#but they'd drop dead if they found my blog

[jewishbarbies]

my mom has been very vocal about how much she doesn't like that i'm a horror fan for several years, and now she laughs when i mention anything about the Barbie movie because she "can't believe i like Barbie" since it's so different, like, if she only knew what i post about on the internet. oh boy.

[rboooks]

In The Royal Consort:

I just imagined a scene where Danny accidentally cried or bleed and that makes the favorite assigned bodyguard appear all spooky and knightly

Fright Knight

The second one drop of blood or tear hits the floor the sun suddenly is covered by clouds and this chilling sensation travels to everyone's spine (Clockwork laughs)

Danny hides his face between his hands cause: omg this is so humiliating, why does the knight have to be so protective!? He isn't a kid! In fact, Danny is stronger than him!

But everyone around just assumes they started a war by hurting the very loved spouse of a very powerful king

Fright Knight walks through a portal and points his sword to the persons that hurt his Lord and spoke all scary and well, frightening

Meanwhile we have a combination of Danny and Batboys trying to calm down the situation (Danny casually hits the ghost all: dude! Relax! Everyone has a mini heart attack)

John Constantine is having a panic attack when he sees the news (you just know someone was making an live all the time) cause this powerful entity surely has to be the assigned protector of Prince Danny and if he appears it was to avoid that the king himself drains his husband when he's already hurt but that only means he was probably furious waiting for an explanation!!!

Danny just wanted a coffee that Tim told him (he just wanted like, enough caffeine that would kill him)

---------

On the other hand, you just know Twitter is going crazy

People are having passionate debates about the situation, maybe for Danny's age, Is necrophilia?, Fanfiction and fanart, Ghosts aren't real and everything is just a government plan, who's Danny and why he was selected and a Buzzfeed Unsolved/The Watchers video (Ryan spends half the video laughing cause he was right! Shane is 😐🙂 well I didn't expect that but at the same those places they went weren't haunted)

Director movies are watching the news, wondering if they can make a movie about them (normally they'd said that they have to wait to them be dead, that is the norm with royals but like... Dead or not is the same here, isn't it? Can they or not make movies and series about them?

Danny is suddenly the subject of everyone's curiosity. His life, photos, his friends and classmates are on the news and internet all the time

People are just asking why him? What makes Danny Fenton, a normal teenager, so special to have one of the more powerful and mighty entities in the universe so found on him? So in love?

Government/criminal societies/companies are making plans of seduction the king and becoming his consort too maybe stealing Danny's place so they can have access to Phantom wealth and power

This situation is just to say: a ghost appears to attack him while he's in public with a lot of attention from paparazzi and passengers (a friendly attack causes he's far away from his lair and they're checking? A rebel trying to take the throne?) One of the Batfamily tried to stop him but didn't have the weapons to stop them

Danny has to defeat him in his human.

But Danny doesn't even look scared, he just attacks him like a professional, like if defeating this powerful entity was nothing to him and after a few minutes he has the ghost in the thermo and Danny looking normal

I, for one, I'm sure that people would find that very hot of him and the internet reaction would be like: for that reason 😯

Danny went from being an invisible loser to "Oh shit, he's kind of hot" overnight due to the internet hyping him up. There are thirst edits all over the internet and people are eating it up, especially when Wes' blog leaks out footage videos of him doing crazy flips and ghost fighting as a human.

Meanwhile, Fright Knight is screaming, "I will protect my liege's chastity!" which is really not helping Danny.

[hey-hamlet]

hi! if you're still taking asks about your aus: for the villains quarter au, do you have an izuku and katsuki reunion in mind? if so, how would it go? and how did katsuki feel after izuku disappeared?

I do not stop taking asks ab my AUs, do not worry. Its the main feature of this blog and also brings me great joy! Sometimes I drop off the face of the earth for like a week but this is just who i am as a person.

I have a few ideas for the way a reunion could go! Ill expand on my favourite, but the options are:

Izuku becomes Aizawa's ward and joins UA's gen ed class where he runs into Bakugo (closer to a canon rewrite, izuku doesn't become a hero).

Izuku becomes Kurogiri's official ward, they open a restaurant within the actual city which is shockingly not a money laundering scheme that is frequented by UA students - Bakugo gets dragged there and runs into Izuku (if this au was a slice of life manga).

And, my favourite: things go roughly like canon, though Aizawa is even more overworked bc he's taking more night shifts and he recognises Shigaraki and Kurogiri at the USJ where he feels betrayed on both his and Izuku's behalf. Like, you have a kid at home!! Don't be a villain jesus christ! They go on ab how they are making the world better - for him and for everyone. No one gets too badly injured here bc they aren't going for the kill because Eraserhead is cool and only terrible people kill children (and also if they were terrible people Izuku would be sad and might not serve them food which would be worse than death.)

Oh as an aside, poor Aoyama. All for One didn't actually threaten his parents, it was more like a "I'll pay you, I know your son wants to be a hero so he'll be applying for UA" but they both interpreted that as a threat and also want money, so Aoyama is under the impression his family will be slaughtered if he doesn't act as the traitor. Poor boy.

Anyway! Shigaraki still has Bakugo (and Todoroki, in this AU) kidnapped and brought to the bar. Todoroki was a request of Dabi's bc their old man sucked ass and he wanted to give his little bro the option to just get the hell out of there. Bakugo was both an attempt to recruit someone from Shigaraki, but also he found out he was from the same middle school as Izuku - a middle school full of bullies and abusive teachers. He's honestly kinda concerned for Bakugo's mental health actually.

And then he sees Izuku bringing out dinner for the villains and the poor kids they picked up.

"Deku?"

Bakugo's voice was - uneven. Tomura had snatched him out of UA's hands and the only emotion he'd gotten from the boy was rage, but this? It was unsettling. As was the crash that followed it. He turned around, coming face to face with Izuku, paler than he'd ever seen, broken bowls and spilt food at his feet. Tomura scrambled to his feet to help, just behind Kurogiri who had pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, probably to wipe what had to be blisteringly hot broth from his clothes.

"Kacchan?"

Their Izuku was a cry baby - they'd discovered after that heart wrenching week of empty desolation he'd shown when Tomura had first found him. He cried when he was happy, when he was sad, sometimes even when he was excited. Tomura had expected the happy tears of seeing an old friend, or the angry tears that popped up when Tomura did something he though was stupid, but -

Izuku's eyes were dry.

He took a step back, and then another, slipping onto the ground. Still, he crawled backwards, horrified eyes on the boy they'd taken.

"Deku? Deku! You were fucking dead - we - my mum and dad fucking cried for you you piece of shit, and for what? So you could run off and be a fucking villain? What the fuck is wrong with you! You should have jumped off that fucking roof when I told you to you pathetic -"

A little blue marble clattered to the floor where Bakugo had sat, shutting up the tirade before it could continue. Still. Still.

Izuku was already gone.

[sigmundite]

my thoughts on dawntrail (SPOILERS)

FFXIV twitter has decided the spoiler embargo for DT is mostly over. While I'd like to share my thoughts about the expac there, I figured it was all too much for a tweet thread (and I was right). Decided to post it here because it's a blogging platform and I keep telling myself I want to come back one of these days.

To put it simply: Dawntrail is fine.

I love power of love/friendship storylines so the fact we got a shounen protagonist in Wuk Lamat was something I enjoyed. Shounen stuff tends to be dragged out too long for my tastes so I haven't dabbled in any of those fandoms, so I don't know if people hate modern shounen heroes with as much vitriol. I think I'd have seen it if they did? But the Wuk Lamat hate is a classic case of misogyny with a transphobia multiplier because gamers sure do enjoy stat boosts.

DT is the ARR of whatever the new direction of FFXIV is. It became clear to me during this MSQ that this is a commitment to a new beginning - specifically in the sense of 6.1 as a fresh starting point for new players. I understand and respect their desire to simplify new player onboarding (especially as someone with too many alts) but it's also the center of the pain point I have with 6.x and DT so far.

I'm frustrated with the direction of FFXIV in its current state. The Hydaelyn/Zodiark arc took one main story and built upon it over multiple chapters. I loved that arc and have varying levels of fondness for the characters and places that got us through it. I am the CEO of #FREEAYMERIC and will continue to be a pest about that as long as I play the game*. Aymeric was always a favorite of mine, and I've never forgotten his wish to go on an adventure with WoL someday. I want to take him up on that!

But DT follows SHB's example of planting WoL and the Scions in a brand new setting, far away from Eorzea and all its creature comforts. Norvrandt was still reminiscent of Eorzea, but beyond that focused on characters specific to its region and story. It made more sense then, considering it takes place on a different shard and overlap was damn near impossible. 6.x and DT are still on Etheirys, but are so self-contained that they'd rather avoid referencing old content if they can avoid it. I hated this in 6.x and I still hate it now. There's an entire world full of characters, places, and possibilities left to discover and expand on, but new expansion packs seem to be heading in the direction of dropping all that and focusing on a new set of toys. Tural will probably be done and dusted in 8.0, aside from a bit of side content here and there regardless of the response to it. Hell, SHB is so sacred to the fandom and yet we only went back for a bit of patch story and crafting relic quests during EW's entire run!

