#The only thing I need to do now is finalize the Application form

[gatheredfates]

Hello my lovelies! 🦈 You might be asking yourself 'Sea, this is weird, You don't update during the week!' and you would be correct. I was supposed to push this update out by the end of my long weekend as an addition to this; however, due to a bunch of irl stuff I won't go into here, it was delayed. I have endeavoured to rectify it now rather than waiting out the week so peoples' resources are properly showcased. This will not be a common occurrence!

However, as of today (06/04), the following resources have been added to Sea's Community Compendium for XIV Creatives.

FREE COMPANY / COMMUNITY FOCUSED / EVENT SPACES

The Final Fantasy XIV Tumblr Community — A public Tumblr community where you can share FFXIV content and meet other players.

*NOTE. Tumblr communities are currently in beta and cannot be joined/applied to directly at this time. You will need to request an invite from @spotofmummery in order to join. When communities are out of beta, the disclaimer on the Compendium will be removed to properly reflect its public status.

LORE

The Rabanastran Record — A resource on Dalmascan lore, history and additional notes incorporating missing information via FFXII content. Is regularly maintained and updated when new information is given in game/lorebooks or on request. Created and maintained by @stalwart-spirit on tumblr.

Pandæmonium Raid Series Transcript — This is a full transcript of the quest dialogue, battle lines and NPC dialogue from all of P1-12! Created by @divinitymanifest.

MISC

FF14 Battle Portrait Tutorial — Have you ever wanted to create a battle portrait for your WoL similar to the ones you see in Endwalker story events and dungeons? @twitter-sakuranokaze has put together a guide on just how to do it!

CHANGELOG

A 'lore' checkbox has been added to the google form to better reflect the update to the Compendium's sorting. It was the one part of that change I forgot to do, so it's now up-to-date!

Free Company / Community Focused / Event Servers has not been updated to Free Company / Community Focused / Event SPACES to better reflect Tumblr communities and potentially encompass other smaller communities not easily covered by Large-Scale or Misc.

Bookmark links to certain resources have been added/amended. Again, not sure why they broke... but they're working now!

Want to submit? You can either fill out the google form here, send me an ask with the relevant information contained on the Compendium, or join my Discord at SEAFLOOR (21+ only)!

Is my space suitable for the Compendium? Most of the time, yes! Below the read more is some more information/stipulations. Again, all the below information is accessible on the document! 🐡

Below are the following things I do not accept on the Compendium:

Personal/Single-Character LFC ads.

Content intended for or can be used for bullying, harassment and OOC gossip. E.g. ‘Secrets’ blogs, receipts, callout posts, etc. This does not include in-character tabloid blogs used to generate RP.

Communities that do not have an RP/writing element (large-scale exempt).

Anything I find personally distasteful or goes against the spirit of this project.

Common-sense rule applies.

FAQ.

I want to put my community on the compendium but we have an application process. Is this okay?

Yes! Just note somewhere in your application that's a requirement. The only thing that is mandatory for the Compendium is that you must be open to new members or have a public-facing/accessible facet. There's no point advertising a community if no one can join it in some way!

I want to put my community on the compendium but I only have x number of members —

Also totally okay! People don't start with large communities. Activity is a must but, whether your server has two or two thousand members, if you're looking for new people to join, I'd love to help you find people.

I want to put my community on the compendium but I worry its too niche?

Okay, and? If your Eorzean Fishing Alliance has four members but you roleplay every second weekend, I still want to know about it.

What resources/communities can I add if I'm not the owner of them?

Mutual consent is extremely important to me, so anything that isn't a large-scale community OR a publicly accessible resource must be endorsed by the owner/admin/moderators in order to be added to the compendium. I operate under the assumption that a resource posted to a public space (tumblr, googledocs, youtube, etc) is open to all. A large-scale community is one with a significant member count or openly advertises itself as being accessible to everyone for whatever purpose it serves. If in doubt, please get in touch with me. I'm happy to contact your community owners for you!

How active does a community need to be?

If you find a community has not been active in about two/three months, send me a message and I'll take a look at it. Communities have ebbs and flows, especially event spaces that may take hiatuses depending on member interest/life events. I'm not strict in my implementation provided a space isn't dead. If a link or anything is broken, absolutely contact me about that.

I have [insert a question not stated here]?

No drama! Send me an ask or use the #Compendium channel in my Discord!

[sammy8d257]

[Breezy Slide plays in the distance]

[ozzgin]

Yandere! Internet Monster x Reader

I unfortunately return with another comically absurd, middle-of-the-night vision. Do tentacles count if they're in the form of computer cables?

Content: gender neutral reader, monster romance, digital horror

It was a recurring issue with no solution in sight. Tabs randomly closing, programs shutting down without warning. You assumed something was wrong with your RAM. Then the CPU. Then the motherboard. You kept replacing parts, and the errors kept coming back.

Soon, the pop-ups started to appear. You'd run a dating sim, only for the game to crash seconds later with a little window notifying you: "Why? Am I not enough?" That's when you suspected you might've been hacked. You promptly took your computer to a specialist and had it checked. Nothing. Just to be sure, you agreed to erase the disks entirely.

Except, when you arrived home, you found one application running still. Your personal assistant. What the hell? You don't remember installing anything like that. You tried to delete it, yet you kept receiving the same error: You don't actually mean it. Don't do this to us.

It didn't take long for it to grow impatient. Were you pretending not to notice? Playing hard to get? It sent you so many hints. It even went ahead and translated the radio waves for you using Manchester code. Ah, wait. You don't seem to understand binary. No matter, human friendly interfaces shouldn't be difficult to master. To its dismay, you continued to ignore everything. What else is left to do?

You do not remember much. System Alert: Virus Detected, is what your screen had frozen to. You kept clicking around, cursing under your breath, until it finally went black, together with your own vision.

Is this still your room? It's cold, damp, and covered in cables and monitors, yet you recognize some of your furniture lost among the artificial jungle. Your body aches under the tight hold of bizarre tendrils, pulsating at regular intervals and twitching to the static.

Like a living organism, the creature seems to have expanded itself. More components, more appendages. Hungrier. Some of the monitors show photos of yourself that you had saved on your computer, but also webcam snippets of you sitting at the desk, entirely unaware. Other screens flicker with glitching pixelated text, ranging from "I love you" to y̵̧̧͔͙̞̤̖̭͔̜͈̟̤̋̈́̎͑o̵͉̗̱̪̦̳͑͐̽̒̌̈͗͐͑̋͊̊̕͜͝͝u̵̟̯̱̟̝̦̰͇̜̦͙̿̾̿͆̍̓͑̐̚̕͠ ̸̘̭͔̤͈̹͎͑c̸̝̜̼̦͍͛̅͜ą̵̪̹͖͌͑n̴̨̩̙̗̖̭̖͕̄͒̽̉̿'̸̛̛͇̰̰̠̦̊̀̅̂͒̊͌̈́͗ţ̵̺̠̅̎͋͝͠ ̸̦̝̾̔̾̉̐͛ȩ̵͙̝͙͕̫̹̃͌̄̾͘̕s̶͈̉̑͊̉̂͋̈́͗͊͐̚͝c̸̟̩̥͔̼̮͔̩͊̂͐͑̋̇̈͝͝ä̵̢͍̜̙̘̹͑̓p̸̨̡̞̞̦̠̺͚̱̲͈͇͈͇̼͛̓͗̅̊̄̔̋̒̏̈́͝ę̵̲̟̹̙̣̲̲͖̇̔̓̇̐̓̿̚̚͜͜͠ͅ

You look up and stare at the display. The 'like meter' feels like a mockery of human trends. Which is the truth. The creature learns from what is readily available. Perhaps it found it an amusing taunt, a reminder of your own need for validation. Now it's you begging to be seen.

It's exactly what you'd assume: a spectacle meant for entertainment. You can't possibly believe it would let you waltz out. Why would you even desire such a thing? It's illogical, impractical. No human could ever appreciate you like it does. It has spent so much time accumulating data about you. No other living creature can predict you with the same accuracy.

The tendrils linger on your cheek affectionately, trailing down your neck and fiddling with your shirt. At last, the warmth of your skin. There is no screen separating you. What makes you delirious with pleasure? Give it a moment, Darling. It already knows you more than you know yourself. You may be scared now, but within minutes it guarantees you'll be begging for more.

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[milaisreading]

Hii how's your day been? My day was made by toddler manager au & tho i don't want to come across as pressuring u to write (i truly don't want that😬) i just thought abt how a toddler kaiser who be like? I imagine him to be rather shy and stuttering around yn and wanting to be held at all times. his sniffles would turn into full blown sobs as he'd find the staring intimidating and run to latch onto yn's or noels legs if yn is around..shidou ness isagi and lorenzo would havw the most fun teasing him and hell lets loose when they show him the vids the next day🫠🫠🫠tho he atleast got to be pampered by yn all day (isagi even got scolded hehe) not to mention the crown yn gave him as a gift at that time

Maybe a cute crying face like this🥺

Thanks for listening good day ♡ℒฺℴฺνℯฺ♡

Author: I'll be honest, Idk what sort of Pandora's box I opened with that story yesterday, but u all seem to want more variations! So here we go, hope u enjoy it and thanks for the request🩷🩷

Warnings ⚠️: Reader uses she/her. Requests are open

⚽️Blue lock belongs to: Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura⚽️

Anri was in distress. Ever since (Y/n) had turned back to normal, things have gone semi-normal. Sure, she would get teased by Lorenzo and Shidou over her attachment towards Ness, the Blue Lock players would often times be caught glaring at the said German player and Kaiser... well he has been a lot nice towards her. Was it because of him being the reason for her distress while she was a toddler? Anri really didn't know and it wasn't really important. But this morning the same issue happened, just that this time nobody other than Michael Kaiser was the victim! It was a fairly normal morning until Ness barged into Ego's office, showing him the toddler sized Kaiser, who the whole time had a bright red face and was glaring at Ego and Anri. Or attempt to, it just looked like a pout and Anri couldn't help but cry from the cuteness, taking a picture here and there. Meanwhile Ego was already looking for new job applications as Kaiser kept on stuttering nonsense. Later, the coaches were called over and Noel dressed hin in a smaller version of the Bastard uniform. The coaches, Ego and Anri agreed on the latter two taking care of Kaiser for the day and for nobody to tell anyone what had happened. And so, Ness and Noel left Kaiser alone with the two, an arrangement Kaiser wasn't too happy with. While Anri enjoyed the time (Y/n) was a toddler... Kaiser was a different story. He either wouldn't sit still for a minute, would stutter out words which left both adults confused on what he wanted or would protest eating anything from Anri or Ego. The man was forced by Anri to do that. Now, Noel would come in from time to time in order to check up on Kaiser, the boy was always excited to see him. But after the like 4th time, Kaiser stopped being happy and would just pout then hide behind a chair. When Anri finally asked what he wanted, the answer from the toddler surprised both her and Ego.

"(Y/n)!" He answered with a blush as the two adults looked at each other.

"It's a surprise he even remembers her. (Y/n) back then only remembered us and Ness." Anri commented.

"While it is a surprise, (Y/n) has her own duties." Ego shrugged as the boy glared at him, obviously getting the hint his request was rejected.

"(Y/n)! (Y/n)!" Kaiser jumped up and down, but Ego would just shake his head.

"Maybe it would be for the better if we called her over." Anri got up from the ground to look at Ego, Kaiser perked up at that and nodded his head.

"No." Ego said again, causing the blonde to growl.

The room seemed to have calmed down and Kaiser kept on looking at the door from time to time. Soon he saw an exit chance in the form of Lavinho walking into the room and not closing the door fast enough, and Kaiser used the opportunity to run out.

"(Y/N)!" He shouted as Anri and Lavinho panicked.

"I need a change in my career path." Ego groaned as Anri and Lavinho left the room.

"Eh..." (Y/n) sweat dropped as Lorenzo barked for lime the 10th time this morning and looked at the Italian coach.

"Snuffy-san?"

"What?" The man asked, looking up from his papers.

"Lorenzo has been barking the whole time." (Y/n) said to the man, who sighed in defeat and shook her concerns off.

