reflection for the last year. Basically, I love art and I've always wanted to one day publish my own original comic/graphic novel and I've had this dream art school that I've always wanted to go to and then senior year rolled around and... I didnt submit my portfolio. Partially due to financial reasons, but mostly because I just hated my art (like most artist) and so I decided to take a "gap year" to take online courses and "fix" my art, but then I just didnt have enough money to even finish the courses so i just really gave up yk. I got very demoralized about school in general and thought art would just be a hobby and I should consider getting a "real job" as many of my family members would say, it didnt help that all of my friends were leaving for college and I was stuck at home. And so in my loneliness, I then created this blog because I still wanted someway to do art and be creative and share stupid ideas about my favorite characters and honestly I really really really enjoyed making fandom art. And after getting out of my slump and getting much encouragement from my friends/dad and lots of nights staying up with my anxiety as company, I decided I really should just do it and submit the portfolio and if I get in I get in and I should not be afraid to get loans and not let my financial problems get in the way of my happiness and wants. So I talked to the admission counselor and finally submitted my Illustration (Entertainment Arts Track) portfolio to ✨Art Center: College of Design✨ and a couple months later I actually got accepted woooo

So I'm sharing my accepted ACCD portfolio to by no means flex my art, I mean the anatomy and perspective still needs a lot of work and my traditional art in general isnt the cleanest, but when talking to the admission counselor, she definitely did see my faults but she also pointed out how even if my technical work isn't as polished, thats exactly what school is for: to learn and get better! And to be surrounded by likeminded people who also have a passion for art (and make those industry connections!) And something more eye opening I learned from her was that art isnt suppose to be perfect and "realistic," especially in the entertainment arts industry, what matters more is telling the story and making compelling characters. While knowing every muscle of the human anatomy is useful, as long as you get the message and purpose across, its good! (I mean look at the origins of one punch man).

Corny message aside, for as much as I was stressed during the beginning of this year, I ended up really enjoying it after all. I'm still improving my art and I still have to worry about my financial issues and college, but overall I spent these last couple days with family/friends and doing personal art projects and I'm relatively happy with my art and my OCs. My SumRec comic will probably be postponed by like a week maybe cause I've been busy with family and friends and obviously I haven't been posting a lot of my fandom art due to RL stuff, but when I actually have alone time to work on it and im satisfied, then it will be posted !! So for anyone who read through this post, I hope you maybe get some enjoyment from my art portfolio and also enjoyed last year and I hope this new year will be even better !! (And if your an artist, keep going and creating !!) 🎉

Bonus: Not part of my portfolio, but during my junior year of high school, I wanted to actually complete an animation instead of a bunch of animatics, so I did! Its incredibly rushed and my old art is cringe, but it was my first completed animation of some very old OCs and their potential intro sequence if they had a TV showヽ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ:

#new years #accd #art center college of design #art center #accepted art portfolio #animation #thank you guys btw for the art support #you guys actually make tumblr quite comfy #have a good year!!

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substituted-shinigami · 10 months ago

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Learning to Breathe

(aka Please Remember To Put On Your Oxygen Mask Before Assisting Others)

Characters: Rukia, Renji, Byakuya, and some Fourth Division OCs, (RenRuki)

Genre: Hurt/Comfort, some Angst, some Humor, Family

Rated: T (for mentions of medical tools such as needles and depictions of anxiety, but nothing is graphic or even really overly described. This story is more about the emotions than the medical drama)

Story Summary: Turns out purple eyes and short stature aren’t the only things that run in Hisana’s family, illness does as well. As Rukia and Renji try to help each other navigate through this new storm in their lives, will they remember to take time to breathe? (Rukia gets the same disease that killed Hisana (Bloodlines AU), Post TYBW, Post renruki engagement)

Click the link to read below or click here to read the story on AO3!

(6/7)

Chapter 5: Free Fall

AO3 chapter link

Chapter Summary: Attention passengers, due to the severity of the storm, we have experienced some major technical difficulties, and are now rapidly losing altitude in an uncontrolled manner. Therefore, as we make this “emergency landing”, please remember to put on your oxygen mask before assisting others. Thank you. (The chapter in which Rukia’s and Renji’s day becomes a complete disaster.)

I tried to tell them that there was nothing there, Rukia grumbled to herself, as the nurse began to put away the RIT supplies. But with Renji so close nearby, she didn't dare say it outloud. Despite Nurse Sato's best attempt, she hadn't been able to find a strong enough reiatsu vein for the RIT needle, and now Rukia had an extra hole in her for the experience. She barely suppressed the urge to glare daggers at the nurse.

"Sorry about all this, hun," the nurse placated, as she finished packing up, "But thanks for letting me try. I'll go and track down that specialist for you now." Rukia simply nodded as Nurse Sato headed out of the room. As soon as the nurse was gone, she felt Renji take her hand and give it a tight squeeze.

"You okay?" He murmured tentatively. Rukia looked down at the bandage on her arm. She didn't even have to look up at Renji to know how worried he looked. How he always looked ever since this terrible illness began. Rukia took a deep breath.

"You know…" she began contemplatively, "I heard that vampires didn't come out during the day… Tsk… Guess they were wrong." Renji chuckled wryly.

"Well, to be fair, the nurse took your reiatsu, not your blood."

"True," Rukia agreed with a nod, as she turned towards him, "So what is she then? A Bount?"

"I guess so," He said, scratching his chin, "And unfortunately for us, those definitely come out during the day."

"Crap, you're right! Drat!" Rukia said with a snap of her fingers. She shrugged, "Well, sucks to be me then!"

"Hah! Yeah…" he agreed quietly. He gave her hand another squeeze, "I'm sorry, Rukia." This time Rukia turned to him, and gave him a resolute look.

"What are you sorry for? We've defeated the 'Bount' before, and we'll do it again!" She proclaimed with great confidence, but ultimately, couldn't keep up the farce. So instead, she just returned his hand squeeze. "Let's…Let's just wait on the specialist, okay?"

"Okay…"

For better or for worse, they didn't have to wait long. This time, the nurse, the tech, and even the scheduler who Rukia had talked to on the phone earlier all came into the room together.

This can’t be good, Rukia grimaced.

"Hi, hun,” Nurse Sato began apologetically, as she sat down in the chair closest to the couple, “So we thought we would all come in together to tell you that I talked to our Relief Team Leader about this and he said that, unfortunately, all of the specialists who are capable of performing this task are either out sick or already gone for the holidays."

