#/anyway back to the fish. i don't like how there are some that specifically like to eat human skin. mmm no i have never liked that ever not

[keeps-ache]

mm i Neeed to go the beach

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

my favorite halloween story has little to do with halloween but: once at a college costume party i met a post-grad student who grew up by the coast and came from a family of avid amateur (semi-professional? her mom regularly won tournament prize money) fishermen (fisherpeople?), with the result that she (the post-grad student) had grown up regularly eating fresh seafood multiple nights a week, that was the basic family meal, and when she got to college (hundreds of miles inland) suddenly fresh seafood was very hard to find (on a college student's budget) and she was so frustrated that in junior year (after she moved into a sorority house and had enough space) she concocted a plan to purchase her own aquarium specifically in order to farm/breed her own fresh seafood, and i'm assuming she was so gung-ho that she didn't do her research bc no sooner had she purchased an enormous aquarium off of [craigslist i'm assuming] than she discovered that local pet (aquarium? fish supply) stores either (1.) did not sell species of fish she was interested in eating, (2.) did sell fish she was interested in eating but they were tiny/would take too long to grow to a size worth eating, or (3.) sold fish-she-would-want-to-eat of a size-she-would-eat but at a price that made them more expensive than just going to the fish section of the local grocery store (((did she think they would be cheaper? and if so why buy an aquarium at all why not just buy and quickly consume the fish???))), or (4.) a combo nation of the 3.

But ANYWAY by this point she has already purchased the aquarium, so she goes ahead and buys some tiny fish of a species she was interested in consuming (i want to say guppies. i know they weren't guppies it was another species entirely, probably several different species, but in my headspace that detail has been overwritten with the label "[guppies]" so guppies it is). anyway the guppies don't look particularly delicious but she's observing them pretty often (multiple times a day) in order to track their growth, and soon she's regularly jotting down notes and calculating their caloric intake and predicted weight increase and she's tweaking the aquarium settings to facilitate growth and--basically she becomes an aquarium person. you know, those people who have an aquarium and are heavily mentally focused on the having and maintaining of said aquarium (often in a supposedly leisurely but also completely serious and sedately obsessive manner).

so she gets really into it, and is encouraged by her sorority sisters (who are having fun naming and making up back stories for all the different fishies), and yes i guess she also grows attached to the fish (but this isn't the story of a bunch of fish not getting eaten, ok, she doesn't eat those fish, those fish are no longer for eating, but she still eats plenty of fish whenever she gets the chance, at restaurants and at her parents' house i assume, fish are still being eaten, she does not end up a reformed former fish-eater). oh, and then she goes on to write her senior thesis (? or class thesis or. some final project paper thing) on the fish (or on her aquarium ecosystem? something to do with aquariums), and she decorates her graduation cardboard hat thing with a little finding nemo plushie sewn on.

*GASPS FOR BREATH* (no no wait. ***GULPS LIKE A GUPPY*** hah!) anyway this all happened several years before i even met this woman whose name i don't remember at a college halloween party, but the reason i know this backstory is we had both had too much halloween punch and i asked her "so what are you studying" and she started telling me about how she was in the final year of getting her PhD in Marine Conservation

[artbyblastweave]

Hey so, thought exercise, how do you think Taylor would fare if she got dropped into the invincible universe? For the sake of mechanics let's say she literally gets dropped in via doorman portal or something.

So one thing about Invincible is that I think it's setting is protagonist-centric in a way that Worm's isn't. To the extent that Invincible's setting has worldbuilding- worldbuilding that isn't, like, ported in from the books's early association with the confederated Image Comics shared universe- it's worldbuilding that exists to convey the impression of a big-two-flavor universe. Here's our spin on the undersea kingdom, here's the riff on the Martians, here are our riffs on SHIELD, on Gotham, on Themyscira, on 70s blaxploitation-adjacent heroes, and so on. This is the entire ethos underpinning the Guardians of the Globe in particular- piggybacking on pre-existing audience affection for the Justice League to convey that it's a Big Fucking Deal when the guardians get blendered in issue 7.

You have flashbacks demonstrating that there was capital-S Superhero Stuff going on in the seventies and eighties, or as far back as the thirties with Immortal, you create the impression of a status quo, a big pond in which Mark is a little fish. And to Kirkman's credit, some effort clearly went into making sure that the non-Mark capes are sufficiently fleshed out that you can believe that they've got other stuff going on in their lives. But at the end of the day, it's the Invincible universe. You don't see a lot of people talking about the Guarding the Globe spinoff. Many of the most interesting characters- Cecil being a big example here- are interesting because of the ways in which they bounce off Mark specifically, the ways in which he chooses to deal with them. The universe is less of a character in the story the way that Earth Bet is- it's just the place where Mark's story, specifically, is happening. If there's a codified setting bible, I'll eat my hat.

Now of course the world of Worm is, in many ways, equally Taylor-centric, because that's what it means to be the protagonist. But owing in part to the themes of the story, and in part to the sheer number of false-start protagonists Wildbow played around with before settling on Taylor, it's very good at conveying the idea that there are many stories happening in this setting and Taylor's is just the one this particular work happened to focus on. There's an actual point to doing OC worldbuilding for what the superhero scene looks like in Wormverse Denver or Seattle or whatever- whereas you can come up with superhero teams for Invincible-verse Denver, but what actually ties them to that universe? What are you getting out of putting them in Invincible specifically, that you wouldn't get from whipping up a barebones MASKS setting to support your OCs? Anyway. This is a really long way of getting to my real point, which is that I think the question is less "how does Taylor bounce off the Invincible setting" and more "How does Taylor bounce off Invincible the character, around whom the setting orbits even when it pretends not to."

This I'm unsure of, because where do you stick her in his life where you get an interesting dynamic? One thing that's interesting here is that Mark's overall character arc already involves learning a lot of taylorisms- the strategic ruthlessness, the shift from a good-evil dichotomy to a helping-not-helping dichotomy-so what about his arc is going to change if they spend time together? Why would they spend time together? Given the different power levels on display, what would differentiate her, in his experience, from the dozens of filler capes that exist for him at the level of "vague acquaintance?" This is assuming she's active as a cape at all, which she might not be if this is Post-GM. Mutual association through Cecil and the Global Defense Agency might be a hook- maybe they're paying for her new arm or something- but would she latch her cart to Cecil's wagon in the first place, barring some obvious crisis situation? Hard to say. If she's depowered, and present in his life somehow in a civilian context, well, that's a fast-track to not being part of the story anymore either, given how Mark's civilian connections slowly fading away was kind of a quiet plot point.

There's some configuration of these pieces that could be interesting, but I'm not quite sure what they are. Soliciting input here.

[cookierunauprompts]

What about something with the reader being a siren who ends up luring one of the Beasts in?

Requested Prompts #31 - 💓

It was yet another shitty day in this god forsaken tank, you missed your home in the ocean, hell, you missed your singing voice! If only that jerkwad noble hadn't captured you as some kind of 'fishing prize'. Doing literally anything would be better than being in this stupid tank! Your ear fins perk up in alert as you hear the echo of footsteps from outside your tank, two pairs to be specific. What was going on? Was that jerk trying to show you off again? You idly scratch at the magical collar on your neck, the one that restrained your beautiful song that would set you free from this hell. Of course, your mind then went to a territory that was a bit... darker. What if he was attempting to sell you? A horrifying thought, but not one that wasn't above him. Would you end up on some other rich jackasses plate? Or... would you get a fate considered worse than death? You're thoughts paused as you heard the jingling of bells. No noble would be foolish enough to wear bells, so then... Had the jerkwad gotten some new toy? You're thoughts were confirmed as you saw the jerkwad noble walk past with a blue-tinted jester in tow. The new cookie looked at bit tall, but not taller than the noble, and had fluffy white hair that had blue as an underlight. The Jester was decked out in blacks and blues and had little bells on his hat that resembled small berries. " And this," The noble begins, a smug smile on his face. " is my prized possession." You glared at the noble, yet also kept an eye on the jester who looked at you with something akin to bewilderment. " Is that a gem mermaid?" You heard the jester ask, calling your attention to him almost instantly. " Hah! I wish, this is actually just a siren." The nobleman grumbled, " Either way, Jester, you already know where your room is. And I've already told you the consequences for stealing and running away, so don't get any ideas." The noble then haughtily walked off, leaving you with the fresh meat inside this twisted mansion. You looked towards the Jester, who let out a groan. " Aaah... Man, I'm not really a fan of being owned." He complained, putting his arms behind his head and leaning back. " And I can guess you aren't really a fan of it either, huh?" Your brow perked up with curiosity, " No, not really." You decided to say, catching the jester off guard. " You can still talk?" He asked, surprised as he turned his head towards you. " Man, I thought that jerk would have had you completely silenced." " I... Think he's just a sadist, giving me my voice yet taking away the part of it I can use to escape..." You sigh, lazily swimming closer to the glass. " Let me guess, you lost a bet with mister jerk-face over there and now he has you as entertainment until he decides to kill you off." " Hm, I guess you could say that." The jester chirped, " But then again, I lost on purpose." " Why would you even do that?" You said after pausing to think for a moment. " You were forced to sign a contract, right? Like all the other jesters he had?" " Yep! The thing is, I didn't use my real name!" The jester hummed, stretching his back. Now that was odd, you knew that jerky mc-jerkface's contracts don't get sealed if the name is fake. So then... How? Unless this cookie was lying to you... " Impossible, he would have known and forced you to write your name." You stated, and apparently your statement was hilarious to the jester because he soon burst out laughing. " Well, the name did belong to me at some point, and it still worked so I guess it doesn't matter!" He chirped, bending over backwards to look you in the eyes. God, just how flexible was this guy? It was like he was made of jelly. " Anyways, what's your name? It must be lonely here, being trapped all by yourself." You don't even know how this cookie got you to open a conversation with him so easily, and yet, you were eager to find out more about this mysterious jester. Maybe he could aid in your escape somehow? hopefully? " ... It's Reader Cookie."

[mister-qi]

Mr. Qi Friendship and Romance Mod: 4/19 Progress Update

It's a working title, I'm trying to come up with something less wordy that still will pop up in Nexus searches.

I wanted to be able to track my progress, mainly for myself, but if you're curious, this is the state of the mod right now:

Writing:

Heart Events - the 2 heart event is fully written (with blocking directions), and the 6, 8, and 10 heart events are outlined. The 4 heart cutscene currently has me a bit stumped; I have ideas, but nothing concrete yet. I definitely now understand why Sam's 4 heart cutscene is him dropping an egg. 14 hearts is on the back-burner as a little treat to myself once I get further into things.

