#This is my actual first first commission where I don't just ask for the pass and stop accepting then

[lonely-north-star]

jewelry maker mammon x retail worker mc

hi guys this is me being silly and projecting my work experiences onto my mc. She can suffer along with me.

(Note: Human world AU?? I guess?? Craft store silliness)

-But imagine Mammon who hand makes jewelry for fun. How did he start? No one knows. He owed Levi a favor and ended up helping to make friendship bracelets for a fan meetup as freebies

-Once he found out there was more than pony beads he was hooked

-Claims he was experimenting with patterns but each of his brothers have personalized/handmade charm straps (Asmo and Levi have them on their phones, the rest of the brothers have them clipped onto their keys or bags)

-His favorites are crystals/glass beads

-Prefers using seed beads for his work due to more color options

-He can spend over an hour in the strung bead and charm aisle respectively

-People mistake him for a worker because he's often fixing things without realizing. He's just so familiar with that aisle he knows where everything goes

-Gets grouchy and calls people out if they're making a mess while he's in the aisle (What are ya gonna do? Tell the manager on him? Good luck.)

"Ummm no, there's no one with white hair who works at this location. The only two people working right now are my cashier and I-"

"There IS. You need to have a talk with him. He has absolutely no customer service skills. I can't believe you hire people like that-"

"... Was this in the jewelry aisle?"

"YES! He was back there and rudely-"

"Ma'am, that's a customer. He doesn't work here."

-Mostly spends time admiring the beads at first because he doesn't have as much money as he'd like. Until he does a few commissions for friends of Levi, Asmo, and Satan

-They'll either buy the specific beads they want used and allow him to go ham and keep any extra (and tip him well ofc which surprises him)

-Or they send a certain amount and tell him to go ham and surprise them

-Beel once paid him to make matching sports charms for his team

-He tried setting up an online shop but then chickened out at the last second, so now it's just word of mouth

-MC at first was wary of him because he spent so much time there she thought he was stealing

-She would go in there to fix the aisle only to find it sparkling (awkwardly customer services him before walking away)

-Mammon wonders why all the employees keep asking if he needs help finding anything

-Hears him telling off a customer while passing by to do returns and is shocked af

-One day when he's buying beads the cashier asks what he's making and he excitedly explains his idea and shows off his phone charm

-MC was already up there packing an order and gets called over by the cashier

-Compliments him on the design and suddenly Mammon is confused because all this time he thought she hated him (she always side eyed him in the aisle and rarely spoke to him) (she's actually the most awkward manager ever)

"That looks really pretty! You made that?"

"U-Uh, yeah! Yeah, I did! Cool, ain't it?"

-After that she makes an effort to say hi and ask what he's making (if he's making anything)

-They end up getting along and he accidentally distracts her because they talk so much, but when she starts shuffling away, he knows she's being called for something

-The other managers were wary of him too until one day they started asking about his projects too

-One time he's there to pick up some markers for Levi as a favor and MC is there

-MC spends a full 30 seconds digging in her vest pockets for her keys

-Pulls out her phone, a box cutter, her walkie, a penny, a pen, all before her keys

-She finally pulls them out and there's no clip, no nothing, just a damn keyring

-He's mortified actually because how does she live like that

-Says this out loud without realizing

-Now they're both red faced and embarrassed

"My handheld is always in my right hand, I guess? I-I don't know, it's always been like that!"

-Her right pocket only holds her handheld. Nothing else. Maybe some order slips she needs to mark as picked up. No she will not change her ways, it's too late now and she hates change

-Decides he's going to make her a charm strap

-Realizes he doesn't know her favorite color (his mind blanks on what beads she'll linger on)

-Grabs the colors Levi asked for, and tries to think of an inconspicuous way to find out her favorite color. He's snapped out of his thoughts but her voice

"There's a buy 1 get 2 free sale, y'know"

"Eh?"

"You only have 13. You could get two more for free. You need groups of three."

"Ah. Uh, I'm getting these for my damn lil bro who sent me here and these are all he wanted-" *realization* "Choose something for me, would ya?"

"...Choose for you? What if he already has them?"

"Well now he'll have extra. Just pick your favorite color or something. Don't matter."

-Mammon's plan works because she ends up picking a royal blue color immediately. She picks another shade of blue that's lighter too after a long moment because "there's no gold, unfortunately. I like shiny things."

-Mammon feels like he found his soulmate

-Notices her name tag has some star stickers on it (and Halloween one's? In July? But they're faded)

-He asks around and posts online to see if anyone local wants a commission

-Gets more requests than he bargained for but he's saving every extra penny

-Saves up enough money to buy these gold star strung beads that MC always makes a point to fiddle with (they're on the bottom rung) and he feels silly for not noticing sooner

-Buys a pack of blue seed beads (is literally in the aisle trying to color match) and some diamond spacers (they're these round disc like one's) I am literally naming beads I see at work all the time, I'm about to make this thing irl

-He surprises her one day, or tries to. Turns out she's on vacation and won't be back for ten days

-He still shops for some commissions between (notices afternoon cashiers looks kinda miserable without her and the store gets messy)

-Except the bead aisle. That stays pristine.

-He's so excited the day she comes back, and is ready to surprise her with the charm

-But then she surprises HIM with a black and yellow woven bracelet and his heart stops

"Reminded me of you. Because of that feather clip you always have on?"

"...T-Thanks! Of course I'd be on y-your mind. I'm just that memorable, ain't I?"

-MC has never gotten so red so fast (he's concerned)

-He presents the gift he made to diffuse the situation because she might actually pass out

"Here. Made this for ya. So ya won't be digging for your damn keys so long. N-Not any other reason! ... I was gonna give it to you earlier but they said you were on vacation."

-She's literally speechless and staring at him in shock so long he thinks she hates it or he made a mistake

-She manages to stutter out a thank you and clips it to her keys immediately with the softest fucking smile he's ever seen

- Oh. Oh.

-She doesn't think he sees her when she's excitedly showing it to all her coworkers. Now she just has to feel around in her pockets for the beads and pull out her keys

-On his way out, after forgetting what he meant to buy in the first place, because he can't stop thinking about her smile, he sees the table for the hiring event they're holding next week...

AHAHA SORRY THIS GOT SO LONG, BUT I NEED AN OUTLET FOR MY WORK TROUBLES

why can't I have a cool customer who snaps at karens for me 😔 also the key thing is true because I don't wanna clip them onto my pants. Everything goes in the pockets.

pt 2 is Mammon getting hired /hj (if anyone actually wants part 2 LOLOL)

Edit: PART TWO BELOW YIPPEE

[fatuismooches]

synopsis: The first to betray him was his creator, his mother. The second was his family, his friend. The third was a child similar to him. Would you, his lover, be the fourth?

includes: scaramouche w/ gn! reader

notes: An uncompleted fic I wrote in October before Scaramouche's release. Therefore it is not very accurate, especially the part where he likes sweets. I don't think I'll finish it, so I decided to post my ramblings here for your entertainment. (Some places won't make sense... I jumped around a lot, by the way.)

Imagine being eternal lovers with Scaramouche.

You can’t remember the exact date when you first encountered the man, who was the definition of beauty. How many centuries ago was that again? Two? Three? Nevermind that. After all, the one thing you’d never forget was the first memory you made with him.

You placed the sweet treats on your table, ready for your delicious snack. But you know what? You needed something to drink too. Perhaps you’d try some of that Dango Milk you saw, from that guy whose stall never got any business since everyone was so skeptical of it. Dango with dango would surely be an interesting combination. And so you set out to quickly purchase some, not bothering to lock your doors. You would only be gone for five to ten minutes, after all.

What you did not expect, however, was that when you returned, your front door was wide open. Hesitantly climbing up the steps very slowly, you were greeted by an unknown man’s presence inside your house, munching away at your damn dango. It took a few seconds to process - someone went broke into your house to eat your food. And it occurred to you - out of anything he could steal, he chose to steal sweets. Not the stash of Mora you had hidden away, or some vases, or anything that actually had monetary value. He chose the Tricolor Dango lying on your kitchen table, half of it already eaten. If you weren’t so scared of some guy breaking into your house, you would have thought it was cute. (Little did he know, his own tastes reflected that of his creator.)

Wait, you shouldn’t be trying to analyze him, he was literally in your house uninvited! You needed to get the Tenryou Commission or something! And so you stepped back, but of course, the dreaded very loud creak of that one particular floorboard echoed throughout the house, and the man immediately noticed you. You were busted. (Or was he? Later you would learn this was far more embarrassing for him than for you.)

Gorgeous, long indigo hair flowed down, coupled with matching eyes and porcelain skin. Up close, he looked so beautiful that it almost didn’t feel humanly possible.

“Don’t even think of saying a word of this to anyone,” he hissed out threateningly, “or else.” You let out a muffled “okay” and furiously nodded your head, not wanting to know what the ‘or else’ entailed. Then he released his hand from your mouth, quickly slammed the door shut, and left. By the time you could regain your composure and look out the window, the doll-like man was already gone.

All that remained of the encounter were the empty sticks that held dango before on your table.

—

A good amount of time had passed since that situation. You went about your life, working, eating, sleeping, shopping. But for some reason, you could not get the intruder out of your mind. You had so many questions about him. Maybe it was because your life was too boring and although he had scared you, you were quite interested in him. How’d he know your door was unlocked? Maybe he was following you? What kind of financial situation did he have if he had to steal dango from you?! And for his stunning looks, his mouth was quite… foul. As these thoughts continued to plague your mind, there was only one thing to do.

Attempt to make him come back, of course. Now, you did not have the means to just go out and look for him, nor could you ask around for information about him. So you did the only thing you could do was lure him out. With dango, of course, since that was the only piece of information you had about him.

Every evening, you would wait on the porch with a plate of various types of dango on it next to you. Of course, he didn’t show up, but you didn’t have anything better to do. And so, your nightly activities quickly changed to drinking a cup of tea while reading on your porch, as you awaited the mysterious man’s presence. 

Unfortunately, after a week or two, the only thing you were successful in was gaining weight from all of the sweets you had to eat after he didn’t show up, your wallet consequently being drained, and powering through the strange but appreciative looks the vendor gave you when you came back every day to purchase new sweets.

It was another day of executing your very poorly thought-out plan, and you began to grow rather sleepy. You were practically messing up your sleep schedule for some random guy. That was just… embarrassing, you thought, but you couldn’t help it. Leaning your body against a pillar of the porch, you closed your eyes, allowing your mind to go wild with fantasies. Perhaps you could experience one of those forbidden romance novel plots like from Yae Publishing House with this stranger… ah, how marvelous that would be…

Your breathing began to slow, and your thoughts became less coherent. You were on the verge of falling asleep, but you could hear some noise, even though it was fuzzy in your current state. But no matter, it was probably just some squirrels. But then you heard it much louder, coming much closer to you by the second. It was the familiar crunch of the leaves that had fallen around your house that had made you jump back to life.

And there he was, long silky hair flowing behind him, unscarred skin, soft lips, and pretty eyes, though his resemblance of eternal beauty disappeared when he noticed you were not sleeping, wide awake in fact.

Of course, you sprang to your feet almost immediately, not about to let this opportunity after weeks of waiting slip away.

“Hey! Don’t go this time! I have… more dango! For you!” You must have looked pretty pathetic to be convincing a criminal to stay with sweets of all things, but you gave up your dignity when you started with this plan.

“… Were you trying to make me come back with this simple-minded idea? Idiot.” It seemed like he only liked to open his mouth when he was able to insult you. (But you also thought that he was trying to play off his embarrassment.)

“Well, it worked, did it not? Seems like you’re the idiot because you actually came again, and had to wait until I was asleep. Were you scared of me?” you sassed back. By the look on his face, it seemed like you annoyed him.

“Watch it,” he snapped. “I could make you very scared of me right now.”

You didn’t doubt that so you quickly shut your mouth and rubbed the sleep out of your eyes. “W-well, you should come get what you came for,” gesturing towards the dango. But he didn’t move, to your displeasure. Was it too close to you, perhaps? And so you pushed the plate as far away to the other side as possible, and at last, he walked forward to grab it. He picked up a stick of dango and scrutinized it, as if it was possible you poisoned him or something. But it appeared to pass his inspection test, as he began to munch on it.

“I was hoping you’d give up soon.” You perked up at his words. Finally an opportunity for conversation. 

“After everything I’ve invested into this, I couldn’t,” you sighed. “And this means you were watching me, weren’t you?!”

His hair bounced as he shrugged his shoulders, taking a bite of the dango. “I had to make sure you didn’t tell anyone about me,” he said nonchalantly as if watching someone’s every move was normal. You decided to hold your tongue - you and your wallet worked hard for this after all. Some time passed, and you licked your lips, preparing yourself to ask your first question.

“So… what is your name, wanderer?”

The man merely shrugged as he continued to eat the dango. You began to wonder if that was the only thing he consumed. What kind of diet did he have, and how did he only survive on dango? But anyways, you weren’t sure if he didn’t want to tell you his name (which was highly likely) or rather there was another circumstance preventing him from doing so.

“Do you have a name?”

The eccentric individual paused for a brief moment, but that was all you needed to know. “Wait here,” you said, getting up to enter your house. You entered your room and looked under your bed, reaching for a huge encyclopedia. You cursed as you heaved it up, it was quite long. You shoved some other books inside that might be helpful, and carried them outside to the stranger.

“Shit,” you mumbled, practically dropping the books down on the porch. You were an average citizen, well, probably frailer than a normal person so carrying all these books felt like too big of a strain. At this point, the man was eyeing you suspiciously (and almost in annoyance?) but you pushed the books over to his side anyway.

“These,” you panted, “could help you find a name. Any name. Anything you like. You should choose it yourself,” you reasoned. “I can’t keep calling you stranger, you know” you tried to make a joke but immediately regretted it at his flat and almost unamused expression. You don’t think he is very friendly. But nonetheless, his eyes flickered down to the various assortment of books, and you could see a brief glimpse of… sadness? It disappeared as quickly as it came, but he very hesitantly sat down, reached for the pile, and began flipping through the pages. You let out a breath of relief you didn’t know you were holding.

You didn’t know how much time passed, as the golden and orange hues of the sunset gradually vanished, replaced with the glow of the moon and stars. You were worried about if he could still see the text, but he was going through it with ease. He must have good eyesight. You didn’t want him to snap at you for staring at him again, so you looked up and counted the stars instead.

“Kunikuzushi.”

It took you a second to realize that he finally spoke. All of your energy returned as you sat up straight. “What?”

“Kunikuzushi. That is my name,” he repeated.

“Kunikuzushi…” you repeated. If you weren’t mistaken, that meant something along the lines of “country destroyer.” It certainly wasn’t a common name, and you were slightly worried about what country he wanted to destroy, but it was unique. It suited this eccentric stranger.

“Alright,” you smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Kunikuzushi.” 

—

Ever since you helped him choose his name, you made it a habit to continue to leave a plate of dango outside your house. Sometimes he would appear and eat with you, sitting all the way on the other edge of the porch. Other times, he wouldn’t show up while you were outside, but when you woke up in the morning, the dango was gone. Although you were still failing to make good conversation with him, his repeated visits satisfied you for now. It felt nice to have a new person in your life. Until one day, he came to you during the night, right before you were about to retire to your bed for the day.

“Where is it?”

You sighed. “Good night to you too, Kuni. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Kunikuzushi rolled his eyes and scowled. “It’s Kunikuzushi,” he emphasized. “Not that… nonsense.”

“Mhm, totally understand. I’ll stop calling you that, Ku,” you teased.

“You're an exasperating human,” he glared. “Anyway, where is my plate?” His plate? Oh, he was talking about how you didn’t leave out any dango tonight.

“Well, I got out late from work and by the time I went to the stall, it was already closed for the day. So, you’ll just have to survive without any today. Sorry, Kuni.” You were tempted to make fun of him but the look on his face made you feel kind of bad. He sucked his teeth and actually looked kind of annoyed, and was positioned to leave. And then you came up with a solution.

“Hey, don’t go. Come inside, I have an idea,” you said, opening your door wider.

Kunikuzushi squinted his eyes suspiciously at you. “Why?”

“Oh, stop acting as if I’m gonna kill you or something. Just get in here!” You turned your back and headed towards your kitchen, and a few seconds later you heard your door slam shut. You were delighted to have Kuni back in your house.

You retrieved a cookbook and looked over the ingredients for Tri-Color Dango. Glutinous rice flour, tofu, sugar, milk… sakura blooms, and snapdragons for the coloring. And some green tea would go well with it. Good thing you had all of the essential ingredients.

“I’m just going to make you the dango from scratch, so you can sit down and wait.”

“You can do that?”

“Of course,” you laughed. “Buying it is just more convenient and less work for me. Would you like to watch me, Kunikuzushi?”

He couldn’t deny that he was interested, and so he silently pulled a chair and sat at your kitchen table, earning a cheeky grin from you.

You smiled, (insert process on making dango)

“You can’t eat it yet!” you said, quickly stopping him from biting it. “We need to cook it first!” He looked disappointed.

“Just follow me,” you hummed as you began sticking the dango through the bamboo skewer. He looked over and started doing the same with ease. Huh. He was pretty good at it.

“Of course. Most foods taste better homemade.”

You don’t know why, but after that experience, Kunikuzushi started to knock on your door a lot more often, to the point you saw him almost every day. His time of arrival varied, but nonetheless, he became a familiar face you welcomed. To be honest, you had no idea what to do with him at first. He still did not divulge anything about himself, and rather looked at you expectantly. So you decided to teach him things, as you had a feeling he wasn’t good at traditional basic tasks.

You tried to teach him how to sew and crochet. Kunikuzushi ended up pricking his finger multiple times and the string of curses that followed was endless. When he joined you to plant flowers and vegetables, he grew frustrated when the things he planted didn’t grow, when he accidentally placed too much pressure on the seeds, and kept messing up the correct amount of water. Anything that required great care and gentleness, he did not succeed in. 

So you told him about the ancient Irodori Festival, about beloved Inazuman folklore, about your favorite childhood stories, to which he scoffed and rolled his eyes, calling out some of the dumb choices by the protagonists, but always listening to you with full attention. Admittedly, you were guilty of accidentally teaching him some of your favorite combinations of curses.

