#I say this as I have three pages alone in a google doc about the Sith pantheon and religious rituals. :')

[wayfinderlegacy]

*waddles in* Hello, I'm doing a giant lore doc on the Voss now too alongside my Miraluka and Sith stuff apparently since the Mystics are now REALLY important to Teyn's story. So uh... if anyone has links to Voss posts/good lore dumps from the game and same for Miraluka shoot them my way! I have my own headcanons and shit but I like having inspiration and some organization of thoughts!

[foreverdolly]

𝐈 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐄 pt 2 | 80's mechanic!austin x best friend!reader

summary: it's starting to look like he might never make it out of the friend zone. austin has been in love with you for as long as he can remember, and he's terrified that you'll never see him as anything more than a best friend and protector. with the fear of you one day outgrowing him fresh on his mind, he's now hell bent on getting you to view him in a different light. madly in love and terrified to lose you, austin butler is playing for keeps.

pairings: 80s mechanic! austin x childhood best friend!reader

word count: 3.8k

notes/warnings: SMUT! in part three, virgin!austin. . . need i say more?, i love pining and this fic is testament to that, shaky/hurried hands, who doesn't love a good best friends to lovers fic, he has a deep southern accent, austin is the small town's metalhead and he's swelteringly hot without even trying. (this is going to have to be three parts because it turned out too long after editing. the smut alone is like. . . five pages on google docs.)

Austin could tell that you were fighting off the urge to plug your ears as the band continued to pound away at their instruments. It wasn’t that you weren’t a fan of metal music- he was pleased to know that you enjoyed a lot of the bands that he loved- but while this might be metal, Austin wasn’t sure it could really be categorized as music. The drummer, Mark, was okay at best. He couldn’t say the same for the other member’s. Dave had picked up a guitar and decided that he wanted to start a band just a year ago. It was more of a “this sounds like a fun thing to do with my time” and less of a “this is my passion in life” sort of thing. 

The wavy haired blonde tried to show support where he could, like tonight for example. He had dragged you all the way out here just to add to the small crowd. You were sweet enough not to complain though. 

“Do ya want another drink?” Austin called down to you, pointing to the empty can of beer in your hand. 

You squint your eyes up at him, trying to read his lips. He repeated himself, smiling fondly when you nodded your head. You were kind enough to let him drag you an hour out of town to see this show, so the least he could do was make sure you were taken care of. Not only that, but it was something that he enjoyed immensely. Austin knew just how strong you were, but it felt nice to know that he was needed. Taking care of you made him feel like a necessary part of your life. It made it easier for him to delude himself into thinking that you couldn’t be without him. 

“I’m not drunk enough for this.” You called back to him, motioning towards the stage. 

He heard your sly little comment and laughed all the way back up to the bar, maneuvering his tall body this way and that so that he wouldn’t bump into anyone in the packed crowd. Austin was surprised that so many people showed up to the bar tonight, the turnout usually being much smaller. 

He finally made it over to the bar, the toes of his sneakers swiping one of the bar stools. He grimaced, mumbling a quick apology to the man who had been jostled around by Austin’s uncharacteristic clumsiness. He was just about to try and grab the bartender’s attention when he felt a sudden pressure on his elbow.

 Samuel’s familiar face grinned back at him, his mousy brown hair cropped short. Austin gaped when he noticed the new hairstyle, eyebrows pinching together in confusion. He didn’t have to vocalize the question, Sam already pointing at his head with a comically dramatic frown.

“Work,” The other man stated simply, shrugging his shoulders with a “what can you do” attitude. “I’ll get another beer.” He reached around Austin so that he could hand the empty beer bottle to the bartender and then pointed towards the blonde. “And then put whatever he orders for him and his lady on my tab too.” 

The blonde whirled, quickly shaking his head. He wasn’t the type of person to take handouts. Ever. Even if they are as a gesture of kindness. Austin hated the feeling of owing people anything. He’d learned from a young age that most people, even the ones that seemed to have the purest intentions, expected favors in return for nice gestures. Maybe it was due to growing up on “the wrong side of the tracks”, but good deeds always meant that someone wanted something from you. 

“Nah, man. Ya don’t have to do that.” He tried, but the beers were already being placed down in front of him. 

Sam smiled at the bartender, giving her a flirtatious wink before clapping his old friend on the back. “You’re the one that got me my current gig. Two beers is nowhere near enough to pay you back for that.” 

The regional manager of the local electric company had all of their work trucks maintained at the shop where Austin worked. All the mechanic did was tell the head honcho that he knew a guy that was going to school to become an electrician. Thanks to Austin’s meddling, Sam had a job the second he got his certificates. Even though Austin was the one that set up the interview, it was the brunette’s skill and personable attitude that landed him the job in the first place. He didn’t want to take credit for the other boy’s undeniable skill. Instead of pushing the subject and denying the other man’s kindness, Austin- although slightly begrudgingly- took the beers with a small smile, nudging his elbow into Sam’s side. 

“Well thank ya for that. It’s weird seein’ your hair short though. Ya look good.” Austin took a sip of his beer, then stared down at yours, raising that can to his lips so that he could give it a taste. 

“You’re lucky that you get to keep your long hair. I mean- it gets more and more majestic by the day, Butler.” Sam teased, reaching a hand over to rustle his wavy blonde hair. It was past his shoulders now, and though you often teased him about getting a haircut, he knew that you’d be upset if he chopped it all off. He’d had long hair since high school, only trimming it when it became too much of a bother to maintain. 

Austin could see the way Sam’s eyes slowly searched the crowd, his smile slow and wide once he found exactly who he was looking for: you. The blonde knew that the questions were sure to come, and so he was quick to change the subject. 

“I’m glad ya came all the way out here to support Dave. I didn’t know ya were still close with him.” The dark dive bar’s doors opened, more metalheads pouring in through the front door. Austin steered them away from the bar, making more room for others who were waiting behind them for a drink.

“I love Davie- but Mark is my new roommate.” Mark was the aforementioned drummer. . . and the wildest of the band. Just two months ago at a bonfire the twenty four year old had set his hair on fire- hence the fact that he was newly bald.

You had been there with the group when it had happened, and thankfully were sober enough to pour your drink over his head to extinguish the flames. Only after you knew that he was safe did you double over with laughter. Austin hadn’t been so kind. He had nearly pissed himself the second that the idiot tried to jump over the giant flames. 

“That must be. . . fun.” Austin chose his words carefully, but Sam was quick to laugh. 

“It’s never dull, that’s for sure.” He agreed, lifting his beer up to take a swig.

The song that the band was playing ended, Dave walking up to the mic so that he could loudly thank the crowd and call out the shitty title of their next terrible song. The amp's feedback was piercing, causing the entire bar to wince and cry out in pain. 

Austin started to walk off in your direction, hoping that he’d been successful in steering clear of any questioning- but a grip on his shoulder stopped him. Every single one of his friends had given him “the talk” at one time or another. It was always awkward and hard to stomach. Nobody in their right mind would pine after a girl for even a fraction of the time that Austin had with you. None of his friends could ever begin to understand exactly what he could lose in the process of vocalizing his feelings though.

“So is this a date. . . or?” Sam asked under his breath, motioning as subtly over towards you as he could. 

You had looked over in Austin’s direction a few times, wondering where he was and what might be taking him so long. You’d stopped searching for him after seeing who he was talking to though, not wanting to interrupt. Sam was the only one in Austin’s male friend group that actually had a “real” job, and you knew that the two of them had more in common than the rest of the boys because of it. You turned back to the stage, giving Dave a quick thumbs up as a form of encouragement to pump him up after the amp malfunction. The blonde clenched his teeth for a couple of seconds, knowing that he shouldn’t lie (but wishing that he could), before turning to face Sam again. 

“No- not a date. She’s friends with the group. . . and Davie wanted her to be here tonight.” 

Sam’s face hardened as he looked up at the stage, glaring after the guitarist. Austin was quick to shake his head, backpedaling. 

“It’s not like that. Just as friends. He knows that I-” Am in love with her. 

Of course he didn’t need to finish the sentence. Anyone with eyes knew how he felt about you. Thankfully, none of his friends had ever even tried their hand at flirting with you, because they understood Austin’s feelings. It wasn’t a childhood yearning or an adult ache that plagued him. It was more complex than that. It was the sort of love that often destroyed adult’s lives. The kind of love that didn’t go away, no matter how much you wished that they would. He’d been in love with you before he could even add two plus two or write his full name in cursive. That love was just as much a part of him as his own soul was. 

Which was why it always bothered Austin when people looked at him with eyes filled with pity. Just like Sam was doing now. 

“Do you think. . . do you think she knows? Maybe she doesn’t want to turn you down because she doesn’t want to lose you.” Sam was trying to help. Austin knew that. He was just sick and tired of people constantly putting their two cents in. 

These sort of comments just added to the self doubt that crippled him. The years of anxiety over his unrequited feelings kept him awake at night, and he didn’t need tonight to be ruined. Despite the shitty music, the two of you had been having fun. Wake up calls like the one Sam was currently tried to give him often put him in a rotten mood, and you’d pick up on that immediately.

“She doesn’t know. Ya know how she is- she’s sweet, trustin’, and a lil’ bit naive. We’ve always been this close, so in her mind this is all we are.” And all that we’re going to be most likely. He took a swig of his beer, wishing that he could get drunk off of his ass. He hadn’t made any sleeping arrangements with his friends though, and the last thing he wanted was for you to be sleeping on some random guys floor because he got too drunk to drive home. 

Austin cleared his throat, gave Sam one last pat on the shoulder, and started to make his way through the thrashing crowd. Behind Austin, Sam opened his mouth to say something. The shift in mood was obvious, and he needed to apologize for bringing it up, but it was too late now. Austin was gone and in a solemn mood. 

The melancholy that threatened to eat away at him for the rest of his night was swiftly replaced with rage. 

There was a man standing beside you that he hadn’t ever seen before. He wasn’t a friend. . . or even a friend of a friend, for that matter. Austin watched as the male moved his hands excitedly as he spoke, dark brown bangs hanging into his eyes, his hair almost as long as Austin’s. 

Your childhood friend stood back and watched the interaction for as long as he could stomach, wondering what the two of you were talking about to have the male in such high spirits. Were you making him feel like he stood a chance with you? Had he been too late walking back to the bar, the two of you having already exchanged contact information? He was attractive enough- though as he smiled Austin noticed that his bottom row of teeth was rather crooked. Knowing you, you’d probably find the imperfection “cute”, which further enraged the blonde. 

Austin hated getting angry over things like this. Watching you talk to other boys had been something he hadn’t had to deal with in almost two years, which he had considered to be a godsend. It was just as painful every time. It was unfair of him to feel this way, and he knew that. He should have hung back and let you talk to the guy. If he was a real friend he would have done just that. 

Except Austin had staked his claim on you far before you’d been able to fully comprehend what dating really was.

 No matter how nice of a guy Austin was, he was territorial and easily made jealous. He had his faults. He was selfish with you, and he’d willingly admit that to whoever questioned him. So he swiftly walked up beside you, sliding your beer into your hand with a smile that was too sweet. 

“Sorry that took so long. Sam wanted to show me his new haircut.” That wasn’t a complete lie. Just a little ‘half truth’. 

You smiled widely up at him, then gestured to your “new friend”. The boy straightened his back, having noticed how large Austin was in comparison to his own gangly frame. He towered above almost everybody else in the room, his shoulders broad and muscular. The blonde smiled at the boy, making sure to show off his perfect, white smile. He was being petty. He was being rude and horrible and. . . and he didn’t care. Not really, anyway. Austin could feel bad about his behavior later, but for now he had to make sure nothing happened between the two of you. 

“Austin, this is Robin. He works at the local record store.” You introduced, motioning between the two men. 

Bless your sweet little soul. You probably thought that the two of them, having similar taste in style and music, would be fast friends. Maybe Austin would have liked the guy if he wasn’t trying to steal his girl. Maybe being the keyword. 

The stage lights flashed dully beside your little group, the thick clouds of cigarette smoke drowning out most of the light. You let out a pleased hum as Austin took Robin’s hand into his own, watching him shake it firmly. 

“Nice to meet ya, man.” Though it wasn’t very nice at all. “Robin. . . that’s an interestin’ name for a guy.” That was a childish jab, but Austin wasn’t above laying the guy out right here and now. That is, if you weren’t standing between them. 

You tensed beside your best friend, giving his arm a quick swat, as if reminding the giant to play nice. 

Austin barely felt it, your tiny hands doing nothing to deter him. Instead he placed a large hand on the top of your head, dragging you into his side and tucking you in tightly. Robin was about to say something- a rude remark to fire back at Austin’s insult- but froze as he took in the sight before him. Understanding flickered into his eyes, his mouth parting slightly. 

“Oh,” He whispered softly, then held his hands up in defense. “Oh, I had no idea. Really. No harm done at all. We were just talking about music. Strictly casual.” 

You were standing as still as a statue, muscles taught as you tried your hardest to feel out the situation. Was Austin pretending to be your boyfriend because he thought Robin looked suspicious? You chewed on the inside of your cheek, fighting off the urge to shrug his arm off of you. You’d hate yourself later for embarrassing him in public, and you were positive that your best friend’s intentions were good. Still, it annoyed you that he still treated you like a child. Sure, you could be a bit too optimistic at times, but you were fully capable of protecting yourself. 

The hatred in Austin’s chest fizzled out, and suddenly he felt like the biggest douche on the planet. You might be blinded by your sense of innocence, but you were often a good judge of character. Robin was a nice enough guy, and he had just been an asshole for no reason. Austin’s shoulders slumped and he quickly shook his head. 

“No- you’re fine. I’m just protective over her, especially in places like this. Ya can never be too careful… There’s a lot’a creeps out there.” Austin offered as an excuse, moving a tad closer to him so that he could shake his hand- anything to alleviate some of the awkward tension. Robin started to shuffle back, obviously scared of a potential fight, but Austin shook his head. 

He’d traumatized the poor guy. 

“So ya work at a record store? Do ya have a good thrash collection?” Something. Austin needed to think of something that might change the direction of this conversation. He could feel how antsy you were getting at his side. He didn’t have to look down to know that you were disappointed in him for his reaction. Knowing that he had upset you absolutely gutted him. He’d let his jealousy get the best of him, and because of that he’d acted like. . . well, like a complete dick to someone that didn’t deserve it. 

Robin’s grim expression softened, brown eyes pinching at the corners as he smiled- albeit a bit nervously. 

“Yeah, at the record store down the street,” Robin yelled over the music, pointing off in the direction. 

You and Austin had dropped by the place a few times, but it was usually for record signings. It was the largest store in the entire area, so any time there were any “obscure” new releases the male would have to drive an hour out just to pick it up. It was a pain in the ass, but the store owner was pretty nice and knew a handful of influential people in the music industry. 

Back when you and Austin were in highschool you had all but begged on your hands and knees to skip school so that you could get one of your “The Police” cassette signed. Much to his absolute horror you had insisted on blasting it the entire way home. Of course he put up with it. Why? Because you looked cute screaming the lyrics. 

“Ya must have just gotten the job. I was up there about two months ago and didn’t see ya.” Austin offered Robin another smile, and that was all it took for the guy to warm up to the blonde. 

Just as you thought, Robin and Austin hit it off. The two ended up talking for the rest of the night, even earning a few glares from other people in the crowd whenever their laughter got too boisterous to be considered polite. After closing out your tabs Robin parted ways with the two of you, quickly slipping his home phone number into Austin’s palm, which had been scribbled on the back of his receipt. 

