#which is why those ''your child self would be so proud of you!!'' things don't work on me

[sevicia]

It feels so edgy to say this but as a kid I never felt many positive emotions like, at all. I would smile and be told "wow you look so ugly when you smile", I would laugh and be told "your laugh is so annoying", I would get crushes and be told I was disgusting. Etcetera. So eventually I just stopped even trying to feel those things and I got so jealous of the kids around me laughing and playing so freely so obviously I grew resentful and started hating everyone.

I can remember being so unable to relate to any of them like I quite literally could noooot wrap my head around why they cried so much, or why they fought so much. I was like Wtf is wrong with you...

& cause I never felt much of anything, I didn't throw tantrums or ever got in any trouble. My parents were congratulated every single time they spoke with a teacher. I really wish someone would've noticed that I only ever talked to teachers, and only when I needed something, or had the answer to a question.

And then I got diagnosed with catathonic schizophrenia like Um. Couldn't I have known this like.... sooner...... & the worst part is now my doctors are like "Wellll you might not actually have that. We might've made an oopsie 😳"

[ashen-char]

dating amber freeman - hcs

ship: amber freeman (scream) x gender neutral reader

warnings: toxic behaviour (jealousy, possessiveness, etc.), swearing, mentions of canon violence/violent tendencies. this is the more tame of the amber hcs though

notes: this took a while! i was debating on whether to do amber during the movie, or a very toxic nsfw leaning take. those will be separate hcs. thanks to @certifiedpuppyslitter for the help! requested here

✦ amber is alone in her old creepy house a lot. she despises how lonely it feels and often has you over to ignore how empty it is

✧ her parents divorced when she was really young, and her dad got custody. a hotshot lawyer, he's always away, and she's always been distant with her step-mom. amber doesn't like letting people get to know her

✧ amber was a total daddy's girl. she loved to argue even as a kid, loving how people would say she's just like him - whip-smart and could win any argument. she even wanted to be a lawyer to be like him

✧ but he was less and less present, and eventually she stopped hoping he'd be around more. stopped trying to impress him, realising that her accomplishments don't mean he'll say he's proud of her

✧ he's always away on business trips which is why she can invite everyone over as much as she does

✧ parties, sleepovers, movie nights, you name it

✧ amber is very lonely deep down. only child, she doesn't let her best friends truly know her

✦ because of her parents, she had to grow up very quickly and take care of herself

✧ so she's got a lot of surprising skills. really self-sufficient. she cooks amazingly, and likes cooking for you because, as she says "cooking for a single person kinda sucks"

✦ she'd scoff if you ever said she was clingy, since amber likes to act all tough and independent

✧ but it's the truth, amber's happiest when you're spending all your time with her

✧ if it can't be in person, she sits in vc with you on discord

✧ whether amber gets to yap away about her beloved horror movies or the latest band she's into, or listening you talk about your day, or even silence

✧ amber just likes that you're there on the other side

✧ and amber loves to sleep on call

✧ she'd get angry when you leave, even if your phone dies, accusing you of leaving her alone

✧ (but she's kinda easy to win back, all you have to do is promise to watch stab with her, or set aside some time to be "all hers")

✦ speaking of discord, let's be real. amber's a loser

✧ she spends her time on reddit and discord, and on occasion places like twitch, tumblr, or 4chan

✧ it's not her fault! she was online at a very young age cause she was so alone

✧ trying to make friends, trying to fill her time so she wasn't so bored, trying to connect with people. amber was totally on omegle as a kid

✧ she's always arguing with strangers on the internet about her stab theories and how bad it's gotten, how derivative the sequels are, or ranking her favourite killers

✧ she's a mod on r/StabUnfiltered, a smaller subreddit off of the main stab one because she kept getting her comments or posts removed there for being too "inflammatory" or even "trolling" for her hot takes

✧ amber would stop in the middle of hooking up because she was bidding on stab memorabilia on ebay

✧ she'd be pissed all day and it'd be because she lost an auction, or some twitter idiot had a bad take on ghostface motives

✦ amber is on letterboxd 24/7, clocking in like it's a job

✧ whenever you two watch a new movie together, best believe amber is reviewing that shit like she's a critic

✧ and you're the type that just enjoys watching movies for the experience. amber absolutely gets heated at you when she asks what you thought about a movie she thinks is 1/5, and yo shrug and go "eh it was fun i guess?"

✧ but amber lets you off the hook when you kiss her and tell her that you enjoyed it because you enjoyed spending time with her

✦ she's also a loser in love. honestly, she's a bit of a simp for you

✧ love is the one thing where she doesn't try to pretend she's tough

✧ amber has these sweet nicknames for you that she peppers in all the time, ranging from babe, love, hun, sweetie

✧ she's pretty touchy. amber holds your hand under tables or under blankets, rubs your back when she passes you, absentmindedly plays with your hair

✧ amber loves teasing her friends about their relationships, like chad and liv's lack of a sex life, but she'll defend you like a knight if they even try to tease her back

✧ and best believe they tease amber about how whipped she is over you

✧ if you invite her somewhere, even when she's hanging with her group, she'll ditch them in an instant (well, not in an instant. she does always tell tara where she's going)

✧ she flips everyone off if they tease her about you, but internally she's smiling. she loves that they talk about you in relation to her, loves being brought up as a couple

✦ you painted the portraits of amber that she has up in her room

✧ by the next time you came over, she already had them hung up on her walls, bragging to her friends that you did them and how talented you are

✦ possessive

✧ when you dress up for her, she shows you she appreciates it

✧ BUT she also doesn't want anyone else to see you like that

✧ she'll whisk her jacket off and drape it over you, insisting that no one else deserves to even look at you

✦ protective af too

✧ she'd wrap her arm tighter around your waist if people are walking too close, with a fierce glare if they almost bump into you

✧ amber would watch your drink like a hawk at parties

✧ she'd insist on going with you to places if you want to go anywhere at night, and she'd definitely tell you to stay over if it was dark out

✦ gets jealous easily

✧ no looking at other girls, no following other girls on social media

✧ you're in for a huge fight if you dm anyone else, even if it was for something fairly innocuous like asking where they got their outfit

✦ oh and she loves to argue. you swear it turns amber on to fight

✧ she jumps at any excuse for it

✧ "why did that girl smile at you? how do you know her?"

✧ "why are you on your phone? i'm literally right here"

✧ she'd accuse you of ignoring or forgetting about her, then give you the silent treatment

✦ amber gets pissed off when you spend too much time with your friends

✧ and honestly, considering how close she is with her friends, it's hypocritical

✧ like, amber still has sleepovers with tara but god forbid you say you're hanging with any of your friends one on one

✧ amber will be at your door in an instant, claiming that you two made plans and that since she's here, she may as well hang out with you two

✦ sometimes, you don't really get why amber likes you

✧ you can't keep up with her horror movie rants like her friends, or even those weirdos she's always arguing with online

✧ like, amber's dream is to go to film school and she's so passionate about it that you wonder what you're even adding when you just go "you'd be amazing, baby" and "that sounds awesome, of course you're gonna make it"

✧ you try to be supportive but you feel bad that you don't really understand her 100% of the time

✦ when you ask her why she chose you, amber looked at you like you were being ridiculous. because the answer is obvious to her

✧ she likes you because you make everything easier. being with you is one of the few things that can make her mind go quiet

✧ like, yeah, she loves horror but even amber can be drained by how obsessed she gets with things

✧ you make her feel normal. you make her want things other than violence and pain

she doesn't want to throw her life away so bad when you two make plans for the future

✧ she admits that you're the reason she even thought about film school in the first place

✦ amber never really thought of life outside of woodsboro until you started bringing up universities, or apprenticeships, what next year could bring

✧ that's the first time amber actually thought about what she wants to do

✧ and she's wicked smart, so you were surprised that she didn't already know what universities she wanted to apply to

✧ AP classes, honor roll, college scholarships, you name it

✧ but when you ask about her plans, amber just shrugs and says she'll go where you end up going

✦ she can feel like a regular girl when she's around you, instead of all the pretending she normally does

✧  cheesy teenager shit that she always thought she was too good for

✧ dates to the local bowling alley, sneaking out, sharing a shake at the diner, going to the mall, camping, baking brownies for your birthday since she knows you prefer it from cake

✦ with you, amber can feel less damaged. less above it all

✧ she didn't think she was capable of a genuine love like this before you

✧ you make her think that she could be a decent person if she tried, that she's not defined by the monster that she could be

[a-998h]

Okay so I’m back for another SAGAU request if you don’t mind..😊 Basically another situation where the Creator descends to Teyvat blah blah blah… But instead- they came back as a child?! The Archons and others found this weird at first, but tried to adjust to this. But the thing about (Reader) is that they aren’t from our world, they’re from a world where monsters and such exist, and they kill those monsters even at their young age. (Reader) was confused at first, and tried to get used to it, but was pretty excited when they found out monsters and such existed, as they excitedly liked to run off and kill monsters while some Archons will be chasing after them telling them to slow down. Though one thing about (Reader) is they judge everyone. And one thing they’re most confused about is people’s physics, like the characters that are extremely strong and fight. (Reader) always comes up to certain characters and asks “Why are you so scrawny? Where are your muscles? Don’t you train?” (Yes this was one of the first thoughts I had thought of when I saw certain characters in Genshin Impact🥲) Like for characters like Wanderer, Xiao, Diluc, Zhongli and even other female characters as well! (Reader) would even ask them to eat with them, because they worried that they needed more protein to become stronger and build more muscle. Though I’m not even sure if muscle = strength in Genshin Impact in general. Some characters were shocked to say the least when they saw (Reader) a child in like a T-shirt, and they have like the most muscley arms😭Or they ask questions like how EI can pull a sword from her boobs.

And every character since their weapons somehow magically appear and disappear, which (Reader) was fascinated with since their weapons have to be on their body, because they can’t summon weapons.

Hope this request isn’t too wierd!

-🍉 Anon

Ok 🍉 Anon, let's start with the Archons. I'll be using the characters you mentioned because this is fucking awesome.

"Why are you so scrawny? Where are your muscles? Don’t you train?"

Venti

He just stares at you

Then laughs

He explains that as a bard, he doesn't need to have muscles or train

He enjoys the starry eyed look you get whenever his weapon just appears and disappears

Your monster killing makes him very worried

Everything you get somewhat close to a monster, Venti will lead you away until someone else kills it

But he is also very proud of your strength

Will try and teach you how to summon weapons, with no luck

Zhongli

Old man chuckle

Doesn't take the question seriously

He'll just pat your head and tell you it's his secret

Whenever his spear appears and disappears he also loves the starry eyed look you get

Your monster killing will be the reason he dies of a heart attack

Please child, don't kill the old man

He treats you like his own grandchild

Would have Xiao train you if you went so young

Says he'll teach you how to summon weapons when you're older

Ei

She turns the question on you

She then make you train with her

Your monster killing both frightens her, because she doesn't want you to die but on the other hand it's impressive

Face goes red when you ask about her boob sword

Tells you it's an Archon power

If you ask why you can't do that, she'll just say go ask your mother Yae Miko

Has Sara train you sometimes

Has tried and failed to help you summon a weapon

Nahida

Laughs

She doesn't see the point of muscles without brains, plus she is young, ever for an archon

You're both similar age

Would summon her weapon just to see the stars in your eyes

She thought you two had a similar personality, until you killed a hilichurl that was gonna attack you both

In shock

Told her friends all about and now your Sumeru aunties and uncles were fussing over you

Will help you find someone to teach you weapon summoning

Furina

She says something about not needing muscles

Get a self esteem boost whenever you look at her weapon in wonder

She thinks you both don't need to have muscles because you have powers

The first time she sees you kill a monster, she stares in silent horror befoe telling Neuvillette what you did

Now, you have two powerful beings who are overprotective of you

Will definitely try to teach you weapon summoning

Wanderer

Gives you a look of indignation

Just says it's none of you business

Gets smug af whenever you get excited about his weapon summoning

He doesn't want to tell you that he's a puppet

First time he sees you killing a monster, he smiles

Proud that you're so strong and will train you just to spite Ei

Will get frustrated that you can't summon weapons, even when you train with him

Xiao

He doesn't answer, he has no idea himself

I think it's because his adepti form is a finch

When it comes to your monster killing outside: 😐 but on the inside: 😨

Treffied of you getting karmic debt and that you would get hurt because of it

He is horrified at your monster killing

He sees you as a sister sometimes and well, we know he has trauma

He gets a small smile when you look on in awe at his spear summoning

Will train you in order to protect yourself

Diluc

Asks how you know

To be honest, he could have muscle because he swigs that damn claymore around

Is protective of you because to him you're, small bean

When he sees you kill a monster, he world is shattered

Will get mad and will make you promise him to stop killing monsters

When he finds you breaking that promise, he sighs and gets mad

When you look up in awe at his weapon, he feels a bit happy

If you ask, more like beg, him to try and teach you weapon summoning he'll give in and try

[astrojulia]

PAC - Qualities and Traits in your Future Spouse

~ 5 things you like about them vs 5 things they like about you (lightly +18)

PILE 1 - PILE 2 - PILE 3

PILE A - PILE B - PILE C

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DISCLAIMER. These general free readings are made in good faith for entertainment purposes. I tried my best to leave it gender neutral, but one word or another might have escaped (Portuguese is a language where all words have gender).

