#this was supposed to be a meme post but i think i made the mood too serious lol

[marevision]

Exploring the Crestholm Channels dungeon got me like...

I imagine Noctis and Gladio end up arguing after spending 24 hours just wandering around the sewers just fighting daemons non-stop, trying to look for Cindy’s headlights and trying to find their way out. 

[ask-the-royal-absol]

(It has been one year since I joined the pokeask community with my silly absol. One whole year. How did I get here? Like, damn. It’s just been such a lovely community and I’ve met some truly wonderful people.

I’m sorry I couldn’t get more of you on here. I wish I had the time to draw each and every one of you. This is why I needed the head shot so thank you to everyone who sent it over. Thank you to everyone in this community for being my inspirations, my joy and my friends. I cannot thank you enough. If I could make you all something more to say thank you, I would. (Also forgive me if the image quality is garbage. Tumblr does that sometimes. If you click on it, it'll be clearer.)

I suppose I’ll just go on and say I’ve always admired the community from afar. So many stories I was following. So many inspirational people. The events. The characters. They are all so wonderful. And I followed these blogs for years.

Getting hooked into everything about the ask blog community. At first, I was going to making an ask blog about a royal Goodra/Vespiquen fusion who goes to other places to make political connections for their hive. I drew up a couple of concepts but I didn’t go ahead with it.

I kept following the community, constantly being inspired and amazed by everyone inside of it. I’d wanted to join a community for a while. At first, I joined the Pokémon fusion community. It was fun. I met some great people. But, after a few years, it didn’t fill me with joy. I did fusions on multiple platforms, even making some fusions for the infinite fusions game (they’re still in there). I had a go with commissions. It just became a bit of a chore.

I tried making my own region. It only lasted a month. It left a gap which I didn’t know how to fill. I also did dnd with friends which mostly satisfied this but we didn’t do it consistently enough. I definitely miss doing it. I probably did fusions for 6 years. The blogs are still up. There was nothing I wanted to draw consistently.

Near the end of last year, I had a really tough time. My mental health took a really big dip and I was struggling. It was an incredibly dark time. I didn’t have much going on. Maybe we were doing dnd. I don’t remember though. I started drawing Pokémon because I wasn’t in the mood to draw dnd art.

I don’t know why but I started to draw an absol. I think it may have been inspired by my current dnd character. As I was drawing this absol, ideas started to form in my mind about who this absol was and the world they were from. Ideas kept flowing and flowing.

Once the absol was finished, I drew another character, and another and another. And I just kept drawing. Soon, I started drawing maps and a prophecy for this absol and their world. The name Destino came from the word Destiny. It brought me so much joy. I worked on it for a few days and put it to the side.

Then came around the 27th December 2022. I looked back on my planning for this world and thought perhaps I could turn it into an ask blog. At first, I was so nervous. I didn’t want to go through with it. My partner convinced me to make the blog. That’s when I began to draw the first post. And on December 29th 2022, I created the blog and made a reference post for Destino.

Soon, the first post was posted and I got asks. Exciting stuff! And it was so much fun deciding how Destino would respond. More asks kept coming and I eventually started sending asks to others. The most exciting part would have to be seeing people follow me who I was a huge fan of. Gonna be honest, I’m still so incredibly excited when talking to these people and when they like my stuff.

My love for this blog grew and I’ve spent a lot of my time working on it. I have loved each and every moment of it. It was fun having this smug, egotistical absol interacting with many characters who I am a huge fan of and entertaining to see their reactions. Destino was becoming a bit of a thing. Memes were made of Destino. Destino was insulting every legendary they could come across. For me, it was hilarious. And it seemed others were enjoying their antics too.

I am incredibly thankful each day with every interaction, every like, every follow, every reblog, etc. I’ve had. I’m grateful for this entire community. Every one of you has been so friendly and I love talking to you. This community has filled a void which I wasn’t sure would be filled. And I hope I can continue loving being in this community for a while. Destino is going to stick around for a while. I’ve got big plans for them and I hope to enjoy this journey with you all.

Thank you everyone. I hope I can continue to work with you all and have fun! Let’s get ready for another year of Destino.)

[artzychic27]

And now a random post that totally doesn’t explain my current feelings by using Marc

Alix: Tell him! Do it!

Nathaniel: I don’t want to! I’m scared!

Ismael: It’s either you, his doting boyfriend he’d never hurt, or us. Just give us the signal and we’ll get him in The Box. Now go! *Pushes Nathaniel into the art classroom and shuts the door*

Nathaniel: … Uh… Rainbow?

Marc: *Looks up from his journal* Oh, hey Nath. What’s up?

Nathaniel: Um… So… AO3 is down.

Marc: Yeah, that sucks. I was right in the middle of this really good fic, but it’ll be back up in an hour or two.

Nathaniel: … Actually, Rainbow… Sweetie pie… Light of my life, my love and reason I get up every morning… There was a… DdoS attack… And… AO3 might be down for… A while…

Marc: *Creepy head tilt* … I do not understand the words you are saying…

Nathaniel: … Well…

*Outside*

Aurore: *Holding a cattle prod* How do you think it’s going?

*Before anyone could answer, a crash is heard*

Alix: GET THE FUCK IN THERE, PEOPLE! MOVE!

Marc: I’LL BURN EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE! *Chucks a table out of the window* WHO THE FUCK DO THESE BLOODY CUCKS THINK THEY ARE?! SO MANY OF MY STORIES ARE ON THERE, AND THEY HAVE THE FUCKING GALL TO DO THIS!

*Denise and Ivan tackle Marc to the floor and restrain him*

Nathaniel: They’re just gonna have you rest in The Box for a while, Rainbow. It’ll be okay.

Marc: *Getting dragged away* NOOOOOOO! I’LL BURN THIS FUCKING CITY TO THE GROUND! *Headbutts Ivan, bites Denise’s arm, and escapes while the teachers chase him down* YOU’LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!

Adrien: Uh… What’s The Box?

Nino: Oh, just something the school had made when Marc couldn’t access AO3 for… For like a week.

Adrien: How long did he stay in there?

Nino: A week.

Denise: *Bleeding from their arm* It’s pretty brutal.

Adrien: Denise! You’re bleeding!

Denise: Oh, I don’t think it’s as bad as last time… I hear colors.

Louis: *Getting choked by Marc* You have the shot! Take the shot!

M. Grotke: *Shooting tranquilizers at Marc* I am taking the shot! He’s resisting! These things are supposed to take out Clydesdales!

*One hour later*

Meme. Mendeleiev: Okay, Nath. You know the drill. Here’s his lunch, and your tranq gun. *Hands Nathaniel a lunch tray and a tranquilizer gun*

Alya: Why does he need a tranq gun?!

Marinette: Did you not see Marc rip a door off of its hinges?

Mme. Mendeleiev: Remember, if you miss, play dead, and he’ll lose interest. Godspeed. *Pushes Nathaniel into the basement and shuts the door*

Nathaniel: Okay, it’s just like last time. Nothing to worry about. *Approaches a glass box in the middle of the room, and standing dead center in it is Marc in a prison jumpsuit*

Marc: Hello, Clarisse.

Nathaniel: Really?

Marc: What? Just trying to lighten the mood. Come onnn! Let me out! I promise, I won’t try to murder anyone this time. Don’t you trust me?

Nathaniel: Marc, of course I trust you. But you just need to calm down until AO3 is back up. For God’s sake, we almost lost Louis.

Marc: … Okay. That’s fine. I get it… Why don’t you be a dear and slide that tray in?

Nathaniel: Sure. *He opens a small glass door and starts sliding the lunch tray through it, only for Marc to grab his wrist* MARC! WHAT THE HELL?!

Marc: LET ME OUT OF HERE! I’LL MAKE OUT WITH YOU UNTIL YOU’RE SICK OF ME!

Nathaniel: *Yanks his arm away* There is a laptop next to you! You can read Wattpad, Fanfiction.Net, or Quotev. Love you, nutcase. *Blows him a kiss and leaves*

Marc: YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO PEOPLE! THERE’S NOTHING ON WATTPAD BUT STORIES WRITTEN BY EMO MIDDLE SCHOOLERS! IT’S ALL BAD!

[thewertsearch]

Ask Comp 28/6

It's in the recs list! I'm very much looking forward to this one.

I've certainly enjoyed what I've read so far - it's been nice to get back to the story's original protagonists.

The main mood of Act 5.2 is one of anticipation. We've been getting glimpses of the kids' Grand Plan ever since the Act began, and it very much feels like it's all building up to something. If Homestuck sticks the landing, and the Act 5 finale lives up to all this hype, then this might end up my favorite part of the story so far.

Yeah it's a session tag - although a 'reading session' is a little ambiguously defined, especially when I stop posting for a few hours and return later in the day. How long a gap does it need to be before it qualifies as a new reading session?

I've just been tagging every post made in the same day as the same session. It's not a perfect solution, but it'll do.

Wow, it started in 2010? I could conceivably have been reading Paranatural in school - although I'm glad I came to it a little later, so I wasn't constantly waiting for updates.

Big red peepers. I'll admit I didn't really think of this as a reveal, but I suppose it is our first true peek behind Dave's shades.

Based on this, it's it's probably safe to assume that all the kids have eyes matching their text colors. Has Rose been blessed with the legendary mutation, Alexandria's Genesis?

A few people mentioned this Squiddles meme. I like it, it's very Trunk & The Grunks.

I've really gotta catch up on those albums at some point...

I did wonder if Bro's sword shenanigans were something to do with Dave's Quest - like, maybe he was bequeathing his anime sword to his brother, to accomplish some objective. Now that Dave has his own Quest sword, I think that interpretation is less likely.

Symbolically though, I do think it's notable that Bro's sword is intact, and Dave's is broken. It ties into how Dave sees himself as a worse version of Bro, on some level.

As far as Jack is concerned, I doubt the game intends for him to have anything to do with Dave's journey. The whole point is that he's ignoring the game's rules - so if anything, his antics might start to break the Quests.

It sounds like the style was supposed to take readers aback - although I didn't find it particularly jarring myself!

Homestuck's art style is constantly changing, with this, the Earthbound sprites, and Hero Mode, among other things. Honestly, I had just assumed that the comic's art just fluctuated depending on Hussie's mood.

I quite like the HussNasty panels, and I hope Hussie keeps experimenting with the comic's art. It sounds like this is the beginning of a more general trend, so I'm hopeful that it will continue.

Oh, so it just straight up is Excalibur.

New theory about his Quest, then. It's about worthiness, and Dave is being tasked to 'prove himself' as a hero, despite his insecurities. This ties neatly into the next set of asks below:

Anonymous asked: my headcanon (partially supported by the text, as you've seen from rose's conversation with jaspers) is that each quest is designed to help you self-improve, so that you can responsibly preside over an entire universe. whether you agree with the game about the ways you need to improve is another story.

I've speculated that the Quests are teaching the Players how to sculpt their universe. Building on from this idea, then, these asks speculate that Quests are also trying to improve the Players as people, so that the nascent universe will flourish under their care.

It's an interesting idea - although it does beg the question of why Sburb is creating such flawed Players in the first place. If it's looking for self-actualized custodians for its universe, why did it create Players like the trolls, who wanted to rule over their universe like tyrants?

I guess it's possible that a flawed Player who self-improves is actually more resilient than a flawless Player who never needed to change. The former would potentially be more resilient, capable of adapting to the changing circumstances of their universe as it grows and evolves.

I wish! That's more of an aspirational schedule, really. I should probably delink it, if it's causing confusion.

I'm not sure whether this is Karkat's canonical birthday - but if it is, I like the irony inherent in the fact that he's not even a Cancer.

Yes - although I don't blame you for forgetting, since I don't think I've referenced it since the literal first post of the liveblog!

Oh, god, messages from 2024? Is Tumblr using Trollian as a backend?