"Oh…" Rukia said slowly, "I see…"

"There is one more thing as well…" the nurse continued sheepishly, "He also said that he doesn't want to do a neck RIT for this specific test. He wants to use a reiatsu catheter instead. And that requires…a procedure."

Rukia felt her blood run cold. What?! A…PROCEDURE?! She felt Renji squeeze her hand worriedly, so she swallowed thickly. Keep it together, Rukia…

"A reiatsu midline catheter, you say?” Rukia replied instead, doing her best to keep her speech even, “And it requires a procedure? Can you tell me more about it?"

"Of course, hun," the nurse agreed cheerfully. She nodded to the tech who flipped through his clipboard, and turned it around to show Rukia the example picture.

"A reiatsu catheter," Tech Watanabe explained in his characteristic monotone, "is a large tube that attaches to your chest where there are larger reiatsu vessels than in your arm. It can stay in for several months."

Rukia's cold blood turned to ice. S-Several…months?!

"Don't worry, the procedure will only take a day," the nurse said quickly, "And we'll talk to your personal head nurse from the Fourteenth Relief Team to find out when they want it done first. But as you may have already guessed, this does mean we will have to reschedule everything," The nurse continued, looking even more sorrowful and apologetic, "I'm so sorry for the inconvenience."

Inconvenience is the least of my concerns right now! Rukia took another deep breath and looked up.

"It's…fine…" She got out, "How soon can we reschedule?"

“Yeah,” Renji agreed gruffly, as he pulled out his soul pager, “January is actually pretty busy for me. I usually have Sundays off though. Can you do Sundays?” Rukia’s head shot up at this.

“Renji, if you’re busy, then don’t worry about-”

“Actually, this building is not open on Sundays,” the scheduler said, looking at her chart. Renji pulled open the calendar on his soul pager.

“Oh, well, I guess I could go into work on Sunday, and then take off whenever you all have your next opening. When is that?”

“Renji,” Rukia said more firmly. Renji blinked and looked up at her.

“Yeah?”

“If you are busy in January, then you don’t have to take me. I…" Rukia took a deep breath and did her best to look at him resolutely, "I can go by myself.” Renji's hand faltered on his soul pager.

“Oh…okay. But-”

"Well, unfortunately,” the scheduler began sheepishly as she readjusted her glasses and looked up from her chart, “You probably won’t be able to get a January appointment anyway. We are pretty much booked, and it is about to be the start of the New Year's festivals. Also, I'm actually leaving to go visit my family in the first district of Rukongai tomorrow, and therefore will be gone till after the new year," She waved her hands quickly, "but as soon as I get back, I'll start looking for new dates for you, so don't you worry! But that does mean you probably won’t get a new appointment until at least February."

“Oh. That’s unfortunate,” Renji said quietly, with a bit of frustration in his voice as he switched months in his calendar app, “But at least I have more availability in February. Any chance that we can just make an appointment for February today-” but he stopped when he felt Rukia’s vice like grip on his wrist. He turned to look at her, but she was resolutely looking forward towards the medical team, a huge but eerie smile plastered on her face.

"Thank you all so very much for your time,” Rukia began in a way very reminiscent of the late Fourth Division captain, “I appreciate all of your help in this matter. Is there anything else you require before we head out?"

"Um…N-No, that's pretty much it," the scheduler stuttered. She looked as if she had just seen a ghost, but Rukia was unable to enjoy the humor of it. "L-Let's just verify your contact info, and then you can be on your way."

Rukia quickly gave it to them, and soon the medical team were leading her and Renji out towards the exit. Along the way, they frequently and continuously apologized for the inconveniences, and each time Rukia told them 'It was fine' and 'Don’t worry about it' as she continued to keep that huge smile plastered on her face. Renji, for his part, said nothing.

When they finally made it outside, they looked up to see the storm was raging harder than ever, matching quite well with the one going on in their minds. They stood there in silence underneath the covering, a little ways off from the entrance, watching the rain come down in sheets. Finally, Rukia spoke up first.

“Well, that sure was something,” She got out through gritted teeth.

“Yeah… A real appointment from Hueco Mundo…” Renji muttered while rubbing the back of his neck, “I’m sorry they put you through all that, Rukia.”

“Heh, that? That was nothing!” She declared as loftily as she could manage as she waved him off, “It was mostly just waiting around right? Nothing to be concerned about! I’m only sorry that you still haven’t had anything to eat yet. Speaking of which, we should-”

“Rukia,” Renji said, taking her by the shoulders, and holding her still, “It’s okay. It’s just us. You can admit to me that it sucked back there.” Rukia looked down, unable to meet his eyes.

“But…”

“But nothing!" Renji practically shouted, "They made you wait around for hours, stressed out of your mind, on no food. If that wasn't enough, they stuck you with a needle, even though you told them that it wasn't going to work. And then, after all of that, they tell you they need you to get a whole ‘nother procedure done, just so you can reschedule this whole thing and go through it all over again. That was a complete disaster of an appointment! It’s okay to admit that it sucked-”

“No, it’s not okay!” Rukia shouted back at him, “It’s not- It wasn’t supposed to…I am supposed to be stronger than this. I…” She squeezed her eyes closed, shutting out the tears that threatened to fall.

“Everyone has their limits, Ru,” Renji continued gently, “And they managed to hit most of yours all in one day. It’s okay,” he brought her trembling form into a hug, “It’s okay. I’m just glad I was there to support you. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to take off for the next one too, and-”

“No!” Rukia shouted, pushing against him, so that she could look up into his face, “No, you don’t have to do that! You already do so much for me…too much for me. I’ll be alright, Renji, so please don’t change up your schedule for me.”

“Doing too much…? Crap, Rukia, is that what this has all been about?! Is this why you’ve been acting weirdly cheery all day and not wanting me to help you? Because you were worried about me?” Renji asked, letting go of her with one hand to scratch his head, “By Yamamoto’s Bald Head, Ru, haven’t I told you before that you can rely on your friends?! To let us help you carry your burdens? You should always be able to get support from your friends and loved ones, Rukia,” He finished warmly, holding her in both hands again, but Rukia glared back up at him.

“Oh yeah?! What about you?!”

“M-Me?” Renji stuttered as a bead of sweat formed on his forehead.