How to pick a pile

When you have different cards to choose from in pile 1,2,3… look at each of those cards. Wait until someone reminds you of a memory. Perhaps a character’s outfit resembles one of your own. It is this pile that has its message. What if they all remind me of something? Go for the one with the strongest memory, one might look like her earring but another might be the favorite candy you got from your grandma when you vacationed at her house. But what if none reminds me of something? Take a deep breath and wait a little longer, without charging yourself or creating worries. Relax, some will awaken some memory in you, I promise! .

Pile 1

You love their voice and the way they talk, and it's not something that only you appreciate. But even so, you see your future spouse's voice as a melody, comforting and even exciting. I also don't just see the question of the voice itself, but the way they speak, with rhythm, without any problems pronouncing the words or doubt in their voice.

You appreciate their skills and how they handle situations smoothly. I also see different paths here, how this person manages to take care of themselves alone, clean the house, cook the food. They are truly independent. (The other way is that you appreciate their dick, it makes you feel like never before).

You like how they communicate in general. They are smart and authentic but know how to blend in with the crowd. They know how to listen to others to better adapt to the situation. They are the type of person who will communicate differently with each individual, not out of falsehood but because they understand that each person has different needs. They will convey the same information differently to a doctor and to a child, adapting their words accordingly.

You love their overall intelligence; it seems like they always know what they should do, the next step. They are someone who wants to help others with their intelligence and is always seeking self-improvement. They are also curious and always bring new information into the relationship.

You appreciate how they manage to be rational in practically every situation. They always think before acting, analyze situations before they happen. They strive to be prepared for everything and seek security in every step of life.

Astrological Placements your Future Spouse may have:

Mercury Dominant; Venus in Taurus or Libra in the 2nd house; Mercury in the 3rd house; air dominant; Mercury in Libra, Gemini, or Aquarius; a touch of Cancer, Pisces, or Scorpio in the birth chart (perhaps only one placement).

Pile 2

You like how your future spouse (FS) is an active person, always on the move, looking to improve their career, personal life, and also taking care of their body. They can be a tall, slender individual with distinct features. They are also someone with a sense of style and who values their behavior in the world, which is why they prioritize exercise and physical activity. They are the type of person who likes to wear accessories such as gloves, bracelets, and earrings.

You appreciate that they are a person you can look up to, someone you feel proud of and see as a reference for "what would FS do in my place." You like how they are patient with others, a bit playful, but also know when to stop. It seems like they have the wisdom to bring joy to tense moments and their ability to handle all situations is what attracts you.

You admire their resilience and determination. Nothing can stop them, not even the challenges of life. They carry themselves with pride and are unafraid to express their opinions and how the world perceives them, because they know they will make things work out one way or another.

You appreciate how they can handle everything on their own, sometimes behind the scenes. If we take an intimate perspective, you both know how to handle things discreetly. But even though they are confident and unafraid to be themselves, your FS is wise and understands that you can't always confront everything head-on. Sometimes you have to navigate through the edges and take longer paths to achieve your goals. They prefer to accomplish things discreetly.

You like that your FS is often right (though it can be challenging during discussions), which is beneficial for decision-making in your lives. Even if they are not a spiritually inclined person, they have a connection with something non-physical in this world that guides their decision-making. So, even if a decision may not feel right in the moment, you realize in the future that their choices were the best ones.

Astrological Placements your Future Spouse may have:

Aquarius/Gemini/Libra placements; Fire Dominant; Mars dominant; Well-aspected Mercury; Leo dominant; Scorpio Placements; dominant Uranus.

Pile 3

You appreciate how they move on as if nothing had happened. If you make a mistake, they solve it and forget about it, without judgment or dwelling on the past. Your future spouse (FS) is also someone who enjoys horror and suspense movies, which is a recurring hobby for them.

You like that you feel comfortable around them, experiencing a sense of nostalgia for a moment that never actually existed. It's as if you've been separated before and now you're together again. This connection can be both physical and spiritual. Your FS brings magical and special moments into both of your lives.

You admire that they are a person who never loses hope. They always believe in love, even until the last moment. Even if everything comes to an end, they will continue to love and protect. They are patient and will wait for you to be ready to make decisions. They hold onto the hope that everything will work out in the end.

You appreciate that they are a fun and warm person. They shine in small social circles and are always loving and attentive. Your FS values small events and moments greatly. They enjoy going out to carnivals or other places where you can have fun. They are full of ideas for new places to explore and experience.

You like how they create a cozy atmosphere and make you feel safe. If you're someone who enjoys sleeping a lot or simply sees it as a hobby, you will feel comfortable sleeping next to your FS. Being close to them brings a sense of peace and security.

Astrological Placements your Future Spouse may have:

Cancer/Capricorn or Taurus Rising; Libra/Gemini placements; a touch of Leo and Pisces in the birth chart (perhaps only one placement).

Pile A

Your future spouse (FS) appreciates how open you are and your willingness to embrace change even in the face of fear. You have an openness not just to the world but also to your own needs. There's a sense of knowing that what you deserve is more and better than what you currently have.

Your FS admires your protective nature and how you always look out for yourself and others. You often place yourself on the front lines when confronting various challenges, often keeping your experiences to yourself in order to prevent hurting others.

Your FS values the fact that you are someone who seeks to resolve problems through communication. You strive to approach others and engage in conversation before acting without careful thought. Your natural inclination towards rationality allows you to navigate and resolve situations without unnecessary drama.

Your FS appreciates your ability to keep secrets. They trust that anything they confide in you will remain confidential, making you an extremely reliable person.

Your FS admires your ability to always find a way. You navigate paths with confidence, even if it means breaking down barriers to progress. Additionally, you have a keen sense of direction and excel at using maps and location.

Astrological Placements you may have:

Cancer/Pisces/Scorpio placements; Dominant Libra; Taurus/Capricorn/Virgo placements; More planets in the 4th/7th/8th and 12th house.

Pile B

Your future spouse (FS) appreciates your adventurous nature and how you enjoy getting out of the house to experience new things. While you find comfort at home, you also have a desire to explore and bring back new experiences to your safe haven.

Your FS admires your appearance of being a more traditional person, someone who dresses and behaves in a formal manner. They also appreciate your rationality and ability to express your emotions in different ways, showcasing your emotional intelligence. If you have a fair skin tone, they find it particularly beautiful.

Your FS is drawn to the mystery that surrounds you. There is always something new to discover about you, something you keep hidden from others, and they are intrigued to unravel your secrets.

Your FS values your wisdom and the way you have transformed your pain into knowledge. They admire your belief that everything has its own time and that timing is important. You are likely older than your FS, and they seek your advice and guidance.

Your FS admires your ambitious mindset. You think big, dream big, and refuse to diminish yourself for anyone. You are unafraid to assert yourself and communicate your needs.

Astrological Placements you may have:

Cancer/Scorpio/Pisces placements; Virgo/Taurus/Capricorn placements; Scorpio Dominant; Saturn Dominant; Pluto Dominant; a touch of Gemini/Aquarius/Libra (only one or two placements); Planets in the 8th/12th house.

Pile C

Your future spouse (FS) appreciates your organizational skills and how you are always planning things and maintaining cleanliness. You take pride in feeling physically and spiritually clean, and you make an effort to create a fragrant environment, whether it's at home or at work.

Your FS likes that you are someone who goes through phases and embraces change. You don't follow a rigid routine but instead allow life to unfold naturally. You adapt and know what needs to be done when situations arise because, as mentioned earlier, you are a planner. However, you don't plan every detail of big things. You are also someone who easily changes preferences, be it in hairstyles, clothing, books, or music.

Your FS is drawn to your dreamy nature, which also carries a hint of mysticism. You frequently engage in mystical practices such as tarot, astrology, or reiki. Your FS not only accepts but also appreciates this aspect of you. They see you as someone who has insights into the future, bringing comfort and reassurance.

Your FS likes how well you can blend in. You effortlessly adapt and integrate into various environments, to the point that you might almost go unnoticed. You are not noisy or attention-seeking; instead, you are composed and can easily fit into any space without causing disruptions.

Your FS admires your dedication to studying and your love for reading. They appreciate that you enjoy learning and also have a creative side, possibly in writing or drawing. Even if you don't pursue those activities professionally, your passion for them shines through.

Astrological Placements you may have:

Gemini placements; Uranus dominant or well-aspected Uranus; Neptune dominant or well-aspected Neptune; Virgo placements.

(CC) AstroJulia Some Rights Reserved

[egg-emperor]

Idk why people want to think Eggman loving Sage is out of character... Like even if people subscribe to the idea that he's incapable of love he LITERALLY created a highly powerful computer program that can exist in physical form. Why the HELL would he not be proud of that and love her? I personally love the "evil villain, good dad" trope so I do believe he does love her as a daughter but it's not like those two traits can't coexist.

Ah that's not quite exactly my personal stance on it ^^; It heavily diverts from the typical "evil villain, good dad" archetype in the best way. The basis and conditions of his accepted fatherhood on Sage is built on his evilness and narcissism and only emphasizes them. I'd say he only "loves" Sage as much as an extremely self absorbed self centered egotistical narcissist possibly can, which is really it being an extension of loving himself, through what he has created.

He's very conditionally affectionate towards her and praises her only when she does exactly what he wants for his selfish gain and in ways that also praise him as her creator/father for being capable of making such an impressive creation. He gets aggressive and angry at her for any less, as we see the second she suggests something he doesn't like. Even when it's done in his best interests, so long as it's not done the exact way he wants it, he'll blow up at her.

I'd imagine a good dad loves their child much more unconditionally instead of a relationship based on what it can do for him. I don't think good dads praise their child for being "loyal and perfectly effective" like he does, that'd be pretty concerning. And the way he attributes all her success and genius to himself for being her father too, which I also imagine isn't a very good dad thing to do, putting all your child's accomplishments down to "it's because I made you!"

This memo really does say it all:

Also there's the way she was built to protect him instead of the other way around so he lets her die for him. I don't think any good dad would let their child go on a snicide mission to save him and the world he wants to rule lol

I think that no matter how he might show affection towards her and see her as a daughter so long as she does what he wants, with his conditions and reasoning behind what he's doing, he's not really a good dad. Because it's really about his personal gain in what he gets out of it and wanting to continue to encourage it with high praise and of course his self love with all the bragging opportunities all the time. And that's how a bad dad can seem loving and affectionate.

He's capable of love alright, self love. XD And it makes sense Sage is the first person he's shown high praise and affection, with the way she cares so deeply about him, prioritizes his safety and desires, and is very loyal and enthusiastic to serve him. And she's actually successful and efficient and an impressive life-like artificial creation? Of course he's gonna like her, she loves him like he loves himself- and he can love himself even harder by praising himself through her!

So yes, it makes sense that he likes her, wants to keep her around, and praises her so highly. She's useful to him and praising her praises himself and as long as she keeps serving him with that loyalty and being a big source of pride for him with her existence proving what a brilliant creator he is by being an impressive creator, then it'll stay that way, besides the occasions he can still very much get cruel and snap at her if she does things he doesn't want or fails him in any way.

So yeah every aspect of their dynamic and relationship so far has been handled really well in ways that feel good and accurate to the character established. I like how they decided to build on and emphasize his existing traits to for a type of development that doesn't suddenly completely change his strong static character. His relationship with Sage has actually just shown a great example of the selfish conditions that he can be willing to appear as a praising father!

[six-eyed-samurai]

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This relationship should not be condoned and was only written for entertainment purposes. Dark content like kidnapping and stalking is in here, so don't read if it makes you uncomfortable.

I can't love you, 

Nor can I leave you.

You were just another face in the crowd at first, another pair of hands who clapped for once again representing and winning for the school at some competitions - honestly she had been made to participate and leave victorious in so many they all blurred together, indistinguishable, like the faces in the crowd that shifted from patronizing pressure in the hallways to respectful blankness in the audience.

She steps off the stage, certificate in hand (another meaningless paper to be pressed upon the wall) and back to her seat to endure the rest of the pathetically self-congratulating assembly, feeling the burning gazes of hundreds of envious eyes searing into her back. She turns around slightly, wondering who it would be this time and she catches sight of you, your perky smile, your playful little wave…your proud, amazed eyes that shone with no malice but only awe.

She whips her back round again, cheeks pink and full of an emotion even the number one poetry writer like her couldn’t pen. 

You and I, 

Summer flower in autumn weather,

Sunshine in the thundering storm.

You both meet again, when she prepares to leave the hall, opting to wait until most people have already left to avoid the pitiless, prejudiced bullying everyone seemed to have for her and praying for the parents to exit faster. She slips out, head down and with the purpose of blending in, only to run into you and your friend waiting at the double doors.

