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stoprobbersfic · 6 years

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infinitive (jonathan x nancy, 2/3)

rating: teen+-ish a “future tense” sequel. idiots still in love. idiots more in love. idiots making their love official. part one read it on ao3 these two lend themselves to my favorite kind of domesticity, so here, have a lot of words about it.

He's trying to develop his last batch of photos through ever-more-crossed eyes when she knocks on the door.

They abandoned the idea of using their second bedroom solely as a guest room only a few months after moving to Chicago. He booked more jobs more quickly than he'd expected, and renting dark room time was a drain on their budget. So they got black-out curtains for the window and red light bulbs and lived on buttered noodles and PB&J sandwiches for a few months so he could buy secondhand equipment and large jars of chemicals and set up his own dark room instead.

They keep it set up most of the time, but it's easy to break down and put away whenever Mike and El or Will or Steve want to come crash for the weekend, provided they don't mind sleeping with an enlarger in the corner. So far they haven't had any complaints.

"Just a minute," he calls softly but Nancy's ignored him, slipping in through a crack in the door behind a large, heavy blanket and waiting until it's closed to cast the blanket aside with an indignant sputter. (It's a janky system, but it works.)

"God I hate that thing. Jonathan, we're supposed to be at Ashley and Scott's in like half an hour and you smell like chemicals," she says, sliding up behind him and winding her arms around his waist. He feels her lift onto her toes to look over his shoulder as he focuses the image on the metal cover protecting his photo paper. "Do they have sweaters tied over this shoulders?"

"They were trying to be ironic, but I think it just comes off goofy." He turns off the light, slides the cover off, sets the timer and starts the exposure. She stays perfectly still against him as he works and he smiles slightly to himself. He doesn't need her to be so careful, but he appreciates it.

"We have to go," she says again, releases him as he steps over to the table of trays and chemicals. Watches by his elbow as the image blooms into existence.

He thought she was beautiful standing at his elbow it the red glow of the dark room almost seven years ago and he thinks she looks just as beautiful now, with her hair shorter and some age on her face. He feels her smile against his lips when he leans down and drops a kiss on them.

"Can't I just wear this?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you look homeless. Also you reek of chemicals and you'll go up in flames as soon as someone lights a cigarette." She looks up at him, eyes wide. "Can you wait until after we get married to burn yourself alive?"

The little high giggle that escapes him is entirely involuntary and has Nancy doubled over with laugher. It's been happening a lot in the last week, every time she brings up their plan for the courthouse. Nothing's ever made him giggle like that before and he hates it. He flips her off as he finishes the last photo and clips it to the line.

"Are you gonna help me clean up or just laugh at me?"

"Just laugh at you," she gets out between giggles, but moves to help him pour the chemicals carefully back into their jars. It takes a moment for his eyes to adjust once they're back out in the hallway.

"Woof," she says, waving a hand in front of her face as she pushes him down the hall towards the bedroom. "Seriously, you have to change. I think I'm getting high just standing next to you."

"Are you sure that's not just my powerful, manly charisma?" he asks, turning to look at her. He's wearing a loose and wrecked pair of cut off jean shorts and a t-shirt that's on the verge of falling apart, and he's still a skinny, pale thing, but he cocks his hip and ducks his chin and tries to look impressive anyway.

The distinctly unimpressed look on Nancy's face is everything he hoped for.

"Yes," she deadpans. "There's nothing more manly then your skinny legs and pointy elbows."

"Oh, I'll show you some pointy elbows." He pulls off his t-shirt, throws it at her, laughs when it hits her square in the face. She drops it on the floor and advances slowly at him.

"Oh, bad move, Byers."

They're only forty-five minutes late to the party.

It's already raging, the top-floor apartment packed with elated about-to-be-graduates. It takes seconds for them to get separated, Nancy whisked away to the kitchen for a drink, Jonathan pulled over to Ashley and her fellow photography students to discuss their senior show.

He's flipping through Ashley's print book, offering his admiration and the occasional critique, when he hears Scott's voice above the din, a clear shout of, "Hold the fuck on."

The noise quiets a little, but no one is really paying attention until the shout comes again, this time with his name: "Hold the fucking fuck on. Byers!!"

His head snaps up in time to see Scott shoving his way through the crowd, his hand held high in the air. It takes a second to register that Scott's hand is holding another hand aloft, and that that hand is Nancy's. By the time his brain has caught up to his eyes Ashley's boyfriend and their big-haired roommate Tiffany are standing in front of him holding Nancy's left hand accusingly out to him.

"Did you do this?!" Tiffany yelps, grabbing Nancy's wrist and shoving her forward a bit, thrusting her hand into his face.

He doesn't have to look down to see what they're talking about – he's the one who put it there, after all – so he looks at Nancy instead. She looks mortified and exasperated and, under it all, a little pleased. He sighs and shakes his head slightly at her. He can't believe neither of them thought about this before they left the house.

"Did I do what?" he says instead, affecting the most innocent tone he can.

"Don't play coy with us, Jonathan, is this real??" Tiffany lets go of Nancy and pokes him in the soft spot between his shoulder and chest instead. He winces and shies away a bit.

"Ow, don't do that. Yes, it's real."

"You proposed??" Tiffany has gone an odd shade of red and the room has gone quiet. Everyone seems to be looking at them now. It makes him feel hot under his collar, makes him shift awkwardly and clear his throat and that's when Nancy shakes off Scott's grip and steps over to his side, tucks herself under his arm.

"Yes," she answers and leans into him until some of the tension leaves his shoulders. "Yes, he did."

"Well fucking hell," Ashley says from just behind him and then there are half a dozen pairs of arms reaching for them, congratulations being shouted. He manages to keep Nancy's hand in his as they're bombarded by friends.

Someone shoves a shot into his hand, another into Nancy's, and there's a roaring toast that sounds like nonsense and their names, which thankfully drowns out his cough as the liquor burns its way down to his stomach.

It fills him with a strange kind of giddiness; he likes the friends they've collected in the last four years, but he didn't really think about how they might be excited for them. It occurs to him that they probably want to be invited to the wedding. Somehow that's the most surreal realization of them all.

He's saying "thanks" and "we're really happy" automatically to the friends he values and the strangers who just overheard the news, and Nancy is letting her hand be pulled in every direction so girls can examine the ring, and it's all starting to feel very overwhelming when he feels a tug on his arm. He lets himself be pulled down the hallway, towards the door to the back stairwell and the roof deck. There are whistles and cheers and assumptions behind them, but he ignores them in favor of following Nancy up into the fresh air.

His head immediately clears and he takes a deep, full breath, and god he loves her so much.

"Better?" she asks and he nods, pulling her into his arms and stepping back into a dark corner. There are people up here, they are not alone, but he kisses her anyway, long and deep.

"Thanks," he says when they part and leans his forehead against hers. "Think they're gonna be mad when they find out we got married without them?"

"Ah, fuck 'em," Nancy shrugs. "We can invite them to whatever we let my mom do. I don't need anyone but you."

+++

He takes her back to the secondhand store.

The same tall man is behind the counter, and he gives Jonathan the same once-over when he walks in. This time, though, the man's eyes go immediately to the girl at his side as she follows him in. She's already admiring the sundress on the mannequin.

The man introduces himself to Nancy as Chris, preens as she compliments his shop, his taste in jewelry, the way he helped Jonathan. She lets herself be taken from rack to rack as Chris piles dresses in her arms.

Jonathan folds himself into an upholstered chair with a handwritten price tag pinned to it and mentally starts shuffling their monthly budget so they don't starve.

"The ring looks good on her." Chris's voice startles him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, uh, thanks." He clears his throat, stands to get rid of the feeling the other man is looming over him.

"She asked me if I had anything for you. You weren't in here that long ago."

Jonathan follows him back over to the register and the glass case of jewelry beside it. "We've been together a long time. We don't, um, we don't really need to wait."

"How long's a long time?" "Five years," he answers with a shrug.

"Five and a half!" Nancy's voice floats over from the changing room near the back of the small shop. Jonathan smiles.

"Five and a half," he amends.

"High school sweethearts, huh?"

"Something like that."

"Well I hate to say it, but I don't really have much in the way of men's rings," Chris says, pulling out a few thick bands with strange black and green stones set in them. They look like pinkie rings from mafia movies. "You'd have better luck downtown."

"We don't really have a lot of money for this."

"There's a few good shops down there, run by good people; they'll give you a deal for a simple band. Here, I'll write them down, just tell 'em I sent you."

Jonathan watches him scribble out a few names and addresses, tapping his fingers on the glass nervously. They're supposed to go downtown for the license in just a few days anyway.

"Chris!"

He follows instinctively, until the older man lets out a low whistle and reaches back, stopping him with a hand to his chest.

"You stay over there," he instructs.

"Oh, don't be silly, we're just going—"

"Jonathan, go sit down," Nancy calls. He frowns.

"But—"

"Jonathan!"

"Fine, fine," he mutters and returns to the chair.

Nancy makes him cover his eyes as she pays.

+++

He's a patient guy but he's never been great at waiting in line.

The main hall of Chicago City Hall is beautiful; gilded, carved, painted with murals that recall renaissance ceilings. The office where they can get a marriage license, not so much.

Jonathan commandeers the Walkman while Nancy buries her face in a folder of papers. He stares at the informational posters on the dingy grey walls that outline what is and is not a valid form of identification and tries not to hum along to the music. After he's read them four times and they've only shuffled forward a foot he gives up and returns his attention to the woman beside him.

She's chewing on the cap of a ballpoint pen thoughtfully, still looking intently at the papers. He watches her write something, frown, scribble it out and write something else.

He pulls off his headphones and leans forward, trying to see better.

"What are you doing?

"Working on vows."

"Vows?"

"Yeah," She looks up, rolls her eyes at him. "You know, the things we say to each other when we get married?"

The line moves all of a sudden, and they shuffle forward another foot. He makes a face at her.

"I know what vows are."

"Right. So what's your question?"

"We're getting married at City Hall."

"I know, Jonathan," she says and it sounds like idiot. "They have vows here too."

"Really?"

"What exactly did you think was going to happen?"

"I dunno," he shrugs, hooks the headphones around his neck. "I thought a judge would have us fill out a form and we'd put on our rings and then they'd, like, say we're married."

Nancy purses her lips, looks like she's making a valiant effort not to laugh at him.

"We're filling out the form now, dummy," she finally gets out, and it's softer than he was expecting. Fonder. "And I guess it could go that way, but there's usually vows to go with the ring exchange. Do you not want to do that?"

Truthfully, he didn't really think about it. He doesn't think there are words to encompass just how much he feels for her, and he's not the greatest talker, especially about his feelings. But he also knows there's no way Nancy is standing there with a folder full of options and a pen for editing because she doesn't want vows, and he's not about to deny her anything she wants.

"No, vows are fine, they're fine," he reassures her and lets the warmth of her smile work its way into the center of his chest. "Lemme see."

"No way!" She turns, hugging the papers close to her chest. "They're a surprise."

"Nance, we're getting married at City Hall."

"What is with you and City Hall?" she wonders, and shuffles forward another foot. He briefly wonders if a clerk finally came back from break or something. "It's still our wedding. You can't see my dress, and you can't read my vows."

He has to clear his throat to tame the lump that suddenly appears there. Summons a joke to brush off the weight of the rush of emotion.

"I'll just steal 'em while you're sleeping."