Bizarre. I assume, then, that the trickster code was cut as well. :(

If we assume that Sburb did evolve, then it makes sense that it works this way. However, if it was created by some intelligent being, then holding the Players hostage like this seems pretty malicious.

I mean, there are ways to ensure participation in the game that don't involve destroying an entire planet. No matter how clear you were about the risks, if you asked the population of Earth for volunteers, you'd be guaranteed millions of responses.

All that said, if Sburb worked this way, we'd have a very different story. I understand why Sburb works the way it does, in the context of Homestuck's themes.

Speaking of Kingdom Hearts, I'd kind of love for Sora to visit a Homestuck world. His Keyblade upgrade could be the Wrinklefucker - and he'd have to unlock Vriska as a summon, right?

Do it. I've been rereading GtN this week, and as far as I'm concerned, Alecto can't come fast enough.

It is she. The million dollar question, of course, is whether Taylor is ultimately more of a constructive or destructive character.

I mean, I have an opinion, but resurrecting The Great Taylor Hebert Debate on this blog would be an exercise in hubris.

@wickedsick asked: The typically accepted name for Girl Egbert is June, after that one time Vriska spelt John with 64 O's and Egbert said they read it as a really long "June". [...]

Oh man, imagine being trolled by Vriska was your trans awakening. How would you ever recover?

Jokes aside, I like June, It's cute. I feel like if John transitioned she'd choose another 4 letter J-name like that, or a name from one of her movies, like Dana or Janine.

Come on - I'd be shocked if Homestuck didn't end with the straight characters getting outnumbered at least twenty-to-one.

Looks fine to me, I think. I assume the website just hiccupped - wouldn't be the first time!

It blows my mind every time I remember that Undertale came out in 2015. The beginning of the Undertale Era feels like it started simultaneously six months ago, and twenty years ago.

You open the TYPHEUS web browser and direct it to what is indisputably the most amazing website ever created.

Au contraire, my friend - Typheus showed up way back in Act 1!

[ I can't send them yet because they'd tell you a lot about the aspects, but someone sent classpect headcanons for discworld characters and they're SO GOOD - C ]

Damn it, I can't wait. Just based on what I've recently learned, I am convinced Rincewind would be the Something of Light.

[pony-central]

Winter Lovers - An SMG4 and SMG3 Story (Long Post)

Summary - Eight years ago, the Meme Guardians, SMG4 and SMG3, were both trapped in a cold home, where they went Cuckoo Crazy. Eight years later, they both get a faint memory of the incident.

It was a calm day at the SMG4 Castle. SMG4 was busy working on his latest video, when he had received a quick email from his friend, Mario.

SMG4: Oh, my God. Did Mario seriously send me another email? If it's anything like last time with the love email, then I won't bother with it.

He had recalled what happened last time when Mario had gotten the Love Letter virus, and had sent love letters to all of his contacts. SMG4, shivering in squick at that past email, opened the new one. And, to his surprise, it was an invite.

"Dear SMG4. Mario wishes to send you somewhere from your past. Hope you don't end up trapped again. From, your best friend Mario."

SMG4 was surprised at this sudden invite. He then smiled and packed his things. He thought he was going somewhere nice and cool.

SMG4: HOLY CRAP! Mario sent me an invite. He must know me so well. *sighs* I wonder where I'm off to. Ooh! Maybe it's somewhere like Hollywood, or the Bahamas. Ooh, or maybe Brazil. 😊

He ran out of his room with a suitcase and headed to where the Taxi was. The taxi then drove him off on a long drive to the unknown location.

At the Café, SMG3 was sending out people's orders. The café wasn't that busy, there were only three customers who all ordered lots of coffee. SMG3 was exhausted from sending out coffee. Eggdog barked to get his attention, for the puppy wanted beans.

SMG3: Aww, Eggdog. Business is kind of going slow, eh, little buddy? But, don't you worry about it. Soon we will be filthy rich, and -

His phone bleeped. There was an email for him, too. SMG3 sighed in annoyance as he opened the emails up. It was from Mario.

SMG3: *sighs* Mario, I swear to God, if it's that video of spaghetti being made, you're gonna get it! 😞

SMG3's eyes opened wide as he read the email twice over. It was the same email Mario had sent SMG4, just with SMG3's name instead.

SMG3: *gasps* A free vacation?! Oh, my God, I love vacations! I'll get ready right away. Eggdog, you're in charge while I'm gone. Love you. 🥰

He gave Eggdog a kiss on the forehead and left the café with two bags of luggage. He was smiling from ear to ear, as he put on a pair of sunglasses, expecting to be somewhere warm and cosy.

Back with SMG4, the blue Meme Guardian was wondering where he was going. He noticed it was getting a bit on the cloudy side.

SMG4: Oh, ha ha. Looks like a thunderstorm is approaching. Ha ha. OK, I don't think we're gonna experience sunny skies for the entire week, eh? So, where AM I going for my holiday? Hawaii? Japan? Thailand? Pee Pee Island? 🤩

Swag: We're not going to any of those places.

SMG4: Oh. Then... Where AM I off to? 🤨

Swag: You are going to the Arctic. Hope you have a coat with you.

SMG4: The Arctic? But, that's impossible. Mario said I was going on holiday. 🤨

Swag: You ARE on a holiday... To the Arctic. You might need a coat, or a scarf. It'll be a long while before we get there. 😊

SMG4: OK? But, if I'm off to the Arctic, then where can I go for a bathroom break? 😟

Swag: That won't be a problem.

SMG4: *sighs in frustration* GODDAMMIT, Mario! 😞

SMG3 was in his own taxi, wondering if he was going somewhere nicer. He was relaxing in the back of the taxi cab.

SMG3: Huh. Now I'm wondering where I'm off to. A beach? Scotland? Ooh, maybe somewhere more fancy. 😊

Chris: You're off to the Arctic.

SMG3: WHAT?! But, the Arctic is so cold! How the fuck am I supposed to stay warm if I'm in a cold climate?! 😡

Chris: Wear a coat and scarf. 😊

SMG3: Ugh, typical Mario, sending me somewhere I'm gonna die. 😒

Once both taxis arrived at the Arctic, the Meme Guardians stumbled out of the cars. SMG3 was still in a fussy mood, and SMG4 was green in the face. There were a lot of speedbumps on the way there.

SMG3: Ohhh, why is it so c - c - c - COLD here? I'm freezing! 😫

SMG4: Ugh, that trip was awful. I feel sick. 🤢

SMG3: Whuh - SMG4? Is that you? 🤨

SMG4: S - SMG3? What are you doing here? 😟

SMG3: That's what I wanted to ask you. Why are you here, and... Why am I here as well? 😟

SMG3 then noticed that SMG4 didn't feel so good. The blue Meme Guardian was about to be sick, and that worried the purple Meme Guardian.

SMG3: Oh, man. You OK? 😟

SMG4: No... I feel like I'm gonna throw up. *gag* Too many speedbumps in the road. 🤢

SMG3 sighed. He then shook on the spot, he was freezing.

SMG3: I think it's best if we find some shelter. I'm getting colder by the minute. 🥶

SMG4: Good *gag* Idea. I could use some shelter. 🤢🥶

They both set off to find some shelter. SMG3 looked down and noticed that SMG4 was holding his right hand with his left one, and covering his mouth with his right hand.

SMG3: *mind* Man, SMG4 looks terrible. I should probably assist him while he throws up.

They both looked everywhere, but the couldn't find anywhere warm enough to sleep in.

SMG3: You feeling OK now? 🤨

SMG4: No... *gagging* Oh, God. It's gonna come up! 🤢😖

SMG3: Oh, shit! Don't worry, buddy. I'll be sure to get you somewhere. I promise.

SMG4 smiled a weak smile. They both saw a shadow that looked like an igloo of some sort. SMG4 blushed a bit, remembering the last time he was in an igloo with SMG3, one of his friends.

SMG3: You can't be fucking serious. Is that literally the ONLY shelter in the whole Arctic?! DAMMIT! 😡

SMG4: *gag* I'm gonna throw up, SMG3. 🤢

SMG3: *sighs* Just... I dunno, throw up somewhere in that igloo. I dunno. 🤨

SMG4: What? But, you remember what happened last time, right? 😰

SMG3: Just go ahead. We're, like, ten feet away from it. I'll wait for you until you're done.

SMG4: OK, if you insist.

He stumbled over to the igloo. He opened the door, where he noticed a TV and a toilet. He was relieved to have found a place to throw up. So, he did just that.

SMG4: *ducks over the toilet bowl and retches* Ugh. That feels so much better... OK, I best get out now.

The blue Meme Guardian walked over to the door and turned the doorknob. But, to his sudden alarm, the door was locked. He struggled to get it open, but it was locked from the outside. He heard Mario's laughter from outside, knowing the red plumber was the only one who had a key.

SMG4: What the? MARIO, LET ME OUT OF HERE! 😫

Mario: Mario's not gonna let you out until SMG3 is in there. Sorry. 😊

SMG4: *face-palm* Ohhh, GODDAMMIT! 😫

SMG3 was waiting for SMG4 to be finished in the igloo. When he noticed something was wrong, he walked up to the igloo.

SMG3: Huh. Wonder what's taking him so long. Huh.

He was then shoved into the igloo by Mario.

SMG3: WHAT THE - MARIO!!! 😠

Mario: Mario wants you guys to stay here and relive the incident from eight years ago. You're welcome. 😊

The Meme Guardians were both shocked. SMG4 could only blush, and SMG3 wasn't happy.

To be Continued...

[incineraryperiphery]

Danmei Rec Meme

(thank you for clearing up my misunderstanding and the tag @endless-season! Original post here)

-How long have you been into danmei, how did you get into it / what was your first danmei? It's been a year or two (or three? time is irrelevant) at this point, but TGCF was my first! Asked around on a forum for character dynamic recs when I wanted to read something different and this was the one that caught my eye. I've been voraciously devouring them since. (Reading novels is my main motivation for learning mandarin; there's far too few translated horror danmei for my tastes and even less officially done ones)

-Favourite danmei? ask me again in three months and I can guarantee i'll give you a different answer. right now, it's a three-way tie between fake slackers (low stakes modern high school identity porn), married thrice to salted fish (ancient transmigration from the pov of a villain), and i can keep you alive till the fifth watch (desperate to live young master enters an unlimited flow horror game), but MDZS occupies most of my fandom brainspace at the moment.

-Favourite couples / characters? Man, there's so many. Off the top of my head for the couples that don't include my pet noncanon ships, chi ting and yue ren (please follow the rules of the game), ren yifei and saman (the days i clear escape games pretending to be an npc), xue qianshao and hui xing (where to find the remnants of spring), wei e and the creator (folklore's no. 1 boss), and song nanzhi and gu yanqing (穿成魔尊后与反派相爱相杀 - i'm not entirely confident in my own translation of the title) Character-wise outside of those boys up there, I love zhao yelan (after being forced to marry the evil star general), fu zhiyu (buddha-like rebirth), yu fan (wait for me after school), and san san (do you have any opinion on mechanical cat ears?). (Honorary mention to shenyuan svsss even without reading the novel yet, mostly because it feels like every post I see out of that fandom makes fun of him for reading a stallion novel for the plot but that's Thee most relatable-to-me character trait i've ever seen)

-Most recently read danmei? My most recently finished one is it's my turn to take the stage and fly/it's my turn to dominate (cryofrozen team captain gets defrosted and starts playing the vr version, meets his little cousin's shameless childhood friend in said game). I just started genius strategy theory (weak as hell little genius gets finally gets his hands on a holographic game he can actually play, i think the ML is the head of a research department?) and i'm very much enjoying it, but i'm juggling a few others in my open tabs for if the mood strikes.