“Hey! I just wanted to tell you I read that poem you wrote and it was really amazing! You must be a genius to write something like that, I know I can’t. Don’t worry about what everyone else says.”

She doesn’t respond, eyes nearly popping out of her head as your friend pulls you away possessively telling her not to praise a weirdo like her. Nobody had ever said that before. Nobody. It was always provocative taunts or promises of punishments for never being enough. A precocious child imprisoned to be prestigious whether through pretense or not. And you just passed her a possible key.

She fell for you right there and then; you fell right into her traps shortly after.

I can't have you,

Within somebody else's arms.

You were just pleased to make a patient friend like her, the sort who’d be sure to provide you with extra snacks or help out with homework, especially with her perceptive mind. You ignored the prying gossipers, the pompous teasing and perturbing warnings that came from all sides about her - loser like her had to have some perverted secret, right? Why else would no one want to be her friend?

You wrote it off as them finding her stare to be quite…even you would be the first to admit it was oddly penetratingly piercing. 

Maaaybe her mannerisms too. A tiny bit too protective to be platonic. 

Never mind, it was just part of her personality! The nasty rumors about her being a creepy stalker were preposterous lies and you’d sooner give those perpetrators a piece of your mind if she hadn’t prevented you!

The older ones who had known her longer provoked you the most: what was all this plethora of not wanting history to repeat itself? You brushed them all off. Don’t be silly, sure she was a little persistent and persuasive about doing things her way, but she was a perfect student and perfectly fine!

In everyone else’s mind they substituted ‘fine’ for ‘psycho’ - but heh, you weren’t to know that.

You and I, 

Tied by red strings of fate,

Trailed by red pools of blood.

Okay, your friendship had been progressing well for the last few months; you used the term ‘well’ loosely. Your other friends no longer wanted anything to do with you (her, really), which pained you and peeved her but it just proved she was the only friend that would persevere through the years.

Your parents were another story. Much to their panic you begin to deem some of her more…peculiar behavior as pardonable. Her clinginess that was heightening to the point of a parasitical? She’s been touch-starved her whole life, she deserved it! Her passionate declarations of staying together forever? Well, after your other friends had purposely kicked you out like that, it felt nice. Your personal objects like plushies, pens and photos that appeared to ‘mysteriously’ disappear not long after she would show up? Hey, calm down, you’ve always been a rather sloppy person, no wonder they went missing!

You had a vague idea that her parents were the most ideal, what with her perplexing refusal to ever let you visit and instead pushed you to taking her to your house. That was fine, poor thing, you were more than pleasant enough to lend her some of your plentiful clothes when she ended up staying the night over.

She dedicated all her recently written poems and plots to you and you alone. This made you blush to no end - it was pretty sweet of her and anyway nobody had ever thought of you that way before. Though you urged her to submit some of the more poignant papers for contests she never did, replying they were too precious to be let go of.

What a prize of a friend you had found!

You and I, 

Abuses and broken promises, 

Dressed in sweet nothings and my love.

Another picturesque photo of  you pressed onto the wall.

It was surrounded by others, snapshots of every single picture of you she could find on social media, yearbooks, the cameras in your house. Mementos and proffered items you had presented her with. A shrine for her, your devotedly pious priestess, to worship you.

Nobody ever told you and for that she was glad they all had an innate phobia of her poisonous potential to make them pay for ruining the one permanently perfect thing in her pointless existence. It was just one private prohibition they knew not to touch. Even the newbies suspected there was a reason to keep away from her. 

Told you about the last friend she had pursued over. Ah well, the past was the past. 

All geniuses were a little mad - so what if she was a little psycho?

I can't take you,

So I'll make you stay.

YANDERE ALPHABET MASTERLIST

[assortedvillainvault]

So I have the most random request for hc's with Jafar. [if you want to obv]. What if his s/o was a demi-god [possibly the child of a god of knowledge] BUT they don't tell anyone. Their dad just shows up one day and thats how he finds out.

Anon your patience for getting this answered is immeasurable. I decided to make the 'god of knowledge' here Hermes, since in the myths Hermes' domain is messenger, lies, travel and creator of the alphabet - which is pretty awesome!

Pls accept these humble headcannons!

Jafar x Demigod!S/O

- You did not intend for this to happen.

- You had had the good sense to lay low and get the hell out of Greece: Your dad Hermes may be one of the more ‘chill’ gods, but you have no interest in getting to know the disaster that is your extended family. Hermes was even weirdly encouraging about you jumping ship, but as the heavenly messenger, you suppose he’s just happy that you’re travelling and putting your skills to use.

- You went overseas, studied languages, got to know the trade routes and built a life for yourself in Agrabah. You even got hired to advise the Sultans government and landed yourself a tall dark and twisted boyfriend to boot!

- You decide to write home one day, idly, just to let your mother (and dad) know you’re alive and things are going ok.

- You...really should have remembered. Hermes is juggling about 50 jobs on the daily and in his haste sometimes...forgets things. Like the fact you’re trying to pass as a regular mortal.

- So three days later when your Dad in all his jazzy, turquoise glory whizzes into the palace, squeezes you up into a giant hug, ruffles your hair and presses a plate of snacks from home into your hands – all while chatting a million miles an hour and letting you know just how proud he is-! - and then proceeds to whiz out again with a cheery ‘Knock ‘em dead kiddo!”, you knew you fucked up.

- Jafar’s knuckles were white around his staff.

- ...oh dear.

- Jafar prides himself on being the most informed person in any room at all times. You think he rose to Grand Vizier and maintained his position by being idle?? Hypnosis, blackmail and murder aside, Jafar has worked DAMN HARD – he takes study and acquisition of intelligence extremely seriously.

- This man, even when in his evil wizard tower in his underwear and swamped under a metric ton of sultan-induced paperwork, can tell you what is happening on the streets of Agrabah and half the civilisations across the desert at any one time.

- And you. Lied to him.

- You, of all people, his most trusted confidant, deliberately and intentionally kept your divine lineage and (presumably) powers hidden from him.

- (if Jafar ever deigns to think about the fact that you kept this from everyone, not just him, there’s a 50/50 chance it would send him into a deeper spiral because he’s supposed to be better than those plebeians and you managed to not only keep this information from him, but LIE to his face about it the entire time-?!)

- Reader if his world would stop fucking spinning he’d congratulate you and then probably attempt to bowl you down the stairs, Iago’s just gonna hang on your shoulder for a bit until the mans paranoia and bitterness stope teetering on the edge of homicide.

- he’s not threatened why on earth would you think that he’s threatened by the fact you’re a half divine being of Fucking Knowledge now hold sTILL-

- It’s... going to take a few days for him to simmer down and stop plotting contingency measures.

- Then he’ll let his greed overtake his self preservation and think about all the ways he can rope you into his schemes to take over Agrabah. The 180 from thin lipped barely contained murderous rage to overtly-looming-hyper-sleaze is dizzying. Iago is facepalming in the back.

- All in all, he’d be up in your business waaaay more than he was before, but he does (eventually) get over it enough to use you as a blatant flex. Of course you only had eyes for him, little jewel, clearly only he had the intellect to match such a divine gift as yours~

- (trip him on the stairs, reader, plEASE-)

Thanks so much for the ask, sorry again for the wait and I hope you like it!

[helpme695]

Hello, hello,Hello,my dear!!

I saw that you were a brand new blog with barely any writings and that you wrote for IDV,so i HAD to jump on the occasion,you see?

Allow me to introduce myself (as this is most likely not the last time you will be seeing me!), I am Nina (or Weewoo!),self proclaimed platonic asker!

And I am here to humbly ask for headcanons (or a one shot,i don't know which one you prefer,but I'd be happy with both!!) For Jack the Ripper (except if you don't write for him,which i understand,He IS based off a real murderer...if you don't write for him,I'd love some Antonio! But I'd prefer Jack :3 or both if you're interested Or if you prefer to choose other than those two,that's okay!!) with a child!reader (platonic ofc) that loves all types of art? Like they like listening to music while drawing- sure they're not the best,since they're still learning,but they show their art to them when they're proud of it? And they give the Hunter(s) drawings of them?? They're just a small cutie that gives drawings to people?

Thank you for reading! I hope you like this prompt and enjoy writing it!! Remember to drink,eat and take breaks,Hun!

Stay proud,

-Nina <3

Helloooooooo Nina :D I'm glad to have you in my silly blog :) I hope you will enjoy it in the future <) I wrote for both of them since I like Antonio ^_^ I'm sorry for taking quite a lot to answer ;-; it will happen again if I continue with this writing style </3.

I didn't dive too much about child thing, so you can take it as an adult or little kid. Either way, it's definitely platonic. Oh and it mostly seemed gender nature sooo :)

Aaa i just did reader give art to these 2 lol , sooo yah </3 sorry for my mistakes

Both of them are not that experienced with children because of their backgrounds. Antonio is busy drinking his favorite wines and playing masterpieces for the nobles, and god knows what else. As for Jack, he's just being, well... Jack. :)

they don't mind children that much; it depends on their mood. Mostly, they act like 'the cool uncles'.

However, Jack is not as fond of babysitting as Antonio. He thinks there are better options, like Michiko or Leo! Or maybe, why not play with people your age? Robbie and Memory would be happy to have you around.

They recognize your unique and diverse interests in various forms of art, which is uncommon even among adults.

Sometimes, they will simply watch you to see what you are best at. That way, they could buy you something nice related to it. Of course, they would support you in other forms, as well. They just figure that if you are great at something specific, it means you love it the most.

Now, let's talk about each one :D

Antonio:

It's not unusual to find him friendly in matches if he's in the mood. A simple, goofy mistake was all it took to make this weird-haired noodle crack up (thanks to Tracy's terror shock and Martha's failed flare gun rescue).

You participated in this match. All of you were having fun in Moonlit River Park.

After this match, everyone said their goodbyes and left to do their own thing. You, on the other hand, felt you wanted to appreciate him more. So, you got yourself comfortable, put on your favorite music (or headed to the composer to listen to him), and started drawing. It didn't take you long to finish it, so you borrowed some clay from Galatea to make a small version of him. It turned out messy. Nevertheless, you colored it. Your paper drawing turned out better than your little clay Antonio, but it still looked adorable.

You would know if he's in his room by his usual violin playing. And today was no exception. You knocked on his door softly, and the long-haired man heard it. Which makes sense since he's hard to hide from.

"Come in,"

And with that, you slipped past his door. You were greeted with his usual creepy smile and a couple of bottles of booze around his desk.

"Hello (name), I thought you were tired from the last match. Especially for a little one like you. Do you want to listen to my latest work later? I suggested Mr. Kreiburg and I do a musical performance together for the upcoming season."

You didn't say anything, just smiling at him as you got closer, and so did Antonio's curiosity.

"Is there something on your mind you would like to tell me, (name)?"

He crouched down to meet your height, still looming over you. You smile only brighten when you got excited to show your work to him. Behind your back, you emerged two artworks of him. His eyes lingered on what your hand was holding before he took them.

The drawing was of him ballooning Tracy and holding you with his hair, while what seemed like a sad Martha with her gun, and Forward way back running at him.

And then he looked at your small clay sculpture. His hair looked like overcooked pasta and worms coming out of it, with some black coloring. implies you are still new to shaping.

You were overjoyed just looking at how his smile widened even more than it already was. You felt his eyes leave your art and look at your face. He honestly didn't know what to be happy about. Was someone actually spending time doing something wholesome for him? Or was it the sound of your laughter echoing in his room with the big smile of yours?

He placed your work on his desk and gently guided you with his hand to his embrace.

"I know you have undeniable talent, and I want to admire it and make sure nothing disturbs it. Today, you illuminated my heart with your caring light, crafting something priceless. I thank you for your gift, and if it was for that silly match, it's nothing compared to your kindness."

He patted your head for a few seconds and then stood up tall.

"As much as I like spoiling you with my masterpieces, you have to go to sleep. Ms. Dyer won't be happy finding you out of bed.

He placed his hand gently behind your back and guided you to his door. You were kind of disappointed; you don't like how Doctor Emily makes children go to bed so early. Nevertheless, you didn't complain. He didn't close his door yet, so you kept waving, saying your goodbyes and sweet dreams before your little form disappeared when you went downstairs.

He closed his door gently and went to his desk, which now held booze, paper art, and a mini clay Antonio. He stared at them for... what? Seconds? Minutes? He didn't care. Your pure soul made his usual lonely night better, and thanks to you, you gave him inspiration for his next musical piece.

⊱⋅ ──────────── ⋅⊰

He will cherish your gifts and art; they brightened his room and made him feel less empty.

I like to think he will force Joseph to take pictures of them and him together.

He's your number 1 supporter and fan of your work. Hell, even if it's horrendous, he'll be damned if he ever THINKS it's bad. He might as well show it to everyone and threaten anyone who says otherwise.