“Yeah! Do you think I haven’t noticed you running yourself ragged trying to help me? Do you think I haven’t noticed how stressed and tired you are? Do you think I didn’t notice you not even finishing your dinner last night, even though it was your favorite?” Rukia accused, jabbing a finger at his chest, “ You are exhausted, Renji, and whenever I try to give you even an iota of help, you push me off! So since you wouldn’t let me help you, I was hoping I could at least decrease your stress by showing you that even when you aren’t around all the time, I will be okay. That nothing bad will happen if you decide to take a break. That if you turn your head, you won’t turn back around and see me…dead,” Rukia finished quietly. Renji took a sharp intake of breath, his grip tightening.

“Ru…”

“Renji,” Rukia said quietly as she leaned her forehead against his chest. “I know that you are just worried about me. But I’m worried about you too, you numbskull. And if anything were to happen to me, then I don’t…I don’t want you becoming what Niisama became after Hisana died. And that’s why…" she took a deep breath, "...that’s why I have been downplaying my fears this entire time. You were right, Renji, I was nervous about the tests and I did want you to come. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but you were running yourself ragged, Renji. And I thought this was the only way to get through to you.”

Renji said nothing at first as he wrapped his arms fully around her, pulling her close. Finally he sighed, “Crap, Rukia, I'm sorry… I had no idea you had all this tumbling inside of you. I never meant to make you feel this way. I just wanted you to know that I would always be there for you, y’know?”

“Don’t apologize, you doofus," Rukia murmured into his chest as she returned the hug, "You shouldn’t feel ashamed for caring too much. And I know you will always be there for me, so just take better care of yourself, you big dork.”

“I just…the truth is," he took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "the reason I never take a break isn’t just because I want to take care of you,” Renji admitted as he buried his face into her hair, and tightened his grip around her, “It’s because, I’m afraid. I’m afraid that if I stop in order to take care of myself, I will have to think about what’s happening, and then…and then I might break. I might break, Ru,” his voice cracked with a barely contained sob, “And…if I break… then I might just get stuck like that. Just a broken fool on the ground, unable to help the one he loves most in the world. And if I do that, then what good will I be to you then?”

“Fool,” Rukia said gently, looking up at him. She cupped his face in her hands, “Idiot. What good will you be? Renji, you already aren’t just good to me, you are the best. Just as you are. You don’t have to do anything else.” Renji looked down, unable to meet her eyes.

“A fat lot of good I did you today…” he chuckled derisively.

“Renji...look at me,” Rukia growled at him. Renji’s eyes snapped back up to her and her voice changed immediately to tenderness, “Yes, days like today will happen, but you listened to me Renji. You listened to me, and stood by me, and it made me feel good to know that someone in there was on my side, who saw me as something more than just another patient. That my problems were more than just minor inconveniences to be brushed off. You acknowledged me, Renji.”

Renji sucked in his breath, “Ru…”

“So let me do the same for you. Your fears, your pain, they matter, Renji. This illness is going to be a tough battle for BOTH of us. And just like any other battle we’ve fought before, we need to finish our own fights, before we can go help the other person with theirs. You got that?”

Renji took a deep breath and let it out again, “Yeah…”

“Yeah,” Rukia agreed. Then she smirked. “And hey, if I need you, I’ll call you, alright? I think I might have your number stored somewhere on my soul pager,” She winked

Renji grinned back at her, “Oh, you mean the number you have labeled, ‘Sexy Tiger Man’?”

“Y-Your name for me in your phone is just as bad! 'Cute Bunny Girl?' Really, Renji?! That’s not even original!” Rukia countered back. Renji laughed heartily, before burying his face into her neck again. He sighed deeply, breathing in her scent.

“You…You will tell me though, won’t you?” he murmured, “When you need help? Even when I seem busy? I…I need to know I’m not abandoning you, Rukia.”

“You’re not abandoning me, Renji,” Rukia said, reaching up to gently comb her fingers through his locks, “But yes, I will tell you.”

“Thank you,” he breathed quietly.

“And keep in mind we can call on our other friends too,” She continued, “We could get outside help and develop a system for it, y’know?”

“Yeah,” he agreed.

“And tell you what, if I really need something, and we really can’t find anyone else who is available, then I guess you are just stuck with me! Deal?”

“Deal!” he pulled back from her neck and smiled at her, “Okay, I guess you’re right.”

“I usually am,” Rukia smirked as she cupped his face in her hands, her thumbs gently brushing away her tears. Renji’s eyes slowly closed at the soothing sensation.

“Yeah,” Renji murmured, “Yeah, you are.”

When she had finished, he pulled her back into his embrace, burying his face into her neck once more. Rukia wrapped her arms just as tightly around him. They wished they could stay there forever, in that peaceful bubble amongst the raging storm. However, they were interrupted rather loudly by the sound of their stomachs growling.

"Oh, right," Rukia said as she blinked bleary up at him, "food."

Renji chuckled as he loosened his grip, "I guess we probably should go grab something to eat. It's almost lunchtime now."

"Yes. Let’s get you something before you faint on me!" Rukia said firmly as she released him.

“Yes, ma’am!” Renji scratched his chin, and looked around. Suddenly he perked up, “Hey! Look at that,” he pointed to a poster on the wall next to them, “A new branch of that western style bar, Sandwiches, I Guess, just opened up right around the corner from here! Do you want to go find out if they actually make sandwiches or not?” Rukia raised an eyebrow at him and slowly turned to look at the poster.

“Hmmm. Well despite your ‘very enthusiastic’ promotion of it earlier, I’m not sure if I… By Yamamoto’s Long and Braided Beard, all alcohol is half off for their grand opening?!?”

“Hm?" Renji asked. He squinted at the poster, "Oh yeah, I guess it is. Huh.”

At that, Rukia immediately turned back towards him, a sparkle in her eyes, "You know what? Yes. Let's go. Right now. Who cares if they actually sell sandwiches or not? I wanna go get stupid drunk!"

"Alright!!!" Renji laughed. He looked up at the sky, "Hey, look at that, the rain is finally letting up. I think the sun's coming out too!" Rukia turned to look up at the sky and saw that the rain had indeed begun to slow, and that the sun was finally peeking out between the clouds. She spotted Renji out of the corner of her eye, who seemed to be smiling with his entire being.

