#dude i've been excited to write this for like quite a while now

[goatcheesecak3]

Could you possibly write something small about a beach date with Rodrick 😍

Rodrick x reader

Sorry this took so long! Me mam tried to sell me to one direction so I was slightly preoccupied 🙄

Anyways enough jibber jabber, here's a lil fluff about a beach date with Rodrick :^)

The heffleys had invited you on a trip to the beach, since you and Rodrick had been together for some time now, it was pretty much routine for you to come along to family events at this point.

You and Rodrick drove in his van separately from everyone else, truth be told, you were relieved. You loved the heffleys but you weren't so keen on the music they played in the car.

"You excited babe?" Rodrick turned to look at you

"Can't wait! I was looking up the beach on Google, there's quite a few rock pools so we might see some cool sealife!"

Rodrick's face lit up at this

"Like a crab?!" He asked

"Yes honey, like a crab" you smiled at your easily amused boyfriend.

"Awesome. I fucking love crabs" he said.

Upon arrival Susan and Frank were happy to see the pair of you, they both approached to greet you, when seemingly out of nowhere Greg appeared, flinging his arms around you.

"Hey lil dude! Nice to see you" You beamed down at him

"Great to see you too! I've got all the stuff set up!" He replied excitedly

You were confused for a second, before looking just past him and seeing an abundance of different sized buckets and spades. You finally remembered, last time you'd seen the Heffleys you'd promised Greg you'd be on his team against Rodrick for a sandcastle building competition.

"Rodrick I love you, but you are so going down" you said, playfully poking him in the ribs before running off to the equipment with Greg.

"Hey no fair! You guys don't get a head start!" He called after the two of you.

The sandcastle competition was definitely pretty tense, you and Greg had opted for a "bigger = better" strategy, and had come up with a 3 storey castle.

Rodrick's, while much smaller, was more detail oriented. He'd decorated it with little stones, and even carved out little battlements.

When the time was up, the three of you went to get Susan and Frank to judge, but when you'd returned only one castle was left.  It would appear that Manny had decided that Rodrick's Castle was the perfect race course for one of his toy trucks, and in the few seconds you were all gone, he'd reduced it to rubble.

"Ha! We won!" Greg jeered.

You looked at Rodrick, who seemed genuinely disappointed.

"Aw baby," you stroked his arm, "I think your castle was Manny's favourite at least"

He smiled slightly at this, but still seemed slightly miffed that all his hard work was ruined.

Never mind, you knew exactly how to cheer him up

"How about we go check out those rock pools?" You asked.

Rodrick grinned excitedly, immediately forgetting about the sand castle, "oh yeah! I hope we see something cool!" He beamed, grabbing your hand and eagerly pulling you in the direction of the rocks.

You carefully climbed onto the glistening wet rocks, made just that bit more treacherous by the odd bit of seaweed and sharp barnacles. You held onto Rodrick tightly, fearing that his clumsy self would slip and accidentally keelhaul himself.

(A/n if you don't know what keelhaulling is, look it up at your own risk. It's pretty gnarly).

"What are those things?" Rodrick asked curiously, pointing towards tufts of purple sticking out from the sides of the rock pools.

"Sea anemones! Be really gentle and touch them, see what happens" you encouraged him.

Rodrick looked slightly nervous, but he trusted you. He dipped his finger into the shallow water and felt the tiny tentacles grip his finger. He giggled high pitch and very amused, before pulling his hand away and shaking it dry.

"It was like, sticky?" He said

You laughed at his reaction, he was adorable when he was confused.

"That was it trying to eat you! It thought your finger was a little fish!"

"Really?!"

"Mhm"

"That's so funny," he bent down to look at the anemone, "you're no match for me little bro" he said cockily.

You were unsure as to whether he was joking, or if he was genuinely proud of not being eaten by a gelatinous blob the size of a penny. Probably the latter, knowing Rodrick, but either way you find it endearing.

You spent quite a while trapesing around the rock pools, Rodrick seemingly fascinated by everything- particularly the little clusters of sea snails. He likened their pointy shells to his studded bracelet, affectionately giving them the title of "most metal animal he'd seen all day". His day was made, however, when you called him over to a tiny pool right at the edge of the rocks.

"Baby, come quick!"

He rushed over, abandoning the clump of seaweed he'd been popping like bubblewrap, and turned his attention towards what you'd been pointing at.

There, nestled inbetween a few tufts of seaweed, sat the tiniest little crab, it's body not much bigger than the tip of a pinky finger. As Rodrick kneeled down to get a closer look, his face was graced with a wide, goofy smile. He looked between you and the crab for a few seconds, before blurting out "it's a little baby!", his voice high and girlish.

You let out a chuckle at this, watching your boyfriend's eyes grow in amazement and glee at the sight of such a small crab. His attention was fixed to it for as long as it sat there, until the crab must have decided that staring back at the squealing Rodrick had become tedious, and scuttled away under some pebbles.

Rodrick finally stood once again, and reached out to hold your hands.

"That was so cool," he said, his eyes twinkling and his smile somehow even more loveable than ever.

"You're so cute," you replied, unable to contain your adoration any longer. You placed your arms over his shoulders, while instinctively, Rodrick held your waist.

You leaned in and planted a delicate kiss on his lips. Sometimes it was hard to remember he was a hardcore punk guy with a big beat up van, and an affinity for moshing. At times like this, all you saw was an innocent, precious sweetheart. You just wanted to hold his face and pepper it with gentle kisses, while showering him with compliments like "my handsome boy," and "you're the cutest thing in the whole world". You probably would later, but not right now. He'd never live it down if his family saw him being such a big softie.

You allowed yourself to get lost in his big brown eyes for a moment longer, before you heard Frank calling the two of you to come and get some food.

I love you, you thought to yourself as Rodrick carefully guided you down the rocks. As if he could read your mind, he threw an arm round your shoulder and whispered in your ear

"I love you, y/n"

A/n requests are open! I write hcs and short fics for a couple characters, check my pinned post for details! :^)

(Pls request something I need ideas lol)

[hollaforlyla]

hello! I've been reading your posts for quite a while now and just got the courage to actually ask something. I would like to request Dazai, Chuuya, Atsushi, and Akutagawa with an S/O who has a chronic pain disorder (think EDS or fibro) that hides it SUPER well. how would they react to learning of the pain they are in day to day and just, act like isn't there. or would they catch on super quick? maybe they walk in on their S/O in bed unable to move due to pain? I would prefer fem reader but I don't mind if you do something else. Also, I'm giving you the freedom to pick the setup you want to do. hope you have a good week and make sure to take care of yourself!

with a chronic pain disorder reader

dazai, chuuya, atsushi, & akutagawa<3

warnings: lowercase writing

a/n: apologies in advance for any mistakes! ty for the request<33 female reader!!

good luck trying to hide shit from this dude

he reads you like a book, so it's hard to keep secrets from him.

why would you?

in small words, he catches on real quick!

he hates how you try to hide it from him.

it makes him feel like you don't trust him to take care of you, and that you don't think it's a big deal.

literlly tries anything he can to make you feel more comfortable with your condition around him.

cuddling with you.

whispering sweet nothings into your ear when you started to bite your lip to stop your sobs.

just stays with you when you need him.

he doesn't know how to exactly feel when your pain? he knows what to do, yes, however he can't help but talk to himself while he's comforting you.

if you have trouble sleeping due to this pain, he'll be awake with you attempting to sooth you and distract you from the pain.

sometimes you never get sleep, affecting his own slumber, not sleeping for up to two days.

you feel terrible seeing him as tired as you are, to the point you feel like just crying but he's here to remind you it was his choice, and will stay awake for an eternity if it means to comfort you.

just like dazai, good luck tryin to hide anything from him.

he knows when your happy.

he knows when your sad.

he's like santa, dude knows you!

you couldn't get out of bed. he had to come back all the way home from work to get you out and actually help you stand.

entering your room, you were curled into sobbing ball, his heart shattering into small glass pieces.

he has to think on his feet for this one, and just sat in bed with you, a leg crossed over one as he sat on the edge.

his hand rubbed your back gently, shushing you softly when he heard your sobs turn louder with each second.

he's known about your condition the moment he started dating you, although you were hiding it at first when you met him and started working for the port mafia, you weren't the best at hiding it from him.

he has sharp eyes, and just knows.

sometimes it's scary, but that doesn't worry you.

if he notices you have trouble sleeping, he's in bed with you. if you kick from the pain and hit him, he doesn't care. he just keeps holding you until your calm.

usually you fall asleep, but on the nights when you stay up till 4am and your still not asleep but really tired, he awake with you and distracting you.

asking you what your excited for today. if you want to go on a date sometime to your favorite place in Yokohama.

he's by your side. all the time.

i see atsushi as a visual person.

he's a mixture of dazai and chuuya when he catches on people hurting.

he keeps an close eye on his friends, making sure they're not hurt or sad.

so off the bat he notices you trying to hide your pain. your his girlfriend, how could he not notice he's around you almost all day, besides different missions that you've both been assigned to.

he confronts you when your both alone.

please don't lie to him. he already knows your in pain and is ready to help you.

well, try his best to!

he wants you to talk to him and feel comfortable around him so he can help!

so...after a while you do speak to him alone at home.

now he's on his feet, not trying to keep you to himself, but just keeps an extra eye on you now that he knows about your condition.

when he see's you in pain, he's quick to come and comfort you and help you with whatever you need.

trouble breathing? he's here to help you and demonstrate.

terrible pain? he'll rub that said spot with a gentle touch and whisper sweet nothings in your ear.

