lifesver

[lifesver]

my writing brain is on verso rn and i'm enjoying exploring a new muse. but it's lowkey funny how quickly i can pivot muse back to leland. like that's my son,

[lifesver]

oh just a heads up to any of my fellas here i am mostly over at @lightholdcr going unhinged weird mode about clair obscur

[lifesver]

hey so do you think lorelai never changed her phone number in case of the very slim chance that leland would call home

oh hello anon!! yes, i think even in the case of him being missing for years, she still spends some nights asleep in the living room, hoping the phone will ring and she’ll be able to hear his voice. and i think she never intends to move. because what if her boy tried to come home one day and no one was there to meet him?

[lifesver]

it's something really stupid, that comes out of his mouth, just then. he blurts it out like it's going to mean anything to this man, who’s been stalking him and his friends up and down this god-forsaken place, with no particular urgency in his stride. scary bastard, leland thinks, shivers involuntarily, like his body is unsure if he’s feverish or goddamn freezing, at this point. his head is pounding. sweat and blood make his shirt stick to the wall at his back.

leland's gaze flicks to the glint of the blade, gripped in the man's hand. the way a sharp, crooked grin flashes, and disappears on his teeth. never reaches his eyes. mean-looking and scarred. and sure — leland’s taken down bigger guys than this on the mat before, but it's not like he has anything but the disadvantage, here. he's tired of fighting, and running. but fear grips him cold around the throat; keeps him moving. he's seen what these freaks do to people. he's heard the fucking screaming. and hoped to god none had belonged to his friends. he has to find them — he has to. you just have to buy some time. just survive. maybe he'll underestimate you.

the man moves again, and leland hates himself for flinching. hates himself for the urge to back-pedal hard — press himself impossibly further into the grimy wallpaper and disappear. but he forces himself to hold his ground. dad always told him not to let them see you hurting. too late for that, though. his shaky hands come away from his bleeding side in a half-hearted surrendering motion. brows worry down over wide brown eyes, and he stammers;

❝ — no, look, man. we won’t say anything, to anyone, i swear. we — we just want to find our friend. ❞ again — eyes flick to knife, to dark eyes, to doorway behind the man. think, man. shoulders form a tense line, and his hands lower slightly, curl into fists at his sides. prepared to run, or fight? he hasn’t figured that one out, yet.

❝ ... you don't have to do this, ❞ he tries, again. and part of him wonders how many people, just like him, had made that exact plea — desperate, with their back against the wall. ❝ just... let my friends go. please. ❞ he gives a nervous, punched out laugh. feels miserable. ❝ shit. w — who the hell would believe us, anyway? ❞ a bunch of serial killer hicks, a murder basement? jesus christ.

@lifesver said: " you can make them stop. "

knife in hand, his grip around the handle is tight enough that it's draining the color from his knuckles. “ oh, I can make them stop now, can I? ain’t that something. ” his tone is dry, a crooked smile briefly tugging at the corners of his lips before his face falls neutral again.

he seriously doubted that he actually could get his family to stop, even if he wanted to. hell, he couldn’t even keep nubbins out of that damn graveyard. and drayton? he’d lose his shit at the mere suggestion of being the one taking orders instead of giving them (that didn’t stop johnny from barkin’ back at the old man when the mood hit, though).

he takes a few relaxed steps forward, boots clicking slightly against the hard floor, and lets out a long, low hum like he’s mulling over the plea. “ and then what’s to stop y’all from takin’ off and runnin’ your mouths to the wrong folks? I ain’t lookin’ for that kinda trouble. ” he speaks slowly, casually, hands gesturing aimlessly — like it’s nothing more than small talk to pass time at the local bar. “ yer not tryin’ t’get me in trouble, are ya? ”

[lifesver]

for a moment, he just lays there, taking in painful gasps. acrid lake water comes up in little sputters, lungs trying to clear.

and that’s—

that’s sunlight, isn’t it? it's so. bright. brighter than any fluorescent bulb you could find in a vault. it’s warm on his face. real. the breeze is tickling his cheeks. his hand comes up, shielding his eyes. streams of colour glow through his fingertips. distantly, he can hear another, unfamiliar voice speaking to him. but his ears are ringing, ringing really bad. it's hard to focus.

tick-tick-ticktickticktick- leland frowns at the sky, tilts his wrist to squint at his pipboy screen. mostly undamaged, despite whatever the hell had happened to him. the geiger counter is going crazy. oh god, it’s radiated. it’s all radiated. the air. the water. he's radiated now, too.