You had wanted to congratulate the boys for putting on a good show, but everyone had jumped off the stage and headed straight to the overcrowded bar for drinks after their set. Everyone aside from Davie, who was busying himself with a group of cute girls that had been eying him all night. 

“Come on. It’s gettin’ late. . . let’s get ya home.” 

Austin was acting weirder than usual tonight. Sure, this particular bar wasn’t the safest place to frequent, but his earlier treatment of Robin was an overreaction. Your best friend had a bad habit of babying you far too often. He made excuses for it- telling you that the world was a rotten place and that he didn’t mind looking out for you. It had been something that you appreciated through high school, but now that you were an adult it made you feel. . . a bit too spoiled. It also blurred certain boundaries, which further confused your already suffering heart. If only Austin knew how you felt towards him, then maybe he’d start acting a bit differently with you. 

Yet here he was, opening up the door to his van for you with a broad smile that made your heart do somersaults. You wanted to blame the heat that was pooling in the pit of your stomach on the five beers you’d drank that night. You wanted so badly to blame all of this on your recent drought in romance. . . but it’s Austin. 

No one has ever treated you as gently as he has.

Men, your father included, had always acted like your wants and needs were an inconvenience. You were too “high maintenance” because you enjoyed spending quality time with your partners. Relationships have always been short lived for you. Austin had set an impossible standard for how you wanted to be treated. Even now he was chatting your head off, one hand on the wheel and the other hand mindlessly checking to see if your seatbelt was buckled, his fingers brushing against your hip as he gave it a testing tug. 

Being around him right now was dangerous. You weren’t drunk enough to make a fool of yourself, but tipsy to the point of possibly ruining everything. Because he looked beautiful in the dim lighting of the car's display. His jawline was even more defined due to the shadows, and his blonde hair looked even lighter in comparison than usual. It was longer than you’d ever seen it, falling in slight waves because of the spring humidity. 

And you really wanted to kiss him. 

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[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA if I refuse to do anymore work on the group project we already missed the deadline for, but can still submit?

I am extremely tired of being walked over and doing all the work. I'm a 3rd year uni student and multiple times I've been the main person doing group project work. The latest example is what prompted this ask. Our task was to do a discussion and then write an essay based on it, the group consists of 4 people including me. We talked for 10 minutes at the end of last week and a little bit yesterday. We did the majority of the work yesterday as well.

There are 14 points/questions we need to cover. Multiple people not only are advised to, but must cover the same questions so there's substance to be worked with. While the rest of the group covered some, it's insufficient and I did the majority of the work on the first half of the questions and all of the second half. A worked on 4/14 questions (pretty short answers), B also did 4/14 questions (one longer answer, three pretty short answers), C wrote 2.5/14 questions (2 medium length answers, one single sentence answer) and D, me, did 11/14 (mainly long answers with a couple of shorter ones).

After I made a Google Doc to make communication easier, they submitted their answers and basically ghosted me. I asked multiple times for help but was met with silence or jokes about checking the grammar and typos later for me. Again, we don't have enough substances to work with, the essay CANNOT be completed with what we have so far.

And here's where the issues get deeper. I asked for someone to at least look at what I've written down so far multiple times, proofread it if you will. Silence. I know for a fact A and C were FREE and could've continued working on the project, while B might or might not have been at work. Finally C said they'll do it. We were left with less than an hour to wrap it up and submit it before the deadline at this point.

2 minutes after saying that they'll read it, they sent me a "it's great" message. They shameless lied to my face.

I was inside the Doc the whole time and no other users were shown to be viewing the page, let alone reading 3 lengthy paragraphs in 2 minutes.

At some point during the day I was so desperate, I was ready to delete all I've written, comments, intro and first few paragraphs of the essay, everything and beg to join a different group. But a friend managed to calm me down and I didn't go that route.

I can't write to the professor and explain the situation to him, it's just not an option, that's not a practice in my country when the subject only consists of lectures and the professor has to look after 100+ students. My last hope is tomorrow morning those 3 will see the newest messages of me asking for help to finish it and will help me. If that doesn't happen, well...

What I can do is say fuck it and give them the same treatment they've given me – ghost them, don't do additional work on the questions and essay and take all of us down for not finishing and submitting the final project. I don't really want to do it and fuck up our grades (we have no idea how important this homework is for the final grade) but I genuinely see no other way. So WIBTA?

What are these acronyms?

[subwaytostardew]

▽ Subway to Stardew - Emmet 8-Heart Event ▽

This plays after getting at least 8 hearts with Emmet and entering the Railroad between 9AM - 4PM on a Thursday after viewing his 7 heart event.

You recieve this letter when you reach 8 hearts with Emmet!

Commentary and progress under the readmore.

▷ Station Steward Thylak

I DID NOT REALIZE THAT THIS EVENT WOULD BE THAT LONG... I could have sworn it was around 14 minutes max! I was worried that the battle stuff went by too quickly! It's almost 30 minutes long! And that's with me clicking away faster! Emmet really meant it when he said he wanted to spend all the livelong day together...

I thought it was going to be roughly 18 minutes. NOPE. WOOPS. This what happens when you write possibly too much.

We are bad at making short events. Vanilla events are around 1-3 minutes long. A day in Stardew lasts 14 minutes and 10 seconds. I would not recommend trying to play this mod spoiler free on multiplayer because time does not freeze and you will die if you don't skip the events. I wouldn't want to shorten the events either... Cutting down their infodumps would just be wrong.

We had a few requests to have a battle event which made me 😅 because I personally couldn't imagine that going well (truth over ideals...). This event was partially made to shut that idea down. The whole tunnel scene is mostly me trying to write an in-story reason as to why there won't be a battle with the farmer against Ingo... Emmet is competitive! This is not just limited to battles but extends to being your best friend! Behind the scenes... I'm just too tired to write out more battles. I actually really dislike single battle format. I'm not making an Ingo battle event. You already have three games to battle him in. I refuse to make more battle events for the time being.

I say that but there's another half-finished double battle event between submas that I switched tracks from to work on Emmet's 8 heart event... I'll finish that eventually.

Anyways... the creation process did not go by quickly at all either. I sure do have a lot to say on that matter. I do all my coding in google docs (terrible, I know) and so far we have had to make 3 seperate documents becuase things start to break at around 40 pages. The document before Emmet's 8 heart event made it to 64 pages before I abandoned it for a new document.

The longest document we have is around 80 pages along. Which usually contain the draft scripts of multiple events. code documents however take up a lot more since it's basically a giant wall of text. So when Emmet's 8 heart event started to slow down the current code document (the third iteration). We had to give the event its own space.

Emmet's 8 heart event ended up being 36 pages long alone! Also if you didn't know, Stardew's event format doesn't allow for line breaks so I have been staring at a 36 page wall of text for weeks. I plan to upload a video compiling all the different options later because I feel like all of the "good" options for battle... don't quite make sense in the context of the rest of the story. The farmer is supposed to not be good at battle and lose because they got overwhelmed with information. As the one writing out all the battle options though, I can't bring myself to act like I'm bad at battling. The winning options are extra silly just to justify a loss and because I couldn't bring myself to lie about Wild Charge not being a guaranteed OHKO on Archeops either. Especially since Emmet brings out damage calculations in a few of the options.

On that topic, all of the battle options play out accurately in a real double battle! I tested. Every. Single. Path. In Pokemon Showdown between the halves of Emmet's team.

I had nightmares of reliving this same battle over and over because that's all I did when I was awake. Make it stopppppp 😭

The lines about them practicing were references to me actually simulating everything in Showdown! Emmet's frustration is also based on how making this event took over my brain so now I struggle to comprehend how someone who doesn't know what to do in this battle would feel... Thank you Kade for helping me with that part ^^;;;

Your welcome =3

I actually enjoyed the Pokémon Showdown part - when it comes to Pokémon Battles, I have dabbled a little bit into the competitive side of things. Or at least the massive game of 4D Chess... trying to predict your opponent etc. Bait them into making a mistake, etc. There was a good time where we did nothing but Pokémon Battles for a night. And it was fun.

I am in no way good at competitive side of things - (I lose lot but that's okay.) especially in the double battle format. Single Battles I could do. (Though once again, I'm average at best) However I think the most memorable battle I ever had was back in Pokémon X and Y, where I managed to chip away and stall a Mega Aggron with a Umbreon.. And I think Umbreon was my last Pokémon but I kept using Moonlight to keep my health up. My kid self was super surprised and ecstatic that I beaten the odds... but whenever I do Pokémon Showdown I'm either testing battle stuff or making teams. I'm addicted to team compositions and doing a combination of different Pokémon even if it's not the competitive Meta....

I have the choices sorted into good/bad routes in my mind so in most of the routes, Emmet criticizes the player's decisions based on type advantage, STAB, and target. I was torn between the best and worst options for this recording but thanks to Kade's input, you get to see Durant ramming into Emmet instead of him getting mad at you for conducting Shadow Claw on Galvantula.

Battling Emmet as a first time trainer is not going to go well! Not only is he too competitive and he refuses to let you win (unlike Ingo), he pretty much sets you up for failiure. I'm sorry Emmet but Galvantula's stats are not intended for making her a physical attacker (emphasis on the Egg Move at what cost...).

Not to mention... Emmet is a Battle Facility Head. And you don't get to battle the Subway Bosses in the mainline games unless you have a somewhat decent team halfway through the game. Even still! They can both wipe the floor with you if you're not aware that they are using battle items...

Though I interpret Emmet not going easy on someone as him challenging them to push themselves and exceed expectations. Both Ingo and Emmet as characters encourage others in their own way, Ingo through words and Emmet I believe through his actions. Though he also can say some encouraging things.

Not the most encouraging if you compare their quotes pages... Customer service and communication isn't exactly his forte... But Emmet wants you to do your best and win against him! He likes seeing serious battlers like him! He just won't let you win unless if you push yourself to do your best. You'll have to. He doesn't really have the most beginner-friendly approach...

Considering you the Farmer, have no idea what a Pokémon even is. (You're practically learning everything from Ingo, Emmet, Elesa etc.) The fact you get challenged to a Battle because Emmet wants to share his interests with you - to have you better understand Pokémon.

He just struggles with the fact that, he is essentially challenging someone with no real battle experience and it's a Double Battle at that. Controlling two Pokémon at once?! Think about the effort it takes to command one Pokémon. We all seen the Anime and how trainers struggle to connect with their partners because they're new. They're just starting. They aren't going to be Battle Facility levels of skill.

Not to mention that Emmet is a little deprived in the valley and hasn't really battled any other new passengers in quite some time. At most, he battled Iris once when she came to visit, Ingo (who's Pokemon are optimized for countering/pissing him off), and himself (I had the mental image of him sitting in the field practicing for this event like an old man playing chess against himself in a park). He's a little too far gone to fully understand what a beginner would think in this situation other than mayyyybe it would take a moment to catch them up to speed. (I would know... I swear those option paths rewired my brain...)

After inputting all of their data into Showdown, I had actually forgotten that Galvantula and Durant are Emmet's Doubles Line team while Eelektross and Archeops are the Super Doubles Line team when deciding the matchups. (Been a while since they were in the Battle Subway huh...) Story-wise, I was thinking that Emmet should be with his ace and that he wouldn't really trust anyone else with Archeops since... he has higher support needs (depression bird 💔). Eelektross and Archeops are paired up because of Gastro Acid and Defeatist. I was thinking that Galvantula and Durant are a bit more beginner-friendly; they can take a loss a bit more easilly (a little less so in Galvantula's case... she's a hater). The farmer had already met Durant earlier in the 4-heart event so he'd volunteer to return the favor of fighting for you. Once you win his trust, he's more than happy to help. As for Galvantula... She's testing to see if she can trust her clingy child with you.

I'm excited to dive into the Pokémon NPC stories... Durant and Excadrill especially.

Durant was originally going to have Choice Scarf instead of Quick Claw to help narrow down the options. It was a pain reorganizing my notes and options all over again to lump not only move choices but turn order in mind. My notes were a mess.

Durant and Galvantula are a very luck-based combination so it was ultimately easier to write the different option paths with that in mind since Stardew's event format is verrrrrrrrrrrry linear. All of the options need to merge back into the same event (well... besides the option to refuse his friendship/battle which ends the event in the tunnel). Durant has lowered accuracy while Galvantula has higher critical hit ratios, I could write the battles based on their luck which is great because I wanted to force a loss.

I thought it would be a little too... reductive (it sure would reduce the amount of content >.>) and unrealistic for the player to impress Emmet with a victory on their first battle. Emmet sees this battle as a test on if you can follow his train of thought and be a good match for him because he's a little bit dependent on you for emotional regulation. He kind of expects you as his favorite passenger to have twin telepathy like Ingo since that's his standard operating procedure. You won't. Because you're not Ingo. You're just some weird farmer he got attached to. With the setup of a battle, I wanted this event to develop the farmer and Emmet's relationship to show that they aren't exactly perfect for each other (and Will say things that can be wrongly misinterpreted) but ultimately they will put in the effort to communicate and make things work. They won't have the best communication! But it's there.

While Ingo has a proper library confession, this event doubles as Emmet's "confession" of sorts. Emmet is already pretty openly affectionate by this point and I wanted to make it somewhat ambiguous as to whether or not his attachment to you is romantic or strictly platonic. To him, it doesn't really matter, but he does want you all to himself. He's not fond of sharing!

But... While Emmet's event may be more platonic in intent, you can still reject him. It's a lot harsher than Ingo's because refusing to even let him try to be a better friend for you is pretty harsh in itself. Ingo's is mostly the choice of whether or not you want to send him back to 6 hearts for more dialogue variety (it's really easy to miss dialogue when you try to max out their hearts as soon as possible! We're making lines for every day, season, and heart level.) Rejecting Emmet sends you back to 2 hearts and overrides his daily dialogue for the day with him asking if you're still friends, apologizing, and then getting too upset to say anything more.

Anyways!

From the start, I wanted Emmet to be like Nemona; awkward in their attachment, somewhat intimidating in their obsession/competitiveness, and thinks of the player as their savior from loneliness. He wants to be the best friend you have because you're the best friend he has. It's only fair. Best rival for life, favorite passenger, same thing.

The mountain pass events were actually made because Emmet's original schedule included him waiting around near the bushes there like Nemona stalking the player on their gym journey. NPCs actually can't path there so when he did, he was just deleted from the save!

I also stumbled across a bug back when I made the very first introduction event where a question loops unless if you pick a certain option. I kept that with Emmet forcing you to keep battling with him in mind as a slight reference to how Nemona doesn't let you say no to being her "best rival for life". This question also makes SMAPI hate you!

Gotta love Pokémon's false sense of 'Sure you have a choice. Your choice is always YES.'

There's probably a more fitting flower for Emmet outside of poppies. I just looked up every flower in Stardew (some of them aren't real...) and their meanings in flower language to come to the conclusion of poppies. The meanings in Emmet's event refer to the white poppy in particular. White. Rest. Oblivion. It fits. Good enough. It was a bit difficult to find more on the flower language of poppies in English (particularly the "Oblivion" part) so I resorted to Japanese sites for more information.

In English, the meaning of "Rest" seems to precede every other meaning. Poppies are used in death memorials. Emmet and the farmer did accidentally develop a shared theme of dying (overwork exhaustion, slimes, the mines, etc... Emmet can't get a break. I'm sorry.) but I wasn't sure if Kade was okay with the theme of death being emphasized. With that in mind, I was stunned when I that saw that her first battle map draft included a graveyard. The implication that Emmet picked flowers from a memorial site...

In my mind - the area is an old train stop in between the desert area and the forest/mountains that lead into Pelican Town. Also figured there would be an abandon farm - considering how Pelican Town is struggling it makes sense that potentially other places are not in best of shape either.

