#has to be one of the top five worst ways to manifest

[cavennmalore]

i know that people have a lot of valid reasons to hate keefe but if i was a little kid and manifested as an empath and one of the first things i felt with that ability was how little my parents loved me i would be soooo fucked in the head

[monkey-network]

Pizza Tower: The Series Episodes

26 Episodes; Season 2 Coming 20XX

A New Universe: Taking place after the events of the game, a singularity has caused everything from the destroyed Pizza Tower to manifest into reality. It's up to Peppino once more to now try to find normalcy in his new world.

Nice Noise: The Noise realizes being friendlier has its perks, so he changes his ways much to Peppino's disbelief.

Pizza Pickiness: Peppino must deal with a customer that's constantly unsatisfied and that is affecting business.

Gun Safety: The Vigilante, with help from The Noise and Gustavo, educates the dos and don'ts of using firearms.

Lunch Rush Slumber Party: Peppino studies all night on how to handle a lunch rush better and becomes extremely tired on the worst possible day.

Brick and Mortal: Peppino is forced to look after Brick the rat while the Noise plans to steal from the pizzeria.

Hot Art Block: Pepperman gets inspired by Peppino for his new line of art works, who doesn't approve when he feels it ruins his image.

Noisette the Bachelorette: Noisette starts dating Gustavo after The Noise flakes on a date. The Noise plots revenge when the two hit it off better than expected.

Peppino's One Good Day: It's a day in the life of Peppino Spaghetti and it goes better than he thought. There's a catch to this, right?

Faker's Fazool: Fake Peppino invades the restaurant but only wants a real job. Peppino tries to give him a good one in fear of what could happen.

The Noise in Loopyland: The Noise finds himself stuck in a bizarre dimension and there can be such a thing as too zany.

Talk Through the Night: Before closing, Peppino has one more customer that constantly tries to chat with him. It gets annoying, but Peppino slowly grows to like his company.

The Piefather (1/2 Hour Special): Pizzahead returns with a new gang looking to run Peppino out for good. Peppino takes matters into his own hands to even the fight, but the power gets to his head.

Super Magical Bubblepop Paisanos with Extra Sauce: Noisette finds a collection of magical keychains that transform her and the others into glittery superheroes.

The Best Bite; The Topping Song: Peppino goes to a new restaurant and has the greatest meal in his whole life, which puts his career into question; Gustavo sings about every topping you can put on a pizza.

Menu-pilation: Peppino relunctantly adds more items on the menu and realizes this was the challenge he needed in life.

Brick the Rat in "Cheese Chasers": Brick hunts down an elusive piece of cheese.

We're Taking War to Gnome: An accident from Peppino has caused the Gnome Forest to plot a siege on his restaurant, which leads to everyone to join forces to protect the restaurant.

Ska-pportunity: The Noise gets into ska music and it's infectious for everybody except Peppino.

Giallo Pepato: Peppino must face the traumas of his past when forced to complete Pepperman's puzzle room.

Down in the Gutter: Peppino and John Gutter make a deal to protect the Pizzeria from The Noise, but the price starts to add up.

Five Noisy Nights at Lenny's: The Noise is locked in a fun center that's haunted. It's all good at first until he realizes he's stuck there night AND day.

We Wrecked A Zoo: Peppino decides to go to the zoo on his day off; Noisette wants to capture the perfect moment with Noise; Brick starts a rebellion.

Spaghetti Western: Peppino begrudgingly reenacts one of the Vigilante's favorite movies with the others for a birthday party.

Peppino Quits (Part 1): After the pizzeria gets destroyed, Peppino decides to throw in the towel as a chef. His new job finds him inner peace, but everything's become too quiet with him now gone.

Peppino Dies (Part 2): A moment of stress has put Peppino in a coma and everyone tries to reconcile with the idea of losing their friend. Emphasis on "tries" because they mostly suck.

[altraviolet]

Aus anon again! I’m ok with sticking to anon haha. Sorry, this is a LONGGGGGGGGG one, and I kept a hold of this for a hot minute to make sure I remembered everything, so I'm going to have to send this in parts.

So in regards to getting taught at MQ, a lil bit of background:

It wasn’t always like this. I’m the fourth member of my family, third generation, to go there, with family members having studied everything from economics to psychology. But MQ has def taken a notable downturn since they were there. MQ used to be one of the best unis in the world to go to for psychology but they’ve been massively axed, so it’s not even in the top five for Australia anymore. We’ve also got THE worst student to teacher ratio in the country, at a ratio of 65 students to 1 teacher, when it’s typically 20-30 students to 1 teacher. It SHOWS.

Don’t be fooled by their ad campaign. Very pretty and slick looking, and if you live in Sydney you see their ads ALL over the place. LIke I’m 90% sure the budget goes towards the ads and making the campus look pretty for the tours. I’ve gotten a lot of schadenfreude about this because I’m almost certain MQ would’ve helped pay for Raygun to go to Paris, so that way they could plaster her all over the ads. Now they’re most likely doing damage control like crazy HAHA.

I also know this isn’t just an issue with my degree due to MQ thinking it’s a “cheap” subject to run. My high school friend went to the same uni, and she had a pretty similar experience with incompetency in how her teaching degree was conducted.

Lots of lecturers and tutors were lovely and passionate about their subjects. But they don’t make for good stories

This was sort of a hell of my own making. Throughout high school I went to every workshop and talk I could, and it was mentioned by quite a few authors that they didn’t recommend going to uni for this. I just didn’t expect it to be like this...

So here are the actual fun/painful stories of getting taught there:

Important note: Not all of these are from all different lecturers and tutors, as I was taught by an extraordinarily high number of middle aged white women with blonde hair ranging from short to just at their shoulders, so they’ve blended together pretty hard in my memory. 

Hello wonderful Aussie anon! Thanks so much for gathering your stories :D I'll link 'em all together so people can be sure to read in order.

What a shame- the place went from Actually Good to Actually Terrible. You mentioned it was "axed" but no specifics- from the outside, it sounds like the emphasis (as dictated by the highest tier of leadership) went from teaching well to "run it like a business." Which manifests in the US as "bring on adjunct professors so you don't have to pay/deal with tenure." Which leads to a loss of continuity and quality. But, as you've noted, they've lost their standing and are doing the deathflail of "dump all the money in marketing!" so uh... at least they aren't being rewarded for their bad behavior.

>Now they’re most likely doing damage control like crazy HAHA.

bahaha >D

Part 1 (you are here) Part 2 Part 3

[rainbowolfe]

I have a sneaking suspicion that Ratau's crew is supposed to be a parallel of the Bishops on some level. Because why is there a crow in the ocean biome. Not that any of them seem to belong to the biome you find them in, unless everyone really does just live in a tent. There's also my belief that there's a sixth Bishop, missing for some reason. Which aligns with the missing sixth member of Ratau's crew, bargained away in a deal that made Ratau abandon his duties.

So, what would the implications be...

-Narinder is the force that brought this dysfunctional family together. (I know a lot of people assume Shamura played this role, because they're the eldest) The Bishops (+ the missing one would make five) were likely apart of different sects of one group that Narinder later took them/saved them from.

-Heket was indebted to many people (I would take that to mean she struck many bargains she never fulfilled her end of the deal for) but also had many people indebted to her. Those indebted to her may be the souls she literally devoured, represented by the eye symbols on her chest/neck.

-Heket is immune to poison, but also produces it herself (poison may not be in a literal sense here). The [Mithridatism] card would also affirm that Narinder took issue with what she had to say. The card is telling her not to fear what passes her lips, for it is the true word. ((But was it really?))

-Flinky talks funny.... Heket talks funny.... need I say more?

-Kallamar and Leshy were a duo. The dynamic between a crow and a worm would imply that Leshy was to be Kallamar's prey. I would take that to mean that Kallamar probably killed other weaker gods/crown vessels on sight, but made an exception for this one.

-[Strength From Without] is interesting as both a tarot card and in relation to Kallamar (and also possibly Leshy). As a concept it means your sense of self worth comes from and depends on those around you. As a tarot card, it gives you fervor when you're hit. Fervour is a power source that is usually gained from killing others, so to be able to (effectively) harvest your own power when someone hurts you.... I forget where I was going with that, but it makes me think if Yang's ability from RWBY.

-HOWEVER, if the earthworm isn't meant to be a stand in for the Leshyworm, then the "worm" is whoever is in Kallamar's crown. Or maybe what Kallamar's crown is made out of, hint hint, wink wink. Squids' natural prey are fish, crabs, and shrimp. And it's crabs that still persist in Anchordeep, marked with the top half of the Old Faith symbol. This would also mean that Leshy represents the follower that was lost to a bargain. Maybe the situation that brought his crown to him was just an unforeseen result of something greater going on.

-Kallamar always went overboard with his "betting" ie bargaining. Maybe he bargained with someone he shouldn't have, or he bargained away too much/something important. I bet he bargained away his Bop 👀

-Shamura has little respect for other crown bearers. They know the crowns can change people, and they're bitter about it. Of course they are, it turned the One They Loved Most against them.

-[Strength From Within] is also a non-standard way of interacting with Fervour. It replenishes over time, so you're once again using only your own power and no one else's. Fervour seems to be the physical/magical manifestation of anger and rage, which in turn fuels the use of curses. The two cards also mirror each other. Strength from Within has the enlightened/divine Sun above the clock, Strength from Without seems to put that sun inside the clock and now the skull from Ichor Earned is above it.

-sidenote, Shrumy is the only one to show a clear preference for Ratau over other crown bearers. The power, the adoration—it changes people, most likely for the worst. Something about the crowns guarantee followers, and that would even make a god a little haughty.

-Kallamar lost something to Shamura in a bargain. Hands usually represent strength or power, but it can also represent the giving of blessings or even 'ability'. So Kallamar lost half his power (only 1/4th of his power if he's got four arms truly) to Shamura, but the dynamic would imply he's more than allowed to earn/win it back. ALT: Shamura has Kallamar's other ear 😂

-Shrumy carries three accessories: Klunko's hand, a bottle of black liquid, and a knife/dagger. The knife is marked with an X, and the bottle looks sussily similar to the potion shown in The Path. Kinda funny that the turtle has the movement speed potion XD But ya know, Shamura is also notably fast. I think it's a fair assumption to make that the other two items were won from Flinky and Ratau. Maybe the potion is made from Ratau, as he does use a walking stick. And the knife would've belonged to Flinky, but don't ask me how he wielded it... but all that is to say that means that Shamura holds items that belong to their siblings, gained through bets/bargains/deals. Kallamar's (and maybe Leshy's) power, Narinder's speed/will (as in, will to keep going), and Heket's might (physical strength opposed to magical/cursed abilities).

-a sadder interpretation of that is that a deal was struck to save Shamura after a certain Waiter yoinked their skull from its proper place. And the cost were those three things. A chunk of Kallamar's power, the ability for Heket to fight, and Narinder's freedom (his free will/ability to follow his will/however you want to take that). OR. It was VERY LITERAL. And the cost was Kallamar's hands, Heket's weapons, and Narinder's feet

-Leshy, Kallamar, and Narinder are red-aligned. Shamura and Heket are purple-aligned. This could be referring to allegiance to a crown, but it could also be referring to power levels. Regular demons are red, powerful demons purple.

[boundlss]

IMIRAY: PART I

Part 1 of a hopefully pretty extensive series of posts detailing the world in which my homebrew DND campaign is set! This one will probably just be the basics and listing important locations / setup things ... Anyway, I know people don't often read longer posts about things that aren't relevant to them, but I like talking about things!

Imiray is an isolated planar world that was originally created as a "gift" for the Old Gods who won their way out of the infinite layers of the Abyss. Steeped intrinsically in magic of Celestial and Abyssal influence, Imiray exists as one of many interconnected planar spheres in the complicated web of worlds given to Abyssal creatures powerful enough to become Gods.

It is, however, unique in that the Gods who won the world no longer rule over it---instead, Imiray boasts a much less stronger pantheon of twelve deities who preside over the land and the people in it.

The world, largely run by humanoids, is divided into six major geopolitical players. Each of these nations has their identity represented in the form of a dragon or dragon-like creature, though the identity of any people can manifest itself physically like this.

BASIC INFORMATION - LOCATIONS.

AIVA. Once a large and sprawling nation with beautiful land and prosperous people. Because of a calamity that happened a century ago, though, most of the land was rendered untreadable, and infected with a vicious disease known only as The Fading, which rendered people both physical and mental ghosts of themselves at its worst. Shaken by the calamity, most of the remaining population of Aiva crammed southward into its capital city of Aerath, securing the help and support of the nearby Avariel Elves on their floating islands and the Tritons and Sea Elves who lived just off its coast.

EPHELION. A cold dictatorship where research and progress are valued above all else. In the past, they tended to favor those with innate or learned arcane prowess, but recent developments in technological advancements have changed the focus of their culture at large to be focused on "improving the ordinary human"---though there are large swathes of the common people who disagree with this. Their calamity-causing attack on Aiva in the past has taught others not to mess with them, but they continue to relentlessly pursue advancements in competition with their tense political ally, Oskolda.

OSKOLDA. A sprawling desert whose civilizations have largely migrated underground, mutating due to the influence of the sprawling underdark. Only its capital city remains on the surface, a strange and vibrant cacophony of light and noise from the surface-dwellers who consider themselves the last true Oskoldans and sell their souls for a chance to stay on top even despite the strange and unnatural heat. Their charming and benevolent God offers protection to the surface's residents if they can only pay the right price---and if not, hopeful survivors will always have a chance to try their luck.

VASKAL. The most newly formed nation from a revolution against Oskolda. The residents of Vaskal are secretive, owing in part to the strange crystal relics that were erected there in a past conflict between gods that seem to ward off every school of magic. The hierarchy of Vaskal is slow to trust, and its still-reigning Queen forbids the use or word of these anti-magic crystals to reach further than the borders of Vaskal. Most passing through would be forgiven for mistaking Vaskal as entirely empty, but the people who walk through the shadows have their own clandestine technological empire brewing under the surface.

MIRI. A nation very few enter and even fewer leave. No one outside knows what goes on in Miri, only that control of its government was seized five hundred years ago by a laughing God who bent the nation to its whims. Rather than the semi-tropical paradise it once was, Miri is a microcosm of the Feywild contained neatly within the country's borders, owing to the Archfey on the throne. Those born there are unable to leave, and the Mischief-Maker who calls himself Queen sees to the personal extermination of nonbelievers.

HANAZIRA. Formally known as the Free People of Hanazira, they are a collection of nations who formed an alliance to better stand up against global powers such as Ephelion. Outsiders criticize Hanazira for its roots sunk deep into traditional ways of living, but Hanazirans adapt what the rest of the world creates to suit their own needs. However, their way of life has been steadily more endangered by a strange chasm in the ground housing what they refer to as The Beast, which haunts the minds and torments the souls of anyone who steps near---and its influence is beginning to spread.

[texasmadehustler]

What is your current passion project? 

Do you have any hobbies? 

How do you like to spend your free time?

What kind of music are you into? 

Do you have any pets? 

What’s your claim to fame?

Who is one of your favorite celebrity role models?

What is your dream job?

How did you find out about [current place/event]?

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

What skill would you like to master? 

What do you like to learn about?

What has been the highlight of this past week?

What has been the highlight of your year? 

Have you read any intriguing books lately?

What’s your current favorite TV show/movie? 

Do you have any nicknames?

What is your favorite place you’ve traveled to? 

Where did you grow up?

How long have you lived in [city]?

What is your favorite food?

What is your favorite sport? 

Where is your favorite restaurant around here? 

How do you take your coffee or tea?

If you could be any type of dog, what breed would you be and why?

What is something you’ve always wanted to learn?

What is your biggest regret? 

If you could trade places with anyone for a week, who would it be?

What fictional character do you most relate to?

What do you daydream about? 

What is your proudest accomplishment? 

What is your astrological sign?

What motivates you to work hard?

If money were no object, how would you spend your time?

Who is your favorite author?

What is your biggest pet peeve?

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Do you collect anything?

Do you see the glass as half-full or half-empty?

What is your favorite movie of all time? 

What was your favorite subject in school? 

What is one thing you will never do again?

Did you play any sports growing up?

What is the weirdest hobby you’ve tried?

What is your favorite ice cream flavor? 

What is something you’ve always wanted to do but haven’t tried yet? 

Do you enjoy your alone time?

Would you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert?

What qualities do you look for in a friend?

What’s your favorite way to spend time with your family?

What is the most relaxing part of your day? 

Do you have any siblings?

Are you the youngest, middle, or oldest child? 

What was your favorite age of childhood? 

What is the best concert you’ve ever been to?

What is your favorite way to unwind? 

What causes are you passionate about?

What are you most excited about right now?

Have you ever had a surprise party?

Which of your five senses would you say is the strongest?

If you had a warning label, what would yours say?

Are you related to anyone famous?

Does your family have a “motto”?

What is your mantra? 

Do you believe in the power of manifestation?

What is one thing you tried that you’ll never do again?

What was your first job?

What is the most exciting thing you can see out your kitchen window?

What would your dream house look like? 

What is the most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done?

What is the most helpful thing you own?

If your younger self could meet you as an adult, what would they be most impressed by?

What is at the top of your bucket list?

If you had one month to live, what would you do?

Are you a cat or a dog person?

What do you think is the most essential professional skill?

What do you think is the most essential life skill?

What job would you be terrible at?

What was the worst job you ever had?

Are you an early bird or a night owl?

Do you like to read or listen to audiobooks?

What do you look forward to every day?

Do you have any daily or weekly rituals?

Do you think self-care is important?

If you could look into a crystal ball to see the future, would you want to do it?

Where do you see yourself living when you retire?

