#i have an entire character study i'm working on frantically

[sideboot]

In that scene, it looks like Sam is saying a dua, which is a type of Islamic prayer of invocation or supplication where the devotee is asking for help from God. When a Muslim recites a dua they position their hands the way Sam does in that scene. It's the same way Christians press their palms together when praying. (Disclaimer: I'm not Muslim myself but have lived in a predominantly Muslim area.)

Fuck yeah! Thank you so much! Canonically muslim sam (probably)! That would totally make sense for him to do right before the game that would decide on their relegation

I love canonically muslim sam. If Sam is observant of the muslim dietary restrictions, that means he wouldn't drink alcohol, which would even further bring out the contrasts to his character.

The primary way Sam contrasts from Ted and Jamie is that he has a good relationship with his father, but if you take the reading that Ted's father was an alcoholic, Sam and his father living completely sober is another way in which he strongly contrasts those characters.

I love Sam not drinking being contrasted with Jamie's choice being vanilla vodka, I meant to do a meta about the character implications of this being Jamie's go to drink per my partner's observations as an sober alcoholic.

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

By popular demand (hi Nawy) I’m making a separate post for that bit on the latest Chuuya post that I cut out about Chuuya’s relation to emotional vulnerability, and how fics exploring this could be really nice. (For clarity, I cut it out because I didn’t think it flowed with the rest of the post, even if it is related to it.)

“There is a part of Chuuya that wants to be treated kindly without expectations - real friendship, an equal dynamic. It's notable in the particular moments that actually endear him to a person - the Flags going out of their way to give him information about his past simply because they're his friends, Adam trying to cheer him up by giving him hope about finding out his identity from N, whatever happened to result in his unshakeable trust in Dazai. You could even make an argument for the way he frantically and instinctively reached out to hold his own younger, weaker clone self in his arms as he died. I keep thinking about @originalaccountname’s desire to see more fics that focus on Chuuya receiving care and allowing himself to not have to always be the strong one. I'd like to see this too tbh, but not just because Chuuya deserves to feel comfortable enough to open up these vulnerabilities - but also because the entire notion of such a thing would be deeply conflicting to him, I believe, and that could make for some intriguing character study. 

See, that no-strings kindness runs completely counter to the self-concept he has and that image of himself he's built up as "the one who does the protecting". Favours are no problem, because those don't dig into his inner self and can be easily repaid.  But when it comes to more personally meaningful gestures, he's not great at accepting them, and tends to respond in one of two ways: getting defensive and looking for the "trap" or "catch", or briefly reacting with gaping surprise or muted happiness before immediately bottling that up with feigned irritation or indifference. I'm of the mind that it would take a long time to get him to the point where he could accept personally meaningful kind gestures and, god forbid, anything to do with emotional support, because in the end, it seems like he has a much easier time taking betrayal and pain in stride than acts of care. Chuuya expects danger. Kindness without expectation towards his person appears to be more shocking.”

A lot of the fics I’ve been working on involve tackling this particular contradictory aspect of Chuuya, but unfortunately they are all wips and for some reason do not write themselves. I highly encourage anyone who likes doing character study type pieces or just likes to see their favourite characters get some affection to play with this concept a bit. There’s a lot there to work and play with!

[fierrochase-falafel]

Interpreting insecurity: looking into Aoki from Kieta Hatsukoi (the manga)

I finished Kieta Hatsukoi (My Love Mix-Up) lately and I've been...invested. It's a fun little shuojo manga with interesting main characters, insightful conversations, realistic portrayals of high school and high school relationships, and is also just really funny and endearing. The main romantic pair, Aoki Souta and Ida Kousuke, absolutely radiate ADHD bisexual and autism gay (always an entertaining combination) and they're so great, I would highly recommend. I'm halfway through the live action adaptation as well, and it genuinely reflects the original work so well in its medium that I'm going to highly recommend that too. Spoiler-free review aside, let's get into it.

Anyways, there was this 1 line in volume 8 that got me thinking from when Aoki was dwelling about Ida's mother possibly disliking him, and he thinks:

"Aoki is so wonderful." "He's too good to be dating Kousuke." That'd never happen...

Now this was really interesting to me (and was the beginning of this entire rabbit hole), because the scenario that Aoki would surely WANT is for Ida's mother to be perfectly happy with him dating Ida. Something along the lines of, "I'm so glad he's dating Kousuke!" But no...the comparison he makes with the current assumed scenario of Ida's mother disliking him is one where Ida's mother likes him so much she thinks he's TOO good to be dating Ida. And the distinction is subtle, and seemingly doesn't mean anything. Earlier in the same chapter in volume 8, Aoki's mother says, "I really wish I had a son like you", about Ida. A very Asian parent thing to say honestly (/lh). It doesn't negate Aoki's being her valued son but emphasises that the characteristics of Ida are something she would've wanted in her own child, and something she doesn't see in her own son. It's another offhand comment, another subtle comment, however these small things combined with what we already know about Aoki do shape the way I view him.

Aoki is a character who we meet, from the get-go, messing up. The first panel is him forgetting his eraser and frantically asking around for one, and then him dropping Hashimoto's eraser leads to a whole 9 volumes of Aoki messing up. He's not the only one to mess up, of course, but he does spend a LOT of the series being his own worst enemy (which is so real) due to his impulsivity and overthinking. It's established early on that he struggles to do well at school, and it's often joked about that he wants to be more popular but he isn't. There was that one short in volume 7 where he was getting hyped about being compared to a famous handsome actor until it turned out the girls were just making fun of him a little, and even though he got over it easily, he still felt a bit insecure about it. He is also somewhat insecure about being made fun of for his weight when he was really young (referring to it as his "dark past" at age 17/18 feels like a sign he didn't fully get over it). His mother comments earlier in volume 8 that he wasn't good at studying the way his sister was, which was meant to be funny but also implies his sister overshadowed him academically as well.

Aoki is easygoing and takes a lot of this in stride, with it being used for passing jokes as opposed to something that he thinks about very deeply. That being said, with all this combined, Aoki is shown to be quite insecure, because even when he isn't outright failing, he's never been "good enough". Let's take a fairly minor example of this: he's not unpopular but girls didn't seem to fall for him at all, and don't through the series. The series starts with him getting friendzoned by Hashimoto after all, and even when we see instances of girls liking Ida (Kokoro, Mai when he was a kid), Aoki never seems to have that. He doesn't get chocolates in his locker on Valentine's day, and the one time in-series he thought someone might have a crush on him (Saionji), she liked their work manager instead. The series never takes itself too seriously when it comes to this, as Aoki is easygoing, but in my opinion they add context to why Aoki seems to lack a lot of self-confidence. Aoki wanting to surpass other people's expectations for him and feeling guilty/worthless about not 'performing well enough' become a bigger deal in terms of academia and school, as I will get to.

Aoki is paralleled with Ida a lot actually, as someone who cares more about societal status norms but is unable to accomplish them to the same degree. Academically, Aoki regularly worries Ida is leaving him behind in terms of grades and the future, and he wants to keep up with Ida so he feels they can have a future together that is fulfilling for Ida. Furthermore, Aoki's insecurities about their relationship often stem from the idea that he is having to try more than Ida, or the relationship might mean more to him than Ida because Ida seems very naturally calm and collected where Aoki is not. Ida's room is tidy, Ida is able to study with the assumption he will pass, Ida is in the A-class for skiing, Ida knows what he wants to do after graduating: Ida seems like a guy who has everything together, and Aoki comparing himself to Ida is what often causes internal conflict in him until he learns to somewhat let it go before the exam. For Aoki has always never been 'good enough', and he struggles through life very expressively. He freaks out massively partially because he's insecure about messing up again, assuming he's done something wrong and reacting defensively to that (like his massive freak-out over whether Ida's mom likes him or not). Ida, however, doesn't even notice a lot of this stuff at all, and is therefore shown often having the opposte problem to Aoki. Where Aoki knows exactly how he feels and struggles a lot with being straightforward about it and not overthinking too much, Ida struggles with thinking more and thoroughly about how he and other people feel. I think Aoki and Ida coming in from completely different sides on this leads to some of Aoki's defensiveness (see comments such as "What is with you?" and "What are you doing?" when he seems annoyed) when talking with Ida. It sounds insensitive but really a lot of the time they do not understand what the other is doing at all, and if Aoki feels like he is being judged in the slightest he will immediately double down on it because he's somewhat insecure. Ida's lack of expressiveness (and thus more collected appearance) compared to Aoki's super expressiveness contributes to this as well, I think. I think I'd argue Aoki and Ida are one of those "opposites attract but in some surprising ways they're quite similar" fictional couples, because they perceive and engage with the world very differently, but when it comes down to it, they take their emotions very seriously and manage to take their relationship at their own pace without trying to put pressure on each other (this was something Hashimoto and Akkun struggled with in their relationship quite a bit).

Coming back to where I started this post, Aoki's comment isn't too serious but I think it tells us Aoki assumes quite quickly that Ida's mother A) doesn't like him and B) doesn't like him because of how good he intrinsically is. It would be way more plausible for Ida's mother to want him to spend less time with Ida because she's worried they'll distract each other from studying or something, but Aoki assumes it is his fault because he isn't good enough for her. The way he doesn't feel like he's good enough academically or in handling relationships. This is something he truly feels and that contributes to him making impulsive decisions to salvage what he thinks is the be-all end-all. He does get angry with Ida when Ida tells him he doesn't have to push himself to go to Syuei University because he sees it as a slight on his own abilities, and a sign he isn't good enough to make it there with someone as seemingly put-together as Ida. Okano has to remind him that he is himself and shouldn't compare himself to Ida: as much of a mixed bag Okano is (yeah he does become more open-minded from volume 5 but the bar was not high), it's important for Aoki to know that.

I will say though, in Aoki's relationship with Ida, despite involving SO much miscommunication and Aoki being worried he isn't good enough to date Ida, Aoki's relationship with his insecurities evolves very clearly with Ida. In volume 1 he's worrying over Hashimoto and Ida deserving each other and not wanting them to worry about him getting in the way despite having feelings for both of them at different points in the story. Even though he believes they deserve someone as good as each other and he never stood a chance (especially as he tells Ida), Ida is the first one to tell him he's kind and shouldn't give up just because he thinks he isn't good enough for someone else. Aoki does eventually take the leap and tell Ida he likes him on the Hokkaido trip despite his own reservations that usually lead him to give up and get defensive before he's even taken any action. Ida's blunt honesty and direct communication rubs off on him a bit, and he slowly starts broaching more personal subjects and becoming less embarassed about it. Ida gives him advice on a future field of study when Aoki asks about it, and Aoki is the one who brings up so many topics in later volumes such as his fears about whether Ida's mother likes him and whether they ought to live together in university. Volume 5 particularly strikes me as a milestone for Aoki. After getting defensive and awkward about Ida's reaction to them touching hands, Aoki dwells on it by himself for a good while but then does apologetically admit he was thinking about that to Ida. Ida assures him he doesn't have to be on his guard, to paraphrase, and holds his hand to show he isn't weirded out by Aoki at all. Aoki being the one to admit something he feels embarassed about to Ida without lashing out is huge growth for him, and shows how far he's come in communication and facing his fears since meeting Ida. Ida's blunt nature means he always means what he says and says what he means, so Aoki slowly learns to talk to Ida honestly and trust that he isn't embarassing or 'not good enough'. When Aoki gets out of his own head a bit more, he stops being his own worst enemy and is able to properly appreciate the relationships he has. Like in the bit of volume 9 when Aoki finally tells his mother he's dating Ida. Even after the initial carelessness of Akkun, Okano's prejudice, the volleyball club's extreme (stressful) enthusiasm, Aoki finds the desire in him to be direct with her and tell her. Not only does he find the desire to be direct but the courage to be direct with someone he knows cares about him and his feelings, because he's slowly been able to do this with Ida. Aoki also rubs off on Ida, helping Ida grow as a character too, but this post is focused on Aoki after all, so I'll wrap this up soon.