❝ this is... the surface. ❞ he realizes aloud, sitting up a bit too abruptly. his body complains at the sudden movement, but finally, his eyes land on the girl.

❝ oh. n...no? ❞ his brows crease into a soft frown with his own question. a pause. ❝ i mean — no, thank you, i don't want to die, ❞ he clarifies quickly. was that how people up here greeted you? he blinks at her owlishly, eyes still adjusting to the light. she looks… normal enough, he thinks. leland isn’t sure what he had expected, really. he's only heard stories, and most of those involved raiders, and ghouls. she didn't look like either of those things. judging from the weapon on her back, she probably meant business, though. she hasn't drawn it on him so far. so that seemed promising.

❝ my name's... i'm leland. hi. ❞ he offers a sheepish but genuine smile. nearby, over the girl’s shoulder, he spots the remnants of something else out-of-place on this beach. white, metal. the pods — for emergencies. he doesn't remember ever entering one, though. he also doesn’t remember climbing out of it. it looks busted now, anyway. and it wouldn't go back down even if it wasn't.

❝ i... my vault. ❞ he begins, staring out at the water. from here, the surface looks deceptively calm. ❝ ... there was... a flood, i think. ❞ his head pulses, memory a scattershot of images and blanks. cracking glass and rushing water and debris. must have hit his head pretty bad. he brings his hand up to his temple, fingers coming away with warm red. think. you have to think. he remembers ... this horrible, low creak. and then a shift, right under his feet. panic, someone screaming for help down the hallway. and then nothing.

oh god. his sisters. mom. dad — dad wouldn't have let anything really bad happen, right? if leland had somehow made it to an escape pod, there had to be others. leland scrambles up from the sand with a sudden urgency; desperation in his wide eyes; ❝ h-hey, did you see anyone? anyone else... at all? ❞

@lifesver  asked : “Why am I not dead?” / connie stumbling upon the vaultie out cold laying on the beach maybe GSFD

a dead body wasn't what connie hoped to find down by the lakeshore while searching for flora, but it's never unexpected. mostly, it makes her wary of the creatures that could be down by the water — mirelurks, maybe, but the body looks a little too... whole... to reasonably assume there's a nest nearby. stepping out of the undergrowth, she hops down onto the beach, wanting to get a better look. in case he has anything worthwhile on him.

she crouches down next to the boy, looking over the 41 printed in yellow-gold on his back, in contrast to the rest of his blue suit. a vault dweller, she realizes, rare to find above ground. clearly, the poor boy didn't adapt too well to the surface. and with a little effort, connie rolls him over on to his back. when her hand passes over his face to brush back the wet hair that sticks to his forehead, his cheeks, she feels his warm breath on her palm, shallow, but breathing, and she tries to ignore the gnawing sympathy when she realizes that he's young. around her age, if she had to guess.

but sympathy is quickly traded for curiosity when she notices the strange device strapped to his wrist — a pip-boy, she thinks they're called, as it blinks danger! on its screen. she's never seen one of them before in person, not even the brotherhood back home had their hands on this technology.

carefully, she lifts his arm to get a closer look at the device, and wonders just how many caps one of them could fetch.

that is, until the boy abruptly starts to sputter for air and cough out the water from his lungs. it startles connie, who quickly drops his arm as she flops backwards into the sand, her cat-like eyes wide and alert.

it takes a minute or two of him coughing and her just staring before he pulls himself together, and, helpfully, she says, hey, once he's steady. a beat, and winded, he says, hi, right back. more silence follows, and her eyebrows raise expectantly, like she anticipated a little bit more after a near-drowning, but all he can seem to blurt out is, why am i not dead?