She's about to tell him how annoying he is, he knows it, but the clerk calls "Next!" and, unexpectedly, next is them, and she has to let it drop for now.

He hands over his driver's license and $30 in cash and signs on the dotted line, and they're done in 10 minutes. He holds the piece of paper gently as they walk out, staring at it like a sacred item, until she plucks it out of his hand and slides it into her folder.

"You alright?" she asks softly as they step out into Daley Plaza. It's rained while they were inside, and while the sky is clear now the humidity in the air clings to his skin as they walk across the darkened pavement.

"It's a little surreal right?" he asks, sliding an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close to his side. "We're going to get married in, like, what, four days?"

"Monday morning," she echoes softly. "You're good with that, right?"

"Of course." He looks down but only gets the top of her head. "Are you?"

"Yes!" She looks up at him then. "I'm excited. But you've been quiet."

"I'm always quiet."

"You know what I mean."

"I don't, though. I'm excited, Nance. I'm excited and I'm also a little overwhelmed. But I don't think that's weird?"

"It's not," she tips her head onto his shoulder, taking the lead by picking up her pace. He's happy to follow as they pass the tall buildings on State Street, head for Wabash. "I just want to be sure."

"Sure that I'm sure?"

"Right."

"I'm the one who started this, you know."

"Oh, I know." They have to wait for a signal to change and she takes the opportunity to lift onto her toes, kiss his cheek. "Wanna make this weirder?"

"What do you mean?"

"Let's go buy our wedding rings."

A shiver runs down his spine, and not just because this is all costing a lot of money. It is weird, just to hear her say it aloud. Something about this process makes him feel very, very young again.

"You're right, that's weird."

"But you're up for it?"

"Oh, always."

She leads them to a shop that Chris had directed them to, takes charge at the counter to find two slim, gold-plated bands. The jeweler measures their fingers, pulls out the rings for them to try on. The metal is cool but not cold when he slides it onto his left ring finger; the ring is heavier than he expected. It feels strange, uncomfortable, but as he considers it he feels it warm. Within minutes it barely feels like he's wearing anything at all.

They do get a deal, $60 for both. Nancy tucks the ring boxes into her purse. He's not sure he breathes normally the entire way home.

+++

"Do you want to be Mrs. Byers?"

The question slips out of him as they're watching television the evening before their wedding, each of them leaning on opposite arms of the sofa. Nancy's foot is resting on his thigh and he's kneading her ankle and calf with his fingertips. He can tell when he's hit a good spot because her toes wiggle.

"Hmm?"

"Are you taking my name?"

He's not sure where the question came from, exactly, and when he looks over at her she's got her eyebrows drawn together in thought.

"Hmm," she says again. "I don't know."

"We should probably know when we go in tomorrow."

"Do you want me to?"

"Honestly?" He waits until she meets his gaze to continue. "I didn't think about it until right now."

Her smile starts small then blooms, and it makes his heart do something funny in his chest. She shifts, tucking herself between the curve of his shoulder and the back of the couch, still looking up at him with a thoughtful grin.

"Neither did I. 'Mrs. Byers' sounds like your mom to me."

"Yeah, me too," he laughs, wrinkling his nose. Nancy taps her fingertips on his chest, contemplating.

"'Nancy Byers,'" she tries out. Repeats it a few times. "It's weird, but I guess I could get used to it."

"But?" He hears the word, hanging in the air between them.

"I dunno," she half-shrugs. "I always saw my byline as Nancy Wheeler, I guess."

"So keep your name."

"That wouldn't bother you?"

"No, I mean…" It's his turn to think about it, and he feels something rise in him, unbidden, words he meant to keep to himself a few years longer. "The only things is—our kids, we'd need to pick—"

"Our kids?" Her eyebrows fly up her forehead and he winces.

"Not now, but later—"

"You've thought about us having kids?"

He wants to laugh, wants to shake his head and shake her, too. Wants to ask her why she hasn't. Wants to tamp down the sudden terror rising in him that they might be on different pages.

"Not any time soon but like, someday. Haven't you?"

She's quiet as she leans her temple on the roundest part of his shoulder.

"A little but not really, not for real. I—there's so much I want to do first, you know? And Mike and El—all El talks about is having kids, having a family, it's all she wants, and I get it, I really do, but it doesn't freak her out and it doesn't freak Mike out even though they're only 18, and that freaks me out. I'm only 22, Jonathan."

"I know, Nance. I don't want to have kids right now, either."

"But you want them someday."

"Yes."

"What if I don't?"

"I think," he takes a deep breath, moves until she has to sit up a little, has to look at him, "that we are getting way ahead of ourselves. I'm not marrying you so we can start a family, I'm marrying you because I'm crazy about you and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be crazy about you 'til my dying day. We can figure out if we're gonna have kids later."

She looks worried, so desperately worried that he regrets ever bringing it up. It doesn’t matter, not now. They'll figure it out later. He has to bite back his words, has to clamp his teeth onto his tongue stop himself from asking if she still wants to go through with their plan in the morning.

"If you want to keep your name, keep it," he adds softly, trying to swallow the certainty he's ruined everything.

"Maybe," she says quietly after a minute, clears her throat and speaks a little louder next. "Maybe I can use Wheeler professionally and Byers legally. That way if—if we… you know, we'll all have the same name."

His heart skips a beat; he feels it. He wonders if she can feel it too, since she's still pressed against his chest.

"Okay," he breathes out. "Whatever you want, Nance. Really. I love you."

"I love you too," she replies instantly but there's a distracted note in her voice that doesn't make him feel better.

"Did I ruin it?" He has to force the words out, but they seem to snap her out of wherever she's gone. "Do you not want—"

"No! Jonathan, no, you didn't, you just—Doesn't it scare you?"

"Does what scare me?"

"The future." He must look confused because she shakes her head at him. "Marriage, kids, all that stuff. You talk about it so easily. Think about it so easily. How do you do that?"

"I've got you," he shrugs. "Whatever happens, I've got you."

There's an odd look on her face; he's seen it before, when she feels overwhelmed. He's worried he made it worse, but then suddenly she's kissing him. He wraps his arms around her waist, pulls her tight against him.

"We're getting married tomorrow," she says against his lips.

He kisses her again, harder and deeper, doesn't pull away to reply, "Yeah. We are."

+++

Monday morning he is sure there are ants crawling under his skin and Nancy is refusing to come out of the bedroom.

"You're not supposed to see the bride before the wedding!" she calls through the door as he tugs at the collar of his dress shirt and the narrow black tie he's put on especially for her.

"Nance, we're getting married at City Hall and we have to get there to get married so the wedding is kind of now."

He's trying not to be cranky at her, it's their wedding day after all, but he slept terribly the night before, tossing and turning with anticipation and adrenaline, and it's early, and the only thing that will make his headache worth it is that at the end of the day he'll be able to call her his wife, at least he will if she'll just come out of the bedroom already.

"Yeah, okay." Her voice is muffled through the wooden door. "Okay. Okay, I'm ready. I'm ready, are you ready?"

"Yeah, Nance," he says and even he can hear how warm his voice is. "I'm ready."

The door creaks open and he almost faints.

She's not wearing anything elaborate. The white shift that ends mid-thigh has a vaguely 1960's feel, and looks more like a fancy, lacy sundress than a proper wedding dress. But it is white, and Nancy has pulled her hair up into a chignon and put on his favorite red lipstick, and for a moment his entire world tilts hard sideways. He braces one hand against the hallway wall and lets his brain scream at him to breathe, dammit, until his lungs cooperate.

Nancy looks nervous, so nervous, and he wants to say something, anything – that he loves her, that she's beautiful, that he can't believe this is happening – but the words all get stuck in his throat. And then suddenly the look on her face shifts, softens, and she reaches out to him. Her fingertips catch on the bottom of his tie.

"You put on a tie," she says quietly.

"I did." He's grateful to have some control of his vocal chords back, even though his voice is rough.

"You hate ties."

"But you don't."

"No, I think you look very dapper in a tie," she murmurs, almost to herself, and gives his a tug. That's all it takes, really, for him to be spurred back into action and before he knows it he's right in front of her, mouth on hers, his 'I love you' lost in her mouth.

She smacks his chest lightly, a silent admonishment for ruining her lipstick, just before snaking her arms up and around his neck as he pulls her tight against him. They have to leave, he knows they do – he's got designs on celebrating afterward so he's leaving his car, they have to walk to the train, they have to get downtown, they have to get in line. But she smells like flowers and Nancy and she has filled his mouth, his nose, his every sense with her, and if he could stay in her cocoon forever he thinks he'd happily die there.

She makes a noise into his mouth and he lets his hands wander down to the hem of her dress and then under and then up, trying to see just how many barriers will be in his way later (he hopes it's none), but suddenly she's smacking his hands, pushing him back, and he's left panting and wanting with his back against the opposite wall.

"We have to get married," she reminds him, putting on a huffy, put-out tone like she's not also panting and flushed a foot away from him. He smirks at her and she smirks back and digs a tissue out the small purse he didn't even notice dangling from her elbow. "Here, you've got lipstick all over your mouth."

That doesn't help his smirk, not at all, and earns him another smack on the shoulder and a push towards the bathroom.

He's never been one for public displays of affection but he can't seem to keep his hands off her as they walk to the train, or on the train, pressing her into a back corner and dotting kisses down her neck. The other passengers are most certainly on their way to work, but they seem to have some clue of what they're up to because they choose to rather studiously ignore them in favor of making snide comments or rolling their eyes.

Well, except one middle-aged woman, hair in curlers and fingers stained yellow with cigarettes. She looks up from her magazine, gives them a long look up and down, then follows it with a rather aggressive thumbs-up and stare. She doesn't smile.

It takes effort he can feel, from both of them, not to laugh and to give her a thumbs-up in return.

Definitely one of the weirder L rides he's had in his life.

They're breathless, giggling and giddy as they go running across Daley Plaza, past businessmen and women grim-faced at the start of the workweek. He's not looking at any of them, not really, just the curve of Nancy's neck where it meets her shoulders, so he nearly knocks her over when she abruptly stops in front of him.

It takes him a moment to realize the three well-dressed figures standing before them are not strangers and are, in fact, the reason his almost-god-if-they-could-just-get-into-City-Hall-wife has pulled up short.

Mike smirks at them both. "You didn't really think you were gonna do this without anyone finding out, did you?"

"Wh-wha—" It takes Nancy a couple tries to get the words out. "What are you doing here?"

"We're witnessing your wedding," El says from beside him. "You need witnesses. Don't you? We're pretty sure you do."

"We don't, but…" Nancy trails off and he finishes her question without even thinking about it.

"How did you know we would be here?"

"It was on your calendar," Will pipes up. When both of them gape at him he rolls his eyes. "Today was circled in red and Nancy wrote get married next to it, you think I wouldn't notice?"

Will has been over twice for dinner and one just to hang out since they got engaged. He never noticed his little brother checking his calendar, but then they keep it on the kitchen wall next to the phone. The phone that Will comfortably answers if he's busy, because they're brothers.

Jonathan feels, well, kinda dumb. And all he can do is sort of blink as Nancy gapes.

"Well shit," she mutters. "I didn't even think about that."

"So we both agree this is your fault," he grins. She punches his shoulder, exasperated but not angry.

"You trying to get left at the altar?"

Will interrupts before they can get too far off track.

"You didn't say what time, though, so we just got here really early." He pauses, looks hard at Jonathan for effect. "Really early."