Another quick point I'd like to make is that Aoki doesn't seem to overthink his interactions a lot with people he's not close with- reading about how casually nice Aoki was to Ida before the eraser incident is hilarious because of how genuinely unbothered Aoki seemed then. Aoki's confidence in doing things he thinks and/or assumes will help other people is near unmatched, like when he stepped up to be Cinderella in their class play or talked to Kokoro and her friends when the other boys were being awkward and silent, yet when it comes to confidence in genuinely communicating his own feelings, he has a long way to go. Going out of his way to help others is arguably partly Aoki's way of proving his own worth because of how much he cares about his friends being happy and fulfilled, and the series witnesses him learning to harness his own feelings towards other people so he can feel fulfilled too.

To conclude, I hope it doesn't sound like I think Aoki's insecurities define his character at all- heck they're so subtly included, they may even go unnoticed and you'd still get a good story. However, I still think they underpin every arc bringing Aoki closer to being an individual who is more bold and open with the people closest to him. He doesn't assume he has to give up because he isn't good enough anymore, and is more likely to be honest about his own feelings without always assuming the worst. Aoki is the sort of person enthralling and endearing to read about, but sometimes I feel like I would need infinite levels of patience to keep up with him in real life. Nonetheless, I appreciate him very much, and I appreciate the representation of him shooting himself in his foot by overthinking and comparing himself to who/what he "should" be, because that is something very relatable for many people and often at various points in their lives. At the end of the day though, this is all an interpretation, and I'm sure there are others to be made by anyone who cared enough to read this whole thing. In all his kind, high-strung, empathetic, impulsive glory, this one's to Aoki!

[worldofthraeia]

Welcome to Thraeia

Hello, my name is Bird (she/her) and I'm writing under the pen name Sophie Baird. As a way of coping with my lackluster life I took up expanding this fantasy world I created when I was 16. I write primarily Fantasy/Romance. I'm also an artist so expect character art/ setting art. My main blog is @silverbird.

Tagging/ Ask games are very welcome! Feel free to ask me questions about my world!

Chronicles of Thraeia is a large medieval fantasy inspired universe that follows the stories of multiple different characters. Be they Human, Elf, or something entirely different.

Read My Rants About:

The Deities

The Races

The Continents & Kingdoms

Current WIPs:

Though I have 8 WIPs, I have limited myself to working on just these 3 at the moment.

Lady of Birchgrove

~9k words - 1st draft -

Summary:

Welcome to the world of Thraeia. Silvia wakes with no memories of herself, no recollection of how she came to be lying on a bed in an unfamiliar room. She certainly does not know the girl beside her, unconscious and wounded, who risked her life to save Silvia. The difficult task of remembering herself falls onto her shoulders. Though it physically pains her at times it is a job she must complete, not just for the people who claim to love her, but also the entire town depending on her. For she is a Lady, charged with the well being of the town, Birchgrove. With the help of her family and old dairy entries from her past self, it almost seems doable. But the the magic that has been inflicted upon her is mysterious and unknown, and the caster is still out there somewhere, waiting for an opportunity to finish what they started.

Read more here!🍃

Tags: #CoT: Lady of Birchgrove, #CoT: LoB

Reclaim

~46k words - 1st/2nd draft - 18+ strong language, violence, suggestive scenes

Summary:

It had to be fate. As a cub Quirina was taken from the mountains of Brariheba and was sold to Xiren Sharpe, leader of an assassin's guild. The once spirited child became the guild's best against her will, her agile Feli body aiding her. After one mission she meets Romone, a stupidly confident Feli in the service of Morys Elethron, who promises her a safe place at Elethron House. The chance meeting has her realizing she's tired of belonging to someone else, that maybe she can make a difference. A frantic escape later and she's greeted warmly by Romone, finally a safe place for her. Though the horrible things she had done under Xiren do not vanish, they dominate her time at Elethron House. When her shadow threatens to drag her back to her cold cell, Quirina fights harder for the opportunity to lead a normal life and the possibility of falling in love than she's ever had before.

Read more here! ⚔

Tags: #CoT: Reclaim

Cramming for Magic Class

Webcomic - 3 eps sketched/ outlining

Summary:

A new school year is about to start at Lilium University of Magic. Zephyrine, who recently moved in with their cousin and her friend, is simply breezing through life. At least until they meet Soulaetia, a high-born magic prodigy with some very poor study habits. When they happen to cross paths, they change each others' lives in ways neither expected.

Read more here!📚

Tags: #CoT: Cramming for Magic Class, #CoT: CfMC

Other Tags

My art: #Bird draws

Characters: Chr: [insert name]

Worldbuilding: #worldbuilding

Inspiration: #inspo (paired with a character or region tag)

More might arise! :3

[byeol-ssi]

happy 700, byeol! 🎊🕺🏽🎉 you deserve all 700 and you deserve 7,000 more! 🥰

sooo, i wanted to participate in your date milestone event, if that's okay? i know you said to give a name and pronouns n all that, so here i go ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

my name's shiloh, i'd like to use he/him pronouns, and the character... after much deliberation, i've decided on kazuha! and i wanted to choose no. 6, the art gallery exhibition date!

congrats again on 700! :D ♡

- zuzu/shiloh ♡

✦ SAVE THE DATE ♡ for @kaedeharq @awlumii

✦ kaedahara kazuha | genshin impact

✦ tags: art gallery date, established relationship, inspired by how much i admire shiloh's ability to conjure up the most beautiful thoughts of kazuha <3

"they're perfect, don't you think so?"

KAZUHA tilts his head, following your line of sight. several framed portraits encased in glass hung proudly on the wall, along with gold plaques beneath them describing their history and origin in detail.

he moves his gaze from one artwork to another, taking everything in, before glancing over at you.

you were smiling at him expectantly, and it slowly dawned upon him that you'd been waiting for an answer. to this, he nods. "i suppose."

this time, it's your turn to cock your head. narrowing your eyes, you study him and wonder if bringing him here was a bad idea. in a careful voice, you say,

"you don't sound so impressed."

he blinks, before the corners of his lips twitch in amusement. "i simply find it difficult when i have you standing here beside me."

the smile on your features falls flat; yet you manage to disguise it in a heartbeat — so quick and effortless, that anyone else could've missed it.

but this was kazuha, and when it came to you, nothing went by unnoticed.

your throat moves as if you wanted to say something but ultimately decided against it. instead, you turn away first, laughing awkwardly.

in the silence that follows your laughter, kazuha takes a step closer. "you don't believe me," he says, his tone more declarative than questioning.

you rub your arms nervously, unable to handle the weight of his gaze, and even more so, his observation. and as if he sensed your desire to flee, he murmurs your name, low and smooth.

he reaches for both of your hands, and takes them in his. "you give me the same feelings, the same depth of emotions, that artists spend their entire lives creating masterpieces about."

your chest frantically rallies an orchestra of drums, but kazuha's voice never falters, his gaze never wavers. with steady and tender firmness, he continues, "your very likeness is inspiration personified. completely captivating."

"your voice, your laughter, is song. euphonious." his warmth leaves your hands, but it's replaced when two of his fingers gently tilt your chin up. "and your inner thoughts are woven poetry. wonderfully written and composed."

his expression turns soft but was clearly leaving no room for arguments. leaning in, he presses his lips to the highest point of your cheekbone.

"and this world is full of artists, myself included, but you, darling, you are art."

✦ byeol’s notes: this serves as my official — and long overdue — hello to you, shiloh! i still remember the kindest tags you left me, and ever since following you, i find myself looking forward to whatever work and ideas you come up with. lastly, i just want to say that i'm always completely in awe for your passion for writing and the characters you love.

i'm super excited to interact with you more often in the future! thank you so much for your love.

✦ link to the event directory!

[remyfire]

It sure was Flootz's! Love Is a Sacrament, and god that's another I've reread several times because I just LOVE the dynamic at play there. It also hits so many of my "interests", so to say, and truly is such a good showing for that ship. I also love that even though it's a modern AU, they're still written exactly the same, just with the added bonus of actually being married.

And y e s I can definitely see that! I need BJ to confront the parts of himself he doesn't want to acknowledge the existence of, please and thanks. I know there have got to be things he represses and ignores, and I'm sure Sidney can tell too, but BJ never lets him get close enough to figure out what those things are. But BJ babygirl sometimes you have to talk it out! And truly if you wrote more fics of them I would read every single one.

I could definitely tell something was up in that scene in Eye for a Tooth too, Margaret may get fed up with these boys but she's not outright cruel or vengeful. I was so interested to see where it was going, and BJ's reaction did not disappoint. Admittedly I don't really ship them however I absolutely respect that rarepair, and even platonically I can sooo appreciate that care and softness he showed her! It was all acting and she was in on the plan but it's still so clear that BJ wanted to make absolutely certain she was okay the whole time and god just what a man. Everything he does is underscored with so much love and I love the little moments we can see it like that hand hold and check in!

As for Mulcahy, I definitely see your point about the wanting recognition vs the Catholic teaching of selfless help. I also thought it was interesting that the immediate next episode was Dear Sis, where we see Mulcahy struggling again with feeling useless and unrecognized in the unit. I loved Hawkeye's talk with him and trying to show him he was wanted, I think he really deserved that. And as a former Catholic myself, I find the idea of the dismantling of a belief system you've followed your entire life soooo interesting. And the fact that Mulcahy has managed to hold onto his beliefs for so much of the war tells me that any questioning he does would be painful and long-felt, and that just makes it even better. Any introspection with him would be fascinating and would take so long to dive into, like you said, but damn it if I'm not having some thoughts of my own.

(God bless the MASH writers who decided to give us shower scenes in literally any of the episodes they appear in. Also that chopper pilot is correct, because I too want to blow Mulcahy's back out. I think he deserves it.)

And P.S. please don't apologize for the length or rambling! As you can see, I'm fully able to match your energy in that regard. I love getting the peeks into other peoples' minds like this and also writing obnoxious character studies in tumblr ask boxes. So ramble away!

It's always interesting to see what transposes well into a modern verse and what doesn't carry through, right? I respect authors that can make it work for them so easily because I struggle sometimes to really manifest ideas of what would be the modern equivalent of being trapped in a very small area with a very small group of people to essentially evolve the characters into the ones we come to know and love. Like, they are not the same people when they get there as the ones who leave, and the majority of the reason they become who they are is due to the stress, the constant psychic damage of it all.