"Yeah. Yeah, it is."

"Ready to head back to the carriage?" Renji asked as he turned and offered her his warm hand and even warmer smile. She returned both eagerly.

"Yeah,” Rukia grinned back, squeezing his hand tightly, “Let's go."

#bleach #renruki #fanfiction #renji abarai #rukia kuchiki #byakuya kuchiki #post tybw #learning to breathe #L2B #bloodlines au #hurt/comfort #some angst #some humor #family

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enki2 · 10 months ago

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So, as somebody who was paying close attention to both generative art and generative text years before GANs & LLMs were invented (both the actual tech on the ground and how the media & regular people talked about it), I have a couple things to add. (Also relevant experience: I've written freelance for outlets with varying degrees of clout, self-published, gotten my stuff published in small-press anthologies, gotten paid for non-LLM machine-generated text by a small press who was featuring gen art, commissioned art, and spent a bunch of time talking about GANs with both professional illustrators and people who do art commissions.)

For one thing, text generation that's good enough to generate shitty children's books & nonsense essays has been around for a lot longer. I absolutely do see writers freaking out about LLMs (and the writers I see freaking out about LLMs are exactly the same demographics as the artists I see freaking out about GANs: amateurs doing freelance/commission work), but I think freelance writers have more or less accepted that they've never been able to make a living off this stuff & they also have noticed that their shit pay doesn't seem to get substantially more shitty (or their commissions substantially more rare) even after all the scary articles.

For another, every minor advance in generating art of any kind (including visual and textual art) produces dozens of low-effort sensationalist articles about how robots are gonna take artists' jobs. (It doesn't matter how shitty the output is: look at coverage of that TV screenplay writing program from the 50s.) These articles tend to have a big but short-lived effect on the discourse, and then are completely forgotten -- with the same people freaking out about what is essentially the same article about the same technology several years later. GANs and LLMs have stayed in the news a bit longer because non-technical people were able to play with them through several generations of development -- but this doesn't guarantee that the freakout will "take" (nobody spent too long worrying about botnik's autosuggest-keyboard was going to put comedians out of work, even though a lot of people found it very useful for comedy writing). It may be chance that GAN sensationalism hit a particularly sensitive audience, who now is stuck doubling down on dubious ideas because people post a lot of GAN images & trigger them, rather than amateur illustrators somehow being less capable of critical thinkers than amateur authors.

There's also a much bigger gap between drawing furry porn on commission and being a professional illustrator than there is between writing blog posts and writing a book, in terms of typical workflow. Professional illustrators are used to painting over photobashed models (which is almost exactly the same as painting over a GAN-generated image -- which you'd need to do in order to make it into something of publishable quality) while amateur artists of the kind I'm characterizing here tend to come out of the "do not steal my OC" corners of fandom spaces & idealize originality in a way that's not really compatible with commerce. Meanwhile, both the random Medium publication that wants to republish your shitpost & the New York Times is gonna basically gonna do collaborative editing on google docs & then try to figure out a way to not pay you. So, writers in general are not under the illusion that their work is valued, while digital painters who have not yet interacted with The Industry often are under that illusion.

Another factor is that literacy is more common than visual literacy. Most people can tell that an essay is dogshit because they themselves wrote dogshit essays in high school & got reamed out for it. But most people cannot recognize the illustration equivalent of a C+ essay. What's more, most people can recognize when an essay is poorly structured even when all the words are spelled correctly, while an image with reasonable anatomy but poor composition does not register as an unacceptable image. (I think most people can tell when somebody really knocks it out of the park -- the image equivalent of award-winning poetry has exactly the same kind of impact as award-winning poetry -- but most art, like most writing, is mediocre, and it takes a lot of learned skill to distinguish between two slightly different shades of mediocrity.)

Honestly kind of interesting to compare the relative intensity of response to AI art from visual artists/illustrators and writers - there's plenty of, like, high-minded worry about the potential damage of people using ChatGPT as a search engine/personal assistant or whatever, but basically no one seems to viscerally loath it like people on here do Midjourney.

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toomuchdickfort · 4 years ago

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#me? making a post three hours after my bedtime and four hours after I went to bed? unfortunately #anyway I’m stuck in a brain loop and have to like. talk it out to get unstuck so like. here have my OC rambles at a time when I should reall #be asleep.#don’t mind me #so like. first of all I’ve got 3 couples that I called evil wives which while fun is unfortunate Bc like. I wanna be able to text my friend #and be like ‘so evil wives fun fact’ and have them potentially know exactly who I’m talking about and anyway I’ve decided corvina and Rij ar #keeping the evil wives title Bc like. it’s apt. veran and Kavarie are science wives (or unethical science wives... still evil but they’re #doing experiments along the way) and like. I don’t have a new name for karen and Erellise #? but they’re the ones I wanna talk about.#basically like. grief fucks you up dude. and sometimes Karen will just dip for a couple of months. and sure erellise knows she’s gonna be #alright but like... she needs to have someone she can trust sometimes and she leans on Karen differently from how she leans on Ilkinz and #sometimes things line up just right to leave her in a very big house with only people she’s regularly threatening to keep her company and #like. she’s very aware that she made this bed. but it still hurts.#and Karen has moments of ‘yes Erellise is resilient but she’s not infallible and she can technically still be killed’ and she panics and #has to leave because she knows so many of Erellise’s weaknesses and so many ways she could get hurt and she ends up stuck there so she’ll #leave and just keep a distance until she’s like. not gonna want to cry every time she looks at her wife? or at least if she does cry it wont #be out of fear that at any moment she could lose her.#these gals may be tough but they’ve lived for a very long time and learned a lot of reasons to worry about someone who can be hurt. and #sometimes they hold onto each other because it feels like they’re all they can consistently depend on. and-#and they just don’t talk about it except through short comments because they’re both getting used to baring their fears to someone again and #Karen bought a house in her home town a long time ago and sometimes they just move out there for a while because. the town is nearly #abandoned by now because that’s where reality split. and as unnerving as it is? watching the sun set past the hole in the sky is stunning.#and it makes for a good place to get away from everyone. there’s a very old woman down the street who paints dishes (especially glasses) tha #Karen’s known longer than she’s known Erellise and the woman insists she’s perfectly non magical and they’ve stopped bringing it up and all #of their dishes in that house were bought from her and sure the old woman tells Erellise that she could do so much better in the floral #business than ‘whatever it is you’ve got now’ every time they come by but it’s a pleasant enough interaction and it’s nice to pretend for a #little while that this is their life. an old house that takes a lot of work to keep running and dishes painted with charmingly abstract #dancers and burning brownies and air that always feels almost a little too humid and a window where you can watch the sun set from the #kitchen and when they go back to Erellise’s house they’re glad for the working air conditioner and the oven that runs at the right heat and #the people they know and sure it’s not all perfect but it never is no matter where they are and at least they’re there together

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highlifeboat · 2 years ago

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I'mma be selfish about those winter asks: all of them. All the couples/OCs. Your good content dragged me into this hell (AKA AU you made that is so good and fun to read and I look at when I want to enjoy stuff) and now you have to deal with me (enjoying it all).

