#welp starting this one up again and some time went by in universe

[betweenblackberrybranches]

umm.. I know it’s a bit late but did you know it’s Christmas/winter holidays y/n?

Oh shit its a little voice!

I havnt heard from any of you in quite a while.... its... its really christmas already? The weather stayed nice and warm here so i did not realize at all...

Though a lot of stuff happened in the mean time... look i have a tail now! Something to do with me drinking that magic water or something

Anyways gotta go and do some chores for the king or he will get all grumpy if i dont get him blueberries for his dinner...

[turtletimewriting]

2012 meets 2018

Summary: Mikey through a portal mishap is stuck in the 2012 series. Not a big deal, but he’s noticed that they’re all so serious. Not nearly as huggy and close as him and his brothers. Welp, time to fix that!

_._._

Things were so different here. Which makes sense. Like duh, it was his brothers from another universe. But it was weird. It was weird to see a Leo who spent all his time hidden away in the dojo meditating. Raph who spent all his free time reading comics and judging his brothers. Donnie... well actually Donnie was largely the same as his Donnie, spending a lot of time being the mad scientist he is. This version of himself was always doing his own thing. 

The only times they were together were when they were patrolling or when they were watching tv in the night. But otherwise, everyone was busy doing their own thing. Being serious and nothing like his own touchy feely family.

And of course, he was going to fix this!

Somehow...

Admittedly, he had no idea how he was going to. But he was taking it one step at a time. First he had been trying to get involved in all their hobbies. Right now he was sitting with Leo watching some show he liked called Space Heroes. It was... alright? Probably didn’t help that he was in the middle of a later season and Leo had gotten too lost in the sauce to remember to speak at a normal pace when recapping the show.

He was still rambling furiously, his hands vibrating violently in front of him. His Leo didn’t do any of this but he recognised all of this from Donnie so he found himself smiling so wide at how obviously happy Leo was. The happiness radiating from him. Sitting crossed legged together enjoying a show.

He so badly wished he could see them all this aggressively cheerful and happy. Leo burst into a huge smile as the Space Captain slapped his... co-captain? Okay a little weird but whatever makes him happy. Mikey wanted so badly to see this Leo finally let go and be fully silly and happy. 

His own Leo was so much more laidback and always willing to dive head first into the chaos. 

At that thought, a lightbulb went off in his head. 

His bent knee was pointed straight at him and that was his Leo’s like ultimate weakness. Leo’s legs were his worst spot, although he was definitely a walking tickle spot to be fair. Every part of his leg were very ticklish, his calves, the back of his knees, knees in general and don’t even think about his thighs or he’ll explode.

While he was distracted, he placed his scrunched up fingers right on his knee and then slowly drew his hands out in a slow crawling tickle across his bent knee.

“This is like their thing. So typi-AAAH!” Leo leapt like three feet in the air. He looked at him with sheer bewilderment and betrayal. “What was that!”

“Uhh... me tickling you?”

“No, I know that. Like... what kind of technique was that?” Leo laughed.

“Oh that!” Mikey spread out his fingers again on his kneecap to demonstrate, sending a violent jolt and slapping a hand over his giggles, “This drives my Leonardo insane! We have to pin his leg down so we can do it over and over again.”

He didn’t realise he was demonstrating over and over again until Leo was slapping the sofa arm. “Pfftahaha HAH! Hehe, o-okay. Okay okay okay! Hah! I get it!” He wiggled his knee but never withdrew his leg.

“Haha, no! C’mon! We can consider it a science experiment!” Mikey clapped his hands as he inched forward into his space, his plan all coming together. “Let’s see if you have the same tickle spots as my Leo!”

He pushed him down to lay on the sofa, had to make him comfortable before wrecking him to tears! Jumping up to his stomach to pin him down, he faced his legs. Obviously any Leonardo must have the most ticklish legs in existence, right?

“Wait! What! No, we don’t have to do this!”

“Oh yes we do!” Mikey cracked his fingers before he immediately grabbed his knees and started squeezing. 

Leo jolted up but his own weight kept him pinned. “HAH! Wahait! WAHAIT! HA! Ahahahaha!” He drummed his feet violently.

“Aww, that’s not as much laughter as I was expecting,” Mikey whined. His Leo would already be driven to tears by this. Yet this Leo was just laughing. Not even that hard! Huh, that’s... weird. Ugh, he was just being stupid. Of course this Leo was different, he was different in a million ways from his Leo. They weren’t even the same species! He needed to get over himself. Try to enjoy the silly moment. He spidered his fingers over his knees again. 

“Ihi Ah! Ah! Wait! Hahaha! Ah! I didn’t even know my knees were ticklish!” Leo gasped.

That made him stop. “What!” Mikey gasped himself.

“Who goes for the knees when tickling someone!” Leo gasped amongst his giggles.

“Uh me!” Mikey gasped as he squeezed his knee again, sending Leo tumbling back down from his sass, “I can go for the knees. Since I have a brother who dies if you go for the knees!”

“Hahahaha! Wehell that’s hahaha dumb!” Leo snarked, bucking up to try and kick him off. Which almost worked. Mikey had to put an end to that. 

But now he felt like he was in uncharted territory. It makes sense, he thought. This Leo did act entirely differently so of course he’d have different spots. He looked him over passively at where to go next. 

Suddenly he snapped forward and started scribbling over his plastron. His scutes lay in a different layout than Leo’s, and also unlike his Leo, he immediately burst into frantic bright laughter. “WAHAHAHAIT! WAIT WAIT HAHAHAHAHAHA!” 

Mikey smiled manically. “Now there’s some good laughter! Is that a good spot, huh? Is that an extra ticklish spot? Does it tickle tickle tickle you!” 

Mikey felt all his weirdness completely disappear though as Leo slapped a hand over his face as he slowly turned bright red. 

“You can blush! That’s amazing! Look at how red you are!” Mikey cooed. 

“HAHA SHUUHUUHU SHUSH! HAHAHHAHAHAAHAA! STAHAP TALKING!” Leo kicked out frantically as he slowly turned more and more red. 

“Aww you’re so adorable!” Mikey exclaimed as he traced around his scutes which sent Leo tumbling down even more frantic laughter. His head tipped back as he was lost to the sensation. “But is this where you’re most ticklish? Oooor is there another spot?”

The way he reacted clearly meant he was close though. Mikey used the tracing to explore his whole torso.

“NO! NO! HAHAHAHAA! HA! HA! HA! NO!” Leo suddenly gasped as he fingers trailed from his stomach to his sides. 

Mikey grinned evilly. “Oh you shouldn’t have said that!” 

Not one to waste time, he immediately started pinching and scribbling over his sides. It was really fun to tickle actually! The smooth shell of his sides was fun to slide his fingers against and the polished smooth texture made him want to keep tickling and tickling. 

“Oh this is too much fun! I’ve gotta keep tickling you! I can’t stop tickling you!” 

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!” Leo was totally lost to the sensation and Mikey knew it was time to let up. He really didn’t want to kill him or something. 

Well okay, maybe one last tickle.

As he harshly scrubbed against his sides and Leo jolted up, he met him halfway with a raspberry pressed in the middle of his plastron. 

Leo’s laughter went silent until Mikey sat back up and gentle climbed off of him. 

“Huh, you and my Leo have completely different tickle spots,” He grinned but that smile kept growing when Leo kept laughing. 

“Hahahaa... ha... heh... whaht was thahaha hahaha... about!” Leo exclaimed. Setting off more of his laughter as he remembered and brought up the tickling.

“Dunno!” He chirped back, giggling himself too, “For the funsies.” 

“Nahat fun! Ha! Hahahahaa!”

“You can stop laughing,” Mikey giggled. The laughter catching on. Leo had yet to even sit up yet and seemed totally lost in his own unending giggles.

A snort ripped through the room and properly set off Mikey’s laughter. 

“Dude, stop laughing! I’m not tickling you!”

“Dohon’t SAY THE WORD! Hahahaha! HAH! Heheheee...”

Wholeheartedly, Mikey thought that would be stuck in the cycle of making each other laugh if it wasn’t for this world’s Raph walking in. 

“Okay, who got Leo tickle drunk?”

“Tickle drunk?” Mikey asked incredulously. 

“STAHAP SAHAYING THE WORD HEHEHEEEE!” Leo kicked out his feet again from the tiny ball he was curling into.

Raph sauntered over with such a fond smile and casually leaned an arm on the back of the sofa. “Yeah, if anyone... uh t-words Leo then he can’t stop thinking about it which means he can picture the sensation. Meaning! He can’t stop giggling or feeling like he still being attacked.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Mikey lit up like christmas had come early, “Can you not say the word tickle?”

The instant he said it, Leo snorted as he frantically tried rubbing away at his sides. Raph looked on with a mischevious smirk. “Oh I can definitely say the word tickle,” He deliberately spoke clearly and sounded out each syllable in the word, much to Leo’s giggly dismay, “it’s just that it takes a while for Leo to stop being tickle drunk, especially if everyone keeps mentioning it.”

Mikey finally made eye contact with Leo as he peered up at him through the tiny ball he curled into. And as subtle as a ninja, he flicked his eyes back to Raph quickly. Thankfully, Leo seemed to grasp his message. “Well, you know what would probably help?” Mikey cued up.

“What?” Raph asked genuinely.

“To tickle someone else!” He roared before grabbing Raph and somersaulting him on to the sofa, where Leo immediately grabbed hold oh him and dug away at his pits.

Well it wouldn’t be fair to just test the tickle spots of one of their alternative universe selves.

[web-novel-polls]

Hidden Web Novel Character Submissions

Last Checked: October 22nd, 2024 - Please check the original post for updates

Death to popularity bias! Submit any character you'd like, and they'll compete completely anonymously.

Rules

Must be a character from a web novel or similar

Propaganda must be sufficient to judge without giving away the character (just do your best, no stress)

Write the propaganda with the character's name, and I'll edit it out for the tournament itself

No limits or rules for the length of the propaganda. Either people read it or they don't

Please do not reveal a character’s identity if you guess it. If you want to guess anonymously and/or submit additional propaganda, you can do so here:

Based on:

@guess-that-ship

@mysterycharacterflowers

& others I can't find

Tag: #hidden wn character tournament

Alcoholic

Submission:

[Alcoholic] woke up in the body of a guy on Earth some years in the past and decided(read got forced) to go into the entertainment industry.  This guy egosurfs a lot, was an alcoholic and got an intervention for it. Plus he goes to therapy!! Also got kidnapped once and escaped by beating up the kidnapper . There was also the one time he went into a parallel universe.

Mod Propaganda: [Alcoholic] (seemingly) starts the novel with a “I’ll do anything to survive” mindset but grows to genuinely care about and for his friends while dealing with a LOT. He’s smart and calculating, which also manifests itself in supporting his friends and the people around him AS WELL AS himself.

Boccia

Submission (Edited to remove identifying info): 

He’s a demon. He wanders the human realm to find little human trinkets, possibly to sell them. He is a good boy who wants to make a living, and deserves to be acknowledged.

Farmer Guy

Submission: [Farmer Guy] was reborn in a xianxia world after living a boring life as a civic engineer in Canada. He spent about 24 hours in a cultivation sect before quitting due to bullying and corruption in the sect, and decided to move to bumfuck nowhere to take up farming instead. After all, superstrenght & endurance makes it way easier to pull a plow, put up buildings & so on. So why is his chicken starting to do martial arts?

Moonlight

Submission: 

[Moonlight] is the boy of all time. From his perspective, he successfully scouted out a talented new coworker, got blatantly propositioned while the ink was still wet on the contract, thought "wow, this guy is forward, but we really need his skills so... okay," within a month had fully progressed to, "it's fine to get married first and fall in love later," and then just. fell SO HARD. for a guy who, in his own POV sections, HAD NO IDEA his behavior even could be interpreted as flirty. For his actual character, the gap moe between "doting thinks-he's-a-boyfriend" and "super serious taskmaster" is adorable. 