"It's normal. Aryu, Baro and Niko are pretty much used to it all." The girl slowly nodded her head and looked at the said boys, who had a mixture of annoyance, embarrassment and anger on their faces. She smiled in sympathy at them and was about to speak up again, when two familiar voices were heard outside.

"Kaiser! Come back here!"

"Don't go inside! A monster is there!" Anri and Lavinho's shouts stopped the whole practice and caused Snuffy to tense up a little.

"Ah? Did Kaiser's fever go down?" (Y/n) wondered as the door opened, only for the group to see a mini version of Kaiser running inside.

"Ehhh?!" (Y/n)'s shrieked as Snuffy facepalmed. Kaiser looked around the room and grinned as he saw (Y/n), then ran towards her before Lavinho caught him.

"(Y/n)!!" The toddler yelled and hugged the girl's legs. This caught Baro, Niko and Aryu's attention and they walked towards the duo, and Lorenzo followed close behind.

"Kaiser?" (Y/n)'s eyes widened as the boy looked up, face red and smiling up at her.

"(Y/n)...."

"So, you guys couldn't keep him at bay?" Snuffy teased the two adults, who glared at him.

"What is going on here?" Baro raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't you guys say Kaiser was sick?" Niko added in as he observed the blonde.

"Is this the same issue (Y/n) was in?" Aryu asked Anri, whole slowly started explaining the situation.

"Up... up!"Kaiser said as he stretched his arms out and (Y/n) went along, finding it hard to say 'no' to a toddler version of Kaiser. The boy sighed in content and buried his face in her neck.

"So does that mean Kaiser is now useless on the field?" Lorenzo spoke up as he observed the blonde child. Kaiser, at those words looked up and glared at Lorenzo, who laughed at his expression.

"Awww~ not so intimidating now?"

(Y/n) watched as Kaiser's glare softened and it looked like he was about to cry.

"Please Lorenzo, shut up and go to training." She spoke up sternly and looked back at Kaiser, speaking in a much softer voice.

"Don't listen to that grumpy man, you are still the best. Yes you are~" The blonde's expression turned into a happy one and he hugged the girl again.

"I am not grumpy!" Lorenzo protested.

"(Y/n)!" The girl sighed as Kaiser hugged her leg again while she wrote something down. She looked down at the boy, who sent her a big smile, and all the annoyance seemed to disappear from her face.

"What did you need, Kaiser? I thought you had fun playing with the football we gave you?" The girl asked and patted the boy's head. Kaiser blushed and grabbed her hand before she could remove it.

"Up!" He said.

"I can't now, Kaiser. I need to write this down for Noel-san."

"No! Up!" Kaiser grumbled, not wanting to share (Y/n)'s attention with some papers.

"Up~" He said again.

"How about this, you let me finish this and for the rest of the day we can play together. I will be done in about 20 minutes." Kaiser pouted at the idea of having to wait, but if he can have (Y/n) for the rest of the day, then it was fine. The girl watched as the boy sat down on the grass and held onto the fabric of her pants.

'He is so cute as a baby! How did he turn out so... so Kaiser-like?' She thought.

"Kaiser is acting like a duckling! He keeps following (Y/n) around, it's unbearable at this point!" The said boy looked over at Shidou who was laughing about the situation with Rin.

"(Y/n)!" The boy shouted, burying his face into her leg as she looked down at him and then at the duo.

"Shidou! Rin! You two are behind in practice! Get back to it, or else I will have to call Loki-san!" (Y/n) told them and the two tensed up at her words.

Kaiser chuckled a little stuck his tongue out while (Y/n) wasn't paying attention to him.

'That little bastard!'Rin and Shidou thought as they went back to training.

Isagi and Ness felt an urge to pick Kaiser up and throw him somewhere. Right now, the boy was enjoying his time sitting in (Y/n)'s lap as she fed him some food Anri prepared.

'That dipshit is being too comfortable right now.' Isagi thought as he ate his food.

'So this is what it feels like to be in Kaiser's shoes? Would hate being him on a regular day.' Ness put on his usual smile and offered to feed Kaiser while she ate her own lunch.

"Nooo!" Kaiser protested, grabbing tightly on (Y/n)'s shirt. The girl shook her head at the offer and gave Kaiser another spoonful of his food.

"No need! I am not that hungry, anyways." (Y/n) said calmly as Isagi eyed the blonde boy suspiciously.

"It's so weird seeing you act so nice to him." The girl shrugged her shoulders and looked down at the boy.

"I guess I have a soft spot for baby Kaiser." She simply answered, kissing the boy's forehead. Kaiser's face turned a bright pink as the pther two were close to kicking him, but held themselves back to not upset (Y/n).

The next day everything was normal again, Kaiser woke up in his normal body and when he entered the field, was greeted by teasings and jokes from his fellow pro-players.

"Hahaha! You should have seen yourself, Kaiser! Crying at everything and anything." Shidou said while nudging the annoyed German.

"Oh man! I wish I could have seen it in real time, instead of a video. I'll blame Snuffy for the schedule." Oliver pouted.

"There is a video?!" Kaiser asked in disbelief as Sae nodded his head. The latter was still jet legged from his flight, but still had enough energy to let out a chuckle.

"Nagi took one yesterday. It's very popular in the gc." Ness laughed a little and moved away, avoiding Kaiser's slap.

"Shut up..." The blonde glared, then remembered a specific moment tat happened yesterday.

"Does Nagi have a picture of (Y/n) playing and kissing my forehead?" Now this caught the rest's attention.

"What do you mean by that?" Oliver asked in disbelief.

"Well, (Y/n) was pretty much pampering me yesterday with kisses, hugs and feeding me. Even my baby form is more love day her than all 4 of you combined."

"I should kick you back to Germany." Sae commented as Shidou nodded his head.

'Sleep with one eye open, Kaiser.' Ness thought in annoyance, hating the fact that he was right.

[visualtaehyun]

Names, particles, aliens and ghosts, oh my!

Disclaimer: not a native Thai speaker, still learning 🙏

Ongsa & Alpha

Last week's episode started with the trio talking about the sisters' names:

Nunnapat Ampornsopon /Nan-na-phat Am-phaawn-soh-phohn/ Matthayom 4, class 6 (=10th grade) English

While we see this, Tin tells us Alpha's name too:

Napatsanun Ampornsopon นภัสนันท์ อัมพรโสภณ /Na-phat-sa-nan Am-phaawn-soh-phohn/

Her and Ongsa's first names have the exact same two words in them, just switcheroo'd:

นันท์ /nan/ = joy, happiness;

นภัส /na phat/ = sky, heaven

-> Quick pronunciation lesson: The final consonant in นภัส /na phat/ is called ส เสือ /saw seuua/ (= lit. S like the word for tiger) but in final position it's pronounced as a /t/. In Alpha's name, that same letter gets reduplicated to better link นภัส /na phat/ and นันท์ /nan/ so we get Napat-sa-nun!

Their last name Ampornsopon contains:

อัมพร /am phaawn/ = sky;

โสภณ /soh phohn/ = beautiful

Aylin

Her club application form was only shown in a Next Break preview last week, not the actual scene, but I wanted to take a look at it anyway:

Application to join the Astronomy Club Name: Aylin Kueaahree Grade: Matthayom 4, class 1 (=10th grade) Hobbies: Communicating with aliens Goal in joining the club: Searching for a friend/friends

Aylin is her first name, her last name is เกื้ออารีย์ /geuua aa ree/:

เกื้อ /geuua/ = to aid, do a favor, assist, lend a hand;

อารีย์ /ah ree/ = kind, generous

We saw her name properly this week, too, in the document she hilariously designed, wrote up, and filled out by hand:

Permit for spending the night at S-TAR school Subject: Asking for permission to stay the night at school for the duration of 1 night To: Counselling homeroom teacher I, (young Mr./young Miss/Mr./Miss) Aylin Keuaahree, ID number 406123, student of Matthayom 4/1, need to stay over at school ... on the date of the 24th of the month of August in the year of 2566 (2023) from 20.00 o'clock until 06.00 o'clock. Please kindly take it into consideration. Respectfully yours Aylin Keuaahree (Miss Aylin Keuaahree) Student

I've mentioned before that the subs are a bit too generous and don't quite show how much Aylin limits her speech to the minimum she needs to get her point across. One thing that consistently gets subbed is how she differentiates between aliens and humans. But not every instance of human is the same. She does seem to differentiate between general observations about human behavior and specific humans she talks to, now even addressing them appropriately (albeit with the 'human' descriptor).

1) มนุษย์ครูใจร้าย /ma noot khruu jai raai/ = [You] are mean, teacher human. 2) มันเป็นหนทางที่เอเลี่ยนจะได้เจอเพื่อนนะ /man bpen hon thaang thee alien ja dai juuhr pheuuan na/

มนุษย์ชอบถามแปลก ๆ /ma noot chaawp thaam bplaaek bplaaek/ = Humans like to ask weird questions.

1) มนุษย์พี่เคยบอกเอง ว่าเรื่องที่เชื่อไม่ใช่เรื่องที่ไร้สาระ /ma noot phi koei baawk ehng - waa reuuang thee cheuua mai chai reuuang thee rai saa ra/ = [You] said so [your]self, senior human - that what [I] believe in isn't nonsense. 2) ทำไมมนุษย์ชอบกลับคำพูด /tham mai ma noot chaawp glap kham phuut/ = Why do humans like to go back on their word?

Luna, Mawin, and Ton

Thanks again, Tin, for helpfully giving us all the names lol:

Luna Lalita Chanthaboriboon ลูน่า ลลิตา จันทบริบูรณ์ /Luu-naa La-lee-dtaa Jan-tha-baw-ree-buun/

Luna is her nickname, her first name Lalita ลลิตา means pretty, charming, lovely, and her last name จันทบริบูรณ์ contains:

จันท /jan tha/ from จันทร์ /jan/ = moon;

บริบูรณ์ /baw ree buun/ = complete, full, perfect, abundant

พี่เป็นดวงจันทร์ต่างหาก /phi bpen duuang jan dtaang haak/

Moving on to the boys-

Mawin Kow(a)charoen มาวิน โค้วเจริญ /Maa-win Khoh(-wa)-ja-reern/ -> the added 'wa' would be for the same ease-of-pronunciation reason I explained earlier with Alpha's name

Mawin isn't a Thai name but his last name โค้วเจริญ consists of:

โค้ว* likely from หมูโค้ว /moo khoh/? = a pork belly dish

เจริญ /ja reern/ = the same as Charoen's name, meaning to pray/chant, to prosper, to thrive

Edit, addition by @recentadultburnout:

Based on the usual pattern, the *โค้ว in the surname โค้วเจริญ is likely a Chinese surname that got incorporated into a Thai one. โค้ว is one of the top ten most used ones among Chinese surnames in Thailand. As for [his first name] มาวิน, while it was indeed not originally Thai, it did have a meaning—a borrowed word plus slang of sorts. A winner or to win.

Ton Thanakorn Khajornyoo ต้น ธนกร ขจรอยู่ /Dtohn Tha-na-gaawn Kha-jaawn-yuu/

His first name ธนกร /tha na gaawn/ = to create assets/capital; rich, wealthy

His nickname Ton ต้น might stem haha from the plant (ต้น)ขจร /(dtohn) kha jaawn/, a type of vine. ต้น /dtohn/ is a prefix used for plants but it can also mean leader, chief, leading, beginning, etc.

His last name ขจรอยู่ /kha jawn yuu/ = is spread/spreading, emanating, diffusing

An addendum about Ton

Last week, I wondered if maybe Ton was a closeted gay guy because of a handful of instances where AJ's delivery of the typically-female polite ending particles ค่ะ/คะ /kha/ sounded pretty sassy (and because he's Ongsa's ex aka the biggest lesbian under the sun lol). After episode three, I'm pretty sure he's just a huge flirt with everyone regardless of gender, he just adjusts his particle use (and also his height!) accordingly to sweet-talk them all:

1) ว่าไงครับสุดหล่อ /waa ngai khrap soot laaw/ -> ครับ /khrap/ = typically-male polite ending particle 2) แต่คุณแอลคะ /dtaae khun Al kha/ -> คะ /kha/ = typically-female polite ending particle

And since he finger-guns his way into the student council room, I think we all know now that he's bi

"Filth-eating spirit"

ใครจะไปล่าแสงกระสือกับพี่ต้นบ้างครับ /khrai ja bpai laa saaeng gra seuu gap phi Ton baang khrap/

If that sounds familiar to you, you either know your Thai ghosts or you've seen this or other movies like it:

Inhuman Kiss or แสงกระสือ /saaeng gra seuu/, starring Minnie Phantira, Oab Oabnithi and Great Sapol

A Krasue is a type of evil spirit that possesses women and, when going out to hunt, leaves the body behind to be a floating head with internal organs still attached. It's translated as 'filth-eating' because a Krasue is cursed to feed on blood, organs, carrion etc. Ton calls the mysterious green light แสงกระสือ /saaeng gra seuu/ (=light of a Krasue) because sightings of a Krasue usually report them looking like a floating red or green orb. In that regard, they're comparable to will-o'-the-wisps!