Despite many people and nobles gathering around him for his matchless skill, he appreciates you because you do what you want with pure intentions. He doesn't need to bother thinking about your actions (unless something is very odd), and you see him as someone to trust. Which is sometimes a bad idea because, you know... the devil thing.

He did consider having a child before, but he knows he would be an awful father. Having you around, not taking up all his time or responsibility of taking care of you, yet still filling that void, made him drink less than usual.

Jack:

If you are interested in the art of music, you just so happen to have the most skilled violinist in the whole world next door, and you might even catch him happily holding a small violin for you. Now, get ready for waking up every Friday to Monday at 6 a.m. for a teaching course. Will he make you as amazing as him? No. But you'll surely come close to amazing.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°••°•°•°•°•°•

He likes to go to the manor garden, especially at night, because he likes his "own alone" time. He is known for being mysterious, sadistic, and moody, so most survivors keep you distance from him, usually the women. You always wonder why; he's not that "bad," as you think. He even carries your teammates in bride style, and likes to joke around in serious, stressful matches at the end of the day. And very polite gentleman.

So curious about him, you asked the hunters you trust when he usually comes to the garden, and then you decided to do your activities in it, hoping to see him today.

You painted, grafted, shaped, played music, listened to music, and even helped Emma water the whole garden. You spent almost 3 hours just hoping he would show up before your match schedule start. And just when you were about to give up-

"Helloooo there, little child. I must say you know where and when to pick the most perfect time for a suitable experience."

You turned around to see the very man you waited for, Jack the Ripper, outside the matches and in the open? You must be lucky. A smile rose on your face as you greeted him.

"It's great to see you too. I hope you don't mind me bothering you with my presence."

You watched him as he went further into the garden, chatting with Emma for a few moments. You wanted to speak to him, but you didn't exactly know how. So all you did was paint one specific flower that you liked and show him. Maybe it wouldn't be so awkward.

In a good 10 minutes, you finished, and while you admired your art piece and prepared to show it to him, he was already bent down beside you to judge.

"Hmmm..... very impressive, I do notice improvements in your details. But I fear there is something off about it."

You looked between him and the painting, figuring out what was missing. After a long silence, he finally stated.

"You don't have any idea how to light and shadow a flower, do you?"

You shook your head, saying you did what felt right.

"I do like to believe this statement as well, but sometimes there are better ways, especially when you can improve it much better. Here, give me your brush."

You hand him your brush as he takes your place, watching him work his magic on your art piece and fixing any mistakes. He makes sure to tell you where you messed up.

You were surprised, to say the least. You ask him if he's an artist, but he shatters your little heart when he says he stopped being one a long time ago. For you, you did feel frustrated, angry, and sad, however. You didn't give up on your journey, even on days you wanted to pull your hair out.

A thought crosses your mind. A white lie. You tell him you don't know how to paint certain things and would like him to teach you. He remains silent after your explanation, which creeps you out.

He knows you're lying, but it's not harmful, and he understands why. However, teaching you to paint? Out of all the requests, he prefers bring you the supplies you need.

"Hm... I asked too much. Would you mind if I left for a few minutes?"

You only nod, and he takes off. You felt guilty. Maybe you shouldn't have asked him; maybe you missed your chance.

20 minutes passed, and he still didn't show up. Yep. Might as well cry a bit tonight.

You gathered up your things, only your paints and canvas left. Once you collected them, you heard a familiar violin playing inside the manor. You decided to stay a bit to listen to it before you leave. You wondered if it was a stupid decision. You could just ask the hunters and survivors if you really wanted to know more about him.

"Fascinating, is it? Antonio's violin charms everyone to enjoy the moment, as if they are just puppets he controls."

Jack almost gave you a heart attack, but you forgot about it very quickly when you noticed him holding different types of objects—a bunch of paints and canvases.

"I did say I would leave you for a few minutes. You should learn be more patient. Anyway, sorry for taking your time. That da Vinci boy wasn't pleased to see me."

He placed the canvases and objects in the proper way before asking you to take your place.

"You are a very talented child. Your previous request was too silly to believe, so I brought things rather difficult to test you out and sharpen your skills."

And he wasn't joking when he said it would be difficult. At least he was more patient and easygoing than (da Vinci young boy).

One hour before the matches started, he decided you had had enough for today. He was focused on drawing small sculpture. So you took a chance to draw something.

Just when he finished his painting, you quickly told him you had to get ready for your matches, then left so fast, leaving one standing canvas behind. Before he could call you out about it, you were already far gone. So he let out a sigh and mumbled something about children these days.

He gathered all the stuff and went to your canvas as well, only to see a full drawing of a person.

It was him, focused on his own painting, with many red and blue roses around him. You almost made him seem like an innocent art teacher who loves nature. And well... one or two of those is true.

He couldn't help but admire it. How you pictured him in your head, how clueless you are about him, almost making him pity you.

If it weren't for Emma coming back because she's forgot something and noticed him, he would be quite late for his match. Not that he would have a problem with it; he would rather watch the painting dry so he can take it to his room later.

⋅ ──────────── ⋅

Nobody truly knows him, especially with how his personality switches so fast, but when he's in a "normal" state, he does feel guilty about... everything. He would rather meet you outside this game, an artist teaching young people how to draw. Yeah, that would be much better than being "Jack the Ripper."

I'm sorry, but he can't really promise to help you with drawing; he doesn't enjoy it anymore. But he can give you tips and bring you what you're missing.

He tried to learn other forms of art but changed his mind too quickly when he failed miserably. No, he would rather sleep underground to have someone guide him.

High chance he would take your artwork and study it, did you improve? How much? Was it easy or hard? How did you feel when you finished it? He can tell more about it. And he usually comes up and tells what he thinks about it and what to improve (if you want, of course). He hopes that one day, you will beat your fellow artist survivors.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°••°•°•°•°•°•

♡

Hi hello I want to bury myself :3 I seriously need to buy a novel book or smth because I feel stupid using simple words lmao 💀 #help

Anyway Have a nice day :D

[fiveredlights]

Okay I need to know things from literally ALL of the wip’s 😂

But I guess the ones that intrigue me the most are the post AUS2024 fic, the alternate Vegas 2023 story and the lmao daniel retirement fic!!

But like I said, I want to know all things lol! You are like one of my favourite authors ❤️

P.S. please feel no pressure to update, write or anything. Take your time

beth you ask and i will dutifully answer, gonna put everything under the cut because this is a long post 🫡

snippets: ausgp 2024/you're on another path

so fun fact about this one i wrote it post quali, and i had planned to post it after the race was done so i a "pre-wrote" two endings. i wasn't going to because i was gonna be like "oh max will win but something bad might happen to daniel" so i had this ready to go:

and i was sitting in the grandstand watching max's car explode in the pitlane and all i could think about was "did i do this. again" and honestly who knows.

Daniel’s already lying down face first on the bed when Max makes it back to their hotel room. He’s been doing it a lot recently after races, opening the door to their hotel room and just starfishing on the bed, unmoving until Max gently coaxes him to actually sleep. 

God, if his twenty-something year old self could see him now. 

Yeah, you’re back at the team you started with—no not HRT, that’s gone now, yes the Red Bull—not junior—sister team. The Red Bull seat? Yeah, not yours anymore, and it’s looking like it’s gonna stay that way. No, no podium at your home race, more like qualifying P18 because you were an idiot and drove over track limits. Points? Well, you had a good chance but I guess luck just wasn’t on your side yet again. 

Oh, and that young and upcoming driver from the Netherlands? Yeah, he’s your boyfriend now—surprise, you’re gay! And he’s a three time world champion, but that’s probably not important. 

Any one of those things would’ve sent Daniel into hospital, but all of those things combined? 

Early death. 

snippets: las vegas 2025/bonus fic reimagined

(i'm going to assume you mean las vegas 2025 and i'll give you both)

Max isn’t winning right now. 

He couldn’t really tell you why. 

Plenty of pundits, fans, strangers on the street have stopped him and asked him to dissect why he hasn’t won a championship in the past two years. He gives them a hastily PR trained and approved answer that seems to be more conscious in his mind now than before and cracks a well timed joke he’s sure his teammate would be proud of. 

Then Daniel comes along and will say, “Max already has three, he’s got to leave some for the rest of us!”, and the conversation will usually move on quickly after that. 

He knows that Daniel isn’t the sole reason for his non-winning ways right now, but when the eventual news of their relationship happens to drop, there’ll be dissections for days on if Daniel plays a part in Max’s performance right now. 

The last time Max hadn’t won a championship was when Daniel Ricciardo was with Red Bull, surely there’s some connection there?

snippets: las vegas 2025/don't read the last page

(Max is italics, Daniel is not.)

Max 🩵

July 31, 2025

...

I may have accidentally 

I swear it was an accident 

Like I pinky promise swear to our first born child

Don’t bring Matilda into this

Did you murder someone

What

Why is that your first thing

You are making a big deal out of it

Like bigger than the podcast you did in January

So I have to assume you murdered someone

Okay well it’s not murder but nice to know you think I’m capable of it

Daniel

I forgot to take off my wedding ring and wore it in the paddock and people saw and I got asked about in the press conference 

They definitely thought I was just engaged so I guess that’s just a silver lining

And you have a bet with Lando over when I was going to accidentally do this

Which is rude because I would never do the same to you Maxy

You literally have a bet with Fernando over if I’m going to slip up and say husband in an interview

How do you know that

And he’s Fernando you know you can’t say no to him

Daniel

When you came out you literally posted a photo of me on your Instagram

The whole paddock knows we are married

Half of them went to our wedding

About 85% of fans think we are in a relationship because you keep on teasing them with photos that is definitely me

Is it so bad that we just say yeah we’re married

We are literally about to have a kid

Okay well when you put it like that

I guess you’re right 

I know

I’m always right

snippets: lmao daniel retirement

They asked him if he wanted a big farewell thing, like they had done with Sebastian and Kimi a couple years back. 

He’d almost said no until Lando pulled a face and said “Mate, people’s last memory of you driving can’t be you heading to the pitlane again.” 

So he agreed. Told Blake to tell them to keep it minimal. No standing on giant mockups of his face during the national anthem or whatever. 

[sugar-soda]

Kids Shouldn't be Here: Piper Wright

Fallout 4 Platonic Companions x Child! Sole

Warnings: Canon Typical Violence, Child in dangerous situations

A/N: This is NOT romantic at all! This is all platonic relationships that explore how the Fallout 4 companions and game would change if the Sole Survivor was a young child. Any romantic suggestions or reblogs will be blocked.

Masterlist

______________________________________________________________

Diamond City wasn't always the perfect place to raise a kid.

Sure, there were a lot of pros to the place. Big sturdy wall to keep the rest of the Commonwealth out, plenty of food and shelter, and plenty of services that you couldn't get anywhere else, like haircuts and a year round doctor. Hell, they even had a school. So many in the Commonwealth couldn't even read and the children of Diamond City got to learn that along with science, math, and history. So yes, there were some good reasons to have a kid there. 

If anyone were to ask about this to the Mayor, he would puff up like a peacock and proudly state that “children were the Commonwealth's future,” and “it takes a city to raise a child,” and other nonsense like he was still campaigning for office. 

If you were to ask someone who was not the Mayor, they would tell you that the city was nice, but it still had problems.

For one thing, with 2 bars and a chems dealer right in the market, there were plenty of chances for any kid looking for mischief to swipe a Mentat or a bottle of beer when no one is looking. Dr. Sun had taken to meticulous combing through his inventory everyday to make sure he didn't become a target of little, sticky fingers as well.

While they didn't have to worry about their kid being killed, the concerns were replaced e with others that were almost pre-war in nature. After all, they couldn't attach their child to the hip like in small settlements, so the children were left to run amuck with no supervision between school letting out and their parents coming home. Between those times the adults would worry.

 Did their kid do their assigned reading? Would they eat their tatos for dinner later or would they insist on surviving off of sugar bombs and snack cakes? What if they fell and hurt themselves on the rusty, dirty metal that made up most of the city and get an infection? Were they leaving poor Sheffield in peace? Were the other kids playing nice?

Those ran through their minds until they could go home.

The suspension was also something everyone dealt with. The Institute had rooted itself into everyone's mind as the Commonwealth's boogeyman, and no one could sleep at night anymore. Anyone could be kidnapped and replaced by an identical synth, so anyone could be a threat. Trust was in short supply, so there would never be that sense of community other settlements had. Every man was for himself. But no good man could go without his children.

____________________________________________________________

If you were to ask Piper Wright, she would say she is great with kids. After all, she raised her sister Nat, and she's great in Piper's biased opinion. Nat was smart, sassy, and incredibly self-sufficient. Piper liked to think she made Dad proud with how she raised Nat.

As self-sufficient as her sister is, that doesn't mean Piper thought she could live entirely on her own. Which is exactly why Danny needed to stop screwing around and open the gate!

“Danny, I swear to God, if you don't open this gate and let me in you will be sorry. I’m standing out here in the open for God’s sake!”