RPF Guy

Submission: [RPF Guy] is an interesting little guy. He reads RPF of his friends/associates/strangers and decides that his love interest is actually pretty stupid and bullies her but he ends up doing her a solid (making her not end up with her first love interest) because he’s like “damn I owe this idiot karmically”

Sunshine

Submission: 

My sunshine son!! Got isekai'd into another world pretty similar to his original one, and basically just went "welp, time to restart my career from the bottom! I did it once, I can do it again!"  Re: the differences from his original world, he straight-up just asks people questions and takes notes in front of them? And when they're like "how do you not know this, this is preschool level knowledge," he just laughs and goes, "yeah, I'm really forgetful and didn't pay attention in school." Iconic, honestly. Still doesn't stop him from mistaking social cues so thoroughly that he  accidentally gets into a romantic relationship without realizing it, due to having multiple chicken-and-duck conversations with his would-be boyfriend. (He got into the situation by basically propositioning the guy without noticing, having not paid attention to the social differences between worlds.)

Poor Single Dog

Submission: 

[Poor Single Dog]! My brilliant dumbass son! He's so book smart, yet can't see what's right in front of his face. He's really concerned about losing his Best Friend Status when the protags start spending time together (read: going out, because they're in love). There is no level of PDA he can't misunderstand as mere friendship. When he FINALLY gets hit by a clue-by-four (read: walks in on the main couple cuddling while doing the dishes, and one of them says, quote, "This is EXACTLY what it looks like!") his reaction is: [Poor Single Dog] remained silent for what seemed like a century. Finally, amidst his chaotic thoughts, he said: “You….so….then, am I still your best friend?”

[thewizzard767]

Thinking about my old Undertale fanfic idea...

Back when a certain royal scientist was working on an alternative way to free monsterkind, he discovered the code behind the universe. He theorized that if one could learn to harness that code, manipulate even one value, they could achieve the impossible - bypass, and even destruction of the barrier.

The royal scientist, with the assistance of his colleagues, eventually constructed a device capable of "editing" this code, but there was one problem. Powering the device would take immense energy, more than even the CORE could manage. There was only one option: A human SOUL, and its determination.

But a human had not fallen down in years. The last human SOUL to enter the Underground had shattered alongside Asriel's.

... Or so the King and Queen thought.

It had been discovered, hidden among the flowers, by the royal scientist on his daily walk. The fused SOUL was cracked and fading, but it somehow struggled to survive. He managed to preserve it, and began to study its energy output, as well as find a way to isolate and siphon the DT from the SOUL.

Eventually, he created a machine to harness its power, powering the entire laboratory. More importantly, it powered the royal scientists hope of freeing every monster. It was ready for a test run.

Late at night, he took two of his most trusted associates to assist him in the inventions first test. Hooking up the power, he ran the necessary calculations and started the device. And then…

And then…

Something went horribly wrong.

Much more time later…

With the Barrier shattered, monsters went free and eventually made contact with a nearby human city. After shaky relations, the human government realized the benefits of peace and eventually formed an alliance. The monsters agreed to settle in a camp nearby, while a more permanent solution could be constructed. But while most of the populace were eager for this new era of peace, some were too stuck in their old ways. Weekly protests, some turning into riots, threatened the hopes and dreams of both monsters and humans alike.

At the height of one of the biggest riots, outside the newly erected monster embassy, a terrible tragedy occurred. It was reported that a monster, known as the self-proclaimed “Mascot of Monsterkind”, was in the process of making a rousing speech about his belief in change for the better, when a brick was thrown out of the crowd.

The brick hit the monsters skull and killed him instantly.

The human ambassador somehow managed to single out the murderer and was about to engage in battle, but suddenly disappeared in a flash of darkness. The riot died down after police action was escalated, but that could not undo the fact that an innocent monster had been murdered.

What could?

You’re in a dark room. The only light you see is a blue flicker in the corner in your eye.

*oops, sorry. lemme turn the lights on.

The lights turn on, and you find yourself in Sans and Papyrus’s house. Sans is standing by the light switch. His hands are shaking.

*there we go. *… *welp. *i couldn’t just let you attack that guy, huh?*even if he DID just… *…

You both stand there for what feels like forever. The silence is deafening. Sans lets out a shaky sigh.

*figured out how to time-travel again yet?

You tell Sans you lost the ability to do so since entering the city. You tell Sans you’re sorry you can’t do more.

*you sure? *eh, i don’t blame you. *guess things are stuck this way now, huh?

You nod, sadly.

*damn. *it was going so well, too. *sorry bro, guess there’s no turning back the clock this… time…

Suddenly, Sans goes still. His pupils flicker as he turns to you.

*maybe there is. *sorry, kiddo, but i gotta go. *i’ll drop you at the embassy, though. *tori’s probably worried sick.

There’s a flash of darkness, and you find yourself back in the embassy. People are yelling, but stop when they catch sight of you. Toriel runs to you and catches you in a motherly embrace. Asgore, Alphys, and Undyne are discussing things with the human governor. Sans is nowhere to be found.

You feel a low rumble, underneath your feet.

Deep in the underground, there is silence. The air feels quiet and stale, especially in the True Lab. Sans materialized in the power room, wheeling a strange machine covered in a tarp alongside him. He stopped beside the main breaker and pressed a combination of switches. The breaker shuddered, and a panel slid back to reveal a round port. Sans pulled the tarp off the machine and pulled a thick cord out from underneath it. Plugging the cord into the power source, he flipped another switch, this time on the device itself. A faint hum began to emanate from the machine, louder and louder until it turned into a low wail as the inner workings of the machine turned and shifted to reconfigure the world as he knew it. Taking a deep breath, Sans blew the dust off a keyboard and began to type.

>open console

The machine began to vibrate...

>access game files

The air turned colder, dark̶er̴...

>access entity files

Yet dar̶̉ͅkeṙ̴̦...

>access monster files

The wailing from the machine escalated into a stuttering shriek, almost too much to bear. The ̶r̴o̷o̴m̶ ̷b̸egan ̵̜̐to ̵͔̾shudder.

>filename: [Papyrus]

The typing became slower, more deliberate. Within his Ṡ̷̨̻̩̋̌̏͜ͅO̴̧̰͕̍͑Ȕ̵̧̻̋̌L, Sans could feel the universe shifting with every keystroke. Around him, the walls ̷͖̅seemed ̴͙̍to ̸̯͘fade ̸͎̈́in ̵̙̌and ̴̻̒o̴͇͠ȗ̸̮t̶̖̀ ̶̇͜o̶̠͑f̶̺͆ ̶͉̈́v̵̳̚i̸̲̓ḙ̸̓w. He felt every fiber of his body start ̵̛͉to ̸̳̇stretch ̷͚̀ą̷́ņ̸̓d̶̠͝ ̶͗ͅc̵̯͗o̷̡͆ń̷̲t̵̻̏r̵̡͌á̸̯c̷̰̀t and ̸̹̗̆͠burn ̷̤̅̈͑͂and ̷͓̬̺̯̆͂̚͝fre̸̗̻͂̈́ͅe̸͈͍̯̙͋z̷̝̑e̸̤̾̚ ̴̧̦̍͑͌͝a̸̭̤͈̯̓ń̶̬͇̋̓d̴̥̏̿̍͂ d̵͓͍̼̳̹̏̒̋̈́̀ì̴̦͕̮s̷̯͍͖͚̹̿ap̸̨̛̰̼̖̰̄́̉p̶̙̙̘̉̀͐̏ear̸̡̬͎͈̰͒̽̇̈́ ̶̧̔̉̑͝a̴̦͛̎̽n̷̼̝̭͖̖͊̂͒̓̆d̴̳̀ ̵͙̳̘̀̋̉̈̊m̶̢̧̬̭͛̄̒͘͝u̴͔͚̓̉͗̐lti̴̻͂̀p̴̹͈̙̞̬̑̓͊̐l̵͕̪̼̟̓̋̃͒ͅý̸̭̖͚̯͒ ̵̺̖͝ä̵̪̘̤̯́̈́̎͜͠ļ̵̣̣̑̓̈l ̶̫͎͕̃a̴̢̢͎̐̈́͗̊t ̴̭̺͓͍̪͆̈́ö̴̙͍͒͘͝n̸̰̪̹̽͊c̵̹̹̝̭̩̃͘e̴̢̯̳̥͌̑̑̃͠. The earth herself shuddered, as if about to draw her final breath. As he typed in the final inputs, his hand hê̶̯̈́͝s̵̺̤͗̍̈͘̚iẗ̸̨͒̅a̸̮̩̞͋t̵̞̆̃e̸̝̟̘͘d over the “Ȩ̸̑͋͌͒̄̈͠Ņ̵̡͚̔̕T̷̼̗͉̮͒̀̅E̶̡̗͚̗̝͙̽̄͝R̴̛͉̪̤̤̻̔̄͂̅̌̐ͅ” key. But o̴͕̝̼͝n̶̰͈͓̏͒͆͋̊l̴̡̦̯̆̆̒͛̈́̌́y for a moment.

When he pressed the key, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and smiled.

“HELLO SANS.”

And t̷̡̙̝̋̌ḧ̷͓͇̼́̈́ẽ̵̙̪̝́͒ņ̸̜̿̽

t̶͙̫̫̠̙͉̗͍̿̊ẖ̶̢̨̡̰̝̦͙̍̂͌̈́͊͘̚e̴͙̲̟͚͂̎̈́̿́̄͆̚ ̵̱̹͇̗̭̔ ̸̠̱̯̰̀̽̎̀͘ ̸̡̦̫͉͎͗ ̷̬͓̣͎̲̍̅̒ ̴̱̥̫̞̦͑̊͝

w̷̫͓͍͎̤̩̟͈͂̀̈́͐ͅơ̷͇͚͑̌̇͠r̵͚̈́̀͊̎̋̀͠͝l̵̨̖͉͇͍͈͈̜̺̫͓̳̭͂͐d̵̨̧͍̭͕̟̯͉̤͆̑̆͑̉̄̉̉̏̋̽͒͊̕͜ ̵̳̗͛͜ẉ̴̛̛̬͗̔̊̌̾̐̔̓̽͌̽̋e̶̛̤̺̺͉̪̱͓̠̮̝͓͎̅͛̈̋̃͂̂̈́̍͛͘͝ ̶̡̛ ̸̮̊͝ ̶̦̍͋ ̸̞̐͂ n̵̡̛͈̝̼̜͔̞͊͆͒̎͛́̈͒̃̔̓͛̄̚͝͝t̷̛͖̬̭̻͙̼̄̽̍̌̃ ̶̡̨̩̪̬͍͈͖̀̈́b̶̧͍͉̣͉͇̤͍͔̍̑͗̈́̈̆͆͑̀̄̔͂̈́͐͛̚̕͝͝l̶̢̲̩̠̳̪̀́͌́̎̈́͑̋̈̌̋̿̃̑̚͘͘͝ḁ̵̣̙̙̌̓̊̇̊͜ c̷̹̄̄͑͘͘͝ͅḱ̷̨̆̃̓̚͝.

[autumn-foxfire]

Guess what episode I am up to? You guessed it! The kaishin flashback episode!!! Time to see the (technically) first meeting between these fated two!

Jii telling Kaito he would never be able to face Toichi if his son ever got in too much trouble, not knowing his father is the one that has set his son up to do his job for him... Just your daily reminder to say fuck you to Kaito's parents! Jii, adopt him.

I love we get to see a proper insight into Kaito's personality in the DC verse.

And we also get to see how bad Gosho's romance has always been with Aoko and Kaito. A different type of terrible but still terrible (Aoko you can't just rip up other people's belongings). And sadly this was just mild of them.

Akako, you will be missed. This is probably the only time that the DC universe will allow you to be in it's series.

Don't insult Saguru like that, Nakamouri! He's more competant than you are <.<

Kaito: This heist is too easy.

Shinichi: Don't worry, it won't be soon.

Kaito wondering who is helping out the police T-T Don't worry, that's your future husband!

Nakamouri why are you assaulting a poor man who is just helping you out.

Oh how thematic for him to shoot the ace of spades, the symbol used often to represent his future husband.

Megure... you really just let a teenager swipe a gun off you and shoot it.