What’s the most beautiful place you’ve ever seen in person?

Do you prefer a beach or mountain vacation?

What is your favorite thing about your career?

What is your favorite season?

Where is your favorite coffee shop?

What is one brand that you identify with?

If you could start a charity, what would it be?

What is the best part of your day?

Do you like cities or rural areas better?

If you could re-live any decade of your life, which one would you re-do? 

If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?

Do you eat or drink soup? 

How many pairs of shoes do you own?

What is the best gift you have ever received? 

If you were a superhero, what powers would you want to have?

What is your favorite animal? 

What’s your favorite family recipe?

Do you like rollercoasters?

Who would play you in a movie about your life? 

What song reminds you of high school?

What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten? 

If you could meet up with any celebrity for coffee, who would you choose?  

If you were the ruler of your own country, what would be the first law you’d put into place? 

Have you ever eaten a bug? 

How would you survive a zombie apocalypse?

What’s your favorite ice cream topping? 

What is your favorite holiday?

If you could be any tree, what kind would you be and why?

Do you have a favorite type of exercise?

Would you instead cook at home or order in?

Which phone app do you use the most?

Have you ever disliked something and then changed your mind?

What is your most prized possession?

Have you ever had a celebrity crush? 

Are you an organ donor on your driver’s license?

Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not? 

Are you good at solving puzzles?

Do you think you can be friends with your colleagues? 

Do you sing in the shower?

How many hours early do you show up at the airport before a flight? 

If you had a yacht, what would you name it? 

Can you say your ABCs backwards?

Are you double jointed?

Do you step on the cracks in the sidewalk or step over them? 

Do you ever dance like nobody is watching?

What is the first thing you do in the morning?

What is the last thing you do at night? 

What is the most unusual place you’ve ever slept in? 

What would be the title of your memoir?

If you had unlimited money to start a business, what would it be?

If you had the opportunity to be immortal, would you take it?

Which famous historical person would you want to spend the day with?

What is your favorite article of clothing?

Do you think good people can do bad things?

Do you think bad people can do good things?

What is the first step you take to achieve a goal?

Have you ever been in a food fight?

Do you like cheese or butter more?

What rules do you mean to break?

How many times a day do you brush your hair?

Have you ever ridden a horse? Did you like it?

How would you react if an alligator arrived at your door?

What do you do when nobody is watching? 

Do you count your missed calls?

How often do you say “thank you” or “I’m sorry” in a day?

Are you good at remembering things on the spot?

What is your quirkiest hidden quality?

Which outfit in your closet have you worn more than any other?

When was the last time you screamed at somebody?

What’s your favorite road trip you’ve ever taken?

Do you own a pair of cowboy boots?

If you could have eyes in the back of your head, would you?

Have you ever forgotten your wallet while paying for something? 

If you only had 5 minutes in a grocery store, what would you buy?

If you got stranded on a desert island with only 3 items, what would they be? 

Who knows you best?

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

What makes you feel unstoppable? 

What is your biggest fear? 

Who is the smartest person you know?

What is your favorite family holiday tradition?

What is the essential quality in a romantic relationship?

How long was your longest committed relationship? 

If you could go back and change one thing about your past, what would it be? 

Which is more important – beauty, power, or money? 

What’s your biggest fear?

What makes you feel unstoppable?

What is your biggest regret?

Do you think people are mostly good or mostly evil? Why? 

Where do you go when you need fresh inspiration?

What’s your philosophy on life?

Do you like diving into the deep end or easing your way into the water? (literally or figuratively)?

What life-changing events have you experienced? 

What’s one thing you would change about yourself? 

Have you ever had a moment of deja vu? 

What legacy do you want to leave on Earth once you’re gone? 

What gives you hope? 

Have you ever had your heart broken? 

Have you ever broken someone’s heart? 

What was your most embarrassing moment? 

If you could time travel, would you go to the past or the future?

What words of wisdom would you pass down to your younger self? 

What’s your go-to guilty pleasure? 

How do you show kindness to others?

Have you heard of “love languages”? What is your main one?

What is your definition of success? 

What is a relationship dealbreaker for you?

How would you title this chapter of your life? 

If you only had one month left to live, how would you spend it? 

What is the best advice someone has ever given you? 

What makes you feel alive?

Do you typically follow your heart or your head?

What are you most grateful for in your life? 

Do you have a best friend?

How do you overcome personal setbacks?

Is it easy for you to accept help when you need it?

Do you think dreams have hidden meanings? Why or why not?

Do you believe in reincarnation?

How do you define beauty?

Do you think brains or looks are more attractive? 

What do you think happens after death? 

What is your most irrational fear?

Do you believe in second chances?

If you could snap your fingers and make the world a better place, what would you do?

What you rather someone be honest and hurt your feelings or lie to protect them?

How can someone lose your trust?

What personality traits are you most proud of?

If you could play one song every time you walked into a room, what would it be?

Why is sandwich meat round when bread is square?

Who is the fifth person on your missed calls?

If animals could talk, which species would be the nicest? 

What’s your most hated form of transportation?

Have you ever dreamed of going to another planet?

Which superpower would you never want to have?

What do you think about when you’re on the toilet?

How do birds pee?

Do you think someone could live forever?

How many pairs of pants do you own?

What is the highest number you’ve ever counted?

Do you ever lower the music volume when you’re looking for an address? 

What question do people ask you that you dislike?

If a bald person works in a restaurant, do you think they still need to wear a hairnet?

What is your favorite sleeping position?

What have you forgotten today?

Do you think you would be friends with a clone of yourself?

When did time begin?

Did you ever eat Play-Doh as a kid?

What is the weirdest text message you’ve ever gotten?

If you had a date with someone in this room right now, who would be the most uncomfortable person to go with?

Do you think you’re a good kisser? 

What’s your favorite body part?

Do you have a secret hunch about how you will die?

If you could wake up tomorrow with one physical change, what would it be? 

When was the last time you sang to yourself?

Is a hotdog a sandwich? 

What part of a kid’s movie completely scarred you for life?

What kind of secret society would you start?

What is the weirdest smell you’ve ever smelled? 

What is invisible but you wish people could see? 

Which body part do you wish you could detach and why?

What is the weirdest thing a guest has done at your house?

What would it take to gross you out on a date completely? 

If life were a video game, what would be your favorite cheat code?

What’s the worst name for an amusement park?

If police arrested you with no explanation, what would your friends and family assume you had done?

If you were a mad scientist, what experiment would you run?

If you could own any mythical creature (unicorn, phoenix, etc.), which one would you want?

What you rather have, a dirty house or a dirty car? 

How many times do you think you lie in a day?

Have you ever tried to eat an ant or a worm?

Who is your partner in crime?

Would you talk to a random person in a movie theater?

Which is creepier – walking up on someone unexpectedly behind or staring at them through binoculars?

Do you check yourself out in the windows when you pass?

How many times do you change clothes in a day?

What music video can you watch over and over again without getting bored?

What’s the weirdest thing you secretly do daily? 

What’s worse – no hair or no teeth?

What’s the most disgusting food you’ve ever eaten? 

If someone looked through your internet search history, what would be the weirdest inquiry they’d find? 

What’s your favorite corny joke?

Have you ever waved at someone thinking you know them, only to realize they are the wrong person?

What’s the best Wi-Fi network name you’ve seen? 

What is a song you pretend you don’t like because it’s embarrassing that you love it? 

What is something that everyone looks stupid doing?

What’s your dumbest dance move? 

Have you ever tried to look cool in front of someone and failed?

What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen someone do in public? 

When was the last time you had a big fail moment? 

If you could live anywhere in the world but had to stay naked all the time, where would you choose?  

What voice accent impersonations can you do (British, Australian, country, etc.)? 

Have you ever tripped or fallen in front of a vast crowd?

If you could have one useless superpower, what would it be?

Which sport would be funniest if it had mandatory alcohol?

What’s the silliest way you’ve accidentally injured yourself?

What’s the most awkward first date you’ve ever been on? 

What’s your favorite white elephant gift?

What is something trendy now that people will be embarrassed about in 5 years? 

Where is the worst smelling place you’ve ever been? 

What is the most useless talent you have? 

If you got banned from the library, what would be the reason behind it?

Do you think penguins have knees?

Why is it called lipstick if it doesn’t stick your lips together?

What would be the worst bio for a dating app? 

Why is it called “taking a dump”? Shouldn’t it be called “leaving a dump?” 

What is the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever said on a date? 

How do you want to die? 

If you could be any comedian or celebrity, who would you be? 

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done on a night out? 

What is the goofiest or weirdest thing you did as a kid? 

What is the strangest purchase you’ve ever made? 

What would people call the sitcom of our friendship?

What is your most obnoxious laugh?

What is the funniest nickname that somebody has given you?

What’s a rule that you make everyone follow in your house?

Is it weird for an adult to sleep with a stuffed animal?

What was the last thing you searched on Google?

If you could do karaoke with any famous person for a day, who would it be?

What do you do when you pull up next to someone at a stoplight and see them jamming out to music? 

Do you pick your nose?  

What is the most ridiculous outfit you’ve ever worn? 

What is the funniest Halloween costume you’ve ever seen? 

If you had to change your name, what would you change it to?

What would you do with 15 minutes of fame?

What conspiracy theory do you think might be true?

If you could charge a million dollars for a service, what would it be?

What’s the most ridiculous lie someone has ever told you to your face?

If you could make a TV show about your best friend’s life, what would you call it?

Can you describe the craziest person you’ve ever met?

Have you ever eaten food on the ground?

What is your favorite slang?

If you had to wear a swimsuit or a business suit for the rest of your life, which one would you choose?

If you had to choose between your eyebrows or eyelashes, which would you keep?

What is worse during a kiss? Sneezing or burping?

Have you ever farted in a yoga class? 

What’s the easiest way to make you laugh?

Are you ticklish?

If you publicly trip and fall, do you laugh it off or just keep walking? 

Can you touch your nose with your tongue?

Which fairy tales do you find the most outrageous?

How would you describe your face if you could only use vegetables for reference?

What one normal thing becomes weird if you do it more than once?

What is the most awkward question someone has ever asked you?

How many animal sounds can you make?

What is the most annoying song you’ve ever heard? 

Do you believe in astrology?

Before making a phone call, do you rehearse what you’re going to say? 

Do you check your horoscope? 

Do you believe in aliens?

Do you have any phobias? 

Do you like designer brand clothes? 

Is Starbucks worth the money? 

Do you like Thai food? 

Do you believe you should do one thing every day that scares you? 

Do you have any secret talents?

Have you ever broken the law?

Have you ever broken a bone?

Do you have your wisdom teeth?

Do you believe in conspiracy theories?

Have you ever had a lucid dream?

Have you ever sung in front of a crowd?

Are you afraid of heights?

Have you ever fainted?

Have you ever held a snake?

Do you have any irrational fears?

Are you claustrophobic?

Have you ever had a near-death experience?

Have you ever thrown up in public?

Are you afraid of the dark?

Do you like horror movies?

Have you ever gotten lost in the wilderness?

Have you ever had sleep paralysis?

Do you use social media?

Do you follow trends?

Do you ever binge-watch Netflix? 

Have you ever met a celebrity?

Do you regularly watch sports?

Are you “extra”?

Have you ever been a vegan or vegetarian?

Do you respond to texts quickly?

Do you have a YouTube channel?

Are you into nice cars?

Have you ever been on TV?

Have you ever skippers school?

Have you ever cheated on a test?

Do you procrastinate?

Can you be peer pressured?

Have you ever been fired from a job?

Can you write in cursive?

Were you a rebellious kid?

Were your parents strict?

Did you ever sneak out of your house when growing up?

Have you ever been in a fight?

Do you think picking up lines works?

Have you ever kept a journal? 

Do you have a best friend?

Do you pay attention to the news?

Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket? 

Do you live alone?

Is it possible to stay friends with an ex? 

Are you into podcasts? 

Do you like going to the movies?

Do you use your phone first thing in the morning?

Do you regularly watch TV? 

Do you ever talk to yourself in your head?

Do you sing in the shower?

Have you ever had deja vu? 

Do you like chocolate?

Do you own bitcoin? 

Do you like talking to strangers? 

Would you like to be famous?

Do you like pina coladas?

Do you faint easily?

Have you ever held a monkey?

Are you afraid of snakes? 

Do you call all dogs “puppies”?

Have you ever worn underwear two days in a row?

Do you ever talk to yourself?

Do you talk to animals?

Have you ever seen a UFO?

Do you like chocolate milkshakes?

Do you believe in Bigfoot?

Do you know how to swim?

Are you a good singer?

Do you consider yourself a good dancer? 

Can you speak any other languages?

Did you believe in Santa as a kid? 

Do you think PDA is annoying?

Do you have any trophies or awards you’ve won? 

Can you play chess?

Have you traveled internationally?

If you could become a robot partly, would you try it out?

Do you like to wear hats?

Do you believe in love at first sight? 

Have you ever cut your hair?

Were you a “cool kid” in high school?

Do you know your personality type?

1. Who was your first celebrity crush, and are you into them?

2. What's your go-to dance move, and can you show me? (Pleeeeease.)

3. If you got to choose your name, what would it be and why?

4. If you could use magic to do one mundane task for the rest of your life, what would it be? (Bonus question: What would you name the spell?)

5. What’s the weirdest item you keep by your bed?

6. What TV show would you want to be in? Which one would you not want to be in?

7. What’s the strangest purchase you’ve made (or almost made)?

8. What is the best excuse for being late you’ve heard or used?

9. Do you have a secret talent? Can you do it right now?

10. When you were a kid, what name did you give your favorite toy or stuffed animal?

11. If you had a pet parrot, what would you teach it to say?

12. What is one band or musician you would love to party with?

13. What’s the best pick-up line you know?

14. What is your go-to movie when you need a mood boost?

15. What is your go-to guilty pleasure song?

16. If you could make the ultimate sandwich, what would be on it?

17. What is the worst fashion decision you've ever made? Do you have a picture of it?

18. If you could invent a holiday, what would it be?

19. What book or series did you wish you could live in?

20. If you could be the best in the world at something, what would it be?

21. What is your favorite room in your home?

22. What's the strangest thing you've ever eaten?

23. What item do you hope will be obsolete in 20 years?

24. If you could have a lifetime supply of anything, what would it be?

25. What's the weirdest thing you wanted to be when you grew up?

26. If you were the ruler of the world, who would be your top adviser?

27. What’s the worst date you've been on?

28. If you had to eat the same meal at least once a day, what would it be?

29. What would be the tagline to the sitcom of your life?

30. What's your most unpopular food opinion?

31. Which piece of clothing do you no longer wear but can't throw away?

32. Do you like pineapple on pizza? Make the case why or why not.

33. What word do you want to be added to the dictionary, and what is the definition?

34. What two "normal" activities would be really weird if you did them back to back?

35. Have you or someone you know seen your doppelgänger?

36. What food do you think would represent each U.S. state?

37. If you opened a store, what would you sell, and what would be its name?

38. What’s the funniest thing you’ve read recently?

39. If you were famous, what would your stage name be?

40. What character from a movie/book/show do you relate to the most and why?

41. Who do you think will be playing on "oldies radio" in 30 years?

42. What is a food combination people eat that you just can’t get behind?

43. What is the best Wi-Fi name you've ever seen?

44. What is something you do that would be embarrassing if everyone found out?

45. What celebrities would you want to play your parents in a biopic about your life?

46. If you were arrested, what would it be for?

47. What's the one item you can't live without?

48. Who is the one celebrity you would want to be friends with? Who would you not want to be friends with?

49. What is your favorite line from any movie?

50. Is a hot dog a sandwich?

51. What cartoon character do you relate to the most and why?

52. Which Hogwarts house do you belong in and why?

53. If you could attend any celebrity wedding which would it be?

54. Did you ever get in trouble at school as a teen and if so, what for?

55. How would your parents describe your personality?

56. If you remember, what was your kindergarten teacher like?

57. If you could meet any author, who would it be and why?

58. If you could, would you go to outer space?

59. What's the most embarrassing thing you've ever said in a meeting?

60. If you wore one, what did your prom dress look like?

61. If you could be any kind of animal, which would you be?

62. You're granted three wishes. What are they? (And you can't ask for more wishes.)

63. Have you ever seen a ghost? Where?

64. What's your dream proposal scenario?

65. If you could do any track and field event, what would it be?

66. What's the worst television reboot so far?

67. What's the best book-to-movie adaptation? What about book-to-television series?

68. What's the worst drink someone can order at a bar?

69. Which is the best Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor?

70. What was your most embarrassing moment from wearing braces?

71. What's the smelliest thing someone could put in the office microwave?

72. How many languages can you say "hello" in?

73. What's your go-to cereal and why?

74. Which was your first magazine subscription?

75. What was your first email address?

76. Is GIF pronounced "jif" (like Jif peanut butter) or "gif" (like gift)?

77. If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

78. Have you ever made a prank phone call?

79. What's your biggest dating app disaster?

80. Which celebrity do you think you look like?

81. How do you spell it: "OK" or "okay"?

82. What's the most embarrassing song on your phone right now?

83. Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses?