I realize ofc this is the autism of it all, really, me making things overly complicated for myself as an author 😂 But it's fine

That being said, justalittlegreen did it in a way I really enjoyed with her "A Full, Rich Day," which is BJ/Hawk/Trap and setting them in a modern verse where they're all in residency together, and having the frantic and sometimes incredibly heavy/grief-stricken moments really pulled it all together for me in a way that just hit. So I'm always turning thoughts like that over and over in my head to figure out what might finally inspire me to possibly try something similar one day in my own work.

(also please, don't worry, you don't have to tell me you don't ship BJ and Margaret. I am the captain of their canoe with roughly four other individuals as passengers, just paddling our way through the ocean. I assume that no one else ships them, trust me 😂 )

If you're not careful, though, you're gonna get me talking about just the sheer husband-coded nature of BJ and how he is constantly looking for ways to microdose on that aspect of himself while being so far away from Peg. It kills me. Man is out here carrying Margaret around any chance he gets, being so respectfully tactile with the nurses—a hand on the shoulder or the arm—his instinct to check in on them when he can tell something's wrong. Like, YES, so much of it is that he is genuinely an incredibly good man, but it's such an interesting part of his character to me, how often he'll go out of his way to do these things and genuinely seeming to get a degree of personal fulfillment out of it, bless his heart.

I am fighting tooth and nail to hold Mulcahy back in my brain right now. Lovely, sweet man, genuinely misguided in many circumstances, fully aware of a lot of the pain that he brings by nature of being a Catholic priest (I have a lot of thoughts about it regarding the S8 episode "Yessir, That's Our Baby" that are always trying to bubble over, so lemme know if you have some yourself when you get there haha) and yet still so keen on his mission all the same, whether it's compassion or conversion. And Dear Sis, fucking Christ, what a whammy of an episode. That conversation between him and Hawk in it lives rent free in my head. God. Did you know this is a good show? /lh

[scheherezhad]

20 questions for writers

tagged by @moriavis

How many works do you have on AO3? 60

What’s your total A03 word count? 108,021

What fandoms do you write for? Pretty much only the ttrpg campaigns I play with my friends, anymore.

What are your top five fics by kudos? Tumble, Fit, Sorry-Grateful, Kindly and Forgivingly by the Hand, Although My Eyes Are Open

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I try to, since I get so few.

What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I have written too much angst and death and depressing nonsense to pick just one.

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? ... uh. *frantically searches ao3 works*

We didn’t realize we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun. I guess???

Do you get hate on your fic? That would require people to give a shit about what I write, so no.

Do you write smut? I have done, but it's been years.

Do you write crossovers? Not particularly, since I also don't care to read them much. If I do write them, it's likely to be crackfic.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not to my knowledge

Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope

Have you ever co-written a fic? Yes! @saekhwa and I successfully finished our au Graves/Reese Hustle Cat fic, No Words Could Ever Do, a whole five years ago. And we have an unfinished Nacht/Reese au languishing that was very self-indulgent. I also have an unfinished thing with @moriavis we started around this time last year that I'd eventually like to go back to if we can.

What‘s your all-time favourite ship? Don't ask silly questions. I don't have an all-time favorite anything, because I'm indecisive and also I can't pit seventy bad bitches against each other like that.

What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? The massive post-game Hustle Cat fic where Reese moves across the country and gets to mature and grow into his magic and find his community and have crazy sex with Nacht. <.<

What’s your writing strengths? Brevity

What’s your writing weaknesses? The fact that I kinda just don't anymore?? idk

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I prefer these days to simply use indicators, rather than outright switching unless the language change is necessary to the plot. It's much easier this way when the languages your characters are speaking don't actually exist.

First fandom you wrote for? Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers is the first one I can pinpoint. I may have written other things at a younger age that could be considered fic, but I don't recall anything specific before the self-insert MMPR story I wrote during study hall for pretty much an entire school year.

Favourite fic you’ve ever written? tbh, I remain pretty fucking fond of Tumble even 10 years later. Jin/Yusuke is such a fun pairing.

no-pressure tagging @onemuseleft @bathyssal @blakelivelysbigtoe @thefastestqueeralive and anyone else who wants to do it

[pips-squeak]

Under The Same Sun

Under The Same Sun character list

Maya: 13, African American, jaunty, a nature person.

Benji: 15, Asian, has a tendency to wear all black,

jocular.

Tag Line

Two friends sit in a field of corn and decide to play hide and seek when the sun is at its brightest.

Setting

(MAYA and BENJI sit in a field surrounded by high stalks of corn, laughing with each other. The lights shine very bright on the entire stage to mimic the sun at around 2PM. The scene starts as if the two friends have been talking for a while in that spot.)

Scene 1

BENJI

It isn’t fair though! Ms. Alretta is the devil herself, I swear.

MAYA

(MAYA tries not to laugh at him.)

I mean, yeah, she can be a little mean but…

BENJI

No, no, no don’t start with that ‘Oh well maybe if you did your work and studied more’ no! She’s awful and I hate her.

(BENJI fake pouts.)

MAYA

That was not, in fact, what I was going to say but yeah, fine. Maybe you should do your work and study more. And don’t make that face at me.

BENJI

(BENJI flops onto the grass on his back, moving his arm to cover his eyes.)

Fuck, it’s bright. I forgot my sunglasses, too.

MAYA

(MAYA lightly slaps his arm.)

You know you should’nt curse like that. Besides, I’m enjoying the sun. Apparently it’s supposed to rain for a few days straight next week.

BENJI

Thank god, I hate this heat. I’m not made for 90 degree weather.

MAYA

(MAYA rolls her eyes at him and pauses.)

Yknow, I think we should play a game.

BENJI

(BENJI raises an eyebrow at her.)

A game? What, like eye spy?

MAYA

No, stupid, like hide and seek. This is the literal perfect place for it.

(Both MAYA and BENJI stand up, and BENJI sighs.)

BENJI

God, this is stupid. Okay, fine. You wanna count?

MAYA

(Giddy)

Yeah!

(BENJI slowly sneaks behind MAYA as she covers her eyes and he disappears into the mass of corn stalks.)

1, 2, 3, 4, 5…

(BENJI comes out of the corn to be downstage right, takes a glance at MAYA while she’s still counting, and goes back into the corn.)

6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Ready or not here I come!

(MAYA opens her eyes and turns around, listening for Benji’s footsteps. She doesn’t hear anything.)

Marco!

BENJI

Polo!

MAYA

(MAYA turns to where she heard BENJI’s voice.)

Marco!

BENJI

Polo!

MAYA

(As MAYA starts to push through the stalks of corn, the lights on the stage are progressively getting brighter. MAYA has a hand over her eyes to try and help her vision.)

Marco? God, it’s bright. Marco!

(No one responds, and the stage is eerily quiet.)

Benji, I'm not tall enough for this! At least give me a hint!

(Still, no one answers, and MAYA’s mood visibly drops.)

Benji?

(MAYA pushes through the corn stalks while almost frantic. She’s now yelling.)

Benji! Why is it so bright? Benji!

(The lights brighten so much to the point where it’s difficult for the audience to see the stage. MAYA is now running through the corn stalks, and trips.)

Ow! Benji, this isn’t funny. I’m being serious!

(MAYA gets up from the ground, and staggers to downstage center, almost entirely covering her eyes because of the lights.)

Benji…?

(The lights dim enough so that the audience can see the stage again, and MAYA is still shading her eyes, facing the audience. She takes another few steps forward so the audience can see the bloody footprints coming from her shoes that have made a trail behind her. Her hands are dripping with fresh blood.)

Benji?

(taglist below)

@indecisiveaesthetic @idkjustgowithitok @cupsmp @moonlitartist @violexides @dog55teeth @cavern-of-shenanigans

[aiyexayen]

for fanfiction writing asks!! 14, 18, 19, 23, 28, 34, and 46~!

14. What is your favorite location and position to write in? i'm so sorry the first thing that i wanted to answer was "on my knees" which is not original even if i made myself laugh. i think my favourite place to write is up to a table or desk where i can feel more focused, preferably surrounded by people/ambient noise of people like from a coffee shop or something. the age-old "it's midnight and my bedmate is asleep but the plot bunny snagged my brain so i'm frantically thumb-writing under the covers on my phone notes app" cannot be discounted, though.

18. Do you enjoy research?  Which fic of yours required the most research? i fucking love research. i will drop a fic like a hot potato and spend the entire day on pointless research trails if i am left unattended. i'm not entirely sure about "required" and i am bad at keeping track of specific quantities of research once i get going, but i think ratio-wise that one time i spent a whole afternoon reading studies on the science of blood pool coagulation just for one throwaway line in a ficlet was the most egregious.

19. Do you enjoy creating OCs or do you prefer to stick solely to canon characters? i am terrible at creating OCs myself. if it's a character anyone else has come up with, canon or someone else's OC or anything, i'm like "hello i know you and you are unique and beloved by me and i know exactly what to do with you" but if it's a character i try to pry out of my own brain it's either "this is just me i guess" or "who the fuck are you, i don't know you, you aren't real, get out of here" and sometimes this happens simultaneously. i do not trust my OCs. <_<;;

23. Is writing the beginning, middle, or end of the story easiest? Hardest? beginning of the story is easiest. 1000%. i can start a story anywhere, i can just start writing on any given premise and that rush of newthing dopamine is [chef's kiss] to my adhd brain. i would say that the task of finishing a story is the hardest, but that's not because the ending of the story is difficult for me to come up with or write. in actuality, the middle of the story is the hardest, and once it starts getting into the thick of that hard stuff and it's not new and shiny anymore, i tend to fall off more easily even if i know exactly where the story will end by then, even if i have jumped ahead and written the ending even. i'm quite terrible that way.

28. What area of writing do you want to improve in? every area, but especially sensory and setting description which is what i'm working on more lately. it is often much more difficult for me to write about sensations or setting than to come up with dialogue or describe action or deal with fiddly editing things. i often wrestle with that the most during the editing process or get hung up on getting it right before i feel i can write more.

34. How much of your personal life/experience do you include in your fics? completely depends on the fic and on my mood. sometimes it's really fun to write something that's got nothing to do with me, and other times it's cathartic to explore something from my own life through fic, and sometimes i draw on a piece of my life simply to add spice.

46. If you could only write one type of AU for the rest of your life, what would it be? canon divergence. that's almost all i write anyway lmfao.

[chungledown-bimothy]

That tattoo is so good omg!! I've been wanting to get another one for so long, but I don't know what I'd get quite just yet!!

Ajdhhdd literally I looked at Saccharina and my brain just went "OOP, favorite character" but also like. As a lesbian, gooey was just 👀👀👀 (sorry if that's TMI or anything!)

That is such a good line!! Ally is so funny to me- the pure indignation they put into that line and others when it comes to Preston's unfortunate demise was always so great. Also, I love that they constantly try to cover different aspects of the queer experience!

Oooof, Mormonism is rough. I grew up in a predominantly Mormon town (as in, more Mormons per Capita than Salt lake city) and most of my friends growing up were Mormon. All of the architecture in the temples and stuff looked (from the outside, at least. I was obviously never allowed inside) so sterile! I can't imagine that. What did you do during the 3 hours of church?? Because catholic mass is only like an hour and as a kid I got so bored I wouldn't pay attention at all.