Generic Daily Dialogues - about 1/3 done, probably the highest priority for writing. I'm leaving his vanilla casino dialogue as the two heart dialogue, and the vanilla Walnut Room dialogue as his four heart dialogue, with a few small changes. And, since it's me, I have more marriage dialogue written than anything else...

Day-Specific Dialogues - very few written, lower priority. Hoping to have a lot of these made eventually, and I have plenty of ideas, but they aren't necessary for the core of the mod so they're on the back-burner for now.

Gift Dialogues - all 5 generic gift response dialogues are written, with an additional 22 dialogue lines for specific items/groups of items. I'm also up to around item 530 in figuring out what item corresponds to which dialogue/whether or not he likes it. Certain item groups, like cooked food, still need more lines, however. This is definitely something that should be low priority, but also something I'm really enjoying working on. Some personal favorites so far are-

[if given a fish (hated)]: "Eugh, it's all slimy..."

[if given a legendary fish (disliked)]: "If you must give me one of the rarest fish in the valley, can you at least wrap it so I don't have to touch it with my bare hands?"

And I think that's pretty funny.

Art

Portraits - 3 new portraits finished: "deep frown" "glint" and "glasses-less". I'll probably be messing with "glasses-less" for a looong while; it's first shown at a dramatic moment so it needs to look good. Blushing portraits are next on the docket.

Here's "glint" btw, with a background thrown on so I can have a custom icon. You know I gotta make him do the anime glasses thing a few times.

Sprites - no progress yet. Walk cycle is up next after I finish the blushing portraits. Did you know he doesn't have a walk cycle at all? [1.6 spoilers] in the cheated Summit cutscene where he attacks(?) you, he literally just slides at you very fast. Anyways, I may also change his map sprite a bit as well, since it was drawn to match his old portrait and doesn't actually have the same color scheme as his sprites. Note to self: is it possible to make the sparkles on his outfit prismatic?

Maps - no progress yet. The 6 heart and 10 heart cutscenes both require custom maps, with the 6 heart one being a fully custom asset. 10 heart recycles some existing assets but will still need some custom stuff done as well.

Misc Sprites - in my head, there's a dream version of the 8 heart cutscene that has so, so many unique sprites. Like an incredible amount of stuff. I think it'll kick ass, but also that sequence could be done with a few lines of text. So, for now, it's low priority. But maybe in a few months I'll put out a request for help.

Implementation

Not totally sure how to split this into sections yet, as I'm very much still in the preliminary stages so far. To say that I'm feeling overwhelmed is an understatement; documentation on the wiki swings wildly between "an asset is a file in a video game" and "this is an advanced tutorial. Read these 4 other pages first before continuing."

I've started using Ms. Coriel's NPC Creator which has been good for setting up the basic file structure, but ultimately doesn't cover some of the more complex stuff I want to do. EDIT: Turns out it's completely outdated for 1.6! Had to throw out a bit of work, but I still learned from it so it's fiiine.

I think setting up his "schedule" will be a challenge, in that I don't actually want him to have a real schedule like most NPCs. Not to pull back the curtain too much here, but I want him to "exist" in both the Casino and the Walnut Room simultaneously, which is to say, he does not exist in two places at once in the narrative, just in the code. This will change after marriage, however.

My next goal is to set up placeholder cutscenes for each of the heart events, and then to implement the generic daily dialogues once those are finished.

Final Notes

God, this will be a work in progress for a while, but I'm enjoying it! Definitely enjoying the writing more than anything else, but hey, that's how it be. I've got around 70 lines of dialogue written, a bit of art done, and I've started learning how to actually get stuff in game. I've always been more of a designer than a coder, but it's getting there!

ADDITIONALLY I've decided that if I abandon this project for more than 8 months, anyone is welcome to request my work so far and use it for their own mod. If this blog hasn't posted in a long while, feel free to send me an ask or message! I may say no, however.

Ultimately, I want this mod to exist in some fashion. While there is an existing one, I have a pretty different take on the character and I want to share it with you all! Every line of dialogue, every heart event, every little detail needs to share something interesting about a character and their world. Yet, Mr. Qi is a mysterious guy, and I think some things should be left up to player interpretation. And I think it's crucial to be able to match his tone and voice to the vanilla game, while also expanding on his characterization. It's a fun challenge to write, and I hope the finished product, uh, well I hope it gets finished mostly, but I think it'll be pretty good.

Thanks for reading all this. This is largely just a stream of consciousness for myself, but I hope it's...interesting, or something?

[prince-liest]

I just wanna gush bc omg I love the 666 series so much. I think it made me realize I might be... furry-ish? adjacent? I just find it so satisfying how you go into detail about the unique body features of both of them, the way it feels to have deer ears or kiss a TV and just generally how much thought is put into the way their bodies work, and I've realized that my interest in that kind of idea is a pretty good reason to partake in more explicitly furry media lmao. Anyways

I'm also really in love with how you maintain the balance of each of their personality traits. Vox is simultaneously so pathetic and cringefail (also your dialogue for him is perfect, I can hear it crystal clear in my head) but also he has vastly more emotional intelligence than Alastor, no doubt at least in part because he has to deal with Val, and he's able to marginally calm down with his obsession to deal with sticky situations, but even then he still retains his personality and bumbles things sometimes because of the flaws in said personality! It's great. I also really appreciate the balance you've struck with Alastor, I feel like often Alastor is either written to either soften up so immediately that it feels disconnected from his character or is written overly mean and heartless for my liking and the way you've written him is such a delicious balance between softer aspects such as the prey instincts or moments of vulnerability and his untouchable and manipulative self, and also the way this side of him is neither written as wholly a front or wholly his real nature and the complex ways this makes him struggle with his increasing vulnerability. TL;DR arghgr your characterization is so good it makes me go a little feral

Also while I'm here, I'm curious whether you can give an answer to the degree to which Alastor is touch-averse. There's obviously a lot of ways in which he fundamentally dislikes touch but it also seems like there's at least some kinds of touch where he doesn't dislike the touch itself so much as he's afraid of the way it brings about feelings of caring and/or enjoyment being cared for. I'm curious how much, in general, you would say his touch aversion comes from either cause and possibly what kinds of touch do/don't provoke those flavors of aversion

Omg, what a lovely ask to receive. Honestly, everything you said that you enjoy about how I characterize these two is very much what I've been actively gunning for, so it's an absolute delight to see it outlined back to me. Success!!! Thank you so much!

And ahaha - I'm not a furry but I fucking love inhuman characters. Being raised in the pits of Homestuck fantroll RP made me enjoy the whole "they're bug/fish aliens" thing and it definitely rears its head again any time I encounter characters with inhuman qualities. I love writing Vox's TV/computer-ness and Alastor's deer and radio bits, and integrating them into who they now are as people.

As for Alastor's touch-aversion: It's funny that you ask about this, because the next chapter of 666 is going to dive into it a bit. Specifically into the fact that it's not, like, a set of boundaries that is consistently defined, and I write him that way on purpose. The very first time he and Vox sleep together, Alastor bottoms. He becomes significantly less amenable to touch after he goes through an uncomfortable rut cycle that gets sexual. By the time Vox convinces Alastor to fuck him, Alastor would never let Vox do that again and frankly only agrees to topping because Vox gave him an option that didn't involve getting his dick out. Then in the next episode, they're having clothes-off sexual contact. So, what gives?

Things that play into Alastor's willingness to touch and be touched as far as Vox is concerned:

How does he see Vox at that point in time? Disgustingly entitled (ew)? Hilariously beneath him (haha who cares)?

Does he care about what Vox thinks of him? Does Vox touching him draw his attention to positive or negative assumptions he has about Vox's perspective on doing so?

What value has he attached to this particular touch in the power balance of their relationship? Is he humoring Vox? Does he assume Vox thinks he's owed this? Does he perceive it as something Vox is genuinely doing for him?

Has he tried this particular kind of touch before? He's pretty willing to experiment, but that doesn't mean he'll do something twice without a compelling reason if he didn't like it the first time.

Is he getting off on this situation sexually? If so, is it fully willing (read: not a byproduct of uncomfortable hormones) on his part? That only really happens when he's in a submissive role and Vox is hitting a few very specific kinks, a major one of which is basically CNC tilted 30 degrees to the left.

Is he enjoying the touch in platonic ways? How does he feel about that? Is it a vulnerability to want something? Is it feeding his ego to be catered to? Is he worried that what he enjoys platonically is being read into in ways he doesn't like?

Is he fucking drunk? Things that bother you when sober often seem like a non-issue when you're not, both on a physical and emotional level.

How much touching has been happening recently? Has he hit his limit? Did he deliberately put himself into a situation earlier to have his limit be hit and surpassed, and now he's in the aftermath?

He does have a certain fundamental purely physical dislike of touch, but it's something that is really affected by how he perceives each individual situation as well as his relationship with Vox at that time, and his previous experiences!

[gh0st-t0wn3]

Lmk ss edits + headcanons, Part 4 (Jin & Yin, Ao Lie, Tripitaka, Bai He)

- He/Him, He/They

- Pansexual, Bisexual

- They both have chronic separation anxiety, its why they're never apart; Yin tends to go non-verbal and more withdrawn without Jin, and Jin gets really agressive and paranoid without Yin. 