This sort of "okay, next" manner of storytelling is only one side of my issue. On the flip side is how eagerly they seem to want to retread certain tropes that worked in past expacs. So many people have commented on this being the fourth final dungeon in a row that shows the end of a society and how that feels so much more hollow now. Running Amaurot for the first time was a masterpiece of storytelling because it made the end of the fucking world more tangible. I hate running that dungeon because to me it feels like a panic attack, but I respect what it does. The Dead Ends was similar but didn't hit the same way (and tbh its payoff is mostly backloaded). Alexandria pulling the same thing stole all of the feeling from it. Like oh okay, we're doing this again.

It's not the only part of DT that retreads old ground. We have yet another scene where everyone comes together to overcome a seemingly insurmountable obstacle, and the only thing I found noteworthy about that is that it had shards of characters who had helped us do the same thing in SHB outside of the dreary context of Norvrandt. Zoraal Ja, one of the main antagonists, is comprised of retreads of other story arcs done better (including one in this very expac!). He's like Zenos Lite - a royal heir with violent intentions made into the perfect weapon of his homeland - but he's missing all of the things that made Zenos interesting and the screen time needed to flesh him out. The circumstances of Zoraal Ja's birth weigh heavily upon him, but Bakool Ja Ja covered that territory in one of the strongest parts of the MSQ. Zoraal Ja is such an afterthought that bringing him into the shared Dawnservant title isn't even considered. WTF.

TL;DR: This all comes down to FFXIV being torn between retreading well-tread story beats that have worked for them in the past while at the same time, willingly discarding almost everything you've come to love over the past several hundred hours of gameplay. They're trying to recreate their past successes by using shiny new pieces in frameworks that have worked for them in the past, and that rings hollow to me. My love for the old pieces overshadows my impressions of the new ones, but the structural similarity is so blatant that comparison is inevitable. As time goes on, the comparisons are less and less in DT's favor for me, but that doesn't mean it's bad. It succeeded in what it set out to do: expand FFXIV.

It's fine, but if FFXIV is a choice between familiar storytelling and familiar story elements, I'd rather they keep developing the friends we've already made along the way.

*Which may not be long, given the lighting issues introduced by the graphical update and the fact that doing certain things in game trigger IRL migraines for me. Still no official acknowledgment of that yet. The graphics update is the biggest step forward in DTm and yet its existence and problematic state make me play the game less. I hate it but efforts to get the devs to notice have been unsuccessful.

If you made it this far, please perceive my catgirl:

[breesays]

rest in peace, my bad muse

Sometimes, instead of starting a new chapter or working on a new blog, I'll go back into a draft to add details. Or edit. Last night, I opened up the section about PJ, which is the second-longest essay next to Tim's. Moreover, I don't think PJ ever lived in or even near California. We met in Florida, flirted in SoCal - but only when work (a tour) brought him to town - Yellowcard, Anti-Flag, The Get Up Kids. I was involved with PJ from 2003 to 2013, when I changed my phone number and severed a bunch of contacts. I say involved with but I really mean in contact with. The height of our situationship was from 2003-2005, and yes, I am loathe to list dates because lord only knows how many other girls he was "dating" at the exact same time. I know of three at least. He wasn't a stand-up guy. I've spent plenty of time cursing him.

Last night when I Googled his name, I found an obituary. PJ is dead. He passed away in January of 2021, at 36 years old. I watched a 23-minute memorial montage set to "Ocean Avenue." Then I cried. No, I wailed. Are we allowed to grieve for people who weren't awesome? What's the protocol?

I didn't want him dead, I just wanted him to be a better person.

When the band fired him, I was told to cut off contact. I did, for awhile. I liked how reactive he made feel - like a live wire - a bad muse, maybe - is there a word for that? ("Is there a word for 'bad miracle'" -Fall Out Boy)

I was with PJ when I found out about Asexuality, about AVEN. I was 24 years old and for the first time I wanted to want to have sex. Read that again. I (cerebrally) wanted to experience want (physically). Instead, I had a panic attack in the bathroom of a Motel 6 in Ventura. He was very kind about it, which was weird, because he was, in general, unkind about plenty of other things.

The first time I wanted to want to is actually significantly more crucial to my personal timeline than the time I actually DID IT.

Since he was a compulsive liar (the only personality disorder I can confirm by my own account), I'm sure he rewrote that story in his head. Now we'll never know.

Did he become a better person? I know he got married, and divorced. The obit didn't mention a bio kid, even though I know he has one out there.

How do we grieve for the unsavory sort?

One time he told me he had abdominal cancer. He did not.

He is the first person I exchanged "I love you"s with, even if I was super skeptical about it. We actually had a few fights about how he believed I loved him, but did not believe I was IN LOVE with him. I think I said something to the effect of, "This is as good as it gets with me, man." That tracks, right?

Also, is it worth mentioning that he was 19? I mean, I know guys who've just NOT been shitty their whole lives, sure. He had time to grow out of it.

Did he?

Would it be less sad if we knew he was still lying for sport?

In 2004, I flew him out to OC for a few days to hang out. It was a total disaster, of course and after I got home from dropping him off at LAX, I burst into tears. My mom said, "Oh, do you love him?" I said No, I was sad because I didn't have my computer to write about it, about him. Which was the truth.

My bad muse.

One time I told him I was writing and book and he was in it. "You can't do that" he texted. "It's illegal." I laughed.

There has never been much info about him online. Our fling was pre-social media, thus his thriving un-network of girlfriends all over the US of A.

So, is the pain less permanent for the undeserving?

Listen, no one liked him. He was a liar, a cheater, and just really bad with people. All of his girlfriends in the aughts were of the secret variety, including me. I didn't, at any point, try to defend his character. Of the few people I texted to see if they'd heard (it happened nearly 3 years ago, after all) I half expected an "I know, because I murdered him" reply.

How do we mourn the bad guy?

Rest in peace, PJ Oxenfeldt.

You were my first love, even if you didn't deserve it.

[anthonysstupiddailyblog]

Anthony's Stupid Daily Blog (691): Tue 6th Feb 2024

I spent the day watching all the Futurama movies and was happy to discover how well they all still stand up. I was so happy when I found out that Futurama was coming back as a series of direct to DVD movies as I'd been severely deflated by the series run being so cruelly and stupidly cut short. How could those doodoo brains at Fox not realize what a gem of a show they had on their hands. I'm guessing that the ratings weren't what they were expecting but I bet The Simpsons took a few years to find an audience too, if they'd have just given it time to blossom I'm sure they would have been happy with the results. The first movie Bender's Big Score is perhaps the crowning achievement of Futurama in terms of writing because it's so well plotted out and self referential. It might be the best full length adaptation of a television series I've ever seen. Also watching these movies gave me inspiration for yet another tattoo. As you know I like to combine ideas when it comes to tattoos and The Beast With A Billion backs begins with a short psychedelic credit sequence featuring the Planet Express ship done up in the colours of the Yellow Submarine which looks absolutely beautiful. I'm a huge Beatles fan and now thanks to Futurama I have inspiration for a tattoo which combined two of my great passions. I now have several ideas for tattoos that I can put on my left upper arm along with the V For Vendetta symbol and the Buster Keaton poster. After the Richie and Eddie tattoo on my bicep I can get this Futurama / Beatles tat next to the V symbol and then get the image of Philip K Dick's face underneath that. After that I'm planning on getting the Bart Simpson raven and the Kodama from Princess Mononoke perched on Buster's camera. By the end of the year the top of my left arm should look very colorful indeed and I'll have made great progress on my dream sleeve tattoo. I tuned into tonight's Hollyoaks which culminated in Dilly (MY GOD SHE'S SO FUCKING FIT) grappling with Sienna at the top of the stairs and eventually being knocked off and landing on top of a piano. I've seen plenty of cartoons where pianos get dropped on people but this must be the first time someone has dropped a person on a piano. I'm also not sure how the fuck this happened because there was quite a high barrier at the top of those stairs so Sienna must have either uppercutted Dilly like a Popeye cartoon or she must have scooped her up and flung her over like Hulk Hogan slamming Andre the Giant. Elsehwere "Kitty" continues to settle in to her new life posing as her dead friend but because I've just realized that Kitty sounds like Leigh Francis' portrayal of Christina Aguilera in Bo Selecta and now the character is ruined for me.

[whitenoisewrites]

You know what, fuck it. Literally the whole point of starting this blog was to teach myself to stop fearing being seen as cringe or whatever. To get more comfortable with putting myself and my weird little bits and pieces out there. So, against what *pretends* to be my better judgement but is actually just anxiety, here's the thing I vented about making in my last post:

"We Don't Talk About Gaster"

(Yes I know that's already a thing, but I *think* my version is different enough that it's *probably* okay. Do go check that one out though, it's pretty cool. There's an animatic and everything!)