You introduced him to more of your favorite sweets (with him sitting at the table watching you, it was the best option.) Despite his clear fondness for sweets, he vehemently denied it and didn’t have an aptitude for making them at all. Every time Kuni tried to bake something with you, he poured the incorrect amount causing the excess to slip, or turned the heat up too high or too low, scowling at every failure. He didn’t seem to have much of an appetite for other meals, which confused you. Didn’t he have to eat something else to survive? But he always seemed perfectly fine, in better health than you. You decided not to question it further.

But when Kuni followed you around while shopping, if any of the sellers tried to scam you or raise the price a little too high, he would quickly lash out a string of things you’d rather not repeat. And while you profusely apologized for his behavior, you were secretly grateful because it helped you out a lot. When you struggled to hold the grocery bags, he would snatch them from you, complaints following but none had any real bite to them when compared to his actions. Despite his lean stature, he was surprisingly strong.

The more time you spent with him, the more you grew to like him. You had realized that since your first encounter, Kuni had started to show more emotion, as if he was repressing it in the beginning. You had no idea why he hung around you of all people; Kunikuzushi had no obligation to, much less help you with random tasks. It was as if he had nowhere else to go, to return to. But you didn’t want to question him, in fear he’d leave you for prying.

—

Your new pastime with Kunikuzushi involved explaining and taking him around Inazuma to partake in “useless human frivolities.” (You were confused as to though he referred to things as if they didn’t include him, but whenever you brought this up, he just scoffed and ignored you.) But one place he vehemently refused to go was the shrine.

“I don’t want to go there.” The firmness of his statement caught you off guard.

“To the shrine? Is there any particular reason why?”

You could already tell by the look on his face that he would not be responding. Perhaps he did not like the Gods. “Well, that’s okay. It’s not my favorite place either.” And that was the end of it. It was the same thing when you went anywhere near the Electro Archon’s Tenshukaku. He would tense up, grit his teeth, and drag you to the other direction. You wished to know why he loathed the Gods, but you still did not know anything about his past. Maybe one day he’ll open up.

Whenever you ushered Kunikuzushi into your house when it was raining, in fear that he’d get sick, he always replied that he wouldn’t, and he didn’t. He defeated hilichurls and monsters easily with electro powers, despite not having a Vision. How he frequently referred to you as human. It was all starting to make a lot more sense.

(I was going to write a scene about you two falling in love here.)

When Scaramouche was on the other side of the nation, the recipes you gave to him of the meals you made before for him gave him some peace. It didn’t taste nearly as good as when you made it. He wondered if it was due to his skills, or rather because he didn’t have you to share it with.

(I had planned that after Scara left to go to the Fatui, he comes back to find you missing. Later he finds you but you were experimented on in a hidden lab, somehow causing your lifespan to increase, hence the eternal lovers part. The experimentation left you really weak which is why he was scared you were going to die and leave him.)

He placed his hat to the side and sat down next to your bed, gazing at your sleeping figure. You were so frail and powerless, like a typical human. Yet he found himself coming back every time. But now as he looks at you, a familiar, disgusting feeling forms in the pit of his stomach again.

The first to betray him was his creator, his mother. The second was his family, his friend. The third was a child similar to him. Would you, his lover, be the fourth?

You couldn’t leave him. You just can’t. Without you, the fury he desperately tries to quell will surely swallow him whole. You had to come and weasel your way into his life despite his persistence in hating humans. If he never saw your eyes peer at him curiously when he told stories of the outside world, if you never laughed again while he insulted his co-workers, he would… he would never forgive you.

Or rather, Scaramouche suddenly thought, had he betrayed you instead? He had promised himself many years ago, to always protect you. Yet he failed. And now you were in this state because of his weakness.

The Harbinger balled his hands into fists so tightly, he threatened to draw blood. And he would have, if he didn’t notice you twitch and sleepily mumble. He drew his attention to you and unballed his hands to gently hold yours.

Scaramouche, or rather Kunikuzushi, rested his head on the soft sheets, squeezing your hand. You would wake up, he knew you would… you never let him down, unlike anyone else… This was a moment that no one else would ever know about.

But the moment of eternity peace was broken by a knock on her door. Immediately, Scaramouche shot up and put his hat back on, needing to get back into character.

“Come in.”

One of the agents appeared, looking terrified for his life as usual. He licked his lips, trying to find the words to talk, but failed.

“Spit it out already,” Scaramouche scowled, annoyed at the intrusion.

“Lord Harbinger I- well, I t-think it would be easier for you to read this yourself. It was found in the lab."

(This was supposed to be the ending of the fic...)

You were there for him. When he was just Kunikuzushi, when he was Scaramouche. When he was a Harbinger, when he wasn’t. When he tried to find a heart with the Electro Archon’s gnosis, and the aftermath of his tears, reassuring him that he was more than enough for you, that your heart was his.

You would belong to each other for eternity.

(The way Scaramouche canonically hates sweets singlehandedly ruined the plot of this fic💀)

[writingquestionsanswered]

I'm not sure if this has been asked before, but what can you do to gain more motivation? ik this is common writer things, but how do you actually overcome that thick barrier between writing and thinking about what you're going to write—and subsequently never doing it?

Thinking About Writing but Never Doing It

If you typically hit a barrier between thinking about a story and actually writing it, before you can overcome that barrier, you have to figure out why it's there.

1 - Is this problem general or specific? My first question would be whether you experience this problem with every story, some stories, or just this story in particular. Because if you don't always have this problem, that tells us the problem is localized... it's either something to do with this particular story or something going on with you right now. If you have a lot going on right now, are distracted by other things, or aren't feeling well physically or emotionally, that could certainly create a barrier. You zoom in on the specific issue/s and see what, if anything, you can do about them. Or, wait for it to pass. If it seems to be something to do with this particular story, my post 5 Reasons You Lost Interest in Your WIP, Plus Fixes! can help. You can also look at Guide: How to Rekindle Your Motivation to Write, Getting Excited About Your Story Again, and Getting Unstuck: Motivation Beyond Mood Boards & Playlists.

2 - If the problem is general... if this happens to you with most or all stories, it's still worth considering the possibility that your motivation is hampered by how you're feeling physically or mentally. If you're in an era of life where you have a lot going on right now, say you're in college, your job is particularly hectic, or you've got small kids, you may just be physically and mentally exhausted. In that case, you can work on self-care and trying out different routines to see if you can improve your physical/mental well-being and perhaps find a writing time that makes the barrier come down or more easy to climb over.

If the problem doesn't seem to be with how you're feeling physically and/or mentally, I would suggest it could be an issue with having ideas for stories and a general desire to write, but not really knowing what to do with those ideas. In that case, spending some time consuming stories (reading, watching TV/movies, etc.) and paying attention to how the stories work can help you form a general foundation for understanding plot and story structure. You can also spend some time on my Plot & Story Structure master list of posts. Or, if the problem is that you have the desire to write, understand how stories work, but the barrier is a lack of ideas, my post Guide: Filling Your Creative Well has some suggestions to help with that. You can also have a look at my Motivation master list for additional help.

I hope something here helps to get you over your barrier! :)

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I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[papapandashipyards]

Designing the OSP Ships for Nebulous Fleet Command

A good long while ago, I had the honour to design the second faction for the supremely excellent game Nebulous Fleet Command. (Get it here, don't hesitate, what are you waiting for? Get the game!) That faction being the OSP. The OSP's main thing being, that almost their entire fleet is made up of retrofitted civilian ships, hastily pushed into service. Almost. The first ship on the design block was The Ocello class Command Cruiser. The idea behind it was, that it used to be a state of the art Warship, but that time had passed a good 100 years ago. Many of these were mothballed withing OSP territory, and quite frankly you don't look a fully armored 12000 ton gif horse in the mouth, when a battle hardened navy is knocking at your door asking "you and what army?"

From the Tip of the spear we move over to what was avaliable. Civvies. Not to fret though, what they lack in class, they make up for in mass, either by numbers or by tonnage. We'll start with the numbers first, and this is where we meet the clippers. Clippers are the small fry of vessels, shuttles tugs, transport feeders, the small guys of the blue collar world. This may not bless them with lots of armor, but they sure as heck makes up for it in versatility. The Design brief asked for everyday civilian vessels in the size range of 60 to 95 meters, so I gave it my best shot with this lot.

Ultimately only three of these made it into the game, to uphold the delicate balance of the amount of work it takes the team to actually make one of these ships happen and also the gameplay balance of what their exact roles are and wether or not they are redundant, gameplay wise. I think the Team went with the right vessels, and I would only lament that I'd love to have had the "Mantis" as well. This leads us to the final and perhaps most interesting subject: The Freighters. The design document asked for three distinct types of freighters: -Bulk Freighters -Container Freighter -Liquid Gas Freighters Adittionally these ships were meant to be Randomizable in two ways: -be made out of three interchangeable sections, front, middle, engine

-lots of little doodads, like bridges, cranes, tanks etc. So I got to work and these are the results: Bulk freighter base models:

Bulk Freighter with Doodads example:

Finally some remixed Bulk freighter Hulls:

This worked out quite well for my sensibilities, so I went along with the other designs. Base Container Freighters:

Versions with Doodads:

And finally the LNG Freighters You know the drill by now. Base models:

Doodad examples:

And finally some remix variants.

And that is all! What a great and wild ride! The LNG Freighters unfortunately also ended up on the chopping block, but it's also understandable why; there's just too much hollow tank on these, to make for anything useful in combat. There we are. One whole like diary entry about my short and super sweet work for Nebulous Fleet Command. The Team there is doing wonderful work, and it has been one of my proudest moments seeing my scribbles turn into actual things in a video game that you can use to fight with - surreal! Shoutout to Mazer Ludd for Commissioning me on this awesome project and of course to Stephmo for making such cool models from my puny drawings!

[lets-try-some-writing]

Blind starscream au, everyone forgets that he's blind until he points that out, cue the awkwardness

More blind Starscream, heck yeah. I love this mech so much, especially when he just does not give a frag.

Forgetfulness

Megatron

The first time it happened on earth, Megatron was issuing orders as usual and was looking over a map of the battlefield not recalling that Starscream was literally unable to see it.

Megatron: *pointing to the map* We will strike here! Starscream will lead the assault!

Starscream: *sarcastically* Ah yes, I can definitely see where exactly I am to attack, obviously.

Megatron: *silently sending starscream a set of coordinates over comm link instead* You have your orders, get going!

They didn't talk for a week after that incident. Megatron was too embarrassed at his blunder to even try to make amends and so just avoided the seeker.

Soundwave

As a general rule, Soundwave and Starscream don't interact. But the singular time Soundwave seemed to forget that the seeker couldn't see was something that stuck in both their memories. They had run into each other in the halls and Soundwave had suddenly stopped Starscream from continuing, gesturing to a sign that specifically pointed toward the area being off limits.

Soundwave: *gesturing with a nod and his cables toward the sign that says "keep out"*

Starscream: *irritated* Use words Soundwave. I am no psychic.

Soundwave: ...

Soundwave silently sent Starscream the warning over a comm link before walking away without a word. He would never admit his blunder to anyone.

Knockout

The Decepticon medic was in the middle of working on a Vehicon while he was gossiping with Starscream when he asked for the seeker to pass him a tool. Starscream of course gave him a look that quickly make Knockout realize his error.

Knockout: That sounds dreadful! Could you be a dear and pass me that scalpel?

Starscream: Ah yes, I will certainly pass you the small item that I can most definably see.

Knockout: ... My apologies.

They continued chatting as it nothing happened but Knockout screamed internally afterwards.

Breakdown

Normally Breakdown is very aware of Starscream's blindness and takes extra care to not mention it while still accommodating it. However on one occasion where Starscream's sensors were out of commission, he straight up forgot about the seeker's disablement.

Breakdown: *throwing a lob ball at starscream* Catch!

Starscream: *proceeds to get hit and fall flat on his face*

Breakdown: *softly* Scrap.

Breakdown went to Knockout with several scratches and a blaster burn later that day and he never forgot that moment, often having it come back to haunt him late at night.

Shockwave

Shockwave never actually forgot that Starscream was blind, he just didn't care and wanted to watch the seeker seethe while he tried to figure out how to find the thing he was asked to get.

Shockwave: Starscream, I require the third smallest beaker.

Starscream: Ah yes one moment, I will get it once I get my sight back.

Shockwave: Starscream, I require it immediately.

Starscream: *pointing to his lightless optics* How am I supposed to find it you slagger?!

Shockwave: You are resourceful, I am sure you will succeed without aid.

Starscream spent forty minutes trying to find the beaker. He never found it and resents Shockwave to this day.

Optimus Prime

It wasn't really that Optimus forgot, more like he simply used the wrong phraseology.

Optimus: Can't you see all the harm you are doing?! Starscream: No actually.

Optimus: *staring blankly for a moment* ... Allow me to rephrase. Do you not feel anything for the harm you are doing?

It was slightly awkward and Starscream has occasionally mocked Optimus for it since.

Ratchet

While doing a repair for Starscream, Ratchet temporarily forgot that Starscream literally could not see how bad his injuries were.

Ratchet: How in the pits did you do this? A gash of this size...

Starscream: It's that bad?

Ratchet: Yes! Can you not see-! Oh...

Starscream and Ratchet both coughed awkwardly after the fact and neither have spoken a word on the subject. Although on the odd occasion where Ratchet is feeling a little evil, he will exclaim something about Starscream having a bomb stuck to him during battle, temporarily causing the seeker to flail.

Arcee

Her situation was less awkward and more angering than anything else. She was in the middle of confronting Starscream for the death of Cliffjumper when she made a slight blunder.

Arcee: You killed him! Did the sight of his spark puttering out not cause you to feel any remorse!

Starscream: I didn't see it, so no.

Arcee: Why you little-!

Starscream was only barely saved from having the life beaten out of him by the team and he has since been careful around Arcee for fear of angering her further.

Bulkhead

He was in the middle of battle and trying to find a way to disorient Starscream when he messed up a bit.

Bulkhead: *tossing dirt at starscream to try and blind him* Take that!

Starscream: *unphased but a little irritated* How cute.

Bulkhead: *remembering* Oh fra-!

Simply put, he returned to base far more singed than he would have otherwise liked.

Bumblebee

While Starscream was a prisoner of the Autobots, the seeker's wings, and therefore his sight was put out of commission. And forgetting this, Bumblebee led the seeker straight into banging his helm against a doorway.

Bumblebee: *in binary* This way.

Starscream: *walks straight into the top of the doorway, hitting it with a nasty thunk* FRAG!

Bumblebee: *internally screaming at himself*

Bumblebee never forgot that particular blunder and he has since taken care with other prisoners to ensure the same thing doesn't happen twice.

[karla-the-elemental-dreamer]

🪢 KH-OC Week 2024 🪢 - Day 7 Package 💙💜🧡🐲🐻

Admin note: Due to the absolute trouble my mind is putting me through, Day 7 will be a LONG read due to the multiple (but fun and interesting) processes I've had to go through to get the juices to flow. There will be multiple prompts and ideas addressed, because I will not be capitulating to these blockages 💪🏻 I am finishing @khoc-week strong whether my brain likes it or not XD

---

Unlike the other days that simply had their submission package, Day 7 will be split into two parts:

The actual submission package.

The official revelation of the surprise that was mentioned on Day 5.

---

And... OMG there is no prompt for Day 7!

Well, there is/was one pre-determined, but with poor Terra being tossed here, there and everywhere during the week, Dinh-Yu said to make Day 7 all about him [Terra]... With the centre of it being OC related of course. And looking back in a sense, the connections with Riku have actually already been touched on during various previous days.

So re. Terra and whichever OCs we intertwine, here goes:

---

SECTION 1A: Prompt / Eraqus

This is an extension of Dinh Yu's Day 7 prompt, and to let you guys in on the fact that someone (don't know who) called 'the cavalry'. The reason Master Eraqus is now considered powerful is because he has now passed on in my timeline, due to the assumption of KH3's ending.

Why do I also include this tidbit of exposure? There was apparently a Day 6 prompt called journal. The way my journal works? It's a magic journal. So not only can I write in it, but others can choose to direct their communication into it if they wish. All they have to do is feel in their heart/mind what they want to say to me, and the journal will magically transcribe their words into it, waiting for me to open it and read it, and even respond in kind. It's basically like Email, but through a book and a person's thoughts, instead of the PC and actively typing both ways.

They envision in their minds; their message writes itself into my book [A to B].

I write back in my book, it gets translated into a thought in that person/s head[B to A]:

~9:10 PM (AEST)

Master Eraqus: “Karla… I know you might be uncomfortable with me, and even if so, we may have never spoken before. I apologise for any preconceived notions I may have given to you through my previous actions to Terra, Aqua and Ventus. But if you can allow me to assist you. As you know from 2022 onwards, I have allowed and I even encourage Terra to walk by your side to atone for the immeasurable pain and suffering that I have caused him and his friends… I think they need you to finish what I started, even though you offer a different relationship, not so much their teacher in the realm of light. While Ven was being checked for bad energies [mind blockage/poison], I quickly had a word into the ear of your newest dream guide, Young Cricket, or as you otherwise call him, Dinh Yu. I have been let in on the fact that he is leading you for KH-OC Week, but not even he can seem to navigate you past this energetic block that seems to be tormenting you with regards to Terra. I have asked Dinh Yu to hand his spot over to me for just a short while, and I will guide you where you have always meant to go for Day 7… As Terra’s teacher and someone who now knows him well [after Xehanort]. Dinh-Yu will be back in the driver’s seat at the end to check your balances with you and sign you off.

So first of all, I see you’ve already put up a pre-commissioned artwork of Terra. Continue to discuss the meaning of that and why you got it done. When Terra was your strongest bridge, what is it that made the Land of Departure feel like home to you? Was it the land itself, or was it Terra’s stewardship? When you’re with Terra alone, how does he make you feel? I have come to understand that you didn’t want to wield a keyblade, but when Terra got involved, the very little keyblade knowledge you gained suddenly expanded greatly. Was it the love between you and Terra that made Riku capitulate from his initial arrogance and annoyance?

