#i am not forcing you to wear a mask. in fact i have told you EXPLICITLY that i will never pressure you to wear a mask.

[dykeogenes]

sick and fucking tired of abled people wanting me to hold their hand and reassure them we can still be friends if they don’t wear masks. fuck you. don’t you dare ask me “is it okay if i keep my mask off?” you KNOW the answer is no. you already know i don’t want your fucking covid because you have EYES and I’M WEARING A GODDAMN N95.

people only ever ask that question because they KNOW your response is going to be “oh, um, i don’t care...” bc responding any other way makes you look unhinged and demanding. nobody is ever gonna tell you to put a mask on. do you understand that? nobody is EVER gonna ask you to put a mask on, no matter how high fucking risk they are. “you can’t tell me what to do with my body” NONE OF US EVER WILL.

when you say “stop trying to force me to wear a mask,” what you are actually saying is “stop reminding me that my choice not to wear a mask is selfish and ableist, because that makes me feel bad about myself.”

the first point would be a fair request-- much as i think you should be masked, i sure don’t think anyone should hold you down and force it on you. but nobody is doing that.

the second point is not a fair request. kill us if you want. fine. i can’t stop you. but you will look us in the fucking eye when you pull the trigger.

[going-to-ikea-for-the-fries]

It's a Match! || 141 x reader

[ Chapter 2 ] || [ Chapter 4 ]

Pairing: Ghost x Reader || 141 x gn!Reader Words: 1K~ cw: some sexual jokes/innuendos Summary: While overcoming recent heartbreak, you decide to join Tinder in search of a rebound. Your friends advise to just Swipe Right indiscriminately... What happens when 4 soldiers from the same squad match with you?

Chapter 3: Simon

After doing the dishes, you moved yourself over to the living room and turned on the TV. Some rerun of an older season of Law and Order was playing.

You started watching but you found your eyes drifting back to your phone… 

Against your better judgement, you clicked on the Tinder app icon again. Maybe, maybe you should swipe just a little more.

And so you did. 

Today you said ‘Fuck you, Beyoncé’ and always went to the Right, to the Right. 

Just as you were pondering another profile, the screen darkened with a ‘It’s a Match!’ notification, making you jump a bit, as usual.

You clicked the profile and your brow scrunched. 

You didn’t remember liking this one… Though you obviously did, after all, you were liking everyone.

The only picture wasn’t even anything. It was dark and grainy and the man was wearing a black disposable face mask. If that even was him. Could just be a random picture off-Google, picked by someone who wanted to be anonymous. Not quite a catfish but close enough…

“Simon.” You said softly and dragged your finger through the screen to read his bio. For a moment you couldn’t help but smirk a little. He was sarcastic, a bit strange, but charismatic in his own way.

“Bad jokes, Bourbon, Discreet…” You mused while scanning his profile. “Tall enough.” You read aloud and couldn’t help but laugh at it. That made you feel like he was short.

Against your better judgement for the second time, you decided to send him a DM instead of waiting for him to. Something told you he wouldn’t.

you: tall enough - does that mean you’re below 6ft?

Simon: No.

Simon: Means that I have inches to spare.

you: was that a dick joke?

Simon: No.

Simon: Unless you wanted it to be.

You snorted softly under your breath. Of course he was a smart ass too…

you: ambiguous, i like it.

you: so how tall are you then?

Simon: Does it matter?

you: no. just curious.

Simon: 6ft4.

you: that feels like a lie.

Simon: I avoided putting it for a reason.

you: worried people would call you a liar?

Simon: No use. Going to be called it regardless.

you: that’s fair ig.

you: what’s a traveling consultant?

Simon: Similar to a contractor. Get brought in to help businesses all over the world.

you: what kind of businesses?

Simon: That’s need-to-know.

you: you type so formally and professionally jeez.

you: will i ever get to know?

Simon: Force of habit. Don’t text a lot.

Simon: Not if I can help it.

you: somehow i can tell.

you: what are you doing here then?

Simon: Curiosity mostly.

you: trying to see if you attract any fish? 👀

Simon: Something like that. A friend is on here. Wanted to see what all the fuss is about.

you: i see.

you: got anything yet?

Simon: No. But only created this 12 minutes ago.

you: am i your first then?

Simon: Not my first in anything, love.

Your eyes widened a bit and for some reason you found yourself getting a bit flustered, your face warming up just a bit.

you: does that mean you’ve hooked up with people through a dating app before?

Simon: Something of the sorts.

you: aw, im really not going to be your first.

Simon: That’s alright. You can come see me either way.

Simon: I’m sure you’ll find some other thing to be the first at.

Your breath got caught in your throat and you started sputtering. That came out of left field! He had gone from professional and mild-mannered to… flirty so quickly! Gulping, you tried to answer him with something coherent and funny.

you: idk what if you murder me?

Simon: I promise I won’t.

you: is that meant to be enough to convince me? 🤨

Simon: I’ll leave all my guns at home.

you: the fact you have more than one is not reassuring the way you think it is.

Simon: If it makes it any better, I wouldn’t need a gun to kill you.

Even though you don’t know this man, you can imagine that he’s laughing to himself behind his phone screen, all smug, thinking he’s funny. And, the worst part, is that he is.

you: reassuring. thanks.

Simon: Glad to be of service.

you: i think what makes it worse is that uve not got a pic of ur face.

Simon: Wouldn’t hook up with a bloke with his face covered?

you: no? are u trying to get me axe murdered? bc thats how u get axe murdered simon

Simon: LOL.

Simon: No.

you: u sure? a masked face with a mysterious job and a suspicious amount of guns… sounds like the upgraded version of ghostface… except online rather than over the phone.

Simon: I’ll take that as a compliment.

Simon: You’re funny. 

Simon: I like that.

you: thanks. 

Simon: Wondering if you’re that funny in real life or if you’d get all shy on me.

you: probably a mix of both.

Simon: How about we confirm that then? 

Simon: Meet up with me for drinks. No pressure on time or place. You can even postpone if it comes down to it. My job is unpredictable enough so I might have to postpone too.

Your eyes widened. The first attempt at flirting from him, of inviting you for a shag, had been clearly sarcastic… But this one is genuine.

you: ill get back to u on that, is that okay?

Simon: No sweat.

Simon: And if you’re just being polite and not actually going to text me again then: This was fun. Enjoyed myself. Take care.

You bit your lip to suppress a smile when you saw his polite goodbye. He was… sweet, weirdly enough.

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

taglist: @daisychainsinknots , @bunnysdaydreams , @iite-cool , @lahniu , @pagesfalling , @tapioca-milktea1978 , @live-love-be-unique , @thelaisydazy , @littleghosthoney , @bossva , @emotion-no-hot-yes-hotel-trivago , @chamomiletealeaf , @ghosts-hoe

[mrscolinbridgerton96]

“I Do Not Love You Any Less” | a POLIN fic

Plot: It is Penelope and Colin’s wedding night.. and it is anything but newlywed bliss. However, it is on this night that they have a long overdue conversation.

~

After longing looking at the man she loves, Penelope watched as Colin grabbed a pillow for the settee and walk out of the room. She felt another piece of her heart break as he closed the door.

She could’ve just left it at that- that any attempt at a conversation could wait until morning.. but she took a deep breath and walked out to talk to him as he took off his boots and threw the pillow and blanket on the settee.

Penelope: “Colin. Please talk to me. I deserve to be heard given the way you are treating me.”

Colin: “The way I am treating you? Penelope, you lied to me and at our wedding breakfast.. you made it very clear that you will never give up Whistledown.”

Penelope: “I understand your anger towards me- in fact, it is justifiable. However, I cannot go another day or night without trying to fix this situation between us. Colin, please.”

Colin: “You want to talk? Very well. Let us talk. Perhaps you can help me understand. Maybe you can attempt to justify all of the damage that you have done with your pen.”

Penelope walks away from the bedroom doors and sits on the settee next to Colin. A part of him wants to move an inch away from her or even to stand up, but he stays where he is.. and even lets Penelope move closer to him. She grabs his hand, takes a deep breath and tells him things she had never thought she’d ever say to him. She opens up- all honesty and completely vulnerable.

Penelope: “I first start writing as Whistledown because I was powerless in my own home and I was forced to debut and enter the marriage mart a year earlier than I was meant to. I intended to give a voice to those felt powerless- the other voiceless. Instead, it became.. something else entirely. When I wrote what I did about Marina, I felt it was the only way I could prevent you from an even deeper form of heartache- I thought I could prevent that.. betrayal. Yes, I knew that Marina was with child when she arrived to the Ton.. but I was forced to remain silent on the issue and was frowned upon for trying to befriend her. I tried so hard to tell you about it. I told you that she was in love with another man.. and you did not believe me. Had Marina not interrupted us, I would have told you everything. I had every intention on telling you, but I feared that you still would have married her anyways- even if it meant being in a one sided relationship; a loveless marriage.. which is something I do not wish on anyone- not even the likes of Cressida Cowper.”

With a blank expression, he looked at her for a split second then looked back down again.

Colin: “And Eloise?”

Penelope: “Eloise came to me explaining how the Queen was convinced that she was Lady Whistledown- and threatened to ruin her, you and the rest of your family if she did not confess. I was misguided because, I- I saw no other way to protect her. So, I.. I wrote what I did and after that, I.. I intended to never write again.”

