#was fun but hoo boy am i drained

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

aaaaahh sorry i am very very sleepy tonight and have no energy so please send Foul Legacy stuff for me to read when i return tomorrow <33

before i go here's a reminder to hug your local Childe today!!! moth gets lonely while you're away and desires nothing more than your presence and affections <333 ok goodnight am going to sleep now love you all <333 /p

[mykingdomforapen]

chapter 10 of "courage of stars" will be coming next week and guys, I'm so nervous. I am so excited and I'm so nervous. This chapter is many things. It's where I got to do some things I've been really wanting to do. It's where I cross a point of no return in the story. I got to try a different style. It's where the line blurs between fanfic and a genre that I respect and fear.

It's also a huge factor in why this fic is rated M. Hoo boy.

So! In lieu of updating today, so that you won't have to face a three week wait afterwards, here's a fun little drabble/filler episode:

-

When Lu Guang was four years old, he lovingly killed three tadpoles. He had scooped them from the pond in a plastic cup and brought them home happily, convinced he would raise them into froghood. By Thursday, all three of them floated lifelessly in the surface of the bright blue tub in which he housed them. His mother poked them curiously with a chopstick while he sobbed into his grandmother's lap.

"Don't be so sad, Guangguang," Maamaa crooned as she patted Lu Guang's head. "You tried very, very hard. We all know that you did your best." 

"I killed them!" Lu Guang wailed into her skirt. "I just want them to be frogs and now they died!"

"Oh, A Guang," his mother said as she furtively plucked the dead tadpoles into a bundled newspaper for a more discreet funeral. "This is a good learning experience, right? Now you know what not to do with a frog. See, it's good to learn with the wild tadpoles, before you spend money on a pet. You know better for next time not to use tap water."

Lu Guang sobbed louder ("I meant it to be comforting!") until Yeye came home. Maamaa intercepted Yeye before he walked through the door and sent him on a mission to bring home steamed bai tang gao as a consolation, and Yeye beelined to the nearest vendor to bring home a steaming, buoyant cake of tangy sweet rice. Lu Guang chewed on it sullenly on the living room sofa after bidding the dead tadpoles goodbye into the storm drain.

Yeye sighed as he sat next to Lu Guang, stroking his grandson's little head.

"You know," he said, "when I was little, my father raised bees."

Lu Guang blinked up at Yeye with teary eyes.

"Honeybees?" he asked.

Yeye nodded. "My father was a very adventurous man, you know. A scholar, but always enjoyed the outdoors. He got it in his head that he would like to try raising a colony of honeybees. I was so excited to help him. I thought we would have hives and hives of bees, but what do you know! Only a month or so of having the bees, one day they all flew away. The queen said, no more! I was so disappointed."

Lu Guang sniffled. Yeye scratched the back of Lu Guang's head.

"After that, we stuck with chickens," Yeye said lightly. "What do you think of chickens, A Guang?"

Lu Guang shook his head.

"I like frogs," he whispered.

"You want to try raising frogs again?"

Lu Guang nodded. Yeye smiled crookedly.

"Ah, well," he said. "Chickens are smelly, anyway."

-

For Lu Guang's seventh birthday, his parents took him to the pet store.

His mother had promised him a pet frog for when he turned seven, partly because she had assumed he would grow out of frogs in three years' time. She was a woman of her word, though, when she noticed him checking out library books about frog care and frog types when he hit age six. When asked if he wanted to invite friends over to play, he shook his head and asked to go to the pet shop.

So on Sunday when Ba and Ma were off work, they took Lu Guang to the best-rated pet shop in the city, four subway stops away from Peidi University. Lu Guang was shaking with anticipation as he counted down the stops, donning his frog bucket hat in celebration and looking away solemnly when teenage girls cooed at him. All he could think about was his dream coming true.

“Now, A Guang,” his mother said breezily as she took Lu Guang’s hand to wade through foot traffic. “When you pick a frog, you have to make sure it isn’t poisonous, okay? Mommy is afraid of poisonous animals.”

“I don’t want a poison dart frog,” said Lu Guang, albeit with reservation. “They won’t have them in a pet store.” 

He did not know what sort of frogs were available in the pet store that Ma and Ba were taking him. Ba, in all his practicality, had assumed that they would go to one of the street markets and pick up a frog that was meant for the dinnerplate. He expressed mild surprise when they turned left to the subway station, so Lu Guang knew Ba wasn’t going to be any help in asking for clues. 

“All right, Guangguang,” said Ma as she ushered Lu Guang into the pet store. It was a corner shop with clean glass windows, full of tanks and cages and colorful habitat accessories. Colorful parakeets squawked and glittering snakes coiled under sunlamps, and Lu Guang’s little heart began to race with anticipation. “Only one frog, do you understand?” 

Lu Guang nodded, his eyes as wide as coins as he stared up at the tall towers of tanks. There were saltwater coral fish dancing among anemones, drowsy tarantulas (Ma squeaked at the sight of them), sunbathing turtles, bearded lizards, and–

Lu Guang felt his jaw drop. 

An Amazon milk frog. 

It was just at eye level with Lu Guang, so that when he pressed his nose to the glass he was eye to eye with the docile pale blue frog. It perched on a rock under the sunlamp, milky blue and content to stare back at Lu Guang. It was perfectly patterned, gummy blue webbed feet, and a lipless mouth that promised simplicity. 

It was, in short, the most wonderful creature that Lu Guang had ever seen. 

He stood up on his tiptoes to get a closer look at the frog. Its tiny breaths puffed in its throat in a fascinating rhythm. It was like seeing a real-life Doraemon in Lu Guang’s eyes, or Sun Wukong–a fairy-tale celebrity come to life, except instead of comic books it was Lu Guang’s frog encyclopedia. Lu Guang knew its habitat, its life cycle, its favorite foods, and now he could behold one with his own eyes. 

Seven minutes passed, and his mother touched him on the head.

“A Guang, there are other frogs you should look at too,” she said.

Lu Guang shook his head. He pressed his hands against the glass. 

“Aiyah, A Guang, not too close.” 

Lu Guang moved his nose a millimeter away from the glass, leaving a smudge. His mother looked down at him with a crooked smile. 

“Is this the one you want, then?” she said. 

He looked up to his mother and nodded. Ma turned to Ba and tapped the price tag. Ba nodded solemnly and undertook the task of haggling (unsuccessfully) with the store owner. 

“Let’s pick out a tank for him,” said Ma. 

She took Lu Guang’s hand and tugged him towards the habitat shelves, but Lu Guang refused to budge. He glued himself to the spot, maintaining unbreakable eye contact with the milk frog. 

“A Guang, come on, now,” she said. “We have to give him a home, don’t we?” 

Lu Guang huddled closer to the tanks. He was convinced that if he were to let the frog out of his sight, some other seven-year-old boy would swoop down and claim the frog as his own. 

“Ba is buying the frog right now, see?” Ma said, pointing to Ba who was conceding to the original price of the pet store while he pulled out his wallet. “There. Let’s choose a tank.” 

After another minute of convincing, Lu Guang finally followed his mother to pick out a proper tank for his frog. He picked out the soil, cleaned rocks, plants, and water source that would all go into his terrarium, but it wasn’t until Ba handed to Lu Guang a plastic covered cup with his milk frog sitting politely inside did Lu Guang feel the surge of joie de vivre. He hugged the cup to his chest, whispered his thanks to his father, and then burst into tears, precisely in that order.

-

Thanks for indulging me with this little drabble, gang. Who knows, since I'm kind of keeping up this 2 week streak for the rest of the update schedule, you might see the return of Frog Guang's adventures again...after all, if you've been on my tumblr for some time, you may recall that I have a headcanon that Lu Guang has beef with one of his cousins.

Until next week!

[m4rloe5]

15.), 36.), and 50.) for Archie!!

15. What kind of sense of humor do they have? Or do they have one at all?

Archie’s sense of humour is… I won’t say it’s non-existent, but it is rather dull. However, he does enjoy Monty Python, though he would never admit it.

36. Would they ever kill someone? Have they already?

If necessary? Without hesitation. He’s been trained in fencing and he knows everything there is to know about swords and how to use them with deadly precision, not to mention he got his magic to back him up. 

But he hasn’t yet. He has gotten close to killing himself once when he got in a car accident that left him in a coma, but that was one sided and no one else got hurt.

50. What is your favorite thing about them?

Oof that’s still hard to tell because I haven’t played him enough yet and I am still working out how the system itself works, so the things I like are mostly superficial. But then hoo boy where do I start? 

I like his design, I barely had to tweak it at all. I like his beard, I like his cane, I like his stature, and I really enjoy the nimbus mechanic of Mage the Awakening that allows me to try fun dramatic lighting. I like that you’re more likely to get a papercut when he’s around, I like that his magic smells like rust, and I like that his flares manifest as blazing eyes and the draining of colour from his immediate surroundings. I also like his accent, even though I’m garbage at it.

[derelicthorror]

gamer (me) who's crying and breathing shakily and wiping their nose on their sleeve but they're winning the game (warframe tnw)

[hobgobbin]

just remembered I have to work tomorrow

[vengefulcooking]

Today I picked up a cooking sauce, only because it was on discount, you know, please-buy-this-it's-one-step-above-free prices that tell you they're desperate to get rid of something before it hits its date, and I guess anyone who's shopping food in clearance has got to be so confident in their ability to clean out a bottle in under two weeks (or you know, not live alone,), and I am not anyone. I have zero confidence I'll be able to finish it, but I picked it up, even though I am so indifferent to the flavouring I picked up that it might not have existed on my radar at all: butter chicken. Mlehmlehmleh bland, boring, too few herbs and spices; it's just chicken in heavy cream, you've all been duped. Knew I'd be indifferent to it at best and mildly annoyed by its existence at worst, but I bought it. (Have I already made a post about the sheer number of possibilities you have in Indian cooking? Look at the possibilities, and it's not chicken in cream. That's overrated. It doesn't even taste good. I can and will willingly excuse a biriyani. The sheer number of flavours in it all at once; the layering, the way the spices are actually cooked into the rice (unless I'm wrong), or a good, simple, versatile paneer. Any vegetable, even. Oh, south Indian chillis. There's a lot you can do. But I repeat myself.)

Anyway, I tried it, and it's everything I expected. I checked the labellings properly later and noticed that it's a British import (literally why. There are Indians in this country. No wonder they were so desperate to get it off. Especially right now with the delay times, how long does shipping from the UK even take?), which immediately tells helps me sort out a few tastes. (Don't worry, the point of this post is flavours, and the target of this post is butter chicken. No Brits were harmed in the writing of this post.)