I come to hear that you’ve in-fact done numerous artworks of you and Terra in the last year. Share those as well. Not so much as descriptions, or you’ll leave them with a strenuous encyclopaedia. But just a gallery of your art if you will and a sentence or two about those works if you must.

I’m now looking at your Day 5 post in the data, and I see you’ve mentioned Neverland as a favorite spot that you liked to go to with Terra. Maybe now is the time to explain why if you wanted to. Again I don’t recommend you follow on all of my ideas if it makes your work unsuitably long, but I am simply cramming in all these ideas so that this severe energy blockage you seem to have undergone in the past few days can’t disable you anymore. I wish you the best of luck, and please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you need any further help.

And wait! Just one more thing before I go or at least take the passenger’s seat. Say you were out of all energy impairments. You can still address the official Day 7 prompt if you wanted to envision any future scenarios with Terra… But that one may be difficult in your current state. Good luck”.

---

SECTION 1B: Commission / Ventus

First of all, I want to re-show off this beautiful art that was drawn by 'Nexathila' within the last year. She does not have a Tumblr, but you can find her by going to this carrd: https://nexathila.carrd.co/

I knew I wanted an artwork with Terra at the time, but I'm not very good at being organised when asking for commissions 😅 So I thought fast and asked for a drawing at the Land of Departure as we did stargazing...

~9:55 PM (AEST):

Sierra: “She’s going to fail the test!”.

Selvian: “Eraqus has given her the prompts. She just now needs to do them”.

Dinh-Yu: “Ahhhhh”.

Selvian: “Relief huh?”.

Dinh-Yu: “Yes. Such a relief. Has she had that bad a blockage before?”.

Selvian: “They come and they go. But that’s the first one you’ve had to deal with. She’s had the doggie not let go of Riku before, and now it’s trying the same thing on Terra”.

Sierra: “Did Ventus get captured because he was trying to help Terra?”.

Selvian: “Yes, sadly”.

Krystal: “I’ve gotten Ven to help out!”.

Selvian: “You have?”.

Krystal: “He’s feeding her thoughts on the Land of Departure, and Cricket’s [Dinh-Yu's] transcribing them into a document and sending them to her journal”.

Selvian: “Thank the Lord in Heaven”.

~10:00 PM - 12:15 AM (AEST)

Ventus:

“The stargazing, she loved it so much. She tried to pretend she didn’t when Aqua and I were around. But when she was alone with Terra and we had a peak, it was something different. I find it amazing how Terra always got answers out of her that none of the other guardians would ever get. I think it’s because Terra never pushed, and not once did he ever betray her trust by spilling things to other people, at least not without asking her permission first.

So even though SHE thought she was rushing to choose something for a commission, I think she was meant to be shown stargazing with Terra there. I notice the artist put their keyblades in the background. She didn’t want or think she’d be getting them in the image to begin with, but then something spoke to her when they WERE included. She had just finished training with Terra, and that was always an also unique experience in itself. Karla seemed to feel this sense of obligation when training with other guardians, but Terra always slipped her into it in the most subtle ways, and he made it fun for her… Y’know, that feeling of having a job but never working a day in your life.

I’m just getting this abstract thought. So I want to address it while I have it. Terra was originally meant as a distraction for Karla, at least that’s what he came for. We all didn’t know what was up when she asked for Riku in May 2020, and as someone who watched over Riku as it were, Terra had genuine concerns. But you know Terra, he’s not one to be mean to anyone, so he simply tried to divert Karla’s attention but she was one smart cookie. And then as Terra was trying to help Riku, he decided to help her too. Y’know? Starting out as one thing but then diverging into another? Terra wasn’t even Karla’s dream guide to begin with, but he just felt this sudden compassion and need to work her out, like there was more to her than meets the eye.

I guess Terra wedging himself into her life did work out as she needed him in late 2021. Like… As in because he made an effort to connect with her and know her, she knew he was the next best option to add to Riku. But I digress.

Back to keyblade training. Again, what Karla thought was a chore, Terra made it seamless for her. And the way he taught her, I’ve never seen him be so as accommodating to anyone as he was to her. Like his method was brute strength and hard hits, but he knew that he was the only one she’d train with, so Terra made it a point to control his power around her. And like Terra made it his business to watch and learn Aqua’s style so that he could teach that to Karla. With Aqua’s style but Karla’s own magic added, she became a powerhouse and even shocked Terra. But where Terra eventually got her is sometimes she’d spend too long manifesting a spiritual or cosmically powered spell to support her attack, and then Terra would smack her from behind and tell her she’s gotta take the rose-coloured glasses off when reality comes flying at her all of a sudden. I think that’s why her mind isolated her only to Riku these days… Because he’s more head on. So I think it’s about the need for her to find a middle ground and then she’ll be able to keep them both.

Let’s see now. I addressed the art and stargazing, which then led to keyblade training. Oh! I should tell you that Mahna Templestowe is not the first keyblade she manifested. Because like I said, she has universal manifestation and other psychic powers, so with it, the first keyblade she manifested was a clone of Terra’s and we were all shocked. But it just went to show how much Terra meant to her, and I remember a tear falling out of his eye when he saw that keyblade. I heard she got Mahna Templestowe later down the track when her keyblade use became more regular, and at the time, she was doing something with Riku or Terra in the realm of darkness. When she was put on her own to save one of them, rather than relying on them, that’s where she got her ‘personality’ so to speak.

Now I’ve been told that the master suggested talking about why she likes going to Neverland with Terra. I don’t really know the answer, as that’s between her and him. And… Cricket! Don’t peer into her dream journal! That’s an invasion of privacy! Well… I guess we’ve got answers now. So they would always sit on a rock and look out to the sea as Terra held her. They didn’t talk as much in Neverland; that was more just a tranquil moment together, or more recreation as it were. I think as she felt the Land of Departure was her base point, that’s where she’d find herself if she needed to have a really important conversation with Terra. Like she’d seek out his home and he’d give it to her in a sense. In summary, the she’d travel with Terra to all these BBS worlds and each one had a unique feel for a different activity, but the Land of Departure was at the heart of it all, and basically what she associates Terra with.

I’m really sad that Karla’s mind (energy levels) started to attack her in regards to Terra and tried to prevent her from finishing OC Week, but my teddy friend Krystal stayed with me in customs, and she actually managed to talk me out of the astral lock I was put into. So as Terra’s friend and someone who really loves Karla, I’m doing my part to save the day and I’ve been asked by Selvian and Cricket to contribute to her story ❤️"

Krystal running in with Ventus goes to show that the teddies have a mind of their own. Just like I didn't know Sibella wasn't right for Terra, I didn't know Krystal remained with Ventus. I assigned Krystal to Ventus at one point, but never heard from her since. Then when Selvian brought Ventus to 'customs' to try and help me with my severe mind blockages, Krystal came with him! So those two have had a good friendship. And now come to think of it... I have envisioned her doing things with Ventus in the LoD from time to time 🤔

---

I don't have a teddy version of Krystal drawn up (because obvs she surprised me). So here is a human model from January this year:

MISS KRYSTAL LEBAUCHEN (Ventus) - ISFP:

---

SECTION 1C: Art Gallery (KB)

^Official DG 'family photoshoot' done in 2023. Karla is between her KH dream guides here. Riku and Terra's expressions are portrayed so accurately here 😊

^Karla normally doesn't like early mornings, but at the Land of Departure, Terra makes it worthwhile if she's up for it.

^Terra being the gentleman as always. He accompanied Karla to a Christmas photoshoot at the end of 2023. They both have a copy of the photo in their homes.

---

~12:35 AM (AEST)

With sheer patience and shameless intervention from nearly the entirety of my team AND Kingdom Hearts, we beat the energy block even though it presented a Good Game! Thank you for playing lol. In the words of Master Eraqus himself. CHECKMATE.

---

SECTION 2: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU

Now I did say back in Day 5 that I had a surprise for a certain someone, for putting his hand up and acting as my Jiminy for this event. Thank you for being so accommodating and allowing him to work his magic:

Now sadly, he'll have to bus Natasha and Erika back home, but I hope you had a great time learning about them and getting to know them, and at least they now have a foothold in Kingdom Hearts if they need to do any future field work there. And with that, Sierra and Erika have to go their own ways for now unless they decide to visit each other down the track, but nothing is planned yet.

Natasha and Erika will have their keyblades hung somewhere in Cricket's dojo until they decide to use them again.

---

Thank you to the mods of KH-OC Week itself; for making everyone feel welcome and putting on a successful event (it's still here in 2024 😶). I've loved seeing everyone else's works and where they come from. I think we all deserve to have an inheritance [individual timelines] in KH, hence why I link the user to the OC. Including how I bridge myself.

As much as I have hilariously complained because my mind has been pushing exhaustion on me (and didn't like Terra 🥲) , increasingly leading up to Day 7. Here are some of the benefits that I have received from KH-OC Week 2024, as opposed to if I didn't participate:

It has reminded me to check my lore and restabilise my bridge with Kingdom Hearts.

Terra probably would have remained at the depths of limbo without this event. My mind throwing a tantrum was a good thing IMO because now I know what steps to take to get him back FULLY. Even if it takes more than just a week. KH-OC Week (and Dinh-Yu's unique prompts and instruction) pushed me into awareness and progress. I honestly think Dinh-Yu knew Terra was in trouble beforehand; he's cluey like that.

I would have never discovered that someone wasn't suitable for Terra. We have now introduced someone that he'll have a much better relationship with.

Sierra got to spend time with her sister. And as Erika is an ESFJ, she actually forged connections with some of the Kingdom Hearts members.

We have evidence and a stern commitment from Riku that he isn't the grouch we met back in 2020. His loyalty to us is unwavering, and it even bleeds down to the bears. He is personally thanking Dinh-Yu for doing KH-OC Week with me.

Whenever OC Week happens, new lore just pops up out of nowhere, which is why the Days can change so suddenly from their initial plan.

Admin Edit: I just looked at my clock upon finishing and it says 1:23! The subliminal msg I got when looking at the clock was that despite all the mental battle, KH-OC Week has indeed finished on a positive and strong note.

And...

Thanks Universe XD 💖

[monamourbladie]

The Man of My Dreams - Blade x Reader (chapter 6)

Who said that the man of your dreams couldn’t be real? After having dreams of the same mystery man for 2 weeks straight, the reader sets off on a journey to find the mystery man known as “Blade” that had been occupying her mind every single night. After realizing that he might actually be a real person, and not just a man she made up, she will finally discover parts of her past that had been long forgotten and locked away. (Originally posted on AO3, which can be read here. Also posted on Wattpad, which is here.)

Chapters Masterlist

warnings: slow burn, slight enemies to lovers themes, fluff, HEAVY angst throughout the entire story (not kidding.), soulmates, memory loss, mutual pining, eventual smut, pwp, renheng themes

Tag List: (@ me to be added) @kimura-uzuri

Fu Xuan knew she had time to speak with the General before Kafka's interrogation was to take place. She quickly moved to a secluded location outside of the hotel and made a holograph call to the General. Quickly, he answered the call, looking concerned. "Is there something wrong, Diviner?" Fu Xuan let out a soft sigh, glancing at her hands. "You were right, General. About Y/n? It is her. The same one that was banished from the Luofu all that time ago." Jing Yuan simply hummed in response, his hand moving towards his chin in thought. "I see. I was afraid of that. I can't say it's not nice to see an old friend, however - even if we weren't that close at the time." Jing Yuan recalled the painful memory of the day everything went wrong. The day Yingxing died, and a grave sin was committed in an attempt to save his life. Jing Yuan tried his best to not think of it.

"How much does Y/n know?" he then asked. "I told her I must speak to you first before I tell her anything. She knows I know something grave. She doesn't remember she's a Vidyadhara... or that she was even married." Jing Yuan looked at Fu Xuan with a slight smirk, "Meaning, she has no idea the man she's been dreaming of was her husband in a past incarnation? How amusing." Fu Xuan shifted uncomfortably, "What should I tell her, General? She remembers nothing of her previous life. She has no idea of her sin, what she did to Yingxing, or even who she really is. Is it even safe to unlock those memories? And how did she even forget?"

Jing Yuan looked at her with a solemn expression. "Her reincarnation process was interrupted. The same happened to the Imbibitor Lunae, Dan Feng. Because neither of the two could complete a full reincarnation cycle, everything in their previous life was locked away - essentially making them believe they were an entirely new person. It would take nothing short of a miracle for their full memories to return, and for them to physically appear as a Vidyadhara once more. I don't think this is the time for that. Especially since, if Y/n were to fully return knowing everything she did - she'd still be banished. I don't feel like sending her to prison when she's already helped us so much with the Stellaron Hunters."

"So... what should I tell her, then?" Fu Xuan asked. "Tell her nothing. Tell her that once this all passes, I will set her aside and answer all of her questions. But for now - we can not risk her finding out about her previous incarnation. Especially if my hunch is correct, and that Blade is truly Yingxing, it could be disastrous." Fu Xuan nodded, bowing her head, "Yes, General. I will go catch up with our guests and begin the interrogation of Kafka momentarily." Jing Yuan nodded to her, "Good. Report to me once it is complete. And good luck - dealing with Kafka needs it," he chuckled. His hologram faded away, and Fu Xuan left to find the Trailblazers.

Fu Xuan remained at the center of the Commission where the Divination was to take place, waiting for the Trailblazers to return. Soon, Stelle, Welt, March, and Y/n walked up. Y/n walked straight up to Fu Xuan as the Cloud Knights guided Kafka to the center. "Well? Did you speak with the General?" she asked. Fu Xuan nodded, raising her hand to silence her, "Yes. And I'm afraid this will have to wait until after the Divination." Y/n glared at her, "No. You're going to tell me the truth right now. I have a right to know." FU Xuan grumbled, shaking her head, "I don't have time for this. You can talk with the General afterward like he requested! Now stand back with your friends and let me do my job," she snapped at Y/n. Y/n rolled her eyes and walked towards March and Stelle, "Whatever. I'll figure it out myself."

March immediately took notice of her frustrated demeanor and frowned. "Woah... what's got you all fired up?" March commented. Y/n crossed her arms as she stood beside her bubbly friend, "Fu Xuan knows the truth about what's going on with my dreams and refuses to tell me. She's claiming I have to speak with the General to learn the truth. As if it's so important I have to talk to the damn General of the freaking Luofu. Like, what is she even on?!" Y/n started ranting to March. "Oh! And one other thing that's  freaking perfect is apparently, the man in my dreams? Blade? She's claiming he's my husband! How ridiculous is that!" March immediately busted out laughing. "Oh, that's so funny! And so obviously wrong! You've never even met him, how could you be married? If you ask me, little missy up there is just spitballing everything she says! I doubt she'll even be able to fully do... whatever it is she's doing to Kafka," March muttered, looking over at Fu Xuan who was beginning the Divination process.

Brilliant shapes made of vibrant pink lights were swarming around Kafka, causing her to levitate. Fu Xuan's hands were raised in front of her, her eyes closed in focus as she Divined the truth of Kafka. As frustrated as Y/n was, she couldn't deny how beautiful this process was shaping out to look. The shapes swirled around Kafka as her smirk grew until Fu Xuan pulled back gasping for air - the same reaction she had after seeing through Y/n's memories. "That's... that's why you're here...?" she asked, her voice shaky. "All for that?" 

"What? Not what you were expecting?" Kafka smiled innocently down at her. "I... I can't believe it. But the Matrix of Prescience cannot be wrong," Fu Xuan muttered, looking down at her hands. The Trailblazers and Tingyun stepped closer to Fu Xuan to make sure everything was alright. "What did you see?" Y/n asked. "Kafka has nothing to do with the Stellaron, but... it's you." Fu Xuan pointed to Stelle. She let out a bitter laugh, "Absurd. I'd never thought it. "Me?" Stelle asked simply. "Ask her yourself. Speak to her as long as you'd wish." Fu Xuan stepped aside to allow Stelle to walk up to Kafka.

Y/n quickly moved forward and rest her hand on Stelle's shoulder, "Are you sure you want to speak with her?" she asked Stelle cautiously. Stelle glanced at her hand then back at her, slowly nodding. Y/n then removed her hand and watched as Stelle walked up to Kafka, whose smile only widened at the sight of her. Her obsession with Stelle was creepy at this point.

Y/n crossed her arms as she began to think over her dreams again. March hopped over and leaned on her shoulder, smiling. "Hey, miss pouty. Try and cheer up, okay? As I said, I doubt whatever Fu Xuan is trying to talk you into believing is a load of lies. Just live in the moment! Look around at the Luofu and how pretty it is! And that tree that we saw earlier? It was so pretty, I took so many photos of it!" March exclaimed. Y/n couldn't help but smile at her excited younger friend. She never failed to bring a smile to her face, even in times of feeling stressed out like right now. "Thanks, March. Can I see?" March nodded as she went to grab her camera, when a huge earthquake shook the planet. March immediately grabbed onto Y/n's arm, looking around frantically, "What's happening?!" 

"It's the tree!" Welt exclaimed, pointing at it. The ground shook intensely as the tree grew at an alarmingly fast rate, the top of the tree protruding past the clouds from its height. From the branches dropped glowing words in the Luofu's native language, beautiful yellow sparks falling from it slowly. It was so large that it completely obstructed most of the view of the Luofu now. 

"Kafka's escaping!" Fu Xuan yelled. Everyone turned to look at Stelle, who was currently trying to chase after Kafka. Her shackles had been magically broken and she immediately started to back up. As Stelle sprinted forward, a man dropped in front of her, holding his sword dangerously close to her - forcing her to keep her distance. Y/n looked over and immediately recognized him. It was Blade. He was here, so close to her...

"Let's go, Bladie~" Kafka called to him. "We've got two more places to visit." Blade twirled his sword behind his back as he kept a strong glare at Stelle. Y/n felt her heart pound out of her chest. She wanted to follow him. Y/n broke free of March's grasp and she gasped, yelling back at her as she ran, "Y/n, what are you doing?!" 