Colin: “But you did begin writing again.. with what you said about me. When I first read it, it did not affect me- but as soon as I discovered that you are Lady Whistledown.. only then did your words cut me. It made me feel as if the one person outside my family that I care deeply about and have for years thinks so little of me.”

Penelope: “I was angry. Your words last year hurt me more than anything my mother.. my sisters.. or anyone else had ever spoken about me. I wanted the man I loved for years back; I hated when you pretended to be someone you were not. You were wearing a mask, yet even now.. I realize that it may not have been entirely your choice. I love you truly and madly and deeply- I will shout it at the top of my lungs for all of Mayfair to hear if you truly doubt that. Despite all of your imperfections, I do not love you any less.. and I pray that we will soon have better days ahead of us. Goodnight, Colin.”

Penelope kissed Colin on the cheek then went into the bedroom. He could hear her crying after she had closed the door behind her. Despite his anger, it broke his heart to hear her cry; it hurt him knowing that his anger was hurting her.. and Penelope has always been someone he never in any way wanted to hurt.

~

After over thirty minutes, there was a deafening silence lingering over Colin. There was pure silence in the bedroom as well. He got up and walked to the door. He quietly opened the door and saw that Penelope had fallen asleep. He took a deep breath in and out as he approached the bed and looked at her sleeping peacefully. His heart slightly sank when he realized that she had actually cried herself to sleep.

He kneeled down and kissed her on the forehead and whispered Penelope’s words back to her.

Colin: “I do not love you any less.. Penelope Bridgerton.”

He slowly covered her arms with the blanket so that he wouldn’t wake her.. and he took one more look at his wife before closing the door once more for the night.

For ten minutes, he sat up on the settee.. thinking about Penelope. Despite his feelings about her being Lady Whistledown, he still loves her. A tear falls down his left cheek when he begins to think about his fear of losing her. He doesn’t want to lose her.. and the thought of losing her in any way terrified him.

Pure exhaustion quickly took over and he took a deep breath.. laid down.. and finally closed his eyes.

__________________________________________

author’s note: this is the kind of conversation i wish would’ve happened in part 2 of season 3, but it didn’t- so i decided to write this. this is my first Bridgerton AU fic- hope you like it!!

[erisweekofficial]

Today we are celebrating the Amazing @the-darkestminds! 🤩

If you've ever wanted to dive into an Azris fic, we SUPER recommend her fic Autumn's Shadow which you can read on tumblr or ao3. This fic features enemies to friends to lovers and is so achingly soft!!

Definitely read this fic if you love stories that balance sensuality with tenderness and also feature a super unique plot full of mystery 👀

Read more to learn why @the-darkestminds started writing for Eris and what to do if Eris gets sick!

Would drew you to creating content for Eris? And especially for Azris other than any other ship for him?

I have the most fun writing for characters whose stories are largely untold. Angst/pain/hurt are my favorite themes to write and Eris fits into that mold well for me. There are no shortage of characters in the acotar universe with traumatic backstories, but to me Eris feels particularly tragic. We know he’s abused by his father, has likely been forced to wear a mask for his entire life. He cares about Lucien but is unable to show it in any open, meaningful way. He clearly cares about his Court and people, and yet he's treated like a supervillain by the main characters of the series. I think he’s extremely lonely. He doesn’t have an inner circle or a family he can trust. There’s so much to work with when it comes to his backstory because it hasn’t yet been written, which makes it extremely fun to fill in the blanks, specifically the events that shaped him into the male he is today. A lot of room to write about his pain and suffering. lol Because of this, I think he pairs well with Azriel’s darkness. They may appear completely different on the outside: Eris is snarky, bold, well dressed, vibrant, etc, whereas Azriel is brooding, quiet, always hidden in the shadows…but I like them together because they both have an inherent darkness to them. They’ve both known suffering. In my mind, they are able to draw each other out of it with lots of tension and passion. 

How do you choose which scenes or moments to focus on?

Again, I have the best time writing angst and pain, so I try to focus on scenes that depict how his suffering has shaped him as a character. We’ve only been told snippets of his past, so I like to fill in those gaps and try to portray what his suffering might’ve looked like. I decided to write one fic for Eris Week that focuses on when his childhood trauma first began, and another oneshot depicting his grief as a grown male. I swear I love him! 

What role do you think fan interactions play in your creative process?

A HUGE one. In fact, the only reason I ended up posting the first chapter of my azris fic was due to the lovely @unanswered-stars expressing interest and asking to be added to a tag list!  I absolutely love getting feedback on what I write and it motivates me to keep going. I’ve had people share their thoughts and theories, ask questions and wonder about certain elements of the story that in turn have given me ideas for later chapters. Their support is everything and I am a much better writer for it.

Eris is sick! What are you doing to help him get better?

Calling Azriel

Also: Can you give me a name for one of Eris's brothers? And also for one of his dogs?

One of Eris’s brothers is named Jasper. He is the second oldest after Eris and is featured in one of my Eris Week fics. One of his hounds is named Sol. Eris acquired this hound shortly after Lucien was forced to flee to spring and wanted something to remind him of his youngest brother. 

[chaoticrushu]

God everything about Lisa is so tragic. Her trigger event, being forced into villainy by Coil, her desperate attempts to find out as much as she can to prevent the end of the world, and her whole relationship with Taylor.

She sees Taylor for the first time and immediately knows she's passively suicidal. She can't let that go, if course she can't, she can't let another Rex happen. So she reaches out, she invites Taylor to join the Undersiders, knowing the whole time Taylor's lying from the start. She gives her a friends/family/a support group, desperately hoping to give Taylor a reason to live. She takes her shopping, hoping to boost Taylor's confidence in herself. She pushes Taylor to go out with Brian, because she knows Brian has the same feelings, and she thinks it'll both help Taylor feel more tied to the group and help make her happier.

And it kinda works. Taylor gains confidence, she's stronger, she's happier.

"I'm sorry," Lisa put her hand on my shoulder. I felt grateful that she wasn’t pulling away or laughing. It was the first time I’d ever really talked about it, and I wasn’t sure I could’ve dealt if she had.

Shell 4.3

It kind of surprised me, but I realized what I was saying was true, so I didn’t even need to worry about tipping Lisa off. A second later, I realized I might have been a little presumptuous.

"I mean, assuming that we are frien—"

"If you finish that sentence,” Lisa warned me, "I'm going to slap you across the head." I felt the heat of a flush in my cheeks and ears. "Yes, Taylor, we’re friends," Brian said.

Shell 4.3

"I don’t know how to say this gracefully," I said. I paused, noting the presence of a hero nearby who’d raised a camera towards me. Whatever, I’d say it anyways. "But you guys mean a lot to me. I’m sorry I didn’t say it before, but I couldn’t without letting on that something was going on. You’re my family, in a way. As lame as it might be, I love you guys."

Drone 23.5

"I know," Grace said, after a pause. "I get that. I get that there’s other reasons. Like the fact that you love those guys and you never loved us. Cool. Makes sense."

"I liked you guys."

"But you didn’t love us.”

"No," I said.

Venom 29.1

By Arc 19, Lisa's sure she succeeded. She averted another Rex, she saved Taylor. Even with how self destructive Taylor is, pushing herself so hard towards a goal, first saving Dinah then saving everyone, throwing herself in dangerous situations one after another, she's in a better state than she was before. But is Lisa?

Taylor and Lisa have somewhat of a distant emotional connection. As much as Lisa has helped Taylor, Taylor can't really do the same to Lisa. Because even when she isn't wearing a mask in a literal sense. she's always wearing one metaphorically, one that she almost never lets slip. So as much as Taylor loves Lisa, she doesn't really know Lisa. She can't. Lisa's given Taylor a support system, but she herself doesn't have one.

"Except you’ve been talking to the heroes, and you’ve had that to help center yourself, figure out where you stand," Tattletale said. "I haven't."

"That’s it? You need to talk to someone?"

"No. That’s not what I’m saying," she said. She sighed. "Yes. Kind of. It’s only part of it. Who the hell am I going to talk to that grasps things on a level I do? Do you really expect me to find a therapist and sit down and not pick him apart faster than he can decipher me?"

"You could talk to me ," I said. "Not when you’re part of the problem, part of what I’d need to work past."

"That’s not fair," I told her.

"No, it isn’t," she admitted."

Scourge 19.7

And that disconnect shows in Taylor's pov. Even in Taylor's head, Lisa is so often thought of as Tattletale, not Lisa. Even as she's eviscerating Taylor on personal level in 30.1, she's still Tattletale, not Lisa. Rachel is almost always Rachel more than Bitch, and I'm pretty sure Aisha is Aisha'd as much as she's Imp'd.

Later in the same chapter, she explains herself, her first time in the whole book being genuine and letting herself be vulnerable.

Me? When you shot Coil, I realized I was done. I’d helped you out of the same trap of despair Rex had been in. Don’t know if the road I helped you down was a good one or a bad, but I’d finished."

"But why be reckless? Why take the risks?"

"Because I did what I had to do, I helped you, and I still feel like the stupid, self-obsessed little child that let her big brother die. It wasn’t conscious, but maybe I felt like I needed to up the stakes. Pull something dramatic. Show that, with these crazy smart capes like Alexandria and Faultline around, I could still be the smartest person in the room."