STRAP YOURSELVES IN BOIS IT’S GONNA BE A LONG ONE–

(Separating by Ships rather than Questions so it’s easier to read. I also realize it’s not technically ALL the ships, but it is all the OCs. In my defence, this is long as hell lmao.)

Miacina:

1. Who makes the other hot chocolate?

Mia always makes hot chocolate for Alcina, mostly because if Alcina is going to have a hot beverage, hot chocolate isn’t her first choice. She’s more of a tea drinker. Of course, she’s always appreciative of Mia bringing her pretty much anything as a nice little gesture. And she has to admit, her wife really does make an excellent hot chocolate.

2. Who listens to Christmas music way too early?

Mia is a menace with Christmas music. Alcina loves the music as much as the next person who hasn’t worked retail, but it will be the beginning of November and Mia will go from Spooky Season right into Christmas Chaos and start digging out Alcina’s Christmas records.

3. Who is excited for trimming the Christmas Tree?

For a third time, Mia loves decorating the tree. Alcina’s happy to help her (Which usually just means getting the top and putting the star on), but for the most part it’s actually Daniela and Max who help Mia with getting the tree ready. Sometimes Cassandra helps, too.

4. Who puts up the Christmas lights?

Alcina. Because she’s the one who can actually reach without a ladder. Mia is very adamant about helping, though.

5. Who wants to go see the neighborhood Christmas lights?

Mia, for sure, though Christmas lights within the Village are kind of minimal. The other Lords sometimes have some nice lights set up, though. Granted they could probably dec out every room in the damn castle and do a tour of lights that way. (How do they get power for this? I dunno, probably a comically long extension cord from Heisenberg’s factory.)

6. Who bakes cookies?

Mia. She used to do it all the time with her grandma and mom as a kid, and she does her absolute best to try and make cookies even half as good as those. In an odd mirror of events, her and Melony make Christmas cookies together and it’s such an amazing bonding time for them both.

7. Who wraps the presents?

Alcina. You might think it’d be a pain in the ass for her… and it is. She usually ends up getting some of the maids to help her. Mia has tried but she’s actually not very good at wrapping stuff. (Plus she can get a little distracted.)

8. Who hits up Black Friday sales?

Both of them. Look, sometimes the Duke has some good post-Christmas discounts and the two will buy each other a kind of “Christmas Bonus” gift (aka, one buys the other something they see that they REALLY want. Usually something that would cost an arm and a leg any other day)

9. Who wants to build a snowman?

Mia always wants to, and then she actually goes outside and remembers how fucking cold it is. It doesn’t always stop her, though, Alcina has gone outside to find Mia slapping a pair of boobs onto a snowman. It’s actually a little sad watching Mia make snowmen on her own, since the girls can’t go out. Alcina usually ends up joining her.

10.Who starts a snowball fight?

Mia would, but that’s the one thing Alcina doesn’t really enjoy. Both because she’s at a huge disadvantage, but also because she’s a little worried about hitting Mia in the face too hard and hurting her. So the two of them don’t really do snowball fights.

11. Who wants to cosy up to the fire?

Alcina, though Mia is always happy to cuddle her wife by the fire. They’re both always cold, especially in winter, so cuddling under a blanket while near a toasty fire and ripping hot chocolate is like heaven for them.

12. Who looks best in a jacket?

Alcina, even though she doesn’t wear a jacket because she can’t really… feel cold. But Mia has to be bundled up in 3-4 layers PLUS a big puffy coat otherwise she’ll whine about how cold it is. As you can imagine, it’s not the most flattering look.

13. Who wants to see the Christmas parade?

Again, not a huge thing in the Village, but Mia sometimes talks about how she always got excited for it.

14. Who still believes in Santa?

Mia. Alcina isn’t going to tell her otherwise, either. Mostly because she can’t tell if Mia actually does still believe in Santa at 37 years old, or if she just enjoys the idea that Santa exists and pretends. Either way she finds it very cute.

15. Who throws the Christmas party?

Alcina. She holds one every year for the other Lords. They tend to go well, until someone gets far too drunk and a family spat happens and suddenly Mia and Moreau are fighting, Donna’s having a panic attack in the corner, Heisenberg’s hanging from the chandelier, Alcina’s ugly wine-drunk sobbing, and Miranda is about to kill everyone in a 500 foot radius if anybody looks her in the eye.

16. Who picks out matching ugly sweaters?

Mia, and she always manages to find the tackiest thing ever, that she’ll then have to bring to Donna and ask her to tailor the same thing for Alcina. Alcina despises the ugly sweaters. She finds them rather uncomfortable and itchy. But she can wear them for a little while to make Mia happy.

17. Who makes homemade gifts?

Mia tries to, especially for Alcina, but it doesn’t always work out very well for her.

18. Who is the best gift giver?

Alcina, she knows Mia like the back of her hand and always manages to get the perfect gift for her small wife. But she always appreciates whatever Mia gives her for Christmas.

19. Who wants a kiss under the mistletoe?

Mia, even though she could get a kiss from her wife literally any time she wanted. She insists the mistletoe kiss is special and for good luck. Alcina doesn’t believe that, but she’s also not going to turn down a kiss.

20. Who wants to go caroling?

Mia always wants to, but Alcina won’t let her. Sometimes she manages to get the girls in on singing carols with her around the castle, though. It bugs the staff immensely.

21. Who is bad at ice skating and keeps falling on their butt?

Bold to assume either of them can ice skate. Alcina has minimal experience with it, and Mia’s never really done it before. That said, they’d probably try to learn how to do it together and it’d be a really cute time of trying to help each other balance and whatever. They’re both falling on their asses, though.