-  Yin can't sleep if he has nerves, Jin can do nothing BUT sleep if he has nerves

- Jin always forgets something at home, Yin reminded him a hundred times before they left

- Yin doodles on the corner of their blueprint papers whenever they're making something new, Jin cuts them out later and glues them into a sketchbook so they don't get lost

- Jin's hips are constantly covered in bruises because he's always bumping into shit (has NO spacial awareness whatsoever)

- Yin listens to rock music, Jin doesn't have a specific genre

- Somehow are simultaneously the most innocent and dirty minded people, you'll never know what you're gonna get at any given moment

- Yin always finds a way to drown in inch deep water (really bad at swimming)

- ^^^Jin laughs at him

- After they found out Mei and MK didn't like eachother as anything more than friends, they tried to trap him in the calabash again but used Redson to try and seduce him instead, MK immediately knew it was them

- Jin was talking really fast cause he was panicking once and called the Demon accountant "Semon accountant" and has still not recovered

- Yin laughed his ass off when it happened and constantly reminds him of it

- Jin likes his pillow warm (he's insane)

- They both occasionally become self aware and wind up having a weird crisis trying to figure out whether their horns are a part of their skull or something else

- Both are cat people, they're terrified of dogs, being trapped in a room with one is one of their worst nightmares

- Neither of them has clean hair, it is a fucking rock you will not be able to comb that shit out

- Jin rants about new ideas, Yin writes/draws them down

- Yin will bite you if you get near him while he's eating, bro's feral

- Jin stubs his toe atleast three times a day and screams in agony every. Single. Time. Eventually Yin just stopped running to check on him, it's happened so many times that he can distinguish what Jin's scream sounds like specifically when he stubs his toe

- Yin spent several months slowly moving everything in their house slightly to the right everyday, Jin cried cause he thought he was going insane

- Jin smells like cinnamon, Yin smells like caramel (I'm delusional, they both reek)

- Jin's love language is words of affirmation, Yin's love language is quality time

- Yin is terrified of cockroaches, Jin keeps some as pets

- Jin tried to dox Mei during one of her streams, Mei showed up at their house instead, it was terrifying

- The Demon accountant has to use a pressure hose to wash them

- They were banned from the arcade but they kept showing up begging to be unbanned, the staff eventually started feeling bad and let them back in

- Yin always throws out his drawings if they don't turn out how he wanted them to, Jin fishes them out of the trash when Yin isn't looking and keeps them in a sketchbook under his bed

- He/Him

- ??? Bisexual, probably

- Favourite animal is a leaf slug, it just feels right

- Mei's number one supporter

- Ate a strawberry once and found a worm inside, never ate strawberries again

- Constantly bothered Zhu Bajie during their Journey to the west, he thought it was funny seeing him get upset

- "I swear to buddha, if you ask me 'why' one more time" " Why?"

- Wukong pulled a bug out of his hair once and he freaked out and made Tripitaka go through his hair for him

- Heaviest sleeper of the group, when he falls asleep he is OUT,

- Has horrible bed head and his hair takes forever to comb out

- Really bad at math

- Wakes Tripitaka up in the middle of the night to ask the dumbest questions

- Refuses to wear shoes, he's in his horse form for most of their Journey anyway so he doesn't see the point in having any at all

- Would absolutely down a container of melatonin gummies if he had the opportunity

- Had to comfort Wukong while he puked after chugging a gallon of salt water once

- Mei gets her ':3' face from him

- Trips over his hair as much as his sleeves, no matter how much of his hair he ties up somehow it always ends up in his face or under his foot and he's down

- Follow up on the last headcanon, he's tried to cut his hair before to stop this from happening, it did not work, his hair grew back really fast

- He's like a cat, if you tell him not to push something over, he'll push it over

- Favourite colour is actually rose gold, but green is a very close second

- DBK let him hold Redson after the Samadhi removal ritual was over and Ao Lie immediately dropped him (DBK caught him before he hit the ground, but Ao Lie was banned from holding him again)

- Can eat an entire buffet and not gain a single pound

- Smells like Mint

- Love language is physical touch

- Chews on his sleeves when he's bored

- Gets along surprisingly well with Nezha despite Nezha's and Ao Bing's history

- Really good at singing

- Since he's a water Demon, he gets overheated really easily in the sun so whenever they come across any kind of water (river, pond, puddle, etc) he'll just flop sideways and lay there for like 20 minutes to cool down

- Actually thought Mei was his sister for a minute until he realized it wasn't her when they first met

- He/Him

- AroAce

- Sometimes gets visons and dreams of his life as the Golden Cicada

- Tripitaka, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujin can see what their descendants/reincarnations are up to

- He cried on Freenoodles wedding day... it was not of joy, Zhu Bajie also threw up several times

- Once joked about having to shave all of Wukongs fur off now that he's a Monk and Wukong cried

- Absolutely HATES when people enter a room before knocking

- Would probably be scared of popping candy if he ever heard them (bubblegum, pop rocks, etc)

- Hates when people fold the corner of a page as a bookmark

- Constantly corrects people's spelling; "it's 'you're' not 'your' "

- Can't stand the sound of people chewing with their mouths open

- Has naturally long lashes

- Weak ass ankles

- Tried to teach Wukong how to read and gave up in a few hours because he refused to pay attention

- Cries whenever someone brings up his and Zhu Bajie's pregnancy, it's what keeps him up at 3am (if you haven't read JTTW, I'm sorry that this is how you found out)

- Surprisingly has a really good singing voice

- Always writes in cursive and no one can read it

- Understands cicadas

- In JTTW (chapter 39, i think) Tripitaka encountered a demon who impersonated him so well that even with his golden vision Wukong couldn't tell them apart and mistakingly attacked the real one, Tripitaka still gets nightmares about Wukong almost killing him

- Favourite colour is yellow

- Smells like oranges

- Love language is words of affirmation

- Has little freckles

- Extremely texture picky

- Vegetarian

- Has almost lost his hat (???) multiple times due to being kidnapped so often, it's a miracle he hasn't lost it yet

- Loves watching the sunset

- VERY light sleeper

- Smiled at Redson once, who immediately burst into tears (He could see that Tripitaka was the golden cicada and got scared), Tripitaka freaked out and also started crying while trying to calm him down

- She/Her

- Ally

- Has stretch marks as a result of her bones and skin being stretched out while she was possessed by the Lady Bone Demon

- White streaks in her hair from the possession

- Even after being freed from the Lady Bone Demon, her skin was never quite right, always too pale or too cold, with little snowflake markings here and there just barely visible

- Always cold, she has to wear multiple layers of clothing to help deal with it, doesn't matter how hot it is outside, she's always wearing something warm

- Has eyebags because she gets recurring nightmares about the Lady Bone Demon and hardly gets any sleep anymore

- Has very faint freckles

- Definitely believes/believed in those "spells to turn you into a mermaid/fairy/vampire" YouTube videos

- Made potions as a kid (it's windex, food dye, and glitter mixed together)

- Probably collects rocks

- Mei and Macaque taught her how to scam other kids in roblox

- Used to believe that if you ate a seed it'd grow in your stomach and had a meltdown when she accidentally swallowed watermelon seeds

- "Guys, stop swearing!" Whenever someone says "Frick", "Heck", "Dang"

- Cut her own hair once when she was really little, it was a disaster

- Eats whatever anyone gives her

- LOVES kumara

- Always eats lucky charms for breakfast but she'll pick out all the actual cereal so she just has milk and marshmallows

- Her dad is Pigsy's boar rival from across the street

- Loves street food, especially tanghulu and cheese tea

- Chews on her sleeves

- Smells like vanilla

- Love language is quality time

- OBSESSED with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and watches it on repeat (she once compared MK to Donnie because they both fight with staffs)

- Has a charm bracelet with personalized charms she made for everyone she likes/loves

- Loves orbeez and has a heart shaped orbeez lamp that she uses as a night light (I had one as a kid, it was awesome and I miss it very much)

- Dyes the white streaks in her hair pink, but they fade pretty quick so they have to be re-dyed frequently

- Has a tooth gap

- Her favourite flowers are chrysanthemums

[dabislittlemouse]

Hi, congratulations again on 2k!!! 🎉

For the event, maybe something along the lines of Dabi+ Reader fluff - "I know you've always got my back, Doll." If you don't mind 🙏🩷

Thank you 🩵

Thank you so much uwu hope you enjoy this <3

“𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒅𝒐𝒍𝒍..” (sfw)

2K FOLLOWERS EVENT

It had been quite a hassle to get where the League was now; in Re-Destro’s mansion, enjoying some fine sushi and relaxing on the comfortable couches. After Shigaraki had beaten Re-Destro and taken control of the entire PLF Army, things were easier for all of you now that you finally had a roof on your heads and some food to fill your stomach without risking to get supplies and getting caught by heroes.

As you were enjoying your sushi with the others, Dabi was the only one who refused to eat and simply headed to the balcony. Dabi had always been a picky eater, he’d rather starve to death than eat anything fish related. A cigarette would do him perfectly fine that evening, not that he was really hungry in the first place. After finishing your sushi, you decided to join him too. The night was peaceful as always, quiet, a chilly breeze blowing outside that had you shiver. Winter was coming soon.

“I hope ya didn’t come here to convince me to eat dinner like you usually do” Dabi said casually, puffing smoke out of his mouth.

“Nah I’ve given up on that. Your head is as hard as a rock” you shrugged and he chuckled. You sat next to him, he offered you a smoke but you refused. The both of you sat in silence for a while, your mind mostly lost in the recent events with the new allies.

“I can’t believe you got in one team with that icy freak” you suddenly said, catching his attention. You remembered how hard Dabi fought against Geten back then, and how much the guy got in your nerves.

“Hm? You jealous we didn’t end up together?” he smirked playfully and you hit him in the shoulder, giving him a glare.

“Chill, just joking” he laughed. “Damn.. the ice bastard is actually good in many aspects, Shigaraki saw it fit to lead the Violet regiment with him. Anyway..” he sighed. “Seems like you hold quite the grudge against him doll..”

“It’s not a grudge” you replied. “It’s just that.. Geten is so annoying. Remember how he acted in the battlefield? Underestimating you and constantly trying to put you down with his words, implying that you’re weak. Who even is he to decide if someone is weak or strong? I mean yes, your quirk might have the side effect to harm your body, but that does not mean you are weak! Your flames were so powerful he had to flee. And I don’t see how a guy like him can be fit to be a lieutenant, isn’t he too young and immature for that? Especially after he disrespected you like this, and honestly I-"

You stopped your angry rambling the moment you noticed Dabi looking at you. His pupils dilated, he had the softest look in his eyes while he stared at you longingly, a slight smile on his face. You always had the tendency to get angrier and ready to fight whenever your beloved people were treated like shit by others. Even if it was just a small offensive word. And specifically for Dabi, he had such special place in your heart that you would allow nobody to act like a smartass and fuck around with him. You knew how much Dabi resented his quirk’s disadvantages, and you didn’t want anybody to deepen his insecurities about himself.

“W-What? Don’t look at me like that! ” you pouted, face flushing in embarrassment as he laughed, his hand coming to pinch your cheek playfully.

“I’ve never seen someone be this protective over me, doll. Don’t worry, that bastard’s words don’t mean shit to me”

“Yes but I still hate it when others talk bad about you” you murmured and he gave you a kiss on the forehead, bringing you closer to him. Your chest fluttered from millions of emotions.