Gosho really believes you meet your soulmate at the age of 4 T-T Well, he was right about something, Kaito did meet the love of his life at that clock tower, it's just not with the character he wants us all to believe he did :p

Also can I just point out, again, how much Kaito and Aoko look like siblings here?

I don't want anyone, especially canon enjoyers, to say anything about Kaishin ever again.

Huh, we were left with subtle hints about the switch with Kogoro at the start by showing how much he smokes and having each shot of him driving in the OP showing him smoking.

Kaito nearly killed someone.

Saguru!! It's nice to finally meet you in the DC universe too!

This is why you don't buy expensive cars, some weirdo will just blow them up.

You guys are all just feeding Kaito's ego here.

Hakuba: We won't be killed by him but he will prank us (speaking from experience here, love)

Kaito: Damn, all you detectives are assholes, aren't you.

It's interesting that Renya, who we all know to be the big bad of this series, was introduced in what is technically a KID episode, though I think Gosho's said that went it comes to their criminal organizations, neither Shinichi or Kaito will be involved in helping each other.

Alelele~

Renya is not as dead as he wants everyone to believe, old lady.

Saguru being the only one prepared for escaping the place, just in case XD The boy who is always prepared.

...Okay, I'm not sure if this is just the subs but did Kaito just call both Shinichi and Saguru his lovers (that he doesn't want to meet but whatever I'm ignoring that part). Welp, I'm just taking that as proof for my ship :p (I guess those who ship Saguru and Kaito can too <.<).

[garykingz]

The smoke from the soccer boy.

You hated lectures, and you knew all too well that you could get that studying done better alone. So, whilst hiding under the university's bleachers, you try to do so. That studying becomes null when you notice the loud, cocky goalkeeper on the field across from you... and you were smitten.

Fluffy shit.

(AN: This is movie!Warren. Not the real life guy.)

—

Welp. Here you were again. You watched between the chairs of the bleachers as the Kentucky university students played their usual soccer – they were sure as shit serious every time you sat here and watched. You never watched in a creepy way; you were merely just bored each time you came here to skip a certain lesson. Or more, skip a seminar that lasted like two hours.

But since the boys gave you some little entertainment as you skipped, you supposed it wasn't so bad. Sometimes you'd bring a book. Or text your friends on your flip phone with a cute heart charm that hung from the bottom.

It'd been a few weeks since you started doing this and you wanted to feel guilty. You did a little. But you would've rather read or studied in peace under the bleachers in that time rather than listen to a lecture.

As you pulled your phone from your pocket to check the time, you smiled. Two hours was good. Placing your phone on the seat in front of you and pulling out a book you'd been reading the last couple of days, you leaned against a pole that kept up the seats. You hummed softly as you flicked the pages with grace; your eyes dancing across the words. This was better. Much–

"Fuck you, Warren!"

"You wish you could, Jake!"

Well, fuck. There went your damn peace. You let out a soft sigh before going back to your book. You were sure they would pack up soon. They had to. Right? They usually did already but you assumed this was taking longer for some reason.

"Lipka, aggressive touch!"

You could only make out chuckling after hearing what you assumed was the couch yell out. God, just leave.

"And that's a win for me~"

"Why you cryin' for, huh?!"

  "Ooooh! Look at that, gorgeous catch. By me."

Whoever that was talking the most was the one who kept pulling you away from your book. You finally had enough and closed the book with an annoyed expression pressured into your face. As you stepped a little closer to the bleachers to see, you glanced up and down the field until–

"Warren, good catch!"

Him? Oh. Oh, he was pretty. He was taller than the rest of the boys but that wasn't the only thing that made him stand out. He had his brown curls pulled back into a small ponytail at the nape of his neck while wearing the most arrogant smirk across his face. It should've looked that way at least. But it didn't. He looked… like he was the main character to your favourite romance YA novels.

Your hands reached out a little as your fingertips pressed against the inside of the bleacher seats as you peered through them. This Warren was playing goalkeeper. Before you knew it, you kept your eyes on him the majority of their play. You watched as every now and then he would pull his white gloves tighter onto his hands and then wipe dirt from his face with them. You watched in awe as his shirt would lift just that little every time he jumped and stopped the ball. And he was good at that too. Really good.

You didn't know that you ever cared for sports this much. But with your eyes dancing over Warren's every move – you sure as hell liked whatever this sport was. …If you even remembered half the time what you were watching.

When you heard a bell ring and the boys finally stopped playing, your eyes widened. Oh, shit. Had you actually wasted your whole time watching this damn game for a cute boy? That wasn't unlike you to get smitten but the whole damn lesson? Reality check – you were supposed to be studying.

As you pulled your flip phone from the seat and placed your book into your bag, you turned to walk away when you noticed Warren with two other boys, talking and laughing together. His smile was… really beautiful. You were surprised you hadn't seen him on campus before. Well, you were glad to know your hiding spot was going to shed a little entertainment now at least.

And it did. A whole two weeks passed and you kept up your streak. The Tuesday and the Thursday, you skipped that damn same lecture. You did get some studying in – you weren't going to slack off completely… but you sure did abandon your book more than a few times to watch Warren between the bleacher seats again. Damn it. You hated how charming you thought this guy was. Sure, you hadn't breathed one word to the man but… you were just as sure you were going to at some point. …Right?

When you heard the bell ring for next classes; you picked up your book that had only been flipped a few pages since sitting down. Oops. You made sure you were going to read more next time. When you placed them into your bag, your eyes looked between the bleacher seats once more. And when you did…

"Warren, come on, man!"

You felt your heart race in your chest as you had your back against one of the beams that held up the seats. You held your bag to your chest as you clutched it tightly. He was looking over to you. No – he was looking at you.

Those seats weren't making you completely invisible and you knew that. But you knew they wouldn't notice you while playing their games. …That wasn't until that bell rang and your eyes met with his. "Oh, God," you whispered under your breath. You couldn't move now. You couldn't leave when they were now leaving so quickly.

The way he pushed his brown curls back out of his face with his gloves fingers; his smirk on his face for that small moment before he turned to you. He looked so serious when you met eyes with him. He didn't see you… He couldn't have. It was Warren; he would've smirked or given you a wave at least. It was Warren Lipka, afterall.

Ten minutes must've passed as you stayed there. You had to make sure they finally left. Sure, you were going to be late for your next class but you had to know they– he was gone.

Now; when that Thursday came around, you questioned whether or not to go back to your usual hiding spot while you ditched. You knew you were bunking off under there way before you even noticed Warren so, it shouldn't have stopped you. But somehow, you were hesitant. You were hesitant to be caught. …And then… as you drew closer to the bleachers and the soccer field was empty of players, you held your bag under both your arms in front of you.

"Look at you, that's some moves you got there."

His voice rang in your head and, annoyingly enough, it caused you to bring a small flustered smile to your face. God, were you smitten.

Fine.

You said to yourself before walking over to those same seats. Your shoes grazed against the grass and you made your way over. As you finally walked under as you have done many times before, you pulled your bag from your shoulder and dug around inside for your book. When you took it out and placed the bag on the floor, you were surely enough ready to actually get some studying in.

So, you thought.

When you looked up from taking your book out, you noticed a boy on the other side of the seats. He stood facing the field, back to you as he held one hand in his pocket and his other to his face. Your eyes danced up his body, from his jeans, to his red plaid jacket that hung over his shoulders to his– …His dark brown curls that blew in the wind every now and then.

Warren?

As the wind blew his hair, you noticed there was smoke spurring out into the breeze from his face. That smell… Was that weed? You almost doubted it was Warren for a moment before you heard him sigh.

"Enough of this, hm."

That voice. That deep, husky sounding voice. It was Warren Lipka, alright. What the hell was he doing? Wasn't there practise today?

You couldn't help but look through the bleachers at him, your fingertips pressed against the back of one of the seat rows. He was quiet. It was unlike him – from what you'd seen he was so enthusiastic on the playing field. But right there, it seemed as though, for what you could tell, was a sense of sadness looming over him. Sadness? Lost in thought? Something.

Watching him take a puff from his joint and pull it away between his index finger and thumb, your eyes seemed fixated on him. That man you'd been admiring from afar on the soccer field seemed very different from the man you were longing at right now. Like, somehow, you noticed a puzzle piece was missing from his usual charismatic front you'd been so fond of.

When you leaned in a little closer, Warren blew the smoke from between his lips.

Cough. Cough, cough.

Oh, no.

You quickly covered your mouth and took a step back, your eyes narrowing now as you tried to keep as quiet as possible.

"Oh, and here I thought you were gonna stay quiet."

With your hands over your mouth, you felt your heart race in your chest as you took a step back away from the seats. Away from Warren.

As you keep stepping back, the heel of your foot catches your bag and you fall back, landing on the grass. "Ah! S– Shit…"

As you wince a little and collect yourself again, your eyes notice sneakers now facing you on the opposite side of the bleachers. When your eyes drifted up, one seat, two seats, three seats…

Warren was looking down at you, pulling the joint away from his lips again let out a small chuckle. "You're good but no ninja."

You're silent – like everything you might've ever planned out to say to him had been thrown into the trash. Into the landfill. You had your chance and now it was ruined. You felt your eyes water a little as you pulled yourself up, bringing your bag with you now.

"I… wasn't hiding," you finally replied.

"Hm?" the man hummed, raising an eyebrow. "Really? 'Cause it sure as shit looked like you were."

You felt your chest tighten and your eyes flicker away from the man you'd been admiring over the weeks. When you gulp, you grip the strap of your bag over your shoulder now and turn around to walk away. You'd never felt so embarrassed.

"What's your name?"

You suddenly stopped when Warren's deep voice perked your ears.

"Don't tell me you're gonna walk away and not give me a name."

With your brows furrowing more and more in a pondering state, you part your lips. Maybe it was stupid to just answer on the spot. Or maybe it wasn't. But he finally acknowledged you. After all this time, he…

"Y/N… My name is Y/N," you finally spoke; your back still turned to Warren.

"You like hiding under here, Y/N?"

You turn around a little when you hear his feet shuffle on the ground; walking around the bleachers now to stand a small distance away from you to your left. "There's better places to ditch on campus, y'know."

"It was quiet here usually," you replied softly. With your hand still around the strap of your bag, you bring yourself to turn to him fully now. "Not until recently."

"Soccer fields are pretty loud spaces. Not great for reading n' shit," Warren explained, his voice calm and collected; but that almost made you more nervous.

"Not usually. Only when… certain players are there." Your eyes finally meet his and he offers you another smirk.

"You didn't enjoy my play?" he asked with a teasing tone.

You were quiet for a moment before speaking up again, "You're… e– entertaining, for sure."

"Oh, I'm real entertaining," Warren replied, his brows lifting a little as he kept his gaze on you. It was intense enough to make you turn away, afraid he might notice the flushed expression on your face.

"So, what class?" he asked, taking another puff from his joint.

"What…?" you asked, your eyes flickering to him for a moment.

"What class have you been ditchin'?"

You swallow before taking in a small, sharp exhale through your nose. "Art 1800s history. It's nothing I can't learn on my own time. It's just a lecture class."

"...Art, huh?"

You noticed the shift of tone in his voice when you finally turned back to him; your hand not leaving the strap of your messenger bag. "Yeah," you confirmed.

"Well, how about we hang out not under the bleachers on Saturday," he said; more being a statement than a question.

"Are you… asking me out?" you asked, almost as if you were making sure of what he was saying.

A small chuckle leaves his lips which causes your eyes to widen. Oh, no. He wasn't. He wasn't at all. You're so–

"Yeah, Y/N. Art student to soccer student. Sound good?"

When your eyes search his face; your attention falls to his lips when he smirks again, pulling the joint to them once more before flicking it to the ground.

"You don't–"

"Y– Yes. Sure… I'd like that," you replied, almost too quickly as your words kept going.

Warren's cocky smirk turned into a playful smile as his hands made their way into the pockets of his worn jeans. "'Aight, then."

