#all im sayin is if you ACTUALLY worked or work in a club do you not have FRIENDS willing to do this for you as a FAVOUR? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thiswasinevitableid · 3 years

Note

Can you do 60 for indruck, NSFW? Thank you so much! Love your work!

Here it is! I set it in the same world as this sternclay fill. Credit to @bellafarallones for playing in this space on discord. Apollo is from my Super hero AU

“All I’m sayin is it seems mighty unfair to me that one fella gets a handler-assistant type deal and the rest of us don’t.” Duck crosses his arms as Ned fiddles with the pen on his desk.

“You’re not wrong, dear boy, but Apollo was in high demand from the higher ups-”

“Because he’s a shallow dipshit with a mean streak who’ll be good for ratings?”

“Precisely. He demanded in his contract that we allow his twin to continue his work as his photographer and assistant. He has over a million followers on Instagram, so those photos will be a boost to the show. Just try to get along for the camera’s?”

“His brother ain’t even on camera.” Duck mutters.

“I meant with Apollo.”

Duck shrugs, defeated, “sure thing, Ned.”

As he walks back to the main house, he mulls over the fact that the twin (Indrid, he thinks that’s the guys name) bugs him more than Apollo does. Apollo is vain, mean, and selfish, but at least that gets him things, even makes sense for the kind of show they’re on. Indrid gains nothing by helping him out here. Except protection from the bully, which Duck finds to be the worst kind of cowardice. Hopefully Vincent, this season’s bachelor, will see through the “influencer” and send him packing ASAP.

-------------------------------------

Four weeks in, and this is exactly what Duck was worried about. Not only is Indrid hovering around his brother like a nervous moth (excet when cameras are near, at which point he ducks out of frame), he’s doing fucking nothing to reign him in.

A few frontrunners are starting to emerge, and with that claws are coming out. Barclay, a chef and all around nice guy, is the target of choice. Nico and Josh both took bites out of him this morning. But Apollo sunk his teeth in like a dog on a fox, calling him, among other things, a pathetic, six-foot puppy dog who no man would ever want. The cook left noticeably teary eyed. Duck was about to block the cameras from following when Joseph beat him to it. Which is weird, because he thought Joe couldn’t stand Barclay. Apollo flounces off, but Duck corners Indrid where he’s been stoically watching his brother be a raging asshole.

“What the fuck man?”

‘Wrong twin.” Indrid says flatly, indicating his silver hair, tied back in a half-bun. His dark roots are showing and his eyebrows are black, unlike Apollo’s immaculate blonde dye job and bleached brows.

“Nope, right one. You’re his handler, cant’ you fuckin intervene when he’s doin’ shit like that? Or are you just here to let him hurt whoever he feels like?”

Indrid fixes him with a bitter smile, “If there were a way to make my brother be kind or, indeed, see others as people, don’t you think I’d have found it and used it everyday since?”

“I-”

“You people have no idea how much I’m already doing. I kept him from going after you yesterday by reminding him he looks ugly when he yells on camera. And if nothing else console yourself with the fact you all have only to deal with him for a few months. Some of us have endured twenty-eight years of it.”

With that, he turns and stalks from the room. As he leaves, Duck can’t shake the thought that his black denim jacket and worn jeans fit him better than Apollo’s designer ones ever could.

-----------------------------------

Indrid understands why there’s so much alcohol on set, but he can’t partake (too bitter) and it makes Apollo even harder to handle than usual. Which is why Indrid is out on the grounds at ten p.m, intending to hide from his brother until dawn.

At six weeks in, fan favorites are getting more established and Indrid, needing to predict Apollo’s mood in order to do his job, is keeping a close eye on them. His twin is well-liked for being snarky and hot, though he suspects the large number of contestants means there have been limited chances for his unpleasant side to be showcased. Joseph is another, because of course he is, movie-star handsome with an interesting past. Barclay is beloved for the very things that the other contestants torment him for. And Duck? Duck is quickly becoming the one people think Vincent will choose.

Indrid thinks they’re right. He’s charming in an understated way, funny, and while Apollo needles him for his “dad bod,” Indrid and Vincent have both noticed the muscles in his arms. Who gives a damn about flat abs? Indrid would much rather have something soft to rest his head on while those green eyes look lovingly down at him. His crush on Duck is useless, persistent, and must be hidden from Apollo at all costs.

His foot catches something solid and he tumbles over the obstacle to land ass-first on the lawn.

“Ow.” He glares at the object. The object turns out to be Duck Newton, who's obviously drunk as he sits up.

“Sorry man, thought no one’d come out here. Oh it’s you, it's, uh, fuck, fuck c'mon” he snaps his fingers as he searches his thoughts, “It's cute Apollo!”

“Indrid.” Surely Duck didn’t mean to use that adjective. Right?

“No, I’m Duck?”

He snickers, “No, I meant I’m Indrid.”

“Ohhh, right. You're Indrid. I'm Duck. That's the big dipper” He points at the sky. Indrid follows the line and grins, delighted.”

“It is!”

“Uhhuh. C'mere, can show you more.” Duck pats the spot beside him and lays back. Indrid scoots closer and reclines as well, making appreciative sounds each time Duck shows him a constellation.

As they’re studying the sky, the other man whispers, “Can I tell you a secret? I, I think Joe’n Barclay are into each other now."

“The way they look at each other is not exactly subtle.”

‘“Heh, yeah.” he links his hands across his belly, “I think they're in love. You ever been in love?”

“No.” He sighs, not wanting to dwell on that pile of baggage, “You?”

“Nope. And, uh, don’t, don’t tell anyone but I don't think I am with Vincent. Maybe I could be? Does that make me a bad person? He's nice, think he likes me a lot but, I, I dunno.”

“Not being in love with someone doesn’t make you a bad person. No more than loving someone does.”

Indrid is hard to surprise; years of getting out ahead of his brother and father taught him how to see things coming. But nothing could prepare him for Duck rolling to hide his face against Indrid’s chest. Not knowing what else to do, he pats his back, notices a woodsy scent tingling his nose.

“You smell good.” He winces; that was too creepy, now Duck will pull the comforting bulk of his body away.

“Thanks. I bought a bunch of cologne when I realized I was actually going to be a contestant. News clothes too. Thought it would give me an edge but...I dunno, can't compete with a guy like your brother.”

“Join the club.” Indrid reaches up to toy with a lock of Duck’s black hair, expecting Duck to bat him away. Instead, he sighs and turns his head to give Indrid better access.

“You could compete with ‘im. You're cuter. Nicer too.”

“Oh. Ah. Thank you.”

Duck’s fidgets with the mothman pin on Indrid’s jacket, “You wanna cuddle?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“No one cuddles with me. And we ain’t allowed to cuddle Vincent yet.” He looks up, lips pouting just enough to be charming.

Indrid let’s a purr enter his voice, “That’s a shame. I’m happy to cuddle.”

Duck rolls more of his body onto Indrid, resolutely nestling his head under his chin and tangling their legs together. His hands stay on Indrid’s chest and shoulders, though he’s now drunkenly petting Indrid’s collarbone, making him shiver. He expends four months worth of daring in a second, wrapping his arms around the curves of Duck’s torso. When Duck’s fingers brush skin instead of shirt, Indrid whimpers, then bites his lip and prays it went unnoticed.

“You don’t get cuddled much either, do you?” Duck murmurs thoughtfully.

“No.”

“Damn shame, you’re real good at it. Can cuddle me any time.”

Indrid “mmhmms” knowing the promise is like the stars; bright and comforting in the darkness, but ultimately beyond his reach.

Three day later, he drops his guard; Apollo’s been on his good behavior since Vincent’s been spending more time with him. You’d think Indrid would learn by now that all his venom has to go somewhere.

He’s huddled down in the rec room trying not to cry; it’s pathetic enough that he let such childish insults get to him, but to cry over them would confirm everything his brother said.

“Indrid? You, uh, you okay?” Duck’s reflection in the darkened T.V approaches his own.

“I'm fine.” It’s the same inflection he’s used hundreds of times, but Duck sits down on the couch all the same.

“Do you, uh, need a hug?’

“No.” He replies a hair too quickly.

“Do you want one?”

“......Badly.”

Duck opens his arms and Indrid shifts on the cushions, doing his best to curl his long limbs so they’ll fit in his embrace. The shorter man notices, concern flashing on his face.

“You wanna talk about it?”

“Not particularly.”

“Okay. You, uh, wanna hear the most exciting news of the day?” He waits for Indrid to nod, “there was a cougar sightin’ in the foothills near here!”

“That is both very exciting and alarming.”

“Doubt it’d go after folks, they try to steer clear of people. We don’t have ‘em back home, but you learn what to do when you’re also learnin how to deal with bears.”

“How does one deal with a bear? Other than buying them a drink.”

Duck snorts, relaxes further into the couch, “Depends on how soon you see ‘em…”

They emerge two hours later, and Indrid is so engrossed in their conversation about hiking incidents that he runs smack into a camera man. While he’s apologizing profusely, Duck guffaws, steadies him, and leads him off in search of somewhere to watch the sunset.

-----------------------------------------

“Oooh, ooh, look, sea lions!” Indrid points to the distant wharf.

“Good eye. Man, those fuckers are big. Glad none of ‘em were in the water when we did that fuckin cliff dive.”

“I for one would pay good money to see my brother chased by a sea lion.”

Duck chuckles, pops the tab on his WhiteClaw. They’re having dinner on the beach, a gourmet spread meant to encourage them to show off their pallets. Indrid took Barclay’s recommendation and ordered the whole, grilled snapper, which he assumed he’d be eating alone; Vincent’s attention has been on Duck ever since he went swimming this morning. Duck seems to be enjoying it, but come dinner time he demurred (“gotta let some of the other fellas have a chance”) and brought his basket of fried oysters over to join Indrid on the sand.

“Speakin of your brother, kinda surprised he didn't make any digs at this whole, uh, situation.” Duck gestures to the torso Indrid is currently aching to lick droplets of saltwater from. To subdue the craving, he licks salt from his fingers before replying.

“I, ah, the last time he tried to, I reminded him of all the pictures I have of him eating. He hates to be seen eating. Most of the time.” He tilts his head towards his twin, who’s chowing down next to Vincent without a care for the cameras. Indrid sets his hand on the warm sand, “I’ve been trying to, well, reign him in as you suggested. Or at least make him think twice about his choices.”

(Indrid omits the part where he’s most likely to risk it if Duck is the one with the target on his back).

Duck sets his hand down beside Indrid’s, brushes sand from the side of it with a calloused thumb, “Mighty good of you. But, uh, think I mighta read things wrong that day. You gotta handle him how you think best. Just, uh, just promise me you won’t sacrifice your own well-bein’ for my sake, or anyone else’s. We’re all grown-ass men; we can handle it.”

“I promise.” He lies.

The other man leans back on his hands, green eyes drifting across the waves. Indrid would gladly sit in silence the rest of the night, it’s so easy to be comfortable in the lull when it’s Duck filling the space beside him.

Eventually, the ranger murmurs, “It’s so fuckin breathtaking. The ocean, I mean. Maybe if you live on a coast you get used to it but man, it is somethin;.”

“More so than the forest?”

Duck smiles, “It’s like apples and oranges. Monongahela got its own charms; you’d have a blast takin pictures and drawin there, believe me. If, uh, if Apollo and I both make it to the final four, uh, maybe we could take a few hours durin’ my hometown visit and I could show you my favorite spot.

Indrid imagines the two of them beneath the trees, walking hand in hand.

“I’d like that.”

---------------------------------------------

“You know you’re just a distraction, right?”

Indrid doesn’t look at his brother, just flips the page in his book, “I doubt that. You’ve said, often, that I’m too off-putting to be interesting.”

“Not when there’s competition for someone superior; Duck knows he might not win. You’re his back-up if he doesn’t, and a way to kill time until the end. Once Vincent sends him home, which he most definitely will, he’ll keep you around until something better comes along.”

“Don’t act like you know him.” Indrid hisses, looking up just in time to see something scurrying behind the triumph on Apollo’s face: fear.

So, his brother has a new weakness. He’ll tuck that away for later; this is shaping up to be an unpleasant conversation, but not one requiring quite that degree of weapon.

“You should thank me. If I weren’t so captivating, Vincent would spend all his time with Duck. Then you’d be without any attention at all. Even Duck’s taste isn’t that abysmal.” He grins his several thousand dollar smile, “he and Vincent are probably laughing about it right now.”

Indrid stands, crosses the tiny room, “Shut up, Apollo.”

Then he slams the door. There’s a yelp, followed by “you hit my nose, you pathetic excuse for a man, ow, open this door this instant I’m not done with you!”

He flicks the lock and sits back on the bed. There’s a tin of sensory putty on his nightstand and he opens it, playing with it between his fingers. Duck brought it for him after a museum date with Vincent. The image of him not only thinking of Indrid when he saw something, but then buying it for him just to see him smile makes him want to grin and hide his face in a pillow like a teenager who just got asked to prom.

But maybe this date is going differently.

Indrid squeezes the putty, repeats the mantra he’s had since he was a child, “Apollo always lies. Apollo always lies.”

Eventually, he’s calm enough to work on some tattoo commissions, is coloring away when there’s a knock on the door. A secret knock Duck invented as a goof. Throwing open the door reveals the shorter man wearing a suit jacket and an exhausted expression. Indrid gestures to the bed, shuts and locks the door as Duck slumps on the mattress and sets his head in his hands.

“Whelp, that was a shit-show.”

“What happened?” Indrid sits cross-legged beside him.

“Vincent went in for a kiss and I, uh, I turned him down. I mean, he took it well because he’s a sweet guy but I, I feel like shit.”

“There’s no shame in not wanting to kiss just yet.”

“That ain’t the problem. I, I wanna kiss someone on this set, but it ain’t him. Indrid” he looks up, green eyes watery, “Indrid, I think I’m fallin in love with you.”

“Oh. I, are you sure-”

“The whole night, and I mean the whole fuckin night, I was thinkin about you. Thought how nice the trip to the botanical gardens would be with you there to point out color combos and get excited about butterflies. Wanted to hold your hand over dinner. Fuck, when they brought out the dessert menu all I could think was how fun it’d be to order one of each thing to surprise you so you’d do that thing you do with your hands when you’re real excited.” Duck turns, sets his hands on Indrid’s shoulders, “‘Drid, if you don’t want this, I’ll back off but-”

Indrid cuts him off with a kiss, let’s strong arms pull him down to the bed and presses as close to Duck as he can, as if any space between them might be a way for the universe to push them apart.

“Than fuck” Duck pants, cupping his face, “wait, fuck, what do we do now? I can’t string poor Vincent on.”

“We’ll get them to let you out of your contract. It can’t be that hard, right?”

--------------------------------------------

“Absolutely not” Ned shakes his head, “dropping out of the show is out of the question.”

“But that ain’t fair to any of us. Can we at least tell Vincent the truth?”

“No, it needs to look as if he naturally decided not to choose you. If not, we could be accused of manipulating results; the last time that happened, the ratings tanked for that season and the next. And my predecessor was fired.”

Duck looks at Indrid, “Guess I’ll just...pull back? That way Vincent won’t have a reason to choose me and’ll let me go soon.”

----------------------------------------------

“Droppin out is outta the question, huh?” Duck mutters to Indrid as they watch Barclay and Joseph walk off holding hands, the host eagerly asking them questions as they go.

“I suppose he didn’t drop so much as sprint.” Indrid glances at the rose in Duck’s hand, “congratulations on making the final...well, final three now.”

“Thanks? Guess Apollo’s pretty happy about it too.”

“Yes, but his ego needs no stroking.” Indrid smiles, “maybe this means you’ll get to show me the woods?”

“I hope so. Huh. What are they gonna do with the rest of us when it’s not our turn for the hometown visit?”

The answer turns out to be: drag everyone to each hometown. Because they no longer have Joe’s trip to do, Ned decided they needed more scenes of the contestants exploring where their competitors came from.

Kepler is first, and tonight is the night Duck’s been dreading. His romantic, home-town date that everyone expects to end with at least some kissing. He manages to make it through dinner, even enjoys showing Vincent the down-town he spent years roaming. But as they start down the river walk for a romantic stroll, his heart is trying to smash its way out of his ribs.

“It’s alright, you know.” Vincent stops, guiding Duck to face him, “the fact you want to be with Indrid.”

“I, uh, fuck, I, I don’t not know, uh, fuck-” he closes his eyes, “how’d you know?”

“I’m more observant than I get credit for.” Vincent brushes his cheek, “I’ve had a hunch for weeks now, but I kept you around because I liked having you here, even if I suspected it wasn’t going to end with us together. I’m very fond of you, Duck. You deserve someone who makes you happy. I promise I’ll send you home this next rose ceremony”

“Christ” Duck chuckles, “you’re a hell of a guy too, Vince. I hope whoever you pick treats you right. I, uh, can I, should we…?”

Vincent plants a chaste kiss on his cheek, then smiles, “go get him.”

----------------------------------------

“Any twos?”

“No. Go fish.”

Apollo grumbles as he takes another card. Given Duck and Vincent are on their date, neither he nor Indrid is having a good night. Before Indrid can make his ask, his twin says, “How do you get people to like you?”

“Why do you care? You’ve made it this far, so obviously Vincent likes you a great deal”

“I don’t just mean him. I, I mean, I want him to like me. To want me. But I suspect he’d like me better if other people did.”

Indrid idly taps his cards, “I suggest you stop acting like our father.”

“I’m nothing like him!” Apollo squawks.

“Oh, but you are. Everything he taught us you still hold as true; you’re just the newest version of men like him. Self-absorbed. Cruel. Shallow. I’m amazed you’ve gotten this far with Vincent, given that the age difference means you’d be caring for him in his old age.”

“I, I can care for him. I will!”

“Apollo, I wouldn’t trust you to care for a potted plant.” He sets his cards down.

“At least I’m not a-”

“Ambitionless deviant who has to ride his brother’s coattails to survive?”

“Wha--how-”

“Like I said; you’re just like him. Down to your insults.” Indrid stands, “I’m going to bed. I suggest you do the same.”

His brother remains speechless--a rare state for him--as he closes the door and heads for his room. He doubts Duck will do anything on the date (hell, the two of them have only been able to steal some kisses now and then), but the whole charade has him feeling low.

There are far more cameras in the rented house than there were a few hours ago. Which means the rest of the crew is back. Does that also mean…

“Hey, sugar. I was just lookin for you.”

--------------------------------------------------

Duck’s glad his door is open, because otherwise Indrid would have smashed it to pieces dragging them both through it. He’d only gotten out the barest explanation before the taller man was kissing his face and tugging at his clothes, purring “mine” over and over again.

“Yep, all yours.” He shuts the door as Indrid mouths at his neck, “which also means you’re all mine.” He yanks Indrid’s black sweater up and over his head, sends the matching t-shirt after it a moment later. Indrid whines, fumbling with Duck’s dress shirt, and he gets an idea.

“Uh uh, only good boys who show me why they deserve it get to feel me up.”

Indrid groans into his shoulder, fisting the fabric of his jacket “What constitutes good behavior in this instance?”

“One sec, don’t go nowhere.” He starts to step past him, pauses to grips his chin and pull him into another kiss, “and no peekin.”

As he digs through his bag for the strap on he brought just in case, he keeps an eye on Indrid to be sure he’s following the directions. The taller man’s fingers twitch, but his head stays still. God, Duck is going to memorize the shape of each of the tattoos decorating his skin with his mouth.

“You did real good.” He slips around Indrid once more, resting his back on the wall. Indrid notices the new bulge in his pants and thuds to his knees.

“May I?”

“You better.”