“Aren’t I the luckiest fucker out there?” he said, caressing your hair. “I know you’ve always got my back doll..”

[lizzaneia-elizalde]

Hi, Goodmorning/night! how has your day been? :3 i hope it went well!

If its okay, can I request mermaid reader (preferably fem), dropping some stuff down to Viper? It can be small jewelry she doesn't quite like or anything REALLY shiny — because she thinks sending him stuff would make him less interested in her and more on the stuff she drops. Basically her doing an offering and praying Viper would take the items instead of her

Always rest! And can I be "🦪" Anon? Im mostly a huge fan of Viper and Damon, so i might ask a lot about them! Again always rest and take care of yourself!!

Yandere! Male! Deep sea creature x mermaid! Fem! Reader: Viper route 1

That's so cute! Okay cuz I think Viper has like some similarities to Orion. He's also a collector! So I just let my hands flow and see where it takes me. Also, welcome 🦪anon! It's so nice to have more familiar faces here!

Also a bit sick, so I'll probably slow down a bit till i'm healed. Sore throat plus a runny nose, plus A FEVER WHAT LIKE LET ME BREATH????

Writing puts my mind at rest from being sick anyways...

You pursed your lips and looked down at the void below the trenches.

It's been quite a while since you escaped Viper's grasp, and Viper has continued to try and fail to seduce you back to him with that dang light of his.

You're a curious fish, but not that curious.

You're even deliberating on moving out of the trenches and back to civilization again, but something's telling you to don't do it.

Deciding on taking your mind off of the deep sea merman, you dedicated your time in talking to Orion and knowing more about human technology. He's happy to oblige too, anyways.

But you can't help but glance back at the deep, dark void down below, telling you, whispering that you belong there.

Surely you don't.

You're a creature of light, someone who enjoys the sunrays reflecting on the blue, tranquil sea. Someone who loves looking at the boats passing by, cleaning up trash, finding little treasures that you stock up and design your little pod inside the trenches...

You're satisfied...

Are you?

You can't help but remember how cold yet warm the darkness was. How Viper coiled his long tail around yours, his body heat enveloping yours. You can still feel against your back, your skin, the way his torso pressed against yours flush and fit. Significantly stronger, can kill you with one bite and yet...

You shook your head as you shivered away the daydream. No. No no no!

Slapping your face, you grabbed your bag and zoomed back to the trenches to start your little... Littering.

You've been sprinkling these little gems, trinkets, and jewels down below to him. Sure, you might need them as it's currency, but you're self sufficient enough with a farm and an aquatic ranch. You rarely even go to civilization anymore to really use these.

So, as valuable as these treasures are, and would literally make you rich, you decided to dump them on Viper.

Sweet, little naive you thinks that this counts as littering. You really didn't want to throw down actual trash-- you're environmentally friendly, you don't want to do that. And Viper is still a merfolk despite how um, scary he is. Hope he sees it as a bribe too. Who knows? Maybe he'll leave you alone if you make him rich enough?

But then again, you're sweet, you're little...

And you're naive.

Didn't you really thought that this practice looks like you're giving him gifts?

No, a wedding gift specifically?

He did propose to you to be his mate, his eternal partner.

And you're doing this?

Oh, little one. You're too cute! Acting all shy and bashful-- you're so upfront at wanting to marry him by giving him what's equal to a dowry!

Viper collects them meticulously. Putting them in a giant pit that's slowly but surely making him richer by the second.

Should you and him move out of the trenches and back to civilization with this money? With all of these riches, both of you are basically at the upper crust now.

Then, he'll show to those pesky upperdwellers that one of them is his, and only his.

He'll show them how he owns you, loves you, and will have a family just to piss them off.

Oh, how it makes him shiver just thinking about it.

So yes, continue giving him the dowry, little one.

Sooner or later, he'll snatch you up and drag you back down to the abyss,

and live happily ever after.

That's what you wanted, right?

[fraterribilis]

The taxonomy of Sly Cooper: Part 1

In which I will be using my higher than average knowledge of zoology to attempt to accurately identify the specific animal species of various characters in the Sly Cooper franchise, sharing some interesting facts about them along the way.

I'll start with the four most prominent characters; Sly, Bentley, Murray and Carmelita. If people are interested I'll be making similar posts for the other characters.

WARNING: I will be unleashing my inner Animal Kid™ in this post. Verbose language and casual dropping of scientific names abound

Starting off with Sly himself, I like to believe that he is a crab-eating raccoon (Procyon cancrivorus). This quirky little carnivoran is found throughout South America and parts of Central America. Despite its name, it has a varied diet including crustaceans, fish, small turtles (watch out Bentley), fruits and nuts.

As opposed to the common raccoon (Procyon lotor), which can be a bit of a chubby little furball, the crab-eating raccoon has shorter and sleeker fur, and its slender proportions makes it an even better climber than its northern cousin. All of this makes it a perfect fit for Sly in my opinion. Also, its jaws are more defined and powerful than those of common raccoons, which i think is very appropriate for Sly's dashingly chiseled jawline.

Bentley was a little bit tricky to identify, as he seems to be a rather generic looking turtle. However, a closer inspection of his shell reveals his kinship.

This rather flat, ring-marked shell has led me to conclude that he must be a diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin).

Like Bentley, diamondback terrapins are very resourceful animals, being able to survive in both fresh and saltwater habitats, where they priamrily feed on insects, fish, crustaceans, and mollusks. They can be found in brackish marshes and mangrove forests thoughout the east coast of North America. The beautiful diamond-like markings on their shells are unique for every individual. Some people believe that the markings indicate the turtles age, like growth rings on a tree.

I have seen others identify Bentley as a box turtle, which I don't get at all. Box turtles are distinquished by their bulky BOX-shaped shells. The diamondback on the other hand has a flatter, more streamlined shell, which makes it very mobile in the water. Though, I guess this makes it all the more ironic that none of the core members of the Cooper gang know how to swim, despite all of them being based on semi-aquatic animals, but I digress.

Speaking of semi-aquatic, I firmly believe that Murray is a pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis). Not just because I have an affinity for these animals, but I can back this up by examining Murray's design and characterization.

Murray has a very stocky and robust body (friend-shaped), with a relatively short compact snout, not unlike the pygmy hippo. This is in stark contrast to the common hippo (Hippopotamus amphibius) which has a very large ungainly (and less "cute"-looking) head in proportion to its body.

I think the main reason that Murray's design in the unfinished Sly-movie was so unappealing, is that they based his proportions too much on those of a "realistic" common hippo.

Anyways, pygmy hippos can be found in scattered populations across forests along the west coast of Africa, where they feed on broad-leafed plants and fallen fruits. They are extremely rare and endangered due to habitat loss and the bush-meat trade.

Unlike the infamously aggressive common hippo, the pygmy hippo is a rather docile and shy animal, whose first instinct when threatened will typically be to run away and hide (not unlike Murray in the first game) though it can defend itself with its powerful jaws. True to its name, the pygmy hippo is less than a quarter of the size of its larger relative, with the biggest specimens weighing in at about 600 pounds (which is lighter than some domestic pigs).

Moving on to Carmelita, there's no getting around the fact that she is supposed to be a red fox (Vulpes Vulpes), what with her strikingly orange fur colour and long bushy tail. The red fox needs no introduction, being one of the most succesful and abundant carnivorans on earth (besides domestic dogs and cats), with a range covering basically the entire northern hemisphere (aside from the Arctic), along with a worryingly invasive population in Australia.

Even though Carmelita is often characterized as a spicy latina, (being inspired by latina actresses such as Selma Hayek and Jessica Alba) Latin America is one of the few places on earth not inhabited by red foxes. These areas of course have their own native fox species. I considered the possibility that she could qualify for being a gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), a kit fox (Vulpes macrotis), or even a culpeo (Lycalopex culpaeus), but the thing that really cements her as being a red fox is her jumping ability.

Red foxes are able to jump up to 2 meters into the air, which is four times their shoulder height of about 50 cm. This would be the equivalent of a 6-foot person jumping 24 feet in the air, which feels appropriate given some of the insane feats of athleticism we've seen Carmelita pull off throughout the series.

[joyburble]

The crowns

OK, you got me. Here we go. Dongfang Qingcang's headgear. In episodes 2 and 3 he wears a very large, gold crown with a complicated shape that matches the armour and looks like tree roots.

The texture of the gown worn under this is rather gorgeous. (Obviosuly, none of what we call "armour" in this show is supposed to look at all like physical protective gear, and he doesn't usually bother with it just for fighting, so I just assume that its primary function is ceremonial, but I also like the idea that it acts as some sort of conductor for magic shrapnel flying around on a magic battlefield, like a Faraday cage or something. You know what, I'm going to call this the Faraday Crown because we'll see it again).

When he realises he's going to have to get down to the much more difficult business of having arguments with Xiao Lanhua, he changes into something more comfortable which includes this very modest little hair-clip-style tiara. He partially wins this argument:

He continues to wear this one with all three black-and-gold outfits right through the duelling and drama:

... as well as being baffled in boats, twice, and being back, at the start of episode 10 ...

... Except when he is wearing the hunting dress, which has its own slightly more elaborate headpiece with a stalk that sticks up.

In passing, let me point out how much of this show works because Wang Hedi's face is intrinsically hilarious. But anyway, I'm pretty sure he wears this same one with the honey-coloured gown.

So that puts this medium-sized, somewhat plain, but in my opinion rather elegant headpiece with the two outfits in which the character looks and feels most comfortable and 'at home': whether because he's doing something he feels comfortable with, like forest shenanigans, barbecuing fish, or burning down the hall at Haishi (the hunting dress), or because it's the calm before the storm (the honey gown).

As things start to go haywire, his outfits get more magnificent and he wears what sassybluee has pointed out is the Berry Crown, an extremely pretty asymmetrical tiara with little touches of blue, like berries:

He wears this with the Chrysalis Gown and with the Fire Gown, through the process of transformation.

In later episodes, as he's under increasing pressure, his look goes right through magnificent into downright ugly. This outfit in epiosde 28 is just awful:

It does make sense if you think he's trying to increase his physical authority by looking heavier around the waist, but it doesn't work. The honey-coloured gown does a much better job of that, just by looking soft and comfortable and incidentally very sexy.

But wait - is this the same crown he was wearing with his armour in episode 2? I think it is.