"Wait," you muttered softly. "Why'd… you ask? I mean…"

"These seats aren't an invisible cloak, sweetheart. It was nice to have a cute audience every time I played," he explained. As his brown curls blew with the slight breeze, you felt your brows raise a little. Gosh, he really was… beautiful.

"I see," you replied, your voice seemingly more soft than before.

"Art. So, you know Spencer, right?" Warren asked, his voice perking up a little.

"Spencer… Reinhard?" you pondered, wondering why he's asking about that boy so randomly.

"Mhm. Get him to give my number to you. I'll text you later."

When he gave you one last smile, he turned around and began to walk away. As your eyes were about to turn away from him, you heard his footsteps stop.

"I hope I'll see you Tuesday still, though, yeah?" he perked up, turning his head back to you.

You let out a small breathy laugh and nodded with a smile, "Of course."

[emcapi-gaming]

Actually, I lied, have another Karlach run update because I just realized I never posted about the resolution of her romantic Situation.

As previously mentioned, I was really, really torn on whether to have her romance Wyll or Astarion. (For the record, I adore the three of them as a poly ship. In my heart they are all smooching. Sadly you can only have one committed origin character romance in game without modding.)

I went with Astarion for the tiefling camp party because of the unique scene they have together, but was contemplating very lovingly friendzoning him for Wyll in act 2 depending on how the order of events/cutscenes/etc played out.

Well, events sure did play out.

By which I mean Astarion FUMBLED IT SO HARD. He fucked up, big time. He rolled a metaphorical 1.

By which I mean he dropped the fake ass "What about those three little words. Everyone's favorite... I love you," line.

To Karlach.

And I was just sitting there going "welp" because there is no universe I can reasonably imagine where she takes that well.

I feel that the following conversation went something like this (partly based on in-game).

K: "Are you... lying to me right now?"

A: "Yes, but it's a beautiful lie, isn't it?"

K: "...Man WHAT the FUCK."

K: "Nope. No. I'm done."

A: [dialog (can't remember the specifics) about how their time together was actually something special to him, which was lowkey heartbreaking tbh]

K: (sad) "Oh. You weren't entirely lying, were you? I think you just... don't know how to be sincere. Even with yourself."

K: "I can't do this, though. I'm sorry."

K: *trying not to cry* "also I'm still kinda mad at you!!"

And that's the story of how my blorbos slightly broke each other's hearts 🙃

The next long rest she had the dance scene and kiss with Wyll, so they are indeed a thing now.

I think maybe (in my version) they'll be able to try again later, after Astarion's had the chance to start working through a few of his personal issues. There's also been some great moments with all three of them in act 2, at least one of which I want to write a little fic about.

[skelebonecentral]

Lord Eclipse refuses to get you a chair of your own; his dick is your throne. You make paperwork more bearable, though you might also be the distraction from paperwork

welp, here ya go :)

words under cut

Your punishment was embarrassing to say the least. Half asleep and unfiltered, you’d told your Lord that he was leaving you empty too many nights. He’d taken that as a challenge, and now you were here, sitting on his lap in his office as he did paperwork, warming his cock inside you as he ignored you.

“Well?” he asked as soon as you twitched the first time, “Aren’t you happy? I’m keeping you full, aren’t I?”

That had been hours ago and the longer it went on, the more mortified you were. Your tunnel was pulsing as his tendril idly flicked and twisted inside, but it was never enough to actually get you beyond needy and it drove you nuts to have to sit here, clinging to your Lord like a monkey with your head on his shoulder and able to hear the smug little sounds he made when he remembered you were there.

Every now and then, he’d thrust up into you and force a gasp of pleasure out of your throat, but it was always just to laugh at your reaction and remind you, “You said to keep you filled, not to satisfy you. “

However, by this point, you noticed the tension in his body, and how frequent the little bucks of his hips become. Apparently, even with his vast store of energy, he couldn’t deny some of his baser instincts. His tendril was wriggling more insistently, making your walls clench as it brushed the more tender places within.

Lord Eclipse, god of this universe, growled to you, “even when you’re obedient, you’re a nuisance. It’s like you were made to make me distracted with your body.”

You had been forbidden from speaking, but shook your head.

“No? So you aren’t doing this just to get back at me for neglecting you and then humiliating you today?” He pushed you back a bit and looked in your eyes, finding just puzzlement and hazy desire there. “Oh…well look at that,” his growling voice went with his smirk, hand on your chin as his sharp teeth glimmered, “you’re telling the truth. Well…I suppose you have been a very good little pet today even if you did get mouthy this morning.”

You felt the tip of him almost bottoming out as he bounced you once, “so are you going to complain about not being full again?”

A shake of the head, no, you didn’t want to do this again anytime soon.

He considers you and gets a wicked grin, “Why don’t I do something to make you stay that way for a loooong time?” Eclipse leans in and whispers in your ear, “What if I filled you up and plugged you up so you’d just stay full, hm? Because I can do that.”

The idea made you shiver when he said it so softly in your ear, and he liked the reaction, “oh you are a sick little thing, aren’t you? You’re fiery but you melt the minute I find another button to push.” His hot breath was moving down your neck, until he licked one of your soft spots slowly, “Now would you rather just be full of cum or something a bit more substantial? I’m a generous god, after all, so I’ll let you choose. You can speak just to tell me which one.”

Swallowing as you started to pant and his tendril inside you began to curl more aggressively, “P-please, something more. B-breed me, your lordship…”

“oh-ho, now there’s an idea,” he purred and you felt his teeth ghosting their points over your skin, “I think I will. You definitely would have to shut up if you had a belly full of my child. Alright. Go to your room, and we’ll get started.”

He pulled you off him, a groan of disappointment coming from both of you as he popped free from your body, and you wobbled off to your bedroom, nethers too sensitive to walk normally.

[bejeweled-wahlberg]

Random ass fact that no one should fucking care about

Tw: Mentions of miscarriage and divorce

Donnie and Delilah met when they were either 15 or 14 in 1985 but didn’t started daiting and getting married until 2009(Btw KOTNB and My fan fic It happend in 1989 are NOT in the same universe just a reminder) anyways around 1989 Delilah started daiting Jordan in which It made Donnie Jealous, but Donnie at that time was also daiting Edalyn (Now Jordan’s Wife) but he still didn’t have feelings for Edalyn cause he still had feelings with delilah but delilah was too busy with her relationship with Jordan but in 1992 of October delilah got pregnant with Jordan’s Baby but in November 24th While she was still helping with queen for the freddie Mercury tribute delilah had a miscarriage with her unborn baby that she was having with Jordan, the reason? She fell while giving the equipment to the Queen members and the only one who knew that she was having a miscarriage was Roger and he called the hospital and helped delilah and when Delilah told Jordan that she lost the baby they broke up and Jordan was already having an Affair with his Then Girlfriend and Now Ex-Wife Evelyn and that same day Donnie founded out that Edalyn(his then fiancéhaving an Affair with Joey (Mcintyre) and they broke off their engagement right afrer

Now it’s 2009

Donnie still had feelings for delilah while he was still married to his Ex-wife at the time and Delilah going through a divorce with Her Ex-Husband and former member of Nsync Chris Kirkpatrick and went through another miscarriage delilah Was all alone now once again until that’s when on August 18th Sunsets death was shown on the news and that’s when Delilah got a call from Donnie saying he needs help raising Michael and sunsets Kids his Ex wife couldn’t help him and decided to divorce him in which Delilah was already at Donnie’s house and saw No Xavier No Elijah and No Kim it was just 3 year old Summer, 1 and a half year old Michaela and new born Henry hart (formerly Royal Michael Jackson) delilah said to Donnie that she still had feelings for Donnie and Donnie revealed that he did too and delilah said that she will definitely help him raise Michael and Sunsets kids in which now Delilah and Donnie isn’t Aunt Delilah and Uncle Donnie anymore they’re now Mom and Dad

In December of 2009 Right after Donnie’s divorce Delilah and Donnie Got married on December 31st 2009 in which 3 year old summer was the flower girl with 1 year old Michaela and 4 month old Henry Hart

So I guess that’s the timeline of Donnie and Delilah?!

Now here’s some songs that relates to their history of their relationship and might aswell make a fucking playlist for y’all Donlilah Shippers :3

1985: first met: song: Are You Down

1989:Daiting: Delilah starts daiting jordan and Donnie starts daiting Edalyn: Song: This Love-Stolen Version and Tim McGraw

1992: Lost and Cheated: Delilah’s Miscarriage and Donnie And Edalyn’s Called Off Engagement: Bigger than the Whole Sky and Better than Revenge-Stolen Version

2009: Reunion: 2 in the Morning

December 2009: Wedding: This Love Taylor’s Version and You are in love Taylor’s Version

2024: Wedding anniversary: A Love Like this Bridge and don’t embarrass me motherfucker

Welp that’s it hope you enjoy this monstrosity now next week get ready for the 3 birthday bash :3

[silverryu25]

Absolute Randomness Day 5 + Pornstar AU ^^

Dang this was a chalenging combo! XD And not cause I couldn't think of something, it's just that everything that came to mind would need so much worldbuilding I would be writing a multi-chapter fic XD

But no! 500 words or less! I already messed up yesterday so today it's gonna be short!! XP

DAY 5 - Absolute Randomness: Sci-fi (With you i have the whole universe in my hands) + Pornstar AU

------------

Red sat in a chair that could barely fit his bulk. It creaked and bent when he moved, the sound heard despite the loud, almost obnoxiously so, music. But he didn't care, he wasn't here for the comfort or atmosphere.

No, he was here to see a star.

Just as his patience slowly started to falter, frown deepening with every second he had to sit in this horrendously tacky pink room, the lights dimmed. His browbone perked up, attention getting dragged to the curtains on the opposite side of the chair he was seated in.

The music went from the generic elevator sounding crap to something more... intense, yet still calm and deep. It reminded him of the deep space he traveled while on duty. The vastness and mystery of the eternity stretching in all directions, that both terrified and thrilled him.

This time though, there was only the thrill.

Red smirked as he focused on the curtains as they opened, the darkness beyond them obscuring the one he was waiting for. The one he knew he had to have the moment he laid his eyes on them in the main hall. The one that drew his gaze like a lit beacon in a stormy night.

Starlight.

He knew it was a stage name, but it didn't matter. He'd find out their real name eventually, for now all he wanted was to enjoy this opportunity.

Finally, mercifully, the curtains opened and the object of Red's newfound obsession glided in. Their gait was light, almost airy, as of they weighted nothing. Red could almost believe it as his his eyelights focused on the delicate, almost brittle, looking bones. The flashy blue clothes (if you could call them that) barely covered the skeleton monsters bones. They were pristine, no marks or cracks on them, but Red could feel his magic bristle at how thin they looked.

He knew workers in the porn industry did better when they kept their bodies in trend to the latest fashion fads, but he was already promising he would make sure this gorgeous monster got some meat on his bones... figuratively speaking. But their body, as captivating as it was, wasn't what drew him here.

No. It were their eyelights.

Two white pearls, burning as brightly as the brightest stars Red saw during his travels. He could feel himself being dragged into the shine of those stars, feeling as if they could see right through him and directly into his soul. He could feel his own eyelights flare with his magic in response, and he could see the other's whites flash back with a soft blue glow, too soft to be completely certain in this dimmed room, but somehow he was certain it was there.

For now, he was just going to enjoy the show as he waits for an opportunity to make his move and slip Starlight a little something that would ultimately bring him into Red's arms. Red was determined to make this star his own because he knew they would complete his biggest wish.

Because with them by his side he would have the whole universe in his hands.

------------

525 words... so close! DX

Welp... this was supposed to be smut only but somehow the plot wormed its way in there... again... *shakes angry fist at the plot bunny* >:/

For anyone confused, Starlight is Sans' stripper stage name. Red saw him pole dancing in the main area of the club and fell for him hard. So he paid to have Sans do a private show for him. He isn't really supposed to touch or talk to the dancer (why you ask? plot reasons UwU) but he is planning on using a high-tech tracker on Sans so he can find him later... now you'd think that's creepy, but Sans isn't doing this 100% voluntarily and Red knows it (they are on this planet for a reason~)... but that plot is waaaaaaay too long for a drabble so.... just use your imagination >;P

[wrrrenff]

Fireworks

Super Mario Bros. Universe Luigi x GN! reader Synopsis: The Mario brothers are back in town after 6 years throwing a New Years Eve party. Your old crush Luigi will be there. Will he remember you? Warnings: Brief mentions of bullying.

