#I've been going through the process for well over two years now. my god

[mwagneto]

getting my driving licence tomorrow.. 😐

[kbspangler]

This is the public statement from @alepresser and myself which went up at Webtoons tonight.

Now for some ranting. Just from me, not from Ale—she's innocent of the art crimes I've committed in the past, and boy howdy have I committed art crimes.

This is the first page of my first webcomic, A Girl and Her Fed. I started this thing back in 2006. (I don't actually need a head count of those reading this who weren't yet born in 2006. I'm sure you're delightful and I wish you well in college.)

And this is the last page I drew in early 2020 before I turned art duties over to Dr. Beer. It's better, right?

Well, these days, A Girl and Her Fed has pages like this:

I drew this comic for fourteen fucking years because it's a story I wanted to tell, and I thought webcomics were the perfect format for it. I didn't know how to draw. I got better through sheer obstinate perseverance and sticking to deadlines as best I could for, again, fourteen fucking years. I sought out a replacement artist when I ran into time constraints and couldn't do art plus writing anymore; I'm a much better writer than an artist, so I had no problems whatsoever kicking art to the curb.

The first time Ale sent me art that would go up on the website—art I hadn't needed to draw myself—I literally cried in relief because I had been grinding myself down for, yet again, fourteen fucking years.

So when I read comments from people who say they want to make a webcomic but can't draw themselves and therefore need to resort to AI, that little line between my eyes gets dangerously deep.

This isn't like I'm some old dude who's bitching over student loans getting cancelled after making regular payments. This is me, someone who threw raw art onto the internet like a monkey hurling fresh poo, because I wanted to make a webcomic and the art is part of the process of storytelling via webcomics! I could've (arguably should've) hired an artist right out of the gate, and that would've been part of the process of making comics, too: a partnership between an artist and a writer is also something which grows and develops over time.

For example, after Dr. Beer and I spent two years working on AGAHF, we decided we enjoyed our partnership so much that we set out to make another webcomic! It's great! It's got wonderful art and consistent storytelling! You should read it!

But turning art duties over to unaltered images generated by AI because you want to make a webcomic but "just can't draw" is, frankly, a bullshit excuse. I'm not talking about persons who are physically unable to draw due to disability—I'm talking about people who say they want to make webcomics but simply don't wanna do the art part.

Friends, if you don't want to show your entire ass in front of God and country, you don't actually want to make a webcomic.

Do the thing yourself.

If you're scared, don't be. Take the plunge. Set a goal of twenty strips and do the thing yourself. If you can already draw but can't write? Great! Write twenty strips, write forty panels, etc. You might surprise yourself. If you can write but can't draw? Great! Draw twenty panels and see what happens.

Whatever comes out of it, it's a thing you've done yourself. It's something new you've given to the world, no matter how big or small. Be proud of that. And if you need to partner with someone else to make your comic dreams work? You can do that, too! It's still a thing you've done yourself, and many projects are stronger when done together.

...but maaaaaaaaaybe hire that partner before you've busted your own ass for fourteen fucking years. That one's on me.

[sunny44]

Model

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x girlfriend!reader

Warning: none

Summary: Y/n is studying to be a fashion designer and for her final college project she has to design a collection of clothes, but after designing and making all the clothes she thinks it's not good enough so Charles does everything he can to make her believe that her work is wonderful.

I was very nervous.

It was my last semester at college and I was doing my final project, which I thought would be easy since I only had to create a collection of clothes but it was harder than I thought.

I'd never had a problem finding my work beautiful and good but it seemed that nothing I was doing lately was good but after a while I got to the point where if I didn't start making the clothes I wouldn't be able to deliver them on time.

Luckily I have a wonderful boyfriend who as well is letting me use his body measures and didn't mind that the living room of his apartment was completely messed up with bits of thread and fabric lying all over the floor.

When I started this project, the first thing that came to mind was a collection of women's clothes as most of my class would do since it was the safest option, but since I like to take risks I ended up opting for men's clothes.

"Love, are you all right?" he asked after seeing me almost biting my finger off.

"Yeah, it's just that I don't think this is good enough."

"Y/n, you need to believe in yourself more. Your work is incredible and I'm really looking forward to seeing it."

I looked at him almost crying with happiness at having him on my side.

"Thank you, Charlie. I just want this collection to be perfect."

"There's no such thing as perfect, Y/n." he replied in a calm tone. "It's not because your collection doesn't suit one person that someone else won't like it too, there are different perspectives."

"I know, it's just that I'm very nervous." He sits down next to me on the floor and hugs me.

"I know and it's going to be okay, now show me how it's going."

I showed him the pieces and made a point of explaining the creative process and the inspiration behind each of the outfits.

"Babe, this is wonderful." Charles finally said. "I'm impressed and honored that I am your muse ."

"Are you really? Don't lie to me."

"And when have I ever lied to you?"

"Never."

"Then trust me when I say it's wonderful."

I snuggled closer into his embrace and we sat there in the living room together while I hoped my project was as good as Charles says it is.

...

I walked into the college with the portfolio in my hand and Joris was pushing a trolley with four mannequins where the clothes were fitted.

"Oh my God." I turned desperately to him. "I forgot the photos of you wearing the clothes."

"No you didn't, they're with me." I breathed a sigh of relief and we went to the room where the presentations would take place.

"Well, the next work to be presented is Miss Y/n Y/L/N's." I got up on the small stage and positioned the mannequins.

"Good morning everyone, my name is Y/n and the inspiration behind my clothes is my boyfriend." They analyzed the clothes. "In case you didn't know, he's a driver and I used him as my inspiration because in the last two years of college he was the person who supported me the most, especially in this last project."

"I was inspired by Ferrari, which is the team he races for in F1 so I was inspired by that to create the collection." I said as the teacher leafed through the portfolio. "Well here are some pictures of the clothes on the model."

I clicked to show the pictures and sure enough they weren't the ones I was expecting, Charles was the model wearing all the clothes I had made.

"Nice model." My teacher says.

"Well, that wasn't the one I had chosen, but thank you." She smiles. "Well, these were the four final pieces I decided to make."

My colleagues stood up and walked over to the mannequins and began to analyze them.

"Well, I have to admit that in all the years I've been teaching I've never had someone who impressed me so much and who also got an A+."

"I got an A+?" She agreed and I heard applause coming from the classroom door and Charles was standing there smiling.

"Looks like we've got a visit from your model."

"That's my boyfriend actually."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude." He says and my girl colleagues almost drool over him.

"No problem darling, make yourself at home." She says and continues with the introductions while I go over to him.

"You didn't tell me you were going to model the clothes, I thought Joris was going to do that."

"I asked him not to tell you because I wanted to surprise you and also show you that I believe in you and that I will always support you the same way you support me." I smiled and kissed him.

"Let's watch the other works and then we can go out for lunch."

"Great." We sat and watched the rest of the presentations and I could finally breathe a sigh of relief after knowing that I had made it.

Bonus scene!

Charlesleclerc instagram post

Liked by @pierregasly, @yourusername, @pescaleleclerc and others 6273027

Charlesleclerc this is a few photos of the clothing collection that my girlfriend made for her final project in college. She is the most talented person I know and I’m so proud of her.

I love you babe and I can’t wait for you to dress me up again.

Tagged: Yourusername

Yourusername I love you so much baby and thank you for being the best boyfriend ever

Pierregasly wow, she make you look good

Charlesleclerc I always look good

Yourusername true

Scuderiaferrari I think we all agree that y/n needs to make the next year overall

Yourusername yesss please, let me do it

User08 I love them so much

User29 I need to know where I can buy her clothes

Yourusername instagram stories

This is my beautiful and hot boyfriend using the clothes that I’ve made inspired by him and his amazing team.

I just wanted to thank him for supporting and believing in me even when I didn’t believe in myself.

I love you so much Charlie ❤️

[muffinrecord]

Current Plans + Musings

I don't plan on playing Exedra to the degree I did for Magia Record, or playing it at all. Because of that, I won't be taking an active role in the community and archiving anything for it. Of course, if Exedra has like amazing gameplay and stories then this is all subject to change, but for now I think I'm done with phone games.

The two youtube channels will stay up and I'll check em periodically to make sure there aren't copyright strikes against the content. I've saved all my raw files, especially for the battle animations, so I can remake them in the future if the music ever becomes a problem for some reason.

Google Drive will stay up until Google rots away. I haven't recorded footage in a long time (as in stories, I do for the character doppels and such), but I'll upload things if they're sent to me.

Magia Union Translations still plans on translating things and making videos, especially leading up to the end, but also for after the game is over for whatever wasn't made in time. I'm not sure what form this will take in the future-- if it'll be manual captions added to the videos or not, but I know it WILL happen.

As for this blog, I'm not going to delete it or anything. However I'm going to be taking a step back. I'd like to say that I'll do liveblogs but I mean... *gestures at blog* I've been saying that for years and the only one I really did successfully was the Oriko one lmao. Ahhh oh well.

I'll have more words later, but it was really fun to be part of a fandom experience like this. I'm excited to work on my own original story projects though and quiet down a bit.

...

When I started this blog, I never expected it to have people actually read it. Or look at it. I just wanted a place to gush about how much fun I was having. I didn't even want to tag the posts with "Magia Record" at first because I was terrified people would be mean at me, haha.

But I'm glad I did. I made so many good friends through this game. I'm glad it existed. And it made me happy to have a place where people cared about what I had to say. Some folks actually got their news from here, can you imagine that? They had notifications turned on for this blog. My god.

Anyways, I'm going to be here for the next two months, and tomorrow I'll start reblogging fan projects and initiatives, plus general news. Maybe this blog will turn into a dumping site for art and fanfic reblogs, who knows. I might watch the remaining stuff and add various thoughts here and there.

Otherwise, you can find me on my main blog @malignmuffin, which only reblogs stuff (I don't talk much if at all there). I have another tumblr blog for my comic, but I think I'll reshare the name once I actually have content you can look at on it. It's pretty bare bones for the moment.

Actually it'll be funny if the end of this game is what makes me finally work on it again. I was in the process of working on it when NA came out, and it totally derailed me. Stopped writing, drawing, just focused on this silly little phone game. Now it's like those five years have gone by and I'm going back to where I started, except I think my lil comic is going to be a bit better than it was before. If I actually make it, that is.

If I ever do actually make my comic and start posting it, I'll be sure to update y'all here. hah

Anyways, thanks for being on this wild ride with me. The memories have been great, and I'm glad I had this experience, even if it had to end.

[thesupernaturalhouse]

This started out as a funny snipper. How tf did it turn into a fanfic?? Also this took me so long anyways, pt3 of the accidental overlord vaggie fic

Alastor: shoves Vaggie between him and Rosie and drops Frank onto her lap

Vaggie: trying to process how tf a giant dragon got through an elevator among many other things

Carmilla: thank you for coming today. I've gathered you all here to talk about the millions of souls-

Vaggie squeaks so quiet no one hears her: I'm sorry fucking how many??....How- How do you check that?? Gets ignored

She's just squeezing poor frank like a stress toy

Carmilla ignores her: You own. And how their at risk with the new extermination schedule. And how we minimize the damage going to be caused by it.

Finally looking aorund the room

Carmilla: Zestial, so god to see you- ....Alastor?? And- eyes narrow the protective overlord

Alastor, leaning over to block vaggie form view because he's petty as fuck: hello! Yes yes, I know, I've been absent for a longgg time and I'm sure youre all DYING to knwo where I've been~

Carmilla:...no. not really, shrugs but welcome back anyways I suppose....I am interested about who you've brought though....

Vaggie: just staring out into space, regretting her life choices and trying to count how many people owe her 'favors'

Carmilla slgihtly concerned/unnerved: In any case, this year's extermination was brutadal. A good 16% of the population was killed off. With them coming back in only 6 months I think it prudent that we-

Velvette: just fucking kicks the door open Yeah, I've got it handled Vox? Are you doubting me? ME might I remind you? Yeah, no. That's what I thought. Yes, yes, I know, thank you V, see you later Okay, bye, kisses darling!

Carmilla: nice of you to finally join us, Velvette. Will you.....colleges? be joining us?

Velvette: What? No way. They have better shit to do than to listen to some old windbag who think she's tough shit! Haha, no. Immm here to represent!