her gaze flickers, like the question is meant for someone else. ’ i don't... i — do you want to be? ’ she asks, not sure what to tell him when she knows even less than he does. connie only hopes it isn't as threatening as it sounds, when it comes from a girl with a rifle on her back and dirty, blood-stained clothes. she shakes her head, and tries for a question that's a little bit easier: ’ do you know your name, vaultie? ’

[lifesver]

e33 leland is definitely like, more of a footsoldier type with a lot to prove. he’s not a scientist or one of lumiere’s brightest, though he’s smarter than he gives himself credit for. he follows orders and kind of expects to die. he probably feels a lot of guilt when inevitably most of their expedition gets wiped out. like yk, why them. i’m supposed to lay my life down to protect our best so that maybe we can finally make a difference.

[lifesver]

expedition 33 verse god help me. i might change stuff but i just like thinking about this stuff for literally only my own entertainment... i ripped a lot of it from his paladin/fantasy verse themes

leland's a brave, kindhearted little dumbass, so he's going on an expedition despite having one or two years before his gommage, following in the footsteps of his parents, who were expeditioners that obviously never returned. his older sister april raised the younger siblings, and when her year came and went, leland was left as the oldest. he feels guilty for leaving his younger sisters behind, but feels that going on the expedition is how he can make a real difference, and save them.

like his mother, he has a certain curiosity and empathy towards the creatures on the continent, but he will do whatever he needs to to protect his friends and teammates, who he cares for deeply. also like his mother, he has always been sensitive to chroma, and channels it empathically -- often sacrificing his own to heal others.

leland's weapon is a sword and shield bc of course it has to be, and his main element is light! his fighting style is very Tank and focuses on taking hits and status debuffs meant for his teammates, which also adds bond, which is a meter that increases with each move used to buff, heal, revive, or otherwise assist a teammate. the charges in the bond meter can then be spent on big damage hits, or resurrecting teammates. he works best as a tank/support for his teammates, and is greatly weakened when solo on the battlefield. thus he has his nice boy support tree and then a small offshoot tree where he is a little grimdark and sad,

main stats: defense + vitality + might

weapon name: celestise - a sword and shield with carvings of angel wings and roses, light element.

skill tree:

life saver - intercept the next fatal attack on any teammate, dealing medium damage in return to the enemy. may cause stun on enemy. + bond charge.

guardian - grant a teammate shell buff for 2 turns. immediately play a second turn. + bond charge.

empowered - heal self for 50% of HP, +10% for each move parried in previous turn.

bravery - when at least one teammate is on field, cast health regen and rush on all teammates. + bond charge.

provoke - draw all enemy attacks for 1 turn. cannot dodge or parry, but will take 50% of attack’s total damage. fully refills bond and AP.

sentinel - cast cover over a teammate. for 3 turns, any damage sustained by that teammate will be inflicted on you instead, including status debuffs. + bond charge.

lifeline - tether lifeforce to one teammate. once per turn, use a bond charge to heal that teammate for 30% of their current health. if at 0 bond charges, use 30% of your own health, and gain a bond charge.

hearts aligned - spend bond charges to grant team immunity from status effects, +powerful status, +shell status, for 5 turns.

devotion - reduce yourself to 1hp, and revive + fully heal a teammate. teammate cannot be killed throughout the rest of the encounter, any fatal attack will reduce them to 1hp. +bond charge, +AP.

hope - deal high single-target light damage, at higher % damage the lower your health.

hail of roses - deal medium light+ earth damage to all enemies.

grief - spend full bond charges to deal extreme single target dark damage. +200% damage per dead teammate.

retribution - curse all enemies on the field to die in 5 turns. can only activate if a teammate has died.

light in the dark - spend full bond charges to resurrect all dead teammates on the field.

rapture - spend full bond charges to deal extreme light damage to all enemies on the field. may break enemies.

bonus nonsense: his gradient skills would be a little different in the way that they would work as 'teamwork' abilities, depending on which teammates are on field with him.