And immediately after this, in the next scene, and without any explanation, we see that he's taken it off - to have an argument with Xiao Lanhua. This is the second time he has taken this specific crown off to do that specific thing, and this time it leaves him, shockingly, bareheaded:

Which we know he never is, except when sleeping, or playing sick for attention, or in so much pain that the Berry Crown symbolically fell off and we got the shot of it on the floor, above.

He loses the argument. It's very real.

To wrestle with Taisui for the first time and to fight Shiyuntian in episode 31, he is back in full battle dress, with the Faraday crown (and the same belt, which makes so much more visual sense with the armour):

In episode 33, however, the transformation is truly complete, and he wears this mourning tiara, which looks carved from unpolished jet, and points downwards, not up. I don't think we've see it before:

Then, he puts the Faraday Crown on again for the final battle, which is obviously worth the extra ceremony. It would be impractical to show him actually putting it on, of course, because this isn't the right moment for that level of visual implausibility, but his having just done so is implied in this very touching scene:

It disappears, however, during the battle, and he is bareheaded again:

And for their joint victory, bareheaded and wearing a very plain black robe (but still with an interesting subtle damask pattern to it)

For being back the second time around, he resumes the rather modest little tiara he wore in episodes 3 to 10 at Arbiter Hall, and for being back the first time. I was a bit thrown by this outfit choice on the first watch, but on reflection I think it's probably the correct degree of ceremony for snogging your goddess:

So I think we are to accept that these things are to differing degrees disguises, but never wholly a disguise.

Nevertheless, here is The Evil Penguin Disguised As A Chicken, because it makes the point about headgear better than anything ever did, and if you are too young to get this joke, you should definitely watch The Wrong Trousers. It's only about 20 minutes long.

[yanderes-galore]

Yandere Deathgripper(Pet-like)

Sure, I'd love to! Of course I still need to rewatch HTTYD but this is not a specific Deathgripper so it should be fine ^^

Yandere! Deathgripper Concept

Pairing: Animal/Pet-like

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Overprotective behavior, Drugging (?), Kidnapping, Murder, Cannibalism mention, Possessive dragon, Stalking.

From what I've seen there are many different variants of Deathgripper.

For this I'm going to focus on the common variant as seen above.

Deathgrippers are vicious creatures.

It's difficult to get one loyal towards a rider.

You can save them from danger which makes an adult one trust you.

Yet the easiest way to train any Deathgripper variant is a hatchling imprinting on you at birth.

They cannibalize their young, their diet is other dragons usually... the safest way to encounter one is training a hatchling.

Deathgrippers in the wild have a very violent nature.

Even then the dragons are dangerous due to their potent venom and acid blasts.

Their stealthy, intelligent, and incredibly agile hunters.

If a Deathgripper got attached to a rider, that rider will have some significant protection.

Deathgrippers strike fast and utilize venom to slow their opponents.

Any threat to their rider and they'll aim to kill.

They'll take down humans or dragons.

The beasts can be quite fearless when it comes to standing their ground.

Once a Deathgripper is big enough and trusts their darling, they'll carry them on their backs.

Dragon riding is a good way to bond with a dragon.

A domestic Deathgripper is best fed fish, even if it doesn't cut down on their bloodlust.

The venomous stinger and teeth on a Deathgripper is not only used to immobile foes.

If a Deathgripper disobeys their rider or feels their rider isn't listening to them...

The dragon will strike their rider with the stinger to paralyze them.

They do not use as much as they do towards foes, but it puts the rider in a vulnerable spot.

Which allows the Deathgripper to move their rider as they please.

Deathgrippers are probably one of the most possessive dragons with their rider.

Due to their violent disposition they do whatever it takes to keep the rider they trust most.

There may even be times a Deathgripper drags their paralyzed rider to their nest, wrapping around them and refusing to let go.

A Deathgripper isn't all that affectionate towards anyone but their rider.

They will stay still for affectionate pets against their scales when alone with their rider.

They get more violent if others are in the area and will refuse affection.

These dragons are ruthless.

They'd sting and bite rivals to drag them to their rider.

Like little presents before they slaughter the still breathing dragon or person.

Sometimes they eat their rivals...

Or simply melt them with acid.

They don't understand the fear on your face.

Deathgrippers will stalk both prey and their riders.

When it comes to their riders they mean it as playful.

Many strike class dragons know how to hit fast and stealthy.

Deathgrippers act the same, if there's a threat near their rider then the dragon takes it out quickly.

Deathgrippers are selfish ever since hatchlings.

If their rider hates their behavior, like the eventual abduction into their nest, they don't care.

Venom keeps their rider quiet and their rider alone can't defeat them.

They will make sure their rider is given food of some kind if you're in their nest.

Fish or meat from something is given to you, the dragon waiting for you to eat it.

Deathgrippers are not the type to mark.

Yet you may have scars from them anyways due to their violent nature.

Even when playing they can hurt.

Deathgrippers can be violent yet loyal dragons towards their rider darling.

Once they get territorial and possessive, however, who knows what they'll do to their rider or the creatures around them.

[wickedcriminal]

HELLO AGAIN I'm glad to see you got my ask (it was important to me that you knew how much I ADORE this au) but now I've just gone back through the tag, I have some questions, if you don't mind! There's a good chance you've answered some of them before but I wanted to ask anyway:

First of all: with both Snotlout's being one character, and in Elder's age group, how does that work with some of the book specific scenes where Snotlout is being cruel to Hiccup during training (as the older ones have already gone through pirate training)?

Also slightly related: are either Adelaide or Gustav in Younger's pirate training programme or is it just the book people we hear about?

Also also slightly related (and you can tell I have a bit of a theme to my questions): what is Adelaide and Snotlout's relationship like? And what is Adelaide like full stop since she's barely mentioned in the books after all, so if you do have anything characterisation wise, that would be quite cool?

AHHH THANK YOU 😭😭 ALSO I LOVE THESE QUESTIONS SO MUCH BECAUSE I GET TO DRAW ADELAIDEEE WHOO

So Snotlout basically did all the book bullying to Elder back when they were both in the Pirate Training Program, (including the sabatoge and attempted parricide,) and he continued to do it through the Dragon Training Program and up until Elder saved everyone from the Red Death. Ever since starting the Dragon Academy, Elder has been receiving much more respect from his peers, and Snotlout has been having to draw back on the bullying to save face. Elder and he still have that chief-heir rivalry, of course, and it becomes a gag that Snotlout casually tries to kill him and Elder rolls his eyes like "oh, you" and then everyone laughs it off. Through RTTE he'll mellow out, and by the time of HTTYD 2, the murder theme will pretty much be gone with Snotlout having begrudgingly become real friends with Elder.

As for Adelaide!! I made a post about her a few years ago, but I decided I wanted to give her a bit of an update since I found a better slot for her in the larger story! (And also because I wanted to redesign her agahagah)

Adelaide is indeed in the Pirate Training Program! She pretty much becomes Younger's book!Snotlout, sans the murderous tendencies. Unlike Snotlout, Adelaide has nothing to gain from killing her Hiccup, but she has seen Snotlout heckle Elder enough times for her to mirror that onto Younger. Taking book!Snotlout's place also gives her all of his book lackies, like Dogsbreath! (Gustav is also a Pirate and one of her lackies, though he's less of a bully to Minicup and Fish and moreso just a mild annoyance 😂)

Adelaide and her friends' usual up-tos around Berk include sailboat racing, hunting rats and fish with their hunting dragons, basheyball, and other mischievous preteen activities (though never quite as destructive as what the Thorston twins get up to.)

Adelaide's relationship with Snotlout is amicable enough, though they probably bicker thrice as much as the Hiccups normally would. Snotlout likes to embarass Adelaide around the other Pirates and it annoys her to no end, but despite this (and she'd never say it to his face) she's often heard praising Snotlout up and down for being the coolest person ever. She likes to taunt Younger about how her cool and awesome big brother is gonna clobber his wimpy crybaby big brother. Even after Elder defeats the Red Death, she still has a habit of talking him down in favor of Snotlout, and continues to do so even through Race to the Edge and HTTYD 2.

She'd get some skull tattoos in RTTE, and her riding dragon would be the Devilish Dervish that Snot had in the books! I also wanted to give her a unique weapon, so she uses a flail mace!

Her role gets bigger from book 9 onward, as she and Snotlout's relationship with each other as well as their differing thoughts about who deserves to be King become extremely relevant.

Let's just say she's got a good throwing arm.

[eddiemunsons80sbaby]

Everybody Hurts

Chapter 4

Pairing: EddieMunsonxReader

Summary: You needed to escape, escape from your life, your messy divorce, and all the pitying looks. Looks you couldn't ignore when everyone in town had known you and Cam, had known your shame and failure. So, you took the first job you could get, teaching third grade in a town called Hawkins. Little did you know, you were walking right into another messy situation, a messy situation with big brown eyes and long dark waves. But he's resistant, at times unbearable and you start getting curious about the town's past, his past, especially when things don't start adding up.

18+ Only for eventual smut

Next chapter: 09/20

Word Count: 5.8K

Masterlist

1 2 3

You pushed open the door to the small cafe, breathing in deep, letting the smell of cinnamon and coffee soothe you after a restless night. Millie glanced up from behind the counter, a wide smile crinkling the corners of her eyes at the sight of you standing in the doorway. She lifted a hand, waving you over, already pulling a warm cinnamon roll from the bakery display. 

“I told you that you’d be back,” she teased, placing it in a bag and on the counter. 

“You did and you were right. Best cinnamon roll I have ever tasted, hands down,” you laughed, pulling your wallet from your purse. “It was the first thing I thought about when I woke up this morning.”

Well, that wasn’t entirely true but you’d rather not admit that you’d been thinking about something else that was almost the same shade as cinnamon alright, but it wasn’t a baked good. It was those eyes, intense and burning, challenging your own across the flames. You didn’t even want to admit to yourself how much he’d managed to get under your skin, crawling and burrowing deep.

“You want a latte to go with it?” asked Millie.

“Yes, please,” you responded, impressed that she remembered your drink of choice after one time considering how many orders she must handle in a day.

“So, did you get to explore much of our town yesterday?” the sweet lady questioned as she foamed the milk for your coffee. 

“I did, actually. I went to the library and grabbed a couple books and then I went down to the lake for a bit. I stopped into the Hawkins diner to grab a late lunch and wound up making some new friends.”