Indrid undoes the button of his fly. Then he looks at Duck over the rim of his glasses as he takes the zipper between his teeth and pulls it down. When the black silicone of the strap breaks free, Indrid cocks his head as if unsure of his options. Duck doesn’t really have a plan--he just wants to be with him, to make him feel good and show him just what weeks of pent-up desire have done to him--but he’s starting to regret that choice.

Indrid flicks hair from his face and wraps his lips around the head of the cock experimentally. He hums, sucking on it a moment, then pulls back blushing, “This is going to sound strange but, ah, I, I really like that. It’s such a lovely texture on my tongue, it’s, it’s almost soothing to suck.”

“Guess you better keep suckin it then, huh?” Duck runs the fingers of his right hand through Indrid’s hair.

“Is that really alright? It can’t feel like much on your end.”

“Don’t mean it ain’t fun to watch. But, uh” he touches the edge of Indrid’s red glasses, “it okay if I take these off?”

Indrid nods and Duck slides them free, tucks them into his breast pocket for safekeeping as Indrid draws the cock into his mouth again. He focuses on the head at first, humming and moaning as it bumps his cheek. Then Duck sees him swallow and relax the muscles of his jaw as he presses closer. Little puffs of breath tickle Duck’s skin as Indrid gets most of the cock in his mouth, cheeks hollowing and head bobbing as he sucks. Hungry noises burlbe up his throat, and the more he lets himself go the messier he becomes, spit coating his lips and eyes fluttering closed in bliss.

“Okay, I lied.”

Brown eyes shoot him a disbelieving look.

“This ain’t fun. This is one of the hottest fuckin things I’ve ever seen.”

Indrid wiggles happily on his knees, left hand dropping to rubs his own cock through his jeans.

“Needy little thing, gotta have somethin down your throat and around your dick at the same time.”

“MMMhhmmm” Indrid purrs, the picture of filthy perfection.

“If, if you swallow the whole thing, I’ll let you finger-fuck me.”

Both hands fly to his thighs with an excited moan. Indrid’s brow crinkles with determination as he slowly, carefully brings his lips to the base of the toy. Duck groans out “good boy” and shoves his pants down, Indrid helping to drag them to his ankles. Indrid keeps his left hand on Duck’s hip while the right hovers below his folds. Duck takes it, the toy making the angle a bit awkward, and guides it against him.

“Start with one.”

Indrid nods, moans reverently as he obeys. Duck curses, looks down to find Indrid watching him attentively. Duck is going to wreck him. Then he’s going to cuddle him to sleep and wonder at the fact he got this lucky.

“You’re doin’ great, sugar. Promise I’ll tell you if you need to adjustOH, ohyeah” he lets his head rest against the chipped white of the door, “that’s the spot. Fuck it, add one more, Ahfuck, yeah, those artists fingers are fuckin perfect for this.”

Another purr and then a sharp, choked noise. Duck looks down, realizing he rolled his hips without meaning to. Before he can apologize, Indrid grips his thigh and shakes his head.

“You like that?”

“Mmhhmmm” Indrid traces a heart on his belly.

“You’ll pull off you need to?”

“Mhmmmm.” Indrid curls his fingers as his stretched lips manage to grin.

“Fuck!” Duck giggles, “okay, if my darlin wants his face fucked, that’s what he’ll get.” He keeps a hand on Indrid’s shoulder as he lets loose, grunts and curses mingling with the increasingly wet moans of his cock claiming Indrid’s throat. Soon he’s out of words, too busy with the sight of himself forcing Indrid’s lips apart as he tightens around his fingers. Handjobs are a toss-up for him most days; sometimes they work, other times he can’t cum from them at all. It turns out what makes it very easy to do so is-

“‘Drid, fuck, fuck, sugar, yeah, right there, rightthererightthere ohfuckyeah.” He cums, jerking his hips hard enough to punch a new, high sound from Indrid’s throat. The other man pulls off, rests his cheek on Duck’s belly with shuddery, satisfied sighs.

“Y’know” Duck unbuttons his shirt from the bottom up so Indrid can more easily nuzzle the skin there, “I had this whole plan where I was gonna fuck you with this and then ride your face to cum.”

“I’m not opposed.” Indrid grins, bouncing a bit.

“Yeah, but I’ve only got one in me tonight. So” He tosses the shirt away, pulls off the harness as Indrid nibbles his hips, “if you wanna cum, you’re gonna have to do all the work.”

An edge enters his smile, “I can manage that.”

Duck hits the floor with a whump, Indrid trapping him on his back and climbing atop him, all the while kissing him with abandon.

“May I fuck you?”

“Hell yeah.”

“Condom?”

“Dop kit, bathroom, aw come back.”

“Patience, sweetheart” Indrid blows him a kiss, returns a few moments later doing an inelegant dance to kick his jeans and boxers away, “got one!”

“Good, now get back down here before I-AHfuck!” Indrid is on him and in him so fast it knocks his breath away.

“Before what? You’re not going anywhere, you’re mine, alllllll mine.” He drags kisses across Duck’s cheek, then bites his chapped lip as he looks down at him, “right?”

“You know it, nnng, fuck, that’s it sugar, be a good boy and cum for me. Fuck, darlin, wanted this so bad.” He locks his fingers into silver hair to keep Indrid in kissing distance as the other man whimpers, thrusts shallow and rabbity.

“Want you too, so much, I’ll be worth it, I swear, I’ll be good, I’ll, I’ll make you so happy.”

Duck rests their foreheads together, “You already do.”

There’s a high, gasping moan, almost like a chirp, and Indrid rides out his orgasm in drawn-out rolls of his hips. Then he collapses, laughing, on Duck’s chest.

“I, I’m sorry, I just never thought I’d get this. Someone wanting me. Choosing me.”

“I mean, I went on a T.V show to find love, so I know a little somethin about that fear. But I also know findin you is better than anythin I ever imagined.”

“Likewise.” Indrid nestles closer, one hand reaching out to hold Duck’s where it’s flopped on the rug.

“...You realize this means there’s a fifty-fifty chance your brother will win.”

Indrid shrugs, lifts his head to smile at Duck, “I leave that to Vincent. I already got my prize.”

#indruck #indrid cold/duck newton #bachelor au #meet ugly

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tobi-momo · 3 years

Text

Disconnected Fate

a/n: hehe thank you for @velvxtparadise for requesting this im so happy you did bc it was an amazing idea (their works are also so amazing you should check ‘em out) but ya THANK YOU ily!!

Disconnected Fate: Soulmate AU/Quirkless AU - Sero x Reader

Synopsis: Soulmates were something to be treasured. The second half of your soul, finally connecting, becoming one. But, you couldn’t really rely on that if your string is cut. But will meeting someone with your same fate change that?

Word Count: 3110

Warnings: Cursing, clubbing, drinking, mentions of vomiting, kissing, old ass pervs, groping (if there are more pls let me know!!) {does include some todomomo and kamijirou}

“Mina, I don’t think this fits very well,” you laugh at your figure in the mirror, turning your body and running your hands down the fabric to slim it down. Mina opens to you, practically jumping at you before placing her hands at your shoulder to rotate your body; jaw dropping at the sight.

“Y/n, shut the hell up. You look so fucking sexy it’s not even funny,” she chuckles, giving your ass a playful smack before tugging at the thin strap that held your dress up. The strings connected to a loose bateau neckline, showing a little cleavage, and looking down, you see the way your snug dress brings out your curves and hips. Wow- you really did look amazing, didn’t you? “Okay, that should do it. Are we ready? The guys are probably waiting for us.”

Your head whips to your friend, who definitely did not tell you about boys being with you. “What? Boys- boys? Mina.”

She looks back at you with a shocked look, making it seem like you knew, and gave a blank, “what?”

“Why didn’t you tell me there would be boys? I only know like, three other people from your friend group, and I’m not even sure they like me.” You complain, leaving the closet for the bathroom to touch up on your makeup before hearing your other bestie chime in.

“Don’t worry, y/n! I like having you around very much, and I’m sure the others will, too!” Momo says, finishing her mascara.

“Yeah, and you’re fun to duet and play with,” Kyouka acknowledges while painting her nails.

“See?” Mina remarks. “They love you. Eiji has already told the others, and none of them have anything bad to say!”

“Yet.”

“Kyo!”

“Kidding~” she corrects.

“Y/n, you’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it, they’ll love you. Just...I don’t know, be yourself!”

“Thanks, Mina, that actually helps a lot,” you smile sarcastically before turning your smile flat. “I’ll be sure to do that once I get over the fact that I’ve never hung out with your friends before.”

“Oh my God, y/n. Stop stressing. You’ll be fine.” Mina assures. “And maybe you’ll find a little special someone~” she vocalizes and points to the ring finger of your right hand.

Oh. Right. You thought, looking down at your hand. The red string tied to your finger that connected you to the person the universe wants you to spend the rest of your life with. The string that leads you to the person you’ve always wanted, needed. Your soulmate. You had always wanted that person to come in your life, to sweep you off your feet and be with you for the rest of your days, but it was hard to believe in all that when your string was cut. Your string connected you to your soulmate, so why was yours cut? Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be for you.

“Y/n? Y/n.” You blink up to Mina’s fingers snapping at you.

“Huh? Oh, sorry,” you smile, “I just spaced out.”

“Classic y/n.”

“Kyo.” Mina glares at Kyouka.

“What? I’m just sayin’.”

“Okay, are we all done here?” You ask while looking around at Momo, Kyouka and Mina; checking the belongings around them and seeing their small handbags.

“Yup!”

“Mhm.”

“Finally! Okay, let’s go bitches.” Mina exclaims as Kyouka shakes her head then drags herself up, leaning her head back, an annoyed expression painted on her face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Bro, come on! Just have one- ONE- drink. Please?” Kaminari pouts, handing Sero a small glass of whiskey, the ice clinking within the glass.

“I don’t know man. You guys are probably gonna get hammered tonight, and Katsuki refuses to be the DD again,” Sero shrugs back, leaning on the counter of the bar.

“You’re damn right I ain’t the DD tonight. I haven’t had a good drink in a minute, and you guys are annoying as it is, so maybe a couple might make it easier to put up with you.” Bakugou groans, downing his drink, walking up to the bartender to order another one.

“Hey, where are the girls? Are they still coming?” Kirishima asks curiously.

“Uh,” Kaminari pulls his phone out, checking his messages, “they are on their way.”

“Why do they take so goddamn long? It’s annoying.” Bakugou calls out, waiting for his drink impatiently.

“Because they are ladies, Katsuki. They need time to get ready and stuff. You know this,” Kirishima whines, as if he had told him this multiple times.

“I know it’s stupid,” he emphasizes. He gets his drink and continues to sit at the bar, irritated.

Kirishima makes his way over to Sero, who sips his water through the black straw poking out of the glass. He looks bored, but not as if he didn’t want to be there. He always liked hanging out with his friends; the more the merrier. So taking this invitation to hang out with his guy and girl friends was a must. He needed a break from all of the stress school put on him. College was a lot harder than he thought it was going to be. This was a perfect way to distract himself even for a little while and drinking water. His friends would be entertaining enough anyways.

“Hey, Hanta, you excited for the girls to get here?” Sero’s head whips up, breaking his thoughts. Sitting up straight, he leans back with an elbow on the back of the couch. Kirishima smiles giggly, taking a seat next to him.

“Oh, ya,” he says, as if it was obvious, “excited to see how they act when they black out,” he jokes. The girls were always a handful when drunk, thankfully some had their boyfriends to take care of them, but the boyfriends were always a little drunk, too.

“Ha ha, yeah, always super fun,” Kirishima replies sarcastically, knowing exactly what Sero is thinking. “What about you, Shoubro?”

Todoroki was sitting at the end of the table awkwardly, waiting for more company. He looked lonely, but patient. He looked up at his nickname Kirishima gave him tiredly. “Hmm?”

“Excited for the girls to get here?”

“I guess. They will make the night more entertaining.” See, he knows, too. The girls were known for making the night more interesting. Whether it was karaoke, body shots, dancing, or even fighting with douchebags that tried to dance with them. The night always ended on a good note either way, so whoever was staying sober sure had a sight to see.

“Oh, here come the girls,” Kaminari chimes in, putting his phone in his back pocket before turning around for the door. Three girls walk in: Mina, Kyouka, and Momo. Wait- where were you? Didn’t Mina say something about bringing a friend?

“Hey, boys,” Mina greets, “how are we this fine evening?” She says smoothly, strutting her way to the bar. “Four vodkas, please.”

“You havin’ all of those? Momo and Kyo don’t usually have vodka.” Kaminari laughs, a jokingly confused question.

“Oh, y/n is gonna be here in a sec, and she likes vodka. A lot. So half of these are for her.” Mina smiles as she carefully grabs the shots and cautiously carries them to the table where Momo, Todoroki, Sero, Kirishima, Kaminari, and Kyouka reside. She sets them down, keeping a close eye not to spill, and starts walking over to your figure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You head into the club, surprised the music isn’t louder, while avoiding the other people around the area. You knew at places like this it got a little crowded and hectic, so you just wanted to find Mina before anything else. With your hands behind your back holding your tiny purse, you look around and see Mina walking over to you, a bright smile plastered on her face as giggles and grabs your hand, dragging you to the table where everyone (besides irritated Bakugou) resides.

“Katsuki get your ass over here right now!” Mina shouts from across the club, catching Bakugou’s attention. She gives him a stern look, then smiles softly when he grumbles and pushes himself off his chair, slowly walking over there, drink in hand. He plops down next to Kirishima lazily before staring at the ground. “Good. Anyway,” she inhales, clearly excited. You stand there awkwardly, wondering why it has suddenly got so hot. Something in the air was different. You didn’t know what it was, but it was making you nervous. “Y/n, the boys,” she points at each boy, introducing them, “Todoroki, Sero, Kaminari, Kirishima, and Bakugou.” You nod in acknowledgement, getting to know their faces to hopefully not forget later. One face caught your breath, though. Literally. Your breath hitched as you looked at him. Sero, you were pretty sure his name was. He was- beautiful. His raven black hair, his smile, his eyes, his everything- was gorgeous.

What the hell was this?

You stand there, frozen, staring at his handsome face and body, practically drooling. You were interrupted by Mina yapping at them to shake your hand. Each one of them sat up straight and nodded to you, said how nice it was to meet you. Then you shook hands with Sero.

No. No way.

Right as you switch your hands for him, raising your left hand, he raises his. The red on his finger caught your eye, making you stop in your tracks. Again. He also comes to a halt, both your eyes wide in shock and surprise as you gaze at each other’s string.

This wasn’t real. You were the only one you knew in your entire life who had this. You had looked it up several times for a sliver of hope, but nothing showed. In fact, everything you had searched for came up the opposite. Because of the stories and the legends and the research, you were convinced it wasn’t true. You were convinced that it wasn’t going to happen to you. Convinced that you were going to live your life alone. Was this man really the one for you? Was this man really the one to share your soul with? You couldn't believe it. You just couldn’t.

“Ahem,” Mina purposely coughs, trying to dissipate the awkwardness everyone else has to endure as you and Sero share the weirdest and yet most thrilling moment you’ve had in your life. Your heart was beating so fast, you were nervous, but excited. You were surprised, but happy and sad, a little disappointed and mad, though you felt awakened at these new feelings. They felt stronger than anything you’ve ever felt before, and you could tell he could feel them, too. Mina coughs again, snatching your attention. She smiles and widens her eyes while pointing her head at the other men, who are tiredly awaiting your hand. Once you suddenly realize you’ve been focusing on Sero for the past 45 seconds, you breathe out an ‘oh’ and move on to Kirishima.

You never stopped thinking about him, though. Throughout the entire night, after every shot you took, every song on the dance floor, Sero was still in your mind. And because of this, you took more shots. And you danced some more. You were taking a body shot off of Mina’s stomach when you notice eyes boring into yours. Swallowing the stinging alcohol you turn over to him, not finishing with the lime, almost stumbling. You want to tell him to stop looking at you, to mind his own business, but you can’t separate your words, slurring an incoherent sentence.

“Oh? Baby girl needs some help? I can help you,” the strange man, teases, laughing as he grabs your waist, grazing the side of your torso up and down, trying to drag you to the back of the club. “Let me help you, honey.” He starts guiding you to the back, using his fingers to touch the soft skin on your shoulders, your forearms, making their way down to your hips, and finally up to-

“Hey, y/n, you okay?” The man gets interrupted by your hero, his voice giving you butterflies. “Sorry, man. She’s drunk. You really shouldn’t be messin’ with girls like this,” he shrugs before grabbing you by your waist and putting your arm around his shoulder, “or any girls, for that matter.” You lean on his shoulder, barely keeping up with the situation. You feel so light on your feet, but so heavy at the same time. He helps you to the tables you originally sat at before going a little more overboard than you would’ve liked. You moan, a little overwhelmed by the noise, but once he sets you in a comfortable spot on the bench, you lean your head back, satisfied with the cold air on your face. He quickly hands you his glass of water, placing the straw in your mouth and nodding his head, whispering to take a drink. You comply, sipping his water before he takes it out and puts the cup on the tabletop for a brief moment.

Dazed, you look around the room. Your vision is blurry, but you can clearly see Momo and Todoroki making out on the other side of the booth. At least she’s having fun. Meanwhile you get groped by an old man in a corner and probably won’t remember it the next day. Sero’s gone, you think. He was, but only a couple feet away from you. You turn your head from Momo on top of Todoroki’s lap, to Jirou leading Kaminari out of the building, then to Mina taking more shots with Kirishima, and Bakugou acting annoyed but is actually having fun. They all looked like they were having a great time. You look to your left once more and smile to yourself once you see him walking back over. He sits next to you and grabs the cup again, pushing it towards you to take a sip. And you do.

The next half hour was you and him in the bathroom while you throw your guts up, the nasty alcohol leaving your stomach while he holds your hair up and rubs your back. You cough everything back up, regretting taking a single drink in the first place. You feel his hands smooth over your upper back, and his grip on your hair, tightening in a circle at the back of your head. You lift your head up, turning away in embarrassment.

He smiles in return, taking his hand off your back to grab something to wipe your mouth with. “Don’t worry, it’s not the first time I’ve done this. Come here,” he says softly, almost like a whisper. You turn your head towards him, still not looking at his face, but at his arm. His very attractive arms. He raises his left hand to wipe a cloth at your mouth, you catching the bright red string in sight. He notices this, and slows his motions. “You see it, right? My string.”

You only nod in response, looking away with a blush.

“I can see it, too. Yours, I mean.” You weren’t that surprised, considering what happened earlier that night when you first met him. The feeling was the same as it was before, but more intense. It was like sparks every time he touched you, like fireworks, like electricity. You could tell he felt it as well when he pulled back a little, hesitant to touch you. You knew he felt it when he pulled you away from that strange guy. Guess you were too drunk to notice.

Once he finishes up, he tells you he’s done then helps you up to get ready to leave. You were both tired of this place. Walking back out to the main room, the only people to be seen from Mina’s friend group was herself, Bakugou, and Kirishima. You could only guess where everyone else went. You two continue making your way down, asking if everyone else will be alright, or if they needed a ride. Mina responded that they’ll take a cab home, and that they’ll be okay. Thankfully Bakugou looked sober enough to understand what was going on.

“Yeah, yeah, I got it. Whatever. Fuckin’ leave already.”

Sero returns with a smile, silently thanking him as he leads you to the exit. The cool air felt wonderful against your face, the breeze making you feel a lot better. You groan as your head starts to pound. Sero leads you to his car, opening the door for you and helping you in, shutting the door.

“Hey, what’s your address?”

You look up tiredly, ready to fall asleep right then and there. “Oh, uh, building 474 on 32nd.”