The basic premise is that Frisk found the grey door and the followers and starts to wonder if Gaster might be the missing key to saving Asriel. After everyone's more or less settled in on the surface, they start asking around, starting with…

-------

[...Toriel and Asgore. Toriel only really knew him as the Royal Scientist. She believes he stole their magical secrets for his own benefit and went into hiding. Asgore knew him more personally and thinks he died in a lab accident (closest to the truth), but when Tori sets her mind on something…]

We don't talk about Gaster, no no no No-one talks about Gaster

See, it was a joyous day, (Such a momentous day!) The CORE was almost finished And in hours we'd soon see the sky, (Hours away from the sky!) An intern walks in, with his face looking grim (So sad…) Are you telling this story or am I? (I'm sorry, Tori, do go on~)

Gaster disappeared that day (Where did he go?) Destroyed his work and ran away (Will we ever know?) Our years of trust in him, betrayed! (I don't think that's true, but anywho)

We don't talk about Gaster, no no no No-one talks about Gaster

[Alphys was in her teens when she interned under him. She knew him as an intimidating but fair mentor. She believes he cracked under the strain of his impossible mission to break the Barrier and either fell down from despair or committed suicide.]

Grew to live in fear of Gaster stuttering or stumbling I could always hear him sort of muttering and mumbling Tough to comprehend him even if you spoke in hands It's a heavy burden, the task so daunting Takes a chilling hold, always there and haunting Having felt the weight of it myself I understand… Do you understand?

[Flowey found the grey door and the followers once each and NEVER went looking for them again. He believes Gaster is basically a creepypasta character, a vengeful void demon that will someday consume all. He never really knew Gaster as Asriel, so lacks knowledge of the REAL Gaster to contradict this, and never asked the others during his many runs due to his new fear.] [Or so he claims... it's possible he does know better and he's just screwing with Frisk for fun. IDK seems like the kind of thing he'd do]

Seven foot frame, face all warped and cracked When you call his name, it all fades to black There's no escape, he'll seal every fate

I don't talk about Gaster, no no no (note: chorus still says "we") No-one talks about Gaster

[The followers' relatives. Some remember more than others. The ones that do remember blame Gaster for their losses.]

My dad got a job with him, a year on? Gone. My boyfriend worked for him, now I'm all alone!

[MK. They only have one sibling... right?] I'm sure glad none of my folks knew that guy, they'd prob'ly be dead!

[All follower rels] He risked their lives just to put himself ahead!

[Sans. Gaster's experiments gave him his blasters, shortcuts and KR. He knows his dad wasn't a great guy. He still misses him.]

He told me that my brother would grow up and live freely under the stars. He told me that I had to be stronger so I could protect him from harm.

[Tori] It seems our guests are on their way.

[Papyrus. He never knew Gaster at all, he was only a babybones when whatever happened happened.] Sans told me that our dad would be proud of the man I've become, One who never surrenders! It's like I hear him now…

[Sans] Hey, kid. I'd drop all this if I were you… (It's like I hear him now,) (I can hear him now!)

[Frisk] Um, Gaster… Yeah, about that Gaster, I really need to know about Gaster. We need the truth and the whole truth Gaster!

[Flowey] Franken-lizard! Your girlfriend's here!

[Everyone at the house] Time for dinner!

[The big rounding chorus goes here, don't feel like typing it all out lol]

[Frisk tries to call to him. Not much happens, but they are DETERMINED. As they feel that familiar surge of energy, the shadows in the corners of the room start growing…]

[Chorus] Don't talk about Gaster!

[Frisk] Why did I ask about Gaster?

[Chorus, distorted as the VOID closes in] Not a word about Gaster!

[Frisk (& Chara)] I (we) never should've brought up Gaster!

-------

(Please don't forget to go check out the TwoAllNighters and co. take on the concept, I'd hate for my little shitpost here to take traffic from them after they put in so much effort. I know that video is a year and change old now but still.)

[selfinsertfanfiction]

Night Flight

(a maximum ride self insert fanfiction)

I sighed, dropping the heavy cardigan on the bed - let the cat use it as a bed. he loved laundry and it'd been a long day. if any of us could get joy, we should.

taking a deep breath, i unfurled my wings for the first time in 8 hours. I'd thought school was tough? ha. yet again, adulthood proved itself more difficult than I'd ever imagined in my silly little stories.

feathers that had been bunched up seemed to stretch into the open air if the bedroom. it felt good to fully stretch instead of the simple shoulder rolls I did during the day as a jewelry sales person.

"there you are!"

I turned, smiling as my husband came in from the office, his gaming headphones still askew on his head. "hey" I replied.

gently, he started to massage not just my shoulders, but also the aching, sore joints within my wings. I let myself melt into his touch with a sigh.

"ya know" he mumbled, "it's been a while since you let yourself just fly"

a quick glare over my shoulder only met his honest, open expression. "it's dark" he continued, "and there's plenty of cloud cover".

hard to argue with a logical chemist when he's being logical. and right.

"fine" I said, setting the pajamas I'd pulled out aside. "but just a quick little one"

"a quickie" he smirked.

rolling my eyes, I left before he could see that he'd gotten a laugh out of me. damn my sense of humor.

once on our patio, I took a precautionary look around. no neighbors out. no one but bugs, the odd outside cat and myself.

flapping my wings felt... rusty. I tested a few before letting myself jump off the small balcony. my husband was right, it had been a long time. maybe too long.

within moments, our apartment was below me, and I let myself exhale. this wasn't so hard.

but up in the night air, it's quiet. and my brain is not.

instantly, I was met with a nostalgia of my teenage years. an ache so deep I could taste it. memories played across the stars and I missed people who might not even remember me. my flocks. the oddball groupings I'd found myself in while trying to find a found family.

I'd always thought they'd be forever. that I'd grow old while watching friends faces deepen with age. but life had other plans, it always did. and we went different directions.

I remembered them all so fondly, more strongly here, and let the hurt settle in while I found a lazy speed to float in. soon, it was replaced with gratitude.

losing them to time and distance and adulthood hurt, but I was forever grateful to them and held dear all they'd taught me.

Jamie, who had taught me what a good leader truly looked like. Serenity, who always knew when to laugh. Mya, with her gentleness. Jacob with his zest for life. and always, always, Bella and Izzy. my soul sisters. no matter if theyre story had been a lie or not, our friendship and love had not been.

a few more lazy circles and I found myself back on my patio, looking in at my husband and our cats.

I'd only found them because of the people I loved before. and still loved now. because all those people taught me to see myself, and he helped me love myself.

"more night flights" I promised myself.

WELP

my first self insert maximum ride in LITERAL YEARS.

it's not good. I'm not gonna kid myself. hell, it's not even EDITED.

but it felt nice to return to. and let myself remember the people who were with me on an anciently dead site called "max dan wiz". I still think about them. I still love them. and maybe someday, a night flight will have us bumping into each other again. probably not, but I'll hold out the hope.

this is also my first entry to this blog. I'm not sure how it'll continue. probably lots of little one shots. I hope to improve even. but for now, this was nice.

[uniformbravo]

thinkin abt that animorphs quote... thinkin abt how that was marco lying awake in bed the night before going through with a plan of his own design that would off his own mother as collateral... lying there for hours trying to justify it to himself, contemplating the reality of fighting for a greater good and the weight of heavy sacrifice, drowning in the guilt of it, pointing fingers at himself while trying desperately to turn them away, thinking about what it truly means to be ruthless.... god that shit slaps u right in the face

[goobiegoobert]

great googly MOOGLY you do Stardew Valley as well??? holy hell i think i found my new favorite blog. your writing is really, REALLY good, that sunny and moon tattoo fluff has me choking and sobbing and foaming at the mouth in the club rn

on a different note, since your requests are open, do you think you could do a stardew valley Shane x reader?? fem reader, masc reader, gn reader -- doesn't matter, im just weak at the knees for the grouchy garbage man... just a crumb of love and happiness for the sad lad...

Everybody loves somebody, sometimes…

____________________

A/n: OH SHIT ITS TIME YES,,,, C'MERE IM KISSING YOU ON THE FOREHEAD RN YOU AND ME ON SIGHT. You have NO right to be this fucking sweet because fuck man this has me sobbing tears of joy,, have this lil drabble Warnings: Mild hurt/comfort, mentions of depressive thoughts, brief mentions of suicidal thoughts, alcohol is present, stay safe babes <3

[gn!reader] ____________________

Do you like the rain?

Rather, what takes place on those times? It was quite a confusing ideal to be frank, Shane never knew what to do on a daily basis no matter the weather. After JojaMart had closed down for good within the valley, time itself seemed to move at a snails pace, nothing went smoothly down as he'd normally been one to hope. Drowning the ever standing anger and sadness within the beer served ready over at the Saloon, often going days without making it home to see Jas before bed. Within the man's mind, it was for the best. This exchanged proved for the better, right? Jas didn't need to see her shitty excuse parental figure and Shane could simply pour his sorrows down the drain into nothingness only to wake with little to no idea of what had happened the day before, killing themselves oh so slowly, in his mind Shane knew this would never make him feel better.. But this way it was an escaping mechanism he could stop any moment he wanted to, right?