“Well, that’s wonderful,” beamed Millie, slipping a sleeve onto the paper cup and handing it over to you, her fingers darting across the keys of the cash register to ring up the sale. “And who are these new friends?”

“I don’t know if you’d know them…”

She laughed, waving her hand dismissively in your direction, “Darling, I have lived in this town my whole damn life. There isn’t anybody I don’t know within the town limits. Where do you think they all get their coffee from?”

“Oh…well, I met Max Mayfield at the diner and she invited me out to a bonfire with her friends at the lake last night. There were a whole bunch of people there. Umm…there was Robin, Steve, Mike, El, Lucas, Argyle, Jonathan, Nancy, Will, and this guy named Eddie.” 

Your cheeks blazed hot as you spoke his name and you found yourself once again questioning why. It was like you had no control of your body’s reaction to even the mere mention of him. 

Millie’s lips flattened against one another and she nodded, “You met yourself a nice group of people then. I get pizza from Argyle’s every single Friday night. Boy could use a hair cut but he makes a mean pie. Who ever heard of pineapple on pizza? But I’ll tell you, he knows what he’s doing. And I take my little Bella to Robin’s grooming place every month for a shampoo and a cut. And Officer Harrington is just the nicest guy. He’s always in here picking up donuts for the station. So, what did you think of everyone?”

You had the distinct impression that Millie was fishing for something specific but what she hoped to catch, you couldn’t be sure. 

“Oh, I loved them. They were a great group of people. I thought they were all really nice. Well, most of them were anyway. Eddie didn’t seem to like me all that much.”

“And why would that be? You seem perfectly likable to me.”

“I don’t know,” you admitted with a shrug. “I didn’t do or say anything. I mean, at least I don’t think I did. Well, I may have after he was rude to me but he said stuff first. He was kind of a jerk from the moment he saw me, acting like I was some intruder on his little group and wasn’t welcome.”

“Well, now, you be a little patient with that boy, okay? He’s been through a lot and it’s…well, it’s made it hard for him to trust new people but he’ll come around. He’s a sweetheart, really. He jumped my car for me just a few weeks ago when it wouldn’t start and he came over and helped me clean my gutters last year. My husband, Roy, keeps trying to act like he’s still twenty years younger than he is. He’s stubborn as a mule. He refuses to accept that there are things he just shouldn’t be doing anymore and that man’s gonna kill himself one day. I happened to be complaining about it when Eddie was in here grabbing some coffee and he just offered. Came over that weekend and went up that ladder and took care of it. I tried to pay him but he wouldn’t have it. He did let me give him some cookies though. The people in this town have been unfair to him, downright cruel if you ask me, and it’s not right. That boy’s been through enough. Don’t you go doing it too.”

Your eyes widened, shocked at Millie’s tone, as if you were the one who should be sorry, as if you were the one who’d been so damn irrational. You tried to mesh the image of the rude man you met last night who could barely carry on a civil conversation with the picture that Millie was painting but it was difficult. Based on what the coffee shop owner had told you, Eddie sounded like the nicest guy in the world so what was it about you that made him so damn unpleasant?

“I won’t. I like to come to my own conclusions about people,” you assured her. That was something you’d learned as a teacher. Previous teachers always wanted to laundry list all the bad qualities about a kid but you never wanted to know. You wanted to meet the kids yourself, build a relationship, and make your own judgment calls. 

“But he makes it a little difficult when he’s rude for no reason,” you tried. 

Millie raised her eyebrows at you and you groaned. 

“Fine. I will try to give him a chance but only because it’s you asking.”

Millie smiled, clearly mollified, “That’s my girl. Just for that, I am going to add in a chocolate chip cookie for you to enjoy later.”

“If you keep giving me free treats, you’re never going to get rid of me.”

“Maybe that’s my plan,” the jovial woman laughed. “Maybe I’m just ensuring you stick around for a while. I think this town could be better with you in it and I think you could be better in this town.”

 Your head tilted, a bit taken aback by her statement. “Oh, I think you’re going to be stuck with me for a while, especially now that I’ve found some friends. Speaking of, can I ask you something? You don’t have to tell me if it’s none of my business. I didn’t want to ask Max because it seemed rude with us not really knowing each other that well yet, but do you know why she wears sunglasses all the time?”

“Oh, that…” Millie paused, resting her arms on top of the bakery display. “Listen hon, that’s some ugly business that you don’t need to worry yourself about. That girl got lucky, very lucky that that’s all she was left with. That’s all I’m going to say about that, okay?”

“But…”

The woman held up her hand, “Darling, I don’t like talking about that time. This whole town would just rather forget it. It was a dark time for Hawkins. We’ve all moved on and there’s no point in dredging up bad things from the past that we can’t change. You’re new here and you’re so young and starting fresh after a divorce. Don’t be worrying your head about ugly stuff that had nothing to do with you.”

“Wait. How did you know I was divorced?” you asked, almost certain you hadn’t mentioned it yesterday. 

“Young girl starting over in a new town? Hiding here for four months before you finally unveiled your pretty little face to us all? Getting all hung up on the mysterious new guy you met last night? Please. That has all the markings of a relationship gone wrong and a girl trying to find her place in the world again, to get a second chance.”

“I…what…mysterious guy…Millie, all I said about Eddie was that he was rude and didn’t seem to like me. I am not hung up on him.”

“Maybe so but he’s also the only one that made your face go bright red when I asked you what you thought.” She reached across the counter, patting the top of your hand with a wink. “Listen, I think it’s wonderful. That boy needs a good girl. He needs someone to love and someone that will love him, treat him with kindness. He’s been alone for far too long.”

You snatched your hand back, “Whoa there. It’s nothing like that. I just met him and trust me, he didn’t seem like he was looking for anything romantic or anyone new period. I believe he even stated that he has no need for new friends.”

Millie snorted, rolling her eyes, “Of course he did. I’m calling it right now. You two will be in here getting your morning coffee together within the month. I can tell attraction when I see it and it’s written as plain as day all over your face.”

“You’re wrong, Millie. There is not any kind of attraction going on,” you argued, shaking your head and grabbing your breakfast, suddenly eager to get out of the cafe and away from the woman who seemed adamant to hook you up with the one person who didn’t seem keen to even breathe the same air as you. 

“We’ll see about that,” she sang, wiggling her fingers at you as you hurried out the door.

____________________________________________________________

You had never been so relieved to see your house, something you thought you’d never think after spending months cooped up inside it. You strode up the walkway, trying to push all of Millie’s words out of your head. It was all you’d been able to focus on during the walk home, almost walking into a car you didn’t see, the driver honking angrily at you. 

That woman didn’t know what she was talking about. She didn’t even know you. She couldn’t see your attraction to Eddie written on you. It didn’t work like that and it didn’t matter anyway. You had no intention of pursuing anything with a guy whose mood was as pleasant as being stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on the freeway when you really had to pee.

You stepped up onto the front porch of your house, the warm cup of coffee between your hands. You pulled your cardigan tightly around yourself. The May morning still held onto the chill of the previous night, the day not quite warming up yet. The sun was shining bright, the sky a bright blue that promised a pleasant spring afternoon. The puffy white clouds, gathered in heaps, reminded you of marshmallows, quickly bringing your thoughts back to last night. 

There was definitely something strange going on in this town, something strange with that group. Lucas’s response, that they’d all been through a lot, felt like a collective answer about something specific. Dustin and Robin had gotten very weird when you asked what they’d all been through. And yeah, everyone went through shit and you couldn’t begin to imagine the hardships Robin had gone through, but you couldn’t shake the feeling that it was more than that. It felt like they all got together every year on that beach because of something they’d all dealt with together, something dark and ugly as Millie had described it. Hadn’t Max begun to say something at the diner about it being more than just a celebration of spring arriving and then cut herself off? 

That wasn’t to say that, strange or not, you didn’t enjoy all of them. You did, very much so. They had been so kind, welcoming you into whatever kind of private celebration they were clearly having. Everyone had been so sweet and friendly and seemed more than happy to have you join their little party on the beach. Almost everyone at least. 

Your eyes fell on your coffee, a pair of eyes the same shade flickering through your mind, haunting you, just the way they had last night as you had lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, waiting for sleep that just wouldn't come. You’d spent most of the night tossing and turning, your brain replaying every little interaction you’d had with the grumpy mechanic, getting more and more irritated with yourself for even caring. 

And why did you care? You’d just met him. This Eddie guy was nothing to you. So, why were you letting him consume your thoughts, steal your chance at a good night’s rest? It had been a fun night if you took him out of the equation. Why were you allowing him to ruin it for you, to become the one thing you could focus on out of the entire evening? 

It was those eyes, damn it. They’d looked at you with such hardness and disdain but then a moment later had melted into this warmth that had seeped into your skin, flowing through to the tips of your fingers and toes. And something else…behind the bravado, the arrogance, there was something haunted about him, something hurting. 

You would swear there was a pain just beyond the obvious annoyance. There was more to that man than met the eye, things he was trying to keep buried deep, covering them with his attitude. It felt like he was trying to hide in plain sight, to protect himself but you didn’t know what from and honestly, why were you making it your problem to fix? It wasn’t. He wasn’t your problem.

You rested her forehead against the post of your front porch with a groan. Jesus, what were you doing? You didn’t know anything about this guy. You were allowing Millie’s words to infect you, to contaminate you. You were probably making shit up in your head to excuse why he’d been such a dick to you when the answer was probably so much simpler than that. He just didn’t like you. He didn’t like some newcomer crashing their little party and why should he? You’d had no right to be there, not really, especially if it had always been their thing. 

Alright, enough of that. You had just stopped obsessing over one guy, trying to break down every gesture and comment to figure out the internal workings of his mind and how he could do the things he’d done. You sure as hell weren’t going to start obsessing over another one. That was not part of the new you, new life plan. 

Eddie didn’t like you, plain and simple. And yeah, he was sexy as hell, heartbreakingly beautiful actually, in a very annoying and infuriating kind of way, but he was still just a guy and not a very likable one anyway. 

Even if he’d sat outside your house to make sure you got in safe, that didn’t mean anything. He probably just didn’t want to have to explain to his friends if you’d gone missing or been murdered in your garage and he’d been the one to take you home. Wouldn’t want to be the last one seen with you, the number one suspect when the cops started asking around. 

“Ugh!” you growled loudly, rolling your head, a satisfying pop loosening your stiff neck from your restless night. No. You were not going to do this. You didn’t give a shit why he didn’t like you. It didn’t matter.