It’s New Year's Eve already. Welp, another year wasted. Still stuck at your dead-end job, no relationships, a few close friends but we didn’t do much this year. You can’t be too surprised though. The past few years have been pretty much the same. And the perfect end to such a boring year, you’ll count down on your couch with your cat and a beer. Yippee…

*buzz* *buzz*

You look towards you phone that’s plugged in on your nightstand. Hmm, wonder who that could be. You go to your phone and unlock it to see a text from your friend Pauline.

Pauline: superstar wyd tonight?

You: absolute dog shit. U?

Pauline: yay! the mario bros are back in town and they decided to throw a nye party and YOU are coming with me :)

A party, huh? Not typically your scene but it would be nice to end the year with a bang. And you liked the Mario bros. You didn’t know Mario too well but you were super close friends with Luigi in your school days. You guys were best friends until the brothers moved ‘out of town’. Nobody really knows where they moved but hey, as long as they’re happy. As long as he’s happy. You missed the younger twin so much. It would be nice to see them him again.

You: ok yeah that sounds fun

Pauline: i knew you’d be down. be ready at 10 ok?

You looked at the clock. You had about 2 and a half hours until the party. Better start getting ready. I mean, you want to look good for this reunion, right? You go to your closet and scour through your dresses and jumpers until you land on the PERFECT piece! Now that that decision has been made, you lay your choice out on the bed and go take a shower. As you stand there, the hot water raining down, shaving your legs, you start to think back on your memories with the younger twin. 

You met when some kids were bullying him at recess in the 2nd grade. He was curled up under the slide crying while these two 3rd graders made fun of his overalls. I stepped in front of the boy and kicked one of those third graders right in the gut. Totally worth it. From there it was history. As the years went on you and luigi had grown so close. In middle school you developed a crush on him but it was clear he never felt the same way. Any time you flirted with him he just never seemed interested. So you pushed your feelings aside. You were content staying friends. A part of you never let go of those feelings though. 

The razor nicked your leg, snapping you out of your thoughts. Now was not the time to think about your crush. Besides, he’s probably got a beautiful partner now. There’s no way someone hasn’t snatched him but in the past 6 years. Anyways, you finish up shaving, washing, and hop out of the shower. You dry off, blow-dry and style your hair and then sit down to do your makeup. You debated between full glamor and something nice and subtle, ultimately deciding to go with the latter. Sitting in front of your vanity, it finally hits you. You're actually going to see Luigi after so long. You want somebody to pinch you! You wonder if Pauline told him you’re coming or if he’s going to be totally blindsided. Would he even be excited to see you after so long? You hoped yes but to be honest, you don’t know. It’s been so long and he might have changed. He could have completely forgotten about you. God, you hoped that wasn’t true. In fact, you’re just going to tell yourself that he hadn’t forgotten or else you’d spiral and you’re in far too deep at this point to back out.

You finish your makeup and slip into your garment. After putting on your shoes, you take one final look at yourself all put together. Not bad. If you saw yourself from across the room you would absolutely go up to yourself and hit on you. Perfect. You check the clock and you’re about 3 minutes ahead of when Pauline said she’d be here. You decided you would go ahead and wait outside for her. Just as you lock your door you hear a whistle followed by the voice of your friend.

“DAMN BABE YOU CLEAN UP NICE” Oh Pauline. Thank you for giving my neighbors a reason to hate me. You quickly run to her car before she has any more chances to disturb the neighborhood. “Hey hot stuff. Are you trying to get laid tonight or what?” Your face turns a deep red color and Pauline’s face lights up. “You still have the hots for the plumber boy don’t you!” You roll your eyes already regretting accepting the invite for tonight. “Can you just drive please?!” “Fine, fine. I bet he’s gonna explode as soon as he gets a piece of you.” You decided not to acknowledge her and try to control your mind on the ride to the party.

Music starts pumping into your ears as you walk up to the house. This is it. Your old best friend is right inside. You’ve got this. You both enter the house and get a little overwhelmed at just how packed it is. But that didn’t matter because you immediately spotted green. Pauline followed your eyeline and smirked. “I’ll meet up with you later” she says and then disappears into the crowd. After waving her off you notice the elder twin dressed in a classy red suit with his arm wrapped around this gorgeous tall blonde dressed in pink. Good for him, you thought.  You then speed over to the younger twin and just before you reach him you run into some random dude and get knocked onto the ground.

“Oh! Miss, are you okay? Let me help you-” You look up and lock eyes with Luigi. He recognized you instantly and for a moment it was like time stilled and your two were the only people in the room. No, the only people on earth. You take his outstretched hand and he lifts you back on your feet. “Hey.” You take what feels like years to respond. “Hi Weegee. It’s been so long” He smiles wide at the old nickname you called him. Quickly, he wraps you up in a tight cozy hug which you are just as quick to reciprocate. “I’ve missed you so much mi amore” You were so excited to see Luigi you almost didn’t catch the name he gave you. Almost. 

After getting over the shock of seeing each other, Luigi finally takes a good look at you. “You look absolutely bellissima!” You turned red at the compliment. First the nickname and now the complement? You don’t remember Luigi ever being so forward before. Not that you were complaining. “Thank you Weegee. You look pretty handsome yourself.” He was wearing an elegant emerald green suit with a tie embroidered with green mushrooms. He looked jaw droppingly gorgeous. “So where did you and Mario end up moving all those years ago? I would’ve visited you guys if I knew where you were all these years!” At this Luigi’s face contorted to a mix of embarrassment and guilt. “Maybe we should go outside to talk '' He leads you both to the backyard where there's virtually nobody and it’s much quieter. You both sit down on a bench that faces a bird bath. “I’m so sorry I never told you we were leaving or where we went. It’s actually pretty confusing to me even to this day how it all happened. You might not even believe me.” You look at him kind of confused for a moment before smiling. “I’m sure I can understand. Try me.” You nudge his arm with your elbow. Luigi takes a deep breath and explains how he and Mario fell through this thing called a ‘warp pipe’ and landed in this place called the ‘Mushroom Kingdom’. He said for a long time they couldn’t find a way back to New York but eventually the princess of the mushroom kingdom helped them find a way to travel between the kingdom and earth. He even explained that the very princess that had helped them get home was the woman you had seen with Mario earlier.

You feel like your whole world got turned upside down. Luigi didn’t just leave you. He had no choice in the matter. But he sounded happy about living in this new kingdom. Would he just leave again forever after tonight? And don’t even get you started thinking about the fact that there's just a bunch of pipes that can send you to other worldly places!! Lost in thought, you jump when you feel Luigi’s hand on your shoulder. “Are you alright mi amore?” You take another quick moment to process everything before responding. “Luigi, it does all sound insane but I do believe you. I missed you so much. Are you planning on staying in New York now that you’ve found a pipe that connects? I need my best friend back.” Luigi looks sad. There’s something else in his expression that you can’t quite place. “The mushroom kingdom is my home now. I will come back here more often but I can’t just abandon what I’ve built there.” He pauses, takes a deep breath, and grabs your hands. “I want to go back to the mushroom kingdom but I can’t without telling you how much you mean to me. I should have done it years ago before we fell into that stupid warp pipe.”

“Luigi…” You were breathless. Was this real? Was he actually saying what you think he is saying? Your eyes start to get a little watery thinking about how you’ve been waiting for this moment for years. Luigi fully faces you and puts one hand on your cheek, his thumbs wiping away the few tears that formed. “Ever since we met I have been head over heels in love with you. Not a moment passed where I wasn’t thinking about you. Not a moment I didn’t want to hold you or kiss you. You have always been my comfort and my home. You made the hard days easier. You still do. When things get hard in the mushroom kingdom I always think of you and how amazing you are. How you’d cheer me on when things got tough.” He suddenly got very shy and started rubbing his neck. “Do you feel the same principessa?”

You were overwhelmed with love. All of the feelings you’ve been fostering for years are coming to the surface. You can’t be sure this was real. You tried to remember back to your school days, scanning the memories and finally realizing those moments where you thought Luigi was just being nice, he was flirting with you. It was all falling into place for you. You were just too caught up in your feelings for him that you didn’t realize that he did in fact like you too and he wasn’t blowing you off. “Of course I feel the same, Weegee! I just never said anything because I thought you didn’t feel the same.” At that Luigi sprung forward bringing you into a tight embrace, lifting you off the bench and spun you around the backyard. You both were so giddy with love and could not stop the giggles that sprung out. 

As your giggles died down, Luigi slowly brought you both to a stop, letting you back down on the ground. You just stare at each other, drinking each other in. You noticed his mustache and curly hair have a few grays in them. His eyes were so round and full of life. Little freckles were sprinkled across his cheeks and nose. At this moment you were sure there was no one you’d rather be with ever. “Take me with you.” You blurt out, surprising both of you. “What are you saying mia amata?” You grab hold of Luigi’s arms and lock eyes with him. “Take me with you back to the mushroom kingdom. I want to be with you. I don’t want to keep you from your home but I can’t be here if you’re not. Let's start a life together.” Now it’s Luigi’s turn to start tearing up. He can’t get any words out so he just shakes his head aggressively. 

“I love you so much Weegee.” Luigi tucks a strand of hair behind your ear. “I love you too mi amore” Luigi looks at your lips for a brief moment. You close your eyes and lean in until you feel Luigi meet your lips. The kiss was passionate, filled with more than a decade of what each of you thought was unrequited love. He tasted like basil. It was delicious. Suddenly fireworks started going off in the night sky, startling both of you and breaking up the kiss. You chuckle. “It must be midnight. Happy New Year Weegee.” Luigi leans down and gives you a sweet but quick peck in the lips. “Happy New Year vita mia.”

[am-i-sans]

dnd adventures 32

once more we discovered the power of the soundboard. raz is gonna be late so no undyne for now! INFERNO IS BACK lol. suzy tackles him covered in mud lol. cam just waves lol. mud fight!

annika looks up and waves too lol. 'who the fuck is this nerd?' suzy shoves mud in his face again. cam is avoiding the fight to stay clean lol. inferno's cat jumps on him and inferno shoves it into the mud what a prick. it just meows at him then walks away.

dans feeds the cat and now it loves him <3 cam says its infernos familiar probably. he grumbles he doesnt want it. 'get familiar'd idiot.' frog pets the cat and demands inferno for the name. suzy shoves him demanding a name. cam feeds the cat and it purrs at them too.

vani tries to befriend the cat! they bap each other gently awww. dans and cam are talking about frogs future. the cat gets tired and curls up in frogs lap and goes to sleep. vani lays his head by frogs feet. dans asks frog if they thought of a name. cam offers dess some of their food then went eeby deeby.

we finish dinner and go to sleep. dans makes breakfast! undyne had the map so...uhh were fucked. frog named the cat shadow-fang. dans informs everyone undyne had the map and he doesnt know where to go. tori says she has a spell that can let us know the area for 3 miles. frog speaks up and reminds tori she can talk to trees! 'your the lorax.' thanks inferno. 'i wrote the lorax.' thanks dans.

it says theres a cave system 20 miles that-away. thats a days walk. annika just starts walking lol. dans takes down the camp after calling her back lol. tori asks if there are any threats in the area. group of bullywugs that think their the rulers of these lands.

annika once more walks off lol. dans has to remind her that dans is like half in the mud he needs to catch up. inferno is being mean to his cat asshole. we hear loud croaking, but frog has been doing it but now its loud af. frog people appear!

frog jumps into tori's arms. tori uses comprehend languages. one of them points a spear at us and tells us were coming with them. tori stands her ground and tries to hide the kids. of course she readies flameblade.