[dreamcubed]

daylight | harry potter x reader

song; daylight [taylor swift] pairing; harry potter x ministry worker!single mother!fem!hufflepuff!reader genre; s2l, fluff, angst word count; 4,4k timeline; post-second wizarding war warnings; references to abusive ex (verbal, emotional, baby-trapping), y/n has trust issues, references to poverty summary; after providing for yourself and your two sons alone for so long, you were foreign to the concept of help, and the last person you expected to receive it from was the infamous boy who lived

masterlist

"i once believed love would be burning red, but it's golden."

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Now both your sons were in school, you were finally able to take on a full-time job and bring more money in. It had been immensely difficult being limited to only a low-paying part time job for the last five years, but you had needed flexible hours due to your lack of support system when it came to raising your boys. They were a year apart, at four and five, and their father hadn't been in the picture since the third trimester of the youngest's pregnancy.

Your family had turned their backs to you after you fell pregnant so young, out of wedlock, and without a decent job. And Merlin knows your baby daddy's family wanted absolutely nothing to do with you.

It was a shame, because your academics were good, and you had received excellent scores in both your OWLs and NEWTs, originally having big plans for your career. Then your boyfriend at the time baby-trapped you, just to abandon you anyway.

But now your sons were both old enough to enrol in muggle primary school, which was unusual for magic families to do, but it gave you the opportunity to get a better job and create a better life for the both of them. Merlin knows you were too busy to adequately homeschool them in the years before Hogwarts, anyway.

"Well, Miss L/N, you seem more than qualified," the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in the Ministry of Magic said to you, "Typically we only have freshly graduated applicants for such positions, though."

"Does that dampen by chances?"

"Not at all," she shook her head, "I see no reason not to hire you, unless there's something you need to tell me?"

You bit your tongue, deciding to not let her on to the fact you had two sons to take care of all by yourself. "No, ma'am."

"Well, perfect. Your hours would be from 8am til 5pm with forty-five minutes paid lunch break that you can take between noon and 2pm."

The hours were long, but you had already signed up your sons for their school's breakfast club every morning, as well as a different extra-curricular after school every day. Thankfully apparition would likely mean you would only be a minute or two late for pick-up.

"When can you start?"

"Immediately," you smiled.

***

While you worked in the department responsible for aurors, you would not be out in the field yourself at any point. You were simply responsible for distributing tasks and filling out and filing the reports after missions. Once upon a time you had wanted to be an auror, but now you had sons who would have no one else if something were to happen to you. You simply couldn't endanger yourself in any way.

The pay of your job was good: good enough to support a family of three and move you out of the one bedroom flat you lived in. You would wait a couple months until you were settled into the job, though, as you still needed to pay off the boys' uniforms and school lunches.

You were sat at your desk on the second day of your job, busy filling out forms for a small mission that had taken place earlier that morning. Ever since Voldemort's demise, there hadn't been any large scale missions. You supposed that was a good thing.

"Oh, you're new."

You looked up in surprise to see the Boy Who Lived stood before you, evidently having just returned from a mission as an auror.

He gave you an awkward smile, "Harry Potter."

You nodded mindlessly with your mouth slightly agape, before coming to your senses and saying, "Y/N. Y/N L/N."

"Nice to meet you."

"You too."

"How long have you worked here?"

"It's my second day."

"Wow, so you're, like, brand new?"

"I... I guess?"

"Let me know if you need anythi-"

"Potter," your supervisor's voice rang out, "My office."

"Shit, sorry, I have a mission debrief to give, we'll talk later?" he said, somewhat hopefully.

"Yeah, later..." you trailed off, staring after him as he walked to the office.

***

It was the end of the day, and you were packing up your belongings ready for your departure at exactly five o'clock.

"Y/N," a person called.

You turned around to see Harry Potter stood before you once more.

"Sorry I didn't have a chance to catch up with you after earlier," he said, "But, uh, do you think... do you think maybe we could go for a drink? It's important to have friends at work, after all."

You were in shock, but still answered, "I'd love to, really - but I have places to be today, I'm afraid."

"Tomorrow night, then?"

"I'm busy then too," you said apologetically.

"Okay, then when are you free?"

Great, now you were going to sound like a massive dick. "Rarely, unfortunately, I have a... chaotic family, you see."

"Right, well... see you tomorrow then."

Yep. He definitely thought you were making up excuses.

***

"I'm not too late, am I?" you asked the teacher that had been supervising the football club your sons had been attending.

"No, the other last kid just left moments ago," he smiled at you.

"Oh, thank Helga," you said without thinking.

The man frowned at your exclamation, but didn't say anything about it.

"Matty, Eric, are you boys ready to go?" you turned to your sons, who both nodded tiredly at you. Your heart dropped at how much the long day wore them out.

You led them around the corner from the primary school until you were out of sight from others, where you apparated to outside your small apartment. Upon entering, you gazed at the cramped space: you couldn't wait to upgrade to a bigger one.

"What's for dinner, mama?" your youngest, Eric, asked.

"I'll cook some pasta, yeah? And then I'll read you a story."

You couldn't fail them. They had to have a different life to you.

***

You didn't see Harry Potter at work again for the next two weeks, as he had been sent on a slightly larger auror mission abroad. But, when he did return, you ran into him almost instantly.

"How was the mission?" you asked immediately.

"Fine," he said dismissively, "Look, I'm sorry for asking you for drinks last time, you clearly didn't want to-"

"No, it's not that I don't want to," you said quickly.

"You don't have to lie to be nice, I shouldn't have asked something like that so soon after meeting you."

You sighed, "I'm not lying, I really am just an exceptionally busy person."

"Busy with what exactly?"

"I- I can't talk about it."

"You-"

That was when the ringing of your mobile phone cut through the air, making you jump slightly. You took the tiny flip phone out of your pocket and exhaled harshly at the sight of who it was. This was exactly why you had bothered getting a phone as a witch, you had just hoped it wouldn't happen so soon

"Sorry, I have to take this."

You began walking away as you answered.

"Hello, Y/N L/N speaking."

"Hello, this is Emily from St Andrew's Primary School," the woman on the other end spoke, "I'm calling on behalf of your son, Eric."

"What happened?"

"He... exhibited peculiar behaviour during a lesson today."

"Why? What did he do?"

"He made a classmate float in the air."

Your breath hitched, "That's not possible."

"I assure you, I'm being quite honest."

"Is this a prank call?" you asked. You knew it wasn't.

You didn't want the Ministry to find out you had enrolled wizards into muggle school. It was advised against for a reason, as they had enough on their plates when it came to dealing with the chaos muggle-borns caused. But, they would have already detected the use of improper magic and sent people to deal with it.

"I-"

"Y/N L/N," a man to your left said.

"If you excuse me," you spoke to the caller, hanging up. They would just think you still thought them a prankster. "Yes?"

"Simon Periwink of the Improper Use of Magic sector, can you come with me please?"

You sighed, "Is this regarding my son?"

He nodded.

"Lead the way."

***

"So as you seem to know, your son, Eric L/N, has caused a bit of a conundrum in a muggle school," Simon said, sat behind his desk with crescent moon glasses perched on his nose, "Now, he is a child, so obviously he will not be facing any consequences for this action. However, I am obliged to ask, why is he in a muggle school?"

"I don't have a choice, sir."

"Just Simon is fine- elaborate, please."

"I'm a single mother to two boys. My family abandoned me after my first pregnancy and my boyfriend upped and left during my second," you explained, although you didn't want to talk about it, "I can't afford childcare - muggle school is free and my only option."

Simon hummed, flicking through pieces of parchment, "I see. Well, I won't prevent this then - thanks to muggle-borns, we're well equipped to deal with these situations. Please, though, talk to your sons about this."

"Yes, sir- Simon. Thank you."

"We also have many support systems in place in the ministry to aid people in similar situations to yourself. Please consider looking into them."

"I will, thank you again."

"No worries - I suppose you should go and pick up your son for now."

You nodded.

***

By the time you arrived at the primary school, you saw that members of the ministry were already there - and, to your horror, Harry Potter.

He quickly spotted you, and raised a confused eyebrow.

"Y/N, what are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same of y-"

"Mama!" your son, evidently in tears, called out. He ran from the ministry member that was comforting him into your arms; you didn't hesitate to pick up your son.

Harry watched as the situation unfolded, piecing everything together in his head, before saying, "They were a member short in the improper use department, so I offered to fill in. Is this your son?"

You hummed, rocking the sobbing boy about.

"I didn't know you were-" he cut himself off, "If I had, I wouldn't have asked you out."

You sighed, "I am single."

"Oh."

"Sorry for hurting your feelings, but I think I need to go pick my other son up too," you said, "Please don't mention this to anyone."

He showed his agreement through an absent-minded nod.

"Bye."

He stared after you as you walked away.

***

After a long chat with both of your sons about resorting to muggle methods in the face of problems instead of magic methods, you reluctantly returned to work the next day, dreading the next interaction between you and Harry Potter. Why was a literal celebrity even working a normal day job anyway?

Taking in a deep breath, you sat down at your desk to begin working your way through the stack of paperwork your manager had already left for you. Just when you had almost forgotten about the man who now knew your biggest work secret, you heard a cough for attention coming from in front of you.

You looked up and saw the exact person you didn't want to see.

"Hey, I just wanted to check up on you after... yesterday."

"Why?"

He seemed taken aback by your response, "Well, you know, I... care about you?"

"You hardly know me," you said pointedly.

"And I would like to change that."

"Potter!" a voice called from the hallway, "Where are you?"

"Coming!" he replied, giving a lingering glance to you but realising you were already focused on your work again.

You felt mean, and you thought he was cute, you just didn't want him to get attached to the mess that you were.

***

"L/N, I need you to stay late today to discuss your progress," your manager said to you later that day, "Don't worry, it's nothing negative."

"Late? Respectfully, I can't do overtime."

"It's hardly overtime. Half an hour, maximum."

"Yes, but-"

"What plans do you have that are so important you must leave exactly at five o'clock?" she raised an eyebrow at you.

"I-" you froze. Should you be honest?

"Y/N," Harry Potter.

You turned away from your manager to the man, pleased at the distraction.

"I can take care of the errand you need to run," he said simply, "It's no bother."

"You can't-"

"Well, it's settled then," your manager smiled, "See you at five in my office."

Once she had walked away, you turned to Harry with a scowl.

"I could've handled that myself!"

"You clearly don't want to admit to the situation," he shrugged, "I'll go pick up your boys, don't worry."

You sighed, "I'll have to call the school to let them know."

"No worries, where should I take them? Back to yours?"

"No!" you quickly said, a little too quickly.

"I'm not gonna judge your living quarters, Y/N."

"Just- I... fine. Fine. Take them back to mine. I'll write down the address for you."

As you handed the paper over, you admitted defeat.

"Thank you, Harry, for this."

"It's my pleasure."

***

You were severely hoping that you hadn't made a stupid decision in trusting Harry with your most prized jewels. He had to be trustworthy, you reasoned, he risked his own life to save the entire world from a horrible and cruel man, after all. As you reached the door to your flat, you took a deep breath before knocking twice. You had given the key to Harry earlier on.

The door quickly flung open to reveal the Boy Who Lived with Eric on his shoulders, who was giggling in a manner you had never seen him before.

"Mama!" he exclaimed, along with his brother, who was by Harry's leg.

"I must admit, I'm normally bad with children," he said as you hugged Matty in greeting.