Scourge 19.7

She's finished her project, she's saved Taylor, whether for good or ill. She's freed herself of Coil. And it didn't fix her; She still bears all that guilt over Rex. Maybe, given time, Taylor could have helped Lisa, returned the favour. But they never had the time, because so soon after this, Taylor is outed, and things escalate, and Taylor is gone. I can't imagine what that did to Lisa, but it I'd guess that it means that her one true friend, probably the only person who even comes close to understanding her, is gone. Of course, she keeps in touch. But the letter she sends, its so impersonal, naught more than a status report. Whereas Brian and Rachel's are emotional and personal, confessions of their feelings. (I love Taylor and Rachel's relationship so much, but that's not the point here.) And when they meet all meet back up before Behemoth, the only thing she says to Taylor is asking her to survive. I think that even though she said she felt like she'd succeeded fixing Taylor, she was still doubting. Taylor is Taylor, I don't think she ever really could have been saved just by who she is. And Lisa could probably tell.

With a touch more seriousness, Tattletale said, "No dying, okay, Skitter?"

"Weaver," I corrected.

"Skitter," she said. "Here, today, you’re Skitter. Consider it a good luck charm. And no dying . I’ll say it as many times as it takes, until it gets through to you."

...

“Just remember,” Tattletale called out, “You’re officially Skitter today. Don’t be a hero. No point to all this shit if you do something brave and get yourself killed.”

Drone 23.5

And it all leads to Khepri. Taylor ruining herself, letting someone alter her brain to such an extent in a desperation to beat Scion. And it kills Lisa

"You couldn’t have made it easy?” Tattletale asked, looking down at it. “Because standing by while you do this… that’s fucking hard . It’s honestly easier if I’m on their side and I’m helping them stop you. If I can blame the fuck-up job Panacea did to your head."

"While I’m saying all this, kiddo, you gotta know I love you. I adore you, warts and all. You saved me, as much as I like to think I saved you. All this stuff I’m bitching about, it’s the same stuff that got us through some pretty hairy shit, and I love you for it as much as I groan about it. You’re brilliant and you’re reckless and you care too much about people in general when I really wish you’d leave things well enough alone and be selfish. But this?"

"Shit ," Tattletale said. "You gotta forgive me, just this once. Because seeing this and knowing what you pulled hurts enough that I gotta say this. This makes me feel really sorry for your dad, because I’m starting to get a sense of what you put him through.

Speck 30.1

Like, god. The tragedy of loving Taylor Hebert, a stubborn, persistent, unyielding person, one who doesn't value herself but will give everything to fight for her friends. For all that Lisa could try and do to save her, for all the happiness she could try and give her, it didn't work. Taylor becomes Khepri, and she loses her forever. I'm don't even know if Lisa knows what happened to Taylor, that she's on another earth, safe with the opportunity for genuine happiness without all the crises, able to be a regular person. Or does she assume Taylor died, maybe at the hands of a cape traumatised and angry and being mind controlled, maybe because of her own shard destroying her?

Does she ever regret trying to fix Taylor? Does she ever think back on it and wonder if Taylor would be better off if she hadn't guided her into villainy?

[arctic-hands]

I'm like a bad role model for disabled and sick people. I know, rationally, that my response to people asking invasive questions about my cane, my scars, my frequent and long potty breaks, my still wearing a mask, whatever the fuck the nosey assholes are interrogating me on, should be "Mind Your Own Damn Business"

But also I've been grieviously ill since I was three and on death's door on multiple occasions since, and I'm so used to doctors and probing questions from people of authority and being forced to give school presentations on every condition I developed (protip for teachers, making a nine year old explain to their peers that they have I Shit Too Much disease is not the destigmatizing learning experience you somehow think it is), and having every aspect of my life scrutinized by professionals and lay people alike,

and I am completely immune to feeling embarrassed about anything and will gladly and enthusiastically talk about the state of my bowels or how I had my head cracked open and became a cyborg, or how my periods are more painful than my kidney stones, or the how I got my heart zapped and short-circuited just a few months after my heart stopped when I was eight, or how this medicine has this side effect, or how my eczema flares so bad in winter that sometimes it oozes, or how my immunocompromised body is prone to various skin infections so my skincare routine is solely about powdering every fat roll with lotrimin, oh and speaking of have I told you how my brain surgery went smoothly except for the fact that I acquired a staph infection on my breasts in the recovery ward?

The lesson here being: don't ask people about their medical conditions. Either you're going to be told off for the asshole you are, or you're going to meet someone who has been sick twenty-seven years out of their just barely thirty year life span who no longer Gives A Literal Shit about anything medical and is just going thru life and constant doctor's appointments and will gladly answer all the questions you ask, loudly and in public

[cometrose]

Since you were talking about your thoughts on Zhongli and Azhdaha, how about your thoughts on Zhongli and Guizhong? (Please never stop yapping about Zhongli)

For Zhongli and Guizhong I always kind of imagined them as platonic soulmates. I felt like they were people who complemented each other in every way.

First they have matching hairpins! Then Guizhong has a bubbly, lively and sunny disposition while Zhongli is calm and mellow. However, Guizhong has a cold color scheme, with stars in her sleeves, grays, whites, and deep blue while Zhongli is the opposite with browns, black and gold in his outfits. Guizhong is the moon to Zhongli's sun and their personalities are inverses (you can tell i love sun moon symbolism).

Guizhong is short with billowing sleeves, Zhongli is tall with a slim sleek gown, Guizhong was an inventor the "brains" of the operation while Zhongli was the fighter, and the "brawns" of the team. Guizhong is the one getting into fights while Zhongli has to break them up. Guizhong is always smiling with lots of emotion while Zhongli is straight-faced and impassive.

Considering that it is apparently rare for two distinct gods to have the same dominion I imagine the two of them complemented each other very nicely despite their differences.

Fun fact, in Yujing Terrace you can see glaze lilies and silk flowers. Glaze lily obviously are for Guizhong but silk flowers are used to represented Rex Lapis, so I thought it was kind of cute that you can find these two flowers in the middle of Liyue Harbor.

I envisioned that Zhongli was a lot more stoic and contract-focused when they met, he had very much closed his heart off to others. I don't think it was a full on "beauty and the beast" dynamic but she opened his heart up a not necessarily to care about humanity (because i am positive morax already did) but to make him understand humans on a fundamental level as well as chip away at that stone mask he was always wearing. I believe Guizhong was someone who could share his physical and emotional burden of protecting and ruling a nation of people.

That said it kind of frustrates me when people act like Zhongli and Guizhong didn't care about each other. Like maybe not on this platform but on twitter especially when it comes to shipping, people are like "zhongli and guizhong were just acquaintances" that doesn't make any sense she gave him puzzle with all of her knowledge and wisdom and told him to have at it.

Plus like I mentioned earlier, according to Soraya (the scholar at Wangshu Inn) it was super uncommon for deities to rule together, plus it is very obvious that Morax was stronger than Guizhong so he easily could've bested her so why on earth would they work together if they weren't friends. Then like Guoba (who could forget Guoba) the god of the stove was also there too and Zhongli is like 'that's my old friend' like if Zhongli was close with Marchosius why wouldn't he be close with Guizhong.

Then it is heavily implied that Guizhong died in his arms and he heard her final words before sealing her away like they were definitely close. Zhongli clearly doesn't like talking about his past unless forced. Or the fact that Zhongli repaired the Guizhong Ballista perfectly, he knows exactly what glaze lily bloomed on your birthday or that they love sweet songs. Not to mention Zhongli's burst meteor is the exact same as Memory of Dust. Or what about Cloud Retainer's abode where there are three seats for "Cloud Retainer, Guizhong and Rex".

Fun fact, Shenhe has a voiceline for Zhongli. "Master once said: "If you see him drinking on a stone stool in front of my abode, do not disturb him. Let him sit quietly for a while." And that's precisely what I did." So it's a little sad but sweet that Zhongli will return that table and just sit with his thoughts, but regardless it definetly means he cherishes the memories of the three of them together.

Back to the point why on earth wouldn't they care about each other there is a whole region named after their messed up names "GuiLi" like what are we doing!

It is mentioned somewhere in the archaic petra lore (i think the feather) that Morax wore a stone mask during the archon war. To protect the people of the Liyue he did not allow himself to show emotion but when the dust settled her was finally able to put the mask down. The way I interpreted this passage was after Guizhong died the entire nation was at war, like Morax took all of their people, left Guili plains, moved south, founded Liyue, and then fought till the war ended. Even the other adepti imply there was no time to grieve for her because the war was that brutal. It is only when the war ended, that Morax was not only able to put done that mask but also able to grieve his friend properly.

There are many theories around Guizhong like whether Jade Cutter was meant as a gift her, or whether she had connections to Celestia but my favorite Guizhong/Zhongli theory has to be that Morax killed her. LIKE LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN

First, Morax was the only person who was there when she died he heard her final words after all. Next, Soraya says that it would've been incredibly difficult to take down a nation governed by two gods, like what god would've been able to kill Guizhong with Morax and the rest of the adepti right beside her? Then, none of the adepti really know what happened that day, Ping and Cloud Retainer imply that when they got there it was already too late, Rex Lapis had likely turned her to stone while the Yakshas sealed her away.

Soooo maybe I am just giddy for angst but imagine Guizhong getting corrupted or eroding away and Morax had to kill her to protect their people.