Many things had given them thought to stop before, Marine constantly reprimanding their behaviours, Gus simply not serving them anything more once it came down to closing time. This is just to name a few, but the one equalizer to this was a somewhat new farmer in town.

It seemed every time they'd show up into the saloon and place an order to grab some coffee, it struck a chord deep within him, desperately clinging to the idea of dropping the glass halfway drained of the potent mellowing liquid just to get a chance at talking with you, even if it was a half-hearted wave and roll of his eyes truly it did make his day much more memorable.

Yet here they laid, originally wanting to catch the lovely scenery like Marnie had suggested.. How lovely it should've been! Alas, bringing a few beer cans along wasn't all that helpful in the slightest. Sitting beneath the dreary drizzling sky with soft groans hissing after Shane's poison of choice seemed to spill past their lips when guzzling the damned thing down, everything felt so far away and yet all too close. As if needles pricked at their skin from all angles while it seemed the pain numbed out into nothingness. As if he was on a heavy cloud threatening to pull him down into the ether below, desperate to claw their way back, all he could manage was to lay there with rubbish around clinging to the droplets of rain from the sky.

That was how Shane's story would seem to end, except the fact you'd come to visit Robin's in desperate need of some spare stone.

Oh! So gently your hands were the moment it found way to him, it truly wormed its way to their dead heart even beneath this haze the drunkard couldn't quite help himself at this moment, only taking to lean within your touch warmly as they'd drip along reality. Later in the timeline, he'd of course ignore and banter that it was nothing, simply your own narrative weaved to make you feel like the hero. But here it was safe, able to feel your worried brushes along Shane's skin yet far too out of it in order to grumble about backing off his boundaries. In the end, maybe he required this, someone to physically let him know they're here. The farmer truly did care, huh?

Potentially, he could try going another day living in this rundown village. If it meant living to see your smile from the sidelines, then it wouldn't be too hard.

[princesslocket]

Future Card Buddyfight x Angels of Death AU

Hi hi! It's once again AU time! This AU turned out to be WAY longer than I had anticipated it to be and if I'm being honest, it's kind of a mess. I rushed some parts in an attempt to keep the central ideas small but in the end it still turned out to be this really long blog.

Because I'm not keen on writing about major gore/blood scenes I kept everything as light as I possibly could. I'll put some warnings in the tags to let you know what to look out for so with that being said, I hope you enjoy this AU and thank you in advance for reading!

The AU starts with Kanata waking up in a strange room one day. He has no memories of how he could've possibly ended up there but what he does know is that he's not supposed to be there. He gets up and leaves the room through the only door available to him which just so happens to be an elevator lift.

When the elevator doors open up again Kanata steps into a room that looks similar to "The Disaster" aka a destroyed wasteland in the mountains. While journeying around the wasteland Kanata befriends a boy named Tasuku Ryuenji. Tasuku, much like him, has no idea how he ended up in the room (area?) So the two of them venture around the wasteland in hopes of finding some kind of clues to get out of there because would you look at that! The elevator had seemingly vanished... After about a day of searching the wasteland Tasuku & Kanata come across a cave where a change of clothes, name cards, and flash lights are conveniently placed for them. - They find another elevator hidden further into the cave.

The next floor leads them straight into a laboratory where they encounter Kakeru Futaboshi, a young scientist in training. He leads the two of them a table, offering them food, snacks, and the promise to help them recover their memories. The two of them gratefully take the food (both of them practically starving) before they pass out. Kanata wakes up to the sound of Tasuku screaming. Apparently while they were unconscious Dr. Gara (Kakeru) had started to run some rather harmful tests on them. A strange surge of energy helps Kanata to not only break out of the restraints he'd been tied to but also knock Dr. Gara several feet away from Tasuku. With Dr. Gara out of the way, Kanata frees Tasuku and they make a run for it. They run into several dead ends and dodge various traps before they find another elevator but as soon as the doors open, they're quiet literally jump inside. With the doors closing shut behind them they each get to witness how a very angry Dr. Gara had been running after them with some rather sharp looking tools.

The next room the doors open up to resembles a black galaxy vortex(?) They cautiously step into it meeting a boy named Gaito almost immediately after. While conversing with Gaito he explains how he he'd been trapped in the room for several months with no way out. Though a little reluctant, Tasuku and Kanata ask Gaito to join them on. Gaito agrees, of course, and winds up spending a lot of time with Kanata. Each time Kanata asks him why he doesn't want to interact with Tasuku, Gaito claims how Kanata is part of "his destiny" while Tasuku isn't. After saying this Gaito starts acting strange. It starts off slowly with Gaito comparing the two of them as they all working together to crack some puzzles here and there. But as they venture deeper into the room Gaito starts to passive aggressively hurt Tasuku in numerous ways. He only stops when they need Tasuku to focus all his attention on a puzzle that unlocks the elevator door they find. During this time Gaito takes it upon himself to sneak away with Kanata to have a private conversation. He asks Kanata if it'd be okay to get rid of Tasuku so that they can continue to travel together, to which Kanata responds with boiling anger before leaving Gaito to check up on Tasuku. And right as he's approaching Tasuku an axe comes flying out of nowhere, just barely missing Tasuku in the process. Both Tasuku and Kanata turn to Gaito, expecting to see him with more weapons but to their surprise they find Dr. Gara standing several feet away from them instead. In that moment Dr. Gara start rejoices in finding them but gets interrupted by Gaito who very angrily shoves him. The two of them get into a fight, each accusing the other of ruining their plans (both wanting to k*** off Tasuku & Kanata on their own) - With the two of them seemingly distracted, Tasuku & Kanata rush into the now open elevator. As the doors close they hear the sound of metal hitting metal followed by deranged telling.

While the two of them sit quietly in the elevator they get to talking. Since they've come to terms that everyone they're going to meet is most likely out to k*** them they form a plan to stick as close together as possible & to avoid talking to anyone they come across. Unfortunately things don't go as planned because as soon as they set foot on the floor, they're both warped to separate parts of the room. For this floor they each have to face various trials to conquer fears & scars from their past. Kanata is able to complete each trial within the span of what feels to be a day while Tasuku takes up what feels like two-three days. When they rejoin each other, almost all the light from Tasuku's eyes have been drained. And when Kanata tries to talk to him, Tasuku responds with vague answers in a distant sounding manner. Since he thinks leaving the floor would help, Kanata leads Tasuku to the elevator he found the day before Tasuku rejoined him. - As he's guiding Tasuku threw the door, an arm shoves him forward. Kanata falls forward but finds Tasuku no longer by his side. He looks back to see a strange man with Tasuku standing at his side. He jumps back up to grab for Tasuku but is pushed back down by Tasuku, who tells him to leave and not come back. The doors shut quickly afterwards.

When the doors open again Kanata refuses to get out. He's too busy pounding away at the elevator walls, trying to force his way up & out, to even notice the person walking up behind him. It's only when he hears a knock on the doors that he stops to look at the stranger. They start off by introducing themselves as J Genesis before asking Katana why he's trying to force his way back up. Since he's not quiet in the right head space, Kanata tells him about Tasuku and the mysterious stranger on the floor above, to which J Genesis offers him some help. - J Genesis (almost magically) reprograms the elevator to head back up. He stays on his own floor but gives Kanata a pen before parting ways. Thinking nothing of it, Kanata puts the pen away & waits for the elevator doors to reopen. Once they do he's out and running to find Tasuku. And he does find Tasuku, only what he finds is the Purgatory Knight armor with Tasuku inside. It's then that the stranger from this floor (Kyoya) comes out from behind Tasuku to happily show off his new "weapon." Upon hearing this Kanata charges at Kyoya but gets caught by the Purgatory Knight, which then causes a huge fight to break out between the two. Kanata is pretty much running around the whole time, dodging sword swing after word swing until he's able to some how manage snap Tasuku back to normal. With the two of them being on good terms again (and having Tasuku back to normal) Kyoya releases several other knights to attack the two of them. While Tasuku & Kanata are running, the pen J Genesis had lent him drops from his pocket, clicking on the floor and exploding just seconds after - The two of them limp back towards the elevator where they both pass out against the other.