Carmilla:...charming. now, back to what I was saying, we need to-

Velvette: waves her arm frantically

Camilla feeling like a preschool teacher: yes??

Velvette: well, on the topic of discussssss throws exorcists head down let's discuss

Alastor: oooo tasty!!

Vaggie: ohhhhh my god....whispering to herself is that Tuff?? Wtf- how??

Carmilla:......where...did you get this?

Velvette: doesn't matter. We found it, though. And if these angle fuckers can be killed, then the game of cat and mouse has changed, the boys and I have-

Vaggies distressed squeaking as Velvette continues, Zestial jsut slumps his tea

Velvette:....the fuck is wrong with you two?? Looks at vaggie leans downs to get closer....also you're new

Vaggie: uhhhhh......thank?? You??

Velvette: narrows eyes before her head snaps ti zestial

Zestial: we shouldn't go to war with such meger proof.

Velvette:...meger- MEGER PROOF!? ITS a dead fucking Exorcist!!! What more do you WANT!? A video of it being killed?? No- this is definitive proof- if you can't see that, maybe you're going blind old man.

Zestial: it may be dead but how? It could be by a demon, but mayhaps it died due to unrelated reasons

Vaggie: Well, angles have hurt their own kind. Wouldn't be suprised if killing was another option for them

Everyone's heads snap to her

Vaggie:.....did....I say that out loud?

Carmillas narrows her eyes: how do you know that.

Vaggie: I um...I....I saw it happening?

Velvette:....wait aren't you the princesses whore? What are you doing out if your bird cage hm?

Vaggie: I....what??

Carmilla shaking her head: we're getting off topic.

Zestial: Carmilla is right. If we rush to war the angles would purge all of the sinners for daring to even TRY an uprising

Overlords: muttering

Alastor: why don't we put it to a vote?

Vaggie: depends is one of the options 'can we all just go home pelase?'

Alastor: hmmm no!

Vaggie grumbling: I hate you.

Velvette narrows eyes: ohhh okay I see. Grandpa's to scared to make a move! So then there's no point in it huh?

*the respect less song which I am not writing*

Zeezi: pft, what the hell? we literally JUST got here!

odette:....mom??

Carmille:....meeting dismissed.

Vaggie: uh, does this mean we can go home?- gets glared at .....okay sits back down like a scolded kid as she thinks about wtf jsut happened

Vaggie to herself in a defeated tone:.....she never told me how to see how many souls I own.....how many people owe me favors?

Proceeds to try and calculate and count on her fingers and Alastor watches in amusement, after sending off frank, and Rosie watches slightly concerned as to wtf her friend did to this teenage child....and maybe also finding it a bit funny

Part 2 | Part 3(here!) | Part 4

[ruh--roh-raggy]

Home Sweet Home (William Afton x Wife! Reader) - Part 5

Hello hello! After a bit of a delay I am very happy to present you with part 5 of Home Sweet Home! This chapter we get to see William and Reader's first date, super cute, super fluffy, I've been dealing with a lot of emotions so a lot of gentle reassuring William about readers self doubts. I hope you guys enjoy, if you would like to be added to the tag list please let me know!

WARNINGS: None

You can find my Masterlist here!

Word Count: 4,913

Part 4 - Part 6

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

You stretched with a soft sigh, your feet sliding against the cool, soft sheets. A smile spreads across your face at the feeling of William’s arm slung over your waist. Your eyes fluttered open, a thin slit of light through your heavy curtains the only indicator that it was morning. You roll over, your hand trailing over his stomach as you cuddle into his chest. He lets out a soft hum as he wakes up, “good morning beautiful.” His voice raspy and thick with sleep.

“Sorry I didn't mean to wake you up.” You whisper, placing a soft kiss to his chest.

“Why are you apologizing? I get woken up to the most beautiful sight in the world.” He tilts your chin up, his lips capturing yours in a slow, needy kiss. His hand kneads at your waist, you smile as his mustache tickles your nose.

“What's the plan for today?” He rolls into his back with a groan, pulling you on top of him in the process. You lay your chin on his chest, bright, sparkling eyes staring up at him. He smiles softly, tucking some loose hair behind your ear.

“Well,” he starts, “we need to go to the store, we’ll try to make it quick but we have nothing.” You both share a chuckle. “And then we come back here and work our butts off until dinner.”

“And see you be all sexy and strong lifting those heavy boxes again? Yes please.” You grin at him, yelping as he lightly pinches your butt.

“You always have your mind in the gutter, don't you?” He teases back. “I'm surprised you can still even consider me sexy.”

“Now what is that supposed to mean?” You reach up to gently caress his cheek, he lets out a soft sigh as he leans into your touch. “You're not allowed to be mean to my husband, I'll have to beat you up.” He chuckles at your serious expression.

“I'm an old man now, rabbit.” He responds wistfully, combing his fingers through your hair as he studies your face. “I'm definitely not the rugged, muscular little punk I used to be.” He chuckles and you can't help but breathe out a laugh in response. Remembering all the photos of a much skinnier more awkward reflection of your husband that Henry had shown you. ‘The pride and joy of our robotics team.’ he would always muse, struggling not to get emotional over the loving expression you had while looking at them. “I've got all these wrinkles now, my hair’s going gray-”

“William,” he snaps his mouth shut at the sound of your voice. Your age difference was something that had eaten at him since the two of you had first started dating. Always worried he was going to move too fast or make you feel tied down. He never could quite wrap his head around how a pretty young thing like you could stand being around a miserable old fart like him. “It wouldn't matter if you were 20 years younger and were built like some sort of Greek God.” You shuffle around under the blankets, allowing you to push yourself up enough to be face to face with him, the tip of your nose brushing his as you talk. “I wouldn't give up any of the time you and I have spent together for anything. Will, I love you. A few wrinkles and a change in your hair color isn't going to change any of that.”

“So, you don't mind that I don't have shredded abs?” He jokes, making you laugh in response. Despite the sudden loss of seriousness you could tell your words helped.

“Abs are overrated,” you shoo off the thought with your hand. “I happen to love your soft tummy.” You state matter-of-factly.

“Well I'm glad.” He pulls you in for a soft kiss. “You’re perfect, you know that?” He mumbles against your lips.

“You're one to talk.” You quip back. He smiles before pulling you back to him. You hum as you feel his arm tighten around your waist, wanting to feel every curve of your body pressed firmly to his. The way William’s lips moved against yours was slow and methodical, he always knew how to kiss you in a way that left you feeling utterly breathless and dizzy by the end of it. You rest your forehead against his when you separate. Both of you shared soft, tired smiles as you enjoyed being in each other's company. He reaches over to his nightstand with a groan, wiping his hand down his face before putting on his glasses.

“What do you say sweetheart? Ready to start the day?” You nod, both of you reluctantly leaving the warmth of your bed and each other's arms as you got ready to tackle whatever obstacles you would face.

You stood at William’s side, trying to manage your wild bed head as he brushed his teeth. “What do you want for dinner?” He asks with a mouthful of toothpaste.

“I don't know, something easy.” You wince slightly as your brush gets caught on a particularly nasty snarl. “We could always get something frozen to throw in the oven I guess.”

“Absolutely not, I won't let my wife eat that filth if I can help it.” He places a kiss on your head as he heads out of the bathroom. You chuckle, shaking your head in response. “Think about it, I'm gonna go start the car.” He disappears around the door with a wink. You groaned at his request, you hated making food decisions. You threw on some clothes, deeming your appearance good enough for the grocery store, before heading downstairs. William stood at your kitchen counter, holding an old recipe book that looked almost comically small in his massive hands.

“Whatcha got there?” He wraps an arm around your shoulder, pulling you into his side.

“I saw this in your box of memories yesterday.” He smiles down at you, lowering the book in order to make it easier for you to read it. You looked at the worn, yellowing pages with a special fondness. This was the one cookbook William owned, a collection of recipes put together by a group of little old ladies around Hurricane. One of them managed to pass it off to him at their grandson’s birthday years ago, saying how a hard working man like him deserved some good home cooked meals every now and then. You ran your fingers over your husband’s handwriting in the margins next to one recipe ‘add garlic’. On the next page there was a recipe for chocolate cake, next to it in your own neat script it read ‘Will’s favorite' punctuated with a heart.

“Is this the one that has-”

“The recipe from our first date.” You finish in unison.

“Yes it is.” He chuckles. You remembered it like it was yesterday. The whole morning went horribly before you were supposed to spend the day with Will, you were about ready to call him to reschedule. “I think we both could use some comfort food tonight, what do you think?”

“I think that sounds wonderful.” You jump slightly as he snaps the cookbook shut in front of your face, you push him playfully before the two of you head out.

Will’s hand was warm as he held your own, his thumb languidly rubbing over your knuckles as he drove. Your eyes trailed over the treeline as it whipped past your window, smiling softly to yourself as you reminisced about how something as small and silly as beef stew could hold such a powerful memory.

You tried your best to quiet your sniffling as you listened to the phone ring, your heart jumping into your throat when you heard the click of the receiver being picked up. “Hello?” You felt yourself begin to well up all over again at the sound of his voice.

“Hey William, it’s-uh, it’s me.” You hoped he would be able to recognize your voice despite it cracking. “I think I'm going to need to reschedule-”

“Honey what's wrong?” The genuine concern in his voice opened the floodgates. A sob cracked free from your throat as you tried to explain the situation. “Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

“No.” You manage to croak out.

“Can I come see you?” You froze for a moment. He wasn't mad about you canceling at the last minute, he just wanted to make sure you were okay.

“Yeah, that's fine.” You stutter.

“I'll be there in about fifteen minutes, okay?” You nod before remembering he couldn't see you. You rolled your eyes over how ridiculous you were being.

“Okay, I'll be here.” You sniffle before hanging up. You jumped as your buzzer rang, picking yourself up to the couch and slowly shuffling over to unlock the door. You undid the chain latch, meeting William in the hallway.

“Rabbit,” he starts softly. Seeing your cheeks still red and streaked with tears from another wave of crying that had hit you when he was on his way over. “Come here beautiful.” You hurried forward, melting into his embrace as he wrapped his strong arms around you. His fingers gently slide into your hair, cradling your head against his chest. You felt stupid for crying, you were supposed to be going out on this big, fancy date William had set up and now you've ruined it.

“I'm sorry.” You manage to get out after you have calmed yourself down somewhat. “You went through all the trouble of getting us that reservation-” he cuts you off, quietly shushing you as he continues to hold you, slightly rocking side to side.

“It’s okay bunny. It's not like we’re going to get banned from the restaurant for canceling our table.” He chuckles, managing to elicit a soft laugh from you as well. “But, I would like to know what's making my girl so upset.” He nods in the direction of your apartment. “Would it be alright if I came in for a minute?” You nod, his hand instantly taking yours as you separated from his embrace.

“I'm sorry about the mess, this morning definitely didn't go as planned.” He looked around the cramped space. The flowers William had sent you lay on the kitchen counter, the stems still glistening with water. A half cleaned up pile of broken glass lay on the floor next to the counter. He noticed a white dress that appeared to be covered in some type of tomato sauce laying in a heap on the dining room table. You started to explain before he even had a chance to question it. “My roommate got into a big fight with her boyfriend this morning.” William sat next to you where you had positioned yourself on the couch, elbows resting on his knees and his hands folded neatly in front of him as he listened attentively to what you had to say. “I was woken up by them yelling at each other, I heard some glass smash so I came out here to try and diffuse the situation. It turns out he had smashed the vace I had put your flowers in onto the floor.” You let out a weak chuckle as you felt a tear slip down your cheek. William reaches over, intertwining his fingers with yours in an attempt to offer some form of comfort without risking overwhelming you further. “And my-uh, my dress…” you looked over at the table, your throat growing tight at the sight. “He also ruined my dress in the process of us throwing him out. So now I have nothing to wear, and the flowers you got me are starting to wilt, and I ruined our date-”

“Woah, sweetheart, slow down. You didn't ruin anything.” He moves closer to you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders to pull you into his chest. “There’s going to be plenty of other fancy dinners. Baby, I'm not upset over you not wanting to go out after the morning you've had.” He places a kiss on the top of your head, his thumb soothingly rubbing your shoulder. “Would you like to come spend the day at my place?” He asks in an almost timid manner. You look up at him, eyes still wet with tears. It made his chest tighten, you looked so small against his much larger form.

“I'd like that.” You smile.