The story has shown many times that Zhongli would do anything for the people of Liyue even turn his back on the people he loved. It would not be out of character for him to kill her should she ever pose a threat. Then remember Memory of Dust (MoD), the puzzle containing all of Gui's knowledge? Her last words to him were along the lines of "forget about that old stone dumbbell would you". This obviously could be her telling him to move on, forget her, and continue protecting their people.

OR it could also mean that the knowledge within the dumbbell was corrupted or damaged somehow. Because there are quite a few theories about how the lady of dust perished, it could've been a foreign god it could've been Celestia but if Guizhong had forbidden knowledge, not only would killing her prevent the knowledge from spreading and essentially destroying their entire civilization but by telling Morax to forget about MoD she could protect him from getting corrupted as well.

So like long story short, my favorite theory is that Zhongli had to kill Guizhong to protect their people whether by corruption or maybe even erosion which is why the full truth of her death is a mystery. It could explain how a nation ruled by two gods fell, and maybe even suggest a reason why he is not so keen to talk about her and why he was never able to open MoD.

Then again MoD could be locked for a number of reason, like Zhongli wants to move forward with his life and unlocking MoD would be like getting stuck in the past or he was truly unable to open it as he may never match her intellect. I imagine that when Guizhong died Morax had to assume her roles and began to embody her in many ways but there are still things she was still better than him at even to this day.

Not to mention that it was said that Guizhong died in a fierce battle "black dust choked the heavens and a thousand rocks splintered" so given the usage of rocks, Morax was undoubtedly involved so maybe it was a battle in which Morax and Guizhong were isolated from the rest of the assembly and he could not protect her from whatever killed her. Not matter what happened I still get angst!

I think the issue with the genshin fandom is that they don't value balance. Its either that Guizhong was everything to Zhongli and Liyue was nothing without her or she was nothing to him and only for Ping which are two crazy extremes like omg calm down. Zhongli was not heartless before meeting her but she was also very important to him and affected him. Like come on y'all READ!!!

Nevertheless I think Zhongli and Guizhong were perfect complements, whether romantic or platonic. I think together they covered each others weaknesses yet still managed to bring the best out of each other.

I really wish I could get to see them interact or just a flashback or a memory will do I promise!

[lizzyscribbles]

An Exercise in Futility (Part 2)

Not entire sure where I plan to go with this, but the pen calls to me and who am I to deny her?

(Part One)

Some days Yoichi felt good enough to take the stairs, but unfortunately the awkward shuffling alone was already proving too much. After the second time around, he’d been forced to plop down in one of the puffy, plastic chairs and catch his breath. In his mind, he could hear his brother scolding him for pushing himself, but he knew his struggles probably had more to do with the fact he’d neglected his morning medications and therapies. Soft coughs rocked his chest, and with a trembling hand he reached up to rub it.

To be fair, he had fully intended on continuing any prescribed treatments at home when he’d started skipping appointments–it was one of the only ways he could convince himself to go through with the lies–but after a few weeks the piles of pills and heavy masks had seemed less and less appealing. 

So he’d just…stopped.

Thankfully, his brother hadn’t seemed to notice yet. The last thing he wanted was another freak out and hospital stay like he’d had earlier in the year. The scars on his chest still ached whenever he thought of the incident, urging him to rub over the freshly healed marks. Hisashi hated that particular habit of his, resorting to physically pulling his hand away whenever he did it within view of the other. Yoichi was never sure why the scars seemed to bother Hisashi more than they did him, but he’d stopped wearing the low cut, loose shirts he’d favored after he caught his brother staring at the thin, white marks with that look on his face one too many times.

Yoichi didn’t remember much of the most recent scare. He’d been in bed when it’d started, chest aching as it often did, and he’d gotten up to get some water. The next thing he knew, the toilet was painted a deep shade of red and Hisashi was at his side, gripping him like if he let him go he’d just disappear as he screamed through the manor. The rest of it was a blur, but the several months he’d spent in the hospital afterwards were burned into his mind forevermore. The wailing machines, the constant surveillance, and the lack of freedom to when pee by himself made him shutter more than the pain ever did.

He’d never say it to anyone out loud–least of all Hisashi–but after the last incident, he’d told himself that if it were to happen again he’d just let himself go. 

Yoichi didn’t want to die, per say, but he didn’t want to live either, especially not like that.

Being sick was exhausting. 

His watch buzzed, drawing him from his thoughts. Lifting it, he found Hisashi’s name displayed across its face. 

The car is waiting outside when you’re done, don’t forget to have the receptionist give you a copy of the notes from today. 

Yoichi smiled wryly, sending a little thumbs up and an “almost done!” for good measure. He sat for another minute or two before easing himself up from the chair and shuffling over to where his favorite nurse, Helga, sat behind her station. She smiled as he approached, grabbing a pen out of its holder, an appointment card at the ready. He smiled back, giving a half-hearted wave.

“How’s my favorite nurse today?” He rasped, leaning against the edge of the station for support.

Helga giggled. For a seasoned nurse well into her career, she had the laugh of a middle-schooler who’d been approached by her crush. “Yoichi, baby! It’s good to see you! How’re you feelin’? Your appointment go okay? You here for my autograph again?” 

“Sure am,” he quipped, “got the pen ready for me?”

She nodded, “you know I do. Whatcha got for me today?”

“November 18th, at 2PM.” He replied easily.

“You got it.” She was already neatly transcribing the information onto the little piece of cardstock. “I keep telling you the lovely lads and ladies over in Dr. Millard’s office would be happy to write this down for you, baby, you just gotta ask when you make the appointment.”

“Sure, if I actually made an appointment, I’m sure they would.” He thought to himself, instead choosing to say. “Yeah, but then I wouldn’t have a reason to come see you, would I?”

“You don’t need a reason to see me, baby, you know that! I’m always happy to say hello to my favorite patient.” She hummed, neatly signing the bottom of the card with a little flourish and a smiley face. “But there you go, I’ll see you in two weeks, okay? Oh, well, hm, no maybe I won’t…”

Yoichi’s heart jumped a little, but he swallowed his panic and smiled. “Oh? Why not?”

“My actual baby is getting married! We’re traveling up north for the wedding, so I’ll be out for a few weeks, but like I said, everyone else would be more than happy to help you!”

Yoichi nodded, pulling his lips into a little smile as he resisted the urge to sigh. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if Helga left for good. There was only so long he could use the “I lost my reminder card” excuse with the other staff. Eventually, someone would look him up in the system and realize that his last actual appointment was six months ago and he’d canceled every single one since. Then they’d call Hisashi, since his older brother was technically his legal guardian, and all hell would break loose.

Yoichi couldn’t risk that, he was already pretty sure his brother was starting to suspect something–Hisashi always had been frustratingly good at reading him–so Yoichi had to make sure he had no reason to do so. Next time he’d have to bite the bullet and actually schedule a real appointment, then cancel it as soon as he’d opened the reminder text in view of his brother. That was usually enough to quell any suspicions Hisashi had.

He thanked Helga, wishing her the best and congratulating her on her kid’s marriage before making his way down to the ground floor and out the door.

[insane-control-room]

tied

Joey has no choice.

Henry wants him to wear a bow. Joey does not want to.

Maybe it's not serious, but an incident with Sammy makes Joey reconsider.

ink demonth - bow

Swap AU Rated: T Warnings: violence, emotional abuse, overwork, suicidal ideation, depression AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58578145 Length: 2000

Joey’s hands shook ever so slightly as he drew. Whether it was from the slight pain in his bones, to the touch of fear in his heart, or the seething sigh of anger in his lungs. 

He had to draw. 

Funny, how things shift. One day, he is the face (or at least, his mask is) of a relatively successful animation studio, the next, he is nearly murdered by his own workers- until rescued by his co-founder and then reduced to a mere animator in his ‘saving’. 

‘It would be a good thing, Joey’, Henry told him, ‘you’ll get to keep working on the toons, and the employees won’t hate you. I’ve got the helm’. 

Joey had no choice but to give the studio over to his partner. Not if he wanted to stay. So there he was, animating away with a pinching pain in his wrist and his eyes hurting (he could not tell if it was from wanting to cry, or from being awake for too long). 

Then later learning that it was Henry’s coup to begin with admittances from Bertrum, grim confirmation from Shawn. His grip tightened on the pen, dipping it into the ink with deliberate motions so as to reduce the forcefulness behind his actions. He breathed, trying to ignore the memories of the past swarming at his thoughts. 

His tie felt too tight on his neck. A noose. 

He shuddered as he remembered a few weeks prior, when Henry was more overbearing than usual, when his already frail mental health had snapped for some time. Joey was too tall for it to be effective, but the act of sitting on a bar stool with a tight rope around his throat….

It was so tranquil that it frightened him. The languid peace that wafted over him made him slowly remove the coil from under his jaw, his hands eerily steady as he drew it away. The fact that he was so accepting of such a dour end saddened him. Even on the worst days as the studio head, Joey would have abhorred such an action; and the fact that he had contemplated it with such calmness now unnerved him. 

What made him keep going was Linda, Henry’s daughter. The girl needed someone in her life, as her father had become quite preoccupied with the studio. Henry would say that he had been occupied with the work prior to taking over, but Joey was well aware that was not the case. As well as should not be the case now, as along with his tripled animation duties, Joey retained most of his old work as well. Henry only put his name and signature on it. Henry had also left Linda to Joey’s care most nights.