As much as the origin of a dish may be India, it changes when it leaves, as does any dish from another country. Based on which parts of India are better represented in another country (or smaller jurisdiction), the flavour of stuff will differ. I made a whole long post about the composition of garam masala, an Indian blend of spices that is used in like half the north Indian cooking you do, and it's sort of like that with most dishes. (Phew, the research I did for that post by the way! I put it up on my proper proper blog (not Tumblr, this site is hanging on to the tag of 'social media' for dear life. It's one rung below. Though, does anyone remember when social media platforms used to be called "micro-blogging sites"? Not one soul says that anymore, we've come a looong way from "the actor confirmed their role in a post on the microblogging site Twitter" to "SM".). Anyway I showed it to my mum and she was proud though she laughed. She'd laugh more if she knew I had a tumblr.)

Anyway, my verdict on this, less so Indian and more British, masala: too many cloves. Too. Maaaaaany. Cloves. for my liking! Cloves and ginger! Possibly cinnamon. Why does anybody like this?? (Fun fact, I don't know if you can look this up, but cinnamon's Hindi name is daalchini, which I guess taken apart would read pulse (general)-sugar. I know cinnamon is a spice but that fact always surprises me a little tbh, given how much I associate it with baking, coffees and all. It's literally in the name! —in at least one language)

My conclusion on this however? Hoo boy, Brits need to discover lemons someday ;)

Edit: It's going to bother me if I just left this post at that, I am here to spread lemon propaganda afterall, aren't I? I might as well teach you right. You don't need to cook with lemons. Lemons are part of the serving (etiquette?), you may in fact have seen them in restaurants if you've ordered Indian. The complete profile would be squeezed lemons along with sliced, salted onions, the salt can be omitted if you like. Do not drain!! Then you can go extra on the salad plating, and pile the lemony onions with chillis [ :) ], carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, sprouts, radish, beetroots; literally whatever you want, but it's gotta be raw/uncooked, and dipped in salty lemon. Then you pick up the wet onion slices and eat them with your main dish. That's how lemons are done, try it!

[introvertbard]

So I just shelled out for a fancy gaming laptop to start playing Red Dead Online, and the SHEER OVERWHELMING DIFFERENCE between this “rough but needs work” sandbox game and the homophobic horse game’s “rough but needs work” sandbox game is so drastic, omg.

Even without the common “we don’t care about elite graphics” stance that hi3’s devs usually take, learning to play Red Dead is just so much more FUN than HI3. 1) RDO gives you a very seamless tutorial where you have basic supplies and a starter horse, and 2) you aren’t at the mercy of spawning in a random barely-inhabited village where there’s no NPC stores, no money, and no supplies.

I’m on my phone so I’ll talk more later, but I didn’t install HI3 on my new gaming laptop because 1) I vastly prefer my student-grade 5-year-old laptop for typing my work, and 2) HI3 is also infamous among players for being a battery drain that sucks out GAMING LAPTOP BATTERIES, and hoo boy am I glad these games are on separate computers.

[dovakel]

day 2: cyclops

wow, a second post? what madness is this?

kiiiiinda worried that the tags aren’t working for my first post though...

ah well, least i’m doing this from the laptop today.

still no plan. we’re winging this bad boy.

tags: hoo boy, this took on a life of it’s own. let’s see, angst, misunderstanding, drama, happy ending, no read more, sorry...

---

the sounds of music, light chatter, clinking glasses filled the room. the aromas of quality drinks and perfumed bodies were lovely, the furniture comfortable, the mood relaxed. everything one could want in an upper scale jazz club. it was the perfect place to unwind after a long week. and it had been a long week. family drama in the form of your brother’s breakup had managed to make itself the top priority among your pack, and somehow you’d been chosen to shelter the melodramatic refugee. your mother had laid it on thick. ‘he’s your brother. he needs you. you have that big place all to yourself. it’s just for a few days. you spend too much time alone. the company would do you both good.’ you’d snorted at that one. 

‘company’ came in the form of nonstop rants about his ex’s flaws, in the draining of your good whiskey supply, in the absolute takeover of your personal space, and the fraying of your last damn nerve. said runt was sprawled out on your bed right now, passed out drunk. desperately needing space and a good drink, you’d grabbed an uber to your favorite spot that promised both. 

so here you sat, glass in hand, the stress ebbing from your body as your senses were soothed by the expertly crafted ambiance. the gentle melody filled your ears, and as you raised your glass you inhaled deeply, letting the smell of the alcohol fill your nose... and suddenly you were anything but calm. because you also smelled something else, something foreign and new and absolutely enthralling. you’re already on your feet, glass, table and solitude abandoned. god, you need to know what, no, who that smell belongs to. you followed the scent, carefully maneuvering around a waitress as you approached the bar, was it a patron you smelled? a new bartender? here they were. 

“excuse me.” you croaked out, your heart hammering in your chest. the person in front of you shifted slightly. god they smelled amazing.

“yes...?” a light accent, as unfamiliar as their smell. grecian perhaps? your mouth went dry. get it together, man! you cleared your throat and tried to keep your voice even.

“may i buy you a drink?” that was a smart thing to say right? they were here because they wanted a drink, right? oh god, what if they were with someone. “ah, sorry, i should have asked if you’re here with someone.” silence followed. awkward, awkward silence. you cleared your throat and tried again. “uh, are you? here with someone, i mean.”

“...i’m here with my friends.”

“ah. well, you uh, seem to be alone at the moment... perhaps i can keep you company for a while..?” they shifted their stance and sighed, an exasperated sound that made your heart sink.

“...if you’re trying to impress them by being nice to me, you can just stop now. they’re right over there, go flirt with them. leave me out of it.” 

“what?? i- i’m not trying to impress anyone? honest, i- i just want to talk to you.”

“why?” the deadpanned question did not help with your confidence. you sighed, running a hand through your hair. time to be brave.

“honestly? ...you’re beautiful. i want a chance to get to know you. buy you a drink. talk with you. take you out for dinner. will you let me?” harsh silence followed for a long moment. every second that passed was a stab to your soul.

“...you must be stupid if you think i believe that.” they seethed, making to walk away. no no no no!

“but it’s the truth!”

“then you must be blind!”

“i am!” they stopped. you heard them turn towards you.

“what?”

“i’m blind. i always have been.”

“wha-... but,” they faltered, their harsh tone melting away to hesitance. “you said i was beautiful.” you stepped carefully towards them.

“you are.” you reached up and removed your glasses. the soft gasp that left their lips washed over you. you leaned in close enough to feel their breath, letting them get a good look at your face. “i’m a werewolf.” you spoke softly, “and you are the loveliest thing i’ve ever smelled. you’re beautiful to me.” silence followed, but this time it held a different kind of tension. they drew in a shaky breath.

“i... thought you were making fun of me...”

“why?”

“because...” their voice trembled, “i’m a cyclops. no one finds one eye beautiful.”

“better one eye than none, don’t you think?” you lightly joked. elation filled you as they burst into surprised laughter. you chuckled, indulging in their sound, their smell, their everything. “how about it beautiful, give me a chance? i want to know you.”

“i’d like that.”

[dontcallmecarrie]

I have to admit, after watching the cinema wins video on it and then rewatching the film, I actually kind of liked endgame. My two biggest issues with it are that Tony died, Natasha didn’t get a funeral, and that everyone just handwaved clint’s time as a freelance assassin. But the acting was really good, and it certainly got me emotional at points. I just would prefer having Natasha brought back with the gauntlet and Tony getting to live, just sans an arm maybe

…

Hoo, boy. Okay. 

Anon, here’s the thing: I’m going to be making a few assumptions here, and I may have missed the mark on some of them.

I’m going to assume that this was sent in good faith, that you’re aware of the fact that I don’t mind spoilers for media I have yet to check out [because I genuinely don’t. I’m more of a ‘prefer the journey over the destination’ type of person, I rate movies by how strong the overall cohesiveness is rather than by the Huge Bombshell Plot Twists that the writers seem to think is the allure for this sort of thing].

I’m going to assume that you’re aware that spite has, historically, been a pretty damn good motivator for me to write fic [Exhibit A: part of the basic premise of like 75% of my AUs]. A quick glance through this blog should be enough evidence for that, as well as the fact that most— if not all— of my ire is directed at the writers for the MCU, because of the fluctuating levels of character consistency, plot holes large enough to drive a tank through, and the suspension of disbelief necessary for said plot holes to pass by unnoticed. 

I’m going to assume you know I’m a fan of Tony Stark. It’s why I started writing for the MCU in the first place, because seeing the character that got me into the MCU [been here since practically day one, here] go through a trauma conga line and be the only one to have to face consequences for his actions— both immediate and those from the distant past— and have to deal with practically everyone else giving him a hard time for his undiagnosed mental health issues is something that I don’t particularly find enjoyable, but up until now the other characters have been interesting enough for me to put up with it. 

Okay, so having established that: here’s the thing.

I have been steadily noping out of the MCU for a while now. Because at first, I’d genuinely liked the characters, liked seeing them interact and save the day. Liked the potential they had, both as individuals and as a team. But there’s been multiple recurring trends the MCU has that I am not okay with, have not been okay with, and as a result I’ve been just churning out fixit AU after fixit AU, because I liked the premise but wasn’t a fan of how the MCU handled things. Because it was fun, because I thought the idea was something interesting to poke at.

…and then Endgame happened. 

Okay, look.

Fun fact about me: at the end of the day, I’m of the opinion that fandom is meant to be fun. It’s why I don’t actively seek out blogs and fics that are Team Cap, why I blacklist the tags that squick me out. I don’t have the time or energy for that type of drama, simple as that. Real life is exhausting enough, for me. 

So if I don’t like something? I move on. 

And guess who hated the fact that the character who’s been through so much doesn’t get a happy ending, that Steve’s character arc got butchered by the same exact directors and writers who had written his moving on 5 movies beforehand and that the only female character of the original Avengers Initiative got. Fridged.

Guess. Just guess. 

Look, okay, I’ll be the first to admit I got overly invested: I was a fan for a while, some of my favorite memories during my teenage years and childhood involved watching the MCU with friends and family, and Tony Stark’s arc in regards to mental health was one I really related to, especially when things hit the fan in my life. Whereas at the end of the day, the MCU’s just another franchise meant to entertain and do nothing else than maybe also sell some toys. Whatever. I know this. It’s not meant to be deep, just sell movie tickets and action figures.

But it’s very…irritating to me, to see that one of the franchises that had captivated me for so long just. Throw everything down the drain, undo years of buildup and development— and do it all without even the hope of a happy ending. 

There’s no satisfying payoff for everything we’ve seen in the MCU, for some of the characters that died. And the ones that survived? Death might’ve been kinder to some of their character arcs [looking at you, Stephen Grant Rogers].

I’ve been low-key noping out of the MCU for a while now, this was just the last straw. 

So that’s it, I’m out. Catch me working on my AUs and theorycrafting and playing with worldbuilding from here on out, because guess who no longer gives even a ghost of a damn about what happens in canon anymore?

.

Anon: I’m sorry if this isn’t what you meant when you sent in that ask.