"BLADE!" She yelled, catching up to Stelle quickly. Blade began to turn to follow Kafka when he froze, recognizing the voice. The voice... from his dreams...? He turned back around fully and saw Y/n running up to him. He quickly drew his sword again, holding it taught, "Who are you?" He snapped. "Leave her, we don't have time for this!" Kafka yelled at him. "It's me! It's Y/n! You're the one from my dreams... you're... you're real," Y/n said, her gaze completely fixated on his. His glare softened, examining her face as he took in her words. Then it clicked in his mind...

Blade let his sword fall to his side. He felt so conflicted. The woman he had been longing to finally meet was right in front of him, but he had to run with Kafka... Kafka rolled her eyes and twirled her fingers, "Just take her with us, damn it!" Blade heard her voice in his head and he growled, closing his eyes. He let out a heavy sigh and immediately grabbed Y/n's wrist tightly, pulling her against his body as he leaned in to whisper, "Don't make me regret this."

His free arm slid around her waist, holding her flush against his body. After making sure he had a firm grip on her, he started to run. Y/n squealed in surprise, "Hey! Let go of - what do you think you're doing!?" she tried fighting it, but good God that man was so strong, she could barely move an inch in his hold. The Trailblazers started yelling after them, chasing after Kafka and Blade as they got away with Y/n. 

She wanted to resist, but something was stopping her from it... Maybe she was secretly okay with this? She was at least, until she saw them get closer to the ledge... "You better not fucking jump that!" she yelled. Kafka let out a laugh, "That's the fun part, Trailblazer." She raised her arms and fell backward off the platform, disappearing. Y/n grabbed Blade tighter as she hid her face in his chest, his grip on her tightening, "Better hold on..." he muttered, jumping head first after Kafka. Y/n screamed as they fell, fully convinced this was how she'd die.

To her utter surprise, she, Blade, and Kafka had landed feet first on a Starskiff deck that was docked below the platform, perfectly hidden from view. Kafka brushed off the dirt from her clothes as she regained her stature, looking at Blade with a pissed off gaze, "What the hell is wrong with you, Blade?" She snapped at him. Blade set Y/n down, rolling his eyes, "Don't you start." Y/n's knees immediately buckled, most likely from the fear of dropping that far so fast as she scrambled to find a place to sit down. Her breathing was jagged as she tried to process everything that had just happened.

"Don't I start? Don't I start?? Blade, you brought a fugitive with us! This was not a part of the script!" she snapped at him. "And out of everyone, it was an Astral Express member! Are you fucking insane?" she yelled. Blade waved his hand in irritants, "I'll get back to you in a damn minute, so shut up!" he snapped back at her. He turned from Kafka to Y/n, walking directly up to her. "Get up," he snapped at her. His voice was much colder in person than how it was in her dreams. She gulped as she stood up slowly. Blade gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, keeping it at his side, "Y/n, isn't it?" he asked coldly. She nodded quickly, "Y-yes... please tell me you've been having those dreams too so I don't feel like an absolute idiot," she asked nervously. She was greatly intimidated by him. His stature was much more intense in person, and he was way taller than she thought he'd be. She gulped as she looked up at him when he moved closer, clearly examining her.

Blade was silent for a few moments, "...Yes, I have been," he finally answered. "You've been in all of them. How are you here?" he asked her. Kafka scoffed, "This is her?" she muttered, rolling her eyes as she started piloting the Starskiff to the next destination. "I'm with the Astral Express. Kafka... she told us to come here. Said she needed help to get you out of prison..." Y/n replied. She couldn't help but blush from how close he was to her. Either he had no concept of personal space, or he was that close to her to get a reaction out of her. Either way, it was intimidating in the best ways.

"She managed just fine without you. What's the real reason why you're here?" Blade replied, his tone growing colder again. Y/n bit her lip, "That's why we came. But... when I realized I might have a chance of actually meeting you, I made sure to come with them. Even if I had a friend tell me to stay away from you," she answered truthfully. She hadn't thought about Dan Heng in a while, and now she was beginning to feel guilty that here she was doing the exact opposite of what she promised him. But now that she saw him in person... she didn't feel so bad about it.

"Good to know that friend of yours is afraid of me," Blade said with a smirk. "But, I must say I'm curious as to how you realized it was me." he set his sword down, crossing his arms. It was amusing to him just how short she was in comparison to him. But, he couldn't lie to himself - she was just as gorgeous as he secretly hope she'd be in person.

"Fu Xuan and General Jing Yuan all but confirmed it," she replied to him. She brushed some of the hair from her face as she let out a shaky sigh, "L-Listen... I don't want to cause any trouble. I really don't. I just... I felt compelled to talk to you. This was what I came on the Luofu for anyway, hoping I'd be able to find you if you truly did exist." Blade was amused by this. He slowly started to walk forward toward her, and she instinctively backed up. "How sentimental of you. How about you tell me what Jing Yuan told you, then?" She hit her back against the wall of the Starskiff, and she blushed brightly as his hand lay against her head. He had her practically pinned between her and the wall. She bit her lip, staying silent as she looked up at him flustered, "I..." Blade waited for a moment for her to answer, and when she didn't, he reached down for his sword slowly, "Don't make me use this on you, sweetheart. Just tell me what he told you," he said in a taunting tone. Her eyes widened at the nickname, and it served to make her all the more flustered by the situation she was in. Blade looked down at her with an amused sly smile. He was enjoying taunting her like this...

Before Y/n could fully answer, Kafka spoke up for them. "You're married, Blade. To her. Is that what it is?" Kafka said. Y/n looked over at Kafka, her mouth hanging open in surprise, "How... how did you know?" Blade looked back at Kafka in shock, then back at Y/n even more surprised. He immediately dropped his sword and removed his hand from beside her head, taking a large step back from her. "Excuse me?" He said in an angry tone, as if the mere thought offended him deeply. Kafka pulled out Y/n's jade pendant necklace, smirking. "You dropped this when we landed on the Starskiff. It's identical to Bladie's." Blade immediately moved forward and snatched it from Kafka's hand, examining it. Y/n felt nervous as he held it, "Hey! Be careful with that, it's a family heirloom!" she exclaimed.

"No... it can't be," he murmured. He looked down at his belt where he kept his jade pendant. His brows furrowed as he moved his hand to unhook it from his belt, holding it up to her pendant. He noticed that the two could be pieced together... so he connected the pendants.

And it was a perfect fit. Blade remained in complete silence as he and Y/n looked at their pendants that slotted perfectly into each other. It was obvious they were a one-of-a-kind pair. "What do you know of the Jade Pendant, Kafka?" Blade asked. His voice was calm and quiet now. Kafka crossed her arms and sat down on a chair behind the couple. "On the Luofu, those pendants are used in place of a traditional wedding ring. Although a ring could be bought for looks, the Pendant is the true symbol of marriage. According to legend, Vidyadharians specifically would place their pendant in their mouth before their reincarnation process in hopes of being reunited with their lover in their next life." Kafka began to smirk, "Cute, is it not?"

Y/n's heart began to race. Everything was slotting almost too perfectly into place. But it still felt like she was missing a huge chunk of information. "I don't mean to be rude, but I don't remember getting married to you," Y/n spoke up, looking up at Blade. He looked down at her for a moment, nodding in response, "Nor do I."

"Curious," Kafka said, standing up. She stepped between the pair and held the connected pendant in her hand, "Well, then if neither of you remembers, then I guess it's not true?" Kafka suggested. "It's just by pure coincidence that you two have been dreaming of each other for weeks on end, and have matching jade pendants that eludes to you two being married. No biggie, I suppose," Kafka said with a fake disappointed sigh. Blade rolled his eyes at her dramatization. "I have had memories for the longest time with a woman I could not recognize. I'm beginning to think that perhaps you are the woman in those memories, Y/n," Blade finally spoke up, turning to her. Y/n glanced up at him. She shrugged lightly, "Maybe. I've had the same kinds of memories, but I always thought they were dreams, since I had no idea what was happening in them." Y/n took a moment to recall a few of them. "But... now that I'm thinking about it, maybe you're right? In mine, there was always one man that I couldn't identify his voice, or what he looked like. But eventually, I started to see you appear in my dreams..."

Y/n and Blade both looked at each other. They felt a certain warmth and familiarity as they did, which caused Y/n to smile up at him. "What if... somehow... we really are married?" Y/n asked. "Then what?" Blade remained completely silent. He looked down at her, averting his eyes from her to the sky. "I don't know," he said simply. He then walked to the opposite side of the Starskiff, leaving Y/n and Kafka alone.

She felt her heart sink... he seemed irritated at the idea that they were married. Maybe she was stupid to come here and confront him in person. She understood that everything she was explaining seemed farfetched and completely unreal - she even thought that. But what she hoped was not the case was that Blade was angry at this development.

What else was she forgetting? Maybe if she managed to remember whatever it was, she'd find out the truth as to what she and Blade truly are.

[blametheeditor]

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How To Care For Your Sick Scott

Content Warnings: Cursing. Mentions of a fever, working while sick. Fear of punishment.

His day off has long been overdue

______________________________

Scott feels like absolute shit. 

He didn’t think anything was wrong at first. He woke up to his alarm clock at 6am, well aware he’d be getting a call or text from someone, either saying something happened during the night shift and only wanted to report it so they had plenty of time to get home and avoid the well deserved wrath, or Afton informing him of his tasks that need to get done for the day. 

The point is, he woke up to press the snooze button. Closed his eyes with a long sigh as he waited for the all too familiar ding of a message appearing on his phone. 

And he did hear one. Except it was for one that came through at noon because he apparently fell back asleep right as the one from Afton was sent at 6:01am. And as soon as he reached for his phone after spotting the time on his clock, that was when he realized he felt awful. Like a giant had their hand wrapped around him with the want to squeeze him to death awful.

It took him a little too long to realize he’s sick. But the thing is, Scott doesn’t get sick. Afton made sure of that considering he wouldn’t want his overglorified secretary being unable to work. Being sick essentially means getting a pass from nigh-impossible tasks and experiments. God, wouldn’t that be a shame. 

But it is. One look at the messages says there’s too much to do to be sick. This doesn’t excuse him from what needs to be done today, it’s just made it ten times harder. 

Scott takes a deep breath as the panic rises. Sucks in a gasp when his stomach protests from just sitting up, wanting to throw something at the wall at the realization he’d have to stick to water today. How can this day get any better. 

He makes an effort to focus on his phone screen. Blinks in confusion at why David was asking where he was. Groans when it finally clicks as he reads Afton’s early morning text stating he was supposed to be at Fazbear Entertainment Center at 11am. 

At least that was the only thing the sadistic bastard wanted. He’ll let David know he’ll be there in half an hour. But the text from Jeremy says BalloonBoy’s out of commission, though that might just have to wait. And he is not brave enough to ask how that happened. Anything from Jeremy is supposed to be a report from Mike one of the originals is in bad shape and nothing else. 

Scott rubs his face in frustration, despising the fog over his mind. He can work with it, though. He just needs to get dressed and head toward David’s restaurant. That’s all he needs to do for now. 

He actually manages to succeed leaving his house in five minutes. The only problem is it sapped all of his energy. And to top it off his entire body shakes from chills that forced him to put on a long sleeve and pants for the first time in years, and yet it doesn’t nothing to chase away how cold he feels. 

It takes all of Scott’s willpower to continue walking along the street. He would much rather crawl back under the covers and fall asleep, but he can’t. It’s either fighting through this, or letting Afton do whatever the hell he wants as soon as the human is back at 100% by asking for a sick day. 

He’s fine, though. Made it to David’s restaurant without any issues. 

Stares at the door for a solid five minutes because no way in hell is he able to time darting after footsteps in his current state. He’ll end up underfoot or caught by the closing door. Why has David still not created a human friendly entrance? Why did Scott ever approve Fritz getting transferred here if risking their lives is the only way to get inside? 

“Mr. Cawthon?” 

He almost forgets that’s his last name, quickly looking up to see the towering form of Lefty of all animatronics holding the door open. 

“Yes?” 

The black bear looks as if he wants to say something before thinking better of it. “Mr. Harrison informed us you would be visiting. Would you mind some assistance coming inside?” 

Scott shakes his head as he quickly walks into the building. He tries to keep an eye on Lefty to ensure the door is held until he’s completely out of the way, but the only thing he can focus on is the screaming. He’s been long since used to it, but today it just seems like there’s a hundred children rather than just thirty. 

It’s too much. The overwhelming noises making his head feel like it’s going to split. The chills wracking his body leaving his legs trembling so much that if a giant steps too close, he’ll fall to the floor and be unable to stand back up. His stomach is having a war between feeling nauseous, and being too cold for it. 

“Hey, Scott!” 

He whirls around to see Fritz darting through the door Lefty still holds open, feeling nothing but relief having the redhead here. Until he remembers it’s a weekday. “Why are you not at school?” 

He’s given fearful wide eyes before they both jump at Lefty’s laughter. “You would get caught by Scott on the day you skip school.” 

“I didn’t skip!” Fritz exclaims. “It was a half day I swear!” 

Scott scowls. “If I find out David’s been encouraging skipping classes for work.” 

“He’s not, honestly! He even has my schedule for school, so if I did ditch he’d send me back.” 

Scott would like to trust that David would be that responsible, but he’s not fully certain. At least Fritz doesn’t look guilty carrying his backpack and not wearing a uniform. But without the distraction of concern, he’s reminded that he still feels terrible and should not attempt in walking through a restaurant only meant for giants. It’s a miracle no one’s stepped on him so far. 

“You okay, Scott?” Fritz asks. “You look a little pale.” 

He doesn’t know what compels him to not admit he’s most likely running a fever. Maybe it’s the fear it’ll get back to Afton. Or that if he says it out loud, his body will give up and he’ll be forced to take a sick day. Possibly even the fact he doesn’t want Fritz to worry about him, not when the kid already has so much on his plate. 

“I’m fine,” Scott waves. Manages to turn toward the hallway the leads to David’s office without making his head spin, numbly putting one foot in front of the other as he makes his way toward the wall. 

He didn’t expect Fritz to follow, but he’s more than grateful when the teenager joins him. “Did Mr. Harrison summon you?” 

“Afton,” the eldest guard grumbles. He was going to continue the thought, but he can’t help getting distracted every time a child runs past them. “How has school been?” 

Fritz perks up at the question. “There’s a robotics competition coming up! I think I’m going to sign up and-” 

Scott honestly listens to every word that’s said. He misses a few pieces, and there’s a moment when he brain is so foggy he nearly forgot why they were walking through the restaurant in the first place, but he’s able to catch the majority. Got reminded how much he’s missed Fritz working at Freddy Fazbear’s. At least David has kept his word in ensuring the kid has been kept safe and mostly happy. 

But it feels like between one blink and the next, and they finally arrive at David’s office door. Thank God it’s cracked open or else Scott would have just turned right back around. 

“Scott’s here, Mr. Harrison!” Fritz calls up when they’re not immediately noticed, especially as the eldest guard opts to make his way over to the stairs built into the giant’s desk without uttering a word. 

David pauses his typing to look down at them, Scott earning an eyeroll before a suspicious look is fixed on Fritz. “Half day?” 

“Scott already grilled me,” the redhead confirms. 

That seems to satisfy the business man who then sends a glare toward Scott. “Any particular reason why you’re about two hours late?” 

“I might be Afton’s lapdog, but I can’t always show up at the exact time he tells me to.” 

He waits for David to air out his grievances. Most likely state he lost precious time and therefore money. If Scott is Afton’s lapdog then he should always be on time, rain or shine, no excuses. He exists only to do what the company owner asks him to, nothing more. 

But it doesn’t happen, the giant content on finishing what he’s currently working on as he waits for Scott to make it onto the desk. And truth be told, he’s proud he did manage to make it to the top, but he feels like he’s going to collapse at any second. Keeps a white knuckled grip on the railing to ensure he doesn’t crumple onto the ground. 

He’s fine, he just needs a minute to catch his breath. 

“Are you sure you’re okay, Scott?” Fritz murmurs. 

“Fine,” is rasped out, hoping saying it out loud will make it true. But then a water bottle is offered, and Scott all but attempts to drown himself with it. “Thank you.” 

“I don’t think that’s going to be enough,” David rumbles, making the eldest guard jump by how close the giant is, not having noticed him leaning down. “You look like shit.” 

“I’m fine, I just need a moment.” 

“I could see you shaking when you were climbing up the stairs. Even I can tell you look pale.” 

Scott clenches his fists at the scrutiny, not wanting a lecture from David of all people. The moment he opens his mouth, however, a fingerprint appears in front of his face. He’s so confused by how it got there he doesn’t even realize it’s pressed against his forehead. And even when he does, there’s no movement to get away. Not with the wave of warmth that washes over him. 

He even takes a few steps forward after it retreats. “Scott you’re burning up. You’re almost too hot for me to tolerate.” 

“Have you taken any medicine?” Fritz begins, looking almost upset as he looks up at the eldest guard. “You haven’t drank any coffee today, have you?” 

"I don’t need you to act like my mother,” Scott can’t help but snap. Angry with the idea of not only David voicing his opinion, but a teenager saying what’s best. “I know my limits and when coffee’s a bad idea. Just let me do my job.” 

With that, he stomps toward David’s computer. 

Well, he tried to. He didn’t realize just how much his body was shaking. Even worse than before. Meaning he doesn’t even get two steps in before his knees buckle, leaving him to fall forward to faceplant onto the desk’s hard surface. 

For the first time in a long time, Scott is grateful when fingers catch him instead. “Alright, that’s enough out of you.” 

That’s when he’s carefully scooped up, vertigo making his stomach twist as he’s lifted up. A part of him says he’s supposed to be doing everything in his power to escape the hand holding him, to scream, kick, bite, plead. But for once there’s a louder part that’s wanting to do nothing more than go limp, sighing in relief as he’s warmed to his core. 

“You are definitely sick,” David grumbles. “I’m going to call Mutated Grape and-” 

“NO!” Scott screams as he sits up so quickly his vision goes dark for a moment. Fails to notice the giant looking shocked from the outburst, too focused on making sure he’s listened to. “Don’t call Vince or Afton! I-I can get everything done! I just, I just need ten minutes, that’s it. Please, I can still work I promise I’ll get it all done!” 

Because he can he just needs to rest for ten minutes. Ten minutes, and he’ll be able to do everything Afton needs. 