dans casts frostbite and it hits. it drops dead instantly. all the other frogs start screaming. annika firebolts but misses. inferno also misses lol. dess casts snowballs but only hits 1 of them and it drops dead. the rest run tf away! weaklings lol. 'welp that happaned. everyone ok?' suzy says it was hilarious lol. annika looks shaken so dans pats her on the back and tells her to take a second.

annika tries to claim shes fine but dans tells her to take a second anyway. 'your not used to this are you?' thanks tori. she is not xD she just graduated give her a break. dans says her professors should take them out in the field but she says they didnt learn for combat only for learning. dans calls thats odd. she says she wanted to use the magic to study. tori asks what was gonna be practical with it. she says it was for study! inferno calls her a nerd.

annika asks if we just leave the bodies there. 'what you wanna eat them or something?' thanks dess xD off we go! tori tells annika we dont go out to start fights, inferno is just a bastard. annika asks how we got together and dans says we got cursed by a god to fix a problem. 'you ever heard of Moss.' frog has to tell inferno moss is who we work for xD he tries to leave again, even tho undyne isnt here, since moss is now dans patron the curse works on him too lol. welcome back inferno. annika is so surprised!

dans informs annika of his cousin spingledorf ripping a hole in the universe. the frog people show up! were following them this time for whatever reason. UNDYNE IS BACK FROM EEBY DEEBY! she lands in the middie of everyone and soupnik reappears. the frogs are screaming again. 'oh hey undyne welcome back!' undyne is readying for combat lol. dans tells undyne their pathetic weaklings he could even kick over and were just seeing whats happening. also telling undyne inferno is here lol. undyne punches inferno in the face when he threatens fireball. soupnik follows us in the air.

we remind undyne she had the map lol. tori says we should make extra maps lol. the frogs calm down when soupnik doesnt kill them and lead us away. undyne dragging inferno by his hair lol. dans sends a prayer to moss asking if they can kill inferno. undyne says its a maybe since moss doesnt answer xD

we arrive at a little town, not well built. welcome to florida. we come to the center its like a throne made from rotten wood. theres a bigger frog with a necklace on the throne. tori's spell still works. the queen frog greets us and wants our treasures and magical artifacts. yeah no. dans asks why they want that stuff and she says they need status symbols to outdo the other tribe. undyne asks if thats all they wanted. undyne calls for soupnik cause yeah were just gonna go. the frogs begin screaming again. the queen starts bitching so dans shoots the crown off the queen. dans tells the queen he couldve killed her as undyne flips her off. undyne tosses them some junk chainmail as we leave.

on our way to the cave! we discuss swamp shit and undyne realizes tori and frog dont wear shoes xD we made it yay! its a cave so undyne yeets inferno inside. suzy also runs in lol. the rest of us follow. dans gives tori a glowing rock in case they get seperated.

annika says to explore in groups. undyne grabs inferno lol. tori takes suzy. dans and dess go with undyne and annika is stuck with tori. undynes team is going left. we all have shit passive perception xD a spiderweb misses inferno from above! dans looks up and sees a giant spider. dans gets a quick eldrich blast on it. it falls off the ceiling so undyne swipes at it. dans keeps examining the ceiling looking for more spiders. inferno sees a tiny spider and steps on it.

team tori! just walking along to the right. annika looks excited to be here lol. they continue down the corridor. tori hears someone called lukas calling for someone named nella behind her. she whips around to look. she doesnt see anything and steps toward the noise goddamn. no one else heard anything.

team undyne gets to the end of the tunnel and theres more spiders! and eggs! dans says to smash the eggs. we force inferno to set them on fire lol. good job. we turn around to catch up with the other group.

cutting back to tori. suzy turns around and runs off! tori tries to follow suzy. annika keeps going oh no. we catch up to suzy! undyne grabs her as she tries to run past. she said she heard her pack :( undyne says they definitely arent here or would probably be alive. dans says we didnt hear any wolves at all. she looks sad oh no! undyne says were just gonna keep going all we found was spiders we burnt. dans says spiders dont get that big without eating people, then asks where annika went. gotta go find her lol.

undyne just keeps carrying inferno and suzy while she rushes a head. the rest of us keep walking ahead way behind undyne. dess sees the shadows around the cave get deeper and darker yet darker. inferno hears a girls voice calling for 'ellie' and asking him to come play! tori hears teya calling for her to come inside ;-; dans hears a very quiet 'dad?' wtf moss leave him alone.

inferno goes limp for a second then shakes it off. "nono fuck no." (undyne doesnt notice or care lol) the sound is coming ahead. hes fighting against undyne he does NOT wanna go there. 'fuck this we gotta go.' undyne says shes gonna kick him if he keeps fighting. he stops but he looks uncomfortable.

dans is frozen in place and biting his lip hard enough to bleed. (if he was sans here his eyes would be blacked)

dess looks at the growing shadows but doesnt react otherwise.

tori walks back calling out for teya "your back?"

frog also turned back but instead tries to get tori's attention. 'somethings happening.' no shit tori.

undyne sees a doppleganger! another undyne. our undyne stops and is like wtf. suzy and inferno dont see it. she puts down suzy and grabs her sword. suzy is like wtf cause she doesnt see anything. undyne is like 'you dont see me?' they tell her theres nothing there. she throws undyne at the copy and he just goes right through it lol.

other undyne speaks up 'why did you do it?' 'uh what?' 'whyd you kill all those people?' undynes just confused shes killed a lot of evil people. shes thinking hard. the doppleganger is so pissed lol. 'undyne who the fuck your talking to?' 'the weird illusion is asking why i kill people, weird.' the 3 are arguing now and ignoring the doppleganger lol. she fuckin leaves! 'oh cool she left. that was dumb.'

annika comes around the corner 'did you guys hear a cat?' undyne points out infernos cat. 'i thought i saw MY cat.' undyne says the cave is making illusions and shit. then she realizes the others are probably experiencing this shit too. undyne looks at her hands and sees blood oh no. welp she doesnt like this. shes not gonna look at it nope. heading back to the others. she forgets to drag inferno lol. suzy grabs inferno and says they should go lol.

tori tells frog to stay back as she heads toward the voice. dans manages to speak and says tori shouldnt go that way, she knows that teya is gone. she ignores him too dammit. off she goes. teya is still calling for tori. tori notices a little opening she didnt notice before and uses detect magic. nothing. teya is still calling. 'mum made pie!' welp. dans is going to try and find tori. frog and dess follow too.

meanwhile suzy and inferno are bullying undyne lol.

tori sees her old house. kids playing. older teya? tori finally clicks this is wrong. 'your not real.' 'w-what do you mean im not real?' 'you died a long time ago.' teya's ear falls off. tori tries to get out the opening. shes out yay! we see tori stumble but we cant see the opening she just got appeared. shes crying oh no! dans gently places a hand on her head. she tries to compose herself, shocked. undyne finally arrives!

she tries to tell us how fucked the cave is. 'were well aware.' frog hugs tori. undyne sees dans is bleeding. he says the pain keeps him grounded. undyne tries badly to comfort tori lol. frog shakes her head at undyne. dans asks where suzy is. 'aw fuck.' that snaps tori out of it. 'you left the 3 of them alone?!' 'i uh got turned around.' we gotta go get them lol. undyne reminds tori its not real. frog asks if undyne is ok and undynes like yeah. (shes not.)

see ya next time for the horrors!

[thegirlwiththestrangereality]

I went on a rather interesting journey this weekend. My weekend was relatively boring. More boring than I like it to be. But I feel as though I am in this lull of life at the moment. Normally when the lull hits I like to create chaos, to really spice it up - and yet, I don't want to do that. I'd be lying if I said the thought didn't cross my mind, but I don't want to embark on that anymore.

So, my weekend was boring. No one to call, no one to hang out with, just me, my thoughts, my art, my books, and myself. When my weekend got REALLY boring, I decided to make a cake. Mid-cake making my power went out. So that meant no mixer and worse than that no oven. Thank god it went out before I put them in and not during. I don't think that can happen to me anymore - my world is a different vibration now. As I stewed on my power going out, my best friend Amanda told me to get quiet, because perhaps the quiet was exactly what I needed.

I sat in my chair, thinking what could the universe possibly need to tell me, and I began to imagine my next work of art. I envisioned a pair of lips, with fangs, dripping blood and the tongue touching the tooth. I envisioned hearts in the background but I wasn't sure what the BACKground was going to be, but either way, the quiet proved to be of some value.

Earlier that day I had talked to my papa about the scholarship I won to go to Washington D.C. to participate in Latino Advocacy Week at the end of March. He asked if Roman was going to go with me - I said no this was going to be a solo trip. He asked if he bought a ticket to go with me, if he could come. This was such a sweet offer; however, there was this sense of unease that existed between us, the same unease I've felt since I opened the portal that day on my edible. There always feels like there is something lurking in the shadow between us now, like he hurt me but I don't know when or how.

Fast forward to today, Saturday, the same unease was present when I smoked my joint. This joint was half THC and half CBD - a perfect blend of bliss. It allowed me to be physically high without suffering the consequences of floating off in the clouds. This feeling began to consume me as I started drawing the image that existed in my mind from my meditation.

I couldn't shake this feeling so I reached out to Amanda and asked if she was free to talk. After about 20ish minutes Amanda called me and I began to tell her about my fear. I told her that I was feeling this uneasiness and I wasn't sure why. I told her I kept thinking my papa had hurt me and she said he did - but many many lifetimes ago and he's spent all this time trying to fix it. I asked her to remind me that he couldn't hurt me anymore to which she said no, that could never happen again.

I have been caught up on the word special. Special felt like a backhanded compliment, almost like if I weren't special I would never have been hurt. Perhaps if I lived in the shadows no one would ever see me, thus preventing anyone from hurting me again. Oddly enough, I am afraid of the dark. I don't like when the lights go out suddenly. Anytime it is dark I feel this rush to action, to break out of the dark, turn all the lights on and scream so someone knows I am there. Amanda and I talked about the dark for a brief moment and she said cupcake, i love you but i have to go to home depot. but continue to explore this. and she hung up.

I wasn't sure what that meant, other than welp, here I am twiddling my thumbs. lol

I began thinking of my sister's old soccer coach. He was a strange man - I always knew it, I even told my mom one day he must have some weird fetishes. I was right. This soccer coach was a sports better and had an entire company dedicated to the practice. He would get investments from people & have individuals make bets on his behalf. If they won their bet, excellent. If they lost their bet, they would double or nothing the bet about 5 times before it would go to a team captain who would attempt to fix it before it went to the big bosses. There was never anything to lose here, because 1) it wasn't our money and 2) no matter if we won or lost, we got paid.

He got all the soccer moms to join and won them over with his high vocabulary and deep pockets of money. This con-artist and pedophile was no joke. Despite his offhanded comments to the girls every now and again, no one said anything to him, out of fear of losing their money. And yet, everyone knew there was something off about him. And this is when I understood the power of greed. I began feeling guilt in my heart for letting it happen because I was distracted by money. Then she came to me.

My great grandmother Alice came to me and started speaking to me. I couldn't see her like I would a human being in front of me, but I could make out her facial expressions, as well as some scenes she was trying to explain.

She began by telling me that she was too prideful and greedy at the time to ask for help, so she ignored the red flags of the pedophile. I began to realize along the many lifetimes, I have been the molested and the enabler of the molester. I know this sounds strange to the ears of those who are unfamiliar with the concept of multiple lifetimes, then this isn't for you.

She continued sharing with me that she was going through an incredibly difficult time in her life. She didn't go into detail other than the fact, they were poor growing up and all she wanted was to belong. She looked defeated.

She held the belief the secret to happiness was material things. When a man came along with money, he promised her the world and she believed him. But this was at the cost of her daughters. She thought money was loved and ignored the red flags. This is where my nana learned to value money and things. She married someone who would always provide. This ultimately created her obsession with things because her mom taught her that is all men are good for.

This man gave my great grandmother a home with a second bedroom, and he molested my nana. My nana went to her mom and she got mad at her and called her a liar. Her mom turned her back because she didn't want to give up all she had accumulated. This would make her appear a failure to her sisters and to her parents because her mom had warned her about him. Little did she know, this man would leave her after a while, and she would end up with broken daughters, no money, and a broken heart. My nana carried the belief in her life that mom's don't believe their daughters, which is why my nana did not believe my mom.