"Do you have, like, an appointment?" Mike chimes in. "Are you late?"

"No, it's sort of a first come first serve thing," Nancy answers. They move as one, stepping towards, their siblings, and it breaks the standoff. Eleven steps forward and opens her arms and he lets himself be embraced by his sort-of-little-sister. Her grip is tight and warm, and he can't help but smile. When he lets her go she does the same to Nancy, who has just released Mike.

"So we should go in, is what you're saying." Will takes his turn to hug first Nancy and then Jonathan.

Jonathan feels his hair move as his little brother whispers in his ear, "You're lucky, both of you. Also idiots. You deserve each other."

"Thanks," he murmurs as he lets Will go and steps back to observe their little group, addresses them as a whole. "Yes, we should go in. And, uh, thanks. For coming. "

Mike and Will stand up a little straighter, tugging on their jackets, and El smoothes down her skirt. Nancy takes his hand, her grip firm and steady, and smiles up at him.

"Okay," she says. "Let's get married."

#jancy #jancy fic #jancy fanfic #future fic #future perfect verse #jonathan byers x nancy wheeler #sorry to all mobile users but i swear it IS behind a cut #tumblr app stop it!!! respect the cut!!!#love and marriage love and marriage #go together like a horse and carriage

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robbyiswriting · 6 years

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Excerpt from Jade’s childhood flashback scene, where she first discovers one of her magical girl powers (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

“Fantastic job, Glass!” her coach said, beaming as he gave her a pat on the back. “Thanks,” Jade panted, limping her way toward the dugout. “Hang on, are you hurt?” He grabbed her shoulder to stop her and knelt down to look at her ankle. “How’s this feel?” he asked. Jade yelped as he gently squeezed the joint. “You might have a sprain,” he said as he stood up. “You should probably sit out the rest of the game.” Jade didn’t have a chance to argue that she could still play before her mother was calling to her from behind the fence. “Is my baby hurt?” said Amani, eyes wide. “Jade, come here, let me see.” Jade felt her face grow hot with embarrassment, but she knew it would just get worse if she didn’t comply. She reluctantly limped through the fence gate to meet her mother outside. “Your knees!” her mother gasped. “They’re bleeding! And you’re limping! You didn’t break something, did you?” she said. She dug around in her purse in search of antiseptic and bandages. “Come here,” she said, grabbing Jade by the wrist. “Sit.” Jade let Amani guide her to the bleachers and sit her down. She hunched her shoulders and hoped the other girls on her team weren’t watching. “Mom, I’m fine,” said Jade. “I’m—holy shit.” Amani glared at her. “Watch your mouth,” she snapped. “Mom, look,” said Jade in awe. She was staring at the scrapes on her knees, watching as the skin grew over the wounds right in front of her eyes. Amani gasped and took a step back, her eyes wide and her hands clasped over her mouth. Jade wiped the blood away and found that there was no sign of injury underneath. She looked up at her mom in shock. “We have to go,” said Amani. “But Mom—” Amani was already speaking to the coach, telling him that Jade had hurt her ankle too badly and that she was going to the emergency room. “Come on,” said Amani, wrenching her off the bleachers by her arm and pulling her toward the parking lot. “Quickly, quickly!” Jade didn’t limp on her way to the car; her ankle no longer hurt. “You can never let anyone know, Jade,” said Amani as she drove them straight home. She kept her eyes fixed on the road and gripped the steering wheel so hard her knuckles turned white. “I don’t get it,” said Jade. “Isn’t this a good thing? I can heal super fast!” “No, it is not a good thing!” said Amani. “It is a terrible thing! And you are to never tell anyone, do you understand?” Jade couldn’t figure out why her mother was so upset, but she knew her well enough to know she wouldn’t get an explanation out of her right now. She would ask her again after she’d calmed down, maybe in a few days. For now, she just nodded. “Okay, Mom,” she said. “I won’t tell anyone.”

#writeblr #writers on tumblr #original writing #original fiction #excerpt #robby writes #wip songbirds #i did put this behind a cut but ive heard that isnt working on mobile so im sorry mobile users

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tickly-trashcan · 2 years

Note

jai walks into the recently opened boba tea shop, taking a moment to look at the wonderful scenery. taking in a whiff, the sweet scent of the ingredients overtakes her. she smiles, before making her way to the counter.

“hey! what can i get for you?” rico asks, at the counter. jai takes a look at the menu, contemplative before looking back at the shop owner, a content smile on her lips.

“hi! can i order a taro milk tea with.. hmm either red beans or cheese foam? either is fine!” jai tells rico, as rico jots down the order on her notepad.

“and what will the pairing for this drink be?” rico asks as jai takes another second, thinking before a gleeful smile overtakes her features.

“lee!xingqiu and ler!chongyun, please!” she chirps, and rico nods to confirm that she had heard.

“will that be all?” rico looks over her notepad to look at jai. jai nods, happily. “great! i’ll let you know if we can do that!”

jai claps her hands together. “thank you!” rico smiles in return, as jai goes to sit at a vacant table.

(SORRY I THOUGHT THIS WAS FUNNY BUT ITS SO LONG ILY HAHA)

A/N: JAI UR SO CUTE LMAO dont worry about it being long lolol but I'm gonna put the drabble under the cut just to preserve the sanity of mobile users LOL anyways I hope you enjoy your order! Have a lovely day~! :)))

"Xingqiu! Come back here!" Chongyun wailed as his boyfriend ran from him, laughing.

Xingqiu had been sitting with Chongyun nearby Liyue Harbor, and Chongyun had dozed off while Xingqiu was reading. Taking advantage of the sleeping exorcist, Xingqiu had enacted a tickle attack. This caused Chongyun to devour almost an entire popsicle in one bite afterward, causing the worst brain freeze he had ever encountered.

Xingqiu stopped to catch his breath, turning to see Chongyun right behind him. "What, you want me to tickle you more? Sure, why don't I just - Ack!"

Xingqiu had started wiggling his fingers when Chongyun dove at him, ducking out of the way from his hands and instead pinching at Xingqiu's hips, making giggles burst from his throat.

"Wahaha! No, Chohohongyun! I wahahas only kidding!"

"You gave me the worst brain freeze in the entire existence of any living being! And you tickled me nearly to death! You deserve this!"

"No I dohohon't! I'm innocehehehent!"

"Oh yeah, innocent! Sure you are," Chongyun grumbled, Xingqiu's knees giving out as he collapsed against Chongyun. Chongyun fell back at the sudden weight, but he managed to flip himself on top of Xingqiu as he targeted his tummy next, making him squeal.

"Plehehehease! Not thehehehere!"

"Not here? You're right, here isn't a good spot. After all, you tickled me the most where I'm most ticklish, so what about you?"

Xingqiu shook his head frantically, his giggles rising in anticipation as Chongyun turned. "Nonono, Chongyun, plehease! Anything but thahat!"

Chongyun glanced at Xingqiu with a small smirk. "You asked for this."

Xingqiu squawked when Chongyun began to squeeze and scribble at his knees, wailing as he tried to kick his legs away, but it was no use.

He laid there for a while, getting tickled silly by his boyfriend until he promised that he had learned his lesson. But the real question is: had he really learned his lesson?

#xingqiu #chongyun #xingyun #genshin impact #tickle drabble #drabble #boba shop event

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oodlyenough · 3 years

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ranking the spider men

a couple of months ago I played the playstation spider-man games (base, DLC, and the miles morales follow-up). for some reason this kickstarted me on an academic quest: rewatching every major spider-man film, from tobey maguire's first up to far from home, to determine my One Definitive Peter Parker.

i'd seen all of these films before, when they were first released, with the exception of far from home.

disclaimer: as a perennial Fake Fan, i'm not a comics person, so rather than trying to score against some kind of comics gold standard, this is based on my personal taste and against my own conception of who peter parker/spider-man is after a lifetime of cumulative pop culture consumption.

also this is ungodly long but i put it under a cut to try and spare you. sorry mobile users RIP

#5. andrew garfield

listen... i saw these movies in theatres when they came out. did i hate them at the time? not really. did they leave an impression? also no. i'd like to think i went in to the rewatch with a fairly open mind. if anything i think i was bias in their favour because i did and still do find andrew garfield the only attractive peter parker on this list, lmao.

wow! they were bad!

i like when he saves that kid from the car on the bridge. also, as mentioned, i think he's hot. that's pretty much the whole list of positives.

this peter parker is a douchebag. he behaves like symbiote tobey maguire in sm3 unironically. he starts the second movie by bantering while a truck mows down countless cars and then swaggers onto graduation stage late to tongue his girlfriend in front of the school because he's a Cool Guy. he has a skateboard montage to coldplay. he uses his powers to stalk gwen, and she is, for some reason, flattered by this instead of extremely disturbed that her superpowered ex boyfriend is stalking her.

the common take i see re: garfield is that he makes a good spider-man, if not a good peter parker, because he's quippy and kind of a little shit. to which i say: i mean.... i guess. he certainly is a sarcastic quippy asshole, so if that's what you want from spider-man, uh, here he is! but i very rarely got the sense this spider-man was doing anything because he felt he wanted to help people, power and responsibility blah blah. his quips and banter comes at the expense of actually helping people, and i just -- like -- can't get behind Dark Edgy Peter quipping at people he literally intends to murder lmfao.

"it's not his fault he had bad material", you might say, which is sort of true; he probably had no chance when meanwhile you had execs sending each other emails about how wouldn't it be cool if spider-man had snapchat. but the end result is still a peter parker written in a way i just hated, and a performance that left me almost nothing to like.

#4. yuri lowenthal (spider-man ps4/ps5)

in almost the exact opposite of my beef with #5, my beef with this peter is that he is too nice. like, literally unbelievably so, to the point it makes peter feel disingenuous. this is a failure in the writing of the game beyond just peter, imo -- it so badly wants Our Heroes to be beyond reproach that it doesn't let them have any interesting flaws, or make mistakes and have to deal with them, and it guts the emotional response i might otherwise have had. it felt like insomniac's approach to writing character flaws was:

but instead of hitting people with his car, peter drops helicopters on new york.

a great example imo is the scene where MJ is sneaking into the sable base to interrogate one of the scientists, and peter swoops in, sensing she's being held at gunpoint. peter takes the guy's gun away, the guy PANICS, walks backwards, trips over his own feet, falls over, and knocks himself unconscious, like a slapstick comedy. MJ is mad that peter ruined her scoop, and it leads to them fighting. but... this was, frankly, a totally reasonable thing for peter to do. he didn't even touch the guy, so as the player, it's hard to hold this against him.

we also have a whole nightmare sequence where peter blames himself for doc oc's downfall, but there's really nothing in the story that gives peter any actual culpability -- he helped when it was reasonable to do so and backed off/gave warnings as soon as it wasn't. this peter is never allowed to cross any kind of lines or make any serious mistakes, which means his anguish over these half-mistakes was hard for me to take seriously.

also this peter fucking loves cops!! holy shit!! this is the most pro-cop piece of media that isn't directly about cops i have ever seen. where's the unlockable Thin Blue Line suit

but i had no issues with lowenthal's performance, which i thought was really good, and there were certainly lots of scenes and moments i really liked. my favourite is probably the scene where, as spider-man, he teaches miles how to throw a punch. thought it was great. at least i do believe this peter wants to help people. (maybe too much. maybe leave the grieving stranger alone at his father's funeral dude you're being weird.)