David clears his throat before lowering his voice. “I won’t call them. Can I call James, though?” 

Scott stares at nothing as he thinks the request over, trying to remember if the man would have to report him to Afton. “Only James?” 

“I’ll put him on speaker phone,” the giant offers. 

The eldest guard slowly nods, his shoulders slumping in relief when David lowers his hand so the phone screen is visible after it’s set down next to Fritz on the desk. Tenses when James’ name is tapped on, watching to make sure no extra buttons are pressed except to be put on speaker. 

“Working, David.” 

“We’ve got a problem.” 

James hesitates. “What kind of problem?” 

“Scott’s so sick he’s letting me hold him and panicked when I suggested telling William kind of problem.” 

“He’s what?” 

“Mr. Harrison’s telling the truth,” Fritz pipes up. “It sounds like a fever, but he refuses to take the day off. He even walked all the way to the restaurant.” 

Scott wants to say something. To tell James he’s fine. To ask the doctor to tell the others he just needs ten minutes and then he’ll be good to go. 

“Scott, how do you feel?” 

“I’m fine,” he quickly replies. “I can still work.” 

“What needs to get done today?” James asks. 

“BalloonBoy’s broken. And I needed to help David with something.” Something that he could be helping with right now after going through all the trouble to get here. 

“Okay, I have an idea,” the doctor begins. “I will text Eggs and see if when he can fix BalloonBoy today. You take some medicine, drink some water, and rest for a little bit. I’m sure David has other things he needs to get done while you’re asleep. Then when you wake up, you can help him with whatever he needs. What do you think?” 

Scott thinks the plan over. Glances at David’s computer to see the unfinished report that was being worked on. He can also trust Eggs to fix whatever’s broken. Just to make sure that’s all that needs to be done, he takes out his phone to carefully reread all of his texts. 

“Okay.” 

“David, do you have fever medicine for humans on hand, or do you need me to give you the dosage he can take from giants?” 

“I’ve got human medicine,” David says. 

“Perfect. You can keep holding him if that’s what he prefers, but if he seems to get warmer have a blanket nearby to put him on. My shift doesn’t end for another few hours, but don’t hesitate to call if anything happens.” 

“Thank you, James,” Fritz waves. 

“I’ll keep you updated.” David then ends the call before locking eyes with Scott. “I’ll get you water and medicine. Do you intend on sleeping in my hand, or would you prefer a blanket?” 

He can already feel the chills returning at the thought of leaving the giant’s warmth. “Hand.” 

“Never thought I’d see the day. Fritz, don’t move, I’ll be right back.” 

Scott groans as his stomach protests from David standing up, burying down further into the warmth in the hopes it’ll make the pain go away. It subsides, though he doesn’t enjoy how much he’s jostled with every footstep taken. Growls when he hears the screams of children and only stopping when they disappear completely with the sound of a door closing. 

It’s only then does he realize David’s laughing, sitting up in order to scowl up at the business man. “What are you laughing at?” 

“You, dumbass. Never did I think you’d growl at children.” 

“They’re loud,” Scott defends as he lifts his hands up in a ‘give me’ motion, unimpressed with how long it takes for the pills and water to be surrendered. 

“You should get sick more often,” David muses. 

That earns him a full glare as the two pills are quickly swallowed down along with the entire cup of water. But just as he curls up to close his eyes, he meets hazel eyes watching him with interest. “Don’t let me sleep too long.” 

“Get some rest, Scott.” 

He’s out like a light, trusting the giant will keep him safe while he sleeps. 

“How is he?” 

The familiar rumbling voice slowly pulls him back toward consciousness. Confused on why he’d want to wake up. He’s warm, comfortable. He forgot why, but he’s confident no one will try to grab him. 

“He’s been asleep this entire time.” 

“I was talking about Scott.” 

“Fritz has only been out for an hour.” 

Scott blinks when he not only hears David’s voice, but it sends tremors through his very core as well. Wants to tell the business man to quiet down. It feels like he’s been asleep for days, and yet it hasn’t been long enough. 

“Eggs already got BalloonBoy fixed. What did you need help with?” 

“William wants the restaurants to start using a new program for financials. I’ve messed around with it, and it’s been pretty intuitive. By the sound of it, either Scott wasn’t given the full story and we figure it out together, or it’s something he’s worked with before and already knows the ins and outs.” 

“When are you expected to send the next report?” 

“A week from now, we’ve got plenty of time.” 

After everything goes silent, Scott finally realizes the second voice as James’ as well as comprehending he’s currently staring at fingers that belong to a giant because he wanted to be held. Why did he want to be held? 

“Has his temperature gone up?” 

“I can’t tell anymore. I’ve held him for so long my hand might as well have a first degree burn.” 

“I think you’re being dramatic.” 

“Why don’t you check his temperature doctor.” 

Scott slowly sits up as he feels David’s hand move, perking up at the sight of James kneeling down in order to offer a smile. “Hello, hello.” 

“Hey, boss. How do you feel?” 

“You two woke me up,” the eldest guard growls as he rubs his eyes. 

“We’ll let you get back to your nap, old man,” James grins. “Do you mind if I take over for David, though?” 

In the back of his mind, Scott knows he shouldn’t want to be held. Knows he should ask to be put down instead. Wants above all just to get back to work because Afton guaranteed has or will send another text with more instructions. 

His head ends up nodding. Going limp against James’ fingers as they gently scoop him up. Snags the closest one to hug as vertigo yet again makes his stomach twist with pain. 

“Good luck with that, by the way,” is said in a way he can’t help but think there’s a smirk on David’s face. “I wasn’t allowed to stand up for anything or else he’d start thrashing. And don’t think for a second you can put him down. He has a vice grip not even Fritz could coax him out of.” 

“And you tell me this after he’s already grabbed my finger?” 

“That was sleeping Scott. I’m sure he’s more reasonable when he’s awake.” 

Scott looks up to watch James’ contemplative expression. Closes his eyes as a finger approaches his face, all too familiar with the rudimentary way of checking for a temperature, even if this one is on a much larger scale. 

“Looks like you have the chills. Can we get more medicine in you before you fall back asleep?” 

...he shouldn’t go back to sleep. He’ll take the medicine, but he hasn’t checked his phone in who knows how long. He knows he’s still not completely recovered, and he’s dreading the moment when he has to leave the giant’s warmth, but the fog over his mind has lessened. He’s already wasted an entire day, he needs to get to work before Afton finds out something’s wrong. 

“Scott,” James begins. “I don’t have any issues pinning you down in order to make you rest.” 

That has the eldest guard bristling. “You wouldn’t dare-” 

“For your own health,” the doctor murmurs. “I would. We can take it from here.” 

That’s when Scott starts to panic, shoving the finger away in order to properly sit up. “No, you don’t understand! Afton will find out, and if any of you help me, he’ll add you to the list! I have to do it or else-!” 

“Scott,” James softly interrupts. “You’re sick, and yet you were still able to get done what was needed. BalloonBoy’s fixed. David spent an entire day at his desk working. I don’t think William will be angry with the ‘how’.” 

Then they don’t know Afton, because he will use this against Scott. 

And yet... 

“Everything’s done?” 

“Everything’s done.” 

Scott hesitates before digging his phone out of his pocket. Feels his heart skip a beat when he sees new message until he realizes none are from Afton. And everything from the guards are wishes to get well. Promises they’ll be coming to check on him at some point. 

It looks like everything is done. 

He flops back down, uncaring about where James is taking him or what the giant is doing. Obediently accepts two more pills and a cup of water. Curls up once more as sleep pulls him under. 

The next time he wakes up is due to feeling overheated, thoroughly upset his fever decided to make things complicated when he was perfectly content. 

“You okay Phone Guy?” 

Scott’s eyes open in order to see Mike watching him from directly above. Gives a glare when he realizes what happened. “You’re too warm, Michael.” 

The giant only offers a smirk. “Sorry. You were burning the shit out of Grave Digger’s hand, so it was my goddamn turn.” 

“I can take him.” 

The second voice causes Scott to sit up as fast as possible, panic welling up inside him when he sees Vincent standing a few feet away. “Vince, I-I was just-” 

“It’s okay, Scotty,” the purple man smiles. “Will’s not upset.” 

Truthfully, he wants to call bullshit on it. But it looks like the damage is already done. In more ways than one considering he’s apparently been passed around for everyone to hold. One glance toward his left and he spots Eggs attempting to throw Jeremy into a glass of water with Scott down for the count and Mike currently distracted. 

That’s when he lifts his arms toward his best friend. Grabs the nearest finger as he’s gently picked up. Can’t help but watch what was happening when he feels Vincent moving, sighing in relief when it was just to sit down at the table next to Mike. 

He slowly melts back down into the warmth that doesn’t make him feel suffocated. Turns into a puddle as a finger carefully rubs his back. 

“Go to sleep, Scotty.” 

Scott will be forcing every single one of them to promise to never speak of this again after scouring their phones to ensure there’s no blackmail. After his fever breaks. 

[anyhs-themes]

HIATUS (en)

What about my themes? I'm not taking commissions anymore, but all my themes will continue to be available for now, however I'm no longer updating them, so use them at your own risk!

Where to find me? You can still find me on my personal blog (@anyhsalinas). And if you have a theme/HTML/CSS/JavaScript related question for me, as long as it's a simple question I might have time to help you, so send it to my personal blog (here) ONLY. Don't even try to ask about these things on my other social medias where the focus is not coding, please, otherwise I'll block you (I had people doing this before and I get very annoying by that, respect my spaces, please).

Why I'm quitting?

One of the biggest reasons why I loved Tumblr was the ability to customize our blogs however we wanted and turn it into our own space with our own style. And that's why I started making themes for myself and for other people. But over the last years Tumblr has kinda neglected this feature of the platform:

Clicking on a blog through the dashboard now takes you to a default dashboard-like page (this) and not to the customized version of the blog (this), which turned customizing your blog into something pointless because we take a long time customizing our theme only so that it might never even be seen by anyone;

This change also made it possible for people to send me messages without even seeing the rules for messaging me first;

And let's not forget the fact that now we need to contact Tumblr's staff to ask and wait for their permission in order to use JavaScript in custom pages, which makes things so unnecessarily more difficult for people who want to use our custom pages (they say it's for safety reasons, but it's still possible to use scripts on the main theme, so what's the point?).

Let's talk about writing posts as well:

We can no longer use basic HTML codes on posts which made it impossible for me to post tutorials (since it blocks the codes I'm trying to teach) -- which made me need to create a blog on Blogger to post my tutorials there, and have to simultaneously take care of two blogs on the exact same topics, which is kind of annoying;

Also the new post editor has been very buggy for me. Sometimes when I try to copy a portion of the text I'm writting it just won't copy no matter what. Sometimes it will duplicate paragraphs on its own for no reason...

Tumblr has also made some bad decisions (in my opinion at least) over the years of what kind of content to allow in the platform which caused serious problems to the platform itself (as you might have seen in the news around that time), but even before that also caused a big change in its community and the majority of the blogs I loved (the meme, poetry and fandom blogs of shows and bands I like) moved to Twitter (I still refuse to call it "X", lol) and other social medias. So most of what I loved about this platform is gone forever and the only things still keeping me here are the things I have saved in my blogs, my liked posts and drafts (mostly custom content and mods that I found here for The Sims, lol).

I haven't been using Tumblr regularly in... years, actually. Only sometimes I pass by. And I no longer enjoy developing themes for this platform because now, after all these changes, it has turned into something kinda pointless. Also, I've been busy with other projects that are bringing me more joy at the moment, such as my Youtube channels and crafting. So I'm leaving behind this part of my life... I don't like saying this is an end because I can always change my mind. But unless Tumblr goes back to making our custom theme as the main page of our blogs (instead of that default dashboard-like boring page), I don't think I'll go back to making themes for this platform.

But thank you all for your support in this blog and for using my codes through all of these years! Wish you all the best. 💕

— Anyh's Themes (2013 - 2024)

[chiimeramanticore]

Part of the Band - Chapter 16 - Back to the Music Store

Chapter summary: Beach Bear and Dook return to band practice for the first time since Beach Bear's accident.

A/N:

watch how long I can write a fanfic about a band without actually writing anyone perform music bc I don't know how to write it without it sounding awkward lmao god how long's it been since I updated. feels like ages. I'm back! and I'm gonna (try to) upload two days in a row to make up for it! we have a little downtime plot-wise rn as we shift gears a little. beach bear's character arc is starting to wrap up, and that leaves us with dook to explore :] I've done a lotta thinking on the guy lately and I'm excited to see where his arc takes us (it's gonna be sadddd) that's all I got today i think! see you tomorrow (probably)! enjoy the chapter!

Chapter word count: 1,172

<- Chapter 15 - Chapter 17 ->

Read it on AO3!

"Y'know we don't have to do this," Dook says.

"I want to," Beach Bear insists. "We already missed band practice last week. I don't want us to fall behind just because of me."

Dook pushes Beach Bear's wheelchair down the street toward the music store. With his car still gone and Beach Bear himself out of commission, they had to take the bus. At least it's got a wheelchair lift, Dook figures. It was a bit of an ordeal getting Beach Bear in and out of Fatz' car the other day. With time, and physical therapy, though, things should get easier.

"What're we gonna fall behind from?" Dook mutters, more of a statement than a question. "We haven't even gotten any gigs yet."

"Yeah, 'cause we don't have a full set list yet," Beach Bear says back. "We need to write more."

"What, you wanna do all original stuff?" Dook asks. " 'S not gonna hurt us to have a few covers. 'Specially if we're just startin' out."

"I guess," Beach Bear says. "I just feel like we can do better."

The two enter the music store, heading into the back room.

"We can take it easy today, though," Dook suggests, leaving Beach Bear by the couch. "Maybe we just play around for a while."

"We always do that," Beach Bear complains. "I wanna get serious."

Dook looks at Beach Bear. He knows him when he gets antsy like this, and it's usually because of something other than the thing he's actually complaining about. But before he gets the chance to ask, the door swings open again.

"Beach Bear!"

"Mitzi!" Beach Bear's face lights up upon seeing her. Mitzi runs to him, giving him a hug. He groans, the force of her body hitting him rough on his still-healing chest. It doesn't stop him from smiling at the sight of her, though.

"I'm so excited to see you here," he says. "We've been hurting for a singer like nobody's business."

"I'm excited too! I wanna sing Monkees," she says.

Beach Bear falters a bit. "N– No, Mitzi, we're not gonna do the Monkees," he says. "We're trying to focus on original music now."

"C'mon, Beach Bear, it's her first day," Dook says. "Ease her in with some Monkees if she wants."

Beach Bear looks between their two expectant faces. "...Alright," he relents. "But just for today."

"Yes!" Mitzi bounces excitedly.

The door opens again. "Morning, everyone," Fatz says.

"Morning, Fatz," Dook says.

"Hey, Fatz," Beach Bear says.

"Hi Fatz!" Mitzi says.

"Mitzi!" Fatz reaches out for a high five, which Mitzi happily obliges. "It's good to see you here."

"We're gonna sing Monkees," she tells him.

"Yeah, it was Beach Bear's idea," Dook teases.

"Hey, now," Beach Bear complains. Then, "Dook, pass me my guitar, would ya?"

"Hi everyooone!" Looney Bird calls, following Billy Bob into the room.

"Heyyy," Dook says back in the same cadence, reaching for Beach Bear's guitar. "We're gonna do the Monkees."

"Yeah, it was my idea," Beach Bear says. Mitzi laughs.

Dook hands Beach Bear his guitar. "How've you two been?" He asks Billy Bob.

"Oh, fine," he says. "Just the usual."

"Billy Bob set the kitchen on fire last night," Looney Bird butts in.

Billy Bob laughs loudly and awkwardly, trying to brush off the comment without inviting any further question. He isn't questioned outright, but does get a questioning look from Dook and Fatz.

"...Well, gee, it wasn't the whole kitchen," Billy Bob finally says. "I left the stove goin' too high!"

"Yeah, and the stove was on fire!" Looney Bird says.

"Ain't a stove supposed to be on fire?" Fatz says. "How're you supposed to cook the food otherwise?"

"It's supposed to be a little on fire," Billy Bob adds.

"Not that much," Looney Bird says.

"Dook," Beach Bear interrupts. He's sitting with his guitar held awkwardly and uncomfortably. "Can we talk outside for a sec?"

"Yeah," Dook says. He helps Beach Bear leave his guitar on the couch and follows him outside the room.

"I can't do this," Beach Bear admits.

"Aw, don't get yourself down so quick," Dook says.

"No, I mean, I literally can't play my guitar," Beach Bear says. "It's–" He makes a vague motion with his hands, trying to illustrate a point and failing. "I can't get it to rest on my lap right 'cause of the damn wheelchair."

"Oh. Well... What if you sat on the couch instead?" Dook asks. That's where he usually sits, anyway. "I don't mind helpin' you."

"Even if I did, I..." He looks down at his right arm, still in a cast. "I'm kinda restricted right now."

"Oh," Dook says. He doesn't have an easy fix for that one.

"I should've thought about this before I started saying I wanted to do band practice again," Beach Bear says. "I don't know how I didn't realize I wouldn't be able to play music."

"Well, now you really are gettin' down on yourself," Dook says. "We can figure somethin' out." What else can he do, though? It's not like Beach Bear plays any other instruments...

"...Hey, uh, Beach Bear?" Dook starts.

"Yeah?"

"Y'know how I said no more secrets between us?"

"...Yeah?"

"I, uh, I have a confession to make," Dook says. "Last time you went out to the beach, I was doin' some cleaning, and I, ah... I found that disc you didn't want me to hear, from a while back. And I played it."

"Ah, geez," Beach Bear says, cringing. "That's embarrassing. It's not even close to finished."

"B- But," Dook continues, "I thought you were fantastic! I think you're a great singer. And if you can't play guitar, maybe..."

"...I can't," Beach Bear says.

"Why not?" Dook asks. "There's nothin' wrong with your voice!"

"It's not my voice, I..." Beach Bear glances toward the door, toward everyone waiting inside. "...I've got, like... stage fright, I guess. I can't sing on the spot, y'know? I've never been good at it. I need time to prepare."