[homesteadchronicles]

10 Questions Tag

Thank you so much for tagging me, @songsofaleria! You had such interesting answers, and I wanted to ensure that I could give the same enthusiasm with my responses. Buckle up, y’all! You might learn a thing or two about moi.

1. What are you characters favorite foods/snacks?

What’s sad is that I have a hard time answering this solely because I am not a snack person. Blasphemy, I know - I just prefer whole meals! If we’re talking modern-day snacks? Oeden’s chowing down on salt and vinegar chips, Royan would be a Twinkies guy (no jokes, please, spare my boy), Medea’s a cinnamon girl - the kind that scarfs down Hot Tamales like they’re nothing, Carmila would snack on individual pretzel sticks while she works (and is the kind to suck the salt clean off of them because she keeps getting lost in thought while they’re in her mouth), Farukh would be a jerky guy, and Kasumi’s the kind to carry around little veggie packets and dip.

If we’re talking in-universe snacks? Come on. Fantasy worlds don’t have fun snacks! Although I did write one excerpt with Oeden and his mom, Nadielle, chowing down on spiced pufferfish spines which I’m relatively sure are not a real thing...and likely should not be.

2. What playlists do you listen to when writing?

I made a playlist of worship songs for my friends who are newer to my church and I’ve been jamming to that while I write because it’s the only lyric-inclusive music I can listen to that won’t interfere with my writing. Plus, because writing can drain my body and darken my thoughts, I need something positive and godly to revitalize me and keep me centered.

3. Which OC is/was your favorite to create?

There’s one character I’ve talked about in passing, but I haven’t dedicated an entire section to him yet. I don’t know if he’s my favorite, but he has a special place in my heart: Algon. He pays homage to one of my personal heroes and mentors, so there’s always a giddy little part of my heart when I get to write him. Plus, the development he goes through is...well, heartbreaking, but also beautiful over time.

4. What is the first book you read that made you cry?

Oh gosh, I can’t remember! I was a big crybaby when I was little, so I probably wept at the slightest thing gone wrong. Aslan dying in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe always got me.

5. Do you hide any secrets in your books as a way of foreshadowing?

If you read something in my stories, assume it will eventually foreshadow something. I treat my books as a game of I-Spy, wondering when readers will find the most hidden clues I snuck in there.

6. What is the most difficult part of your writing process?

This might sound strange, but knowing when it’s “right”. I’m a perfectionist, an INFJ, and a Type One Enneagram - otherwise known as someone who is paralyzed by the thought of doing something wrong. I don’t just write for fun, I write to do what I believe I’m meant to do in my life. And if something I produced was lesser than what was meant? If I wasted my time or led someone down the wrong path because I did it wrong? Game over for me. I spend SO much time deciding whether I’ve had this character do the right thing, built the world correctly, etc. that it’s...crippling, to be honest.

7. Which of your characters would you liked like to meet/get to know irl?

You know, I had a lot of different answers to this...but I’m gonna go with Kasumi. I have a habit of befriending people who need my guidance or leadership and/or people who make me laugh and are fun but aren’t deep enough to hang with me intimately. Kasumi, while deeply flawed, is someone who would want to help me as much as I help her. She’d listen, she’d advise, she’d protect, she’d spend time making art with me, we could go adventuring when necessary and stay inside when we’re down. I feel like we could be besties in a heartbeat!

8. Was there a situation in your writing that you took from your own life?

There are snippets and themes that I use, as everyone does, as inspiration. But generally, I try to limit that because I don’t want it seeming self-insert-y. However, there are a few specific instances and issues I feel personally convicted to write upon based on my experiences with and overcoming of them. But none of the situations in my stories are one-on-one parallels.

9. Do your characters have reoccurring symbolism in their dreams?

HOO BOY! You opened a whole can of worms for one character in particular: Oeden. I’ve changed what his dreams entail eighteen thousand times, but he always envisions a vault (which is a main theme in my story, and certainly no secret) long before he ever finds it. Lots of other things, too: torn wedding veils, man made into gods, blood poured on white moons, angels in plain sight, and an unknown voice calling out to him. You know, totally normal dream stuff!

10. Which Hogwarts houses would you sort your characters into?

I’ve def done this before, but I don’t remember everyone’s. I think it was: Royan is Gryffinpuff, Oeden is Slytherclaw, Medea is Slytherin, Farukh is Slytherdor, Briggid is Ravenclaw, Kasumi is Hufflepuff, Carmila is...crap, I can’t remember! 

Questions for Those Tagged to Answer: 1. When you find a book at the store, what about it makes you decide to buy it or put it back on the shelf?  2. What would your book’s ideal cover look like, should you have access to any artist you’d want and any resources you would need to make it a reality? 3. If you could rewrite one story - be it a book, game, movie, show, etc. - which would it be and why? 4. Have you ever given a story a second chance and liked it better the next time through? What caused your opinion to change? 5. What do you believe endears an audience to a character? 6. What kind of romances do you prefer to read about and/or watch unfold? (Soft and shy, hot and sexy, slow burn, enemies to lovers, etc.) 7. What type of AU’s are your guilty pleasures, be they for your stories or for others? (Modern, High School/University, Coffee Shop, Vampires, etc.) 8. If only one age demographic would ever read your books, which would you choose and why? 9. If you could pay homage to one person in your life through your stories and/or characters, who would it be and why? 10. If every reader walked away from your story having been changed in one significant way, what would you want it to be and why?

Tagging: @rhavencroft, @incandescent-creativity, @fair-folk-nonsense, @stardustspiral, @ardawyn, @lady-redshield-writes, @feathered-quill, @hannahs-creations, @cogesque, @merigreenleaf

[vedj-f-bekuesu]

At this point I’m just watching the seasons to keep the momentum going after two great (and one flawed but still okay) seasons. With Friday being a Bank Holiday, I might get the rest of the pre-11 stuff wrapped up by the weekend. But enough of the future, how about the season I watched, Sons of Garmadon?

It had a lot to live up to based on its reputation, and I’m happy to report that it delivers on what it sets out to do. Issues with the season are fairly minor tribbles, but that’s something I can cover in the notes.

-Hoo boy, let’s get this out of the way; the movie did fucking wonders for Lloyd Garmadon. Spending like five seasons stuck to his blander “chosen one must learn” characterisation, this season gives him a very long overdue overhaul into a more modern chosen one protagonist who is way more entertaining to watch. Bonus points for having a look I can take seriously now...yeah, sorry, but the Anakin hairpiece with the strange approach to voice commitment never did for me, even as it became the norm for what I was viewing.  -To be honest, his teammates get some good material here too. Some more than others (Zane especially has a really good little arc where he gets to show his more calculating side. Cole’s arc is okay but I don’t feel it quite nails the landing as well), but they all get chance to banter and have character moments, which is mainly what I come into shows for as opposed to straight up development constantly. Shout outs to Jay who has small moments, but important ones that do really good for his character (I could go into why Lloyd and Jay make the most sense as leads...probably after my season watching is done). I also like the callback to a character moment he had in season 3. Also this finally feels like the writers are sticking to characterisation, this season mostly keeping what Hands of Time did with them. Not so much design-wise, but I’ve made it clear many times that I prefer the new designs to old. Also, I get to throw in Pixal as a main character now since she’s clearly on the team full time. She’s good here too. -The dynamics get their own section just because I want to restate how I prefer the dynamic between Jay and Lloyd compared to Kai and Lloyd so far. Seriously, Jay seems to step up to bat for Lloyd more than Kai at this point. And yet no-one really seems to be interested in it within the fandom. -There wasn’t really much in the way of side characters this season (I am aware that next season will change that). Misako was good for what little material she had, Wu was fun and actually became a solid character in his own right once he became a toddler, Dareth is solid and really gets to show his alternative way of helping out, and the police commissioner...eh, better than season 6 but I’m still not big on him.  -I can sum up Harumi in one sentence; Skylor but done better on every count (and also evil). She’s engaging when she’s acting as the more humble Princess figure, and she’s nicely hammy when she’s unleashing her evil side. I can see why people would be into Lloyrumi with such a investing act (for the record, I’m not). This all being said, those who say that Harumi had a point are missing one important detail; as much destruction has been caused with the ninjas’ close call; what alternative is there? I don’t see anyone else stepping up to save Ninjago so it would have probably fully fallen a long time ago. And even with the Great Devourer, Lord Garmadon was channelling his good side to deliver a finishing blow, he still needed the ninja there.  -We have three other villains and two of them are enjoyable. Ultra-Violet is committed to her crazy shtick and amusing, and Killow is definitely different to how I thought he’d be, but it’s a lot more enjoyable (especially when Garry Chalk is channelling every bit of his Sonic Underground Robotnik voice he can. Kind of like how Clancee was Ian James Corlett channelling a lot of his scrub monkey third class). Mr E can go rust though.  -Unlike the other seasons which people cite as dark, this one feels like it does actually go there. It’s not completely a dark season, mostly the end of Jade Princess and scenes between Game of Masks and Big Trouble, Little Ninjago. It was still pretty fun and light-ish hearted outside of that. -Weirdly enough, most of my quibbles are on the technical side. People cite this season as having the best animation...but I don’t really see it. In terms of visuals it’s a step up, but the actual animation doesn’t feel that different to Hands of Time. They learned to use flashier graphics everywhere. Which is probably why the intro is the way it is, and I’m sorry but this is probably my least favourite intro. I can’t appreciate the spectacle when focusing on anything is difficult to achieve. On top of that, there were still some glaring graphical fuck-ups (like when Cole is shown with the other ninja in a scene where he was captured, or when Lloyd was shown with green eyes in a shot despite being drained of power at that point), which aren’t really any different to the ones Prime Empire has.  -The pacing of the season wasn’t entirely smooth, but unlike other seasons it’s not like one set issue. It’s more like a concertina effect; it was very quick at first, then slows down, then speeds up again, then slows down, then finally hits an even tempo about halfway through. This is why I didn’t mention the likes of Hutchins, the parents or the Mechanic before; because of the pace, you don’t really get enough time to really get attached to them (doesn’t help that the Mechanic has Alan Marriott doing the voice in his cameo, and man does it not fit compared to Skybound. I’m glad when the Mechanic got more substantial stuff they went back to his original VA, that voice is so fun).  -My other big thing is actually the complete continuity snarl that’s Harumi’s backstory makes. They’ve thrown in so many random events over the seasons but because of the sheer vagueness of the timescales it doesn’t really break suspension of disbelief. But Harumi’s turn to darkness is clearly during the ending of season 1, which we have a much more tangible sense of time for. Harumi seems like she’s about 8-10 then, the ninja seem like they were 14-15 then, Harumi seems like she’s 15-18 now but the showrunner still insist that the ninja are teenagers? How does that work, the most generous allowance for time is five years, and that would barely make them still teenagers in season 8. Certainly don’t believe they could be teenagers as of the most recent seasons. -On a completely different tangent, can we talk about the toilet humour? Yeah, it’s not like it’s never been there (there’s been poop jokes, fart jokes, halitosis jokes, and who can forget that one utterly cringe scene in S3?), but Hands of Time and Sons of Garmadon do it in a way that just comes off as really weird compared to earlier toilet humour. Like, there’s the implication by Jay in season 7 that Kai has issues with constipation, Cole’s truth tea dose forces him to say that he pees in the pool, and then there’s Kai, right to Harumi’s face, all but saying that Jay has issues with peeing himself. Her reaction to it is fucking hilarious, but it’s still weird, even though knowing Vincent Tong he would totally do that. 