Belena:

1. Who makes the other hot chocolate?

Bela is queen of randomly bringing Elena hot beverages in general. It’s usually tea, but she does bring Elena hot coco, and Elena always tells her how good it is. Bela doesn’t usually drink it herself, though. It’s mainly a thing she makes specifically for Elena.

2. Who listens to Christmas music way too early?

Way too early is a bit of an over statement, but Elena is the first one getting into the Christmas spirit in general, and therefore is the first of them listening to Christmas songs.

3. Who is excited for trimming the Christmas Tree?

Bela gets the most excited for it. She always loves doing the tree at Christmas time, even with her sisters being chaotic. She’s always found it to be a very nice family activity, and she has a lot of fond memories of it.

4. Who puts up the Christmas lights?

Bela helps her mom put them up around the castle, as part of her Tall Person Privilege.

5. Who wants to go see the neighborhood Christmas lights?

I think Elena would be the one who wants to go see Christmas lights. In some world or AU where they could, Elena would be dragging Bela out to go see them every other day. (Of course Bela would happily go with her. She just needs an extra layer or two.)

6. Who bakes cookies?

They’d try to bake cookies together, and I think they’d be pretty good with it. They’d be really basic chocolate chip cookies, though. Not anything fancy.

7. Who wraps the presents?

They usually wrap gifts together, though Bela usually ends up wrapping more because of Elena’s bad hand.

8. Who hits up Black Friday sales?

Neither would brave the crowds of Black Friday, even if it is just the Duke. There’s nothing worth potentially being shoved around for they can’t get any other day.

9. Who wants to build a snowman?

Most likely Elena, for old times sake, and Bela will watch from the window with the aforementioned hot chocolate waiting for her girlfriend to get cold and come inside to cuddle.

10.Who starts a snowball fight?

Also would probably be Elena if given the chance, and if it wouldn’t burn Bela’s skin off.

11. Who wants to cosy up to the fire?

Bela’s a lot more adamant about sitting near the fire in the winter. Elena does want to join her, but she still has a bit of a hard time being too close to an open flame. She is trying to work on it. Because she feels bad making Bela either sit by the fire on her own, or have to stay with her on the couch/bed and settle for cuddling for warmth. (Bela insists she doesn’t mind. Elena still feels bad, though)

12. Who looks best in a jacket?

Hands down, Elena. It’s hard for Bela to find a jacket that actually fits her properly since she has a long torso.

13. Who wants to see the Christmas parade?

I think Bela would be really interested in seeing a Christmas parade, even if she doesn’t really understand the point of standing in the cold for an hour and a half watching cars pull giant decorated trailers down the road.

14. Who still believes in Santa?

Bela, but she won’t actually admit that to anybody. She acts like she doesn't, to seem mature, and because Cass would 100% tease her about it. Because it’s fine when Daniela, the delusional childish baby of the family, believes in him. But Miranda forbid the eldest of them still does.

15. Who throws the Christmas party?

Probably Elena, but it would most likely just be a family get together more than a party. (If she… had any family left, anyway)

16. Who picks out matching ugly sweaters?

I like to think Elena would make them their ugly sweaters. Girl can knit, so they’re usually nice and soft, just with some ugly Christmas design. Bela loves them

17. Who makes homemade gifts?

Elena mostly. And it’s usually clothing.

18. Who is the best gift giver?

Very dependent on which one you ask, Bela will argue Elena is always so thoughtful when it comes to gift giving which makes her the best, but Elena will argue Bela actually knows what to get everyone which makes her the best.

19. Who wants a kiss under the mistletoe?

Bela, and she stands under it any chance she gets in order to receive a mistletoe kiss.

20. Who wants to go caroling?

Elena would want to go if other people were going, Bela would just go along to be supportive

21. Who is bad at ice skating and keeps falling on their butt?

Bela, because she’s never actually skated before. Because she literally can’t go outside to skate. Elena would love to teach her if they were ever given the opportunity, though.

Mecassa:

1. Who makes the other hot chocolate?

Melony will make Cassandra hot chocolate anytime she can during the cold months. It’s her way of making sure Cassandra stays warm, and she greatly appreciated it. Cassandra also makes Melony hot chocolate, even during summer months, though, because it’s her girl’s comfort drink.

2. Who listens to Christmas music way too early?

Neither of them really like Christmas music enough to listen to it early, though Melony probably starts singing carols sooner than Cassandra does.

3. Who is excited for trimming the Christmas Tree?

Melony, mostly because she’s never done it before. She has a lot of fun doing it, too, even if she can really only help with the lower branches.

4. Who puts up the Christmas lights?

Cassandra, but she’ll lift Melony up so she can help out.

5. Who wants to go see the neighborhood Christmas lights?

Melony, girl loves the look of Christmas lights. Especially the blinky colourful ones. If she could, she’d like to have them up all the time.

6. Who bakes cookies?

Obviously, Melony does with Mia. But Cassandra does pop in to “help” (aka; eat the raw cookie dough and be a general menace towards her girlfriend, and mom)

7. Who wraps the presents?

For the most part, it’s a Melony job. Cassandra does try to help, though. (And everyone can tell when Melony has wrapped one vs Cassandra)

8. Who hits up Black Friday sales?

Cassandra, but she never actually buys anything. She mostly just goes to waste everyone’s time.

9. Who wants to build a snowman?

Neither. Melony does’t really like the snow, and Cassandra can’t go out even if she wanted to.

10.Who starts a snowball fight?

See the previous answer. (Though it’d totally be Cassandra if she could go out.)

11. Who wants to cosy up to the fire?

Mainly Cassandra. Catch her scooping Melony up and bringing her to the nearest fireplace so they can snuggle and be warm. Most of the time, Melony has no objection to this.

12. Who looks best in a jacket?

Melony, mainly because she’s the only one who wears a jacket between the two.

13. Who wants to see the Christmas parade?

Cassandra’s probably a lot more into the idea of a Christmas parade. I think Melony would end up getting way too anxious in a crowd of people to really enjoy herself.

14. Who still believes in Santa?

Neither of them believe in Santa. Cassandra grew out of it a long time ago, and it was never really a thing in Melony’s home for her to ever believe in it in the first place. (Plus Melony finds the concept kind of creepy anyway).