I would literally just study all the gargoyles/angels/faces in general carved into the walls and ceiling, as well as the stained glass windows and statues. My brother and I got into trouble a few times because neither of us paid attention 😂 one time, we both stood up because our grandparents and most people around us stood up, and we didn't understand why our grandparents kept frantically trying to get us to sit down until the priest started talking about how all the married couples in the church were standing 😂😂 (it was valentine's day).

AaAAAAA I'm literally so excited!!!! I've been on a FOB kick lately! What are some of your favorite songs by them?

I wish I could do that 😭 I work nights (7 days where I work 12-hour shifts and then I have 7 days off) and Wednesdays are my Mondays and Fridays, so I'm usually sleeping most of the day!! But once I'm at work, I'm absolutely gonna be juggling both to the best of my ability!

- 🪐

thanks! it was my first, and it's the only one i've gotten so far that hasn't aged terribly lmfao

"another?" mind if i ask about your current tattoo situation? (no worries, of course, if you'd rather not)

i've been so thirsty for so many npcs on this blog, being into gooey is so far from tmi lol

i love ally so much. it's a little bit headcanon-y, but i think that, with timothy, they've now had a character that is L G B and T (i choose to believe pete is bi) and, of course, ace icon liam wilhelmina.

oof that's a fuckin lot of mormons

i've only been inside temples a few times (i started dating a non-member and therefore was unworthy to enter any more), and i left entirely before i could do any of the Really Culty Stuff, but trust me, the inside is even more sterile looking than the outside. everything is white and beige and boring as all hell.

iirc they changed it to 2 hours a few years back (now they alternate doing what used to be the second and third hours), but the 3 hour system was:

the first hour was essentially mass. everyone in one room, getting preached at, sacrament (rebranded communion), singing songs.

the second hour was sunday school. idk how the adults split up, maybe it was one big class? i left when i was 17. but the kids were split up by age, each group had a teacher, and we studied different parts of the scriptures and sometimes church history.

the third hour was essentially 5 separate second, smaller versions of the first hour, separated by age and gender (everyone under 12, 12-17 boys, 12-17 girls, adult men, adult women), but without the sacrament.

it was fucking terrible lmao

holy shit that's hilarious 😂 i was always too Anxious to cause trouble, but my brothers definitely did a lot of jumping up on the seats and making noise

oh goodness um. of all the gin joints and thks fr th mmrs for sure. dance dance goes without saying. also my songs know what you did in the dark.

the entirety of american beauty/american psycho fucks HARD.

i'm not good at picking favorite songs, clearly lmao

that's a fucking killer schedule my god D:

[robinofinashiro]

prompt: "stop kidding yourself. narancia looks at you like you're his entire world."

characters/fandom: narancia ghirga / jojo's bizarre adventure

request status/note: closed / i just want narancia to have a good life, that's all i want! i'm a simple person and narancia happiness would make me happy. got it? okay cool !!

pronouns used: she/her and afab!

everyone knew how hesitant Bruno was when Narancia asked to join his gang so it came off as no surprise when you came to Bruno asking for a spot and him immediately denying. it wasn't because you were a girl, hell, Trish did her job well but Bruno knew you didn't need to fall into this kind of life. you were smart, still in school, and had grades that very well could have gotten you into college.

Bruno couldn't deny you for long. he saw the way you were living and knew you didn't deserve to be alone in an abandoned building, scraping for food the same way Narancia was so he gave you an ultimatum. you school Narancia for a few hours and he gives you shelter. it didn't necessarily make you apart of his gang but hell, you weren't starving on the street and were still contributing to it by making Narancia less stupid as Fugo called it.

you chucked you bag on the empty chair, laying down on a couch as you felt your eyes starting to shut. Narancia walked into the living room, seeing you already on the brink of falling asleep. you had felt Narancia's presence enter the living room and although you wanted to talk to him, you were dozing off faster than you brain could comprehend.

suddenly, you felt a weight fall on top of you as Narancia practically fell on top of you like a professional wrestler. you immediately groaned in pain as your eyes shot open, screaming at Narancia to get off of you.

"Narancia, you weigh a ton, get the fuck off!" you screamed. he started laughing hysterically, refusing to do such a thing, "no! you're not sleeping! it's only three in the afternoon!" he yelled excitedly. you groaned again, wanting to just take a quick nap before dealing with anyone.

Bruno and Mista, hearing your groans from the common area went towards you, being extremely surprised at what they saw. you were covering your eyes, Narancia on top of you as you yelled. Bruno felt himself starting to gag at the sight as Mista laughed hysterically. you immediately stared at them, your hands instantly motioning frantically to insinuate to get them to get Narancia off of you.

"if you were gonna do it, at least do it in private," Mista joked as he saw you immediately get flustered. Narancia on the other hand immediately got off of you, running towards Mista as he threatened to Aerosmith his ass if he said anything like that again. you gave Bruno a tired smile as he realized that you were just looking to take a nap.

"take thirty minutes. I'll get Narancia to do something in the meantime."

you gave Bruno an appreciative smile as you used your sweater as a blanket and covered yourself up. you were being bombed with midterms and you were spending most of your time studying and trying to keep up with anything that Bruno was asking you to do. his work wasn't exhausting but Narancia had an energy level that you sometimes tried to keep up with but failed.

however, midterms were ending after tomorrow and you just had one more exam which you knew you were going to pass if you study even for an hour tonight. Narancia walked back into the common area to see you already asleep as Bruno grabbed the raven haired boy by his head and shoved him into the hallway, telling him to let you nap for a bit before he went off to bug you again.

Bruno wasn't an idiot and it didn't take one to see the way both of you felt for each other. young love as he liked to call it. Narancia was more upfront with his feelings as you tended to shy away from them. the thing with Narancia was that because of his upbringing, it was hard for him to express love in a way that you would understand. he never had a proper way of expressing romantic feelings considering he never saw it first hand.

Narancia knew about loyalty which he didn't lack for you or anyone in the gang but there was a difference between you and the rest of them. you were too shy for your own good and Bruno knew it would have to be Narancia to express his feelings or else the relationship would not progress further than just friends.

he had caught the two of you listening to music together a million times. whenever you left for school, you would always bring a snack back for him or for the two of you share. it was cute, Bruno had to admit and honestly, he would do anything for the two of you leave this shitty life of crime and actually live peacefully somewhere in Italy. Bruno knew how much Narancia wanted to go back to school and if you were about to graduate, he knew he could use that to his advantage. you had the patience that Fugo clearly didn't have and would be able to teach him the basics of education.

it was an hour later when you woke up and looked at the clock. you moved your jacket and put it on the hook before going to the kitchen. you saw Mista and Narancia talking about nonsense to each other as you sat next to them, kicking your legs up making Fugo roll his eyes at the poor excuse you called table manners.

"wanna do something now?" Narancia asked. you laughed in agreement as Narancia practically shot up from his seat and grabbed you by the hand, talking about something you had zero knowledge of. the two of you walked out of the building after you grabbed your wallet and went to the street where all the markets were.

you head into the streets, seeing that there was some kind of food sampling going on as you gave Narancia a wicked smile, "a little trouble wouldn't piss off Bruno, would it?" you asked. Narancia returned that smirk, shaking his head no, "come on!" he yelled the two of you went to the pizza sampling station. the two of you scarfing down each sampled pizza there was before the owner shooed you away.

the next vendor was a cookie shop that you had went to a few times. the owner was a cute old woman that ran the shop with her son and daughter. you waved at her excitedly, "good evening ( your name )," she said as she eyed at Narancia, "who is this?" she asked curiously. you pulled Narancia closer, "he's my friend Narancia!" you replied even more enthusiastically.

she chuckled, seeing the way Narancia glared at her. you grabbed a few samples, handing some to Narancia before the two of you bit into them. the both of you moaned at the warm and softness of the cookie, "this is amazing, I swear you have some kind of magical powers," you explained taking another bite.

the woman grabbed a few cookies and put them into a Ziploc bag before handing it to Narancia, "save some for later," she replied, giving Narancia a wink. he rolled his eyes half annoyed before grabbing your arm and moving you to another vendor.

the two of you moved from stall to stall, trying out every food even if it tasted shitty. by the time the sun was setting, you and Narancia were filled to the brim with food. you both were sitting on a step, just enjoying the silence (which was surprising for Narancia's loud ass). you munched down on the chips that Narancia had bought for you as you heard music playing lowly in the background.

"we should get going soon, I have to study and you don't need to be out at night," you told Narancia as he agreed. it wasn't uncommon for Narancia to have his around you casually. you were walking next to him as his arm rested around your shoulders as he saw a gelato stand offering the scraps of leftovers, "I'll wait for you here!" you told Narancia.

you stood on the side of the street, kicking a stray rock as you heard very terrifying but familiar voices coming towards you, saying your name tauntingly. it was the voices of your school bullies.

they made your life a living hell when you were still out on the street. taunting you because you were wearing dirty old school uniforms that smelled. they usually resorted to verbally bullying you; however, when they were feeling particularly unhinged, they would crowd around you to hurt you.

"no way, look who it is!" one of the girls murmured. all of the advice Bruno had told you about sticking up for yourself going out the window as another girl pushed your head down to face the concrete, "we haven't had fun in a while girlie. we kind of miss it!" she stated as the third girl kicked her knee up, directing it at your nose.

you instantly fell to the ground as you felt memories of past abuse coming to your head. ever since you had found Bruno and the rest of the Bucci gang, classmates tended to hold off on their bullying as rumors had spread that you were involved in gang activity. you started to show up with clean clothes, jewelry that was a bit too expensive for someone your age to afford, and the teachers decided to stay out of it. they weren't going to risk their life to stop you from that life and figured if you didn't cause trouble at school, there was no reason to intervene.

before another girl could do anything, you felt Narancia's presence behind you, "I will kill you!" he yelled, grabbing his pocket knife and stabbing a girl in the stomach. your eyes widened as the two other girls stood in shock as Narancia pushed you behind him, "and if I find out you tell anyone what just happened, the same will happen to the two of you!" he continued.

he flicked his knife up, showing the blood to the two other girls as they grabbed their friend and practically sprinted away. you looked at Narancia, half scared and half upset. you had never saw Narancia this angry before nor had you ever thought he'd hurt someone in front of you but he didn't even give you the chance to speak as he ripped off a piece of his shirt and shoving it against your nose before dragging you back to the hideout, still as angry as ever.

when the two of you walked inside, Bruno, Girono, and Mista were sitting on the couch, talking over a few things when they saw Narancia's angry state and your very scared one. Narancia handed you over to Bruno, murmuring to take care of you as Mista followed him to whatever room he was going into. Bruno grabbed a few tissues, telling you to hold them against your nose and pull your head back to stop the bleeding.

"what happened?" Giorno asked. you took a deep breath as you recounted the scene to them. Bruno gave Giorno a quick look as he sighed, thankful that Narancia was there to help you but upset that he went as far to hurt someone. he was also upset at the fact that even if you lived with a bunch of gangsters, you were extremely easy to hurt and that would be something he would have to change.

"i'm not mad that Narancia hurt someone, hell, if anything, I'm happy. those girls made my life a living hell while I was homeless but he just looked so angry. I knew he struggled with anger problems but I never saw it that bad."