“You go get ready, I'll clean up in here.” He offers with a small nod.

“Oh, I can't ask you to do that.” Your breath catches in your throat as he gently tilts your chin up with his fingers.

“Don't worry about it bunny.” He tucks some hair behind your ear. He nods for you to go get ready. You scurry off to your room, William cleaning up the glass on the floor. He searched through your cupboards, finding a suitable enough vessel to hold the flowers you seemed to love. He smiles at how adorable you were, getting upset over something so simple, it was sweet. His attention turned to the dress on the table, making an irritated sound as he picked it up. It wasn't a guarantee he would be able to get the sauce out, but hand washing it in the sink couldn't hurt. He thought about how pretty you would've looked all dressed up. Though somehow he thinks your new plan would end up being more fun.

You hurriedly looked through your closet for something to wear, not wanting to appear like you were trying too hard to impress him. You decided on a cute pair of jeans and your favorite T-shirt. You passed back out into the kitchen, smiling as you saw the large man hunched over your sink, trying to get the stain out of your dress. “Will?” He paused, a smile creeping across his features. This was the first time you had called him Will.

“I got it mostly out, we can throw it in the wash at my place if you want.” You nod, smiling at him adoringly.

“I wouldn't want to trouble you.” You start.

“It's no problem.” He rushes to reassure you. He slowly steps closer to you, almost as if he was worried he was going to scare you off. “You, uh, look like you’re going to cry again.”

“You’re just really nice, that’s all.” You crack out a laugh, William chuckling alongside you.

“Well, I’d like to be able to take care of my girl when she needs me.” He winks, making your cheeks flush. He holds out his arm for you to take, you smile softly as he pulls you into his side.

William opened the door, letting you step inside before him. You neatly tucked your shoes beside the door before padding across the soft gray carpet. Looking around you would definitely define William as a minimalist. You didn’t see any pictures or trinkets, everything was very neat and orderly. “Make yourself comfortable, I’m going to go start something for dinner.” You ended up trailing after him into the kitchen, wanting to spend as much time with him as you could. He unzips his hoodie, tossing it at you with a flirtatious smile. “You look cold.” You slip your arms into the too long sleeves, blushing slightly as you wrap yourself up in the warm fabric. William’s sweatshirt smelled like machine oil, cheap cigarettes, and musky, warm cologne. He pulled out a large wooden cutting board from one of the drawers, brandishing a pristinely sharp knife not long after. He hums softly to himself as he wanders around his kitchen, pulling ingredients from cupboards and setting them all out in a row on the counter top. He pulls out a large stew pot from a small closet, setting it on the stove as he sets in motion preparing the meal he had decided on.

“Do you want any help?” You offer with a smile.

“You just sit back and relax, bunny. Throwing this together shouldn’t take me too long.” The two of you chatted idly as he cooked. You had always enjoyed William’s dry humor, but this was the first time you had seen his full genuine personality outside of Freddy’s.

“You’re a gossip!” You exclaim your accusation through a fit of laughter. He gives you an offended look, his hand clapping against his chest.

“Me? I have no idea what you’re talking about.” You couldn’t miss the smirk that passed across his lips as he turned his attention back to the cutting board. “You’re acting like I don’t know about your and Ashley’s little gossip sessions at the prize counter.” He rebuttals in a teasing tone. He straightens up, striding over to you. He puts a hand on either side of your thighs, caging you on the counter, “I bet you talk about me, don’t you?” He gives you a wink and a lopsided smile. Your cheeks immediately heated up as you thought about how much his name actually came up between the two of you. He chuckles, pressing a kiss to your forehead before moving away. He glances up at you as he slides a cutting board of carrots into the large pot at his side. “I’m glad you’re finally starting to relax.” He remarks happily.

“You promise you’re not mad about having to cancel the reservation?” You ask nervously, balling up the sleeves of his sweatshirt in your hands.

“I’m happy just spending time with you.” A small smile creeps across your lips at the sincerity in his voice. “You had a bad morning, I wouldn’t want to go out either.” He reaches out for your hand, you accept his request with a flustered grin. “Plan’s can change, okay? I won’t be upset.” He tries his best to reassure you.

It was a rainy day outside, the stew was left to cook on the stove. Will held your hand loosely in his, giving it a gentle squeeze whenever he reached a point of interest when he was talking about one of his newest projects. He leads you into his workshop, keeping you close to him as he guides you around various piles of mechanical parts. His hands find their way to your waist, easily lifting you from the floor to set you on a clear space of workbench. He bumps a button with his elbow, the garage opening to let in some of the warm, damp air from outside. “Mr. Emily was right about you being a workaholic.” You tease.

“It’s not my fault there's always work to be done.” He bites the tip of his tongue as he concentrates on what he had pulled in front of him, you noticed the glint of something silver catching on his front teeth.

“Will… is that a piercing?” You ask with genuine curiosity. His eyes widened slightly for a second before he cursed under his breath.

“I forgot I had that in.” He admits bashfully. “I got it in college, I just got so used to wearing it I never let it close.” You hop down from your position perched on the workbench, placing yourself directly in front of him.

“Show me.” You nod up at him. He raises an eyebrow and smirks slightly at your demanding town. He stoops lower, bringing himself face to face with you.

“I don’t know,” he purrs, “you didn’t ask very nicely.” You swallow thickly at his gravelly tone.

“Show me, please?” You try again. He chuckles at your flustered appearance before sticking out his long tongue, showing off the silver barbell. “Wow.” You found yourself nearly drooling at the sight of it, something about the small piercing made your heart race in your chest. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that William was a very attractive man, with his sharp features and broad, strong body he's drawn the attention of many wandering eyes. But, this new found detail about him only seemed to highlight the tough yet playful attitude you had grown enamored by.

“Maybe if you're good I'll show you how talented I am at putting it to good use.” He winks with a smirk. “Come on, this stuff can wait.” He places a kiss to the top of your head, wrapping an arm around your waist as you're escorted back inside of the house. It hadn't occurred to you just how much of Will’s day you had disrupted up until now. He was supposed to come pick you up at six o'clock sharp, glancing at a clock that ticked quietly on the wall you had realized it wasn’t even eleven.

“Will, I don't want to get in your way if you're busy.” You speak up, both of you pausing in unison.

“Bunny, let me tell you something.” He fully turns to face you, his hands resting comfortably on your waist. His dark silver eyes held a particular softness as they scanned over your features, his hands sliding around your back to pull you closer to him. He speaks in a low tone, giving the conversation a new found sense of intimacy. “I'm in no rush to get that work done, and if I'm being entirely honest if you left right now I wouldn't be able to get the image of how cute you look in my sweatshirt out of my head all day.” He breathes out a laugh. “I know you're worried about being a disruption but honey I promise you you're not. I want to spend time with you, I want to be there to make you feel better. If that means pushing off a couple projects to cook a homemade meal and to spend the day with you… we'll, I don't know about you but that sounds pretty alright to me.” He smiles softly at you, giving you time to allow his words to sink in.

You couldn't get over just how different he was than anyone you had been with in the past. There was no yelling because of the wasted effort, no being left alone to wallow in how awful you felt about messing everything up. Right now there was only you and William; how warm his large hands felt as he soothingly rubs his thumbs over your waist, how the smell of dinner cooking in the kitchen drifted through the hall, how he looked at you with so much kindness and understanding, and that was plenty. You pushed into him, burying your face against his chest as you welled up with emotion. William held you tightly against him, determined to brush away any negative thoughts that tried to creep their way in from the back of your mind. He had a pretty good idea of the guys you had experienced before him, the shithead he had met before he confessed to you said enough. You were used to being pushed around and treated like you were never enough, leaving you to feel like you were always taking up too much space and anything that went wrong immediately fell into your lap. William hoped that, given enough time, he would be able to help you remedy that way of thinking. “How about we throw on a movie? It's Saturday, there's bound to be something on.” He offers in a patient tone.

“I'd like that.” You sniffle in response. You slip your hand into his, allowing him to guide you to the living room. He pulled you into his side as he clicks on the TV, absentmindedly flicking through the station past re-runs of whatever shitty sitcom happened to be on and action movies that would definitely ruin the quiet intimacy the two of you had fallen into. He paused on a romantic comedy, looking down to gauge your reaction. You adjusted yourself in order to be more comfortable, your arm resting across Will’s stomach as your head fell against his shoulder. He was praying you wouldn't ask him anything about the movie he had thrown on, he wouldn't have been able to focus on it right now if he tried. Your small form was so warm against his side, the sweet scent of your shampoo was nearly intoxicating as he waited for you to get comfortable. He pulls the blanket off of the back of the couch, laying it over both of your laps.

“Will?” You call for him softly.

“Yes, rabbit?” His eyes drift down to you and the sight alone was enough to nearly break him. You looked so incredibly tiny curled up against him, your big doe eyes holding so much adoration as you gazed up at him. William froze, feeling as if he even breathed in this moment it would be over.

“Thank you for taking care of me today.” His heart nearly jumped out of his chest at the sight of your sweet smile. You slowly and carefully pushed yourself upwards, your lips pressing against his scruffy cheek.

“Of course, bunny.” He smiles, eyes dropping to your lips for a brief moment before he shook the thought from his mind. Today was about making sure you were alright, kissing you should be the furthest thing from his mind right now. Unfortunately for him, it was all he was able to think about since the two of you had started seeing each other. He hadn't kissed you since the night of his confession, worried that he would take things too quickly without realizing it. He jumped slightly as the timer on the stove started to beep. “I'll be right back.” He places a kiss to your forehead before getting up. Once he enters the kitchen, out of your line of sight, he drags a hand down his face with a soft groan. “Get a hold of yourself.” He chastises himself quietly.

You remained curled up on the sofa, smiling to yourself as you ran your fingers over the soft material of the blanket William had draped over your legs. You glanced back at the kitchen before turning back to the TV with a soft sigh. There was something about being with William that was so undeniably effortless; the way he pulled you into his arms, your body molding to his like you were always made to be pressed against one another, the softness in his voice that was reserved just for you, how the smell of his cologne calmed your ever racing mind. Your fingers drifted to your bottom lip, breathing out a laugh as you thought about your first kiss. It felt like a lifetime since then, your mind often wandering to the memory, leaving your heart racing and your cheeks flushed. You knew William wanted to take things slow, he was very concerned about you feeling pressured to do things you weren't comfortable with just because he was older. Even though you constantly reassured him that wasn't the case he still seemed to treat you as if you were made of glass. You heard the soft clinking of him grabbing soup mugs from a cabinet, your feet thudding softly against the hardwood floor as you stood from the couch. You sucked in a deep breath as you nervously made your way towards the kitchen, thumb running over the worn fabric of your boyfriend’s sweatshirt. William stood at the stove, humming softly to himself as he added the finishing touches on the dinner he prepared. You swallowed thickly as you watched his muscles shift underneath his fitted black T-shirt. “Will?” You continued to walk forward as you called his name, knowing if you stopped now you would lose your nerve. He turns to face you, his silver eyes catching yours. His arms opened to greet you the moment he realized how close you already were, your hands slid over his shoulders as his landed on your waist. You pushed yourself up on your toes, guiding his lips down to meet yours. He lets out a surprised yet pleased sound, melting into you as he kisses you back. You both pulled back, breathless and wide eyed. He swore every time he looked at you he found something new to fall in love with. The blush that dominated your cheeks from doing something so bold, how small you looked wrapped up in his sweatshirt, he hoped he would be able to keep the memory of you looking like this forever.

“Will?” He’s jolted back to the present by you nudging his shoulder. “Everything alright, baby? You spaced out.” He looked down at you now by his side. Your soft smile and twinkling eyes are still as captivating as they always have been.

“Yeah bunny, I'm alright. Just thinking about our first date.” He smiles. The two of you stood in your kitchen preparing the ingredients for the stew, the sound of you singing along to the radio a learned comfort to William’s ears. He still couldn't wrap his head around why you chose him of all people, his gruff and dry demeanor was a sharp contrast to your bubbly personality. Yet, despite how difficult he knew he could be sometimes, your love for one another never waivered. It took him a long time to be able to provide for you the way he felt you deserved, lots of late nights at the pizzeria and sacrifice were needed to get to where the two of you are now. But, through every rough patch, every struggle that would have seemed insurmountable on his own, it only solidified one thing.