#3. jake johnson (spiderverse peter b parker)

i originally called this guy joshua jackson before being corrected by @firstofoctober. in my defense, jake johnson and joshua jackson are the same name.

anyway, i like this guy a lot. funny, enjoyable performance, coherent arc, fun to watch.

he's mid-tier because he has limited screen time compared to the rest of the list, and because it feels a bit apples to oranges to compare him to what is otherwise a list of origin stories and whippersnappers. (i know playstation peter is "old", but he's like... 22 "old".)

#2. tobey maguire

my man tobey... the thing about the tobey maguire movies is that certainly for me and probably for a lot of people my age, they really set the foundation of what i expect from spider-man in general. so it's hard to remove that from the equation and be totally unbiased.

however, i gotta say, even rewatching 20 something years later, i had a blast.

i think tobey maguire's peter is incredibly good at being the dweeby underdog. if anyone on that yellow school bus full of 30 year olds was going to get bullied, it would be tobey's peter. he's funny in a dorky way and he seems pretty sincere most of the time. the Great Power Great Responsibility line is a meme at this point but as a theme it's certainly embodied by this peter. when he's a jerk it's usually because he's Learning a Lesson or uh... because these movies are 20 years old.

his spider-man on the other hand, while likable, isn't especially funny or quippy, and isn't as believable as an action hero -- he still sort of just feels like a dweeb in spandex. which doesn't really bother me honestly -- i find it endearing, and gives his trilogy and his spider-man an underdog feeling that the highly polished MCU can't recreate -- but i can see where someone might find it lacking.

#1. tom holland

there's lots to criticize about the MCU but tom holland as peter parker is one of its bright spots. he's earnest and genuine and funny, both as peter and while bantering as spider-man. he's good in the emotional scenes. he's believable as a high schooler, which i think helps a surprising amount; both andrew garfield and tobey maguire had a very How Do You Do Fellow Kids vibe in their school scenes. his peter really feels like a kid struggling with a lot of Responsibility, and that activates my extremely underdeveloped maternal instinct.

i LIKE that the mcu sidestepped yet another spider-man origin movie where we watch uncle ben die for the 3rd time in like a decade. i'm not really that precious about remixing some of the basic concepts, especially for a character we've seen so much of that i am able to make a list like this. people talk a lot about mcu peter being in it for the wrong reasons, etc, but i think his intro in civil war & like the entire plot of homecoming totally defeats that argument.

most of the criticisms i have of tom's franchise are criticisms i could make of any movie in the MCU and are a consequence of having a shared ~cinematic universe~. the stakes are never going to feel the same in a world where there's a superhero every six feet. he's always going to have to share screentime with the cameo character from the mothership. there's going to be questions and plotholes and characters hogging the limelight and discrepancies between directors.

and listen. here's the thing about the tony stark issue: i don't care. most pithy text posts about Class Traitor Peter are misreadings at best and deliberately misleading at worst. but that's a whole other 5,000 word essay and i don't care to relitigate civil war and endgame in 2021.

anyway i know probably about two people read every word of this bc it's ungodly long and everyone else just skimmed to get angry at my rankings ✌🏻 i had fun rewatching everything tbh and i look forward to seeing Spider-man Too: 2 Many Spider-Men in theatres this December

#spiderman #long post #i did not include the chris pine peter who appears for 3 minutes of itsv lol #he'd probably be the new number 5 if i had

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copperbadge · 4 years

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Sewing a Duck Bill Mask: A Quick Handy Guide With Photos

I’ve had a couple of requests for a guide to how I make the masks I’ve been wearing and selling, so I sat down and made one while taking pictures. This is for a “duck bill” style mask (also known as a Fu Mask) which does not have pleats but does have a generous nose pocket. The original pattern came from Make Masks 2020 and you can find the pattern here, but I have made several modifications.

Instructions below the cut! Sorry for mobile users.

So, in the pattern linked above, my original template was the largest size on the last page, with a 1/4″ seam allowance added onto that all the way around. That’s what you see here on the right.

However, the one on the right proved to be just slightly uncomfortably small for a lot of people, and I had a friend who wanted a wider chin so he could speak easier with one on. So I created the template on the left, which added some length to the height of the mask and the width of it, and slightly curved out the round “nose” side more. I’m afraid I don’t have a pattern of it handy because I basically just traced the original and made my mods freehand, but you can see the differences in comparison pretty clearly. Don’t be afraid to test out a few freehand trials, since all your pieces will be the same size anyway.

I find using a piece of thick cardboard as a pattern is easiest; I put the template on the fabric, trace around it with a marker, then cut out the shape. I flip it over and trace and cut again for the second piece, and so on. (I actually do a complicated maneuver involving several careful folds, but we won’t get into that.)

Essentially, to start with, you are cutting out four pieces of fabric using the same template; two with the “nose” facing one way and two with it facing the other, so that when flipped their “good” sides face each other. These four panels will make up your mask.

You place the panels with the “good” sides facing each other because you’ll be sewing it inside-out and then reversing it. To start, each set of two panels gets a single seam on the curved “nose” side:

It will end up looking like this:

The tip of the scissors is pointing at the nose seam. Remember if you’re using fabric with a pattern oriented a certain direction, the curvy bit is where your nose will be and the longest straight side is the bottom of the mask. Orient your template accordingly.

You can trim the excess from the nose seam if you want; it isn’t absolutely vital but can be helpful later.

Then you’re going to take one of the two pieces you now have, it doesn’t really matter which, and turn it right side out:

now tuck it between the two pieces of the one that’s still wrong-side-out, to make a sort of sandwich:

Make sure you snug the two nose seams up as close to each other as you can. It likely won’t be perfect.

Now open both pieces like a book. You will create a “pocket” where the nose seam is, and that’s ok, just pay attention to which side it’s on. Note that the long straight edges on the bottom are at a slight angle to one another -- that’s normal and how it should look if you’ve folded it open properly.

In this one you can see that the “pocket” is on the right side of the fold. So I’m going to sew two seams on the left side of the fold first, where the pocket isn’t. First the bottom seam, starting from the middle and going outward:

Then the top seam, starting from the middle and following the curve of the “top” of the mask, so that eventually I have half the mask sewn together like so:

Note that the short straight edge opposite the nose pocket is not sewn together; that’s where the ear loop will go, so we’re not sewing that yet. It’s just the top and bottom for now.

Now you need to flip the nose pocket so it’s under the part you’ve already sewn. You’re not turning anything inside out, you’re just moving the pocket-flap so you’re not sewing the top to it. Then sew the other two seams, again starting from the middle, so eventually your mask looks like this:

You can see at the bottom of the right side that the fabric isn’t completely aligned. As long as the blue fabric and pink fabric are reasonably flush with each other inside the seam, that doesn’t matter; it just happens sometimes in the course of using two dimensions to sew a three-dimensional object. Do not panic, just trim it if you want to and go on with life.

So now you have what is basically a lumpy fabric tube; both ends are open, so you can turn it inside out, rather like a sock with the toe cut off:

Aw, it’s a butterfly.

Make sure you tuck one nose seam inside the other, and run your fingers along the edges of the open ends to pull the fabric all the way up to the seam. For some of my clumsier ones I use an iron, but usually you can just push on the seams and it’ll flatten out into something that’s starting to look more masklike. Take a very blurry photo. :D

This next step is 100% optional and by far the most difficult part; it’s the central nose seam, which binds the two pieces together at the center and adds structure to help hold the mask away from your face even as the edges lie flush with your skin. Open up the mask but don’t flatten it, so it forms a sort of cup, and press the two nose seams (pink and blue) together as you sew a seam up either side of the center from bottom to top.

The fabric will remain curved in front of and behind the machine’s “foot”; don’t try to flatten it, it’s meant to do that. Just do the best to keep the bit directly under the foot flat and smooth.

This is where I am most likely to screw up and cause wrinkles, little bunches, etc. These are cosmetic and don’t impact the mask particularly, but I always try to have the “front” of the mask -- the side people will see when you wear it -- on the inside (the pink, in this case) because the wrinkles and pouches are more likely to show up on the part you can’t see while sewing (the blue).

Not perfect, but serviceable. Phew! As I said, that step is not mandatory, your mask will work perfectly fine without it, I just like the look and it does help hold the mask away from your face a little.

Now you’re going to address those open, unsewn ends. Take the raw ends and tuck about 1/4″ to 1/2″ inward on both sides so that you have a nice neat edge:

You can see how the pink and blue are tucked in against each other, as opposed to the raw blue beneath them on the other end of the mask, which hasn’t been tucked yet.

At this point you can do a number of things; you can sew in laces you tie behind your head, for example, or elastic tape that goes over your head. I use everyday hair elastics in a couple of different styles as ear loops.

The one in the middle, which is thin rolled nylon, is my elastic of choice because it’s the right mix of broad and stretchy. These are known as Scunci brand “hosiery ponytailers”. The one on bottom is heavier and less inclined to stretch but is more available, at least in Chicago (I can get a bag of 50 for $7 a lot of the time). Both are 2″ diameter nylon hair ties available at most places that sell hair accessories (the scunci brand I get at Target, the generic one below it at a local bodega). The one at the top is not ideal, but you can get like 20 of them for $2 at Walgreens and they’re not awful. Just make sure that whatever kind you use, your needle is sharp enough and they are soft enough for the needle to pass through them easily. You will need two loops, one for each side, snipped once to open up the loop.

Tuck the ends of the elastic into that neat clean edge you’ve made on the end of the mask, then carefully sew a seam on the outside of the mask, over and through the elastic. Use a small stitch to ensure that at least one or two stitches pass directly through the elastic itself. You may have to shove it a little to get it under the foot.

If you’re fashion-forward, make sure you’re using a color that will compliment or contrast with the fabric. I like using blue thread on warm fabrics, orange thread on blues and purples, and green thread on greens, whites, and blues.

Turn the mask over, do the same tuck, elastic, and seam on the other side, and your mask is complete!

It seems like a lot of steps, but once you’ve done it, it’s relatively straightforward. Have fun and keep masking!