-Any favourite authors? Qi jing nan qu and Nian zhong, no question. I love the way they both handle all the little details and really bring out the main couples relationships through them - the only downside is the emotional rollercoasters wear me out haha. My favorites from each are don't pick up boyfriends from the trash bin and sending the divine/sendoff. I also really enjoy the way mxtx structures her novels but it always takes me a few tries to really get into them.

-Any popular danmei you aren't particularly a fan of? Anything by priest, unfortunately - no fault on their part, all their concepts are fascinating but I just bounce off every one I try.

-Anything you've been meaning to read but still haven't? I've started both svsss and erha a couple times but the stars haven't been aligned properly or something for me to finish them yet (I already know i'm going to be terribly insufferable once i actually sit down and bang out the former, it has so many of my favorite tropes).

-Choose a random (the weirder and baitier, the better) memorable scene/danmei to describe! Okay so lets say you're some washed up magician who technically transmigrated into a novel, into the body of someone who was supposed to die in the first few pages doing something ridiculously stupid. You've already made it through an instance or two, made something of a name for yourself despite everything, and now you've got the big bad number one player trying to sabotage you inside another instance. everything is dealt with and you're this close to completing the instance when you're sucked into a coffin that you've just trapped someone in. said number one is in there instead, breathing your air and threatening you and being an irritating menace about all of it. it feels like there's no way to get out but, hey, you're a magician. you'll find a way even if it's a gamble. what do you do? You set the coffin on fire behind your back. (there's other really good scenes from thriller trainee but this one's my favorite and doesn't take fifty chapters of backstory to explain)

-Are there any particular genres/tropes you enjoy / don't enjoy? I mostly read unlimited flow/horror, xianxia/xuanhuan, and esports, (and wuxia, but there's not a lot of wuxia danmei floating around) but I'll read anything if the premise sounds interesting. For tropes, I enjoy omegaverse, court intrigue, pretending to be npcs, systems, and master/disciple - I like my protags cold, ruthless, and preferably some sort of sick or disabled. Even better if the main couple tries to murder each other a few times. As for dislikes, I'm not fond of cops/law enforcement main characters, anything dealing with suicide, or bully/victim ships (though, like I said, I'll read anything if it sounds interesting enough).

-Any recommendations to give? Badly describe them in a few sentences. A couple that I don't really see crossing my dash: Support is king (low stakes vr gaming about a poisonous healer, his pining dps, and a five-year misunderstanding. same author as please follow the rules of the game) Two Long Aotians' shura fields (scummy master completes his system quests but gets shunted to an alternate timeline where he can actually care for his little disciple instead of going home, protag from the original world discovers this and is not pleased. much stripping of vests and identity porn) PUBG online romance of the century (trashy voice-con livestreamer meets his terrible gamer boss and falls in love at first listen. same author as wait for me after school, i can do it is also really fucking cute too) Every day, the marshal is a love-struck fool for me (underground supposed-to-be-dead assassin ends up married to a war hero due to an error, terrible love advice abounds. short, sweet, plot-heavy and mecha-light - i heard my fiance is super fierce is also good) After marrying the lord of the underworld (wicked unlucky exorcist gets ghost-married as a kid to protect him, turns out his promised "beautiful female ghost" is a king of the underworld. feels like the author never misses, they also wrote how to feed an abyss and the dragon lord is weak and helpless but has a big appetite) His marriage partner is scheming (nominally-straight transmigrator can't bear to let the pretty minor villain meet his book-fate and marries him about it. Chi xueyan's family is so much fun.) Non-human seeking re-employment (lazy little ghost gets sucked into a horror game after two whole days of being human, proceeds to ruin the ambience by kicking everything he comes across. shen dongqing is not stuck there with the ghosts, the other ghosts are stuck there with him.)

(tagging anyone who'd like to do this, really, I don't think I know many people into danmei outside the big ones)

[beautiful-02-08-18]

Romans 8:6 (KJV)

For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Might as well post the art I’ve been making before the end of the month. For these fan art, I wanted to train myself to draw in fluid motions and to use accurate colors since I don’t like using the eyedropper tool. Any criticism is accepted, especially on my wonderful attempt for digital painting.

Came back to the fandom of the Korean cartoon called: Running Man Animation. As far as I can tell, this show only premiered in Cartoon Network Asia but its still pretty popular since it is supposed to be based on the real-life variety show: Running Man. Although, it kinda feels like a dead fandom on life support, and that life support is the Running Man: Revengers movie by Locus Animation scheduled to release soon.

But still, I like the show. I made a whole essay on Facebook about how these characters fulfilled their specific roles but I don’t think I’ll post it here (for now) since that’s not really my content. Either way, the characters names starting from the top is: Akong, Manus, and Charming Gold. These three were the main villains of their respective season and parts, as their show have two seasons but separated into two parts.

The last one is supposed to be an art meme of the Grimace shake and as usual Instagram cropped it so I had to duplicate it because I was pretty proud of this one. I tried to create a creepy mood since I also wanted to practice on that area. Did good for an amateur’s first try. The character is named Pala and he also came from the show.

You can watch most of Season 1 episodes on their English Youtube channel, except for Episode 49 and Season 2 at the time of writing this. You need a Korean VPN to watch those and it only has Korean subtitles. Luckily, Season 1 doesn’t really need Episode 49 to finish it, as said episode was more of an exposition for Season 2. There’s also some videos and clips one can find on Youtube.

Reference:

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/rom/8/6/s_1054006 Last image came from the YouVersion Bible app Grimace | McDonald's Wiki | Fandom Running Man Animation was created by LINE Friends Corporation and SBS

[eiseryn]

2023 Art Summary

I can't believe 2023 is almost over and it's been a whole year! These past few months have passed by in a blur and so I feel like I'm barely holding on 😭 I had a lot of time to draw in the beginning of last year but considerably less time now...

But overall, I'm really proud of my progress as an artist this year! I had more time to draw than usual so I honed some skills and worked on some things this year! You can tell from the first Lei and the last Lei I drew XD I learned how to use filters XD to blend the character into the background!

You can also see that I started the year with Nova (Feb-Apr) and then it became Lei in my fave pieces after LMAOOO. Seriously, the last 4 months just being Vail and Lei alternates is so funny to me XD. This year was truly the year of Lei. I suspect 2024 will also be the year of Lei with vis novel development XD

Going through the months:

January: First illustration of Lei back when the campaign first started. She was supposed to be a cold b*tch but uh... that did not happen. She turned out to be a soft and sweet girl, which also reflects in my later art of her. I still want to revisit girlboss Lei though cuz the shots she took in the campaign were like 😳😳😳

February: Pink Valentines Nova~ Nova is a blue girl but soft pink Nova hits differently. I think this art was cute and I love all the heart elements I put in! (Like in her eyes~)

March: Bubble tea Nova! This was my business card for the first art market I sold stickers at! <-- artist feat of the year? Otherwise didn't draw much art this month XD I was stressed out about my first art market. SOMEONE AT THE MARKET SAW THIS ART, ASKED IF IT WAS MY VTUBER MODEL, AND THEN TOLD ME I SHOULD BECOME A VTUBER. The best compliment I got about this art XD I will remember it forever.

April: Idol Nova… technically I drew it in May but shhh the sketch was done in April. I did this because I did some bday karaoke and this was the piece I got inspired to make after having so much fun there! Here is where I started learning how to use filters to help blend the character into the background!

May: Mermaid Merrow for Mermay! This is the only Mermay piece I did but it remains one of my top art pieces this year… just all the colours are so gorgeous in this one + the BG I'm proud of! I did not post it on tumblr cuz I started posting on tumblr in Aug... LOL. But anyways it's gorgeous and took me like 2-3 days.

June: Bad art month… it was between this and the Leticia sketch I made. I ended up with this one even though I don't like it as much as the sketch because it was at least a fully rendered piece with a background and everything... I don't like the face in it, but I worked hard on the hands! (One of my weaknesses) so there's that! Sometimes it's the little things you're proud of.

July: I really like this outfit I drew for Lei! It's the one I use for refs for her now XD I'm also particularly proud of this one cuz it's a fullbody and it's hard to draw fullbody pieces... But also I just think her outfit looks really good here! And I love how dead and tired her eyes look XD which is her mood by the time she got this outfit during the campaign.

August: It was really hard to pick for August because I had two really good pieces... (actually 3 it turns out) but I picked this one in the end because I think the artist composition was just really good. There are parts I don't like about it anymore, but the lighting was good! And I'm proud I drew all her friends in this too XD the pieces of her heart -- as this art piece is called.

September: Made a GIF of disappearing Vail! Not my first GIF I've made but I like how it turned out + I'm especially proud of the background XD It's not great but I put some effort into it. I could have worked on his pose a little more... but I don't have many good Sept pieces 😭

October: Spent too much effort on a meme. But really proud of the hand and lighting. Especially drawing the cyberpunk lighting cuz that's hard... Also yeah I think I spent close to an hour sketching the hand/ making the hand look decent XD So of course this piece is the one I choose. I also worked on making the BG look decent... and Vail's backview was hard... man... I spent a long time on this piece XD

November: Yandere Vail 😳😳😳 One of the hottest Vail pieces I've drawn and it's for a mafia AU Vail LMAO. I used a reference for this XD which is why the pose looks good.

December: Most recent piece! Had to finish the year with Lei cuz we started with Lei~ This one is a modern AU Lei so it can't quite compare to Lei's canon cyberpunk universe but still~ You can definitely see improvement in my art! Or so I'd like to think. I used a reference for the pose (kind of) and also used a picture for the BG. I'm going to do that a lot next year LMAO just take pics and use them as BGs XD Work smart not hard, right?

Runner-Ups

They're all from Aug + Dec LOL… my most productive art months this year XD

Aug 2: Flash piece! I didn't post this on tumblr either... but it is my former best boy from the campaign (Former b/c Vail took his place LMAO he's too sketchy now). I used a reference for his pose so it turned out pretty good in my opinion? I also like the lighting I did for him! I forgot his earrings though... and his necklace... oops... I'll fix that for the vis novel (cope) -- I do want this to be a CG you get from the vis novel XD cuz I think it looks good XD

Aug 14: Pink Neon Nights - First Vail x Lei piece 🥺😳🥺😳 I gotta admit the hand looks hella funky for Lei BUTTTT I am in love with Vail's smile here 🥺🥺🥺 His fangs and I like how I designed his hoodie~ Plus I like the pink neon lighting from the bar they're at~

Dec 21: Nova's birthday piece~ I hadn't drawn a full illustration for her since August so this piece turned out super good. For some reason her hair became more and more grey as the years passed in the way I drew her XD She's supposed to have white hair with grey tips (oxidation???) But UHMMM I think it's hard to do highlights on white hair so I've been making her hair more and more grey as time passes XD but her hair is white, guys.

Dec 22: Lei's Happy Holidays Card - TBH I don't like how her face turned out here, BUT I like her pose and the way I did her clothing folds XD and I put effort into the BG so there's lots of other elements on this piece I like~

And of course, my most popular piece this year was worm on a string Nova.

A classic TBH. She is still so sad and gorgeous in this piece XD I made it into a sticker to put on my laptop! :)

To more years of art and art improvement! ✨ To a 2024 filled with more self-indulgent OC art ✨ Happy New Year!

[gimblegamble]

Gonna do another write up about a project I planned that never really went anywhere.

Welcome, friends, to the BTM band AU post

What is it?

Band AUs are definitely considered classics when it comes to fandom alternate universes and this one's... definitely a band AU i guess.

BTM is a band consisting of Grian (or Griande) on vocals, Impulse on drums, Pearlo on the keyboard, and Scar on guitar. There are a couple more stragglers sometimes but we'll get to that. As for their style it... varies?

Well, it depends. if its 'Grian' on the mic, they can range from the usual pop-punk or emo, maybe even rock if the mood calls for it-- but if its 'Griande' they usually go for ska or funk. This is when they get a couple more peeps to fill in the sound.