84. If you could only subscribe to one YouTube channel for the rest of your life, which would you choose?

85. What's the weirdest gift you've ever received?

86. What is the last movie that made you cry?

87. What's the one podcast you'd love to be a guest on?

88. Which color should I dye my hair?

89. What's your go-to excuse to get out of plans?

90. What are the most-used emojis on your phone?

91. What's a fashion or beauty trend you're secretly hoping makes a comeback?

92. Who is your favorite Disney Princess and why?

93. What's your biggest irrational fear?

94. What's the most random fact you know?

95. Where was your most unforgettable vacation?

96. What is one thing you'll never do again?

97. Can you do any celebrity impressions?

98. Were you given any yearbook superlatives in high school? (Class Clown, Best Smile, etc.)

99. What's the most amount of hours you've ever slept in one day?

100. What's the dumbest injury you've ever had?

101. Which movie or TV show do you quote most often?

102. What's the lowest test score you've ever received?

103. Can you fold a fitted sheet by yourself?

104. Do you believe in aliens?

105. What's your cringiest drunken moment?

106. Is soup something you eat or drink?

107. Did you have an imaginary friend as a kid?

108. What's the worst sporting event you've ever attended?

109. How many tries did it take for you to pass your driver's test?

110. What's the first thing you'd buy if you won the lottery today?

111. Does round or square pizza taste better?

112. What's the funniest joke you know?

113. Would you time travel to the past or future?

114. Would you rather have hands for feet or feet for hands?

115. Do you consider cereal to be a soup?

116. Who wins a fight between Superman and Batman?

117. Who was the worst teacher you've ever had? Why?

118. If you were to go on Shark Tank, what idea would you pitch?

119. Which do you prefer: Talking on the phone or texting?

120. If you could attend a dinner with any celebrity, living or dead, who would you choose?

121. If you could only eat one for the rest of your life, would you choose scrambled or sunny-side up eggs?

122. What's the weirdest or scariest dream you've ever had?

123. If money didn't matter, what job would you have?

124. If you could become a character in any animated show, which would you choose?

125. What would be your role on a reality TV show? (The partier, the villain, etc.)

126. Speaking of reality shows, would you ever try to find love on TV? Why or why not?

127. What's your least favorite scent?

128. What's a skill you wish you had, but don't?

129. If you were a fruit, which would you be and why?

130. What's your biggest cooking fail?

131. What's the biggest risk you've ever taken?

132. If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?

133. Can you think of something that everyone looks ridiculous doing?

134. What's the funniest insult you can come up with?

135. What is something that is popular now, but we'll all probably be embarrassed by years from now?

136. What's your favorite dinosaur?

137. What's the last thing you did for the first time?

138. Is there anything about you that people are surprised to learn?

139. If you could pick a day to relive again and again, which would it be?

140. Truth or dare?

141. What's your zombie apocalypse plan?

142. What's the cringiest Halloween costume you've ever worn?

143. Can you read my mind right now? What do you think I'm thinking?

144. What's your stance on pets with human names?

145. Do you wanna build a snowman?

146. Are you embarrassed of your Google search history?

147. Should the toilet paper hang over or under?

148. Have you ever told a lie and didn't get caught?

149. If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

150. If you were a professional baseball player, what would your walkup song be?

151. Which Mario Kart character are you?

152. What's the strangest thing in your fridge?

153. What is your favorite place that starts with "New"? (New York, New Zealand, etc.)

154. If you were a shoe, would you be the left or right foot?

155. Which SpongeBob character would you choose to live with and why?

156. What's the worst job you've ever had?

157. Can you find the most confusing photo in your camera roll and explain it?

158. Do you have any secret tattoos?

159. If you could un-invent something, what would it be and why?

160. Do you have any public transportation horror stories?

161. If you became invisible for the day, what would you do?

162. If you could switch bodies with someone (Freaky Friday-style!), who would you pick?

163. What's the first thing you notice about someone after first meeting them?

164. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

165. Can you touch your nose with your tongue?

166. Back in the day, were you Team Edward or Team Jacob?

167. How many animal sounds can you make?

168. What's an Olympic sport that doesn't exist, but should?

169. Would you rather be 12 inches tall or 12 feet tall?

170. If your dog could talk, what's the first thing it would say?

171. Would you rather live the rest of your life in total sunlight or total darkness?

172. What's something you only do when you're bored?

173. If you had to eat a crayon, which color would you choose?

174. What's the strangest rumor you've ever heard about yourself?

175. Which celebrity friendship would you use to describe our friendship?

176. What's the funniest inside joke you've ever shared with someone?

177. How would you describe the internet in one sentence?

178. What's the funniest way you can think of to answer the question, "How's it going?"

179. What's your go-to: Rock, paper, or scissors?

180. Is a charcuterie board considered to be a meal?

181. What's a purchase you made that you immediately regretted?

182. What's something ridiculous that should be illegal, but isn't?

183. Have you ever spotted anything weird in someone else's home?

184. Which sport would be funniest to play after a few drinks?

185. What's your funniest childhood memory?

186. Would you rather be smart or sexy?

187. Would you rather be an actor or an influencer? Why?

188. What's the longest, most intricate secret handshake you've ever had with someone? Do you remember it?

189. What's the most annoying reason you've ever gotten a ticket?

190. If you had one hour to prepare a standup comedy bit, could you do it?

191. Who is the best (or worst) celebrity you've ever met?

192. What is something you're very stubborn about that nobody can change your mind on?

193. What is your biggest pet peeve?

194. Is ketchup good or gross?

195. Is The Office actually funny? Why or why not?

196. Where's the worst place you've ever gotten lost? (On vacation, a road with no service, etc.)

197. Which is cuter: Babies dressed as animals or animals dressed as humans?

198. What's a word or phrase you learned you've been saying wrong all your life?

199. Would you rather get a bad haircut or a bad dye job?

200. What's the most amount of pizza slices you've ever eaten in one sitting?

[rainy-weather-supremacy]

I STRIKE BACK!

Which character would survive being exiled in Antarctica?

Funniest thing a character has said or done?

Tell me some more about your magic system! I love magic systems!

Where do your characters live?

If her brother is a evil landlord then what’s Marys job?

Who would you NEVER want to hang out with?

Who is most like you?

If you could put them in a specific time period and place in history, where would it be?

Does your story have multiverses?

Who are Granny’s and Mary’s wives?

Why did your characters end up the way they did?

One: Probably Mikaela, since they can make magical fire that would keep them warm.

Two: This one is hard bc as I think I mentioned I don't have any real story yet.... One thing that's kinda funny is that Jamie has had two seperate occasions where both she and the other person wanted to kill each other and ended up dating both. Also once Avery was trying to dig a grave for someone and accidentally dug up Daniel who was just vibing in the earth.

Three: The magic system doesn't really have any hard rules, there's just magic everywhere manifesting in different ways- Trees that make their surroundings cold or drain the light like a cloud around them, green flames carried on the wind etc. People can use this magic to do whatever they were born to do and with some studying, you can also learn a few other kinds of magic.

Four: I don't know what country they're living in, but Daniel, Jamie, Ozan and Avery live in a house in the city. Jane and Mary live on a top floor apartment somewhere in a different city. Mikaela and Tara live on a pirate ship, Camilla in Nature and Jackson also has a house. For the rest I don't know.

Five: Mary doesn't really have a job. If she does, the description is something along the lines of 'storm witch' or something like that. She can't really keep the storms away, nor does she want to, so sometimes there's just a storm and she runs around looking cool. That is her job. (Thank jod she has a wife with a job lmao)

Six: Hmm, tough one. Most of them can be pretty scary, but I actually think I couldn't stand to be around Granny without feeling bad for her and also for myself and she has a kind of weird effect that makes you feel weird too which I wouldn't wanna be anywhere near- Yikes!

Seven: Most like me... I think Arthur is kinda similar to me, because he likes watching the stars and has social anxiety and stuff but still is cool (Like me obviously) (And you in case that wasn't already clear :D 👍)

Eight: The french revolution, just to watch all of the chaos they'd cause. Mary would 100% try to get Daniel beheaded. Tara has never had more fun getting people that deserve it killed. It think they deserve to go there. As a treat.

Nine: They don't explore the multiverse or anything, but it does simply so that I can make the story where they are all in medieval times canon.

Ten: Granny's wife is Esther and Mary's wife is Jane.

Eleven: Ohh okay. Well, Mary is the way she is because her parents were really ducked up and she responded to violence with violence. The storms make her feel free. I made her because I wanted a cool character. Jane hates the way her flesh is, partially because she's trans, so she is now working on replacing it with carefully carved wood. I made here so Mary can have a cool wife. Daniel started off as a kind of antagonist to Mary but I really like him now, he had the same bad parents as her and he's like that because his first path of action is now manipulation bc if it worked then why not now. Avery was a bit more fucked up first but it's the way it is because it came from a very rich family where people where cold and backstabbers to even their loved ones. They also hunted a lot, so she does that now too but different (TM). Ozan lost his legs for some unknow reason and just started telling lies about it and now the reason he lost his legs are different every day (It's the worst when he wakes up and finds that he currently still has legs because then he actually has to go through it again). I'm not sure why I created him but he's here now and not leaving. (CW: CHILD DEATH) Leon I thought of when listening to 'welcome to the internet' and heard the phrase "here's a nine year old who died". He is the way he is because he was always very indifferent about death, so much so that when he got run over by a car he didn't really die. He's a ghost now that can only touch things that will die soon. That's also the reason his sister Camilla is like that, tough I'm not exactly sure what lead to her cooking with rotten food and having moss grow in her hair. She's just silly like that. Created because I thought of the phrase "my cousine Carmilla from the Corruption" and thought it was funny. For Tara I just took the aroace siren and added agender. I think that probably something fucked up ahppened to them but who knows, they just want revenge on everyone now. Mikaela was also just there someday and their story has something to do with running away, but once again has not been worked out. Toby didn't mean to start taking happiness from the people by watching them but it happened because he liked to observe them and I guess he was just so happy about them being happy that they were no longer happy, if that makes sense. I made him because wouldn't that be fucked and Arthur was based on another character I made once that started existing when humans observed the stars for the first time and ceased to exist after the last. Arthur was kinda bullied and stuff, so he just turned to the sky for comfort. His loneliness attracted some kind of magic power, so here he is. Jamie was kind of smiliar, with being made fun of in school until he was afraid of being known. The darkness, where no one can know what you look like, called to him so much that he can now shapeshift freely as long as he's in the dark. Esther I made because I thought a mysterious but kind grandma with kinda evil intentions would be cool. I have no idea why she's like that she just is. Granny was the last one I made but I kinda just got the idea fully-formed in my head one day. She's like that because she magically went insane, but I don't know why yet. Jackson I made because it would be funny to have a normal dude and tbh he's just vibing and George the monster baby bc it would be funny to have a baby in the family. He's a monster because his parents where and he might actually come from another world.

Thanks! I will return it tomorrow 😈

[jcmarchi]

With My Past Review - Puzzle Therapy - Game Informer

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/with-my-past-review-puzzle-therapy-game-informer/

With My Past Review - Puzzle Therapy - Game Informer

Everyone can empathize with waking up late at night and sitting in agony as your brain forcefully makes you relive a traumatic, embarrassing, or heartbreaking moment. Our past is with us forever, and how it manifests in the present is a toss-up from day to day. With My Past, the debut game from developer Imagine Wings Studio, attempts to blend those feelings with platforming-puzzle gameplay and does so excellently. The result is a therapeutic five-hour adventure I’ll be thinking about long after today. 

After being startled awake at 3 a.m. by her past, an unnamed blue-haired girl goes on a journey through her labyrinth mind, which is holding her back. This translates to six distinct chapters of gameplay, each with a unique theme in narrative and mechanics. The first introduces you to her “Past,” the throughline mechanic with which With My Past shines. Your past is just you, but two seconds prior. If you walk forward and jump, two seconds later, it will too. With My Past playfully builds upon this in its opening moments as it teaches you the ropes, but by the end of the game, I was pulling off moves that bent my brain in all directions.

As you progress through each chapter, With My Past introduces new mechanics, like a Kiwi fruit that lets you teleport to your past’s location or a way to solidify your past and climb on top of it to reach new heights. It’s hard to describe how unique this mechanic plays in With My Past because it’s genuinely unlike anything I’ve played in a puzzle game, but Imagine Wings Studios excels at adding new layers to its depth each step of the journey. I’m reminded of 2018’s Celeste, which does the same, incorporating narrative elements into the game’s mechanics. 

On that same note, With My Past is more vague than Celeste’s journey of transformation and self-love, instead allowing players to graft their own past onto the protagonist here. But it works well. As on-screen words that tell the story dive into self-hate, the ways our past bubbles up at the worst times, and the loneliness sometimes felt even when surrounded by love, I found myself thinking about my past, and it was wondrous to watch how With My Past suggests tackling those issues through gameplay. 

Your in-game past transforms from a mysterious specter, to an enemy on the hunt, to an ally you must reckon with and understand as a part of what makes you. And it does so while With My Past serves up great puzzle after puzzle. A handful of the 150+ challenges left me more frustrated than satisfied, but a skip option allows players to keep the story moving along. My only real dissatisfaction happened in the game’s final (and only) “boss” fight. Perhaps I missed the point, but in an otherwise cohesive experience, it felt unattached to everything else I played through. 

Void of voice acting, with a minimal soundscape coloring the protagonist’s steps, With My Past’s score does the talking here, and the result is one of my favorite scores of the year. It’s grand, sweeping, and almost feels more at home in a movie theater than coming from my desktop screen, but the game’s music is as integral to this journey as the story and its puzzles. 

I began With My Past yesterday on a whim and finished it later that afternoon with an aching smile on my face; that “hurts so good” type of smile. With My Past is a short but powerful burst of emotional storytelling on top of excellent and intuitive puzzle design. With few misses, it’s an impressive reminder of the power of games and how savvy developers can blend storytelling into how we play.

[seithr]

favorite top 5 of your ocs

Asking this of me who has no less than 10 aus of the same 3 characters is going to kill me... I can't put the same purple eyepatch bastard here five times or the invisible powers that be will come after me. Hard limit of two of the same guy (AND ONLY ONE GUY ALLOWED TO DOUBLE UP) only!! Here we go I finally put some names to the characters I mention in my tags:

(MORE UNDER CUT)

NERO listen years ago I did a silly challenge to throw together a bunch of design notes you like into a single guy and out came bigtits mchimbo over here. I don't know what more to explain besides I made him for myself in a very self indulgent way. Flames and passions god who's just here for a good time and make sure everyone else does too. Specifically I really like his tiny gay little earrings. And his velvety fuzzy body. And his wings good for hiding/setting around his waist like a skirt that hang right over his ass. I like a lot of him. He's like a stressball to me. Sorry ok next guy

NADINE DUVAL otherwise known as why I had to put a au caveat answering this. Yes I love Zinadia, my main girl's, FFXIV iteration—the evil 200 year old viera and her posession/longing subplot—but I am... really attached to FE3H still and still REALLY jive with Nadine's place in the world, and the reinterpretation of the main "noble dad died, get exiled, come back for revenge about it years later" she gets. She's more heroic here!

The devastation of that loss and event gets cranked down since FE3H's plot takes prescendence and character narrative importance—so... It's fun exploring how she turns out in a time where she gets socialized properly, has friends, people to fall back on, to fight for and who look for her not as a symbol to prop up but a friend who had connections and good dreams for the world...

She touches my heart in a really specific way. Fire Emblem Three Houses as a world sucks YES i am sure and know, but it has chances for her to turn things around that most other verses she doesn't get. I love you handsome noble woman

WYRM my big bastard. My "true dragon" among a sea of dragonpeople/elkiir.... Fafnir, Moby Dick, Frankenstein, the devil hiding in the truth, warnings-ignored manifest, will to survive at any cost incarnate. Wyrm is a suit of armour mangled and bloodied and brought to life, fueled by eating magic-drenched flesh, eventually burning up its previous owner inside it too—their bones fused to its organic-metal like a living casket. As that person wanted, they will not die without their revenge. Wyrm will take as long as there is something to take.

The biological anomaly of its "life"—not continuation of its previous one, but still not truly "alive" now either—is an insult itself. You can't pierce him with a lance—a stab doesn't kill metal. You can't take them apart either—they're not made with vital organs and blood, as much as the flames of burning it sustains movement and thought. Weapons of those who fail to kill her are embedded in their body, and where this endlessly-growing beast has outgrown its once human-sized form—leg growth shooting through boots and fresh skin and muscle filling in—those remaining claws and hands and limbs still work, endlessly trying to grow, to "live" as commanded.

Wyrm is far and away one of my favourite creatures. Fucked up dragon eating people alive, and its hunters slowly start to recognize what corpse exactly has sustained it.

CAIA SINNORHA it is known I adore this knight woman. It stings to try and be the best of anyone. And to come so very close to your greatest dreams, only to be thrown back down to the start because the person you love most—who you wonder if you still love—has done the worst thing possible. The eldest daughter, the eldest child, the symbol of the military-nobility's promise to continue serving and fighting, as symbols of a new era.

A shining hero who gets told by those who inspired her that they don't believe in that idea anymore, and she ought to give up rather than keep continuing on that hope she'll make it. Her bird-of-prey motifs in her gold eyes, featherlike wrist decor and her tail's scales, her double-kneed legs... I'm so so fond of her design, the way she carries herself in it... Strange half-dragon people and the minute ways they're different and work around it, like her leg braces and how being neither fully once species or the other impacts her idea of lineage and legacy. She is sooo compressed by the system and trapped in it and needs it to work because she thrived under it once and cannot bear the idea it will never be good as that again. Ms Sinnorha my proper knight crumpling under the weight and expectation of what it means to be what you imagine you need to be... wah

ZINADIA AEDELRIC it is known I am helplessly dedicated to Zinadia. She's the beating heart of this machine and all my ocs. Greasy kicked dog demeanor, kicking and clawing your way back no matter what. She always gets up, no matter how it hurts. Twenty long years it takes for her to have the battle against her traitor king of a brother—twenty years of this hound knight chasing down her dragon. Uuruurgh. Exiled and scapegoated, and taking up that mantle anyway—if she's accused of being a Kingslayer, then her noble brother will see what one really looks like. I'm fighting to not say in every sentence "She is so cool to me."