he's just so sweet and paient with you, you can never get annoyed at him when he helps you.

if you have trouble sleeping he'll heat you up a nice tea and let you choose a movie you want to watch.

if you do fall asleep, boom his idea worked, but if you both stay up the entire night because of your pain he won't complain. he'll just help you the best way he can.

um.

i think...he'll just be quiet.

like, he has no idea how to comfort people.

and if your in pain? what-what can he do?

he's lived off pain, he is used to it. so seeing someone else in pain just causes him to freeze and walk away from the situation.

however he made a promise, to always be with you and you always be with him.

its liked you both signed a love contract to never leave each other.

sure, an arugument that may last for a while is bound to come across your relationship- but he never wants to actually hurt you.

back to the main point lmao-

maybe he'll hold your hand...to let you know your not alone??

he doesnt...like...seeing you in pain. and especially because it's something you cant control makes it worse for him.

tears start forming in your eyes and you cry?

fuck. what does he do now?

well, he actually hugs you.

sure. he's stiff...but his touch actually makes you feel safer and good.

he stared to notice you started to try and hide your pain from others besides him, and that just sends a warm and fuzzy feeling inside of him.

butterflies?

your not even doing anything!!

that just proves he cares for you and may not say it.

if he catches you taking all-nighters, he just lays in bed with you.

usually...he never sleeps either.

he stays up late or even sleeps at all.

so your both in the same boat for that part.

he's trying his best. he does care, but has a hard time showing that off to you

[66sharkteeth]

Weekly thoughts, ep 177-

And do I have thoughts this week! As well as things to point out.

I was pretty excited about this episode and it's kind of something I've been building up to for a while. I've talked in the past about Claude's development being some of my favorite in the series, and this ep is kind of what these past few eps have been building up to. I know the last few eps haven't been the most thrilling- Which is normal, to have some calm eps after a huge events, and I have been sprinkling important scenes in there (I mean, Rex got The Memory™), but another big thing drawing these past few eps out were getting Claude to this moment. I think in the original outline, this scene actually came a lot sooner, and it just felt...far too sudden to me. It needed those scenes we've seen the past few eps of Jericho confiding in Claude and him realizing Jericho is too far gone.

Which honestly, I think is kind of sad in a way nobody's really pointed out- Jericho revealing all his plans to Claude because he's the one person he thinks he can trust, and then Claude going behind his back with the information. But like Claude said in the episode, he does this all with the best intention for Jericho- He realizes he's gone too far now and he's trying to put out the fire Jericho set before the bridge is entirely burned.

Now as for his actual plan and if he'll get away with it... Haha, well, I even said last week these panels were important information that I knew people were gonna gloss over and sure enough...

Maybe it would have been more obvious if I put him in...literally pants lol. but yeah, dude was under a blanket the whole episode and it wasn't because he was cold:

That said, I do think the majority connected all the dots, but there were definitely a few people who didn't quite catch onto Claude's plan.

Now I DO think a more valid question is if Jericho could feel what Claude was writing. Which honestly, I just... Didn't really even think about until people started asking, but...

Maybe he just wrote on his human leg

I actually don't think the blank space can feel anything? I mean, we saw Jericho getting ripped and torn apart by scientists and he talks about how it didn't actually hurt.

After people pointed it out, I got curious and tried to write the note on my own leg and... honestly I dont think I would have ever known what someone was writing. I think I would have just thought it was a grocery list. So I think even if Jericho COULD feel it...he still wouldn't assume it was anything but a list of medicine and maybe some other things he needed.

That said... I think everyone is very valid to see a giant death flag over Claude now LOL. You'll just have to keep reading in regards to that.

Hm... I feel like I'm forgetting something. I think the only last thing I had some thoughts on were the small percent of people who still hate Claude and don't see this as any kind of redemption. To which... damn, yall are harsh LOL, but okay. I do kind of think those people are missing...a lot... in regards to Claude's development and his struggles but... w/e he's a fictional character and the enabler of the guy who has killed two protagonists now, so I get it more than like... Lyss. Who just made made wrong choices with the best intentions.

[it-happened-one-fic]

Hi, there! :D

I saw the new event once a book and I thought it was interesting, If it's not too much trouble I would like to request:

Fandom: TWST (Silver x Fem reader) Story: Charming Fairytale the Book: A book that has been lovingly re-covered in now sun-faded fabric. <3

If my order does not convince you, you can discard it without problems, but if not, take your time and without pressure. Thank you. The new event made me excited, you are one of my favorite twst writers and I am happy to finally place an order here

Oh my goodness! I’m so touched that you like my writings and I’m thrilled to write a fic for you. In all honesty, the book selection actually serves as the character selection, but since I didn't clearly indicate that int he even, I've written two fics for you. One for Silver and one for the book you chose. The one for Silver is below (which was written and edited while I listened to “Entendez-Vous” by Cécile Corbel, but I’ll make sure to link the other one to you as well! I hope you enjoy your tale(s)!

600 Followers event!

Happily Ever After - Silver

Type: Female reader/ fluff/ romance implied/ charming fairytale/ isekai

Word count: 2465

I had to give it to the enchanted book I'd been sucked into; I had been given a very simple role. Find the lost prince and return him to his home so he could save the land from the rule of an evil witch.

It was a pretty basic fairytale plot, and I could only hope that finishing the story would result in me going back to Twisted Wonderland. If it didn’t, I really didn’t know what I could do other than place all of my hopes in Silver.

After all, he had been in the room with me when I’d opened the enchanted book that had, quite literally, pulled me into its story.

I scrambled up onto a rock, glancing around in search of some place that looked even vaguely like where I thought a lost prince might hide or be hidden.

To be honest, I fully suspected that he’d been locked away more so than he had been lost, since that seemed far more in line with what I’d expect from a fairytale about a supposedly lost prince.

But then, this particular fairytale had already surprised me in that there was a dude in distress with a lady savior rather than the usual damsel with a male hero. But then, I quite possibly wasn’t actually the hero of this story like I’d been thinking I was.

But no matter exactly what my role was, I was the one attempting to find the lost royal that the country was counting on to save the day.

I felt my eyebrows lift as I spied a shadowy castle that wasn’t terribly far from where I currently stood and did look almost exactly like what I’d expect from a place where a royal in distress would be kept.

I nodded slightly to myself before setting off, my pace fairly leisurely as I made my way towards the dark castle that looked like it had seen better days.

I almost smiled as I noticed the bats fluttering around the towers that stretched up towards the sky. A nice, almost gothic touch to the overall villainous aesthetic of the castle.

What made the place even better from my point of view was that the massive gate was open, and I had no difficulty getting in. In fact, I quite literally just walked into the place.

I did have to admit, though, that the fact that I’d gotten in so easily did beg the question of why this lost prince hadn’t simply escaped or come home on his own?

There was, of course, the possibility that I’d wholly misunderstood this situation and that I was dealing with a runaway prince rather than a hostage situation.

A runaway prince who was plot-ordained to save the country would make for an interesting tale, though it certainly wouldn’t be that of your typical fairytale.

More of a subversion than anything.

I frowned slightly as I walked around the seemingly abandoned castle that looked like it was steadily crumpling into nothing.

It was the sort of place Malleus would like, but that hardly helped my current dilemma.

Because if this prince was a runaway, he would probably be hiding from me. But if he were instead a hostage, like I’d initially suspected, then the first place I’d look would be in the dungeons or the tallest tower.

I glanced up at the towers, grimacing slightly at the thought of going into the mass of rocks that looked like they were about to collapse the very second a wind blew through.

I paused in my survey of the castle, though, feeling my eyebrows arch as I caught sight of a door that looked far heftier than any of the others. And it wasn’t just that either; that section of the castle also seemed far sturdier than the rest.

I rolled my shoulders and braced my hands on the dark wood before pushing, only for nothing to happen, causing me to frown at the weight of the door.

I inhaled deeply, though, and leaned fully into my shove as I dug in with my heels. I breathed through my motions as I slowly started walking forward, pushing the door open slowly but surely before I stumbled to a stop and looked up into the room beyond. 

It was mostly dim, with only a bit of sunlight filtering in through the damaged roof above and spotlighting a single area on the dais. But otherwise, it looked wholly uninhabited, and no one was obviously hiding in it either.

I hesitated, though, frowning as I listened closely to a distant sound that slowly became clearer until I could identify it. Footsteps.

I glanced around, my eyes searching for the person, until a figure became visible as it approached the dais.

I felt my eyes widen as he stepped into the light that made his pale hair shine in perfect opposition to the darkness that was all around.

And he looked like a perfect prince. A dark uniform with silver epaulets and a sword hanging at his side. It was almost like I was looking at a picture out of a storybook, and I blinked up at him, hardly believing my eyes as my words failed me.

At odds with my speechlessness, he spoke in an almost tired tone, “Y/n… I wondered where you were.” 

I blinked, almost like I was snapping out of a spell at the sound of his soft voice, and my voice returned to me, “You’re the lost prince??”

I openly gaped up at him, but I couldn’t help but be shocked that all of this time I’d been looking for him. Somehow, it seemed oddly fitting. I had gotten the strange sensation that I’d been searching for him my entire life before, but I’d always shaken it off and refused to ask him if he’d ever had that same sensation.

Despite my surprise, Silver was just like he always was. Utterly stoic and seemingly unbothered as he nodded at me. 

I could only assume he’d gotten used to his role in this book just I like had, but I still found myself walking towards him with surprise still rolling through me, “You got sucked into the book too?”

It was another rather obvious question, but if he was bothered, he certainly didn’t show it. Instead, he just nodded before calmly walking down the stairs and meeting me in the middle of the room.