#crafting in a time of cholera #masking

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girlfriendsofthegalaxy · 3 years

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2021 oscars fashion i fucking hate

sorry, mobile users. this isn’t counting dresses i think are Basically Fine but boring, or most dudes, since everyone’s tux looks basically the same.

carey mulligan in oscar gold. i like the color, i like the drama of a big fuckoff skirt. i do not like how stiff it looks- see how it’s draping really weirdly and in giant stiff peaks? i want to see what the underpinnings of this look like, bc what i think this dress needs is a slightly less metallic fabric (to make it less stiff) and multiple petticoats to get it really fluffy and not half-collapsed. the bodice situation is also really hard to pull off- it is not flattering to ms mulligan’s chest, and makes her collarbone/cleavage ratio look long and weird. it looks like her boobs are sitting much lower than they actually are, which is usually not a desired outcome. this dress could be immediately better by not having an exposed midriff- again, the ratio of the waistband to the bodice isn’t good, and the overall ratio of her chest/bodice/midriff/waistband makes her chest look long and her torso look short, which is a weird combo. good color tho

amanda seyfreid- now this is how you do a fucking dress with volume and support the floof!!! she’s got that classic hourglass shape, lovely until again you get to The Fucking Bodice. you either need to commit to shoulders or not. how is this dress being held up. where is the support. the v is just a smidge too deep, making the shape of her breasts look fake, and the fucking ruffles are murdering me. they make her look like her head is just sort of floating away and back. they bonk into her upper arm in a weird way, while i think the color of this dress does not support a harsh cutoff against her skin if you just ripped the ruffles off, put some mesh in there!!! gradate it down from pink to red over her shoulders!!! put some sequins in there idk!!! i hate this as it is!!! how is the bottom of this dress so nice but the top so fucking awful. it’s so jarring.

andra day’s dress has the opposite problem, where the bodice is nice but the skirt fucking sucks. she can wear a regular fucking strapless bra under there, which is great, she has a lot of support from two straps, the smaller one crossing over her chest is a fun detail (it would look weird if it was the same sixe as the other, since it wouldn’t lie as nicely against her neck) and the waist cutout is fantastic. that’s a good fucking ratio there. the crossed strap mirrors the line from the bustline to her hip, it shows off her body in a fun way while still providing a lot of support, and it doesn’t feel like she’s about to fall out of this dress. the fucking skirt though needs to not have a train, because this looks awful. it’s hard to make a dress with a high side slit and also a train bc it bunches up all fucking weird like that. you’re supposed to slink sexily with a high side slit, not stop every two minutes to flick your train back behind you. the skirt also needs to be fuller, bc it looks better to have a peek of your long long leg going for fucking miles instead of just Having Your Leg Out There. halfway there. i like this one more than muligan’s tho bc the basic proportions are right.

hale berry- good bodice that clashes with the rest of the dress. turning the heavily structured and pleated bodice into something that crossed over and tied at one hip would be more flattering than this, which just spits out a giant sad bow at ms berry’s natural waist. this is not flattering for anyone’s body shape. but at least it’s trying something? there were a lot of boring dresses this year, and a lot of dresses that tried to execute on a classic silhouette and failed (see above two)

olivia coleman looks unhappy to be here. the shoes are great. the dress looks like a sack. the raglan line of the sleeves (where they go slanty to the armpit instead of straight across the top of the shoulder) draw attention in a bad way to her bust. the collar AND the belt make her look very constricted, and the sad little pouf of the full sleeves at her cuffs honestly just fucking sucks. that’s just bad design. that looks silly and is going to get in your way all night. it also makes the length of her arms look weird in proportion to the cutoff piece of her torso between the collar and the belt. the skirt is fine. nothing to write home about.

glenn close is wearing a very uncompromising silhouette that makes her look very boxy and somehow like she has a bit of a paunch? who did this to glenn close. why. also why the pants??? or if pants, not open heels like that bc it cuts off the line of her legs in a bad place and makes her look really stumpy??? the color and the all-over beading make it look dated, when she’s still a working actress nowhere close to retirement. she looks like a mother of the bride- this doesn’t look high-end or custom enough to wear to the fucking oscars. this is just fucking weird. i am so sorry for what they did to you ms close

in a similar vein, why would you fucking do this to rita moreno. the heavy necklace is doing interesting things texturewise and balancewise, but draws undue attention to the stupid little bodice flap. that just looks bad. this is weirdly tailored, which they have tried to cover up with her very good coat worn off-the-shoulders, bc it’s pulling a weird way diagonally and under her bust as she moves. the fucking ruffles at the hem cut her off in a bad place like not quite mid-shin? and they’re straight across?? she’s already short!! she doesn’t need to look shorter!!!

these are apparently mr & mrs oscar. not even a tux. you wear a fucking tie to the oscars. you ignore a waistcoat.

the dress, again with the fucking collar/belt combo!!! bad!!! if you don’t have cleavage that’s fine go wear a fun dress from the twenties when cleavage was out of fashion!!! don’t wear something that balloons out into a false paunch right above your natural waist you look terrible!! fire whoever dressed you!!! ad the color is almost exactly the color of her skin, the dress is so plain and there’s no texture or interest and all of this just fucking sucks

if you’re going to be filthy rich you can afford to look good!!! what is HAPPENING this year!!!

#AAAAUGH #textile crimes

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rpgvrai · 4 years

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WELCOME, PLAYER!

ABOUT

RULES

PARTY

CHAPTER INDEX

READ FROM THE BEGINNING!

MOD BLOG

vv transcript of about and rules under the cut for mobile users! vv

ABOUT

WELCOME TO RPGVRAI!

After the events of HLVRAI, Gordon Freeman attempts to port the science team over to other games, his current endeavor being some RPG he found online. He ports the science team over with little issue, but when he goes to launch the game, something reaches through the screen, grabbing his arm and pulling him in! Now Gordon is trapped in the game and, alongside his friends, must find the culprit behind all of this and, most importantly, find a way out of the game.

This is an ask blog based on HLVRAI by wayneradiotv!

please read the rules below before sending an ask!

RULES

PLEASE READ BEFORE SENDING AN ASK!

- only send asks to characters currently in the party! you can always see who’s in the party on the party page ( or in the header on mobile! )

- I most likely won’t answer every single ask. please don’t send me asks telling me to answer your ask. If i move on without answering your ask it’s not because I thought it was bad! It was probably just too similar to another ask or didn’t help move the story forward at the time.

- if your ask makes me uncomfortable i will delete it

- this is not a roleplay blog!! please don’t send me rp asks, I won’t answer them

- no magic anons! does anyone do that anymore. anyways thats too much power sorry!

- no nsfw stuff please it makes me really uncomfortable lol. swearing and general violence is fine just dont be weird

- got an ooc question? awesome! i’ll still probably answer it if you send it here, but I would prefer you send it over to my personal art blog, @pastebunny, just to not interrupt story flow!

- please don’t send me any asks regarding/mentioning abuse, just for the sake of my own mental health

- if i add more rules later i’ll make a quick post notifying people that the rules have been updated :^)

OTHER THINGS THAT ARENT REALLY RULES

- due to the image-based nature of posts, there will always be a transcription under the cut along with alt text!

- please let me know if you need anything tagged and i’ll do that asap!!

- let me know if anything on the blog breaks!! tumblrs been breaking my posts a lot lately and I don’t always have the time to scroll through my whole blog everyday to make sure nothing is broken, so please let me know if you notice something is broken and ill fix it as soon as i can!

#( links for mobile users! )#( the read from the beginning link is a little weird on mobile but it should be ok-ish )

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yurileclercseyeliner · 3 years

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I COME UP WITH WEIRD FIRE EMBLEM BEAST UNIT IDEAS PART 2, ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

The selkie post: https://yurileclercseyeliner.tumblr.com/post/653904850062589952/okay-i-need-yall-to-come-with-me-on-this

OKAY I HAVE ANOTHER IDEA. (Again I’m on mobile I’m sorry about the novel and lack of cuts).

K E L P I E S A S B E A S T U N I T S .

“For fuck’s sake,” you sigh, “What the hell is a kelpie?”

Voila, sweet user of tumblr dot com, a KELPIE.

(Image from Wikimedia Commons, fuck tumblr and the image quality drop)

“That’s literally a girl riding a horse what exactly is mythical about this and where is the shapeshifter?”

HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT BECAUSE YOU SEE, THE HORSE IS THE SHAPESHIFTER.

This is another Scottish creature that is basically an intelligent, magic horse that lives in the sea and can shapeshift into a human, run across water, and a bunch of other magical stuff. Admittedly, I personally think that kelpies have a much darker origin than the selkies in my last post so bear with me while I add that little bit of context.

TRIGGER WARNING FOR KIDNAPPING, THIS PART ISN’T SUPER NECESSARY FOR THE POINT I WANT TO MAKE ABOUT THE UNITS BUT IF YOU WANT TO SEE ME RAMBLE ABOUT MYTHOLOGY FOR A QUICK PARAGRAPH GO AHEAD

Okay so in practically every story involving a kelpie in Scottish folklore there is at least one kidnapping. The story that I know best begins when 16 chieftans’ sons are kidnapped by the kelpie and taken to his underwater home with only their shield-bearer escaping, who then has to rescue them all during a special feast, while also dealing with the fact that his princess friend is being manipulated by the kelpie as well. In the end all of the sons are rescued, the princess realizes what’s going on and helps the shield bearer with the rescue and later marries him, and the kelpie goes on to kidnap some other girl (I think it was the princess’s cousin?).

TW/LONG MYTHOLOGY TANGENT OVER

Okay so one thing that I want to bring up is that the adaptation of these creatures as beast units does not need to completely reflect their mythological origins, because not all mythological adaptations need to EXACTLY reference their source material. I don’t mean do things that would be a complete spit in the face to the source material, cough that Webtoon called Athena Complex cough, but just that not every mythological detail needs to be included. Include the parts that are important for the player to understand the gist of what the creature is supposed to be in your specific setting and then add your own characterization. So basically what I’m saying is that the kidnapping part doesn’t necessarily need to be a part of these beast units’ characterizations if it doesn’t make sense in the world building.

BUT THAT’S ENOUGH TALK ABOUT THE THEORY BEHIND WORLD BUILDING AROUND ADAPTED MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURES, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT CAVALRY UNITS BUT IT’S JUST THE HORSE.

THEY JUST RUN UP AND FUCKING TRAMPLE FOOT SOLDIERS AND KICK AN ARMOR KNIGHT IN THE FACE.

THERE’S A HORSE LOOSE IN THE HOSPITAL???

NO THERE’S A HORSE LOOSE ON THE BATTLEFIELD.

So yeah cavalry unit but it’s just the horse. In terms of them as a society I think they would live in a coastal town next to a rocky coast where a lot of sea foam forms, bc there’s just a bunch of stuff about kelpies being associated with sea foam.

Also since beast units typically need some sort of catalyst thing to transform I guess kelpies would get a standard beast stone. Sorry guys but only the selkies get cool transformation fur coats.

N e ways have a nice day. Also Scottish and Celtic folklore, though kind of disturbing at times, is super fucking rad and it needs to be used in pop culture more often.

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mn0tes · 4 years

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TATTLE GAMES🐮

⚠️May contain SPOILERS of The Promised Neverland (TPN) ⚠️

youtube

“Let’s run away together”

What is the “Identity V” mobile game?

Identity V is a survival horror multiplayer game designed for children 12 +. The story revolves around a detective who is solving a mystery behind a sinister game held within an abandoned manor. The game setup revolves around matches between 4 survivors and 1 hunter or 8 survivors and 2 hunters (depending on the mode). Basically to win, the hunter must kill 3 or 6 survivors or at least 3 or 6 survivors must escape before the game ends. The player can level up his/her characters by playing and winning matches. The rewards earned from the games can be used to upgrade the skill of the characters, receive items, obtain costumes, and many more.

Why I advice TPN fans to play this game and participate in the event?

If you are an avid TPN fan, I advice you to start playing this game before the “The Promised Neverland” crossover event takes place sometime in February or early Spring of 2021 but the exact date is yet to be announced. I just estimated those dates based on the deadline of the pre-registration. In my opinion, to fully enjoy this event, you’ve got to be familiar with the controls, mechanics, and intensity of the game before the awaited event so that it wouldn’t surprise you. 😉 Let me tell you, the game is intense especially for gamers who aren’t used to this genre. It’s an adrenaline pumping game that involves a lot of running around, hide and seek, and prompt decision making that will get new users addicted to it. All I can say is, a good battle strategy comes in handy in these games. Sounds familiar? Yeah! Just like in TPN, your practically playing tag with your enemy. Your strategy as a killer or a survivor matters a lot if you want to win and reap the rewards of your victory. For me, this game reminds me a lot of the Goldy Pond Battle Arc but unlike in the Manga, the number of players (hunters and survivors) are greater in TPN. Emma and the other survivor’s task is different compared to the game because they have to stay alive within the alloted killing time instead of just deciphering machines and activating exits to escape the game area. In Emma‘s case though, they are literally trapped and living in Goldy Pond, the bloody arena! They can’t escape! I’m excited to see how this plays out in the event because NetEase Inc. might alter the basic mechanics of the game to follow the main story of TPN so it’s something to look forward to. Another thing to look forward to are the costumes, items, and other rewards that are based on the TPN characters that you all love and cherish!!! 🥳 HOW COOL IS THAT! 🤩 Fans may get a chance to earn Grace Field costumes or maybe an Emma sleeve. 😭 I’m looking forward on seeing an Emma-looking survivor doll running away from a Leuvis-looking hunter doll or maybe a Norman-looking survivor doll rescuing an Emma-looking survivor doll. 😍 Heck, I think it’s the other way around but it’s still soooo CUTE. 🥲

How do I take part in this event?