Bruno chuckled, swapping the dirty tissues for new ones, "they hurt someone he loves, can you blame him?" he asked. you gave Bruno a side eye of confusion, "we're friends Bruno. he would do that for any of you." you replied. Bruno chuckled once again as he shook his head in disbelief, "yeah, he would but stop kidding yourself. narancia looks at you like you're his entire world. he would probably burn an entire city for you."

you remained silent as you realized that Bruno had a point. Narancia was extremely protective of you and you had no idea if it was him just protecting you the same way he did for others or if it because he actually liked you.

Giorno nodded in agreement as you saw Narancia walk back out into the common area, now less upset and more worried about you. Bruno stood up from the couch, Giorno following as Narancia took your hand away from your nose, examining it to make sure it wasn't broken.

"sorry for stabbing her but at least she won't mess with you again," he said. you laughed softly, "she deserved it and at least you threatened the rest of the girls of never speaking about it so I guess I won't have to worry about getting kicked out of school?" you replied.

you stared at Narancia, grabbing his hand softly and squeezing it, "thank you. I appreciate it," you whispered in appreciation. he shrugged, not really knowing how to take the compliment without blushing. you thought on what Bruno had told you earlier and leaned closer to Narancia before placing a soft kiss on his cheek, leaving a stain of chapstick on his cheek.

Narancia's eyes widened in shock as you stood up and looked to him, "get to sleep, Ghirga. I'll see you in the morning," you whispered. just as you were about leave his sight, Narancia practically pounced, reciprocating the kiss but on your forehead.

"goodnight!" he exclaimed. you laughed, pushing him off before heading towards your bedroom, "see you in the morning," you said again before shutting the door. you slid against the door in excitement as you let out a silent squeal. Narancia on the other hand walked to the kitchen to grab a water when he realized that it was you who made the first move and him.

he groaned as he slammed the fridge door and going to his dorm to conjure up some idea to one up you. Bruno, who had watched the entire interaction happen, smiled to himself before going to his office. maybe his dream of the two of you leaving this life of crime would happen after all.

[chokiipng]

Hay fever : Genshin various

a/n : suffering from seasonal allergies isn't fun . so instead of trying to do school work, i'm gonna write hcs to make myself feel better

character(s) : Xiao, Diluc, Kaeya, Albedo, Childe contents : fluff with a bit of crack (my specialty) + : reader has really bad seasonal allergies

Xiao :

he doesn't really understand tbh

he plays it off as a common cold at first and entrusts you with Verr, much to her annoyance. he didn't realize the true severity of the situation until a week had passed.

he's heard of seasonal allergies before, so it's not like he was entirely clueless, he just didn't know how to go about treating it.

because of this, he turned into a big ball of concern for the entirety of spring

he asked everyone he could for help, even that ginger haired harbinger (to which he had no clue since he basically lives on an iceberg)

this also happened to peek Zhongli's interest, who then took him to Bubu pharmacy to learn more. it took Xiao about 5 different interrogations to actually visit Bubu, he cursed himself internally for not checking there in the first place

of course, Baizhu laughed it off and informed the both of them on how allergies work, how they're triggered, and how to prevent/soothe them

if you sneezed/sniffled, he was immediately by your side with a tissue and some water. itchy eyes, he had a small bottle of eyedrops for you courtesy of Dr. Baizhu and Qiqi

it was amusing to say the least, watching a feared Yaksha running around frantically in order to soothe your allergies

of course, he soon picked up that it was because you went outside every goddamn day to complete commissions and to pick flowers for who knows who (Qiqi, you often found yourself picking herbs with her because who could say no to that face?)

he legit locked you in your room at Wangshuu Inn and did your commissions for you. he didn't want you in any pain, so he stayed with you when he finished all of his tasks

he didn't isolate you though, but if he takes you out he makes sure you take your allergy medicine (given by Qiqi, ty bby) and that you have a mask on

Diluc :

he never really experienced hay fever, but he knows the gist of it

he's heard stories of it from customers of the Angel's Share and was immensely grateful to the Archons for blessing him with immunity to seasonal allergies

but he wasn't prepared to catch you practically sneezing your guts out one morning

Diluc drops everything, much to Adelinde's horror, and orders for a box of tissues and water immediately. he whips out the blankets from under the couch that he knew you hid and props you on some pillows he fluffed in a panicked rush

the maids watch with a nervous chuckle as he runs around the mansion, completely forgetting about his shift at the Angel's Share and his nightly heroic duties

as soon as he calms down from the initial shock of how hard allergies hit you, he asks you how your feeling and if he can do anything

the next day he asks Donna (who stutters at his mere presence), who mind you is an employee at the Floral Whisper, since Flora isn't there herself about hay fever. he figured that people who worked at a flower shop would know about allergies caused by the pollen produced by flowers

he brings back medicine that you've been instructed to take daily as to lessen the affects of your allergies

despite his day duties, he offers to take up your daily commissions during the days you are physically unable to do them or just does them of his own volition

he trusts that the maids will take care of you in his stead

in the mean time, you're allowed to roam the city as you wish, but that's about it. he threatened Lawrence and Swan that they would feel the wrath of retribution if you stepped foot outside the city

Mondstadt was a land of eternal springtime, there was no way in hell he was letting you out of the city without his supervision

while all of this may be a bit much, he makes sure to let you know that this is just him caring for you. he doesn't want to seem overbearing and trusts that you know what's happening to your body and how to treat it

Kaeya :

he laughs at your demise

what did you expect ?

but he really is worrying on the inside

he makes sure to check in with Barbara just to make sure that you're not suffering from a lethal disease

once he knows that they're just seasonal allergies, (almost) all his worries subside and he sighs of relief

he notifies Jean beforehand (but sometimes forgets), he works considerably less during the time of your allergies since he doesn't really trust anyone else to take care of you

he also doesn't drink as much, surprising, he knows

he refrains from bringing you flowers as he usually does and instead spoils you with unnecessary affection

Kaeya doesn't worry as much since he puts faith in you that you know what's going on in your body. since they're seasonal allergies, he realizes that you must've gone through this before and know how to treat it

since you can't really cure it, you just act more cautious in the outdoors

he often accompanies you on your daily commissions and such, just to be sure that your okay. he takes over the moment you pause to sneeze or itch your nose even once

aside from this, he's the other reason why your allergies are unbearable

once they're all done and over, he teases you relentlessly about how reliant you were on him when in reality it was him doing your tasks of his own volition rather than you asking him. you told him several times that you could handle it, but he persisted nonetheless

he's more reasonable during your hay fever, and despite his unnecessary comments, you find it endearing

Albedo :

he is among the few men who are actually calm during the situation, but since when is he not?

he probably already has a remedy for you that greatly lessens the affect of your allergies

but even without it, he trusts that you know how to handle it

the only factor in here that would cause chaos-

is Klee

once Klee hears you sneeze all hell breaks loose in Albedo's workspace

she runs around everywhere looking for tissues and then ends up bringing Mondstadt's entire supply, which you and Albedo laugh nervously at

once Klee calms down, you explain the bare minimum of hay fever, which she manages to understand

while he has faith that you can treat it yourself, Albedo still recommends that you stay inside more rather than going out exploring and looking for chests, to which you sheepishly comply

Jean cannot thank you enough when it comes to Klee's behavior during this season, as Klee tends to spend more time at home with you and Albedo once you finish your commissions so that "you don't feel lonely!"

she even drew you a picture to show how much she cared!

if you can't sleep at night because of your allergies, Albedo (who is probably still up working) will gladly allow you to indulge in his studies or to just simply read with you until you fall asleep

he too is also happy that you managed to tame Klee

Childe :

this man has no idea what the fuck hay fever is

need I remind you that he grew up in the land of perpetual winter, hay fever doesn't even exist to him. unlike everyone else, he hasn't even heard of the concept

so when you hold a finger up during your weekly sparring, he pauses with a curious tilt of his head

he screams in horror as you sneeze out all of your bodily fluids not once, not twice, but three times

Childe calls off the spar and cradles you in your arms as if you're about to die

it's until he rushes you to Baizhu in a panicked frenzy that he realizes that its...a fever?

now Baizhu is a patient man, he had to raise a zombie child who basically loses her memory each time she wakes up and wields a sword/cryo abilities

but he was getting tired of Childe's endless questions quick.

Childe shrieks as the normally passive pharmacist slams his hands down on the counter with a sickeningly sweet smile

he ceases in his questions, apologizes for bothering him, and races back to the Northland Bank in a cold sweat

it takes you explaining it in a calm voice for him to finally understand it

and he takes this very seriously

while he knows that it's seasonal and that you've gone through it before, he can't help but worry for you

he coddles you, and he doesn't relent even if you tell him

he slaps a mask on you, takes away your fighting privileges, and even order his subordinates to keep an eye on you at all times

that is if he's not already

he clings

he's attached to you

he just wants you to feel better, and you appreciate it, but it can get a little too much sometimes

and while you do tell him this, the same situation happens every year when spring comes around and there's nothing you can do to stop it. Baizhu can't catch a break from the rowdy harbinger

[ignorant-rat-carcass]

Killing Eve Finale & beyond - thoughts (spoilers-a-plenty regarding the end of the show - so consider yourself warned!)

Okay, so I have thoughts on the ending of the show. And I need to put them down somewhere, so….

Obviously my opinions are just my own; I don't know any of the programme makers involved, their intentions, nor do I know what the future holds for a post-KE future, spin-off's et al, but am quite happy to debate or discuss this if anyone wants. My asks are open. 😊👍

Also please note there is some potentially triggering language used throughout.

This is just my take on the Killing Eve finale, particularly the closing scenes, (although I expect many people may just call it denial - however I'm really just basing my theories and assumptions on over 25 years of study, analysis and experience of and working in storytelling/Television) - spoilers afoot, and long post warning - so here goes......

The 'no body, no proof' thing is a LONG standing trope, used over and over in television and film. Probably not used as much as the shittiest of shity BYG trope, but it's still a lot.

And you know what?! It even applies sometimes when there IS a body!! More times than you might think. I can think of like a dozen examples right off the top of my head!!

I should clarify that by ‘no body’ what I mean is that unless we see a completely lifeless corpse, proven beyond doubt by a (trustworthy*) medical professional, or see them going into the ground, or blown up, or their head shot off, or ripped into a thousand tiny pieces, or hell even blasted the fuck into space without a helmet on, etc etc - ie so unless there is absolutely, definitively, 100%, NO goddamn way in hell's chance of them EVER coming back from it - then their death is NOT certain.

Now Konstantin definitely looked pretty dead to me. Hélène too. I'll quite happily accept those, no issues. Meanwhile Gunn was left very much alive, although I'm really not sure why?!

But personally, I'm not REMOTELY convinced that what we saw of Villanelle in the closing moments could ever be considered absolute undeniable PROOF of her demise. Sure, it really didn't look good for her, but this is fiction and writers have all sorts of (often shitty, and often predictable) cheats ways of getting around something as ‘pesky’ or inconvenient as a character's perceived death getting in the way of a good story.