15. Who throws the Christmas party?

Bold to assume these two would ever throw a Christmas party. They’d rather watch Christmas movies or something than deal with people.

16. Who picks out matching ugly sweaters?

Melony, and Cassandra really only wears it to make her happy. Much like her mom, Cassandra hates itchy/ugly Christmas sweaters.

17. Who makes homemade gifts?

Homemade stuff isn’t really their thing. The closest they get is Melony’s baking for everyone.

18. Who is the best gift giver?

Melony’s really good at getting gifts for people she knows well (Like Max, Mia, or Cass), but Cassandra’s surprisingly good at getting gifts for everybody no matter what.

19. Who wants a kiss under the mistletoe?

Melony, but she’s too shy to ask. Lucky for her Cassandra ALSO wants to kiss under the mistletoe and isn’t shy about asking at all.

20. Who wants to go caroling?

Cassandra, she actually kind of likes caroling with her sisters. Melony probably would if she wasn’t worried about sounding bad, though.

21. Who is bad at ice skating and keeps falling on their butt?

God, both of them can’t skate to save their lives. Max and Elena have both offered to try and teach Melony, but she’s yet to accept the offers.

Daximus:

1. Who makes the other hot chocolate?

They take turns surprising each other with hot chocolate. Daniela especially can’t get enough of the stuff so everytime she makes it she’ll make Max some, too. Max isn’t as big of cocoa drinker, but he knows Daniel likes it which is mainly why he makes it.

2. Who listens to Christmas music way too early?

They’re both guilty. They both LOVE Christmas music, and, along with Mia, pull out the Christmas vinyls pretty much on November 1st.

3. Who is excited for trimming the Christmas Tree?

This might be the one thing Max actually gets more excited about than Daniela. Decorating for Christmas was always his favourite thing as a kid, especially the tree. Unfortunately he doesn’t feel entirely comfortable actually expressing that in front of everybody, but he does try to help with the tree a little bit.

4. Who puts up the Christmas lights?

Max puts them up, but Daniela is the one who insists on stringing some up in the bedroom because she loves the look of them. (He tends to agree.)

5. Who wants to go see the neighborhood Christmas lights?

Daniela would love to go see the Christmas lights. In some AU where she can be outside in the winter and they lived in like… a normal town, she’d drag Max out to go see them.

6. Who bakes cookies?

Daniela tried to, because Max can’t bake for shit. Unfortunately, neither can she. They leave the baking to Mia and Melony.

7. Who wraps the presents?

They share the responsibility pretty evenly, but Max is arguably better at wrapping than Daniela is.

8. Who hits up Black Friday sales?

Max does, it’s the best time for him to buy Daniela more Squishmallows (and maybe look at some discount knives)

9. Who wants to build a snowman?

Daniela always wants to, even though she knows she can’t go outside, let alone touch snow without burning her fingers off. So Mia showed them how to make fake snow. It’s not the same thing, obviously, but Daniela can make baby snowmen out of it and she loves it all the same.

10.Who starts a snowball fight?

Either of them would, honestly, again, if snow wasn’t actually deadly to Daniela. (Doesn’t stop them from using the fake snow, though. Which totally doesn’t make a mess and get Alcina mad at them.)

11. Who wants to cosy up to the fire?

You’d think Daniela, cause of the whole “I hate cold” thing, but Max is actually the one who has to convince her to snuggle by the fire. The main reason being because Daniela has so much more energy in winter, it’s hard to get her to just sit. Half the time he has to end up laying on her just to keep her there for more than ten minutes. (She could just swarm off and leave if she wanted, but he looks so comfy and Daniela doesn’t wanna ruin that for him)

12. Who looks best in a jacket?

Max will argue Daniela does, Daniela will argue that Max does. The truth is they both look great in jackets, Max just wears them more because he actually goes outside.

13. Who wants to see the Christmas parade?

Daniela. She has no idea what it is, but she really wants to see one.

14. Who still believes in Santa?

Daniela definitely does, Max probably still would, too, if he didn’t have to start being Santa and leaving gifts for his younger siblings when he was a teenager.

15. Who throws the Christmas party?

Daniela’s probably way more of a party person than Max is, so she’d have the idea to throw one, and then get Max to help her organize it.

16. Who picks out matching ugly sweaters?

Daniela for sure. She’ll get them at the start of the month and then her and Max will wear them all the time until Christmas day. Max doesn’t mind, he actually really likes ugly Christmas sweaters.

17. Who makes homemade gifts?

Max, and he tries to make one for everybody, not just Daniela. It’s a little bit hard when he doesn’t know everyone that well aside from like 2 or 3 people, though.

18. Who is the best gift giver?

Daniela’s adamant that it’s Max. He always seems to know what to get everyone, even though he’s not really obligated to get anybody anything.

19. Who wants a kiss under the mistletoe?

Both of them, and believe me, they’re gonna do way more than kiss if they can. (Daniela’s gonna put one specifically in their room so she has an excuse to smooch Max whenever he comes in the door and vice versa)

20. Who wants to go caroling?

Oh, they’re both big into caroling. They can’t exactly go around and torment the Village with their singing, but they sure can run around the castle and bug the staff and family with non-stop “Deck the Halls” and “Jingle Bells” and “All I want For Christmas is You”.

21. Who is bad at ice skating and keeps falling on their butt?

Daniela (she’s never been skating before). Max is surprisingly okay at it, though.

Elizabeta and Donna/Angie (Platonic):

1. Who makes the other hot chocolate?

Elizabeta, even though that could be seen as part of her job almost. She makes it with love either way, and Donna does appreciate the gesture.

2. Who listens to Christmas music way too early?

Oh, Elizabeta hands down. Donna enjoys Christmas music enough, but sometimes she can hear it playing from the gardener’s house when she walks by or hear Elizabeta humming it in mid-November.

3. Who is excited for trimming the Christmas Tree?

Elizabeta, though Angie is also super excited about decorating. Which, she has to assume means Donna is somewhat excited about it, too. They have fun putting up the tree together and decorating it (Angie gets to put the star on top)

4. Who puts up the Christmas lights?

Elizabeta, again, mainly as part of her job. But also because she’s taller and Donna’s afraid of falling off a ladder.

5. Who wants to go see the neighborhood Christmas lights?

Donna really loves Christmas lights, and she’d love to go sight seeing Christmas lights if she could. She has to settle for whatever Alcina decides to put up, though. They’re pretty all the same.