They get a brass section! Tango and Zedaph from Impulse's old college marching band "The Moonlighters" and they round it out with Gem, one of Pearl's old housemates when they tried living in one of those content houses with the Empires collective (they still collab tho). They play the trombone, the trumpet, and the saxophone (small stature, big lungs).

The band meets Mumbo after a gig. They were winding down in their favourite bar/cafe "The Hermit" when Scar very loudly and unabashedly asked who the "eye candy" was to the owner, Xisuma. Turns out, dude was just fired from his job and Xisuma took him in as a part-time bartender/barista, he wasn't the best at it but at least he stopped breaking Xisuma's fancy martini glasses a couple days in.

They asked if he was looking for a full-time job and he said yes. He asked if he knew anything about management and he said 'eeeeeeeeh' which they took as a kind of yes and hired him on the spot. With BTM's popularity growing, they needed a proper manager and not just rely on Grian (whose biggest problem would be his impulsiveness) and Impulse (who'd probably work himself to death if the mood was right).

So whats the plot?

It was supposed to be an ask blog first and foremost. Half of the information up there (and more) was supposed to be slowly drawn out by ask box questions. The format was supposed to look like members of the band being interviewed by the person asking, kind of like the latter half on that one mumriande gif I made (which is one of the stuff I made with this AU in mind lol)

There was supposed to be a mystery to uncover, then solve. There was supposed to be some drama and angst. Some moving pictures and animation memes, animatics even. I even have a playlist sorted!

So what happened?

Nothing really. It was nice thinking about making it but at the end of the day I am but a tired, easily distracted human being. I just made this post because there's a lot of nice details in this that I wanted to share, like the Hermitland post ages ago.

And not like I'm not gonna make things in the AU anymore but the ask blog's probably never going to see the light of day.

Some Fun Stuff

The fans never know what genre of songs they're going to walk in on, at least until they see if it's Grian or Griande holding the mic, but even then they sometimes do a double whammy and have Grian sing funk songs and Griande pop it up.

They're rivals with this experimental metal/electronic/acoustic fusion duo called Octagon. They play it up a lot on stage, but this one time someone from BTM really misunderstood something that made a good angsty bit.

There's this couple who met at a concert. One of em was really hoping for a night of funk while the other wanted some throwback alt rock. They talked before BTM's set started and really hit it off! They didn't even mind whoever came out to sing that night.

There was a group of fans who made a banner that said "We love you _____" and just had velcro patches with 'Grian' and 'Griande' embroidered on them.

There was supposed to be another, more secret ask blog for other more secret (👀) asks.

Conclusion

So yeah, band AU, that is all.

Thank you for reading!

[velvetnviolentviolets]

Get To Know The Author

name : Kay

pronouns :  she/her

preference of communication : Honestly I have a huge preference for discord. I don't trust tumblr IM to actually alert me. Ive recently learned tumblr has been eating my asks too. If I don't reply to an ask or DM me PLEAS reach out to me. I will NEVE outright ignore something. If I don't think something is going to work for our muses I will reach out to you. 

most active muse :  Kat is my loudest and most demanding. After that would be Her brother Kass, Feyre, and then our spotty maybe I'm here maybe I'm not - Emmett.  

experience / how many years : Ohhh boy. I've been doing the rp thing off and on since 2010. There was a five year chunk in recent years where I disappeared for a bit but the lovely @sharpayevcns pulled me back in a few months ago and I am so appreciative that she did. <3 

best experience : Discovering the people here that make me feel safe enough to obsess over threads. You guys have absolutely made my return to tumblr. If I were to delete my blog with nothing but my connection with you guys to show for it - Well I would be absolutely fine with that. You guys are amazing and will absolutely be tagged in this. 

rp pet peeves : I keep running into situations where I get heavily invested in plotting something (Drawing, writing head cannons, making playlists, planning cannon events. . .I literrally brushed up on a whole ass language for a plot) Only to have those people completely leave me on read. I am not a pushy partner in the least. I would be more than happy to wait a month for a reply. But I need communication. I need feedback if something doesn't sit right for you. I need reciprocated enthusiasm. You don't have to show It the same way I do but I need some show of enthusiasm otherwise it just feels uncomfortable and I feel annoying and restrained. That's not what I'm here for. I've honestly made the decision to start unfollowing people based on a three strikes basis. No hard feelings. I just don't want to follow anyone who doesn't bring the same energy I do. 

fluff, angst, or smut :ALL OF IT! While I'm becoming more and more selective about who I write smut with I LOVE writing smut ESPECIALLY if its born of post Angst fluff. Actually almost exclusively. There is nothing that gets my muses motor going like post Angst Fluff! 

plots or memes : Augh! Don't make me pick. I love Plotting but sometimes nothing really gets the juices flowing like memes do. I cant tell you how many times a simple meme interaction help set a pivotal point in a plot. ALSO- Memes are usually what help me forego my shy nature. While my muse outwardly gives NONE of the Ducks. . .I do . I give all of the Ducks so memes help  me loosen up. I'm not responsible for the haphazard neuroSpicy creature you meet once the shyness has fallen away. You've been warned.

long or short replies : It depends on my mood and attention span. There is a Adderall shortage right now so I have only been taking my Adderall on work days so Ive had a VERY hard time focusing o replies as of late. When Im on top of my Game I am LONGWINDED AF .Please don't ever feel like you have to match me because there are times where I will write you a novel and we were only supposed to be writing a sentence or two. It just happens and Im sorry.  time to write : Ha! um . . . Well I work Graveyard  Thursday- Saturday from 8PM-9:30ish AM (PST)  On slow nights I do write here and there but for the most part I can be found here pretty sporadically. If I have something going on during my weekend that I have to be a daytime person for then ill be up during the day time. OTHERWISE- Mostly evening and spooky hours . 

are you like your muses : I could draw some parallels with each of them but I dont think I am like any of them. 

tagged by: The Alluring  @wynterlanding ~<3

@grimmusings @sharpayevcns @godccmplex <3

[aeipathcy]

11. what’s something that you don’t get to express with your oc often? [ for reanne! ]

MEME┊accepting.

What’s something that you don’t get to express with your oc often?

OOC. tldr, ended up being an unorganized ramble that probably isn't very well organized or cohesive. I lost sight of some ideas as I was typing (big sad).

call out/acknowledge Reanne's bulimic eating habits if muses end up going out to eat somewhere

sibling dynamic conversations/conversations about siblings

idk how to express this but maybe someone noticing something behind the confidence she always has? I don't think muses really see her glaring issues despite how open she is with a lot of troubling things.

I believe I've mentioned this one in the past on random blog posts but I haven't gotten many opportunities for other muses to actually call out how abnormal Reanne's food-related (bulimic) tendencies are or even just acknowledge said abnormality (she still has them, and yes she is very stagnant with her therapy—honestly at this point I believe she stopped going since it wasn't helping, just haven't made it official until this post ig). Like, I can allude to them but they're never the focus of threads outside internal thoughts. I recall there was one muse I was able to kind of touch on that with but that mun decided to cut ties with me out of the blue. I was saddened by it since we had a good, but not so perfect/smooth dynamic building which is prime for exploring not so nice aspects of muses.

Lately, I haven't done anything related to it, but it is still a huge aspect of how Reanne copes with and processes her emotions (eating to chase away anxiety or sorrowful moods, depriving as form of punishment/dealing with guilt, purging out of guilt when she eats too much, freaking out when she weighs herself despite knowing she's supposed to weigh a little more to be healthy, constantly hating her body despite progress, etc.). Despite being better about anger, lashing out, and trauma dumping, Reanne cannot seem to cut the unhealthy eating patterns out of her life. She still carries trauma related to her body and appearance no matter how confident she acts—her outward confidence and almost ideal skinny body shape make it hard to actually see this, especially since Reanne would never step out of her house if she felt less than presentable. And considering she still obsesses over making sure her freckles are never visible, there's obviously still an issue that's unresolved there. I mean, Reanne is a walking contradiction that's hard to explain.

Even though Keith outwardly shows his issues more, Reanne is probably in a much deeper trench than he ever would be as the difference in their support systems is massive—she doesn't have anyone to help her through any of her impulsive binges or get through emotional spikes, and she is much more likely to relapse because of how quickly she turns to binge-purging as a coping mechanism. She cannot forgive her family for everything they've done to her, and she cannot confide in them, making it more than difficult to combat a habit that's been ingrained into her since well before her teenage years. Fashion industry, going out to eat, and clothes shopping are all very large potential triggers depending on her mood. Kinda forgot about this modern verse addition (alcohol cw, binge drinking cw, alcohol poisoning cw) but she also has an alcohol issue (underage drinking + binge drinker). Thankfully, she doesn't drink, and the most she does is threaten people with the cost of a hospital bill if they try to entice her that way.

This also brings me to a second point I don't get to explore. Sibling dynamics. I don't know what it is, but I want more of these conversations. Reanne's story is definitely triggering for people so I understand if others don't want to write anything that steps on the field of landmines that will come up, but this helps explore underlying drives behind how she acts (as all her responses and beliefs all lead back to her sister and upbringing). I've mentioned it before but Reanne does everything in her power to be someone different from her younger sister, Elanor. She is the older one, but at the same time, she feels completely inferior to Elanor. I have a number of posts talking about the contradiction surrounding this entire sibling relationship so I won't go into it here. Err, maybe I don't but I'm not making a new one or anything anytime soon.

Now that I think about it, nobody has seen behind her outward confidence and demeanor or thought to look beyond it (because of how straightforward she is) except for Keith (mainly because of the lore behind modern verse and he's technically known her for two lifetimes already). I find it funny how Keith is the person who tries to pass lies to hide problems and issues but everyone can see through him and acknowledges his issues, but Reanne is the person who openly shares almost everything so clearly yet nobody really bothers to acknowledge the issues and problems she's been blurting out to the world.

[eyrieofsynapses]

Chaos prompts: 46 for the Leverage OT3!

Aaah, sure thing!

I know the worm-on-a-string meme thing was more of a 2016 thing, buuuuut I'm gonna pretend like it happened in 2013-2014 because I like my get-together fics within a year or two post-Long Goodbye. Less edited than my usual fics because I'm a bit short on time rn and can't be bothered.

Edit because I'm silly and forgot: prompt was "Why do you need 500 worms-on-a-string?"

---

Eliot’s gotten pretty used to finding weird stuff on the counter when he comes up to Parker and Hardison’s apartment over the brewpub. Robotic parts, building plans, enough scented sparkly pens for an entire office building (if said office building was made up of children under the age of ten), tiny figurines of people with grimacing faces that could give a lesser man nightmares—he’d say at this point there’s little that could surprise him. So he’s not shocked, exactly, when he comes in with two bags of groceries and has to clear five large bags of brightly-colored fuzzy things out of the way.

Once he’s done putting the perishables into the fridge, he picks up one of the packages and gives it a look-over. Its label informs him there’s a hundred items inside.

“Hardison,” he calls. “Why the hell do you need five hundred worms-on-a-string?”

He’s well aware of the things; Hardison spent a solid three hours teaching Parker how to make them move around a couple years back. Nate had yelled at the two of them five separate times to quit leaving them around the apartment. That was probably because he’d gotten tired of finding them stuck in the silverware drawer, hanging over his bed, and nestled onto the decks of his model ships.

In Eliot’s opinion, absolutely nothing belongs in the produce drawer or any part of the kitchen except for utensils and food. But he hadn’t come down so hard on Hardison that time. The expression on Nate’s face whenever he found a new one was worth it.

As a general rule, questions like this require at least two minutes for Hardison to yank himself away from his orcs and elves and what-have-you before coming into the kitchen. This time the door swings back within about twenty seconds.