You loved each other.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Tag List: @yellowbunnydreams @zoey5252 @redflowery @loudchaosking @weirdoartist21 @residentevilbeast @lokanda (if you would like to be added to the tag list please let me know!)

[sarahjtv]

My Hero Academia Chapter 425 Spoiler Talk

I'm enjoying writing about this stuff again, though I've got a headache going on, so I'll do the best I can for now. I might add in stuff later:

I'm very happy to see our Big 3 graduate finally! I was kinda worried Mirio wouldn't even graduate for a second, but I'm happy to see that he did and he gave a valedictorian-esque speech to everyone talking about rebuilding society so everyone can have a bright future like Sir Nighteye wanted. Ending his speech with a joke is such a Mirio Togata thing 😂. I'm going to miss that guy so much 🥹

Why are Deku and some other students just lying on the ground with their feet up like that btw? Did they run out of chairs or something? It's a weird, quirky little thing that's just there, I guess.

The narration mentions that it's June in the MHA universe now (Happy Pride, btw 🏳️‍🌈). So, if the War took place around April or May, then it's been at least 1 month since we last saw the kids at the hospital.

Our class 1-A is now officially Class 2-A! They're finally second years as they should have been. Everyone including Aizawa is alive, though saying they're well is debatable. Everyone is clearly still injured in some way, shape, or form. Most have several bandages and even Jiro looks like she has a prosthetic for her missing left earphone jack.

Quick note: I notice that Bakugo is actually wearing a tie with his uniform now. It's still not buttoned up, but you can tell that he's definitely softened a bit since the war. EDIT: Looking at it again, it might not be buttoned up because he has a cast holding his right arm, but it’s hard to tell from the scans.

Aoyama not wanting to return to UA is sad, but it makes sense. I'd argue that he earned his place there regardless of AFO's influence, but I can understand that he doesn't feel that way and wants to redeem himself and become a hero in his own way without being forced to betray his friends and teachers.

Replacing Aoyama will be Hitoshi Shinso! I think most of us predicted that Shinso would be joining Class 2-A, but I'm very happy to see that confirmed. It's going to be a bit of a weird start for him, but I think he'll get used to his new classmates quickly.

Another quick note: The second-year cloud girl, Fuwa Mitawa, is seen quite a bit in this chapter and her return is something Horikoshi promised many volumes ago, so I'm glad to see him keep that promise.

Those two first panels of Shouto make me so sad, y'all 😭... His hair is so messy and you can see bags under his eyes. It's hard to tell because of the leaks, but I don't know if there's even light left in his eyes. He looks so exhausted. What happened to Dabi, Endeavor, and the rest of his family? I have no doubt that he's been agonizing over them for god knows how long. I hate seeing him like this, honestly. He's my favorite character and deserves all the good in the world, especially after the harsh life he's been put through. I want to give Shouto all the hugs in the world 🩵.

I don't think Deku smiled at all this whole chapter btw. He tries to talk to Ochako at one point, but she interrupts him with a comment about his new haircut. He just looks sad this whole chapter. I bet he's still grieving and processing what happened. I need Izuku to open up to someone because he can't just bottle this up.

Then we have this mysterious man walking around a desolate town. We have absolutely no idea who this is, but apparently it isn't someone we know of. I want to say it's a grown-up Tenko Shimura somehow, but even that might be too farfetched.

Finally, there's Shouto and the Todorokis. Shouto reassures Deku that he's ok, but I bet my gatcha game currency that he's putting on a brave face because that final beautiful panel of him does not scream "I'm ok!" to me. If anything, I'm amazed Shouto doesn't look like he got any other permanent scars on his face at least.

It looks like Shouto is going to see his family at the hospital. Specifically Endeavor and what might be Dabi who's being kept alive in a big machine. It's hard to tell because the scans are so unclear, but I'm 90% sure that's Dabi in there. It's a miracle that man is alive given he was just a skeleton last we saw him. I'm 99% sure we're going to get a Hellish Todoroki Family Part 3 or something next chapter.

But, we won't see that until 3 weeks from now because we're officially on a 2-week break. There isn't a given reason why like Jujustu Kaisen got (Gege Akutami is sick, so he's taking 2-week break too), so I really hope Horikoshi is ok. It's either he's sick too or he needs time to think of the final chapters of MHA. Or both, that too. Regardless, any breaks given to Kohei Horikoshi to give him time to rest is ok with me. Just sucks for us as fans. Leaving us on THAT kind of a cliffhanger is just mean 😭

[yuurivoice]

Laying in bed having a think.

As I try and tackle three intertwined (four? fuck) narrative stories more meticulously than I've crafted any of my narratives thus far, I find myself making several realizations.

BitterSweet is a product of me being at several mental low points but failing upwards. BitterSweet wasn't even intended to be a real narrative, but rather an introduction to Seth then sort of a choose you own adventure, listen to either "path" type thing. When the story revealed itself to me it was very exciting, but I was just going episode to episode and seeing where I'd end up.

Chapter 2 had more planning, a pretty defined outline, and was executed just about to perfection. I think 2 is probably the strongest in terms of knowing wtf was going on and seeing it through.

Chapter 3 is one I feel deeply conflicted about. Plans had to change on the fly multiple times. The scale got out of hand. I was on the struggle bus and only managed to write an episode two at once. It was a mess. We hit some high marks, and some of my favorite performances are in there, but there's this dark cloud over it for me. It's a shame, but it got done.

I can see really clearly how my struggle with my mental health, ADHD, etc. played significant roles in hindering me. So on one hand, I'm thrilled that I was able to make something cool that so many people appreciate and enjoy despite how challenging it was. On the other hand...there's a lot I wish could have been different.

Those wishes have informed many of the choices I'm making now as I tackle Shattered and Echoes, as well as BitterSweet and the unnamed thing. I'm not hitting the big red launch button until it is complete. I've never done that. But I want my writing to be tighter and more cohesive. I'm lucky that making shit up as I went and hitting the broader strokes I knew were there worked out as well as it did, but also I've tripped over myself a time or two.

As ambitious as I'm trying to be with weaving these stories, I want to make sure that when you step back and look at the big picture, it makes sense, but is also really fucking dope.

That's my hope.

This next batch of work is going to be special for me. I'm in my medicated era, but I'm working with a lot of the bones put in place by a version of me that was operating well below capacity.

Reading those first drafts I wrote last year was humbling. God they were bad. Frustratingly so because when I took a hammer to it, what I cooked up in significantly less time on the second draft was so much better than what felt like I had to pull teeth to accomplish before.

I try and tell myself not to look at all of my work through that lens of "I could have done so much better" but it's frustrating. I've gotta cook with the groceries that version of me brought home lol.

It boils down to this. When these next projects launch and the dust settles, I don't want to be glad it's over. When I finished BS3, I breathed a sigh of relief because it felt like I just got out of a year long brawl.

When I finish these projects, I want to be proud. I think that's the conclusion I reached. I was not proud of my work, because it was tainted with compromise and frustration that outside factors fucked with several aspects of it.

So I'm trying to prove to myself that I can do better than that. For myself. I've shaken off the frustration that I'm an entire year behind schedule. I've committed myself to completing it all before it sees the light of day. I've streamlined the process. I really tried to set myself up for success.

When I was struggling I'd cut every corner, I'd phone it in, I'd toss out ambitious ideas for the sake of just being able to call it done.

There's a lot less of that happening now. I'm able to at least try and hold myself to something resembling a standard. Now I just hope I can execute.

Thanks for reading. Sorry about all of whatever that was.

[lowkeycasanova]

catching up

plot: you run into Vinnie after breaking up 3 years ago

masterlist

——————————————————————

Take out bag in hand from the pick up counter, focused on nothing and no one as you walked through the restaurant as you ordered an Uber to go back to the Airbnb.

But there he was, and he recognized you as you walked past each other. You didn’t even realize.

“Y/N?”

You nearly tripped over your own two feet and almost bumped into someone upon hearing your name called. You step aside and with a confused expression, you turn around to the direction of the voice.

“Vinnie.” You breathed out.

Before you could even process what was happening, he walked up and pulled you into a hug. Closing your eyes, you hugged him back.

“I can’t believe it’s you.” He said and pulled away. “You look amazing.”

“Yeah, so do you.”

He’s definitely filled out since the last time you saw him. He had more muscle, he grew out his hair, it was also more of his natural color, his previously bare hands were covered in tattoos and you knew he had more, and you swore he got a tad bit taller.

“God, it’s been a while.”

You pursed your lips. “Three years…”

*Flashback*

"What do you mean you're going to LA?" you asked him in disbelief.

"I just think this would be a good opportunity for me."

"You make random videos for fun. It's not a job."

"Not yet, but who knows, I could make a career out of this."

"Since when do you wanna be some entertainer? You've never mentioned anything like that." you argued back. "But that wasn't the plan. We're supposed to be going to college together. I was so happy when we both got accepted, but now you spring this on me a month before school starts?"

He sighed. "I know. I'm sorry, but having contacts out there could help push my modeling. And maybe I could get into acting. I've always wanted to try that."

"Again, you never mentioned that."

"Well maybe I kept my mouth shut because there would be no opportunity like that for me here in Seattle!" He raised his voice in frustration. "And now, I have it and I wanna take it."

You felt the tears forming in your eyes and tried to keep yourself together. Part of the reason was that you were just such a perfectionist, planning for things in the future, and when they don't go as planned, you don't know what to do.

Also, to you, it wasn't wise of him to just up and go. Sure, having one million followers was impressive, but, so what? Plus, he didn't have that much money. He's just hoping it all works out.

Vinnie left two days after his 18th birthday. You couldn't believe he actually got on that plane. No, you didn't like it, but you accepted it for what it was.

"So, how's school going?" Vinnie asked.

You two had moved over to the side of the entrance doors and leaned against the wall so you wouldn't be in other people's way.

"Um...you know, going into my last year. It's exciting."

"Still interior design?" he asked.

You nodded.

"So, what brought you to LA?"

"Um, just took a trip with a friend before school starts up again."

If Vinnie was disappointed that you didn't reach out to him upon arriving, he didn't show it.

"What would your major have been? If you stayed?"

"Mathematics and physics. But I'd probably still be an electrician on the side with my dad."

Talking about his what ifs made the memories come back.

*Flashback*

Just hung up the phone after talking to Vinnie. You sigh in disappointment.

He called to let you know that he wouldn't be able to come to the annual homecoming game on campus due to some photoshoot he had to do.

You tried to not let it affect you. It was just a football game. And Vinnie was seemingly starting to do the things he really wanted, so you wanted to be supportive of that.

It was then when you felt a shift in the relationship.

Putting on a happy face the day of the game, you ended up dressing up with your friends, decked out in purple and white, while sending pictures and videos to Vinnie.

He came back and visited for a few days before going back to LA. You were so consumed with school and wanted to focus on that.

There was one moment when you were up late doing homework. You began thinking about what it would be like if you finished up your first semester at the University of Washington and then transferred to Cal State or some school out there to be closer to Vinnie.

It was when you were reviewing the transfer requirements at UCLA when you thought, what the hell am I doing?, then exited out the website.

That wasn't what you wanted.

Vinnie was started to blow up at this point. It was hard to miss. And it was evident that you two started to talk less. You tried to make the effort. He'd been a bad texter at certain times but it was never frequent. You hated the possibility that he was somehow ignoring you but it only got worse when you'd see him in the media out with his new friends at restaurants and rumored to be dating this girl or that girl.

You wondered how he had time to talk to them and not you.

It got to a point where you'd drop everything when Vinnie did get back to you.

One day you got a call from him.

"I don't know if I wanna do this, Y/N. I just wanna come back."

Had he told you this a few weeks earlier, you'd would have no problem convincing him.

"Vinnie...you've only been out there for a short amount of time. As much as I'd want you to come back, I think you should stay a little longer. And if things still continue to not work out, I already know your parents would let you move back in. Stay and do the best you can."

He didn't say anything, only sighed on the other end.

You continued. "And to be honest, we should both be doing our own things individually."

"...what do you mean?"

You bit the bullet and told him that it would be best to break up. Thinking about it, but didn't want to say it because the two of you had grown so close. But y'all needed to do your own thing right now. You perceived the call from him as him holding back from striving to do his best in LA because he was tied down to a girl in another state. Vinnie obviously didn't want it, but he knew it was inevitable.