Johan adjusted his tie, feeling himself growing hot with discomfort. A sad anger- he could care less about the studio, it was Henry’s treatment that upset him so badly. Of his daughter, of the employees (what with the layoffs to give others “raises”), of the toons- hell, ignore how Henry treated Joey himself! 

Joey stiffened as he felt a hand on his shoulder, landing firmly, and yet, causing a shiver to run down his spine. 

“Hello, doll,” Henry said, his tone amiable and low. Joey mustered a smile in greeting- hoping that this was one of his (former) business partner’s ‘nice’ days. “How goes the animating?” 

“I think I am m-making progress,” Joey replied, eyes dropping to the papers. His hands fiddled with the pen in his grip. “I’m on frame, um, s-six thousand s-seven hundred thirty two.”

“Good,” Henry purred. “Only around five hundred to go. That should be a week.”

Joey clenched his jaw, turning back to the papers. A hundred frames a day. Plus all the paperwork, too. As well as whatever else Joey’s brain was too overloaded to think about. 

“Right,” he replied, quietly. Then, he inhaled softly to garner some courage. “Henry, c-can we- I mean, can you, please hire back one of the junior animators? F-for….”

He swallowed harshly as he took in the smile on his friend’s face. Chiding in composition; steely cold in his gaze.

Joey finished his words in the slightest mumble, “For midframes or the such….”

To Joey’s surprise, Henry gave a contemplative hum. 

“I’ll think about it.” Henry said, baffling Joey even more. “I’ll give you something to think about in the meantime, though.” 

Ah. Here comes the catch. Joey forced a smile- it was almost certainly crooked on his face. 

“What is it, Henry?” he asked, trying to keep from sounding too nervous. “I really can’t take w-work home any more than I already do.”

“No, no, it’s nothing to do with work,” Henry laughed lowly, shaking his head. His curls followed the motion in a way that Joey may have described as charming in the past, but now made his stomach tighten with apprehension. Henry’s finger stroked down Joey’s tie. “Why don’t you wear a bow tie, Jo? Match your little devil darling a bit more.” 

Johan shifted in his seat, slightly uncomfortable. 

“I like my tie,” he replied quietly, now fiddling with it. Henry did not seem impressed with that answer, but to Joey’s relief, did not push on the topic. He touched over Johan’s tie for another moment, a single, gentle stroke, and then shrugged. Joey was about to turn back to his work when Henry remarked; “Don’t forget, dinner is at six.”

“I won’t forget,” Joey murmured. Henry leaned closer, a slight, steely smirk on his lips. Joey shifted backwards, trying to get some breathing room. “I w-won’t.”

“Cigarettes are not adequate dinner, Johan.”

Johan felt his throat constrict, resisting the urge to swallow. So Henry had found the pack he had bought and kept in secret. 

Henry leaned back away, fingers stroking down Johan’s chest as he did. Joey did his best not to shiver. With the swagger of a wholly confident and fulfilled man, Henry sauntered out of the nearly empty art department, then paused at the doorway out. 

“We could use some helping hands in here again,” he mused, making Joey’s heart lighten a touch. “Nicholson and Lambert- they were good. I’ll get in contact with them.”

“Thank you,” Joey said, but he spoke a moment too soon, as Henry raised a finger with a wolfish grin. Joey felt his heart start to sink again. “A condition?”

“Start wearing a bow tie,” Henry replied, winking. Joey could not tell if he was serious or not. “See you at dinner, honeybee.” 

Johan felt the discomfort on his neck again. He lifted his small cup of tea, hands trembling as he sipped from it, hoping that it would reduce the pain residing terribly in his throat. Keep animating, Joey. Just keep animating. 

The phone to the animation “department” rang. Joey sighed, pushing himself up and making his way to the ringing device. He picked it up, and did not announce himself- as everyone knew that it was just Joey there. It was a musician, sounding vaguely apologetic. They let him know that Sammy was calling him down to the music department. Joey nodded, and then realized that a nod cannot be seen through the phone, and said that he would be there in a moment. 

Picking up his cane, he began the shambling decent to the music hall. Most of the workers generally avoided him, either from dislike, embarrassment, or uncertainty. He got a few smiles and waves, though, and it made him feel just that bit better. 

Eventually, he made it to Sammy’s office. He knocked timidly, and Sammy grumbled for Joey to enter. Joey did as requested, quietly coming into the office. Sammy turned to face him, glaring for no apparent reason. 

“You c-called for me, Sammy?” Joey asked, shifting on his feet. Sammy squinted at him, lip curling into a snarl. “I- I mean, Mr. Lawrence.” 

“Not good enough,” Sammy growled at him, eyes narrow and angered. Joey blinked at him, confused and uncomfortable. “I need a token, Drew. I need a proof of your devotion, of your servitude.”

“That’s an incredibly weird and d-disquieting thing to say,” Joey commented. Sammy’s lip curled, an angry glint in his eye.Joey quickly attempted to recover the situation, biting his lip. “I think y-you need a break. A coffee?” 

“Bow.” Sammy demanded. Joey stared, blinking at him. Sammy stood up, glaring at the tall man with a crazed look in his eye. “I said, bow.”

“No!” Joey stepped back, shaking his head. “That’s- that’s ridiculous, Sammy. I can call you Mr. Lawrence and treat you as respectfully as I can, but I’m not indulging this- this madness!”

Joey did not have an instant to get away from Sammy’s grasping hand. It wrapped tightly around his tie, yanking Joey forward. 

“When I say to bow,” Sammy hissed, pulling him even more. Joey choked on the tug, trying to pull away from the mad musician. “I mean bow!”

He pulled even harder, knocking Joey off balance. The only reason Joey did not fall to the floor was his cane, tightly gripped in his hand. Joey scrambled to escape from him, but Sammy only grabbed his tie again. The black end in his pale hand flashed in Joey’s eye as he choked again. Sammy kicked at the cane in Joey’s hand, knocking it to the side. Sammy threw him to the floor again, Joey barely having time to catch himself on his hands to break his fall. Sammy kicked him in the stomach, making him curl up with the sudden, sharp pain. 

“There,” Sammy huffed, out of breath. He stared down at the artist on the floor. “That’s better. Good. Anyways…” he returned to the desk. “I wanted to tell you that the next episode’s music is nearly ready. Go tell Norman. Also, your last sync work was shoddy. Make sure you do better, next time.”

Joey was already pulling himself from the floor, hand tremblingly wrapping around his cane, backing away from Sammy slowly, holding the cane in front of himself. Sammy turned to face him, and anger spiked once again. 

“Did I say you can get up!?” he roared, and even Joey’s swinging cane did not deter him. He grabbed Joey’s tie again, and jerked him towards himself. Joey shoved him, but felt his tie tightening in Sammy’s grip- noticing that the man was doing it on purpose. Joey tried, desperately, to get away, though his skipped meals and reduced sleep and anxieties made it nearly impossible to even squirm. He felt his throat closing up tighter, and he scrambled at Sammy’s hands on his tie, trying to pull him off of the silk fabric. “You are nothing, Drew! You do as you’re told, you have no choice!” 

Just as Joey felt his vision going dark, he was dropped. Unable to really move, he crumpled to the ground, pulling off his tie and gasping. When his vision returned, he saw Norman chewing out Sammy, and then his hearing- which he had not even noticed fading- returned, heard it. 

“You need to apologize!” Norman was scolding him. “Joey’s going through enough, you don’t need to put more on his plate!” 

“I’m… fine,” Joey replied, his voice hoarse. Norman swiveled to look at him. Joey backed out of the room. “I’m going back to work.”

“Johan,” Norman reached for the man. Johan flinched back. “Joey….”

They stared at each other for a long moment, and then Joey slipped away, his tie woven between his trembling fingers. 

Henry did not mention Joey’s missing tie at dinner, but he did look at his throat. No comments were made, only the request to help Linda with her homework. Joey happily obliged, loving spending time with his- not his- daughter. 

Joey took his tie into the bathroom. 

He carefully undid the seams. 

Remade it. 

Henry complimented his new bow tie the next morning, calling him a handsome devil. 

Even as Joey forced a smile, he felt his throat grow tight. 

[loversj0y]

ITS ME ITS ME IM GLONK

I HAVE ANOTHER SIREN IDEA

So: i was learning about art forgery earlier this year, and my professor was mentioning how because of the elitism in the art world, some artists are forced to turn to forgery because no one will pay large amounts of money for art that doesn't have a famous name/history attached to it. SO they'll copy other people's artstyles and say they found this "Leonardo Da Vinci" work in some abandoned attic somewhere and sell it (now obviously because DaVinvi is so famous, it would be pretty hard to sell that lie, but you know what I mean. maybe a buttersworth painting. idk).

...And you can launder money with art forgeries: somebody could buy a forgery with money achieved through nefarious means (dirty money), then resell it for the same (or a higher) price. Now they have the same amount/more money, but it was achieved through legitimate means so its harder to track down/make a case against it in court.