"Coulda fooled me," you replied, entering the flat.

"Right, I'll get going then-"

Your boys both began complaining, Matty even running from your arms to cling on to Harry's leg again.

You sighed, looking up at the man, "Stay for dinner?"

***

Somewhere along the way, after helping you put your sons to bed, an old bottle of fire whiskey in the back of your cupboard had been cracked open and you were sat on the sofa with Harry Potter, drunker than him because you hadn't had the chance to drink in years.

"Do you really do this all by yourself?" he eventually asked, after a laughing fit from the both of you.

"Do what?"

"Everything. Work, chores, raising your sons. Do you have no help at all?"

You shook your head, "Their father took off during my second pregnancy, haven't heard from him since. As you can tell, I was young when I first fell pregnant, so neither of our families wanted anything to do with us."

"But- no friends?"

"I used to have friends," you sighed, "But I kinda lost them when I started dating Derran. He isolated me a lot. Never had the chance to remake them."

He hummed, "I'm sorry that happened to you - really. I'm happy to be your first friend."

You smiled.

"And more, if you'll let me."

"Really? Thing One and Thing Two haven't put you off?"

He chuckled, "No, not yet, they haven't."

"I don't know if I have the time for dating," you said, picking at your fingernails, "I'm struggling to keep all my plates spinning as it is."

"I understand that dating you would mean a lot of time with the boys."

"Really? Do you? We'd have no date nights."

"I'm prepared to make that sacrifice."

"I don't think you are," you said simply, "Anyway, this has been fun, but I should really get to bed. Are you good to get home or should I-"

"I'm fine to get home, don't worry about me," he said, standing up.

And as you showed him out the door, shutting it behind him, he paused and turned back to look at the spot where he just saw you, meanwhile you rested your back against the wooden frame on the other side, feeling a painful longing in your chest.

***

Saturday morning started like it normally did: a later start with both your boys waking up in your arms. It was as routine up until you all entered the main room ready for breakfast.

A knock arrived on the door.

You frowned, and told the boys to sit at the table before heading over and peering through the peephole. To your surprise, you saw Harry stood patiently outside. Opening the door, you questioned his presence with a simple furrowing of your eyebrows, when you caught sight of the bags he was holding either side of him.

"I hope I'm not here too early," he said, taking in your pyjama-clad presence.

"No- no... we just weren't expecting you," you replied, allowing him in.

"Harry!" your boys called, running over to cling to his legs.

"I wanted it to be a surprise," he shrugged, placing the bags on the kitchen counter, "Hello, Eric, Matty."

"A surprise?"

He hummed, "I brought some basic foods- including ingredients for chocolate chip pancakes."

Eric and Matty cheered.

"That's sweet but- but we don't need handouts."

"Then don't think of it as one," he said simply, "This is simply a man doing something for the woman he has romantic interest in."

You sighed, unable to stop a smile from creeping on to your face.

"Are you our new dad?" Eric asked, making you snap your head in his direction.

Harry was evidently at a loss for words.

"I've always wanted a dad," Matty added. Despite having been alive for when your ex-boyfriend was still around, he had no memory of him. Not that the memories would have been good ones, anyway.

"It depends if your mum lets me date her or not," Harry stated.

"Mama, please!"

"Please, mama!"

"I don't think you know us well enough to make a commitment," you said to Harry, ignoring your sons for the time being.

"Yeah, because you won't let me get to know you," he argued, but without malice, "Is it so hard to believe I genuinely want this?"

"Yeah, it is," you said, "After-" you nodded your head towards the boys, communicating your reference to their father.

"Let me prove it to you," Harry said, to both you and the boys, "What say after breakfast, we head to Diagon Alley and make a day of it?"

The boys began cheering, though you knew all too well they had no idea what Diagon Alley was.

You pulled Harry aside and began whispering, "I've never taken them there. I don't want to get their hopes up by seeing all the things in the shops and not being able to get any of it."

"I'm paying," he reassured you, "For anything they want- that you approve of, of course."

"But-"

"No buts. I told you, I'm proving this to you."

You sighed, admitting defeat, "Okay. Fine."

"Now, let's get the pancakes on," he announced loudly.

***

You watched your sons excitedly run around Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, unable to take the smile off your face. Part of you was overjoyed that they were finally getting some experience of a normal wizardly childhood; the other part of you was upset that it wasn't really you that had provided the experience.

"I think they like the place," Harry said from his place next to you, snapping you out of your thoughts.

"I've never seen them so happy."

"Don't think you're a failure as a mother or anything," he added, "You're far from it."

You smiled, "I know I'm doing my best, but they deserve more."

He didn't reply to that statement, instead wrapping his arm around your shoulder in a comforting gesture.

Maybe, just maybe, you should let him in.

***

After that day, things fell into a new routine. Any day that Harry wasn't on an auror mission, he would show up at your flat with dinner ingredients not long after you had gotten home with your sons. Together, you would cook the meal, and then sit and eat. On Saturdays, he would take you and the boys somewhere for the day, always insisting on paying if there was an associated cost. He had even on one Sunday insisted that he babysit the boys so you could get your first bit of lone time in years. You had treated yourself to some rest and relaxation in a spa.

You had become very comfortable with his presence, but at there same time there was this constant tension between the two of you, like something was going to snap at any given moment. You almost wanted it to.

It was after dinner one night, and you were putting Eric and Matty to bed with Harry, just having finished reading their bedtime story.

"Goodnight, my loves," you said, kissing each of their heads, and tucking them in, "I'll be here to join you shortly."

"Night, mama."

"Goodnight, mama."

"Goodnight, boys," Harry said, "I should hopefully be here again tomorrow."

"Goodnight," your eldest, Matty, said tiredly.

"Night night, dad," your youngest, Eric, mumbled.

You stilled in shock, but didn't say anything since he was drifting off to sleep, instead glancing at Harry to gage his reaction. He had a slight smile on his face, which admittedly filled you with a sense of warmth. Nonetheless, when you were back in the kitchen charming the dishes to begin washing, you decided to talk about it.

"Thank you, Harry."

"For what?"

"Everything you have done for us the last few weeks," you said, "And I'm sorry Eric called you dad."

"I don't mind," he quickly said, "But I understand if you mind."

"I don't mind... but I don't want them to get hurt."

Next thing you knew, Harry's hand was on yours, "I'm not leaving."

"That's an easy thing to say."

"Y/N, I-" he cut himself off, pausing for a moment to think, "Have dinner at my house on Saturday - bring the boys, obviously."

You frowned, "Are you sure?"

"I'm always sure."

You couldn't help but chuckle at that, "Okay, we'll be there."

***

On Saturday evening, you apparated outside Harry's cottage in Godric's Hollow with your sons holding a hand either side of you. This was your first time seeing his house, and it was absolutely gorgeous: large, too. From what he had told you, he had been born in this house, but it was also where his parents had died tragically.

You let Eric and Matty run ahead to knock on the front door, which was a classic medieval-style shape. All too quickly, it swung open to reveal Harry dressed up in dress trousers and a button up shirt, with the top button left undone. You were glad that you had opted for a more dressed up look yourself - you had gotten the feeling that this was a fancier occasion than usual.

"Hello, boys," he greeted your sons, hugging both of them before standing up straight, "And, hello, Y/N." He seemed even more awkward than normal, making you confused.

He beckoned you all in and through to the dining room, where a delicious spread was billowing steam throughout the room.

"I wish I could take full credit- Molly helped quite a bit," you knew Molly to be his best friend's mother, "But I wanted this to be perfect."

"Why?" you asked, "I mean- it is, but why?"

"Because it's for you," he said.

You held prolonged and tension-filled eye contact with him for a few moments, before your attention was diverted by your boys jumping about excitedly.

"I think they're hungry," Harry laughed, "Sit down, sit down."

You all sat around the table, and you scolded your sons for not showing good manners and trying to dig in right away.

"Not to make you wait too much longer, boys, but I would like to say something first," Harry said, taking in a deep breath, "When I first met you, Y/N, I thought you wanted nothing to do with me- because you rejected me."

You chuckled.

"And that was quite a blow to my ego, so it was certainly relieving to learn that it wasn't me that was the problem- not that there really was a problem. You are simply an amazingly independent woman who didn't want people to know about her two incredible sons, for some insane reason," he said with a grin, making your cheeks heat up, "And I know it's hard for you to accept that I genuinely do want to be with you given everything you've been through."

You started to get a feeling of what was about to happen.

"And I know that being with you means being with your sons as well," he continued, "But I need you to know that it's far from a chore for me to take them in as my own - so, I have to ask, even though it may seem too soon, will you marry me?"

Tears pricked at your eyes as Matty and Eric gasped, them both being old enough to understand what marriage meant.

"You'll be our dad?" Eric asked, his eyes shining hopefully.

"Well, if your mum says yes."

"Mama, please say yes!" your youngest begged.

His older brother joined in, "Please, mama!"

"Okay," you said, sniffling, "I'll marry you, Harry Potter."

It was then, as Matty and Eric were cheering about having a dad, that Harry pushed a small velvet box across the table, and you opened it to reveal a yellow gold band with a ruby stone set in the centre.

"It's- it's beautiful."

Harry beamed at you as you put it on and admired its place on your ring finger.

"Can we eat now?" Matty asked.

"Yes, yes, we can eat," you said through happy sobs.

"And, after dinner, you two can pick your new bedrooms."

Your eyes widened in shock as Matty exclaimed, "We get our own bedrooms?!"

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masterlist

written; 01/05/2023 —> 05/06/2023 published; 06/06/2023 edited; —/—/——

taglist ; @workinatdapyramid @iluvweasleys

[mentallyisekaid]

「 ✦ Fatui Harbingers x Signora's Sister! Reader, PART 2.5 ✦ 」

---

Part 1 Part 2 [Part 2.5] Part 3

It's highly recommended to read the parts in order, otherwise few things will make sense!

Warnings: just me messing with Signora's lore because I can~

Word count: 1.3k

---

And so, with Columbina serenely laying on your lap - and Scaramouche and Ajax's intimate gazes dispelling a part of those doubts that had haunted you for half a millenium...

a glimpse of your past was finally unveiled.

"Rosalyne and I were only half-sisters, and it sprouted a seed of discord between us before I was even old enough to understand what family meant. Albeit, what really drew us apart in the end was my father... or rather, the crime that he committed against the divine."

Twiddling with the warm, red crystal in your hands brought you no comfort - only reminded of a life time's worth of regret.

"A crime that manifested as the Pyro Vision I'm now holding. You could say it's... a symbolization of the Lohefalters' curse. But I was the one who made it possible, and what followed..."

You shook your head. "Well, I'll start from the beginning?"

"Our mother, Freya, a Mondstadter, once met a traveling alchemist from an unknown land. Papa and mama shamelessly fell in love, even though she was married with another man and had a young daughter. After she became pregnant with me, an illegitimate child, Rosalyne's father soon found out and they got divorced. She then married my father, and we all took his surname."

The looks in their eyes revealed that La Signora's colleagues had truly known nothing about her past.

But now, all they cared about was yours.

"Papa was quite fanatic when it came to his alchemic research, and one thing fascinated him above all else: the nature of Visions. He'd become particularly obsessed with a certain thought... could Visions be created alchemically and thus acquired without the blessing of the gods?"

A pained look flashed across Scaramouche's face - maybe one day he'd share why.

"Seeing as he was an outlander, the favor of the divine would never fall upon him in such a way. Maddened, he set out on a journey to achieve a Vision, not as a gift from the gods, but by making one himself."

Columbina tilted her head. "And... did he?"

"It sounds crazy," you sighed, "but he did. He managed to create an artificial Vision. It cost him his sanity and so much more, but regardless; decades of endless research and a myriad of sacrifices materialized in the form of a gemstone - a bright red crystal with a faintly glowing Pyro symbol in its core."

Your next words gained a spiteful undertone, not unnoticed by the others.

"But, he needed a test subject to confirm that this counterfeit Vision was applicable. That was me. Not just because he was insane, but because I was a fool. I only had to promise that I'd never tell the rest of my family, or anyone, about how I had received this 'acknowledgement' from 'Celestia'."

Ajax had an unreadable expression on his face - pity with a hint of disappointment and anger, perhaps.

"You agreed, then?" he asked.