“Have you been in this place the whole time?” I found myself scanning him for injuries or anything else of the sort, but he seemed wholly unharmed.

“Yes, this castle seems to be cursed to keep from leaving,” He explained calmly, turning and walking over to the still open door only to be stopped short of exiting by a wall that shimmered into place.

I had been right. He wasn’t a runaway prince at all. He was being held hostage, no doubt by the witch that was currently ruling the country.

I felt myself frown as he stepped backwards, causing the wall to disappear once more as he turned to look back at me.

On the bright side, I now knew why it had been so easy for me to get into this place. But on the down side, I had no idea how to get him off here if this castle was specifically enchanted to keep him in.

And to make matters worse, if I couldn’t get him out, then we were stuck just in here, but in this story, and since he was in here, no one back in Twisted Wonderland would know where we were.

But then, I also didn’t know if finishing this story would get us out. For all I knew, we might be trapped in an endless rotation of the same story over and over again.

I glanced over at Silver before walking over to join him by the open door, “Do you know if finishing the story will get us out of this book?”

I watched him closely and prayed he knew the answer, only to sigh as he shook his head, a slight frown of his own appearing on his face, “No. I’d heard of enchanted books from Father, but he never mentioned how one got out of such a book.”

I watched him silently for a moment before inhaling and turning my gaze back to the door, “Well, working with the idea that finishing the story will get us out. We have to get you out of this castle first.”

I paused, glancing back his way before I continued, “Do you know anything about the curse on this place that’s keeping you inside?”

Again, I was desperately hoping he did because, despite all of the information I had received the very moment I’d woken up in this tale, none of it had anything about cursed castles.

A smile briefly flickered across Silver’s face as he nodded, shifting slightly to better face me, “Yes, ‘Only through the help of another who truly cares can the lost prince escape his home of old.’”

He spoke like he was reciting something, though I didn’t know. Perhaps a prophecy his character came pre-downloaded with or something.

I felt myself frown as I echoed his words, “‘His home of old’?? Was this the old royal castle or something?”

Silver shook his head, the motion disturbing his hair so that it was laying more like it usually did rather than the way it had been carefully placed beforehand.

I let out a hum, abandoning my questions about this story’s plot in favor of focusing on the rest of what Silver had said.

Only through the help of another who truly cares.

It sounded suspiciously like an explanation for how to break a curse since most fairytales usually include some sort of way to save cursed individuals.

Though, admittedly, that usually involved a kiss. A thought that had me avoiding looking at Silver and instead staring out the open door.

After a brief moment, I glanced back over his way once more. At the very least, I did care about Silver. I had for quite some time now, even if I often did my best to avoid thinking about it in favor of not messing up the friendship we currently had.

But, since I cared, that meant that I should be able to get him out of this castle.

I smiled at him slightly and held out my hand, watching as he glanced down at my palm before he reached over and carefully took my hand in his and looked my way expectantly.

I held up our conjoined hands between us, “Trust me?”

A smile flickered across his face at my light teasing before he nodded, and I grinned, “Alright then….”

I trailed off as I lowered our hands and tightened my grip on his hand as I turned to face the door once more. I inhaled, bracing myself before taking a step forward with Silver at my side, following my motions perfectly and even matching my stride as he stepped forward with me.

And at first, there was a strange sensation of being engulfed. Almost like something was pressing in on us from all sides.

And then, as quickly as breathing, it was over, and we were outside. But we weren’t just outside the room. We were also outside the entire castle, and I found myself glancing behind us in surprise.

“I can’t believe it worked…” My words were barely muttered, but were wholly honest. I really had expected it to be harder to actually get him out of the castle.

I turned to look at Silver, only to feel myself go still as my gaze collided with his, and I saw the way he was smiling at me. With gentle fondness. Just like he had ever since I’d gotten to know him.

And though I’d already thought it, I couldn’t help but wonder at how he really was the perfect choice for a fairytale prince. Almost unfairly so.

“W- Well, I guess now all that’s left is to get you back home,” I managed a smile despite the way my voice wavered.

Something flickered in his gaze that bordered on amusement. Almost like he knew exactly what effect he had on me, but he didn’t say anything about it. Allowing me a small bit of dignity even as he squeezed my hand lightly, causing my eyes to widen as he spoke, “And to get both of us back to Twisted Wonderland.”

I blinked slightly before feeling a genuine smile stretch across my face and I nodded, “Yeah.”

I gazed at him for a brief moment longer, letting myself relax now that I wasn’t alone in this storybook and had him by my side. But then something shifted.

He noticed it at the same time I did, his gaze sharpening before he whirled. Putting me behind him as he reached over and grasped his sword.

I stepped closer to him, glancing around warily, “What's going on?”

He shook his head, his voice solemn and lacking all of the warmth it had just previously held when it had just been the two of us standing together, “I don’t know. Something’s wrong.”

His words were the only warning I was given before the world bled away into white, slowly absorbing everything else into it. The last thing I saw was Silver whirling to look back at me with a determined expression before even he disappeared from sight, and all of the whiteness that threatened to blind me turned black. 

I twitched slightly, and then my eyes flew open as I inhaled sharply.

The first thing I really registered was Sebek’s voice bellowing “HUMAN!!” as Lilia leaned over me with an amused smile.

I blinked up at the fae in alarm as he titled his head, his eyes glittering with amusement, “Looks like you both made it home just fine.”

I almost frowned in confusion as my brain fought to slowly catch up to reality before I realized that we were in the school library. I shifted before freezing as I realized something was wrapped around my waist that shifted with me.

I slowly twisted, my eyes widening as I made eye contact with Silver, who smiled at me slightly in an almost apologetic fashion as I realized what, or rather, who, I was sitting on.

“Do you know how this story ends, Malleus? It is a Briar Valley classic, after all,” Lilia’s tone was beyond amused as he spoke from behind me.

I heard Malleus hum in response as I sat, frozen in mortified embarrassment, in Silver’s lap. And somehow, Malleus’s response just made it all the worse, “Of course, how could I not? ‘And so they lived happily ever after.’”

[piratefalls]

i'm back! between work and trying to write my first fic for this fandom i've been falling really behind on reading, so for now these are going to be a more bi-weekly occurrence than weekly. in any event, there's truly a little bit here for everyone, so enjoy this week's mix of a+ works!

masterlist

you and me, babe, how about it? by @myheartalivewrites

Alex sits in the back of their Secret Service approved, PPO driven Land Rover, excitement thrumming through his body. The leather squeaks as he fidgets incessantly; his skin burns where Kieran’s shoulder is pressed into his, despite the layers of fabric between them. On the other side of Kieran, he can see Henry’s fingers twitch on top of his own knee, playing an imaginary piano, flicking out and squeezing in before releasing and starting again. Like he’s so fucking desperate to reach out and touch the leg next to his he’s having to muster up all of his self-control, draw on all the years of keeping himself restrained, just to not start things too soon. Alex can’t believe they’re actually, finally, doing this.

you know i can't be found with you by stutteringpeach

“He’s cute,” Alex declares on the first day of class. Liam doesn’t even bother to look up from his laptop. “Uh huh.” “The professor.” Liam makes a non-committal noise. “I’m gonna fuck him.”

Longer Than Most by happinessofthepursuit

“Oh,” Alex says. “Sick.” Henry can’t help but grin. He can’t believe he’s so bloody gone on a man who says sick and dude, who he’s slept with all of one time and proceeded to knock him up. Henry’s a cliche, honestly. “It is, indeed, sick, as you say.” Alex rolls his eyes, but his cheeks darken a shade, giving him away a bit. “Listen, the closest I get to poetry is your fucking face. Excuse me if my vocabulary doesn’t quite compare to yours.” Or, Alex and Henry have a one night stand. That is, until a baby’s involved.

Baby (Let Me Put On a Show) by SatinBirds

It’s been five months, and still Alex is never completely prepared for Henry’s performances. Private or otherwise. Or, Henry is a night dancer, and he’s everything Alex wants.

Sun Salutations (Waif for Me) by @duchessdepolignaca03

He repeats the movement five or six times, his body heating up with each repetition, loosening the hangovers’ grip on him through very effective breathwork. Wanting to open up his hips a little bit more, he settles into a wide-legged forward fold. He holds the pose, enjoying the delicious stretch on his lower back and virtually all the muscles of his lower body. Then he just about jumps out of his skin when he hears, “Mmm, breakfast is served.” Or: Alex parties hard on a Thursday night and has some deliciously anonymous sex with the glittery blond he calls Waif. When he wakes to do his naked sun salutations, he learns that Waif is a very, very hungry, 'temporarily unhoused' boy whom Alex quickly invites to live rent-free in his head.

secret, scars, and trust by viciouslyqueer

He trails off and Henry takes the opportunity to cup his cheek, gently swiping his thumb over the smooth skin. “Hey. We don’t have to do anything. We can stop right now if you want to, or cuddle for a while. I can put on a movie if you’d like. I don’t mind either way.” Alex’s smile grows and he leans into the touch, pecking Henry’s lips again. “Thanks, baby,” he murmurs, and Henry has to fight the urge to react at the pet name. “But it’s not that. I want to keep going, if you want it, too. I just have to tell you something before, okay?”

make it five by anincompletelist

“Fifty bucks says I can get that guy’s number.” Popping the bubble of cinnamon-flavored gum Alex had just blown, he glances up from his phone to look at where Nora’s pointing. Just over the soles of his shoes, crossed at the ankles and propped on the flaking black wood of the shop’s front desk, there’s a man with broad shoulders lingering by the far wall. Alex hadn’t even heard the guy come in. “Nora. He’s literally looking at one of the biggest dildos I’ve ever seen,” he deadpans quietly. + alex works at a sex toy shop. it's usually a pretty easy job — if he could just stop daydreaming about the blonde guy that keeps coming in to buy literally all of alex's favorite sex toys.

talk by smc_27

Henry records himself for an audio erotica app. Alex finds it. And listens.