Electric wolf knight with ambiguous dragonblood in her, hunting down monstrous dragonhounds and biding her time until she gets her hands on her real prize, the man who stole away her life in seat of luxury, safety, love... Everything she's done will be worth it in the end, if her love is awaiting her still, and all it takes is to prove that she deserves to live, and always has, all this time, to the man who condemned her to death.

Zinadia and the story in Thunder—which IS Zinadia—means the world to me. Aaa. Wolfy scarred woman...

[akaraboonline]

7 Signs of a Bad Marriage

Every marriage has ups and downs, but if yours is beginning to have an impact on your mental and physical health, it may be time to reconsider whether it's the right one for you. "A person will experience some symptoms of anxiety or depression if they stay in any long-term relationship in which their needs are grossly undermet," says marriage therapist Virginia Williamson. 7 Signs of a Bad Marriage You Feel Contempt for Your Partner This extreme feeling of loathing or disgust is distinct from being irritated by specific behaviors in specific situations. It frequently includes eye-rolling and huffing during conversation, as well as dismissing or invalidating almost everything the other person says, regardless of the circumstances. "At its worst, contempt looks like one or both partners are itching to be in each other's company, and it's clear they can't see a single good thing in the other," Williamson says. Though you may believe that your contempt is justified—especially if your spouse has had an affair—it can be a relationship killer if not addressed. "Couples who consistently show contempt for one another have a low chance of successfully repairing their relationship, unless they can start to recognize it and change the pattern," Willamson adds. If you can't recognize your partner's good qualities apart from your marital problems—that they're a great parent, friend, or professional, for example—you may have passed the point of no return. Your Partner Makes You Feel Bad About Yourself "Researcher John Gottman, who has studied couple interactions for many years, outlines that in healthy relationships, there should be five positive interactions for every one negative interaction," Williamson says. If you're feeling especially down on yourself within the confines of your marriage, she recommends doing your own work first to determine what is directly caused by your partner and what may be the result of outside stressors (for example, past trauma or ongoing insecurities from relationships other than your current one). Confront your partner about the problems that their behavior has caused, especially if that behavior includes harsh criticism, name-calling, or downplaying your feelings or experiences. "Make a clear and assertive request for it to cease," Williamson advises. If it does not, it is a clear indication that your marriage is unhealthy. You Feel Controlled by Your Partner "In a healthy relationship, both partners should be able to influence the other's perspective, and each partner should be open to the other's influence in a safe way," Williamson says. "Your partner should be able to help you see things from their perspective, and then you should be free to change or maintain your position, and vice versa." If your spouse restricts or manipulates your choices, it is an indication that they do not regard you as an equal. This control can be overt, such as limiting access to finances or financial information, requesting access to your phone or personal communications, determining who you can and cannot speak with, and blocking opportunities (like, say, refusing to take on childcare duties during an important job interview). It can also be more subtle, such as constantly second-guessing you or implying you're unprepared to handle new ventures you'd like to pursue. You Stay Only to Minimize Negative Impacts on Your Family "It's natural to consider how others will react to your decision, but it shouldn't be at the top of the list of what keeps you there," Williamson says. If you stay in your marriage to avoid negative consequences for your family, children, or even your partner, you aren't taking care of yourself—and this can manifest in ways that are even more painful for those you're trying to protect down the road. "Bottom line: If you have to convince yourself of reasons to stay for an extended period of time, it's time to explore the possibility of what it means to go," Williamson adds. You Might Be Having an Emotional Affair  While it is completely normal (and healthy!) to seek validation and connection outside of your marriage, it is critical to maintain respectful boundaries with your spouse. "Some signs of an emotional affair include feeling the need to repeatedly hide your interactions with the person to whom you are venting, spending a significant amount of time and mental energy on that person, or de-prioritizing your marriage in order to make more room for this person in your life," Williamson says. You’ve Stopped Arguing Entirely Conflict is difficult in any relationship and can have a significant emotional and physical impact if it occurs frequently. However, it can also be an opportunity to air grievances and, in its own way, demonstrate that both partners are still invested enough to work things out. If you avoid conflict entirely because you're afraid of how your partner handles disagreements or don't think it's worth the effort, it may be time to move on. Your Body Language Shows Disinterest The way we communicate without using words can also contain a large number of people. Williamson looks for physical cues in her counseling sessions to indicate that couples are still capable of tenderness toward one another, even when difficult issues are being discussed. "If couples continue to turn toward each other on their own, sit close together, or turn to talk to one another without being directed to," she says. "Similarly, if one person becomes tearful and the other reaches for their hand, knee, or shoulder to provide comfort, it shows that they are still affected by their partner's feelings.       Read the full article

[autisticandroids]

also the problem with dark cas is like. cas has this tendency to internalize things. so it's kind of hard to make him take out his inner darkness on other people. like cas' Madness is usually something that he directs inward, and so a really dark cas is someone who like. has a lot of really insane fucked up thoughts and feelings and patterns but doesn't really take them out on other people, only on himself.

like, this isn't entirely true: early cas, like, 4-6, does sometimes take his feelings out on other people, but that's kind of an issue of emotional regulation. like early cas, before he moves beyond this, genuinely actually in my opinion has some anger issues. like, when he gets upset, he lashes out.

this is different from dean, whose problem isn't the way he handles anger, it's what makes him angry in the first place. like, dean needs to control people around him and he's terrified of being abandoned, and when people do things outside of dean's control, or things that make him feel abandoned, he finds ways to punish them as a means of control. dean's anger is often a calculated punishment. sometimes he does in fact lash out! but this isn't his main issue and i don't think it's particularly pressing compared to the control thing. this is why i often say that dean doesn't have anger issues and saying he does obfuscates the problem.

cas, on the other hand, has like. some pretty serious impulse control problems, and these manifest in actual anger issues in his first few seasons. in 4-6 he's basically a child in many ways because he's never really had to make decisions pre-canon. like, all he did was follow orders, and if he didn't follow orders, his memories were literally taken from him, so he can't learn from any of the choices he made because he can't remember them. and so his emotions are like a child's, they're big and he doesn't know how to handle them because he has no experience doing so and so he makes them everyone's problem. and this is fine in a seven year old, because all they can do is beat their little fists against your chest ineffectually. but cas is an angel. his temper-tantrums are a violent threat.

like, case study: point of no return. cas' anger in that episode is totally justified. it's maybe not productive, but it's eminently reasonable. dean is planning to betray him and also all of humanity by saying yes to michael, cas will probably die or at least be tortured for eternity if dean succeeds, and also, cas' sacrifice, rebelling against heaven, which dean asked him to do, will be rendered meaningless. and on top of all that, dean has been actively trying to bait cas into anger all episode. it's totally reasonable that he's pissed. the problem is that instead of going outside and taking a few breaths, or, hell, even starting a screaming match, cas channels this anger into beating dean half to death. because cas has very poor emotional regulation at that point.

the problem is that i'm not really interested in seeing this explored, for two reasons:

one, it's just not that complex. dean's worst impulses that he takes out on others are fascinating, he is my special little puzzle box i will peel him like an onion. cas' poor impulse control is just that, poor impulse control. you could do interesting things with it (cas going too far and resultant guilt? dean wanting to adore cas but on a gut level kind of being afraid of him bc of this?) but you would really have to work.

two, he like...... grows past it. like he stops really lashing out after a certain point because he develops emotional regulation skills. not necessarily healthy ones but he develops them. season eight cas would never do point of no return. it would be unthinkable.

oh, and two point five: i prefer later seasons for a dark cas because his Madness grows and incubates and ferments throughout the show, so by the time i'm really interested in his insanity, he's grown past this particular flaw.

[animebookworm16]

Who Are You? - Angst

For @j3ssisam3ss

This is my angst piece for @maribat-angst-fluff-april, prompt 25 Childhood Friends

It was the middle of winter in Gotham when she showed up. A tiny girl everyone guessed to be about three. She never spoke or made a sound, but she often smiled, even on the coldest nights. The little girl would just curl up to whoever had taken her that day and smile. At first the other homeless believed she'd never make it to spring. But the little girl was full of surprises. Not only did she survive the worst of the winter, she thrived once spring arrived.

Everyone knew she had a name, no one knew what it was, but they knew she had one. They also knew she was old enough to know it. Surprisingly, no one ever tried to give her a new name. Sure she got nicknames. More nicknames than a toddler could ever hope to keep track of, but somehow she did.

The little girl grew. As all children must. And the older children and adults always made sure to enunciate whenever she was in the area, hoping to teach her how to speak. They all banded together, like they always do for the especially young kids, and kept her away from the worst of the drugs, gangs, rogues, and the overall darkest parts of Gotham.  She grew, and most people started calling her Pixie. Their little fairy caused laughter and mischief wherever she went. Even still she rarely spoke, her words as few and far between as they were, were always impactful to whoever she spoke to.

When Jason Todd started living on the street, everything changed. Pixie stuck to his side like glue. She laughed, she started talking, Pixie acted like the entire five years she had been living around Gotham she had been solely waiting for Jason to show up. The ones who raised her would have felt jilted if it hadn't been for how happy the little girl looked. Two years passed and the two ten-year-olds rarely left each other's sides.

Then Jason stole the hubcaps off the Batmobile and Pixie was finally picked up by CPS.

Pixie had to be strapped down by CPS so that she wouldn't hurt anyone. Luckily for her, a young French couple had been passing by when they saw what they were doing, and demanded to adopt the young girl. CPS didn't want to deal with the girl for much longer and agreed. When Tom and Sabine found out she didn't have a name, they quickly named her Marinette Dupain-Cheng and decided her birthday would be the same day they adopted her. 

The newly named Marinette was quickly taken out of Gotham and out of the country as the couple returned to Paris.

She never knew that Jason had been adopted by Bruce Wayne.

Jason was picked up by Batman and quickly adopted by Bruce Wayne. Before long he had taken up the mantle of Robin and was fighting crime.  He looked everywhere for his friend but no matter who or where he asked, no one had any idea. As the months passed, Jason lost hope for ever finding Pixie again.

He would never know that she had been picked up by CPS and adopted by a Parisian couple and taken back to Paris.

In Paris, Marinette always appeared happy, and her new parents were always busy but tried to make time for her. Marinette had taken to wandering Paris. She wanted to be familiar with her new city, even if Tom and Sabine didn't always agree with her new habit.

When she started school, Marinette stayed quiet. Friendly, but quiet. This made her a prime target for the mayor's spoiled daughter Chloe. Marinette allowed it to happen and did nothing to change the status quo. three years passed in this way until suddenly Marinette was seated next to an extremely outspoken girl named Alya, who would absolutely not stand for the status quo, so Marinette filled that space, doing what she'd always done since she'd come to Paris molded herself into what everyone around her wanted. The same day she met her new deskmate, and self-proclaimed bestie, Marinette also became one of the two heroes of Paris, fighting an emotional terrorist who thrived on negative emotions (and just being from Gotham made her a prime target). Marinette became Dame Nuit, with her partner Mister Bug.

She listened to everything Plagg told her, especially the warnings and consequences of using the Black Cat Miraculous.

For the next four years, Marinette would fill every mold she was placed in. The hero, the Guardian, the class president, the perfect baker's daughter, everything. 

Then the consequences started showing up. Marinette knew she had to wrap up Hawk Moth and Mayura quickly. She started pushing it so much that Mister Bug called her out one night and in a single moment of weakness she told him what was happening. What her Miraculous was doing to her.

Mister Bug immediately wanted her to stop and let him give the Miraculous to someone else, but Dame Nuit shut it down saying that even if she stopped now, the damage was done and nothing would change that. In fact, using the Miraculous, while it had started the process, was actually slowing it down. Mister Bug cried when she told him that.

Together they redoubled their efforts to bring Hawk Moth and Mayura down. Of course, Mister Bug insisted on bringing in more permanent heroes, under the guise of keeping one of the two things Hawk Moth was after out of the fight. Dame Nuit then argued that it should be the Ladybug because it's the one that can fix everything which just left them going in circles. But even still she conceded to his request for more backup.

Within six months, Gabriel Agreste and Nathalie Sancoeur had been stripped of their Miraculous and Paris was free to feel their emotions once more. All the Miraculous were returned and Marinette and Adrien revealed their identities to each other.

Adrien stuck to Marinette's side and became an unofficial brother. He helped her as the build-up of chaos in her soul took a physical manifestation, and began to destroy her 

A year after Hawk Moth's defeat Marinette's entire class was granted a trip to Gotham City.

Marinette would have laughed at the irony if she didn't know it would probably be the last place she saw. It was strangely comforting to know that the city that held her most precious memories would also be the place that would hold her last.

In Gotham, Jason grew into a young man. He discovered the woman he thought was his mother wasn't. He tracked down his real mother, then got beaten half to death by the Joker only to be blown up by one of Joker's bombs.

Jason died.

Then Jason was revived by the Lazarus Pits and trained by the League of Shadows. He grew to hate Batman and wanted nothing more than to see the end of the Joker. 

Years later, Jason would return to Gotham only to find he had been replaced and that the Joker was still running free, and alive. Jason tried to kill the new Robin, a kid named Tim Drake, Batman, and the Joker. He managed to end none of them.

Bruce convinced Jason to stick around and one thing led to another and Redhood became part of the Batfamily patrol rotation. He doesn't stay in the manor but he does drop in at least once a month for family dinners at Alfred's request. On the weekends, Jason would take Tim out and teach him how to spot a sniper, an assassin, what different guns look like when someone is trying to hide them, and most importantly, how to defuse a bomb. It becomes a bonding time for the two, but Jason still calls Tim 'Replacement' but now as a term of endearment.

He never forgets Pixie and she is one of the few things that kept him sane during the worst of the Pit Madness.

Then Damian shows up and Jason has no idea how to deal with the tiny Demon Spawn. It's rough going for a while but they all found their ways of bonding and before long they are one large dysfunctional family. 

When Jason turned eighteen, he, Dick, Tim, and Damian welcomed a French class to Wayne Industries for a week-long tour. And that is where he thought he saw someone he would never see again.

Without his permission, Jason called out to her, "Pixie?" It was barely a whisper, but she heard it.

Her head whipped around and she stared at him, "Jason?"

He wanted to say it was a happy reunion. And it kind of was. They hugged. Her class and his brothers stared. Then the tears started. Pixie was smiling but tears were streaming down her face.

One of the other students came over and asked her in French if she was okay. Pixie shook her head and the blond boy asked if there was somewhere she could rest. Jason offered to show them a room. The three of them sat in a quiet room as Pixie cried. She kept leaning into Jason and he wasn't about to stop her. After who knows how long, Pixie dried her eyes and haltingly told Jason what was going on. She told him, how she'd been adopted and went by Marinette now. How she was dying and no one besides Adrien, the blond, knew. How she probably wouldn't make it out of Gotham.

Jason's first reaction was to want to hurt something. His second was to hold Pixie as close as he could and never let her go. Jason cried. 

For the rest of the week everywhere that Pixie went, Jason was close behind. The other Waynes noticed and on the fourth day of their stay, invited Pixie and Adrien to join them for dinner.

There, a not-so-subtle interrogation went down, asking Pixie how she knew Jason. At which point, even Pixie's failing health allowed her to spill so many childhood stories about Jason that even they couldn't resist her knowledge. In return, Jason told Adrien stories he had collected about her as a toddler and little kid. It was the brightest smile Adrien had ever seen on Marinette, and the first real smile Pixie had given Jason all week. He could almost pretend that she wasn't dying.

After dinner Pixie said, "Jason, did I ever tell you about the dream I've had ever since I was a little girl?"

"What dream Pix?"

"I've always wanted to stand at the very top of the Wayne Industries building at dawn, and feel the wind at the top of the world."

"Really?"

Pixie smiled a soft sad smile, "Yeah. Do you think we could do that tomorrow?"

Jason suddenly realized what Pixie was talking about, and had to fight a lump in his throat to answer, "Yeah. Pix. Yeah, we can do that."

Adrien and Pixie stayed the night that night. That morning at about three, Jason woke them up and took them to the top of Wayne Industries. Pixie stood as high up as she possibly could. Adrien and Jason watched her with tears in their eyes. Before long, they were joined by Batman, Nightwing, Red Robin, and Robin, who all wanted to make sure she wouldn't fall. Jason didn't have the heart to tell them they couldn't stop what was about to happen.

As dawn started to creep up on them, Adrien broke down sobbing, begging Marinette to fight a little longer. When the light hit her head, Marinette closed her eyes and smiled. They all saw her start to fade.

Her hands went first. Like dust. As the light increased so did her fading. Before she faded completely, Pixie walked towards them a peaceful smile on her face. Jason was crying now too. His Pixie looked like a ghost.

And as she faded completely, everyone on that roof heard her say, "My name is Jeanette. It's so nice to meet you!"

[foreverlogical]

Donald Trump’s descent into madness continues.

The latest manifestation of this is a report in The New York Times that the president is weighing appointing the conspiracy theorist Sidney Powell, who for a time worked on his legal team, to be special counsel to investigate imaginary claims of voter fraud.

As if that were not enough, we also learned that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who was pardoned by the president after pleading guilty to lying to the FBI, attended the Friday meeting. Earlier in the week, Flynn, a retired lieutenant general, floated the idea (which he had promoted before) that the president impose martial law and deploy the military to “rerun” the election in several closely contested states that voted against Trump. It appears that Flynn wants to turn them into literal battleground states.\

None of this should come as a surprise. Some of us said, even before he became president, that Donald Trump’s Rosetta Stone, the key to deciphering him, was his psychology—his disordered personality, his emotional and mental instability, and his sociopathic tendencies. It was the main reason, though hardly the only reason, I refused to vote for him in 2016 or in 2020, despite having worked in the three previous Republican administrations. Nothing that Trump has done over the past four years has caused me to rethink my assessment, and a great deal has happened to confirm it.