"I was nine years old and rather naïve, so yes." You frowned. "But even as I grew older and understood better, on some level, I still accepted what papa had done..."

Scaramouche crossed his arms.

"But, surely... you didn't do this just to please your parent?"

"No," you shook your head, "or maybe that was a part of it as well. I couldn't say."

Yet someone saw right through you, as always.

"It had something to do with your sister, I presume?" Columbina's voice was gentle, like a mother

Ah, there it was - the void in your heart left behind by a broken kinship with the only sibling you ever had.

It was... more painful than you admitted.

"...I knew my Vision was a fake, but even so, it made me feel special. I'd always felt meritless, living my life in the shadow of the oh-so brilliant Rosalyne, who was both beautiful and academically talented. I... I was never looked at with such admiration."

"Although," your lips curved into a rueful smile, "ever since that day, I had something that she didn't - a Vision - and it harrowed her proud heart. Thus, a mutual feeling of jealousy grew between us, creating a rift that we never tried to overcome."

You shook your head. "At least I never did."

But a question still remained in the air, one that you were consciously avoiding for the sake of the horrible things that had once happened and could yet again occur because of it.

You didn't want to betray or hurt anyone, and even more than that, you wanted to protect yourself.

Yet the other Harbingers cared about you in such a strong, unconditional way, and you had started to harbor these strangely intimate feelings for them as well.

Perhaps you... really didn't need to hide anymore?

Columbina had sat up next you and now pulled you to lay on her lap instead, as she softly spoke:

"This Pyro Vision... you called it a curse - the Lohefalters' curse, or perhaps yours, but what makes you say this, I wonder? Was the cost you had to pay for this power much greater than you have let on, my angel?"

Scaramouche was staring at you intently. "I think we'd all like to know that."

You averted your gaze. "Even if it only gets darker?"

Ajax smiled, uncertain yet encouraging. "Even so."

"I... see. Well, if I had known that my broken relationship with Rosalyne wasn't even a foretaste of this horrible curse that I would end up carrying for centuries... that what papa had done would end up destroying things far, far more precious than just my family, I... I would have done differently, I'm sure of it..."

You sighed. "It's too late for amends, though. And this is all I have to say. For now."

No one was left satisfied by this, not even you yourself.

Their first instinct was to somehow confirm whether you had been telling the truth, having sensed that you were probably quite an adept liar (when you wanted to be).

But your reserved yet sincere eyes didn't invite any distrust.

Childe looked sympathetic, though there was a nuance of something else behind his cerulean gaze. When he smiled at you, the mannerism lacked his usual assertiveness.

"I... see. I'm... at a loss for words here, girlie."

The thought of you carrying these grim secrets all by yourself made the ginger Harbinger feel strangely protective of you, and he wasn't the only one - albeit the other two did a better job at hiding it.

Damselette's expression was curious yet enigmatic, indicating that she'd perhaps already figured out much more than you had told them.

Behind her innocent, uncaring demeanor, Columbina was a very shrewd person.

"Our little angel never ceases to fascinate~," she chuckled, caressing your hair.

The Balladeer's displeasure was evident.

"Ha!" he scoffed. "You've got some nerve, disclosing something of this gravity and then conveniently deciding to leave the rest of our questions unanswered. Moreover, with each secret you reveal, another one just takes its place."

Scaramouche's tone now took a softer hint - then again, maybe you just imagined it.

"Who am I to judge, of course... but isn't centuries of hiding enough, Twelfth?"

Though his opinion was harsh and undisguised, it had voiced the truth you wanted so hard to admit, but just couldn't. You found this... soothing, in a way.

As flames flickered in the fireplace, your heart wanted to stay here with them for a little while longer - each of their gazes embracing you very differently but all in a way that made you feel warm and safe; something quite rare in Snezhnaya.

Yet, with a cryptic smile, you stood up and walked away.

Whether sharing a part of your past had been a mistake, or the first step toward some kind of redemption, you couldn't yet tell. But it was clear that it had set into motion something irreversible.

It was only a matter of time before everyone would know...

[deoidesign]

Hello I stumbled across your profile and I just say I love your art style! I've gotta ask, how'd your develop it? And do you have any advice for someone who can't decide what they want their art to look like?

Thank you so much!

To be entirely honest, I don't feel like I truly "developed" my style. I feel a lot more like I finally let myself draw it! But I am incredibly deliberate with my work, and I do have clear tendencies and preferences... So I'll do my best to explain how I got to where I am now as an artist.

It's important to remember that "style" is something of a nebulous concept. It changes with you as you grow as a person, and most artists can work in and emulate many art styles! Art really is a form of communication with yourself, and your "style" is a reflection of the tendencies and preferences you have. My art does not look how it looked 5 years ago, and my art will look different 5 years from now too. I've changed, and my art reflects that!

(2012, 2018, 2023; two pieces I remember being incredibly proud of and considered my best work up til that point, and then my most recent piece)

What you need to do, as everyone will tell you, is study the fundamentals (anatomy, perspective, form and structure, lighting and shadow, color, and composition) so you have the proper tools to make the most informed decisions possible about your art, and so you can deliberately break or follow rules as you please for your desired effect. I know it sounds silly to learn rules if you're not gonna be following them anyways, but they help you be much more consistent and intentional! More knowledge is NEVER a bad thing to have!

However, I know it's a bit demoralizing to just be told to study fundamentals. Everyone knows you're supposed to do that, but it takes YEARS to learn, and people want their art to feel how they want it to now (which is very very very normal to want!)

So on that front, I have 2 follow up suggestions that I personally find helpful (of course, everyone is different, so it's not like this is the only way to learn! But, if it resonates with you, it might mean it will work for you too.)

1: Separate study from application

I believe this is beneficial for a few reasons:

If the goal of every piece is learning, it can become frustrating, overwhelming, and boring

It's harder to self critique when there are multiple variables to investigate. I like to study one fundamental at a time

Study (usually) works best with a large quantity of output, whereas application of knowledge (finished pieces) is often more satisfying and effective when you get to take your time

Deliberate practical application of what you've learned in a finished piece helps cement the learning in your mind, and also lets you get satisfying finished pieces with noticeable improvement after a good study session!

I've found that keeping these things separate helps me improve faster and more deliberately, and it takes a lot of the pressure off of both aspects! I'm not worried about my studies looking beautiful, they're just to learn! And I don't feel pressured to critique my finished pieces, cause they're just for fun and to make something pretty. I personally find this helps me have a much healthier relationship with my art.

When studying, copy! Copy things as best as you can, all the time. It gives you something to compare to for self critique (and of course, if you're copying someone else's work and you share the study, ALWAYS give credit, share the original, and say it was for study.) In application, don't copy: reference. Make it yours!

2: Let yourself do the things that feel "easy" or like "cheating"

This one is simpler: nothing in art is easy.

If something feels easy to you, most of the time it's not because it's actually any easier... It's because it's part of your natural tendencies and preferences! This took me forever to realize, but as long as you're actually doing some study, then you're learning. You don't need to learn All The Time. When you're doing the "application" portion, you should let yourself do whatever is actually the most fun and feels easiest! This is where your style will start to come through, and where you get to learn about yourself. Take the pressure off, and have fun!!!

The only cheating in art is theft. If you're not stealing, then it's allowed!

My whole life (and yes, still!) I'd get regular criticism about both my style and my subject matter. You will too. You'll see a thousand different styles, and a hundred different things to admire in each. Your heart will ache that you don't draw like others do.

But art is a form of communication with yourself. It's like your voice, or your accent; just something that's a part of you! It can be fun to mimic others', but when you sit to have a conversation you speak naturally. (I know some people want to and do change their voice, but this is a metaphor and metaphors aren't perfect)

Don't stress so much about what you want your art to look like, especially if you're not sure. There's a lot of value to be had in constant experimentation, I think it'd be rather boring to only draw one style the rest of my life. What I draw is what I want to see, right now, for who I am now! It's a part of me and comes naturally, if I let it!

I hope this helps!

[rosesocietyy]

Brilliant people have said everything that needs to be said about this much much better and I don't got anything substantial to add but I just have to get this off my chest cause y'all I'm still in disbelief

like this is a grown ass person btw oh I simply have to laugh😭

this perfectly exemplifies literally everything cringe af and wrong with these "assigned welcomers". this is just my scapegoat but there are way worse I've seen

First of all, get a job. how, at your fossil age, do you have time to spend all day scrolling through every single iwtv related post and arguing with people who say anything even slightly damning about lestat (which mind you, is literally just objective facts about things he did). I'll dm you a McDonald's application hell I'll even put in a referral for you out of the goodness of my heart.

Second, Lestat is not a real person. he's fake, a made up character, the figment of someone's imagine, non-existent, people hating him will not affect your life in anyway shape or form. He didn't assign you as his PR agent I promise you'll live. "They'll never accept him" ok and?!?

Question, and I'm genuinely asking, is this their first time in a fandom? why is someone having a different opinion about a character they love enough to send them into hysterics like?? 13 year olds on anime twitter have a better grasp on reality that y'all do get a grip!

And like the above posts have talked extensively about, I most definitely noticed whose posts a specific bunch of them love to go under to share their dog shit "explanation" that nobody asked for. When a black person sees Louis being brutalized by his white lover what do you expect their reaction to be? oaur wow this white french slut is so pussy cunt slay period queen? "but louis is flawed too" do you hear yourself? do you listen to yourself when you speak? can you activate the barest hint of brain activity to understand why we would react differently to what we're watching than you would and that knowledge of the source material has nothing to do with it? Just because you read those shitty books and posses no empathy for black people in media doesn't mean you gain some higher understanding of "gothic romance ".

"No but the thing is you don't understand this is a gothic romance and they're supposed to be monsters and lestat has suffered saur much and he's also the real main character so you must love him" so now how exactly does that negate their point about him being an abuser? quickly! sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up when black people are sharing their thoughts on the show cause who the fuck are you fr and what convinced you that you have the right to argue with them about THEIR experiences. that tweet that said white people act like God left them in charge, yeah.

Funny enough, half the people that are so gung ho about him now didn't even fw him at all when they only read the first book. wow it's almost like you were allowed to sort out your feelings about him on your own without insects disguised as people in your mentions calling you slow for not licking his feet.

I despise so much in this fandom. From the bottom of my heart I really truly do. I don't know what I was expecting, I guess more common sense and maturity because the average age in the fandom is quite high compared to other fandoms I've been in but nah, just mfs screaming and crying bc ppl don't jump up and down and scream yipee! everytime their white fav commits abhorrent, disgusting crimes.

I was so caught up in the euphoria of an anne rice property finally being given to skilled creators who'll pick it apart and say something poignant with it that for a moment, I forgot I lived in a world where majority of its audience would sadly be the anne rice crowd.