Got a ticket for two by clottedcreamfudge

Henry likes his apartment - he has done since the day he moved in a year ago. The light in the sitting room is gorgeous at all times of day thanks to the ceiling to floor windows which lead out onto a south-facing balcony, only just large enough for the plethora of plantlife his flatmates care for. The kitchen is always stocked with his favourite tea, everyone keeps to their allotted cupboard and fridge space, and the bathrooms are kept meticulously clean. There's a rota for chores stuck to the fridge with magnets from Rhode Island and Minnesota, London and Milan, with everything typed up neatly so that nobody has to squint to read someone else's awful handwriting. His flatmates themselves? Well, they're a little… strange.

Far Away From the One That I Love by allmylovesatonce

It's been an agonizing two months of Henry being in London and Alex being in New York. When an opportunity to finally be reunited with Henry comes his way, Alex jumps on it. But things don't go quite how they expected after so much time away.

If We're Caught in a Wage (I Will Carry You Over) by @sparklepocalypse

There it is, up ahead – the small island just offshore, with Alex’s favorite broad, flat stone outcropping, perfect for sunning himself in seclusion. He splashes into the shallows and dives in when the water’s up to his knees, and it’s a matter of maybe a minute’s swim to reach the island. Alex finds his footing among the sand and pebbles, pulls himself upright, and shakes the water out of his hair, then pushes it back from his face. He can practically hear the outcropping calling to him -- you know, if inanimate rock could speak. Alex stretches, his mid-back satisfyingly popping, and then skirts his way between some larger rocks until his sunning rock is in view. Except – there’s someone already on the outcropping, their short blond hair shimmering in the sunshine, the upper slant of their shoulders visible from where Alex is standing. (Movie or Bookverse AU; Alex rents a remote beach house and Henry is a cecaelia.)

Protect Your Solitude by graceofgrayskull

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Alex stumbles onto Prince Henry crying in a storage closet and is forced to rewrite his perception of their first meeting.

Out For A Bite by everwitch

Henry's eyes fly up, zeroing in on the reflection in the mirror. There, behind him. The man from the bar. He looks different in the fluorescent bathroom lights. Sharper. There’s a look in his eyes that has Henry shivering all over again. It's greedy. Hungry. He’s staring right at Henry. Henry's throat feels dry. His heart beats madly. He's heard whispers of this place, and more importantly of its patrons. He thinks he knows what this man is.

each time we touch / i wanna take too much by @firenati0n

my fingers slipped and now there are fingers in mouths. wrote this in one sitting at 5am today. please forgive any egregious errors, i wrote it without my glasses on and on no sleep lol. hope you like it. <3 title from New Girl by FINNEAS

you took the time to memorize me (my fears, my hopes, my dreams) by coffeecatsme

The tour guide has a small bisexual flag pinned to his chest, right next to where his name is scrawled in big, bold letters. Alex, it reads; simple, to the point. The name tag rests on a red and black flannel, and underneath is a white t-shirt with Georgetown’s name stretched on the front, reminding Henry ever so starkly that he’s thousands of miles away from what he calls home. The flannel stretches over broad shoulders leading up to a strong jaw, all in contrast with the bright, dimpled grin stretched over a beautiful face. Henry thinks there isn't a place on the world far enough away from his grandmother to escape her clutches - even after transferring to Georgetown. Then, his tour guide extends a helping hand and shows him otherwise. Or, 5 steps Alex and Henry take to memorize each other and 1 time they realize they already do.

Praise & Supplication by NoCoastPosts

Alex is always moving, always going, always seeking. He is defiance and brashness tinged with anxiety, but not in these moments. Henry pins him down with a gaze as heavy as his touch, and all of Alex’s motions cease. He is calm, he is obedient, he is pliable. He knows he’ll be broken apart piece by piece, sending waves of heat deep into his core. or When Alex gets stuck in his head, Henry helps him let go.

Another Door Opens by 14carrotgold

Henry takes a long drink. “If it makes you feel any better, my dad's dead. He and my mum had the type of love straight from the storybooks and it got cut tragically short, so what is the point in finding something real if it's just going to hurt you?” Alex bites back a smile and shakes his head. “How in the fuck was that supposed to make me feel better?” He waves his hand awkwardly. “Oh, I just thought we were both sharing the trauma that impacted our romantic relationships.” - Henry and Alex first meet when Henry reveals their partners are cheating on them with each other.

Fifteen Hours Till Forever by inexplicablymine

“I would say that in this life, we aren’t granted many chances at true happiness, at the unadulterated freedom and joy that comes to the lucky ones. I would say that I know right now only fifteen feet apart, fifteen hours till forever, and somehow the universe has decided I ought to be one of the luckiest there are.” “But tomorrow,” he continues, “when we are saying our vows, when we are promising ourselves to one another forever, I want you to look me in the eyes and know that you are it for me.”  OR The year is 2025, and the world doesn't know they are getting married. 

home by rizcriz

For a moment he fears Henry’s been outed against his will somehow, but he scrolls down to find a video clip. Unable to trust himself to watch the video, he scrolls a little further to read the transcript. He learns that Henry had come out during a ribbon cutting, of all things. He’d stood in front of a crowd of a couple hundred people gathered for the opening of a new youth shelter, and he’d told his truth. Alex is tempted to watch the video, to examine his body language to see if it was planned or not, but he reads further and one sentence stands out to tell him it wasn’t. There is no comment yet from Buckingham Palace. -- or, six months after Henry rejected Alex at Kensington Palace.

The Way of Things by writerkenna

Henry and Alex have been very much enjoying the life they’ve managed to carve out for themselves. They’ve had to compromise and work and change to maintain it, but it’s worth it. Henry finds himself pregnant, though, and everything they’ve built starts to turn on its head. as always, let me know if you want to be tagged either because you're a writer or a reader (or both!) and i'll see you next time!

My life is a cosmic joke and you're not a real person by lizzie_bennetdarcy

Alex plans to be a lot of firsts in the world. But this absolutely isn't the kind of first he was thinking. He stares wide-eyed into the mirror at the letters on his shoulder while June whines to be let in. Alex finally unlocks the door and June bursts through. “Show me!” Wordlessly, Alex turns to show her his back. "What the actual fuck?" June exclaims, then claps a hand over her mouth. "Sorry, that was rude, but — is it more than one person?" Or: Five times Alex doesn't find his soulmate, and one time he does

tagging: @starkfridays @stilesgivesmefeels @midnightsfp @sarahjswift omg i feel like i'm missing someone

[tlbodine]

Overthinking: The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena

The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena is Goosebumps #38, released in December of '95. This is another one I never read but remember the cover art for quite vividly. There was a whole run of these around the midpoint of the series that I saw but never bought.

Thinking back on it, '95 was kind of a chaotic year for my family. By December of that year, we were living in San Manuel, Arizona, a town where I actually don't remember the library, and it was definitely too small for a bookstore. So that makes sense.

Anyway. Was I missing much? Let's find out.

First, the Plot:

Jordan and his brainy little sister Nicole are tired of the Pasadena heat, so they're excited to join their nature photographer dad on a journey to Alaska. He's been sent to find evidence of an abominable snowman that the locals swear is real, and though he's pretty skeptical, he's excited by the opportunity.

The kids are an unwelcome surprise for the guide, though, a dude named Arthur who runs a sled team of dogs and believes whole-heartedly in the snowman. He's even more dismayed to realize that these kids are pranksters who like to pull jokes on each other and mess around, because the winter tundra is a pretty scary place.

Jordan falls in a crevasse his first day out in the wild, but gets out unharmed. It sobers him up a little, but he's still not above pranking the others by faking some snowman prints. Later, after a few mysterious spooky occurrences, Arthur decides he's had enough and leaves, abandoning the family to the cold.

Their dad is out taking nighttime photos at this point, and the kids try and fail to catch up with Arthur. Instead, they fall into another crevasse and are almost flattened by an avalanche. But they escape into a cave just in time, discovering the subterranean lair of the abominable snowman himself.

He's frozen solid in a block of ice when they find him, but he thaws in time to eat their trail mix and eventually picks them up to carry them off. But he's stopped by the remaining sled dog left behind by Arthur. When their dad comes back, they tell him what happened and, though he's initially skeptical, he agrees to go back to the cave. Sure enough, the snowman is back in his ice block, and their dad somewhat unwisely decides to kidnap the whole frozen monster and haul him back to Pasadena, for science?

The kids sneak a few snowballs from the cave into the trunk and they somehow get him back without thawing. But back home, they can't resist telling their friend about what happened, and showing her the evidence. As a joke, they chuck a snowball at her, miss, and hit a tree -- which immediately freezes. Before anyone can react, another snowball hits Nicole, who also freezes.

The kids try to thaw her in various ways without success, but ultimately decide to wake up the snowman and see if he can fix it. He does, for the low-low price of trail mix, thawing the sister and melting the snow before taking off to disappear down the block. Dad comes home and is understandably upset. Even moreso when it turns out that none of his pictures came out.

Now there is no evidence of the snowman, nobody to believe them......and the neighborhood bullies just got hold of the last carefully hidden snowballs. Oop.