As you two continued to talk, a black car drove up and parked in front of the restaurant.

“Oh shit.” You said and looked down at your phone. “That’s my Uber. I gotta go. And I don't wanna gold you up from whoever is waiting for you inside."

“Oh.” He said and you could tell he was trying to hide his disappointment. "I'm the first one here. Just coming with friends. But sure, of course. Hey, maybe we could, hang out or something tomorrow. If…you want to.” And he nervously scratched the back of his neck.

You raised a brow. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’d love for you to meet my friends and see the house.”

He hoped he didn’t come off as bragging with that last part.

"Yeah, sure, I'll come."

He smiled. "Alright, cool." and he pulled you into a tight hug.

***

When you got back to the Airbnb, you told your friend about your run in with Vinnie and the invitation to go to his house. You'd known her while you were dating him, so she knew the story.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" she asked.

You shrugged. "I don't see why not."

"Okay as your friend, I don't think you should go. I mean sure it'll be nice for a second, until we go back to Seattle and he stays here and you're back to where you started."

This was definitely going to open up old emotions. Oh well.

The next afternoon, Vinnie picked you up. He said he hoped you hadn't changed your mind.

When you arrived at the house, you noticed quite a few cars in the driveway and felt hesitant.

"I didn't know you had so much company. I could've came another day."

He chuckled when he realized why you said that. "These belong to me and my buddy Jett."

“Oh.” You smiled.

“We buy them and try to fix ‘em up.”

Vinnie opened the door up for you, allowing you to go in first. You smiled at how beautiful and lively it was. He told you his roommates were his best friends, but he also had other friends come over a lot.

You stood beside Vinnie and he introduced you. He wanted to have everyone’s attention. They stopped what they were doing to come and meet you. You didn't know where to look, trying to greet them. His friend, Jack, told you that Vinnie had mentioned you'd be here.

Vinnie told you to make yourself at home and you got comfortable on the couch in the living room, admiring all the instruments that were there. His friends Josh and Adam are sitting on the spot across from you. You started to get to know them, laughing as they're pretty funny.

Vinnie makes his way over, silently observing you, happy that you seem to be getting along with everyone. He always loved that about you.

"You guys better not be talking about me." Vinnie's voice catches you off guard.

"Oh we definitely were." you answer back. The boys laugh and someone else comes and grabs their attention for a moment.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" Vinnie asks, his fingertips barely grazing your shoulder.

"Yeah, sure."

You got up and follow his lead. He gives you a tour of the house on the way up to his room.

"Nice picture." you said, referring to the big frame that had his head and his cat's heat photoshopped onto it.

Speaking of Hera, she came up and purred against your leg like she'd known you forever.

"Oh thanks." he laughed while simultaneously trying to make the cords from his gaming setup look less chaotic. "My mom got that for me as a Christmas gift."

Maria.

You had gotten close with his family too. You two spent time at each other's houses a lot due to not being able to go to the same high school. After the breakup, his parents and younger brother still followed you on social media, but you hadn't spoke to them in person. It hurt that you had also lost your second family.

He motioned for you to sit on the bed next to him and you did. He seemed like he was trying to get his words together.

"Honestly, to start it off, I wanna tell you what went down as far as moving out here."

He looked at you, as if asking for permission to continue. You nodded.

"Um...I know that you felt this disconnect between us and you said it would be best for us to do things on our own. You were right. I was being distant...but it wasn't because I didn't love you anymore, I was just going through a really rough time. I mean, I was in two houses over the course of four months and before I moved into Hype, I almost didn't have a place to stay. I was nearly broke because I wasn't making money off my content yet. And I just...didn't know what I was doing or where I was going with my life at the time."

Your face fell as he told you this. You felt so bad. Guilty even. That the break up was while he was going through all this stress. Like a final nail in the coffin.

"It's not your fault." he said as he noticed your expression and put a hand on your shoulder. You just looked at your hands in your lap. " I don't blame you at all.

"I should have really asked you if you were doing okay."

"I would've lied about it. I didn't tell my parents, you, or my friends. I just kept everything inside and I distanced myself from you, my audience, some of my friends, and I started saying rash things online. Just becoming someone that I wasn't. I realize now I shouldn't have done that. I should have talked to somebody, anybody about it. So that's my fault.

"I'm really sorry. And I'm sorry for how things were handled between us."

"Don't be. I think I needed to go through that. If not, I probably wouldn't be where I am today."

You felt tears forming in your eyes and wrapped your arms around him and he embraced you back.

"You deserved to know. Thanks for hearing me out."

"Of course. I'm so proud of you."

You two eventually pulled away and he ran a hand through his hair.

"Hey listen, I'm not saying we jump right back into something, but....I broke your trust, and I'll like to earn it back, If you let me."

"So, what are you saying?" you ask, searching his face as if it had the answers.

"I just wanna be in your life again. As your friend. I want to get to know you now, and for you to get to know me now. And see where it goes from there."

You looked at him in silence, feeling butterflies as he was looking at you.

"Okay." you said, almost in a whisper.

"Yeah?" he begins to smile and you nod.

He pulls you into him again. "Thank you. I won't mess this up."

[vaguely-concerned]

-another layer of 'ow ah ouch' to everything pyrrha says about lyctorhood in nona the ninth is that she and g1deon may very well have been the first necro-cav duo to have done it fully mutually consensually, eyes open. it's heavily implied mercy and augustine had their hands forced by cristabel and alfred and wouldn't have done it otherwise ("I have built a myriad on the idea that I could have talked him out of it, given five minutes"), and they're the first and second saints... g1deon's the third. he and pyrrha presumably saw what it did to mercy and augustine, and they still decided to go through with it.

I WILL REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME YOU KISSED ME—YOU APOLOGISED—YOU SAID, I AM SORRY, DESTROY ME AS I AM, BUT I WANT TO KISS YOU BEFORE I AM KILLED, AND I SAID TO YOU WHY, AND YOU SAID, BECAUSE I HAVE ONLY ONCE MET SOMEONE SO UTTERLY WILLING TO BURN FOR WHAT THEY BELIEVED IN, AND I LOVED HIM ON SIGHT, AND THE FIRST TIME I DIED I ASKED OF HIM WHAT I NOW ASK OF YOU

imagine the extra weight over the years in knowing you chose this. at least augustine can cling to that desperate fantasy world where he did stop alfred in time, but pyrrha and g1deon thought they knew exactly what they were doing. they thought it was love. john let them think that was love.

-...do you think mercymorn and augustine begged john for the same thing harrow did, after? Please, undo what I've done, Lord. I will never ask anything of you ever again. (Also one of my all time favorite Harrow moments where she gets to ask the question they aren't allowed to for ten thousand years: How dare you ask me to live with it?) did he comfort them? tell them he's so incredibly sorry, but he needs them?

at least pyrrha’s understanding of how the process works does corroborate his claim that he can’t extract a cavalier’s soul from their necromancer's after the lyctorhood is complete without destroying both souls, which I guess makes for the one thing he isn’t totally lying about lol. though while referencing their own situation paul tells ianthe there's still hope for her and naberius, a duo where the soul absorption did seem to complete, which suggests another layer here john might not know about (out of lack of interest?) or doesn't want anyone else to find out about.

actually let's reexamine some things from the Gideon the Ninth epilogue now in light of Nona I'm on a roll here:

-[God] said, "I know you became a Lyctor under duress."

"Some may call it duress," said Harrow.

"You aren't the first," said the Emperor.

screaming. howling. clawing at him like a wild animal. the two people who have loved you the most, and you stood by and watched as this happened to them, as you engineered it to happen to them, you've seen up close what it did to them, and now you're repeating the process with new children a myriad later without a blush. you suck so bad john I have no words fhksajfhsa.

-"I have three teachers for you. And a whole universe for you to hold on to, for just a little while longer."

a) oh yeah just wait for those three teachers they're a real barrel of laughs they probably won't even try to repeatedly murder you or anything lmao and b) what's that supposed to mean john. 'for just a little while longer'. why does it only have to be a little while longer. as far as I can tell you're no closer to the fullness of your revenge than ever. does it have anything to do with 'good morning, annabel' and 'it gets dirty, you clean it again'?

So, the universe was ending. Good. At least if she failed here, she would no longer have to be beholden to anybody.

could this also be some kind of foreshadowing? from the dialogue on page here harrow's conclusion that the universe is, for sure, ending is not necessarily a natural conclusion (john only speaks of the empire slowly dying) so like... does pre-lobotomy harrow know something we don't? or is it just that she's the saddest person anyone's ever seen pre-nona seeing gideon? (most heartbreaking shade of drift compatability discovered :') )

-He said presently, "Most of my Lyctors have been destroyed by a war I thought best to fight slowly, through attrition. I have lost my Hands -- not just to death. The loneliness of deep space takes its toll on anyone, and the necrosaints have all put up with it for longer than anybody should ever be asked to bear anything. That's why I wanted only those who had discovered the cost, and were willing to pay it in the full knowledge of what it would entail."

so... in the same way g1deon and pyrrha decided to pay that price willingly, then. I am 100% calling bullshit on him here, though, because if any of that had been his real intentions he would have taken at least a modicum of time and energy to write ANYTHING to that effect in the invitations haha. but I think he does recognize in some way that mercy and augustine are burning out under the ten thousand years he's asked of them, like cytherea just did, and maybe mistakenly thinks g1deon is handling it better, because his and pyrrha's decision seemed more informed/less coerced? loveday always knew it was her life or cytherea's, after all, that wasn't ever a real choice either. huh.

-god, harrow literally states all her (frankly very modest and doable) goals and needs to him -- to return to the ninth at least once, to find her cavalier's body, and to figure out what happened to the other survivors of canaan house -- and once she is incapable of remembering them........ he does fucking NOTHING to remind her or help her follow up on any of them fhsdkajfhasdkj I am losing it! at least there is the delicious irony that he could have saved himself a massive headache if he had helped her with any of these, so his own fecklessness and narcissism is its own punishment in this case I suppose lmao

-another observation: harrow is not as deferential or worshipful towards God in this epilogue as she will be in HtN or beyond. she's angry with him! she's kind of sharp and a bit rude, even! she seems more to feel begrudgingly beholden to him because fair enough he is god I guess than to emotionally buy into it as sacred service. I wonder how she'll think of him after nona the ninth, now that she knows him so much better and has more of herself too -- ironically my sense from their last scene in nona the ninth is that her worship of him seems to have all but disappeared, but she loves him more, despite uh the everything of him, in all his awfulness. not in that she doesn't recognize him for what he is or that she wants his approval anymore, she's grown so far past him already, but I do think there's still love there. 'I still love you' is the real power he has, I guess

[aspiringwriter1111]

Hallmark PSA

I know since it's coming on the holiday season, I'm going to start seeing a lot of Hallmark slander.

But here's a little known fact.

Hallmark is actually really really good.

WAIT WAIT DON'T LEAVE-

Let me explain!

The movies people usually associate Hallmark with are the "old" ones (2020 and back). I bet after seeing how cliche and unhealthy they were, you didn't see a reason to watch them again after that, am I right??

But you knew them well enough to know they weren't worth your time and sanity.

Girl in a high stress job goes to small town, learns the meaning of Christmas, and then cheats on her also stressed out boyfriend back in the city with a hot cocoa making stubbly kind of rude lumberjack man then quits her job and moves to Vermont or something.

Yeah, they don't do those anymore.

At all.

I'm serious.

A part of it is that there was a purge. A year or two ago, there was a new Christmas movie company in town. All the actors that didn't like the forward direction Hallmark wanted to go in, left and joined GAC.

(Great American Family, or as I like to call it GACK. The movies are exclusively awful old Hallmark style, but Republican, badly decorated, very white, and also much worse.)

GAC took all the problems away from Hallmark, and made movies out of them. Hallmark, now cleansed, is pumping out cinematic greats that I WILL be rewatching every Christmas.

The whole of Hallmark was Recast, save for the best of the best fan favorites (Like Lacey Chaubert-)

They have plus sized actors now and people of color, cast as main characters on a regular basis.

Half of the movies aren't even romance centric anymore, instead focused on life, and moving forward, but when they are, they're really well done, and actually healthy.

If you know me (which you don't), then you'll know I hate unhealthy relationships. Especially when they're treated like they're okay. I will pick apart ANYTHING over toxicity in a relationship, wherever that might come from.