The graveyard is possibly dead relatives of whatever family or farmer made their life near the rails. Of course a lot of time has passed... So much so that nature has taken back what was theirs in the first place.

I always make up stories when having a location in mind and this area parallels with the tunnel Ingo takes you through to stargaze around 10 hearts. That area being an abandon coal mining operation.... Coal, Wood, etc. was used to powered steam trains so makes sense for there to be a source for it. I'm not the best when it comes to filling up Tiled Maps with decor - but I at least put down enough for Thylak to come in and make it more fitting for Stardew

The battlefield underwent quite a few revisions, one was having the battle area be more centered, and changing the old warehouse/worker area to be more like a train repair station with a water stop. I wanted it to feel like a place where Emmet goes to keep himself busy when he's told to take a break from working on the station.

Here's the final map! The battle area had to be shrunken down to fit in an event. More grass was added because I kept losing track of Joltik in the dirt. There's more flowers for Emmet to observe the quality of and pick tge best ones as gifts that he's too nervous to give the farmer until they wilt and dry. Poppies by the gravestones, of course!

I also did attempt to make a proper scrapbook sprite for when I eventually have Emmet give you his gift, but I never got around to implementing it properly since... I'm not familliar with adding custom items and its implementation changes in the 1.6 update.

Despite having access to the modding alpha, I've been procrastinating on migrating to 1.6 since HD Portraits isn't supported yet (I know... 1.6 releases in 3 weeks...).

WOO 1.6 WE ARE NO WHERE NEAR READY FOR ALL THE STUFF THAT POSSIBLY GOING TO BREAK. LOL.

Until next time! Thank you for reading!

[indynerdgirl]

This Top Gun: Maverick NFL player AU is for @anniesocsandgeneralstore! Thank you for letting me play in your sandbox with your OC! 🥰 I can't wait to read the other TGM NFL player AU you're working on! 💙 And if you haven't read any of Annie's absolutely amazing AUs yet, you need to go do that right now! (also, this was supposed to just be a short & quick summary of my ideas for this au, like three paragraphs tops. it ended up being a five page google doc. whoops. 😆)

================================================ Pairing: Jake Seresin x female Bradshaw OC Tags: This is just pure self-indulgent fluff with just the teeny, tiniest bit of angst Word count: 2,913 ================================================ Ronnie grew up the daughter of an NFL player and she saw firsthand the stress that being the wife of a professional athlete put on her mom and the stress it put on her parents’ relationship as a whole. Plus Ronnie had hated how they had to move every time her dad started playing with a new team. So she swears she’ll never date a professional athlete. 

Her brother, though, follows in their dad’s footsteps and ends up an NFL player himself. He’s recently been traded to the Indianapolis Colts and suggests that Ronnie come live with him for a bit while she’s getting back on her feet after a bad breakup. Ronnie, wanting to get away from everything that reminds her of her horrible ex, agrees. 

While Bradley usually introduces Ronnie to his teammates, he’d been too busy to do so yet and Ronnie had stopped keeping up with the going on's of whatever team Bradley was currently playing for because of her insecure ex (he was totally jealous of her knowing and hanging out with NFL players). So when she decides to go check out the nightlife scene in Broad Ripple and starts flirting with a cute guy (Jake), she has no idea he is a professional athlete, let alone one of her brother’s teammates.

Not only does Jake think Ronnie is cute, he finds it totally refreshing that she has no idea who he is. He’d been getting tired of all the local girls throwing themselves at him just so they can say they’ve been with an NFL player. The two of them hit it off and Jake starts thinking about asking her out on a date. But then during their conversation something something Ronnie tells him how she never wants to be with a professional athlete so something something Jake decides not to tell her he’s an NFL player.

They do end up going out on a date and it goes well enough that they go on several more. Ronnie is starting to think she could see them becoming a thing so when Jake asks her to be his plus one to a work event (and no, he didn’t even stop to think that her going to that work event would out him as an NFL player because his brain kinda stops working when he’s around her), she’s a bit bummed she has to say no because she’s already going to something with her brother that same night. 

Cue Ronnie & Bradley at some kind of Colts charity dinner and Bradley is introducing her to everyone. They walk up to a small group of people and when the guy in front of them turns around, Ronnie almost drops her drink because it’s Jake. And Bradley is introducing Jake to her as one of his teammates. Jake is also shocked to see Ronnie next to Bradley and is even more shocked to have Bradley introduce her as his younger sister. 

Later when Bradley walks off for some reason, Ronnie pulls Jake over into a dark corner. “This is your work event???” “This is the thing with your brother???” they hiss at each other. Jake tries to explain why he didn’t tell Ronnie he was not only an NFL player, but also her brother’s teammate, but Ronnie is so angry at him that she cuts him off. “I told you the night we met that I didn’t want to be with a professional athlete! Was this just some twisted game to you? ‘Oh! Let’s just see how long I can string her along before she realizes I’m an NFL player. Ha Ha, what a laugh!’ Ugh, I hate you!” she hisses at Jake before turning away from him and walking back over to the table she and Bradley are sitting at. Jake tries to get her to talk to him for the rest of the night, but Ronnie steadfastly ignores him. During the drive back home after the dinner, Ronnie tells Bradley about her and Jake. At first Bradley thinks it’s kind of funny that she’d been seeing one of his teammates and didn't know it. But then when he sees the look on her face and hears the crack in her voice he stops teasing her and lets her vent. Ronnie doesn’t talk to Jake for over a week, ignoring all of his texts and calls (the charity dinner was on a Friday night so she ignores Jake for that entire weekend and then all the way to the following weekend).

She’s torn because she really does like Jake (and thinks she might even be starting to love him despite only knowing him for just over a month) but she just can’t seem to get over her aversion to the life of a professional athlete. Not only does she remember the stress it put on her mom and her parents’ relationship in general, but there’s also the fact that her “Uncle” Mav (who was her dad’s good friend/college teammate and they also played on the same NFL team a few times) had his own relationship problems because he was also a professional athlete.

His girlfriend at the time, Penny, hated the constant moving every few years and when she ended up pregnant with their daughter, Amelia, Penny told Mav she was done following him around. She wanted their daughter to have a stable life, didn’t want her to have to be the new kid at school every few years. So she ended up moving back home to California, to raise Amelia close to her family, while Mav decided he still wanted to keep playing and stayed in St. Louis where he was playing for the Rams. 

This started an on again - off again period for Mav & Penny as Mav ended up playing for another 10yrs. Between the time Amelia was born and Mav retiring he had ended up playing for a total of four different teams. Ronnie knows Mav did his best to be there for Amelia and help Penny co-parent, but he still ended up missing a lot and while Mav & Penny are married now (which Penny wouldn’t agree to unless Mav went to couples therapy with her), he’s also admitted a few times to Ronnie that his relationship with his now 14yr old daughter is a bit strained sometimes. 

And Ronnie just doesn’t want something like that for herself or her future children. But again, she can’t deny to herself that she’s starting to have some strong feelings about Jake and she’s just so confused. So after talking to her best friend, Natasha, and Mav & Penny, her parents (they’re both still alive because I say so!), and even her brother, Ronnie decides to give this thing with Jake a chance despite her reservations. 

During that same time period, Jake is convinced he’s lost all chances with Ronnie. Especially after talking with Bradley (who was surprisingly not that upset that Jake had been going out with his sister) and learning exactly why Ronnie said she’d never want to end up with a professional athlete. 

Because he gets it. He’s seen teammates struggle with balancing their career and their personal life. He’s seen teammates miss the birth of their kids because their wife went into surprise labor during an away game, miss kids school plays and dance recitals. He’s seen teammates' relationships/marriages fall apart because of the stress/pressure of being an NFL player’s girlfriend/wife. So he completely understands why Ronnie doesn’t want that life for herself.

And while the Colts don’t lose that weekend, Jake definitely knows he didn’t play his best because he was distracted. For the rest of the week, Jake seriously contemplates the idea of retiring decades earlier than he’d originally planned just because of Ronnie. Because even though they’ve only known each other for just over a month, Jake is pretty sure she’s it for him. He tries imagining his life without Ronnie in it and he does not like that idea at all. 

So he decides that after that Sunday’s game, he’ll find some way to get Ronnie to talk to him, so he can tell her that he’s willing to stop playing if she’s willing to give them a chance. Meanwhile, Ronnie decides that she needs to tell Jake about her decision in person. 

That Sunday's game is a home game and since moving in with her brother, Ronnie’s been dropping him off at the stadium for home games. Bradley, wanting to see his sister happy, helpfully informs her that Jake usually arrives at the stadium about 15-20 mins after him. After dropping her brother off at the team entrance with her customary good luck hug, she parks her car and gets out, leaning against the car and waiting for Jake to arrive. True to what Bradley told her, she sees Jake’s truck pull into the team parking lot 15 mins later. Despite being confident in her decision, she’s still nervous seeing Jake for the first time in over a week, nervous that he’ll have taken her silence to mean she’s not interested and that he wants nothing to do with her.

Jake is checking something on his phone as he starts walking in, backpack slung over one shoulder, so he doesn’t notice Ronnie right away. But as he’s putting his phone back in his pocket he catches sight of her leaning against the hood of her car, arms & legs crossed, a pair of sunglasses on her face. He stops for just a moment before slowly walking up to her & stopping just in front of her. Ronnie pushes the sunglasses up into her hair and gives him a small smile.

Jake drops his backpack at his feet and reaches for her hands. Something something Hallmark movie-esq dialogue happens as they both tell each other their personal revelations. While Jake was 100% ready and willing to walk away from the game that he loves in order to have a life with Ronnie, there is a part of him that is happy that she’s willing to give them a chance while he plays. But he makes sure to tell her that if it all becomes too much for her at any point, he’ll retire, because in the end, she means more to him than football. A soft and sweet kiss happens at some point during all of this and something settles in Ronnie that confirms for her that she’s making the right choice.

With the status of their relationship now settled, Ronnie gives Jake one more kiss for good luck before sending him on his way to get ready for the game and then she heads off to the airport to pick up Natasha who had decided to visit Ronnie for the following week (“you’re my bff, we haven’t seen each other in almost three months and I know you’re gonna need some girl time no matter how Jake reacts to your decision”). After a quick stop at Bradley’s place so Natasha can drop off her bags & change for the game, the two of them head back to the stadium.

Bradley had managed to hook them up with really nice seats for the game so they were sitting in the front row that was right behind the Colt’s team bench (Ronnie never liked being in the family suite anyways, she preferred to be down in the stadium with the rest of the fans). It just so happenes that it’s the offensive players' turn to be announced from the tunnel at this game and Ronnie can’t help the giant grin that blooms on her face as she watches Jake run on to the field after his name is announced, cheering along with the rest of the home crowd. It also brings a smile to her face to hear the crowd cheer just as loudly for her brother when he runs out.

Right before the national anthem, Bradley spots her and waves at her & Natasha before getting Jake’s attention and pointing her out to him. Jake had assumed Ronnie would be sitting up in the family suite so his face lights up with the biggest smile when he sees her sitting next to the field. He winkes at her and Ronnie can feel herself blushing as Natasha laughes at her. 

It’s almost half-time with the Colts down by three and as time expires on the second quarter, Jake scores a touchdown. As the stadium erupts with cheers, Ronnie sees Jake running her way. Without really thinking about what she's doing she leans over the railing as Jake yanks his helmet off and hops up on the bottom rung of the railing that separates the two of them. Ronnie grabs his face with both hands and gives him a quick kiss before he hands her the ball and runs back over to the rest of the team with a giant grin on his face (unbeknownst to her, Natasha managed to get video of the entire thing). Ronnie watches as her brother playfully smacks Jake on the back of the head.

A highlight reel of the first half of the game plays right before the start of the second half and at the end of it, playing out on the two giant screens inside Lucas Oil Stadium, is the clip of Jake leaping up to Ronnie and the two of them kissing. Ronnie feels herself blushing again as the crowd starts cheering as the video ends and the second half begins. She hadn’t wanted to go public with their relationship so quickly, but she had been caught up in the moment and hadn’t been thinking. Ronnie realizes that’s a conversation she & Jake will need to have as soon as possible. 

The Colts end up winning with Bradley scoring the game winning touchdown. He’s smart enough not to run over to his sister but he does do the little sign he came up with for her when he started playing in high school. Not wanting to draw anymore attention to herself, Ronnie decides to meet Jake & Bradley at the players entrance instead of going down to the field. After sending Jake & her brother a quick text telling them where to meet her, she uses her family member pass to get her & Natasha past security so they can use a shortcut through the stadium and get to the players entrance without having to fight their way through the exiting crowd.

It’s a good 30mins before Jake & Bradley are finally able to leave the locker room and meet up with Ronnie & Natasha outside the players entrance. Ronnie, talking with Natasha, has her back to the entrance when she suddenly finds herself lifted off her feet by a pair of strong arms and spun around in a circle while she feels a kiss being dropped on the back of her neck.She laughs as she’s dropped back down and then spun around again to face Jake who grins down at her before leaning his forehead against hers and whispering “there’s my good luck charm” before Ronnie goes up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. Jake captures her face in both his hands when she tries to step back and he pulls her in for a deeper kiss. 

The two of them are interrupted after a moment by a pointed cough from Natasha and Bradley saying “Just because I’m fine with you dating my sister, Seresin, doesn’t mean I want to watch the two of you make out.” Ronnie & Jake break apart with a laugh and Jake kisses her forehead real quick before letting go of her face and tucking Ronnie into his side as she wraps her arms around his waist. 

Bradley is grinning at them both as he motions Ronnie to hand over her keys. “Seresin, you’re coming over for dinner so I can at least pretend to give you the shovel talk,” he then turns to Ronnie “Natasha and I’ll drive your car back to my place so you & Jake can drive over together. Dinner’ll be ready in an hour,” he says with a wink before turning and putting his stuff in the trunk of Ronnie’s car. Natasha gives the two of them her own wink before climbing into the passenger seat next to Bradley and then the two of them wave as they drive off.

Jake picks up his backpack from the ground where he’d dropped a few minutes ago and walks Ronnie over to his trunk. Not wanting to let go of Ronnie just yet, he manages to stick his bag in the back seat one handed before walking Ronnie over to the passenger side of his truck. He opens the door for her and helps her inside before kissing the back of her hand and finally letting go so he can shut the door. He rushes over to the driver side, hops in and buckles in a rush, barely remembering to put in the key and turn the truck on before he grabs Ronnie’s hand again, giving it another kiss. 

Ronnie laughs at him as he pulls out of the stadium parking lot. “I don’t know how you’re going to be able to practice or play if you can’t seem to let go of my hand.” “I told you before the game, I’m not letting you go anytime soon. You’re stuck with me now, sweetheart. I’ll figure something out,” Jake says with a grin as he drives them over to Bradley’s for dinner.

[bumblerhizal-art]

WIP Wednesday

Do you guys remember when i said i wouldn't share any more snippets from Rites of Passage? Well, that was a fucking lie. But at least WIP Wednesdays motivate me to work XD (And the parallel play lol. I've just been sitting mostly quietly in a room with a friend also writing fic, and we've both gotten so much more than usual done because of it)

There are a few sections where i still need to add connective tissue, but the bulk of it is done, and the google doc is at 62 pages and 20k words. I have once again forgotten how to write everything that isn't dialogue, so i may want to revisit some Discworld before uploading because there's truly some of the best prose ever written in that series

I make no promises, but i'm currently looking at a Feb 3 chapter 1 upload. Just don't get too excited though as i've already delayed this twice, and i'm willing to do it again! But as we are (hopefully!!!) nearing the end, i'm attaching something from near the end. It's a different Joining than the one the game canonically puts you through, but it's no less awful

tagged by @heniareth @wild-houseplant @badartxd and @siriskulksnerding

tagging back all of you guys + @macaroni-leviathan and @icylook

🌑Excerpt below cut🌑

That night was a double new moon. According to what Novhen heard growing up in the alienage, it was the most auspicious time for new beginnings. According to Alamarri superstition, it was an omen of misfortune. As they marched through the damp earth and the soggy, dead leaves that winter's thaw had revealed to the clearing where Riordan had set up the Joining, it was hard to say who had the right of it, but Novhen hoped it was the elves.