If we knew Killing Eve was coming back for another season, or maybe even a movie - but as an audience were all under the collective, and intended assumption that Villanelle didn't survive - my guess would be that she did! And THAT'd be the ultimate shock factor the writers were actually going for.

Keep Jodie's involvement under wraps, sure. Close sets and sign the fuck out of NDA's - whatever it takes to keep THAT secret under wraps - but just imagine what a blow up of a return THAT would be?!

And yes, fine, let the audience (provided you haven't alienated them entirely by this point!!) believe for an episode or two (or first act of the movie) that V in fact HAS gone, we all 'know' Jodie 'said her goodbye's to the character and to the show; we moved on. We get it.

So Season 5 (or the movie) gets going - scene, scene, setup, setup, action, action..... then suddenly - Carolyn gets a 'visitor' - WTAF?!!!

VILLANELLE???!!!!

Bang! - FLASHBACK to moments after the shooting on the boat and BOOM! Villanelle is dragged (somehow, ie plot) out of the water alive! But barely. Eve too and she is frantic and heartbroken but hoping against hope! She will NOT lose her AGAIN!!!

Sure, Villanelle takes time to recover, but there's a fucking gold mine of drama there! The vulnerability and tension and tenderness between Eve and Villanelle. We saw crumbs of it throughout the show but this time it's just them for the first time genuinely in it together and actually TOGETHER going through it. With all of the mistrust and second guessing themselves and each other just gone. Just being with each other. And not just content around each other, but happy.

Then, with V eventually getting her strength back - they regroup and work to get their revenge on Carolyn. And whomever pulled the trigger**.

I guess Carolyn was the big bad afterall, so THAT's the finale season I want to see!

(**Surely Carolyn is much like Konstantin and doesn’t get her own hands dirty, right?! I'm thinking Irinia, although why make the unseen shooter mystery ambiguous over everything else - unless that's connected to the spin off?! And why else have her crop up again in the penultimate episode if not to use her further?! If it was to serve as closure for her and Konstantin, it didn't feel like it!). And also, side note…. What the fuck was in K’s letter to C? Did he tell her V killed Kenny?! And if so, did she?! Or was she just killing/having V and E killed to tie up loose ends once The Twelve were gone? Ugh, so many unanswered questions! Thoughts on all of this are very much welcome!

Also, the killing of 'The Twelve' scene felt rather pointless by the end, it was anticlimactic and flat given how much they’ve made a thing of them throughout the show, but this season particularly. To me, it didn't actually bring any kind of meaningful closure to them or answer questions. Jodie was stellar, as always, but the conclusion felt rushed and lacked specifics for me.

So…. All that said, I think at this point, given there is no talk of KE returning, a movie, or any spin off involving Jodie or Sandra I'm not even sure that 'resolving' any of it now would redeem the show for what they did to Villanelle and Eve (in the eyes of much of the audience, and/or the cast if they're also equally unhappy with the direction the show/characters took), and would probably feel more like a 'well that's what we WANTED you to think', knee jerk reaction to the response they'll probably end up getting in any event if they U turned it now.

I don't know if I'd even want that kind of lip-service, I think I'd feel cheated. But, maybe further development of the show/characters in whatever form, in the right hands may provide a more satisfactory closure for the characters, the show, and frankly better serve the audience and cast who poured their hearts and souls into it.

(I mean, who am I kidding! If they did make it, with those two incredible women at the helm - of COURSE I'll fucking watch it!)

So, unless Jodie and Sandra have COMPLETELY ruled out ever returning to these roles (though I sadly suspect that is the case), as far as I'm concerned nothing is off the table and therefore Villanelle is very much Schrödinger's cat until I see evidence to the contrary.

Anyways, that's just my two pennies, and unless anyone can convince me otherwise I'll live happily with that possibility for the foreseeable.

At the very least, I did enjoy the ride immensely, even if I didn’t love the final destination.

Now please excuse me while I go rewatch them a couple hundred times.

*trustworthy - in this instance is a character whom by lying about someone's death serves no purpose to the story and therefore no reason or motivation to lie.

[dasphinxone]

I hope I'm not too late and asks are still open. But I wondered if you had any more thoughts/ideas/scenes/etc for the Mummy au? I totally love your contribution of Booker and Nicky as brothers and what that dynamic would look like. BAMF!Nile and Librarian!Booker give me life. Thanks for all your wonderful au ideas and fic!

Oh man, you are NEVER too late for Asks and they are currently open! In the meantime, allow me to ramble about my PURE AND UTTER LOVE FOR THE FRASER/WEISZ VERSIONS OF “THE MUMMY.” 

You see, I had a mad HUGE crush on Brendan Fraser when the first one came out. Except it turned out that the entire damn cast was so beautiful (OMG, the Oded Fehr hotness. So glad they brought him back for the sequel). They all have wonderful chemistry too, and rather similar to the group dynamics of The Old Guard. 

On top of that, I have always maintained that it’s Evie who is the real protagonist of the movie. Everyone else stays pretty much the same to their characters as when we’re introduced to them. Meanwhile, it’s Evie who goes from librarian to adventuress. She is thrown into all sorts of situations where she can prove to the world that librarians are just as damn smart and necessary as the brawns of Rick, the cunning of her brother Johnathan and the honorable warrior of Ardeth Bay.

It’s also Evie who comes out of the other end of the wild-ass adventure a changed person. It’s even more obvious in the sequel, where she takes a level in badassery. The best part about that? Rick adores her for it and they are clearly in a happy marriage versus the tired trope of married couples being all bitter. 

(I pretend the third movie NEVER HAPPENED, you hear me?!)

ANYWAYS, As Evie and Jonathan grew up rich (the museum curator clearly says to Evie that the only reason he puts up with her is that her parents were the largest donors to the museum), I figure Booker can grow up pretty wealthy too.

Sébastien le Livre is an only child who spends his life around his Action and Adventure!French Parents who have moved to Egypt to be archeologists. While they are world famous archeologists? They’re not the best parents. For they drag Sébastien along on their archeological excursions because they don’t know any better. So Sébastien spends all of his childhood time around his parents and their eccentric adult friends. Yes, they should have sent Sébastien to boarding school, like other rich folks of their time. But what kind of boring-ass education is that as compared to going out into the real world for field study?  

Sébastien’s field experience makes him brilliant child. Yet it also turns him into a socially awkward little boy. He’s rarely around other kids or attending school since he out on digs with his parents. On top of that, when his parents can’t bring him on digs, they leave him home in their great big house with his nanny, tutor and the servants for company. Since Sébastien doesn’t have kid friends, he’s always taking in stray animals, rescuing birds that fell out of their nests and doing precious sorts of things like that. He also LOVES reading. He’s fluent in French, English, Latin, Greek  and conversational Arabic. Oh, and he can also read hieroglyphs with ease.

Again, Sébastien is a weird kid.

When Sébastien is around say, nine or so, he catches seven year-old orphan Nicky in the parlor of his and his parent’s grand house breaking in and trying to steal things. His parents are out of town on yet another dig, so Sébastien’s randomly wandering around the house by himself. Instead of panicking, Sébastien just invites spooked Nicky to kitchen for tea and sandwiches out of the sheer delight of having another child to talk to. Thoroughly used to Sébastien and his soft spot for strays, the kitchen staff sits the two boys in the corner and lets Nicky wolf down whatever he wants. Nicky eventually leaves after Sébastien swears he won’t tell his parents about the stealing. But only if Nicky promises to come back tomorrow to hang out with Booker.

Nicky actually shows up the next day. Mostly due to the promise of food. While he thinks Sébastien is clearly odd, he also realizes he’s just as lonely as he is (after all, street kid orphan Nicky hasn’t survived this long on his own without being able to see people for what they truly are). But whereas Nicky is aggressive with acting out due to his abandonment issues, Sébastien tends to implode on himself due to his own parental abandonment issues. Basically, they balance each other out. 

Three weeks later, Sébastien’s parents come back from their latest dig down in Alexandria. They find Sébastien playing with this street kid out on the extensive grounds of their estate. Shocked at seeing their usually quiet and withdrawn son having a blast with this Italian ragamuffin of a child, due to being the impulsive types, Booker’s parents decide to adopt Nicky. So Sébastien gains a new brother. No matter that they’re not related by blood, Nicky is his brother.

Since Sébastien loves to read, he enjoys reading out loud to Nicky (who is nearly illiterate since he’s an orphan who never had formal education before being adopted). While Sébastien and Nicky have their own rooms at their parents’ estate, Nicky will often sneak into Sébastien’s room at night so that his older brother can read to him. Their nanny usually finds the two boys asleep together with a book sitting between them. Sébastien also helps Nicky learn to read far better than their tutor does. Mostly because Sébastien is so patient with his new little brother.

It’s because of this that Nicky comes up with the affectionate nickname of “Booker” for his new big brother.

Booker graduates from boarding school and attends The Sorbonne back in Paris. While he misses Nicky something fierce, everything will work itself out because he’ll be graduating from The Sorbonne at the same time Nicky will be finishing boarding school. That way, they both be archeologists together and follow in their parents’ footsteps. Booker plans to focus on the research side of things from either libraries or teaching. Nicky plans to actually go on digs and bring back things for Booker to study and catalogue.

Booker does eventually get sent off to British style boarding school in Cairo, as is expected of a wealthy child of his class. A couple of years later, Nicky is sent off to the same boarding school.

Nicky's always getting into fights. Mostly due to the other kids bullying him for his accent, heritage and defending Booker against bullies too. The only reason Nicky doesn’t’ get kicked out is because Booker is able to charm the teachers into looking the other way (remember, he was around mostly adults before he started attending school) when it comes to punishing Nicky. Also, their parents donate a ton of money to the school.

Except the Great War breaks out the same year Nicky graduates from boarding school. He signs up with his school chums for “a great adventure,” like all of the other young men of means did in the opening days of the war. 

However, Booker refuses to come along. He’s studied history all of his life and intellectually knows how terrible war can be. As far as he’s concerned, the war is stupid. People are going to get themselves killed over all of these royal families of Europe who refuse to apologize to each other over the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. He’s certainly not throwing his life away to get shot at, thank you very much. Besides, he didn’t grow up with much in the way of friends or camaraderie among the other boys while he was away at school. So he doesn’t feel like he’s going to miss out on anything. 

Nicky thinks Booker is a coward who has no appreciation for a right proper great adventure. Booker thinks Nicky is a headstrong fool who doesn’t value the opportunities their parents have given them. They part ways on bad terms. 

Booker eventually relents and writes to Nicky whenever he can. However, he never hears from his little brother. The only way he knows Nicky is alive is through their parents, who Nicky constantly writes to in Cairo. At the same time, Booker doesn’t  return to Cairo because it would remind him too much of how much he misses his brother. So he throws himself into his work at the Egyptian Antiquities department of the Louvre. He also tries to ignore the raging war moving closer and closer to Paris.

Wars come and go, antiquities do not.

Except Nicky suddenly goes missing during the Battle of Verdun.

Still in Paris, Booker is dealing with his side of suffering through the war as a civilian. He suddenly gets frantic word from his parents (who still live in Cairo) that Nicky is MIA. The panic immediately starts to set in. He regrets that he didn’t do more to communicate with his little brother while he was away at war. To assuage his guilt, he goes down to the war office every single day to find out where the hell Nicky is.