I used to hate Hallmark movies, because they were predictable, unrealistic, flawed, and toxic.

But now the characters talk with each other, and they don't get in the others space without permission. If there's an accident and it does happen, it's not used as a plot device to move the relationship along. It's not treated in a "OMG hot guy is literally right in my face!!! I've only known him two minutes and I hate him, I'm in love!!"

It's more of an, "OMG I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that at all, im so sorry, I'm so sorry- *Immediately backs away*"

I can't even begin to explain how much better they are now.

To further prove my point, here are some gifs of Three Wise Men and a Baby, one of my favorite Christmas movies ever:

Just listen to this one.

It's about three brothers, one of which is a firefighter (this is important). A baby gets dropped off at the fire station, with a note. The firefighters name is on it, asking him to look after the baby until Christmas.

This is not his baby.

This IS a joke throughout the entire film.

They have no idea who dropped him off.

So they end up taking care of him for a week, and seriously bonding with him. The make his first Christmas ornament with clay, they do a holiday photo dressed to the nines.

They talk about how hard it is to actually take care of a baby, and how hard it must have been for their mom doing it alone.

Talking about how their own dad left, and finally processing that trauma together.

Their mom confesses that if she didn't have support, she may have done what the babies mother did. How she must be going through such a rough patch, and building empathy for her.

All three of the brothers go on complete cathartic emotional journeys about it, and all the other issues in their life.

I can't do it justice.

It's called Three Wise Men and A Baby. I'm begging you please go watch it, you will NOT regret it.

I CRIED SO MANY TIMES YOU HAVE NO IDEA.

I'm tearing up now just thinking about it oh my gOD-

The ending just sent it home for me, so I won't spoil anything.

Its amazing. I can't explain the whole thing, I seriously beg you please go watch it.

And, if you're more into comedy, I present to you Haul out The Holly:

A Christmas comedy starring your very own Gretchen Weiners!! Abso-fucking-lutley HILARIOUS.

It's about a woman, just broken up with her boyfriend, and coaxed into going home for the holidays. Here's where it gets interesting.

Her parents are the head of the Christmas neighborhood watch, something that has plagued her since childhood. Her childhood friend has now taken over the position, as her parent ditch her for retirement on a beach someplace, and she's left stuck, having to decorate against her will.

She wants a nap. The neighbors want her to carve ice sculptures. And her nutcracker apparently isn't up to code.

Includes: Girlboss and male wife power duo (madly in love), insane chainsaw man with way too much time on his hands, the ML an anxious wreck, and many, many, MANY MORE.

Another recent movie was built around a woman who is an astronaut (She's mixed) who was about to finally go to space (The goal shes been working on her entire life) She got into a car accident and her eyesight was impaired. She's currently grieving the loss of her dream (like, actually grieving, she took three months off-).

Her company asks her if she wants to do an exhibit in the planetarium for Christmas, that she doesn't have to, but she can if she wants to take her minds off of things. She says yes, and ends up working with the planetarium director on an exhibit about the sun and it's connection to Christmas through how people used to celebrate with the sun (I don't remember exactly, but it was explained thoroughly, and i think pagan???)

She and him don't constantly argue, or be angry at each other. They cooperate. They show genuine interest in each other. It's actually adorable, and it's also not just about them.

She meets his daughter, who is a wheelchair user. She asks why the Female lead isn't in space if she's an astronaut, and the FL tell her it's because of her eyes. The daughter tells her it's okay, because she'll never be able to go to space either, even if she wants to, but she can still enjoy it from Earth.

I'm not even doing it justice.

By the end of the movie, the FLs eye problem doesn't heal. Nothing is miraculously solved. But the ML and the FL are now dating (After the best, slow paced, healthy, communicative, collaborative bonding freaking ever-) ALL OF THE CHARACTERS HAVE FULL BLOWN EMOTIONAL JOURNEYS THAT ACTUALLY MATTER.

SHE GRIEVES.

HER BROTHER FINALLY FIGURES OUT ITS OKAY FOR HIM TO DO WHAT HE LOVES, AND THAT HE'S NOT A FAILURE FOR IT.

THE ML LET'S GO OF THINKING HES A BAD PARENT.

AND MORE.

There are soft bits, nothing is cliche, nothing is icky or gross.

It's healthy, it's cute, it's emotionally driven, I'm actually learning about things I didn't know before, and amazing.

And all the new ones are either like this or better than this. I could name over ten, but I can't even explain how good they are.

Some of the are still a little dark ages, but it's only every one out of six or seven.

Hallmark movies from 2022 and onwards are 5 star television, and you can't convince me otherwise.

[8bitsupervillain]

Higurashi When They Cry Hou Ch. 6 Tsumihoroboshi pt. EX-2

There are no screenshots, it's all text.

When last we left off Rena was in the process of explaining to Keiichi how the Sonozaki family, and potentially the other members of the Three Families were using parasites to establish control over the people of Hinamizawa under a mystical guise.

There's much ado about how what the ancient Onigafuchi villagers thought was a god, was in fact just a foreign doctor. Buddy, let me tell you when the visual novel was going in deep on its explanation of how parasites were behind it all I became unbelievably sad. I was overcome by such an absolute despair that it very nearly killed my playthrough of the series entirely. Parasites? Parasites are the cause of all of the troubles in Hinamizawa? All the setting up the mysteries of who's behind the curse, who's calling the shots, the seemingly mystical explanations behind everything was PARASITES? I became inconsolable in my grief, that this was the explanation behind it all. After nearly a hundred hours spent playing through this series it was going to explain it all away like this?! My despondence grew, I'd been here before, I don't know if I can handle another series Danganronpa-ing me, or Bioshocking me. The very idea of continuing on after being dealt such a critical blow was agonizing to me. Why should I continue reading a series that was going to go with such a completely stupid solution for the mysteries behind it all? It's probably not healthy to put so much stock into a fictional franchise, but what can I say? This series got its hooks into me good and deep, and I was so upset by this it really put a damper on any sort of enthusiasm I had previous had going for the franchise.

I consulted with a friend, I had complained at length about some of the sillier plot developments throughout the series to them before. They offered the recommendation of stop reading multiple times. So they asked me, "am I going to just take a few days away from it?" A reasonable enough question, but I knew deep in my heart that if I took a day or two away from it that was it. I would never come back. Part of me had the notion that I would at least see the visual novel through the rest of the chapter, I was on chapter nine moving onto ten. Surely I could endure just to reach the conclusion of the chapter? But I knew if I let all the momentum I had truly and completely stop that there would be no restarting this. The flame would be smothered entirely with no hope of rekindling it.

So, I grit my teeth, and just dove back into the chapter. If nothing else I would see it this chapter to its ending. Well I've done that. twenty-six hours and ten minutes the playtime clock on GOG says. I won't lie by saying this chapter didn't do serious harm to my enjoyment of the series. It did, quite a bit. The notion that this is all an X-Files is really quite tremendously disappointing to me. The chapter makes a lot of noise about how it's ridiculous to get suckered in by the scrapbooks of Miyo Takano that these might be the reasons behind everything in the series up to this point. But then in the post-chapter TIP it then goes on to say "actually, what if?"

I feel like I could guess fairly early on in the series that there was going to be a human conspiracy element behind it. But for some reason the notion that it's all a government plot that's behind it all just really sucked all the energy I had up until now. It's not even just the parasite/alien/government conspiracy angles that annoyed me with this chapter. The constant hammering home of how you shouldn't be judged by your past actions and you can atone for your sins is all well and good, but when it makes up more than half of the later chapters writing I started to get annoyed.

There are some really interesting tidbits in this chapter, there really are. I loved the revelation that Rika has indeed been stuck in some sort of hellish time loop for at least one hundred years. I also adore the idea that the other characters stuck in this situation with her can recover their memories of alternate timelines and remember previous 1983s. Keiichi reconciling with his murder of Rena and Mion from Onikakushi was some really solid writing, and I liked it. But the constant interrogations about whether you should be held accountable for your actions in completely separate realities started to annoy me.

Also I know that it might not be the case, but the last sub-chapter or two, where Rena takes the class hostage, I have serious doubts about whether or not that section even happens. Like when Keiichi dies to zombie Mion in Watanagashi I don't doubt some version of events happens, but I don't think it's a one-to-one with the actual reality of the situation. Also the fact that despite having just resolved everything with a fucking stupid fight scene at the end it all doesn't matter in the slightest because everyone dies from the Hinamizawa Disaster anyway?

I will continue this series, deflated though I am. I remain hopeful that by the end of it Ryukishi07 will be able to bring it all back around like he did with Umineko, but I'm also keenly aware that it very well might all be just down hill from here.

Despite all this I still took over 1400 screenshots. So… I guess that's something.

I'm sorry, but the fact it's even suggesting that "you know what's really behind it all? ALIENS" is just really fucking absurd. Chapters 7 and 8 have some really fucking heavy lifting to do to right this ship and make it end in a way that's just not completely stupid bullshit. I sincerely, truly, and desperately hope that the next chapter is better than this.

[blood-teeth]

TMITAWH is 2 years old????!!!!

i cant believe i missed it that sounds so ridiculous to me! in my defense, i was driving for two weeks straight

i don't have anything planned for celebration; i'm so sorry! but i do have some updates!

for those that missed it, tmitawh is now a novel and will no longer be told in an interactive fiction format. this has upset a lot of people. i've lost a lot of followers over this announcement. and i can understand this to some extent, but largely i have to continue to be unapologetic about my choices.

this story is one that has, in every meaning of the phrase, saved my life. writing in this little world has gotten me through some of the darkest times and carried me through to the next day. at some point, IF stopped being a media that was capable of telling the story i wanted to tell.

i'm disheartened by a lot of the anons i've received. some are hateful and unkind. others are upset that they no longer will have the opportunity to pursue Cain or Ezio, and a few mention that they're not interested in reading a lesbian story and will not be reading the book if it ever makes it to publication. i've disregarded the first, but the second cuts the deepest i think.

i have never, ever been shy on this app that i'm a lesbian. i feel as though i've talked endlessly about it. being a lesbian is a huge facet of my identity and being told that, in so many words, a story written for myself, with other queer people in mind, is not for them seems like such a stupid thing to say. like, i didnt write it for you. i wrote it for me. i wrote it for the lesbians who love so violently that they have to hide it away under their clothes, in between their teeth. i wrote it for the lesbians who have been told their love is disgusting, or wrong, or sexy and for a male's pleasure only. i wrote it for the lesbians who are told their love is okay as long as they never show it- as long as they only hold hands at most but never kiss in public. i wrote it for the lesbian who sits in pews and breathes over their hands and wonders if God loves them still.

i'm not sorry to not have written a story catered for you when the whole world is for you. leave me out of your self-absorbed, hateful little orbit.

please know, this blog does not tolerate hatred, bigotry, or harassment in any shape or form. and if you're going to fuck around with me, you sure as hell are going to find out with me.

on a more positive note!

i want to thank you all who have been overwhelmingly positive and supportive of my endeavors!! it means the absolute world to me!! i sometimes hold myself at night and think of all the kind words y'all have sent over these past two years and just sob. never in my life before this could i have imagined sharing my work with people who give a shit and care. it warms me in ways i cannot begin to describe. i love you and i hope you are well as always. my inbox/dms are open ANYTIME if you just want to chat, catch up, rant to me, or tell me about your pet. actually, please tell me about your pet.