Anyway: The Syndicate catches some broke ass college student on their territory, but they are a damn quick thinker and say that they have connections in crime to spare themselves. The student tells them that they have contact with this guy Anonymous, who provides art forgeries that the Syndicate can then sell and keep their money trail clean (especially useful, when in their civilian disguise. all that money is suspicious...). What the student ISN'T telling them is that they aren't just the middleman for Anonymous' works, they ARE Anonymous (because, if the Syndicate got sick of them and knew that there was only just one person involved in the business, they could just kill that one person. But if they think there's multiple, they'd have to keep the student alive to get to Anonymous).

Maybe Siren finds out that its the student who is doing the paintings, and they bond over their artistic interests; him being a musician, them being a painter.

Or, ALTERNATE SCENARIO: There IS a mafia that the Syndicate is dealing with, and the mafia agrees to set them up with one of their greatest contributors. Obviously Siren is sent to talk with this mysterious associate-- since he's very persuasive-- and instead of finding some shady, powerful crimelord, he finds a worn out, paint-splattered college student wearing J O R T S in a shitty apartment. they don't even react when they see him they're just used to it at this point.

i might un-anonymize myself soon idk

GLONK YOUR BRAIN IS HUGE OH MY GOD

firstly, always feel free to spam my inbox with ideas, they make me happy to see and i love coming home or having a minute to read through them and reading it like the daily paper, it’s my favorite part of the day

secondly!!!!! AHHHH okay the whole thing abt hiding the fact that this broke college student is actually like an amazing art dealer and like potentially dangerous is so juicy. like

student: “yeah, Anonymous is crazy. they once stabbed someone and used their blood to sign a painting because it was the only color they could get to match a specific red tone that Van Gogh used” knowing damn well it was actually their own blood because they cut their finger opening up a box of new paints, causing the red to splatter on the floor

siren: “wow… this Anonymous person must be dangerous. how are you so calm around them? not to sound rude… but you dont strike me as the fighting type”

student: *think fast think fast, i cant let them know i make most of the forgeries or that i am Anonymous* “we’re lovers”

siren: “what.”

i feel like techno would be the first one to figure it out, and wilbur would be dead last. techno knew the minute he met you but just kept quiet about it, phil realized when he monitored your activity for a day and noticed how you’d be mimicking famous artists, tommy realized because student told him, and wilbur didn’t believe it for a second until he literally showed up to a meeting Anonymous had set up, watched as they tried to kidnap them, resulting in their mask being knocked off and siren was like OH FUCKIN SHIT OH NO

but i also love the second alternate part bc siren’s heard all these stories about anonymous’s ability to replicate artists exactly and how skilled they are, and then student opens the door and is just like “okay. siren is here. totally normal.”

siren’s like “i need you to do something for me”

student just scoffs “yeah? you’re going to have to wait, i have to finish a painting for my niece. she asked me to paint her favorite barbie doll” fully serious and siren is just like ??????? and considers using his voice but is just curious and wants to watch you work so just sits back and watches.

also LOVE the concept of the anteater paintings. wilbur is just staring around in anger and annoyance and student is just there, grinning evilly and watching bc they know he wont say anything about it so it’s funny.

[pdrrook]

I’m so excited for the new game! It’s taking every ounce of restraint I have not to ask all the questions and spoilers about them. Just two very different questions if you don’t mind. What does the new game mean for Perfumare (like are you planning to alternate releases or just see where the writing takes you?) and (only if you’re taking asks) for all the new ROs, how do they generally show romantic interest?

And I am excited that you are excited! :D Can't wait to share the next chap and hopefully answer some, if not all, of the questions you might have!

"What does the new game mean for Perfumare" Nothing much tbh, I am still mainly working on PFM, and switching between the two when I hit a block.

"and (only if you’re taking asks) for all the new ROs, how do they generally show romantic interest?"

Ofc I take asks! Here we go:

Mirren is very much ‘behind the scenes’ romance, in a way that it’s obvious they are in love to all BUT the person who they are in love with. Doing MC’s work without mentioning it, dealing with MC’s issues and making their life easier? Check. They are also very blunt and to the point when the situation permits, they are not embarrassed by anything either., so they see no point in pretending they like MC less than they do.

Rez, similarly to Mirren, very blunt, as in ‘shout it from the rooftops’ blunt. Can’t keep their mouth closed once (key word being ‘once’ 🥴) they figure out they’re in love, nor do they want to really, will tell it to their friends, the person they meet on the market, MC straight to their face, in whichever order. Before the realization, they unconsciously do things they overhear other couples do like oh their friend told them they got their SO flowers, lo and behold Rez is giving MC flowers (with the roots and all, yanked straight from the ground) for no reason, just Rez being a pal haha (idiot). 

Saltire, contrary to the vibe, I guess, is rather innocent and inexperienced. They would seek MC out just to ask about their opinion about something or say ‘hi’, embarrass themselves horribly (feelings hello sheltered also), then run away as if affronted. Inwardly, they would be conscious of MC 24/7 which would make them seem snappy. Generally, tho, S is very transparent and wears their heart on their sleeve, but it’s easy to mistake their embarrassment for them being moody/annoyed with MC.

Malitiose is very straightforward, very flirty, butters MC up a LOT. But given that they’re a liar it can come off as fake, even when they are actually 100% honest. It also doesn’t help that Mal ‘molds’ themselves to MC’s expectations, or what they notice MC likes/wants to a certain degree, i.e. shy MC wants more boldness? Done. Bold MC wants someone more submissive? Done. It’s a tactic they use for more hmmm business purposes, but with MC it’s subtle (as in not forced, like they dip into and entertain different sides of themselves, not faking them entirely like they would for ppl they’re about to scam) bc they genuinely want MC to like them back (they are still evil tho so hello). They don’t, though, hide behind the mask they usually use around people, so when not being actively ‘seduced’ MC gets to see the most raw side of Mal, short-tempered worrywart and all.

Lotár’s very touchy, it’s kinda obvious if you pay attention to them because they usually don’t get close to people if they can help it (wary of getting a knife in their back, that's all), physically I mean outside of the wink wonk situations. But they are also very covert, so it’s not a fact that many people realize (like when asked, maybe 2-3 ppl would say that Lotár does that, MC can be included depending on the player). They have a habit of watering down their interest, i.e. when they mean ‘I need you,’ they would spin the situation around, so that it’d be like ‘I have the thing you want, you need me,’ which might also be obvious, because Lotár likes having a leverage over everyone and their mothers, but they also love playing hard to get as far as their help goes.

[rabbiteclair]

lobotomy corp update:

oh sure in addition to time loop fuckery and sad robots, this game also has soldiers in rabbit gas masks who make rabbit puns as they murder people. and nobody even told me, I had to stumble onto it myself. demerits for everyone

I've only had Evangeline for twelve days, but if anything happened to them I'd kill everyone in this facility and then myself.

speaking of murdering everyone though, I have in fact hit the point of 'ah, the start of the day. [readies pistol] let's kill all the clerks while they're still bunched up.' listen, I've got Mountain, CENSORED, Blue Star, two abnormalities I can't necessarily prevent from breaching, and a few more that are gonna kill a dozen clerks when they breach. I leave exactly enough clerks alive that if CENSORED or Nothing There breach, they'll linger for a while killing clerks and give me time to gather my forces. at that point, even if Mountain does breach, it doesn't have enough victims/bodies around to become a problem.

core suppression complete up through Tiphereth, at which point I rewound because I'd hit day 46. I really did not expect Tiphereth(s) of all people to have just a downright painful conclusion to their main arc, but here we are. every minute that A spends doing literally anything except groveling on his knees sobbing 'OH MY GOD I AM SO SO SORRY' is a moment wasted. I do however find it really funny that the Tiphereth meltdown was a one-girl show. Tiphereth, it's time for your character growth. Not you, boy half, you're already perfect and I love you. Go watch cartoons for a while.

I just finished Gebura's missions, and goddamn. if the game asks me to do another fucking Midnight I am going to blow up the entire goddamn planet. if I have to put up with that I'm taking you fuckers with me. I know this is kinda Arbitrary Deaths: The Game, but every Midnight I've done so far has been some real bullshit in that department. at best they are tedious right up until I make a mistake for two seconds and somebody gets vivisected. the 'suppress 3 unique Alephs in one day' one was a pain in the ass too, but Mountain and Nothing There are fairly easy to pummel as long as I prepare beforehand, so the only real challenge was CENSORED. and getting them to breach without killing someone in the first place.

every sentence out of Binah's mouth is more concerning than the previous one, which is pretty impressive considering that she starts out fairly concerning to begin with. Hokma would probably be just as concerning if I didn't spend every conversation with him going 'wait what. what the hell is he implying??' Instead he's just concerning because he likes A. nobody who likes A can be trusted. Except post-suppression Tiphereth, but she's a kid.

the time fuckery though. THE TIME FUCKERY. practically every line of Angela's takes on about three different meanings as you progress through the game. there's stuff early on that seems perfectly innocuous until you loop back around. the straight linear path through the story is incomplete because there are parts that only really make sense when you're reading them a second time. it's the kind of narrative trick I don't think you could pull off in any medium but a video game. hell yeah. this is the content I'm here for.

although, gameplay-wise... I respect the conviction to go 'this is a game where all the characters are trapped in tedious and painful cycles, so let's get the player in on that,' but actually i would like to be done with the tedious and painful cycles now thanks. I have 119 hours logged in this game and, judging by a friend's comments, I probably have another full loop through the main plot ahead of me, since apparently it's very hard to do both Binah and Hokma's suppressions in a single iteration. At least days 1-30 are downright trivial at this point, and I'm far enough into the game that I can afford to go 'eh, that dead agent was only a level 4 wearing Waw gear, I can let it ride.'

plot-wise, we have reached the point where I've started taking notes, because thanks to all the looping, things not necessarily being told in order to begin with (especially with the weird route I took through the first half of the game), and occasionally clicking through cutscenes at top speed when I should've been in bed 5 minutes ago but the day just kept going and I didn't want to lose the progress, there are a lot of parts I've had to go back and reference anyway. I still feel like I've got a fairly decent overview of what's going on here, although there are some clear intentional holes in the information they've given so far. I think I'm also a single critter short of 100% codex completion, and I've been assured that will help a lot with making sense of things.