He only hums in response, checking his mirrors and backing out, heading for your apartment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey, uh, thank you, Sero. I really appreciate it. I know this is not how you wanted to spend your night, even if you were sober.” You apologize, genuinely disappointed in yourself for letting yourself drink that hard.

“Don’t worry about it. It was fun watching you guys for most of the night, though,” he laughs.

“Oh I bet. Me and Mina got a little crazy.”

“A little?”

“Shush, I know,” you chuckle, trying not to embarrass yourself further. “Um, do you want my number? Or something? It’s just, your Mina’s friend,” We both have red cut strings, “and I want to make up for being such a slob at the party,” I want to figure out why I can see your string. He gladly agrees, putting his number in your phone. “Also,” you interrupt his movements, causing him to look up, “I remember that weird guy from earlier, where did he go? I didn’t see him for the rest of the night.”

He smiles cunningly, a smile that cocks the sides of your mouth up subconsciously. “He was getting on my nerves, so I kicked him out of the club.”

You tilt your head in confusion. “How?”

“I have my ways,” he says slyly, implying exactly what you’re thinking. You smile in understanding, thanking him for the help.

You unlock your door and wave goodbye to him, sad that he had to leave, but grateful that he didn’t have to put up with you anymore. You lift your left hand in curiosity. Looking at it, you can see every thread on the piece of yarn. Every knot. Although you couldn’t take it off, it looked as if you could. It was weird, knowing the fact that everyone else’s string connected them to their soulmates, while your short piece of combined thread just drooped towards the ground. You never expected to find another person like you. Another person with a lost fate. Huh.

Part 2?? Let me know!!

#bnha #mha #bnha headcanons #sero hanta #bnha fluff #soulmates au #mha fluff #mha headcanons #sero headcanons #bakugou katsuki #mina ashido #yaoyorozu momo #todoroki shouto #kaminari denki #jirou kyouka

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angelmichelangelo · 4 years

Text

i’m about five years too late and nobody asked for this except me and i need to just get this out of my brain because it’s 2am so here’s a list of things i wish happened on glee that didn’t HERE WE GO:

- new directions being actual teenagers. just them hanging out. going to group sleepovers. giant study sessions (because school exists in this universe?) like remember in tpp when they were eating lunch together ? that’s what i wanted MORE of. just them being actual friends. a sleepover episode is all i wanted imagine all the abba songs we could have gained from that episode

- a halloween themed episode. the closest to this that we got was the ‘thriller/heads will roll’ mashup which YES was iconic but im greedy and it’s not enough. my idea for a halloween episode is that the gang gets trapped inside the school after staying behind to idk rehearse? or something? and then things get progressively worse as they start to go a little mad, thinking the school is haunted and they split up into pairs trying to find an escape and they think they’re seeing ghosts/someone lurking around the school and they’re getting real spooked but it turns out it’s just sue fucking with them lmao

- kurt and finn being brothers. THE POTENTIAL WAS THERE and sadly after furt we are left with crumbs. why ?? WHY?? little moments like finn saying that he’s driving back home with kurt or them saying they can’t do something because they have a family thing would have been good enough. more scenes of them hanging out in their home with their parents would have been *chefs kiss* but alas. it never happened because glee writers are bastards

- based off my last point: sam actually living at the hudson-hummel house because he actually did live there? but nothing is ever said like what’s the dynamic there why weren’t kurt and sam and finn close if they all lived together for what? like a year? was sam living in the mf shed? did he ever get close to carole and burt?? where tf did he live when everyone went off to college did he just stay in their house lol who knows not me LMAO

- blaine dealing with his trauma ? mental health was never dealt with very well on this show. emma’s ocd was just ignored after she got married or whatever and blaine mentioned his trauma once and then it was ignored until it was mentioned in passing a few seasons later and even he just brushed it off and it was never brought up again like wtf. i have no idea how they wrote a whole episode about hate crime in bash and they never once thought to have blaine and kurt have a single conversation together, let alone a conversation about how they’d both been victims of a hate crime. AND THE ONLY TIME BLAINE DOES MENTION IT IS IN TESTED WHERE ITS JUST USED AS A REASON FOR THEM TO FIGHT AAAAAAAA no wait im calm it’s okay. i just would have liked to have seen kurt and blaine have an emotional moment together in that episode that didn’t include blaine singing and kurt being knocked tf out. just sayin.

- kurt dealing with HIS trauma !! again, glee gets bad points for talking about mental health and it just is crazy that they had so much potential with kurt, ie: depression, anxiety, ocd (kinda?) his bullying, being literally assaulted (i see u ryan murphy taking that whole plot line so loosely mmhm) and then shoehorning in the fact that he was suicidal AT THE SECOND TO LAST EPISODE when they had a whole episode about suicide and they could have mentioned it at any time but ofc they didn’t because the writers just wanted to shove in as much as they could in the flashback episode AYE AYE AYE the potential!!!! oof.

- literally just more tina. jenna ushkowitz is a fantastic actor/singer/preformer and she was criminally underused. i like the episode props because of two reasons: one. everyone switching characters was amazing. and two. some actual tina scenes. even if she.. technically was rachel but also herself or something? either way. i digress

- this is just in general but MORE ABBA AND ALSO THE CARPENTERS and also some sound of music songs would have worked GREAT but they already had like a million songs and as the show progressed they veered away from old songs and more towards popular songs at the time to help chart numbers blah blah blah whatever it’s cool. but also how did they only do a few abba songs that is criminal

- a more fleshed out ending that wasn’t so rushed. like rachel won a tony and everyone else is just? there? why is sam at mr shue’s house ??? how did artie get up the stairs? did quinn graduate from yale? and where tf was kurt and blaine’s child during ‘i lived’ because burt and carole are vibing in the audience and rachel isn’t pregnant so like? is the baby just?? alone somewhere in the wings?! lmao where are u bby girl!! but once again i know they didn’t have the time to do it so idk it’s fine what they did it just sucks we didn’t get more! but again. fanfic exists so yah im all good

- more of blaine’s mum. or mom, in this case i guess. why cast gina gershon and then give her ONE line like ? ik there was a whole deleted script that explained why she was there but i love that up until that point blaine seemed like he genuinely murdered his parents, lived in their big house all alone and when people got suspicious he just told them that they were “out of town” :) either way pam is great i love her and i wish she had more to do in the one episode she was ever in. not even a moment with blaine?? wasted.

- more of cooper anderson, matt boomer is so fucking funny everytime i think of the emotion tornado i bust a lung laughing like it’s so fucking stupid but oh my good i love it. (and if you haven’t watched the special feature of cooper’s transformers audition tape please please watch it because it’s just so funny.) ik he was just a special guest but i wish they got him back for at least the wedding ep but guess my mans was just busy. boo ;(

- going back a couple of points, i wish they’d done a whole episode like props. every actor here just shines when they’re impersonating each other. finn and puck as kurt and blaine is beautiful and quinn and sugar is incredible. also idk why they refused kevin the right to wear the cheerios skirt; they could have put a little more effort into some characters but that’s glee for ya lmao but yeah. a whole episode like that would have been so much fun

- they should have let chris colfer write more episodes. purely for the fact that he wrote with his own bare hands the whole scene where lea michelle’s character gets dragged down a road by dogs. this guy. it’s a shame he only got to write one since he actually did a really good job! i would have loved to have seen what other episode ideas he had :)

- glee in the summer! obviously it only was centred around the school year but after season 3 who honestly gave a shit about the glee club and mckinley lmao i wanna see them in SHORT SHORTS and POOL PARTIES but nope we just got september - june so like rip all my hopes and dreams

- WHAT HAPPENED TO DALTON? bitch just burst into flames ?? and for WHAT?? oh yeah plot convenience smh this is so sad i wish they’d either written something better than “we need the warblers to team up with new directions so uhhh the school burnt down” like. it’s a private school. if the school is gone and they’re just staying at mckinley what are the parents paying for? they’re just cool with sending their kids off to public school now? every adult in this universe has been murdered by these kids, haven’t they? they’re just doing whatever they want jfc

- a wedding was a good episode. ish. and yknow, huge kudos to them because gay marriage wasn’t legal in the us at the time so im less harsh on the fact that they definitely threw up the rainbow flags and made it less about the characters getting married and more so “we have gay characters and look they’re getting married what a concept” but i do wish we could have gotten some more married!klaine since they don’t really have much to do after this understandably but a little moment alone together after the wedding would have been nice :) IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE IM TELLING YOU

- get rid of the hummelberry friendship and send mercedes to new york instead. i have nothing else to add to this other than the fact that i mourn the fact that kurt and mercedes went from bffs to just. school mates. this is tragic this is traaaaagic !! and all for more of the rachel berry show smh

- every day i wonder what was going through carmen tibideaux mind when she watched the kurt hummel preform not the boy next door and was like :) and then watched rachel berry have a breakdown on stage and then proceeded to give rachel the spot at nyada and kurt gets payed literal dust. and THEN she had the nerve to tell him it was because his performance had no heart. AND HOW DID ADAM GET IN THIS BABY GOT BACK MOTHERFUCKER?! nyada is a circus school oh my god !!!!! kurt deserved better im telling yall he deserved so much better

there’s so much more i could rant about but im going insane im so tired and i need psychological help after watching glee so im gonna leave it here and say peace out homies it’s been fun but i need to sleep so bad

#this is insanity #how did this happen #glee #tw hate crime mention #tw suicide mention #tw mental health mention #this was from my drafts lmao

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aislingeu · 4 years

Text

hello!! i’m kq ( aka kelsey quinn! ) i’m twenty five, livin in the est, usin she / her pronouns!! much like the good buddy who turned me on to this rp, i don’t know a ton about percy jackson!! but mythology was one of the few subjects that held my attention in school, so i hoe i have a good handle on it! :D for now, i manage a comic book store from thursdays - sundays, so i’m scarce those times but i’m usually on discord!!

⟨ ABIGAIL COWEN. CIS FEMALE. SHE / HER ⟩ though the mist might prevent some from seeing it, AISLING DUNN is actually a descendant of H Y P N O S. it’s still a question of whether or not the TWENTY-THREE year old PAINTING MAJOR from DUBLIN, IRELAND has taken after their godly parent completely, but the demigod is still known to be quite CLEVER & COARSE.

this got way longer than i intended im so sorry...

𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃

she was born on march 12th, 1997 to a pair of irish musicians ( conor and dierdre dunn ) and, unwittingly, one greek god ( hypnos ) in dublin, ireland. her parents met and married shortly after her conception and neither of them suspected that conor wasn’t aisling’s father, until she was claimed.

as an only child, her parents didn’t have much to compare her too in terms of overall strangeness. for years, they wrote off her abilities as kids just sayin’ the darndest things. they remained blissfully unaware of the impact of their daughter’s words, rolling their eyes fondly, when she told them about the man in the cave, who came to her in dreams. they smiled and laughed, when she strangers at the supermarket that she thought erwin was a fine name to give a teddy bear, no matter what anyone else said. how were they to know that she was unearthing the fond childhood memories that passersby had almost forgotten?

when she enrolled in primary school, they realized that she was... strange, if not special. she was recognized as a bit of a space case, often staring at nothing in particular, while her teacher droned on. her worksheets were seldom turned in complete. instead, aisling began gifting poorly drawn family portraits on the blank sides of her papers, likenesses plucked from the memories she explored when her mind wandered, in class.

eventually, after her skill had developed and people stopped writing off the stick figures as ‘coincidentally accurate’, people began to truly take notice. they speculated that she was a medium, silently communing with the dead and painting their pictures as she did. how else could she know what her art teacher’s late father looked like? and what color tie he always liked to wear? she had to be a psychic. recipients of her art were always so focused on their perception of the little girl with the gift of sight that they hardly even realized what she had tweaked, brightening up their darkest memories, just so they wouldn’t have to hurt anymore. she hardly even realized, herself.

without a reason to believe otherwise, she told the man in her dreams that she was a psychic, but he knew differently. he told her that that wasn’t so. she was special, yes, but not in the ways that the world thought her to be. hypnos let her in on the secret he’d been keeping for the past twelve years and, just like that, aisling could make sense of herself. once she knew the truth, she chased sleep. she spent as much time as she could, communicating with the one person who understood who she was. he saw her hunger for belonging and pointed her in the direction of the camp nearest to her hometown.

after a summer away, she came home faced with a challenge in morality that she’d never considered, as a child. she came home to a world where she could no longer fit. her party tricks had lost their luster the moment she realized that true value of a memory, however sad, was worth far more than the cheap smiles that her alterations had afforded. with that realization, her art took a darker turn. unable to shift the memories she saw into the light, they haunted her. she now saw their fears and heartbreaks for what they were: unchangeable. and, now, they lived within her, too. putting them to paper was the only way to get them out. but, pieces like those weren’t the kind that could be sent home to mom and dad. pieces like those were the kind that got her meetings with guidance counselors and haunted, fleeting looks from those whose memories she’d never meant to disturb. after a year of that, aisling went back to camp, full time.

once she was a year round resident of the camp, she found herself more comfortable around people who understood; there was nothing she had to hide, among those who were like her. each one of them was fighting an uphill battle of their own. they didn’t have to hide it. even if she never allowed herself to get too close, aisling never felt all that far away, at camp.

at eonia, aisling spends most of her days painting, sleeping, or working. raised by a pair of mortal musicians, finding a job at fireside records felt like a natural progression. where her godly parent thrives in silence, she finds her comfort in noise. it’s easier to block out the things she doesn’t need to see when there’s something immediate for her to focus on. at the other end of that spectrum, aisling finds her mind most open in visual arts club, trying to keep her other creative skills sharp, while she keeps her primary focus on painting. in search of inspiration, her mind reaches out in tendrils, dipping into another’s until she finds something she can work with. she only needs to leave the room before they’ve realized what she’s borrowed.

𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘

aisling is a naturally empathetic person, always wishing she could do more to help those around her. unfortunately, she knows that she can’t always honor that instinct. her abilities and self-imposed limitations have left her with a hardened exterior that isn’t easy to break through. those who pass through her walls see a softer side: a steadfast friend, always there to put a peaceful end to their sleepless nights or calm their worst nightmares, with a gentle run of her fingers through their hair. but sometimes, she’ll wall herself away from even those she’s closest to after she finds herself in the middle of a particularly harrowing memory. because of this, maintaining close bonds for long is a difficult thing. given her propensity for accidentally rifling through the fondest and most fearsome parts of peoples’ pasts, she’s been known cut them out of her life when she sees something that she has the urge to alter.

𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒

MEMORY RETRIEVAL — for as long as she could remember, aisling knew things that she shouldn’t. at first, her parents just dismissed her gift as imagination and observation combining in a perfect, creepy storm. it wasn’t until she started attending school, picked up her finger paints, and started to draw out moments from the pasts of strangers that people started to truly take notice. sloppy scenes from the librarian’s wedding day graduated into well sketched portraits of her bus driver’s dalmatians. she liked to take those happy moments, immortalize them in art, and hand them off to the owners of the memories. she liked to make people smile. sometimes, she took that a step further. too young to see the value in sadness, aisling would tweak the memories that were harder to bear; even if she couldn’t bring someone happiness in the present, she hoped she could bring them comfort in the future. it wasn’t until she was claimed that aisling saw the flaws in her intervention. it wasn’t until she was taught the consequences that she knew she had to stop. although the memories came to her unbidden, they didn’t belong to her and she had no right to change them. instead of focusing on the alteration of memories, aisling opted to try to learn how to shut them out. like her other powers, though, there’s a direct correlation between her emotional state and her ability to keep a wall up. when she’s feeling something strongly or hasn’t gotten enough sleep, she sees things that she doesn’t mean to.

HYPNOKINESIS — you are getting very sleepy… what proved to be a fun tool at sleepovers had more practical applications than aisling knew possible. the skill of inducing sleep was easy enough to come by and influencing dreams was as simple as altering memories. and while ( without intending to ) she’d been known to cause visions when tensions ran high, refining those visions into ones that took the shapes she wanted them to took practice. even more difficult than that was learning to astral project, but that became a necessity, coming hand-in-hand with building her mental walls. when the uninvited memories start to weigh on her, she’s learned that it’s best to remove herself from the immediate vicinity. even if she’s only technically leaving in her head.

OTHER ABILITIES — ( levitation ) a skill she only possesses in sleep, predominantly when her dreams are eliciting strong emotions. ( seeing the gods in dreams ) this is how she formed and maintained a relationship with her father, despite her parents being unaware of their daughter’s godly lineage. on occasion, she’ll encounter gods that she’s less familiar with and, in most of those cases, she’s been known to force herself awake.

𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒

there are so many cool, fun things runnin through my brain right now!! i think it would be lovely for her to have forged a friendship with an insomniac or maybe someone prone to nightmares that she could help! and those fun customer service relationships with record store regulars!! or maybe a former friend or significant other, who aisling left behind? maybe even altering their memory slightly, if the parting of ways was ugly! who knows! the possibilities are endless!! and i’m always up to hearing other peoples’ ideas because the Sweet Lord knows i am not the most imaginative person in any given room!!!

thank u for reading ilu!!!

#euintro #death cw //#i think i covered everything!! if u have any questions lemme know!! i can clarify probably!!

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dolphin-enthusiast · 4 years

Note

hello my beloved morgy!! i'm alive and well! 💌💘💞 awaaaaa,, i missed you a lot darling!! even if its only been a few days, life is way more dull when i can't check in with you here :( i hope you've been doing well during that short absence of mine, and if things aren't going so swell, i'm here to hopefully cheer you up dear!! 😊❤ (1/10)

"i am doing much better now and i'm fully recovered, and thank goodness i didn't wind up hospitalized again!!! apparently my narcolepsy fired up crazily when i started to fall ill, and that ended up confining me to my bed, which was absolutely horrible (especially since i couldn't talk to you 😞💕) we still don't know what the illness was, but luckily i fought it off fast thanks to my family and friend's quick thinking!! i'm much happier now that i'm here again with you 💖 (2/10)

and oh gosh, you finished sbr??? ahhh that makes me so happy and so sad at the same time!! it's actually my favorite part along with vento aureo, and don't worry love, i want gyro back too, so you're not alone on that 😖 oh, and all those picrews?? lovely as always!! i love how much creative liberty you all take,, it astounds me!! and it shocks me that you all remember such miniscule details about me,, like the fact that i love the bahamas, ahhhh i'm so flattered by all of it!! (3/10)

i can never choose a favorite creative piece that any of you send in, i just love them all so much!! once again, thank you for all of your hard work and effort, i adore it each and every day 💕💕💕💕 thank you all for your well wishes and love!! my sister told me that apparently you mentioned something about people freaking out over me,, oh my! that surprised me a lot,, so any of those anons who read this, please don't worry about me!! (5?/10)

i assure you i'm okay, i just have a bad immune system and get sick easily, that's all!! but all of your concern means so much to me, thanks a million 💞 before i got sick, some friends came over since they wanted me to teach them how to ballroom dance for some reason,, it was very sudden but i was happy to do so nonetheless! i haven't danced like that in a long while, so it was quite exciting for me,, i am a dancer after all! (6/10)

i taught them how to do a basic waltz and tango,, they seemed to enjoy it a lot!! i suppose i'm a dance teacher now hehe 💞 oh, and last night, a friend slept over and we spent the night watching different televised comedy shows! stand-up has always held such a special place in my heart,, because when i was very small, i wanted to be a famous comedian for a long period of time,, silly isn't it? (7/10)

i would watch all of these different comedians perform and look up to them as inspirations,, i even wrote a few comedy routines to perform in front of my family when i was 4,, i guess i was really into it! now that i'm older, my aspirations have changed, but i still love to occasionally sit in comedy clubs with a glass of whatever i want, ahhh,, it never gets old ✨ (8/10)

ooh, and my mom and i were finally able to catch the escapee bunny from a while ago!! we brought him back to the garden, and he wouldn't stop following me around! i named him toffee, and he kept trying to jump on me for cuddles,, awaaaa it was so cute!! i can't wait to see him again 🌺 (9/10)

ahhh there's still so much i need to talk about, but its getting late here!! so i'll just continue on tomorrow then hm? goodnight amore, sleep well for me!! sweet dreams! 🌹 - love always, your amorous waifu xoxo 💕💖💘💌💋🌹 ps: you know morgy, like that one anon said, you also live in my brain rent free 💗 also, you are way too nice to me for your own good morgy dear, i swear, i can't stop smiling whenever you pull your sweet one-liners <3 (10/10)"

Im very glad to see ur back and fine darling, i acc forgot to answer all the anons but trust me my inbox was literally b o m b a r d e d w ppl sayin they miss u and wishing that u'd get better soon😳😳😳 if anything i'd say the fact that u didnt end up in the hospital again is very lucky and relieving

I myself cant believe i finally finished sbr yesterday and goddamn dat ending was far from pleasant🤡🤡 imma just say shame on araki for killin off all my homies....no more homies all my homies are D E A D (as a matter of fact my fav is p4 but i think u know that already)

And wow u as a comedian? Ngl i did not see it coming but thats oddly cute?? Like just imagining a tiny waifu creating comedy skits and performing them is really amazing for whatever reason jdhshsn i still see u more on the v o g u e side of things doe👁️👁️

Even if u were hella sicc at least u managed to snatch wigs and teach ppl how to dance (cant relate watch me step on everyone's toes within a 10 mile radius, mine included) a n d summoned ur disney princess powers again in order to get that rabbit😩😩😩 i also love pullin one liners bc really ur reactions are g o l d darling and thats just how it is on this bitch of an earth👀👁️👀👁️

#honestly i dont even know what to say anymorenshxhx #all i know is that j e s u s h a s a r r i v e d once more😩😩#the confessional

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artificialqueens · 4 years

Text

drawing new lines, chapter seven (branjie) - holtzmanns

AN: So…normally I’m a bit more on the ball with submitting to aq. Oops? This is chapter seven, but here’s the link to all the chapters in between. Most of you have been reading this story on ao3, too, so thank you so, so much for all the love and support for this fic. I appreciate every single message and they make me so happy. So, thank you. As usual, Writ continues to be the best beta and friend one could ask for.