When Kanata wakes up again he's sitting in front of a table with food. Tasuku, who's sitting besides him, is making quick work of devouring the food in front of them. So, he eats. After they finish they leave the table in search of J Genesis (Kanata had filled Tasuku in on the little details he knew about J Genesis while they ate). As they look for the man they come across a giant room shaped into a cemetery filled with dozens of tomb stones. Instead of looking at each of them, they continue to walk but Kanata doesn't miss how the names on last ones they pass. Kakeru, Gaito, J Genesis, and Kanata. They enter a clean looking office room where J Genesis is sitting. He greets them with a smile and congratulating Kanata on rescuing his friend. Neither of them reply and J Genesis takes a moment to ask them how they've liked the building so far. When neither of them answer he simply sighs and asks why they were being so ungrateful? After all they had been the ones to have asked to come here in the first place. J Genesis then goes on to explain how they had each signed up to participate in an unknown experiment for "gifted teens" online months ago. Upon sign up they had been notified that they're memories would be erased to ensure they wouldn't use their "gifts" to harm any of the other participants. And if they somehow managed to unlock they're gifts during their time in the experiment then they would be awarded 108,765,500 yen. Of course, they're memories would be wiped after the experiment BUT they'd still receive the money afterwards. As for participants who didn't survived the experiments, they would be laid to rest within the vicinity and their electronic devices would delete any trace of having been on the sign up website. Tasuku & Kanata turn to each other when J Genesis finishes talking. Both of them both refusing to believe the mans words but also at same time failing to understand why either of them would sign up for something so bizarre in the first place. With neither of them speaking, J Genesis choose that moment to hit a button on his desk. A door opens up to reveal Dr. Gara. A wicked smile creeps up onto his face as he speaks "The boss forgot to mention the part that we've never had a survivor escape my floor." - Dr. Gara chases them around the floor for what feels like hours. During their time running and hiding Tasuku & Kanata try to conjure up any kind of powers they might have had before their memories where erased. With each failure they grow closer and closer to death (Mainly because Dr. Gara would find little ways to harm them when their defenses were down). At some point both of them give up on trying to unlock their powers and start looking for an elevator and to their luck, they find it! The only problem is that the elevator requires the use of one of their powers....

While Kanata panics behind him, something inside Tasuku clicks. Earlier when he had been working to unlock the puzzle on Gaito's floor a strange sort of energy had flowed through him, which allowed him to unlock the puzzle without lifting a finger. He quickly tries to re-channel that strange energy again, unlocking the elevator seconds later. But before either of them can run into the elevator, Dr. Gara and J Genesis jump out of it, tackling the two of them to the ground. Dr. Gara laughs, expressing his delight by stamping a foot hard onto Tasuku's chest, saying how he "can't wait to dissect a new magic user." Meanwhile J Genesis simply holds Kanata down, keeping a close eye on Dr. Gara. When Dr. Gara pulls out some medical utensils that's when J Genesis strikes. He summons forth a crystal blade that penetrates Dr. Gara ending him in just a matter of seconds. Even with Dr. Gara no longer holding him down, Tasuku can't bring himself to move away. He & Kanata were stunned. J Genesis uses the moment to drain away Tasuku's powers in his stunned state before moving onto Kanata. But as he goes to do so a series of explosions sounds from overhead followed by the sound of the buildings speakers turning on. Kyoya's voice fills the room; "Congratulations Gen... You've just won a free ticket it the after life. Butt don't worry, you won't be the only one to go down, we all will. Dr. Gara and I may have never seen eye to eye but if there was one thing we could agree on it was that you aren't allowed to win. If one of us were to go down then we'd vowed to take the building with us as our final request. I hope you're satisfied with yourself. All of your hard work is going to be destroyed now- Feel free to come and find me, but I doubt you'll be able to catch up with me and save your work at the same time." As soon as the speakers turned off the another series of explosions sounded overhead. J Genesis quickly jumps off of Kanata, rushing into the elevator & taking riding it to a floor upstairs. With the elevator no longer there all Tasuku and Kanata can do is stare helplessly at each other. This was it, they really were going to go down with the building...

The ceiling gives way several feet away from them, crashing into the floor and creating a giant hole in the ground for them to climb into. Tasuku leads the way through the collapsing building as they run. They manage to avoid broken furniture and various other fallen debris for the most part and at some point, Tasuku seemingly starts going faster than Kanata. Kanata desperately tries to catch up but finds his body growing heavier by the second until a strange surge of energy washes over him, making him suddenly feel lighter on his toes, within seconds he starts running faster, catching up to Tasuku. As they near what looks to be the exit of the building a giant chunk of the ceiling begins to fall, Tasuku shouts something over his shoulder but Kanata can't hear it. The sound of a bell chimes in his ears and in that moment he forces his legs to go even faster, shoving Tasuku forward with all his might just as the ceiling comes crashing down from above. Tasuku gets thrown out the door from both the push and the ceiling falling behind him and lands outside the building just in time to watch it collapse in on itself.... Tasuku attempts to get up, to go back in and save Kanata but finds his body screaming in protest. His eyes draw to a close as red and blue blurs start to dance in the distance.

Tasuku wakes up several weeks later in the hospital with bandages wrapped around his body. His right arm and left leg are in a cast and his head pounds under the light in his room. The nurse, who just so happens to be in his room at the time, rushes out to go inform some doctors of his condition.

A couple of months go by before Tasuku is up and walking again. The events surrounding the building he had woken up in are still being covered on the news. Sometimes he'd get questioned by random passersby's on the streets of what it was like in there (The media had released pictures of what had been founded in the destroyed building) But Tasuku never answered the questions. He honestly couldn't remember why he had even been in the building.

A year later and his life is back to normal. Every now and then he thinks about the building but his mind always brushes it off right before he can force it to remember any details about it. One day while he's out walking he crosses paths with a man wearing a trench coat. He thinks nothing of the man when they pass each other by when he hears him whisper "Go check the cemetery." He stops to look at the man, the same man who has disappeared.

So, Tasuku goes to visit the nearest cemetery. He walks around for about an hour, looking for something he can't bother to find before he decides to leave. As he's walking out an exit in the back he glances a look to a single gravestone located under the shade of a tree. He stops. Tears well up in his eyes, falling down his cheeks moments later as his mind reads the name repeatedly over in his head. Kanata Ozora

[laprincesaelena]

EOA Discord Ship Appreciation Week Day 1: Valentine’s Day

a/n: hey guys! i’m so excited to be participating in the EOA discord server’s Ship Appreciation Week! i’m posting this a bit later in the day than i intended, but better late than never, right? this is also the first time i’ve ever posted a fic on tumblr, so bear with me here! anyways, here’s some cute gabelena fluff! don’t ask me when in the canon timeline this is supposed to take place in bc if i’m being honest, i don’t really know lol. but who cares about canon this week? take some cute gabelena fluff :)

also, very special thank you to @procrastinateland for doing some absolutely adorable art to go along with this fic!! it won’t be the last time you’ll be seeing her work this week! (but in the meantime, go check out her blog!! she has some more cute eoa art and more!! :) )

fic is below the cut!

Ever since her and Gabe had started dating, Elena had been looking forward to their very first Sweetheart's Day as a couple. She already had a few ideas in mind for the occasion, and the night before the holiday, she had stayed up until practically sunrise, making sure that everything would be ready by the time he'd be off from a shift that morning. She couldn't wait to see what Gabe had in store for her the next day. When she finally got to lay her head on her pillow that night, she smiled, hoping to dream about how wonderful the day would be.

After only a couple of hours of sleep, Elena opened her eyes and stretched out a bit. Not being a morning person, she didn't have any incentive to even sit up. As she rubbed her eyes in an effort to wake herself up, she had a realization, it was Sweetheart's Day! Now, she was definitely awake. She shot upright with a smile, and excitedly pulled off her covers, and headed over to her vanity to begin getting ready.

Elena shivered slightly as she began to brush through her hair, there was a reason she didn't like getting out of bed, she was all warm and comfortable a moment ago. But, she knew that soon enough, she'd be warmed right up, hopefully from a kiss or two from Gabe, or by being all wrapped up in his arms.

A few minutes later, she headed over to her closet to pick out what she would wear. Normally, she wouldn't have to think twice about this, her casual red dress was her usual go-to. But, since today was a pretty special occasion, she figured she'd choose something different. After a moment of going through her many articles of clothing, Elena finally made a decision. She picked out a light and airy hot pink dress with a floral lace pattern, which came to about her ankles. She paired the dress with a pair of wedge sandals, along with her favorite golden earrings.

Elena then returned to her vanity to brush through her long hair one more time. Next to the mirror was a small vase, filled with orchids, a Sweetheart's Day tradition. She picked off one of the flowers and placed it in her hair, and smiled. At some point today, she'd hopefully be receiving an orchid from Gabe, even though she had already been his sweetheart for a couple of months now. But, before that, she had to make sure everything was ready for him!

The crown princess headed down the halls of the palace with a pep in her step. Something was certainly in the air today, as there seemed to be every Sweetheart's Day. But this year was even more special to her, since this year, she had a sweetheart to be spending it with. Every once in a while, she'd come across a member of the palace staff who had already received their orchid that day, or one rehearsing exactly what they'd say to their sweetheart. Elena couldn't help but smile, and give a quick congratulations or word of reassurance to whoever she came across. But then, when she encountered one of the royal guards, she pulled them aside, and told them to inform Captain Núñez to meet her in the parlor immediately after his shift had ended, for there was a 'very important matter' to discuss.

Gabe was just about to head out of the guard barracks before he was pulled aside, and told that the crown princess requested his presence in the parlor immediately, for there was a very important matter to discuss. Of course, Gabe would head right there, though he couldn't help but sigh. He didn't have time for this! But what if something was actually wrong? He didn't want to risk that, so, as quickly as he could, he headed to the parlor.