"...Oh." Dook isn't sure what to say. This explains a lot, he realizes. "I... I guess you don't have to, then. I just thought–"

"No, I understand," Beach Bear says. "I appreciate it, really." He smiles at him. "You really liked it?"

Dook couldn't overstate how much he liked it. " 'Course I liked it."

Beach Bear seems to think on that for a moment. Then, finally, "Alright. I'll try."

"Y- You sure?"

"Yeah," he says. "What's your favorite Monkees song, Dook?"

"Uhh–" Now Dook feels on the spot. He skims through every Monkees song he can think of off the top of his head– "I guess, uh, 'Pleasant Valley Sunday,'" he finally offers.

Beach Bear grins. "Alright. I'll sing that, then."

Dook feels his face heat up, and he prays it's not visible. Beach Bear turns and re-enters the practice room without him, smiling the whole time. He's still running laps around him, even like this... Dook follows him inside. At least he gets to hear him sing again.

[melissamasakari]

Confessions you didn't notice

Chapter three. Guest from above.

Getting up early on Friday proved surprisingly easy for me despite the fact that I’m not an early bird at all. The mood was wonderful. Festively dressed townspeople were already rushing to the field where today's event was going to be held. I decided to run into the guild beforehand, hand in my papers and figure out my plans for the next week. But when I was passing near the fountain, I noticed something strange and huge in the sky. This strange thing dashed past the city and landed somewhere in the east with a loud thud. I just hope that no one was hurt. So. Stop. It flew into the Sewage Plant! This means now I have much more important things to do than some festivities. After running through the entire Main street in one breath I confirmed my fears. Sam was already guarding the gate to the Wasteland, driving away curious onlookers. Climbing the stairs, I heard her ringing voice:

“Citizens, disperse! No one is allowed through. By Arlo's orders!”

Everyone began to shout at each other in agitation, demanding an explanation. Well, if she is here, then the guys are already in the thick of things.

“Sam! Do you need help?” I shouted, jumping up and attracting her attention. Without waiting for an answer I began to make my way through the crowd to the gate.

“Oh, little fella. You are here, too. Were you successful?” She looked at me and winked. However, I didn’t have time to answer. The gate opened with a creak, Remy flew out, looked around, grabbed me by the elbow and dragged me through the gate.

“I was just about to call you! Let's go!”

“Alright! Do things look blue?”

“Seems so. This thing pierced the building's covering in several places. While this is not very dangerous, but monsters are coming out of the hole. Arlo is staying there.”

“Do you need a fighter or an engineer?”

“We need you. Two in one. We’re almost there.”

“Melissa! You're smart, think of something!, I'll try to buy you some time! Remy, protect her!” Arlo's words reached us.

We made our way through the crowd of monsters and reached one of the sources of the problem. Wow! Yes, this is a full-fledged space station!.. Or it was. It also looks very relic.

Well, it dealt a huge amount of damage! It’s a miracle that no one was blown away along the way. I quickly sketched out a drawing and calculated the parameters of the needed “patch” and rushed off to another breach to assess the damage.

“I need to bring a ton of equipment here. The buses don't work, and there's panic at the gates. What's our options?” I asked while continuing to land heavy kicks on climbing creatures.

“There’s no time to look for Gale. If this drags on, we won't be able to protect people.”

“Actually, that’s easy, he opened the festive events. It was just when I reached the gate. But that’s not going to help.”

“Yes, we can’t allow the panic spread either,” Remy added, pumping his fists.

“I have everything I need. But I can't carry this stuff over the hills. Until tomorrow lunch, at least. By that time there won’t even be any bones left of you!”

“Run to headquarters. Higgins is locked up there. Tell him we're trading his freedom for help with transportation. Anyway, he won’t be able to take any commissions for another three days. At the gate warn Sam, so she will give you the necessary docs.”

“What if he refuses?”

“There will be no one to release him until a new captain is appointed. And that's a long process.”

“Understood. I withdraw. Please do hold on! I'll tell the medics on the way, just in case.”

“Thank you! We'll wait!” Arlo smiled encouragingly, breaking the head of another nasty creature with his knee.

To my surprise, the vile complainer listened to me without any questions. And he even apologized for false accusations! With his help I managed to deliver everything I needed before sunset. My guys looked exhausted, but intact. Fine. I helped to scatter some monsters and diligently sealed the first hole, then the second.

Phew, we can take a break now.

“Guys, how are you?”I’ve noticed a fallen tree and decided to rest there. At the same time, it’s a good vantage point, I’ll be able to see any danger coming our way.“Come here.”

“I strained my knee. But overall it’s that not bad,” Remy responded and sat down next to me.

“I'm fine. A little tired. I haven't trained so intensely for a long time!”Arlo said way too cheerfully and loudly plopped down on the other side, leaning with his palm on my shoulder as he landed. So nice, even though he is somewhat heavy.

“Be careful! It's slippery. Does anyone need first aid kit?”

“If you have painkillers or an elastic bandage with you, I’ll be grateful.”

“There are both, here you go, buddy,” I rummaged in my bag and passed the requested things to the right. Remington nodded gratefully and began to stir, moving away slightly. In twilight I can’t see what he’s doing there, and I don’t really want to.

“Sam will be mad at us for we’ve stolen all the fun,” the redhead took off his gloves and began to knead his knuckles.

“It would be more fun at the event. But that’s okay too. Remy, do you need some water to wash down this crap?”

“Do you have any?” Both responded in unison.

“Certainly. I'm thrifty. Here you go,” I passed bottles of water to the left and to the right. It's a miracle bottles didn't crash, seems that we were lucky.

While they were freshening up, my attention was caught by a strange noise coming from a fallen relic, on the hull of which was the inscription Altair-01. With a loud clang, a hatch opened somewhere above. Just in case, I prepared my weapon for battle.

We probably looked funny. Two big guys on the bench and petite girl with a sledgehammer ready for the battle. Arlo jerked up, trying to push me back. He did not succeed as he was clearly much more tired than he wanted to show me. They surely got out hungry in the morning. Meanwhile, a grinding sound was heard from the open hatch. The hum kept growing, accompanied by irregular knocking from the structure inside the station. I took a couple of steps back. You never know what can hit your head from above. That is alarming - the hatch released a cloud of steam with a terrible hiss.

It came from above.

Something came from above.

“ACK, ACK ACK!” “Something” screamed as it fell.

“What is this thing?”

“I've never seen anything like this before!”

“Guys, is it talking?! Wait.” I changed my hold on the sledgehammer and pulled out the lantern from my bag.

“My dear Lara! Where are you?! ACK. My name is Ack,” the strange thing crawled a little closer to us, moaned something else and sank down.

“Wow!”

“Yeah. It looks like a robot. It's pretty heavily damaged.” Arlo said observing that thing from safe distance with cheer curiosity.

“I saw similar ones in Lucien. One, it seems, lives in Atara. This is an AI.” Remy responded with concern.

“I would show him to Petra. Our scientists will be absolutely delighted.” I offered carefully.

“He could be dangerous. Let's put him in the cell, it's just freed up.”

“Yes, Captain!”

“Remy, stop teasing! You, are the captain too. Grab it and drag it up.”

”Are you crazy?! You can barely stand on your feet and are about to drag a potentially dangerous living thing thought the hills. Let's at least call for reinforcements!”

“How? Will you run ahead and bring us a bus?”

“Very funny. Remind me color coding for the alarms as used in Portia. We could have different one in Barnarock,” I started rummaging through my bag, pulling out several colored tubes.

“Great idea! Give me two red ones, a blue one and a yellow one,” Arlo placed obtained fireworks near the bus stop. “And purple. Melissa, we're moving the robot away now, and I'm checking the direction for signals. Your task is to light the wicks at short intervals and immediately run away to cover. The noise may awaken the local fauna, so prepare for a fight.”

“Accepted. But I won’t leave you here. Do not even ask!”

“I didn’t intend to. Thanks.”

After the fireworks were launched, our sudden guest from the sky woke up once again. He said that he was a cook and shouldn’t have been on the ground, asked for help, and passed out again.

Following our signal Sam rushed over, organized transport, and our entire wonderful company was dragged back to the headquarters. As someone had already notified the city authorities, it was a bit crowded and very noisy inside. But I couldn’t abandon my guys just like that. While everyone was arguing about what to do and how to behave with the real living Artificial Intelligence, I decided to prepare something to eat so I quietly called my friend.

“Sam. While they are arguing show me to the kitchen and bathroom. Our guys are really tired. And looks like this mess will drag on.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve already sent a messenger to Django. I even asked for delivery. Will you stay for...dinner?”

“I’ll stay as long as necessary. Can I make you some coffee? I know you’re not a fan, but it doesn’t seem like we’ll all be able to sleep anytime soon.”

“Sounds good. I don't mind a coffee with cream, though,” we headed to the kitchen and started fiddling with the drinks.

“Sugar, surely, is absent here?”

“Yeah. We'll have to live with it. Spices will be fine, won’t they?”

“Pass me some cinnamon, please.”

“How did your meeting go, by the way?”

“Not sure. I'll figure it out later.”

Attracted by the smells, a noticeably refreshed redhead entered the kitchen.

“What will you figure out?”

“Your itchy feet, of course. Did they decide on something or is it the same as always? I plan to stay until the end of the showdown. If you don't mind, that is.”

“Nope, I just thought about how to invite you to stay. Your help was invaluable.”

“That's my job. You will probably need to check the station again.”

“I blocked the gate, that will definitely wait until tomorrow.”

“What if some other crap comes out of there?”

“Now everything will surely calm down and then we can ask the robot. Since nothing exploded during the fall, it means there were no weapons of this type on board. People also could not survive, certainly not for more than three hundred years. He says that he doesn’t even know anything about the Dark Era.”

“What a mess here, Cap. I'll go see if our dinner has arrived yet. There hasn't been such an excitement here for a very long time.”

“Have you already taken care of this? Good job!”

“I didn't want to ask our guest to cook, you know.” Sam nodded in my direction, grabbed two servings of coffee and went to the reception area.

“Do you want your coffee black, with cream, or maybe I should add cinnamon?” I was finishing preparing my own.

“I want the same as yours.”

“Fine. Keep in mind – that’s quite bracing. You may have minor problems with your sleep for a while.”

“It's okay. It looks like the next couple of days will be extremely busy for me.”

“I guess so. It's a shame, but there's nothing we can do about it.”

“Sorry for ruining your holiday. Please go tomorrow and have some fun without us, huh?”

“In fact, I would prefer to go with you to inspect Altair. But I already know what you will say to this, so I won’t impose myself. Here,” he carefully took a sip from his cup which I offered him. He made an absolutely brutal face, coughed, but didn’t stop trying to drink it.

“Tough shit. What did you put in there?”

“It would be better with sugar or syrup. But you don’t have any of these,” I shrugged and calmly drank my own coffee.

“Apparently, I overestimated my dislike for sweets. Let’s go, it seems like they stopped yelling,” the captain motioned toward the reception area, “I just hope that doesn’t mean that they started fighting.”

“Mr. Robot, you will have to stay here until we are sure that you or your transport is not a threat to the city. Next, I will put this issue to a vote and give instructions to the Civil Corps.” Gale having with an extremely important look made funny gestures pointing at everyone present. Lee looked terribly unhappy; it seems that he did not like the idea of leaving the robot “alive” at all. Merlin stared at the prisoner with obsession, as if she was going to take him away for experiments that very moment the cell was opened.

The sponsor of our evening entertainment himself sat helplessly on the floor. After the speech the mayor looked around, pointed his finger at me and demanded that our space visitor to be repaired. Very funny. The tools I have with me now are a screwdriver, a lantern, a torch and a sledgehammer. No engines, no materials, no welding. Before I started to get indignant, Arlo shrugged and dismissed everyone. My hero!

Sam brought the food and began setting the table in the reception area. Remy climbed out from somewhere above and joined in. Suddenly a voice came from the cell:

“I want to remind you that I was promised a glass of milk. And information about my team who remained at the station!”

“Sorry, as far as we managed to inspect the station, there were no survivors. We'll go there in the morning and find out for sure.”

“Your landing was not the softest, Mr. Ack.”

“I’ll bring you some milk now. Unfortunately, repairs will have to wait. I don't have anything suitable here. Only sticks, mops and pots, perhaps. Some of these also need to be washed.”

“Wow. Robot chef. And I didn't know they could eat it food, too.”

“Milk is the drink of the gods!”

“Maybe. How were you going to hold the glass? Should I bring you a straw?”

“Do it, strange redhead girl.”

“Oh, not this again. It’s just impolite to call me a girl, but of course I should be grateful not to be called a boy.” I returned after a while with a bottle of milk and a drinking straw, and handed everything to our prisoner.

“Don’t be annoyed,” the second redhead here came closer, put his hand on my shoulder and began to name everyone present in turn, introducing us to the robot. “Briefly speaking. As you already know, you are on Earth. Around us is a city called Portia. This specific building is the headquarters of the Civil Corps. Like the Old World police. I am Arlo and I am considered to be a boss here. The rest are my friends and my crew. This cheerful one is Remington. The tomboy blonde is Sam. Now there are only three of us serving here.”

“Understood. And the child? Is that your child?”

“I’m actually an adult! My name is Melissa. I have a workshop outside main gate. I’m something of an inventor and tester and sometimes also an engineer. These three are my closest friends, so I find myself often drawn into all sorts of adventures.”

“Speaking of adventures. Don't you want to change your job?”

“For example?”

“We could use your skills; do you want to join the Corps?”

“I do. But they won’t give you enough budget to afford to hire me.”

“It's a pity. But you just think about it.”

“When I get rich enough so that's no longer a problem, I know where to look for you.”

Sam whistled in amazement and reminded us that the food was getting cold. Really. Well, it was delicious. I’ll need to clarify what exactly that was, because it seems that the “Round Table” has a new menu. After washing the dishes, Remy brought a plunger from somewhere. Just for fun, I tried to attach it to the robot. Ack was pleased and asked for a saucepan, put it on his head and fell silent in his corner. So it seems that I'm no longer needed here today.

“I'm going to my place. My knee is hurting.” Remy stated.

“Okay, now that everything is done, I’ll go too. Do you need pepper compress?”

“Enough for today. Thank you,” he stomped up the stairs, holding the handrail. Well, it's always surprising how quickly he moves despite his chronic injury.

“Give up. Where will you go? It’s dark and slippery there,” Arlo said to me.

“Or we can come to my place, if you want,” Sam suggested.

“It won’t work, we need you at headquarters. You're on duty, remember?” Our so-called boss immediately cut off.

“Crap. Okay, I have some spare clothes. It will be too big for you, of course. But here you can wash yourself off and find a place to rest.”

“Sounds like a plan. Drag it here.”

I cleaned myself up and took the sofa opposite the cage. I made a cocoon out of a soft blanket (was it llama fur?) and covered myself with a hood to block out excess light. I immediately passed out, despite the strongest coffee in the world.

[fatuismooches]

So I saw you were chill with asks and stuff so I hope your okay with me just tossing all of my soft stupid dottore thoughts on you. But just you can't convince me he has a complete grasp of relationships like because of the Akademiya and the Fatui he's used to transactional relationships so he's not used to people just 🌟doing things🌟 for him because they like him and want to so he's just enamored but also confused with you when you go slightly out of your way for him

YESSSS I COMPLETELY AGREE!

As a student in the Akademiya, Zandik was used to being generally disliked, but, he was also used to the few people who would come up to him and attempt to work with him, claiming that they admired his genius. Which wasn't a lie, though they forgot to mention the part where they would try to steal his work. It would bring far too much attention to him if he took any drastic measures against these fake scholars, so he merely... scared them away, which was relatively easy. Zandik had virtually no relationships, and the ones he did were simply transactional regarding... perhaps it's better not to say.

So when you approach him to be your partner, he already knows there's only one possible way that this can go - he'll never see you again by the time he's done with you. He always manipulates people and has no remorse for doing so. Yet despite his numerous attempts, he hears a knock on his door every day from you. He's not sure if you're playing dumb on purpose or if you actually are dumb enough to not see that he's attempting to get rid of you.

Though, Dottore starts to notice that he's checking the time frequently to see if you'll knock at the time you usually do. He begins to notice when you get him coffee refills and state that you figured it'll be a long night. When someone name-called him and you almost assaulted the guy with a textbook. When you stick around despite his vehement denials of your presence, which grow weaker with every passing day.

What really hit the nail on the head was the time he offhandedly mentioned his interest in certain parts that were on sale, though they were too expensive for him right now. You looked at him thoughtfully, and the next day he did not hear the knock-knock he secretly longed to hear, which disappointed him almost disgustingly so. He wondered if he finally scared you off, which was his intent in the first place. After all, the only relationships he had room for were purely transactional ones. Any others were a scam anyway. So why did he feel like this? Yet the next day, bright and early, you banged down his door, and he was about to snap at whoever it was until you tiredly dumped a bunch of random parts into his arms, some clanging to the floor. You breezed past him and collapsed onto his bed, claiming that you did dozens of commissions yesterday and brought the stuff for him. And you were going to take a nap now, you finished.

Zandik did not know how to respond, though his agape mouth would have said it all if his mask didn't cover it. You? Did all of that work? For him? He simply could not believe it. Surely, positively, there was an ulterior motive. For the next week, he dug into you, questions and all, trying to identify something. Yet he came up empty-handed. For once in his life, he came to the fact that you did not consider this a transactional relationship. You just wanted to be with him.

Dottore was a mixture of enamored, confused, and how to go from there. He is truly baffled by this habit of yours, yet he can't help but be a bit fascinated, for how naive do you have to be to do this? Haven't you heard the rumors? Don't you know he's a monster? Yet he gets irrationally bothered when you treat others the same way. You're not supposed to do that. (He starts to drag you away before anyone tries to ask you for a favor. Only he should be able to have you. And he doesn't intend to let you go.)

[mizutoyama]

Let's start with Alice

The first formal attire we have for Alice is for the Celestial Ball, which you can see HERE. As for why did she go for that look... Andre. You can find the fic that goes with it HERE.

Her second formal attire (which is technically the first one I wrote about back in 2018) is for a reception done in her honour by the Egyptian Ministry of Magic. You can see it HERE and find the fic HERE. Again, Andre picked it out.

