#i only work with kids occasionally but its so nice. i really think more people should value intergenerational interactions.

[the-official-account]

I hate working but I actually really do love working with kids. Like how dare you interrupt my (barely kept) internal stream of complaints to very politely say "I've never been here before and I'm kind of scared can you help me?" Like of-fucking-course I'll help you!!!! and I'll heal a discombobulated little part of myself too while I'm at it or whatever. Damn

[lamnwar]

Hello! Very specific request. I have a job at a Themepark, basically I work as a Disney princess there (aurora). Its for children to sort of meet their Disney role models, favorite prince/princess. I read them stories, take pictures with them, etc. Could you sort of do a headcanon-esque scenario of how the gom will react to a partner with such a job? Maybe how some of them will be mildly jealous of the assigned prince? This was so embarrasing to type out omg if your uncomfortable with any part of the request/dont wanna do this lmk! No pressure, whatsoever. Love you, stay safe!

Hiiii thanks for the request! 💕 It was such a fun one to write and omggg you gotta be extra pretty to be working as a irl disney princess 😭

SHE'S A PRINCESS // KNB Headcanons

Context: in which you work as a theme park princess and your boyfriend feels some type of way about it

Pairing: GOM x gn! Reader (gender not specified

Warning: fluff, nothing too serious, slightly suggestive but safe for all audiences!

AKASHI

I don't think Akashi really went to theme parks as a kid so he's probably a bit surprised to know that playing a princess there is an actual job

Literally stunned the first time he sees you in costume like, his girl is just so pretty!!!

Would come on regular visit just to see you because my man is obsessed with how gorgeous you are and how well you play the role

The way you show so much grace and you are so nice to all the people that come to you

Would be the kind to take pictures of the public with you because he absolutely gets it, you are a princess

Talking of which, "princess" progressively becomes a new nickname he uses for you

He doesn't mind that you work with another guy as your assigned prince, but if dude tries to make a pass at you, he's as good as dead 💀

Smiles softly as he looks at children coming to you thinking you're the real character

And the way you're just so sweet with these kids aaaahh! my man just falls in love even more from seeing that

MIDORIMA

To Midorima, a job's a job, so he doesn't think much of it

He took some time before visiting you at the park and actually seeing you in costume

This DEFINITELY awakens something in him, trust me

Would obviously not admit to it but he really falls even more when he sees you in your princess get-up

He would occasionally visit you, but to make sure you're doing ok and is not too exhausted

He's such a meticulous guy that he'll sometimes help you out with your costume

Got a crease on your dress? he's on it already! Need someone to curl your hair at the back? he's your man

Not even surprised by the little kids who are convinced that you are a true princess, because you absolutely look the part

But sometimes these kids would get a bit sneaky and ask you if you really love the prince

It's hard to answer that question when you know that your boyfriend is nearby and he can hear you well

But you'll just look at Shintaro while you say "yes, I do love my prince" because thinking of him is the only way you can express genuine love

KISE

That guy could easily steal your job, let's be real

I mean he's just that pretty!! no offense to you but it's just the truth

When he comes and sees you at the park, you better believe people mistake him for a prince

And when they see the both of you together? Yeah, you might as well be a real royal couple

He's your best hype man too, goes around telling everyone that you have to be the best princess of the whole theme park

Doesn't mind the guy who works with you as your assigned prince, since he knows very well that he has nothing on Kise

I mean... he really can't compete

But he might a bit pouty when you play your role a bit too well, acting lovey-dovey with your prince for the public

He gets reassured when you come to him later and give him a kiss on the cheek

Not sure if it's allowed for you to break character like that, but it really doesn't matter if it's for Kise 🤭

AOMINE

Aomine kinda makes fun of your at first when you tell him that your job is to be a (fake) princess

But he's quick to shut his mouth the first time he sees you

Like... damn, that just unlocked a new kink

You're so damn beautiful he goes mad

Obsessed with princess! you

Has beef with a 6 yo once because that kid was looking at you for a bit too long for his taste

It's kinda funny because he's being ridiculous, but still

At first, very much against you having to work with another dude, especially when you have to play pretend a couple

But it doesn't last long because you told him once you're only his and it's enough to switch his mind

Now he brags to these kids that you're actually his

"See that gorgeous princess? Yeah she's in love with me"

"But what about the prince?"

"She loves me more than the prince"

A big PR disaster for the park, btw, but he couldn't care less

The most beautiful princess in the park is his, and he'll never lie about it

MURASAKIBARA

Very intrigued by that job of yours

What do you mean, you get paid to be a princess?

Honestly looking at him, you're confident he can book a job as a pretend royal

His physique is very prince-like, can't say that much about his personality

Anyways!

Comes to the park often so he gets to see you + eat nice snacks!!

Buys you food too when he's here, so you do not starve

Nods in agreement every time a kid points at you all impressed

"Yeah, she's indeed the prettiest"

Plays the game and tells people that you *are* a real princess

Weirdly enough, he gets hungry seeing you in costume

I mean that puffy pastel dress? Girl, you look like a pastry

Doesn't really like you working with a prince

He just doesn't get it! Like, what do you need a prince for? People like the princess more anyway

Even when you tell him it's part of the act, he's pouty about it

It's cute though, in its own way!

[sugar-omi]

If you are interested, can you plz share how you see the Our Life (1+2) characters as DnD classes and races included? 😆⚔️🍃🏹

Im craving Our Life with some medieval whimsical vibes, Baxter dancing with swords, Derek singing with bar goers while MC goes pickpocketing the villains, Cove as a MERMAN living his life like Ariel. So many wonderful thoughts wanted to share ✨️✨️✨️

okay this took so long bc i know nothing abt DnD so i did a bit of research!!! my friends have talked abt DnD and i never understood but knew it was smth cool n involved alot of creativity, but now i just think this is sm cooler <33 anyway im not creative at all rn so im referencing everything from this website im using👍

tags : Fluff, 'Dungeon and Dragons' headcanons + drabbles, cove is the only one w hc's for if you're dating (+ qiu kinda?) i couldn't think of dating hc's for everyone else in this world as well but you could imagine some of the hc's that way

synopsis : DnD races and classes of ol:nf & ol:ba characters.

qiu:

okay I couldn't decide but qiu is half-elven.