Overall, this was a great season, and it’s clear to see how this became such a draw to the series (meaning in hindsight, LEGO’s method of dealing with the new style was pretty much a winner). The issues I have don’t stop the quality being across the board. Aside from Possession, I think this may be a favourite season from the pre-11 stuff. 

Next time, we effectively get the second part to this story. Yep, it ended in a cliffhanger so we’ve hardly wrapped it up here. Time to see how the OG ninja and newer recruits handle themselves alone in Hunted. 

[inventors-fair]

Sphinx Talk pt. 1 ~

@dim3trodon - Nefernak, Riddle Savant

Wait, so whenever a Sphinx ETBs, you’ll be forced to exile the top card of your library at your end step regardless? You don’t get to put it into your hand or anything? AND if it’s wrong then you don’t even keep the creature? There are far more effective ways to win the game. This card’s concept is interesting but it’s a feelbad that isn’t worth building around.

@dimestoretajic - Juvenile Sphinx

This creature is not a legendary sphinx. By itself it’s okay. This is a reminder to everyone to read the contest descriptions.

@dont-wanna-wanga - Kinzar, Senate Inculpate

So...you play with the top card of your library revealed, and... What, your opponent is always being drained? This isn’t an if clause, it should be a trigger, and there’s nothing triggering this right now. Conceptually, I’m down, but why would you make this an if clause?

@fluffysheeplion - Shirka, Little Helper

I don’t like the arrangement of seemingly random mana symbols there (why only one black?) in the first ability. Also, um... She enters, you sacrifice her, then you can play her again because her cost is reduced AND she’s a Sphinx that entered the battlefield, and now you have infinite death triggers on turn three guaranteed because she stars in the command zone. So that’s...not good.

@fractured-infinity - Alhera, Queen of the Night

Interesting concept. “Sphinxes” doesn’t need the possessive apostrophe, FYI. This card is okay, but I’m feeling a little mechanical/flavor disconnect, and once more, I’m unsure if the ETB trigger synergy with other Sphinxes is the best thing to have on a card that can exile herself yet has no ETB trigger.

@gollumni - Damascus, Ruler of Skies

I like the second ability’s concept, but I’m pretty sure you need it to target and that you need it to only be Sphinx creatures you control, because otherwise you can use a Conspiracy-like effect and bounce everything you want for three mana at any time. Why a bird, too? Also - man, everyone seems to love giving their Sphinxes abilities with their commander. It would be better (IMO) to have it be “Whenever a nontoken Sphinx creature enters the battlefield under your control, create a black 1/1 Bird creature token with flying for each Sphinx creature you control.”

@mcginneth - Tharamaic, Dismissive General

So, they have to reveal their hand, right? And every time you have four mana, you can make them ditch everything of that type? At instant speed? In a format known for obscene mana-ramp in the form of Sol Ring/Mana Vault/signets, etc.? This card is neither fair nor fun. I am curious about why you thought to put vigilance on a UB card.

@mistergorblin - Syll the Bewildering

That second ability makes sense to me, but you gotta understand that it’s super hard to grok for a lot of people. I’m not sure exactly what it has to do with being “Bewildering” either. And hoo boy, that last ability is begging for so many infinite combos to be had. I think there’s a chance that... Yup, Magister Sphinx /  Enigma Sphinx is just one of many broken infinite combos that can be done between cards with the same exact mana cost.

@misterstingyjack - Khemetra, Dean of Antiquities

“Dean” is an interesting choice here. Not sure exactly what it’s doing, but I like it. I’ll be honest, in general, I like this card a lot. I’m just not positive about how crazy useful it is or what exactly you’d do with it. Commander artifact control, perhaps. I think it’s fine, I think it’s okay, it just doesn’t excite me too much. But it’s good enough, so take that for what you will. (Side note: remember to capitalize “Sphinx” in the rules text of the activated ability)

~

[chibipsycho-v3]

So, a few updates. One! I found where the NaNo website hid/implemented the 'edit word count by day' button, and fixed the mess-up I made on the 1st/2nd days of NaNo. ...THANK GOODNESS, because it's been bothering me all month! Two! I found out that they don't require you to paste your entire work into a verifier anymore? So that's nice. That leads us to- Three!

I AM DONE WITH NANOWRIMO!!

*confetti pistols!*

I really... didn't think I'd make it. Not with the absolute strangeness stress-fest that this entire month has been. I think this has been the hardest time I've had with this event before? It's just... Hoo, boy. Sleep issues(those are normal), health issues all around, fun drama times, general anxiety? I am a duct-taped-together person right now, but I promise I'll be fine~ I've gotten through worse than this!

And even though I'm a day early on finishing, I'm still gonna write a little tomorrow and add it to the word count, too. So that way I have all thirty days with a word count. I am so... heck, the words have drained out of me! XD Tired? Glad? Mildly satisfied? Unsatisfied? All of the above? I don't know right now.

NaNoWriMo Progress: 11-29-19

50134/50,000

[rhettmclink]

Tour Of Mythicality Weekend - WARNING: extremely long and sappy post ahead

When you’re coming down from a high like this it’s so hard to think coherent thoughts or say words that actually make sense. I’m gonna do my best to recount everything and all my feelings in a sound way. Please forgive any mistakes or gaps of what’ll probably seem like missing information cause I’m honestly still processing  it all, too.

The weeks leading up to the last haven’t exactly... been the easiest for me. I won’t lie, they have been some of the slowest and mentally draining weeks of my life. Just existing got real hard. A lot of things were hard. Don’t worry this blogpost won’t turn into a weird rant about my life - lol - I just want to do my best to explain why the things that happened and the events that unfolded were really important to me. And I mean knowing that the week that I just experienced was just around the corner and anticipating it all, did what it could to ease some of the weight on my shoulders.

I hadn’t initially planned to go to the Melbourne show, I mean I had my VIP ticket for Sydney & that was the main priority for me. I also hadn’t thought that it was something I’d need to experience & given the information I have now, it’s not needed but boy was I so glad I got to witness it twice. So when I decided to go to the Melbourne show I made a trip out of it. My best friend and I flew down from Sydney earlier in the week to take some time off from reality together & also to give myself time to mentally prepare for the weekend I had coming at me. I needed that time away to be ready so much more than I thought I did. I don’t know if the experience would have been the same had I not given myself time to break from the realities of my life & the time to reset my mind. It was worth it. So when Friday finally came and everything was starting to become real, excitement is too little of a word to explain the way I was feeling.

Meeting up with other Mythical Beasts was something so special and important to me. It’s knowing that the people I’ve been conversing with online over these two big dorks that we love are real too and having that connection with others who love and appreciate Rhett & Link as much as I do is a super invigorating experience. Being able to freak out with other mythical beasts made the experience IMO. And each and every one of the beasts I met were so super lovely and kind and I miss all of them so so much. Y’all know who you are and I love all of you and I’m so glad to have met each and every one of you. Planning meet ups prior to the show was a good idea and I’d do it a thousand times over in a heartbeat.

I had done a lot of mental prep before the Melbourne show but I still wasn’t ready. Seeing the show, first of all, was surreal. Knowing that these two men were actually there and actually singing and performing and laughing and talking to each other just metres away is a SUPER META feeling. Like oh yeah they exist outside of a screen! They’re existing - right now - in front of my eyeballs. What???? And god was the show good. I’d known mostly what to expect having already seen the livestream they did last year but god was it good. It was so funny. The Melbourne crowds energy was high and super infectious. I had officially, for the first time in months, smiled so hard my face hurt. Happy tears filled my eyes and I couldn’t believe I was able to witness something so magical for the first time. And knowing I was going to be seeing it again also gave me cause to really stop and appreciate the raw talent they resonate & warmth that their presence brings. And to stop and think and really appreciate how all the years I’ve spent as a mythical beast had led up to this one, irreplaceable moment. Being in the crowd with other beasts like myself and hearing laughter and witnessing this all together really made me appreciate all they do and who they are. My heart was full. (Still full).

But it wasn’t over then. We all separated (so so sadly) but the Sydney show was still to come. And so was my M&G experience. I left Melbourne after noon the next day so I had a bit of down time the night before the show to gather myself, put together a letter and my gift for Rhett & Link. I was mostly, numb. Excited, of course, but numb. Like it was still surreal. Seeing the show was surreal and experiencing all of that couldn’t have been real, and now I was going to see it again (closer this time) and I was going to meet them, too? I hardly had recovered (I’d say I didn’t recover at all) before the next day begun.

After meeting up with some lovely mythical beasts for lunch we made our way to Luna Park to line up for the show. The nerves were settling. But it still didn’t feel real. Didn’t feel real that I was gonna see the show again, that I was gonna line up in a line and get to the front, have the chance to meet them, hug them, thank them ?????? That surely wasn’t real?

When we got inside I was initially sitting alone, my gals Ren & Sims (@loudspeakr & @afangirlsplaylist) just three seats away. There was a spare seat beside them that I waited until the show started to take which I’m so glad I did - sorry whoever’s seat that was I guess? They didn’t actually show up to take it (I think)? So it all worked out in the end. And being able to experience the show this close and with my friends is an unmatched feeling cause we all know I desperately needed that friend to grab onto during the show (sorry Ren ❤️). My family came to the show too, they were 2 rows in front of me to the far side of the stage. It meant a lot that they were able to come and see our boys too. We’ve all been on a journey of mythical beast-dom together so it was nice to share this moment with them (even if we didn’t sit together).

The show was just as good the second time over - I was literally grinning from ear to ear. It’s hard to describe how intense the warmth in my chest felt and how god damn happy I could get. And I owe it all to Rhett and Link. It takes less than as much out of them to have me feeling like I’m really on cloud nine. It’s literally a dream to witness what I witnessed. And I just had a million flashbacks of the times I would watch GMM and feel that same warmth in my chest, or wish I could have this moment watching over their live performances at VidCon or remembering the disappointment I had felt at not being able to go to the tour when they went around the States. And fulfilling that goal and dream is just so satisfying and it’s hard to believe sometimes that I ever even deserved it. It’s almost too much to handle at once.