Overthinking It: Ok, it's been a little while since I've played the "I don't think Stine wrote this" game, but this one is a definite contender.

It's not that I disliked this book. I actually quite enjoyed it while I was reading it -- although, writing up the summary, it becomes clear that the plot is positively riddled with holes.

But the writing does not feel like Stine's, in terms of his usual verbal tics, and the story feels kind of dark and mean-spirited. Maybe the problem is I am an adult who knows logically just how dangerous Alaska winters are so I spent a lot of the book being genuinely scared for these kids who are out throwing snowballs and stuffing snow down each other's shirts and venturing out into blizzards in the kind of temperatures that could straight-up kill them. Arthur's decision to abandon this family out in the cold in the middle of the night is straight up, well, chilling.

This is also the first book in the series to definitively feature a divorced parent. (An argument could have been made for Carly-Beth, but her dad is confirmed to be in the picture by The Haunted Mask II so that's a no-go).

Also. The book seems to have its seasons very confused. Even in Pasadena, it's not 100 degrees in the middle of winter. And the days in mid-winter Alaskan tundra should have been perpetual-twilight, whereas the book sounds more like the super long day hours of summer.

Just. Ugh. Lots of little lazy mistakes.

That notwithstanding, though, I did like the creature. He seems ultimately benevolent and I hope he enjoys his visit to Pasadena.

If You Liked This, THESE Will Really Give You Goosebumps:

I recently read T.C. Boyle's Drop City, about a group of unprepared hippies wintering in Alaska, and I think that's part of why this book made me want to scream. Heartily recommended if you want a more realistic and brutal take on this.

Also, lol, not to plug my own book, but Neverest is all about that cold-weather horror, yo. I'd also recommend The Ascent by Ronald Malfi and The White Road by Sarah Lotz.

For another gentle creature who should have been left well enough alone, go watch Troll. If you want to see a sasquatch fuck some shit up, I perpetually recommend Willow Creek.

[enden-agolor]

Hi, I read through recovery and left a comment on chapter 21, I was just going to make this another comment but I thought that I would send an ask instead.

Anyways I love recovery so much and it's really inspired me to try writing fics and drawing fanart again.

MCSM is such a tiny fandom (at least on AO3) and I've noticed that it's severely lacking in the sickfic department, so I thought I would write one myself? And I would like give you a sneak peek on the plot!

Basically while the group is traveling through the portal network Jesse gets sick (and eventually injured cause that boy is stubborn as hell) and the group, but especially Lukas, (you think I'm going to write a sickfic and not make it Jeskas?!) gotta take care of him while hiding in a cave and dealing with monsters and stuff until he gets better and they find the portal back to the hallway.

Random plot point ideas:

They find an abandoned village

Ivor makes Jesse suspicious stew using dandelions and daisies (for the health benefits)

Jesse being delirious which leads to angst and hurt/comfort

General pre-relationship Jeskas stuff (no confessions in this fic but they love each other and that's what matters)

That's all I've got for now, just wanna say I love your art and writing so much, it's so beautiful and cute and inspiring and I love it! Bye!

<:O Dude????

Firstly, I saw your comment on the fic and am so happy you liked it!! I absolutely love seeing peoples comments about my writing, it feels extremely reassuring reading those. Seriously it was so nice 🫶 Nothing makes me happier than people enjoying my writing, let alone inspiring you to create your own? I'm honored, and from what you've mentioned here I am so excited to see what you do. I totally agree the tag is lacking in sick fics, which is shocking given how loved that trope is.

From the ideas you've been kindly willing to share here, I can say I know I'm going to love it already. A portal arc sick fic sounds too good to be true?? Jesse being the one getting sick and Lukas taking care of him slfnglndkngks I am very normal about that. I love caretaker Lukas 🥺 Also Ivor content?? 🤲 Yes please. Also I'm so crazy about pre-relationship fluff where it's obvious the have feelings for each other but they aren't quite there yet to confess it uUUGHH. Anyways. Yes. I am very much looking forward to this!!! 😍 Please keep me updated on how it's going!

[cosmichorrorsarestillnicerthanme]

Hi, I just got done dealing with a 12 hour migraine and just found your fate posts, if you would be willing could you do, Gareth, Mordred, Atalante Alter, and serenity with a male S/O fluff? Thank you so much if you do this!

Your Wish Is My Command!

(Damn, that sounds like hell, glad you're getting better dude! Also sorry it took so long to get this to you, for some reason Atalante Alter and Serenity weren't coming along and eventually I had to cut them out which is infuriating because I've wanted to write for both of them for awhile.)

Wordcount: 1,172

Time to Write: 47 days

Warnings: Female pronouns for Mordred because gender gets fucky when the Fate series is involved.

Gareth

(Fun Fact: Gareth was the first lancer I ever pulled! Also why are there no Gifs of best lancer but so much awesome fanart?)

You opened the door to the home you and gareth shared, the toils of the day weighing heavily on your mind and body.

“It seems Gareth isn’t home yet.” You muttered while you took your shoes off before forcing yourself to trudge towards the bedroom.

Unfortunately your exhausted body decided that the couch would serve just as well if not better than your bed as you flopped onto the piece of furniture with all of the grace of a bull in a china shop.

You briefly noted that the pillows Gareth picked out to decorate the couch were quite comfy and soft before a death like sleep finally took you.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Gareth opened the door to the home she shared with you, a yawn already escaping her as she kicked off her shoes

“Hmm what should I make for dinner?” Gareth asked herself as she stretched her arm and back.

“Then again I don’t really feel like making anything right… now…” Gareth trailed off as she walked into the living room and saw your sleeping form on the couch.

“Takeout it is.” Gareth muttered to herself with a smile as she kneeled down to look at your sleeping face.

“I wonder if I kiss him if that’ll wake him up just like in those stories about Knights and princesses?” Gareth quietly mused to herself before muttering “I’d better not risk it. Afterall, it’s not everyday I get to do something like taking a nice quiet nap with him.”

Gareth quietly stood up and made her way to the room the two of you shared to change into something a bit more comfortable.

-=-=-=-=-=-

A comfortable weight laid upon your entire body while the sounds of soft snores did their best to lull you back to sleep with their ever enchanting melody, sadly allowing yourself to do that was out of the question because of the woman making the same song that tried to lull you back to your rest.

A mop of blonde and brown hair, a soft and happy face with a small amount of drool escaping her open mouth, her eye’s held closed by the embrace of sleep, her body pressed tightly into yours with a shirt that was a size or so too large covering her like a gown.

This was Gareth, not the night of the round table Gareth, but the young, excitable, woman Gareth, someone who enjoys cooking, someone who enjoys cheesy cartoons and comedy shows, someone who finds the world of love she has dived headfirst into with you at her side more exciting than anything her life from before could have ever offered.

And even if the entire world was at stake, she is someone who wouldn’t trade you for it.

Mordred Pendragon

Mordred Pendragon has been called a great many things.

Loud.

Rambunctious.

Chaotic.

Crazy.

Feral.

Bastard.

Monster.

Betrayer.

But not once has she been called what you dare to call her at least once every single day.

Cute.

And it infuriates her to no end.

No matter what she does to try and get you to call her something else, anything else, you always, always! Walk up to her and say with a smile “You really are cute Mo.”

And don’t get her started on that insufferable nickname that never fails to make her heart skip a beat, heat to rush to her cheeks, and her stomach to roil in a way that made her feel both extremely happy and extremely weird.

She has no Idea what was going on with you and how you were making her all weird, but her feelings on the matter could not be anymore paradoxical.

On one hand she wants you to treat her like everyone else does because that’s what she knows, it’s what she’s used to.

But on the other she wants you to praise her, to flatter her, to continue to call her cute, to continue to treat her in the way that no one else has treated her before.

She despises it and she loves it more than anything.

Then a certain day came.

There was nothing truly special about it, it was just a regular day, no holiday, no weird weather, no crazy phenomenon, just a regular day with a pretty high chance of rain all throughout the day.

And yet every time Mordred would ever look back on this day, it would be one of if not the day she called the best day of her life.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Mordred kicked a rock as she trekked to the destination where you called her to.

“Why the hell am I even listening to that bastard's request?” Mordred muttered to herself as she kicked another rock down the trail she was following.

This exact same sequence of events continued for the next thirty minutes.

Mordred would kick a rock.

Then she would complain about why she was listening to you or say that she was just going to leave you out to dry.

Then she would continue forward and repeat the previous steps as many times as it took to reach the destination you set.

A hill that overlooked the city and the forest equally.

Mordred had to begrudgingly admit that the view was beautiful, the lights of the city contrasted by the shadows of the forest added a rather fairytale-esque look to it all.

And yet despite the view her eyes were squarely locked on you where you were sitting on the blanket, a basket and a cooler next to you.

“Hey there Mo.” You greeted her despite not even being able to see her from where you were.

“How’d you know I was here?” Mordred asked, the familiar feeling that name you always called her caused creeping in.

“I’ll admit, the first few times it tried that it was either a raccoon or a bird.” You answered with a chuckle.

“Oh, wonderful, fucking wonderful! Now his chuckle is getting me all weird! Damn it!” Mordred cursed in her mind.

“So why’d ya call me up here?” Mordred asked you.

You patted the ground next to you and said “come, come, sit.”

“Why he hell would I- NO! BODY! NO! LISTEN TO ME ARGHFKNDKGNJGOJM” Mordred screamed as her body moved towards you against her mind’s wishes.

Mordred sat down, her face as red as clarent, if not more so.

“Here, I want you to try this.” You told Mordred as you pulled out a carton of chocolate covered strawberries from the cooler and handed it to her.