(read on ao3) | word count: 3730 | tumblr: plastiquetiaras

“Here.” A’keria slams the burrito bowl down in front of Vanessa, and she can’t help but let out a delighted squeak.

“God, I could get used to not having to pack my lunch. This month is gonna be lit.”

“Don’t get too used to it.” A’keria snorts as she mixes up her own bowl. “It’s only for a month, as the bet specified.”

“Hey, I don’t care.” Vanessa’s voice is muffled as she tries to talk with a spoonful of the sweet, sweet rice, salsa, beans, chicken and vegetables in her mouth, but it’s hard. “Imma enjoy it.”

“Good, cause you earned it. Top ten things in my life that I didn’t need to see - you and Brooke practically fucking on the dance floor. Nasty hoes.” A’keria makes a face, and Vanessa grins right back at her while Silky snickers.

“You just jealous you ain’t got a blonde skyscraper on your arm.” Part of Vanessa still can’t believe it, really. That Brooke’s willing to do this with her. Not that she’s complaining in the least.

A’keria flips her hair over her shoulder. “I got my man, that’s all I need.”

“He’d rock a blond look though, I ain’t gonna lie.” Silky’s statement makes Vanessa pause, try to picture it.

“You’re right Silk, he totally would.”

“Enough about my non blond man.” A’keria takes another bite of her own burrito bowl before handing it to Silky to share. “What do you want for tomorrow’s lunch?”

Vanessa has to stop herself from practically rubbing her hands together with glee. “Lord almighty, I did not realize how great having my food brought to me would be. Pizza? Poutine? Gimme that unhealthy shit.”

Silky lets out a whistle. “Damn Vanj, you ain’t gonna try and look good for your girl?”

“It’s called happy relationship weight. Imma get it, cause I’m happy. And in a relationship, and she thinks I look good anyway.” As if Vanessa actually is in one. But hey, why not? She’s allowed to enjoy poutine.

“Brooke looks like she can lift you up with one hand, anyway.” A’keria’s tone is almost envious. Which is understandably, really, because her boyfriend is on the scrawny side.

“Damn, I should get her to try that. Do you think she would?” Vanessa remembers when she’d been dating Kameron, who’d brought her to the gym often. Kameron had picked her up once and done squats at the same time, and Vanessa would be lying if she said it hadn’t been fucking hot.

“You know her better than we do, Vanj. If she’d let you be a human barbell, go for it.” Silky shrugs. “I ain’t getting anyone to lift me anytime soon.”

“Imma go find her. Share some of this burrito bowl, ‘cause it’s technically her victory, too. Not that she knows about the bet.” Vanessa stands up, packing the burrito bowl up once more. It’s a bold faced lie, because Brooke does know, though Silky and A’keria don’t need to know that.

Brooke’s on the phone in her office when Vanessa pops by, the fingers of one of her hands pressing against her temple. She looks up, gives a small smile before turning back to the papers on her desk and ripping the person on the other end of the line a new one.

“No, we can’t use the support beams from the other manufacturer. I don’t care if it’s going to lower costs - it’s not going to matter if the structures collapse in five years because of faulty material and we’re the ones who get sued. So, save it.”

Vanessa plops down in the seat across from Brooke’s desk as quietly as she can, her eyes transfixed on Brooke. It’s kinda hot - Brooke yelling at someone on the other end of the line while completely maintaining composure. Not that Vanessa would ever admit it to her.

“You need to liaise with the first company again, because they’re the ones that have been working well this whole time. I need the estimate from them by tomorrow.” With that, Brooke slams the phone down, letting out a sigh. She shoots a small smile towards Vanessa. “Hey.”

Vanessa holds up the bowl. “Brought you some lunch, ‘cause I know your overworked ass ain’t eating.”

“I had a protein bar-”

“Rabbit food doesn’t count.” Vanessa pulls out the extra set of cutlery, lays it out for Brooke. She’s already had enough of the bowl, and Brooke looks tired enough that she needs as much as she can get.

Brooke raises an eyebrow. “Isn’t rabbit food supposed to be what people call vegetables?”

“You telling me any sane human is gonna eat a protein bar for sustenance?” Vanessa can’t even picture having them on the regular, so tasteless and quite unlike the chewy bars of her childhood.

“Are you calling me nuts?” Brooke’s finally smiling, and it makes Vanessa’s heart grow when she sees it. She hates seeing how tired Brooke’s job makes her.

“Remember, you took us to a spin class for a date.” Of course, Vanessa had enjoyed the shit out of it, but she’s not gonna mention that to Brooke.

“I distinctly remember you having a great time.”

“Maybe.”

“Did you eat half of this already?” Brooke holds back a laugh when she takes her first spoonful, looking down at the already picked-over bowl.

“Hey, I was hungry.” Vanessa shrugs. “Plus, this is the start of the free food A’keria is giving me for the bet. Figured I’d share it with my partner in crime.”

“Well, that was very sweet of you.” Brooke’s voice is muffled by her bite, and the contrast is adorable from her blazer and the smell of her expensive perfume.

Brooke’s an enigma, a person with so many facets that Vanessa is relishing in the chance to discover. The fact that Brooke’s willing to open up to her more and more is Vanessa’s favourite part of the bet, mostly because she’s an open book herself. Because what people see with her is what they get.

“Gotta make sure you don’t waste away on me while yelling at your minions.” Vanessa snickers when Brooke makes a face at her.

“They’re not minions. Just people who should know how to do their jobs.” Brooke sighs, gathering the papers on her desk and pushing them to the side. “Don’t go into management. The title isn’t worth it.”

“Can you imagine me trying to get people to do shit? It would be a whole lotta yelling.” Vanessa tries to picture herself at a desk like Brooke’s, having to spearhead projects and be responsible for them. At least she’d get to wear a power suit.

“You’d be good at it, though. You have charisma, the kind that most people don’t and the kind that can’t be bought.” Brooke takes another bite of the bowl. “Dang, this is good.”

Vanessa raises a skeptical brow. “What do you mean, charisma?” She’s just her natural dumbass self, which pays off sometimes.

“I mean, you convinced me to fake date you thirty or so seconds after introducing yourself. I’d say that’s pretty impressive.”

Vanessa snickers as she leans back in her seat, resisting the urge to lift her feet up onto the chair. “True.”

It’s funny to think back to that day months ago, when Vanessa had barged into Brooke’s office, convinced she’d be able to get her to agree with no evidence to back her up aside from sheer dumb confidence. Though it had worked by some miracle, something that still surprises Vanessa every now and then - and she’s sure that it’s the same for Brooke, too.

Brooke lets out a contented sigh when she finishes the bowl, pushing it away from her on the desk. “So, are you going to share all of your lunches with me from now on?”

Vanessa doesn’t miss a beat. “Why, Miss Hytes, are you asking me to lunch for the next twenty nine days?”

Brooke rolls her eyes, but grins nonetheless. “Only if the food is good.”

“You can bet on that.”

Brooke really, really doesn’t want to go out.

It’s a Friday, she’s had a long week. Really, all she wants to do is curl up on the couch with her cats.

But Nina’s birthday only comes once a year, and she’s a good friend, and so she has to choose a dress from her closet even though pyjamas sound like an infinitely comfier option right now.

The buzzing from her phone on her bed distracts her from her closet dilemma, and so she hangs the dresses in her arms back up in favour of checking her texts.

VVM: Kahanna is singing along to the radio

VVM: AND RILEY IS DUETING WITH HER

VVM: we bout to get complaints from the neighbours at any moment but this shit is hilarious

BLH: Omg. Send me a video

The resulting video from Vanessa makes Brooke crack up, because Riley’s spinning around and howling in the same key as Kahanna is singing. The best part of the video though, is the shaky quality of it, because Vanessa seems to be giggling too hard while filming to hold the camera straight.

BLH: These two need Grammys

VVM: RIGHT! IM SAYIN

VVM: I wanna join in but I’m afraid of ruining it

VVM: anyways how’s your evening going, blondie?

BLH: Trying to choose an outfit. Nina’s birthday and she wants to go clubbing, as if we’re not too old.

VVM: speak for yourself, grandma, some of us are still young

VVM: that being said, you’re not too old for clubbing at all

VVM: show me some of those outfits

BLH: Like, take pictures of them?

VVM: yeah

VVM: better yet, facetime me

It seems like as good of an option as any. Maybe Vanessa can help her decide.

Vanessa picks up the call on the first ring, Riley’s singing reverberating loud and clear in the background. “Hold up, lemme go to my room and close the door. These opera singers be too fucking loud.”

Brooke watches as Vanessa falls back onto her bed, her hair fanning out all around her. “There. Much more comfy. Now, show me some outfit options.”

“Let me prop my phone up on my dresser, hold on.” Brooke leans it carefully so that she can get a clear, hands free shot of herself, and gives a little wave to the camera.

Vanessa giggles on the other end of the line. “Hi to you too, you dork.”

“Okay, help me decide, I’m stuck. Mostly ‘cause I don’t wanna go.” Brooke pulls out a couple dresses and lays them on her bed. “I guess I’ll just hold them up one at a time, or something?”

“Nuh uh. You gotta try them on, give me the full fantasy.” Vanessa snuggles further into her pillows on screen, and it makes Brooke raise an eyebrow.

“Really?”

“Mhmm.”

“Fine.” Maybe it’ll be fun, help Brooke decide a little better.

She pulls out a blazer dress, steps out of the frame to try it on. When she comes back, Vanessa is nodding appreciatively.

“Okay, I could get into this. Suits you.”

“Yeah?” Brooke faces the screen, turns a little so she can see her back. “I dunno if I wanna wear long sleeves tonight, though.”

“Clubs do get warm.” Vanessa shrugs. “What other options you got?”

“How about this?” Brooke steps back in front of the screen after shimmying into her knee length, floral form fitting dress, one which she doesn’t pull out often because of how long it takes to take off when she has to pee. But it feels like a good option.

“Woah.” Brooke’s almost not sure if she hears the words or not, but Vanessa’s eyes are wide as she shuffles closer to the screen, and Brooke has to bite back a smirk.

“Yeah?” Brooke puts her hands on her waist, turns slightly so that Vanessa can see what it looks like from the back. She knows what she’s doing.

It works, from the way Vanessa gulps.

Brooke knows that the two of them have chemistry. She hasn’t forgotten the holiday party, hasn’t forgotten the way it felt to have Vanessa gasping into her mouth. The way Vanessa had pulled her closer, the way Brooke hadn’t stopped wanting to kiss her, either.

Well. They’re not actually together. But it’s nice to know she has chemistry with her fake girlfriend, at least. Sells the fantasy.

Because that’s what this is about - being believable.

That’s it.

Right?

The club is a lot more boring to Brooke when she doesn’t feel like dancing with anyone.

It’s too sweaty, that’s why. The club feels like it’s a million degrees, and adding dancing to the mix will only make it worse. Heck, Brooke’s sitting at the bar in front of a fan that is directly blowing cool air at her, and she’s still sweating like crazy.

That’s why she doesn’t want to dance.

All of Brooke’s friends are on the dance floor with their respective partners - save for Courtney, who’s found a girl for herself to make out with in the corner of the club. Brooke can’t help but feel…bored. Why dance anyway, when it’s too warm and sweaty and crowded? Why talk up a girl when-

When she has Vanessa?

Technically, Brooke doesn’t have Vanessa. They’re not dating. She has to remember that.

But they did sign a contract together, saying that they won’t mess around with others while doing this. Yes, that’s why Brooke is staying away from chatting up nearby girls. Because she has a commitment to keep. Not that she really wants to talk to other girls in the first place. But her gin and tonic is nearly done and she needs another if she’s going to be at this bar for any longer, so she signals to the bartender and opens up her phone while she waits.

BLH: Help, the club is boring

BLH: I’m wasting away at the bar

VVM: omg

VVM: go dance, you’re at a club

BLH: I don’t wanna

BLH: Stinky guys

VVM: stinky, huh?

BLH: You need to spray your perfume on them. You smell so much better

VVM: weird compliment, but I’ll take it

VVM: we should go out dancing. I’d give you such a better time

BLH: Would you, now?

VVM: you know it, blondie

VVM: let’s do that for another date

Brooke is reminded of the holiday party, of how they’d danced pressed up against one another and how it was fucking hot. The chance to do something like that again with Vanessa? She’ll take it.

BLH: You wouldn’t be able to keep your hands off of me

VVM: you say that as if you’d be able to keep yours off of me

VVM: I know how much you love grabbing my ass

VVM: not that I’m complaining about it

Brooke smirks at her phone screen. She remembers how Vanessa had keened into her touch, spurred her on to keep going with little gasps into the crook of her neck. Dating or not dating, Brooke loves how easy Vanessa has been to take apart. She wants to do it again.

BLH: Interesting. Noted.

It’s funny. When she and Vanessa had signed their list, they had agreed on light PDA only. But there’s a part of Brooke that wants more more more, that wants Vanessa on her arm and wants everyone to know it. That Vanessa’s hers, that she’s the one who gets to take Vanessa home every night.

Brooke almost wishes that those things were actually true.

“C’mon, Nina. There you go, come on out of the Uber. Small steps, don’t slip on the ice.” Brooke wraps one of her arms around Nina’s waist, holds her up as they head to Nina’s apartment.

“Ugh. It’s too cold.” Nina leans her head on Brooke’s shoulder, and Brooke reaches out to pat her hair.

“Almost inside. You got your keys?”

Nina fiddles in her pockets for a good thirty seconds before pulling them out, holding them towards Brooke. “Please?”

“I got you.”

Brooke is usually the supportive friend in situations like these for Detox, helping her get home in one piece after she’s had too much to drink. Nina’s not usually the one to need it, but Brooke had found her in the club bathroom leaning against the mirror and sniffling about her fiancé. Considering the fact that they’d gone out for Nina’s birthday in the first place? Brooke had felt her duty calling.

“I don’t feel so well. That car ride was fast.” Nina rubs at her eyes as Brooke tries to get her coat off, pushing it off her shoulders and hanging it on the coat rack.

“Bathroom first, then.”

Nina sighs, resting her head against the lid of the toilet after sitting down on the ground. The scene feels reminiscent of Brooke’s undergraduate days, when she’d partied too much and absolutely did some damage to her poor liver. She pulls Nina’s hair back, has to keep her nose from wrinkling when Nina lets out a retch.

“Thanks, B.” Nina sighs when she lifts her head up, only to turn back towards the toilet to throw up again.

Brooke’s definitely been there before.

“No worries. It’ll feel better when it’s out of your system, anyway.” Brooke rubs her back, trying to keep her voice as quiet as possible because she knows Nina’s probably got a pounding headache, too. “Now, tell me. What made you drink so much today and end up crying by yourself on your birthday?”

Brooke’s surprised by it, really. Nina’s usually the one who takes care of everyone else like its second nature, because she has a high tolerance herself. Which means that to reach this current point tonight, she’s probably had a lot to drink. Which also means that something has to have really rattled her to get her here, bent over the toilet and looking slightly green.

“It doesn’t matter.” Nina mumbles the words, looking down, and Brooke puts a hand on her shoulder, gives her a little squeeze.

“Course it does. You can talk to me.”

Nina finally, finally looks at her, and Brooke can see the dimmed sparkle in her eyes, the sadness along her features. No, not sadness - more defeat.

“Am I making a mistake, Brooke? Marrying Ben?”

Booke pulls back in surprise. “What? What do you mean?”

Brooke has multiple friends that are in long term relationships and Nina’s, by far, always has looked the steadiest. The most wholesome. Nina never shuts up about her fiancé, telling Brooke all the time about the picnics he takes her on or the gifts he gets her or how they’re absolutely soulmates. Nina’s always looked happy, truly happy with her man, something that Brooke has loved to see, because Nina’s the kind of person who believes in true love. In a happily ever after. And, up until this moment, Brooke has believed that Nina’s been living exactly how she’s always dreamed of.

But what if she hasn’t?

“It’s just-it’s good. But it’s also just good, y’know? He brings me flowers and always opens doors for me and snuggles me at night but…” Nina lifts her head, looks at Brooke, and her face is more lost than Brooke has ever seen it. “I don’t feel anything else with him. Like, it’s happy, it’s good, he’s good, but-”

Nina cuts herself off, takes a deep breath as she lifts her left hand up, holds it out in front of them. The sparkling bling on her ring finger reflects sparkles along the bathroom tiles and walls, ones that make Nina wince when they shine on her face.

“I just don’t know. I’m not feeling what I’m supposed to feel, y’know?” Nina sits back, scooches away from the toilet to lean against the wall.

Brooke joins her because really, does she have anywhere else to be? She doesn’t know what to do though, not when Nina’s looking so forlorn and lost and all Brooke wants is be there for her, somehow, even though she’s never felt the way Nina is feeling right now.

So Brooke leans her head on Nina’s shoulder, feeling the comforting warmth of Nina leaning her head against hers, too. “I dunno, babe. I wish I could tell you I had the answer, or how to make things magical, but I have none of those answers. All I know is that you deserve to be happy. You deserve the ending that you’ve always wanted. I think you need to first figure out exactly what that is.”

Nina sighs, twisting her ring on her finger. “I have no idea what that is.”

“No need to decide on your birthday with a tipsy brain. It can wait.” Brooke unfolds herself from the ground, gets herself up before holding her hands out to Nina so that she can help her up, too.