[iturmom]

so all of the unnecessary extra physical stress of living at the homeless shelter has finally taken its toll on my spine. right now it's just my neck but god my neck is absolutely fucked it is a column of pain when it was previously not and this shelter had every opportunity to prevent this but they caused my neck problems on purpose because i am homeless and it doesn't really matter that it's not my fault i'm here and i literally had no opportunity to prevent it. my whole fucking life i have only existed to be an easy target it's literally the entire purpose i was made for. i was forced to exist against my will just to be tortured.

also i probably have covid but i don't know because they refused me a covid test which is good so that they can't imprison me in quarantine but they're allowing me to be with the masses they're allowing me to go out in public and i have to go out in public a lot. i'm not even wearing a mask neither is anyone else so why should i i'm the target group for forced exposure to covid. why should i care about any of those people when they are letting this happen to me they turn a blind eye while we are treated like lovestock here like guinea pigs to test diseases on. someone told me they overheard a guard on a walkie talkie one time saying 'the zoo is full.' they allowed me to be vulnerable. they turn a blind eye to the fact that i have no choice but to go out in public all the time. why should i sacrifice myself for them when they won't do anything for me i'm not burning myself to keep you warm.

[whole-wheat-trolls]

Quenched

"Lily! Are you awake," her brother calls down the hallway. She is in fact awake, but for hours has hoped that she could simply slip from everyone's mind if she stayed completely still. She had trained the last few months with Bouros, but the energy was so different now, it was fun before. She had not had fun since, her lusus had demanded her full attention intent to "whip her into shape" as the saying goes. 

There was a lot of whipping, and little shape being taken.

Lilian HAD learned a lot in the past months, but not once the lesson Bouros had tried to teach her. This is a lesson in discipline, Bouros would say, and Lilian instead learned her hands could bleed from swinging her sword all day. While trying to teach footwork, what she learned instead was how to force herself to keep moving despite the pain, to avoid even more pain. One lesson went unwasted in Bouros' eyes, though it had little to do with swordplay.

"How am I to be proud of you Lilian? For your mediocre results? Should I have been proud of your failures at math and reading as well? Recognition isn't given, Lilian, it is earned, and at this rate you will earn nothing." 

Those words dug into her. Planted themselves like seeds, and like an invasive species overtook her thoughts. Aurora was always proud of Lilian, but Bouros had only ever been proud of Nils. She felt like she had been left in the shadows, with a single path back into the light of her lusus's favor. 

.

.

.

She tried desperately but the next few tournaments came without reward. She worked her way up the placements to her delight, fourth place in her second tournament meant she was getting better. Third place in her third tournament, they gave her a prize, a ribbon that Bouros told her to throw out, but that she kept in secret. She worked every day from then to the next event, her dedication was the only thing Bouros had complimented still, and squeaked her way into second place in her fourth tournament. She received a trophy this time even, and too naive she didn't notice the stares of all the people with someone to congratulate them. When she returned home, Bouros did not budge on his stance any, doubling down. 

"So, you had best win next time, otherwise all my work will have been for nothing."

.

.

.

The pressure was on, Lilian arrived at the building, by this point in the season the class had shrunk down, the other kids Lilian enjoyed talking to had been pushed out by the remaining regulars. Other highblooded kids were all that remained, including the one she had lost to last time, Marais. Marais had been first place consistently, the last obstacle in Lilian's way, she had never talked to her but she found her frustration being focused solely in Marias' direction. 

It had come back down to the two of them in the end. Marais only knew Lilian as the mutant who showed up alone every time, unaware of Lilian's currently bottled anger with no other outlet. The first chance Lilian found she took a murderous swing at Marais' opening and caught her in the arm, confirmed by a sickening crack. The audience gasped, Lilian hesitated, Marais began to scream in Lilian's face, decidedly the wrong thing to do. 

"What the fuck! I should-" but before Marais could tell Lilian all the things she should do, Lilian had already dropped her sword, she balled her fist and punched Marais before the referee could interfere, leaving a deep dent in the protective mask she was wearing. 

"Why did you have to go and break," Lilian yelled. That left Marais too stunned to say anything more. By the time the referee had come to their senses, Lilian had already begun to slink outside, "Just disqualify me already." 

Lilian moved outside, unhindered by any of the awestruck crowd, where it had started to snow. Just her luck. She took a snowy seat around the side of the building, just out of sight, to start the grieving process. She was screwed, she didn't know how Bouros would react but it would be dire. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. Instead she just sat there in the cold. 

"What the hell. was that in there," the voice had snuck up on Lilian. Marais was looking down at her, cheek beginning to bruise, left arm placed in a sling, and right hand holding the trophy Lilian had tried so hard to earn. "Seriously, shouldn't I have been the one to punch you?" 

Lilian laughed. It surprised herself and Marais, whose cheeks puffed in frustration. "Did you come out here hoping I would offer you a free hit or something?"

"Yes. I think you owe it to me at this point, actually," Marais doubled down, "You broke my arm AND punched me! It's not fair."

"It's not fair that I hit you and you get to win," counters Lilian. "I, give me the trophy."

"What?" 

"Give me the trophy, and you can hit me."

"Does winning matter to you that much?" 

"What does it matter to you! Just! Give me the trophy and hit me already so I can go home."

"Fine, you can have it. I don't know why anyone would want one so bad, it's just plastic." 

"It's not important, let's just get it over with," Lilian picked herself out of the snow, eyes on Marais' trophy… Bouros would never have to know what happened tonight.

"I won't go easy on you," Marais threatened, as she drew back her remaining good arm. 

"I hope you weren't left handed," Lilian taunted, no longer feeling so grim about the whole night. Honestly, she felt pretty good about breaking Marais' arm at this point, this was the longest conversation Lilian had held in ages, fueled by competitive spirit, and mutual need.

Marais' fist slams into Lilian's face. It doesn't hurt enough to drag Lilian's mood down. It feels oddly like that recognition she'd been hoping for the whole time.

[rd0265667]

The offer(Chapter 4)

1.7k words

Y/N's POV

I walked into the nearest "The Twosome Place"  with that Yuna girl, she's wearing her hood once again and had her sunglasses on. With her mask on too, she was almost impossible to recognise

"One caramel macchiato, and one..." Yuna said, nudging me in the shoulder

"An espresso, thank you."

"So, Y/N, care to tell me abit about yourself?" "Well, erm, I'm Y/N as I told you, I'm an only child, before...before both my parents perished in a car accident." "I'm so sorry to hear that." "Don't be, You aren't the drunk bastard who killed them. There isn't much I remember about them though. I was orphaned at 5, no foster families or adoptive parents wanted me, no relatives to take me in either, so I stuck around at the orphanage until I was 14, then left to earn money. Couldn't really earn money while studying either, so I dropped out of high school to do odd jobs. That's my life so far I guess. How about you?" "Well, my name is Shin Yuna, and as I assume you can't tell, I am a Kpop Idol." The cogs began to click in my head. I saw her on some Music videos. Hmm, no wonder she looks so pretty. Wait what? You didn't hear that. Anyways, back to her "I'm a member of ITZY, I graduated from the Hanlim Arts School, and I'm in the middle of a comeback with my group."

She then began rambling about her life and members, as she seemed like an infinite ball of energy, but, something was a little weird.

"What about your family?"

Hearing that, she tensed up, and a sour look overcame the face that was so full of light just a moment ago. Oh shit, fuck fuck fuck, I pissed her off

"I'm so sorry, I'm sorry, we don't have to talk about them if you don't want to."

"No, it's fine, you told me about your family, it is only right I tell you about mine. I was abandoned by my parents. They don't want anything to do with me, and I don't want anything to do with them. All I have, all I had left was my Sister."

"Had?"

"She's....missing I guess. I haven't seen her in a very long time, and I miss her a lot."

"That's horrible. I'm sorry you had to go through that. Have you tried finding her? Or the local authorities-"

"I'm sorry Y/N, could we not? Please?" She said as I saw beads of little water droplets drip from her eyes.

"Yeh, no worries, soooo, Could you tell me why we're having coffee together?" I said, trying my best to change the topic and cheer her up, which seem to kind of work, as I saw her wipe her tears and force out a little smile.

"Ah, yes. So, my group has been needing a Personal Assistant to help us around the dorm, but we don't really want someone who's a fan. Don't get me wrong, I love all our fans, but it would be a little weird to have a fan be our personal assistant. And you obviously don't know us from the fact that you didn't recognise me at the store. We want someone who's nice, kind, and you fill in the box nicely. Plus, and I say this with the least amount of offence intended, but even before we chatted, I could guess you needed a job."