(his dad is so whipped for his elf wife<3<3<3)

i can't really think about what class he'd be in, but i think i could see him as a bard

he's the laziest bard though 💀 and thus is mostly a wanderer.

qiu will wait until they're on their last coin and then will go perform

would perform a very good show while MC pickpockets the assholes that were disturbing the bar just a moment ago

otherwise, he just performs for you and his friends.

they'll have/be at a party with all their friends, and will perform some type of magic trick to entertain everyone

qiu will sing you little songs, read you poetry he wrote while watching you sleep that morning<3

for any important dates like birthdays, or anniversary (if you're dating), etc., they'll do a cool magic trick and perform a elven dance that he learned from his mom

tama:

human! BUT. she's a druid

she loves the forest, the forest loves her

maybe a bit of sorcery as well? idk how this works lol

she has a little house in the woods omg

goes foraging and learns lots of sorcery stuff from ren

will show you how to cast cool spells

also you're the first person she comes to show you any new spells she learns!!

you two beat up any bandits/criminals you come across

renee (/darren):

human and like i mentioned in tama's, is a sorcerer

!!! wants to be like her mom in canon right?

i think she's a teacher n teaches young sorcerers/wizards

baxter:

isnt baxter special. just crossovering worlds 💀💀

anyway.. he's an elf! is also rogue...

bringing baxter's issues/trauma into this DnD au as well <3

you find it very weird that a elf is on his own, but ignore it ofc and befriend baxter anyway

after much warming of baxter's cold heart, i imagine he settles in some civilian town or nearby and opens a bar!!

and every night its full with laughter and good music, and occasionally he'll come out from behind the bar

(honestly, he's mostly just cleaning the glasses and looking pretty <3)

and he'll pull you or one of your friends into a dance

omg imagine its not just a bar, its also a bed & breakfast

of course he's decent enough at cooking, so every morning he lays out a nice breakfast for his customers

derek:

knew this was derek insantly!!! he's half-orc

orcs dont have horns, do they.... well they do now

(realizing he's more Oni than anything in my head...)

anyway i need you to imagine arataki itto and if u don't know who that is Please find the beefiest fanart of him n thats derek LOL

derek grinning with his fangs and he's like 7 feet tall and buff, covered in scars.... yessir <33

i imagine he's a wanderer, but before that he was a cleric.

derek always helps people, he's very reliable but i imagine he's tired and somehow ends up working for baxter!

he's chef during the day and security at night!!!

no fighting in baxter's bar/diner unless you want a ass-ful of derek's boot <3

i also imagine when he's not running the place with baxter, he's helping the towns folk

the kids love him

they make flower crowns and run to the bar/diner to give them to derek <3333

ofc there's that one shy kid who offers one to baxter! bc they think he's really cool!!!

cove:

like you said he's a merman!!!

mmm, but i also imagine he can shapeshift into a "human"

(this is some ariel shit isnt it LMAO)

(also im imagining mer!cliff x human!kyra. mmm, i wonder if she'd be a bard? or maybe a healer, cleric maybe? why do i wanna write a whole fic on this now....)

although i imagine he needs to stay hydrated to stay on land like that. so please remind him to drink water when you're out n about otherwise he'll turn back into a fish in the middle of the market LOL

(you've learned this the hard way

!!! imagine if there's some way for you to come into the sea as well, be it a air bubble or potion of some sort and you have lil underwater adventures/dates n cove shows you all kinds of cool things <3333

he brings you lots of pretty things

if you like jewelry, he has his dad help him string up some pearls into a necklace or bracelet. or even better an anklet

+ if you're dating/crushing on each other

he'll do his little mermaid mating and courting rituals

like bringing you food

(will show up on your doorstep in the middle of the night w a big fish he caught or some breakfast derek smuggled him (cove doesn't keep many coins since mer-currency is more like sand-dollars or smth like coins made out of ore only found in the sea. the ore is good for nothing else than to be coins LOL))

OH MY GOD HE CAN CHIRP N SHIT

will chirp n shrill and do other cute mer sounds that you don't really know what they mean sometimes

COVE: *watching you dreamily* MC: *flustered from the staring* what?... COVE: *flirtatious chirp*

[princess-of-the-corner]

So, more serious musings on Aware Lila.

I tend to gloss over post Season 3 stuff due to not really watching it extensively or at all and not liking what I heard though I will borrow bits and pieces from time to time.

With that in mind, Lila is where she's at in season 1 to 3.

IE, she has one mother, a Madame Rossi who is an Italian Diplomat recently moved to France. She is a woman who is evidently either profoundly gullible or profoundly checked out when it comes to parenting. Given Lila was able to stay home for six months based on a lie, despite efforts by the school to reach her.

Given her line of work I am going to say its the second one, as I know some people who work in the diplomat cores and unless you are a major nepotism hire, you are fucked if you aren't at least decent at your job and being easy to lie to will fuck you over.

With that reference point of RL in mind too I have a fun observation.

Its been noted to me that children of diplomats tend to come up a bit oddly. An anecdote I was told involved a six year old clicking their fingers for a wait, doing the finger swirl and casually ordering a round of drinks for their table of other children.

The main take away is that diplomat kids tend to be expected to or by dint of circumstances, start acting like mini adults.

This works well for Lila cos she is rather like Chloe in that both come off as presenting as older than they are in terms of fashion and manner and the like. Not totally, but of all the class they feel the least "Childlike" upon a quick glance.