Duncan took stock of the three recruits he had lead here. His solemn expression gave little away of what thoughts brewed beneath. The stench of the darkspawn still hung in the air. 

Duncan held his hand out, signaling for the recruits to stop as he continued towards Riordan alone. A firepit cast an amber light upon the senior Wardens. They whispered to each other in tones they had assumed no one could overhear, but Novhen could. Unfortunately, he was nearly a month too late to do anything about what he heard.

[gregorygerwitz]

Are you sure you don't wanna come to Vienna for the holidays? You know it's going to be my first Christmas with Roy. Yeah, so bring him here. Vienna is beautiful and romantic during Christmastime. Besides, everybody's getting all set up for the holiday ball season. Maybe you guys could go to one. You should go to one. You're always the better dancer. Yeah, it's only 'cause you stopped practicing ballet in high school. Well, I still go to cardio barre classes. Yeah, that is not the same thing. How's the search for your dad's family coming? No family yet. I still can't believe my big brother's gonna be alone on Christmas. Don't worry about me. I just want to make sure that you and Roy have a romantic first Christmas. Ooh, I gotta go! He's taking me to this really fancy restaurant. And he says he wants to talk about our future, something important. Hm, like a proposal? I don't know. I hope. You'll be the first one I call. Hey. Hey, babe. So sorry I'm late. Thank you. I got caught up talking to Daniel. Brought you some homemade Christmas cookies. Thanks. You look gorgeous, by the way. Thanks. So, I'm really excited to know what you wanted to talk about. Remember when you said you wanted to give me the best gift you could? Yeah. Nothing, really nothing, would make me happier for you to make my Christmas fantasy come true. Yes. So I want you to meet someone special. Am I finally gonna meet your mom? No, not really. Hey... Hi. You must be Amy. So nice to meet you. Who...who is that? Who is she? Uh, this is Elaine. Elaine? Amy? Have a seat. Who is she? I'm his girlfriend. Yes. I'm his girlfriend. Yes. You said she was okay with this. She is okay with this, right? Okay, but what am I... Why would I be okay with this? Amy, what are you doing? Okay. I'll only be a second. Amy! I can't believe I thought I was gonna marry him! Yeah, I'm sorry, Ames. I know how much you liked him. I see you got my Christmas present. Oh, yeah. Thanks. It's pretty. And handmade. Tell me more about Vienna. I need a distraction. Okay.

(I was going to send the whole script....but realized when I tried to put it in a google doc to block text it it was 77 pages....so you just get a glimpse of the script of what I know to be one of your favorite Samuel Hunt Christmas Movies....I hope your week gets better!)

Nonny!

The way I recognized what this was like three sentences in 😂 I love this movie so much, and I'm probably gonna turn it on after Kit goes to bed later (or before, I am the one with the remote tonight)

Thank you for this. It made me smile. 💜

[queerspacepunk]

4, 19 and 24 for the fic asks!

4. total number of words you wrote this year

this was a really tricky (but exciting) one to figure out - hence the delay in replying lol. mooooooost of my writing is done on typora so stored on my laptop, but I also did some based in google docs AND i do a lot of writing by hand (filled a whole notebook in january alone and about three others since) some of which has been typed up and some which hasn't.

so, adding up all the typed stuff and estimating the handwritten stuff that hasn't been typed at ~105 words/page (probably slightly higher than that but w/e) I'm at 216,170 so far this year.

And yeah, ~100k or so is from the two nanos I did this year, but what's currently blowing my goddamn mind is that i did 100k+ this year outside of that. which.... like yes i write every single day but STILL

19. any new fics to start next year

Oof. I'll be honest with ya, I'm currently so focused on finishing fics that I haven't really thought about it? Current WIPs (that I'm actually intending on finishing):

Revenge Romances (editing)

The Novel (editing, not 'fic' but still)

time loop fic

bavid owie

handsy

better than sex

saber and a place to stand

blue cushion fic

verb, colloquial

so uh, as you can see most ideas i have i have... started already. i will say that verb, colloquial has barely been started, if that counts, and i'm planning a sequel to the time loop fic bc there are so many juicy threads to follow up on. oh and no gods ofc, once i figure out what it is.

24. favorite fic you read this year

in terms of what stuck with me the most and brought me the most joy this year? it's gotta be @sassygwaine's a love that won't sit still. All of it obvs but the Ed/Alma dynamic in some good company hits me somewhere very tender every time.

Fave single fic though? Probably 50 Way to Kill Your Lover. It's a great fic, incredibly well done, and it reminded me how much cool shit you can do with words. it's also a very tasty fic in that the rhythm of it is great and makes me want to read it out!! highly recommend if you haven't already read it.

fanfic end of year asks if you want to ask me more questions (please do!)

[princess-of-the-worlds]

hello nik my lovely 🤧💖

KC but they're working at their college newspaper. legacy kid/staff writer!Klaus + senior editor!Caroline (~or something like that~). "this may come easy to you, but some of us have worked our asses off to get here. the least you could do is pretend to take it seriously."

breaking news

Caroline... she was done. There was no other word for it, no other way to describe what she was experiencing, but she was fucking done.

She had joined the staff of the Whitmore Gazette in her freshman year at the school; with high school journalism and yearbook experience, she had always wanted to become a broadcast journalist, and as Whitmore College had no student organizations for the field, she joined the next best thing -- their college newspaper.

That's not to say that Whitmore's paper wasn't without its own merit. It was one of the oldest newpaper organizations in Virginia, and the staff, especially the news reporters, had won numerous awards for their dedication, their investigative skills, and their sharp writing.

Caroline was proud to be the Whitmore Gazette's best news reporter, as one of her editors had put it, and she was also glad to be one of the youngest senior editors in the department. She was the highest-paid news staffer, one of the only paid news staffers, actually, and she was only a sophomore.

Which is why it was entirely frustrating that she had worked her ass off to get to the top and some of her reporters refused to listen to her. Actually, a reporter. It was solely one reporter.

Klaus fucking Mikaelson.

Klaus fucking Mikaelson, who she was currently yelling at.

"This may come easy to you," she raged, sure that she was grinding her teeth so hard that her dentist back in Mystic Falls would lecture her about it, "but some of us have worked our asses off to get here." She inhaled sharply, staring at Mikaelson's gloating smirk and his stupid, stupid handsome face. "The least you could do is pretend to take it seriously."

"It's Google Drive, sweetheart," Mikaelson said calmly, his voice nearly a drawl, and Caroline could feel the blood in her veins begin to boil. "My fact checks can be completed at any point. I can comment them on the draft within minutes."

"If it takes only minutes," Caroline began, her tone venomous, "then why couldn't you have done them to begin with?" A beat. "And my name is Caroline. Care-o-line. Not sweetheart, not love, certainly not darling." She deepened her voice to mock his ridiculous accent. "It's only three syllables. If you can't manage that, call me Forbes, and if you can't manage that, then you shouldn't be working as a news reporter!"

Mikaelson blinked up at her, his eyes wide and innocent as he pushed his laptop away and towards her. "All done."

"What?"

"I'm done with the fact checks," he said. "That's what you wanted me to do, right?"

Forgetting her rage for a minute, Caroline bent down, her blond ponytail smacking Mikaelson in the face. He pushed her hair away, but she didn't bother to apologize as she took a peek at his laptop screen, scrolling through the Google Doc.

"All these comments say is 'check notes,'" she said flatly. "You could at least add page numbers... and links."

"Well, then." He grinned brightly. "You should have said that."

Caroline was pretty sure she could feel hot steam pouring out of her ears. Her fingers twitched with the urge to strangle one Klaus Mikaelson.

She wanted to strangle him, but not in the sexy, kinky way. No, she wanted to strangle him in the dead, very dead way.

She'd be put away for murder, but at least she could go knowing she had done the world a great justice, had rid it of the British asshole known as Klaus Mikaelson.

"I really thought the son of Esther Mikaelson would be better at being a news reporter," Caroline said, and she knew that her tone was a bit cold, but she also didn't care.

Instantly, Mikaelson's eyes hardened. "I can assure you," he said, with no humor or any of his former brightness to his tone, "what my mother has done in her long and illustrous career has had no bearings on what school I chose to attend or what I chose to do with my life."

Then he glanced down and sighed, gently shutting his laptop. "I should go, Caroline. I can ask Bonnie or Stefan to edit the article instead. I think they were finished off earlier." He took a step away from the news desk.

"Wait--" Caroline said, hot shame and guilt unfurling in her chest. "No. Stop." As he turned around to look at her, she sighed, and sank further into her chair. "It's just that... you're such a good reporter. Bonnie and Stefan edit with you just fine. It's just me... that you seem to have problems with. Your drafts are always incomplete and never have their fact checks." She lifted her chin. "Just... what am I doing wrong? Why do you have a problem with me?"

"Caroline," Mikaelson said. "It's a Thursday."

She stared blankly at him. "So? I always edit with you on Thursdays."

Mikaelson sighed. "I'm a poli sci major?" Bewildered, she shook her head. "Tuesday and Thursday evenings are when the Poli Sci 101 lectures are scheduled? You know? The ones taught by Professor Fell? The ones that are always going over-schedule?"

Caroline continued staring at him until it finally clicked. "Oh," she said. "Oh."

Mikaelson rolled his eyes. "Yes, 'oh,'" he repeated, but he didn't sound unkind, just amused. "Every Thursday, I have this same bloody lecture that always runs over by twenty minutes, giving me less than thirty minutes to write an article. It's a miracle that you even get a complete draft most of the time, let alone fact checks on the draft."

Her cheeks colored. "Oh. I'm really sorry. I just... kept yelling at you there." A beat. "Why didn't you explain any of this to me? You could have shut me up."

Now he smirked at her. "To be completely honest, I didn't really want to shut you up. You're very cute when you're all fired up."

Her blush brightened, and she tucked a lock of hair that had fallen loose from her ponytail behind her ear. "Um..." Taking a minute to gather her composure, she straightened up, finding her confidence again. "Right then. Deadline is approaching. Let's get cracking on this article, and when it's all edited, fact checked, and polished away, I can buy you dinner."

"That's a bit presumptuous of you, isn't it, Caroline?" Mikaelson -- nay, Klaus -- asked amusedly.

"I have a feeling that if you didn't want to spend time with me, you wouldn't have let me yell at you for ten minutes."

"Yes, you would be correct in that assumption."

[atouchofsass]

warning: the google doc i drafted this post in is seven pages long and I still didn't even remember everything I wanted to say. anyway here's essentially a journal entry on the caroline, or change revival at studio 54

My opinion

I fucking loved it lol. There was one weak link that we’ll get to later but I was NOT disappointed by this production. Go see it.

The vibe

The show was clearly purposefully livened up to make it more appealing to the mainstream, but in a way I would consider almost entirely positive. The appliances were less stoic, more whimsical, flashier and more fun. Instead of mainly standing in place behind their physical counterpart, they dance and move across the stage, interacting directly with other characters in ways that are sometimes metaphorical and sometimes just for fun. At first I wasn’t really sure about having the Moon physically flying above the stage, but by the end of the first act I was completely on board. I had heard it referred to as “intrusive” by a couple of people, but I think I have to disagree. It was only intrusive to me because it wasn’t my expectation; to a fresh viewer I think it would seem perfectly natural. In fact, I think it would seem odd to them that the Moon had ever not flown.

Moments of actual visual comedy have been added too, rather than depending on line delivery. For example, rather than have Rose alone when she’s on the phone with Mr. Stopnik, she’s across the stage from Noah, who is in bed. When she sings “the boy still hates me- I really shouldn’t be talking so loud,” instead of her just catching herself, Noah jerks his head to look at her after “the boy still hates me” and then after a beat she finishes the line and begins walking away towards the steps. At first, this stretches the cord to what you think will be its full length as she arrives at the stairs and pauses after taking a step down, but then she keeps going down the stairs, enters the “basement” area, and eventually stands all the way downstage, with the comically long cord stretched out behind her. I thought it was hysterical.

If you had asked me before seeing this revival whether Caroline, or Change needed to have more comic relief and bright colors and fun silliness, I would have been like fuck you don’t be a coward!!! but in practice it actually works very well.

The cast

Our playbills came with three notices inside: the first announced Jaden Myles Waldman as our Noah, the second gave us our Jackie (Alexander Bello [FROM JOHN MULANEY AND THE SACK LUNCH BUNCH!!! {the one who said he was Marlon Jackson’s son}]) and Joe (Jayden Theophile), and the third announced that the role of the Dryer and the Bus would be played by the cover Quentin Oliver Lee. Everyone else was the usual cast.

Sharon D. Clarke was magnificent. She didn’t read quite as cold as Tonya Pinkins used to, but still cold, sort of brittle. She approached almost all her high notes with head voice and didn’t seem terribly comfortable with them, but I’m not certain whether she always does that, if she might have been sick, or if she was holding back because we saw a matinee. Regardless of the reason, I got used to it quickly; I’d just as soon have a Caroline that DOESN’T destroy her voice anyway. It’s a very responsible approach and, again, did not detract from the performance the majority of the time (and even if it had, the unbelievable richness of her lower register, including her speaking voice, would likely have made up for it). Whenever she spoke instead of singing, you got the sense she was making the most of every syllable. She especially shone during the fight with Noah- the unbelievably measured way she handled those lines left a chill over the room. The pause between each phrase was brutal.

Jaden Myles Waldman was great as Noah. Though as usual with child actors you can very much see the effort he’s putting into his singing, his physical acting was very natural- only once or twice did you notice him actively trying to hit a mark. He was a more lively Noah, still shy, but one you might imagine having one or two friends at school. His entrance to Caroline’s basement at the beginning was energetic, he physically salutes her as the President of the United States, and she wordlessly tells him to stand at ease (it was ambiguous, from the distance I was at, whether she did so with annoyance or with the same scrap of indulgence that allows her to hand him her cigarettes. I would prefer if it was with annoyance, but I could see the utility of making it not).

There were a few times the energy clashed with the book, specifically the moments where Noah says something very ungrounded. “My father is a clarinet” didn’t suffer too much, but I did not buy this Noah saying “I did it… I killed her” and so on. He also spoke “I killed her” rather than sang it, which I’m not a fan of. But like, he’s also a child actor; it’s not really a big deal and he was good the rest of the time.

I could not get enough of Samantha Williams as Emmie. I wanted her to be on stage the whole time. She shone when her acting was allowed to get more physical- her dancing, her body language when playing with her brothers, and her proud, furious, glowing confrontation with the statue in the epilogue (staged with her interacting with the physical washing machine prop, arguing past it, slamming her hands on it, then finally climbing atop it for the finale). For this reason I was disappointed when she held onto the dinner tray for the entirety of her argument with Mr. Stopnik- I kept wishing for her to be able to put it down on the table, to see what she would do unencumbered.

Speaking of which, Chip Zien as Mr. Stopnik, naturally, was great fun. I wished for a little more bombast from him during A Twenty Dollar Bill and Why, but that was really my only complaint. A choice that jumped out at me was to make “let her stay” very forceful- instead of the subtext being “please” the subtext was “come on, really? Let her.” which I think plays nicer with Mr. Stopnik’s general refusal to be polite.