It was Sunday and by the looks of it, it was going to be a beautiful day. You stepped down off the porch, turning to face the house. You took inventory of your space, trying to paint a mental image of what you wanted for the spring and summer. Lots of vivid bright colors to brighten up your days, a full garden to keep you busy and give you something to fill your time over summer break that was now only a handful of weeks away. You would go to the greenhouse and get some plants. Nothing like some physical labor and getting dirt under your fingernails to get out of your own head and back to reality. 

The only problem was that you didn’t have a car yet and there was no way you were going to be able to haul all of those plants back on your bike. Did you really want to make multiple trips, buying only a couple things at a time? You pulled your cell phone from your pocket, flipping it open, scrolling through the numbers that your new friends had punched into your phone last night. 

You considered calling Steve for a moment but quickly dismissed it, not wanting to give him the wrong idea if he’d been leaning in that direction even slightly. The way he’d wiped the marshmallow from your mouth, his thumb lingering over your lips, made you think he just might. You definitely didn’t need that kind of complication in your life right now. You scrolled back up to Nancy and pressed the call button.

“Hello?” she answered after three rings.

“Hey, Nancy. It’s me.”

“Oh! Hi!” Nancy sang happily as if your call was the best thing that had happened to her today. It bolstered your confidence a bit, having felt just a tad presumptuous for calling her, for assuming she might want to hang out after meeting you once. “What’s up?”

“Well, I’ve been meaning to get some plants for my garden at my new house and it’s supposed to be a beautiful day. I was thinking about running to the greenhouse, but then I remembered that I don’t have a car. Kind of hard to haul a bunch of plants on a bike. I was wondering if maybe you’d want to tag along and possibly be my transportation? I know it’s kind of last minute and it’s kind of a big ask for you to donate time on your weekend. If you’re busy, I totally understand.”

“No. I’m not busy at all,” Nancy laughed. “Jonathan and I are just laying here in our pajamas being bums this morning. We’ve got nothing going on today. That sounds like fun, actually. A lot more fun than hanging here with him and his friends later. You want me to call Robin? We could grab some lunch or something and make it a girls day!”

“Oh…yeah, I would love that. That sounds great,” you grinned, pleasantly surprised at how excited you were. After months of wanting nothing more than to curl into a ball and be alone, you were genuinely looking forward to spending time with people.  

“Okay. Give me just a bit to get ready. I’ll shower and call Robin and then we’ll come pick you up. What’s your address?”

“Oh, it’s 444 Euclid.”

“Seriously? You’re right around the corner from us!” Nancy shrieked happily. “We’re practically neighbors. Alright, I should be there around eleven. Does that work?”

“Yeah, that’s perfect.”

You hung up, that feeling from yesterday creeping in again. That feeling that was eagerness for the day ahead that you hadn’t felt in so long. No more going through the motions of eat, work, sleep for you. You had friends now. You had plans. You had a to-do list that was growing longer by the day, things you wanted to do to make this place your own. This was definitely the beginning of a new chapter and you found you were excited for what life had in store for you for the first time in a year. 

___________________________________________________________

“Thank you so much,” you told your new friends as you sat on the front porch, enjoying lemonade, a well deserved break after some hard work in the afternoon sun. “This would have taken me forever by myself. I can’t wait to see what this looks like when everything finally starts to bloom.”

It had taken you a few hours of sweaty, dirty work but you finally had everything planted in the garden. You had not expected Nancy and Robin to help you with the planting. You’d figured you would go to lunch, head to the greenhouse, and then they would drop you off and you would spend the rest of the day working in your garden. But they’d insisted and you hadn’t been ready to be rid of their company so you’d agreed. It had been far more fun that it would have been alone.

The three of you’d had a very nice lunch at the diner, chatting with Max in between her taking orders and serving other customers. You were somehow now going roller skating with everyone on Thursday. You were taken aback by this group’s instant acceptance of you, how easily they included you, but you were also incredibly grateful for it, knowing you needed to actually start living your life if you were going to start having one. 

At the greenhouse, you had strolled along every aisle, Nancy and Robin extremely patient as you looked for plants of various colors that would give you the vision you wanted so badly. You’d bought a couple of large hostas that would be a pale blue, some Black Dragon coleus that would be a deep burgundy color, pink Hollyhock, blazing orange Day Lilies, bright yellow Black Eyed Susans, and some Butterfly Weed. You’d also bought two large pots for your porch and some purple Coneflowers for those. A couple bushes to frame your porch and you were feeling almost giddy at the picture that painted itself in your mind, what your house would look like in another month when everything started really growing. 

This place was finally starting to feel like your own, a place you could see yourself settling in for the future. A sense of peace and tranquility fell over you as you sat on the porch with your friends. This was your safe space in the middle of the chaos that was life. This was a space that could be filled with love and happiness in the future, a space that could be filled with friends, a space that could be the site of memories you would remember far into the future. 

“No problem,” Robin replied from where she sat on the floor, her back resting against the brick of the porch, raising her glass slightly. “Here’s to us kicking ass and getting all this work done in one afternoon.”

“I will definitely cheer for that,” you agreed, leaning forward in the swing to clink your glasses carefully. “Seriously, I would probably be working on this until dark if it weren’t for you two. Possibly still working on it through next weekend.” 

“Well, we are pretty amazing,” Robin grinned.

You smiled, “You will get no argument from me.”

Nancy tilted her head, “I can’t wait to see what it looks like when everything starts to bloom. This house is really cute.”

You leaned back, taking a sip of your lemonade, smiling softly. “I really do love this house. This swing is actually what clinched the decision for me. Maybe a stupid reason to buy a house. I know it needs some work. It’s a bit of a fixer upper for sure but it has so much character and honestly, I’m looking forward to the manual labor. My brain could use the distraction for a while, especially with weeks of nothing but endless days ahead of my soon once school lets out.”

“I’m sure,” Nancy commented, her tone gentle, not pitying but empathetic. You were thankful for that. You’d run to Hawkins to get away from all the pity. You couldn’t bear it if your new friends started looking at you like that too. “I can’t even imagine what that must have been like for you. To find out your husband is cheating is bad enough but with your best friend? What kind of friend does that?”

“Not a very good one,” you replied, tugging on the edge of your sweater. “I thought she was. I mean, Cassie and I had been friends since tenth grade, since I first moved to Galena. She was the first person who was friendly to me, you know? I walked into my first class, Geometry, nervous as hell because it sucks being the new face, wondering if anyone is going to talk to you. The moment I sat down she was asking me all kinds of questions about myself and rambling about her life and it didn’t stop all morning because we wound up having every single class together. Cassie always said it was kismet. We were platonic soulmates or something, destined to meet and be in each other’s lives forever.”

“Sounds like you and Steve,” Nancy laughed, looking knowingly over at Robin. 

“Yeah, besides the fact that he’s not a woman so completely not romantic territory for me, Steve is pretty much everything else to me,” Robin agreed with a chortle. “I couldn’t stand him in high school. Oh, he was awful. He was such a prick. So many dumb girls were always hanging all over him, desperate for any small ounce of attention the King would bestow on them.”

“Hey!” Nancy shouted, looking offended. 

“Sorry, present company excluded, obviously,” Robin snorted dramatically with a roll of her eyes. 

“Wait…you and Steve?” you asked, shocked though you didn’t know why. You didn’t know these people that well but honestly, you could see it. Nancy looked like the kind of girl that would have dated a guy like Steve Harrington back in high school. Hell, you had been the kind of girl who dated a guy like Steve Harrington in high school. 

Nancy’s cheeks flushed, her lips pressing together as she shook her head, “Yeah, my sophomore year into my junior year. I was over the moon that Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington wanted to give me the time of day. I felt like the chosen one, like I’d won the boyfriend lottery. All the girls were so jealous of me because I had managed to snag the King. But uh, it didn’t end up working out, obviously.”

“Why not? I mean, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“I don’t mind. A lot of shit went down,” explained Nancy, her eyes squinting as if she were having to think far harder about the answer than she should have. It seemed like a fairly simple question. Relationships failed all the time. “My best friend, Barb, she went missing and I kind of spiraled out of control. I mean, I completely lost my shit. Jonathan’s brother, Will, also went missing. It was a really ugly time and Jonathan and I grew closer, kind of clung to each other, during it all. Two people who were going through the same thing, shared trauma…at least that’s what we were told. It wasn’t too long before I realized that I’d fallen hopelessly in love with him. I still feel awful about doing that to Steve. It wasn’t the right way to go about it but I realized that as much as I liked Steve, I wasn’t in love with him. You probably think I’m an awful person now, don’t you? Especially after everything you’ve been through.”

“No, I don’t,” you assured her, surprised to find that you meant it. “I mean, you can’t help how you feel. The heart wants what it wants. Love makes you act like a crazy person and do shit you never thought you were capable of.” Honestly, the relationship stuff was the last thing you were  focusing on from everything Nancy had just divulged. “But…your best friend and Will went missing at the same time? Obviously, they found Will. But what about your friend, Barb? Did you find her? What happened? Where were they?”

A flash of agony flickered over Nancy’s face, almost as if someone had pinched her suddenly. She curled her fingers in front of her, examining her nails carefully. You got the impression that your questions were bringing up some very painful stuff for her and you were sorry for that but you couldn’t help the curiosity you felt about what exactly was going on here. Every little snippet of information they gave you only left you with even more questions.

“No…uh, we never found Barb,” she answered, her voice cracking painfully. “There was a lab here at one time. Hawkins lab. Nobody in the town really paid too much attention to it. It was just some big building and no one knew or cared what they did in there. It turned out they were doing some illegal testing and Barb was accidentally exposed to toxic chemicals. They tried to hide the body, to conceal what had happened. The government wanted to cover it all up, brush it under the rug, but it all got brought to light in the end. We had a funeral with an empty casket but at least we had some closure. At least her parents got some closure. They were…it was so hard for them, not knowing, you know? They sold their house to pay for a private investigator. He was actually the one who blew the story wide open.” She cleared her throat. “Umm…and Will…it turned out that he got lost in the woods for a week. He was just a kid and he was exploring and he couldn’t find his way back. But luckily, they found him. He was in bad shape, had to spend some time in the hospital, but obviously he’s okay now.”

“Yeah, they actually had a funeral for him and everything but then miraculously there he was,” Robin added and you didn’t miss the look Nancy shot at her from the side, as if she’d said more than she should have.