“I got orders to not let you in, Ms. Piper. I’m sorry. I’m just doing my job. The mayor’s pretty steamed about your last article. Said it was nothing but lies”

Ah. Right. In hindsight, accusing McDonough of being a synth was probably going to get her in trouble. But not like this! She thought she'd get another lecture she wouldn't listen to or a fine she'd never pay.

She left the city this morning to interview a few guards on duty. The barracks nowadays were too small and the guards too many. So her next article was a push to expand their barracks up into the stands. The rich folk already living up there will complain about “ruffians” being in the stands, even if they would be on the opposite side of the city, so she had to get everyone else on the same page to get the expansion approved. Which she couldn't do if she couldn't go home!

“God damn it, Danny! You can't just lock me out! I live here!” Piper slammed her hand against the speaker.

As Danny told her to lie low for a few days and let the Mayor cool down, she caught the tiniest movement to her left.  She squinted against the harsh afternoon sun and saw a rather…odd group was making way toward the entrance. 

The most notable was the Mr. Handy, or Miss Nanny, she never could really tell the difference. While Diamond City had its own share of non-humanoid robots and she herself had gotten a few drinks from Whitechapel Charlie when visiting Goodneighbor for a story, all of them were in cities, places where there was supplies and space to do maintenance to keep them running smoothly. Seeing them out of the city normally meant to turn tail and run as it shot lasers and tried to make you into minced meat with its saw blade. This one, luckily, didn't seem like it was crazy. It floated gently alongside its companions, keeping its three eyes on a swivel.

The second was a man. Judging by his militia hat, he was a Minuteman. Huh. She thought they were all gone after Quincy. That tragedy had destroyed a lot of people's faith in the cause. Piper was the first in Diamond City to hear about it, having heard about it from Mayor Hancock himself while visiting Goodneighbor. She cried her way through a whole pack of cigarettes before typing up the article. Like hell she was gonna let McDonough tell the city first and try to spin all those deaths into some Diamond-City-Superiority propaganda bullshit.

He tried when he made a speech about two days after she made Nat hand deliver a copy to everyone in Diamond City. By then everyone knew what happened. It was the least she could do. 

Her eyes narrowed in suspension. If he was alive now, there was a high chance he was one of the ones who didn't respond when the emergency call happened. Coward. She would have to keep an eye on him.

The last person had her back to her, with a duffle bag slung across her shoulders and a pale purple ribbon holding any hairs that escaped her messy twin braids out of her face. A sharp looking sniper rifle accompanied the duffle bag. Looks like she was just a kid, judging by the height difference. Strange. She didn't share any physical traits with the Minuteman, so Piper wouldn't guess they were related. Unless they were distantly related, or the kid was adopted, or maybe they were related through marriage?

 The Minuteman stopped to talk to a guard, likely asking about the city. The girl shifted on her feet, obviously impatient to go. The duffle bag moved and revealed a tiny shoulder wrapped in blue and gold numbers across her back.

So the kid was a vault dweller then. That kinda made sense. She probably was sent out to do trading for supplies and the Minuteman was likely her guard and the Mr. Handy was probably from the vault too.

Piper wrinkles her nose in distaste. Why would they send someone so young? Someone older wouldn't get scammed to hell and back at least.

Piper hadn't realized she was staring until the kid started staring back. Those big eyes seemed to stare into her soul, full of curiosity and questions. Just what Piper needed. While Danny always tried to follow orders, he could be a bit of a soft touch for kids. She's seen him sneaking books he bought from traders into the school. His bleeding heart was her ticket in.

“Psst. Hey, kid.” Piper tried to keep her voice at a volume where the speaker wouldn't pick her up. The girl looked around to see who she was addressing before pointing at herself quizzically.

“Yes, you. Come here.”

The girl peaked over at her guard, who was still talking. At some point, the Mr. Handy had joined the conversation, leaving her in the clear. She silently shuffled over and leaned closer.

“You wanna get into Diamond City, right?” The Vault Dweller nodded quickly, large eyes still unblinking.  “Play along. I'll get us both in.” Piper leaned back toward the speaker, raising her voice exaggeratedly. “What's that, kid? You're here all on your own? What about your parents?” 

Luckily, the kid picked up on Piper's plan. “ Oh, my parents are…they're gone,” 

“ You hear that, Danny? You really going to leave a little kid out here, all alone, surrounded by raiders, and super mutants, and ferals and-”

“Okay, okay! Geez Piper, way to lay on the guilt trip. I'll open the gate up but McDonough better not be on my ass about this.”

A loud beep resounded out and Piper couldn't help but feel smug. That feeling didn’t last long as Mayor McDonough was already there, sour expression making even a radroach look pleasant.

“Piper! Who let you back inside? I told Sullivan to keep that gate shut! You devious, rabble-rousing slanderer! The-the level of dishonesty in that paper of yours! I'll have that printer scrapped for parts.”

God, this man made her blood boil. It was like his voice was nails on a chalkboard every time he opened his mouth. “ Oooh, that's a statement, Mr. McDonough? ‘Tyrant mayor shuts down the press?’ Why don’t we ask the newcomer, huh? Do you support the news? Cause the Mayor is threatening to throw free speech in the dumpster.”

McDonough seemed to just register the kid, who had stopped her trek inside to wait for the Minuteman and Mr. Handy, who had finished talking to the guard. She clearly wasn’t expecting someone to drag her into the argument, startling at being addressed.

“Piper! You can’t expect a child to understand the delicate situati-”

“My dad always said that politicians who try to control the press are the ones who know that they are doing something wrong.”

Piper barely held back the sputtering laugh. She wasn’t expecting such a harsh reply to the Mayor but it was sure funny.

McDonough quickly tried to pivot back to his ‘for the people’ persona as the Minuteman and Mr. Handy joined them.

“Oh, I didn’t mean for you to get involved with our argument, young miss. No, no, no, why you and your father look like Diamond City material,” McDonough said. His eyes were glued to the Mr. Handy, knowing that if they could afford to keep a Mr. Handy while on the road, they likely could afford to stay a while.

The Vaultie squinted at him confused. “Father?” she asked, before realizing, “Oh, you mean Mr. Preston? He’s not my dad, he’s just a friend.” The Minuteman stepped forward and held his hand out to shake the Mayor’s hand, but his expression could best be described as thinly veiled annoyance. “Preston Garvey, Commonwealth Minutemen. I escorted Miss Sunny here from a new settlement up North.”

Ha. Called it. Piper knew they couldn’t be related, though now she wonders how recently the Vault opened, if it had started a new settlement and she hadn’t heard about it. Vault dwellers typically didn't like to leave their underground homes, even if they did open for trade. At least that's what the folks in Vault 81 did, from what she heard.

The mayor at least had the decency to look embarrassed by his assumption, a faint blush dusting across his face before he tried to cover it with a cough.

“Ahem, well, I can assure you that the trip will be more than worth it. Diamond City has all the finest comforts: a safe, comfortable place to rest your head, great food, and anything you could dream of can be found in our fine market stalls. Was there anything in particular that you were looking for, young miss?”

Garvey’s face shifted slightly from annoyance to sympathy, focusing on the girl (he said her name was Sunny, right?) who’s expression dropped from a polite, neutral face to fragile, fearful hope. Even the Mr. Handy seemed sad, which was almost impressive given its lack of face. Whatever they were here for, Piper guessed it wasn’t a shopping spree in the market. 

“We were informed this would be the best place to look for help in finding a missing person,” the Mr. Handy said, posh British accent clear as the day he came off the assembly line. Damn. Another missing person? That would make 4 in as many months. And that would only count the ones Piper knew about. Who knew if anyone else had been taken and replaced by a perfect look alike. The ones not replaced just added to the fear of who had been, and if they could trust them should they ever return. A city filled with suspicion but no help. Diamond City Security wouldn’t hear anything about missing people and any complaints to the Mayor were tossed in the trash. Piper would know, she dug through it. “An infant boy was taken from Vault 111 and we are most fearful of what could have happened to him.”

“He’s my baby brother,” Sunny said, her voice cracking like she was about to cry “His name is Shaun. He’s only a few months old and I need to find him but I don’t know where else to look.” Piper’s heart broke for the girl. She was so young, she couldn’t be older than Nat. She didn’t want to imagine her sister out by herself out here in the wastes. And she was looking for her brother? A baby? The whole situation was heartbreaking.

Crap. That line she said about her parents being gone wasn't just a fib was it? Now Piper just felt like an ass.

McDonough's attempt at looking sympathetic was unsuccessful, so he just looked uncomfortable. “I'm sorry, Miss. But Diamond City Security simply doesn't have the time to look into every missing person's case. I'm afraid they're too busy to look for your brother.”

Sunny crumbled and tears started flowing. “You mean we came all this way for nothing?”  Garvey looked pissed, opening his mouth to start spitting fire at the useless Mayor, but Piper, in her rage and experience yelling at the spineless bastard, beat him to the proverbial punch.

“Seriously, McDonough? A kid crosses the Commonwealth looking for an infant and you tell her you can't spare one guard to help! What the fuck!”

Sensing the danger he was in from the reporter and Minuteman, McDonough tried to cover himself, “However, there is a private citizen who might be willing to help. Nick Valentine. A…detective of sorts. He specializes in tracking people down. I'm sure he'll be happy to take your case.” That did little to comfort the kid as she kept crying and hiccuping.

“Hey,” Piper said, stepping in front of the girl and leaning down to be closer to eye level with her. “ I know ol’ Nicky myself. He's the best in the business. He'll find your brother, I know he will. Come on now, dry those tears. You can't see your way to his office with blurry eyes.”

Sunny nodded, as she tried to wipe her eyes and nose, even as more tears gathered in her eyes. The Mr. Handy placed a gentle claw on her head. “Come now, Miss Sunny. You can't go into a new city with the sniffles. You need to make a good impression.”

As he fussed over her appearance, Preston said, “Thank you for the help with the Mayor. I don't think he would have given us any information if you didn't put pressure on him.”

“Aww, it's nothing. Giving McDonough a hard time is part of my job. I'm Piper Wright. I write Publik Occurrences articles.” She offered her hand. From the corner of her eye, she caught Mayor McDonough just as he fled up the stairs. The Mayor of Diamond City, folks! Makes kids cry and leaves you to clean up the mess.

 Preston smiled, “Oh, so that's what that yelling was about,” 

“Well, not everyone wants to know the truth. But don't let me bore you with my job. You’re here to see Valentine, right?” She took a quick glance over him, trying to see if there were numbers on his coat or any significant markers of which Minuteman company he was part of. She didn't know exactly how Minuteman identified each other, but she knew only one company responded to Concord's call for help. Colonel Holis was their leader, she thinks. If Piper could figure out which company he was in, she could know if she could trust him to not tuck tail and run at the first sign of trouble.

“That will be our first stop after we get supplies, though we could use some directions. This is my first time in the city.”

“Sure thing,” Piper agreed, “follow me. Won't get anything done standing in the entrance.”

“Sunny,” Preston said “come on, I want you to stay in my sights the entire time we are here,”

“Ok, Mr. Preston,” She said, drying the last of her tears. Her face was still red and puffy and downtrodden but she was calmer now. Holding on to one of the Mr. Handy's arms, she was gently led to join them toward the steps.

As they walked, Sunny looked at Piper, “Thank you for helping us get in, Miss Piper. Sorry we got you in trouble.”

Piper smiled gently at the girl, “Don't worry about it, I was already in trouble with him. You guys didn't do anything.” 

Sunny and the Mr. Handy crossed the threshold first and stopped to stare. “Wooow,” Sunny drawed out, “it looks really different from before, Codsworth.”

“Quite different,” the Mr. Handy, who Piper now knew was Codsworth, replied, “but I do believe that the change is not all that bad. It has quite a lot of character if I do say so myself!”

“Welcome to Diamond City,” Piper grinned and pointed down to Nat yelling out the headlines, “ See that girl down there? That's my sister, Nat. She can give you a good run-down of the place if you ask.”

Sunny looked over at Preston, silently asking for permission before taking off once he gave it. Nat immediately jumped into her sales pitch, but Piper knew she would be excited about a new kid when she got out of “work mode”. Even if she did have a robot following her around.

“So, Preston,” Piper started, her eyes not leaving the pair as they talked, “I'm surprised you've never been here before. I thought being a Minuteman meant you got to travel all over.”

Preston started going down the steps at a slow pace as he answered. “Typically, you are right. I've been everywhere from Bunker Hill to the edge of the Glowing Sea. I guess Diamond City is just so well protected, it never needed to call for help.”

She continued pressing. “Anyplace interesting? I've only been as far as Goodneighbor and that only takes half a day.” She needed to know if this guy had really ignored Quincy's need for help or had just not been told by his superiors. If he really did turn his back on the settlement, Piper was sure he'd do the same to the kid.

“In recent memory? Sanctuary has been the best. It's this old Pre-war subdivision that Sunny showed us after we met in Concord. It's peaceful, with plenty of space to grow food, a small river, and isolated enough that raiders aren't too big of a worry.” 