After laughing and getting way too overemotional throughout the show, they wrapped the Q&A it was time for the M&G. Our little group decided to hang back til the end of the line (a WHOLE ASS good idea, would do it again forever times over). After a little wait we made our way to the hall where the M&G was held, up a flight of stairs and to the right. I heard that during the Melbourne M&G you could see the boys throughout the whole wait. But I had pictured in my mind we would have to wait and they’d be around the corner or something once we had our turns. But when we stepped into the room, oh. They were right there.

Oh.

Being with my friends and being able to talk through (I use that term vaguely, we were more groaning and squealing) our feelings for the hour or so we waited was so much fun. Being in a room full of mythical beasts just as passionate about our boys as we are - even though we were the loudest group in line - is comforting. We all had the same nerves and jitters. We all had something special we wanted to share with Rhett and Link. But it didn’t do much to calm the nerves.

Everytime Rhett would laugh my stomach would swoop, everytime I caught a glimpse of them standing there I had to look away. It was almost hard to see them. To face the reality we were facing. It didn’t feel real. It didn’t feel real at all throughout the line to the front. Like I was still watching other people meet them. It wasn’t going to happen to me.

I have a hard time with reality, ya see?

Before I get to telling about my meet & greet I just want to take a moment to appreciate another time in my life I still believe to be unreal.

Not everyone knows this but in December 2016 I met Link. On vacation in the States. It was pure luck and coincidence and you can read about it here: https://t.co/JL7Xzq78jA?amp=1 . I’m not gonna go into detail about why that particular event in my life gets me so EMO because I can and will if I’m not stopped, but I will say that it meant a great deal to me at that particular time in my life.

I wanted to reiterate that to them when I spoke to them. I had written about it in my letter but I wanted to thank them with words and I really didn’t plan it well enough as I wanted but…

Well. Our group was now filing out to meet our boys. And my heart melted for them. And momentarily made me forget that I was supposed to do that, too.

So when it was my turn to go up I almost didn’t. But I forced myself to walk and braved the toughest “hello” I’ve ever said in my life. Link cheered out a “woohoo!” Which was the most endearing shit (sorry for swearing) I ever heard in my life. I later realised it’s because the gift bag I had given them had “WOO HOO” written on the front of it. LOL. Rhett smiled and said hey back and I handed them the gift before I literally fell over. “This is for you…” I said quietly. Like a goddamn child.

I was so afraid of being too loud or screaming at them or just being annoying in general that I kept my voice low, quieter than it already is. I’ve always been self conscious about my voice and I hate that I let it get in the way of my M&G but perhaps it seemed more intimate that way. Always trying to find the good in the bad I am. Lol.

They took the bag and pulled out the gift, a sequin cushion that when you swipe the sequins a certain way it’ll reveal an image underneath. It was Barbara & Jade. I wanted to explain it to them but my voice was stuck in my throat and I just let them work it out for themselves. Jade & Barbara were already visible so it wasn’t hard to work it out, and I mean, Link saying “ooh shiney shiney” over and over did a lot to stop my brain from working properly. Not that it was working to begin with.

“Oh gosh, it’s Jade and Barbara,” Rhett said, holding the cushion up to the SKY, like the literal SKY, goddamnhessogoddamntall. “How in the world did you do that?”

At this point I’m supposed to respond right?

“Oh...I- I got someone to do it, actually.”

WHAT A LAME RESPONSE. I mean I wish i was creative enough to make that for you my boys, and I would have if I could have. But I’m glad they still liked it.

Link laughed at my response and I laughed too.

“You commissioned it. That’s awesome.”

“Yeah…” SHEEPISH. I’M ACTUALLY DYING RIGHT NOW.

Link kept looking into the bag and pulled out a letter I had written for them. Turning it over.

“And you got a card; so we’ll see that.” Revealing my name written on it. “Elyse.”

“Yeah, Elyse…”

HOLY LORDT. I hadn’t even realised I was supposed to tell them my name. I forgot I had a name in all honesty.

Link moved to put the bag down without the cushion in it and Rhett said they’d hold it in a picture with me and I was like, well, ok. I mean I guess.

But I had to say what I needed to say. So when Link walked over again I was suddenly very emotional.

“Um…” my voice broke. Both of them stepped in closer and Link grabbed my arm to what - ground me? Can he NOT? Does he not realise that that doesn’t help at all!!!!

“Do you remember me?”

Good. One. Elyse. They literally looked at me like ???

But I was expecting this so I laughed it off, even though I really was dying.

“It was a while ago. Um. My brothers and I were on vacation in LA, and we ran into you after a Clippers game, and they lost… it was a while ago.”

I kind of wanted to shove a foot into my mouth and make myself stop talking but Link made me laugh.

“But you didn’t have the pillow.”

“Oh, I mean…” *hand signals the pillow gift away* . I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY. Rhett laughed too. I died a lot.

“I wipe away all memories when the Clippers lose,” Link said.  Rhett laughed again - boi laughs so loud it makes my heart beat so fast lmao. “Except for you.”

OKAY. OKAY LINK. YOU DON’T HAVE TO LIE. YOU DON’T HAVE TO MAKE ME THIS EMOTIONAL WHEN I’M TRYING TO TELL YOU SOMETHING EMOTIONAL UHHHHHHHHHHH.

“Well, okay,” I said, thinking those exact thoughts, thinking, okay, I need to not freak out on them right now, what’s the most normal thing to say? “Well, okay.”

“So you guys were visiting in town?”

“Yeah we were there for a week and we didn’t know what to do,” I said. I looked at Rhett and realised I should say something to him so he realises he wasn’t actually there and I wasn’t creating a false memory in his mind????

“I don’t know where you were,” I gestured at him. I’m so stupid l o l. Rhett BB I love you so much I just don’t know how to look your majestic beautiful ass in the eye because you were literally so hard to look at and believe that you were actually real. I promise I love you. You just made my heart race too fast. Which is why I struggled to say more to him.

“But you were there,” I say, looking at Link.

“With my son?” He asked.

Part of me got really excited like he was piecing together the memory, and maybe he was, but in retrospect he probably just goes to all Clippers games with his son. But me in the moment was very excited about it.

“Yeah! Lincoln was there.”

“But...yeah. It was just a really intense time in my life...and I had to submit uni things…. I wrote it all in the letter, but. It just basically confirmed a lot of things for me,” cue voice break. “So I just wanted to say thanks for that.”

Link grabbed my arm again. “Well thanks for sharing,” he said.

“Yeah,” Rhett agreed.

“And good to see ya again.” Link followed up.

I literally didn’t know what to say to that so I laughed so awkwardly but I was so in love. And just so relieved that I somehow got out what I needed to say. What an achievement.

We got into position for a photo and Link suggested holding the pillow in one photo, and then put it back in the bag to take one without it.

Before saying goodbye I had an internal struggle of whether or not I wanted to ask them to record a video message for my brother, and decided, god, I mean, will I ever get another chance? So I explained that my brother was a big mythical beast and if it was alright they record a message for him. They agreed with no hesitation. They are so lovely.

~ The video message:

“Good mythical morning Harry,” said Link.

“You got a pretty cool sister here.” said Rhett.

(OKAY WHAT THE HECK RHETT. THANKS FOR RUINING ME GOD I LOVE HIM SO MUCH).

“We’re sorry you couldn’t be here so we just wanted to say, hellooo!” Link added.

“So I’m just gonna say it,”

“Hellooo!” they said in unison.

(It’s so cute. I keep watching that part over.)

“And thanks for being your mythical best.” said Rhett.

(Me…. actually dead).

~

After they recorded it I thanked them. And asked if I could get a hug, which I did, and which were so warm and cuddly and great and felt so safe.

They thanked me for the pillow again and we said goodbye and then….that was it.

We hung around until everyone got through their meet and greets and we ended it with a group photo, which I’m sooo grateful we have. They seemed really endeared by the fact that we were all together as friends and I mean, of course. And I’m so grateful that they brought us all together.

So I mean I don’t know. It’s not hard for me to label this as the best experience of my life. It definitely, definitely is.

I’m just entirely grateful that I had the chance to do this at all. I really am not the most headstrong or wilful or strong person alive. But Rhett and Link have continued to inspire me over and over and give me reason to want to be more than who I am. And having the opportunity to convey some of that to them face to face (because really, there’s no way I would have been able to say it all no matter how much time I had) means worlds to me.

Meeting Link back in 2016 gave me a new perspective on life. I realised that the things that seem impossible can actually be possible. That good things can happen to people and luck can fall in the hands of people who don’t think they deserve it. I’m forever grateful to them for giving me something to believe in myself. I’m 100% unsure I’d be here today without them.

So thank you Rhett and Link. I’ll never forget this memory. Thank you for the friends and experiences I’ve had just because I decided to watch your videos one day. I’ll forever remain indebted to them for everything and every ounce of happiness they’ve given me.

There’s truly nothing like it.

:)

[janethepegasus]

BMC Miraculous Ladybug AU RP Thing: At the Movies

An RP thing related to the BMC Miraculous Ladybug AU ( @pika-ace ) where our main seven Holders go through movies! Thanks to an akuma.

(The main seven run into the empty theater, the large screen showing static)

Leo: Oookay, a bit creepy...

Cyber: Where did that akuma go?

Owl: No clue, but stay alert if he ever comes out.

???: Hey! Didn't anyone teach you to be quiet during a movie?!

(They jump and look around for the akuma)

(They see him in the middle of the very back row of the theater, eating popcorn) Akuma: So rude...

Leo: Um, hate to break it to ya, but there IS no damn movie to watch! *gestures the large screen showing static*

Akuma: Well not yet; I'm planning a marathon in a sense! And you seven are gonna make it happen! (He snaps his fingers and the screen morphs, making two giant hands appear)

(The two hands grab them)

Akuma: *waves* Have fun; we hope you enjoy the movie!

(The two hands drag them into the screen)

(Everything goes white) (Eric stirs, having transformed back)

Eric: Wha.......where.....?

(He blinks and hears screaming around him; he finally focuses and sees that he's sitting in a lifeboat surrounded by others, being lowered into the water)

Eric: What the....?

(Eric looks around and then he looks up and sees Jordan staring down at him; it's then that he realizes they're both wearing different clothes; Jordan looks just as confused as he does as he looks around; the scene does look familiar)

Eric: Wait.....are we...?

(He takes in the flares, the screaming people and the giant boat, and can even hear faint music playing in his ears from a familiar soundtrack) Eric: Am I...? (He realizes he's on the Titanic, but he also realizes that he's on a lifeboat, and Jordan isn't) Eric: Oh...shit!! *he gets up and jumps from the lifeboat back onto the main ship*

Jordan: Wha-Eric?!

(Eric climbs onto the boat and starts running; up on the main deck, Jordan starts running too)

(The two of them keep running through the boat until they finally ran up to each other)

(They meet in the stairwell and hug tightly) Eric: Oh my god, Jordan!

Jordan: Oh god Eric! You scared the living hell out of me!