After a few frantic weeks, Nicky turns up alive but injured. As a result, he’s evacuated to a Parisian hospital. Booker takes a sabbatical at the Louvre to attend to his beloved brother there. Nicky almost dies of an infection but pulls through. Too weak to go back to fighting, Nicky is honorably discharged and goes to live with Booker to convalesce.

Nicky’s not the same vivacious, passionate young man he was before the war. He’s the only one of a handful of his unit to survive both death and not losing a limb or having parts of his face blown off. So there’s the survivor’s guilt. He constantly has nightmares about his time on the front and in No Man’s Land where he wakes up screaming. Bouts of rage and grief hit him without warning.

In order to deal with the crushing swirl of ugliness that’s festering within him, Nicky starts spiraling. He starts heavily drinking. He skips meals. He starts hitting up gambling dens and whorehouses that can make your every wish come true in Paris.

Booker has no idea how to cope with it all. So he once again throws himself into his work. He feels disgusted with himself for silently judging his brother’s actions all while he absolutely has no clue how to deal with his own guilt of not being by Nicky’s side during the war. Perhaps it would have been better to have died together than exist in the sea of darkness they are trapped within now.

Within two years, the war is over. Everyone celebrates only to see the rise of the Spanish Flu Pandemic. It ends up killing Booker and Nicky’s parents, who die within days of each other back in Cairo. 

Now, Booker and Nicky are alone in the world and with only each other to depend on. Wanting to escape all the pain they’ve seen in Paris, they head back to Cairo to put their parents’ estate in order. Since their parents split their inheritance evenly between them, they’ve inherited a hell of a lot of money. At the same time, money doesn’t fix their psychological problems.

Yet while they both have a difficult time dealing with their parents’ death and each other’s war trauma? It turns over a new milestone for them. For it allows Booker and Nicky to make their peace with each other since they're the only ones left of their family. They vow that they’ll try to go back to their dream of working together as an archeologist team.

Unfortunately, it never happens. Nicky is still dealing with the PTSD and acting out. Booker tries to manage his  brother’s psychological issues and balance his work at the Cairo Museum. Problem is, it’s a job he knows he only managed to secure out of pity since their parents were the largest donors to the museum. The nepotism stings and makes Booker feel inadequate. All despite that he's a damn good researcher and brilliant at languages and hieroglyphics.

Booker once again throws himself into his work at the museum. He has no social life, rarely goes out for fun and no relationship lasts for more than a few months at a time. For he’s grieving his parents and the shell of a man Nicky has become. Meanwhile, Nicky drinks, gambles and whores his way through Egypt in between digs with folks no better than grave robbers. But he always comes back home to stay with Booker in the nice house they own together.

Booker is always there for Nicky and vice versa. No matter how hard it gets for both of them to deal with the losses in their lives, they are and will always be brothers to the end.

And then one day, Nicky finds Booker in the Cairo museum after he’s been rejected by the Benbridge Scholars yet again. All after Booker’s ruined the library and knocked over all the bookshelves after he nearly killed himself trying to get off that damn ladder while filing away books.

Nicky reveals to Booker an odd little box that he found on a dig down in Thebes. Turns out the box contains a map to the lost city of Hamunaptra…

[cubeswhump]

Will Not be a Victim for my character, Blondie.

The neglected Blondie. I need to get back to my Powers Verse too. And the immortal bitches. I have a Sweetie and Michelle story drafted though.

Warnings for mentions of violence, referenced torture, bit of ableism. Pretty tame compared to what I usually write.

The phone rang from her nightstand, and again, and again. Then it started pinging with texts: Terry-Ellen has spoken to me but my own daughter won’t answer her phone.

I’ll be arriving at your house at 6PM.

Blondiw growled and dialled the number. The phone rang only twice before the deep voice came on the other line: “Oh, so you’ve decided to stop ignoring me?”

“Fucking hell, Dad. I’m twenty-three,” Blondie reminded him. “Chill.’

"Language, Melinda,” he scolded lightly. “I don’t care of you’re eighty-three. You’re still my daughter and we just got you back. I need to be sure that you’re okay.”

"I'm fine, Dad."

"Are you really?"

Blondie pinched the bridge of her nose. Don't call him a nosy twat, don't call your dad a nosy twat. She breathed out. "You hired a fucking bodyguard for me. "That's humiliating enough, and now you're prying into my life like I'm a child."

"Language. Good lord, you take after your mother," he sighed. "Who are you embarrassed in front of? You haven't left your house in more than two weeks." His voice was so even and annoyingly calm. Blondie swallowed back the snarl crawling up her throat. "Is it really prying to be concerned about my daughter? I just want to know that you're okay. I haven't seen you since-"

"Okay, okay, I'll stop by tomorrow. No need to stop by." She knew her father would have some words if she saw the state her house was in. Tej wasn't hired to clean after the slob, and no one had patched up the hole Blondie punched in the living room.

"Are you sure? If I come over you can stay home and rest," he offered.

"You just got on my ass for staying in my house!"

"You know that is not what happened, Melinda."

"I'll be there at eleven in the morning, okay?"

"I'll expect you by twelve."

Blondie huffed and hung up as he chuckled.

***

Tej was prodding her. "Get up. We've gotta go soon."

Blondie lifted her head abd ahot rhe other wonan a glare. "There's no we. You're staying home."

"You know that's not how it works," she said, unfazed. "I'll make you coffee."

"Don't." Blondie pyr one foot on the floor and grabbed one crutch. The other must have fallen over at some point in the night, and Blondie whacked Tej with the crutch in her hand when the thin woman tried to help her retrieve the fallen one. "Scram, bitch."

"Very nice, " Tej said sarcastically, handing her the crutch anyway. She caught the crutch Blondie swung at her. "Have you ever considered treating the help like people?"

"Go on, call me a bitch. There's nothing in your contract that says you can't insult me, yeah?"

"I'll leave you to get dreased," Tej said dryly. "Your hair looks nice. Did you wash it?"

She shut the door behind her just in time for the television remote to crash into the wood.

Blondie had only worn bath robes and undergarments for the last few weeks and she hadn't gotten to modifying any pants to her new body. Skirts? No, fighting in a skirt wasn't a great idea - if she needed to fight. Fights were always possible.

Shorts. A pair of shorts, one sock, one combat boot. The left bood sat all alone and sad. She kicked it over. Hair in a bun.

"Your coffee, Blondie." Tej shoved the steaming mug right in her face while Blondie was trying to sneak out the front door.

"I told you not to make me coffee," Blondie grumbled.

"Coconut creamer and one Sweet-N-Low," Tej tempted her, voice sing-song.

"I'm getting coffee on the way to my dad's, shithead." And she was out tje door, slamming it behind her - or trying to. Tej caught it just before it closed and slipped out after her.

"Want me to drive? You can relax," Tej offered, reaching for the keyring in Blondie's hand. Blondie jerked it away.

"I'll relax when you're dead. It's my fucking car."

"Cool, cool."

Tej was in the passenger's seat before Blondie had even opened her door so she couldn't even lock her out. Tej smiled at her knowingly. Blondie gripped the steering wheel sp hard her fingers turned white.

Tej tried to make conversation throughout the drive and Blondie turned the volume up a few notches every time she opened her mouth. After a million years, she pulled up in front of the coffee shop.

"I'll get you an iced mocha cappuccino," Blondie said as she got out of the car. Tej was stepping out too.

"Nah, I wanna look at the menu," she replied. Blondie squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her teeth, reciting the "calming phrases" from her counseling sessions as a teenager.

When was this place ever this busy? Blondie sighed as she joined the line, Tej at her side. "You know, you're paying for your own shit."

"That's fair," Tej shrugged. "Your daddy pays me weekly."

Blondie sneered at her.

The line inched forward. A woman and her child joined. Seriously, did the entire fucking town want coffee right now?

"Wow..." the woman said, her voice hushed. "What happened?"

Blondie didn't realize the woman was talking to her until she felt a tap on her shoulder.she turned around, finding the woman's wide eyes on her still-bandaged stump. The little girl stared too, reaching for Blondie's crutch. Blondie jerked it away from her sticky hand and scowled, but neither noticed.

"What happened?" the woman asled again. "Why don't you get a prosthetic leg?"

"I pesteres someone with intrusive questions and she pulled out a machete," Blondie snapped. The woman recoiled.

"Ma'am, you're being very insensitive, and you should teach your child not to touch anyone's mobility aids." Tej launched right into a lecture. "Please treat my friend as you would treat-"

Blondie's temper boiled over. She raised one crutch and bashed it into the woman's knee. Tej's hand clamped over her own mouth as the woman fell over with a screech, dragging her daughter down with her.

"Oops. My bad." Blondie turned her back on the pair.

"Did you see that?" the woman cried as she got back to her feet. The cashier looked over from the customer he was dealing with, frowning.

"I'll be out fast," Blondie promised the cashier. "No trouble."

They walked out with their coffees and gluten-filled breakfast, Blondie's coffee spouting steam that smelled of coconut... Something she could have gotten at home. Tej predictably got a mocha cappuccino.

"I mean," Tej finally said during their resumed drive, mouth full of bagel, "not that I blame you much, but public battery isn't a food luck."

Blondie turned the radio up higher.

The guard let them into the gated, cookie cutter community. Towering houses were identical, painted a cream not a shade lighter or darker than the house nextdoor. Perfect gardens, no blade of grass even a centimeter overgrown. One house had flowers a different shade of pink than the rest. Blondie might have struggled to differentiate the houses if Chase weren't waving frantically at the end of one driveway.

"Melinda, love, how are you?" The large man was coming at her with open arms as she stepped out of the car. She was too slow thinking of an excuse to get out of hugging her stepdad, and he squeezed her tight.

"Peachy," she told him.

He hugged Tej too before letting both women into the house. He was talking a mile a minute and Blondie let Tej handle the conversation.

"I see you brought beverages. No tea then?" he asked. Blondie shook her head. "Oliver's in his study."

"Tell him hi for me," Tej chirped, and Blondie decided she would not do that. She hurried away when the other two started discussing how much they lift at the gym.

115 pounds? Unimpressive, Tej.

She didn't bother knocking on the mahogany door, throwing it right open. "Yo."

Oliver swiveled around in his chair like a James Bond villain. He even looked the part with his coiffed grey hair and serious expression. "Good morning, Melinda. You were almost on time. Have a seat."

"Nice to see you too," Blondie said sarcastically, falling back ontp the plump sofa.

"Oh, no, you're covered in crumbs! Why didn't you brush yourself off outside?"

"Just vacuum later. I had a muffin."

Oliver sighed, turning back to his laptop. "Depending on your recovery time, we'll get you fitted for prosthesis." He flicked through images. Some were very realistic and even matching her skin color, others clunky and robotic, some abstract and hardly resembling a limb. "We should find a design that fits your activity level, preferably a more realistic one. No one has to know. At that point we'll get you to that physical therapist I've been talking to, and-"

"Whoa, hold on a minure. Don't I get a say?" Blondie snapped. "And who said I want a realiatic one? Maybe I don't want to pretend I'm fucking normal."

"Whatever you want, darling. But I'm not going to let you hold yourself back."