Caissie Levy was the obvious weak link in the cast. Her over-the-top, self-aware performance clashed terribly with the grounded feel of everyone else onstage. I read some reviews on the way home out of curiosity and saw one that called her performance “honest and believable,” which seemed so comically incorrect that I still want to believe it was a joke. She literally pointed at Caroline with both hands on “from now on, YOU keep it.”

If there are some people who should not act in period pieces because they have a face that knows about email, Caissie Levy should not act in period pieces because she has an affect that knows about Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. She was acting like she was on an SNL skit about karens. She was acting like Anna Kendrick. It doesn’t work. Because she is a caricature instead of a person, her moments of open distress fall completely flat. Her voice was pretty though.

I LOVED John Cariani as Stuart. He was perfectly awkward, getting carried away when playing the clarinet (which he is doing for real btw) and coming across deeply stiff and scripted at all other times. I could be totally off here, but I think MAYBE he was specifically making his voice more clarinet-like. I’m not super familiar with his work outside of The Band’s Visit so maybe he just sounds like that though. I also learned during the cast Q and A afterwards that he was already pretty good at the clarinet before the pandemic, but spent the intervening year becoming an absolute boss, came back, and SHOCKED the rest of the cast with how good he had gotten. I don’t really know anything about clarinet performance, but to my untrained ear it certainly was stunning. Also, he was hot.

Tamika Lawrence as Dotty Moffat was very enjoyable, though I think Dotty got hit hardest with the “talk slower so the audience can understand you” thing; she sometimes delivered lines rather slower than felt natural for the character. I loved her voice, especially in Moon Trio, and she had great comic delivery.

Joy Hermalyn and Stuart Zagnit were delightful as the Gellman grandparents. I actively enjoyed them the bulk of the time they were onstage, which is impressive considering these roles can fade into the background a little. JFK has potential to be a slow spot, but it was never in any danger in their hands.

Nasia Thomas, Nya, and Harper Miles were, as you may have already heard, fucking fantastic. Their vocals could not be better and each one handles the fleshed-out interaction between Caroline, the Radio, and certain other characters with gusto. Because of the group nature of the roles I struggle to say anything about them individually, but oh my god they were so good.

Arica Jackson as the Washing Machine was a delight to watch, as bubbly as her costume, but at times I wished her voice was a little less of a light silky pop belt and more of the full-throated fare Capathia Jenkins gave us in the original cast. That said, I think that’s purely a matter of preference and me being stuck in my ways; her vocal performance was very deft and there was nothing actually wrong with it.

Quentin Oliver Lee KILLED as the Dryer and the Bus (and briefly, spoiler alert, Caroline’s ex-husband). I would never have known he wasn’t the principle if the playbill didn’t tell me so. His voice was resonant and sweet, which as the Dryer gave a cruel contrast to his words and body language and as the Bus revealed sincere reverence and sorrow. I never looked away from him for a second when he was onstage. He was a more overtly sexual Dryer- rather than the original where the implication is delivered only through the music, this Dryer postures while manspreading (all the while seated on the physical dryer), caressing his legs and leaning forward hungrily. I would like very much to see how Kevin S. McAllister’s take compares, but I’m delighted to have gotten to see Lee. I am in love with him.

Finally, N’Kenge as the Moon was gorgeous. Her voice was flawless. Her gestures were rather repetitive, but given that she’s sitting in a half-bubble the entire time I think that issue lies with the direction more than her interpretation, and anyway she’s graceful enough that you don’t really mind if she waves her arms the same way a few times in a row. I am also in love with her.

Alexander Bello and Jayden Theophile obviously play bit parts as Jackie and Joe, but they were still great and one of them did a sick flip during Roosevelt Petrucius Coleslaw, which was very impressive. We all clapped, but I clapped first.

The stage

When you walked into the theater, the first thing you noticed was the sound of frogs and bugs. The second thing you noticed was the copper confederate statue, labeled “the south’s defenders,” standing center stage. The pedestal gives away that the statue on stage is based on (but is not a replica of) the real South’s Defenders Monument in the real Lake Charles, LA. The sides of the stage are covered in tall grass and reeds while the center is tiled. Hanging lightbulbs are strewn all about the edges. Above is the “upstairs” featuring a TV and phone on one side and Noah’s bedroom on the other. The two sides of the upstairs begin and end the show joined together, but are separated for the bulk of the run time (the symbolism is not subtle).

At the beginning of intermission the washing machine is left alone center stage; at some point during intermission it is replaced with just the pedestal of the South’s Defenders statue, plus the head and a confederate flag on the floor of the stage. Unfortunately, I was in the bathroom so I didn’t see when/how they switched them or if anything interesting happened :(

My one complaint about the set design and use of stage and lighting throughout the show is that it actually feels quite cool, not hot or stifling at all. Before the show, someone behind me joked that it felt like Pirates of the Caribbean at Disney World. They make things red and hot and small when the dryer is actively singing in the first scene, but not really at any other time. Again, a very minor complaint comparatively.

A brief top three visual moments utilizing the set and lighting:

The Bus’s entrance, in which the back of the stage opens with a blinding light and the bus and his passengers, hidden in shadow, slowly trudge in

Salty teardrops, where real water begins falling onto the back and sides of the stage

Lot’s Wife, in which as Caroline sings the final “flat” she is slowly but ultimately BLINDINGLY illuminated from behind with pure white light, as though being granted her wish and purged in holy fire. You could hear the audience gasping at the absolute splendor of it, I also gasped and physically covered my mouth with my hands (even though I was wearing a mask lol) and obviously everyone broke into applause immediately afterwards

The costumes

The costumes for the human characters are fitting but mainly unremarkable. I think this is for the best; making them any more eye-catching would have been a poor choice. A few costumes are very similar to ones from the original broadway production, like Emmie still wearing a brown plaid coat during I Hate The Bus, while others were completely original.

The costumes for the appliances and the Moon, though, were fabulous. The identical dresses and hairpieces for the Radio stunned every time- my favorite was the blue and silver for Salty Teardrops, but the white Christmas outfits complete with white wigs and the red and black numbers for No One Waitin’ were also gorgeous. The Dryer was perfect, wearing a dark jumpsuit with red-hot coils around his neck and splashed over his arms (the one on his neck neatly evokes a collar). The Moon had three (?) very similar dresses, each of which provided a slightly different effect when she gestured but all of which suggested roundness and grace by means of sleeves connected to the body of the dress. The Washing Machine’s bubbles were a bit of a weak point by comparison, but not distractingly bad.

My favorite was actually the Bus- his costume includes a license plate and headlights, as one might expect, but I was really delighted by the simplest part: an ultra-thin, bright line painted directly down the center of his face, suggesting the light peeking out from the crack between two bus doors on a dark night. It may be because the Bus is already one of my favorite parts, so I am undeniably biased, but I was obsessed.

The changes

The most noticeable overarching change from the original production is that LOTS of moments have their tempo slightly reduced. This makes sense given that Caroline, or Change has a lot of very dense lyrics sung very fast, so I can’t fault them, but it does unavoidably make those moments slightly less high-energy, less frenetic, less of an outburst. For example, “I think it’s a negro thing/A southern thing/A christian thing” is sung slower than it was in the original version, there is a rest between each phrase.

There were slight changes in the music at parts. During Dotty and Caroline, Caroline’s pitch is lower on “Dotty Moffat/high and mighty/going to college/every night.” During Moon, Emmie, and Stuart Trio the Moon’s “dona”s have been altered. And at the end of Emmie’s first bit in the Kitchen Fight, her melody and lyrics have been slightly altered from the furious, rapid “Come on, come on teach me what you know! Mama, teach-” and are now slower and almost desperate: “Teach me, teach me, teach me, mama, teach-”

Other changes were purely lyric-based. “Night, cheap beautiful music” has been changed to “Night, free beautiful music.” And a few very minor wording changes have been made to dialogue parts such as Caroline giving her perspective on Noah’s mother’s cancer. I don’t remember exactly what changed, except for the slight rearrangement of “Sometimes God eat people like a hungry wolf” to “God eat people sometimes. Like a wolf.”

Finally, during 1943, Caroline’s husband actually appears for the flashback. He wears a white sailor’s uniform and dances with her sweetly. They hold hands and romance each other at first, then becomes distant as babies are piled into their arms (and into the arms of the appliances). We do not see them hit each other- it is portrayed through flinches and, when Caroline retaliates, by her slamming a hand down on the washer.

Little Things

Roosevelt Petrucius Coleslaw is always a fun-act-ender, but it’s really emphasized as a whimsical showstopper here with lots of visual interest and even Caroline smiling and participating in the shower of money.

During Rose’s call with Dotty towards the end, Stuart is standing by her constantly trying to nonverbally communicate something to her but getting shut down every time. He’s clearly frustrated with how the call is going, but I couldn’t read what he was trying to get Rose to do- to be more harsh, perhaps?

When Grandma Gellman has Stuart play the clarinet after A Twenty Dollar Bill and Why, he is seated at the head of the table and comically whips the clarinet out from underneath and begins playing in the same motion and it’s really funny.

As previously noted, “I think it’s a negro thing/A southern thing/A christian thing” is sung slower and annunicated more, but there was one more interesting thing- “christian” is emphasized much more heavily than “southern” and “negro”. It lends a little more aggression to the interaction on Emmie’s part while also emphasizing the Jewishness/Christianity dichotomy of the piece.

Inside/Outside had a brief chaotic light show that to me was the only part of the show where the lights and colors went too far. It wasn't overly disruptive though, since the part is so short.

We attended a brief Q and A after the show, featuring Stuart Zagnit, Jaden Myles Waldman, Khalifa White (cover for Radio 1 and 2 and Emmie), and Timothy Quinlan (cover for Stuart, Mr. Stopnik, and Mr. Gellman). The first “question” managed to be a white dude giving a comment-not-a-question about how he “had his own Caroline” and stuff and I thought he came off a real dick but the moderator seemed into his story. Personally, I think if you want points for showing basic human decency to the black maid that raised you, you should probably at minimum write a Tony-nominated musical about her, but that’s just me.

Most of the other questions were good but very basic. The one answer that was pretty interesting was when someone asked about little things the actors picked up about the score that a one-time audience would never notice. Quinlan and White explained to us that after the Washing Machine does her bit begging Rose not to fire Caroline, there is a brief bassoon part which represents Betty “telling” Rose not to fire Caroline. It was unclear whether this was actually coming from Tesori or if it was White’s pet theory (Quinlan noted that White was the one who told him about it) but I thought it was pretty neat either way.

The audience

The audience was so excited to be there! It brought me a lot of joy. There was instant applause the MILLISECOND the lights started to go down. The guy next to me was, I think, competing with me to see who could scream the loudest during applause breaks. Audible gasps occurred at times, especially when Noah turns on Caroline- there were small gasps during his rant, then some BIG gasps after “I hope he drops his bomb on you!”

There WERE unfortunately laughs at “and hell’s where Jews go when they die.” My boyfriend patted me sympathetically on the back as it happened since he knows how I feel about that, but there were at least fewer laughs than you hear on the bootleg and they were more uncomfortable. Plus, Sharon D. Clarke’s acting was so captivating in the moment that I wasn’t able to be drawn out of the scene very much.

Conclusion

I could literally write about this all day but this is already a little excessive. I take credit for psychically willing this revival into existence, now go see it before it closes.

[ravenclaw-questions-gone-writing]

Outline # -1 Abandoned Lore (Trinity)

@fanfics-and-fangirling

I have learned my lesson, I will be writing these on Google docs and then copy-pasting onto Tumblr. While I am on GD, I figured I might as well open the docs I used to write the actual fic. Man, I went through a ton of hoops to get where I am. I will be using the most coherent ones for reference. 

I can literally track my thought process as I went through writing all the different versions and I still have no idea how tf I went from this to dropping a flaming papermache whale on Ra’s Al Ghul. And I will die mad about it. Which means more meticulous notes in the future I guess.

Also, I’d like to apologize for how long it took to get this out, I have no sense of time whatsoever and as always, there’s a lot more than expected. This was 7 pages long

Original Ramble Post 

Like most of my stories, the MC is an OCI - reincarnator brought into a fictional world they once watched. (Because I am obsessed with that trope.)

I now find the original name I had for her cringy and out-of-place given these are norse gods. So, from now on her name is Lokka, which is the female version of Loki

There’s a whole ass backstory about the transition of godly names and power I won’t go into. Just think Thor and female Thor kind of thing I guess. She’s basically seen as a spare Loki but it’s also a respected position.

Was tempted to name her Sigyn since Marvel doesn’t care about actual norse myth relations. No, Idc that there’s a canon Sigyn.

If you’re curious, the original name was Aradia. Yes, like the queen of witches.

MC is an asgardian, the daughter of the librarian in the royal palace and a blacksmith

She managed to get an apprenticeship under Loki and is occasionally taught by Frigga. She also learns under Eir when both her royal teachers are busy.

Lokka found her way into the central plane, probably having found it’s location from Loki’s notes and is unaware that it’s unstable.

So, Lokka is in the central plane, having the time of her life exploring new lands when she stumbles across a crying Marinette who is very lost 

Unlike Lokka, Marinette does not know where she is or what is going on. She literally just tripped into a portal and has no way home.

Lokka takes Marinette under her wing and promises to help her find a way home

Problem is, she doesn’t know which of the three universes Marinette is from.

Even if/when she finds out that the girl is from MLB-verse, she still wouldn’t know which one that is because she has no reference to which world is which. Only that Marinette is probably not from Asgard.

At this point, she is unaware she lived in Marvel, she just knows Asgard is Norse Mythology.

So they continue to wander the central plane, Marinette ends up picking up a card guardian for a pet, accidentally becoming a cardcaptor. 

Marinette has trouble pronouncing Lokka and Lokka gives Mari permission to call her Cosette (pre-reincarnation name)

Meanwhile, Ra’s sends Damian and Talia into the Central plane for combat experience and resource gathering.

Ra’s might be 700 years old, he might have access to the Central plane but he sure doesn’t know about magic or how it came to be or the current state of it. He might know something’s off because all the inhabitants have been increasingly on edge and the weather’s been stranger than usual but he didn’t deemed it important

Notably, he has never seen anyone other than those who he’d sent in himself in the central planes (CP, from now on bc I am getting tired of typing the entire thing out) so as far as he knows, the CP’s only entrance point is under his control.

Talia and Damian, who’s still going by Hafid, go hunting for resources and training

They separate for a bit for individual hunting/training time

Marinette and Cosette (Lokka) stumble across Damian’s camp

Misunderstandings occur, Damian fights them, more accurately he fights Cosette

Cosette tries to protect Marinette while also making sure not to harm her opponent

It was harder than she expected considering her opponent was a child

Asgardian training pulls through and she is able to do both

Damian’s tied up, Marinette is confused, and Cosette does not want to deal with this

Negotiation time

Marinette can’t speak Arabic, Damian doesn’t know french, and Cosette has all-speak

This means Cosette’s sitting there, having to repeat everything the kids say to each other for translation’s sake

also misunderstandings before the kids realize allspeak is a thing

Cosette is stuck with two kids who don’t like each other, one of which barely puts up with her so she does what most adults do when kids are too troublesome

Distract them: she does magic tricks with actual magic

Damian+Marinette are fascinated, Cosette accidentally gains two magic students 

even though she’s still learning herself and all she has for guidance right now are Loki’s and Frigga’s notes

So, the trio end up travelling together

Damian demands Marinette should at least be able to fight so they train her too

They also figure out that Marinette and Damian’s worlds are not the same.