6. Who bakes cookies?

Honestly, I think Donna would. I like to believe she’s fairly good at baking at least very basic cookies, and that’s good enough for them.

7. Who wraps the presents?

They wrap presents together. Neither is especially bad at it, so it mostly just becomes a light hearted fight for markers and tape. (Meanwhile, Angie’s literally stealing the supplies to go wrap her own gifts)

8. Who hits up Black Friday sales?

Elizabeta would, despite Donna telling her it’s not worth dealing with the crowds.

9. Who wants to build a snowman?

Oh, Elizabeta, and to some extent Angie. They have to convince Donna to help them make one (mainly because if she isn’t around they’re just going to fight).

10.Who starts a snowball fight?

Angie. It starts with her throwing one at Liza, and in retaliation she throws one back, somehow one ends up hitting Donna, now they’re all in on it. Until someone forfeits or gets hurt somehow.

11. Who wants to cosy up to the fire?

Probably Elizabeta, because she works outside all day, and while her place further out does have a fireplace, it’s just kind of nice to sit with her friend and drink a hot beverage by a nice big fire.

12. Who looks best in a jacket?

Donna, because Angie and Elizabeta don’t wear jackets.

13. Who wants to see the Christmas parade?

Elizabeta would want to go, but Donna would rather stay home. Liza would end up going with Max and Daniela instead.

14. Who still believes in Santa?

Both of them. Donna maybe a little more. Elizabeta likes to think he’s real even though she knows by now that he isn’t.

15. Who throws the Christmas party?

Neither of them, they’ll go to Alcina’s Christmas party for a while then go home and watch old movies or something to wind down.

16. Who picks out matching ugly sweaters?

Not necessarily matching, but Elizabeta would find her and Donna Christmas sweaters to wear. Donna isn’t the most festive person, but she’ll put it on for Christmas day/eve.

17. Who makes homemade gifts?

Donna, and much like Elena, it’s mainly clothing. (Though Angie will make little handmade things for Donna and maybe Alcina)

18. Who is the best gift giver?

Probably Elizabeta, but the bar is pretty low for the term “Best” with these three. They’re trying their best, though.

19. Who wants a kiss under the mistletoe?

Elizabeta. She won’t get one from Donna but she can get one from Max while they’re over (and maybe one from Daniela if she’s lucky)

20. Who wants to go caroling?

Elizabeta, again, but she knows Donna won’t let her. Her and Angie sure can sing and annoy the heck out of Donna, though.

21. Who is bad at ice skating and keeps falling on their butt?

Elizabeta, though Donna is very willing to try and teach her how. Girl just had bad balance, and it doesn’t help that Angie’s 100% heckling her about it from the sidelines.

Lake and Angela (Platonic):

1. Who makes the other hot chocolate?

Lake makes it at random and just sets it beside Angela without a word. Everytime. They never say anything about it. Boi just likes making their friend some nice cocoa.

2. Who listens to Christmas music way too early?

Angela actually really likes Christmas music, and will listen to it anytime throughout the year. Arguably, Christmas is Angela’s favourite holiday. Lake is way less into it, but they’re happy if Angela’s happy.

3. Who is excited for trimming the Christmas Tree?

Angela, they try to do it by themself every year, and every year Lake has to come and help because they aren’t tall enough and Lake is like a damn tree.

4. Who puts up the Christmas lights?

Ya already know it’s Lake and their tall ass.

5. Who wants to go see the neighborhood Christmas lights?

Angela, but Lake is happy to tag along. They both enjoy the lights, and they both adore those houses that have their lights timed to songs. (Angela for “Ooo pretty lights” reasons, and Lake for “Oh fuck the acid kicked in” reasons)

6. Who bakes cookies?

Probably also Angela. They really enjoy baking, and they tend to make a LOT at Christmas especially (and Lake eats 90% of it).

7. Who wraps the presents?

Mostly Angela, but Lake can do it if they don’t forget.

8. Who hits up Black Friday sales?

Both of them, despite Angela hating shopping in general, let alone on Black Friday. But cheap shit is cheap shit. At least Lake isn’t hard to find if (when) they get separated.

9. Who wants to build a snowman?

Lake, and they will sing “Do you Wanna Build a Snowman” until Angela joins them. The two of them usually end up making a small snowman army at the local park.

10.Who starts a snowball fight?

Angela, and it’s usually after Lake makes enough bad snow puns or Frozen references to start getting on their nerves. The snowball fights are always fun, though.

11. Who wants to cosy up to the fire?

Lake, usually with some cocoa, cookies, and a fat blunt. Sometimes Angela joins them, but they prefer sitting under a blanket in a nest of pillows to being near the fire.

12. Who looks best in a jacket?

They both look best in a jacket, but Lake will always joke that they look better.

13. Who wants to see the Christmas parade?

Angela, and Lake gets dragged along because they can put Ange on their shoulders if they get stuck behind people. Lake doesn’t really care for the parade as a whole, though.

14. Who still believes in Santa?

Also Angela, and Lake isn’t going to be the one to tell them otherwise. In fact they arguably keep Angela’s belief alive because they’ve started getting them one “Santa Gift”, for fun.

15. Who throws the Christmas party?

It’s more of a family get together, but Angela is always the host. And it’s always their family, Lake’s never seems to come (and they never seem to go home for the holidays ever. Angela has to admit, they aren’t sure what that’s about.)

16. Who picks out matching ugly sweaters?

Lake, because they can always find the best (worst) ugly sweaters for them to wear.

17. Who makes homemade gifts?

Angela, they’ll usually make one for Lake and one for the coworkers they really like. These gifts get mixed reviews (they once found one in the garbage. But it’s not like they think about it all the time or anything)

18. Who is the best gift giver?

Somehow, it’s Lake. Boi has some sixth sense for getting people gifts, even for birthdays.

19. Who wants a kiss under the mistletoe?

Both of them do, just not with each other. (Well… maybe once.)

20. Who wants to go caroling?

Angela, and it’s probably the one thing they don’t drag Lake out to do with them. They’ve heard Lake sing, and it’s pitchy at best. Plus they have a small group they go around with already.

21. Who is bad at ice skating and keeps falling on their butt?

I think they’re both good at ice skating. Lake is just slightly better at it than Angela.

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