Moving on from that, we know Lila lies a lot and wants people to admire her and she's convincing enough that she can usually get away with it for long enough periods of time that her mothers never noticed.

She's also prone to intense reactions that dwarf even Chloe's most bitter grudge holding given she spent six months locked in her room faking being in Achu. Even when it was clear the class still bought her deceptions she didn't go back.

I will note some of this could be tied to Hawk Moth as Nathalie did note they'd apparently been keeping an eye on or perhaps handling her in that interim. Still, girl has a temper and grudges and clearly doesn't see her mother as someone to confide in.

With all this in mind, here's what I think her situation is:

Her mother is a diplomat, and a fairly high ranked one. Enough so that Lila actually can occasionally get pictures with notable figures at events, which helps sell her lies.

This means she is an intensely busy person and they never stay anywhere for more than a few years. Meaning Lila's never really had a chance to put down roots that didn't get ripped out & her mother doesn't prioritize her needs.

Madame Rossi also expected Lila to be able to be 'mature' beyond her years when meeting others, dealing with her not being home and to otherwise get along well with others and not cause her problems.

I imagine she's very much one of those, "I work hard for you. Look at all the nice things you own because I work hard. Is it so difficult for you to just not complain, just not cause trouble?"

IE, neglectful, has high-ish expectations but only in the sense that Lila not make waves and if so barely checking in on her and prone to emotional manipulation like guilting or shaming.

So yeah, Lila' definitely abused. She's very much a latch key kid, but one who was chastized for being a kid and wasn't able to form long lasting connections to support her in place of a family.

To compensate for the utter dearth of affection and lacking sense of home and identity, she sought the approval of others but only in the most superficial sense. This means her mother won't complain, and she won't get attached, while still getting a form of positive affirmation.

If thing start to get hard, she will lie, neg, shame and guilt others to keep the con going. Because that's how her mother kept her pliant for as long as she did until Lila just stopped viewing her as anything other than another person to lie to to get what she wants. It is an incredibly empty life with a flashy mask.

Like with the others I doubt she will consider herself abused, though she might be the most willing to say it but the least willing to mean it. She'll likely be dismissive or defensive, quick to cast off the idea that her actions are motivated by anything other than desire or aren't justified. & that she likes having a mother who is so disinterested Lila can 'do anything.

She likely has a bit of Chloe's "I can make X parent do what I want by playing this role or telling this lie" and feigning it makes her happy to have the situation "In control" like that. But its just another way of trying to give herself the impression of control in a life she actually has zero control over. Where everything could slip away at any moment.

Why she reacts so intensely to what went down in Volpina is harder to say:

Is it just that she's never had this happen before and wildly overreacted by pretending to move away? Or is it that it evokes a different time she was uncovered? Or is t a trauma response? Or did it come down to just her being pissed off initially and then Hawk Moth continuing to stoke the flames to keep it going?

But I think this is a pretty good personality profile.

Or at least I hope so.

Oh yeah no 100% this is about what I have her for HC/LL aka: not conning a bunch of women

I also added things in for like. Her former classmates accidentally enabled her by giving her stories more attention than her, Lila learning the lesson of 'if one person unravels the lie, they all turn on me and act horrible' which causes her to discredit anyone who catches on, and her dad dying right before moving to Paris which is why she's scrambling so desperately to cling to this little 'happiness' she's created.

[panicatthediaz]

Can you feel it?

What is this? A brand new fic for @eddiemonth? And so soon after?? (shut up this feels soon)

This is day 06, crush, and is in the same continuity as day 5. Named after Mansionair's Astronaut (Something About Your Love), that like. Please listen to them. They are a whole vibe, I love their music.

Warnings: None, this is just even more fluff. Extremely sappy get together. Steddie. I should start calling this section, like. tags or smth.

Wordcount: 2968

If he were to be honest with himself, Eddie hadn't expected to keep this monster hunting party in his life, not for long. He expected everyone to go on their way, while he was fumbling just to get out of the town.

Well, some people did go their own way. Older Byers was off to college in California with Argyle, after some extensive talk with his family and with Nancy, and Nancy herself was off in Boston.

But everyone else? Well, the kids had to finish high school before going anywhere, and Robin had decided to take a gap year that was about to end. And Steve…

Between joint recoveries and sharing almost the same group of people (and eventually truly having all the same friends), they had spent a lot of time together. They had become friends, good friends, not necessarily by choice, but the truth was that Eddie wouldn't change it for the world.

But sometimes, it was nice to just… exist. To be able to not think about the feelings he’d realized that were growing not too long ago. About how, even though he’d only noticed them recently, the feelings hadn’t been really new. About how it looked reciprocated, sometimes.

Eddie expected to hear about Steve’s plans to get out of town any day now, maybe tag along with Robin, so why do anything about the something that was brewing, right?

Deep down, Eddie knew Steve wouldn’t leave before the kids’ senior year started. At the earliest. Eddie felt pretty much the same already, after knowing them for only a little over a year. According to Robin, they did have that effect somehow.

(Something about how young they all were to have been at the whole supernatural thing for years.)

After dropping El and Will back home, he’d driven himself to a secluded little clearing, having to go the long way around so he’d actually be able to drive his van into it. But it was worth it, it’d always been worth it.

Eddie grabbed a few of the blankets stashed at the back of his van and threw them on top of it before climbing up himself. Setting up his little makeshift bed up there was a quick process; a couple of blankets to make the roof a little more comfortable, and the rest bunched together into a pillow.

It wasn’t particularly good, but it was part of his summer routine at this point, so he settled down, lying on the roof of his van. He watched the clear, evening summer sky fade into night, watching the stars come out slowly and then all at once as the animal sounds faded and changed to accompany the sky.

Some birds — owls, if he had to guess — and bats were flying overheard, occasionally cutting his vision of the stars and changing the tracks of his thoughts; the song he’d been working on, the campaign Will wanted to run for Hellfire next, Robin’s entirely too chaotic packing process, and how that girl might have surpassed him in terms of organizational chaos. At least Eddie could find his shit in half the time it had taken her to find the shoes she was taking with her.