“You ain’t supposed to come in today,” Hardison says, frowning hard at him. “Thought you said you were gonna go out with that chick you met last week.”

“She had a work thing,” Eliot says shortly.

(Technically it had been a conference at the same time as their initial date. She’d suggested they do dinner instead.

There’d been a sale on raspberries at the farmer’s market this morning, though, and they tended to start losing their flavor and bruise within about forty-eight hours, and he already had a recipe picked out he’d been meaning to share with the other two for the last month, and, well—

He just hadn’t been in the mood for a date, that was all.)

Hardison raises an eyebrow. “Right.”

“Seriously,” Eliot says, waving the bag at him. “You better not be thinking about putting these all over the pub.”

“Who said I got them?” He’s avoiding making eye contact, shifting his weight in a way that Hardison himself would probably call shifty if he could see himself. Possibly Eliot’s suggestion is exactly what he plans to do; he might have something else in mind that’s worse. Either way, Eliot’s pretty sure Hardison’s at least partly responsible for the packages.

“Uh-huh,” he answers, instead of listing all of that out. Sometimes it’s easier to let Hardison dig his holes on his own.

“Parker loves ‘em, man, there was a sale and I figured I’d get her some. What’s so wrong with that?”

“It’s Parker,” Eliot says flatly.

“She’ll enjoy them!”

She will, he knows that. As in, she’ll enjoy sticking them all over the entire building. He’s going to be finding the things in the walk-in freezer for days.

And she’ll be grinning every second of it, all sunshine and bright glee, laughing like a little kid and looking for all the world like their life was pure paradise.

…fuck.

“I’m holding you responsible if she puts them in the brewery,” he says, tossing the bag down.

“You think I can control her any more than you can?” Hardison grumbles. He moves the bags, though. When Eliot hands him a pile of carrots and a chopping board, he gets to work without complaint.

---

Eliot’s fears turn out to be well-founded. In fact, they’re an underestimation.

He encounters the first worm two days after Hardison left them out on the counter. It’s bright red and twisted around into the shape of a heart, with a tiny message tagged to it that says, in glittery pink pen, HELLO FREND!

It’s tucked into the pocket of his jeans. At his apartment. In his drawer.

“Dammit, Parker,” he growls under his breath. It’s not like he expects her to stay out of his apartment anymore—not after he walked into the living room one morning to find her sprawled on his couch with the TV on and a bowl of pasta in her lap—but there’s leaving a tiny creepy imitation of a rag doll on top of his recipe card box, and then there’s going through his clothes.

…at his place, anyway. At least four flannel shirts have been involuntarily sacrificed for her out of his duffle bags and suitcases. But that’s when his rooms have been beside hers. It never entailed her going out of her way to come all the way out to his apartment, bypass his security measures (which is easy for her but hell for anyone else) and find the pair of jeans he’s most likely to use next, all to stick a note and a fuzzy piece of plastic in the pocket.

He intends to chuck it in the wastebasket and move on. It’s not like she’s going to be short of them anytime soon.

But he’s got to shower first, and then he can’t really be bothered to pull it out, and after that he’s busy cooking and driving to the brewpub and revising the menu and planning the next job with the other two and really, he doesn’t mean to keep it. It’s just that after carrying it around all day it seems a shame to throw it away when he gets home.

He tosses it onto the nightstand, rolls into bed, and turns out the light.

---

There’s a blue worm in the pocket of his flannel shirt the next morning. This one is in the same heart shape, but this time, the note says WORM TIME BABY in matching glitter pen.

He sighs, puts it on his dresser, and goes to water his plants.

That day he finds five more worms in the brewpub, two of which are in the staff area with tags with his name. Amy and the rest of the cooks and waitstaff know better than to say anything directly, but he catches them whispering and grinning behind his back.

The customers have been worse over the last few days than usual. Eliot lets it go, just this once.

They keep turning up, of course; Parker drags out jokes like nobody else, and he resigns himself to keeping them all in a drawer. She’ll be offended if she finds them in the trash all the time, and then he’ll just have to deal with even more. The traffic-cone-orange worm that has the tag PEACE WAS NEVER AN OPTION doesn’t have anything at all to do with any of this.

Days turn into weeks. Jobs come and go. They travel to Canada, where he finds thirty different worms over the course of two days, hidden anywhere from the files to his suitcase to the shower. This time, they’ve got a suite of rooms, one for him and one for the other two, and this, if anything, makes it worse. One time he finds neon yellow worms wrapped around both arms of his glasses.

(If he tries not to wonder if he’d find any fuzzy worms in their room, if he finds himself awake on the couch at three AM the second day—well, it can’t mean anything. It just… can’t.

He never does meet back up with that girl.)

The notes range from short and (though he’d never admit it to anyone) cute to creepy to indecipherable: ARSONIST!, I WILL HARVEST YOUR SOUL, SQUIRM? SQUIRM. SQUIRM!!!, TIME TO SIN, WILL STEAL YOUR KNEECAPS, PERISH, and, perhaps most disturbingly of all, LOVE <3. Unless it’s intentionally wrapped around something, every single worm is carefully twisted in the shape of a heart.

The creepy ones are definitely the most common. It’s Parker, so he can’t expect anything less.

(The LOVE <3 ones show up a lot more often than the others, though. He’s not sure what to make of that.)

He tells her off. Repeatedly. With emphasis. Once he threatens not to bake anything with chocolate for the next month. Every time, she just shrugs at him, pulls a worm out from nowhere (she’s been tying them up around her hairbands sometimes), and informs him with varying degrees of cheekiness that they’re just her friends and really, why would he mind her sharing friends?

“Because your friends are creepy, Parker,” he says once, and she gasps in dismay and pets the top of her worm’s head.

“Don’t say that, Eliot.”

Hardison’s laughing behind him, quiet enough not to be mocking to Parker but loud enough to be mocking to Eliot. He resigns himself to growling at the both of them and lobbing the next worm he finds out the window.

(He picks it up later, because he’s not one of those assholes that litters.)

At the end of the Canada trip, they find a deserted local ice rink and spend half the day messing around on the ice. Hardison’s better than Eliot had expected, good enough to skate hand-in-hand with Parker at a decently high speed.

Eliot tries to stick near the edges and let the two of them have their fun. They won’t let him. He keeps finding one of their hands warm in his, pulling him after them in a chain, and after a while he gives up and allows it. It’s easier than it maybe should be.

At one point Parker tugs them both out to the middle of the rink to make them twirl with her. Somehow, though, she manages to throw her weight at just the wrong angle, and suddenly they’re all toppling to the frigid floor. Eliot manages to catch them so that the blades of their skates don’t come anywhere near close enough to slice anybody’s skin open. This has the unfortunate side effect of landing both of them directly on top of him.

He means to grumble at them to get off, because they’re heavy and the ice is freezing against his neck. But then Parker immediately wriggles in closer, tucking herself up against his shoulder as she giggles. Hardison’s on his other side, squawking indignantly about fragile bones and whatever, but he’s got some kind of pleased note in his voice that Eliot can’t quite parse.

It’s stupid and sweet and comforting and, staring up at the blue, blue skies, he can’t help but want to stay down here for just a little while longer. Just long enough to memorize the sound of Parker’s laughter. Long enough to ingrain the way Hardison fits up against his other side into his memory.

Long enough to believe that maybe, maybe, he’s reading this right after all.

But that’s all kinds of dangerous, so he pushes them off him with excuses about frostbite, hauls himself up off his ass, and skates around the rim of the rink while they stumble to their feet.

They get back to the brewpub at an unholy hour of the morning. He collapses into the guest bed, staring up at the constellations in the glow-starred ceiling until sleep steals him away. Midafternoon, he gets up to find one single worm, smaller than the rest of them, laid neatly on top of his folded clothing. It’s curled in the same heart shape as the rest of them and bright green. (He gets fewer of those than the others. They’re Parker’s favorites, so most of them stay with her.)

Written on its tiny tag in blue glitter pen are the words:

WORM YOU BE MY DATE?

Eliot blinks, rubs his eyes, and checks again. When he finds the same phrase, he heads for the shower, turns the water to winter-lake-ice-cold, and spends a good ten minutes under it.

The tag is still the same when he comes back.

“What the fuck,” he mumbles under his breath. He’s half-tempted to say she’d meant to leave it for Hardison, except…

Except Parker doesn’t make mistakes like that, and she’d have had to go to a lot of effort to get into his room without waking him, and…

He dresses, tucks the worm into the pocket of his shirt, and steps out into the apartment. The other two are seated at the counter. Parker idly stirs her cereal while Hardison mutters at his laptop with a bowl of leftover eggs and rice at his side. They look up when they hear the door creak, watching him.

Eliot holds up the worm. It trembles slightly in his grip.

“What’s this about?” he asks, going for warily amused. It comes out closer to wobbly and very obviously desperate.

They glance at each other, shifting on their seats. Hardison closes his laptop. Parker puts down her spoon.

“We know it’s kinda unusual,” Hardison starts carefully. “And you don’t have to say yes, okay, and if not we’ll shut up and never speak of it again and all that, but—”

“But there’s a special at that place you like tomorrow and we thought you’d like to go and maybe we could go as more than just friends?” Parker asks in a rush.

The world shifts under his feet. Everything blurs, just a moment.

LOVE <3, he remembers. The last few weeks click into place.

“Yeah,” he says, tucking the worm back into his pocket. It takes him an extra try; his hands, always steady, are betraying him in this moment. He’s not sure he cares. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

They both beam, brighter than sunshine, warmer than fresh-baked bread, and he decides that can Parker can put as many worms in his stuff as she likes. This is worth it.

[taikk0]

Does your little OC/Sona have a backstory (both fictional, and practically) ? I did see them in a murderous mood and it seems there was more in there... So I was wondering

Oh good question, but a couple of weird answers incoming-

So.. technically speaking, no he doesn't. Because I keep flopping around between at least three and none of them are canon, since I'm not really satisfied with either one of them.

However, I don't really think I consider them to be very important at the moment. Because I have a VERY brief outline of his story and you could easily not even think about the backstory because it doesn't really serve a purpose, and honestly I think I'd be fine with it just the way it is and keeping it that way until I find a compelling story to tell with the backstory being a major player.

Narratively speaking, yes. but I've made up the absolutely brilliant excuse of giving him amnesia and I made two memes about it not too long ago but I never posted them because I had no idea when they would become relevant so nows the time I guess:

All that out of the way though, The reason why I decided to not properly give him one is that I kind of grown to not really enjoy making characters having a huge chunk of their story being pushed to the wayside as "the backstory" because I think it wastes a lot of narrative potential and is only used as a backdrop to explain why a character is the way that they are in the story they were supposed to be a part of. It kind of makes it feel like the character had their own movie and the main story they're actually a part of is a crossover sequel with other characters with their own separate movies. So I'd much rather focus on what happens and becomes of them in the present. Which brings me to my next weird answer:

Their main story is the backstory???

It really isn't, but with the state of its current presentation, it might as well be (BUT IT ISN'T) let me explain- The timeline where most of the art I depict him in is scattered all around. In one artwork he's with the Krang, and in the next, he's with Leonardo, and after that, he's in a white void breaking the fourth wall.

But there is actually a timeline between them, it's just unclear and the art is their own stand-alone thing, but they are a part of the bigger picture, just very small "can be broken off and nothing would change because it's just a little twig that grew from canon but is not a part of said canon" branches

But I can say that the Leo art where they're just hanging out and being buddies with no bad blood between them is what becomes of Mix once his arc has concluded. Take it as sort of tidbits of an epilogue.