“C’mon. Let’s get you into bed.”

The conversation replays in her mind, though, as she Ubers home from Nina’s. It makes no sense - how has Nina lost that spark with her fiancé, when they’ve always looked so stable? Did Nina ever really have it in the first place? Or did she just think she did? Was the way Nina had felt in the bathroom just cold feet, or was it something bigger?

And then there’s that spark Nina had talked about in the first place. Brooke tries to picture what it would feel like, what the concept of sparks flying actually even means. Fireworks and butterflies and falling head over heels? Hell, Brooke feels fireworks when she kisses Vanessa, but it’s only because she’s kissing a pretty girl after ages and ages and fully enjoying it. The concept of sparks flying feels elusive, something that could be searched for forever and ever without ever truly being found. It feels similar to the way that Vanessa’s looking for her true love and Princess Charming, and how she’s absolutely convinced that she’ll know when she finds her.

It feels like everyone has a radar for knowing these kinds of things except for Brooke. Not that Brooke minds, not really. Being in search of something that’ll never be in reach seems fruitless. Unnecessary. Especially when she has other things she’d rather be spending her time on.

Quite frankly? Brooke’s good with just her cats and friendship - especially Vanessa’s.

#rpdr fanfiction #branjie #brooke lynn hytes #vanessa vanjie mateo #fake dating #lesbian au #drawing new lines #holtzmanns

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ryncorrect · 5 years

Text

university!au: day6 jae

following my uni!au with young k (idk how to link my own post asbajdnskmd im Dumb) so here another one with jae lol i think im gonna make one for each one of them buttttttt no promise bc my brain works in a very mysterious way LOL

anyway leggo

warning: this is lame lmaooooo

name: park jaehyung / jae

major: politic science

other activities: guitarist (and sometimes vocalist) of university band, member of music club, founder and leader of LOL SQUAD

everyone knows that tall skinny guitarist of the band i mean he’s hard to ignore tbh

he always wears loose T-shirt, ripped jeans, a cap that he puts backward, and round big specs to campus

professors hate his ripped jeans but can’t really say anything because oh well style doesn’t define someone’s grades and boy, does this kid actually get some braincells in him

well i mean at least he never fails his classes

he has this giant LOLSQUAD badge on his backpack because he’s proud af of his title as the club founder and leader

he actually started that club so he could to brag about his gaming skill to everyone who wanted to listen but he ends up getting his ass handed to him every single time they play together smh

if he’s not in class or hanging out with his game buddies, he can be seen following that Popular Student™ kang younghyun or as jae prefers to call him, “brian” or “brIBRI” because they both joined music club and are in the band

yes yes he’s well known and easy to spot

but…

“jae? park jaehyung?? who???”

everyone refers to him as “that foreigner student”, “the American guy” or “the gamer guy”, or my favorite: “chicken little”

i will never let that joke die im sorry but seriously he looks like chicken when he plays his guitar on the stage don’t @ me

there are only like 5 students in the whole university who know his actual name

anyways in this scenario you’ve always been interested in playing guitar but haven’t gotten a chance to learn and your friend kim wonpil invites you to join music club so you’ll have friends to practice with

“you know our jaehyungie, right? he’s really chill, you’ll get along well with him!!”

deep inside you’re like

who the heck is jaehyung

but wonpil is so excited to have you there so the next week you come to the club meeting

you introduce yourself to everyone and finally you meet him

“ohmygod the chicken little!!”

“whO THE HECK ARE YOU CALLING THAT”

“sorry- i mean the chicken guitarist- wait no-”

he glares at you, you laugh instead

scaring the new member challenge: failed

but yeah you’d seen him performing before and honestly you almost decided to become his fan

a l m o s t

at first he (jokingly) refuses to teach you guitar because you called him chicken little

and since then you keep calling him that just to mess with him

“hi chicken little”

“what’s poppin chicken little”

“why do you look so flustered, chicken little? do i make you nervous??”

he turns red chicken little is now an angry bird “gO AWAY NEWBIE YOU’RE SO ANNOYING”

jae’s a foreigner but he speaks fluent korean

he tells you that even though he was born and grew up in america he always speaks the language with his parents

but of course since he lives abroad there are lots of words or slang he doesn’t know, so you gotta be an ass and slip some difficult words when you speak to him

he gets his revenge by replying to you in english

whenever you two are having an argument (usually over stupid things) everyone in the club suddenly gets headache

wtf they’re not even making any sense

besides music, jae is the most excited when talking about LOL or social topics because well his major

honestly idk much about politic science so cmiimw

one time someone asks for his opinion about social welfare and he ends up starting a sudden debate session with the said person about social welfare programs in south korea and america and the difference between both countries

you mention human rights and he sNAPS

i mean he gives a full 15 mins speech about it

“yknow what im sayin?”

“dude… i honestly don’t get it at all”

because he be speaking in full english like wat

he’s just so passionate about everything it’s almost adorable

a l m o s t

and it’s not only his passion but also his small eyes, his laugh, his voice, or the way he occasionally lifts his head to look at you while playing guitar and you smile and he smiles because you smile first shnshsbshs soft

even the corners of his lips are so cute wow

oh fuck im emo i love him

but you adore him just as a good friend

he’s always been bubbly and friendly with everyone, not just you, so yeah it’s really easy to fall for him but you assure yourself that you’re nOT

are we having “in denial” shit again omg im so uncreative

anyway fast forward it’s ur birthday!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAYYYYYY

you decide to throw a small party at your place and invite 5 or 6 of your closest friends but damn on the d-day it rains so hard

if ur bday falls on winter then change it to snowing hard, if it’s spring then maybe there’s strong wind or something, whatever suits you fam lol

so no one comes to your party lol you are Sad

BUT THEN!!!! JAE SHOWS UP!!!!!

PARK JAEHYUNG

OUT OF ALL PEOPLE

no you didn’t invite him because idk

are we really that close??? ehhhh he probably won’t come anyway haha why bother

BUT!!!! HE SHOWS UP!!! IN FRONT OF YOUR DOOR!!!

he’s carrying an umbrella but it didn’t really help apparently because he’s soaking wet

imagine that view i mean nvm

“i happened to be near here and i remember it’s your birthday today so i think i’m gonna drop by to say hi and suddenly it’s raining too hard on the way but anyway happy birthday can you let me in first i’m cold”

ofc you let jae in i mean we can’t let the chicken catch the flu amirite

but you warn him that he’ll have to leave before 11 or your RA will kick you both out the dorm lol

after a towel, two cups of hot tea, and one shared piece of chocolate cake, you told him you were supposed to have a small party tonight but no one could make it because of the rain and he’s like “hOW DARE YOU HAVING A PARTY BUT NOT INVITING ME I THOUGHT WHAT WE HAD WAS SPECIAL” and you’re just like “lol shut up chicken here eat more cake”

anyways you two spend time joking and talking about random stuff and it’s probably not the best birthday ever but at least you don’t have to spend it alone and to be honest you’re happy that he’s here

then jae pulls out his ultimate weapon

i mean his guitar

he was soaking wet but the guitar is clean and dry and all fine like hoW EVEN

“priorities” -park jaehyung

he said he gonna play a song of your choice because he came empty handed and he feels bad about it

you blush and pick whatever song comes to your mind because you can’t really think of any, and he starts strumming his guitar and sings

and while he keeps looking at you, you find yourself too can’t take your eyes off him

the song ends and you’re about to clap your hands when he suddenly starts another one

wait you’ve never heard this song before

it’s a slow song and the lyrics are all like, the sky turns dark on the birthday of the brightest star so that it’ll be the only light in his world, how he feels regretful that he has nothing to give but his small heart, and he hopes that this lovely person will hold his hand as they listen to this song together, that this lovely person will feel warm beside him

guys just imagine the song okay i can’t Romance

it’s dead silent until you whisper, “is that… a song for me?”

jae’s face turns red and he starts panicking™ like “i made up the lyrics just now okay i know it’s fricking sappy and cheesy as hell okay i just uhhh want to cheer you up!!!! because you seem kinda down!!!!! let’s not talk about this again uGh WhatEvER leT Me LIvE!!!!!”

but you chuckle and thank him, it was the best present you can get from anyone

you two stare at each other for a second that feels like years and he finally breaks the silence, “you know,,, maybe i came here on purpose,,, maybe actually i want to see you,,,”

“and why is it?”

“because i think,,, i miss you,,, kinda”

and you don’t say this out loud but maybe you do know that

even if you say you’ll never

in fact you’ve already fallen for him a bit

or perhaps a lot

like a lot

then he leans in to kiss your lips and you kiss back and it’s almost not awkward at all, it just feels right as if you’ve kissed him million times before

a l m o s t

you two still blush real hard after

but yeah that’s how you two start dating

none of you two tell anyone about it but it’s pretty obvious, i mean jae always picks you up at your dorm, he walks with you to your class or vice versa (if your classes don’t overlap tho), you two keep stealing glances at each others, also—

jae with you: “hey,,,, come here sit with me u3u,,,,, did you have lunch??? oh i wrote a song last night check this out,,,, what are you gonna do this saturday? oml you’re so cute”

jae with everyone else: “HAHAHAHA FUCKING FUCK SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU FUCKING PRICK ALSO BRIAN FUCKING KANG IF YOU STEAL MY FUCKING FRIES AGAIN I WILL LITERALLY SNAP YOUR FUCKING NECK”

welp actually he’s not always sweet with you, sometimes you two still argue about silly things using mixed languages but now everyone in the club knows better to just run away once it begins

because it’ll end up with you two fighting or you two kissing

yes im nasty and a disappointment bye

btw wonpil is excited af it’s almost like he’s dating you both

“it’s really nice seeing you two finally together!!!!!!! especially because jaehyung really couldn’t shut up about you ever since the first day you joined our music club”

“wait wha-”

“YOU SNAKE THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A SECRET FUCK OFF”

I’m so in love with park jaehyung y'all hsnshsbsh aNYWAYS!!! 100 blocks limit has lifted from tumblr app AYEEEEE

#day6 #jae #park jaehyung #day6 imagines #day6 scenarios #day6 fanfic #day6 reactions #kpop imagines #kpop scenarios #kpop reactions #this is embarassing smh #bye

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allforthecourtt · 6 years

Text

rereading aftg with my dumbass opinions pt. 2 (tfc chapters 6-10)

pt. 1 | pt. 2 | pt. 3

look guys! its the highly unanticipated continuation of my reread of aftg!

chapter 6 (aka. meet this MESS of a team)

“My mother's family is French." It was a lie that probably had his British mother rolling over in her sandy grave.”

neil really never misses an opportunity to remind readers that he fucking buried his mom on the beach huh?

“A liar who practices occasional honesty. Clever. Keeps people guessing. Very effective. I would know. I do it myself, you see. Come on, then. After you.”

have i mentioned how entertaining high andrew is? because he’s funny as hell

also rereading these are fun because Nora is incredible at foreshadowing just sayin

“Neil automatically reached for his seatbelt, but one of the brothers was sitting on it.”

how neil would be in the back of the cousins’ car if they let him:

“You?" Neil said. "You can't." Andrew's smile curved wider. "Ohhh, that sounds like a challenge. Mother may I?" "Your mother's dead. I don't think she cares what you do.”

HO HO HOLY SHIT NEIL

“Starting a fight was too out of character for who he portrayed "Neil” to be, though.”

“Consider this your official invite, you suicidal wretch. I'm bringing you to Columbia with us this Friday.”

awe suicidal wretch... glad they’re starting those pet names early

“I don't drink or dance," Neil said.

andrew: i kno u can

“Kevin doesn't dance anymore”

anymore? ANYMORE??? release the cursed events that led to him not dancing anymore Nora im begging you

“Are you bleeding anywhere?" Matt asked. "Nowhere vital," Neil said.

gskjgnsak god i stan this little asshole so much

“She said it gently, with the hint of a smile on her face, but Neil still felt the rebuke. It was subtler but somehow deadlier”

have i mentioned how gay i am for renee? because im very gay for renee

“Allison looked ready for a photo shoot with perfect platinum curls, spiked heels, and a skintight dress.”

im also gay for allison ngl

“I can move if you want to sit here," Neil said. "No, this is fine." She smiled, but it had a smug edge to it, probably because Seth was glaring at them like he could kill them with willpower alone. ”

lol remember how neil doesn’t think he’s attractive and yet in 0.1 seconds after meeting him allison is like “yes this idiot is hot enough to piss off the other idiot im dating”

“Personal favorite was when someone told the police we were running a meth lab out of the dorm," Dan said sourly. "Police raids are awesome.”

no offence dan but that’s fucking hilarious omg

that’s kind of like the time my residence floor had to get evacuated bc some kids hotboxed their dorm room

god i love uni

“The death threats were creative, though," Nicky said. "Maybe this time they'll follow through and actually kill one of us. Let's vote. I nominate Seth.”

pfffffttttt i love Nicky omg

also hahahahahah foreshadowing!

“It'll be fine," Andrew said. "I promised, didn't I? Don't you believe me?" It took a while, but at last Kevin visibly relaxed. ”

again this is why i thought they were fucking for like the better part of the first two books

“The dead look Kevin turned on Andrew today was the same look Neil saw in his reflection. When Neil stopped acting, when he stopped worrying about who was watching, when he let go of the lies that kept him alive, that was the only expression he could make.”

it’s fine i didnt need a heart anyways

this kid is 18 hes A BABY

the first time i read this i was 18 too and like jfc i was a BABY at 18 and so i neil

“One of us has to make it, Mom." It wasn't going to be Neil. It was obvious he was too stupid to survive without his mother if he let himself get into messes like this. But maybe Kevin could do it.”

sorry let me just wipe my TEARS off my fucking laptop neil honey what the fuck

“He felt distant as he watched them walk in. Maybe he was already dying, his stupid soul fading from his short body in preparation for a brutal end.”

neil we get it you have depression (me too bitch u aint special)

“Fuck running," Seth said.

now that’s a whole ass mood

“he didn't know how Renee could smile so warmly when she was speaking to Andrew.”

haha bitch just wait

“when he slept, he dreamed of his father waiting for him on the Foxhole Court.”

remember how at the end of the series his father is waiting on the court but neil wins??? god we love good storytelling

this is such a fucking wild chapter

could you imagine? coming back from the summer and your first introduction to this amateur from arizona is this neil josten level of sass? because i’d probably kill him

first years are bad enough but first years who dont care about other people’s opinions? the fucking worst

chapter 7 (aka. neil does NOT have a fun night out)

“It seemed Allison and Seth didn't believe in middle ground: either they were slinging vile insults at each other or they were making out in the locker room regardless of whoever might be around.”

that’s just how the straights are

“It reminded Neil a little of Allison and Seth, except without the desperate sexual undertones.”

i’ll just leave this gem of a line here

“His teammates held so little regard for him he didn't even have the dubious honor of being dead last.”

neil shading himself is actually hilarious how relatable

“Neil watched him do it, trying to remember the last time someone gave him a gift and coming up blank. That his first one should be from Andrew was unsettling.”

i actually love the fact that andrew bought him clothes so early on like andrew your gay is showing

“Neil debated how much damage the thick heels of his new boots would do against Andrew's face and liked what his mind came up with.”

i thank god everyday that these books are neil’s pov

“Andrew gave Neil another slow once-over and let go. "We're going.”

^andrew seeing neil w/o contacts (aka. the ‘i can’t think straight’ vine)

“Most of the men wore leather, half the women had corsets, and a good number of both genders were covered in buckles and chains.”

this... is a... gay bar

“Andrew saluted the bouncers on his way by and led the way into the club, bypassing the line entirely.”

i always forget the drinking age in the us is 21 but like this bar really dont care about their liquor license AT ALL lmao

“You think Kevin would risk his future over a night out at the club?" "What future?" Neil asked.”

WOW NEIL WAY TO BE A BITCH

“Neil hadn't seen Aaron get up, but he was waiting behind Neil when Andrew let go. Neil reached for Andrew with lethal intent, but Aaron grabbed the back of his chair and pulled hard enough to topple it over.”

why are the twins literally this gif:

real talk nicky kissing neil like that is horrible and really reflects poorly on nicky as a character

andrew for this entire chapter:

chapter 8 (aka. a hitchhiker’s guide to lying about your identity)

“I don't know how your conversation with Andrew went, but it didn't end well. Rumor has it you paid a busboy a hundred bucks to knock you out. Way to cut our night short.”

this is probably my favourite thing neil does in the entire series ngl

“Wymack grabbed his elbow and hauled him inside. He slowed just long enough to slam the door behind Neil. "Are you stupid or just crazy? Do you have any idea what could have happened to you between here and there? What were you thinking?”

Why does Wymack literally sound like my father?

foxes: daddy?

wymack: DO I LOOK LIKE

follow up:

kevin: daddy?

wymack: uh yeah

“I don't know what the beef is between you two, but it ends here and now.”

Wymack @ neil: tell your boyfriend, if he says he’s got beef that your a vegetarian and your not fucking scared of him

“Then correct me." "Give me a reason." "Besides the obvious?" Andrew said. "If I can't get an answer from you, I'll get it wherever I can.”

andrew:

“I'm—" Neil didn't want to say it, but the word was already there, broken and pathetic between them, "—nothing. I'll always have and be nothing.”

“He wondered for a moment if Andrew could handle the entire truth so calmly, but that was too dangerous and stupid to consider.”

“Hope was a dangerous, disquieting thing, but he thought perhaps he liked it.”

this is such a good fucking line like i am shooketh

chapter 9 (aka. neil is, like, really horny for exy)

“Are you stupid?" Seth asked. "Yeah," Neil said.”

what a fuckin MOOD

“Neil had almost forgotten why he liked Exy so much. He did his best at practices but these days he worked mostly to keep his teammates off his back. As Neil surveyed Kevin's damage, he finally felt inspired again. On its heels was a hungry, desperate rush.”

“Seth made as if to throw his beer at Neil. "His life is not more important than mine just because he's more talented.”

sometimes i really wish seth was actually given a chance to have some character development

“ "Maybe you're not as stupid as I thought." "Maybe I am," Neil said”

another big fucking MOOD

chapter 10 (aka. shocking: university is hard :/ )

“It's fun telling Kevin no," Andrew said with a wicked grin.”

why is andrew like this omg

betsy probably was like just looking for a chill job and was like “oh cool uni students? ill have to deal with like a lot of anxiety, sexual tension, depression and like confusion about the future, not to bad” but NOPE welcome to the fucking MAFIA WARS

“That wasn't so bad, was it? Andrew was convinced it would be a disaster. He put money on you hating Betsy." "Did you bet against him?" "Yes," Renee said. "It was a private bet between the two of us.”

“I hope you didn't lose much," Neil said.”

god why is he such an asshole at every opportunity i love him

“I can take care of myself," Neil said. "Watch me beam with pride.”

wymack is the best father in the world and you cant convince me otherwise

“There was one for every fall team with schedules printed on each. Neil kept the Exy one, tossed the rest into the trash, and buried his magnet deep in his pocket where he didn't have to look at the dates.”

neil “i only care about exy” josten strikes again with his great school spirit

“Palmetto State was facing Edgar Allan on Friday, October 13th”

that’s such a cliche and i love it

“He detoured around students toward one of Palmetto State's three dining halls. Two were for the general student body. The third was for athletes only”

lmao my school literally has one dining hall and it couldnt give less of a fuck what type of student they’re selling food too as long as they’ll pay $15 for chicken fingers

what kind of money does palmetto state fuckin have

like i get us tuition is a lot but jesus so’s mine and my school couldn’t be less fucked

“It was only the first day of school and he already had three assignments: a short paper, a fifty-page chapter to read, and a page of questions about said chapter. Neil debated for a minute as to which one sounded least painful. Five minutes later he was still uninspired, so he put his head down on his desk.”