The crunch of steps on fallen branches drew him out of his thoughts, making him turn in its direction.

“Jesus, how far is this place,” Eddie heard in a very familiar grumble. Steve was closer than he probably expected to be, and it didn’t take long before Eddie could see him on the treeline. “Uh… Hi.”

“Hi,” Eddie returned, waving at him from where he lay with a grin. “Funny seeing you here.”

Steve rolled his eyes and walked closer. He was wearing some ridiculous yellow shorts and what looked like an old NASCAR shirt, color and design faded with time. It was a little different from what Eddie was used to; more relaxed, like he didn’t have anyone to impress. Which was good, Eddie didn’t need to be impressed by style.

(Eddie knew, objectively, that Steve genuinely enjoyed the polos and all that, but it was still nice to see him in something else. Something softer.)

“What are you doing out here?” Steve asked once he was close to the van, just enough to still be able to see Eddie.

“Looking for Scorpius,” he stated simply, gesturing for Steve to come up. While Steve climbed to the roof of the van, Eddie adjusted the pillow of blankets so they could lie side by side. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I was expecting to find you in the trailer,” Steve started, leaning back on top of the blankets on his elbows with a frown on his face. “Wayne directed me over here.” Steve looked around, frowning even harder when he glanced at the ground. “You said you’re looking for scorpions?”

“Scorpius, not scorpions,” Eddie corrected softly, turning back to the stars. “The constellation.”

Steve let out a soft “Oh,” turning to glance at the sky before lying down and making himself comfortable.

Eddie had the vague knowledge that Scorpius was closer to the horizon line, but he’d have to drive up to Hop’s old cabin and the nearby hill to actually look for it, and he just… didn’t want to go that far.

(Didn't really want to be looking over all of Hawkins.)

“What’s the story?” Steve asked after a couple of minutes spent in silence. When Eddie turned to look, Steve was already watching him, his little smile illuminated by the moon. After a beat, he added, “Constellations have those, don’t they?”

Eddie nodded, struggling a little to find his words with the way Steve was looking at him. “It’s uh…” He cleared his throat and turned back to the sky. “It’s the scorpion that killed Orion.”

He could still feel Steve’s eyes on him, waiting for more.

“Orion was a hunter, the best one humanity had to offer,” Eddie started, gesturing to their surroundings as if it could encompass every person in the world. “But he was just a human, you know? And if even the gods of ancient Greece were flawed, imagine how bad a human could be.”

He glanced at Steve, finding all of his attention still focused on him.

“His flaws are not really the point, though.” He shook his head, continuing the story. “At some point in his life, Orion was hunting with Artemis, the goddess of the hunt and wild animals, and… Well,” he grimaced, “He claimed to be able to hunt every animal on Earth.”

“To the goddess of the hunt?” Steve questioned with that particular tone he had when he thought something was stupid. “Rather arrogant of him.”

“Yeah, but Artemis was fond of him.” Steve raised an eyebrow at that, but it took Eddie a moment to realize how his words could be taken. “Not like that,” he added, chuckling. “Artemis was a virgin goddess, none of that.”

Steve hummed, his expression betraying his surprise. “Good for her.”

Eddie blinked at Steve, at this tone of awe that he had.

“Where does the scorpion come in?” Steve asked, a little furrow appearing between his brow that Eddie wanted smooth out, though he had a story to finish.

“Right,” Eddie sighed out, turning once again to the stars. “Gaia, the personification of the Earth itself, didn’t like Orion’s claim.” He paused, then added, “She’s the mother of all life, so.” He gestured nonsensically upwards, finishing his story with as much a deadpan tone as he could muster. “She sent a giant scorpion to kill him.”

“A giant—” Steve burst out laughing, shaking his head in some kind of attempt to regain his composure. “Sorry, I’m sorry, just—”

“It’s kind of a silly conclusion?” Eddie asked with a smile on his face as well as in his voice. Steve nodded, taking a deep breath to calm himself down. “Greek mythology is kind of… Dramatic, like that,” he explained with a shrug. “Orion’s hubris got him killed by a giant scorpion—” Steve snorted, but reined himself in quickly— “And they were both raised to the sky as constellations as a warning against humanity’s arrogance.”

Steve hummed, gaze unfocused when Eddie looked at him. “Where are they, then?”

“Uh…” Eddie blinked and turned to the sky to blink some more. “Orion is not visible this time of the year, and Scorpius is closer to the horizon,” he said, raising his arm to point in the general direction he remembered the constellation being.

Steve hummed, but didn’t say anything, letting the silence and the warm evening air envelop them. Eddie expected it to grow awkward, for Steve to say something, for himself to end up fidgeting. Instead, it was easy to just exist together like this, lying side by side and watching the night sky.

“Are you okay?” Steve asked, some indeterminate time later. Eddie could feel Steve move about, slowly as to not risk falling off the side, and settle on his side, holding himself up on his elbow. “El was all…” He gestured toward his face. “All frowny, and she only does that when she’s worried. Dustin also said you seemed down.”

Eddie sighed, wishing those kids paid just a little less attention. “I’m good,” he said, keeping his tone light. “Just thinking, you know?”

“About?”

“What happens now, I guess?” He hadn’t meant for it to come out as a question. “We got a couple more practice sessions before Jeff and Arnie are going back to college.”

“Gareth’s not going anywhere out of state, though, right?” Steve asked with a thoughtful little frown that Eddie couldn’t resist smoothing out with a finger this time. It earned him a soft laugh and a smack to his hand. “You guys can keep Corroded Coffin going?”

Eddie shrugged as much as he could while lying down. He tried that once, making it on his own, but it didn’t seem as worth it now.