Given Trump’s psychological profile, it was inevitable that when he felt the walls of reality close in on him—in 2020, it was the pandemic, the cratering economy, and his election defeat—he would detach himself even further from reality. It was predictable that the president would assert even more bizarre conspiracy theories. That he would become more enraged and embittered, more desperate and despondent, more consumed by his grievances. That he would go against past supplicants, like Attorney General Bill Barr and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, and become more aggressive toward his perceived enemies. That his wits would begin to turn, in the words of King Lear. That he would begin to lose his mind.

So he has. And, as a result, President Trump has become even more destabilizing and dangerous.

“I’ve been covering Donald Trump for a while,” Jonathan Swan of Axios tweeted. “I can’t recall hearing more intense concern from senior officials who are actually Trump people. The Sidney Powell/Michael Flynn ideas are finding an enthusiastic audience at the top.”

Even amid the chaos, it’s worth taking a step back to think about where we are: An American president, unwilling to concede his defeat by 7 million popular votes and 74 Electoral College votes, is still trying to steal the election. It has become his obsession.

In the process, Trump has in too many cases turned his party into an instrument of illiberalism and nihilism. Here are just a couple of data points to underscore that claim: 18 attorneys generals and more than half the Republicans in the House supported a seditious abuse of the judicial process.

And it’s not only, or even mainly, elected officials. The Republican Party’s base has often followed Trump into the twilight zone, with a sizable majority of them affirming that Joe Biden won the election based on fraud and many of them turning against medical science in the face of a surging pandemic.

COVID-19 is now killing Americans at the rate of about one per minute, but the president is “just done with COVID,” a source identified as one of Trump’s closest advisers told The Washington Post. “I think he put it on a timetable and he’s done with COVID ... It just exceeded the amount of time he gave it.”

This is where Trump’s crippling psychological condition—his complete inability to face unpleasant facts, his toxic narcissism, and his utter lack of empathy—became lethal. Trump’s negligence turned what would have been a difficult winter into a dark one. If any of his predecessors—Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan, to go back just 40 years—had been president during this pandemic, tens of thousands of American lives would almost surely have been saved.

“My concern was, in the worst part of the battle, the general was missing in action,” said Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, one of the very few Republicans to speak truth in the Trump era.

In 30 days, Donald Trump will leave the presidency, with his efforts to mount a coup having failed. The encouraging news is that it never really had a chance of succeeding. Our institutions, especially the courts, will have passed a stress test, not the most difficult ever but difficult enough, and unlike any in our history. Some local officials exhibited profiles in courage, doing the right thing in the face of threats and pressure from their party. And a preponderance of the American public, having lived through the past four years, deserve credit for canceling this presidential freak show rather than renewing it. The “exhausted majority” wasn’t too exhausted to get out and vote, even in a pandemic.

But the Trump presidency will leave gaping wounds nearly everywhere, and ruination in some places. Truth as a concept has been battered from the highest office in the land on an almost hourly basis. The Republican Party has been radicalized, with countless Republican lawmakers and other prominent figures within the party having revealed themselves to be moral cowards, even, and in some ways especially, after Trump was defeated. During the Trump presidency, they were so afraid of getting crosswise with him and his supporters that they failed the Solzhenitsyn test: “The simple act of an ordinary brave man is not to participate in lies, not to support false actions! His rule: Let that come into the world, let it even reign supreme—only not through me.

”During the past four years, the right-wing ecosystem became more and more rabid. Many prominent evangelical supporters of the president are either obsequious, like Franklin Graham, or delusional, like Eric Metaxas, and they now peddle their delusions as being written by God. QAnon and the Proud Boys, Newsmax and One America News, Alex Jones and Tucker Carlson—all have been emboldened.

These worrisome trends began before Trump ran for office, and they won’t disappear after he leaves the presidency. Those who hope for a quick snapback will be disappointed. Still, having Trump out of office has to help. He’s going to find out that there’s no comparable bully pulpit. And the media, if they are wise, will cut off his oxygen, which is attention. They had no choice but to cover Trump’s provocations when he was president; when he’s an ex-president, that will change.

For the foreseeable future, journalists will rightly focus on the pandemic. But once that is contained and defeated, it will be time to go back to focusing more attention on things like the Paris Accords and the carbon tax; the earned-income tax credit and infrastructure; entitlement reform and monetary policy; charter schools and campus speech codes; legal immigration, asylum, assimilation, and social mobility. There is also an opportunity, with Trump a former president, for the Republican Party to once again become the home of sane conservatism. Whether that happens or not is an open question. But it’s something many of us are willing to work for, and that even progressives should hope for.Beyond that, and more fundamental than that, we have to remind ourselves that we are not powerless to shape the future; that much of what has been broken can be repaired; that though we are many, we can be one; and that fatalism and cynicism are unwarranted and corrosive.

There’s a lovely line in William Wordsworth’s poem “The Prelude”: “What we have loved, Others will love, and we will teach them how.

”There are still things worthy of our love. Honor, decency, courage, beauty, and truth. Tenderness, human empathy, and a sense of duty. A good society. And a commitment to human dignity. We need to teach others—in our individual relationships, in our classrooms and communities, in our book clubs and Bible studies, and in innumerable other settings—why those things are worthy of their attention, their loyalty, their love. One person doing it won’t make much of a difference; a lot of people doing it will create a culture.

Maybe we understand better than we did five years ago why these things are essential to our lives, and why when we neglect them or elect leaders who ridicule and subvert them, life becomes nasty, brutish, and generally unpleasant.

Just after noon on January 20, a new and necessary chapter will begin in the American story. Joe Biden will certainly play a role in shaping how that story turns out—but so will you and I. Ours is a good and estimable republic, if we can keep it.

PETER WEHNER is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He writes widely on political, cultural, religious, and national-security issues, and he is the author of The Death of Politics: How to Heal Our Frayed Republic After Trump.

[spiltscribbles]

Prompt 37 (from the first list) and bodyguard au seems interesting

By the way I love your writing please never stopped just finished your recent fic and its one of my favourites.

~Notes: 😭😭😭 baby u can’t be out here recklessly making me sob!!! I am so flustered right now!! Thank you so much for being a beautiful soul 😌😌 ok NEGL the bodyguard thing is not here Becs I’m dumb and couldn’t think of one, but there’s protective sirius💜 I hope you don’t hate this!!! ILU!!!

.-

Smash Game  |  Send Me A Prompt💜 |  A Reblog Means SO Much!!!!

.-

Alphard Black was a good man,  a man of his community,   a man of the law. He taught the ins and outs of the constitution  at Columbia, never went an inch over the speed limit, hell, he even  separated his recyclables into their proper piles for the garbage collector, and  all while spending his down time volunteering at some sort of virtuous charity or impactful outreach program for inner city youths—the man basically leaped right out of the screen of some cheesy, after school special, wacky ties and rumpled hair aplenty.

Alphard Black was a virtuous, humble man who abided by the laws set out for him to a painstaking degree—So Sirius sorta thinks it’s hilarious that he’s kind of the exact antithesis of his uncle— the man who brought him up after running away from his bat shit parents and their bat shit values as the top of the one percent.  Just kind of though.

Sirius likes to think he’s still a good guy—albeit in the typical, non second coming of Christ wannabe kind of way.  He gives spare change to homeless folks at Grand Central, doesn’t sneer at raucous kids inside of restaurants or busses… for fuck’s sake  he even smiles at strangers more often than not—— just the typical, What a nice day isn’t it, smile and not, I’m actually a blood thirsty maniac ready to carve out all your organs and wrap your naked, dead body in saran wrap Dexter style, smile…Which is actually a type of smile Sirius has become intimately familiar with considering that unlike his Uncle Alphard, Sirius may have a problem with the whole “Laws are created for the good of the public,” ideology, and rather subscribes to the way of thought that thinks it’s kind of thrilling to see how much you can bend and skirt around the rules till they break, or till he gets caught. Which in turn mostly manifests into Sirius participating in a very high demand business—the sort that’ conducts it’s transactions within the metaphorical underground, and makes it so he spends his days with a group of brilliant  assholes that he considers family, and a discretely wicked boy who he thinks is most probably the love of his god forsaken life.

Mother Mary,  help them all.

~*~

“Padfoot too Moony, are you in, Moony.” 

A moment of static passes before Remus’s voice trickles through the minuscule bluetooth  snuggled in Sirius’s ear, and he can’t help but smirk. “Why are you still trying to make these codenames work—they don’t work, they’re all awful and trash,  and we should just stick with the numbers we were given when Moody first scouted us.”

“Mmm yeah, Moons, talk dirty to me.”

“You’re a fucking idiot,”

“Say trash again.”

“I hate you,” Remus intones. He  sounds all surly and bothered, and Sirius’s fingers curl together to card through the phantom strands  of his hair, knowing full and well how adorably flustered Remus gets whenever they are having one of their little sparring sessions—It’s also the same look he gets whenever he’s incredibly turned on and has no idea how to handle it. Coincidence? Sirius thinks not.

“Ah, Moony, my love, you say that as if my perfect baritone isn’t the highlight of your day. Like you don’t write sonnets and odes about it’s every cadence and lilt in your little diary you think I don’t know about. As if—“

“I’m shutting you off now,” Remus cuts in with his best, I’m trying to pretend  that I am so totally annoyed even if I’m actually really amused by you and all your antics, voice. It’s one that’s basically come second nature to him whenever he speaks to Sirius, ever since they had met three years ago and Sirius had to teach him the trick of the trade after Remus had been invited into the fold, while also trying not to completely accost him with his lips and hands and teeth until the work day was over.

“You would never.” 

“You seriously have an overinflated sense of worth if you’re starting to doubt that I very much would,” Remus goads, but he forgets that Sirius can see every nook and cranny of the swanky penthouse from his perch in the getaway van, thanks to his very beautiful laptop monitor.  And yeah, Sirius can so totally spot that little flicker of a grin tugging on the edges of his pink lips,  where Remus is trying to hide it behind the flute of wine in his grasp—his very strong and capable grasp, one that’s wrapped around the neck of that glass just so tight—Oh, erm, yeah. That’s  a thought Sirius should definitely not be having at their current predicament.

“Righto, beautiful, whatever you say.”

“Was there an actual reason for your little interference, besides you being pissy that you had to take the get away position this time around?” Remus sighs, long suffering before offering a subdued, half grin to a very haughty looking woman passing him, predatory leer on her plump lips. And jeez, Sirius bemoans her poor eardrums if they’re suppose to be carrying diamonds that thick all night long— Poor hag will probably end up needing stitches like his dear mother.

“I missed you is all, lover.”

“Goodbye, Sirius.”

“Oh fine, you total spoil sport. Just an FYI that Marlene’s gotten into the volt’s room, and she’s decoding it as we speak.”

“Oh, good. Should I-“

“Moons, it’s Marls, she’s got her shit handled. You just stand there and be a the good, pretty honeypot that we all know you can be.”

Remus growls somewhere deep in his throat, and it’s bringing a flurry of such beautiful imaginings to the forefront of Sirius’s mind— including last night, with Remus’s lovely, thin wrists tied up and Sirius’s mouth trailing up and down his every patch of skin.

God, was that a good night.

“You’re a pain in my ass.” 

“I know, it’s a point of pride for me that I get to say I tap that. But hey, always game to switch things up if you are?”

“You are the absolute worst person ever.”

“Ooo are we circling back around to speaking filthy things, because I’ve been having this fantasy including you and these lace—“

That’s when Remus actually does shut off the communication device, and starts chatting up some smarmy businessman who can’t stop staring at his protruding collarbones.

Sirius is most certainly not jealous.

Nope, not at all—Not even a little bit.

Sirius is not jealous.

Okay, fine…So he’s a bit bothered, but can anyone blame him? All of that—chorded muscles and sparkling eyes—is reserved for  Sirius, and Sirius alone. It’s taken years of volleying barbs and really intense sexual tension that was all finally resolved after a way too dramatic spat outside some sleazy BDSM club on the wrong side of town where Sirius got himself fucking shot, and Remus couldn’t stop yelling at him for being such a mother fucking, idiotic, thoughtless prick, (Remus’s words not Sirius’s,) for them to finally get to this point. For fuck’s sake, it seemed as if Remus’s anger fueled diatribe would never end, so Sirius just took the dilemma into his own hands and slanted their lips together, bloody and breathless, panting out an “I love you too,” while Remus just patted up and down Sirius’s torso, not knowing where to put his hands, dumbfounded and eager. As if he could hardly believe that it was actually happening, as if he was shocked that Sirius had finally just put them out of their mutual misery and spoke out loud what’s been lingering in their gazes, and tailing the ends of too short exchanges for years at that point—ones always composed of banter and barbs but always to fearful to take the extra step they yearned for.

Yeah, so it wasn’t exactly a cinderella story level of romance, but the point is they’ve fought tooth and nail to finally get to this point in their relationship. Nights made up of spilt hair on warm sheets, and  hungry kisses of farewell, and shirts tumbling together so many times that  they don’t even know which belongs to who anymore—All of them lingering with a sent of both of them, together. Something intimate. Something remarkable. Something far too soft when considering their line of employment—But it works for’m, and that’s all that counts.

Before Sirius could get to lost in getting all starry-eyed over the life they’ve built for themselves, Sirius moves to sweep his hands across the keyboard, A cautious eye still on Remus and his unwanted suitor while dividing the screen so that he can check back on Marlene’s progress, which is quite impressive if he does say so himself.

“And Black Widow pulls through again,” He commends with a low whistle, watching her practically stroll out of the volt, ancient artifact securely settled in the bag swinging off her shoulder, and cocky sneer proudly splayed across her pretty face.

“You know it dweeb.”

“THat’s not my code name,” Sirius points out  with a put upon exhale.

Marlene’s only response is to hike up her manicured brows in counterfeit surprise.  “you sure? I could’ve sworn…”

Sirius legitimately contemplates just driving off and leaving her stranded, signaling to Remus a separate meet up point for just the both of them. But Eventually, he reasons  that might be a bit of an over reaction. So he settles for just growling out a reminder for her  to “Respect the name,” while a glowing Marlene slinks into the passenger seat.

“Your so precious.” Sirius swats her hand away where she’s begun rubbing her knuckles into his scalp. “Call pretty boy and let’s bounce, will you?”

Reluctant, Sirius listens—only and only because he’s about ninety nine point five percent positive that she could probably beat’m to a pulp with one hand tied behind her back and both eyes glued shut.

~*~

The mission was one they’ve been calculating for months, a huge catch with a credibility brought with it that doubles its actual monetary prophet—(And wowza, that price check is all levels of ridiculous.) Moody is beyond  proud, and tells them as much with a crazy large celebration back at their little underground headquarters, (which is actually an entire floor on one of the top levels of a huge ass skyscraper in the meatpacking district that disguises itself as just a financial consultant firm in the light of day.)

It’s made even more wonderful considering how he, Remus and Marlene are basically the guests of honor for their success. So that night  they drink, and dance and just generally get absolutely slobbered…Then subsequently remember nothing the following morning, as tradition always dictates.

Though Sirius does  distinctly remember trading sloppy hand jobs in the bathroom with Remus while the latest Beyonce banger pounds in the space between them.

 It’s a good night.

~*~

Unsurprisingly, the hangover that persists even two days later really makes Sirius question the worth of all that celebrating, and he ponders on whether or not being sober would be so bad.

“Morning, Black!” 

Sirius cringes back at a crowing Dorcas—Looking as wickedly gorgeous and put together as always—Dark eyes clear and methodic, and long curls obviously freshly washed. 

“Sorcerous!” He accuses with as much vehemence as he could muster. “your evil! How are you even so perky! Stop it! Stop! You’re hurting my eyes!”

Dorcas just preens with far too much amusement than what should be warranted—it’s almost as if she’s enjoying his pitiful disposition. “Not all of us got as sloppy as you Saturday night may I remind.”

“Then you’re doing your entire life incorrectly.”

“I just have a modicum of self restraint, unlike you.”

“Lies! Lies and slander! I am so very disciplined! I didn’t even tell you guys about the time Remus gave me a blow job in the middle of a glass elevator when we were shopping for Jamsie and Lily’s engagement gift!”

Dorcas just rolls her eyes heavenwards, painstakingly exasperated. “C’mon, dumb ass, Alice needs you to use those hacking skills of yours to get the money Lestrange still owes us for collecting those tears of the ocean. And her bank account is sealed shut.”

“Ah, no Cas ’s too early! And my head hurts! I can’t.”

“Shouldn’t have been such a drunken mess during the party I reckon,” Dorcas scoffs with an imperious tilt of the head, tugging him along without even an ounce of sympathy.

“Hey! It was a celebration!” Sirius flails, and Dorcas just looks at him with a decidedly unconvinced glower. 

“It’s all in moderation Sirius.”

“Not at a party it isn’t!” He argues back, totally knowing he’s in the right.

“Yeah whatever, you’re just lucky you weren’t sent off to Shanghai with lover boy, which by the way,” Dorcas pivots on her heels  to face Sirius straight on, prodding at the juncture where his neck meets his shoulder.  “Looks like you missed a hickey sweets,” she toots loftily, poking at it again, a flush blooming across Sirius’s cheeks in response.  “Not good work decorum if you ask me.”

“You’re face ’s not good work decorum,” Sirius snarks back mulishly. Dorcas just laughs with glee.

“Do I need to talk to poor, innocent Remus about proper biting placement for you once he gets back?”

“Pff, Remus and innocent don’t belong in the same sentence.”

“Fine, then  I can just give you some tips on how to properly layer foundation? I’m sure it’s a travesty how easily shit shows up with your Wonder Bread complexion.”