Cosette drills some value of life, basic morals, and feminism into Damian’s head

Marinette and Damian (Hafid) have trouble pronouncing each other’s names

They chose nicknames for each other from Cosette’s bedtime stories

Marinette is obviously angel or Tenko

Damian is gets Kabane, the name of a half demon

Kabane later changes to Kasane, protective blade

Yes, Cosette was/is a weeb and yes, they still mispronounce names which defeats the whole purpose but at least they kids don’t notice now even if Cosette is cringing every time they

They run into another card guardian and this one goes to Damian.

Cosette does not pout about this, it would be very immature

One training montages, several fights, a couple language lessons, and an abandoned (and Cosette-raided) house later, Cosette gets to the part of Loki’s notes where she figures out that the CP is collapsing in on itself and uh-oh

She tells the kids the gist of it but they’re too smart, ask all the right questions, and end up figuring out the important parts of situation that she’s trying to keep from them

Cosette is both impressed and a little put out, mostly impressed because not only did they figure out extremely complex magic, they also mostly remained level headed.

Marinette wants to rescue the card guardians and for once Damian is backing her up so Coestte gives up the notion of returning home and they go collect the guardians.

Remember, DC and MLB universes are closing in on each other 

MCU is drifting away

If they don’t collect the guardians, Cosette would have the time to just drop them off at their world collection points and head back to hers

After collecting a couple guardians, they end up finding Talia and explain the situation to her.

Talia joins the gang, she may or may not be plotting a marriage

They raid a couple more houses, collect the 54 card guardians, and complete the power transfer ritual (replacing the Yue’s trial because the cards are the guardians)

The cards end up latching onto the three kids. 

Marinette gets the Mistress title, Damian gets Sun Guardian, and Cosette gets Moon guardian.

Originally Cosette was going to be the mistress and Marinette the Moon guardian but because of the way I’ve decided magic works in this world - explaining that will need a whole other post - if Marinette is the moon guardian and gets the Ladybug miraculous, she will - for lack of better word - get sick and possibly die... or not.

Y’know what, it made sense at the time. But now that I think about it, we’re going back to the original idea.

Cosette’s the Card Mistress, Marinette’s the Moon guardian and Damian’s the Sun guardian.

Spoiler alert: that is a plot point for tropes-verse.

The completion of the ritual breaks puts CP deteriorations in high acceleration

Damian and Talia get into their circle, Cosette and Marinette in the other

Damian doesn’t have any cards bc he doesn’t want his grandfather trying to get to them. He and Talia agreed Ra’s would only know about the CP’s destruction. He does, however, have a CP beast that they picked up.

CP beast: magical creature that was born of CP’s magical residue or smth

Damian’s looks like a Teddiursa (Teddy bear pokemon) it is not

They have a notebook from a raided house detailing CP’s deterioration for proof

Cosette goes with Marinette because she can’t make it back to her universe and in the event that Marinette’s also from Cosette’s universe, she won’t be alone

They separate with the promise of meeting again.

At this point, I have had several differing ideas

They all go into DC world because they aren’t sure of Marinette’s world

Child trio goes into MLB world and Talia tells Ra’s Damian died

Everyone goes into MLB and Ra’s finds out about the collapse when he tries going in himself and finds out he can’t and just assumes they died

Y’all, I’m starting to see why I can’t do one-shots…

One of the things I forgot to mention in the rambling post is that while Marvel-verse was pulling away, it also messed with the time regulation thing, a day in the Maribat-verse will

Time in CP was very messed up

Kind of assumed readers could piece it together but I figured might as well make it obvious and straight up say it

MLBU: Cosette and Marinette arrive safely 

Marinette is delivered home and Cosette has to figure something out

They find out Marinette has only been gone for a week

Marinette has some separation anxiety for about three days

Cosette slowly realizing this is an MLB universe and having a crisis

Cosette gets adopted by the Dupain-Chengs and starts working at the bakery

I have not figured out ages for Cosette

MLB goes like most Maribat fics pre-gotham because I’m lazy

Will likely be adjusted if I ever actually write this fic

Except Cosette steps in when things got too far and Paris has 3 heroes

Cosette is the known as the Sorciere or Lokka

Her uniform is just her asgardian armor

Good but misguided Adrien, Cosette probably adopts him too

Love square goes platonic and Cosette is glad this rom-com is over

Magic tutoring continues

Cosette is neutral with Fu and fascinated by the miraculous

You remember those ghost interactions? Those are filtering in

One of the first things to merge is the internet, because it doesn’t have a physical body and it’s just waves of information

News and discoveries between the world are being swapped

Given what I remember from DC and dimension travel, it wouldn’t be surprising if they figured out universes were merging.

The news about JL and Paris’s situation are causing all kinds of confusion

Cosette beings looking for information on Damian

As the physical world begins merging, there’s pockets of space where you can slip from one world into another; not quite portals but close

Eventually the trip to NY became a trip to Gotham because their plane slipped between planes (sorry, I saw the chance and I had to take it.) but yeah, that happened.

There’s quite a few details I’m forgetting

DCU: Damian and Talia arrive ok and report bare basics to Ra’s

It has also only been a week

Ra’s is displeased to find them back until they report the state of the CP

There’s the whole coup not long after and Damian is sent to Bruce

Damian is much more innocent looking when he’s bringing what appears to be a teddy bear with him

It’s name is Abd and it has grown wings by now. Actual name pending.

He gets teased about it, but under Cosette’s teachings, he has learned the virtue of patience, underestimation, and getting revenge with a side of entertainment

He does not try to kill Tim either

He also has to make the choice of bringing Abd with him as Damian or as Robin

He choses to make a side company for WE making toys based off creatures from the CP so Abd wouldn’t look too out of place

It takes two weeks for the bats to realize there’s something off about the Abd

They are convinced it’s haunted and Damian is very entertained

Abd only moves in daytime when no one - Damian excluded - can see it

Movement can expel magic that interferes with recording tech

Alfred is the first to figure it out and surprise, surprise, he has some magic books for Damian to learn from

It’s from the Wayne family library and they just assumed the language was lost to time. At least three are from Alfred’s own family.

Bat brothers spend the next 6 months trying to convince Damian his magical pet bear is a haunted doll.

Damian sort of getting along with Poison Ivy because his Sun magic is very compatible with plants and they love him

On an unrelated note, the plants seem to refuse to attack the new Robin

Damian randomly, unconsciously humming to songs Cosette and Marinette sang

Damian just vibing with the magic users of JL and Teen Titans

No one took him seriously at first but he pointed something out during a conference

“Robin, stand down and let the magic users handle this” - Green Lantern, probably

Constantine who actually knows what he’s talking about “No, no, let the boy talk.”

The plan was twice as efficient after Damian was through with it

Now Constantine’s trying to adopt Damian as an apprentice, he’s failing bc the bats are protective and possessive of what is theirs

Reminder that Damian brings Abd with him everywhere and he’s still getting teased about it from anyone who is not a bat (still convinced the thing is haunted)

The only thing the magic users have picked up about Abd is that he’s a magical construct which could mean a number of things but they brush it off as just a doll.

No one is prepared for the thing to come to life, multiply in size, and start spitting ice, sleep sand, and illusions. (Hiccups bubbles and can also turn into a cloud.)

They are also not prepared for the thing to quadruple in size and for Damian to ride it like a horse into battle. Reminder that Abd has wings and can fly.

Confusing talk about what’s going on in Paris and some other parts of the world

JL slowly figure out the universal merger that Damian already knows about

Damian is not impressed, it took him and Angel about 2 hours as 9 year olds

Somehow, Damian still has the ice prince image, less demon spawn though, that goes to Abd

Time moves on and one day, a plane from the other world arrives in Gotham

There’s a bit of confusion but it’s not exactly the first time something like this has happened at this point

WE steps up and offers jobs and a tour and all the usual Maribat plans (not just for the kids but all the other people on the plane)

Given the merger of the internet, MLB class and crew have some idea who the Waynes are and they accept. 

Estimated about 6 months for full merger so people from MLB world are kinda just stuck there until then

Lila literally cannot lie about knowing the Waynes personally but she sure can lie about other things.

Dick and Damian are sent in to monitor the group

The reunion is awkward given they can’t freely interact and are not supposed to know each other. 

While Dick is talking, there are just wide eyed staring between Marinette, Damian, and Cosette. With something a little extra between Marinette and Damian.

Cosette is torn between laughing and groaning at another rom-com trope coming in fast.

She ends up filming it bc blackmail is always good to have

Adrien is confused and quite frankly, he’s really just there to cover for them

The tour begins and about five minutes in, the trio breaks off and exchanges stories and names.

Cosette hears about Batman and has a dawning realization of what this world is, mentally nopes out, later digests that they are going into Maribat verse

Starts checking off Maribat tropes they’re coming across bc she might as well have fun with it

They continue to meet up

Batfam thinking Damian somehow managed to get two girlfriends

Damian choking on his breakfast when it is brought up

The girls are invited to dinner and Damian is just dying inside

Cosette blatantly hitting on all Damian’s brothers in the first 5 minutes

Damian screaming internally while Cosette cackles

Dick is awkward until he realizes it’s a joke, Jason plays along, Tim has an awkward bean crisis

Tim x Cosette? Maybe.

Cosette does that sit and repeat thing at least three times out of habit

Batfam gets full explanation about how they met and everything

I have played with the idea of Cosette getting fear gassed a couple times and Idk how it would go tbh.

That’s as far as I got with this version, so shenanigans ensue

Pretty sure they used the cards and magic throughout even if I didn’t mention it

Absolutely would be useful for being in two places at once

I later changed so the merger happens and then Paris’s heroes meet the Justice League

Damian immediately recognizing Cosette but not Marinette bc magic

still effective but weaker because of Damian’s magic type

He later recognizes Marinette later when she pulls off a move he taught her way back in CP

Nickname confusion for everyone else

Cosette vs Constantine on who gets to teach Damian magic

Damian goes to Paris. They beat Hawkmoth and then go to Gotham.

Also had a general idea of a plot with LoS that never got fleshed out past existing

If we’re going for the rebound version: Cosette reunites with Thor and Loki during the Avengers movie

Also, poor Heimdallr. He probably had a lot of headaches with the universe crash

Accelerated merger because of the convergence in the dark world.

I wanna go with 2012 Avengers towers shenanigans. + Loki and his sort-of but not really daughter

Cosette vs Antman, shrinking/growing, science vs magic.

And then there’s the whole Ironman vs Batman vs Arrow rich boy fight

Hammer x Luthor or Hammer vs Luthor?

Also, Cosette just staring at her home universe in betrayal and being insulted she didn’t think of it earlier because classic Nordic myths had Loki as Odin’s brother and not his son among other things but still

Fight against Thanos is a bit anti-climatic when you give a gremlin murder child magic and a sword that can through anything, including magical artifacts.

this baby boy can and will fight God and Cosette’s not really the kind to hold him back

If I actually wrote this, a lot of things would probably change because I’d actually have to put more thought into logistics and how things work

[hale-13]

Hold Onto the Faith as I Dig Another Grave

By Hale13

For the Summer of Whump Day 6 - Buried Alive

He can’t do it.

There’s just no way he can do it.

He can feel the air thinning, his eyesight gets steadily darker, he can almost smell fresh tilled earth (a rarity in the middle of New York City) and this is it.

He’s going to die.

Words: 2031, Chapters: 1/1 (Complete), Language: English

Fandoms: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)

Rating: Gen

Relationships: Peter Parker & Ned Leeds, Peter Parker & Michelle Jones, Peter Parker & Tony Stark

Characters: Peter Parker, Ned Leeds, Michelle Jones, Tony Stark, Happy Hogan

TW: Absolutely none.

Read on AO3 or below the line break.

He can’t do it.

There’s just no way he can do it.

He can feel the air thinning, his eyesight gets steadily darker, he can almost smell fresh tilled earth (a rarity in the middle of New York City) and this is it.

He’s going to die.

“Could you be any more dramatic?” MJ asks from where she’s furiously typing into her laptop, he hair more frizzy than normal and her eyes pinched. Her usually unaffected demeanor is cracking a little at the edges and Peter has never seen her so frantic and disorganized – he feels a little bad about it.

“Seriously Peter,” Ned agrees from his section of the table where multi-colored index cards are scattered in a disorganized mess – he, too, looks on the verge of a breakdown but he’s not able to hide it as easily as Michelle – Ned always has worn his heart on his sleeve. “It’s your fault we waited until the last minute anyway,” his (now former – seriously Ned what the hell, how dare you) best friend accuses.

Peter just lets out a wounded animal noise as he edits his section of their PowerPoint, eyes nearly crossed he’s so close to the screen. Like that would help him edit any faster he thinks sardonically. “It’s not totally my fault,” he tried to rationalize.

“Yes it is,” MJ tells him bluntly, face buried in her over-highlighted notes on the vaccine apartheid in India and Africa for the comparative section of their presentation. “We could have been done weeks ago if you had actually come to the meetings we scheduled.”

“I came to the first one,” Peter protested, looking through his image folder for the proper photo for his slide – he had, at least, cropped and edited them all already so he had one less thing to do. “And besides, we divided the work up evenly – you didn’t even need me around to do your part.” He immediately flinched at the very clear ‘eat shit and die’ look Michelle gave him and murmured out a quick apology before ducking his head back into his work. Ned gave him a look of pity and a sad head shake, Peter just glared in response.

Ned bangs his head onto the table softly and moans. “Why do we always wait until the last minute? I hate waiting until the last minute.”

“Less whining, more writing,” Michelle says bluntly, adding a slide to the PowerPoint on their Google docs and making Peter groan. His job is to outline and find pictures, Michelle’s is to clean everything up and organize their presentation and Ned’s is to make sure that their presentation is cohesive and write out their speech. It’s a system that has, traditionally, worked well for them but this time may as well be a disaster. The only thing keeping them together at this point is MJ’s ruthless efficiency and Ned and Peter’s intense fear of failure.

“We were supposed to do this last week,” Ned continued, ignoring MJ’s order and then the kick she aimed as his shin; not even flinching at what was surely decent pain considering their friend had worn her Doc Marten’s to their meeting. “Why the hell did we let you cancel?”

“Because of that bank robbery remember?” Peter says, ignoring his own work for a second and risking MJ’s (well deserved not that he would admit it) wrath. “And then I got caught on patrol for a couple hours and then it was curfew.” He may have also been in the MedBay that night for a (minor) stab wound but he wasn’t telling them that – his friends worried enough about him as it was.

“Not that I necessarily support the police and the clear and rampant systemic racism of the entire system,” Michelle began, forcefully picking Ned’s head off the table and shoving a pen into his hands so he would continue working, “but that is their job. If we aren’t going to defund them the least they could do is handle a bank robbery.” This had been a frequent disagreement between the two of them for a while – MJ was one hundred percent correct in her viewpoint but Peter was a closet control freak who couldn’t leave well enough alone. They tried not to talk about it in polite conversation anymore.

“But there were hostages,” Peter whined, and there were. About twelve of them who all seemed more bored and annoyed than scared but that was the city for ya.

“And?” Michelle accused. “What do you think happened before you started running around in tights?”

“She has a point,” Ned said gently, organizing the index cards to be less chaotic.

Peter gave them both an irritated huff and muttered “They aren’t tights.”

“Spandex then,” Michelle said flippantly, waving her hand in his direction without looking up from her screen. Peter rolled his eyes.

“Well the next time we have a group project I’ll just send out a nice tweet asking all the criminals and muggers to put their crime on hold so I can do my homework,” Peter huffed sarcastically but without any real heat.