“Think I’d rather not split the band,” he said, grimacing and knowing that Steve would pick up the story he wasn’t telling.

“So,” Steve drawled, eyes narrowed at Eddie like he’d be able to figure out whatever was going on in his head. “The plan is just to wait?”

Honestly, Eddie hated that idea, but what else could Corroded Coffin do? “Sure.” Steve eyes narrowed further, going unfocused again. “What?”

“The kids will be starting their junior year,” he stated.

Eddie hummed to let Steve know he was listening, but he had no idea where the guy was going with this.

“You should come to Indianapolis with me,” he announced.

Eddie blinked at Steve, processing his words for a moment. The offer seemed to come out of nowhere. He expected Steve to leave Hawkins at some point, he’d been preparing for that news, and now it came with an offer to tag along?

“I don’t really have any plans yet,” Steve continued, probably taking Eddie’s silence as hesitation. “We’d have to look into places, and Indianapolis is just an hour away, but it should be enough for a fresh start, right?”

Eddie nodded, a little numbly. “You, uh…” He shook his head to dislodge his surprise. “I think Gareth’s going to community college in the city, actually.”

“Is he, now?” Steve raised an eyebrow, looking unimpressed and not surprised.

“Right, you two talk a lot now.” It was still rather amusing that the two of them hung out so much, even without Eddie. “Will?”

“Of course it’s about Will,” Steve scoffed, waving a hand in a flourish. “It’s why he picked Indianapolis. But don’t change the subject,” he added with a smack to Eddie’s arm.

“Alright, alright!” Eddie laughed, rubbing his arm. He’d have rolled away from Steve if it didn’t mean rolling off the roof of the van. “I guess Indianapolis is pretty good…”

Steve beamed at him, a smile he’d been seeing more often as the time passed. Usually, Steve was being a little shit when he smiled like that, but sometimes, he just seemed… happy.

“You could, I don’t know, teach kids how to play the guitar.”

That made Eddie laugh, surprised at the suggestion. Not that he necessarily disliked it.

“Who’d even let me?” He asked. “Maybe I’ll find work at a record store, that seems more likely.”

“If you want to, I’m sure you could find something.” Steve shrugged, that grin not fading from his expression. “Who says you can’t do both, anyway?”

And… Well, Steve had a point. Maybe he could find a store that offered lessons?

“Why are you asking me to go to Indianapolis with you?” The question was asked before Eddie even processed that it was something he wanted to know. He grimaced as soon as it was out. “Not that I don’t want to, god knows I wanted to be out of this town three years ago now, but just— I thought you might tag along with Robin?”

Steve’s expression softened, a serene smile replacing the wide grin. “I thought about it. Robin’s going to Indianapolis University anyway, though, and…” He gave a one-shouldered shrug. “I think I’d like you there too.”

“You think?” Eddie questioned with a raised brow. It was easier to tease and joke than really look into that sparkle of mirth in Steve’s eyes and hope it meant what he wanted it to mean.

Steve shook his head, sending his hair all over the place. “I know. Got used to your noise, Munson.”

“Well, I’m making your life interesting, so you’re welcome.”

They were both smiling when Eddie finally let himself look Steve in the eye, finally relaxed enough even though he hadn’t escaped thinking about Steve, or his actual presence. It was fine. There some tentative plans to get out of Hawkins, together, and maybe Corroded Coffin would forever be a high school band that didn’t really go anywhere — Eddie was only starting to be okay with that idea, though — but that didn’t mean he couldn’t do something else with music.

Steve laid back down on the van after a moment of silence, turning his gaze to the sky. Like this, they were touching pretty much from shoulder to knee, and Eddie was trying not to move too much, conscious of the warmth radiating from Steve.

Steve, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have the same hang-ups, nudging Eddie’s hand until he could take it in his own.

“This okay?” He asked softly, not turning his head and not seeing Eddie already looking at him. Eddie squeezed his hand and intertwined their fingers as response. “I wasn’t planning on talking to you about Indianapolis tonight, you know?” His admission was soft, barely above the ambiance of the woods at night. “I was just gonna keep you company.”

“I’m glad you did.” Eddie let himself take in Steve’s face and what freckles he could see in the dark before turning away. “Easier to think I can actually get out of here when I have a tentative plan.”

“You can, Eddie,” Steve said, firmly squeezing his hand. “I meant it, I’d really like if you came to Indianapolis with me.”

He could feel Steve’s eyes boring a hole into the side of his head, and he refused to loosen the hold on his hand. Eddie sighed, turning to face Steve’s small, determined frown.

“Sometimes,” he started, hesitating before pulling their joined hands closer. “I kinda wish you were still some degree of asshole.” Steve frowned, ready to interject, but Eddie continued before he could. “‘Cause it would make getting over this ridiculous crush so much easier.”

Steve pulled their hands closer to himself this time, and Eddie could see him pursing his lips. He’d been paying too much attention, enough to know this was Steve trying to rein in one of those rare, goofy grins that had been one of the things that made Eddie fall in the first place.

“What if,” Steve started, slowly letting the grin take hold, as he started absently playing with the one ring Eddie forgot to take off before climbing up the van. “I don’t want you getting over this ridiculous crush?”

Eddie blinked at him — he felt like he’d done that a lot tonight, almost constantly surprised by Steve despite how close they’d gotten. Maybe that’s why he hadn’t seen this coming, too close to see what, eventually, might become obvious in hindsight.

“You mean that?”

Steve’s grin came out, full force, in the face of Eddie’s soft tone. He slowly brought Eddie’s hand closer and pressed an oh so soft kiss to his knuckles.

“I mean it.”

Eddie didn’t really know what to say to all that, the smooth jerk knew it and could probably see the blush undoubtedly rising on his cheeks. But there was one thing that he needed to double check.