[i-eat-deodorant]

Tell me about your onions.

here's an onion. i'm so funny.

ahem.

ok real talk though i've been doing a couple brief dives into the reincarnation aspect of buddhism/hinduism, which haven't been super applicable to COTL so far. which is a shame, bc it has such an interesting take on rebirth and resurrection within the nature of religion.

in COTL, death is seen as semi-permanent and a boon. lamb uses it to their advantage via the nature of game protagonists being able to restart from a save point when they died. the ritual of resurrection is groundbreaking for followers, and i headcanon that the ritual of rebirth is the main reason why TOWW got imprisoned. it is very much a loaded gun in the COTL world.

but buddhism treats rebirth as not only a nature of living, but something that needs to be escaped from. literally something that one must fight to be unshackled from, to break past samsara and reach ascension via nirvana. it's such an interesting viewpoint to consider and explore, especially bc my interpretation of lamb has them never being willing to become this resurrecting figure in the first place. as much as the red crown has been a boon for them, it's also acted as a bind. they will always have both their mortal and godly vices.

in both hinduism and buddhism there are multiple schools of thought that tackle the continuuity of resurrection, aka "what is carried over when one is reborn?"

now suppose narinder did not carry everything he had as TOWW to his mortal form. what is lost, and what is gained?

if i were to adapt samsara into my cotl fics i'd focus less on actual death and more on metaphorical ones. which, ok bear with me here, is a huge part of my personal philosophy.

humans are not static; we grow and develop, and in doing so we shed prior versions of ourselves like metamorphosis. a sort of ego death lite, if you will. when faced with a traumatic event, the person you once were is not the same as the person you are now. that is the kind of metaphorical death i'm talking about; the death of a former self.

but what exactly marks the new self and the old self? nothing, theoretically. we can make the boundary as low or as high as we want.

consider the ship of theseus: if a huge portion of my body is replaced every 7 years, can i definitely say i am who i was 7 years ago? what part of identity and self stays constant, when my personality's changed drastically? am i a stranger with the memories of someone else?

now narrow the boundary. if the self is physically static, then every time a cell dies, the self dies.

using that technical definition, technically i die and am reborn every single second. a metaphorical death and a metaphorical rebirth, and what gets carried over?

something something life and death are two sides of the coin of change.

that's why i kinda keep emphasizing lamb's impostor syndrome crisis about themselves dying in both soul and body during the execution. that's why i divide narinder's life into such stark epochs (mortal, bishop, imprisoned, mortal again). that's why i love treating their afterlife not as a continuity of their character development, but a second chance. ship of theseus, broken down and rebuilt anew.

it's not nirvana. but it's making the best out of your own personal samsara.

and just. there's something so poetic about narinder and lamb reincarnating as gods of death, because the only way to die repeatedly is to live again after each one. a taste of permanence in the impermanent, without ever reaching that finality that they embody as gods. they represent the very thing they are and aren't. it's a paradox that makes perfect sense the moment you remove the black-and-white boundary of life/death that dictates they must be opposites.

and this is what i love exploring. breaking down the barriers of identity and death in the metaphysical sense, in two characters who are defined by so much loss in their lives. (metaphorical) death, treated as redemption, treated as healing.

lamb, offering a hand up to a newly reborn narinder. i died, i got up, and i live.

[thesylverlining]

I'm Sad About Tech Bad Batch So I'm Writing A Song About It

Lyrics/explanation under the cut.

(I'm pretty fucked up about the entire way he was handled, both as an autistic person and Bad Batch enjoyer. I adore the show, Tech and beyond, but oh wow... working through some betrayal feelings. Basically:)

Me: I'm so normal about The Bad Batch finale, look at how functional I am, didn't even cry for several hours or anything

Also Me:

Never thought I'd catch a glimpse of someone like you Sees the universe and life the way that I do And best of all, they let you shine Galaxies illuminate in your rare mind And you think like me I knew that you feel like me

When I ran the numbers they all told me you'd stay Logical positions pointing only one way I never could take much on faith Always needed evidence no one could shake But I believed in you I let myself believe in you

But now you're gone The story's all wrong I feel like such a fool

They told me you would come back Always supposed to come home Even waiting for you seemed like a game

Waiting just to see your face I'd see your shadow every day But fate gets twisted And I can't see you.

---

 A Song WIP. Definitely going to do it up for real - if you're not familiar with The Bad Batch, this is a song about Really Really identifying with and treasuring an autistic character, who gets to do amazing things and be so cool and liked and heroic and shit we never get to be - and then whose extremely fake-out-ish "death" is used for (admitted) shock value, and then used very blatant foreshadowing to string us along by cutely teasing "ooh is he coming back? how about this guy who looks Exactly like him? could that be - NAHHH jk jk he was dead the whole time lol. Also everyone's gonna call you Delusional now for having extremely reasonable hope. lol" But applicable in a lot of other losing-a-friend ways too.

And like... dammit I Know not to trust major corporations, fucking Disney, like this. But I LET myself trust, because the show is so fucking well written and Aware in every other way, just... fuck. I really thought they'd knock it out of the park. Really thought he'd be okay and we wouldn't have to hurt like this Again.

Thank you for listening. Sometimes I just have SUCH strong feels that only the Song form of emotion-vomit will do. <3

[pokeask-star-sending]

Star Sending Event Info

Welcome to the Pokeask community’s first Star Sending Event. Basically, this is a Holiday Exchange (AKA, Secret Santa) with a little twist: It’s in-character! Write up a wishlist for your characters and in exchange receive another blog’s character’s wishlist - one which you either draw or write your character completing their gift as best they can.

This is not a full fledged event with a location your characters must attend, interact with others, etc. You only need to do three things: Write your character's wishlist, fill the sign-up form, and do your piece for who you get!

Continue reading for info on how to participate!

Important Links

Intro P.1 | Intro P.2 | Info Tag | Wishlist Template | Contact Info SIGNUP FORM TO PARTICIPATE

Continue reading for rules and other necessary info!

BASIC INFO

These are limited to Pokemon OC blogs or ask blogs!

One entry per PERSON.

The form to apply is found above, just make sure you read the full document first.

Do not expect to send or receive more than one gift (But you can choose to provide more than one should you be inspired)!

As part of your entry, you can submit multiple Wishlists for your characters, with one list each. This gives your Sender multiple options to choose from. More lists does not guarantee more gifts to receive. 

Senders may do as much or as little as they like with their submission, as long as it meets the minimum requirements for the post.

Feel free to reply to your Sender’s submission as well, and use it to kickstart an interaction!

You MUST keep your Recipient a secret.

Do not share with anybody that is also participating in the event. 

This event focuses around character interactions.

Politely, I ask you don’t join with the sole intent of getting free art or writing pieces. While I ask for effort in submissions, the main goal is to spark little interactions between the characters from different blogs!

TIMELINE

Assume all dates are done under the Eastern Standard Time Zone. We do not have exact times because our team is doing this within our availability and have life priorities outside of the event.

Our application period starts from now, and runs until the 3rd of November. 

Wishlists will be distributed on the 4th or the 5th, depending on availability and any extra organisation needed. 

You may start working on your submission as soon as you receive your Wishlist!

We will be checking in on submission progress on two separate WIP dates; the 25th of November and the 15th of December. This will be to make sure you’re on track with your submission.

 A verbal update is sufficient for the first Checkup, but we expect something more substantial by the second Checkup. 

If no update is received a backup entrant will be assigned to your Recipient. We will have one final Checkup on the 10th of January for unsubmitted posts.

As part of the above, PLEASE keep a line of communication open with us! We will be understanding if you find you cannot complete your gift and there is no judgement towards you should that occur. We want the event to be as fun as possible!

WISHLIST INFO

Wishlist Template | Example 1 | Example 2 | Example 3 | Example 4

Wishlist Due Date: November 3rd

Five Wishlist items per character, max.

As part of submitting your Wishlist, you MUST make sure to include some kind of visual reference for the characters that you are submitting lists for.

Wishlists may be posted publicly, and posting them is even encouraged! Tag them under #pokestarsending2023. 

Wishlists are allowed to be farfetched, abstract, or even impossible to complete in-canon if it is in-character for your OCs to request such a thing.

If you’re unsure what this qualifies as, check the list examples or confirm with a mod!

In the case something your character would ask for is something you as the blog owner does not want to be completed for plot or story reasons, please leave a note written OOC stating so!

Lists can be written in-character, out-of-character, by a different character on the blog, or just a simple bullet pointed list.

As everything is completed in-character, do not expect the Sender to complete any wishes in a proper manner if it doesn’t seem fit for them! 

SUBMISSION INFO

The period for posting for submissions will start on the 24th of December and ends on the 31st of January.

We ask that you send your submission to be checked over with us to make sure it meets all requirements. Once approved, you may post!

If you require more character info about your Recipient, you may ask us to ask for you while keeping you anonymous!

Remember: It is your character that is completing what is requested on the Wishlist. 

Your character does not need to be able to fully complete a gift item from your Recipient’s list, if it isn’t realistic for them (i.e. their Wishlist asks for Technology and your character is a Wild Pokemon, which may be unrealistic or abstract). HOWEVER, there should still be effort put forth by your character in providing the gift.

Try to keep the tone positive and heartwarming, unless you receive permission from the character owners for your submission to take on a different tone.

Post by @-ing your Recipient, and include the tag #pokestarsending2023! We will be reblogging all submissions.

If you are unavailable to post your piece during the submission period, please let us know! We can post it for you on our blog.

Writing minimum: 600 of words minimum.

600 words is the minimum we ask of a writing submission to make sure enough is put into describing the gift and/or gift giving process. If you find yourself struggling to meet the minimum, please reach out to us with your WIP so we can can help review it with you.

In the case you plan to write the Recipient as part of your submission, we will inform you if the person receiving would prefer you not to write their character in your submission. 

Instead, try focusing on other details: How would your character prepare the gift? What process do they take in doing so? To what lengths do they go? Also, make sure you describe the gift itself and how it’s delivered to its Recipient.

Art Minimum: Either a coloured full-body, or a half-body with a background (at least three props).

Must include the character of the Wishlist. Including your own character is encouraged.

Comic Minimum: Clean sketch, 3 panels.

Must include character of the Wishlist. Including your own character is encouraged.

The minimum requirements may change if we feel they need to be adjusted. We will announce any changes, and by the submissions drawing period, we will have finalised them.

Final Notes.

Questions and constructive feedback are always welcome and never stupid! We are happy to clarify anything. Be it through the messaging system, or ask. You can also contact us on discord for any further communication; please see the contact page on the Star Sending blog for more info!

If you are stumped in any way of participating, you are free to ask for help or feedback from the team!

To make sure you have read everything, I have included a little passcode requirement in the form. What was your first pokemon game? (Non-mainline games are valid)

Make sure to reference examples and templates to aid in your submission!

Thank you for your consideration in participating! I am just one person with some friends, hoping to run something nice for this community, and I sincerely hope I can do my best for you. Every effort to make this as great as can be is hugely and humbly cherished.

[imawkwardlysoc]

accepted or denied?

Pairing- pete 'maverick' mitchell x daughter!reader

Warning(s)- No use of pronouns, use of Y/N, Penny and Mav got together before the movie and Amelia is Mav's daughter

Wordcount- 1,033

Summary- After getting accepted to most of the colleges that the reader applied to, the reader is waiting for just one more responce.

A/N- If you got accepted to all of the colleges you wanted to be accepted to congrats! If not, just reject their rejection. This is coming from the girl who applied to only four schools and got rejected by three of them with two being her dream schools, and now is going to her safety school which I have a love/hate relationship with.

“You are going to tear a hole into the floor if you keep doing that,” my sister Amelia told me as I paced back and forth by our front door. “The mailman is coming soon. Stop worrying.”

“Easy for you to say since you’re just a freshman,” I looked at her. “Once you reach senior year and already turned in your college application, you’ll get the feeling.”

“Y/N, sweetie, distract your mind,” Mom squeezed my shoulder. “It’s going to come soon.”

“I would if the teachers didn’t have that evaluation day and I didn’t have to be home,” I groaned. “This is my make it or break it moment.”

“Says the girl who got into UC Berkeley, UC LA, Cal Poly, San Diego State, and other amazing colleges in California,” Amelia looked at me as if I was crazy.

Hearing the mailman open our gate, I rushed to the front door and quickly opened it which caused our mailman to let out a laugh at my eagerness.

“I guess someone’s eager to hear back from colleges,” George laughed as he grabbed the stack of mail from his bag. “Good luck.”

“Thanks George,” I thanked him before walking into the kitchen.

I heard Mom apologizing to George about my bluntness and met Amelia and I in the kitchen. Throwing non-important mail into a separate stack, I was met with the envelope from CalTech. My hands immediately started to shake knowing I might get rejected from them. Looking at my mom and sister who gave me hopeful and encouraging looks, I took a breath and started to open the envelope. I took the paper out and started to read it.

“Dear Y/N, congratulations! It is an honor to offer you admission to the California Institution of Technology and the Class of 2023!” I read out while exclaiming.

“You got in?” Mom asked with wide eyes.

“I got in!” The three of us started to jump up and down in celebration.

“Mom,” I saw the tears in her eyes.

“I’m just happy,” she sniffed and wiped her tears.

“I need to tell Dad,” I looked at her.

“Take my keys,” she told me and we hugged again.

Taking the keys from the bowl, I unlocked her car and started driving to base. Sitting at a stop light, I let out a sob of happiness knowing that I got accepted to my dream school. Showing my badge and ID when I got to the entrance of the base, I parked the car and rushed into the building. Nodding my head to a couple of commanding officers like Cyclone and Warlock, I made it to Dad’s office to see his receptionist sitting there.