“Is that the only reason you called me up here?” Mordred asked.

“No, but it’s one of them.” You admitted with a shrug.

-=-=-=-=-=-

The picnic continued until night began to fall and Mordred finally decided it was time to do something about this damnable feeling you cause in her.

And if that meant sharing the last strawberry so be it!

-=-=-=-=-END-=-=-=-=-=-

Again sorry about only doing half of this, whenever I get the motivation to write something for Atalante Alter or Serenity I'll be sure to try and tag you.

[faccal]

WIP Wednesday (It's Saturday)

I was tagged by the wonderful @simonxriley thanks so much dude!

I always suck at tagging people, but I know this can be for writing and art, so I'll try to tag a few others. @samithemunchkin @tokillamockingbird427 @alidravana and anyone else who wants to join in on the fun!

I've been going back and forth with different WIPs, so I'll do the one that I actually worked on today.

Merrick’s in his office filing paperwork when he gets back, fingers clicking away on a laptop he’d been given. His graying brows are furrowed and surrounded by deep wrinkles, the man having seemed to age much quicker in the last year or so. 

“Hey Merrick.” Hesh knocks lightly against the open door, a flat smile on his face while he waits for his captain to look up. 

“What’s going on, kid?” His eyes flick up for a brief moment, a faint spark barely crossing his eyes for a second before it's gone and he’s looking back at his paperwork. 

“I uh, there’s not much to do. I wanted to see if you needed my help.” He takes a seat in the chair across from him. He quite likes the place they’ve been staying in, it’s got a lot of older furniture, but much of it is quite comfortable and cozy. It often reminds him of their old places they’d stay at. Safehouses full of outdated furniture among other things. He lets out a sigh, rubbing his hands back and forth on the fabric of the armrests. His grandparents had chairs like these in their lounge. 

“I’m all set, Hesh.” He answers, short and curt. Always cold. Hesh knows Merrick doesn’t mean to be cold, he’s usually warmer with his men when he can be. “I’m just finishing up my half of this, Price will finish his when he gets back.” Another brief glance. “Are you alright?” 

“I’m good.” He answers, which is a half-truth. Logan had been doing much better; less nightmares, fewer violent outbursts. He’s finally willingly letting nurses take blood samples, among all the other things they need from him. Constant checks, constant evals. It never ends. Hesh would give anything to snatch his little brother and take him far, far away from here. It wouldn’t have to be back home, there’s nothing left and that’s the first place anyone would look. Soap’s warm smile crosses his mind, a soft skip in his heartbeat catches his breath. Maybe they could all run away together. 

It wouldn’t solve their problems, and none of them were runners. Soap still wanted to lead his team, and Hesh was more than ready for another promotion. Certainly, he’d earned the privilege of being a Captain. Granted, the idea of leading the Ghosts not only excited him but left him with doubts. Rorke had led them, his father, and now Merrick. The Ghosts seemed to have a hard time keeping captains and soldiers alike. They’d all been through so much, both before and after ODIN. Both before and after Torch, Grim, Ajax and his father were killed. It was a heavy burden to lead the Ghosts, and Hesh was beginning to wonder if he still wanted that. 

Pulling himself from his thoughts, he jumps a bit when his eyes land on Merrick’s stern ones, boring into his face. 

“Thought I lost you for a second there.” He states, eyes flicking around Hesh’s face. “Go get some rest kid, you need it.” 

“I don’t-” He tries to argue, shutting up when Merrick gives him that look., the same look his father used to give him when he’d try to argue. “Yes sir.” He answers with a sigh, pulling himself from the chair and leaving without looking back. He probably had that look on his face still, and he didn’t want to see his father in Merrick’s eyes. 

Sorry for any weird spacing, I didn't feel like fixing it, I'm terrible at website Tumblr.

[herotome]

Hello Wudge!!! I know working on such a beautiful and ambitious project must be incredibly tiring. I also know how encouraging it can be to know that people enjoy what you put out there, so I'm here to express my appreciation for Herotome and all the work you have put into it already!

I've been into visual novels for a couple of years now, and while I enjoy my occassional short and sweet dose of cheesy romance, most visual novels could never really satisfy my desire for a good narrative and a lot of time to get to know the love interests (As someone who really needs to know a person in order to get romantically involved with them, I've always found some love stories kind of rushed. That's just my preference tho). I know it's hard to develop a fully-fledged game, especially when you're an independent developer and mostly work for free, so I'm definitely not trying to undermine anyone's work!!!

However, this is why I was so stunned by how much Herotome's DEMO captivated me. Not even just the extended demo!!! The first time I came across this game was before the extended demo got released, and even then, I was so enamoured with the universe, the artstyle, the characters, the writing. EVERYTHING. I'm a bit ashamed to say I can be quite picky with my taste in visual novels, but Herotome literally ticked every single box for me. Visually appealing designs (both with the characters and with the UI!), a great mix of humour and sobriety, clear and skilled writing and awesome world building. All of this in A DEMO??? GOD DAMN, DUDE!

A literal demo unironically managed to put this visual novel among my absolute favourites simply because of how much work and care was put into it. I really hope it gains more attention even before it gets fully released, because you truly deserve the same level of support that games like Our Life (my #1 fav VN, can't wait for OL2) have. I know it'll probably be a while before Herotome gets released, but I'll try my best to wait patiently because I can't wait to see more of everyone! (especially Dart and Jade, I love them.)

I'm really sorry for the whole essay over here, but I just wanted to make my support clear!!! Unfortunately I don't have the possibility of financially supporting (yet) but I'm over here awaiting every update of this game with so much excitement you have no idea (⁠ᗒ⩊��� ྀི) Good luck and stay healthy!

ksbfjsdb how did you know.. 😭😭😭 Thank you, sweet anon! No apology necessary, I love essays!!

Worldbuilding is a area where I've felt particularly lacking -- like, I make a point avoid thinking about it most of the time, so in the rare instances I actually do put in effort it feels like it's coming up short? Maybe not so much in the demos, but nowadays I'll be standing around thinking about how things work in the society of Rhineway and trying to plan out ideas of what's gonna come up in the routes and my brain will inevitably feels like television static by the end.

SO to be praised for worldbuilding gives me a bizarre yet flattered feeling (sort of like "I'm not sure I deserve this but I guess I've done something right"), thank you, and I'm continually touched that people enjoy the humor! I really try to put in a lot of throwaway jokes where it's like -- if you don't laugh, it's totally fine cuz it goes by pretty quick -- but it is nice to know I've made people laugh. Or at least have an sensible inward chuckle :')

It sounds like you're demisexual btw which - lol me too. 🤝 Eyyyy!

I'm not sure how to end this post so I'll just put in some preview of what I've been working on -

Lots of eyebrow dances.

[zombocomme]

Grah I wanna yap at you and ask you to yap back but I don't wanna bug youuuuu

In the vampire fic with Copia and Jim, will Copia ever realize how shittu he's being to Jim and fix it? Or will he just use Jim up until there's nothing but a memory and regret left?

Zombocomme: I was waiting for this question to pop up, and I'm glad you did make it so!

I suppose you'll have to tune in this week and find out!

(Trust me, Decopia will be a badass team up when shit goes down! And trust me, it will!)

(BTL AU Spoliers under the cut!)

[AZ]/Zombo: behind the scenes bonus featurette

ill chime in, ahem*

Maybe the Decopia Elephant in the Room, is the friends we made along the way!

Well... in my world anyway...

Every dimension is endlessly possible for any and all things to occur. So. In our timeline (often non sequential, and often glazed over until-) we span Nihils rise, the papas 1, 2, and 3, thier demise, in Copia's CURRENT lifetime and we are now sitting in "Generic General World Build" of the Cardinal eras, where some real world events and things happen..

and i must admit, i missed my kinda evil rat man... so I made this time go longer anyways...

The years aren't rigid and exclusive. But the string of events does occur (or rather mainly based and set in) a single existence timeline.

The Jimmy and Copia, grow up, go to schools, become teenagers, fuck up, form a band, breakup, get puppeted around by their parents and religious communities, and now as real boys with broken strings, you can see why they are just so extra and deep feeling.

They don't know how to be free when they have it. They go to colleges and live in and out of eachothers flats, sleeping around wherever. But when everyone comes back to ministry Valley, mere months before

CANNON EVENT the brother's demise, we'll, now we can have all sorts of things go wonderfully wrong in Copia emerging and embracing his roles in life! And what an exciting one it is.

For example. He and Jim share love interest(s), for this DECOPIA is also a REVERSE HAREM, yes, and the clergy dudes are wrapped around their baby mama's finger and honestly it has been fun, heartbreaking and rewarding to write...

Ambitious year but between major events, this AU centers around a timeline where that cardinal era goes on for quite a while.. because i think it takes time for somone who technically is battling the stamina to live for eternity, to become this POPIA/Lesbian male wife/Petty/Cunty/but endearing sweetheart personality we had when i was firs writing this during re-imperatour, and of course we enjoy that golden personality endearing era. I wanted to explore that journey. So trust, this is only the beginning...

And so Jim was born a more complex character than the JHKM, and Decopia became my thing, (and yes, Jim is in the reverse psychology propaganda for the Ministry and while a bit culty, honestly what if he was done with it? What if he wanted to have a real life he wanted, that was genuine and real?...

See thing is, like everyone has different beliefs, traumas, personal traits and decisions that make them almost embarrassingly human at times. But well, I love the idea that jim does have addiction issues, but like, why tho. And then an entire backstory exploded onto the drafts that sit in The Vault until they are aired...