Though for full transparency here, Mikyomix isn't really a rise oc. He was just my sona that I inserted into canon because I bullied Leo on my TikTok story once, which led to me drawing them interacting for the first time. I didn't really give it much thought then, but now I can confirm that he does exist in the rise universe somehow despite breaking its usual conventions. He's a strange dude, and everyone takes note of it. What also adds to his peculiarity is that most of his lore started off as a joke, but it all ended up tying together and accidentally made sense. the pieces were there, it only took me a few months to realize that they weren't just ornamental, and I started piecing it all together. Just know that most of the jokey lore and character details I've made about him now serve a purpose.

But.. as much as I talk about it, I'm kind of torn between just keeping it my own thing and making the story I want to tell. It's super cheesy and lame and it's technically a self-insert, but at this point, there will be a time when the self-insert stops being a self-insert, where they get so far into the world and the events that happen to them within it that they start taking up their own form. It's not really you anymore, they're their own character. It becomes less about what you would do if you were in the same situation and more about how the character would react given their personal experiences.

That was a very weird tangent but it sounded too good to edit to fit everything else in so I'm keeping it. Anyways not only that, but also the fact that I'm a VERY amateur writer, and god knows how badly I could ruin the execution. I doubt that I'll ever write it in full, but I might occasionally post about it just because I can.

I had no idea where to put this in but I had to mention it for anyone more curious than they already are.

Mikyomix is a very simple character, but they still have depth. he's not complicated enough to have a very deep and complex narrative with hidden subtext that is worth a character analysis. But they're enough to serve a story dedicated to them.

also:

there is a more in-depth reason for this I promise I'm not just throwing darts blindfolded and hoping I hit something

[yesimwriting]

Hi!!! I was wondering if you could do like a short story post or something I wonder how Our General Kirigan would react to a shy reader? Would he tease her? Be frustrated with her? And how would she react? Idk maybe just a thought 😅 I asked you because i really like your writing and I feel like you would really do a good job and I like the way you portray the General. 😊

a/n i have been crying/feeling shitty for the past two days for no reason!! so i thought it might make me feel better to try writing headcanons! i have SO MANY half done requests/fics but as of recently i hate everything that i write!! so i thought i'd work on this request that lends itself to headcanons

also im glad you like my writing :))

--

General Kirigan with a shy! reader headcanons:

- First things first, I think how he interacts with someone shy that he sees as a (potential) romantic interest varies per situation. Like generally, he finds the timidness kind of soft which is so different from what he's used to that he finds that aspect kind of endearing.

- He'd never admit that at the beginning, but the more time you spend with him the clearer it becomes to you because of how he acts when you're alone together

- At first, he'd hold onto his usual stoic disposition, but after realizing that at the end of the day your shyness is genuine and not an attempt to seem meek in order to trick people/him he'd begin to tease you about it when you two are alone.

- The first time he makes a comment that's just a little,, kinda-almost suggestive (a comment about how he wonders what it'd be like to be a Heartrender so that he could hear the change in your heartbeat every time you shied away from something) you're too confused to be embarrassed for like two seconds.

- You're basically that meme that's like did I hear that shit righttt??

- So you meet his gaze, and there's absolutely nothing but warm confidence there and you realize that he had in fact,,, said that.

- You hold his gaze for a moment out of protest (which is an incredible feat) and then you have to drop your eyes to the floor. You mumble some comment about how his ability to summon shadows isn't exactly a boring skill.

- Your reaction is so soft,, Kirigan can't help but be endeared even further. Something he wasn't exactly expecting and isn't too thrilled about. He doesn't think being shy makes you weak,, but he's extremely wary about how you're perceived and how people may treat you because of it.

- He doesn't doubt his ability to protect you, but he doesn't want to be distracted,, not with all he has to do.

- Still, he can't help mumble comments whenever there's a brief pause and you two are alone

- Meanwhile, you're starting to notice that now more situations keep coming up when you're left alone with Kirigan?? like he's always in the library when you are, he's always walking in to assess training when you're training and he just so happens to linger until you leave and then he just so happens needs to walk in the same hallway.

- It's a little strange at first,, but you're more horrified by the fact that you're not mad about it than the fact that it's happening. Especially since you know how much joy he gets from getting you flustered. You can see that in that slightly cocky uptilt to his lips whenever you're left gaping at him.

- Why doesn't it bother you?? You try to rationalize it and the only conclusion you can come to is the fact that he's attractive and powerful and even though your face gets hot whenever he talks to you,, there's appeal in those qualities. There's appeal in getting the infamous General to smile.

- Even if it costs you the bit of pride you have.

- You don't get why you're the one he seems to be going out of his way to speak to (maybe when your life is as stressful as his is,, at the end of the day you just want something easy and if he's in the mood to be flirty, you're easy) but you're not mad. You just have to constantly remind yourself to not be foolish enough to think you're the only one he goes out of his way to talk to.

- And as time progresses, you get a little more comfortable with his banter. You stop shying away completely,, which only encourages him to get bolder with his comments.

- Nothing insane,, not yet, just a little more direct.

- It kind of becomes a little game to him,, to see how flustered he can get you with the minimal amount of effort. Every once in awhile, you manage to act normally, but he's quick to shut that down by upping his game just slightly.

- After awhile, it starts to become a game for you too, to see how much of your instincts you can suppress just to take away some of his satisfaction. Only when he's getting a little too smug.

- But that's when y'all are alone...

- When you're surrounded by others, sometimes it feels like you don't even exist to each other. Sometimes that's a lonely feeling for both of you, but each of you is convinced that they're the only one that feels the absence.

- In your defense, you're much more entitled to those feelings because he can literally do whatever he wants. You can't just walk up to the General and do what?? ask him why he hasn't made any suggestive comment in the last couple of hours??

- please that embarrassing!! even if you weren't shy, that would be out of POCKET

- Meanwhile Kirigan is just like being angsty and debating the implications of seeking you out in an environment with so many important people. He could probably manage a minute or two by your side without making anyone suspicious, but the danger in that is that he won't be able to bring himself to leave after those minutes pass him.

- Worse,, he may even find an excuse for both of you to step out into the hall so that he can make his comments and take in your reactions in private.

- It's especially difficult when you have that one strand of hair just slightly out of place,, presenting the perfect excuse for him to just fix it and then drop his hand slowly so that his fingertips can brush the side of your cheek.

- And you're growing tired of the crowds of people you're not comfortable with and you're starting to feel more and more stupid for letting something that was so clearly just a playful distraction mean anything to you.

- But before either of you can succumb to your angsty pinning (cough, cough,, simps) his eyes will find yours from across the room and that's EVERYTHING

- At first, you want to be stiff and look away because it's probably not intentional, but then he gives you that little smirk. And then you feel stupid for ever doubting that you two at least have some kind of friendship. (maybe more,, but you're too scared to let yourself think that,, ;))

- And then you give him this shy smile,, and that's it. He's done--that one look undoes him entirely.

- So he starts shifting towards you as casually as possible, because if he can't be with you right now, surely being near you is good enough for now.

- You're unaware of this,, and when the moment ends you find yourself longing for more, but relatively satisfied. You don't expect anything from him, he's important and you're you.

- And being around people drains you because you genuinely want to stay out of any situation that would have too much attention on you at once. So once Kirigan moves and you can't find him in the crowd, you decide now is as good a time as any to step out and get some air, especially since no one currently needs you for anything.

- So you disappear into the corridor, planning to be gone only for a few minutes. But the second you're about two steps into the hallway, you hear another's footsteps.

- The hopeful part of you is like 'maybe it's him!!' but you don't really think that. There's something about the atmosphere that feels too tense,, too wrong for you to believe it's him.

- A moment later, your suspicions are confirmed. A grisha known for his impulsiveness is calling out to you, asking you where you're going.

- You explain that you just wanted to get some air and that you'd be returning in a minute. You try to sound dismissive, clearly establishing that you'd like your minute to yourself.

- It's clear that he understands the hint, but he doesn't move. He just keeps asking you questions.

- Your answers get shorter and shorter, the nerves your feeling tensing with each word as he begins to venture from falsely casual conversation to more flirtatious words. Being shy can leave you speaking too much, spluttering out words in hopes of saying the right thing to let you escape, but this is a different type of nervousness. Something feels wrong.

- And he just keeps saying things, things that even Kirigan wouldn't be able to get away with.

- All the while, you're desperate to escape, but they're persistent.

- And just when you're losing hope, and his advances get so bold he has you literally backed into a corner--a familiar voice comes to you like a lifeline.

- Kirigan, with all the authority of the general, questions what's going on. The guy that was so relentlessly hitting on you moves back like suddenly you're fire and begins to back away. He tries to explain himself but Kirigan is not having it.

- As soon as the stranger leaves, you feel like you can breathe again, but your nerves are still on edge. Kirigan's looking at you in a way you've never seen before. Sharp and almost--almost angry?

- You try to mumble a quick thanks, intending to disappear back to where you're supposed to be, but Kirigan's gaze keeps you planted against the wall.

- His gaze is so intense you ask him if he's alright.

- The question cracks something in him because of course you'd ask him if he's okay after something happened to you. His expression softens slightly, which you think is a good thing but then he speaks,, and his voice is not calm at all

- He's mad at the person that did that and the irrational part of him makes it seem like he's a little mad at you for letting that situation happen, but it's only because he's worried about what would have happened if he hadn't gotten there in time.

- And you're kind of confused because like?? what does he want from you? you made it clear you were uncomfortable and you were trying to get away?

- But after a quick snap and the fact that you're okay settles in,, he does feel a little bad. So he comes close to apologizing,, but that's basically just him saying he's glad that you're okay.

- You don't really ease, so he decides to make a partial joke about how maybe he needs to be around you more,, just to be safe,, you know

- And you smile slightly, and you're like 'y'know i'm not completely helpless.'

- and he's like 'pity,, i would've liked the excuse'

- your face instantly feels extremely warm and you're not sure what you could even, plausibly say to that. But you can't let him have the last word,, not like that. So you're overcompensating, rambling, but then at the end...you say something about how he doesn't really need an excuse to stay near you.

- When you realize what you've said, fight or flight kicks in,, but you can't move. And there's no casual way to escape, so you decide that maybe you'll cut your losses for today because that might have been your most significant reply to him ever, and you feel like an idiot because he was probably joking. And you just had to say that and make it weird.

- So you allow exactly one second of unfortunate silence, your eyes glued to the ground. And then you make some excuse about needing to get back to where you were.

- But Kirigan stops you, and you think about how you can't avoid looking him in the eyes forever, so you just kind of barely dare to glance upwards.

- And he's smiling broader than usual, the look is so warm it melts away all the bad feelings from earlier. You have absolutely no idea what it means, but you know it's not...bad.

- And then he shifts slightly, and that's when you realize he's never been this close before.

- He then asks if you're sure, voice much lower than earlier.

- You can't speak,, too trapped on a line you don't understand.

- But as he leans forward, the only answer he needs is the instinctual part of your lips as his warm breath reaches your cheek.

- And with that he turns his head just a fraction of an inch,, and his lips meet yours.

- It's just a quick brush of lips,, a soft test. And when you don't protest, he moves to let the contact be a little more assured, yet still teasing.

- Something in you grows impatient, and you move a little in hopes that he'll take the hint.

- But that's all it takes for him to pull away, expression bright and teasing before playfully chiding you for being so eager.

- He then turns, leaving you more flustered than ever.

[edendaphne]

“Discordant Sonata” Chapter 18

>>Click here to read on Ao3<<

>>Click here to read on Wattpad<<

——-

CHAPTER 18: AFFETUOSO

 Music glossary:

 Affetuoso: to perform with passion and emotion

**Chapter illustration by @corgi-likes-chat​ **

----

(Mood Music: “Christofori’s Dream” - David Lanz)

Adrien’s eyelids fluttered open, a sleepy smile still present on his face. He breathed out a long, contented sigh, stretching his limbs out wide enough that they poked out of the bedcovers. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept so well.