“You know I’m—”

“Asexual?” He filled in after Eddie cut himself short. “Yeah, I do.” Steve was back to messing with the ring on his hand, looking at it with an expression Eddie still hadn’t figured out. “And I think…” He paused, frowning a little. Eddie kind of wanted to bite him. “It might apply to me too?”

Eddie rolled closer to Steve and pressed a kiss to cheek, feeling the heat rising the longer he stayed there.

“Thanks for telling me,” he mumbled against Steve’s cheek. He pressed another quick kiss before settling back down. “Feels good to know, doesn’t it?”

Steve’s laughter was light, giddy. He rolled onto Eddie this time, hugging him as close as possible.

“It really does.”

Eddie knew they would talk come morning, and they would define just what they wanted and were to each other. But for now, cuddling and laughing under the night sky with ridiculous Greek stories was all Eddie wanted to be doing.

[oleander-nin]

Rahhh I'm back!!!! Hi hello awesome new writing thingy, very cool, I get giddy(that's such a fun word) when you post. I had a point to this ask and got distracted whoops(；・∀・)!

ANYWAY, I was thinking as I occasionally do and I like noticed a pattern overall theme I don't really know what to call it. In Sleepy's last ask, I think it was, they said something about taking normal love songs and sorta twisting the meaning, which fits so well with overall yandere stuff. (This whole ramble is from the perspective of someone who only is familiar with platonic love because romantic love just isn't something I'm capable of experiencing so don't mind that(III╥_╥⁠)) Love is something that's typically treated as inherently pure, if someone wants to show that a villain is redeemable or at least has some humanity it's pretty common to give them someone they love. Even just looking at their motives in a vacuum they're all positive, all of them want to keep their S/O safe and happy, and wanting to date them is fine too, I think most people would like to date their crush. It's only when you factor in the actions they actually take to actually achieve "helping" the person they love are a lot less nice, and that's what makes yandere such an interesting horror genre it's the same reason little kids are freaky in horror movies and some third example, it takes something we think of as good and makes it not. It's also why the characters can rationalize their choices they don't *want* to hurt their S/O they're just trying to help obviously, they don't need other people anyway their S/O only deserves the best for them and that's what they could be.

On another note, I also realized that I had not listed what would make the turtles snap I did reasons they would actually turn yandere which is technically different. I'm not going to do it correctly because its kinda limited to, their S/O getting hurt, thinking they'll lose their S/O, or some trauma or underlying mental condition. The first two are kinda bare and I am not touching any mental stuff because that takes hella research and I don't wanna accidentally do negative stereotypes.

-🍰

HI SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG I HAVEN'T BEEN ONLINE MUCH FDNAJVNFKJANVD;

I agree with just about every point in you horror-love rant, because I think this is what draws me to yandere works so much lol. I like twisting emotions and actions into something more horrific(in fiction), just because it's fun to see what you can do with these base emotions.

Sorry I don't have much to say, I loved reading your analysis and once again, I'm so sorry this took so long for me to answer. I got your second ask, and I appreciate the clarification, but it wasn't needed much imo lol. Hope you have a great day and are doing well, thanks for stopping by!

[seeminglydark]

i can't remember if you've answered this before (i feel like you probably have but i don't really know how to check): how does Johnny break in his boots? or does he just wear the shit out of them until they're broken in on their own?

I have not! so as a kid i think he would have worn the shit out of them until they broke in on their own or used the hammer towel method (hope you got a lot of heel bandaids available johnny boy!) though to be honest, i have these art pieces where hes a teen wearing docs, and im really not sure how he'd canonically even get a pair of docs, you know chief o'sullivan would never have bought him 100+ dollar boots so thats either a gift from Caro, friends, or not canon. truthfully he'd probably have worn general issue black combat boots he got at the local thrift store in his teens.

older john would be aware there are easier ways to break in a pair of leather boots without killing your feet completely, he'd resort to the tried and true way condition your leather and wear double thick socks, and occasionally apply gentle heat (hair dryer method) or toss em in the freezer.

i guess heres another Punk Rock Fact for you-

its best to wear 2 layers of thick socks, your docs /boots should be a bit snug when you buy them, cuz leather stretches and they will end up too loose if you size up (this is also why its not always great to buy leather shoes or boots from the thrift, theyve already molded to other peoples feet and can hurt and fit you very wrong!)! two socks helps protect your feets and push against the boots.

wear them around the house for a few days with your double socks to loosen up the leather, take em off when it starts hurting and extend the time every day. stuff newspaper in em when youre not wearing them if you want to help them maintain stretch. keep those bandaids and heel blister plasters close by.

so the two ways to make it happen a little bit fast is heat or cold. so for heat what you wanna do is get some leather balm (hate to shill a product but doc martens wonderbalm is actually super nice. mink oil works too.) set that aside and put on your biggest fattest socks or double layer, throw your boots on and lace em up real tight. yeah its not gonna feel good. thats ok, youll live probably. now take a hair dryer on its lowest setting and VERY GENTLY and not too close to your boot, heat all the surfaces with it for about 30 seconds per spot (but continuously move the hair dryer). dont do this for to long and only do it once or twice, you dont wanna damage the glue but the heat will help the leather become more supple and stretch faster. leave the boots and and walk around your house again, stretching them out, bending your feet, stand on your tiptoes etc. after they cool, apply the wonderbalm as per instruction to protect the leather.

and finally the freezer method, i use this mostly if my leather shoes or boots are a bit too snug still. fill a heavy duty ziplock bag about halfway with water and make sure its sealed really tight with no air inside. stick the bag in your boots, trust me on this, and throw em in the freezer over night. SCIENCE IS FUN ice expands, take em out the next day and let em defrost and voila. the leather has stretched and softened because of the expanding ice.

basically, take care of your leather! lots of conditioner and wear them gently. if you've got your own tried or true methods, let me know, im old and this is what ive always done, so id love to learn new ways!