1. MOOD

2. first years are so cute thinking that’s a lot of assignments i remember in first year being like “i have to read 40 pages thats so unfair :(” and now i’m like “ah sick only 200 pgs of readings this week? im gonna have so much free time!”

upper year history sucks ngl

“I'm fine," Neil said.”

neil knows exactly two (2) words and those are it

“You say that an awful lot," Matt said. "I'm starting to think you don't know what it means.”

overall thoughts:

the plot is pickinnnng upppp

i kind of forget how much world building happens in the first book but like its good

also i love neil literally hating everyone its so funny bc like bby these going to be your best friends just wait

anyways that’s all for now

part 3 will be the rest of tfc and then we’ll move onto trk if you guys still want more of this? let me know

love u all bye

#rereading aftg

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comicteaparty · 5 years

Text

June 3rd-June 9th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from June 3rd, 2019 to June 9th, 2019. The chat focused on Galebound by Respheal.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Galebound by Respheal~! (http://www.galebound.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PDT), so keep checking back for more! You have until June 9th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. Why and how do you think Conan has some of his own memories sealed? What did Altiria see that caused them such distress? How does this factor in to why Altiria thinks Din’s plans won’t pan out?

Respheal

In Altiria and Conan's defense, Din's plans fall to pieces if a butterfly crosses his path unexpectedly

RebelVampire

I accept the canon that Din can be tripped by butterflies

RebelVampire

I also accept a canon where Din starts yelling at the butterfly that it's 5 seconds too early and totally off schedule

Respheal

Yes

RebelVampire

Crack theory for #2: Conan was Felix all along. He doesn't know cause of the memories being sealed. and as Din befriends Conan, he will be torn between killing the friend hed come to love and the enemy he hates most in the world.

MJ Massey

Maybe the real Felix was inside us all along

RebelVampire

sorry Din, you've got felix germs inside you

1) the scene where Pascal shows up on the bridge to fight them. The look on everyone's faces is too priceless. And then everyone gets to have a nice chat and we get to see Pascal is just a great boy whose murder pants were a little too tight. 2) The memories are probably sealed for his own protection by someone who loves him. Cause why would anybody want to have to remember Felix? Altiria probably saw that Conan was the one true nobleman who was set to conquer them all. And that Din can't backstab conan so easily because of that.

Kabocha

MY FAVORITE SCENE! Is that one where Conan drowns after Alty tries to take him as a bri--- Wait that wasn't canon? Dammit, Conan! Realistically, though, I think it's currently the one here, starting at the end of Page 151: http://www.galebound.com/comics/2783990/151/ There's just.... a lot of weight. Pascal wakes up, and instead of really freaking out about nearly dying, he comforts his brother. You can learn a lot about Din and Pascal's relationship from these panels alone, and it's... something. (To me, it reads as Pascal being the one who buries a lot of his emotions - he never got a chance to really expect much out of life as a magician, before Din did what he did...)

Kabocha

Why does Conan have memories sealed... For... plot... reasons. You know, maybe Alty saw Conan's parents doing something. Maybe his parents are old enough to have been involved in the War of the Blind Kings--- What's that you say? No? :'D But on a serious note, one must wonder if Conan did something that necessitated his memories being sealed. A birth secret, perhaps? Maybe Conan's actually a part of the Gale that someone stole and put in a human body to learn the suffering of those under the system, to help give agency and consciousness to the arbiter of the Obligation. ...Hm. (Because right now, the Gale just... exists.) Alty, being a daemon, wouldn't like this naturally, right? If Conan's part of the Gale, she has a vested interest in making sure he returns to the cycle as he is. Anyway, Altiria's just expecting Din to get so judgemental that he misses everything going on in front of him. It nearly happened already with Pascal.... Rather than explaining things, he expected Conan to be another nobleman, and simply just hoped he could take care of things.

tl;dr: Conan ain't human, Din doesn't learn from his mistakes

Respheal

Hahaha that also addresses the question of why Alty didn't just tell Din (Communication, what's that?). Something that wild....Din wouldn't believe it even if (or perhaps especially if) Altiria just told him

Some things you gotta see for yourself xD

Or maybe they just wanna see Din faceplant

Kabocha

Well, that, and if Conan's even a fragment of the Gale, then that leaves him open to manipulation by magicians... Conan: I give command Din: I follow command.... BY USING YOU Conan: noes

Respheal

>:D(edited)

Kabocha

Also for the title, it makes sense? The Gale is bound....

Jo Michelle

Oh gosh, the end of Chap 5. YES. I was trying to figure out my favorite scene, but that would totally be it.

RebelVampire

tbf altiria could just believe both. that din wouldnt believe her and that she loves the idea of din faceplanting

Jo Michelle

Wait. If Con is Felix with the memories locked away, then, Conan's like "nice Light" in that section of Death Note SPOILERwhere he forgets about the book and is genuinely helping the police....END SPOILER ..... Oh no. Felix. What trap have you set for the world as soon as you get your memories back? This actually works well with my "Conan turns into a sociopath" theory..... jess sayin'

RebelVampire

i like this twist

that its cause felix has an awful plan in store

Kabocha

I dunno, I'm personally a fan of Conan being the Gale in human form.

Jo Michelle

Maybe he is, and he's also lost his memory of that?

RebelVampire

he can be both

Jo Michelle

He's the "power of the hurricane?"

https://genius.com/Frank-wildhorn-jack-murphy-and-ivan-menchell-hurricane-lyrics(edited)

That was a REAL reach there.... but, lyrics from the Death Note musical, sung by Light.

Don't underestimate my ability to reference three different things at once, and make a crack theory for Gb.

RebelVampire

Felix realized he was a part of the Gale but that the time was not right for the Shadowlord. So he sealed his memories, de-aged, and became Conan so that once the seal broke, it would be time to become the Shadowlord, merge with the Gale, and bring true destruction upon this land.

Kabocha

Bwahahahaha! The Dusk is an unjust land. The Gale can end it all peacefully with the power of the Shadowlord. It all comes tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling down~

Respheal

To reference a crack theory from the GB server, if Din is destined to become the Shadowlord, I love the idea of Conan being the Gale

I'm a sucker for that sort of dichotomy

Kabocha

You say "Crack theory," I say "I've seen this before"

Jo Michelle

well, then, I feel obligated to copy/paste these lyrics:

I'll bring the rain

I'll bring the wind

I am the mighty hurricane

The human stains

And all their sins

Blown away

I'll bring the pain

So be afraid

I will bring the power of the hurricane

Conan's new life song?

Respheal

>:D

MJ Massey

I stan Conan as a Gale piece

MJ Massey

that would explain why he has no memories

maybe he's not Conan at all

Respheal

Okay before I gotta get to work I'll answer the questions, too because why not 1. Favorite scene....I tend to like scenes where the onion layers of a character get peeled back a bit and you get to see who they really are. For...well, kind of both Conan and Din, this is after the Pascal Incident™, when the dust is settling and the shock starts to wear off. We see Din as he is, a broken and terrified man stuck in an unfair and cruel system, backed into a corner. Conan, a young man thrown in a situation way out of his depth, but also a dutiful person willing to admit and correct his mistakes.

RebelVampire

#ConanDidNothingWrong

Respheal

http://www.galebound.com/comics/2681466/125/ http://www.galebound.com/comics/2683677/126/ <- these two pages specifically(edited)

Well not knowingly xD

......I'm going to avoid answering question 2 because my powers of bullshittery are weak and of course I know the real answer But Conan being the Gale.....well, trapping something that powerful in a human body would probably wreck havoc on that person....Wiping that person's memories as a result is plausible (edited)

RebelVampire

the real answer to number 2 is that Altiria realized that the entire comic is just a DnD campaign cause they were able to see the real life person who is controlling Conan. and they saw Conan's stat sheet, compared it to Din's, and realized Din got shitty rolls. cause Altiria is controlled by the DM.

Kabocha

But Alty's comparing a Magician to a Nobleman... Noblemen generally have a pretty good charisma modifier

RebelVampire

i feel sort of bad im the only one who picked a not super sad scene

im sorry for choosing to be happy everyone

Jo Michelle

I think you're in the wrong webcomic if you want happy....

SPOILER What did Altiria see that caused them such distress? END SPOILER

Okay. Here's what I think. Alty discovered that Conan's already signed a contract with Ursula, and they're like, mortal enemies with her.

Respheal

SURE

Jo Michelle

Instead of losing his voice, he's lost his memories until he can make Din fall in love with him.

And we all know.... that's never gonna happen.

RebelVampire

you lost be at din

this does not suit my conan/pascal ship

Jo Michelle

But, see, if he had his memories, all he'd need to do was tell Din to, since he's still got his voice.

no, see, this is why Con's doomed to fail.

Since, we all know that would never happen.

And when Ursula gave him the contract, she's like, "see, I even left you your voice to use as a Nobleman."

Respheal

> Contract Confirmed, Conan is a Warlock

.....or a Magical Girl

Jo Michelle

A MG who's doomed to fail.

Because, of course he is.

Kabocha

...Conan is Homura?

Jo Michelle

That doesn't feel quite right as a fit.....

Okay, but which ever one he is, his transformation into the Gale or Shadowlord will be when he gives into despair, and realizes his hopes were doomed from the beginning.

MJ Massey

why not both a warlock AND a magical girl. two times the tragedy

Respheal

>:D

I am okay with this

Kabocha

Everyone is doomed

Sarai

ok there have been a lot of great scenes in Galebound so far, but i think the one that always jumps out to me is where I first jumped into the comic, when Pascal snuck into the Inn during the dark hour

For me, that scene is what shifted my opinion from "oh this is neat i wonder what happens next" to "DANG SON THIS AUTHOR MEANS BUSINESS"

MJ Massey

I think that's my favorite scene too

Sarai

also i think i found it on a thursday or something, because by the time i caught up there was a new page Din in all his yellow magician-y glory, and Pascal in the middle of a swear XD

Jo Michelle

"You kiss your momma with that mouth?" Oh, yeah. She's dead. Never mind.

Respheal

That wouldn't stop Din from threatening Pascal with soap

MJ Massey

it's more like "would you kiss ME with that mouth? how dare...!"

Jo Michelle

oh that's just weird.

MJ Massey

that Din expects brother kisses?

Jo Michelle

I feel like Din is definitely one of those "do as I say not as I do" parenting styles.

RebelVampire

Din: Don't sell out magician children to the Nobleman. Pascal: But- Din: Do as I say, not as I do!

Kabocha

"You can't seize the means of production without being NEAR the means of production!"

Sarai

oh shoot i realized i never answered the second question

as far as theories go, i don't really have any I haven't been given enough information to really form an idea other than conan's dad leaving, him getting sick, and then his memories disappearing, are all connected somehow

OTHER THAN THAT i'm just along for the ride

Jo Michelle

Oh, they're connected. Felix definitely poisoned him.

A side affect was losing his memory.(edited)

Sarai

o-oh.....ok

But why tho

Jo Michelle

Does Felix need a reason? Other than he's Felix?

Sarai

you got me there

I was thinking it was something magic-related, not necessarily a mundane childhood illness or someone else's doing

Jo Michelle

He used a magical potion.

Sarai

but really, all i know for sure is that i'm young, dumb, and a complete sucker for sick fics

Jo Michelle

A memory destroying potion. Getting sick was the side affect.

Sarai

or sick cannon, as it be

Jo Michelle

He needed to destroy his memory, since Conan knew ...... something.....

give me a minute.

Sarai

he walked in on felix SPOILER getting pollinated by a flower daemon END SPOILER

HE SAW TOO MUCH

Jo Michelle

That'll give anyone an automatic sickness and memory loss.

Sarai

maybe that's why altiria was so mad

Jo Michelle

But, for real..... I think Conan knew something about a BIG baddie's plan, and Felix gave him a memory blocking potion.

Note, for real should have been written "for real" ..... since I know things. :puffer:

Sarai

oh yeah, i forgot you weren't a lowly pleb like me XD

Jo Michelle

:puffer:

Sarai

you patreon people with your fancy spoiler privileges and early scripts

Jo Michelle

For real though, I actually don't know why or exactly how he lost his memory. I have guesses, but nothing's confirmed.

So I'm going with memory potion.

And he knows SOMETHING big. I'll bet that's why Alty freaked out too.

HE KNOWS A THING THAT MUST NOT BE SHARED.

Respheal

This is true, even patrons don't have the exact details yet

Muahahahaha >:3c

Jo Michelle

I'll bet it's the secret to bringing down the Gale, but that would also destroy the world.

And Alty's like "nope. No way."

"Your memory's a ticking time bomb."

Sarai

I'm assuming.....we'll be revisiting that moment from childhood at some point, right?

Respheal

I do sometimes describe Conan as SPOILER a time bomb END SPOILER ....

Uhhhhhhh

Probably not in full flashback form unfortunately

Jo Michelle

I'm RIGHT. My theory is now confirmed.

Conan has a secret hidden in his childhood memories that could destroy the world. And Alty figured it was better to make sure it's never revealed.

Respheal

"Not again"

Is a thing Alty yelled

Jo Michelle

Wait. WHAT?

Mahotou

http://www.galebound.com/comics/2529569/086/(edited)

Jo Michelle

.........

Mahotou

Jo Michelle

I have no idea what to make of this.

Mahotou

i have fears

Respheal

:3c

Mahotou

c,:

Jo Michelle

Well. I'm just gonna assume Felix managed to do something REALLY horrible to the dang ocean and Conan knows how he did it, if he'd only remember.

When in doubt, I always blame Felix.

It's worked so far.

Respheal

That's fair

Sarai

one fear

Jo Michelle

To be fair, if something destroyed the ocean, that would definitely hurt the Dusk, sooooooo RIP Conan. The world needs its ocean more than another Nobleman. Sorry. No hard feelings?

AND. Felix, after nearly destroying the ocean went off to face the Gale, and ....... well...... he's had a bit of a revolving life ever since.... :puffer:

I lied. Felix didn't administer the memory potion. It was Conan's mom. To protect the world.

Felix was happy to have his son learn how to wreck havoc and destruction on the planet.

Sarai

i know we've slandered her before but it always feels so wrong

Jo Michelle

I'm not slandering Conan's mom. Just saying she made a hard choice between her son's memory, and the world.

Felix is the one who made her have to make such a choice.

Still totally his fault. He just left her to deal with the aftermath when he left to take on the Gale.

Kabocha

You know how I said Conan is the Gale? Maybe people tried this before. What could a lone nobleman with a daemon fragment inside him do... ...enrage Alty, that's what.

Jo Michelle

WAIT. Was that what happened when he got sick?

Felix was inserting a daemon into him?

Respheal

Having a literal hurricane stuffed into a child's body would probably have that effect(edited)

Jo Michelle

In the eye of a hurricane

There is quiet

For just a moment

A yellow sky

I was twelve when my mother died

She was holding me

We were sick and she was holding me

I couldn’t seem to die

I couldn't resist

Kabocha

What daemon hell has Felix wrought...?!

Respheal

Oh that song

Mahotou

Is felix systematically destroying the world one element at a time? Ocean, Gale, .. what next. Fire?(edited)

Respheal

Oh shit Conan was twelve at the time(edited)

Kabocha

I mean

Jo Michelle

Wait. WHAT?

I thought he was like, 7 or 8

Respheal

No that's when Felix left xD(edited)

Kabocha

@Mahotou if he's taking the elements... ...then. that explains where his heart went

Is he trying to make captain planet

Mahotou

negative captain planet

reverse captain planet

Kabocha

He wants to start dusk on a rotation

Mahotou

If i change the gale, i can get the world spinning

Kabocha

He's getting captain planet to make all of dusk habitable

Although everyone will freak out at their newfound nights...

Mahotou

#SAVETHEPLANET

D:!?

WHAT A TWIST

FELIX IS UPSETTING THE WORLD TO SAVE IT

Respheal

Irony (edited)

Kabocha

Gotta crack some eggs to make a cake

Jo Michelle

Eh. That's just cause his mom told him one time that he couldn't live in the Shadow or the Galelands.

And he doesn't like being told "no"

Mahotou

aaaand we're back to the normal slander. ;D

Kabocha

No, Felix's DAD told him no

Jo Michelle

Sure.

Kabocha

Felix has daddy issues, because his dad disappeared for years....

Mahotou

we haven't talked much about Conan's grandparents. makes me think about them now lol

Jo Michelle

It's a whole legacy of being horrible fathers.

I mean, they ARE Noblemen.

Mahotou

and then what of the mom's side. how was she raised?

Kabocha

His father had a reason though: international business

Jo Michelle

Oh. I see. One of those guys who destroy some other country for cheap labor. Yep. Sounds like a Nobleman.(edited)

Kabocha

She was arranged in that marriage

Jo Michelle

Oh, yeah. She didn't have a choice.

Sarai

heck even in non magical families abuse gets handed down through the generations - i wouldn't be surprised if Felix had an equally bad relationship with one or both of his parents

Kabocha

Oh, she might have had a choice

Jo Michelle

What, you think anyone would choose to marry Felix?

Kabocha

It might have been to improve her own circumstances... Or because Evenheim was closer to Cymaria... Or.... [Makes up bullshit about Felix's parents]

Oh, I was talking about Felix's mom

Not his wife

Jo Michelle

Oh, I thought we were talking about Conan's mom.

Mahotou

@Jo Michelle only if he's ... some how... not Felix?

OH me too i thought we were talking about conan's mom too(edited)

Jo Michelle

I stand by the "some parent or person forced her to marry Felix" theory.

Kabocha

But what if she LIKED Felix

Respheal

gasp

Jo Michelle

What, LIKE Felix?!?

Mahotou

SLANDER?

Kabocha

Alternatively, she could be like... Charlotte Lucas, who married, but arranged Mr. Collins' day so he was out of the way...

Jo Michelle

You realize that if she actually cared about Felix, him leaving would be even more painful. I prefer to think of it as a relief to her.

She got a happy few years with her son and no Felix.

Kabocha

Maybe she liked the idea of Felix, but he was actually really annoying and overbearing

Felix wanted a life in the clergy

Jo Michelle

Oh, I'm sure he was super annoying and overbearing.

Sarai

don't forget neurotic

Everything had to be done just so

Jo Michelle

Oh yeah. She had to do it exactly the way he said.

Sarai

"no conan, you can't plant the lettuce 2 inches apart they must be 2 1/2"

Jo Michelle

"yes papa."

-Get's measuring tape from house to make sure-

See? Why would anyone marry that out of choice?

Definitely an arranged marriage. Or something like it.

Sarai

wait res, how many years ago did felix and celia get married

Kabocha

I hope we don't run into anyone worse than Felix

Respheal

Uhhhhhhh

24 I think

Yeah

Sarai

ok so not marriage of convenience then

Jo Michelle

:puffer:

Sarai

just running through all our options here

Kabocha

In this week's chat: All the Felix hate

Jo Michelle

And @RebelVampire isn't even here to defend the jerk.

Mahotou

There s so much slander happening lol

Respheal

Mostly about Felix xD Which is....fair....Based on what we know so far of him, surely he isn't up to anything good

Darkhalo4321

Hey

Felix is a good dad deep down i am sure...

i refuse to believe otherwise

Jo Michelle

Oh, yeah. Leave his kid to plant and morn his mom alone. But he's a good dad deep down, so it's all good. It's all good.

Kabocha

He had neighbors

Darkhalo4321

He was in good hands.