When Gabe entered the room, he was practically blinded by an overwhelming amount of pink, red, and white. Colored streamers lined the walls, there was a heart shaped balloon tied onto practically every piece of furniture, and in the center of the room, was his lovely Elena.

Elena had a table all set up, with a bundle of balloons attached to either side. Placed on the table was a frame of a favorite picture of the two of them. Red, pink, and white napkins were arranged in a pattern on each side, along with matching plates to go with them. In the center, was a homemade tres leches cake, with "Happy Sweetheart's Day, Mi Amor!" written in pink icing. Elena's face was lit up with a smile, she looked so proud of her little arrangement.

"Surprise! Happy Sweetheart's Day!" she exclaimed.

"So, this was the 'very important matter' we needed to discuss, huh?" Gabe asked her, a smile forming on his face.

"Yup!" Elena responded with a nod. "But come on, this is a very important matter, it's our first Sweetheart's Day together!"

"I guess you're right," Gabe said, and began to take a closer look at everything Elena had out on the table. "Did you do all of this yourself?" he asked.

"I sure did!" Elena replied with a proud smile. "Well, I had a little bit of help from the staff with the streamers, and-" But before she could finish her sentence, Gabe cut her off with a second thought.

"Hold on, did you make this cake yourself too? There's no way." he said with a small laugh.

Though he was born the son of a baker, and was at one point expected to carry on his father's business, Gabe wasn't too good of a baker himself, and he knew Elena had just about the same amount of skill.

"This time, I made it to two leches, all on my own!" Elena told him. "By the third leche I did have my abuela step in, just to make sure we could actually enjoy it. But, I decorated it by myself! Which, I'm surprised wasn't a dead giveaway."

The cake was frosted with a layer of white icing, not perfectly, but it was at least completely covered. Elena had clearly underestimated the amount of room the center of the cake had, for about half of the word 'Sweetheart's' gradually dropped lower and lower. There was plenty of room for the word 'Day', but 'Mi Amor!' had to be crammed onto the right side, below a slanted 'Sweetheart's'. Even though the presentation of it may not have been perfect, Gabe was confident that it tasted better than it looked.

"Hey, it's certainly better than anything I could've done," Gabe said, and walked behind the table to be beside Elena. He pulled her in for a quick kiss as she wrapped her arms around him. "Everything looks great, I love it!" he added with a smile.

"I'm so glad you do, I wouldn't risk destroying the kitchen for anybody else." Elena joked, and leaned up to kiss him a second time. Then, she turned back towards the table, and picked up the knife that was lying beside the cake. "So, want a slice?" she asked.

"Uh..sure!" Gabe said, but mentally hit himself for hesitating. Though he was confident Elena's cake had come out great, and any other time he'd love to sit and have a slice with her, but he was on a bit of a time frame.

"No promises on how even these slices will be.." Elena said to herself as she began to cut them both a slice. She placed each slice on a plate, along with including a napkin and fork.

Elena handed the plate over to Gabe with a smile, and before she could even grab her own, he had already taken a couple of bites. She softly laughed to herself, hopefully that meant he was enjoying it!

"So, what do you think?" she asked him.

"It's really good, Elena," Gabe answered, already putting another piece in his mouth. "You should make these more often!" he added, his voice a bit muffled from the decently sized piece of cake he'd just eaten.

Elena tried a bit of her slice as well, and she had to admit, she was pretty proud of herself, it was really good! She turned to sit on the couch, and patted the space beside her for Gabe to join her.

"You can sit, if you'd like," she said, even though she wasn't giving him much choice, she was implying that she'd like him to sit beside her. "We aren't in any hurry!"

But little did she know, Gabe actually was in a hurry. He knew he didn't have time to sit with her, the two of them might lose track of time and be there for hours! But he also didn't want to let Elena know of this, or act suspicious in any way. He had to think, and fast. So, he turned to the side, and mumbled a quick, 'Captain Núñez!' in a voice slightly different than his own.

"Oh, sounds like someone's calling me!" he said, acting as if he weren't the one to call himself. "Thank you for everything, bye!" Gabe added hurriedly, before quickly finishing his slice of cake, and practically sprinting out of the room.

Elena barely had enough time to process what had just happened before Gabe was out of the room. She placed her plate on the couch before getting up to follow behind him, but by the time she poked her head out into the hallway, she sighed upon noticing that Gabe was nowhere to be found, nor was whoever 'called' him.

She sat back down on the couch to finish up her slice of cake, while thinking of what could possibly be up with him. Was he planning something special for her? If so, what could that be? Or, maybe Sweetheart's Day simply wasn't a big deal to him, and he didn't really care about everything she had done for him. Elena didn't even want to think that was the case, he seemed to love everything, and she had stayed up all night for it to be just perfect! She did know one thing for a fact, though, something was up with Gabe, and she was going to get to the bottom of this.

As Elena began to search around the palace for where Gabe could've possibly gone off to, she happened to bump into her abuela.

"Mija! Just the girl I wanted to see!" Luisa said to her granddaughter with a smile.

"Hi, abuela," Elena replied, returning the smile. "How's your Sweetheart's Day been so far? Has abuelo done anything extra special for you?" she asked.

"Funny that you mention that, because I was just headed to the kitchen to whip up a batch of empanadas for our Sweetheart's Day tradition! You know they're your abuelo's favorite!" Luisa responded. "And, I figured since you did such a wonderful job with that cake last night, you could help me out with the empanadas as well!"

Elena's eyes widened as she shook her head, thinking back to her occasional disasters when it came to cooking. "Oh, no, that's alright abuela, I'm sure they'd come out much better if only you made them, you know what you're doing much better than I do." she said.

"Oh, come on mijita, you'll do just fine! I could use an extra hand, and how could you say no to spending more time with your abuela?" Luisa asked, wrapping her arm around Elena and pulling her in close.

Though Elena was really more concerned about finding out what was up with Gabe at the moment, she knew she couldn't say no. Besides, maybe taking a little bit to get her mind off of that and just spend time with her abuela would be nice. Plus, she might pick up a few more tips and tricks for baking, maybe she could even learn to rival Gabe's parents' recipe!

"Okay, if you insist!" Elena replied with a soft laugh. "Let's go, then!"

Elena got herself dragged into the kitchen, and Luisa got her right to work on mixing the dough. Thankfully, there was no possible way Elena could create any sort of disaster with that (or so she hoped), and with their teamwork, a batch of empanadas was in the oven in record time. But, they weren't finished just yet. Luisa decided they'd start on a second batch, but with a different filling this time! So, Elena reluctantly returned to her task of preparing the dough.

As Elena began to knead the dough, she couldn't help but wonder what Gabe was up to, and her doubtful thoughts returned. If only abuela hadn't wanted to make a second batch, she could've already found out what was going on! But here she was, kneading another batch of dough, which hopefully would turn out alright for her abuelos.

While the second batch was baking, Elena couldn't help but take a look out the window, where she noticed that the sun was already beginning to set. Sweetheart's Day was almost over, and she had barely seen her own sweetheart at all that day. Not to mention that when she did see him, he was in quite the rush. She was snapped out of her thoughts by a tap on her shoulder, and turned back to face her abuela.

"You don't have to stay here while we wait, mija." Luisa said. "You've been more than enough help, and I had lots of fun, you're not as terrible at baking as you may think!"

"Thanks, abuela," Elena replied with a small smile. "Are you sure you don't need any more help? I'd be more than happy to stay."

"No, I insist, you go off and enjoy the rest of your night!" Luisa responded, and was now practically pushing Elena out of the kitchen. "Also, remember to look down on your way out." she added with a wink.

"Look down?" Elena asked, but once she reached the hallway, she understood what her abuela was talking about.

Right at her feet was a small envelope, with her name written in the center, along with a heart. She'd know that handwriting anywhere, it was Gabe's! Elena smiled as she bent down to pick up the envelope, so he hadn't just brushed her off! Now, the pieces were beginning to fall into place. He must've been planning something for her when he rushed out so suddenly, and her abuela was definitely distracting her with baking until everything was ready to go. Not wasting a moment, Elena tore open the envelope, pulling out a small letter inside.

I wanted this day to be special for you,

But most of my ideas just wouldn't do.

You made my day great, so it'd only be right,

To treat you to the very best Sweetheart's Night.

All around the palace, I've left a few things,

Maybe a new dress, bracelets, or rings.

But before you're able to find that out,

I'll give you a clue to think about.

Weekly we fence in the gardens or Castillo Park,

But I won't have you searching outside in the dark.

Where you'd find a person curled up with a book,

Is the very first place I'd suggest you'd look.

Elena smiled as she read along, this was certainly an exciting way to spend the rest of her night! Once she read her first clue, she knew exactly where to go, and she headed straight to the palace's library.

When she arrived at the library, she began to look around for where Gabe could've left something. Right under the painting of Avalor Bay, she found something that definitely wasn't always there!