It’s easy, just bind your game ID number in the pre-registration page. It’s totally free too!

How do I obtain a game ID number?

The game ID can be obtained if your already an Identity V player. The game ID number is shown underneath your user name in the settings menu. If your not a player, you need to download the mobile game first and start the game. Don’t worry, your not going to be thrown in the killing arena right off the bat.

What is the Manor IQ Test?

The Manor IQ Test is a teaser game for fans to enjoy while waiting for the crossover event. It’s a super hard, time pressured IQ Test that enables fans to experience the difficulty level of the test the premium cattle kids have to take every morning. I advice switching on the sound effects because it adds up to the creepy factor and the pressure of getting a perfect score. 😰

How to get a perfect score in the Manor IQ Test to avoid getting shipped out?

If your a fan of the series, you know the importance of getting a perfect score in every test. Perfect score = another day to live (in their case, it’s 3 months to live until the time when they turn 12 and their hard earn scores are deemed useless). 🤬

I feel you Ray 😣 so, I’m sharing the answer key to you guys. 🤫 Following this will ensure you to earn a “perfect scorer” title. 😬

Several Survivors stand in a line. If the Explorer is 15th in line counting from both left and right, how many Survivors are in the line? Answer: 29

Emily is older than Martha, and both of their ages contain the number "2". The sum of the two numbers in Martha's age is less than 4, Martha is two years younger than Emma, and the sum of these three ladies' ages is 74. How old are Emily, Martha, and Emma? Answer: 32, 20, and 22

What number completes the pattern? Answer: 16

There is a box in front of you that contains an abundance of perfume, syringes, and flashlights. You can only get one item from the box each time you open it. How many times do you need to open the box to guarantee two of the same item? Answer: 4

What number completes this pattern? Answer: 3

Figure 1 (front view) and Figure 2 (top-down view) are two views of a structure built with cubes of the same size. At least how many cubes are used to build this structure? Answer: 17

Mike the Acrobat has 6 juggling balls- 2 black, 2 white, 2 red. The Mind's Eye takes 4 random juggling balls out of his room each time and always puts one back before taking another. After four entries/exits, what are the chances of her getting 2 black juggling balls, 1 white juggling ball, and 1 red juggling ball? Answer: 4/27

Which figure completes the pattern? (circle, triangle, and square ver.) Answer: (the first option) square, triangle, and circle.

Fold Cowboy's lasso twice and cut it from the middle. How many sections are there? Answer: 5

Survivors A, B, and C have different professions; one is a lawyer, one is a magician, and one is a painter. The Hunters made guesses about who does what: Hell Ember: A is the painter, and B is the lawyer. Bloody Queen: A is the lawyer, and C is the painter. The Ripper: A is the magician, and B is the painter. It turns out that each of them was right about one of the survivors. Therefore, what is the correct profession for each Survivor? Answer: A. Magician, B. Lawyer, C. Painter

Which figure completes the pattern? (boxes and lines ver.) Answer: (the last option) square with a horizontal line in the middle

Each icon below represents a number. What is the sum of the three icons? Answer: 8

How many sides are there when a tetrahedron is attached to an equilateral square pyramid with the sides that share the same area? Answer: 5

Based on the information below, what is YY? Answer: 0

What figure completes the pattern? Answer: (the third option) The triangle with four triangles in the center

After getting your score, make sure to scroll down to unlock the special chapter.

Enjoy and Be creeped out!

Because the reality is you’ve been shipped out!

Yes! That’s the hard truth the TPN characters faced. The scores didn’t matter! At the end of the day, their still meat, a merchandise that must be consumed. The demons and caretakers gave them false hope that there is a way out, a chance to have a future but holding on to that illusion and fake happiness will lead the kids to their doom. It’s such a cruel world! I hope that they will be able to capture that sad reality of deception in the upcoming event and I know they will. The other dilemma that’s been perfectly portrayed in this game is “Work together vs Betray your comrades to ensure your safety”. Have you ever wondered why it’s not required for all 4 survivors to escape the game? Well, it’s just practical and realistic that way, right? But it also mean that the three players can offer up their last teammate as sacrifice to distract the hunter while they escape. (Just like what Ray thought during the Jail break Arc, he was willing to be the bait to distract Mama while the others escape.)

I’m looking forward in seeing you in the game as my teammate or AS MY VICTIM!!! Don’t worry, I’m still learning the game so I’m usually a dumb hunter or an airhead teammate. 😓 (Sorry but I’m working on it!)

If you noticed my username “MN0tes” in the game, be kind enough and let me know maybe we can even create a group or something. 😎

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purity-town · 3 years

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Little late getting to these -- that's fully the fault of a class project I spent all of Monday/Tuesday and most of Wednesday working on -- but I finished my project and wrote up some long replies to these!

(Apologies for any funny formatting -- I'm trying out the beta for the new post editor!)

Absolutely not.

Nope! There are a few people who do know (other guides Andrew's met before, the Dryad, and I'd imagine the Witch Doctor knows something's up even if he doesn't know why), but none of them live in Purity Town proper, and the Dryad and Witch Doctor aren't the kind to participate in rumors or spread what isn't theirs to share. The old man is also aware just because he and Andrew have talked about their curses, but he's 1) not currently in town and 2) not going to share even if he were.

Most folks don't know much about Andrew in general; Becca probably knows the most out of the townsfolk, knowing a little bit about his family and where he's from (he has some pretty specific skills as a hunter that betray this, but he doesn't talk about his exact town of birth), but no specifics and certainly not time periods.

Andrew is good at keeping things quiet; he has to be.

I would actually appreciate if you didn't post to Pinterest -- usually I'm fine with people reposting with credit (several of the things I've posted to my DeviantArt have found their way to Instagram, for example) but Pinterest has something of a reputation for stolen art (things being reposted from another Pinterest post without credit this time, or credit being hard to view for users not logged in or just viewing through Google). So reposting elsewhere is fine (though if you repost to Reddit or Instagram, tag me at u/Ariibees or @Ariibees)! I'd just prefer my works stay off of Pinterest.

The terminology related to The Guide/Andrew/The Guardian/The World’s Core/The WoF is all confusing because on some level, they’re all the same being. Kind of like trying to talk about Jekyll and Hyde -- same guy, different looks/actions, haha.

For all intents and purposes, references to the WoF being the barrier/core/whatever behind or within which the spirits of light and dark are contained is equivalent to saying “these spirits are held trapped by the magic of the Guardian, who when summoned appears as the WoF.” I do break slightly from the official lore in how the WoF/Guardian/thing holding back these spirits works (mostly because I don’t really like the idea that the Hallow is a “temporary guardian” or whatever), but the basic concept of “these are trapped by [thing that makes up the WoF]” remains unchanged.

If “loony cultist” is a reference to something, I’m so sorry, but I’m lost on it. If you’re just talking about the lunatic cultist in a funny way, then yes, they’re in here as a very plot-significant character!

I had to google what meme you were talking about, but it did make me laugh.

Andrew’s most annoyed by the nickname because people do like to call him Guide, and for someone who’s dedicated his whole life to his role, it can get tiring. He doesn’t really *mind* being called Guide -- it’s fine, that’s what he is and as long as people are respectful of his job he’ll take what he can get -- but at the same time, he’d like for people to stop thinking “Aah! Monster!” or “Weird academic know-it-all” and just...treat him like a normal person sometimes. So he fights to be called Andrew. And...Malik comes along and gives him a nickname that he doesn’t like and doesn’t allow others to use, save for maybe a small group of people of which Malik is not a part. So, not cool, man!

People love to overcomplicate explaining shading/lighting, and if you wanted to you could certainly go on and on about reflections of light off the ground and shading colors and all sorts of things, but as I’m writing this at 1 AM I don’t really care to.

If you really want to get into shading, I see nice ones on DeviantArt or Tumblr from time to time, or you can always watch a YouTube video on it. Really, though, just keep at it, think about how the shadows should look and work, and you'll get better at it eventually and pick up new ideas on how it all works. (And this is coming from someone who is new to making comics and actually started as a painter.)

Purity Town’s shading comes down to this: simplicity. As much as I’d love to spend hours and hours redrawing the panels I don’t like and carefully shading every fold of fabric and painting detailed backgrounds, I’m a full-time college student and will be working full-time over the summer -- I don’t have the time. So, I cut corners: I reuse backgrounds or use brushes (see: bricks, trees, clouds) that make certain details easier, and I try not to obsess too much over panels I’m not fully happy with. Shadows go where they feel right, and light on the opposite side.

For shading, this comes down to making things quick and easy. For these last few pages, character shading/lighting has only been five layers. One hard light layer for the bluer soft shadows, one overlay layer for darker soft shadows, one linear burn layer for hard shadows, one soft light layer for soft lighting, and one overlay layer for hard lighting. I’ll often also make use of glow dodge layers for lighting, or change the color balance or add more hard/soft light layers if there’s a very heavy color filter on the scene (such as a celestial event, blood moon, or outdoors at night).

Using all the different layer types is essentially a cheat code to fancier lighting -- don’t want to use flat black? Boom, hard light or overlay or burn will give you colored shadows. Want to make your light brighter? Glow dodge will make it burn your retinas.

Sorry that this isn’t a very comprehensive guide, but in my mind, shading and lighting is really something that you pick up over time and it’s hard to sit down and write a guide for it without making it into a massive essay on art theory that I don't even know proper terminology for because I'm not an art student. Of course with some googling you’ll find *proper* guides for this sort of thing from art majors and the likes, and those can be super helpful and technical! But for Purity Town, I just sort of go with what feels right and what's easy to replicate.

Firstly, I’m happy to hear you’re liking the comic!

Secondly, those buttons are actually there due to the theme! (For those on mobile who can’t see it, I have the theme set to only display on desktop as I prefer the current mobile layout on phone.) I’m using the simple webcomic theme (a quick Google should tell you how to install it for yourself) -- except I’m not actually using it for the webcomic features; rather, it’s a case of “this is the most simple, nice-looking non-default theme I could find.”

The previous/next buttons are added by the theme with the intent that the blog is being used as a typical webcomic website, with nothing but comic pages being posted. However, I post asks and other art here too, and I do so with the intent that people looking at #Terraria or their dashboards in general will see it. So...I use html formatting to make the first/previous/next/last links, along with an index and chapter-by-chapter viewing (using /tagged/chapter##/chrono) so that no matter where you’re coming from, you can still navigate just the pages!

If you want to add just the previous/next buttons, I can’t really help you -- web development is not my area of study in the slightest. But you can check out the theme that they come from and if you want to install only them, you can surely find a tutorial on it somewhere!