Sometimes a good dad lets better people raise their kids.

keii4ii

I'm walking in and am somewhat confused by the whole room just BURNIN' with Felix hate

insert 'pizza guy walks into a room on fire' gif

Respheal

Keiiii

Felix is just a very polarizing character.....for someone who hasn't actually shown up yet lol

keii4ii

Dedicating the following emoji to Felix tonight:

keii4ii

I bet some of the characters would approve of the Felix hate though

RebelVampire

Felix is gonna turn out to be a great dude and @Jo Michelle is gonna eat a hat out of frustration when that happens

im saving all my felix propaganda for the felix question thats later in the week O_O

Kabocha

Hahaha!

The basis of Felix hate really hinges on two pages

http://www.galebound.com/comics/2432399/059/ And http://www.galebound.com/comics/2674968/123/

http://www.galebound.com/comics/2683677/126/ this page also maybe helps, but I don't trust Din to see things well under duress

keii4ii

^ Same (No offense, Din.)

RebelVampire

you couldve left that at "I don't trust Din"

that's all that needs to be said

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 4. What do you think will happen once Din and Conan reach Cymaria? Will Din’s plans unravel, or will the two manage to slay the queen? What will be the consequences of either path?

RebelVampire

3) Felix who is the best character who is trying to save the world. It's definitely not Pascal. It's not like Pascal is the best dresser and basically is the dude that gets the short end of the stick throughout the comic. Not to mention Pascal definitely isn't just adorable or anything. Plus, Pascal isn't even the most reasonable of the characters who is filled with surprises yet just wants everone to be alive and happy for his parties. 4) Everyone will sit down for tea. Realistically? Din's plans will fall apart because of whatever reasons Alty knows. Plus, I think Din overestimates his skills as a magician and underestimates the difficulty in killing a monarch, not to mention a nobleman. and thus Conan and Din will be in jail or wanted men or something. And then Pascal will become an accomplice and they'll all flee Cymaria trying to outrun their wanted posters and searching for Felix to punch him in the face. So ya know, Galebound will just be the most epic fantasy road trip, maybe with bank robberies. Honestly, does anyone actually think Din is going to succeed? I feel there isn't anyone who has faith in him.

Jo Michelle

I was called OUT last night.(edited)

Fave Character? Definitely Pascal. Most intriguing character, as in, onion layers of emotion I'm anticipating seeing stripped away? Din.

Reach Cymaria? Oooohhh, that's a good question. I think the queen is secretly super evil, and actually working for scary grin lady in the prologue. But she's also super smooth talking and smart, and will trick Conan into listening to her, poor sap that he is, and get him to turn on Din. MAYBE, Conan will even start to think he's falling in love with her – but then find out she's been using him, and make him even more upset, when he realizes he almost cheated on Lucie for this person.

RebelVampire

Lucie couldve been Conan's mistress at least.

Jo Michelle

OH no. I don't see her being okay with such an arrangement.

RebelVampire

tbf we havent met the real lucie yet. maybe shes secretly a gold digger who knew conan was a prince all along and just wanted that sweet evenheim gold

Jo Michelle

Hum. That's a good point.

And I already said what I think of Conan's judgment with women, so I guess I can't fall back on "but Conan wouldn't have loved her if she wasn't good."

Okay. Point made. Fine.

RebelVampire

the one good thing din did for conan

saved him from proposing to the wrong girl

Jo Michelle

Re: Felix is a Good Dude: I'm just using the Sirius test:

Sirius shook his head and said, “She’s got the measure of Crouch better than you have, Ron. If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

.... You want to know the measure of a Nobleman? Ask a Magician.(edited)

There's no reason to hide your true nature from a person who has to do literally whatever you tell them to.

RebelVampire

but the only magician we can ask is din and din is a biased source who is basing his hatred on info that is years out of date

Jo Michelle

Eh. How an adult treated you as a child is not a bad estimate either.

I'm not saying he couldn't have changed. Just that I'm gonna have to see some darn good evidence of that change.

In Din's case, he was in the inferior position as both a Magician and a child.

To be fair, full disclosure – I don't think Felix is the worst person ever. Heck, he might be pretty typical of Noblemen. I mean, his treatment of Din could be totally normal. But that doesn't make it any better, or excuse him one bit.(edited)

RebelVampire

thats fair. i more think its better to assume neutrality and give benefit of the doubt that he isnt the same person. which gives room also for him to be far worse too, but hey gives him a chance

i will point out though that conan barely didnt anything wrong on purpose and din hated him on principle

din is himself not the best person XD

Jo Michelle

Din is what Felix made him.

Felix, and others.

Din was a lost, confused, hurting, traumatized boy.

But let's not forget who, at least, contributed to that.(edited)

RebelVampire

Din is also an adult now and in charge of his own choices though. And his adult choices are garbage. If Felix had been abused and locked in a closet, would that excuse the choices he made? XD

Jo Michelle

Oh, I'm not excusing Din now. That's the problem with pain and trauma – the way it spreads.(edited)

BUT, the person with power here is still Felix.

Even if Din is responding totally wrong, the people with the power are still the Noblemen, so the greater responsibility for ending the violence still rests on them.

It's like the moral equivalency fallacy of [spoiler blocked for those who don't want to think about politics] SPOILER of white supremacists and anti-racism bombings, such as in South Africa. No, killing innocent people isn't right and will just produce more pain and suffering, but the two aren't equivalent, because of power. END SPOILER This is why I judge Felix more harshly than Din.

RebelVampire

That's fair.

I can't take the same path cause I don't think all the evidence is in order. Cause we haven't met Felix, don't actually have a factual account of what he even did to Din, and so forth. So while I can agree that Felix can be judged more harshly via power in certain contexts, I think its unfair to cast judgement at the moment.

Kabocha

Question: How do we know that whatever Felix and Din's interaction was, that it wasn't like... Self defense?

It was clearly BAD, but Din was a child

Jo Michelle

That's also fair. But, for me, the burden of proof will be on Felix.

RebelVampire

yeah thats another reason i dont trust Din's account of everything and label him a biased source. Cause he was a child at the time of whatever happened just by the context clues

cause kids dont generally have all the info to a situation.

cause adults dont tell

also cause they have kid brains

not to mention were expecting din's account to even be accurate after years

and memories are faulty

even when trauma is involved

which again

Felix may be the most awful person in the world

I just pass no judgement based on Din's account

as far as im concerned, din is no better than the boy who cried wolf right now

which acually is a better analogy then i intended. cause his hatred of conan really damages his case against felix.

which inevitably makes me sorry for Din if Felix is as awful as he thinks

Din is undoing his own case

Jo Michelle

No, Din is just proving my point about power and Noblemen in general. I recently heard and wrote down a great definition of racism: Prejudice + Power to enforce your Prejudice = Racism That's why oppressed people can be prejudice, but not racist. So, sure, Din is prejudiced against Noblemen in general, and Felix in particular, but that's mostly from experience. Conan seems to be his first encounter with a Nobleman that didn't confirm his expectations.

RebelVampire

i think this convo is going a bit too political at this point so im gonna reign it in

Jo Michelle

Okay, sorry.

RebelVampire

no its fine. im just reigning it in before it goes too far to real world.

cause at this point were touching on a very sensitive, relevant real world topic.

and thats inviting chaos

Jo Michelle

Should I spoiler hide that last comment?

RebelVampire

nah cause when i archive it, itll be visible anyway.

Jo Michelle

ah.

Really?

good to know.

RebelVampire

yeah. someday i will address that if i get a real website for CTP, but right now things are just archived as plain text.

At least we can agree that Pascal is the best

I mean umm...Felix. Yes. Definitely not Pascal.

Pascal the angel

Respheal

The abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power

Not gonna lie, I didn't expect this story to touch on some real world problems when I first started writing it x'D this was just going to be a road trip(edited)

RebelVampire

tbf you overthink anything too much and you can put real life themes on it.

which is whats supposed to happen

it is the mark of good fiction

Respheal

Yeah, and it...worked? x'D but I do realize that because these Very Real Themes are a part of it now, I have to be able to handle those themes respectfully.(edited)

I will answer question 3 in a bit and make you all mad that the answer is Felix (edited)

....actually nvm I should answer based only on the current canon ahahaha

RebelVampire

yes pick Felix O_O

i cant pick felix cause hes not in the story yet

maybe someday

Respheal

Felix actually is my fave, but yeah he's not in the story yet. Although he has clearly had a huge impact on it so far. He's like a massive object and every other character is sucked into his gravity well

If I had to pick from current canon (which is like the boys and Altiria).....that's a tough call

RebelVampire

obviously altiria since they can just drown everyone

Respheal

You're right. The only sensible choice

I am actually struggling to pick so let's go with that

Kabocha

3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor? Altiria! I'm sorry, Alty's natrually quite salty. It just flows out of them seamlessly... Altiria seas and knows all in the world, for Altiria is all water... Water we waiting for, we should all cheer for our water god! 4. What do you think will happen once Din and Conan reach Cymaria? Will Din’s plans unravel, or will the two manage to slay the queen? What will be the consequences of either path? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Conan's gon' die. Unless they opt for an infiltration - Din only has to bring Conan to Cymaria... Right? I guess it depends on how that command's interpreted

RebelVampire

maybe they never make it to court. maybe they stop at burger king on the way but pascal wont let them leave until he gets all the toys from the kids meal

and nobody told him you didnt have to buy the meal to get the toy

MJ Massey

4. What do you think will happen once Din and Conan reach Cymaria? Will Din’s plans unravel, or will the two manage to slay the queen? What will be the consequences of either path?

I think they'll intend to slay the queen but then find out she's not the true villain. She's actually pretty cool, but it's the royal vizier/high priest/magician who's the REAL villain. They'll team up to try to stop them, but the queen will inadvertently die in the process and it turns out SPOILER she was Felix the whole time END SPOILER

Jo Michelle

SPOILER Not gonna lie, I didn't expect this story to touch on some real world problems when I first started writing it x'D this was just going to be a road trip END SPOILER

I thought the same thing, friend. We all did, I think.

Respheal

As for question 4......well, we're not even all the way through act 1 so of course things are gonna hit the fan

RebelVampire

the bigger question is how can galebound end happily

Jo Michelle

Things, huh? :cornytea:

Kabocha

The bigger question is: CAN it end happily

Respheal

That is actually a good question

Kabocha

I posit the following: No.

MJ Massey

I agree

no way Res is gonna let the cast off that easy

RebelVampire

everything will turn out fine. then a rogue meteor will come and crash into the planet, pushing it out of orbit

Jo Michelle

I'm trusting in Res's enjoyment of the end of "Speak".... it's literally the only evidence I've got going for my hope in a "happy" ending...(edited)

Kabocha

@RebelVampire This isn't Final Fantasy!!

RebelVampire

thats just what res wants us to think

felix is the meteor

Respheal

A sufficiently large meteor might kick the planet out of its tidal locking therefore eliminating the extreme focused heat that fuels the Gale

RebelVampire

ya know i was mostly just joking, but then res came in and said that

i think this is as good as canon

Kabocha

ominous chanting

Respheal

If this were Final Fantasy the eclipse planet would come crashing down but right before it hits--surprise it was a giant dragon's prison all along so it's death by dragon instead of by meteor

RebelVampire

and felix was the imprisoned dragon?

which is where hes been all this time

Respheal

Yes

Kabocha

...So it's not Final Fantasy, it's Fire Emblem

RebelVampire

Fire Fantasy

well just combine them

Mahotou

Final Emblem

RebelVampire

Fire Fantasy V: The Final Emblem

Jo Michelle

Felix is a dragon. I can live with that.

RebelVampire

ok so its been approved. Felix is a dragon canon is a go.

can sleep on his pile of gold and kidnap princesses

and eat them

Jo Michelle

Like Conan's mom. She was a kidnapped princess.

Respheal

......So Conan's part dragon now?

RebelVampire

yes

see

Jo Michelle

Confirmed.

RebelVampire

this canon gets better and better

conan is gonna wake up one morning and wonder why he can breathe fire

Jo Michelle

That literally happened in a kids book I read once.

Kabocha

reads chat

...So Conan is a Manakete, which explains why Dusk time seems so weird to him if their solar cycle is............ rapid

It's not that dusk is fast, it's that Conan is old

WAIT CONAN IS GRIMA

Respheal

You caught me

Jo Michelle

I need to see a Conan art with dragon fire or wings now.

Sarai

There was a story I read where dragons took human form and could only access their dragon form through a magic device passed down through their family

I'm not saying conan's pocketwatch lets him turn into a dragon but

Mahotou

Are these hypothetical dragons... daemons?

Respheal

They probably would be

Mahotou

xD more Conan Hybrid Theory

Sarai

But important to note, in that story only full-blooded dragons could transform

Half-dragons ended up with horns and tails and lizard-like ear flaps

RebelVampire

conan hasnt hit dragon puberty yet. din is in for a nasty surprise

Sarai

BUT since we're talking about Conan, I'm gonna say he's my favorite right now, in an answer to question 3

I'm in love with Pascal and the sun shines a little brighter every time I see him, but Conan is one of the few characters I can point to and say "hey, he thinks like me!"

Mahotou

#relatable

Sarai

We have a strikingly similar way of processing things and making decisions, and I don't see that a lot in fiction

Especially fantasy

Jo Michelle

Good job Res!

Sarai

That's why I couldnt get mad at him for the Pascal Incident™

Its exactly what I would have done

Jo Michelle

That's fair. .....

Kabocha

(guys I think the inside jokes are escaping)

Jo Michelle

which ones?

I mean, other than Shadowlord.

Felix is the worst

Kabocha

The SHADOWLORD CANNOT BE CONTAINED

hybrid theory

conan is secretly going to end the world... etc

................... Carry on

Jo Michelle

Okay, I see your point.

RebelVampire

oh man if were basing fave character on who we relate to the most, idk who to pick

maybe lucie for me cause shes the character who is just back at home not getting involved with all the adventures

Respheal

yet

Mahotou

what's lucy going to do when she finds her best bud is missing? for two/three dark hours(edited)

Kabocha

Rebel, how do you handle spoiler tags in archives?

Jo Michelle

Well, that would be Checkers.

RebelVampire

they are visible as plain text

Respheal

I'm okay with that being visible, I'm half saying it out of humor xD

RebelVampire

cause there just isnt a good way to do them in regards to tumblr's setup

@Mahotou im gonna repeat a thing i said on the server for in regards to what lucie will do: just assume he went and pulled a felix and get herself a new boyfriend

Mahotou

OH NO

looking at the questions, I don't know who's my fav as a character. but I like Pascal as a person c:

sweet boy cant catch a break

that's like his description too or something

Respheal

It is xD

Mahotou

too good for this world. cant catch a break

oh and for question 4. What if! Conan got kidnapped by the Cymaria Court and he gets a WHOLE OTHER view of this situation? they try to convince him of their side away from Din.

Mahotou

I think i got this idea from Fire Emblem. Birthright/Conquest

two sides of one situation O: dun dun dunnnnn

Jo Michelle

Ooohhhh

That would be a twist.

Mahotou

# NOW who's the bad guy? Conan technically has limited information but he DOES have experience with the magic and obligation on magicians. and the weird amulet

but what if truths are twisted? Who should he side with O: dun dun dunnnnn

... he'd prolly wanna go home to his Lucie and forget this lol(edited)

RebelVampire

semi off topic, but arcein. arcein is the bad guy.

if they talk like a villain, smile like a villain, and do creepy vague shit like villains, theyre probably a villain

Mahotou

/subvert expectations OH LETS MAKE HER THE GOOD GUY XD

300 year old spirit thing with creepy grin in an amulet. was trapped like a Genie when she tried to do a good but it did a bad/

Wish we knew more about her in canon. She could be a fav character O:

Kabocha

gotta wonder how many people in galebound are actually good guys

and Din's just the one who wants to burn the world

Sarai

conan is a goode boye

and so is pascal

he tried to be mean once boy nearly put himself into an angst coma

enshogirl

The Good: Artemis (#1 good), Pascal, Conan The Bad: Din, Felix, Altiria and The Ugly: Arcein, King Cymaria

Respheal

Altiria as bad? xD

RebelVampire

i mean

i dont think you can say altiria is good either

Respheal

I guess for the most part I consider daemons to be neutral(edited)

RebelVampire

thats fair although from a story perspective she has attempted murder of conan on her book

Respheal

Truuuuuue

enshogirl

I don’t trust her

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. What has been your favorite illustration in the comic so far? What specifically about it do you like?

QUESTION 6. How do you think Pascal will adjust to being both deaf and cut off from magic? How will he wind up helping or hurting Din and Conan? Ultimately, do you think Pascal’s life will be better or worse for what happened?

Kabocha

For question 5... http://www.galebound.com/comics/2449333/064/ THIS PANEL Holy shit Res really pulled off magic with this one!! I just love the energy and the sense of Din's sheer power here. In retrospect, you have to wonder if it was amplified because he was really following two commands at once? As far as Pascal goes... I think Pascal's honestly going to adjust. He's adaptable, and strikes me as the type of person who takes life as it comes. So this sort of outcome might actually be a bit freeing in some respects... ...Although in the meantime, I'm sure there'll be lots of worrying about what he's good for, what'll happen to him, and such... He's no longer useful to anyone as a magician, really.

(That is to say, I'm looking forward to Pascal fostering kittens. That's clearly what he's got to do with his life after this!!)

MJ Massey

I feel like Pascal has strong strangling hands

Jo Michelle

I CAN'T choose a page! Or an illustration. But it would definitely be one of those in the end of chap 5 ... ALL THE FEELS THERE.

MJ Massey

so he's going to become a pro strangler

Jo Michelle

Although I'm kinda super partial to the illustration that's going up for today It's so heartbreaking and pretty, okay?!?

Actually, I think Pascal is going to go through a quarter life crisis, buy a muscle carstrong horse and take off on a road trip across the Dusk to "find himself."(edited)

Freedom, baby!

Jo Michelle

But I'm kinda in love with Din's half lit expression from this page: http://www.galebound.com/comics/2771099/147/(edited)

Respheal

Quarter life crisis

Jo Michelle

I mean, he's not quite at a quarter life, but..... he's getting there?

And I LOVE the body language in this one: http://www.galebound.com/comics/2780569/150/

Especially Len. My new favorite side character. The adult this problem child needs.

Kabocha

As far as head canons are concerned... All we know at the moment is she was SHOCKED that Din did what he did.

Jo Michelle

Oh, you know I can build an entire life history from a face shot and three paragraphs about Felix. I've got way more about Len here.

Kabocha

https://tenor.com/view/tea-shade-goth-halloween-gif-4637758

RebelVampire

5) For favorite illustration, I gotta go with Pascal gets his butt beat #1 http://www.galebound.com/comics/2369956/040/ The lighting on this is really great. Plus I really like the slanted angle it has going on. I think there's something about that choice that really makes you empathize with Conan. Cause much like the angle is expressing something is kind of not right in terms of the balance of the world, this is the first time extreme magic is at play. So it really puts you in Conan's shoes where you're like "Is this happening my life is a lie" 6) Deaf I think he'll go with easily cause I think for Pascal that one will be easier to roll with the punches for. Magic? That sounds harder if you've basically relied on it for most of your life. Cause at that point I'd think it'd be an instinctual thing that's gonna hurt when you try to fire blast someone but forget you cant actually do that anymore. Pascal's life will probably be better. He can chameleon into the crowd now and party all the parties. As for helping or hurting Din and Conan, I feel like hurt might be more likely. Just cause Pascal is kind of a distraction for Din. Cause Din was doing okay but everytime Pascal showed up he had to change his plans. Which I guess is me saying Pascal is Din's bad luck charm.

Jo Michelle

Oh, yeah, that's a GREAT moment. It's actually one of those that came to mind.