So now, that BTL AU is in its 3rd season of writing (Ministry Tv airs thw reruns of 1 and 2 atm), I'm sure the time of Papa into like total Frater, to the V transition yesrs, like, that's material for a whole nother show really! And with another TWO little serial series, on the way (shhh...) so much work to do

Hope that answers your question.

I know I ramble. But I've been dying to share this journey beind the scenes for so long lol!

Bless you for your patience, and thank you for the ask!

[on-the-syed]

Aku Origins + Doot

lately i've been spending a lot of time thinking about two of my dearest critters, aku and doot! i dug up some old artwork while reflecting on them.

this is a very jumbled write-up, but i have a headache and i'm tired... it will have to do.

i believe i've had aku since i wassss... 11 years old? 11 or 12 i'd say. the oldest drawing i could find of him was in my dA storage from Nov 2012, but i believe i drew this the summer of that year:

and... yeah.... there's a lot to say about these lol. they were definitely not the first drawings of him, and he had an identity crisis for his first few years before i got a handle on things.

a confession! aku was totally a rip-off character at first and i totally lied about it as a kid. i had some complex where everything i made had to be so original (unattainable) and honestly, that mindset had the opposite effect on my art. i think the conversation "all art/artists are inspired by other art/artists" has been done to death by now and i don't have anything more to contribute there. it's true! and by trying to make things dissimilar to anything i consumed (which isn't possible), i just made ugly and incoherent things. different doesn't inherently make an idea appealing or exciting. this especially applies to how i drew sye at around this age, but that's a conversation for another day.

it took an embarrassingly long time for me to accept that, and to realize that no one cares! i have plenty of friends whose characters started as fan characters (particularly pokemon), who have evolved (teehee) so much they've taken on a totally unique identity. i've talked with one of my dearest friends about this, and how one of his main characters was, at first, a fairly direct reinterpretation of a design he saw and clicked with (hi danny!). and while sure, i could see the inspiration and similarities, his character just feels so different and his own thing now. it is interesting! and i think the same thing can be said for aku.

https://www.deviantart.com/jaunty-eyepatch/art/Hopgoblin-Design-167766735

this bad boy is what youthful me saw and went crazy for. he is from the short film Reversal of the Heart. the similarities to current aku are obvious, but way back when it was totally one to one. i love me a simple design! a bright little frog with ears? i'm in dude. i drew aku with the hopgoblin a while ago, cause i owe a lot to the little guy.

it is fun to look at them side by side, because really... they don't look very similar anymore. aku's design changed very soon after i first made him, but i didn't really know where i wanted to go with him. initially, he was a bit of a trickster, which is how he got his name. i find it to be a funny and vaguely charming misnomer these days lol. anyway, there was the image from Nov 2012, and the next dA drawing i could find was from 2013:

if memory serves, this was the first digital drawing i made with my tablet! aww. looks horrible. later in the year i had this:

i had a good number of drawings of him as a more "realistic" frog (lol). i do remember the green eyes, and specifically that i wanted him to have cheek markings, but i was not sure the exact shape or pattern.

poor boy. what is going on here? why is your ear backwards!? this turmoil continued until the fated turning point...

this game is supremely dear to my heart for many reasons but it also helped usher in the era of aku. im amazed i could find pictures of these:

i think it was winter break of 2013 when i first played the game and doodled in an adjacent style. (also, how i learned the difference between water and alcohol-based markers... guess which i had :") )

i drew him as this weird little anthro guy SOOOOOOOOO much. like, constantly. i will spare you the bulk of it, but that's the gist of it. and to be quite honest, part of me misses it a little bit. some of the versions when he was short and squat (i.e. more akin to AC's style) i still find sorta fun and cute. i definitely would not draw him like this again, but i did retain some of that essence for a character ten years later- kipabell!

he of course made his way to my digital drawings too:

interestingly, it seems like the vaguely realistic version of him still existed at this point and i occasionally drew that instead.

this continued until i was 14, and began thinking about a story based on him and another oc. he returned to a blobby form!

weirdly, the vaguely realistic, anthro, and blobby versions all existed at this point (2014). i thought he had a more linear progression, but evidently i liked to toss things up a lot.

things began to stabilize when i was 15 (2015-16).

i animated him quite frequently around this time too. when i was 17 and a senior in high school, i created a companion for him...

DOOT!

he was initially made for my partner tech, as a sort of stand-in. i drew aku so frequently he was practically my online sona, so of course he needed a partner too! at the time, axolotls were tech's favorite animal, so it was a no-brainer. unfortunately, i don't think his design process was as inspired or interesting. he kind of just... came to be, with very few actual changes over the years.

apparently, "doot" was initially short for "doodle", which i imagine is why he has a scribble-esque mark on his tummy. he was very very stubby, and his palette a lot lighter. i find that shade of blue kind of strains my eyes... but his first palette looks quite similar to olmen's, doesn't it? and that's a coincidence!

these are among the first drawings of him. he was made almost explicitly as a compliment to aku. the most obvious point there would be their color palettes, with orange being the compliment to blue. doot has the bright pink to aku's purple. i also mirrored other characteristics of aku. where he has fangs and bat wings and ears, doot is round and soft with feathery wings (or gills... or ears... whatever). aku has cheek marks, so doot has the blush. i think the spiral might have been to mirror aku's cheek circles, but i'm not certain.

they are made for each other! i made this gif the day before i met tech in person for the first time. you can see here that doot had started to lengthen out, which furthered the contrast.

they were the muse that made me start caring about illustration and design more. i started considering color a bit more deliberately, and began dipping my toes in more complete pieces with backgrounds.

really, they have not changed very much since, just grown with my general art style. i was going to speak a bit more on my thoughts on complimentary designs and where these two stand now, but i have reached the image limit. i will save that for another time. for now, it was interesting to sift through all this old art and try to remember how things were way back when. lately, i have been developing doot more as a character, and i have been pretty happy with how he is now. i would like to give aku the same treatment soon. i think it is safe to say these are the two most important characters to me, both personally and as an artist. i wonder how they will be in another ten years... time will tell!

[ettadunham]

inon zur, the man you are.

is this cheating? maybe. possibly. probably.

okay, so context. i have been doing this thing where i play a random adventure game spit out by a random generator program i created (because i'm a nerd). as a result, every now and then, you'll find a short write-up about some weird obscure little video game on my tumblr blog. it's just one of the many things that you have to put up with if you decided to follow me for whatever reason. sorry.

then one day, said randomizer spit out syberia 3, and let me tell you, i was delighted! this was the first time i had a game i already played on my list, so obviously, this meant a replay. but not just any replay. i now had to replay the entire series! obviously.

is this what i've done for other games that came up before? no. but you guys don't understand.

syberia is my special little guy.

syberia 1 and 2 are not only largely the reason for my long-lasting obsession with adventure games, they have arguably raised me. i am the human person i am today because i played syberia while listening to complicated by avril lavigne when i was 12. these are the foundations and building blocks of my personality. everything that's wrong with me comes back down to this.

so, yeah. to say that i was excited to get back to this one is a slight understatement. i was vibrating on a frequency previously undetected in human physiology.

i also start with all this to emphasize that, yeah. i have my rose-tinted nostalgia glasses on when it comes to these games. that doesn't mean i don't have my criticisms, especially looking at the game today, but... i cannot not love syberia. it's just science.

i should probably talk about the game itself at some point though, right? i can't just assume that the one person reading this (i see you! hey! thank you <3) is as familiar with the ins and outs of voralberg automatons as i am. so, let's do a synopsis.

syberia is a 2002 point-and-click game about a lawyer named kate walker, who hyperfixate on her work mission to find an old man a bit too much, while going on a train adventure with an autistic-coded automaton named oscar. hijinks ensue!

the game was designed by french developer benoît sokal (rip, king) as a follow-up to his previous game, amerzone. as a kid, i have played through all of his games i could get my hands on, but it's been a while, so i can't quite tell you how much those hold up. from what i remember, he definitely liked his adventurer protags... as well as some potentially questionable depictions of made-up indigenous people.

...let's circle back to that after syberia 2.

but yeah, while we're here, let's actually get some of my criticisms out of the way. this is a game from 2002 written by a french dude and... you could say that it's of its time among other things. for instance the man kate is looking for is mentally disabled, and the game is a bit too liberal in its use of the 'r' word to describe him. (and yes, it was considered an offensive and derogatory term in 2002 too, people were just more inclined to use it back then.)

there are other aspects of the game that one might critique as well, that i mostly find charming. the dialogue is at times clunky (almost as if it was written by someone whose native language is not english...), but the voice actors do a nice job adding character (and possibly tweaking their lines just enough) that it absolutely works on me to this day. it's a little wacky, a little silly, the puzzles sometimes require some pixel hunting, but that's just how these games work!

this one also had the cocktail puzzle, which, in my opinion, is one of the best in the entire series. it really has everything! when i become super rich, i'm going to build that cocktail machine in my house.

other highlights of the game include the big communist boi looming over you in komkolzgrad and just... any other automaton or mechanical machinery in the game. including your train, obviously.

the overall aesthetics of the game? immaculate! i want all my devices to work with a wind up mechanism now.

the one thing though that, in my opinion, truly elevates syberia over its contemporaries is its music. god, the music!!! most people might be familiar with inon zur through his scores for games like the later fallout or dragon age games, but to me, he's always gonna be the guy who went so insanely hard for this somewhat niche little adventure game series.

his score coupled with the automaton designs and the beautiful scenery? absolutely breathtaking. prettier than any modern game.

in conclusion: kate walker, call me!