“You actually are evil! Aren’t you?”

Sirius could still hear Dorcas’s cackles from down the hall where Alice has set him up for the morning, and he idly thinks to himself how exactly he’s made it so that every woman in his life could destroy him with nothing more than a look.

~*~

Considering that all of their  livelihoods are basically glorified bank robbers, Sirius knows that their jobs don’t really lend themselves to being able to check in on each other whenever they’d please—the only devices they’re allowed for communication are the bluetooth sets  for the team deployed on the task at hand, and a single burner. It can get annoying sometimes, but Sirius and Remus always make it a point to send each other a message from the router phone  whenever they arrive to the mission’s ground of operation—It’s a practice ingrained into them, one  they began long before they ever started dating, one  that they never break, not even if they’re arguing or it’s the middle of the night—It’s important. They’ve both lost to many people in their short lives, and they both know how it feels to be delegated to the worrying mess, wondering what’s happening to their loved one, being consumed by the most awful of possibilities. They do it because they respect each other far too much not to.

So Sirius finds it excruciatingly odd that he doesn’t hear from Remus in over thirty-six hours since he left to the Shanghai hit. 

“Maybe he just forgot, Pads,” James shrugs, always the level headed ringleader. “No Proclivity is absolutely bullet proof—Ah, excuse me for the unplanned pun.” He scratches the back of his head a little sheepishly— the glasses of his wireframes glinting in the light of their shared workspace.

And the thing is, point. James is totally right. Remus just could’ve forgot. It was a long plane ride, he could’ve just been jet legged and a little dazed and it could’ve just slipped his mind  to message Sirius when he landed. That’s totally a possibility. 

But see the thing is, that’s also totally not a possibility—like at all. Remus is like the most diligent person on the face of the planet, which may kind of seem out of character considering how he’s more of the type to follow his heart over protocol when it counts, and his entire livelihood is based off the evasion of the law—But even still, Remus is also the guy who likes a true and tried method. He likes having security in the aspects of his everyday  life he can control. Sirius knows how borderline neurotic Remus can get about certain things, like finishing all of his paper work the night it’s given, or having a stable workout regiment, and a bunch of other minuscule, everyday things that tethers him. But Sirius also knows that the texts Remus sends him blows all of those out of the water. They’re something crucial—something vitally important. If the roles were reversed, if it were Sirius who forgot to send the text, then yeah, Remus would have a perfect history to look back on and just shrug it off as Sirius having been thoughtless, no big deal. Remus would just make a note to give him  an ear full when he gets back. 

But the rolls aren’t reversed.

It’s Remus who didn’t send anything, and Sirius knows it in his heart of hearts that this is not normal, that Remus would never have forgotten. Remus would never have fucking been able to go to sleep without passing Sirius a message of safe arrival. It’s just not him. 

James still looks unsure even after Sirius’s way to verbose and borderline babbling explanation of why he knows something isn’t adding up, so he decides to hit him below the belt.

“If this were Lily you wouldn’t be second guessing this.” 

James jolts back as if Sirius had just smacked him, which Sirius guesses is kind of true, in the metaphoric sense at the very least. But whatever, Sirius’s right, and he knows it. 

IF this was Lily— the beautiful, kind baker that James had met coincidentally on a random Sunday afternoon, someone completely divorced from this world— well, there would  be no room for discussion.

“IF this were Lily you would trust your gut, and we’d already know what went wrong. We’d know that you were right, the she wasn’t safe.” Sirius’s face feels heated, and he knows that his throat is closing up, but he can’t help it god damn it. This is Remus—And even the thought of him being in any way hurt—No, Sirius refuses to think that way. Because he’s not, he can’t be. This is Remus god damn it. He’s brilliant and strong and he can handle himself. He’s what everyone in their group secretly strive to be—He’s not hurt, he can’t be hurt.

James just sits there, gawking at Sirius, for a moment of pure and utter silence. Sirius doesn’t even flinch, doesn’t fold back from the intensity in his best friend’s— his brother’s— gaze. 

“This is Remus god damn it, James”

Something fierce rippling over his face, James nods, finally seeming to understand.

“Let’s tell Moody,  and call a group meeting. We need to figure out what the hell’s going on.” 

Sirius sags with the little relief he’s given, pretends that it doesn’t feel like there’s not a wildfire still spreading over his chest  from the  bone deep fear.

~*~

Two hours later finds their little ragtag group huddled in the largest meeting room they have, and  Sirius hunched over a menacing letter that was hand delivered by one of Lestrange’s ghoulish little minions— Crouch if their intel is correct. 

“Any news is good news, right?” Peter— their mousey little researcher— says in some weak attempt of comfort from where he’s silently been situated in the love seat the furthest away from the lump some, and Sirius replies by snarling viciously at him;  making Peter shutter back, like the spineless weasel Sirius has always assumed him to be.

Sirius is not comforted. Sirius is furious and sick and he hates everything  in sight. And all Sirius could think of is Remus, Remus, Remus.

“What do we do,” James’s voice is strong, convicted in the painful silence of the room—But when Sirius looks up, he could still see the worry etched into his handsome features, and the fear threaded into his stance. 

James is scared, and that might worry Sirius more than anything else could. 

“This is my fault, I sanctioned just stealing the money she owed us and I was the one who thought Remus would be fine on a solo mission—I thought it’d be a simple grab. I didn’t put two and two together—I just didn’t—“ Alice breaks off, looking away from the group, and Frank slings an arm around his wife’s slender shoulders.

“Hey now, ’s not your fault, ’s not no ones,” as if to emphasize his point, Frank gives a downright menacing grimace to everyone in the room, daring them to disagree. “It’s Remus, he’s resilient. And that bitch knows if he’s actually hurt we’ll destroy everything she’s ever built for herself.” 

“Don’t be so sure,” Sirius’s surprised of the jaggedness of his own voice, leveling him with a look of utter fury. “She’s a psychotic, selfish, self indulgent bitch—There’s worse things than just beating him up or locking him in some cellar.” 

From the corner of his eye he sees Alice shutter, is briefly reminded of that stint where she was badly injured after a run in with one of the darker ringleaders in their line of work, Riddle. And then he remembers, unbidden, how that bastard has some sort of fucked up Harley Quinn, Joker esthetic going on with Bellatrix Lestrange— and a sick, twisted part of Sirius that actually does blame Alice for sanctioning those two risky missions so close together, is savagely pleased of the effect that the reminder has on her. But the rest of Sirius is just disgusted by himself and hates himself even more when remembering where Remus is at this very moment, and what he must be going through. There’s no time to be pointing fingers, and Sirius knows it.

“Whatever, no time to think of it now,” Sirius rises, and the way all of their eyes follow his every move (Even Moody who is the actual boss— doesn’t go over his head. 

“What do you think we should do from here?” Dorcas asks in a small voice, clutching onto the letter like a life line—She’s Remus’s best friend, Sirius knows that, knows that she stopped only skirting  along the edges of this unsavory line of work until Remus came along and helped her wiggle out of her shell. And the reminder makes Sirius feel such a burst of aching for Remus all at once that he nearly topples over, just barely catches himself with a hand on the tabletop.

“Peter,” Sirius barks, making the blonde finally straighten. “Check out where Bellatrix is scheduled to appear next.”

“Ah, erm on it, of course.” 

Sirius starts to feel a little better—no not better, balanced. He knows what needs to be done, what will   happen next, knows that it’ll turn out all right. 

It has to turn out all right, because he can’t fathom a world where it doesn’t— a world without Remus isn’t worth even a breath.

~*~

If there’s anything that Sirius knows about supreme bitch face herself, it’s that Bellatrix is  cavalier to a fault. So it really doesn’t surprise him when Peter finds out that she’s holding a little gala for her new play things art exhibit in her own home that night, and Sirius intends on giving his congratulations, whether or not he’s on the guest list. 

~*~

“Hey, can you hear me.” 

Sirius presses an inconspicuous finger onto his eardrum when Dorcas’s voice breaks through, speaking the affirmative. 

“All right, well Moody says that upstairs is most likely where you’ll find’m. Marlene and James will stay down at the party just incase anything goes wrong.” 

“Right,” Sirius nods to himself, trying to put together all the new information that’s swimming in his mind. “Thanks Cas.”

“Stay safe, and bring him home. Don’t fuck this up, Sirius.” Her voice is small and fragile. Sirius could picture the gleam to her big doe eyes. “We need you both safe.”

“Of course."

~*~

As expected, the upstairs is a labyrinth of doors and alcoves that Sirius could barely wrap his mind around, the only constant thought is that it makes sense that Bellatrix would want to keep the money from the job she had them perform for her. The rent for this place definitely can’t be cheap.

Sirius tries at least ten different rooms before he comes across one that’s locked from the inside as well as a deadbolt, and His heart seizes with a choked sort of hope before he starts pounding against it. 

“Remus! Remus! Are you in there!” His voice goes ragged at how loud he’s screaming, but Sirius doesn’t let up. He starts calling  for him even louder if possible. “Remus!” 

“Ah, ah, ah,” Sirius stiffens, his blood running cold before slowly turning around to a very amused looking Bellatrix Lestrange. Predatory sneer swept across her blood red lips, and weight slung to her left hip. The picture of radiance and leisure in her slinky, black dress. She’s having fun toying with Sirius, with all of them. 

“Where the fuck is he,” Sirius spits out tersely—trying to sear wholes right through her disarming face. He thinks with a start  that she’d be pretty in an almost unchanging way—a timeless elegance that kind of mirrors Remus’s. But where beneath Remus’s golden exterior is all passion and goodness and an endless capacity of love, under Bellatrix’s pale white skin and dark eyes and sheets of even darker hair is just ugliness and cruelty and Sirius has never hated anyone more, or so intensely.

“Oh sweetheart, I’m so sorry that they sent the best of their group to the den,” She swaggers up to him, each step premeditated—a lion closing in on her prey, and her leer right then— self assured and cruel all at once— is like a mirror of his mother’s so thoroughly that it’s painful. “I’d really hate to ruin those movie star good looks you’ve got going on,” she runs the back of her hand down his face slowly, tendrils of her warm breath edging his lips. “And honey, you really are so deliciously gorgeous. But Moody needs to learn that no one double plays me so flippantly. No  respect, that kind of behavior  really can’t be tolerated. You understand that, don’t you  love?”

Right then, Bellatrix moves to  gouge Sirius right in the stomach with a dagger she had hidden in the sleeve of her dress—but Sirius’s quicker. 

He sweeps Bellatrix’s feet right from under her, twisting her arm behind her back and using her own weapon to chop off the doorknob, all in one fluid movement. Though,  he only has a sparing moment to feel boastful before he steps into the room to find Remus—sickly looking with blood matted in his golden locks, before everything turns to a buzzing in  the background—Sirius runs on autopilot, with the only crucial thought being to get Remus out safely. 

“Baby, I’m here, I’ve got you.” Sirius tells him with the words catching in his throat, and feels such a drowning amount of relief when he hears a gargled retort from Remus. “I’d never let anything happen to you, love. I’m so sorry. I’ll never let something like this happen again.” Sirius tells him with all the earnestness in the world, gently collecting him into his arms. “I’ve got you now, I won’t let go.” The promise is  as sure and true as the pump of his heart—Remus, Remus, Remus.

~*~

When they all return to headquarters, everyone circles a still limp and shallowly breathing Remus, while Dorcas figures out the extent of his injuries.

It’s the worst hour of his life Sirius thinks—The not knowing, it hurts like nothing else. And he swears once more, to himself and the moonlight and the stars peeking through the skyline that he’ll never let this happen, never again., doesn’t want Remus ever out of his sight.

~*~

A week later, and everything feels as if it’s back to normal—more or less.

Their bedroom smells like sage—thanks to the candles Lily bought Remus for his last birthday—And Remus’s swaddled into the most comfortable blanket Sirius could find—his twisted ankle elevated, and a fresh bowl of soup on his night stand.

It’d be the picture of absolute bliss… Now if Remus wasn’t scowling so morosely. 

“You seem mad,” Sirius notes, standing over him with a freshly fluffed pillow. Remus looks up at him from under his spider leg lashes, so very unimpressed.

“You’ve never taken care of me  nearly so intently   a day in your life.”  Remus charges.

“Untrue!” Sirius squawks in contrary. 

“When I got food poising from that sushi place last year, you blamed me for eating it wrong.”

“Yeah, well it’s blasphemous to ever blame Kimiko! The woman is a titan!” 

Remus’s mouth quirks up, his eyes twinkling with unadulterated adoration. “You’re an idiot.”

Sirius deflates. “Okay, so I might be kind of majorly mother penning it right now,” Remus cranes a incredulous brow. “Okay, okay so a lot mother penning it. But, Remus— love— you were missing—like legitimately missing. And then i found you and you were…” He trails off, can’t even speak the horrors of that night. 

“Yeah, I was,” Remus links their fingers together, pulling Sirius closer, and opening his mouth so that when Sirius crouches to come face to face, he can kiss him properly.  “But you happen to be a pretty all right boyfriend, you found me—I’m fine. You made sure of that.”

“More than all right prick,” Sirius knocks their foreheads together and Remus feigns being in excruciating pain. “I fucking hate you,” he snorts, saddling against Remus’s side, and nuzzling into his neck, taking in the miraculous scent of him— the citrus and cinnamon and sunlight that he’s come to crave at all hours of the day. “I love you sort of a lot, and it was the worst three days of my life, all right. Can you understand that?” 

Remus only hums,  kisses the tips of Sirius’s fingers before lacing them into his own.

“I understand, love, but Sirius, I’m fine. I’m here. You’re amazing, but you don’t need to protect me. Not constantly. This is our lives, and I need you to trust me that I can handle myself for the most part. All right?” 

Sirius makes a displeased sound, lips curled distastefully, and it makes Remus actually giggle like they were school boys again. And Jesus, Remus’s smile is blinding and beautiful and fucking hell, he’s here. He’s back in there room, back in Sirius’s arms.

“God, I missed you.”

Remus crunches upwards, kissing Sirius, and it feels like a promise that he’ll never leave him again. “I love you Sirius.”

Sirius leers, isn’t ready to have the conversation about learning how to let Remus go out without him. So instead he traces his thumb over Remus’s beautifully plump bottom lip, and bends down to whisper into his ear. “So can we talk about the lace then, because I’ve made some purchases and—“

Remus pushes him off their bed, and Sirius feels his laughter punching out of him in response.

~*~

~My Wolfstar FIC Index💜

[texasmadehustler]

What is your current passion project?

Do you have any hobbies?

How do you like to spend your free time?

What kind of music are you into?

Do you have any pets?

What’s your claim to fame?

Who is one of your favorite celebrity role models?

What is your dream job?

How did you find out about [current place/event]?

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

What skill would you like to master?

What do you like to learn about?

What has been the highlight of this past week?

What has been the highlight of your year?

Have you read any intriguing books lately?

What’s your current favorite TV show/movie?

Do you have any nicknames?

What is your favorite place you’ve traveled to?

Where did you grow up?

How long have you lived in [city]?

What is your favorite food?

What is your favorite sport?

Where is your favorite restaurant around here?

How do you take your coffee or tea?

If you could be any type of dog, what breed would you be and why?

What is something you’ve always wanted to learn?

What is your biggest regret?

If you could trade places with anyone for a week, who would it be?

What fictional character do you most relate to?

What do you daydream about?

What is your proudest accomplishment?

What is your astrological sign?

What motivates you to work hard?

If money were no object, how would you spend your time?

Who is your favorite author?

What is your biggest pet peeve?

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Do you collect anything?

Do you see the glass as half-full or half-empty?

What is your favorite movie of all time?

What was your favorite subject in school?

What is one thing you will never do again?

Did you play any sports growing up?

What is the weirdest hobby you’ve tried?

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

What is something you’ve always wanted to do but haven’t tried yet?

Do you enjoy your alone time?

Would you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert?

What qualities do you look for in a friend?

What’s your favorite way to spend time with your family?

What is the most relaxing part of your day?

Do you have any siblings?

Are you the youngest, middle, or oldest child?

What was your favorite age of childhood?

What is the best concert you’ve ever been to?

What is your favorite way to unwind?

What causes are you passionate about?

What are you most excited about right now?

Have you ever had a surprise party?

Which of your five senses would you say is the strongest?

If you had a warning label, what would yours say?

Are you related to anyone famous?

Does your family have a “motto”?

What is your mantra?

Do you believe in the power of manifestation?

What is one thing you tried that you’ll never do again?

What was your first job?

What is the most exciting thing you can see out your kitchen window?

What would your dream house look like?

What is the most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done?

What is the most helpful thing you own?

If your younger self could meet you as an adult, what would they be most impressed by?

What is at the top of your bucket list?

If you had one month to live, what would you do?

Are you a cat or a dog person?

What do you think is the most essential professional skill?

What do you think is the most essential life skill?

What job would you be terrible at?

What was the worst job you ever had?

Are you an early bird or a night owl?

Do you like to read or listen to audiobooks?

What do you look forward to every day?

Do you have any daily or weekly rituals?

Do you think self-care is important?

If you could look into a crystal ball to see the future, would you want to do it?

Where do you see yourself living when you retire?

What’s the most beautiful place you’ve ever seen in person?

Do you prefer a beach or mountain vacation?

What is your favorite thing about your career?

What is your favorite season?

Where is your favorite coffee shop?

What is one brand that you identify with?

If you could start a charity, what would it be?

What is the best part of your day?

Do you like cities or rural areas better?

If you could re-live any decade of your life, which one would you re-do?

If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?

Do you eat or drink soup?

How many pairs of shoes do you own?

What is the best gift you have ever received?

If you were a superhero, what powers would you want to have?