Damn it. Nothing. Piper decided for a more direct approach. “Anywhere else? Like…I don't know…Quincy?”

Preston stopped so abruptly that Piper nearly ran into him. He turned around and his face had changed from a kind, strong Minuteman to a stern, angry soldier.

“If that is your way of asking if I was at the Quincy Massacre, yes, I was. I was there as my entire company died one by one waiting for backup. I was there when I realized I was the only one left and Colonel Holis was dead and no one was coming. I had to make the decision to retreat with what few survivors left in hopes their sacrifices wouldn't be in vain. And I was there as we wandered through the Commonwealth looking for somewhere that we can be safe. So yes, I have been to Quincy.” He turned back around sharply and continued down in a march.

Shit. So he did go to Quincy's aid. And paid heavily for it, if he was the last one left. Today was just the day Piper insulted everyone, huh?

“Wait, Preston!” Piper quickly moved in front to stop him from storming off. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to accuse you of anything.”

He scoffed.

“It's just that… When Quincy happened, everyone was devastated. The Minutemen were supposed to help people! Now, we don't know if we can trust the few left. I didn't know if you were gonna run and leave that girl behind when things get dangerous. But I am sorry. I can only imagine how terrifying it was going through all of that.”

Piper hoped he would accept the apology. She already made enough enemies by exposing scumbags with the paper. She had no desire to add a genuinely good person to that group.

Preston exhaled deeply through his nose before all the rage seemed to drain out of him. Leaving behind only a man who looked really, really tired.  

“I understand,” he said. “ Just don’t bring it up again.”

Piper agreed quickly, just as Sunny came running back up to them. The bright, cobalt blue of her vault-suit stood out like a beacon against the faded reds, browns, and grays of the city. Even when partially hidden by the brown of her leather armor, the only thing that rivaled that suit's color was the jewel green wall that gave the city its nickname.

“Do you charge for your paper, Miss Piper? Cause your sister completely forgot about that if you do.” Even as she spoke, Sunny’s eyes roamed around the scenery. It was probably super different from the vault she grew up in. Piper had never been in one before, but she was pretty sure she would react the same way Sunny is if she went inside one.

“It's on the house for first timers, kid. Next time you're gonna have to cough up some caps.” She quipped, even as the wheels in her head started turning. Sunny couldn't have been out of the vault for too long. What did someone who was raised on pre-war values, with pre-war history, surrounded by pre-war technology think of this post-war society? What did she learn in her classroom that's been lost to time for them? What stayed the same no matter where she was?

“Thank you very much for the assistance, Miss Piper.” Codsworth said, “ You said that you did know the way to Detective Valentine's place of work, correct?” 

Snapping out of her thoughts and coming back to the present, Piper nodded her head. “Right. Sorry about that,” She pointed toward the space past Moe Cronin and his swatters. “Go past all the stores and take a hard right into the alleyway. Valentine Detective Agency is the only thing down that way and it has a neon sign to boot, so you won't miss it.” 

Sunny nodded her head along to Piper's instructions then looked at Preston, expecting him to say something. He was silent for a moment, leaving an awkward tension in the air as Sunny’s gaze flicked between them confused. Piper wondered which would win? His lingering anger and offense or the exhaustion that now seemed to settle deep into his bones.

The exhaustion won as he simply said. “ You take care, Miss Wright. We won't keep you any longer.” He gently placed a hand on Sunny’s back and started leading her away. Codsworth gave his own polite wave and farewell before following, but Piper had her focus back on that blue suit. 

Sunny looked back at her and waved over her shoulder, giving a toothy grin. The dark screen of her pip-boy caught the light of the sun and gleamed slightly. The thing looked so big and bulky on such a small arm.

Piper decided to go with her half-baked idea and quickly caught up with the group, placing a hand on Sunny’s shoulder opposite of Preston. “Hold on a minute, Blue. I got one more thing to ask ya.” The new nickname slipped out easily past her lips. It seemed to fit the girl as well as her actual name.

Sunny didn't seem to notice what Piper had called her, or at least didn't acknowledge it. She turned back around and cocked her head, slightly confused on what the woman could need from her. Preston looked somewhat annoyed at being stopped yet again, but he didn't look as mad as Piper thought he would. Codsworth even seemed curious, continually zooming and un-zooming on her.

“What do you need, Miss Piper?”

“How do you feel about doing an interview for Publik Occurrences?”

“Huh?” Sunny’s brows furrowed in further confusion. “Interview? What do I need to do an interview for?”

“I want to put your story in print,” Piper told her. “I think it's time Diamond City and the Commonwealth to have some outside perspective. You haven't been outside the vault for very long right? So, you could provide a fresh pair of eyes to what everyone thinks is normal.”

Sunny stayed quiet for a moment, thinking. 

“Okay, but I’ll have to do it later. We need supplies and I need Detective Valentine’s help.”

____________________________________________________________

It was late into the evening when Piper heard a polite knock on her door. All the shops had closed down and a dinner of cram and salisbury steak had long been eaten. Piper had finished up her last touches on her article and was writing down questions to ask the young vault dweller up in the loft and Nat was patching up a tiny tear in her coat. Having been grounded for getting detention while she was away, she was banned from playing with her toys, comics, and magazines until the end of the week. As her guardian, Piper had to be responsible and teach Nat that she should have talked to the teacher instead of punching a boy in the nose when he wouldn’t leave her alone. As her sister, Piper was damn proud. 

“I got it,” Nat piped up, setting her sewing down easily. Piper was glad she actually enjoyed the activity cause she never had, nor did she have the patience for it. It was a necessary chore that needed to be done if you wanted to have decent clothes in the Commonwealth. Unless you were a yuppie in the Stands who could shell out the caps for new clothes when your old ones were ruined, someone in the house had to pick up a needle and thread.

Piper kept her focus on her notepad, wondering if asking a Vault Dweller if they were technically inbred was inappropriate before scratching the idea away completely.

“Hey, Piper? That vault dweller and her bodyguard are here to see you.” Piper finally looked away from her work and down toward the door. Sure enough, Sunny, Preston, and Codsworth were in her home. Sunny trying to diligently kick the dirt off her boots and Preston realizing it wouldn’t matter anyway. 

“Hey! Glad you guys remembered!” Piper shoved her notepad in her pocket and descended the stairs. Now on the ground floor, she got a side by side comparison of Nat and Sunny.

Okay. Maybe she was older than Nat. While the girl still held baby fat on her face like her sister, Sunny was several inches taller. She seemed…smoother, too. She didn’t have all the small scars across her hands Nat did have from handling paper and the printing press everyday. Her face didn’t have a random cut or bruise that kids normally sported around here due to falling and eating dirt. Nat and other young girls kept their hair chin length, so as to not have to spend a ton of time taking care of it. Even Piper made sure her hair never got past her shoulders. Sunny’s went past that, probably longer if they were out of the braids.

It was like she was missing parts that Piper was used to seeing in kids, and had them swapped with completely foreign ones. Vault kids really were an entire different breed from Commonwealth kids it seems.

“Hello, Miss Piper. Sorry for coming by so late but we are just stopping to tell you that we are going to have to delay that interview until later.”

Piper raised her eyebrow. Why stop and tell her if they decided not to do the interview? Did she anger Preston enough for him to forbid the interview? No, he would have shot down the idea when it was brought up and wouldn't show up to delay it. Did someone bad-mouth her enough in the market for them to change their minds? She wasn't exactly friends with most of them, but she didn't think any of them hated her enough to actively discourage an interview. Did they…

“Did Valentine forget to show some of that Diamond City hospitality? Normally, he’s better about that,” Piper tried to joke. Nick was always willing to help anyone who needed it, but a lot of people were put off by the bolts and exposed wires. If they were rude about the whole “prototype synth with memories from a pre-war cop” thing, she wouldn’t be surprised if he kicked them out. 

“Unfortunately, Detective Valentine was not there to receive us, only his assistant.” Codsworth answered.

“Miss Woods says he left to investigate a kidnapping by a gang led by a man named Skinny Malone and hasn’t returned. Does the name ring any bells?” Preston continued.

Piper’s mind went right back into work mode. Going over to one of her filing cabinets, she opened a random drawer and started flitting through the unorganized papers. “Nat, where’s my files on Skinny Malone and his gang?,” 

Nat shot over another cabinet, “His personal file is here,” a quick shuffle and Nat pulled out a folder.

Another cabinet and quick shuffle, “His gang's criminal history is here.”

Tucking under Piper, she closed the first drawer and opened the one below it, “And every article about their crimes are here.” She closed the drawer with her elbow and handed her sister the now decent stack of paper.

“Why do you know my system better than I do?”

“‘Cause you don’t have a system at all.”

Piper pulled out his personal file and the crime list. Handing the personal file over to Preston, she gave a quick rundown, “Skinny Malone is a small-time gang leader who wants to make it big. He grew up here in Diamond City. His family was well-off in the Stands, and spoiled him to be more rotten than brahmin shit. His dad cut him off 20 years ago after an altercation that ended with Skinny in the city jail, and told him that his bail would be the last time he spent caps on him. Skinny couldn’t handle an actual job, so he shot his parents in the head, took all the caps they had, and started his own gang .”

Preston followed her explanation on the paper, a serious look on his face. “And one of this gang’s crimes is kidnapping?”

Piper started skimming the list of crimes, cursing herself for not at least alphabetizing the stupid thing. Robbery, Assault, Murder- the whole thing was copied down as his crime list grew but kidnapping wasn’t one of them. She chewed on a nail.

“Nothing on kidnapping, but I do know he’s got a thing for pretty ladies way too young for him, and doesn’t like to be told no. If one got his interest enough and rejected him, I wouldn’t be surprised if he decided to just take the poor girl.”

“Miss Woods said that he was investigating Penn Street Station. We are going there to see if Detective Valentine needs help.” Sunny stated. “If he is as good as everyone says, I bet the girl will be there too.”

Piper flicked her eyes back over to the group before handing the paper back to Nat and heading past the couch. “Penn Street Station is past all the guard stations and is a good walk away. When are we leaving?”

Sunny immediately caught the addition in the question. “I’m sorry, we?” Piper had picked up her 10mm pistol and was now counting her bullets. 

“Yes, we. Valentine has been a part of Diamond City for as long as I can remember and he’s my friend. If you guys are staging his rescue, I’m coming.” Satisfied with the amount of ammo she had, she put her pistol in the pocket opposite of her notepad and pencil. She’ll need that too.

“Besides,” she added, “I still want that interview.”

____________________________________________________________

They had to leave Codsworth behind. Sunny had pitched a massive fit over it, but it was sadly the most practical. Penn Street Station would be crawling with Skinny’s gang, so a stealth approach would be needed. Codsworth was just too loud, his engine, singular thruster, and multiple arms always making an audible noise. His shiny metal finish and inability to crouch made him a giant silver beacon. It was only after she was told that he would stay at Publik Occurances and Piper lied that Nat needed someone to watch her for the night did Sunny agree to him being left behind. (Nat never needed anyone to watch her and had glared at Piper for saying that.)

By the time they had left the city and passed all the guards, the moon was high in the sky and the streets were quiet. Piper fished her notepad and pencil out of her pocket and flipped to the questions she prepared earlier. Not as many as she would have usually liked to have, but she could improvise a few if needed.

“So Blue, you up to answering a few questions for me?,” Piper asked the girl in front of her. A Stealth-boy had been attached to the girl’s armor and her rifle now held steadily in her hands. It looked so big in her hands, Piper couldn’t believe she used it. 

Sunny turned slightly to glance at the reporter. “Why do you keep calling me that? Blue?” she asked.

'Cause of the blue jumpsuit you're wearing?,” Piper answered, “You're a Vault dweller. That and the Pip-boy are dead giveaways.”

Sunny pulled at her collar and looked down to inspect her outfit. “Nothing else that fits me is any good. Everything else is either too big, in shreds, or a dress. I even have to tighten up the armor that I’m wearing with it as tight as it can go.”

Piper smiled and continued, “ I'm going to ask you a few basic questions first, just some simple information until I get to the bigger questions.”

“Okay.”

“Name?”

“ Sunny Evangeline Roberts.”

“Birthday?”

“April 4th.”

“Vault?”

“111. It's on my suit.”

“Age?” 

“12, technically.”

Piper frowned at that answer. “What do you mean by ‘technically’?”

“I mean, I'm only technically 12. If we actually counted the years between now and when I was born, it would be about 212 years.” 

If Piper had a drink, she would have choked on it. Instead, she just choked on her spit. Sunny’s tone didn’t sound like she was joking but Piper couldn’t imagine her being serious. The only ones who lived that long were ghouls and Sunny had the very strong distinction of having a nose. As she was trying to regain her breath, Preston lightly scolded the girl.

“Sunny, you can’t just tell people like that.”

“But you told Paladin Danse, why can’t I tell Miss Piper? If she is gonna write about me, she’s got to know.”