(As a side note, the comments section is not from the theme, it’s from a site called Disqus. I don’t expect many people, if anyone, to leave comments, but since I link back to this site a lot and many folks don’t have Tumblr accounts, it’s an option I like to make available.)

Hiya! My hike was pretty nice; it was a short and easy one, but that was quite appreciated as the trail is unmaintained from November to April, and the trail was covered in fallen trees and quite rocky. Still had fun, though!

And for backgrounds, it depends! For indoors scenes (or outdoors scenes with buildings) I don’t tend to use references, outside of looking up things like “which side of a door is the handle on.” I will, however, integrate real-life textures (see: the quilt and rug in Guide’s house, the wood walls on the building in the background of this week’s page), and paint over paintings from the Terraria wiki.

For outdoors scenes, for simple backgrounds (such as foliage-heavy) ones, I typically don’t need references. I like the difference between detailed, lined indoor/man-made object scenes vs. painted, messy outdoor scenes. But for things like mountains, I do sometimes look up references to help with color choices and the likes.

The town’s layout is a bit strange in that depending on the scene, the background could be drastically different. One side of town faces more mountainside, one side faces the orchards/open hillside, and the other two sides face various degrees of open space and more mountainside/forest. References taken on top of mountains are helpful to get an idea of what degree of foliage I should include between the characters and the sky.

Though this is very specific to the town of Purity -- other towns/villages will have significantly different-looking backgrounds, even the foliage-heavy ones.

That said, what's even more helpful than looking at photos is looking at paintings. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is really good for getting an idea of how to draw grasslands and distant mountains, plus Studio Ghibli movies in general!

#purity town #pt asks #terraria #not an update

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jhoudiey · 4 years

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It’s been a hot minute since I’ve added anything to Loru, but I’ve FINALLY finished her birthday fic! Yay! My bird girl is 18 now! The only warning for this I guess is Implied Violence, 2900 words. Borrowed Theo and Kore from @girl-in-the-tower and Scarlet from @rikanoctrix since I want to try and add more OCs into Yoru canon going forward.

__________

“Neee Fugu-chan” Floyd grumbled, having kicked his way unceremoniously into Yoru’s room

“Floyd it’s too early for you to be this loud, what do you want?” She mumbled, not bothering to pull herself up from her mattress where she way laying face down

“I wanted to be the first person to wish you a h----aaappy birthday” he said, stifling a yawn

“You’re too late for the birthday thing, sounds like you came for a nap”

“That too” he said casually, throwing his uniform jacket toward her desk chair. It missed and landed in a pile on the floor. He jumped over Yoru and bounced slightly when he hit the mattress. She shoved one of her pillows at him, opening her eyes the tiniest amount.

“Its only 9 though, who already said happy birthday?” he whined, clutching the pillow to his chest to look at her. She blinked slowly at him before responding.

“Ortho at exactly midnight, Idia at like 6 this morning when we realized the time, and my dad when I got home. If you wanna nap do it quietly, I just got to bed” she turned away from him and buried her head in her pillow again.

“Have any big birthday plans?” he asked, looking over the edge of his pillow. She rolled back to glare at him

“Dinner later with my dad and some staff. That’s it. No you can’t come. It’s not a party. Good night” she said bluntly, shoving her face back into her pillow.

“Night Fugu-chan!” Floyd murmured, curling up on the other side of the bed.

It was already dark when she woke up, she could smell dinner being cooked from downstairs and hoped that Crowley had at least asked some of the cafeteria ghosts to cook instead of trying to cook it himself. He’d tried to bake her birthday cake 2 years ago and almost set the house on fire, he hadn’t attempted cooking since. Yoru showered, threw some clothes on and made her way downstairs to the dining room.

“SURPRISE!” She was almost blown backwards by the noise and took a step back. The room was full of staff and the few friends she’d managed to collect while haunting the grounds of NRC. Floyd grinned at her from behind Jade and Azul, Ortho was floating near the front of the table with a huge smile on his face with Idias tablet floating nearby, and the staff were all gathered around the room wherever they’d fit. She’d never had a birthday where so many people came for dinner, and was taken a aback

“Neeee Fugu-Chan!” Floyd called “You said I wasn’t invited but I bet you never knew there was going to be a party for you!” He smirked at her, Jade chuckling softly beside him.

“Uhhhh...what...is going on?” she asked, looking around the room at everyone, still shocked to see so many people. Crowley swooped down on her from across the room, draping his arm across her shoulders.

“Oh my sweet daughter, I thought for your 18th birthday we should have a spectacular party for you with all of your friends and family!” he gestured around the room with his other arm. “Everyone is here to celebrate with you, so make sure to not run away!” He steered her deeper into the room, sitting her down at the head of the table laden with food. She awkwardly glanced around the room, was she supposed to say anything? Were there customs for this sort of thing? She sat in silence, fidgeting a little in her chair, hoping that someone else would say something to break the tension that had settled over the room.

“Yoru-san! What sort of gifts did you ask for!?” Ortho chirped enthusiastically, flying a little off his seat. For Idias birthday the three of them had hidden away and played a few board games, what she wouldn’t give to be repeating that experience right now.

“Ummm… nothing. I usually just get whatever I need throughout the year myself… I don’t really know what I would ask for”... She trailed off looking around the room once more, were they going to expect her to open presents? Was there even presents to open? Generally the teachers gave her new notebooks or reference books, but they’d always just leave them for her on the table without ever having wrapped them. Yoru wasn’t sure what else to say, and was worried she’d be further interrogated about gifts; she started filling her plate, hoping that the food would at least act as a buffer for the pressure that was slowly spreading through the room. As she was piling her plate to tottering she noticed an unfamiliar face in the corner near professor Yule, she paused and stared at the girl wondering if they’d met before and she’d just forgotten. The girl smiled shyly at her and waved, Yoru was certain they’d never actually met before, there weren't any other girls at NRC, and there wasn’t any reason for a random girl from the village to be here…

“Yoru, this is my daughter Kore” Theo said to her with a slight nod “She’s come to stay at NRC with me, though she’ll be living in Ramshackle dorm with Yuu for the time being. I’m sure you’ll get along” He smiled at her, knowing that it was unlikely. Yoru was, afterall, prickly and not very open to new friends and Kore herself could be difficult. Yoru grimaced and gave the girl a quick nod before turning back to the table, hoping that there weren’t any more surprises planned for the evening. Theo let out a sigh of relief “honestly I thought that was going to go way worse” he chuckled a little looking at Kore. She had her face set and was looking towards Yoru’s back, fists tightened into balls, daring Yoru to say something about her lack of magic.

The night carried on, conversation flowing more easily once everyone started eating. Azul was trying to worm the recipes out of Crowley so he could co-opt them for the lounge, while Crowley was giving every excuse he could to not have to admit that it was the ghosts that had cooked and not him. As dinner wound down, Yoru started getting anxious again as she wasn’t certain what was supposed to come next. Why did Crowley think it was a good idea to have her entertain a room full of people? Luckily everyone was entertaining themselves for the most part, so she’d been able to have a muttered conversation with Idias tablet, making escape plans for as soon as she was able to sneak away.

“Yoru-san! Me and Ni-san made you this, he said that it would help you out a lot!” Ortho cheered suddenly from the table. “N-Not so loud, Ortho” The tablet groaned “Sorry Ni-san! Look Yoru! It’s a tablet like the one Ni-san has! He set it to easy mode cause he knows you suck!” Ortho beamed at her “Wow Idia, real nice.” She said sarcastically “You know what I meant! You suck with computers! I made this one idiot proof, just for you hehehehe, there’s no way you can mess this one up!” Ortho thrust the tablet at her, where it floated near her head “Oh this is weird” she said, looking sideways at it as it beeped quietly at her, even if it was set to be user friendly, she knew she’d have to get Idias help setting it up later.

“Yoru! My girl! You’re 18 now! Congratulations!” Vargas boasted, throwing an arm around her shoulder. She suspected him and Theo may have had a few too many drinks, he was being more affectionate than normal, and Theo was actually smiling. She didn’t blame him, having to deal with Crowley out of a professional setting could be draining. “You can’t turn 18 without a proper gift though! I brought you something!” He beamed at her, pulling the largest container of protein powder she’d ever seen from out behind his back. She couldn’t help but laugh a little, of course he would think protein powder was a good gift- not that he was wrong. Protein powder would be really useful for her to get back into shape, she’d ended up losing a lot of weight over the winter and needed to gain it back... It had been a while since the two of them had done any training, she made a mental note to ask him to get back to sparring once her wings had fully grown back in and her mobility was back to 100%.

“Vargas, isn’t that a little… hmmmm” Crewel had started, before sighing and shaking his head a little “Nevermind, Yoru, I think this book of antidotes to rare poisons will come in handy” He said, glaring at her. She knew that look too well, there would be hell to pay if she poisoned herself and needed his help recovering again. She’d hoped that maybe her New Years accident wouldn’t have made it to Crewel’s ears, but Crowley was always a loudmouth so she suspected everyone in the room knew that she’d almost died a mere 4 weeks before. “Thanks Crewel” she muttered, rifling through the pages.

“A book of antidotes, Crewel? How disappointing” Theo scoffed, cutting Crewel off before he could respond to Yoru. They’d had a long standing rivalry and no way he’d let Crewel get another word in. “here Yoru, this may be of some help. I found it on one of my expeditions.” He handed her a small compass with the needle spinning wildly “It’ll point you to what you need most at any given time” He smiled at her, chuckling a little at the needle spinning dizzyingly fast. Yoru grinned, Theo always had the neatest stuff, she was glad to be given an artifact of her own, even if this one seemed to be broken. If it wasn’t, it should be pointing towards the Ignihyde dorm, since at that moment she wanted nothing more than to be hiding away in Idias room in silence. She slid the compass in her pocket and glanced to the side toward Kore who was there holding out a cabbage. “I didn’t know what to get you since we’ve never met, but I think everyone has a use for cabbage so here!” she thrust it at yoru who grabbed it with both hands, a grin growing across her face. Cabbage. As a gift. “This is great, I love cabbage” She smiled, thinking it was probably all downhill from here, food was really hard to top as a gift, good job girl she had never met. As she turned to put the cabbage down, Azul cleared his throat gently from the table.

“Ahhh Yoru-san! While we’re on gifts, we’re pleased to say we’ve brought one for you as well!” He smiled at her and Floyd handed her a box. All three of the Octavinelle boys were smiling at her as she opened it, it was quite unnerving to be watched so closely by them. Inside was what she realized was her Mostro Lounge uniform. Azuls smile widened “I’m glad Professor Crewel was able to lend a hand to assist in the tailoring of it, it should fit perfectly for you to start work with us in the Lounge tomorrow”. Yoru rolled her eyes at him. “Oh yay, can’t wait. What if it doesn’t fit?” she asked. Crewel scoffed at her. “I tailored it, of course it will fit, there is no question.” She sighed, knowing he was right. He’d been able to alter her high school uniform for her perfectly before she realized that Walpurga Nacht Academy had a strict “no alterations of any kind” policy.