Last night, after Marinette awoke him from his most harrowing night terror to date, he’d fallen back asleep and something remarkable happened: for the second time in years, he’d actually had a pleasant dream. The only other time he hadn’t suffered from his usual nightmares ever since becoming Chat Noir was on the first night that he’d arrived at the Dupain-Cheng residence.

He tried to think back, wondering what might have caused this, not just last night, but back on that first day Marinette had brought him home. What did these two occurrences have in common?

His mouth quirked to the side and his brow furrowed, deep in thought, trying to remember. He wasn’t exactly in the best frame of mind when he’d arrived a couple of months back, given all that had happened when he ran away from his father; so it was no surprise that his memory of that night was hazy at best. Nevertheless, he hoped to find a correlation; if there was one, maybe he could figure out how to repeat it.

His thoughts were interrupted by a gentle hand sliding across his midsection. Disturbed by his movements, a smaller body rolled toward him, settling comfortably on his chest and breathing out a drowsy sigh.

He looked down and there she was: sweet, lovely Marinette; one of the dearest and most important people in his life. The raven-haired girl stirred, letting out a small whine; Adrien stilled, subconsciously holding his breath, not wanting to wake her and accidentally reveal his identity.

This became much harder when she reached around him, her fingers lightly skimming across his rib cage. His muscles tensed and he bit back a laugh; why did he have to be so darn ticklish?!

He readjusted himself, trying to shuffle out from underneath her; but she clinged to him like an overgrown barnacle, even in her unconscious state. I guess she’s a cuddler, he thought, and he couldn’t help but smile about how well that suited her.

It was still pretty dark in the room, as the sun hadn’t risen yet. He glanced over at the wall clock; he still had about an hour and a half before he had to report to work at the bakery, so he didn’t have to rush to get ready. Relieved, he sagged back down onto his pillow. He could relax for a little longer, he supposed.

Deciding to check his notifications while Marinette slept, he gingerly reached towards his nightstand to grab his phone, careful not to disturb her. He’d deactivated all his social media accounts since running away from home, so there weren’t very many notifications; there was a school-related email and a couple of late night funny memes from Nino.

Adrien checked the Ladyblog next. No news about any akumas this morning, thankfully. However, there were a few blurry snapshots of the previous night’s attack. He scrolled down for a bit, then stopped, his eyes popping open as he focused his attention on a particular photo.

He couldn’t suppress the lovestruck sigh that escaped his lips when he stared at a picture of Ladybug. His Lady was breathtaking, her eyes so ethereal, her smile utterly resplendent. She was indescribably beautiful, both inside and out and there was absolutely nothing he would change about her. He was hopelessly smitten, no doubt about it.

A few months ago, he would have berated himself for feeling this way about his mortal enemy. But his entire life had been turned upside down since then, and he wholeheartedly embraced this unexpected development.

The next photo was taken after the akuma was purified and the Miraculous Cure had set everything back to where it should be. Ladybug had seen that Alya was about to snap a photo, so she grabbed Chat and turned him around to face the camera, wrapping her arm around his shoulders. She grinned widely, and did a peace sign with her free hand. So cute.

He glanced over to his own face and instinctively grimaced. He was winking at the camera with a goofy, cheerful salute, not bothering to channel the suave, sophisticated mannerisms of a proper model that he’d incurred over the years. God, I’m so cringy, he thought.

Nevertheless, he saved the picture onto his phone. It was the first photo of them together like this, as opposed to impersonal ones taken by the media from afar, or during press releases and interviews.

It had only been posted a few hours ago, but already it had thousands of likes and comments. He didn’t dare look through those, however. Not since he first discovered the kinds of things people wrote about Chat Noir, both before and after his change in alliances. It was better to avoid those, lest he ruin his day reading about how much some people still hated him.

But he remembered Marinette’s words from the night before. She was right; he had to have hope, and believe that things would slowly get better. Attitude was everything.

Speaking of Marinette…

He looked down at his roommate once again. By this point, she’d slinked and climbed almost entirely on top of him, utilizing him like a mattress. His eyebrows scrunched together, and he wondered how in the world he’d be able to slip out of bed undetected.

All the stealth-based videogames I’ve ever played have prepared me for this moment. I got this!! he thought, hyping himself up.

Taking a deep breath in, he rolled over to his side, managing to slide Marinette’s ragdoll-like form back onto the mattress. She made a small noise and he froze, electricity crawling up the back of his neck. A few tense moments passed, and her stirring subsided, her breathing becoming slow and even once again. He exhaled, just now realizing he’d been holding his breath.

Freedom!! Adrien celebrated as he stood, stretching his arms high over his head, taking care not to hit the ceiling lights. His skin felt grimy with dried sweat from the night before; a shower was exactly what he needed right now. He tiptoed over to get a change of clothes from the dresser, giving the occasional glance towards the bed to make sure Marinette was still asleep.

As he made his way to the bathroom, he stopped by her side, a warm smile spreading across his face. He bent over and gave the top of her head a small kiss. Where would he be without her and her family? She and Sabine especially went out of their way to help him feel at home, to make him feel like he belonged, instead of treating him like a nuisance, or like some freeloader just taking up space. He loved them all so much; he vowed to himself to make it up to them someday.

He pulled the bedcovers up to Marinette’s shoulders so she wouldn’t miss the extra warmth too much, then made his way to the bathroom to start the day.

--

Marinette stirred, enveloped in softness and a familiar scent of spice and fresh rain. Eyes still closed, she extended her arm, reaching for the oversized cat pillow on her bed that she always liked to cuddle.

Her searching hand found something soft. Aha! She brought it closer, snuggling it tight, then began to get comfortable again. But then, her pillow started poking her cheek, over and over and over. The pillow’s poking only intensified when she tried squeezing it even harder. How rude!

Wait... what?

A single eyelid groggily slid open, meeting a small pair of eyes of a distinctive shade of green. A rather frazzled-looking Plagg stared back, his expression unamused from being squished between her and the pillow she was hugging.

“Sorry, Plagg,” she slurred sleepily as she pulled away to give him some space. “What are you doing here?”

He crossed his little arms, raising a brow. “I live here, remember?”

“But why are you in my room–– oh, wait…” she stopped, the memory of last night starting to rush back to her. This wasn’t her room; it was Chat’s. She’d slept in his room last night. And the bed she was lying in was his bed. These were his blankets and pillows, and they carried his scent. Heat rose to her face and a multitude of imaginary butterflies swarmed in her stomach as she realized that she’d actually spent the night with him, albeit under less than ideal circumstances.

And then a second realization dawned on her: Chat Noir was gone.

She sat up with a start, her head whipping back and forth to search for him. As she was about to panic, she heard the shower running in the en suite bathroom, punctuated by some cheerful humming. With a heavy, relieved sigh, she laid back down, careful not to squish the tiny cat god next to her.

“By the way, Little Bug,” Plagg murmured, meekly rubbing the back of his head. “Thanks for helping my kid last night.”

“Oh, of course, Plagg!” she replied. “I’m always happy to help however I can.”

He gave her a melancholy smile. “I just wish there was more I could’ve done. I tried waking him up myself, but he couldn’t hear me at all, no matter how hard I tried.” He sighed, twisting his mouth into a pained frown. “He doesn’t deserve this. He's already gone through so much.”

“Plagg, no, it’s okay! You did your best, and I’m sure Chat knows that too. I’m just glad I was able to get through to him. It was lucky that I happened to be downstairs at that time. Chat couldn’t ask for a better friend than you.”

Plagg grinned widely at her. “I always knew I liked you,” he remarked, scooting closer and nuzzling into her.

Marinette smiled back, returning the hug and kissing the top of his head, followed by providing him with some gentle scratches behind the ears. He let out a small, contented purr as he leaned into her hand.

After a few moments of hesitation, Plagg spoke again, “Little Bug, there’s... something else you need to know.”

They pulled apart, and Marinette eyed him with trepidation. “What is it?”

“It was too dark, so you didn’t see it, but–” he said with a grim tone in his voice, “–I need to let you know what really happened last night.”

“Huh?” Marinette’s eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. “What do you mean? I know he said his night terrors aren’t usually this bad, but was there something else?”

A dark look flickered on Plagg’s face. “Hawkmoth tried to akumatize him last night.”

Marinette felt like she’d been dropped into a vat of ice water. “W- WHAT?!” she sputtered. “B-but how is that possible?! Akumatized?? He was asleep! Hawkmoth can’t akumatize people who are unconscious!!” She paused, pondering the possibility. “Right…?”

“It’s tricky, but not impossible,” Plagg replied. “Hawkmoth knows about Chat Noir’s nightmares, so he must’ve sensed his opportunity and finally taken it last night.”

Marinette brought a hand to her temple in disbelief.

Plagg continued, “I don’t know why he decided to try it now, instead of when he first ran away. And what if–” he gulped, and his voice quavered slightly as he continued, unable to conceal his fear, “What if he tries it again? What if he tries it every night?”

“No… he wouldn’t… he can’t!!” Marinette cried, staring at the bathroom door, her mind racing a million miles a minute. She clenched her fists as she tried not to give into the feelings of dismay and anxiety that were clawing away at her. “Plagg… What do we do?! Hawkmoth’s patterns seem to be getting more erratic and desperate recently. Is he under some kind of deadline? Why is he doing this??”

“I can think of a couple of reasons,” Tikki answered from across the room.

Marinette practically leaped off the bed in surprise due to Tikki’s abrupt entrance. “Tikki!” she exclaimed.

The brightly colored kwami hovered towards them and elaborated, “Firstly, as Chat grows older, his powers will continue to get stronger, as will yours, so you’ll be more difficult for Hawkmoth to defeat as time goes on. Secondly, I think the effects of misusing the butterfly miraculous must be catching up to him as well. His desperation suggests that maybe he thinks he’s running out of time.”

“Out of time? What do you mean?” Marinette asked, confused.

Plagg sighed. “It’s his health,” he answered. "He wasn’t doing very well even before we left. Slowly but steadily, it’s been getting worse for a while.” He turned to face Tikki. “You think Hawkmoth believes that he’s gonna… you know... soon?”

Tikki shrugged in response, her expression blank.

“Oh… I see,” Marinette said, her voice almost a whisper.

Her mind raced, a torrent of emotions crashing into her simultaneously, like a rowboat in a tempest, slamming into a cliffside without respite.

She wasn’t sure how to feel about this new information. Her chest felt tight, like it did when she wanted to cry. Should she feel happy or sad that her mortal enemy was getting sicker and sicker, to the point where his life was potentially in danger? Was it okay to feel–dare she say it– relieved?

What was she supposed to think? As a hero, was it more important to be merciful, or was it more important to be just? Her heart felt like it was being pulled in two completely opposite directions. Despite hating the man with every fiber of her being, part of her thought that maybe dying was too extreme a punishment. And yet, at the same time, the hurt, embittered part of herself thought that maybe dying would be too easy, like he was getting let off the hook instead of being forced to acknowledge his wrongs and feel remorse for the horrible things he’d done.

For years, she’d dreamed about the day when Hawkmoth would be defeated and his miraculous confiscated. It was supposed to be a happy time, full of rejoicing and excitement. But she’d never considered the possibility that Hawkmoth would be defeated by an entirely different force, one that she had no say in how or when it happened. It didn’t feel fair. She hated feeling this powerless.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a brief tug at her sleeve. She looked down at Tikki, who motioned towards the bathroom with a small nod. It was then that she noticed the noise–or rather– the absence of it, which could only mean one thing: Chat Noir had finished his shower, and he’d be coming out of the bathroom any minute now.

“I think that’s our cue to leave,” Tikki whispered.

Marinette nodded. She turned to Plagg and whispered, “We’ll talk more later. I’ll call Master Fu later today and see if he has any advice.”

“M’kay. See ya,” he replied with a small wave. “Bye, Sugarcube.”

Tikki looked back and gave him a reassuring smile, then followed Marinette out the door.