[juliasdowntonstuff]

The beauty of The Little Prince

Those who know me a bit are aware of the fact that I absolutely LOVE Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's "The Little Prince". I bring it up any chance I get and because today has shown me again just how much this book means to me, I thought I'd use Tumblr as a journal and share at least a few of the reasons why. It is currently 2 am as I am writing this, so I don't guarantee for any of this to make any sense.

Apart from being the book my mum used to read to me when I was very little, apart from being the book I learned to read with and being the first book I ever read in every language I speak, "The Little Prince" is also just such a wonderfully poignant book that, for me, is just as important nowadays as it was back when it was first released in 1943.

It deals with themes we all encounter on a daily. It talks about greed, love, friendship, sadness, vainness, and wisdom — just to name a few of them. And it does so very endearingly. Part of this book's charm is not just that utterly beautiful and simplistic style of its illustrations, but also that it can be read by children and adults alike. It's generally easy enough to understand for children while also being so descriptive of the themes mentioned without the so usual moralising undertone that is often apparent in comparable works. And there are so many layers to the quite simple story itself that I find something new to focus on every time I read it.

There are sequences that did not really interest me as a kid because I did not understand the full extent of what they meant. Sure, I knew there was something to take away from every sequence, but I did not always know what it was. And as I keep going back again and again, I keep finding new layers to uncover.

Take the sequence about watching the sunset 42/43/44 times, for example (depending on what edition/ language you're reading). It only gained my interest when I was about sixteen, because it suddenly spoke to me on another level that was not just about describing a pretty sky. It expressed exactly what I felt at the time but never managed to put into words, and it helped me understand what it was I was feeling. Before then, I only thought the short chapter was about the nice colours that make up a sunset, about the hues that are usually quite warm and can feel comforting. But it is really so much more.

Sadness can cause many things; for me, it makes me lose interest in most things I used to enjoy greatly. That one page that discusses the little prince feeling sad and watching the sunset so often told me to go outside and look at the sunset, and so I did that. After that, I began to appreciate the beauty in nature around me more. The sense of calmness and clarity that I get when I walk in nature and listen to the birds or sit and watch the sunset (or sunrise, occasionally) is something I never managed to replicate otherwise. People rarely talk about how they are truly feeling in everyday life, and there is still some sort of stigma around talking about mental health, depression, etc., which I think shouldn't be (but that's an entirely different discussion). We all are happy to talk about the things that fill us with joy, that excite us, so why can't we talk about the bad feelings we have in the same way? It is easy to feel that being sad or even depressed is simply not allowed in society, that one is alone with all the bad thoughts spinning around and around, because we never talk about them.

That short sequence about sunsets taught sixteen-year-old me that it was okay to be sad, that it was okay to be okay one day and a total mess the next, only to be better again. It taught me that sometimes, you just need to take a second to sit down, breathe deeply, and look around, try to find the beauty in things you usually overlook or see the beauty you have become blind to. It also taught me that extreme sadness does not last forever, which is what I keep clinging to, now that I feel myself slowly slipping back into that seemingly bottomless pit of sadness.

Another sequence that has greatly influenced the way I see things in life is the part about the fox. The taming. Because that is just such a vivid depiction of what making a friend is. It is a metaphor even kids understand. And it is so true to the core. You have to reveal who you are as a person to become friends with someone, you have to share your thoughts and beliefs. You have to get over that "being friendly strangers" phase, and for that, you need to find out more about the other person, their likes and dislikes. And only then you can determine whether you like the person enough to become friends with them. That seems pretty straightforward.

Sadly, though, we tend to skip parts. We don't get to know each other enough to get to the "being tamed"-part. We consider someone a friend too soon, when all they likely are is a friendly acquaintance and nothing more. I realised recently that I did not know some of my friends as well as I thought I did and it caused a lot of unnecessary added heartbreak. You know, when you find people you like and you get along with them splendidly whenever you see them, which might be frequent or sometimes not so much, it's easy to feel as though you're friends. But do they still message you when things get rough? Do they try to include you when they do not see you around as much as before? Likely, they do not. Or at least that is what I have experienced.

This goes hand in hand with what the fox says to the little prince about the rose. “You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.”

Because that's what true friendships are like, or at least they should be. They don't just end, they don't just fizzle out. You can't just up and leave when you're bored or when you disagree. Unless there is a real reason for you to stop talking or stop being friends, you should always keep an eye out for your friends. You got to know them, you tamed them, and you are at least a tiny bit responsible for them, too. Certainly not for everything they do, no, but for the part of their lives that intertwines with yours. That is what you are responsible for.  

And there are some more quotes that have influenced me greatly. I won't go deeper into them now, because, frankly… if I did, I would never shut up. I will just leave them here to read and ponder for anyone who wants to. 

Maybe they speak to you as much as they do to me, maybe they don't. That's the beauty of literature.

“I must endure the presence of a few caterpillars if I wish to become acquainted with the butterflies.”

“Then you shall judge yourself," the king answered. "That is the most difficult thing of all. It is much more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging yourself rightly, then you are indeed a man of true wisdom.” (Chapter X)

“Where are the people?” resumed the little prince at last. “It's a little lonely in the desert…”

“It is lonely when you're among people, too,” said the snake. (Chapter XVII)

“Language is the source of misunderstandings.” (Chapter XXI)

“Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” (Chapter XXI)

“What makes the desert beautiful,” said the little prince, “is that somewhere it hides a well.” (Chapter XXV)

“In one of those stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night. And when your sorrow is comforted (time soothes all sorrows) you will be content that you have known me. You will always be my friend… I shall not leave you.” (Chapter XXVI)

And last, but certainly not least:

 “All grown-ups were once children… but only few of them remember it.”

On that note…

[antisocialxconstruct]

Hi Charlie! Do you have any recs for some indie cyberpunk games? 👀

My god do I.... A lot of these, especially the proper deep cuts, are fairly short and fall into the IF/VN category, eventually if I have the time to go hunting through more of my to-play list hopefully I can recommend a wider variety.