Elena picked up a brand new sword for fencing and smiled, she couldn't wait to use this at their next fencing practice! She looked it over for a moment, before noticing something else on the ground. Beside the sword was yet another small envelope, her scavenger hunt wasn't over just yet! She tore open the second envelope, and began to read the small letter inside.

I want you to remember, that forever, through and through,

I'll always be living "La Vida Dulce" with you.

On your bed is a gift, that like you is so sweet,

I know you'll enjoy this little Sweetheart's Day treat. 

Elena couldn't help but smile as she read along. She completely agreed, she's always living the sweet life with Gabe by her side. But, thinking of those words gave her an idea as to what this present could be, and she excitedly headed up to her room to see if her guess was correct.

Sure enough, when Elena entered her room, she spotted a heart shaped box placed on her bed. When she opened the box, she'd recognize the contents anywhere. They were chocolates from her abuela's chocolate shop! Elena couldn't help but pick one up and pop it into her mouth. She couldn't help but wonder if this chocolate really was as sweet as she was, since she definitely had her days at some points. But, one thing she definitely agreed on was that she enjoyed this Sweetheart's Day treat, Avaloran chocolate was one of her favorites!

Elena placed the cover back onto the box, and noticed yet another small envelope resting beside it. She tore it open, excited to see where this next clue would lead her.

I hope that you've been having lots of fun,

Sorry for keeping you on the run!

But this next clue is your last, number three,

The most exciting gift you'll soon see.

I'm sure you know that what I've said is true,

That no matter what, I'm always with you.

This Sweetheart's Day was filled with surprises galore,

I hope that together, we'll be spending many more.

I have one last surprise to complete our night,

I can't wait to see your face filled with delight.

Outside on the terrace is where you'll find me and more,

Happy Sweetheart's Day, mi amor.

Elena left the letter, along with the other few things she had accumulated on her scavenger hunt on her bed, and excitedly ran out of her room. She felt like she had barely seen Gabe all day, so she couldn't wait to spend more time with him, and to see what this exciting surprise was!

Once she opened the doors to the terrace, Elena stopped for a moment, and gasped. She took a moment to just take in her surroundings, everything looked amazing!

The terrace was illuminated by strings of lights, and in the very center was Gabe, waiting for her with a loving smile. Behind him was a table, perfectly decorated for a candlelit dinner for two. Elena could've sworn she saw a few of the empanadas she had made earlier on the table as well! Everything looked so perfect and especially romantic, Elena's face was certainly filled with delight.

"Happy Sweetheart's Day!" Gabe said to her, with just as proud of a smile as she had worn earlier.

Elena ran right over and wrapped her arms tightly around him, pulling him in for a kiss. Gabe caught her in his arms, and once they broke apart, lifted her up and spun her around.

"Gabe, this is amazing!" she exclaimed, the smile on her face only growing. "This is the perfect way to end our night!"

"I'm glad you love it," Gabe responded, a similar smile lighting up his face. "And I'm glad you ended up here, hopefully my clues weren't too confusing." he joked with a small laugh.

"I figured out each place right away, it was a lot of fun." Elena replied. "Thank you for doing this all for me."

"Hey, it's our first Sweetheart's Day together, this is a very important matter." Gabe joked. "Besides, you did so much for me earlier today, I wanted to give you just as great of a day."

"Well, my day didn't start out exactly as I planned, since I was a bit concerned about as to why you were in such a rush earlier.." Elena explained. "At first I thought you didn't care about what I did this morning, which I thought seemed unlike you, but before I could ask you, you were gone! And now, I understand why you seemed to be in such a rush." she added with a smile.

"Exactly." Gabe replied. "And I'm really sorry if I made you feel like I didn't appreciate it, because I absolutely loved it! It was such a nice surprise to come back from my shift to."

"I'm glad you loved it." Elena responded with a smile. "I love this so much too! Speaking of, we should probably stop talking before the food gets cold or the candles go out." she added with a small laugh.

"Hang on, there's one more thing I'd like to give you." Gabe said, and let go of her for a moment.

Gabe stepped behind the table, and lifted up a vase, filled with purple orchids, a symbol of Sweetheart's Day. He took one out of the vase and walked back over to where Elena was standing, and held it out in front of him.

"Even though we've been together for a few months now, I still wanted to ask you this. In fact, I've been hoping for this moment for a couple of years now.." he said.

Elena smiled as he held out the orchid in front of her. She wanted to just take it from him right then and there, since of course she'd accept it! But, she also wanted to hear everything he had to say.

"So, Elena Castillo Flores, will you be my sweetheart?" Gabe asked with a smile.

Elena smiled big as she nodded her head. "Yes, of course I will!" she answered.

Gabe placed the stem in Elena's hand, as she looked down at it with a smile. She placed the flowers behind her ear, now having orchids decorating each side of her dark brown hair.

Elena wrapped her arms around him once again, and pulled him in for another kiss. Gabe wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in a bit closer. Though she thought it was a bit cliché, Elena even felt her foot slightly lift off the ground.

Their very first Sweetheart's Day together may not have been completely perfect, but neither of them minded one bit. All that mattered to these two sweethearts was that they'd be able to spend their day together, and that it would be a day filled with oh so much love. And that's exactly the day Gabe and Elena received .

[ma-gic-gay]

Just as Michael's about to answer their question, Jason's phone goes off. "Perfect timing," he mutters before going outside to take the call. "Jason Morgan."

"Mr. Morgan, it appears Mr. Renault is at the office demanding to speak with you. What should I do?" One of his employees informs him.

"Cyrus has my number. If he would like to schedule a meeting, tell him he can call me and we'll have one."

"I've already told him that and he won't agree to it."

Dammit. Peace in this town is fragile enough; the last thing they need is an angry Cyrus. He's been unstable as of late, not agreeing to this could lead to a gunfight. Well, that's actually to be expected. "We'll meet at the office in twenty minutes then. Tell him to call off his men, including Brando. Look around the perimeter and have the rest of the guards check to make sure that there's no one on the premises or within range of hitting someone."

"Yes sir," the employee agrees, hanging up the phone.

"Business stuff?" Willow asks cautiously. After all, this is the first time she's been in this situation.

"Yeah," Michael answers, sensing from the businesslike stance he's taken in their kitchen. "Let's go check on the kids."

They leave the room and instantly Carly asks, "What did he do?"

"Demanded we meet. I don't know why or what this is about, so please tell me you didn't do anything stupid that could cost the truce to be undone."

"I haven't done anything. I've considered it, but I haven't done anything yet," she tells him. "How long til the meeting?"

"I've gotta get going. You have to stay here, this doesn't concern you. Cyrus is looking for a fight and you'll give him one. He's looking for any reason to violate the truce and take me out," Jason informs her. "I mean it. No showing up."

"Is it a solo meeting?"

"Yes."

"You want me to sit here and list out the times he's tried to kill you this past year and a half? Jason, you can't got to a meeting alone. You'll get killed!" Carly exclaims.

"No I won't, Carly. I've got it handled, I told you," he says, glancing at his watch.

"Yes you will! You need to stop agreeing to these one on one meetings because one of these days he's going to get you killed and I won't be able to survive that!"

"I told you, I'm not getting killed!"

"Can you predict the future? No, you can't! I know you might want to go and have this meeting but you can't do it alone!"

"I'm going to the meeting, Carly. You are going to stay here with your kids, grandkids, and Willow," he says, voice unbudging. She's not going to win.

"Promise me you'll come back."

"Carly-"

"Promise me, Jason, or you're not going!"

"I promise."

"Fine, you can go," she surrenders, hugging him. "But be safe."

"As safe as I can be, meeting with him," he agrees.

"Alright, well you better go now or you're not going to be able to say goodbye to the kids."

He bids them all goodbye, hugs Carly again, and leaves for the meeting. His gun is on him, as is his cell phone. Though the usefulness of a cell phone is to be questioned when it's a mob meeting he's having. Not like he can exactly call the police if anything happens, they'd arrest him.

Arriving at the office, he senses that today's going to be a long day.

"Hey Harry, is it clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Alright, thanks," he says before walking into the office. "Cyrus. What's so urgent?"

"Well, Sonny's been gone a year now. I was hoping we could revisit us joining together for a way to continue the peace in this town," Cyrus answers.

"Like I told you the day you found out he was missing, that isn't happening. You're not going to run your product through this town and ruin it. This was Sonny's territory and if he's not dead and comes back, it'll be his again. We both agreed no drugs. It's not happening. Is that all?" Jason asks, bored.

"No, actually. I was wondering how Mrs. Corinthos is holding up. Given that this is the anniversary of losing her husband, I'd presume not well."

"None of your damn business."

"No need to get so defensive, I'm merely posing a question. Trying to make conversation."

"If you don't have anything related to business to discuss, my men will escort you out."

"Oh, but I doubt you will," Cyrus says, laughing evilly. "You'll be too dead to even have the chance to get me out of this room." He takes his gun from his pocket rather dramatically for Jason's taste and aims for him.