Piper couldn’t believe they were so casual about this. “Wait, wait, wait! What do you mean you’re over 200 years old?” she asked, voice jumping higher and louder than she meant it to.

“All Vault-Tec Vaults had an experiment built in,” Preston answered seriously, “none of them were good, which is why most are either abandoned or destroyed from the inside. Vault 111 put all of the original residents in cryogenic suspension.”

“They didn’t tell us,” Sunny’s voice had a hard and shaky tone to it, like she was trying to be tough but couldn’t. “No one would have agreed to it otherwise. It was too risky. So, they lied and told us the pods were for decontamination. ”

“Oh god, Blue.” Piper’s brain was having a bit of trouble catching up. This kid was old enough to be her great-great-something-grandmother. She had seen the bombs fall. She didn’t know anything about Vault-life, but knew everything about before the war like it was yesterday, because to her, it was yesterday. Most of her questions no longer applied, but a million more took their place in her head, and over half of them would be twice as insensitive as the inbreeding question.

“How…how did…how did you get out? When did this happen? ” Piper’s mouth finally settled on.

Sunny kept walking, but her steps slowed down and her hold on her rifle became looser. “ About two weeks ago. There was a malfunction in my pod. The fact that it was able to still open after not being maintained is nothing short of a miracle.”

Preston now slowed his pace to match Sunny’s, and Piper had to slow now too so as to not topple over the girl. Their brisk walking pace was now a shuffle. Piper’s pencil seemed to move on its own as it wrote down Sunny’s answer.

“Did anyone else make it?” Piper asked softly.

“No. Mom and Dad were killed when Shaun was taken and life support failed for everyone else.” Sunny’s nails dug into grip, scratching at the faux leather. “The scientists and guards that were supposed to watch us had some sort of…fight? Rebellion? Whatever happened between them, when I got out, all that was left was bones. Codsworth was the first person I found when I got out.”

Piper bit her tongue to avoid adding any commentary to the girl’s tale and just asked her question, “Why was your family allowed in the vault? I know only specific people were allowed in each one, or else we wouldn’t have so many ghouls.”

“Vault 111 was advertised as a military vault. They said it was to honor and thank our great American heroes, both past and present. Dad was retired military. His squad were the first to test out new Power Armor on the field, so they were really important. He injured his leg when I was nine, so he was honorably and medically discharged.”

Piper couldn’t contain her curiosity. “Was he the one who showed you how to use this giant thing?” She reached over Sunny and tapped her pencil against the stock of the gun gently.

She couldn’t see it, but a small smile was now on Sunny’s face. “Yeah, he did,” she reminisced, “After he retired, he stayed home while Mom went to work, taking care of the house and me. He was a bit paranoid afterward. He saw things while deployed, but they never told me what it was. He wanted to make sure I would be safe, so he taught me and Mom how to shoot, how to hunt and gather food, how to get clean water, stuff like that. I complained at the time, but now? I don’t think I’d be alive without them.”

Sunny looked up at the crumbling towers and shining stars. “Even with how worried about the future he was, I don’t think he could have imagined it being like this. Otherwise, I don’t think they would have had Shaun.” She looked straight ahead at Preston’s back again.

Piper was going to need to sharpen her pencil, trying to keep up with the girl’s words. She knew what the girl ment. If her brother was just an infant, there was a big age gap between the two, just like her and Nat. If their Dad had survived and their Mom stuck around, Piper wouldn’t have to play the stressful balancing act between sister and parent. She loved her sister with all of her heart, but Piper sometimes resented the responsibility on her shoulders. Sunny’s parents were now gone, and she was putting herself in the role of a mother on a mission to find her baby. After a beat of writing, she spoke again.

“What do you think of this?”

Sunny turned her head to look back at her. “Huh?” “All of this. What do you think of it? It's obviously different from before the war. I think everyone needs to hear how we are doing in comparison to before.” Sunny was silent for a short while, tumbling the answer around in her head. “ Things are different, that’s true. We didn’t have raiders and our toilets worked and the cows had only one head. My parents were here and my brother was safe. The buildings were safer and there was a lot more of everything.”

She paused as they had to climb over a large amount of debris. The rubble was loose and unsafe to walk on, so crawling uncomfortably on their hands and knees over it was the best way to get around the rocks and concrete. 

“There is good though,” she started again, “I have Codsworth, and I met Mr. Preston, and Dogmeat, and Paladin Danse, and everyone back at Sanctuary. Some things are different, but still nice. Diamond City was beautiful in a way I have never seen and when there aren't gunshots, everything is so quiet. And so many people are trying. They are trying to survive, and build homes, and have families. They have hope, so I have hope I can find my brother and have a good life.”

Piper smiled and scribbled down the last words of Sunny’s little speech. This was a lot to work with, and Piper didn’t want to cut anything. She hoped her old printer would survive all the extra work and not kick the bucket like Nat keeps saying. Once she finished her notes, she looked back through quickly, and found something that brought up another question.

“What’s a cow?”

[secret0codename]

CREEPYPASTA - Headcanons

~ Hello hello everyone! I hope you are well. This is Mannuh, I felt like writing... Why not?

~ Spooky hedcanons, I'll do the ones I know the most about and I'll update later!

-Nina -L.J -Jeff -Masky

-Toby -E.J -Jane -Hoodie

-Liu -Sally -BEN -Kate

~ I really hope everything is OK! Since I'm new to Tumblr, I don't really know how the question box and stuff like that works, so we'll be without it for a while! :) Well, I'll leave you with 1 headcanon of each character ^^

JEFF THE KILLER

~ He has a bad habit of facial hygiene, his injuries, especially the cut in his mouth, are infected, he no longer feels the pain he used to, so repeating it is not a problem! But he never cleans, after all he does not feel the need to. The more "nice" the more afraid his victim is, which will make him proud as always

NINA THE KILLER

~ Nina is a 100% independent person. She has learned to develop her skills and doesn't have as much contact with Jeff anymore. Over time, she has given up the obsession with him and developed self-love. She still likes it when people try to focus more on themselves! It's worth noting that Nina has very good aim and is constantly training to surpass Jeff.

SALLY

~ She looks like a child, but she isn't! She may act like one, talk like one, but it doesn't change the fact that she would be around 60 years old currently. She is very polite and kind, she doesn't trust men but makes exceptions for Toby, LJ, Liu, Masky etc. Women she tends to be liberal, talkative when she wants! Even so, she is a spirit she can do whatever she wants with her body, her victims are very afraid of her in a certain way, even though she almost doesn't kill them, only if necessary! (She would probably have a very feminist side, but she doesn't act like one, she just thinks)

"TICCI" TOBY / TOBY ROGERS

~ Toby, he's a very reserved guy with certain people but he's very lively with those he meets, but that doesn't remove the fact that he can be serious, brutal or even sadistic! He has his interests, goals and objectives and always tries to fulfill them without being interrupted. He doesn't like Slender/Operator, not like before he realized that one time or another he will die and clearly his boss won't do anything just look a replacement. Apart from that, he can act anywhere from a 28-year-old man to a 19-year-old muleke who has just entered puberty, this man can have problems but he is extremely polite (with whoever he wants), respectful, and reserved and can have moments that he reveals something of his rarest trait

EYELESS JACK

~ EJ, a cannibalistic man who is extremely serious and well-behaved. A demon that walks on 2 or 4 legs depends on its state, it is not a guy of many words but it maintains relationships with other Creepys or Proxies. He is someone with experience about the human body, so he knows everything! He doesn't just eat kidneys, but his preference in food is clearly human or animal organs on certain occasions, in my opinion EJ always has something saved in case of need, he probably knows when to attack his victims, maybe you don't have 1 kidney and you don't know .. He is stealthy when he is in an angrier form he becomes more animalistic, bizarre and terrifying and scares anyone, but when he is calm and in his own person he becomes like a normal person! but it's not

BEN DROWNED

~ This guy is a professional hacker, if you want something that involves the Internet he can do it effortlessly, this includes, Hacking people, Stalking, Searching, He can change very advanced settings, disabling websites and things like that! I wouldn't want to pick a fight with him! He is not afraid of water, he just has certain traumas, but now (perhaps) overcome, he can range from playful to extremely violent, making his victim die through a screen! He is a spirit, don't expect something physically but expect discord in your life, leaked data, bizarre messages, photos, etc.

☠People, I'm going to do the sequel soon, because I don't want to write much, you know? Maybe I can think about writing history and things like that in the future, even though I don't have the best writing skills in the world! I can try, what do you think? :^

[gingeredmink]

i don’t know if you’ve posted something like this before, but what are your general headcanons about ynfg protags? like their ages, personalities, etcetera. i really like hearing about other people’s interpretations ^^

thank you for giving me an excuse to use this again hehe

I've probably posted something like this in the past but honestly memory is so bad these days I've completely forgotten and as you said, it's fun hearing others interpretations and stuff!

Sorta umbrella generalization is I think most are quiet, shy, soft spoken people. Outside of a few exceptions [Uro for example, she just comes off as a more loud and vibrant kind of character]. Maybe it's the ambience or lack of dialogue but a lot of the games make me feel like the character has a more somber/quiet personality.

A lot also feel like the outcast, always in their head and not really paying much attention to the world around them [either something happened that made them want to shut outside out or they suffer from ostracization and it's a coping mechanism for loneliness]

More for individual characters under cause long

Mado's kinda the poster child for this. Think she's around 16 or so and she became a shut in due to a mix of depression in general and it being exacerbated by experiencing trauma that caused her to snap or distance herself from her remaining friends [Car accident, loss of a friend, something like that.] She grew up playing weird little collectathon/pixel games and she's more interested in funky sorta characters than usual normie stuff her peers prefer, so she doesn't really connect much to those around her and focuses on fantasy more than reality.

Urotsuki [really young adult, maybe around 23-25?] feels like the, "I don't have much in real life but I can be myself and have lots of friends online." sorta character. People aren't intentionally mean to her per say, but she's weird and often doesn't feel like she fits in. Parents are sort of the same in that their main problem is they were distant and not there for her when she needed them.

Admit I am a sucker for this sorta stuff, but adore the idea that she went through a rough patch of self-value issues [was put off from being herself due to being weird, doesn't fall into the conventionally attractive type and had issues with image due to it, ect] but eventually overcame them and is now one of those loud and proud to be herself and very aggressively supports other weirdos around her because she doesn't want others to go through that type of people. She still has her skeletons, having an on-off issue with substance abuse and tendency to get excited and overstep boundaries.

Fluorette [Young adult?] comes across as a sort of lost child that just wants to feel like she belong somewhere. She has personality and such but doesn't fit in with those around her, and her humor can sometimes make her come off as a delinquent which results in her feeling more out of place.

Sometsuki [16-ish?] feels really similar to Mado in that she doesn't really connect much to those around her and prefers to spend her time alone. Can't explain why but feel like she has a bit more of a pessimistic outlook stemming from anxiety [she's afraid of messing up and being looked down on so she's reluctant to try things due to feeling like she's already failed kinda deal.]

NEVER SEE HER MENTIONED ENOUGH BUT I feel like Yayoi from Nobetsu Maku Nashi would be one of the more chill, sort of calm happy dreamers. [i am so heartbroken that the dev deleted because god i wanted to learn more about her so bad.] Sonoko from -1 is similar, though with a bit more of a depressed undertone. Both also young adults.

[xinnamonbun]

Got Nostalgic

So I decided to look at some old Inanimate Insanity humanizations I did a couple years back. I'm pretty sure I did these RIGHT when season 3 released. Good times-

(Looks)

...

AAAAAAAAÆ-

Below will be humanizations of: Soap, Bow, Paintbrush, Blueberry, Goo, Cabby, Test Tube, Cherries, Taco, Apple, Fan, Lightbulb, Suitcase, Balloon, Lifering, Microphone, Marshmallow, Nickel, and Yin-Yang

⚠️ WARNING OLD ART ⚠️

Off to a great start...the soap hair tie is almost cute...almost. (also I'd like to mention that I only knew like three types of shoes so you're going to be seeing these once or twice)

It's... Okay. This is one of the better ones we're going to see. Why does she have ballerina shoes???

I was really really bad at drawing guys and was much better at drawing girls (not that that was very good either). Paintbrush being an entirely different thing made me nervous that I was going to make them too masculine or too feminine. I remember being SO proud of myself... And like this one isn't terrible... But why are they wearing ice skates- (they're not supposed to be ice skates but that is NOT lined up)

Not terrible. I think that this still gives Blueberry vibes it's mainly the shoes that are bugging me. But other than that it's not BAD.

I remember one of my cousins called him Caillou, I sobbed... I hate that they were right- I MADE HIM BALD

Did not know how to draw a wheelchairs (still don't but I hope I could do better than THIS) THIS DOESN'T LOOK LIKE CABBY. END OF STORY. I also don't want to talk about the dress- it's bad

I guess I don't hate this one. I don't love it either. This one is pretty much just "I could believe that's test tube" BUT THERE'S NO SPICE

I had this headcannon that one of the cherries was trans which is why they never spoke because they were self-conscious of their voice. Not the worst head Cannon but I just can't see it anymore. These outfits also just suck. And the return of the ice skates-

This is season 1 Taco specifically and the idea was upon show to hide the hands while having her fancy spy outfit underneath. With the little that you can see of the spy outfit it sucks. The top doesn't look super bad I guess. I also gave her little fangs that I decided to make gray for some reason so they blended into her skin.