(They kiss briefly and hug again) Eric: I couldn't stay on that boat! Do you realize where we are?!

Jordan: *realizes* Oh shit, are we in the Titanic?!

Eric: Yes; thank god we watched it together a few weeks ago or I wouldn't have known to jump back on!

Jordan: Yeah, thank GOD!

Eric: I guess the akuma brought us into the movie! If I was on the lifeboat, then that must mean I'm Rose and your're Jack...oh god...

Jordan: Oh no....you don't mean...?

(Before he can answer Jordan looks up behind them and sees a man pointing a gun at them) Jordan: Oh shit...MOVE!! *he grabs Eric's hand and runs just missing the first gunshot*

(They run through the halls)

(They run downstairs, avoiding the gunshots) Jordan: Jesus, I forgot about the crazy fiance!! (They run until they reach a room that's slightly flooded and the man stops chasing them) Cal (the fiance): *yells as they run* I HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR TIME TOGETHER!

Jordan: *to Eric* Ironically, we already are!

(They keep running until they reach a stairwell and catch their breath)

Jordan: Okay...what happens next? Eric: Um...I think it's... (they hear small screams for help; they look out into the hall that's starting to flood and see a small boy standing against the wall and crying)

Eric: Oh god...!

Jordan: C'mon! *they run down the hall and Jordan picks up the boy; the doors before them are moments away from bursting so they run the other way*

(They run towards the stairs and see that the stairs were being flooded)

Eric: Other way! (They run back the way they came when a man appears; he starts yelling in a foreign language and takes the boy from Jordan before going back towards the other door that's about to burst)

Jordan: No, wait! Come back!! *runs towards the man*

Eric: Not that way!!! (The doors creak and burst; the man and boy are swallowed by the water) Jordan: RUN!!

(Eric and Jordan as fast as they can to avoid the rush of water)

(They run through the halls until catches up with them, sweeping them off their feet and pushing them through the halls until they're stopped by a gate)

Eric: AH!

Jordan: *sees a stairwell* This way!! *takes Eric's hand and they pull themselves to the stairs*

(They run up the stairs)

(Unfortunately, there's another gate at the top) Eric: NO!! *they pound and pull at the gate*

(They keep pounding at the gate until it eventually opens)

(By then the water had risen and they hurry up the other stairs, getting drenched in the process) Jordan: Holy SHIT, they weren't kidding about the cold!!

Eric: Yeah, good LORD

(They keep climbing until there's no more water and make a break for the main deck) Jordan: Whoa whoa whoa hold up! *skids to a halt as they pass a room*

Eric: What?

(Jordan hurries in and picks up a lifejacket than someone dropped) Jordan: Lucky find! *gives it to Eric* This oughta even the odds a bit.

Eric: Yeah...

Eric: But...what about you? Jordan: This is the only one. *puts it on Eric*

Eric: Jordan, i know how this damn movie ends, i am NOT losing you Jordan!

Jordan: I do too, but I'm not taking any chances with you!

Eric: Jordan...

Jordan: *holds his face* It'll be okay. Who knows, maybe we can find another one for me. But right now we have to keep moving before this ship sinks

Eric: A-Alright...

(They hold hands and keep moving) (meanwhile, with Post...)

(He stirs, but he notices that he's now standing on all fours)

Post: Wait...wha....???

(He blinks and he finds himself climbing a long stair way on a long mountain)

Post: What the...? *he looks down and sees that he's a pony*

Post: Ooooooh my gooooood!! I'm a pony! 8Dc

(He takes in his appearance and his cutie mark) Post: This is so COOL!

(Then he can hear Rarity whining)

Post: *gasp* No...am I...? :Dc

Post: *realizes* I'm in....the MLP Movie!!! 8DDDDDD

(Post quickly runs to catch up with the Mane 6)

(He and the Mane 6 all climb up the stairs until they reached the gate to the Hippogriff kingdom)

(The kingdom is wrecked and empty)

(They all look around, trying to find a single sign a hippogriff is there) Applejack: Hello? Is anypony home?

Post: *softly* They're not here anymore...

(Pinkie hops around in random places, looking for Hippogriffs)

(Post slowly wanders towards the tunnel where the pond is, knowing what's coming already)

(He can hear echoes of someone singing)

Post: *softly* There's Princess Skystar... Twilight: What was that, Post?

Post: Oh! Um...nothing!

Post: Um, I just thought I heard something

Twilight: Oh! Did you? Where?

Post: In here, listen. (Twilight leans in and hears the singing)

Twilight: I hear it!

(She calls the others over and they venture into the cave)

(They slowly sneak near the source of the singing, where they see a silhouette of a mermaid-like creature behind a large flower in the middle of a pond)

(Pinkie makes a step crumble and the figure starts and jumps into the water)

Twilight: No wait! Come back!

(They all enter the water and the flower vanishes and starts draining the water)

(They get dragged into the water vortex)

(Post manages to take a large breath as he knew this was coming and waits anxiously for the bubbles as the Mane 6 slowly pass out around him)

Post: *internally* C’mon Skystar...! Save us...!

(Eventually the bubbles surround them, letting them breathe and Skystar appears)

Post: *internally* There She is! :D

(They go through the scene and Skystar leads them to the queen)

Skystar: Mom! Mom! Look what I found! :D

Queen: *sleepily* Is it another shell, because I swear if you *sees the ponies*

Post: Um....Hi!

Queen: Princess Skystar, what have you done?! You know surface dwellers are forbidden!

Queen: Guards! (Seapony guards swim up to them and point their spears at them)

(They all tense)

Post: *softly* Oh god... 0_0

Post: *internally* At least I know that this kinda ends well...

(Meanwhile with Jeremy and Michael)

(They both jerk awake and realize they're on a bus with a bunch of other students)

Jeremy: Wha?

Michael: Uhhhhh...I have no idea....

(They look around the bus)

Jeremy: Why the hell are we in here....?

(They look around and find they’re all wearing matching uniforms and the other kids are talking their decathlon)

Jeremy: Wait....are we?!

Michael: What? (Jeremy opens and dogs through his backpack and finds the spiderman outfit) Jeremy: *hushed* Holy shit we are!!!

Michael: *hushed* You mean.....we're in Spiderman: Homecoming?!

Jeremy: *hushed* Yeah!! And I’m spiderman!! :D

Michael: *hushed* That's so cool! Well, not as cool as being Leo King but still, awesome!!

Jeremy: So I guess that means we’re...oh shit...

Michael: Yep... 0_0

(They look out the window and see the Washington Monument coming up)

Jeremy: ......I'm gonna put on that suit eventually, aren't i? 0_0

Michael: Looks like it... O_O

(Eventually, they arrive at the Washington Monument)

Jeremy: Okay, I gotta stay outside or at least out of the elevator so I can do the thing...

Michael: Yeah

(Jeremy hangs back with Michelle, giving Michael’s hand a squeeze as he’s herded into the elevator with the others)

Jeremy: *internally* Hoo boy, you can do this Jeremy....once the scene starts, just do your thing, but....in a Spideman suit.

(He moves to a place where he can change when the time comes) Jeremy: It’ll be fine...it’ll be fine...

Jeremy: It's gonna be like being Leo King! B-But not really.....j-just calm yourself Jeremy......you got this.....you can do this!

(He sits and waits for the inevitable) (Meanwhile with Joe, he blinks and finds himself in a small but dark house)

Joe: Where.....am i....?

???: Daddy? (Joe turns and sees a little boy standing nearby)

Joe: Huh?

(The boy runs over and hugs his legs in fear) Boy: It’s coming Daddy! You let it in! Why did you let it in?!

Joe: Wh-What's coming? Dear child, what are you saying?

(The boy points and Joe turns to see the back door wide open, leading to a wall of black; there’s a scuttling noise and a tall figure with a long coat, a top hat, and long nails rolls in silently, stopping right in front of Joe and the boy)

(Joe tenses as he looked at the tall figure)

(His heart pounds as he instinctively pulls the boy closer; the figure then sharply extends its fingers and Joe gives into his fear, picking up the boy and running)

(He runs through the halls, holding the boy close to him)

(Joe runs upstairs and into an empty room, locking the door behind them)

(His heart pounds in fear as he holds the boy close)

Joe: *softly* I don’t recall ever seeing this movie...

(The boy softly cries)

Joe: *softy and shakily* Its alright...it’s alright... (He presses his back against the door, listening for any sign of the creature)

Joe: *internally* What.....the hell.....was that....THING?!

(Joe keeps the boy close when his eyes are drawn to the fireplace; he jumps as a top hat falls down the chimney and onto the floor)

(Joe tenses in fear)

(A coat falls next and he can hear the scuttling; he quickly turns and unlocks the door with shaky hands)

(His breathing picks up and he tries his best to unlock the door as fast as he can)

(He Eventually puts the boy down so he can use both hands and gets the door unlocked as a scratchy voice from the creature calls out) ???: Baba dook! Doooook! Dooooooooook!

Joe: *tenses in fear* Oh god....!

(A shadow comes out of the chimney just as Joe gets the door open; he takes the boy’s hand and runs)

(He runs through the halls as fast as he could, while still holding the child's hand)

Joe: We need to get out of this house...! (They run down the stairs and towards the front door, when the boy suddenly stops at the base of the stairs, slipping his hand out of Joe’s)

Joe: *looks at the child* What's wrong?

Boy: *scared* You can’t get rid of the Babadook... (He then falls back slightly, like he was pushed)

Joe: Child NO!

(The boy screams as an invisible force pulls him up the stairs and out of sight)

Joe: Oh god....!

(Joe runs up after him) (Meanwhile, with Lin...)

(Lin stirs awake)

Lin: The hell...? (He’s in some large field)

Lin: Where am i.....?

Lin: And why am I feeling some kind of deja vu?

(Suddenly, he hears a bull mooing)

Lin: *feels a puff of air on the back of his neck* Oh no...

(He slightly looks back and sees a bull standing behind him)

(Lin slowly gets up and looks at the bull) Lin: I am TOTALLY where I think I am aren’t I...?

(The bull huffs, getting ready to charge at him)

Lin: Whoa there, Uh...nice bull?

(The bull sticks out his horns and gets ready to charge)

Lin: ...Dammit! *he runs and the bull gives chase*

(Lin runs as fast as he can from the bull)

Lin: WHY DID I HAVE TO END UP IN THIS SCENE?!

(Meanwhile, Jordan and Eric are hand in hand, making their way to the back of the ship as the front tilts further into the water)

Jordan: Just hang on peach, we'll be there soon...

(As they run Eric gazes at all the people screaming and jumping into the cold water)

Eric: ....Don't tell we gotta jump to get out of this....?

Jordan: I say we stay outta that icy hell down there for as long as possible! (They get to the very back of the ship and latch onto the railing, Jordan putting Eric between his arms)

Jordan: Just hang on tight Peach!