“You had a funeral for him when he’d only been missing for a week?” you asked in disbelief. “That seems kind of fast. I mean, people go missing for months, years even, and they don’t do that. Did you all really think there was no hope that quickly?”

“Oh,” Robin squeaked, suddenly looking nervous, as if she realized the mistake she’d just made. “Umm…well, they had the funeral because they thought he was dead. There was a body of a boy who drowned found at the quarry.”

“A body? Whose body?” you demanded, extremely invested in this story. 

Hawkins was such a small town. It seemed so quiet here, so quaint and normal. Missing people, government lab cover-ups, and bodies being found was the last thing you’d ever expected to come across when moving here. When Millie had told you this town had a dark past she hadn’t been exaggerating.

“We don’t know,” Nancy interjected quickly. “It was another kid, around Will’s age. But the body was really decomposed from being in the water for so long so it was almost impossible to identify. They just assumed it was Will because he was the only kid missing in town. But then he turned out to be alive and they never could identify who the kid was that they found in the water. Whoever it was wasn’t from around here.”

Your brow furrowed as you listened to the explanation, thinking it sounded insane. Did the people of this town really just believe that a random body was the boy that was missing without any identification done? And what about this random kid that drowned? They just let it go? Where did he come from? He had to belong to somebody. Someone was out there missing their child, never knowing what had happened to him. How had no one come forward to claim him?

This was all beginning to sound like some weird dystopian novel to you: government conspiracies, illegal lab testing, misidentified bodies, cover-ups, Max’s need for sunglasses, Eddie’s story about rabid raccoons attacking him. How did a small town like this have such a sordid past? And why would a government lab set up operations in such a small town unless they were trying to stay hidden? What were they really doing there? Something bigger was going on here, something none of them seemed to want to talk about.

“Hey, what are you doing for dinner?” Nancy asked loudly, breaking you from your dive down the rabbit hole. You looked up to find your new friend looking at you eagerly.

“Dinner?” you asked, trying to follow the sudden change of topic. “Oh, I was probably just going to make grilled cheese or something easy and maybe work on my lesson plans. I didn’t get a chance to finish them at school, story of my life.”

“No, you’re definitely not doing that,” Nancy told you. “Come back to my place with us. Jonathan was ordering pizza for him and the guys and he always orders way more than we need anyway or Argyle just shows up with extra.”

“Thanks, but I really don’t want to intrude again,” you said, shaking your head. “I already butted into your annual friends thing last night and I feel kind of bad about it. I’ll be fine on my own.”

“Oh nonsense,” Robin huffed, rising to her feet. “You are our friend now. You’re not intruding on anything. We’re inviting you. We wouldn’t invite you if we didn’t want you there. The guys aren’t going to care and if they do, screw them.”

“Yeah, screw them,” Nancy agreed with a smile. “We can grab a bottle of wine and go hang out in the backyard if they’re being idiots. Who needs those dumb guys anyway?”

“Okay, if you’re sure,” you relented with a small shrug, not wanting to show how pleased you actually were. 

“Of course we’re sure,” Nancy asserted with a smile.

You really didn’t want to overstay your welcome, so to speak. You didn’t want them to get tired of you or think you were clingy. They’d just met you and you didn’t want to come across as needy, even though you really kind of were. Needy for human connection, for conversation, for fun, for something to do, something to fill your time with. 

“Let me just clean up a bit and change clothes?” “Sure, take your time,” Nancy told you, sipping her lemonade. “Robin and I will be right here waiting when you’re ready.”

Those words were like a balm to your heart but you’d never tell them that. Hearing that you had people, people who would be there waiting for you when you were ready, was like a band-aid over the wound that had been bleeding out for months. You were ready, more than ready to let it heal over. 

Chapter 5

Taglist

@tlclick73 @bebe07011 @eddiesguitarskills @witchwolflea @strangerfreak @emilyslutface @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes @corrodedcoffincumslut @mmunson86 @josephquinnsfreckles @katethetank

[maybe-mienshao]

Koi continues trotting along her path forward, weaving through the tall grass in almost a serpentine fashion. Koi: Fish taste, like most meats... Can greatly depend on how it's prepared! Is it cooked? How is it cooked? Is it being served raw like sushi? Or are you eating it out of a river with no seasoning? Speaking of seasons, sometimes the time of year matters! In some pokemon species, even the gender of the fish can change the taste!

Koi hops up a bit onto a rock, looking proud of all her various fish flavor knowledge. This woman has eaten a lot of fish and that's.. cool? Maybe to her anyways. Koi looks back at the other pokemon, realizing that she had been boasting about fish a little too much. A little too prideful. She needed to chill out a bit, she was trying to get out and be social again after all.. Koi flashes a smile Koi: BUT... In this case. I'll humor it, specifically with my recent Finneon catch... Koi: It was a male finneon, you can tell their gender apart by their bottom lobe on their tail fin! Koi scrunches her nose a bit with a squamp noise Koi: But since it was male... it lacked some juiciness. They tend to be more stringy and bland... But not entirely devoid of flavor. Koi: I would describe a typical male Finneon's flavor... during this time of year.... as more... bitter. They start off bitter and stringy... but become a bit more chunky with a slight tang as the winter approaches! Nothing too fancy, compared to what a prime female finneon's taste is... but food is food! Koi: I bet if I had a sauce it would've tasted better.... but sometimes! You just have to eat a fish raw like the way mother nature intended!..... even if it means sacrificing flavor...

-- -- -- [ MOD NOTE: I am allergic to sea food so I know jack all about it. I'm just making stuff up and going "oh its pokemon logic" so please don't take my fish flavor knowledge to heart lmaO I am legit just making fish pokemon flavor up for fun ] -- -- -- [@ask-the-shiny-pokemons ]

[ryker-writes]

Taking a smol break

Hey guys, nothing big happening or anything here. I'm just going to be taking the next couple weeks to focus on school work since I have a lot to do! So I'll still be active but I won't be posting any new works of mine.

Don't fear, I'll be back around the 18th because classes will be over then! When I get back I have a short story to write, some requests, the next piece of Jaxon lore, and even an event around the 25th so stay tuned for those!

If anyone needs me, of course I'll still be online, I just won't be posting! Smol man needs smol break

But in the meantime you can check out my friends!

@theroseredreaper writes for TWST! Their requests are also open and they write really well! They're so nice to talk to and so fun! I platonically love Mimi like they're so sweet and understanding and we talk for so long about pokemon and stuff. Mimi even wrote me a comfort piece not to long ago and I go back and re-read their things because it's so good!

@starboyshoyo also writes for TWST but isn't taking requests right now but she has an event open with one slot left for a musical song with the TWST boys! Birdie has endured many of my Sebek rambles and encourages them +_+

@azulashengrottospiano requests aren't open right now but if you like Azul, silly random content, or the ikemen series, Auburn has got you covered! Auburn is so sweet and so cool! I love to read her rambles about random things and it's so fun to see all the interactions! Auburn is also the (what I call) fish wizard. She knows so much about the ocean and sea life and you can ask about a specific species and Auburn will fill you in on it and it's so cool

@pyroxeene isn't taking requests right now but she's so lovely to talk to and she writes Honkai Star Rail content right now! She's such a talented writer like a role model to me and honestly the main character in life

@leonistic is super cool! Also probably the biggest Leona fan out there but so understandable. Soru is very nice and even has an event going on right now! But please be mindful and don't spam them with requests for the event! You'll never understand my hype when they followed me back-

@paraccosm is super nice! If you like the spiderverse, she's a wonderful writer who's also taking requests for the spiderverse! She's seriously so sweet and it makes me sad that I don't know the spiderverse stuff so I can't request, but I'll be like the supportive father that doesn't understand a thing but is cheering you on anyway!

@minimallyminnie deserves. more. support. and. appreciation. Seriously they're so kind and supportive of me and my oc Jaxon and there's no words to express how grateful I am to them. They write things so beautifully and are very underappreciated. While their requests are closed, feel free to check them out and explore their blog! Fuyuki belongs to them too!

@spritofthesea is so fun! They have lots of ocs and you may recognize Akuji and Karrigan because they belong to them! While they have a separate blog for their TWST things, they also like One Piece, so if that's for you then feel free to check them out!

@l1ttleclouds my platonic husband <3. He may be a bit busy because he has a beautiful newborn daughter (Congratulations again!), but he takes requests for moodboards and aesthetic boards and they're +_+ so good! He's done a few for me for Silver, Sebek, Mammon, and even my style! He's also the first friend I made on here and I'm so grateful to him!

@officialdaydreamer00 is so cool! Irene currently has an event going on where you can request a drawing of your oc and a TWST boy dancing and it's so cool and their art is so good! Their ocs are so cool too and the lore is scrumptious! Irene is so nice tho

@rose-the-witch1 is so fun and nice! While requests are closed, she posts really cool content and she knows a bunch of anime things! Rosie is a Lilia lover so if you want to share thoughts on Lilia, feel free!

@it-happened-one-fic is such a good writer and so nice like ;-; how? She's super cool and all her works are so good I definitely recommend checking them out! She writes for Genshin Impact and Twisted Wonderland and they're all so good that I just eat up every fic

@thebettybook we don't really interact on Tumblr but she is so nice! She's great at giving writing advice and has delicious writing for TWST, Transformers, and the spiderverse too! The strawberry theme is so cute too!

@animusicnerd is so cool! Ryker approved cool kid right here like omg I'm friends with a cool kid?? She's always so nice and chill to talk to and in a lot of different fandoms like TWST, spider-man, Haikyuu, and Ensemble Stars! We don't interact much on Tumblr but she's super chill and I will be going through her masterlist and rebloging/liking everything later because yummy content-

@xxheartspadexx is such another cool kid! How am I friends with so many cool kids? IDK. Anyway Spade is so nice and cool and involved in a lot of different fandoms. She helped guide me in Honkai Star Rail and I won't forget it also she's really good at drawing +_+

@xxoomiii so nice and a lot like me! They're also friends with Auburn and have been a supporter of mine for so long! I'm so grateful and I still have your request I have to write but I'm sorry it's taking so long! You're super cool though!

Oh my gosh I have a lot more friends than I thought and this somehow turned into an appreciation post for my friends so

A quick message to all my friends: Sorry to bother you with the notification but I appreciate all of you so much like you have no idea and you're all so cool and fun to talk to and kjasbdkajbjk how did you all become my friends??? This smol man doesn't understand but I'm so grateful anyway-