I remember this one was my absolute FAVORITE like I thought this was peak character design. It's not that good but at the very least it's definitely the most okay one here... Except for the fact that APPLE'S KNEES ARE LIKE 5/8 DOWN HER LEG- WHO BROKE YOUR LEG?!? Also are those green jeans? Also return of the ice skates.

RONALD MCDONALD!!! IVE FOUND YOUR COUSIN- in case it wasn't clear (it isn't) this is Fan... Excuse me while I bash my head into the wall- WHAT IS THIS ABOMINATION?!? AND ON TOP OF THAT WE HAVE ANOTHER CASE OF ICE SKATES- I swear if I see one more ice skate I'm going to lose it-

This is...kinda adorable??? The hair doesn't fit though. I still like the socks.

This one isn't THAT bad, it's just...the nose. The idea of her having a backpack to carry stuff is still cute. And-... Are those. Ice. Skates. (Inhale) AAAAAAAAÆ---

Burn it with fire. I didn't even like this one when I first drew it! I always had plans of redrawing it but I never did. In case you need clarification this is Balloon... In my slight justification for why he's wearing... that. I was originally going to give all of the returning season 3 contestants vacation clothes because they thought they were going on a vacation but I didn't really do this with any of the others so it just looks out of place and ugly.

I saw an ad around the time I drew this that showed a child missing their upper lip. I thought that that would be an interesting design choice for Lifering to to represent the hole in his face. I was correct that it's interesting. It being a good design choice before this art style is a different topic- still like the earring I gave him though.

I hate those fingers. They're so small. I hate it. I remember this was my favorite outfit, and now I don't like it that much. But I guess it's not THAT bad. It's still kinda bad.

This is Marshmallow. I needed to lead with that otherwise you wouldn't know who this is. This is straight up isn't marshmallow. That is some random girl that should not be trusted with hair dye.

This one is just...okay. at least compared to the other ones on this list. It's not the worst. It's DEFINITELY not the best. His hair is... Something. Also the return of the ice skates

This one is honestly just funny to me now. Yin just looks done (I feel you buddy) I really played around with a vitiligo (the reason why they have both pale and dark skin; look it up) and I do like the concept I had of this I just don't think I have the skills at the time to properly pull it off.

Wait...is that it? IM FREEEEEEE-

Bonus: (this was made before season 3 and I only found this because it was one of the reference images for my Bow humanization shown above)

You know what I said about Balloon? I take it back. Burn THIS with fire.

Ok NOW I'm free.

(for the record I give you full permission to bash me in the replies, in fact I encourage it. I'm planning on making redo's of these humanizations with my (hopefully better) art skills. So pointing out things that you didn't like in the previous designs or things that you think would be nice to add are greatly appreciated feedback)

[my-castles-crumbling]

Hi Cas!!!

Recently i wrote a poem and decided I loved it and send you an ask with it 2 days ago but i think it got lost or smth.

Little backstory here so I live in a family full of artists and very creative people so sharing my work always made me self concious since I always compared my work with theirs. Turns out I also have a problem with openly sharring my work with others which is a bit of a problem considering I need to do share my work for school. Because of that I've decided to share my poem with someone cause I'm really proud of it but I also want someone to tell me their honest opinion/feedback. So here it is I guess??? Also english is not my first language so sorry if there s any mistakes 🦖

Earth breaking beneth my feet

Hands holding my arms

While pushing me down

Sinking into the ground

Divine paintings flashing before my mind

Their meanings going up my mouth

Watching me choke down all the noble words

Blocking their way out

Only to laugh

As the Devil listens to all the broken sounds

Coming from my eyes

Crimson tears staining my cheeks

Honey dripping from my lips

Straight into a vase near my feet

Angles are gathering the golden liquid

Collectiong memories I missed

Reminding me things I did

That are straining my guilt

People I left forgoten

Are sitting faceless

Waiting for my jugement

God is listening to everyone

Except for me

As I bleed out on a light floor in front of him

Staining red everything I could see

While room fillds with blood

That's comimg from my wounded heart

Drowning me

Ending my tortures

While our outstanding preformance goes on

The capitol's laughing

The kids are dying

But why do I care?

About them when I'm away

Maybe these scary meaningfull portraits

Maybe paintings that left me empty

Are happening somewhere on Earth

Someones mother is dying

But all we do is drink honey

Someones child is fighting

But all we do is play a song

Song of Army Dreamers

And say 'scary things happened years back'

While ignoring the fact

That those things are also happening now

Somehow I made a poem about war with my religious trauma, Kate Bush reference and few Crimson Rivers references. Thats cute. When im rereading it now it seems a bit silly and kinda looks like i tried using 'big words' but i still love it.

Also the way you ate up last Caledenstine(HOW TO WRITE THAT????😭) chapter??? Ate and left no crumbs? Yessir. I support Regs rights and wrongs even if his wrongs are treaky(?) sometimes and make me want to hit him with a paper (just jk i would probably hug him and then make him some good soup)

Losts of love for you and your wife and your cat(s) (pretty sure you have a cat or two but maybe im mixing people???? Prolly should go to sleep but this was more important for me?????) Hope your sleep shedule is better then the rests of the fandom tho you are a teacher, an ao3 writer and a trumble user so its probably not the best while school year but still! 💃All the best ❤️

Hi hon!!! Your original ask was actually next on my list lol but I'm responding to this one because you added some things.

Damn, that ending though.

And say 'scary things happened years back' While ignoring the fact That those things are also happening now

This is SO real, and so poignant. You absolutely should share this with others, it's a very powerful poem. I love the imagery you have throughout. Please don't compare your work to others- art is supposed to be unique, you know?

hahah yeah Reg is in his Rep Era rn I feel. I'll not elaborate more.

My sleep schedule is...well it's 12:30am and I am not planning on sleeping for a while, as I need to edit and then post the next chapter. By the time this ask is posted (I'm scheduling it) the next chapter should be out! yay, summer?

Sending you all the love!

[selfproclaimedunicorn]

would love to know Pragma 5 and Philautia 4 for Shireen & Philia 5 and Philautia 5 for Evyn from the Seven Forms of Love questions

!!! I so rarely get to talk about Evyn, I love that you've included him

Pragma 5: What importance or value does your OC attach to marriage? Do they believe that it is important to make a public statement of commitment to another person (or persons)? Or are they more concerned about inheritance rights and security for their family? Or do they not see marriage as a necessary signifier of commitment and loyalty?

So Shireen always knew she was going to get married, that's just what's done. I don't think she ever really fantasized about it, because the odds were very high that it wasn't going to be romantic or a love match like her parents. She certainly wanted that, but she wasn't banking on starting out as being in love. She does think it's important as an institution, though. It's a public declaration that "for better or worse, this is your person," & it ensures a good future for your kids because inheritance laws.

Looking back, though, she's definitely romanticizing having gotten married & it being more than just a legal, political thing. She likes that people know she's Yoricks, she likes having that commitment beyond just the security it means for her & the kids. But all that said, she's very much thinking about her kids' future marriages the way she thought about her own before knowing she'd marry Yorick or that they were going to be disgustingly in love. "This is a legal, political agreement that means security for everyone involved, & I truly sincerely hope that it turns into love for all of you" type thing. It's the happiest of accidents for her that Rhea & Stannis truly love their spouses beforehand, & the realization of Her Dream with Baldric & Myranda coming to love theirs.

Philautia 4: Which of your OC's qualities makes them the most proud? Do they think more people should be like them in this regard? Or do they quite like being rare in possessing it?

Shireen is #1 Sweetie Pie & she thinks everyone else needs to get on her "treat others kindly" level. She likes being nice & genuine, she prides herself on being so good at being soft & friendly, & she cannot fathom why some people are so shit at just not being dickheads.

Philia 5: What is their most fervent wish for their best friend(s)? How far would they go to make it happen?

Evyn just wants his friends to be happy & safe & comfortable. It's really not the biggest thing he could want, but given his relatively unstable & Not Wholly Safe young childhood it makes sense that this is the main thing he wants for those he cares about. And he would go to the ends of the world for that, he would bend over backwards & make himself uncomfortable (to a point at least), he would straight up commit murder.

Philaitia 5: Has your OC always had the same opinion of themselves or has this changed over time? Have they learned to love themselves - perhaps with the help of others - as their journey progressed? Or have the consequences of their actions only served to erode their sense of self-worth?

He has absolutely had to learn to love himself, & even then his relationship he has with himself is really complicated.

His mom very openly did not love him, & he was aware of this fact. It's kind of hard not to be when your a small child & your mom doesn't touch you or talk to you & barely acknowledges you (it's a Whole Thing on her end & I understand it for sure, but also Evyn didn't deserve that). He got raised communally by a bunch of sex workers, but even then he probably kind of always saw himself as a little bit of a burden because, well, here's a bunch of random people you aren't related to having to take care of you while also foisting their menial chores onto you as soon as you're physically able. Mysaria told everyone to take care of him since his mom wouldn't, but she also agreed to sell him off without ever explaining "why" to him. He's always seen himself as needing to be useful to deserve affection, & on some level that's still there but it definitely improves over time. Because, like, yes, Yorick has made sure Evyn is eternally employed, but that's because they're friends & he wants him to be secure, not because Evyn needs to earn his friendship.

There's also the issue of, like, "I grew up around sex & I just don't get it. Why would someone want it so had they pay for it?" & as he grows up & everyone around him is getting laid all the time he feels a bit alienated & down on himself because "oh I guess there's something wrong with me," but he has Ser Gerold Royce to help him out with that. Not wholly the same, Evyn feels romantic attraction where Ser Gerold doesn't, but he's still a good influence on him coming to feel some peace about that too.

Overall, Evyn has a really up-and-down relationship with his virw of himself & it kind of depends on the day you catch him how secure in the self-love department he's feeling.

[bakedbakermom]

*loads canon*

🌞

🎯

💞

🎉

💔

💥

🤭

🥰

YOU ALL ARE MAKING MY DAY WITH THESE THANK YOU

🌞 Do you have a preferred time of day to write?

Afternoons are my favorite because they tend to be the quietest, and I've taken care of my adults nonsense responsibilities so my brain is free to roam. I also tend to jot down a LOT of notes after my pre-sleepy-time pot vape.

I have a VERY hard time writing when there are any distractions around, so my most productive days are when my usually-WFH husband goes to the campus and the child is in school. I can plunk myself down with my laptop and my blanket and write for like 6 solid hours. Those are the best days (from a writing perspective, at least).

🎯 Have any of your readers accurately guessed major plot points? Care to share which?

My beta has guessed a few things but I don't tend to write long enough plot-heavy fics to make guessing a viable pastime. And I'm pretty sure the plot of my smutwork is self-evident 😜

💞 Who's your comfort character?

It is now officially Jay. He's the little blorbo of my heart. I keep imagining his happy, ridiculous, kinky life and picturing ways he might re-enter the MSR Kinkverse.

🎉 What leads you to consider a fic a success?

COMMENTS. Hits and kudos are nice but they don't tell me anything about what resonated for a reader, what made it work, what spoke to someone or left an impression. Even just one person leaving a comment about what they liked makes it a success in my book.

💔 Is there a fic of yours that broke your heart?

Empty Words, hands down. I don't know what battered, bleeding piece of my soul spilled out to make that one happen but I can barely even look at the title in my works list without wanting to cry. It's beautiful, and I'm proud of it, but it hurts.

💥 How do you feel about criticism?

Gotta say, not a fan. I am very self-conscious in just about every aspect of my life, and putting fic out there is something that is very... intimate, I guess? Like holding out little pieces of myself and asking if you like them. Beta feedback is something I ask for and crave and can take in pretty easily (most of the time), but unsolicited criticism on posted works can be really painful. And I know that someone pointing out your flaws is meant to be helpful and can show me where I can improve as a writer but... shush. I'm smushing Barbies together. Do you criticize children while they're playing? (This is why I don't think I ever want to be a published author, btw. I would NOT be able to handle critical reviews of my work. Fanfic community forever.)

🤭 Do you have a favorite tag to use when posting your works?

SMUT. Also "porn with feelings."

🥰 How do you feel about reader interaction? Are you open to receiving questions about your fics?

GOD YES I COULD TALK ABOUT MY FICS ALL DAY. I said in another ask from this same game that it's the community aspect of fic that really got me hooked, and that's as true today as it was when I was a naive little tween typing out my first oneshot on the family computer in my parents' bedroom. If I could post versions that have all my own little comments in the margins, and get all yours in reply, I would do so in a heartbeat.

Ask me more. I am loving this.