Some quick publishing updates:

I'm 20k words out of 90k into draft 2. and i think this is going to be the last draft before i query (?????) i'm really very happy with the muscles and bones of the manuscript. now it's just some meticulous line editing i have to work through.

after this, i'm off to the query trenches. (im scared) if anybody has gone through this process before and has any tips, i'd love to hear them!

here's a little excerpt:

"She grabs hard enough to make sure of her presence, not enough to bruise. Some sick part of the Traveler’s brain says, Yes. Please. More. Press deeper. Press harder. Bruise me. Hurt me. She delights in the heat that blossoms from where the Reverie digs her fingers into skin. Eyes earnest, stubborn disposition to her jaw as the thick muscle there flickers in an implication of anger. “I will find you,” she’s shaping her tongue into a dagger at the Traveler’s throat. “I will find you again, and that is a promise.” The Traveler gasps, tilting her head higher. She blinks and— The Reverie’s mouth is on hers, hot and aching, and the Traveler blinks— Want flavors the Traveler’s tongue, the Reverie’s hands pressed tightly against her collarbone, teeth at her jaw. She blinks and— Is this Before or After?"

i also, stupidly, have officially started a twitter that i want to start working with. i know twitter is dead, but it remains to be very useful for publishing. if you'd like to follow me, im there on @ morganhollow25. i dont know how to use it. im scared to use it. but if you have a twitter maybe follow me there too! i absolutely plan to be on tumblr primarily. i love it here and have grown a tiny home in these webs.

i'll have more updates coming soon regarding FTMTB and other works. thank you all again <3

[theviridianbunny]

WIP WEDNESDAY (01/11/23)

*running to tumblr* oh my god how is it wednesday alreay- byt ANYWAY HELLO happy wip wednesday -!!! - @wanderingaldecaldo tagged me in her post - so now it's time for me to happy yell

SO BUNNY- What've you been up too this week? (spoiler: it's been mostly a yelling about blorbo week for me)

WORLD BUILDING (with the help from @another-corpo-rat )

as mentioned in last weeks WIP wednesday post- me and Tate have been world building and makin fun AU's with our babes (Viridian and Victoria) - we've been putting the blorbos into a blender and putting that belnder on full speed

for the first time in years - the red rabbit stood equal to the viper. - og post here

snippit from a drabble including our girlies - the fic concept revolving around Viridian and Rouge sneaking around Adam Smasher's hideout - Victoria is there, at the hideout- but she is well out of sight- looking through cams at her old 'saka colleuge- she notices how Viridian is without Jackie at this time- Victoria knows Viridian is strong on her own- but Jackie compliments her - they work as a unit.... So, Victoria leaves Viridian a lovely email just to toy with her <3 (spoiler- it's not a lovely email-it's actually rather jaring because Viridian has so many bad memories of Victoria - Victoria is a villian in Viridian's narrative and we are living for it >:3 ) The drabble will eventually refrence the mini-fic Tate wrote for me (run rabbit run)- Poking at ideas of in the past- Viridian not getting out of an ice break in time - Victoria realising that the red rabit is back in the game after years of being off of arasaka's grid and network.

GIF MAKING (and fic planning)

LONG NIGHTS AND TOUGH CHOICES - OG POST HERE

SOOOOOO i finally sunk my teeth into the phantom libery DLC (i'm having so much fun-!! even if my baby pc is struggling with areas) - Having the DLC also means.. I can play around with model swaps and other things in AMM !! These gifs were taken from swapping out Reed for Jackie and Viridian for Myers!!!... The gifs will serve as inspo for a fic (that I will probz never get round to writing-) but the premese is Jackie and Viridian are the two are stranded in dog town (in my canon Jackie lives and goes to DT with his girl during the events of PL)... The two are met with very tough choices - and they argue - and in the moment viridian says she wishes she and Jackie never everr took the Kompeki heist all that time ago- if she and Jackie had never took it- there'd be no Johnny- no bio chip- no time bomb in the ex corpos head. No agreement with songbird- no rescuing the presedent- She'd have a chance to live with Jackie instead of knowing she's going to die - she says in the moment of arguing that jackie should just go- leave her- as the biochip is eating at her psyche. at the emotional height of the argument- Jackie blows a fuse and walks out on viridian. The two rarely argue so when they do it's all the more intense - He stays away for a few hours- trying to process everything viridian said to him. But then after the hours pass- he returns to the building he and her were hiding in- Viridian just about asleep on an old mattress- she looks like she's been crying- she looks so vulnerable and - emotionally wrecked- jackie comes and sits by her- trying his best not to wake her- he slips off his valentinos bomber and drapes it over her and presses a kiss to her forehead. He tells her as she sleeps that They'll endure - they'll survive. They'll get through this hell. Jackie will be with his girl until the inevitable end of all things... (i'VE HAD A LOT OF FEELS ABT THESE TWO)

Tagging (with no pressure as always): @withoutyouimsaskia @halsin @aggravateddurian @dustymagpie @daedricshrine @mrdekarios @togepies @another-corpo-rat @sankttealeaf @thedeadthree @gortash @heywoodvirgin @chessalein @chipped-chimera @dreamskug @itzsassha @imaginarycyberpunk2023 @vrovij @enverflymm and you! what have y'all been up too this week?

[floralegia]

4, 19, 27, 29 for the writing ask game! 💜💖

EEEEE thank you!!

4. How many WIPs do you have right now?

OH GREAT SO YOU'RE COMING FOR MY HEAD RIGHT FROM THE START

Well, I counted 29 for this post, but as I noted there that doesn't include the plot bunnies chilling in my ideas doc (aka The List™) or either of the two bingo cards I currently have out, which between them have I want to say 32 prompts? So, you know. :'''')

19. Give us a small teaser from one of your WIPs.

There's important stuff being said, probably, but the only thought Pete's brain is capable of processing right now is this one: Oh my God, he's such a fucking DILF.

Well, okay, that's not exactly true, because as soon as that thought slides through his psyche, it butts right up against the answering one that shouts Patrick! That fucking DILF is fucking PATRICK!, and then he gets sort of stuck in that loop for a little while, until at last the DILF thing overpowers the shrieking confusion of the fact that up until a couple of minutes ago, he'd only known Patrick Stump as a sort of sweaty, scowl-y, angel-voiced teenager, and the whole thing starts over again with the urge to drool dramatically over the glasses and the beard and the fucking build of him, Jesus fucking Christ.

Suffice to say, it's been a challenging few minutes.

27. Is there a fic you were nervous to post/share? Why?

There have been a couple of notable ones in recent memory, one that I won't name because I ended up posting it on a sock account and then this one. In both cases, I was essentially scared of being harassed over the content of the fics; the unnamed fic contains a couple of noncon scenes, and obviously the linked fic is Waycest, lol. Both have been received pretty well so far (touch wood), so, I mean, I'm definitely building up confidence, I think? I very strongly believe in the idea of writing whatever and who cares what people think, but also I am very small and very frightened lol. It's a whole thing.

29. Share a bit from a fic you’ll never post OR from a scene that was cut from an already posted fic. (If you don’t have either, just share a random fic idea you have that you don’t plan on getting to.)

Random fic idea, under the cut because it's a bit long: P2 RHPS AU feat. Bandom At Large!

Due to watching the video of Patrick's performance of "I Can Make You A Man" for the 2020 RHPS charity livestream--which, oh my God, by the way--I was struck by the idea of a Rocky Horror AU. To be clear, I don't mean an AU based on the movie the Rocky Horror Picture Show, I mean an AU about the boys putting on the Rocky Horror Picture show. So really, I suppose, it's a college community theater AU of some kind, but it's focused around RHPS. Not that I've been involved in a production myself, other than at CTY, I suppose, but having done community theater generally and attended RHPS productions, I think I can make a fair attempt.

So, anyway. Pete is running the thing--whole thing is his idea, he's the director, etc. I feel like this is likely not the first year, and in fact Pete likely inherited the production from an upperclassman. But they had a lot of people graduate last year, and they're having trouble backfilling those roles, so in addition to directing he's reprising his role as Rocky. They're advertising hard for musicians, too, because Pete--being a go big or go home kind of guy--ALSO wants to perform with a live band this year and do a proper Rocky Horror Show production, rather than perform in front of the film as they've typically done. That's how Patrick gets involved: he shows up to inquire about playing in the pit, because he's always trying to pick up odd musical jobs here and there to pay for school, and in true Fall Out Boy fashion he ends up singing a little bit and Pete's like, wait, no, holy fuck, sing this, throws the book at him, Patrick sings a bit of one of Frank's lines, and that's all she wrote. They've been having a particular amount of trouble casting Frank, and Pete decides Patrick is perfect for the role, which kind of baffles everyone else, especially Patrick, but Pete's like... distractingly pretty, so against his own better judgement Patrick agrees.

Beyond that, I'm not sure what the actual, like, plot would be. I think Patrick has a passing familiarity with RHPS but definitely not intimate knowledge, so partially he has to get up to speed. Partially, too, he has to overcome his stage fright and particularly his aversion to appearing on stage in front of a bunch of strangers while wearing sexy outfits and doing a lot of slutty slutty things, so there's that, but idk if that's a "plot" per se. There's also the implication/background of the production being sort of scrappy, but I don't know that that's a "plot" either, really. Hmmm.

Well, in the meantime, other notes that I had in my head include Gabe Saporta as Brad because I think that's really funny given his everything; Joe and Andy are definitely involved, I think with Joe playing Meatloaf and Andy drumming, or maybe Andy's Meatloaf and Joe is Riff Raff???? General DCD2/bandom cast... Uhhh, Ray should definitely be in the band/pit, Hayley Williams and Gerard are Magenta and Columbia (not sure which is which--I like Gerard as a sexy maid, so maybe he's Magenta???), and then that leaves, what, the criminologist??? Oh, and Janet, obviously. Maybe Greta from the Hush Sound is Janet? Or Vicky-T, that would make a lot of sense. Frank is either in the pit or he's the stage manager or something. Or crew. He kind of has insane stage crew energy. Mikey is... there. Possibly pit as well. Possibly just hanging around and the joke is everyone's always like, Mikey what the fuck are you doing here???? and he just shrugs and the answer is that he tends to get dragged into things Gerard's involved in and this is no different, but really he's just hanging around.

[charmante-mp3]

The Death of Me

Yeosang x m!reader (feat. Yunho, Mingi, and Wooyoung) A bit angsty/lil sprinkle of fluff/suggestive/non-idle au This took me forever to write but here it is, lowkey one of my favorite stupid little pieces I've written.

TW; SUGGESTIVE/CURSING

18+ MINORS DNI 3.0k

---

The rain fell, mixing with the tears flowing from my eyes. After all these years of being by his side, why couldn’t he choose me? He chose her, of course he did. She’s everything I’m not. She’s extravagant, and I am only his best friend. A side character never chosen to be the romantic interest. Then again, I’m nothing like her, I’ve never been a woman and I never will be. 

~

I don’t remember when we met, I just know we’ve always been attached to the hip. Every Sunday was dedicated to dinners with the Kang’s. Which meant Mrs. Kang would come over in the afternoon with Yeosang, we’d run around the house constantly being scolded. Until we got in middle school, those Sundays we now sat in mine or his room now glued to stupid multiplayer video games. Finally, high school when everything changed. I saw things differently, I saw my childhood best friend as something more. A dirty secret I’ve kept for years. Now it’s our final summer break before our last year of high school. 

“Y/N!” I heard the deep voice yell from down stairs. I was barely awake when Yeosang barged in my room, a normal occurrence. 

“Yeosang what are you doing, it’s 9am?” I sat up trying to shrug off the sleep.

“You do remember that even if it’s summer we still have practice,” He stated. I flung myself out of bed.

“Shit,” I muttered rustling around my room to find my gear. I met Yeosang downstairs, and we booked it to school. 

After many drills and a practice game I slumped myself on the ground. Grabbing my water, my eyes flung over to an approaching Yeosang. Who was in the process of wiping his face with his shirt, causing his abs to be shown off to the world. Averting my eyes quickly, I chugged down most of the water in the bottle. I tried to shove every thought I just had to the back of my brain when he sat beside me.

“How’s it feel to finally be captain?” He said while propping his elbow on my shoulder. My heartbeat had begun pounding in my ears.

“A little weird,” I said, my voice raspy. I saw Yeosang’s eyes widen a bit, yet I had no idea why.

“Remember when you swore up and down you would be soccer captain one day? Guess you weren’t lying,” His deep chuckle rang in my ears.

“Yeah I do,” I shrugged his arm off as subtly as possible, which didn’t work at the slight offense glazed over his face.

“I think I’m gonna head home this shirt is sticking to my back,”

~

My brain had been playing tricks on me the past few days leading up to school starting once more. I thought I would see Yeosang’s gaze linger a little longer and softer. It definitely changed my mind when he started talking to this girl.

“She said yes, I’m taking her on a date!” He exclaimed. I could feel the emotional pain rip through my body. Her name was Rose, Yeosang had spoken so highly of her for two weeks.

“That’s great, Sang. But do you mind I have a bit to do,” I trailed off trying to make an excuse.

“Like what?” He said, confused. I was trying to find a lie and didn’t notice him come lean over my shoulder. 