Now, Astraea!

It's as if my obsession with ball scenes served me well, as I actually commissioned some time ago a picture of Astraea in the formal dress she wore for the Christmas ball in her 6th year (we're not going to call it the Yule ball, as that always starts a debate).

Here's the gorgeous illustration done by @giselsann-opencommissions

The dress in real life:

Why did she go for that look? To show off in front of a certain Slytherin boy who called her ignorant

As a bonus, here's a little scene I imagined to go with it:

Astraea had managed to escape Hector Fawley's company, craving some fresh air after enduring the incessant solipsism of his discourse. In the pursuit of tranquillity and a respite from the hubbub, she directed her steps towards the gardens adjacent to the Great Hall, leaving the clamour of the ball behind the wooden doors. While Hector's conversation had bored her to tears, Astraea found herself unable to suppress a smile upon the recollection of Sebastian. His countenance, riddled with vexation whenever she indulged in a dance with the esteemed Ravenclaw Head-boy or chuckled at his feeble attempts at wit, was a sight she found most amusing. She slowly made her way toward the gazebo, her mind once again enveloped in the image of Sebastian's face when she undertook the graceful descent of the stairs, where Hector awaited her arrival. The blaze in his eyes when Fawley kissed her hand… She laughed.

"What is so amusing?" asked a voice from behind her.

That voice was all too familiar to her. The very same voice that had audaciously labelled her as 'ignorant' only a few weeks ago. She turned to face the owner of the voice. "Nothing that concerns you, Sallow," she retorted with a chill.

"Saw you with Fawley… Of all the buffoons at Hogwarts, you chose to accompany that pompous prick!" exclaimed Sebastian, standing at the bottom of the stairs leading to the gazebo.

"Why, pray, should it concern you with whom I chose to attend this ball? How could it possibly interest you with whom a lady you deemed so ignorant should decide to pass her time?" retorted Astraea, slowly losing her cool.

Sebastian's face reddened slightly, taken aback by her sharpness. "I only meant that you deserve better company," he muttered, avoiding her gaze.

"You presume to know what I deserve?" she asked, her tone icy. She crossed her arms over her chest, the movement causing the delicate fabric of her dress to shimmer under the moonlight. "And what, pray tell, leads you to consider yourself qualified to make such a judgment?"

Sebastian seemed to squirm under her scrutiny, his hands moving to clasp behind his back. "I..." he began, but his voice trailed off. He looked away, his gaze settling on the distant twinkling stars that adorned the night sky overhead.

"Exactly," Astraea cut in, her voice laced with a bitter edge. "You don't get to decide that, Sebastian. Not after what you said."

"I may have been harsh, but you know what goblins did to my sister, and yet you choose to associate with one of them. You've even confronted some yourself. How can you hold such unwavering trust that he will not deceive you?" replied Sebastian, joining her under the gazebo.

Astraea met his question with a dismissive shrug. "I just do. Not all goblins support Ranrok's ways."

Sebastian exhaled a weary sigh, extending a hand towards her. "How can you be so…"

"So... what?" interrupted Astraea, stepping back with a flash of anger in her eyes. "Pray, finish your thought. What, precisely, am I in your estimation? Shall we revisit the well-trodden path of 'ignorant'? Or do you intend to employ further breadth of your lexicon, Mr. Sallow? Perhaps this time, I shall be deemed naive, innocent, foolish, or even outrightly unintelligent?"

Sebastian pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why must you persist in being so obstinate? I am merely concerned for your well-being. I fear you may not fully realize what you're getting yourself into, and I don't want you to get hurt."

"Ah! So it is my judgment and my skills you don't trust! Have you forgotten that I bested a full troll in our fifth year, or triumphed over many of Ranrok's Loyalists and Rookwood's Ashwinders. I have even vanquished enchanted sentinels with a penchant for beheading and rescued a dragon from a fighting ring. But it seems, in your estimation, my judgement and abilities are so flawed that I am incapable of determining the trustworthiness of a goblin."

Sebastian's voice rose in desperation, "Will you just listen to me!"

"No! I have had my fill of your doubts. I am done!" With that, she began to remove herself from his presence, making her way toward the courtyard near the Ravenclaw tower. "I wish you well, but I must insist that you refrain from speaking to me ever again."

In a fit of desperation, Sebastian pursued her. "Astraea, come back this instant. Why do you persist in disregarding my counsel?"

"Counsel? Such a claim is rather humorous coming from someone who thought it was a good idea to go looking for a Scriptorium where we could have died," she retorted, as she kept walking, holding up the skirt of her dress to avoid tripping on the hem as she ran down some stairs.

"But we didn't!" he replied, managing to catch up with her.

"Indeed, and only because I agreed to endure your casting of the Cruciatus curse upon me," she retorted, her voice laced with indignation. "In truth, I think you present a greater threat to my person than any Goblin," she shot back, reaching the bottom of the stairs just as he seized her wrist.

"Let me go!"

His grip tightened as he halted her progress, pulling her around to face him. "Enough," he growled, his voice barely rising above a hush. "Astraea, I…" His words dissipated into the cool night air, his countenance a tableau of vexation and turmoil.

Astraea raised her gaze to meet his. She could see in his dark brown eyes that she may have gone too far, fuelled by her anger. "You what? Will you resort to the Imperius curse to force me to listen to what you have to say?" she challenged, her tone rich with defiance.

Sebastian merely stood, his gaze locked onto hers. His eyes, a mirror to her own fiery defiance. Those emerald eyes that had vanquished him in their fifth-year duel, that had saved him from an untimely watery grave prior to their sorting ceremony. He had sought these eyes for solace on the train after Anne's curse. The same eyes that, without fail, engaged him in an intellectual duel during class. They belonged to a girl who was as vexing as she was intriguing, the most frustrating girl in all of Hogwarts, yet he found himself eagerly anticipating the sight of their sparkling verdant depths each morning.

Sebastian gently let go of her wrist, his hand instinctively migrating towards the soft contours of her cheek. It was a tender gesture that spoke volumes more than any words could. Astraea's eyes widened in surprise, but she made no move to withdraw from his proximity. Sebastian, emboldened by her lack of resistance, leaned in closer, practically erasing what little distance was left between them. Then, in a moment that was as swift as it was inevitable, his lips crashed onto hers, igniting a spark that had been smouldering between them.

Their kiss was brief, a mere second before the reality of his actions struck Sebastian. He stepped back, aghast. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. It was entirely inappropriate, and I..."

His apology was cut short. Astraea had seized the lapel of his dress robe, drawing him back towards her. She was unsure of what had possessed her, but she yearned for the intoxicating sensation of his lips upon hers. Their lips reunited, this time with a fervour that left them gasping for breath. The world around them seemed to dissolve, leaving only the two of them beneath the starlit sky.

Sebastian's hand found its way to the nape of her neck, his fingers tangling in her hair. Astraea continued to draw him closer, as if he could never be close enough, until her back made contact with the cold stone wall against which she leaned.

Their kiss intensified, their movements becoming more instinctive, more desperate. It was as if they were trying to communicate a lifetime of emotions through a single kiss, their actions reflecting a profound, unrefined yearning which had them clinging to each other with a tenacity born of passion. Their breaths mingled, their heartbeats syncing in a rhythm that was as old as time itself. Their world narrowed down to just the two of them, every other thought and consideration fading into insignificance.

Astraea's heart pounded in her chest, her blood singing with a fervour she had never experienced before. Her mind raced with a thousand different thoughts, each reflecting the myriad emotions coursing through her—surprise, confusion, exhilaration, and beneath it all, a profound sense of rightness.

Sebastian, for his part, was equally lost in the moment. His mind, once a whirlwind of doubt and uncertainty, was now filled with a singular, resounding thought. It was a realization, a revelation that filled him with a sense of peace he had never known. He loved her. He loved Astraea.

However, their moment was abruptly interrupted by a shocked gasp. "Sebastian Sallow!"

They both raised their eyes to see Natsai Onai, whose initial surprise swiftly transformed into a look of horror as she recognized her dearest friend Astraea as the girl entwined with Sebastian.

[gaytotaldrama]

Since you asked about prompts, while I haven’t got to World Tour in my rewatch, the thought comes to mind of a Gwortney piece where Courtney believes Gwen’s claims that was the one who Duncan kissed her rather than blaming her for “stealing” him

thanks for the prompt! hope you enjoy

also on my ao3

"Uh, I saw Duncan and Gwen kiss!"

In just a few words, Tyler Tucker had completely ruined Gwen's life. She knew she couldn't really blame him - the guy was clearly under Alejandro's crafty spell. But if he'd just stuck around for literally two seconds longer the night before, he would know the truth of what had actually gone down.

Gwen should be so lucky.

Duncan was on the ground, out cold from Cody's sucker-punch to his jaw. Gwen couldn't care. Serves him right, she thought. I told him to fess up to Courtney himself, and now the jackass has dug his grave even deeper.

As Cody and Tyler began to take flight, Gwen realized with a horrible clarity that since Duncan was out of commission, Courtney was headed straight for her. 

"I hate you!" she was screaming, flailing like some sort of enraged marionette. The only thing preventing her from tearing Gwen's face off was Sierra's  - surprisingly expert, though definitely slack - chokehold. "How could you?! I thought we were friends!"

"We are!" Gwen exclaimed, instinctually taking a few steps back. "Courtney, you have to believe me, I didn't want - "

"Oh, sure you didn't," Sierra sneered as Courtney continued to wriggle in her grasp. "You've been all over Duncan since season one! It was only a matter of time before you tried any funny business."

Gwen stamped her foot in frustration, gritting her teeth together. "I do not like Duncan! I never have! I was with Trent in season one, remember?"

But her defenses appeared to fall upon utterly deaf ears. "You," Courtney seethed, steam practically pouring out of her nostrils like a raging bull. "Are so eliminated."

"Look, if I could just - " Gwen started in a panic, but by then, Cody had already won the tie-breaker, and the wave of relief that crashed through her nearly knocked her down to her knees.

Back on the plane, things weren't pretty. Duncan was still passed out somewhere in economy - was Cody's punch really that strong, or was Duncan simply prolonging the inevitable? In any case, Gwen felt terrible. She was being looked down upon by her fellow contestants. She hadn't gotten to say (sing?) all she'd wanted Duncan to hear during their boar challenge, hadn't let him know just how pissed she really was. Not to mention that the person who was angriest with her right now was the very person Gwen wanted to - 

Whatever. Like that was gonna happen now.

And yet, she knew she had to try.

Leaving the confessional (the lock was still busted, if this show weren't so fucking cheap, if McLean wasn't such an asshole, none of this would have even - ), Gwen steeled her resolve and made her way back to first class as slowly as possible. Cody tried to catch her eye as she entered the cabin, but she steadfastly ignored him, ignored the daggers Sierra was shooting her way, too. Courtney was curled into one of the seats, sobbing uncontrollably as Heather patted her on the back. If Heather was now appreciated more than Gwen, she didn't know what she would do.

"Courtney, please," Gwen said softly upon approach. "I can explain everything to you."

"I don't want to hear it, boyfriend stealer!" Courtney screamed.

Gwen winced, shook her head. "I'm not asking for forgiveness. I just need you to listen to me. Can we go out to the cargo hold or something?"

"What, so you can go spy and make sure Duncan hasn't been eliminated?!" At this, she fell prey to a fresh bout of tears.

"If you really want to talk to Courtney, then you can say whatever it is in front of us," Heather said, crossing her arms. "And if that juvie punk gets booted, then I say Good riddance."

"Fine!" Gwen threw up her hands, exasperated. "Fine, I'll just say this here." She hated to air more of her dirty laundry on TV, but that had always been par for the course with Total Drama. "Courtney, I didn't kiss him."

"Yes you did you little - "

"Duncan kissed me," Gwen all but yelled. Her cheeks burned shamefully at the memory. "Tyler didn't see the whole thing, but I pushed Duncan off of me almost as soon as it had begun. I didn't expect it to happen. I didn't want it. And when I rejected him, he got all grouchy and left."

"Oh, yeah, like we're gonna believe that!" Sierra shouted. "You stab Courtney in the back and then can't even own up to it?! You are soooo getting voted 'Least Popular Contestant' on my blog!"

But Cody, looking at Gwen with puppy-dog eyes, asked, "You're being serious, Gwen?"

"Yes." Gwen ran her hands through her rough hair, not even caring if she pulled out any strands. "I wouldn't lie about this. Ask Chris to show you the footage." She scowled at the floor. "And if Duncan gets kicked off tonight, I'll sleep as snug as a bug in a rug."

Silence, for a moment. Heather seemed about to say something. But then - 

"Oh my God," Courtney croaked. "She's telling the truth."

If Gwen had felt relieved when they won the Greece challenge, it was nothing compared to this. "Yes," she repeated, voice breaking. "I swear to you, Courtney, I am. I'm telling the truth."

And Courtney nodded, not meeting Gwen's gaze, her eyes rimmed with red. But it was enough for Gwen to know she believed her.

The others, however, weren't so easily convinced.

"Oh, come on, you two have always been close," said Heather. "If you're not into Duncan, then I'll marry Alejandro."

"I'm not," Gwen said emphatically. "So happy trails, Heather, you two will be perfect for one another." She turned defensively to Sierra. "And I guess you're gonna tell me you totally saw this coming and there's no way I'm being genuine, right? Because since you're an expert on this show, you must know me better than I know myself, huh?" When Sierra didn't answer, Gwen knew she had her pegged. "Ugh, you guys, I am not in love with Duncan! And, sorry, Cody, I'm not into you, either." At Cody's heartbroken expression, Sierra growled at her, but Gwen kept going. "Just because you all have complicated love lives doesn't mean I have to!

"You are so obviously into Alejandro," she continued, rounding on Heather. "But you won't admit it because you're too proud to own up to the fact that there's actually a perfect guy for Heather Hamada out there, and he's just as evil as you are!" Before Heather could splutter her way through a half-baked excuse, Gwen spun to level with Sierra. "And you - if you actually took a second to care about what Cody wants, you would know that you are always overstepping his boundaries!" She contemplated raking her nails down her face, so strong was her frustration at the people around her. "I won't deny that Duncan and I have a lot in common, and I won't deny that he has some sort of feelings for me. But I don't feel the same way. I was into Trent, I'm into Courtney, but I am not and never will be into Duncan!"

Finally, she broke off, heaving, throat drier than the stupid path to the Nile had been. She'd said her piece. She was finished, and if they still decided to send her home next time the Amazons lost, then she'd just learn to live with it.

But no one seemed angry anymore. In fact, they all seemed to be experiencing variations of different emotions, none of them hatred. Sierra's eyes were blown wider than usual, her jaw slack and her fingers twitching like she was itching to blog about something. Cody looked crestfallen, and Gwen felt bad for being harsh, but it had been three seasons and the guy still couldn't deal with the fact that she was never going to date him. Heather, meanwhile, was staring at Gwen with her hand pressed over her mouth and...giggling? It felt wrong to attribute such a cutesy word to the Queen of Mean, but there was no other way to describe the sickening sounds she was making. And Courtney...

Courtney was looking at Gwen like she'd just seen a ghost - and a real one at that, not Harold's stupid soccer ball-bedsheet combo.

"You," Courtney started and swallowed hard - Gwen tried not to track the bobbing motion of her throat. "You like me."

At last, Gwen's brain caught up with her stupid mouth, and she realized what she'd just admitted. Oh, shit...

It was at least a small comfort to know that no one would be asking her about Duncan again any time soon.

[indigosabyss]

Writeathon Week 1: Roundup

Since I didn't want to clog up the feed too much, I'll be keeping talk of the streams to these weekly roundups. But follow my Twitch if you're interested!!

This week's target: 21,000 words Actual wordcount: 37,360 words Amount Left 'til One Million: 139,151 words

I have written. So many commissions. Updated so many WIPs. It's going great!! The full list of fics I worked on in these seven days is under the cut, but you can just read through my ao3 if you want an idea.

Start time for next week (17-23 Jun) will be 6 PM GMT+5

comm info | patreon | ko-fi

COMMISSIONS

(Patrons get monthly custom fics and are included in the comms. Total word count is included in the brackets here, but I've written the most recent chapters this week only.)

Where Do We Stand, On The Matter of Us? [N/A, 10k]

(DCST TsukaGen + QPR!SenGen)

At first, Tsukasa had thought that reviving Gen was a good idea. Then, he realized it was a fatal mistake. Even later, he realized that it was the greatest thing he could have done for the softly budding civilization that had sprung up in Japan. It was strange, having to stand by and know that all this was possible, simply because Gen hadn't stood by Tsukasa, all those months ago. To know that when he had been overlooked in favor of Senku, that choice had been right. Gen had already made his choice. So why did it feel like his hidden affections were being returned, as they crossed the ocean to America, and the enemies that lay there?

Me And My Friends Going to Pride As Allies [G, 2.6k]

(Ms. Marvel taken from my Pride Sponsorship List)

…They're all queer and think each of them is the only one.

It's Not An Odyssey If You Don't Know Where You're Going [T, 4k+]

(OMFD PJO!AU)

From a very young age, Stede Bonnet had displayed rather uncanny abilities. It started with the relentless harassment he had faced from his peers, whose rough shoves resulted in many skinned knees and purpling bruises. All of which disappeared in less than minutes. Of course, as a child, it never occurred to him that this was unusual. The glowing was more of a concern. On the oceans, he was free of judgement for his proclivities. But there was still plenty to be feared about the ichor that ran through his veins. So he kept quiet. Until he met another like him. Blackbeard, Edward Teach, and - few people knew this - son of Charybdis. Yes, like the sea monster.

Funny I Should Meet You Here [N/A, 5k]

(RyuuSen Childhood Friends to Strangers to Lovers)

Ryuusui met Senku when they were kids in elementary school. But after Ryuusui changed schools, they grew apart, their paths never to cross again. Until the Petrification Wave came, and thirty seven hundred years passed. Leading to Senku arriving at the land where the Nanami Academy used to stand. Two friends reunite. And buried feelings bloom into something new.

Playing A Mean Game [T, 8.5k]

(Post-The Marvels Kamala Khan transported to X-Men First Class) This one's on shaky ground bc a patron asked for this, but it was one of my own ideas. That's why I put it last.