EDIT: as it was just pointed out to me by @greyaged, the first syberia game was actually scored by nicholas varley and dimitri bodiansky, and only from syberia 2 onwards did inon zur become the series' main composer. needless to say that they all did a fantastic job, but i definitely want to give an extra shout out to varley and bodiansky here, now that i know that they were the ones responsible for this particular game's score. the tracks and motifs they introduce here carry over to zur's scores, and they definitely cement syberia's legacy as a game series with one of the most memorable video game soundtracks in my book. <3

[larzipan]

tiny teams fest games review

so this happened this august but I never got around to posting my reviews for the games I tried out / played. there's a steam next fest happening right this moment so I figured I'd get this draft out of the way before I create another one to ignore for the following couple of months.

Chamberbound - reminiscent of both Antichamber and Portal where you command a sphere in first person. This game unfortunately gave me such bad motion sickness I couldn't play it at all. If you like the aforementioned games and don't have issues with motion sickness I definitely recommend you try it! Coming soon.

Crypt Custodian - a very cute metroidvania, the demo of which left me wanting for more. Its various aspects of which were reminiscent of several games from different genres, yet it never felt stale or repetitive -- quite the opposite! Released 27.08.2024.

The Diary - very interesting concept for a puzzle game. I really liked it and I'd say the demo felt way longer than 30 minutes, in a good way! Unfortunately the latter half of the demo was untranslated, which kind of decreased my overall enjoyment of it. Releases in Q4 2024.

Everafter Falls - a quirky farming sim that seems to have much more to offer than you might first think it does. While I don't think I can get over some of the character design choices in this game, the rest of the graphics as well as writing was really fun! Released 20.06.2024.

Foolish Mortals - not linking this. Honestly, this would have been a great modern iteration of a classic point and click puzzle game, if the creator wasn't a white guy from the UK appropriating aspects for Black culture and trauma in the US Deep South and the Caribbean. Fuck off.

The Guardian of Nature - a point and click puzzle adventure game with a refreshingly distinct art style. While I definitely struggled a bit because some puzzle solutions did not seem entirely intuitive, it was still a rather relaxing experience. Release date to be announced.

Holstin - I chose this game simply because of how cool and different it looked and it lived up to every bit of my expectations if not more! The FPS was definitely hard for me but the puzzling part of the game was chef's kiss amazing. This game is kind of fucked up in all the best ways. Release date to be announced.

Kaiserpunk - couldn't play this because while I can easily play Manor Lords on ultra with my PC, this game made my fans sound like they were about to take off. Releases on 27.02.2025.

The Last Plague: Blight - a survival game I've kind of looked for a very long time where you play as a possibly modern man starting from the basics. The one negative I have about this was that before release at the least, you could only play as a dude. Though I am still excited to try out the full game (in co-op as well). Released 03.10.24.

LEILA - a narrative puzzle game with a large variety of puzzles, some of which may seem familiar but not stale at all. I have been looking forward to this game for a long time -- ever since I saw GlitchKraft play the demo a while ago -- and I'm so happy I could try it out myself as well. Just such a good game. Releases Q4 2024.

Linkito - a puzzle game reminiscent of the ye old TIM games, albeit with far fewer balloons from what I've seen. It's an amazing puzzler and I have been a fan for quite some while now. While it definitely makes you think really hard at times, the puzzles have so far not proven themselves impossible to solve. Released on 23.07.2024.

Medieval Dynasty - if not true to the era, then at least a very well and believably stylised colony sim. I was a bit surprised to see this game on the list and to get it but it's definitely a time-sinker, probably especially if you've got friends to co-op it with. Released on 23.09.2021.

Mirthwood - a hand-drawn medieval adventure farming sim. The game features historically correct carrots! Unfortunately, the demo did come with a lot of linguistic errors and some of the menus and actions were rather confusing and unintuitive. That aside, I still really enjoyed it and want to play more. Release date 06.11.24.

Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island - a lovely 3D adventure game with a very varied and inclusive cast of characters. It seems to be a mix of many genres, starting from hidden object to perhaps even dating sim? I did get stuck in the demo but I'm pretty sure it was fully my own fault. Very excited to try again with the full game! Releases in 2024.

PEPPERED - an existential platformer with what seems like a ridiculous replay value. I can't quite describe the full gist of the game, but it was very good and challenging. This is something I'd recommend to anyone who has played a lot of platformers and is looking for something new. Coming soon.

Pilo (and the Holobook) - a cute fun game about scanning things, collecting stickers and learning about the game's world. I found the sticker book opening and closing after every scan extremely tedious to the point that I don't think I actually finished the demo. Releases in 2024.

Spilled! - a very cute and relaxing game about cleaning polluted waters. Unfortunately I couldn't play it for too long because it triggered my motion sickness big time. Coming soon.

StormEdge - a fun little roguelite. It seems to have released to mixed reviews, but I found it quite enjoyable. You don't need to think or strategise much, just fight and don't get hit. Released on 13.09.2021.

Tinkerlands - an open world survival game reminiscent of The Survivalists, Core Keeper and other such games in the genre. It also wishfully reminded me of Trickster Online in a way, which is why it reeled me in. While it might not really fulfil my yearning for TO, it is fun and cute nevertheless. Coming soon.

Urban Jungle - a cosy little indie game, which, to my surprise, is more complex than just putting plants in a room. It's not quite for me, but I just know that this will be a cosy game hit! Coming soon.

[petalsxfallen]

OTPs  +  nOTPs  + Petal ofc!

@countlessrealities

send "OTPs + nOTPs + [a muse name]" for me to list out my favourite pairings, and the pairings i am not interested in, for that muse.

OTPS

Petal x Rick Sanchez ( @mcltiples ) Me and rin have shipped them for a couple years now and I love them. Started off as fuck buddies then got married drunk vegas style. Kinda liked being married even if it usually wasn't there thing and said marriage kinda blew up when petal ran off after an argument. They got divorced and now because they miss each other so much even if they won't admit it their grandson morty is forcing them to work things out and they are which I'm excited about. They are messy and chaotic and can piss each other off to no end but they have great chemistry and love in their relationship. I've missed them being together!

Petal x Rick Sanchez ( @countlessrealities ) My ship with you is quite a bit different. Not a romantic ship by any means but just good friends who makeout and fuck each other whenever they want. Which often times is when they're partying throughout the galaxy. They have great sexual chemistry and just get each other in certain ways due to having similar pasts and personality traits. Not to mention bad habits. They make greta fuck buddies and great friends.

Petal x Memory Rick ( @mcltiples ) He's not an active muse of rin's anymore but when they did write him I loved his relationship with petal. He's sweet and considerate and just the kinda boyfriend she would have that would make her soft or atleast softer. They had fun together and he did help her when she was heartbroken about rick. He always tried to save her which was both funny and sweet of him. Hope to write them again some day.

Petal x Matt ( oc @helluvadrummer ) These two have been a lot of fun. Started with hatefucking in an alley and ended up being an actual couple. He's cheesy and she hates how soft she's become because of him but also she would kill so many people for her man.

Petal x Black Star ( @blackstardiopside ) A ship I've written for a long time. It has the opposite dynamic which I love. Black star is smol and sweet while petal is tall and a mean bitch. Haven't written it in awhile but still hold it close to my heart.

Petal x Pearl - Classic princess bubblegum and marceline dynamic. The only reason she hates pearl is for being her replacement and that has more to do with petal's issues with being abandoned and not feeling good enough than anything pearl did. They would either heal each other or be really toxic. Either way a win for me.

NOTPS

Petal x Rick Prime/Weird Rick - This was pretty much the only notp I could think of. Petal hates this guy for being a sworn enemy of rick. Either rick doesn't matter since she does care about them both but also she thinks his whole deal is lame and the feeling is returned because not only prime rick particular but I think one of them is mostly into dudes or fully gay so either way not gonna happen or workout.

Not saying she's into everyone. You have to fall into her type but also she ain't looking for romance. It always happens by accident so just be attractive enough and good in bed since she's mostly looking for hookups and fuck buddies.

[isa-ghost]

Hi I just wanted to say in really glad you're trying to continue AMFMN! I freaking love that story so much and it's the best fic I've found around that arc. I totally get the lack of motivation ATM and if you need to step back for a bit that'd be fine dude. No rush, we all get it ♥️. But I wanted to say I really hope sometime you get to finish it because it's such a fantastic idea and written so well! It's the main fic I've been looking forward to as it's been coming out and I love how passionate you've been about it! Take your time and don't feel pressured or anything. Anyways, sending good vibes and motivation your way✨ Let's get our Death Family that W eventually, prefaced with a bunch of angst of course 😂

Aww thank you so much!! That means so much to me and it's messages like these that really make it worth continuing, I'm doing it more for you guys who have been reading so enthusiastically than anything else. 😭

Honestly now that the initial intense grief has kinda passed, I've been sad, but getting back on my feet. I will say, the egg admins have been so so encouraging to me lately. I got to tell Sunmin (Chayanne for anyone that doesn't know) about how much inspiration the Death Family gave me and I'm pretty sure they passed that onto Ama (Lullah). I've recently found some of the other admins so I could send my love to them too.

I'm currently scrounging around for analyses and other stuff about Richas, Empanada, and Ramon since they're in chapter 7 and a couple other future chapters. I have a post somewhere of Pomme characterization from a while back since she debuted in chapter 2, and obviously I know plenty about Chay and Lullah :P

Basically: I'm still busting my ass for the fic and doing every character justice the best I can. Even though right now it's a little painful to write. :')

I'm way too excited about some plans and plot twists I have in store to quit writing. The Crows deserve to see the fic finished.