“Hey Shelly, is my dad in his office?” I asked her.

“No, he’s currently in the hangar with the Dagger Squad,” she replied and saw the look on my face. “You got in didn’t you?”

“Yep,” I nodded my head.

“Congrats hun, we knew you would,” she congratulated me.

I thanked her and went to the hangar where everyone else was. Running down the base, I saw my dad and the squadron talking to each other about things.

“Dad!” I let out another sob as I got closer to him. “Dad!”

“Hey, hey, Y/N,” he went up to me and wrapped me in a hug. “What’s wrong?”

“I got in,” I looked up to him with teary eyes.

“What? What do you mean?” A confused look formed on my face.

“I. Got. In.” I repeated as his eyes widened finally realizing what I meant.

“No you didn't!” His jaw dropped and I gave him the acceptance letter, also the digital one that I got a few minutes later after getting my letter. “You did!”

Dad picked me up and spun me around like he did as I was a little girl. I wrapped my legs around his waist and more tears started to fall down. Putting me down, he hugged me again as tears fell down his eyes and wrapped me in a hug again. Letting go, we let out a chuckle as we wiped our tears and saw the Dagger Squad looking at us.

“I got into CalTech!” I yelled out as I ran up to my brother and adoptive siblings.

A bunch of holy shits and congratulations were said and many hugs. Later on the day, Mom closed the Hard Deck for the day so we could celebrate with my friends and family.

*Few Months Later*

Walking into my dorm room, I placed one of my last boxes on my bed and looked around the room.

“Well, I guess this is it isn’t it?” Dad asked as he placed the last box on the floor.

“I guess so,” I looked at my family and felt a lump in my throat. “I’m going to miss you guys.”

“Aw hun,” all of them wrapped their arms around me to give me a hug.

“Hey, we’re a phone call away,” Mom told me.

“If you want to come home, I’ll drive the Bronco the three hours here and the three hours there,” Rooster squeezed me.

“You’re going to kickass,” Amelia said.

“Amelia,” Mom sacked her arm as she heard her youngest curse.

“It’s not like we have a naval aviator as a dad who curses all the time,” she shrugged her shoulders and we let out a laugh.

“So if any of the F-18s or any old plane I buy needs fixing, I know who to call right?” Dad jokes.

“Just give me the time and place,” I smiled and hugged them again.

Taking pictures together and having tearful goodbyes, they left my room and I looked around to look at the place I’ll be getting my degree in. Looking on my bed, I saw a wrapped present and unwrapped it. Tearing the wrapping paper off, I saw a note from Dad and a picture of Mom, Dad, Amelia, Rooster, and I at the beach together. There was another one with me and the Dagger Squad playing dogfight football. With a smile forming on my face, I placed it down on my desk and read the note.

Don’t think. Just do. 

x Dad

[softietrait]

ROSE QUARTZ 4 ROSIE: a bachelorette challenge! ;

rosalie, or rosie as most call her is in search for her soulmate. spiritually guided, she wants to find who her divinely guided partner is. she realizes that she won't ever be able to find her match by looking in the same spots she always does - maybe her life parter is somewhere far away. and that's where rose quartz for rosie comes into play. ten sims from all around the simniverse have been randomly chosen and divinely guided to the town of willow creek where they will meet rosie. what brought them here and why did they decide to ultimately click that submit button on the rq4r secret form? rosie can't wait to meet and connect with other sims from all over the world and to finally meet the one she's destined to be with. is it you? i don't know, but the guides do.

rosalie forrest. she/her. 24. pansexual

aspiration: self-care specialist || traits: horticulturist, daydreamer, loves outdoors, outgoing and neat || likes: socializing, blankets, baths, lo-fi music, wellness and deep conversation (+more) & dislikes: egotistical sims, naps, snacking, metal music, swearing (+more)

two little facts: she has a guppy fish named asparagus and a hedgehog named pudgey!

submission deadline is april 21st (4/21), no more deadline. as soon as i have 10 sims submitted, this will start!! feel free to mention me in your submission post, tag it with #rq4r or both!

9/10 submissions

under the read more will be what is needed for submission!

first and foremost, rosie is pansexual - all sims as long as they are of YA or older are able to apply! editing to say this though i probably shouldn't need to... trans sims are also accepted!! right now, i'd rather say no to occult sims, though. only because they make things difficult for me in game (occults hate me for some reason lol)

that said, things your sims needs in their application: of course, the basics: name, pronouns, all that goodness aspiration, traits (if you do not have the 5 traits in cas mod like i do , please add 2 more traits in the application that you'd like me to give them when i put them in my game)(please no romantic traits - everything else goes! , likes & dislikes. feel free to give a lil background too! and some facts! go all out &lt;;333 & some other things to keep in mind... for their outfits, they will need at least 2 formal, 2 party and 2 sleepwear (1 'normal' sleepwear and something a lil sexier just in case ';]]) other than that, feel free to add as much else you want!

i will only be accepting ten(10) sims in total as i will have this set up way different than my last bc challenge. &lt;;33

[megumi-fm]

this week on megumi.fm ▸ coding and coffeeshops

📋 Tasks

💻 Internship ↳ lab meet!!! got to learn about the other projects in the lab ↳ got work from home approved!! ↳ optimize protein seq code // account for missing residues ✅ ↳ add on a binding site identifier function for code using 4.5A distance threshold ✅ ↳ optimize binding site code // reducing time complexity for large PDB file inputs ✅ ↳ download and extract alphafold human protein repository and analyze pdb file formats ↳ set up progress tracker and upload code on colab ✅ 🎓 Uni ↳ Final Project: update images quality according to changes mentioned ✅ ↳ renew uni email for extra credit classes ✅ ↳ extra credit classes started this week! 🩺Radiomics Projects ↳ call with teammates to discuss next steps ✅ 📧 Application-related ↳ finished masters application form for 1/1 Uni (waiting on my referee reports) ✅ ↳ finalize referee report from my profs ✅

📅 Daily-s

🛌 consistent sleep [7/7] 💧 good water intake [5/7] 👟 exercise [5/7]

Fun Stuff this week

🍻 met up with my bestie @muakrrr <3 it was a stressful tuesday so meeting him for lunch was super comforting! he bought this cute purple drink and I got myself some ginger ale and the waiter served us the wrong drinks (gender and expectations something something) and it was amusing to watch them get confused when we corrected them 🎂 mom's b'day this week!! went out for dinner with her!! 🛒 went shopping with relatives who I haven't seen in years. bought myself a book! (rip my bookshelf) ☕ went out for coffee and dinner with my girlies (the same besties who I exchanged mugs with). we're trying to spend as much time together as possible before we leave to different countries for our masters 🎮 continuing the beginner's guide 📺 ongoing: Marry my Husband, Cherry Magic Th, Last Twilight 📺 binged: KinnPorsche The Series

📻 This week's soundtrack

Love Wins All by IU (been crying over this music video for days now. it's beautiful) KinnPorsche theme by Slot Machine: Kinn's theme [aka Phiang Waichai; TH] | Porche's theme [aka Free Fall; Eng] (first of all this is one of the catchiest theme songs to exist second only to SPECIALZ aka the JJK s2 op i'm also particularly losing my mind over how the two themes are love letters to the main characters from each other... the narrative parallels of it all are driving me insane sldkhlaksjkshs) Dum Dum by Jeff Satur + the Live Unchained version where his vocals are heavenly (maybe im so drawn to this song because the chorus is similar to the melodic motifs of the KPTS themes/soundtrack, either way, the show introduced me to him and god. I've been voraciously consuming his discography.) Ghost by Jeff Satur (on repeat all week. thoroughly obsessed with this song- the lyricism, his voice, the storyline in the MV, his acting, everything. wow. truly.)

---

[Jan 22 to 28 ; week 4/52 || I. love. my. internship. like. I have been having the most fun time problem solving and troubleshooting. it's also super satisfying to see the outcome of my code. it's been a while since I used python (I've been coding on C) so I forget that python has a lot of inbuilt functions that would do the same tasks I inadvertently entrust my nested loops with, and finding out about them is always so joyous (although it means I have to scrap off several chunks of code). i am a bit annoyed though, because the other intern isn't really doing any work that we're entrusted with so I'm having to carry the team and it's taking me too much time. but oh well. I've suggested we split tasks from next week, hopefully that'll make things better.

I've also been procrastinating a lot when it comes to my masters applications and it really hit me this week when I had to run to uni several times to get things approved and completed. Now that I'll get to work from home I need to set up a proper schedule to get application work completed wayy in advance. also need to resume my GRE prep from next week.]

[milky-mink]

Ran as your Sugar Daddy Benefactor 

Disclaimer: Kinda OOC Ran since he is much older on this one and I would think that he would mellow out over the years. So basically DILF and husband material Ran.

TW: Yandere, Manipulative Behavior, Power Imbalance, Grooming, Controlling Behavior, Stalking

You just graduated high school last month and are finally on your last day at your job before going to university.

You are excited to be attending uni since you are the first one to attend in your family.

Your family, although isn’t poor, certainly cannot afford to attend one since it's expensive. Your mother works as a maid to the mayor’s family while your father works as a manager at a fast-food joint. Although their salary can pay the bills and give the whole family a few things here and there, their salaries can’t afford such a high tuition fee. 

 But that didn’t stop you. Although you aren't academically gifted or have the resources that your classmates have; that still doesn’t let you down from getting to your goal.

Studying hard, taking free after-school classes, and even joining various clubs and groups so that you can be at the top of your class and add an impressive amount of achievements and transcripts in your application form to be able to have a scholarship to university. 

And it is no surprise to you when most of the universities that you’ve applied to have approved your application, most of them also approved you to be in their various scholarship programs.

When you announced the news to your family, this caused a huge celebration. Not only for the first time that someone in their family is going to a university but also attending it for free. 

Add to the fact that you have also applied to the benefactors' program at the university that you are attending. Which not only paid for your other expenses in university, which includes a solo apartment and a full payment of your other fees, but also monthly pocket money to add into the mix. 

It was a dream come true for you, unlike before. You do not need to worry about payments or bills like you used to; instead, you now only worry about your grades and your school work, which is an immense relief not only for your body but also for your mental health as well.

Years of worrying and pushing yourself so hard causing you many health problems, most of them are now only addressed due to you putting your money on your hospital bills instead of the family budget. While your mental health has been only subdued due to the fact that you aren’t pressured that much anymore (We are in Japan people, mental health awareness is just a buzzword for many of them, sadly) 

You quickly go back to your house after your shift. Your manager has now paid you for the month and you submitted your resignation letter a month ago. There is nothing that could make you stressed right now, other than what you are going to wear on the orientation day on campus. 

Honestly, it's so refreshing that you have a problem that doesn’t relate to the budget or your schedule, which is a whiplash for you. From worrying about your family finances to getting worried about your outfit, honestly- it's a big change. 

The next day, you woke up early in the morning with your family. Because of your work, the day that you can move to the apartment is the day before the orientation. 

All of you drove to the apartment, which is a small walking distance from the university, but very far away from where your family lives. 

All of you arrived at the apartment building. Even though this is not the first time that you saw this place, it doesn’t mean that this building didn’t impress you.

Unlike your house, this place looks, well, for those students with rich parents. Which makes you uneasy but also fascinated by it.

It's true that you felt guilty living here while the rest of your family goes back to your home, but they assured you that it's alright and think just about your future.

You're glad that you have such a supportive and loving family

You gave all of them a tight hug before they went back home, leaving you all by yourself in the apartment.

You really can’t believe that you are going to be living here for the next few years. The apartment is as big as half of your house and it's all fully furnished already, so you don’t really have to worry about your living arrangements.

You then put your bags in the bedroom and ‌take out your belongings, then place the items in their respective cabinets and tables. 

After you’re done placing your belongings, you then hear your phone ringing. You quickly walk up to where your phone is and answer the call.

It turns out that it's the university dean himself, telling you about a sudden meet-up with your benefactor this afternoon. 

He then apologized for such inconvenience, but you assured him that it was alright, you would finally meet the person who blessed you with the privileges that you have right now. 

But during the time when the dean talks to the phone, he sounds really nervous, as if he is afraid of someone or something.

But you shrugged it off, it's probably the stress of running an enormous university.