What is your favorite animal?

What’s your favorite family recipe?

Do you like rollercoasters?

Who would play you in a movie about your life?

What song reminds you of high school?

What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?

If you could meet up with any celebrity for coffee, who would you choose?

If you were the ruler of your own country, what would be the first law you’d put into place?

Have you ever eaten a bug?

How would you survive a zombie apocalypse?

What’s your favorite ice cream topping?

What is your favorite holiday?

If you could be any tree, what kind would you be and why?

Do you have a favorite type of exercise?

Would you instead cook at home or order in?

Which phone app do you use the most?

Have you ever disliked something and then changed your mind?

What is your most prized possession?

Have you ever had a celebrity crush?

Are you an organ donor on your driver’s license?

Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?

Are you good at solving puzzles?

Do you think you can be friends with your colleagues?

Do you sing in the shower?

How many hours early do you show up at the airport before a flight?

If you had a yacht, what would you name it?

Can you say your ABCs backwards?

Are you double jointed?

Do you step on the cracks in the sidewalk or step over them?

Do you ever dance like nobody is watching?

What is the first thing you do in the morning?

What is the last thing you do at night?

What is the most unusual place you’ve ever slept in?

What would be the title of your memoir?

If you had unlimited money to start a business, what would it be?

If you had the opportunity to be immortal, would you take it?

Which famous historical person would you want to spend the day with?

What is your favorite article of clothing?

Do you think good people can do bad things?

Do you think bad people can do good things?

What is the first step you take to achieve a goal?

Have you ever been in a food fight?

Do you like cheese or butter more?

What rules do you mean to break?

How many times a day do you brush your hair?

Have you ever ridden a horse? Did you like it?

How would you react if an alligator arrived at your door?

What do you do when nobody is watching?

Do you count your missed calls?

How often do you say “thank you” or “I’m sorry” in a day?

Are you good at remembering things on the spot?

What is your quirkiest hidden quality?

Which outfit in your closet have you worn more than any other?

When was the last time you screamed at somebody?

What’s your favorite road trip you’ve ever taken?

Do you own a pair of cowboy boots?

If you could have eyes in the back of your head, would you?

Have you ever forgotten your wallet while paying for something?

If you only had 5 minutes in a grocery store, what would you buy?

If you got stranded on a desert island with only 3 items, what would they be?

Who knows you best?

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

What makes you feel unstoppable?

What is your biggest fear?

Who is the smartest person you know?

What is your favorite family holiday tradition?

What is the essential quality in a romantic relationship?

How long was your longest committed relationship?

If you could go back and change one thing about your past, what would it be?

Which is more important – beauty, power, or money?

What’s your biggest fear?

What makes you feel unstoppable?

What is your biggest regret?

Do you think people are mostly good or mostly evil? Why?

Where do you go when you need fresh inspiration?

What’s your philosophy on life?

Do you like diving into the deep end or easing your way into the water? (literally or figuratively)?

What life-changing events have you experienced?

What’s one thing you would change about yourself?

Have you ever had a moment of deja vu?

What legacy do you want to leave on Earth once you’re gone?

What gives you hope?

Have you ever had your heart broken?

Have you ever broken someone’s heart?

What was your most embarrassing moment?

If you could time travel, would you go to the past or the future?

What words of wisdom would you pass down to your younger self?

What’s your go-to guilty pleasure?

How do you show kindness to others?

Have you heard of “love languages”? What is your main one?

What is your definition of success?

What is a relationship dealbreaker for you?

How would you title this chapter of your life?

If you only had one month left to live, how would you spend it?

What is the best advice someone has ever given you?

What makes you feel alive?

Do you typically follow your heart or your head?

What are you most grateful for in your life?

Do you have a best friend?

How do you overcome personal setbacks?

Is it easy for you to accept help when you need it?

Do you think dreams have hidden meanings? Why or why not?

Do you believe in reincarnation?

How do you define beauty?

Do you think brains or looks are more attractive?

What do you think happens after death?

What is your most irrational fear?

Do you believe in second chances?

If you could snap your fingers and make the world a better place, what would you do?

What you rather someone be honest and hurt your feelings or lie to protect them?

How can someone lose your trust?

What personality traits are you most proud of?

If you could play one song every time you walked into a room, what would it be?

Why is sandwich meat round when bread is square?

Who is the fifth person on your missed calls?

If animals could talk, which species would be the nicest?

What’s your most hated form of transportation?

Have you ever dreamed of going to another planet?

Which superpower would you never want to have?

What do you think about when you’re on the toilet?

How do birds pee?

Do you think someone could live forever?

How many pairs of pants do you own?

What is the highest number you’ve ever counted?

Do you ever lower the music volume when you’re looking for an address?

What question do people ask you that you dislike?

If a bald person works in a restaurant, do you think they still need to wear a hairnet?

What is your favorite sleeping position?

What have you forgotten today?

Do you think you would be friends with a clone of yourself?

When did time begin?

Did you ever eat Play-Doh as a kid?

What is the weirdest text message you’ve ever gotten?

If you had a date with someone in this room right now, who would be the most uncomfortable person to go with?

Do you think you’re a good kisser?

What’s your favorite body part?

Do you have a secret hunch about how you will die?

If you could wake up tomorrow with one physical change, what would it be?

When was the last time you sang to yourself?

Is a hotdog a sandwich?

What part of a kid’s movie completely scarred you for life?

What kind of secret society would you start?

What is the weirdest smell you’ve ever smelled?

What is invisible but you wish people could see?

Which body part do you wish you could detach and why?

What is the weirdest thing a guest has done at your house?

What would it take to gross you out on a date completely?

If life were a video game, what would be your favorite cheat code?

What’s the worst name for an amusement park?

If police arrested you with no explanation, what would your friends and family assume you had done?

If you were a mad scientist, what experiment would you run?

If you could own any mythical creature (unicorn, phoenix, etc.), which one would you want?

What you rather have, a dirty house or a dirty car?

How many times do you think you lie in a day?

Have you ever tried to eat an ant or a worm?

Who is your partner in crime?

Would you talk to a random person in a movie theater?

Which is creepier – walking up on someone unexpectedly behind or staring at them through binoculars?

Do you check yourself out in the windows when you pass?

How many times do you change clothes in a day?

What music video can you watch over and over again without getting bored?

What’s the weirdest thing you secretly do daily?

What’s worse – no hair or no teeth?

What’s the most disgusting food you’ve ever eaten?

If someone looked through your internet search history, what would be the weirdest inquiry they’d find?

What’s your favorite corny joke?

Have you ever waved at someone thinking you know them, only to realize they are the wrong person?

What’s the best Wi-Fi network name you’ve seen?

What is a song you pretend you don’t like because it’s embarrassing that you love it?

What is something that everyone looks stupid doing?

What’s your dumbest dance move?

Have you ever tried to look cool in front of someone and failed?

What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen someone do in public?

When was the last time you had a big fail moment?

If you could live anywhere in the world but had to stay naked all the time, where would you choose?

What voice accent impersonations can you do (British, Australian, country, etc.)?

Have you ever tripped or fallen in front of a vast crowd?

If you could have one useless superpower, what would it be?

Which sport would be funniest if it had mandatory alcohol?

What’s the silliest way you’ve accidentally injured yourself?

What’s the most awkward first date you’ve ever been on?

What’s your favorite white elephant gift?

What is something trendy now that people will be embarrassed about in 5 years?

Where is the worst smelling place you’ve ever been?

What is the most useless talent you have?

If you got banned from the library, what would be the reason behind it?

Do you think penguins have knees?

Why is it called lipstick if it doesn’t stick your lips together?

What would be the worst bio for a dating app?

Why is it called “taking a dump”? Shouldn’t it be called “leaving a dump?”

What is the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever said on a date?

How do you want to die?

If you could be any comedian or celebrity, who would you be?

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done on a night out?

What is the goofiest or weirdest thing you did as a kid?

What is the strangest purchase you’ve ever made?

What would people call the sitcom of our friendship?

What is your most obnoxious laugh?

What is the funniest nickname that somebody has given you?

What’s a rule that you make everyone follow in your house?

Is it weird for an adult to sleep with a stuffed animal?

What was the last thing you searched on Google?

If you could do karaoke with any famous person for a day, who would it be?

What do you do when you pull up next to someone at a stoplight and see them jamming out to music?

Do you pick your nose?

What is the most ridiculous outfit you’ve ever worn?

What is the funniest Halloween costume you’ve ever seen?

If you had to change your name, what would you change it to?

What would you do with 15 minutes of fame?

What conspiracy theory do you think might be true?

If you could charge a million dollars for a service, what would it be?

What’s the most ridiculous lie someone has ever told you to your face?

If you could make a TV show about your best friend’s life, what would you call it?

Can you describe the craziest person you’ve ever met?

Have you ever eaten food on the ground?

What is your favorite slang?

If you had to wear a swimsuit or a business suit for the rest of your life, which one would you choose?

If you had to choose between your eyebrows or eyelashes, which would you keep?

What is worse during a kiss? Sneezing or burping?

Have you ever farted in a yoga class?

What’s the easiest way to make you laugh?

Are you ticklish?

If you publicly trip and fall, do you laugh it off or just keep walking?

Can you touch your nose with your tongue?

Which fairy tales do you find the most outrageous?

How would you describe your face if you could only use vegetables for reference?

What one normal thing becomes weird if you do it more than once?

What is the most awkward question someone has ever asked you?

How many animal sounds can you make?

What is the most annoying song you’ve ever heard?

How did you all meet?

What does each of you do for a living?

What is your favorite thing on the menu?

Where does each of you come from?

Who is the friendliest of this group?

Who is the most likely to protect everyone in a zombie apocalypse?

If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Where is your happy place?

What’s your favorite thing to do to celebrate your birthday?

What’s your favorite board game?

What is your favorite thing about your hometown?

What’s your idea of a perfect day?

What is your favorite topic to ask people about?

Why is pineapple on pizza so controversial?

What would people call your superhero group?

What is your favorite childhood memory?

What is your favorite sports team?

Do you like social media? Why or why not?

What is the cringiest video you’ve seen lately?

At a party, where are you most likely to be found?

What is the best concert you’ve ever been to?

Who are some of your favorite actors or actresses?

Who do you know that is most likely to be famous?

If you could go back to any time in history, what period would you choose?

If you could live inside a movie or book, which would you choose?

Do you hit the snooze button or wake up immediately?

What is one of your secret talents?

Do you believe in astrology?

Before making a phone call, do you rehearse what you’re going to say?

Do you check your horoscope?

Do you believe in aliens?

Do you have any phobias?

Do you like designer brand clothes?

Is Starbucks worth the money?

Do you like Thai food?

Do you believe you should do one thing every day that scares you?

Do you have any secret talents?

Have you ever broken the law?

Have you ever broken a bone?

Do you have your wisdom teeth?

Do you believe in conspiracy theories?

Have you ever had a lucid dream?

Have you ever sung in front of a crowd?

Are you afraid of heights?

Have you ever fainted?

Have you ever held a snake?

Do you have any irrational fears?

Are you claustrophobic?

Have you ever had a near-death experience?

Have you ever thrown up in public?

Are you afraid of the dark?

Do you like horror movies?

Have you ever gotten lost in the wilderness?

Have you ever had sleep paralysis?

Do you use social media?

Do you follow trends?

Do you ever binge-watch Netflix?

Have you ever met a celebrity?

Do you regularly watch sports?

Are you “extra”?

Have you ever been a vegan or vegetarian?

Do you respond to texts quickly?

Do you have a YouTube channel?

Are you into nice cars?

Have you ever been on TV?

Have you ever skippers school?

Have you ever cheated on a test?

Do you procrastinate?

Can you be peer pressured?

Have you ever been fired from a job?

Can you write in cursive?

Were you a rebellious kid?

Were your parents strict?

Did you ever sneak out of your house when growing up?

Have you ever been in a fight?

Do you think picking up lines works?

Have you ever kept a journal?

Do you have a best friend?

Do you pay attention to the news?

Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket?

Do you live alone?

Is it possible to stay friends with an ex?

Are you into podcasts?

Do you like going to the movies?

Do you use your phone first thing in the morning?

Do you regularly watch TV?

Do you ever talk to yourself in your head?

Do you sing in the shower?

Have you ever had deja vu?

Do you like chocolate?

Do you own bitcoin?

Do you like talking to strangers?

Would you like to be famous?

Do you like pina coladas?

Do you faint easily?

Have you ever held a monkey?

Are you afraid of snakes?

Do you call all dogs “puppies”?

Have you ever worn underwear two days in a row?

Do you ever talk to yourself?

Do you talk to animals?

Have you ever seen a UFO?

Do you like chocolate milkshakes?

Do you believe in Bigfoot?

Do you know how to swim?

Are you a good singer?

Do you consider yourself a good dancer?

Can you speak any other languages?

Did you believe in Santa as a kid?

Do you think PDA is annoying?

Do you have any trophies or awards you’ve won?

Can you play chess?

Have you traveled internationally?

If you could become a robot partly, would you try it out?

Do you like to wear hats?

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Have you ever cut your hair?

Were you a “cool kid” in high school?

Do you know your personality type?

[colorfulbard]

Summary: Love is complicated, especially when your crush is receiving letters from a secret admirer.

Pairing: Jean x GN!Reader

Word Count: 4.8k

Warnings: Fluff

A/N: This is based off episode six of AOT junior high. If you haven’t seen it, give it a watch cause it’s super funny. I did proofread a couple of times but if there's anything that indicates the reader is not gender neutral, let me know so I can change it. Any and all comments are appreciated, thank you!!

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

The nerves that were currently racking over your body made you feel numb. Like you would fall over any second now. There was no point in taking deep breaths because that hadn't been helping at all, made you feel worse even. Fortunately, the letter in your hands wasn't being ruined by your tense fingers. You managed to be able to control that much.

Speaking of, you should check it again. You sighed in relief to see it still in pristine condition, that was the tenth time you've checked it. Call it cheesy, but you wanted it to be perfect. You'd been crushing on him since elementary and still haven't been able to confess. He'd probably laugh it off as a joke if you did it face to face.

Although it didn't aid you earlier, you tried taking in another deep breath to gain a little bit more courage. Without giving it another thought, you walked to the shoe locker you had been watching for the past five minutes. You blocked off any negative thoughts that came up. If you didn't, you'd probably end up backing out, again.

This internal battle had been going on for the past five days. You tried to work up the courage to finally stick the damn letter in, only to back out last minute. The worst-case scenario always manifested itself in your head when you tried. Not this time, you refused. This time Jean Kirstein was going to read your anonymous letter. After that, the next hurdle to jump over was going to be confessing face-to-face.

Even after you finally prepared yourself to jump over this current hurdle, an obstacle presented itself. The obstacle was the object of affections, Jean. You were almost positive that you had come early enough not to run into him this time. It seemed like your doubtful thoughts took up more time than you thought.

You watched as he and Eren fought for what felt like the fiftieth time today. You knew it was because of Mikasa, it was apparent he felt something towards her. Despite that, you still wanted him to know about your feelings.

"What the-!? Hey man, I don't know who you think you are, but rip my uniform again and-!" Eren's retort was cut off by Mikasa throwing him over her shoulder and walking away. That was the only silver lining in your predicament, Mikasa had no interest in Jean. Only Eren.

With a heaving sigh, you shoved the letter in your bag and walked to Jean and Marco, who had been at his side the entire time. "Is there ever gonna be a day where you don't pick a fight with Eren?" You asked teasingly.

Jean scoffed, "not my fault. Cheeburg bastard was asking for it," he retorted while laying a hand on his locker.

You rolled your eyes and gave Marco a look to which he shrugged. You looked back at Jean, "I'm sure he was, tough guy," you replied sarcastically.

Jean ignored your words. "Why can't any of the girls in school ever appreciate my charm?" He whined to himself.

You heard his complaint and felt your cheeks heat up. You reached into your bag to double-check on the letter. You let out a breath you had been holding when you felt it. You inwardly groaned at your cowardice and began to walk out in shame until Jean called out you.

"Huh?" You asked, turning back to face him.

He turned his gaze to his locker as he spoke to you. "I was just wondering if you wanted to-" He cut himself off when his gaze landed on the inside of his locker. Whatever was in there caused his eyes to widen and a blush to erupt on his cheeks.

You and Marco glanced at each other and rose a brow. Both of you silently wondered what exactly captured his attention. You continued watching as he shoved his head in his locker and came out with a pink letter sealed with a heart sticker.

Anyone with working eyes would be able to realize what exactly that was, a love letter. You felt your heart drop and shatter like glass. He looked just about ready to explode while reading its contents. You didn't want to believe it was entirely possible for your own sake, but there it was.

You should've known something like this would happen sooner or later. Others didn't think so but underneath it all, Jean was a catch. Sure, he could be arrogant and stupid sometimes, but that was all a front to look cool. On the inside, he genuinely cared about others and was a sweet guy.

You quickly ran out before you could gauge his entire reaction to the cutesy letter. Tears came to your eyes when you stopped running. "Damn it," you cursed at yourself. There was no one to blame but yourself after all.

"Hey!"

Someone was calling out to you from behind, you recognized the voice as Marco's. You began debating on whether or not you should turn around. In the end, you decided it would be fine. Besides, if anyone would offer you some sympathy to help you feel better, it was him. You just hoped Jean wasn't with him.

Based on the silence that came, you had to assume he wasn't there. If he was, he'd probably be gloating about his letter to you. A hand came down onto your shoulder causing you to turn and face him. Marco's eyes widened for a split second when he saw the tears in your eyes. He remained nonchalant and didn't mention it while he walked beside you.

"This has to do with Jean, doesn't it?" He inquired after a few moments of silence.