“Here Yoru-chan! You can use this to take orders in the Lounge!” Scarlet interrupted, beaming at her. She’d been the nurse at NRC longer than Yoru had been alive and was excited to be here celebrating her 18th birthday with everyone. She handed Yoru a shocking pink notebook with cartoon unicorns all over it, complete with a neon-holographic sticker sheet of cute and cuddly creatures. “You can use it to take notes too! I know how much you write down, so I knew a notebook would be handy!” Her smile was shining so brightly Yoru had a hard time looking at her, she felt guilty knowing she’d only ever use this particular notebook if every other object that could be written on disappeared from existence. She took the notebook and placed it on top of the box containing her Mostro Lounge uniform, ready to be carried upstairs back to her bedroom. She felt her chance to escape the party was approaching, the pile of gifts needing to be carted away a blessing in disguise

“Hmmmm my favourite demon-chan has so many gifts!” Sam exclaimed, looking around at all of them, “Perhaps she doesn’t need another...” he teased, smiling widely at her. “Hmmm, but if she didn’t need any other gifts, then what would I do with this vial of Dragon blood?” Yorus eyes widened. She’d asked Sam if he could try and find her some more than six months ago but he’d never gotten back to her. “Sam! You found some! This is amazing!!!” She was ecstatic, holding the vial in her hands, an entire new world of potion making opportunities opening up to her. Crewel and Crowley gave each other a short glance, it wasn’t a good idea for her to have something so dangerous, especially if she was going to continue experimenting on herself. “Hmmm Sam, perhaps that isn’t a good gift for a young woman?” Crowley tried to protest, the glare Yoru shot him quieted him down immediately. “Thank you Sam, this will be really useful”.

“Ahhh Sam, again with the dangerous gifts” Trein sighed handing Yoru a small book bound in a strange leather. “Here Yoru, you had asked me before about Harpies but I wasn’t able to tell you much. I’ve found a history of them, as brief as it is, hopefully this will answer some your questions” He gave her a small smile, she accepted the book with a small nod. She had been beginning to wonder more about her mother and the Strophrades Isle, but there was nothing in the library on the topic, which she had found strange. She’d meant to ask Crowley the best way to get there and information on her mother, but had forgotten . Even if she had, she assumed he’d talk her ear off, having been starved for conversation with his daughter for the last month. She had vowed to never speak with him again after he’d given Azul permission to drug her, and so far had been able to keep the promise to herself.

She placed the book on top of the others and grabbed the pile of gifts to carry up to her room, the cabbage and protein powder balanced precariously on top. “I uhhh.. Don’t know how birthday parties are supposed to end so thanks everyone…” she muttered, walking out of the room to start climbing the stairs to her room. “Just a minute, Nugget!” Crowley called after her “You never got my gift!” he called up the stairs behind her, she ignored him.

“How embarrassing, headmaster, your own Nugget ignoring you” Jade said quietly, staring at Crowleys back. “Jade, if I ever hear you call me Nugget I swear I will rip your tongue out” Yoru yelled down the stairs. “Fufufu, than I shall make sure you never hear me” he grinned. “Neee Fugu-chan! What if I call you Nugget-Chan?” Floyd yelled after her, Azul, Jade, Ortho, and Idias tablet laughing quietly. “The same goes for you Floyd! I will eat your tongue for dinner!” She threatened. Everyone remaining in the room grinned, trying to think of ways to work the word Nugget into their everyday vocabulary.

“Oh!” Crowley cried out suddenly “We forgot the cake!” He rushed into the kitchen, returning moments later with a two-tiered white cake with a large 18 drawn on the top in green icing. “Yoru! Come back and get some cake!” Crowley's face fell when there was no response, he knew she’d likely left out the window already, the promise of cake not enough to bring her back. “Well, it would be a waste to not eat it…” he mused to himself before looking at the room at large “Okay! Who wants cake!” He smiled at everyone raising their hands.

***

“Hey, where’s the cake?” Idia asked when Yoru pushed her way into his room.

“Cake?” She questioned, holding the tablet he’d made for her out to him. “I need help setting this up” He sighed and grabbed the tablet from her hand, easily tapping through the screens to set it up for her.

“You come and ask me for favours and don’t even bring any cake, what kind of friend are you!?” he complained.

“We didn’t even have cake, what are you talking about?” She sat down on his bed, watching him tinkering with the tablet.

“Crowley said there was cake, and you didn’t bring any with you!”

“Oh. I must have left before then. Ortho is still there, get him to bring some back and we can eat it here”

“Oooh! Good idea!” He whispered to Ortho from his tablet, a childish grin creeping across his face at the promise of cake.

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kozumebunny · 4 years

Text

I'm on mobile so I can't put a word cut rn I'm so sorry

Word count: 6k (IM SO SORRY FOR FELLOW MOBILE USERS WHO JUST WANNA SKIP THIS POST)

Pretty Setter Squad x gender neutral reader (minus Kageyama and Shirabu)

No pronouns/body parts mentioned

🏐It had started off innocent enough. Your parents wanted you to be more involved in school. You didn't care for any athletics but you heard that there was one club at your school famous: volleyball.

🏐Between the maroon plaid skirt, high grades, and the famous volleyball club of Shiratorizawa you couldn't deny that it was a good school.

🏐So, you got more involved at such a good school, with something it was famous for.

🏐You became the manager for the volleyball club. It was weird and maybe even a little awkward at first, but it was mostly Tendou who helped you warm up to the team and get you out of your shell.

🏐Watching them practice you could see how strong and efficient they all were at volleyball; you couldn't say for yourself how good they were in action until a practice game against another school. Shiratorizawa won 25-5 in the first set, 25-10 in the second.

🏐You were floored at that match.

🏐When it comes around to a volleyball training camp you suggested to the coach that they spend a day at another school for a practice match the coach arranged for the volleyball club to stay at a camp for a week!

🏐You were excited and so was Tendou. He was definitely a golden retriever in a past life

🏐You all go out the night before and you're so excited and you all start talking

🏐They're all excited about it and ask what you're excited for

🏐So you state fax

🏐"I'm excited to see the other setter/spiker duos in action. Moreso for the setters"

🏐Ushijima is like ah yes a fellow of culture I see!

🏐Semi and Shirabu are so flustered by that it's low key adorable

🏐Ushijima also respects setters for giving him the ball to spike

🏐So when you get to the volleyball camp it's hot so you wear the track jacket and school skirt

🏐Karasuno, Kuroo, and Bokuto all like 👀👀👀 another manager

🏐Oikawa is interested too

🏐Especially when he comes over and you politely talk to him

🏐Oikawa is sooo fucking frustrated and peeved when you beeline over to karasuno to talk to kageyama

🏐Man's is like aight imma head out

🏐Iwaizumi respects it tho. He respects that you treat Oikawa like walmart 💓

🏐you stick with semi and those who are benched and help them exercise/practice

🏐and then this guy walks up to you and he is TALL and looks like a MODEL and he has this really stern glam look to his eye so when he looks you in the eye and says in the most bored voice "where's your setter?"

🏐why did you respond "I'm sorry I'm single"

🏐Tendou becomes the 🤣 emoji

🏐so you just grab model boys hand and lead him to Semi and Shirabu who are hanging out at the same bench

🏐"Semi, this is??" "I'm akaashi. I wanted you to teach me your sets."

🏐so semi and akaashi make plans to do some setting together after practice matches, before dinner

🏐when the time comes akaashi brings along a friend: kenma!

🏐 Kenma sits by you and observes akaashi and semi as they toss up balls, he watches you write down what semi is saying and make little diagrams on a piece of paper

🏐so kenma makes an offhand comment to you

🏐"Semi is putting most of his force into his fingertips when he sets the ball"

🏐You say thanks and write it down

🏐suga is the makeshift babysitter for oikawa so iwaizumi can have a BREAK for once in his life

🏐so when suga loses sight of oikawa he's like oh lawd oh god no

🏐So he gets to the gym and finds oikawa

🏐Oh god Oikawa is bothering you oh no

He walks over telling oikawa to go away

🏐You him and kenma are talking setting things while semi and akaashi keep practicing

🏐Okay so maybe oikawa can bother you

🏐Sugawara walks over and introduces himself

🏐He's a setter too I see 👀

🏐Oikawa sees ur phone light up with a notif from Twitter and he sees the handle before you turn it over

🏐You didn't even check the notif

🏐So he thinks it's kind of weird

🏐So everyone goes to dinner and sits with their teams and you sit with semi and everyone else and just big chilling

🏐And then you get a Twitter dm

🏐On your side thirst twitter

🏐It's from oikawa: I saw your subtweet about setters having pretty hands. Wanna see what mine can do?

🏐Semi be like what you looking at

🏐Oh god semi read it oh god

🏐Semi starts sputtering and gets upset

🏐Oikawa can't just talk to you like that!!

🏐Semi talks to oikawa after dinner and you go stay with the managers cleaning up

🏐But then

🏐Sugawara walks over

🏐And so do kenma and akaashi

🏐Oikawa be like oh yes mischief time

🏐He just wants to fluster you

🏐Suga is interested

🏐Kenma and akaashi no go

🏐Semi does NOT want to share

🏐Oikawa and semi manage to corner you in a room that's empty and they both grope/finger fuck you

🏐Oikawa is in front of you groping you and giving soft sweet kisses to your face as he figures out what you like

🏐Semi is behind you with his hand in your pants as he tries to get you to moan

🏐And then suga walks in

🏐It's mostly just hands and teasing and you don't even get to get off before you hear someone calling for oikawa

🏐They all back off

🏐It is really weird at dinner that night as 🏐semi has a hand over your shoulder and after dinner he hangs out with you and the other setters

🏐Suga sits behind you with you in between his legs, back to chest and he plays with your hair

🏐Oikawa sits in between your legs

🏐Kenma and akaashi are laying against each other

🏐Semi sits beside you holding your hand

🏐You're all just on your phones

🏐Except suga he is mercilessly teasing you

🏐Oikawa is so jealous he wants to make you blush too

🏐So he scoots down and bites your inner thigh

🏐And when you let out a whimper kenma just looks over you and sucks in a breath while akaashi is just watching you

🏐Oikawa gets mischievous like kenma akaashi don't you want to hear some more from our little manager

🏐Kenma is shy so akaashi comes over and brings kenma with him

🏐Suga moves his hands to lightly rest around a shoulder and the other holding your neck

🏐Semi grabs your hand towards him restraining you and he pries back one leg

Akaashi grabs the other hand/leg

🏐Oikawa is more than happy to eat you out and grope you while everyone watches

🏐And no one has a condom so it's all mouth and hands

🏐Someone comes on your chest/stomach and in your hand but when it comes time to clean up it's a little weird

🏐Kenma akaashi and semi all sit by each other while you're laying across all three of their legs

🏐Suga and oikawa come back and give out wet towels for everyone to clean up with

🏐You just lay there and cuddle with them until someone comes by saying it's bed time

🏐You all go to bed but it's pretty interesting the next morning when all the setters snag a table and have you sit with them

🏐Bokuto and kuroo of course come with akaashi and kenma

🏐And they start to ask if ur single if u wanna date can they have your number

🏐And oikawa is like. A dog. He's like no. M I n e

🏐It's kind of sad when all of you have to go back home,you all text on a group chat so it's pure chaos but fun

🏐Kenma prefers to text you one on one and play games with you

🏐Semi likes to go run down to the store with you after volleyball practice to eat

🏐Oikawa likes to get on calls with you and study

🏐Suga likes to recommend you s stuff and send pics/tea about karasuno

🏐Akaashi just sends you pics of bokuto going emo mode it's low-key funny

🏐You guys will either meet again at a volleyball club or on weekends or for a Netflix party!

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