(The boat keeps tilting up until it finally starts to slowly sink; Jordan and Eric climb onto the outside of the rail) Eric: Oh god! Jordan: This is it peach!

Jordan: We're gonna jump!

Jordan: Do not let go of my hand!

Eric: I won't!

(They wait until the water is about two feet below them and jump into the freezing water)

(They hit the water once they landed)

(The suction of the ship sinking tried to drag them down, making them kick for the surface, but at some point the current shoves Jordan’s hand away from Eric’s)

Eric: *internally* JORDAN!!

(Eric kicks madly and breaches the surface, finding himself among a sea of screaming passengers)

(Eric looks around, panicking as he looks for Jordan)

Eric: JORDAN!! JORDAN!! *he paddles around the people nearby*

Eric: JORDAN!!!

(He keeps looking when he swims past someone who promptly grabs onto him and shoves him under, using him as a means of staying afloat)

Eric: Wha?!

(Eric goes above and below the surface trying to fight off the person on him, all while screaming for Jordan)

Eric: JORDAN!! JORDAN, WHERE ARE YOU?!

???: GET THE FUCK OFF HIM!! (The man is punched off and Jordan hauls Eric back to the surface)

Eric: J-Jordan?!

Jordan: C’mon peach! *they start swimming away from the mass of people*

(They swim away from the mass amount of people in the water)

Eric: Wait...how are you swimming?! Jordan: Maybe it’s cause Jack can swim in the movie; honestly, I ain’t questioning it

Eric: .....Me neither.

(They keep paddling until they reach the dreaded piece of wood) Jordan: ......Well, you know the drill, peach; up you go.

(Eric gets up on the piece of wood)

Eric: C'mon. Jordan: What? Eric: We're going to make this work dammit, get up here with me!

Jordan: But Eric, Jack dies in this part!

Eric: I don't care! Nothing's stopping us from trying, just PLEASE get up here!

Jordan: *sighs* Alright, i trust you...

(Eric stays still and Jordan attempts to shimmy onto the wood)

(Eventually, Jordan gets on the wood)

Jordan: Well I'll be damned...they really COULD both fit on here...

Eric: Yeah!

(They both shiver madly as they realize just how cold they are) Jordan: So I guess now we just...hope we don't freeze to death...

Eric: Y-Yeah...good LORD this is cold!

(Jordan puts his arm around him) Jordan: A-At least...t-this way...b-both of us c-can m-make it...hopefully...

Eric: H-Hopefully...

Jordan: ...I-If w-w-we d-don't... Eric: D-Don't s-s-say that...! Jordan: I-If w-w-we d-don't...m-make it...I l-love y-you...

Eric: .....I-I love y-you too.....

(They stay as close as possible in a vain attempt to keep warm and their vision slowly goes white) ((That's just the screen spitting them out)) (Meanwhile with Jeremy, he's just heard the explosion from the monument)

Jeremy: Oh! That's my cue!

(Jeremy changes into the outfit, runs up, and starts climbing the monument as fast as he can)

Jeremy: W-Woah! This is so cool! I'm climbing up the wall! :D

Jeremy: *glances down* Oh god, don't look down, got it....

(He keeps climbing up the monument)

(He eventually reaches the top and starts trying to break through the window)

Jeremy: C'mon, BREAK!!

(Eventually a helicopter flies up) Jeremy: Oh yeah..guess it's time for that epic jump move

(He climbs all the way to the very top and watches as the helicopter flies higher)

(He then jumps over the copter, and swings from it, shooting him through the window, letting him web the top of the elevator just in time)

Jeremy: Okay, now i gonna do the thing!

(He ends up slipping and falling into the elevator (where Michael is) and quickly webs the top of the shaft and stops the elevator again) Jeremy: Whoa, that was close!!

Michael: Woo! We're saved! :D

Jeremy: Careful, don't move too much! *starts pulling the elevator up*

(Everyone stays completely still as Jeremy pulls the elevator up)

(They eventually reach the top and guards help get the people out) Jeremy: Hurry! *the roof of the elevator where he's standing starts to break*

(Eventually, almost everyone managed to get out, except for one)

(Michael is the last one and moves to get out, but the elevator roof breaks and starts to fall)

(Michael screams loudly as the elevator falls)

Jeremy: NO!! *he webs and it grabs Michael's wrist, pulling him out and leaving the elevator to fall*

Michael: Oh god....that was close.... 0_0

Jeremy: Yeah...holy crap... *he pulls Michael up to safety*

(Once he got up, he pulls Michael up and puts him where the guards and the others are)

Jeremy: Everyone okay?

(Everyone nods) Michael: Yeah....thanks dude

(Jeremy nods and then the web holding him up breaks, sending him down the shaft; meanwhile Michael feels lightheaded and both their visions go white)

(Meanwhile with Post)

(They've all been turned into sea ponies and Twilight has sent Pinkie to show Skystar a good time, but Post hangs back, knowing what Twilight is up to)

Post: You sure you want to do this Twilight? Queen Novo would be VERY mad if you took the pearl...

Twilight: It's the only way to- Post: To save Equestria, I know, but...what if it's not? If the others make friends with the other sea ponies maybe they'll help us willingly!

Post: But if you do this, we might lose their trust INSTANTLY. And we would have no power at all to save Equestria!

Twilight: *starting to get conflicted* But...But... Post: Twilight please...this isn't the way, and you know it...

Post: I know you went through a lot in this journey, and so far....land outside of Equestria wasn't the nicest to you and your friends. But.....the best thing we can do is gain the seaponies' trust.

Twilight: ............Oh Post, what have I become?! Look at me, I'm so low as to steal from innocent creatures!! Post: It's not your fault! You have a lot on your mind after all

Post: This is your chance to redeem yourself Twilight, if we gain the seaponies' trust, they would help us defeat the Storm King and his army! We could save Equestria if they were on our side!

Twilight: *slowly smiles* Celestia, what would I do without you, Post. *hugs him* Thank you

Post: *hugs back* You're welcome Twilight.....

(The seaponies and the Mane five and Spike come back) Novo: I think I might be able to help you.

Twilight: You will?

Novo: Yes; your friends showed me the better side of you; I think you're worth helping against someone like the Storm King.

Twilight: Oh thank you Queen Novo! We gladly appreciate your help!

(Post sighs in relief and then starts to feel lightheaded)

(Then his vision starts to go white)

(Meanwhile with Lin...)

(He's still running away from the bull)

Lin: GOD WHY ME?! *he sees a fence coming into view*

Lin: Oh! That's probably my chance to shake this guy off my trail! Let's just hope i don't fail!

(He runs and manages to parkour over the fence and the bull stops)

Lin: Haha!! Can't get me now toro! >:)

(Lin sighs in relief and sits on the ground to catch his breath, and starts feeling light headed)

(Then his vision starts to go white) (Meanwhile with Joe)

(Joe runs up the stairs and into the master bedroom where he sees the boy being pulled up against the wall)

Joe: Oh my god...!

(Joe runs up and grabs the boy and brings him to the bed where he covers him with his body; the bed starts to shake and a giant shadow appears  at the back of the room)

(Joe keeps the boy close as the shadow appears)

(The shadow roars and growls; the child whimpers in fear and Joe finally gets up to face it)

Joe: *internally* I will not be afraid of this monster...! I won't let that THING touch that child ever again!

Joe: *to the shadow* I'm NOT going to run from you!! And if you lay a hand on this child I won't show any mercy!

(The shadow growls at him)

(A strong wind starts to blow and tries to suck the child into the shadow, but Joe grabs onto him before he can fly away and pulls him close)

Joe: *growls* No one, no matter if they are man or monster, shall NOT touch or harm ANY of my children! And you are NOT hurting this child!!

(The shadow roars) Joe: LEAVE! LEAVE AND NEVER COME BACK!! (The shadow roars but then slowly begins to die down and become silent; it then lets out a pitiful whine and vanishes out the door in fright)

Boy: Daddy.....!

Joe: It's alright, son...it's alright now... *he sits suddenly, starting to feel light headed*

(Then his vision started to go white)

(meanwhile, the akuma stands up in anger as the screen spits out all seven of the holders, all of them toppling out and onto the ground)

Akuma: You ruined my movies!! >:(

(Jeremy and Michael get up and shake the dizziness away, along with Lin, Joe, and Post; Eric and Jordan however, stay on the ground, still hugging each other close and shivering as they're still drenched from all that time in the freezing ocean)

Post: Oww....

Lin: Oh man...that was rough...

Michael: Yeah....

Joe: *sees Eric and Jordan* Are you two alright? (Jordan and Eric shiver, their teeth chattering; their skin is pale and their lips are blue, and they're both soaked to the skin)

Jeremy: Dad...? Michael: You okay dad?

Eric: J-J-Jeremy...? I-Is t-t-that...a-are w-we...? (Joe goes up and touches them) Joe: Good god, you're freezing! What happened to you?!

Jordan: T-T-T-Titanic....

Michael: You guys were in the Titanic movie?! Lin: And you both LIVED?!

Eric: Y-Y-Yeah...

Akuma: You RUINED it!! The furry one was supposed to DIE!! How DARE you exploit that film's plot hole and both live!!

Michael: Hey! It's better to FIX that damn plot hole than leave it open!

Jeremy: Yeah, and as cool as it was being Spiderman in there, now we gotta kick your teeth in. Joe: *to Eric and Jordan* You two stay here and try to warm up. We'll finish this.

(Jordan and Eric nod)

(The five transform and jump on the akuma while Eric and Jordan continue shivering on the floor)

(The five holders fight against the akuma)

(They eventually find the akuma and break it, letting the bird fly out)

Leo: Alright, who's gonna do the thing?

Dasher: I will; this asshole chased me with a bull!

Hound: Go for it Linny!

(Dasher grabs the bird and purifies it)

(After the dove flew away, they all approach Jordan and Eric)

Leo: How you doing, Dad?

Eric: *shivers a little bit* S-S-Still c-c-cold....

Owl: We need to get them back home and warm, quickly

Leo: Right!

(Owl and Dasher pick them up and they hurry out of the theater and back to Eric and Jordan's apartment where they promptly wrap them in blankets)

Dasher: You stay warm Tank.

Jordan: T-T-Thanks...S-Speedy... (Leo and Hound change back and crawl between them) Michael: We'll help warm ya up

Jeremy: Yeah

Eric: T-Thanks...boys... (They cuddle up together) Michael: Sooooo...what was it like being on the ACTUAL Titanic? :3c

Jordan: H-Hell on i-ice...

Eric: And t-t-terrifying...

Jeremy: Yeah, well at least the BOTH of you made it out safely!

Eric: Y-Yeah t-thank god... Michael: Although, you guys as Jack and Rose in that movie...it's sad as HELL but pretty cute. :3c

Jeremy: Yep! Plus, it's kinda fitting you two were Jack and Rose! :3c

Jeremy: One of you is a lost soul and the other saves him; that's basically you two in a nutshell

(Jordan and Eric blush)

Michael: But yeah, I like the ending you guys made better, you know, with you both living

Eric: ....I-I wasn't g-gonna let J-Jordan die on m-me......i j-just....won't l-let it h-happen.....