Plagg hovered towards the windowsill while he waited for his charge, plopping down with a heavy sigh. He leaned against the window, taking in the many colors of the dawn sky, which looked almost too bright and vibrant for his liking. How dare the heavens look so beautiful while he felt so miserable inside? The day hadn’t even really started, and yet the only thing he wanted to do was to just crawl back into bed. He dearly hoped that the heavy, uneasy feeling in his gut would go away soon.

(A short while later)

Work at the bakery had been lively and hectic today; so much so that Chat Noir had to be reminded when his shift was over and that he needed to head to school. He gave Sabine a parting hug, the latter thanking him for his hard work and giving him some encouraging words as she helped dust the flour off his suit and hair.

Chat retrieved his cloak from a coat hanger by the door and stepped into the stairwell that led to the living quarters, so that he could retrieve his school supplies and exit through Marinette’s balcony trap door as he normally did. That was definitely one of the plus sides of working in the kitchen while transformed; he could wear his school outfit underneath and not require a change of clothes or a shower when he was through. He could merely detransform and be good as new.

As he ascended up the stairs, he heard a familiar deep voice call out to him from below. Chat froze, then turned around, trying to keep his nerves under control.

“Could I speak with you for a minute?” Tom asked.

Uh-oh.

“O-of course, Mr. Dupain,” Chat replied, trying to keep his voice even despite his nerves.

Tom’s face was mostly neutral, but his body was rigid and there was a hint of gloom in his eyes. Chat did his best not to cringe as he stood in front of the much taller man who, despite not being a superhero, looked like he could toss him clear to the Eiffel Tower if he felt like it. To prevent himself from fidgeting, Chat finally opted to stick his hands inside his pockets.

“What is it, sir? D-did I do something wrong?” he asked. “I was running a bit late, so I apologize if I didn’t put something back in the right spot. O-or did I mess up an order?? I’m sorry, I can go back and fix… whatever it is!”

“No, everything’s fine; it’s something else,” he answered, and Chat felt the stiffness in his shoulders ease a tiny bit.

However, it came back full force when Tom didn’t say anything else. Chat’s heartbeat sped up as they stood face to face in silence, unsure of the route this conversation was about to take.

What else could he be in trouble for? Did he find out Marinette had fallen asleep in his bedroom yesterday? Oh no… Did Tom think he and Marinette had… done something unseemly together last night?! Was he getting kicked out of the house?? His mind raced and his chest thumped, and he prepared himself to beg on his knees for forgiveness if need be.

A few agonizingly long and awkward seconds later, Tom spoke again, “Chat Noir… I wanted to apologize to you.”

“Oh, I see. Wait… WHAT?!?” Chat felt like someone had yanked the carpet out from underneath him. “Apologize?? What for?”

Tom lifted his arm to rub the back of his head, his entire posture taut as a bowstring. “We didn’t really get off on the right foot, you and I. You’ve been nothing but cordial and polite, and all I’ve done since you arrived is give you the cold shoulder, and for that I’m truly sorry. I wanted to clear the air and start over, if that’s okay with you.”

“Mr. Dupain! N-no, please, it’s okay!” Chat sputtered, his hands waving frantically. “I totally understand why you would have reservations about me living here, o-or even interacting with you guys at all! They’re totally justified concerns! I mean, up until a few months ago, I was still working with Hawkmoth; so the fact that you even allowed me into your home at all is incredibly kind of you! I’ve never felt any ill will towards you, I swear! You were just doing what any good father would––” he trailed off, trying to keep the melancholy out of his voice, “–would do.”

Tom winced and sighed heavily, crossing his arms. “That’s exactly my point, though. It may have been justified at first, but that was back then . I tolerated you for the sake of my wife and daughter, but I was always suspicious. I should’ve given you a chance instead of just judging you for no reason, especially after all this time. So I wanted to try to make it up to you.”

It was then that Tom brought something shiny out of his shirt pocket. It was an adorable little keychain shaped like a croissant. But wait… no, it wasn’t just a keychain, Chat realized. There was a key dangling on the end. A house key. Tom handed it over, doing his best to try to conceal a timid smile.

Chat gaped at him, reeling from what was happening. “I… I don’t know what to say. That is so generous of you! Thank you, Mr. Dupain,” he replied meekly, staring into his hands at the key. HIS key.

He felt the man’s large hand pat him on the shoulder and Chat looked up, meeting his soft, forest green eyes. “Please, call me Tom.”

Chat had to consciously fight the urge to let his jaw drop. If he wasn’t dreaming last night with Ladybug’s revelation, he was surely dreaming now. “Y-yes, sir! Uhh, Mr. Tom, sir. Uhh, I mean…” he stammered, still not recovered from having been gobsmacked out of nowhere.

The older man gave out a hearty laugh. “Just Tom. And please, if there’s anything you need, just say the word. Even if it’s just someone to lend an ear. You’ve got a good heart despite the bad hand that’s been dealt to you, and you have so much potential. We’re happy to have you in our family, even if you’re only here temporarily. Just know you’ll always have a home here with us.”

Chat’s heart swelled with affection, so full that it felt like it might burst, and his eyesight became blurry with unshed tears. He threw his arms around the giant man in front of him, someone who he never thought would fully accept him, squeezing hard.

“Thank you, Tom! Thank you so much, I’m just–” he let out a shuddering sigh then continued, voice cracking, “–thank you.”

Tom squeezed back firmly, giving him an affectionate pat. Failing to hide a sniffle, he then added, “I should let you get going, I don’t wanna make you late for school.” The pair pulled apart, and Tom ruffled Chat’s hair. “Be safe out there, kiddo.”

After saying their goodbyes, Chat bounded up the stairs, practically floating with glee. He’d missed this feeling; the feeling of being part of a family. As he emerged onto the rooftop balcony, he took a deep breath of the crisp autumn air, his heart full of excitement and hope.

He arrived at the school in high spirits and a huge grin on his face. He detransformed in a discreet location and practically skipped to the school’s entrance; then he entered the campus, carefree, joyful, and blissfully unaware of the dark eyes that followed him inside.

[play-exy-be-sexy]

the foxes roles in the gc

Neil:

Replies when necessary or if he is in a good mood.

It's always short replies.

If it's an ongoing conversation he'll say one thing and then leave.

It usually goes something like this:

"Oh! Neil's active, hi Neil!"

"Hi, I agree with Renee."

...

"Wait, did he leave already?"

Andrew:

You probably guessed this already but he never answers.

Even if the question is directed at him he won't say anything.

Occasionally you may get a yes or no.

Or he'll like the message but that's it.

The poor foxes will always get their hopes up when his little texting bubbles show up.

But he literally just key smashes to make them think he's going to say something.

Asshole, yeah we know.

Neil finds it funny so Andrew keeps doing it.

Kevin:

Kevin won't engage in "meaningless" conversation.

If the messaging is about exy, he'll always be one of the first to answer.

But as soon as it turns to something else he's gone.

Unless it's to correct someone's spelling mistakes.

He never fails to do that.

He's constantly messaging the foxes reminders and updates and their schedules.

He texts very professionally though.

Like it's an email.

He doesn't abbreviate or anything.

Grandpa Kevin

"Good morning, a reminder to be at the gym in 10 minutes dressed and ready. Neil, if you forget your water bottle again you're running ten extra laps."

"We have a game in two days, night practice at approximately 10 p.m."

Aaron:

Aaron is worse than Andrew.

He will answer questions directed at him but only if they are very very recent and he happens to be on the group chat.

King of thumbs up

and

"OK"

Nicky:

Nicky is singlehandedly keeping the group chate alive.

He's that one person in the group chat who's constantly sending TikToks, Instagram posts, recipes, people he finds hot, Pinterest inspo boards, etc.

He's steering the conversations.

He's starting them back up when it starts to die.

He's sending cat memes 24/7.

He's ranting at 3 in the morning when no one is active.

He's giving everyone a play by play update on his day.

He's doing it all.

And we love him for that.

The others may complain about it, but they actually enjoy it.

And they know it makes Nicky happy to have people listening to him, especially when those people are his friends.

Plus, he just really loves texting and the internet.

Matt:

All the upperclassmen are active in the gc, including Matt.

I mean, it was his and Dan's idea, so they kinda have to be.

Matt types like this:

Y do u h8 me, Kev?

"Maybe, it's because you type like you are incapable of spelling out 'you'."

He's also the local meme provider.

Any kind of meme you want, Matt probably has it saved in his camera roll.

LOTS of exy memes.

He saves those for when Neil or Kevin haven't been saying anything for a few days.

Sometimes he'll get scared to send one.

So, he runs it by Dan first.

She always tells him to send them.

He's very good at finding funny and fitting posts.

Dan:

Dan is probably the most active on the gc, other than maybe Nicky.

But the foxes tend to answer her more.

No offense to Nicky...

Her captain-y privelge transfers to text too ig.

Dan will send the gc good morning texts, reminders(ones Kevin forgets about or isn't to be bothered with), articles about the foxes, workout videos, etc.

She loves sending compilations to the group chat.

Like:

"10 Times Neil Josten Flips Off teammate, Kevin Day."

"Or Matt Boyd and Dan Wilds Cutest on Court Kisses."

"Dan didn't you mean to just send that to Matt."

"NO! I thought you all would like it!"

She also sends them not so fun things.

If a bit of bad press is released she is the first to know and immediately sends it to the gc.

Also things like:

"Traffic on the way 2 court is bad, leave early."

"Crazy man on the corner by the parking lot, be careful!"

Dan is the group chat mom and we love that for her.

Allison:

Allison will not start conversations but she is always a part of them.

LOVES to start drama in the group chat.

and talk about gossip.

"did you guys see what neil was wearing today?wtf*puke emoji*"

"Allison, I can see this."

"good, maybe you'll listen to me then.*kissy emoji*"

She likes to text just in emojis sometimes.

Lots of kissing emojis.

And middle finger ones.

She also sends selfies when she feels like it.

Or when she likes her outfit.

"Allison we don't want to see your slutty outfit."

"stfu nicky, ur just jealous.*middle finger and kissy emoji*"

She doesn't type in uppercase.

Kevin is appalled.

Overall, she's a pretty standard group chat member.

But add some *richness*

Renee:

Renee does her best to stay active on the chat.

exy and non exy related conversations.

She tries to answer every one, like the sweetheart she is.

She likes to send cute things.

and motivational things.

or aesthetic pictures.

"I thought you guys would like this picture of a baby goat, have a good day!"

She tries to send good morning messages every day.

sometimes she does, sometimes she doesn't.

She tries, that's what matters.

A lot of the time the conversations are just her and Nicky.

Like in real life, she is usually the mediator when things get heated or bad.

"Allison, was the emoji really necessary?"

"reneeeee, babe, we are supposed to be on the same team!"

If she knows someone has a test or something important coming up she'll message them "good luck" on the gc.

Mainly so the others will do the same.

"Good luck on your test, Aaron!"

"Oh, yeah! You got it, man!" (Matt)

"If you pass, we can skip half our laps:)" (Dan)

"No, we will not."(Kevin)

"Literally, no one asked you Kevin."(Andrew)

"Whoa! Andrew said something!*excited squealing*" (Nicky)

*Andrew Minyard has left the group chat*

*Renee Walker has added Andrew Minyard to the group chat*

Wymack:

Matt added Wymack as a joke.

As soon as Wymack saw what it was, he left.

Nicky had the nerve to add him back though.

"Add me to this shit show one more time and I'm signing you all up for five marathons."

*sends an article about all upcoming marathons*

*Matt Boyd has kicked David Wymack out of chat*

I think this is my first super long post in ages! It started as a little post but I got inspired(which hasn't happened in a very long time either!). Anyway, I hope you like it! Also, I'm sure this has been made before so if you have done this I promise I didn't steal your idea:)