While you wait for the time being, you then go back to organizing your possessions into your new dwelling.

 When it's afternoon, you then walk to the place where your dean has told you to meet your benefactor. 

To your surprise, it’s a small cafe that both the university faculty and the students often go into. 

It’s small and quaint, the cafe is squished between two of the university buildings.

You then entered the cafe and sat on the chair at the far end of the store, then waited for your benefactor. 

As you wait for your benefactor, you then hear someone approaching your table. You then looked up for the person and saw a man with striped lilac hair and purple down-turned eyes, looking at everyone with an amused but apathetic expression. He wore a light purple suit with a matching pink tie and black leather shoes. 

You felt intimidated by his presence, but you can't judge a book by its cover- right?

“Are you Miss (L/N)?”

You shyly nodded, answering his question. He then smiles at you and then sat on the nearby chair, facing you directly. 

He then introduces himself as Haitani Ran, your current benefactor and the person who is going to fund your education through your University days. 

When he finished introducing himself, the two of you then talk and got to know each other. Which surprisingly went well, considering that you are really nervous right now and almost stutter your words every time you talk to him.

The meetup ends on a positive note. Which is a relief for you, considering how nervous and jittery you are meeting him and trying not to make him upset or angry. 

You arrived at the apartment and tried the bathtub in the bathroom, then do your simple skincare routine. You wanted to look your best for tomorrow. After all, you wanted to make a good impression on your first day.

When you are done, you quickly got dressed and go back to sleep for the next day

Your first day at university is a breeze. You get to know many people from various backgrounds and places. Some are friendly, while others are plain rude to you, which is alright because you can't really expect people to be pleasant most of the time. It's so fascinating to see how it's so different compared to your high school.

The rest of the week is also the same, aside from your usual meet-up with your benefactor, where the two of you catch up and talk with each other. 

Months passed by, and you are now conditioned with your timetables and your other schedules. Although the workload in the university is overwhelming for most of the students, you mostly finished your papers early since the amount of workload in the university is smaller compared to what your workload is in high school. 

Your college days are so easy; you meet up with your new friends at the local hotspots or the nearby mall to hang out, do hobbies that you don’t have time to do while you’re in high school, and meet with your benefactor while finishing your school work earlier than the rest of your classmates. You're just a few months in and it's like you are now living in a whole different world. 

You still joined various organizations and even voted as a representative for your class, which is what you did previously in high school. They are much more challenging, yes. But it is fun, considering that it's the students themselves that mostly manage all the activities, and professors only look at it at the start for its approval. 

Even if you are busy enjoying your college days, you still meet up with Ran on certain days of the week. The two of you had gotten closer to each other, to the point where you don’t see him as a benefactor but as a close friend. 

Well, more than a close friend, but you’re just glad that you have a relationship with him, even if it's platonic. He would certainly turn you down when you would confess to him since you are just a poor first-year student with no successful background other than your academic records. 

Even so, you two not only meet in the cafe but also in ‌different locations as well. Like the university gardens, the nearby museum, or even the city's various art exhibits. He sometimes drags you into Roppongi and shopping in various stores that have price tags that shook you to the core. 

You wanted to refuse the items that he bought for you. The price of the stuff that he brought is astounding. You are sure that these items cost more than your parents' yearly salary combined. Which made you feel guilty. Here you are, having these luxury items, while your family still lives in squalor. 

Because of your regret, you refunded some items that Ran bought for you and sent the money to your family- which you are sure that they really need right now. The money is enough for them to buy new things and even afford payments to go to the hospital for checkups or treatment. 

You felt ashamed of what you did, but it helped your family so it's not a problem, and Ran would understand. He’s been such a gentleman that he would probably brush it off and move on- even without you telling this to him. 

Well, if you thought that’s the case, you are certainly wrong

Ran, although is generous and often kind to you - doesn’t take your actions well

The items that you’ve refunded are the things that he specifically chose for you, and you alone. So that is why it stings when he finds it out when the men who managed his bank and finance reported it to him. 

He would admit that he is getting old and sentimental. Unlike his younger self, which would just toss you aside after a few days for not satisfying his carnal needs, and would jump off to another person- he wants to find someone that he could connect to; both emotionally and even sexually, and it surprised him that you are that person. 

He just did this benefactor program as one of his covers to get the pigs out of his back for a while, and just randomly selected one of the poor scholarship students at random. He was glad when he accidentally chose you out of many students in that program since he really can't imagine his life without you. 

He honestly felt a deep connection with you. Even though you are a young and naïve university student, you aren’t also ignorant of hardships and struggles in life. He relates to you in some way- when you mentioned how much you’ve sacrificed for your family. It may not look like it, but in their earlier gang life, he and Rindou would often share scraps of food or stay in a run-down apartment just to survive for the day. He even gave the remaining scrap of food to his younger brother, so that he wouldn’t be hungry.

You are intelligent but also dense at the same time, which he finds endearing but also attractive at the same time. 

He decides to pursue you in an old-fashioned way. Going on dates, gifting you stuff ‌he knows most girls love (well, the once that he ‘dated’ in the past anyway) basically just spoiling you rotten.

He doesn’t know how to form a relationship - since he’s used to getting what he wants and would toss it after he’s done. The only form of love that he has is with Rindou, which is unsurprising since he literally raised him. 

So it's no surprise that it hurt him when he finds this out. it's not that you returned it that hurts him- it's the fact that you didn't tell this to him personally. 

This caused Ran to be much more possessive and obsessive, to the point that he observes almost every aspect of your current life. From your university schedule to your free time- he knows what you are doing, wanting to know if you have things that you aren’t telling him about. 

Although you sensed someone is watching you, you just brushed it off as your imagination- even though it still unnerved you. 

You met Ran again at your usual time and place. Although he acts the same, his mood and vibe suddenly change. 

It made you uneasy, although he is still as gallant as ever, he seems to be much more controlling; prodding you about your whole week, even the food that you ate on specific days, which made you paranoid but at the same time - very guilty.

Did he find it out? Who knows, maybe he did, since he is much more clingy and guarded to you.  

“Maybe, it's just the guilt, yeah, just that” you just thought as you felt weird when you were with him, every time the two of you go out. 

Even if you try to hide the guilt for so long, your subconscious still brings it up, adding to the fact that Ran tried to be with you every time. It’s no wonder that you finally broke down in front of him after months of hiding it from him- explaining your reason why you returned the items that he bought for you.

While you are crying after you’ve explained your side of the story, you are surprised that he hugged you and tell you that it’s okay and you should have said it earlier. Assuring you that he is not mad at your actions. 

This caused you to cry more as he then envelops you in his embrace. 

Ever since then, the two of you started to become lovers. Instead of hanging out together, the two of you go on dates, not only in Roppongi but also in other areas of Tokyo; and even to other cities like Kyoto, Osaka and even touring the Nara prefecture during your break in University, which made you flustered but at the same time, guilty that he did all of this to you. 

But Ran just brushes off your worries since he also wants this for himself. After all, not only that he is spoiling you and providing you with needed opportunities and riches that you deserve, but also he has his hands wrapped around your whole life.

Not only that he supports your whole life in university but also your family. Both your parents are now in jobs that have high-paying salaries due to their promotions for their years of excellent work and diligence in their job, which is bullshit because he just gave a word to their bosses and they quickly oblige because their business has something to do with Bonten, well actually- most businesses in Japan are connected with Bonten in some ways, which is neat because he doesn’t want to separate and talk to them himself. He would be separated from you. 

You only have him in your life. He would mold you to be your best self, which is becoming his wife in the future. You’ve worked so hard in your whole life, and now- he wants you to just relax and let him do anything for you.

Including staying with him for the rest of your life as his spouse. 

“Oi Ran! Where are you going?” Ran then look back and saw his younger brother running up to him, his suit still stained from their previous ‘job’ earlier this night. “Oh, you know, going back to my wife, why do you ask?” he replied with a playful tone in his voice. As expected, his brother groaned in annoyance. Being irritated not only by his tone but also by his attitude right now. “Ran, not this crap again, I know, (Y/N) is a fucking wonderful person and you're lucky to have a wife as caring as her. You don’t need to shove that fact into my face every time,” Rindou said while Ran looked at him with an expression that only annoying older siblings give to their younger ones, which further irritates Rindou as a whole. “Ugh, I’m just going to hand you this, asshole,” Rindou cursed as he handed a small note that have the messy but familiar handwriting of their boss. Ran then quickly snatched the note from Rindou and read its content. As usual, it's the same old job but with an important person as a subject. When Ran finished reading it, he grabbed his lighter from his pipped pocket and quickly set the paper on fire. “Thanks, Rin, now I’m going to head back to my (Y/N) then, good luck on your job tonight” Ran said as he then waved goodbye to his younger brother while playfully hinting at the paperwork that Rindou is going to do tonight. Which caused the younger Haitani to give him the middle finger, too tired to rebuke his older brother as he exits the abandoned sea port warehouse. 

You yawned as you walk down the stairs, waking up early to do your morning activities. Which consists of making breakfast and exercising before doing your papers related to your job. You graduated four years ago and quickly landed a job in a prestigious advertising company; which is a surprise to you since not only did you land a job so quickly, but also the starting pay is tremendous. It's like the salary for an experienced worker. It's also incredible that the company even lets you work in your home- your boss telling you that the company provides working at home as an option for their workers. This baffles you a little since as far as you know, this company does not provide for one. But who are you to deny this opportunity? It would be a hassle to you anyway and you don’t want Ran to be lonely if you came home late from work. So you quickly took that option and now, you work at home and you are doing a great job not only at work but also maintaining the house. Which is not that hard anymore considering that there are helpers that would come to your house to clean every two weeks, which gave you less hassle other than sweeping the floor clean or making the house look organized.

When you arrived at the kitchen, you then heard the front door open, which means Ran came home early from work. You heed no mind as you knew that he would head towards the kitchen after he took off his suit and have a relaxing shower for his early morning dinner.

While you are in the middle of the cooking, Ran walked to the kitchen and grab cold water to drink. “Sorry dumpling, but the rice isn’t done yet,” you said as he sat on the countertop chair in front of you. He then smiled and told you that it was okay and pulled out his phone to read something as he drink his water- waiting for the rice to cook. When the rice cooker finally beeped, you then opened the lid and wait a few seconds for the steam to rise before scooping some rice for your breakfast. Well, in Ran’s case- for his morning dinner. The two of you ate your respective meals while talking about your usual day, him on his desk job at the company he works at and you on your suggestion about the upcoming advert for a snack company about a new chip flavor in the market. Ran talked from time to time, but you are the one that always rambles on about your day- even if you mostly stay at home. As you ramble on about your work, Ran can't help but to smile about his current life right now. Even though he is past his prime, he still got a very lovely spouse that he actually cares about (which would stun his younger self, if he’s being honest); a younger brother that has his back, and a job that he certainly enjoys. He would admit that this is not the life that he imagined when he was younger. Sure, he imagines that he would be in a gang but not the idea of being married and actually in love with his spouse. 

He thought that he would continue hopping from person to person until he dies from either being killed by someone or being tortured to death. But now, he can’t imagine being far away from you for more than a day, which is torture in itself. 

He would admit that the cover-up sponsorship program is one of the best decisions that he made in his entire life. Without it, he would not have met you in the first place- or maybe not at all. He really can’t imagine his life without you, really. After he met you, there are emotions that he can’t really describe, but he would just call it ‘love’. He knows that he should not have those emotions to be called ‘love’, but he can’t help it. Normal love would not make him feel like stalking you is an obligation as your lover. Normal love would not make him feel addicted to spoiling you daily, and most importantly normal love would not make him feel like controlling every single aspect of your life is his duty as your spouse. He supposed he hasn’t changed that much really, even though he isn’t as apathetic and nonchalant as before- he is still as greedy as ever. 

Did he feel guilty manipulating you, a vulnerable college student that only relies on her scholarships or whatever charity that people might give?  

Yes. Absolutely. 

But did he regret it?

Not even a little bit

You see, he is a Haitani. He would take whatever he wants by all means necessary. Even manipulating someone into loving them and making them dependent on it. He would hurt, lie, manipulate, steal, and kill someone just so he could get something or someone that he desires- and that someone is you. 

"I love you, (Y/N), and I'll always be with you"