“If you wouldn’t mind,” Ned said, sounding relieved and Peter rolled his eyes again but got back to work. He was only on slide thirteen of twenty-five and, at the rate MJ was adding pages, he’d never finish. They worked in silence for a while, only breaking it to ask murmured questions before, finally, MJ snapped her laptop shut.

“Well if its not done at this point its not ever going to be,” she stated causing Ned to drop his pen and massage his cramping hand and Peter to let his head fall to the table in relief with a moan – his head was starting to throb and the words on his computer were swimming in front of his eyes. “Let’s try to get to school early tomorrow to do a couple run throughs before the presentation.” Peter glanced at the clock on the library wall and groaned, receiving a conciliatory pat on the back from Ned – he still had a ton of homework to get through before he could even think about sleeping.

“Want a ride home?” Ned asked a few minutes later when they were standing on the steps in front of the library. MJ’s mom had already been waiting when they stepped outside leaving just Ned and Peter to wait on Ned’s older sister.

“Nah,” Peter said, adjusting his too heavy backpack and rocking back on his heels. “Think I might swing home, just a quick patrol you know?”

The look Ned gave him was skeptical and disapproving but Peter chose to ignore it. He wouldn’t be out long anyway – just a quick run through the areas he knew were a problem and then home. Faster than the subway for sure. “Fine,” Ned grunted, thankfully holding in his opinion. “But you should go ahead and go before my sister gets here and insists on driving you,” Ned indicated to his tracking app, showing his sister only a few minutes away.

“Thanks man,” Peter said, initiating their handshake and trotting off around the corner to find a suitable alley to change in.

—————————————————

Three hours later, Peter fell through the window of his bedroom, collapsing on the floor and pulling his mask off. His hair was limp and sweaty where it clung to his head and his headache from earlier had gotten worse – the throbbing elevating up to a stabbing behind his eyes.

“One minute,” he told himself, panting and draping his elbow over his eyes. “You can have one minute and then you have work to do.”

“Talking to yourself?”

Peter jumped up, banging his head on the side of his bed with a wince, causing his vision to grey out a little and falling back on the floor to stare dazedly at the ceiling. Tony leaned over him to block his view, his expression mixed between humor and pity as Peter groaned and squeezed his eyes shut. “Don’t scare me like that!”

“Thought you had a tingle?” Tony teased, grabbing Peter’s hand and pulling him up to sit propped against the wall, ignoring the glare Peter shot him. “You’re lucky May’s working tonight.”

“Yeah I know,” Peter admitted. He was over two hours late for his midnight curfew and, if May had been home and not working in the ER, she would have skinned him alive and then grounded him for the foreseeable future.

“You’re even more lucky I covered for your scrawny spider ass and told her you were staying at the Tower tonight,” Tony said smugly, gesturing to the overnight bag that he had clearly packed for Peter. “Go ahead and change, you can shower once we get back to the Penthouse. You got everything you need for school?”

“Yeah,” Peter confirmed, stripping off the suit and pulling on an old pair of sweats and the t-shirt he had worn to school earlier. Changed and stumbling, he followed his mentor down to the town car that was waiting in front of the door to his apartment, crawling into the back seat and resting his aching head against the window; ignoring Happy’s tired look of disapproval in the rear view mirror.

“So,” Tony began, sitting across from him to make better eye contact. “Want to tell me why you’re out so late?”

“Well I was at the library with Ned and MJ working on a project for biology until about eleven-,”

“Why so late?” Tony interrupted, brows furrowed in thought. Peter bit his lip and averted his eyes and Tony nodded in understanding. “So you procrastinated until the last minute.”

“Maybe,” Peter conceded, eyes darting over to his bag and lingering for a second. Tony clocked the movement and let out a long suffering sigh, massaging his eyes with the thumb and forefinger on his right hand and grimacing .

“How much more do you have?”

“Uh…,” Peter squeaked out. “Just… just two problem sets in physics, one in calculus and five chapters of Jane Eyre to read.” Easily three to four hours of work and Peter was starting to feel buried and suffocated under the course load, his muscles started to tremble at the impending exhaustion he would be feeling the next day on little to no sleep.

Tony gave him a look of commiseration before asking “And when is all of this due?”

“The presentation is my last period of the day, right after lunch,” Peter answered. “Everything else is due in the morning.” Tony studied him for a moment before sighing.

“Here’s the offer: you go back to the Penthouse, take a shower and go to bed,” he held up a hand to halt Peter’s protest, “and I’ll tell May you have, what I assume to be, the start of a migraine,” Peter’s hand reached up subconsciously to rub his temple under his mentor’s knowing look. “She can call you out of school and I’ll take you at lunch so you don’t miss your presentation then you have all weekend to stick your nose in a book while I do some suit modifications. Square deal?”

Peter let out a sigh of relief and melted into the soft leather, nodding. “Deal.”

The rest of the ride was silent and Peter dozed until he was urged out of the car and into the elevator. Once they reached the Penthouse, Tony relieved him of his book bag and passed over the duffle he had packed, Peter not even bothering to put up a token protest as he was shoo’ed in the direction of his room. He pulled out his phone to text his group chat with Ned and MJ and saw that he already had a message waiting.

About thirty minutes before, MJ had sent a screenshot of the SpideyWatch twitter page that had a clear picture of him stopping a mugging just before he got home. The text under it said ‘see you at lunch for a practice run’ and Peter smiled a little, chest warm, as he sent the thumbs up emoji and tossed his phone onto his bed; he was looking forward to a scalding shower and eight hours of uninterrupted blissful sleep.

[b-rainlet]

📓📓📓📓

- the-scarecrxw

(Since you sent 4 of those emojis I'm gonna go off but I'll stick to one in this answer and make seperate posts for the others aksnsns)

I can't give you anything Jonathan centric (that isn't Tommy/Jonathan, one of my fave rarepairs) but Jerome features in lots of my AUs.

This one is one of my faves that's entirely self-indulgent and if it ever gets written it's probably gonna be the longest fic I ever published (Again: If it ever gets written):

I gotta apologize in advance, it's just a fun little AU I haven't put too much thoughts into in terms of plotting so this is gonna be A. Long, B. Messy and C. A little chaotic

- First off, you gotta understand that @nsfwitchy2 Me had some fun with a pretty nonsensical and definitely not canon-compliant AU where Jerome and Jeremiah have three Mums (Tabby, Lee and Barbara, who all date) and live with them and Barbara Lee as their little sister.

- Ecco also lives with them, she sees herself as both the twins' gf more than a genuine part of the family tho (for now)

- (Meanwhile at Wayne Manor Alfred and Jim date and are very tired parents of Bruce and his clone 514A, in this AU - and pretty much every AU - nicknamed Brook)

- (Selina kinda goes back and forth between living at Wayne Manor or at Lee's place)

- Also, everyone dates. The twins. The clones. Eccomiah, Jecco, Batcat, Valeyne, Wayleska, they're all fucking

- Which isn't THAT important for this particular AU but I figured I'd give a warning xD

- This is mostly my attempt to give Tabitha some more backstory? Just...how I personally see her character and how I could see her end up if things would've went differently after S2

- The google docs file is called 'How Tabitha started being a Mum while disregarding canon completely' lmao

- Like her current life involves having 4 kids (if you count Selina) and two wives and that's a hell of an AU and I just like to overthink things and play with the way things would have needed to have gone in canon to have her 'end up' like this

- Also I can see her struggling with having a family all if a sudden (that isn't a manipulative brother or a weird cult)

-Especially if that involves Motherhood

- So on one hand it's a 'S2 until now' fic, explaining what happened to her in my canon

- But also - mostly because I find that easier to organize in my brain - it's interwoven with a 5+1-esque fic of all her children calling her 'Mum' (and her getting emotional over that)

- So it switches back and forth between the past and the present but for rambling's sake, I'll start with the past

- She still leaves Theo behind and flees with Silver but she keeps Silver close instead of immediately sending her away

- And her and Silver get taken in by Fish after they leave Theo because they have nowhere to go and Fish loves taking care of strays

- (Fish, who probably didn't end up in Indian Hill but rather lives in hiding until she is ready to strike against Penguin)

- She refers to herself as Liza's Mother in canon, you can't tell me she wouldn't instantly adopt Tabby and call her 'Honey' and give her motherly advice while Tabby tries to be all bite but actually enjoys somebody taking care of her for once

- Selina🤝Tabby

'Trying so very hard all the time to not show how soft and insecure they are'

- Actually, I'd start diverting from Canon even sooner aksnsjd

- Well not full on changing canon, but I'd...pepper in some stuff

- Like some scenes of her back with Theo and the Maniax

- Mostly her talking to Theo about Jerome's planned murder, which, yeah, she knows it's been set in stone from the beginning but that doesn't mean that she isn't talking about alternatives where he doesn't get killed off

- And Theo's like "Don't tell me you're going soft. No one will miss him. He was just a boy. Not worthy enough to be remembered."

- And later on she betrays him and goes 'I remember him'

- Anyway, they stay with Fish for a while but Tabby doesn't wanna keep Silver in Gotham

- So she sends her back to the school she went to before coming to Gotham with Theo (but makes sure their weird cult can't get their hands on her there)

- And Silver wants her to come with but Tabby says she has some unfinished business

- Aka she just doesn't wanna leave Barbara (who is in a coma atm, if Memory serves right)

- And Tabby's reasoning is that it's not safe in Gotham but really, she thinks she can't be responsible for another person

- "She needs a mother. A Family. I can't give her that." - "You are her family."

- So Silver's out of the picture and Tabby hangs with Fish until Barbara wakes up and they get together again (and never ever seperate)

- Also there's no Butch/Tabby because that was unnecessary as fuck

- And I gotta be honest, I haven't thought more about canon because Butch/Tabby alone makes my head hurt already but somehow they start dating Lee

- Who brings Jerome into the relationship because I sure am fond of Lee being Jerome's Mother (like as in, I have several wips with that concept alone not counting this one)

- Jerome probably came back to life after S3 and Lee fought to have him not be treated like a violent criminal but rather a child who was taken advantage of and after his release from Arkham (where she visited him and made sure he got some proper treatment) it seemed natural to have him live with her

- (But also he's still a criminal aksnsjs, you can see how much I thought about this)

- (Sue me for sticking to the heartfelt scenes and avoiding the mess that is plotting)

- Tabby and Barbara already had Selina and through Jerome, Jeremiah and Ecco were added et voila! Their Family is complete

- (Why exactly Barbara Lee exists if Tabby and Barbara have been non-stop dating since S2 I can't tell you, I simply think she is neat and I like the idea of big brother Jerome)

- (This AU? Self-indulgent? Why would you ever think that?)

- In the present however she is dealing with what is mostly referred to as 'feelings'

- Mostly panic at realizing that the bunch of weird children she's been living with are seeing her as some kind of parental figure

- Because suddenly they all call her 'Mum'

- Unsurprisingly the first one to call her Mum is Jerome at breakfast

- She's reading the newspaper and there's an article about a hostage situation the twins planned and he goes 'Mum, are you done with that? Can we see?'

- And they snatch it from her and argue about how they didn't even make the front page while Tabby nearly chokes on her coffee

- And of course she breaks down talks to her wives about it later while they get ready for bed because no one ever called her 'Mum' before

- Barbara's braiding her hair, while Lee's off to the side, getting ready for bed and it's very domestic and I am very gay

- But neither see it as a big deal because both of them have been called Mum before (by Jerome at least. Like. Immediately upon meeting them)

- So she's trying to be nonchalant about it because it's only a big deal if she makes it one

- While also not being able to deny the warm feeling that spreads throughout her body when Jerome keeps calling her 'Mum'

- Miah and Selina on the other hand are both hesitant to call anyone Mum

- Miah cause of Pride, Selina cause of her Mummy Issues

- But they both do at some point

- I think I have more notes on this SOMEWHERE but I kinda wanna have Miah call her Mum while he's ill (because we all know he'd be super fussy and want attention 24/7)

- So she humours him and while he's close to falling asleep - and she's totally not carding her fingers through his hair because she isn't soft or anything - he mumbles: "Thank you Mum" and she melts

- Selina would be more angsty

- Like, maybe it's her birthday and she disappears for a while (as she tends to do) but Tabby (who's closest to her) knows how hard this day is for her (since again her Mum isn't there with here and looks for her and brings her back home but doesn't make a big fuss out of her birthday

- Just...lets her be, gives her space but also lets her curl up close to her and maybe Selina doesn't call her Mum on that exact day

- But it's the day she realizes she wouldn't mind calling Tabitha her Mother, so she hesitantly tries it out a while later (maybe days, maybe weeks, however long it takes for her to feel comfortable with it) and they share a smile

- Then there's Barbara Lee, but she barely counts because she's a toddler and calls everyone 'Mummy'

- Even her father ajsnsnsn

- The last one would be Ecco because I have a very soft spot for Tabby and Ecco being close

- Ecco's rather formal with them for the longest time (she calls Barbara, Lee and Tabby 'Ma'am' for the most part because she may like them, but she doesn't think they see her as family. She's just the token girlfriend).

- So there's a scene where they connect, possibly over Tabby's hand and Ecco's head since I hc that Ecco gets headaches and migraines a lot (considering that she still gets shot in the head by Miah, like I said, this AU isn't necessarily the most bullet proof in terms of linear timelines)

- But so is Gotham so-

- So there's possibly a scene where Ecco's headache is getting super bad and no one's around (especially not Miah to dote on her) and Tabby awkwardly tries to bond by telling her about her hand and how she can't feel much (is a little clumsy with it) and Ecco immediately imprints on her like a duckling

- Maybe it's even the first time anyone reached out to Ecco in a way that feels genuine, especially without the twins or any of her (various) other partners being present so now she's willing to die for Tabby

- Which ends in her also calling her 'Mum' (while she keeps calling Lee and Barbara 'Ma'am' and Lee's so mad ajsnsjdj she was trying so hard to bond with this kid but couldn't quite get it right and you're telling her her socially pretty clumsy - but still wonderful of course - wife managed with just one conversation?? Slander

- And of course because I can't stop myself, there would be even more tidbits here and there of Tabby overcoming her previous way of living (as in, thinking caring or showing emotions is weakness) by having her reminisce a LOT about Theo

- For example by having Jerome climb into bed with her while Barbara's sleeping and Tabby is waiting for Lee to come home

- Lee works as a doc in the narrows which may be a little illegal, but the people didn't just stop needing help after her Queen of the Narrows arc was over, so I vote she keeps at it (and is held in very high regard for it by pretty much everyone)

- Tabby always stays up until everyone is home because she likes knowing where everyone is and that they're safe while Jerome has frequent nightmares and wanders around the house, so this isn't a rare occurrence

- And sometimes, they talk Theo

- "You miss him?" - "Don't know."

- "I wish he was still alive so I could kill him." - "....Me too." - "Which one?" - "...Both."

- (ajajsbssj this is all just copy pasted and cleaned up a lil', leave me and my pretentious way of writing dialogue alone)

- Tabby also has a lot of interludes where she thinks about what growing up with Theo was like/her childhood in general

- How she always protected him from other children bullying him and how they swore to have each other's back but how in hindsight, she was the one doing all the dirty work for him, helping him fulfill his dream and enact his revenge

- Realizing that he probably never cared for her, not like she cared for him

- There's also allusions to them having sex because you cannot tell me they did NOT have sex

- And it ends with Tabby realizing that she is quite happy with how she ended up, even if it's neither how she thought she would ever live nor what her old self would've even wanted, possibly seeing too many attachments as 'weak' judging by the way she canonly used Butch for convenience sake at first

- And yeah, maybe now she can provide the family - the Mother - somebody else desperately needs

- So she brings Silver home

[langstexmachina]

And He Slept

I just posted this as a reblog but then I put it into google docs and decided that three pages was enough to warrant it’s own post lol

Read it on ao3! 