You tensed and felt your cheeks grow warm, "how'd you guess?" You asked. You hadn't told anyone about your crush and tried your best to remain secretive, clearly, you failed.

Marco chuckled, "it was a little obvious. But don't worry, I won't tell," he assured with a finger to his lips. "I'm guessing you're upset about that letter, huh?" His tone shifted when he asked.

You didn't know your heart could shatter twice in one day. That letter had been so cute, so much cuter than yours. It makes he'd want something like that. A pink envelope that most likely enclosed a matching piece of paper decorated in hearts. To top it all off, you'd bet your lunch money they sprayed it in perfume. No doubt smelling as sweet as their message.

Marco noticed your change in demeanor and squeezed your shoulder in reassurance. "Hey, don't worry about it," he said, "just because he already has one doesn't mean you can't try your luck."

He wasn't wrong. It wasn't as if Jean was automatically in a relationship just because of some letter. A smile came to your lips, "you're right!" You exclaimed, "I still have a chance!"

Your mood shifted entirely thanks to Marco. Now it was time to think of a different approach and a way to spice things up. But before doing all of that, you owed him a thank you. "Thank you so much, Marco!" You gave him a quick hug and raced home, millions of ideas going through your mind.

~

Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough. It was time to get to school. Thanks to that allnighter you almost pulled, you were almost late. During said allnighter, you came up with the idea to make chocolates along with a new letter. You were pretty proud of how they came out, practically perfect. You even put them in a heart-shaped box with the letter attached. Albeit a little odd because it wasn't valentine's day, but you didn't care.

The moment you stepped into the classroom Sasha's nose was glued to your bag. You flinched and tugged your bag behind you, "what's up with you?" You asked defensively.

Sasha snapped herself out of her trance and smiled sheepishly at you. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself." She giggled while rubbing the back of her neck. "Something in your bag just smells so good!" She practically began drooling at the smell.

Connie, who had been standing next to her, rose a brow. "What do you mean?" He asked cluelessly, "I don't smell anything." He began sniffing the air in an attempt to catch a whiff of what Sasha was talking about. He shrugged after not smelling anything.

Sasha was noticeably offended by Connie's words. "How could you not?!-" she grabbed his shoulders- "it's so sweet that the smell is hitting me from all over!" She began shaking him causing him to go dizzy.

You giggled at the two and shook your head. No point in paying them any mind for today. You had to say focused and most important, calm. You turned around to find your seat and froze at the sight of Jean.

"What the-?!" You spat out. That was something you certainly weren't expecting today, though it made sense considering his occasion. Apparently, he thought it would be nice to style his hair today.

You weren't sure so you'd have to ask for clarification. In your opinion, it looked ridiculous. It looked similar to Elvis Presley, you didn't even know he had enough hair to style it like that.

You grabbed Sasha, interrupting her rant to Connie, and brought her close to whisper. "What's up with Jean's hair?" You asked cringing.

Sasha started to laugh at the mention of Jean's hair. "I know right! It looks ridiculous!" She wiped a tear from her eye. "Apparently he wanted to look good for whoever wrote him some love letter," she explained, "personally, I think it's a prank."

You hummed and nodded, but then stopped after smelling something in the air. "Huh?" You questioned, "did Mr. Shadis spray something in the classroom yesterday?" It was an odd smell, kind of like air freshener.

After getting over her laugh attack at your previous question, Sasha couldn't help but laugh again. "That's actually Jean's cologne," she answered.

You couldn't help but let out your own giggle. He really put out all the stops today for whoever sent him the letter. It was a little disheartening, but you wouldn't let that stop you.

"I'm surprised you can smell whatever was in my bag," you commented, "considering Jean's cologne is all over the classroom."

Sasha's eyes shined. "How could I not?" She asked rhetorically, "the smell is amazing~!" She sighed in bliss.

"Say, you wouldn't happen to wanna share some of that, would you?" She shyly poked at your side.

You smiled. "Not today, but I'll bring you some another time." You grabbed her hand and squeezed, "I promise."

Sasha beamed had tears in her eyes, "thank you so much~!" She praised and wrapped her arms around your waist. You pat her head and smiled down at her.

By then, Krysta and Ymir came in. Sasha's attention was taken away from you when Krysta handed her a snack. Sasha tried to show her appreciation by hugging her until Ymir stepped in and shoved her away. You would've laughed at their antics if you hadn't focused your attention on Jean, who was currently blushing and staring into space.

'I wonder what's up with him,' you thought.

Whatever was going on with him seemed to get worse when two upperclassmen, Rico and Petra, came in. He even began bleeding out of his nose. You thought nothing of it and sat down at your usual seat.

Just as you sat down, you realized you had forgotten something. Yesterday you decided to give the letter face-to-face, but there was just one problem. You never planned out what you were going to say. You could opt for speaking from the heart, but you always got nervous and words failed you. You groaned and laid your head down on your desk in defeat.

You didn't get to wallow for very long because of someone yanking your sleeve. You rose a brow and saw Marco fearfully kneeling by your desk. You said nothing hoping he would explain himself only for him to point towards Jean's seat.

You caught sight of Mikasa and Annie staring at each other like rabid dogs. You flinched at the sight and knelt down next to him. Even if they were currently in a classroom, you still wouldn't be surprised if they fought right now.

It seemed like Jean felt the need to meditate as he stood up and said, "ladies, no need to fight over me, there's enough Jean for every-" He didn't get to finish his sentence because he got caught in the crossfire of Annie and Mikasa's kicks.

The way he got flung into the air and slammed back down onto the ground was definitely painful. You almost stepped in to help until you noticed something fall from Annie's pocket. It was the same love letter from yesterday. Your eyes widened and you felt sick. Could she be the one giving him the letters?

Jean seemed to be thinking the same thing when the same blush from earlier stained his cheeks. You felt dishearten just after gaining your confidence back, how you were supposed to compete with someone like that? That thought was stuck in your head for the rest of the day. Fortunately, Mr. Shadis didn't notice.

After class, you had caught up with everyone and walked while listening to all of their overlapping conversations. You butt into the conversation at times, but your focus was still on the object of affections. Marco noticed and gave you a reassuring smile.

You smiled back and turned your attention to the lockers. Clearly, someone hadn't expected all of you to walk that quickly as they were still busy shoving something into a locker. That someone being Annie, who was most likely putting another letter in Jean's locker.

Eren called out to her, "Annie?"

She tensed at the sound of her name and quickly ran off at the sight of all of you staring at her. You gazed at Jean to see his reaction only to see the same dreamy look on his face from earlier. He seemed to be stuck in some sort of fantasy world like earlier, Armin had informed you of that during lunch. Except it was about Annie this time.

Seemed like everyone else but you could see exactly what he was dreaming about as Sasha commented, "clearly he doesn't remember how it all went down."

"The letter!" Jean snapped himself out of his trance when he reminded himself of it. He ran to his locker to quickly read it as did everyone else looming over his shoulders.

It read: "Please come to Attack Park after school."

Jean didn't waste any time after reading the letter and ran outside screaming at the top of his lungs, "this is it! My time has come!" He continued cheering before running off in the direction of Attack Park, leaving the rest of you in the dust.

It felt like the universe was laughing in your face right now. Things only seemed to get worse and worse as the minutes passed. You supposed it might be time to face reality and try moving on. If Annie really was the one crushing on him, the proof is undeniable at this point, then you had no chance in hell. She'd probably crush you for so much as thinking about him.

"Man, this sucks," you whined under your breath.

"Guys..."

You cringed at the sound of Annie's voice from behind you and hid beside Marco. 'She can't hear my thoughts right?' A shiver went down your spine.

"Annie?" Asked Armin, "shouldn't you be in the park?"

She was blushing as she spoke. "Actually I was gonna try to pick your brains this morning," she said, "I need some advice about..." She appeared embarrassed about whatever she was going to say next.

"Well, about these stupid love letters," she finally said.

Everyone looked at her and expressed their confusion, "huh?"

~

After talking with Annie, everyone walked to the park together. The plan was to spy on them while Annie broke the news. None of you fully understood what she meant when she had confessed the actual secret admirer was unable to deliver the letters herself. You felt hopeful after learning it wasn't Annie, but now it left the secret admirer as just that, a secret.

Armin advised her to pretend to be the admirer to watch his reaction while everyone else hid behind a tree. Annie didn't seem to care enough to protest against everyone spying despite it not being essential to the plan.

Everything was going according to plan until Jean decided to screw it up. "Oh no..." You mumbled with a facepalm. He was putting up his arrogant facade and ruining everything.

"What's he doing?" Eren whisper-yelled.

"He does this when he's not sure of what to say," you explained, "poor guy is gonna get his ass kicked again." Your words held true when Annie knocked him over on his back like earlier.

Annie felt it fitting to finally explain to Jean that her friend was the one who asked her to write the letters and send them. He was shocked at the news and didn't have any time to process it as Annie prepared to call out to her friend. While everyone was expecting a name, she just stood there and screeched at the top of her lungs.

After a few moments of tense silence and Sasha hissing at Annie, thudding steps grew louder the closer they came to Attack Park. Everyone turned to the sounds of it and screamed at the sight of a titan running towards them.

As it turns out, Annie was a part of the same cram school as some titans and learned some interesting things there, including their language. This titan in particular asked for the favor of writing and sending letters to Jean.

Everyone turned towards a distraught Jean with millions of questions running through their minds. Meanwhile, you were just trying your best to keep from laughing. It was comical to think you had been worrying about a titan this entire time. Of course, only Jean could have this kind of luck.

After taking a look at Jean, it seemed like he was almost considering dating a titan. Your laughter quickly died.

Annie mentioned she was shy and that made him look at things in a different light. That light was immediately snuffed at the sight of the giant titan blushing from behind a jungle gym.

"Hell no!" He exclaimed, cringing.

Everyone was most definitely enjoying this as they continued to tease him. "Come on Jean, don't be like that," coaxed Armin.

The laughter came back after hearing everyone tease him. "Yeah, maybe you should give her a chance," you said in between giggles. You laughed even harder when Jean turned around to glare at you.

Annie frowned at Jean's reaction, "you're a jerk," she sneered, "the two of you already have a history. At least as she sees it, you gave her your lunch the other day."

At first, you were confused until Marco had reminded you what happened a couple of days ago. "Don't you guys remember?! We were running for our lives!" He said fearfully while retelling the story for everyone.

~Flashback (Dramaticized for the fun of it)

The three of you had been peacefully walking to school talking of the events that would happen that day. The peace was disrupted at the sound of thudding steps nearing the three of you.

"Oh no! A titan!" You guys had yelled. There was still a slim chance you could outrun her until Marco tripped over himself and insisted he should be left behind.

You and Jean immediately refused. Fortunately, with his quick thinking, he grabbed his lunch as a sacrifice. You gasped and grabbed his arm to stop him, "wait, Jean, isn't that the lunch your mom made?" You asked, "I thought it was special to you!"

"That's not important right now!" He shouted, wasting no time to throw it in her mouth. "Eat this, you freak!"

The titan was distracted and Jean quickly grabbed you and Marco to run away. As you did, none of you had seen the blush that spread over the titan's cheeks.

~

"She said she can't stop thinking about the rice omelet and that you're adorable," explained Annie after Marco's flashback.

Everyone teased Jean after the story and jokingly tried to coax him into dating her. As they joked amongst themselves none of them noticed the inner turmoil going on in Jean's head. He appeared to have finally snapped when all of a sudden, he went robotic and denied his admirer was even a titan.

"What are you trying to say, Jean?" Questioned Armin.

"Maybe the shock was enough to make him lose his marbles," commented Eren.

No one else had anything to say as they watched Jean climb to the top of the jungle gym and insist the titan was a normal human. His only piece of evidence, if you can even call it that, was that he was "taller" than her.

"Dude! She's a dozen of you!" Yelled Eren, trying to snap him out of it.

Getting pushed off the top of the jungle gym by her didn't help with delusions, probably made them worse. Everyone cringed when Jean hit the ground with a loud thud and quickly stood back up. He asserted he could hold her hand and opened his arms for a hug.

You covered your eyes when she slammed herself on top of him. You couldn't bear to keep watching his slow descent into madness, "This is getting painful," you whispered to Marco.

"Yeah, no kidding..." He responded.

Eren and Armin kept yelling in hopes to snap him out of it but to no avail. It ended it being thanks to Marco that he finally escaped whatever delusion he was in. Jean shook his head at Marco's words to face reality and stared into the titan's eyes. She had him in the palm of her hand as he deeply contemplated his decision. Or so you thought.

His face turned to one of disgust, "She's taller than me!"

You paled, "really?! That's your dealbreaker?!" You yelled up at him.

Jean was thrown to the ground what was the hundredth time today after the titan started crying. His world of pain was neverending when she brought her hand down to slam him harder into the ground. When she lifted it, Jean was halfway into the ground, eyes swirling.

As the titan ran away mumbling something incoherent, Annie watched and translated. "She says she's not giving up," she explained.

To make matters worse, Sasha's attempt at comfort was to make it seem like a daikon and a curry bun were now fighting over Jean. It was a weird form of attention that he relished in.

Everyone decided to go their separate ways when Sasha deemed her work to be complete. You couldn't blame them, you wouldn't want to watch your friend at their lowest either. They called out to you and Marco, but both of you decided to stay behind to watch him. Meanwhile, Annie went her own way to cram school.

When it was just the three of you, or five if you count the daikon and curry bun, left you turned to Marco. "You can go if you want," you told him.

His eyes widened, "you sure?" He asked.

You nodded and reached into your bag, "yeah, I think now's a good a time as any." You pulled out the letter and chocolates from this morning. Marco smiled and nodded. He left after wishing you good luck.

You wasted no time when Marco was out of sight. You crouched down to Jean and cringed as he mumbled to the curry bun and daikon. It was difficult to continue watching him suffer from his overactive imagination. You flicked his forehead in an attempt to bring him back to earth.

"Oi, Jean." You flicked him, "snap out of it."

The mixture of light pain and your voice seemed to work. He shook his head and looked at the curry bun and daikon in his hands. "Do I wanna know?" He cringed while asking you.

You chuckled and shook your head, "you should probably stop daydreaming for a little while," you advised.

He dropped the items on the ground and looked around the park in search of something. "Where'd everyone go?" He asked.

"They left when you started going nuts over the daikon and curry bun," you explained, gesturing to the food he dropped. You should probably have him pay back Sahsa for that at some point.

Jean sighed and covered his face with his hands, "I can't believe this..." He was mortified over his actions.

You knew it might be the best time, but if you didn't do it now who's to say when you'd try again. "Hey, Jean..." You called his name and felt your cheeks heat up when he stared at you.

"I, uh..." Just like you knew they would, words failed you. You decided your actions should speak for you instead and bowed your head down when you gave him the gifts. You didn't dare glance up at him to see his reactions. The worst possible scenarios were filling your head already.

"Are these for me...?"

You nodded and snuck a peek at his face. Your eyes widened when you caught sight of the blush on his cheeks. That looked like a good sign, but you didn't want to get ahead of yourself. The last thing you wanted was more disappointment.

That feeling came quickly when he recoiled from the gifts. It felt like an imaginary dagger pierced your heart when he did. You might as well get eaten by a titan, not your lunch. You moved to take away the gifts and run away but stopped when he spoke.

"Those aren't from... her, right?"

You quickly realized he was talking about the titan and began laughing so hard your stomach began to hurt. "Are you serious?" You asked, wiping the tears from your eyes.

"Hey, don't laugh at me!" He yelled, defensive.

You continued giggling regardless, "I'm sorry, it's just funny." You shook your head to his silliness. "No, they're from me," you admitted.

Jean's eyes widened, "really?" He asked in disbelief.

You felt your cheeks grow red and nodded, "I made the chocolates myself," you remarked. You were about to open them for him until you noticed he was still stuck in a hole.

"Oh, I should probably help you out of that." You stood up and grabbed his arms to tug him out. It took a few good tugs until he finally broke free. You underestimated your strength when you made him fall onto you after he broke free.

You grunted at the feeling of his body slamming into you. Your eyes had shut themselves because of the pain and sand landing in your eyes. You had no clue where he landed and groaned when you fell onto the hard ground. When you were finally able to open your eyes, all you saw was white.

'Huh...?' You thought in a daze. You shook yourself out of your dazed state and caught sight of Jean staring down at you, his face mimicking a tomato. You had been looking at his shirt.

You squealed and shoved him away from you. He ended up landing on his face with a yelp and you flinched. "Oops, sorry," you said sheepishly while he fixed himself.

Jean paid you no mind and picked up the chocolates and letter from the ground. He clutched it tightly in his hands and almost refused to open it. You may not think so, but this was one of the cutest things he'd ever seen you do. He didn't wanna ruin it. Then again, he was dying to know what it said.

But before he opened it, he had to ask you something. "Why didn't you say anything before?" He asked.

You shrugged, "who am I to get in the way of true love?" You teased referring to the titan.

Jean paled and rolled his eyes, "way to ruin the moment," he grumbled at you. You smirked and stuck your tongue in response.

He carefully opened the letter and took his time while reading its contents as you stared. The silence that followed made you feel like you were drowning in nothing. There was still some hope, however, based on his previous reactions.

You assumed he was finished when he put it in his bag. After a couple of seconds of stifling silence, you spoke. "So... What did you think?" You began wringing the ends of your shirt causing it to wrinkle.

No words were spoken by him when he stood up and leaned down to press a kiss to your cheek. You gasped and brought a hand up to your cheek. You hadn't even realized he was walking away until you finally got over your initial shock.

You let out a noise of disbelief and ran to him after grabbing your bag. "Hey! Don't try to act cool and run away from me!" You yelled while running after him.

"Can't you just let me have this moment?!"

"No way!"