“I don’t feel well!” I blurted out as I noticed his presence lean over me, trying to glance at my laptop. Which I abruptly closed soon after. 

“Y/n?” 

“Don’t ask Yeosang, go about your day,” This was not how you planned to come out to your lifelong best friend.

“Are you helping Mingi?” He asked dead serious. I couldn’t help the overwhelming urge to facepalm.

“God Yeosang, your density will forever be my favorite thing about you,” I chuckled, “Why would I help Mingi when everyone already knows?” I continued glancing over just to see his eyes widen. 

“Is it Hongjoong?” 

“Christ Yeosang, it’s me!” 

“Oh,” It suddenly got really quiet, which made anxiety creep up my veins. He began to speak again but I didn’t let him.

“Alright Yeosang, go enjoy your date I’m sure Hongjoong would absolutely love to dress you up! Bye,” I said, shoving him out of my room just to slam the door in his face. I pushed my weight against it, feeling the tears prick my eyes. It was time to call Wooyoung.

~

“He literally only said ‘oh’,” Wooyoung’s face dropped in annoyance. 

“Yup! Right after exclaiming his date with a girl. I didn’t even know he liked anyone,” I explained the situation that happened just half an hour ago. 

“I didn’t either,” He trailed off.

“I don’t believe it, you two have been pining at each other since the beginning of the semester,” San pitched in, walking up behind Wooyoung.

“San where the fuck did you come from?” I questioned more at Wooyoung. 

“He’s been here the entire time,” Wooyoung admitted and my eyes flew open to glare at my gossip buddy. 

“Literally everyone knows about your crush, you make it so painfully obvious,” San says, retreating away from the camera.

“Except for Yeosang apparently,” Wooyoung added.

“You’re an ass,” 

~

Graduation had come and gone and with that college started. By some curse or straight luck, Yeosang and myself had gotten a soccer scholarship to the same school. This meant you also roomed with him in a college dorm and with that he became aware of the growing distance between you two. However, you did obtain two new friends that were undeniably flirty as fuck, Mingi and Yunho.

“Yeosang for the millionth time you’ve done nothing I’m just busy,” You said walking away from the blonde headed man. 

“Too busy to go to Wooyoung’s party tomorrow?” I stopped in my tracks. Wooyoung’s parties were something I did really enjoy, simply because you never knew what it would consist of. 

“We’ll see,” I said before stepping into my class, leaving him in the halls.

~

Part of me didn’t want to go knowing Rose and Yeosang would be attached to the hip, but I ended up at Wooyoung’s house, seated in between Mingi and Yunho. 

“I’m pretty sure I’ve seen her hookup with someone at my university,” Mingi said. Both of them had their eyes trained on Yeosang and his girlfriend as I tried my best to ignore it by taking a drink of the cheap shit in my hand. 

“You should hook up with us to get your mind off of it,” Yunho stated, causing all of what I drank to be spit right back out. I expected them to laugh and shrug it off while I was coughing up my lungs, but they didn’t.

“You’re not being serious,”

“He’s being dead serious,” Mingi said to my left. 

“What the fuck,” I muttered.

“What you’re hot! Most of us would fuck you given the chance,” Gesturing to literally everyone in the room.

“Except for Yeosang apparently,” Wooyoung said, coming up just to plop himself into my lap.

“Oh fuck off you three,” I threw my head into Wooyoungs’ shoulder.

“I don’t understand why Yeosang has all your attention,” Yunho said, shoving his head in your neck, sending a shiver down your spine. As he said that my eyes flicked over to Yeosang who was already looking this way. His eyes widened along with mine as Wooyoung turned himself around in my lap. 

“I have a really funny plan,” Wooyoung said, his face inches from mine.

“We’ve already had this plan,” Mingi said, following Yunho steps in shoving himself in my neck.

“What fucking plan,” I said. I could feel the heat of embarrassment grow up my neck.

“We’re just gonna give Yeosang a little push,” Wooyoung cackled out. He draped his arms over my shoulder. I could tell they were a little tipsy.

“Just let us kiss and feel you up and you’ll see what we see,” Mingi said in my ear.

“We won’t actually fuck you, unless you want it of course,” Yunho said. 

“You three are going to give me a heart attack. Honestly whatever, I do need a little distraction,” I said, tilting my head on Yunho. Apparently that was enough from all three of them. I could feel Mingis’ hand wandering to my thigh, Yunhos’ teeth scraping my neck, and Wooyoung slightly move around in my lap. The sensations caused a grunt to rip through my vocals. My eyes couldn’t help but wander to Yeosang over Wooyoungs’ shoulder. I thought I saw a glint of anger in his eyes, but I wasn’t able to look long enough as Wooyoung gripped my chin.

“Come on Y/n, play with us,” He said before clashing his lips with mine. Wooyoung continued to wiggle around slightly in my lap and I could feel the blood rush below me.

“Fuck,” was the first thing that left my mouth as he detached himself from me. My hands quickly found Wooyoungs’ hips to actually ground myself. 

“You know, Yeosangs’ got heavy eyes on us,” Mingi said.

“He’s gripping his cup so hard I’m surprised it hasn’t broken,” Yunho added.

“Along with the hundred eyes that are around, I think Yeosang is the last person on his mind,” Wooyoung said, still breathless.

“It’s unfortunate for him really. Y/n’s lips are the greatest thing I’ve ever tasted,” Wooyoung flirted sitting up straight now.

“I want a taste,” I heard Yunho grumble to my right, soon followed by hands gripping my chin. Yunho’s teeth clashed with mine and I gripped Wooyoungs’ hips harder as Mingi attacked my neck. I could feel the harsh bites and sucks that he littered from my jaw to my shoulder. I ripped myself away from Yunho as Wooyoung grinded harsher in my lap.

“Holy shit,” I said loudly, almost forgetting the crowd of others. 

“As much as I think Yeosang’s enjoying the show, I’m not much of an exhibitionist,” Mingi said, pulling himself away from me. I caught a glimpse of Yeosang approaching us, my heart started to pound in my chest.

“Oh? Are we getting company?” Yunho stated eyes subtly looking at the scene in front of him. Yeosang was a few steps away when his girlfriend ran over engulfing him in her arms. 

“That’s enough for me,” I said, grabbing Wooyoung and lifting him up. 

“You coming?” Wooyoung asked Mingi and Yunho over my shoulder.

“Hell yeah we are,” However, we didn’t get very far as a hand roughly grabbed my wrist.

“I wanna go home,”

~

It was 4am when I arrived back at my shared apartment with Yeosang.

“You enjoyed the party huh?” Was the first thing he said after closing the door. 

“Yeah, could’ve been more interesting,” I said with my eyebrow raised.

“Is that why you’ve been ignoring me? Didn’t want those three to think I was fucking you too?” That caught me off guard.

“Yeosang what the hell?” He started ranting about who knows what as I drowned him out. “Yeosang! There’s no reason for you to be this pissed about it!” I interrupted his rant. He did nothing but stare at me with a harsh glaze. After a few seconds of silence he walked off towards his room, followed by a slight slam of his door. 

The past few days consisted of Yeosang and I completely avoiding each other, which was surprisingly easier than I thought it would be. Walking along the street, towards one of my favorite cafes, my mood was soured by the sight in the window. It was Rose and Yeosang, chatting and looking as happy as ever. 

‘He’d be perfectly fine without me in his life’ the thought crossed my mind more than once these past weeks. I could feel the familiar sting of tears as the words replayed in my head. A drop of cold water hit my head making everything ten times better. The rain fell harder and so did my tears, I started walking away oblivious to the eyes trained on my figure.

~

“So you’re gonna change schools just because of a boy?” Seonghwa, my older friend asked. 

“Why not, I’ve got others dying to have a pro soccer player,” I muttered out, my laptop displaying my options.

“He hasn’t even contacted me Seonghwa, it would be easier on both of us if I just dwindled out of his life,” I said, slamming the device shut. 

“So, you’re gonna find a whole new roommate too?” That was one question I hadn’t thought about just yet. 

“Don’t go to Wooyoung, that'd be a horrible idea,” Seonghwa said before I could even get the suggestion out of my mouth. My next suggestion got cut short as my phone rang through the air. Speaking of the devil Wooyoung was calling me, I couldn’t even say hello when I answered.

“I told Yeosang where you were hiding out,” 

“Wooyoung you dick,” My mind raced trying to find out why he even wanted to know.

“Are you an idiot or did you mute his messages,” Wooyoung asked, knowing I swore up and down he hasn’t contacted me. My face fell as I checked any messages from Yeosang. I had at least twenty messages asking where I was, if I was okay, he was sorry, and we needed to talk. If your heart could fall to your toes, that’s where mine would be. A loud knock echoed through the house and Wooyoung abruptly hung up.

“You can handle this, I'm out,” Seonghwa said as he opened the door.

“Seonghwa you bitch,” I muttered out as he walked to a different room. Yeosang slowly rounded the corner, he looked as if he’d been through hell and back.

“Fuck Yeosang what happened?” I jumped up to his side, completely forgetting my dilemma.

“Why are you hiding here? I know what I said was out of line but running isn’t your thing,” His voice was hoarse. 

“Let’s not have this conversation in Seonghwa’s living room,” I said. I gathered my stuff, told Seonghwa we’re out, and led Yeosang back to our shared apartment.

~

“You’re not getting that answer,” I told him as he kept asking why I was avoiding him.

“Rose cheated, and you weren’t here. I think I deserve to know why,” I heard his voice crack along with my heart. I felt horrible even if I was in love with him, but I was still his best friend and I left him in a hard spot.

“Yeosang, that’s even more reason not to tell you. I’ll make you tea and once you get over her, I’ll tell you about it,” I said getting up from my spot.

“What if I was already over her?” I barely heard behind me as well as slight movement. I turned and noticed he was following him to the kitchen and I let him.

“Crying over a girl doesn’t make you weak Sangie,” I heard a sigh of relief as he sat at our kitchen island.

“I was more upset at the fact you weren’t here,” He said words that only made me grow softer for him.

“Yeosang you don’t realize how much you’re killing me,” I said out loud, I didn’t mean to it just flew out before I could think.

“What do you mean?” I could hear his voice crack again. I swung my head around and could see tears beginning to cloud his eyes. I muttered out a curse and decided to throw all dignity out the window. Wrapping my hands around him I pulled him into my chest as he shook with silent sobs.

“Sangie, I’ve been in love with you since high school. These stupid feelings are hurting both of us, so I needed to distance myself or drop out of your life completely,” I finally confessed. His hands around my waist crumbled up my shirt and I let my own tears flow out. However, his sobs came to an abrupt stop.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” I almost didn’t hear him as he pulled me closer into him. I stayed silent for a while as the inner panic got worse. Suddenly, he stood up pushing me back a little as his head was still tucked into my chest. I would be surprised if he couldn’t hear the rapid beating of my heart. Making it worse, he softly shoved me back at arm's length. His eyes dead set on mine and I could see the remnants of tears all over his face. His push didn’t do much as he got closer, our faces just inches apart

“Yeosang, whatcha doing?” I whispered. We stood there for what felt like hours, in reality it was probably only a few seconds. 

“I wasn’t lying when I said I was already over her,” He said. I was about to ask why that was when the most unexpected thing happened. My eyes widened as Yeosang pulled me in for a rough kiss. I tensed up and he began pulling away when I realized what was happening. Pulling him back in, I kissed him as if it was the last thing I’d ever do. I heard a slight moan come from him, which went straight to my groin. 

“Can you choose me over Wooyoung now?” 

“I already have,”

~

I was blasted awake by the loud ringing of my phone. Wooyoung was once again calling me.

“Why do you call me at the stupidest fucking times?” I asked, thoughts of last night ran through my head and I had convinced myself it was a dream.

“Did you finally fess up to Yeosang?” I rolled my eyes at him. I was about to respond when hands slowly wrapped around my waist. 

“Yeah he did, now shut the fuck up so we can sleep,” I heard the unmistakable deep voice close in my ears. 

“Holy shit it wasn’t a dream,” I heard Wooyoung’s hyena cackle mixed with Yeosang’s low chuckle. With that Wooyoung left us and I turned over to face my best friend of so many years. He definitely wasn’t fully awake, I wasn’t really either until I took notice of the state we were in.

“You really will be the death of me,”