[lifesver]

here he is :’)

[lifesver]

DAWG I KNOW THIS IS LIKE TOTALLY THE WRONG BLOG BUT I CANT FIND YOUR JAKE PARK ACCOUNT AND I JUST NOTICED THAT YOUR OUTFIT SUBMISSION GOT INTO THE GAME AND IS FREE ON THE RIFT????? OMG BRAH THE GASP I LET OUT WHEN I SAW IT!!!!! I WAS LIKE THIS LOOKS FAMILIAR AND THEN I SAW THE PATCHES AND THE BACK AND WOWOOWOWOW I LOVE IT WOWOOWOWOW IM LITERALLY JUMPING WITH JOY ITS SO GOOD!!!! AGAIN SORRY FOR NOT GOING TO YOUR OTHER ACCOUNT I COULDN'T FIND IT💔💔💔

PLS i just saw this and i'm crying. thank you omg!!!! this is so kind omg :') and don't even worry i have not logged in on jake in a hot second anyway but thank u for taking the time to send a message here

[lifesver]

i remembered a movie i watched a while ago called 3 billboards outside ebbing, missouri and also just thought about like. the real billboards with missing people and the entire milk carton campaign for missing children and all that. sowwy i’m just sad about the kids again and the idea of their parents still looking for answers long after police dropped their cases.

[lifesver]

THE SOUNDS OF NIGHTMARES SENTENCE STARTERS .

a collection of roleplay / writing prompts , lifting quotes from " the sounds of nightmares " podcast based in the little nightmares universe .

" the look on your face says there's more on your mind . "

" would you like to talk about it ? "

" how are you feeling today ? "

" do you remember your nightmares ? "

" i remember ... everything . "

" i'm not sure that's true . "

" i woke up somewhere i didn't belong . "

" i don't quite follow . "

" can you try to explain ? "

" you can't understand . not unless you were there . "

" hey ! where are we ?! "

" they aren't children . not at all . "

" my mind was divided , and that's not fair to you . "

" everything is going to get worse from here . "

" help me ! please help me ! "

" who brought me here ? "

" i'll do everything i can to help you . "

" there's nothing bad inside you . nothing . "

" we're in this together . "

" take your pick . "

" sweets for my sweet . "

" do you know a way out of here ? "

" what are you working on ? "

" we're friends . friends tell each other things . "

" i'll play with you . "

" don't overdo it . "

" you were right there ! don't tell me you did nothing ! "

" you're upset with me , aren't you ? "

" are you going to leave ? like all the others ? "

" whatever you desire , it's yours . "

" everyone needs someone . "

" don't leave me alone ! "

" are you still angry with me ? "

" i'll protect you . "

" i hate being alone . "

" i understand more than you think . "

" you mean to escape , don't you ? "

" you're being unfair . "

" i can't help you if you hide things from me . "

" why did you bring me here ? "

" what do you want ? "

" why didn't you tell me ? "

" you promised me . "

" i don't feel like talking . "

" you never listen . "

" we can face these monsters together . "

" i need you . "

" i have nothing more to give . "

" take my hand again . "

" you abandoned me . "

" the more time you spend with someone , the harder it becomes to hide who you really are . "

[lifesver]

u would be mean? to him?

[lifesver]

the thing about leland is that he's like 'fool me once shame on you fool me twice hey that's kind of mean... fool me three times, aw man'

no but like he really is so like. different when it comes to people he cares for. if you're a shady character he's like puffed up chest protective standing behind his friend like hey that guy bothering u??? but also him alone meeting that same questionable character: what could happen if i gave them the benefit of the doubt?

[lifesver]

the family: surely no one is stupid enough to come and look for this missing girl

the dastardly foolish but well-meaning friend group:

[lifesver]

i can’t form a coherent hc post but there is just something to me w leland about him having a bit of a weird relationship with his body that starts with his insecurity and changes as he gains confidence (or safety depending on the verse) and all that. but it starts as a not-totally-comfortable in his own skin kind of relationship for sure. that was always my reading of his otherwise funny amount of jackets and stuff that covers him up. separate but still related i think there is something to how he treats his body entirely as a shield for his friends during the events of the house. he puts his entire worth down into how well he can take a hit, how many, for how long.

[lifesver]

sometimes you write characters for a long enough time they start coming up with their own themes and narratives and generational trauma not touched on by the canon whatsoever—

[lifesver]

comparing leland to his dad like sorry ur son is a babyfaced disappointment to you