My nana was molested again by her uncle; but this time, my great grandmother knew of it and had a gang of men beat up her brother for hurting her daughter. My nana didn't tell her mom, but she knew, and she did was she could to make it stop. It did.

My great grandmother explained she had a very hard life and that her soul won't be at rest until my nana passes away and then she can make it right with her. But I can help her transition.

Our line of women had learned to sit in our masculine so the men couldn't hurt us. If we were a giant flame, they would respect us. And by respect us, I mean fear us. We started attracting feminine men because they weren't capable of hurting us. We were too big for them to hurt us physically, but this did leave us open for betrayal because the masculine was weak, and did not have a backbone.

I am unable to fully help my nana yet because I have not tamed the "small" fear within me. The small fear who is afraid of the dark and afraid of men hurting her. The small fear who sits in a corner and cries while the abuse is happening rather than standing up and fighting. This is the other side of the same coin, but a shared core nonetheless.

In order to help humanity I must know the self. And not just this self, but the many selves that have existed before this lifetime. I must understand why people get so lost in the matrix so I can remember to stay out of it.

She let me know I can come to them for happy stories too - that they don't have to be hard work all the time. I can be happy with them as well. She told me I was a brave soul to do this work and that she would be here for me whenever I needed to call on her.

This conversation in my mind took place while I was drawing. I am beginning to understand my art is connected to the spirit realm and I was able to tap into her at this capacity because I got quiet about the art spirit wanted me to draw. The pattern is as follows: it begins with fear, I must ground myself, then I can explore.

This story wasn't one I would feel comfortable sharing with everyone in my life, because it doesn't make sense unless it makes sense and I am ultimately asking some of the people I love to unpack their trauma. That is the equivalent of drugging someone and asking them to embark on the dark night of the soul without their consent.

This information was incredibly helpful and showed me all that I am capable of doing. I am unsure when this will come into play but I do know spirit and I are on the same page.

[mindtrove]

Cruel Mind, Patient Heart

Omg wow I went to my AO3 and the last time I wrote anything was 2017. Granted I was in Uni at the time and had way too much time on my hands lol

Welp Finished the first draft of a 3-parter (maybe more I'll see how I feel)

I should do a little profile info for Moro(BG3). Her life is a lolt more different in this universe. A lot more pain, but that's where are big bear Halsin comes in for some good ol healing.

I'll come up with a summary eventually. Also got a little bonus chapter that's literally just showcasing how AWFUL her dad is but that's got all sorts of upsetting material so thats a topic for another day.

Is this chapter shit? Yeah kind of, but It's fun writing stuff again. And at the end of the day that's what it's all about so while I do care to get better I'm not gonna let it stop me from getting my ideas out of my head. Let's hope the more I do this the better it gets. This is definitely getting a re-write before going up on AO3 but there's no reason to just pop it on here under the cut of course cus yeah

Moro had promised Lae’zel they would seek out the Creche, and she always stayed true to her word. She also, quite frankly, had zero interest in seeing the Underdark.

Besides, journeying through the Underdark would have deprived her of the wondrous views of the Mountain Pass.

“It’s beautiful,” Moro gasped as they reached the highest point of the summit, where the ruins of what appeared to be a temple or monastery lay in the distance among endless valleys, clouds, and the setting sun.

“Have you never journeyed beyond your Circle?” Wyll inquired.

“I spent a couple of decades in Calimport—that was the furthest I had ever been from home until now. I’ve never gone beyond Calimshan’s borders.”

“One should always take every opportunity to try and see the world. I can’t believe you’ve never considered traveling!”

“I am now, aren’t I?”

“And all it took was getting kidnapped by mind flayers.” Wyll’s jest was met with a gentle smack on the shoulder.

As night neared, it was agreed they would make camp and start fresh toward the Creche in the morning. The evening's meal was simple but filling, and everyone was in good spirits, still riding high from their success in overcoming the goblins and the previous festivities.

A single bottle of wine remained, being shared among the group as they all sat by the fire. Gale was the last to join as he settles between Moro and Karlach.

“So, what did I miss?”

“Well,” Wyll began, pouring a cup for Gale and handing it over, “we have just recently discovered that our ever-stoic leader is a Calishite.” Moro rolled her eyes, her cup long since dried.

“Wasn’t it obvious?” Gale chuckled. “If her sense of fashion wasn’t enough, her spitting three times when that devil showed up was the dead giveaway!”

Wyll winced with good humor at the memory.

“He hid it well, but he really didn’t like that.”

"It was a bit impolite, superstitions aside."

The conversation flowed to other subjects, much to Moro’s pleasure. She told them about her Circle and the Forest of Mir where they resided, piecing together for them how and why the Shadow Druids knew of her back in the Emerald Grove. She offered only enough to sate their curious minds and maintain the lighthearted mood of the camp.

“Now…” Moro set down her cup, “I think I will call it a night soon. But I believe you promised me paper and quill, Dekarious.”

Gale nodded, retrieving the promised items. Moro bid her goodbyes for the evening, making eye contact with their new druid companion.

~~~~

Halsin had remained a wallflower for the night, choosing not to engage too heavily in the festivities. His heart was warmed by the happy faces around him, grateful that the Grove was now safe for good. But he could not help but dwell on what lied ahead.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the squealing of the children, the lone adult among them an elven woman. Long, tamed brown waves framed her richly embroidered casual robe. When he saw the unmistakable scar across her left cheek, he realized who it was and was taken aback.

Moro was ushering the children away; it was long past their bedtime, though they were eager to prolong it. Even back at the Grove, he had noticed how attached the children were to her. It was astonishing to see the woman who had cleaved her way through dozens of goblins with steely focus and no shred of compassion transform within seconds in the company of children.

She became a completely different person: she had patience for their every question, all the time in the world for every game, and arms ready to embrace every injury or squabble. It seemed to come naturally to her.

When the children finally relented and departed, Moro’s eyes met his. Her gaze never left his as she seemed to debate with herself, till she finally made her way towards him with laser focus.

“Halsin,” she greeted with a strained smile, then gave up and returned to a more neutral, tight-lipped grimace.

“Moro," He returned the greeting. "Are you enjoying yourself? You should try enjoy the drinks before they all but dissapear."

“I haven’t had anything to drink yet… I figured this would sound less sincere otherwise.”

Halsin perked up in curiosity, noting how she seemed to want to be anywhere but here before him.

“I shouldn’t have spoken ill of your leadership of the Grove.”

Halsin watched as Moro painstakingly tried to string her words together, refusing to look him in the eye as a small blush crept onto her cheeks. He remembered all too well. During the entire operation to rescue him from the goblins she had curt, lacking any interest in him. Her companions had told him not to worry, but after the confrontation with Kagha she had a lot to say. Halsin couldn't remember the last time he had be ripped into so harshly with so few words.

Bemused, Halsin leaned back against a tree. It was interesting to see her in this light—endearing, even. The usually stoic woman who commanded this strange band of individuals with an iron fist was suddenly more demure, shy—a humble, fallible creature like anyone else. Just like him, he decided he might as well make the most of the moment.

“Are you trying to apologise?”

Moro muttered and cursed under her breath. He didn’t recognize the language but sensed her exasperation, he didn't need to understand her to know she was growing more and more agitated at his teasing.

“I take it it’s not something you do often?” Halsin joked.

Moro threw her hands up, waving him off and attempting to depart. But Halsin was quick, laughing as he gently caught her hand and pulled her back toward him.

Moro closed her eyes, took a long breath, and looked up into Halsin’s eyes.

“I’m sorry. It was not my place.”

"But you do think I'm a bad leader?"

"I just think you could improve disciplining trouble-makers." But that doesn't matter, I'm sorry eitherway."

“Well, while your skills in that department could use some work, I appreciate the apology. You are forgiven.”

They stood there, realising they had held hands far longer than was appropriate. Halsin cleared his throat, less flustered by the act than Moro appeared to be, as she immediately snatched back her hand. 

“Why don’t we start again?” He suggested to distract from the awkward silence, “I am Halsin of the Emerald Grove.” His voice lowered, a hand to his heart. “And thank you, for saving me from lunatic cultists.”

“Moro of the Darthiir Wood.”

~~~~

Halsin had been nothing but pleasant since they wiped the slate clean and started anew. He was ever the gentleman, a helping hand on difficult terrain, always there just when she was just shy of lifting something heavy to puck it from her hands, and giving a gentle reminder whenever Gale had brewed a fresh pot of tea.

It irritated her to no end. Moro was keen to expect the worst from people, men in particular. But no matter how much she scolded him for his chivalry, he never ceased, and eventually, she opted to let it be, though she remained guarded.

Most had retired to their tents for the night. Moro remained just outside her tent, propped against a pillow with her legs to her side as she put pen to paper on her little writing table.

She had gone long enough without sending word to her people. They would worry, but they would be fine. And so she spent the rest of her evening penning her current perdicament. Gave instructions for when she would return, if she was to return at all.

“You seem troubled.”

Moro looked up to find Halsin standing over her, a fresh cup of tea in hand—a bargaining chip to join her company. Moro grabbed a floor cushion and placed it before her, inviting Halsin to sit. She thanked him for the tea, watching the leaves as they swirled.

“Finding the right words can be difficult.”

“Commands and instructions for your circle? That can’t be too hard.”

Moro laughed, pointing at an enclosed letter with her quill. “That letter was already done and ready to go,” she said before going silent and writing again. “This one is… much more personal… for my daughter.”

“You have a daughter?”

Moro’s face softened with a warmth Halsin hadn��t seen before. Pride, love, and a deep sense of purpose shone in her eyes.

“Yes, by the Oak Father’s blessing, soon she will replace me as Archdruid. As it should be. As it was meant to be.”

“So, how did a warrior with no finesse for druidic magic or otherwise end up leading a Circle?”

“How long have you been holding onto that question?” Moro grinned.

“A little while,” Halsin chuckled. “It’s not unheard of for Circles to be home to both druids and common folk. But to be in charge?”

Moro placed the quill down and leaned her elbow against the table, taking a warm sip from her tea. “You already seem familiar with the Shadow Druids in Alm, yes?”

“I am,” Halsin confirmed, “and you mentioned you were raised as one.”

“Yes. They wanted to expand beyond Alm. My father was sent as an emissary, and when the Archdruid of The Darthiir Wood in Calimshan refused to swear fealty, he killed him, The Shadow Druids appointed him as First Druid. It was the first successful expansion outside of Cloakwood.”

An uneasy silence fell. Moro continued to nurse her cup, unfazed, as she looked to Halsin, as if to ask if he wished her to continue.

“I had heard the Shadow Druids could be… ruthless…”

“That’s one of many ways to describe them.” Moro dug through her belongings and pulled out a long, slender smoking pipe. “This all happened long before I was born, mind you,” she said, filling the pipe. Halsin summoned a low, controlled flame to light it.

“Settlements from the city encroached on our territory, leading to constant skirmishes, battles, and death. This went on for my entire youth, relentless harsh training to be the perfect fighter. Making up for the disgrace of bearing no gifts from The Oak Father." The last part is said with a bitterness Halsin doesn't dare press more on.

"I think I was about twenty-six when all the druids had been wiped out.” A bitter smirk stretched across Moro’s face. “I sent word to Cloakwood for aid, but it was ignored. A handful of fighting-aged boys, women, and mostly children were left to fend for themselves. What value were we to Cloakwood if Silvanus did not even see fit to bless us with his favour?”

Halsin tried to hide his disgust at the thought that so many innocent lives had been left to die. When he looked at her he could the tell the events she relayed played in her head as she seemed somewhere else. He understood that burden. The doubt, and fear that came with such responsibility when you weren't ready. He wished he could reach out to Moro in understanding.

But Moro was a temperamental creature, he had come to learn. In the brief time they’d spent together, he noted that she was more than willing to comfort others, yet seldom welcomed it in return, keeping everyone at a respectful distance. He was all but certain such attempts to comfort would not be well met.