"You tell me to take it easy abd slow down and then you get on my ass for being behind the curve. The fuck is that?"

Oliver sighed. He turned back tp his daughter, choosing his next words carefully. "I know how much you enjoy your hobbies. I think it'll be better for your mental health if you get back into dance and martial arts soon."

Back into dance. She was already the largest girl in the studio, dwarfing the tiny instructor even when she was twelve. Skilled as she was, she never had a ballerina's body and her instructor's main complaints were her thundering footsteps and "unladylike gait". Well, at least pointe shoes wouldn't hurt a prosthetic leg.

"It's my body and my life," Blondie reminded him.

"And it's my money that pqid your medical bills," he shot back. She rolled her eyes. "Melinda, you know I just want what's best for you. I want to help you. I need to help you."

"Help yourself first," Blondie snarled. "How's your boytoy?"

"I've been married to Chase since you were eight. Stop calling him my boytoy," Oliver sighed. Any other time, Blondie might have laughed at how annoyed her dad got when she mocked his husband. "And fifteen years isn't such a significant age difference when you're out of your twenties."

"He's a gold-digger."

"He's well worth what he costs, and he loves you like his own daughter. Come on, stop changing the subject. You mean so much to me. You were the victim of such a-"

"I'm not a victim," she hissed, leaning forward in her seat. Her eyes narrowed. "If anyone's a victim, it's that bitch Camilla. You know, queen of the cabbage patch."

Oliver's eyebrows knit together. "Cabbage patch?"

"Because she's a vegetable," Blondie said, and her father sighed heavily.

"I'm not denying that she's a bad person, but you don't need to be discriminatory. Other, much nicer people live with brain damage."

"Dad, shut the fuck up and listen to me," Blondie demanded. "I fought my way out. I'm not a victim!"

"Yes, yes, you're a survivor," he said in a voice like he was placating a toddler.

"No, I'm Melinda fucking Van Doren."

He lifted his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Before anything, you're my daughter and I want what's best for you."

"I actually know what's best for me because I am me."

"I'm your father. I know you pretty damn well."

"Yeah, okay. I'll keep in tough." Blondie started to stand, but Oliver held a hand up.

"Stay for lunch. Samantha made two extra plates."

It still weirded her out that her father had a cook. Her mother missed having servants after the divorce, but Blondie tried her best to keep her home free of employees. And she got stuck with Tej, the most intrusive Van Doren employee.

Chase brought two plates of chicken parmesan to the damn study.

"Workaholic," he said and rolled his eyes, kissing Oliver on the cheek. Blondie rolled her eyes. "Well, I've been having a lovely chat with Miss Tej while you two have been bonding."

Bonding. Sure.

Blondie stabbed into her chicken. She imagined it was the Queen - no, Camilla - that she was stabbing over and over, making sure she never recovered. Because she wasn't the Queen's victim.

She was Melinda "Blondie" Van Doren. She was a fucking hero and people would know that soon.

[curuniel]

Oooh, I'm always interested to learn more about your characters! I (Pebbi) + 3 (Elder Dragons)

This is sort of sideways from the dragons themselves, but I wanted to write some of Pebbi’s job so here you go.

The magister had said that the door they’d reached should be openable from the inside. That seemed like a silly feature for a tomb, to Pebbi, but the scholars were having no luck in deciphering the text that might indicate how the door was supposed to be opened. They had reached a familiar, louder stage of scholarly argument after which nothing got done until someone’s inky honour was appeased, and so Magister Thyra had instructed Pebbi to see if she could find a way around.

The natural tunnel she’d found was cramped, but Pebbi didn’t mind enclosed spaces. She was an asura. Underground was where they most belonged - even if Pebbi herself had lived her life mostly on the surface, and higher up than most besides. The point remained that squeezing through a rock crevice until earth surrounded her on all sides with nothing but a faintly glowing blue crystal on her belt for light was not something that bothered her in the slightest.

At least, it wasn’t until she heard a scrabbling on stones behind her.

Pebbi froze. There was a long, tense silence and then she heard the sound again, closer. There was no room in the tunnel to turn around; the best she could do was crane her neck turn wide, yellow eyes behind her and prepare to put on what speed she could.

A dark, pointed limb poked through a clod of earth which disintegrated as something pushed up and forward. Just a second later its body came into view and Pebbi’s entire body tensed. The crab-like thing was lit from within by a dripping glob of fiery substance: a destroyer. A small one, but everyone who’d ever poked around in the caves of Tyria knew there was never just one.

She had weapons… but no room to draw them, let alone wield them. Her only option, realistically, was to -

The destroyer shot forward with a sudden burst of speed and Pebbi yelped, the meticulously cleaned claws of her hands digging instinctively into the dirt to help propel her forward as much as she could manage. Down here she was actually too big to have the advantage and unless she could make it to a more open space, all the thing would have to do was drip its own lava-goop on her long enough to - it may, she realised with a frantic kick that connected with something, already be melting through a boot.

Panic drove her forward a ways, but she’d been in enough scrapes to know that panic didn’t help anything apart from adrenalin production. She resisted the temptation to keep looking back and focused on the way ahead of her. Was there - yes, a shift in the light that her eyes could pick up. It promised a wider cavern space to come. Or if not promised, teased; tantalizingly hinted at. If she could just make it to…

The hopeful thought was interrupted by a sudden judder, and Pebbi followed her yelp this time with a string of curses. Dust and dirt rained down as the earth seemed to move of its own accord, and from behind her a sudden nauseating heat washed forward. Pebbi dug her claws in again and scrambled forward towards any possible room to manoeuvre, not needing to look behind her to know what was happening.

With a triumphant “HA!” she broke out into a wider space and staggered forward a few steps, drawing in a deep breath of stale air before turning to face the new arrival. Even as she took in the much larger destroyer that was battering its way free of the cramped tunnel, she was pulling out her heavy staff. A reek of sulfur made the underground cavern feel suffocating, and if asura were naturally acclimatised to underground environments they were just as naturally afraid of bad air. Pebbi’s eyes darted around her new environment, looking for options, but there weren’t a lot. The smart thing to do was to run, but anywhere she could run from here might be a dead end which would end in a dead asura very quickly.

The ground shook again and stones rattled free from the cavern walls as the large destroyer yanked itself free of the gap it had been wedged in. All at once Pebbi found her fear turning to blazing, involuntary anger. This thing was a splinter of Primordus - the dragon that had driven the asura to the surface, out of their cities and their homes before Pebbi was born. This thing was the reason she spent most of her time exploring human ruins, why more survived to be studied from the jotun than from the history of the asura. Wonders without measure, lost because a stupid dragon didn’t care what it destroyed in its path… well, there was no way she was going to let herself be another buried bit of collateral damage.

Pebbi’s short claws dug in tighter around her staff, and before the destroyer was fully free to move she yelled wildly and jumped in to hit it with as much force as she could muster.

It didn’t do much, of course; the thing was made of rock and magma, but blunt force was still one of the better options for fighting the things. She let its defending limbs bounce her back and threw herself in again from a different angle, struggling not to get caught in the ever-dribbling liquid fire that was its underside. Once she had to use a hand to spring away, and hissed as the exposed skin of her fingers blistered instantly. The destroyer slammed its stone limbs down at her, trying to pin or crush her. Pebbi desperately ducked and weaved to avoid it, always moving and knowing she’d be dead if she stopped.

There was a sudden movement sideways, stones rattling down again as Pebbi frantically changed course at the last second to avoid running into searing hot destroyer leg. A clod of earth almost fell on her and she hopped back, only to have her eye drawn up to where it had fallen. It took her a precious second or two to realise why, which almost got her a glob of lava in the face, but then she broke into a wild grin as she ducked backwards.

Above her was a patch of smooth stone. Worked stone, like the ruins that must be above her. She just had to figure out how to get from here into there.

A change of tactics. Pebbi kept up her movement but turned the attentions of her staff above her, striking upwards to dislodge more dirt and expose more stone. The destroyer kept doing its best to fry her and it required considerable attention to both avoid it and test the ceiling. After a few more desperate whacks, though, she felt her staff stab through to open space and spared precious breath to yell “HA!” in response - and then fling herself ungracefully out of the way of a smaller destroyer that had crawled over its fellow to join them in the cavern.

She had enough boot-sole left, she hoped, to manage the next part even if her toes were left as blistered as her fingers. Slipping her staff into its bindings Pebbi ran the maths quickly, glancing at available angles, and the grinned. She set one foot to the wall behind her and pushed off - quick steps to the other wall - two steps up and then a leap with all the force she could muster - her feet hit the upper shell of the destroyer and she smelled burning, felt the sting, and just jumped as hard as she could.

There were a few moments of airborne terror, and then Pebbi’s fingers grasped the edge of a paving stone above her. She willed her arms to bear her weight and on sheer determination hauled herself up into the comparatively cool corridor above, collapsing on the other side to pant in exhilaration.

There was a thump below that jolted her back to alertness, but the destroyer was still below and had not managed to reach into her new crawlspace.

“HA!” she yelled down at it, leaning over the edge. “Excelsior, you carbonic scrap heap! Why don’t you -”

A hot breath of stinking air gave her a second’s warning, and Pebbi shoved back from the edge as one of the small destroyers that were now swarming around the big one’s ‘feet’ leapt up at her face. “Argh!” she said, and instinctively kicked at it, only to yank her sore foot back upon realising the stupidity of that instinct the hard way. A few tugs to get her staff free again and she swept the crabling down, but more were crowding to try the same thing and the big one still seemed intent on following.

Pebbi gulped. Desperate times called for desperate measures. Though she still had to take a moment to convince herself she was desperate enough to try one of Zhammi’s “gifts”.

From a heavily padded pouch she drew out a small object, smooth and silvery with a row of glowing lights in different colours and two switches on its rim. Pebbi hit one switch and an orange light swelled eagerly.“I hope this thing has your damn luck,” she muttered, and looked behind her. An open passage; no saying where it lead, but she was out of time to hedge her bets.

She pulled back her arm, flicked the second switch, hurled the disc down amidst the destroyers, and sprinted into the darkness with everything she could muster.

Behind her she heard an ominous beep, and then the explosion. There was always an explosion with Zhammi’s toys, though at least in this case it was intended. Pebbi wasn’t sticking around to see any side effects. Her legs weren’t made for running, but she ran as hard as she could as parts of the floor collapsed behind her and closed in on the cavern below.

She would have to thank Zhammi for that one. Or, no, she’d be insufferable. She’d have to tell Zhammi her invention ‘had worked adequately’.

———–

Ten minutes later the door within the tomb opened of its own accord, interrupting a now strident argument between a small sylvari scholar and his charr colleague. They gaped as the stone swung slowly open to reveal Pebbi. One boot was without a sole entirely, her clothes smoked, her hair was unevenly singed and blown out of its ties on one side, and only those who knew her best would be able to tell the difference between her natural skin pigments and the patches of dirt and soot smeared all over her.

As the door crunched into its new position, at what she deemed the most dramatically appropriate moment, Pebbi tossed a silver goblet she’d found down into the corridor.

“Well,” she said in the most casually scathing tones she could manage, “it’s not third century.”

And she walked past the gobsmacked scholars, allowing herself a satisfied smile only once none of them could see her face.