Three months ago, Monica Rambeau sealed up the Incursion, with her on the other side. Tired of waiting, Kamala gathered up the Quantum Bands and brute forced her way through the Noor to get to her side. Except she gets deposited in a world that's almost exactly like the sixties of her own world. With the addition of a group of people she definitely would have remembered. Erik was just trying to stop Schmidt from getting his hands on another kid like him. He didn't take into account that he would have to keep an eye on her after that.

Personal Projects

(Recent Chapters restricted to One-Week Early Access)

You're Ten Billion Percent Not Alone [G, 7.5k]

(QPR!SenGen in High School AU based off Bloom Into You)

In a bid to secure the firstyear vote, student body president candidate Gen asks for Senku's help in the campaign, in exchange for a space to do experiments. What started as a flimsy alliance turned into a tangled mess, as Senku realized one very important similarity they both shared. ... They were same, until Gen ruined it.

An Overlord of Earth [N/A, 5k]

(Gwenpool x Hazbin Hotel Crossover)

When you die, the afterlife grants you unlimited power, as long as you have the ambition and the bloodthirst. Just stick it out in the boring, bland real world for your entire life, until you get to go wild in your second. Gwen had the power to manipulate reality to her whims, and she wasn't even dead yet! But her brother was. And she wasn't going to rest until she brought him back to life. So she was going to look through Hell, find Teddy, and everything would be great! Sure, the second she got there, she did a little murder. And then continued doing more murder. But she was allowed to have a little fun while looking for her brother. But why was this deer demon so interested in having her soul?

"I Will Always..." [G, 4.5k]

(dr stone canon compliant Byakuya fic)

Byakuya hadn't exactly planned on becoming a father. He felt more like he owed it to the memory of his friend to take Senku in. But Senku was an incredible kid. Clever and enthusiastic and resourceful and yet still needing a guiding hand to stop him from doing things that would probably end with him getting killed. And between stargazing and bleach, microscopes and marker ink, model rocket launches and actual astronaut training, Byakuya really started to believe that he could do this. Then the green light. Of course he was out of harm's way, safe in the ISS. But Senku- Well, there was always hope. He would always hope.

Starting With Saplings [N/A, 5k]

(Naruto 'Team Ro in Warring States Era' time travel au)

If you must fix something, you must start at the root of the problem. Except they already tried that and the Root was not very receptive to the idea. So... start before the problem even existed?? Except Team Ro didn't plan to come back to the past. They didn't have any concrete idea of what to fix. Most of them don't even think they have the jurisdiction to make such changes. But now, in the Warring States Period, they must do something. Because if everything they do has an effect anyway, might as well go down swinging.

The Last Surviving Member of the Archives (All Four of Them) [N/A, 29k]

(Magnus Archives; S5-spoilers)

Four separate timelines. In each one, only one person from the Archives team walks out alive. Scarred, changed, traumatized, but alive. Jon's alone in the Eyepocalypse. Martin lost his Jon into the Lonely. Tim has made it his mission to destroy any devotees of the Fears. And Sasha... Sasha has completed the Corruption portal started by Jane Prentiss. When she steps through it, she finds herself in a world where the Fears have won. And her three, long-dead coworkers are there too. Each without any explanation as to how this happened.

Vengeance and Sunshine [G, 71k]

(PJO x DCST crossover)

Ethan Nakamura survived everything the Greek pantheon had thrown at him, and now he could finally leave. Just him, now-mortal Apollo, the sun chariot, and the open skies. And then that day came. That day, when green light covered the world and turned the entire human population into stone. The gods were left abandoned, and thus faded. But the demigods remained. And they rose again. Against all the odds, Ethan Nakamura broke out of the stone by himself, and finds himself 3,700 years later in the Stone World, suffering from a re-opened stab wound and no idea what was happening. A lot had changed over the millennia. There were new (yet familiar?) gods, a continuous race of progress, and a leek-haired cannonball that broke every obstacle down with sheer determination. This was fine. He could work with this. The modern world will rise again. And so will the pantheons. ...Right?

[axolotlclown]

Would you happen to have some studies to back up the "more than one coffee means you're addicted" thing, please? Pretty sure I've seen that disproven as a lens to understand addiction through at all

~ 🪴

Hey! So sorry I never saw this anon. It never appeared in my notifs and I'm really bad about checking my askbox.

You have asked a question that falls in line with a field I am very passionate about! I found some interesting articles in my school library. I'm going to go ahead and write this response, but I'm still waiting on access to a few journals. I'll have to convert those ones to PDFs as they are likely behind paywalls.

Anyway, here's my long post where I intend to rant about a lot of different barely related topics. Caffeine addiction is one of those really controversial but historically significant subjects in psychology!

So let me start off with how to read and break down a journal. It's one of those things where if you don't go to college and specifically major in a research related field, no one ever teaches you how to do it. That sucks.

So when you're looking at a journal, the first thing you want to do is background check the author. What school did they go to? What degrees do they have? (For research, they should have a Ph.D. no matter what.) What is their current place of employment?

Often companies, or other private businesses, will commission someone to do some research and fudge the results to make that company look better. We saw this recently in regards to gender affirming care. The United States House of Representatives had proposed legislation to restrict gender affirming care for transgender youth. The Republican sponsor of the bill had presented a single piece of research that he claimed was significant. The research found that transition regret rates were somewhere in the 30% range. (I don't remember exactly and I know that I could quickly look it up, but I just spent the past two hours reading addiction research. I'll find it tomorrow.) Upon looking into the author and the sponsors of this research, psychologists found that the journal the congressman presented was commissioned by a conversation therapy center in Florida. The research held obvious bias, poor peer review, and inconclusive results. The bill didn't pass. I'm not sure they even voted on it, actually.

Anyway, this is why we need to be critical of the research we read. Chocolate, wine, caffeine, gender dysphoria, and autism are notorious subjects that require more scrutiny before reading.

So, caffeine addiction. This is a subject that more than one field is interested in. Before you read an article, you need to be sure what question you are asking. Psychologists are concerned with a more scientific or factual approach. In this context, a psychologist would be researching the concrete effects of caffeine on mood, sleep, and other psychological disorders. Sociologists are more concerned with the overall social consequences of caffeine addiction. They would be asking how mood and sleep affected family, work, and personal welfare. For your question, we're going to look into the psychological aspect. Also, I'm studying psychology, not sociology, so I would feel like an idiot answering those types of questions.

This distinction matters. When I opened my school's EBSCOHost database, I simply typed in "caffeine addiction" to start. I was bombarded with sociological articles and journals about the affects of caffeine addiction on productivity at work and on mood. Strange overlap with psychology. Two problems: some of the top articles had researchers with ties to coffee companies, and all "caffeine addicts" were self-reported. For the latter, this meant that there was no standard for how much caffeine was consumed. Rather than being a concrete article about caffeine consumption, it was more of a survey of public opinion. You want to avoid those unless you specifically want to know about the public opinion. Even psychologists run surveys all the time (they're cheap and easy), but people often lie on surveys, even if they're anonymous.

So I typed in more specific key words and came up with these articles. I'll talk about some without leaving a link, but that's because I had to request the PDFs for sharing. I'll come back to this post and link them. (Let me know if the ones I do link are broken.)

Okay, so I'm going to start off with a journal that interested me, personally. This study actually observed the effects of caffeine on psychiatric patients. This is an important reminder that different drugs influence different brains. Someone with ADHD experiences caffeine differently for a neurotypical person. Caffeine is a stimulant, and ADHD medications are stimulants. Cool. What about other disorders?

Here's the Sparknotes of the study, "Caffeine intoxication was more prevalent in psychiatric patients than in healthy subjects. The amount of caffeine intake was shown to be associated positively with the severity of pathology and inversely with sleep quality."

The study goes more into depth about the different psychological disorders that different patients had. There were 401 patients participating in this study (150 healthy individuals). Overall, continuous caffeine intake showed a decline in sleep quality and a general increase in severity of other mental illnesses.

So what causes that? What is caffeine? Here's an article that looks into studies about caffeine consumption and performance, as well as what the causes of an addiction could be and what constitutes an addiction. This is one I recommend giving a read, as it helps to illuminate a common problem with researching intoxicants.

Here's the big take away: "Although caffeine is widely perceived to have beneficial psychostimulant effects, appropriately controlled studies show that its apparent beneficial effects on performance and mood are almost wholly attributed to reversal of the withdrawal effects that occur after fairly short periods of abstinence (e.g. overnight)."

In habitual coffee users, the increase of mood and performance after consumption of caffeine is caused by the removal of withdrawal symptoms. Grouchy mood and lack of coordination are symptoms of caffeine withdrawal. Where one may perceive positive reinforcement for initial consumption, for habitual consumers, withdrawal symptoms become a negative reinforcement.

So, for people that drink coffee everyday, it's less about getting the positive effects of caffeine, but rather avoiding the negative effects of withdrawal. This can be classified as an addiction. There is now a reliance on this substance.

Something this article also points out is that caffeine is not just found in coffee. It's found in chocolate and most medications these days as well. Therefore, complete stone cold abstinence from caffeine can be next to impossible, making control groups difficult to find. This leads to the varying research and controversy between psychologists.

Okay, but coffee can't be as bad as alcohol or anything right? Caffeine is practically harmless! Let's take a look into an article discussing the health impacts of caffeine. (I'll provide the full text to this one tomorrow.)

In Dr. Saimaiti's article titled, "Dietary Sources, Health Benefits, and Risks of Caffeine," she explores the benefits of occasional consumption of caffeine and weighs them against habitual overconsumption of caffeine.

While occasional consumption can actually improve mood and cognitive ability, these benefits are lost with daily consumption.

Few people drink their coffee black. For those that put creamer, milk (especially oat), or straight sugar or syrups in their coffees daily, they may be overconsuming sugar. This is especially hard on an empty stomach. This is part of the reason you "crash" later in the day. The sugar raises your blood sugar. For most healthy people, this may not be the biggest deal in the world. For others, it could be a key factor in developing diabetes later in life. In general, don't drink coffee on an empty stomach. Have it with a meal. It's also easier on your liver.

Speaking of liver, what does your body do with the caffeine after you drink it? Caffeine follows the same principle as alcohol. Occasional consumption of red wine can help thin your blood and lower your hemoglobin (something that women may be more concerned about as they get older). However, daily consumption of wine can cause stress on the liver and potentially lead to dementia later in life (I say potentially because there has been a correlation, but no solid research as to why. While correlation does not always mean causation, it's important to acknowledge them in the meantime.)

Caffeine behaves in the same way. Continuous consumption of caffeine can put some real stress on your liver over time.

Caffeine is dangerous for those with cardiovascular problems. While this seems like a "duh!" point, many people don't know that they may be prone to cardiovascular issues until an event happens. This sounds like fear mongering, but it's something to take into account.

The article discusses pregnant women as well, but I would hope that's intuitive? Maybe not? If you're pregnant you should avoid intoxication in all forms.

I'll drop this quote from the conclusion of the article for now (I felt weird quoting text that you can't access yet, so I'll come back with more quotes when I can give you the PDF): "the long-term or over-consumption of caffeine can lead to addiction, insomnia, migraine, and other side effects."

The point is, caffeine consumption can be more dangerous to some than others in general, but excessive consumption with lack of knowledge can lead to long-term damage to one's health.

Okay, that study talks about a relatively small niche. Let's get broad. Let's talk about sleep and cognitive performance. (Another study I'll have the PDF for tomorrow.)

In Dr. Gottselig's article titled, "Random Number Generation During Sleep Deprivation: Effects of Caffeine on Response Maintenance and Stereotypy," she looks at the effects caffeine has on cognitive performance during sleep deprivation.

The conclusions of this research makes a very important point: "caffeine preserves simple aspects of cognitive performance during sleep deprivation, whereas caffeine may not prevent detrimental effects of sleep deprivation on some complex cognitive functions."

This article particularly found that while small cognitive functions such as motor ability improved with caffeine, complex cognitive functions such as problem solving and memory declined.

While a college student could read this and understand that pulling an all nighter and drinking 10 Red Bulls probably won't help them pass their test, there's something much more to be said about these findings.

One sleep deprived night won't kill you, and certainly drinking a cup of coffee to get you through the day won't either. But caffeine cannot prevent the damage that regular sleep deprivation does. Sleep deprivation leads to memory loss, worsening symptoms of depression/anxiety/ADHD, increased chances of developing dementia early (this one is real), and a decline in overall cognitive ability.

Rough. But it is a trap. If you have insomnia, caffeine may feel like your only choice to be somewhat functioning throughout the day. Caffeine promotes symptoms of insomnia. It's a vicious cycle if you can't afford proper treatment, and one, that I hope, that will be addressed with time.

So if you have the ability, it's better to prioritize a good night's sleep. I'll come back to this.

For now, why is caffeine addiction so controversial then? Well, it may not be for long. While there was a push to add "caffeine" to the list of diagnosable addiction in the DSM since the 1980's, the inconsistent and inconclusive research has led to a standstill. As we say with Dr. Jame's article, it is difficult to get a control group for caffeine. However, as research for alcohol and marijuana progresses, our knowledge of how to properly study intoxicants does as well.

The long-term health side effects of caffeine are still being studied as well. While this aspect isn't unique to caffeine at all (marijuana, for example, is just now getting approved for research, where before it was illegal), it's still worth acknowledging what we do know, for now at least.

So, coming back to the DSM. There's a new one coming out pretty soon. It's the talk of the town among psychologists right now. Everyone is arguing about what should be in the DSM-6. It'll be crazy when it does come out. Autism, OCD, Gender Dysphoria, Borderline Personality Disorder, and Facial Dysmorphia are just a few examples of disorders that will likely be completely recategorized.

(Unrelated, but Autism Spectrum Disorder is a big one because a lot of psychologists are arguing that it shouldn't be classified as a disorder at all. The reason being is that Autism is so common, that psychologists are theorizing that the majority of the population falls on the spectrum somewhere. Either way, the diagnosis is about to completely change because of this fact.) (Well, all of them are big ones. I could make a whole separate post about it.)

Anyway, the push to make caffeine diagnosable is becoming a promising endeavor as research continues to come out.

One psychiatrist pushing for this is Ronald Griffiths. In his opinion piece, Griffiths recalls his patients experiencing caffeine withdrawal symptoms that led to a decline in the quality of life. One of his patients was diagnosed with breast cancer and needed to stop drinking coffee immediately. This patient struggled with severe withdrawal symptoms that were difficult to manage while on cancer treatment.

Griffiths explains how difficult it was to treat this patient because it wasn't something he could easily diagnose with the DSM-5, something insurance companies use to decide whether they're going to pay for care or not. Add on the bills for cancer treatment, and you rapidly have a distressing situation on your hands.

Joseph DeRupo, spokesman for the National Coffee Association in the U.S. as quoted in this article states, "What we have here is really the opinion of one scientist who is a lone voice against the accepted view of the scientific community."

Lone voice? In barely an hour I was able to find 5 credible articles, all backed by credible researchers, supporting the understanding that American society consumes too much caffeine. You can take a General Psych class in college and the textbook would spend half a chapter going over caffeine addiction and the controversial research around it. Coffee companies piss me off. And most companies use slave labor to harvest their beans and lobby to prevent legislation to prevent it. Guillotine.

Griffiths also claims that "[e]ven people who consume as little as 100 milligrams of caffeine a day—the equivalent of one small cup of coffee—can become physically dependent."

So this ask is pretty old, but I'm guessing it was in response to me saying that you should only drink one cup of a random beverage a day and the rest be water. This keeps you hydrated and helps cut out where the majority of your sugar intake is. I called it the "desert beverage" and that "coffee counts."

It really does. In the morning, one feels tired, foggy, and grouchy. "Don't talk to me until I've had my morning coffee." They would make their coffee out of habit, barely minding the taste of it—drinking to medicate the headache they've already caused.

Life is worth celebrating, and if we can find little things in our day to celebrate, we should! When coffee becomes a habit, it's just a habit. That's sad.

I worked as a barista for a while at a coffee shop that hired people with intellectual disabilities. That experience is what made me switch my major to psychology in the first place. But I saw the joys coffee could bring, and the damage it can do, too. I had a coworker who would come in and throw a tantrum if we didn't immediately stop what we were doing and make him a coffee—and again in two hours before the end of his shift. It's upsetting.

I do remember the joys, too. Our manager would show us a new niche coffee drink from a random country. We would make cubanos like they would in Haiti and talk about the different names they had in different countries around the world. It ruled.

I don't drink coffee every day anymore. But it's always a wonderful thing when I do. You don't need to have an "excuse" to drink a cup of coffee—you don't need to celebrate anything at all. Coffee, tea, wine, soda, and juice should be celebrated as they are. Drinking them out of habit destroys joy. Intentional habits create stable foundations in life. Unintentional habits create monotony and boredom.

Anyway, the sleep thing I said I'd come back to. So if you're having trouble sleeping, here's the hot tip: avoid screens 30 minutes before going to bed. That sounds easy, but how many of us scroll our phones, watch TV, or play a video game right before bed? It's not worth it.

Instead, do something away from your phone that you enjoy. I like to read, but you can draw, journal, listen to some music, practice an instrument, or write something. Doesn't matter, just don't use your phone or laptop. Set a 30 minute timer for time.

If you're still struggling to sleep, you may find meditation useful. Meditation uses techniques that make your brain send beta waves which relaxes you and is the first step to falling asleep. But! If you try to learn some meditation, you'll have to commit to practicing it every night for it to be useful. It's a skill that requires practice.

Anyway, I could make a whole separate post about evening/morning/afternoon routines as that is another one of my passions, but yeah.

TLDR; An occasional cup of coffee is actually great and wonderful, but you really shouldn't drink it every day, especially more than once a day.

PS. I love Red Bull cream sodas more than the God that created them, I swear, but I only drink maybe one or two energy drinks a year. Energy drinks will dissolve your liver faster than hydrochloric acid can. An alcoholic drinking 5 packs of beers a day will look at your liver and be impressed. Also the Panera lemonade should be illegal. That shit is CRAZY. That bitch had more caffeine than a Bang energy drink. It literally killed a man. Wild.