"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means, Y/N, you look like a hobo."

"Rude, but not wrong....Job sounds enticing though, and to be perfectly frank I need the money. What would my duties entail?"

"Pretty basic stuff, help us buy stuff we need, accompany us out should we need it, cooking and cleaning if necessary, but we usually clean up after ourselves so it should not be much of a problem. If need be, you will need to help our manager keep track of our schedules and escort us for practices and what not. Your meals will be provided for and you'll live in our dorm."

"That sounds good, but me, stay in a dorm with 5 girls? Seems a tad inappropriate doesn't it?"

Yuna smirked before reaching over the table and poking me in the cheek, saying, "Well. unless you're a pervert who plans to do unspeakable things to 5 young maidens, then I think we'll be fine."

I blushed at the sudden skin ship as I shook my head as she smirked. "Good, I'll tell JYP-nim, he'll interview you soon and if he accepts, you'll get the job. In the meantime, shall we chat a little more?"

There, hours seemed like minutes as Yuna and I chatted it up like old friends. She couldn't seem to stop, like a boundless battery had been attached to her. She told me stories about her members, her schoolmates and her life for the recent years, as I looked at her with amazement. We had not met for more than a day, but she seemed so overjoyed to have someone to genuinely talk to. I guess being an Idol is pretty lonely too. Through it all, her smile remained ever so vibrant. It was really refreshing. Suddenly, something flashed into my mind, she looks so familiar, like she was in my dream. Her name was, Gaeul I think? I'd never seen her before though.

"Getting bored of me already?" Yuna pouted as she saw me space out, as I shook my head and said, "Sorry, had a weird dream last night and something popped in my head, what did you say?" "JYP-nim is ready to see you, a car will be sent to pick us up in 20 minutes"

At JYP building

"Ah, Y/N, come in and take a seat."JYP said as I knocked on his door

I sat down in front of his office desk and flashed a small smile, only to be met with a stony stare

"Before we continue, I need you to understand one thing. I treat all my artists like my kids, and if anyone does anything to hurt or endanger them, I will see to it they have no future, anywhere. Is that clear?" "Yes Sir." "Now, before I hire you, I'd like to ask, who in the world are you? My people ran some background checks on you, and we found almost nothing. It's like you haven't existed until very recently. Why is that?" "Well, I'm unsure of that sir. Maybe you need to hire better people." I said, with a slight chuckle, before collecting myself once again under the now both stony and disapproving stare of JYP. Small talk, not my strong suit. "Well, to be honest, I am unsure why information on me is limited, and if that were to make you not trust me, I understand that, there's nothing I can do about that, lost most of my documents ages ago, however, What I can do is promise you that I will take care of your girls to the best of my abilities. I am new to this, and I will falter, but I will do my utmost. That much I can promise you." JYP continued staring at me, seemingly assessing me for any tells of me lying to him, before giving me a small smile and saying, " Well, that's good to hear. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't be able to hire you if I wanted to, as an enigma is hard to trust, however, as Yuna personally vouched for you, I will make an exception. Aish, never been able to say no to that girl. Don't let me down kid." I smiled as I was jumping for joy in my head. First Semi-Stable Job I've ever had, and my employers seem to be really nice. This is great!

I walked out and looked at Yuna, who smirked at me. "Got it?" "How did you-" "JYP-nim doesn't know how to say no to me hehe. Let's go to your apartment to pack up your things, then I'll bring you to your new home."

Yuna and I walked into my grey box as a look of shock overcame Yuna's face "You live here? No offence but our toilet is bigger than this." "Hey, this apartment is the best that no money can buy. Don't judge alright, taking care of you girls is the first stable job I've had." Yuna slithered up to me, grabbing my arm again and resting her chin on my shoulder "I'm your hero, aren't I." I blushed once again, this girl is too damn cute, she's like a temptress or something, and she loves skin ship way too much I quickly swiped her hand off as she chuckled and watched as I packed. Literally a minute later, we were headed out of my grey box. What, did you expect me to need boxes? I have like 4 outfits, the bed came with the apartment, and other than that, I had just a small bag of insignificant junk.

As we headed to ITZY's dorm, Yuna fell asleep next to me. Like she trusted me, just like that. I could never, years of being treated like garbage by everyone left me with a healthy dose of trust issues. She looked so cute in her sleep though, her lips looked so--- oh for god sakes Y/N keep it in your pants. You work for her now. Fuck it up and she can simply fire you. Gotta be on my best behaviour.

Once we reached the dorm, I gently shook Yuna, as she groggily woke up, and somehow, just like that, she was up on her feet and as energetic as ever. How? I swear this woman is not human.

She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the dorm. Opening the door, I saw four other faces. Two of them were closer up front, one with a neutral look and the other clearly with an unhappy face. Two other behind had small smiles as they timidly waved at me.

One of the girls who was in front, who kinda looked like that one Dragon, mumbled "Girls, hurry."

The other girl who was already in front rolled her eyes, as she stepped forward, with the two behind stepping up too, and Yuna joined them too, a smile etched on her face.

"Hana, Dul,Ses, all in us, hello, we are ITZY." The five said in unison.

"Hi, I'm Y/N, I'll be your assistants."

"Y/N, lets gooooo." Yuna said as she tugged me by the hand and rushed me in, past 4 very different girls, with different thoughts and feelings towards me.

This is gonna be interesting.

In the Dark

Knull sat upon his throne, holding a holovid projector as he looked, seeing a masked figure who glared back at him.

"You called for me?" "Yes my pet, I have been informed that the Prince of the Gap dimension has been banished to Earth. His information has just been sent to you.You are to kill him for me, or you know what happens. This prince has a bracelet on him, enchanted to always protect him from any harm. However, like all that the highfather does, it is flawed. The enchantment can be overwritten and will be deactivated if the prince fully and completely trusts them." The masked figure glared at him, rolling their eyes but said nothing. Obedience to Knull was forced, there was no choice involved. "The false gods and self-appointed defenders of the Earth. They shall pay for their hubris, and you shall be the piece that shatters them." "Yes my liege" In the background, Knull could hear some commotion

"Jisoo unnieeeeee, hurryyyyy" Knull chuckled," Ah your humans are always whining huh." "May I be excused." "Go, and I expect results. You know what happens if I do not get them."

[luminousbravery]

I am a 5'6" biological female, I use she/her/they pronouns(god that sounds cringey), I am bisexual(I'm pretty sure, at least), have medium length dark brown hair, and turquoise/greenish eyes(i don't really know what color they are), and I wear black glasses with clear rims. I have what most would describe as the 'hourglass/pear' body shape with larger hips and B cup breasts. I tend to wear baggy, comfort-first sort of clothes with the occasional dress and one piece.

My classpect is the Sylph of Life, and my true sign is Virsces.

My zodiac signs(If you care) are Virgo(sun), Libra(moon), and Libra(ascendant). I also have the INTP personality type.

Facts about me:

I have been told than I have a high maturity level for someone my age(but I laugh at dumb jokes so idk if I believe them)

I enjoy cracking jokes about anyone and anything, NO ONE IS SHIELDED FROM MY COMEDIC WRATH

I am kind, polite, relaxed, have a dark sense of humor and generally low self-esteem

I try to be open-minded, and am always looking to improve my talents and relationships with those I care about

Critical and suspicious of everything (especially myself)

I can be insensitive, petty, and sometimes even knowingly dismissive of my faults, and try to blame others instead

I lie a lot more than I'd like to admit, but try to make up for it and improve

I come from an primarily Christian family, my favorite season is fall/winter, and I would like to create other forms of art other than writing at some point

I used to have what could be considered a phobia of insects/bugs, but it has become a lot mild over the years

I mostly enjoy physical affection more so than verbal, but if worded in certain ways that can touch my heart, I will prefer the latter, and you will have acquired a loyal ally (I respect the power of words, I am a writer after all)

I am what is described as a HSP (hyper sensitive person, look it up if you're curious)

I have a condition called Exotropia (aka drifting eye) in my left eye that has been corrected through 3 surgeries (but I still have to wear glasses in order to maintain it).

A firm believer that nothing is truly impossible, and that people hate most in others what they hate in themselves

Confused by everything 24/7… EVERYTHING

Likely on the autism spectrum

Definitely a perfectionist

I try by best not to start conflict(that is my sister's job), and I hate when people put me in situations where I have to make a personal choice... but that also means I mask my own emotions a lot(help)

I'm always working to keep other happy… sometimes I think too much

Likes: Being helpful, alternative, rock, and indie music, order and peacefulness, making people laugh, Sci-Fi media, writing/creating, tarot cards, D&D, anything to do with the diversity of personalities, psychology, cooking and baking, many fandoms

Dislikes: Being a burden, country music, drama and chaos, low effort creative endeavors, hypocrites(ironically), closed minded people, bad grammar, things not going my way, extremely religious people(who try to force their beliefs onto others), weird internet trends and phrases (ex: pogchamp, dummy thicc, boomer, etc.), most of tumblr, Twitter

And that should be most of the important stuff (just so I don't get carried away)! I am very interested to see who you match me with!

i pair you with...

Kanaya Maryam!

I feel like your personality would go along and compliment hers well. Other than the bug thing... but i'm sure things can be worked out!