Respheal

I'm still really happy with Conan's expression on that page

Jo Michelle

Oh yeah. "Shi--" just hit the fan there.

RebelVampire

i think everyone's faces looks there. one of the few pages where im like "Din isn't that bad a dude" O_O

RebelVampire

overall i like any page that's a double spread for illustration. cause while mobile design is the way to go, it means theres less and less double spreads going on. so when i see them i squee

Respheal

I enjoy doing those pages, too xD Ironically they tend to be faster to make since they're just 1-2 panels, so I try to go more all out with it >:D

Mahotou

5. Favorite illustration? well i have one that got me rolling back into doing art after a huge time away from it. break-my-heart its pascal's face here (second to last panel) : http://www.galebound.com/comics/2592094/101/(edited)

my fave pics are very emotional i think

Sarai

that page also features Din angrily buttoning his waistcoat as he tries to glare his brother into silence XD

Mahotou

http://www.galebound.com/comics/2639011/115/ oh and o boy this one. the whole page.

RebelVampire

i counter your sadness with hilarious pascal http://www.galebound.com/comics/2484303/072-5/

Sarai

that one is great

Mahotou

6. How do you think Pascal will adjust to being both deaf and cut off from magic? I think, not being a Magician will be ok for Pascal. He may enjoy using magic or be good at it but he can only use it when commanded so I don't believe he'll feel totally lost without it. And maybe he can be sneaky and Queen Cymaria will attempt to command him because he's supposed to be a Court Magician but then he'd be liek nahh and she'd be surprised and TeamGrump can get the upperhand. O: but also now he has to have the amulet always with him too. He has to always be touching it or else he'll start dying again so i kinda feel like this physical object may be troublesome. (but i'm sure he'll be a smart cookie and thing of something to keep it in place.) How will he wind up helping or hurting Din and Conan? hmmm. well he's MORE of a free spirit now, as he's outside the Obligation. and he's always been a ninja (good climber --> (roof boy: http://www.galebound.com/comics/2358585/032/) so he can be helpful by going on errands. but heeeee wouldn't notice if he was being noisy... so he's losing stealth points. Deafness... he'll probably miss his hearing but I think he's a talented learner and will come up with hand signals between himself and friends/Din and also practice lip reading. @Rebel: He can chameleon into the crowd now and party all the parties. but he cant hear the music at the parties now D: i've just made myself really sad.... Ultimately, do you think Pascal’s life will be better or worse for what happened? Better because he won't have the Obligation around. ... or... or worse because he now has to have this amulet so now instead of the Obligation being a part of his life, he now has to care about this amulet for liek... the rest of his life. and he has be careful to always be touching it in some way. Maybe that's ok tho. and life will be fine and the brothers will just take care of each other.

woops that was a loaded #6.

i think i rambled but i won't edit this xD

keii4ii

@enshogirl 's listing of Artemis as #1 good does make me think, though (and I agree with the sentiment )

I like Artemis a lot, almost weirdly so, and I'm starting to see why

This is a story where you can't trust anyone -- I mean Pascal may be a good boy, but you might not be entirely safe around him. So having someone you can trust is meaningful, even if that someone isn't a human X'D

and that says a lot about the story truly being a web of schemes!

Jo Michelle

It's totally true. You really can't totally trust Magicians.....

But then, they can't even trust their own brains and motivations....

Respheal

That's a good point, @keii4ii I wish I enjoyed drawing Artemis more, because she is important to Conan as a character. She's the lodestar of stability and sanity for him in this quest into the unknown

......what are those reacts lol

I feel like you read that as me being like "it'd be a shame if something happened to her :3c"

Jo Michelle

Oh, no, I was thinking about Conan.

Respheal

Oh hahaha

Jo Michelle

How a horse is the only person he can find stability and relational safety in.

Kabocha

@Respheal don't you dare take that horse's boy away from her

Mahotou

XD Club "Keep Artemis Safe"

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you?

QUESTION 8. What do you think Din’s ultimate plans are? Is it killing Felix or is there a bigger story to his ambitions? How does killing the Queen of Cymaria even factor into them? What even motivated his plans in the first place?

Jo Michelle

Character interaction dynamics. Hum. I mean, we've only really seen Din, Con, Pasc, and Alty. But, I've got to say, I really like the Din/Alty dynamics. They know things about Din, and the way they tell him what's what is good.

And the Din/Pasc. The way they care about each other as brothers, but also bicker about stuff. That's fun.

Basically, I think I really like character interactions that draw out Din's emotions and force him to say and do things that reveal what's going on inside.

. Speaking of. Din's plans. I mean, he's out to kill Felix for sure. That 16YO Din wasn't acting. That was seething rage there. But I think his end game is to bring down the system somehow.

But I don't know enough about it to really say how he might be going about that.

MJ Massey

Din and Pascal have an interesting dynamic I want to see more of, both in flashbacks and in the present day

like how did Pascal get involved in everything and trying to kill Conan? Are he and Din on good terms or no?

Sarai

Pascal with anyone quite fankly

Considering the characters that have been introduced, his nature of pure sunshine conflicts so hard with everyone we've seen him talk to

But he just.....keeps on going

Respheal

Pascal's fun to write interactions with because he's good at keeping people just a little off balance--he talks fast, hops between topics, and just his overall sunshine demeanor bewilders xD I like to think Conan and Din play off each other well.....in, uh, better circumstances, maybe.

RebelVampire

7) I'm gonna go with Alty and Conan. I like how their interactions always really emphasis Alty is basically just on Alty's side. Cause they arent remorseful for trying to kill Conan, and even imply a bit they can still drown Conan at anytime. Yet at the same time Alty is also the person willing to warn Conan that Din is basically a dumbass. So whenever they interact theres always this uneasiness. I think a lot may be a change in the power dynamic cause even if Conan can command Din, theres only so much you can do to stop the ocean. 8) Din's plans are basically Step 1- Kill Felix Step 2 - ??? Step 3-Profit. Which is my way of saying i think calling what Din's "plans" plans is misleading. Rather, I think he has goals and just vague ideas of how to get to those goals. Like a kid with a treasure map who is finding the X but forgot to bring a shovel or backpack to carry back the treasure. I agree that Din probably wants to bring balance to the system. But I also think in his crazed mind he thinks that killing Felix is the way its gonna happen. I think Din gives Felix waaaaay too much credit. Although, honestly, I can't figure why he needs to kill the Queen. Like certainly this frees him from needing to be a court magician there. But unless theres a secret command from them that says "nah bro don't kill felix" i dont see how overthrowing a monarch works in Din's favor at all.

Mahotou

@jo: And the Din/Pasc. The way they care about each other as brothers, but also bicker about stuff. That's fun.

Basically, I think I really like character inte

ractions that draw out Din's emotions and force him to say and do things that reveal what's going on inside. yasss 8. Din seems like a focus one track person. He wants to kill Felix. and he's still trying to reach that even tho Cymaria has him doing other magician errands first. But sounds like he almost got the command he wanted: "Bring me the head of Evenheim's heir" http://www.galebound.com/comics/2764870/145/ but he found Conan before Felix? maybe he thinks he can work with conan to convince/trick conan into giving him commands he wants.

Kabocha

7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you? Din and Conan, honestly. I got friggin BAMBOOZLED when I started reading this. I was like, "hey they're staying in an inn, some shenanigans are gonna ensue!" AND THEN NOPE, MURDER ATTEMPT. So, what I thought was gonna be a fantasy buddy comedy turned out to be very much not that. And I kind of look forward to seeing how Din and Conan progress from snarky strangers to friends... Assuming Din doesn't get killed first.

8. What do you think Din’s ultimate plans are? Is it killing Felix or is there a bigger story to his ambitions? How does killing the Queen of Cymaria even factor into them? What even motivated his plans in the first place?

Din has a plan? Ever since Conan figured out he was able to command Din, it's kinda gone to shit, so... I think Din's ultimate plan was probably to kill the Cymarian nobility AND to kill Felix. http://www.galebound.com/comics/2332038/022/ Although I guess Conan didn't tell Din to tell him the truth, so... Din's a very angry man, probably motivated by the inherent injustice in the obligation. I think if he could have anything in life right now, it would be that he could be a normal person. He got the slightest taste of normalcy as a child, and... Well. :\

anyway I just need to say @Respheal how dare you bring us in thinking comedy and break us all like this so far

Respheal

>:D

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. What sorts of art or story details have you noticed in the way the comic is crafted that you think deserves attention?

QUESTION 10. Who or what is the Arcein that Conan saw? Why do you think she seemed to know Felix, and how did Arcein’s Ignorance come to be? Also, what do you think Myosotis is, and why does Arcein want it?

Jo Michelle

Q. 9: Res's foreshadowing is really great. Little details that you only notice on reread. And snatches of dialogue or character actions that suddenly are WAY different when you know what's really going on.

RebelVampire

9) The careful choices in wording because command phrases are super OP. Like I would super hate writing a main cast who are a nobleman and a magician cause one ill choice of dialogue and poof, there goes continuity. So the fact its done so well is nice. 10) I'm assuming the Arcein we saw was basically a Horcrux. I assume by the nature of being mythical, Arcein is connected to the Gale in ways we don't understand. And the Gale is like big brother and is watching everyone, especially Felix. Idk what Myosotis is, but I'm sure Arcein wants it to destroy all nobleman or something like that. If Arcein isn't the pure evil one in this comic, I will eat my hat.

Respheal

But she was so helpful in saving Pascal~ :'3

RebelVampire

for now

unless pascal is locked away in a tower guarded 24/7 but the most elite soldiers, i will never believe Pascal is completely and truly safe in that world

Jo Michelle

But that's not safety. that's isolation, which isn't safe or healthy for any human.

There is no "complete and true safety." Life is risk.

RebelVampire

well put artemis in the tower too

then they can be alone together

and safe

also i said safe, i wasnt necessarily aiming for healthy there O_O

Jo Michelle

But unhealthy isn't safe.

And humans need more relationships in our lives than just one other creature.

And relationship always brings risk.

Respheal

also the alleged horcrux is strapped to his neck

Jo Michelle

I mean, there's risk.... and then there's..... risk.

that dang price

RebelVampire

i feel like you just insulted artemis by called her a risk as a relationship

secretly artemis had like 10 sugar daddy horses back home and spent all their money

conan is also her sugar daddy

literally cause he probably gives her sugar cubes

also see, to deal with arcein you just gotta cut the tower off from the gale. make a huge bubble area of ignorance

Mahotou

9) I totally understand why Res insisted on using full color. those auras need to be noticeable and different from each other. And its really niceeeee. I love the use of double-spreads because to me it feels like the stretching of a moment aka time slows down and you can just take in the scene. <3 Also the "scene in the amulet" is really creepy and spooky and what does it all mean!? /o\ after all this time, i feel we should expect foreshadowing in almost everything. xD 10) Arcein isssss 300 years old according to Pascal so the amulet is.... HAUNTED [or Rebel's Horcrux theory]. Maybe Felix had the amulet before and maybe they spoke together/concocted a plan together. Or maybe they disagreed? I have NO idea what Myosotis is in her context. Googling it, its a forget-me-not sooooo i guess she wants to be remembered? big shrug she seems dangerous. just look at her grin.(edited)

Respheal

nyahahahaha >:D

There is a whole lot of foreshadowing, and I appreciate what Jo said about "details you only notice on reread" xD Because a lot of the foreshadowing, I'm aiming it to be like it was staring us in the face the whole tiiiiiiiiiiiiiime

Jo Michelle

That's the best kind.

Other than the Horcrux thing, I have about zero formed ideas or theories on Arcein myself. That's a whole giant ominous question mark in my mind.

Mahotou

And also the amulet is called Arcein's Ignorance. I believe it was named for how it disconnects an Obligated from The Gale (and thus be Ignorant of the commands) but... Was Arcein Ignorant about something too? I wouldn't put it past Res for double meanings. Did Arcein do something Ignorant by making this amulet?

Kabocha

People are ignorant of Arcein, therefore her price of "Forget-Me-Not" is... to make her known? Remembered? avenged?

Sarai

((Forget-me-nots also mean true love, so make of that what you will))

Jo Michelle

What if the amulet was made by a Magician and a Noble who loved each other, and wanted a way to have a relationship that was free from Obligations?

Kabocha

oh That... that could have happened in this world...

Mahotou

i like that sound O:

Sarai

As far as what the "price" is, maybe Arcien's broken the seal that's locked away conan's memories?

Not so that they'll come back all at once, but she's triggered a sort of chain reaction so that very soon, he's gonna start remembering things

RebelVampire

QUESTION 11. What do you think are this particular comic’s strengths? What do you think makes this comic unique? Please elaborate.

QUESTION 12. Where has Felix been for most of Conan’s life? Why do you think he left Conan, and will Conan and Din actually be able to find him? Assuming they do find him, what do you think would even happen?

Sarai

Before I leave for vacation: 11. Worldbuilding is definitely one of Galebound's strengths. The decision to make this a tidally locked planet (and actually develop how that would impact and affect all facets of life) was a really good one, and it really adds a unique flavor to the story. From the color pallete of the outdoor scenes to the inclusion of the dark hour to the plot, it was enough to catch my eye and make me want to know more my first time reading. -bows to Res-

Respheal

:'D

will Conan and Din actually be able to find him

It's also a question of if half of that set even wants to find him

Jo Michelle

Con: he's my dad and I don't care. Din: He's my No. 1 target.

Kabocha

Galebound's strengths... Well, the sheer growth it's had from its start. Both in art and storytelling... While I know the story was prepping for its first WHAM moment, the art really caught up with it in a way that helped amplify that imo. Res has improved an incredible amount in a comparatively short amount of time

...I'm absolutely terrified to see how much the art will grow in 5 years, especially as the story intensifies. I get the feelin' a storm's brewing... And it's not the Gale.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 13. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

QUESTION 14. What aspect of the Obligation system in the story do you find the most interesting? What about it specifically interests you? Alternatively, what horrible implications are you hoping to see or not see regarding it?

RebelVampire

11) I think the strengths lie in the question and answer formula. While there are a lot of comics out there, in my experience not all of them offer good material for theorizing. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but can make for dull convos when talking about the comic elsewhere. Meanwhile, Galebound has tons of questions, tons of info spread out in various places, etc. So you get to get out the magnifying glass and look around for the answer. 12) I sincerely believe Felix left for Conan's own good to help him with something. Not that I think Felix is altruistically out to save the world or anything for sure, but I do think Felix would want to save his son. As for whether Conan and Din finding, honestly, I think it's more likely Felix will find them first XD We've established Din isn't great at the plans so Din is gonna bump into Felix when he least expects it. And be like "I'm in my underwear right now I'm not even ready for this."

keii4ii

13/14 I'm looking forward to meeting that one character SPOILER who is both a Noble and a magician, aka Person Doomed To Juggle Chainsaws For Life END SPOILER

RebelVampire

13) I am looking forward to people reading the next chapter so the galebound fandom collective can gasp in the same way that patrons get to gasp. 14) my favorite aspect of the obligation system is just the fact that it plays on language and contains loopholes. so you can constantly find new ways to use and abuse it based on how something is worded or how far you push the system. cause that gives it a good balance of being powerful but still being bounded by consistent rules.

Respheal

Oh yeah, the next chapter's gonna be all sorts of fun xD(edited)

Kabocha

The obligation system is certainly easily manipulated for anyone who might be looking For loopholes. Din is dangerous because he was taught to think >:D

RebelVampire

"Din is dangerous" is a complete sentence.

Kabocha

FAIR.

For every time Din subverts an obligation's expectations, he also manages to hurt someone he cares about.

RebelVampire

good job, din. this is why everyone loves you.

Jo Michelle

Mostly to himself and to people who care about him, I think.(edited)

Kabocha

Today I learned: Everyone in Din's life is a masochist(edited)

Respheal

For putting up with him?

Kabocha

Yeeeeeeeep.

Respheal

I almost feel like I need to come to his defense now

I certainly don't condone his actions, but......boy needs an adult

And by adult I mean therapist

Kabocha

He won't get better if nobody gives him good consequences

At the very least, the Ocean could have been like, "Oh hey, KNOCK IT OFF" and smacked him

RebelVampire

tbf even with good consequences theres no gurantee.

Kabocha

Fair! I mean, let's imagine the Galebound discord is right, and Lenora (the King's Magician) had a chance to try to set Din right. ...if he's still after his goal of revenge after some grade-A mom-ish intervention, he's not gonna be easily deterred.

And now I'm imagining Din... "My name is Dinigo Montoya... You killed my father. Prepare to die." (Only we can't be sure if Din's father died at Felix's hands....)

RebelVampire

these are excellent points.

to change din, i think he needs to wake up many days in a row and find out his entire life is a lie

Respheal

He lies to everyone else, but doesn't realize he lies to himself, too

Kabocha

I wonder how many lies we'll discover he's told himself over the years.

It's gonna suck! Din had all these good things he threw away in pursuit of revenge... He really can't figure out how to appreciate the things in front of him until they're taken from him.

RebelVampire

the biggest lie he told himself was that his name was din. really he was felix all along

Respheal

That's some next level self-hatred there

Kabocha

Oh no... So, if Din is Felix...

Respheal

I'm assuming he's also actually ten years older

Kabocha

.... ... That makes him ineligible to be the Shadowlord, sadly...

Respheal

Because otherwise.....eek

Oh?

Kabocha

Felix is the creator of the Shadowlord.

Not the Shadowlord itself.

Sarai

13) What am I looking forward to? The answer to all of these questions really XD

There's so much we don't know, and I'm really looking forward to snapping up all the information about the plot and its mysteries as it trickles in

also clawing the tragic backstories out of everyone's cold dead hands

Mahotou

13) I saw a list of character names and chapter names. I"m excited to meet EVERYONE. Get to fall in love with some and get to violently LOATH some. some sweet sweet hatred on fictional character. I agree with Rebel: Meanwhile, Galebound has tons of questions, tons of info spread out in various places, etc. So you get to get out the magnifying glass and look around for the answer. Sweet mind games and investigation. THERES SO MUCH DEPTH I CAN SWIM IN THIS LORE FOREVER. xD

14) Aspects of the Obligation system? Din's sweet mindbending/word-twisting comprehension ability of commands he received. How far can it go? How far DID it go in his loophole finding ability? But also, what can they achieve together? Conan and Din. If they can work together then there's SO MUCH possibility!

Respheal

Hehehehe I've got all the chapter names (and a lot of the character names) in the wiki :3c They are subject to change until they're actually written (I've already merged a couple chapters together), but I like having those up as sort of a teaser(edited)

As with many things, I didn't really realize I was setting up sort of a question/answer format until I got some momentum going, but I really enjoy how that's worked out xD

Mahotou

(They tease me hard)

Respheal

I am looking for a gif to use as my answer to 13 xD But no such luck

So meh I'll just go with chapters: Ch 6, Ch 14, Ch 18 Those have some of the major turning points I'm most looking forward to :3c

And for question 14.....probably one of the more interesting things, from my perspective, is how the system came into being in the first place

-runs back into the spoiler cave-

Mahotou

LORE/ORIGIN STORY

:partypascal:

Sarai

14) the thing I like about the system is how simple it seems, yet how absolutely bone-chillingly horrible it is when you give it a little thought

It really is a wolf in sheep's clothing

Sarai

Like, when it was first introduced my first thought was "wow this is really constricting and an awful lot of angst over a magic system that can't be used that much"

But those implications hit you like a narrative 2 by 4

Respheal

If I manage to get the book published, that's the sorta quote I want on the dust jacket

RebelVampire

Actually I change my answer

I'm most looking forward to Felix

so we can learn hes not awful

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Galebound this week! Please also give a special thank you to Respheal for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Galebound, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

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