Drawing his gun himself, the now mob boss ducks, narrowly missing the bullet before firing his own, missing the other mobster by only a few inches. That was on purpose; a warning shot of sorts. "It never occurred to me," the ponytail clad man continues unaffected, "that you'd be so easy to take out. I mean, really. Your reputation is that you're businesslike and directly to the point, but then you've agreed to several meetings with me alone. I was planning on having some fairly difficult plans to kill you, but you've simply fallen into my lap. I do suppose I feel a bit bad, however, that Mrs. Corinthos will have to deal with you being dead as well."

There's a line you just don't cross in business, and that's been crossed. He remembers his promise to not die and snaps into action. "Fire that gun again and I hit you right between the eyes," Jason warns, setting himself up for his shot.

"I sense I've hit a nerve," Cyrus smiles, "mentioning her like that. Tell me, Mr. Morgan, has it ever occurred to you that you're the reason she even knows about this business? With you gone, I suppose she'll be taking it over. Though I don't doubt her, I do doubt her ability to properly run this business. It's doubtful that she'll even make it a few weeks before she's ki-"

Another warning shot goes from Jason's gun, this one only barely above his head. "Last warning, Cyrus. This isn't a game. She's barely involved in this business and you have no right to bring her up when this fight is between us. So drop the gun and get on the ground."

Chuckling as though he doesn't even really believe that he's about to be taken out, Cyrus stupidly continues, "I'll probably send one of my men to kill her, you know. Try to make it painless out of respect for her."

"Talking about me?" Carly asks, walking in with armed guards. She's got the worst timing.

"Yes I was, Mrs. Corinthos. How are you?"

"I'd be better if you were in a casket six feet under," she answers calmly. "Now, put your gun down before I kill you with my bare hands."

Where the fuck did she learn how to do that? He didn't teach her, neither did Sonny. Who did? Not the point, Carly isn't supposed to be here. She's now got the chance to be shot. That would kill him faster than the bullet wound he feels he could get.

"You heard her," Jason says. "Gun down, on the ground."

Turns out that's what needed to be done. The guards with guns pointed at his head doesn't hurt either, he's sure, but Cyrus finally gets on the ground and drops his gun.

"Good. Get Mrs. Corinthos out of here, now," he orders, to her complaints. "Carly, just go."

"I, personally, have nothing against her being here," Cyrus voices.

"You have no say." When Carly leaves, Jason calmly continues, "You mention her name again in front of me and I'll kill you. Talk about your plan to take me out again and you'll be dead. Nothing is changing. This is your last warning. Next time you try to kill me or someone I care about, you'll be dead quicker than you can even move from the scene. Get out."

Angrily, the ponytail clad man leaves, escorted by the guards. Jason then makes sure everyone knows to make sure there's no evidence of what happened, and that there's especially none Carly was ever there before he joins her in her car.

It's a quiet ride, with him firing off orders for his men and her pouting.

"I was right! He wanted you dead! You fell right into his trap!" She exclaimed when they walked into the living room of her house.

"No I didn't! Carly, I had it all under control!"

"Gun pointed at you, Jason! I walked in and there was a gun pointed at you!"

"I had mine pointed at him too! You can't walk into a gunfight!"

"Oh, but you can start one? You can get shot, I can't? Is that how this works?"

"The only reason you'd be shot in general is because of me, Carly! I introduced you to the business, I'm the reason you and Sonny got together, and I'm the reason you're still apart of it. I can deal with getting myself shot, I've survived other bullets before, but I can't deal with you getting shot!"

"I didn't!"

"Yeah, because I kicked you out of there!"

"I brought the guards, I was safe!"

"You walked into a gunfight when I told you it was the stupid thing to do! I told you not to go but you couldn't help yourself, could you, and you went to the meeting."

"You want me to tell you I was wrong and apologize? I'm not gonna do that! You could've been killed! God knows what Sonny's livelihood status is, but yours is alive. Alive, Jason! I'm not risking you dying, alright?"

"I've survived bullets before, I'd survive this one!"

"How do you know that? I need you to stay alive, so I don't care what your feelings are on the subject and I'm not apologizing! If I had to do it again and it was the only option, I'd go unarmed and alone. I would've been shot if it meant saving you from that! Cyrus wants you dead!"

"I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you died because of me! Your kids need their mother! Cyrus wants you dead too and I'll be damned if I let it happen."

"So what, Jason, you'll do the noble thing and die instead of me? That'll kill me. I couldn't breathe when we thought you were dead last time. Imagine how I'd be if I knew I was the one who caused it!"

"You're not dying!" He shouts back, but there's no edge to his tone anymore. He's less pissed. "Not when it's preventable. You're not getting shot either Carly. If I cause your death, I'll hate myself."

"And you think I won't hate myself if I cause yours?"

To be continued after midnight bc I have thing to add to my blog

eeee

[arianatheangel-girl]

😡 : Worst role play-related encounter and what advice you would give to others to avoid similar situations?

Hmm. This is a bit hard to answer, as I've never really had too many "bad" RP encounters. There's really only one situation I can think of that happened a few years ago.

One day, I got a message from what appeared to be a personal blog asking (in these exact words) "wanna rp?" I got a bad feeling from them, but wanting to give them a chance, I looked at their blog. They'd mostly reblogged memes and a few personal posts, so I figured, okay, maybe they're just new to RP, nothing out of the ordinary. But I noticed a few posts they'd made talked about no one wanting to give them a chance, and everyone being against them and "closed-minded", which set off a few red flags. Still, I pushed past that and messaged the blog, saying I'd be interested and asking what they wanted to do.

They wanted to have an RP between their (adult) OC and my OC, and asked if she could be five years old in the RP. I said "sure" since I'm used to RPing my OC as a baby or a small child.

They then asked if smut was okay with my child OC since she's "technically 200 years old."

...They were dead serious.

Immediately I told them no, that sex stuff was only okay when it was done between two consenting adult muses. They said "Sighs", accused me of "being (closed-minded) like the rest" and blocked me. I blocked them too.

I found out later that I wasn't the only blog this perv had approached in this manner and apparently he was notorious for this kind of behavior, as there were numerous callout posts about him.

My advice? Trust, but verify. Look at someone's blog after they follow or contact you. If someone seems off to you, if your gut is telling you they're bad news, you're allowed to block them for any reason. Also, never let someone try to guilt you into dropping boundaries or doing something you don't want to do.

(If you’re wondering who this person was, feel free to DM me and I’ll tell you the blog name. I don’t feel comfortable posting it outright. All I can say is that it’s not anyone I’m currently following or writing with.)

[lionheart-giddings]

Day 4: Favorite Fanwork

This is really, really hard to for me to choose! So I'd rather list some amazing creators who have helped me feel welcomed in the fandom. I wasn't particularly active in the fanbase when I first joined, and of course it was like five years later that I actually ended up connecting with a ton of brilliant people who share the same love for the game. So I'd sincerely like to thank the lot of them, and share my favorite works by them.

For starters, I'd like to mention Ash, who has been absolutely BRILLIANT at coming up with the most colorful and exciting headcanons that I've had the pleasure of reading and chatting about. And on top of coming up with them, he brings them to life with his vivid art that is such a huge delight to see! Like,, the amount of fics that could be based on this man's hcs is infinite. And they'd all be good fucking shit.

Next I'd like to mention Curls! It wasn't until recently that reading fanfiction had become an interest of mine. So in my rampant search of fics, I ended up finding one by her called "The Mountains are Calling" that I've had the delight of reading. The way she writes Josh is just so true to him, and that's something that honestly makes me fall head over heels for a fic. Another one of her fics that was an absolute delight to read was "The Great Chase for Sam Giddings' Heart" for the dynamic between the two siblings, and of course, Sam.

I'd also like to acknowledge D for her wonderful work! I remember reaching out to her in like 2017 or something and just being in awe of her anatomy and portrayal of the characters before I completely dropped off the face of Tumblr. Now, 3 years later, I found her on Twitter and commissioned a piece that's near and dear to my heart from a wonderful roleplay I've been involved in. This piece means so much to me, and I'm just so happy to have been around to see her wonderful content and shit on the silly aspects of this half a decade old game.

This is a bit random because up until now I've been mentioning specific artists and creators and linking their blogs, but I would like to mention this specific fic. "sometimes cupid runs out of arrows" by TheIcyQueen on Ao3. I found this fic when I was feeling really down and out of it, and it just brought me imense joy while reading it. I just remember smiling the entire time I scrolled through it, and it just holds a very special place in my heart.

Back to blogs now. I wanna thank Logan for the numerous roleplays I've dragged him through for my amusement. The way he writes Josh makes me so happy, and it's just been an absolute delight seeing his style change and impact my own over the last five years. I'm so fortunate to have been dragged into this fanbase by you. I had never expected to be as emerged as I am now and you're responsible for that, even if you cant recall it. I know when you do decide to write fics, they will be as amazing as your roleplay responses, and I look forward to that!

And finally I would like to thank the rest of the fanbase for all their wonderful contributions! Specifically the other people who I've gotten to know over the last couple of months. This is by far one of the most welcoming communities I have ever been a part of, and it feels so wonderful to finally be able to celebrate it!