CW: implied self harm, suicidal thoughts, shance

It had been... a long day, to say the least. Barely able to drag himself out of bed, Lance floated through the day and tried to avoid any genuine contact as he wandered through the halls. He really was doing his best to function as a normal human being. He participated in training, helped Coran with ship maintenance, and even managed to ensure that the other team members were well taken care of. Pidge was off their computer by 10 pm, Keith was out of the training room before that, and Hunk, Shiro, and Allura have been pulled from their various states of paranoia to enjoy a warm meal, all at Lance’s careful prodding. 

And that’s how they found themselves, here, in the main room, reminiscing about their time on Earth. He paid attention passively, adding a well-placed hum where it was expected. He was tired, depressed, and very far away from the present. He just couldn’t find the energy to pull himself back. So, he tried to melt into the background. It wasn’t hard to become ambient noise. He was used to that, becoming one with the backdrop. So he continued to drop auditory cues to drag more enjoyment out of the people around him. 

But god, was he tired. So fucking tired. Every movement was an extra fifty pounds added to his chest. His mouth was full of concrete. The words couldn’t force their way out even if they tried, so why try? There was nothing stopping him from cowering in the labyrinth that grew inside his mind. His personal fortress. 

So, tortured and half-aware, he barely noticed when Hunk started digging through an old backpack, searching for one thing or another. He barely registered the exasperated sigh that the man let out as he set the bag back where it once rested beside the couch. He slightly heard the frustration in his voice as he finally spoke again, “Jeez, I could have sworn I stashed that book in there but I guess I lost it.”

Lance certainly didn’t notice the way his lips formed a soft smile, a weak grimace, as he thought, Just like my will to live. 

He noticed too late that he managed to voice those thoughts through the tough coating of his throat.

He did notice the sudden stillness of the room. The silence that had taken up residence in the once light and easy atmosphere. The discomfort that had stolen all of the air in the room seemed to radiate through the room with an oppressive, overbearing force. Only then did Lance really see. Only then did he see the concern on the faces of his friends around him. The deeper worry on Shiro’s face as he saw through the carefully cultured façade that Lance had worked to diligently to perfect. 

He was choking. He couldn’t breathe. He was going to die if they kept looking at him, scrutinizing his movements. So, he swallowed the cement and cleared the dust out with a soft chuckle. 

“What’s going on guys?” The words rang hollow through his chest. This wasn’t his voice. He didn’t know this person. Who was this empty shell that had taken up ownership of his larynx? How could he evict them?

A gentle hand came to rest over his where it had begun to scratch where countless scars used to lie, long erased by his time spent in the healing pods. He looked up at Pidge who has now sat up from where they were curled against him, their small hand stilling his. 

“Are you alright, Lance?” They asked, voice soft and wavering. His eyebrows drew together. If he played this right everyone would forget. Everything would go back to normal. So, he smiled, a forced, bright, withered kind of thing. He plastered it on his face and wielded it like a shield.

“Of course I am Pidgey.” A chuckle. “It was just some dumb joke my sister and I used to make back at home.” A beat. The silence persisted. They all kept staring at him. He had to leave. He had to get out of here. 

Just as he began to puff his chest and begin to make some hasty excuse for a quick getaway, the tension in the room dissipated. It popped like a bubble and burst into ease. Keith snorted and rolled his eyes. Hunk nodded along while Pidge lightly punched him in the shoulder before curling back up into a ball at his side. Allura and Coran became absorbed back into whatever conversation had been put on pause with the discomfort of the room. Everyone seemed satisfied with Lance’s quick retort. Except Shiro, who kept watching him. Except Shiro, who kept waiting for another slip of his mask. Except Shiro, who couldn’t just let Lance exist within his fortress.

The night ended a while after his slip up. He made his way to his room, taking an easy stroll in an attempt to ensure he didn’t look like he was running from anything. He made it, sat on his bed, stared up at the ceiling and just breathed. His eyes fell closed when he heard a soft knock at his door. A sigh fell from his lips as he forced himself to answer, “Come in, Shiro.”

The man, not unlike a child caught doing something naughty, let himself in to the cramped room. There was no reason to pretend now. Shiro knew. So, he continued to sit, eyes closed, head tilted back as the other man made himself comfortable on his knees before him. Hard, calloused, hands softly caressed his calves and he felt those grey eyes rest on his face. 

A long silence passed between them before Shiro finally spoke up, “You wanna talk about it?”

A long sigh drew its way through Lance’s chest.

“No, not particularly.” Shiro’s hands tightened against the muscles in his legs and finally, Lance opened his eyes and let them connect with the man in front of him. 

“I think we should.” The response came. He shook his head. 

“No, no. It’s nothing. I’m just tired.” Shiro let out a soft hum at this. 

“Alright,” He stood up and toed out of his shoes. “Let’s sleep.” Lance sputtered.

“I’m sorry, what?” He felt his cheeks reddening. 

Shiro crowded into the bed and took up residence on the side touching the wall before grabbing Lance by the waist and dragging him down to lay beside him.

“You’re hurting, Lance.” The quiet that followed was deafening. “You’re hurting and you think you’re alone, but you’re not.” He whispered into the darkness. “It’s okay if I can’t help you with that hurt right now, but I won’t let you think you’re alone in this. I can’t.”

And the war that had been raging on inside Lance’s head had begun to pull their punches slightly as Shiro’s breath evened out. The tides of water that kept him under began to recede as he listened to the strong beating of Shiro’s heart beneath his ear.

And he slept. 

[chickwiththepurpleguitar]

Lilly what if I want to see All of them. what then, huh? but uhhh rose, empaths, and allergy2?

CJ literally just hmu and I'll send you the google docs links..... literally any time, i have no impulse control. But for now, I love you, have some snippets!

From Rose sickfic, aka rose:

Rose plans to tell Bobby a quick goodbye and then make it out the door before he can question her rough voice and red nose. But when she knocks on his bedroom door, there’s no answer. When she sticks her head in, the room is empty, the bed made. And even though her nose is running again (she should’ve brought tissues from the bedroom, but just getting dressed had taken more effort and concentration than she really had the energy for), there’s no chance at avoiding Bobby altogether when she walks into the kitchen to make herself some much-needed tea and finds him sitting at the table, flipping through an old copy of Rolling Stone and eating garbanzo beans straight from the can.

Rose pauses in the doorway, drags her sleeve under her nose to try to make herself a little more presentable, and says, “Morning, niño.”

Bobby looks up, chopsticks raised halfway to his mouth, and gives her a tiny, apologetic smile. “I was hungry.”

“That’s good, I’m glad,” Rose says gently. She has to be careful sometimes, being outwardly proud when Bobby does simple things like choosing to eat or sleeping more than four or five hours a night. If she calls too much attention to it, he gets all cagey and embarrassed, but if she ignores it entirely, he’ll stop doing it just to prove a point.

He ducks his head, takes another bite, and Rose lets herself relax.

From i check you like a mirror (bobbyalex emotional telepathy), aka empaths-- cowrite with @sunsetcurvecuddles:

Alex is doing his Biology reading when he feels it: the gnawing pit forming in his stomach; the first hints of Bobby’s loneliness.

It makes Alex tighten his grip around his pencil, makes him lose his place on the page of his textbook twice. If he were meaner or stupider than he is, he could easily pretend it were his own feeling, his own frustration at being alone in his bedroom doing homework on a Saturday night while his sister and her boyfriend make out on the living room couch and his parents gossip with their church friends about what a disappointment he is.

But he’s used to that. It doesn’t sit so heavy and bitter in his chest as it used to. This loneliness, this emptiness, is too fresh, too raw to be his own.

It drives Alex crazy.

From Luke Hides a Cat, aka allergy2:

This time, they barely make it through the first verse before Bobby’s twisting around again, bringing his elbow up to his face. He sneezes once, twice, three times, and then scrubs at his nose with an annoyed groan. “Fuck, sorry, guys.”

“Maybe we should take a break,” Alex says.

Reggie obediently switches his amp off. “Yeah, Bobby, you okay, man?”

Bobby grunts, putting his guitar down and rubbing his nose on his sleeve. “Yeah, sorry, just… allergies are bothering me, I don’t know what it is.”

Luke swallows nervously, avoiding Alex’s gaze. “Could be dust?” he offers helpfully.

“But we just cleaned in here,” Bobby grumbles.

“Pollen?” Reggie tries.

“No, then I’d be a mess too,” Alex points out. Luke can feel Alex’s eyes on him like laser beams as he says pointedly, “Only other thing you’re allergic to is cats, right, Bobby?”

Luke flinches. Is he that transparent? He raises guilty eyes, a shitty excuse and half-baked apology on his tongue, but instead of calling him out, Bobby just shrugs and says, “Yeah, I don’t know. Must just be something in the air. I’m fine, let’s try again.”

Ask me about my wips!

[h-x-l-p-l-e-s-s]

Enough (Lams Fanfic)

A/N:

(12/25/2020 - 12/27/2020)

We woo we woo we woo!

It’s the gay ambulance here to satisfy all your gay needs with another trash fanfic! So… enjoy!

Word Count: 1.3k (11 Pages on Google Docs)

Warning: Profanity, Stress, Mentions of Making Out/Kissing

Pairing: Alexander Hamilton x John Laurens

In a matter of seconds, the world began to crumble before his eyes. He dashed to his house, not even considering looking behind him.

17 hours wasn’t enough. 1,020 minutes wasn’t enough. 61,200 seconds wasn’t enough.

He opened the front door to his house. John could feel a burst of wind against his arm. “Hey, babe!” He grinned.

Before Alex could respond, he was already in his room. It was normal for him to rush into his room like that. John assumed he had a transcendent fanfiction idea and didn’t want to forget about it, so he left Alex alone.

“You have to study for tomorrow’s test, restore two months of homework, and complete your part of your history project. If you thought this was gonna be simple, you’re a fool.” Alex thought to himself.

Alex could never have a perfect work-life balance. He was either spending time with John but stressing out internally or studying but feeling like he’s neglecting John.

Pulling an all-nighter was no issue for Alex. It was the lack of time, the short notice, the strict mindset he held, the punishments Alex suffered if things didn’t go as planned.

He opened his laptop and did the easy part first, the project. Before he knew it, two hours had disappeared in a flash.

Alex heard a knock on his door. “May I come in?” John asked. “Mhm,” Alex replied.

John entered the room. The first thing he noticed was Alex sitting at his desk, the computer glowing being the only light in the unlit room.

“Last minute school project?” John quizzed. “Dinner’s ready if you wanna eat it now.”

Alex was ignoring him for a few seconds until he realized what John said.

“Oh, sorry. I kind of zoned out. I’m not hungry.” Alex misinformed. There wasn’t enough time in the day to take breaks to eat. He could barely afford to take a thirty-second break to go to the restroom.

“Alright, it’ll be in the microwave,” John concluded their conversation and left the room.

Two extra hours had passed. Alex had just finished his history project. Only 13 hours remained. That wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough. He wasn’t enough.

John knocked on Alex’s door once again, this time to say goodnight.

“Hey, Alex.” After waiting ten seconds with no response, John decides to enter his room anyway. “Would it kill you to turn on a light?”

“Yes.” Alex’s voice was shaking. John began to worry a bit. John turned on the light to see Alex on his gently crying on his bed.

“Babe!” John ran towards him to hug him. “What’s wrong?” Alex vigorously shook his head.

“Here he goes again, being a pain in the ass. How do you not get it? If you fail school, you’ll fail John. He’ll finally leave you.” Just like that, Alex began to cry more.

“Lex! What’s wrong?” John wiped his tears, but it was ineffective.

“I’m not good enough,” Alex murmured. “What was that?” John asked. He moved towards Alex to cuddle with him.

“I’m gonna fail.” He got up from his bed and walked towards his desk. He couldn’t afford to get comfortable.

“Alex, no. Put your books away and talk to me.” John tossed his books onto the floor, making Alex look at him. “What’s wrong with you?”

He ignored John and grabbed his books again, rushing towards the living room. At this point, John was just a disturbance.

“Here he goes again. Treating John like an obstacle rather than a boyfriend. You’re a piece of shit, Alex.”

Alex let out an exaggerated sigh. He got up and walked to John’s room, assuming he was there.

“Babe.” Alex hesitated to open the door, but he did. “I’m sorry.” He hugged John.

“Oh wow, choosing John over homework? I can’t keep up with you, Alex.”

“Now that we’re good, why were you crying?” John seemed sincere and serene, unlike Alex.

“N-no reason.” Alex’s eyes were more fatigued than usual. On top of that, he seemed more stressed than usual. John could sense something wrong.

“Lex, I may look gullible but I’m not,” John went to sit down with him.

“You’re wasting your time, Alex. Need I remind you that you only have thirteen hours… well twelve and a few minutes, left?”

“I swear, it’s nothing. I just wanted to apologize.” Alex got off of the bed but was pulled back down by John.

“Alex, you were cryi-” John began to speak but was interrupted by Alex. “I don’t have time for you, John!”

Even though John felt a bit sorrowful after that was said, he knew it accidentally slipped off of Alex’s tongue.

“You don’t mean that, and I know you don’t. You’re just stressed.”

Alex sighed and sat next to John. Before John knew it, he heard a muffled sob near him.

“I’m just conflicted.” Alex whimpered. Noticing Alex like this was odd. Nine out of the ten times he’s the one comforting John. Now it was John’s turn.

“I have so much work to do, yet, I don’t know if I should be spending time with you right now or working.” Tears gently slid down Alex’s pale cheeks, cascading onto his oversized shirt.

“I only have twelve hours to study and restore months of homework, John!” Alex bawled.

“How’d you lose months of homework?” Though John needed to comfort him, he was still curious.

“Jefferson mugged me today just because I threw away two cups of microwavable Mac & Cheese.” Alex began to sob more. “Fucking took my homework, threw a book at me, and called me a geek.”

To witness Alex crying was too much for John. He moved closer to Alex and wiped his tears.

“Babe, you need to calm down.” John soothed him, but it wasn’t enough. He, still, wasn’t enough.

Alex stayed silent, trying to hold his tears in. There’s not enough time to break now. Desperately wanting to leave, he told John he was okay.

John ignored him and held him tighter. Their arms were squeezing each other. Though Alex felt a bit uncomfortable, he soon felt peaceful near John.

“I can’t do this for much longer.” Alex took his cold, pale hand off of John’s. “I’m just wasting ti-” John shushed Alex by kissing him.

That kiss soon evolved into them making out. That’s three hours down the drain.

“John, I have to go now. That’s three fucking hours wasted. I can’t afford to fa-” Alex’s tone wasn’t as panicky as before, but it had the same stressed tone from earlier.

John put his finger over Alex’s mouth. It slowly slid down to Alex’s hand. He grabbed his hand tightly and tossed Alex onto the bed.

“John!” Alex thought John was going to do something he had no business doing, but he was wrong.

“You have such a perverted mindset, Lex!” John threw a pillow at him while jokingly saying that.

“Also, what class do you have to do homework for?” John pulled his phone off of the charger while asking that. He seemed sanguine considering the current situation.

“Adams. Y’know, the one that always calls in substitutes.” Alex leaned over John’s shoulder to see his phone.

“Gotcha. I’m more than positive I can persuade him to give you more time. Is a month good?” Alex nodded as a response.

All of his stress rolled off of him immediately after that.

“And we can study together for a few hours after you eat.” John put his arm around Alex, looking at him.

“Lex, you need to be less hard on yourself.” John requested. His eyes sparkling in the dim room. For some unknown reason, Alex felt cozy near him.

“No promises, John. No promises.”