“They looked to you to lead them?”

“They had no choice; I had no choice. I wasn’t going to let them die. Cloakwood, my father, all the druids looked down on those men and women as ‘imperfect,’ unfavored by Silvanus. But, last I checked, it was the ‘unfavored’ who kept us fed, fixed our homes from the storms, and traded far to fill our larders.”

“Every soul is precious under the Oakfather, Moro.”

Moro looked poised to argue but, to Halsin’s surprise, she nodded in agreement.

“It took me a long time to believe that—separating my father’s doctrine from Silvanus’ true teachings. I was bitter for a very long time, but meditation and time healed many of those wounds between me and the Old Oak.”

Halsin looked at her thoughtfully, noting how matter-of-factly she summarized what had surely been years of pain and suffering. War and trauma wore a person down, and he could see that weariness in her. Beyond the obvious scars, like the one that marred her jaw or how calculated and swift she was in giving orders during battle, how rigid and calm she was in the face of casualties. She was a child of war and it showed.

Despite that it had created this austere outer shell, days in camp he would find her preening and caring for herself to an almost absurd degree. In the field she was covered from head to toe to protect her hair and skin, and while he did not strive or appreciate such conservative attire he couldn't help to notice the benefits of her labours.

Even now the scent of the rose water she bathed and soak her hair and body wiith permeated around her, the deep woody scents of her incense wafted from inside her tent. Her hands just barely held the calluses or roughness that should be expected in one proficient with a glaive. It made him curious of The Druids Circles to the south. Was this a particular quirk of Moro's or was this commitment to finery and comfort a quality of all?

“I’ve been awfully chatty this evening,” Moro exclaimed, narrowing her eyes at Halsin. “I’m not sure how I should feel about that.”

Halsin laughed heartily. “Nothing wrong with getting to know each other.” He stood and took the pipe from Moro’s hand. “Who knows, we might even become friends.”

Moro laughed soundlessly, as if the notion were absurd.

“I can balance things out tomorrow night with a few stories of my own,” Halsin offered, taking one last drag from her pipe before handing it back. “I’ll even bring some decent tobacco.”

That earned him a genuine laugh. He tried to ignore how it's deep notes stirred him.

"Are you trying to make this a routine?" Moro enquires, making her own way inside her tent.

"I would like to..." Halsin offers. "Would you?"

Moro looks the druid up and down, humming in contemplation.

"Only if you bring this Decent Tobacco of yours"

[yvesdeparfum]

yves - fromm log July 2024

translations from Litell_Johnn unless otherwise noted

071524

Yves:

After nail shop I went shopping at Muji and as I came out I met two Engdus in a row How did they recognize me I was squatting down on the street Took photos holding all the stuff I bought ㅋ But usually At places like Daiso or Muji I can be found often I'm an unofficial ambassador '🍎 I'm an unofficial eatbassador at 60 Chicken' Amazing You like chicken?

[6 minutes later]

When's my food cominggg Gonna eat with Buldak '🍎 I'm an unofficial ambassador at Juno Hair. Last year I went at least once a month and sometimes twice' Agh so funny I see everyone has at least one ambassador deal

[5 minutes later]

I'm a house ambassador also My endorphins activate when I get home

071824

Right I'm gong on Oneuniverse.ᐟ.ᐟ.ᐟ.ᐟ.ᐟ I wanna meet Tyla-nim too.. I will practice hard for the festival So that I will not ruin it,,, Let's gogogogogoooo

I see the vlog went downㅜ! Apparently it will probably go up tomorrow because of English subtitling.ᐟ Sorry ㅜㅜ.ᐟ '🍎 I saw a bit of the start and this vlog seems to be edited by Sooyoung-nim, is that right?' Yes I respect the editor-nims so much…. Huuuuueng ㅜ So you saw it already 🥴 So fast..?! You saw the whole thing? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I was worried it was no fun as I was making it Gowon just appears Haaa now you're looking forward to it more Don't It's honestly so low-quality Sobb Thanks Wait for tomorrow Also my fingernail got bent today while lifting a package ㅜ Blood streaming down But The bleeding stopped ㅋ Hang in there until festival, fingernail I'm going to another Yveslog filming tomorrow I'll send some Shop Makeup Yibu selfies

071824

Yves:

'🍎 I ate Qooqoo today' Haaa Takes me back to the days when I worked at the Airport Market Qooqoo location Every day I'd be like Ahh ... I burned another one... As I scooped a waffle onto the tray and I'd eat it I'm sorry

[4 minutes later]

Darn it I was telling a funny story Phone turned off So we weren't allowed to serve burnt ones So every day I'd be like "Welp, sure looks like I burned that..." and I would eat one at a time.. I'm sorry But I really worked hard Branch manager-nim No or I'd say I burned it but I didn't Right Back in my day the minimum wage used to be 6k or 7k.. It's all faint~~ in my memory At Shinsa Middle School? Was it I also worked at the Shinjeon Tteokbokki there We'd get entertainment agency orders and stuff The time I saw Kim Yeon-koung-nim was when I worked at Hongdae Dongburi near Hongik University Station I see that there are many newbie Engdus here Everyone don't leave meeeeeee I'll be good to you sobb '🍎 After you finished work at Hongdae did you hit up the food spots??' No Back in my day, after my shift they would be filming Street Date or whatever it was called for Entertainment Weekly and I'd have to wade through all the people

Yves:

'🍎 Did you join the Loona agency through casting or did you audition there' 1 I went to audition through an Incheon vocal academy > rejected 2 Went to the company's open auditions > they cut off right before my turn because they had too many people 3 Auditioned at Gangnam Dream Vocal > rejected A month later, around 10 o'clock, I was leaving academy to go to my acting lesson My instructor said, "The director at the company you didn't get into said he wants to see you again tomorrow~" I went there and it was Byeonggi director-nim I passed on the spot there Then I prepared for debut Right so in the reject folder I was in that pile and he picked me back out As expected of Father Byeonggi director-nim even sent me a massive bouquet when I debuted ㅜㅜ 🥹💗 This is really a secret but It's a secret so I won't do it When I decided to start over as a soloist I called Byeonggi director-nim on the phone and I cried my heart out But director-nim also cried. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ That's a secret. I mean I was crying while talking about how At any rate gulp sob I was only able to debut during my hard times because blub gulp of director-nim so sob The meaning of those tears are tears of gratitude, that's what I don't know, I think that's how I felt back then After going through a lot of heartburn When I came across someone who listened to my heart That made me cry ~~~~~

Yves:

But seriously we are all together.. Even though we are scattered We can achieve our new dreams where each of us are now And then we can meet againnnn Loona you unpredictable troublemakers I love you '🍎 On a different topic, I'm actually grateful to the people who provoked Yibu at meetings by saying things like "You can't be a soloist" or "You need to be in a group"! Separately from how precious Loona is, it seems like they (unintentionally 😇) gave you a reason to reawaken yourself' Right! I didn't feel hurt even back then On the inside I was like "Darn it who are you to tell me this.ᐟ" thinking that Well no I did feel a little hurt.. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ But I can just show you going forward Feels new to go down memory lane for the first time in a while I love youuuuuu I don't know if all my feelings will reach you But thank you for caring for me and loving me when I'm such a troublemaker~~~~~~~~~ Thinking back on all this, I realize I really am so happy right now Just like the memorable quote from The Light in Your Eyes, let's live in the present 😊💗 The me of today only exists because of me back then I was so overwhelmingly happy back then, too But I'm even happier now so I don't want to go back~ I'm going to make even happier things happen from now on So it's okay

[nochd]

I'm afraid I must demur.

I've learned a bit more than the first damn thing about what a social construct is, and I'm leaning back towards the idea that it's... OK, not nonsense, but -- to put it mildly -- way less of a gotcha than it's cracked up to be.

Perhaps my perspective is limited by the situation at the University of Otago, where I studied and work. Perhaps other institutions are more rigorous.

Essential context: I started out studying geology but switched to cultural anthropology, in which I graduated in 2001. For the last twelve years, I've been going to lectures in all subjects to type notes on behalf of students with disabilities. Well, until the University quietly dropped that as a professional service a year or so ago, but they still pay other students a lot less than they used to pay me to provide notes for their peers, and now I'm one of the people who quality-checks those peer notes.

In anthro I got plenty of exposure to the concept of social construction. And don't get me wrong; if someone hasn't yet had the insight that money is only worth anything because people agree it is, or that "pink = feminine" is an arbitrary convention, or that most of the difficulties caused by disabilities are due to society's failure to accommodate them, then the concept of social construction is a timely and useful addition to their mental toolbox.

But it isn't half of what it's cracked up to be.

A repeated pattern in my anthro classes went

scientific (especially biological or medical) description of some phenomenon in human life, simplified down to the quick but presented as the actual unsimplified position of scientists on the matter; e.g. a spectrum presented as a dichotomy, or a trend presented as a strict rule

demonstration that this simplified version is simpler than the reality

assertion that this is the scientists getting it wrong, not the anthropologist

"it's actually complex" / "it's a social construct"

Throughout my anthro years I anticipated, each time, that this would be the launching-point for a discussion of the more complex reality. It never was; it was the conclusion of the argument. It was a gotcha and nothing more. And when I got assigned some cultural anthro classes as a note-taker and started seeing this behaviour again, having actually taken multiple science and health science papers in the intervening years and knowing the simplifications for what they were, I must declare I was embarrassed to be an anthro graduate.

A specific moment of disillusionment came from a senior professor who, back in my student days, had been a lecturer I particularly looked up to. They described the following two phenomena:

People's eyes don't work properly if they were occluded during a critical period in infancy; the eye needs light input and feedback to know how it's supposed to grow.

One time this professor went out into town with some students and the students stepped over the legs of some homeless people and when the professor asked them about it, they said they hadn't seen the homeless people.

From these two facts the professor concluded that vision is socially constructed.

Welp.

The first fact is well-documented, better in other mammals than in humans because they let researchers cover up baby ferrets' eyes for days at a time for no other reason than research, which they don't let you do to baby humans. Yes, feedback from the environment is critical in visual development. But the lecturer leapt from that, with no justification at all, to the conclusion that "environment" here means "social environment", which it doesn't. It means the physical environment, as in light sources and physical objects for the infant animal to practise focusing on.

As for the second... did you know people tell lies sometimes? Especially about their awareness of other people in misfortune, if they fear that telling the truth might get them labelled callous or classist? Did you know that, when people genuinely don't see something lying in their path, they trip on it instead of stepping over it?

But the disillusionment came from the fact that the professor had put these two utterly disparate things together and called them both "social construction". If "social construction" is so broad a concept as to cover both of these things, then it is too broad a concept to be useful. It's one step short of "God does it." It explains everything and hence nothing.

I don't think this is just a problem with the teaching at one university, though, because I've also read papers which came out of symposia on social constructionism. One expressed disappointment at the power of social constructionism for social change, on the basis that although you can say "This is a social construct, so I can challenge it or change it if I want," social constructionism also implies that the "I" in that sentence is also just a social construct, which leaves you without anything to challenge the social order with.

A second, more optimistically, argued that social constructionism could comprehend anything; except that the writer was personally having trouble applying it to (a) inanimate physical objects and (b) embodied experience.

"Embodied experience" is the social constructionist way of talking about, well, bodies -- the bodies of sentient creatures.

And I couldn't help realizing -- inanimate physical objects, plus the bodies of living things, together comprise the entire physical universe.

A theory that has trouble with the entire physical universe is not, I feel, one that is going to have many practical applications.

(Lest I give the impression that cultural anthropology and related disciplines are uniquely lacking in rigour, let me assure you from long experience that there is another cluster of academic subjects which similarly fails to justify its claims: economics, finance, and business studies. I don't think it's a coincidence that these disciplines just happen to support the neoliberal right in the same way the social-constructionist ones -- cultural anthro and sociology -- support the political left. But they're not the ones I'm talking about today.)

Everyone always thinks that describing things as "social constructs" is nonsense until they learn the first damn thing about what a social construct is and suddenly it's like taking the red pill in the Matrix.