Jordan: S-Same...

(They all cuddle together, keeping Eric and Jordan warm)

[maxbegone]

The percy and vex baby fic you wrote was so adorable!! Can you write another part??

HOO BOY I GOT CARRIED AWAY WITH THIS ONE WHOOPS.

part one

“I’m so tired of this, Percy!”

Vex was slumped against her husband in the bath he had drawn for her. At full term, her back ached, her head was throbbing from being holed up in the castle all day, and she was growing restless. If she was being honest, she felt as if she was suffocating.

“I know, dear,” Percy whispered, continuing to dig his fingers into the small of her back. “But it won’t be much longer.”

“I just wish it happened already,” she groaned. “That way it’s already over and we don’t have to keep waiting.”

Percy pressed his face into Vex’s shoulder, their skin hot from the steam rising from the water. “I do, too. Mainly because I just want to hold them already, but I also hate seeing you in pain.”

Vex huffed. “You’re going to hate me when I’m in labor, then.”

She sunk deeper into the water until her lips were bobbing at the surface. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment or two before speaking again.

“Are you scared?”

A beat.

“I’m terrified.”

Vex sat up enough to turn and face him. “Are you really?”

“Yes. I’m not going to lie to you.”

“It’s good to know I’m not alone, then.”

Percy looked at her quizzically. “Did you really think I wouldn’t be scared?”

“Well, yes. I mean, you’re much stronger than I am.”

He laughed. “That is the furthest thing from the truth. You know, I didn’t think I’d ever get this far. I didn’t think I’d ever have a family again. My own family.”

“But you do. We do.” She pushed his damp hair away from his eyes, smiling. “We’ve been over this, you’re going to be the most brilliant father.”

Percy averted his gaze into the water. “I don’t want to fail either of you.” It seemed he was speaking more to himself than to Vex.

“Percival.” Vex tiled his head so had to look right at her. “That is impossible,” and she kissed him deeply.

“Impossible…”

—

It happens a week later, and rather inconveniently.

Cassandra was holding a council meeting in its routine way. They were talking about revising something about the trading they do with Syngorn, so Vex knew she should really be paying attention, but she was unable to. She had too much on her mind already.

Half an hour into the meeting was when Vex started feeling uncomfortable. Twinges of pain were coming and going, and for a while she was able to ignore it but it eventually became all that she was focusing on.

She needed air, really. That’s all it was. Air, and a moment alone without any diplomatic conversations, and nobody doting over every move she made.

She stood from the table abruptly, Percy immediately standing as well as the room fell silent.

“I just need to use to toilet. I’ll be quick.” She kissed Percy’s cheek and walked swiftly out of the room.

Halfway down the hall she stopped again in pain, clutching the banister nearby.

“Is this it then?” Vex looked down at her belly and sighed, her nerves immediately beginning to shake her. “Is this your way of telling me you’re finally ready?”

There was a little movement as Vex rubbed the underside of her belly, but for the most part it was just intensifying pain. When nothing happened after a few moments of standing in place she made her way back down the corridor towards one of the open windows just outside the war room.

Vex stood there for a little while, taking in the crisp air that filled her lungs while she tried her best to clear her head. She was just about to return to the war room when the pain returned. Vex steadied herself against the windowsill and let out a whimper, eyes shut tightly and teeth gritted. She was pulled away suddenly as two arms wrapped around her, and there she was buried in Percy’s chest.

“Vex, why didn’t you tell me?” He was doing his best to keep the panic from his voice, and he was doing quite well.

“Because it just started,” she whimpered. “I’m fine, you don’t have to worry about me.”

Percy ignored her. “How long has this been happening?”

“A-an hour, maybe? I was able to ignore it earlier, but-“

“An hour?” He gave her a quick kiss on her hair. “Can you walk?”

Vex glared. “Yes! I’m not completely incompetent, Percival!” She paused. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s quite alright. But let’s get you settled, alright?”

“But-“

“Vex. Cassandra can handle it without us. The council knows what to do. We’ll go back to our room, get you settled and take it from there.” His eyes were soft, but there was a sense of nervousness in them.

“Alright.”

It took them a little while but they returned to the room, Vex collapsing heavily onto the bed with Percy kneeling in front of her.

“Are you in pain?”

“A little.” Her voice was small. “I’m not ready, Percy. We’re not ready.”

He immediately enveloped Vex, undoing her braid and running his fingers through the waves of her hair. She panted heavily while she cried into his shirt and gripped his free hand tightly. 
“Yes we are, darling. Yes we are. The baby’s ready, and we’re ready, too.”

Vex could hear the thickness in his voice as Percy tried to keep his own tears back.

“I can’t, Percy. I can’t do it. Not without him, not without Vax.”

The hand running through her hair stilled. She was about to say something, anything, to get Percy to start speaking again, but him pressing his face into her neck stopped her entirely. She wasn’t heaving, she wasn’t audibly crying. Vex stayed incredibly still for a moment as Percy had begun to cry, himself.

When he pulled back to look at her, glasses a little wet, he said, “Yes you can. Because he is still right here with you. And I’m here with you. Vex’ahlia, your brother would never let you do this on your own. I promised him I would look after you, and he knows how strong you are.”

“I’m so scared…”

He shushed her. “I know, I know. You’re going to be ok. Our baby will be in our arms very soon, and Vax will be there every step of the way, I promise you.”

“You won’t leave me?” Vex was shaking again.

“You couldn’t get me to leave you if you tried.” He kissed her hair. “Ever.”

Percy helped her through another bout of pain a few moments later, Vex now laying on her left side with her robes discarded onto a nearby armchair along with Percy’s coat. He was rubbing her arm as Vex tried her best to relax once the pain faded away, eyes closed and breathing a long stream out of her mouth.

“Has anyone alerted Pike?”

“We’re very lucky Allura decided to stop in this meeting,” Percy noted. “She’s already sent the word to her. It shouldn’t be much longer now.”

Vex looked up at him, and with her best effort gave him an honest but exhausted smile. “Last chance to guess. Boy or girl?”

“You know I don’t mind,” Percy responded.

“You’re not making this any fun!”

“I don’t think labor is supposed to really be fun,” he mused.

“Percy. Just answer the damn question.”

“Alright, alright. I’ve had a couple of dreams recently, and I really do think it’s a girl. What about you?”

Vex sighed. “A boy. I’m happy either way as well, but I just have a feeling. I don’t know why. I guess it’s just some sort of…intuition.”

They traded idle conversation back and forth for a while as they waited for Pike to arrive, who, as always, immediately eased the worry that was in the room. She greeted them both with gentle hugs and looked over Vex thoroughly, two healers trailing behind to assist.

Of course, nothing sped up for quite some time and it became a waiting game. Vex did everything in her power not to snap at Percy, Percy did everything in his power to ease her pain, and Pike mixed up the herbs and solvents Keyleth had sent their way. The room soon smelled of mild lavender, pine, and mint, the windows were cracked, Vex was now in a loose nightgown and was curled into Percy. Through everything, Vex managed to get in some very restless dozing and she felt drained. Cassandra had come in to chat for about an hour, sternly telling Percy to alert her when her niece or nephew had finally arrived.

Hours after the sun set and the moon had risen, a fire was lit, things had been quiet in the castle for most of the evening besides her yells and moans. Vex managed to eat a little food but her appetite was completely consumed by the nerves and pain she was experiencing.

Just as she was going to start complaining to Pike again about how uncomfortable she was and how this was all taking too long, the gnome smiled at them both.

“You’re about ready to go, Vex,” Pike chimed. “You hold on to Percy, alright? Percy, get behind her and keep her upright. We’re just about there, now comes the hardest part.”

Vex smiled weakly. “What would be ever do without you, Pike?”

The gnome blushed. “The same to you.”

—

The pain was blinding.

She’d been tossed into rock and stone, she’d watched loved ones die, had gone through tumultuous heartbreak. She’d been stabbed, hit, kicked, burned, and has even died herself-although the pain of those moments were rather blurry, themselves.

But this…The pain Vex had been going through lived on a whole different scale.

It went on for what felt like forever, Percy and Pike encouraging her. Vex swore, and swore she heard Vax a few times in the back of her head as well cheering her on.

It was pain, and pain, and pain, then crying.

Shrill, beautiful crying. And then Vex was crying again and Percy was hugging her tightly and kissing her from her shoulders to her hair and temple. She didn’t care about the blood, she didn’t care about the fact that she was exposed to two women she had never met before and a close friend. After long last, after an exhausting mix of months and of hours, she was a mother. Their baby was in her arms. It was a few hours later, now well past midnight by the looks of it. Vex was laying against Percy’s chest watching as he cradled the baby in his arms. She was tired, but it wouldn’t stop her from taking in this incredible moment.

“Have I told you how beautifully you did,” Percy whispered.

“A few times, now.”

“And have I told you how beautiful you are?”

Vex blushed. “You really should be talking about her, not me.”

Percy hummed. He ran his finger over the tiny hand that was sticking out of the swaddle she was in.

“We have a daughter, Vex. We have a little girl.”

Vex could feel her eyes begin to sting with tears. She blinked. “We do,” she mused. “How did we get so lucky?”

“I have been asking myself that for a very long time.”

There was a few minutes that passed in content silence where both of them just watched as the baby slept peacefully. Vex was trying her best to memorize every last feature of their daughter’s face when Percy spoke again.

“I think we should name her Elaina.”

Vex sat upright in surprise. “Percival…”

“It’s only right,” he continued. “You and I have a long future ahead of us. I just wish I had gotten to meet your mother. I know how much you miss her and your brother. I believe that our daughter is lucky to have such a diverse and wonderful family, as messed up as we all are. And I don’t want you to feel drowned out by all of the names we have on my end.”

“But, what about you? Percy, you have your entire family to name her after-“

“I’d suspect that in the future, we may have more children. I would much rather we carry memories of your mother and brother into the world.”

Vex was at a loss for words, but when she looked down at their daughter she knew it was only right. Elaina. It suited her perfectly.

“Elaina Cassandra,” she recited.

Percy chuckled. “Oh, she will be so pleased with that. You’re giving my sister a big head, you know.”

Vex smiled. “Full name and all. Elaina Cassandra Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo. All the frills and bits of noble names that your family is cursed with.”

“We don’t have to keep the names,” he offered.

“No. We honor both our families,” Vex said. “We combine our traditions, and we create a new meaning to our family. We bring them together.”

Percy kissed her forehead. “I love you very much, Vex’ahlia. You are much too good for me.”

Vex let her eyes flutter closed as she listened to Percy whisper to their daughter, telling her stories of their past and promises of the future.