I'll start with a couple more mainstream titles and then get into the real weird stuff.

Obviously anyone who's been around here a while knows I never miss a chance to profess my love for the Shadowrun games by Harebrained Schemes, although that's pushing the limits of "indie" lmao but for a worthwhile rpg experience that also does a lot to counteract some of my biggest gripes with the cyberpunk genre (particularly the way they handle mental health, addiction, and bodily autonomy), I really can't think of anything better.

Also in the "only indie in the broadest sense" category, for anyone who missed the hype train on Stray I do heartily recommend it. I think it's easy to dismiss that one as sort of a "gimmick" game with how much coverage focused on the pc being a cat and not a lot else, but the game definitely has a lot to say about like... human legacy and the steady march of time. It's hard to say much else about it without spoiling major plot points, it's fairly short but well worth the experience.

Another long-time favorite of mine is RUINER, although I'll freely admit this one is not what I'd call... deep lol. What it is, is absolutely dripping with edgy cyberpunk style and intensely fun to play. I think it does have an underlying commentary on like, the commodification and expendability of human bodies, but it doesn't really take a lot of time to invite you to meditate on that because there are big guns to pick up and sick combos to execute and so, so many people to kill. But maybe that's also part of the commentary 👀

Hacknet is a hacking simulator (go figure) that's very slick and stylish, and if you're not overly familiar with coding and command prompts and such it does a pretty good job of making you feel like you're doing cool hackerman shit without actually asking too much of you on a technical level. I like its sense of humor but I also like the way it occasionally drops a bombshell of a moral quandary on you in the midst of all your petty crimes. I highly recommend getting the Labyrinths dlc to go with it, especially because it'll give you some fun stuff you can take back into the base game.

Hypnospace Outlaw plays like a love letter to the web1 era (and to the power trip of being a community moderator before centralized social media lmao). It has a loose story about what's essentially a shared dream internet, and you're charged with enforcing community guidelines which unfortunately makes you a bit of an outside observer rather than a proper netizen. That provides some context and will carry you through to the conclusion pretty quickly, but ultimately its play/replay value is in uncovering secrets and just delighting in the nostalgia (or the novelty if you're not a 90s kid). The devs are currently working on a sequel(?) that looks like it will actually let you build your own website and interact with other characters in the world, which I'm very excited to see.

Broken Reality is a weird one, and feels a bit like Hypnospace Outlaw but for the early idea of VR. It's also fairly short, but I think it's exactly as long as it should be for the gimmick not to wear out. It starts out as essentially just a surreal walking sim and it's gonna feel like trippy self-referential vaporwave nonsense right up until the tone takes a hard left turn in the third act.

Vapor Trails is still in development, and I admittedly haven't played too much of it mostly because I'm very bad at platformers, but it's got a really nice aesthetic, clever character writing, and what I've seen of the story so far has me intrigued enough to keep throwing myself at it. One to keep an eye on, at the very least.

_transfer is... something very odd. More of an "interactive experience" than a game in the strictest sense, and intended to be played in many short sessions that build on each other bit by bit as you connect with a variety of other intelligences to recover memories about yourself and the world. I don't think I fully understand the story it's telling me and I'm not sure I'm even meant to, but I've played through several sessions and each one leaves me feeling kind of discomfited but fascinated. (I will say $10 may feel a bit steep for what it is, I got it in a bundle.)

Momotype....... okay listen. You're going to go look at this game and think "Charlie has clearly lost its mind, there's no way this is cyberpunk." I need you to just trust me and play it. It's free, it'll only take a few hours to get all the endings. It's Momo.

LOCALHOST is another short one with a fair amount of replay value for the surprisingly varied dialogue trees. You're tasked with wiping some damaged AIs off several hard drives, only to discover that they're all quite chatty, and now you have to decide what to do with them. This one also has a sort of unsettling vibe, and I like the variety of perspectives it has on how AI personalities might manifest.

Subserial Network is by the same developer as LOCALHOST. I've actually only just started this one so haven't gotten very deep into it, but I already find the concept pretty compelling. It's structurally similar to Hypnospace Outlaw, or maybe more accurately to something like Orwell, requiring you to comb through the internet archives of fellow citizens to incriminate them as "subserials": androids who want to forsake their human programming and become more machine. The language used to describe the serializing process has some pretty obvious parallels with both transgender healthcare and treatment for neurodivergence, so I'm really curious to see where it goes with that allegory.

A couple of honorable mentions that aren't really cyberpunk, but have a vibe that just makes me want to include them on this list:

The Magic Circle is essentially a game about game development, with a lot of commentary on artistic integrity and creativity, but the real novelty of it is the amount of stuff it lets you do inside the "game" of the game. It's really hard to explain but it's very open-ended and satisfying.

The Turing Test is, on the surface, a pretty standard "trapped on a space station solving a mystery" puzzle game, and I will say upfront the gameplay probably isn't going to be anything you haven't seen before. The puzzles are pretty good, if you're into puzzle games, but the real reason I'm putting it on the list is because this game was my first introduction to the "Chinese room" thought experiment, and it genuinely had a huge impact on my views and opinions on artificial intelligence.

[gummy-worms-in-my-brain]

Headcanons regarding Rouxls's whole worm thing?

oufghh took me a while to finally answer to this ask, been trying to condense and word this well for like 10 days by now, i keep trailing off to unrelated tangents(and i still am trailing off SO much, and all of this is still not too comprehensible),,., but thats such a cool thing to try and dissect, or rather ??try to explain it to others??,, in my head the whole worm thing just really Makes Sense, so it's kinda difficult for the reason of "wait, people don't get it???"

in terms of speech, Worm/Worms for him is like a more unique way to say dude/guys/everyone/y'all/kids/fellas (fyi i mean dude/guys in a gender neutral way, its already used this way in game by a whole lot of characters so it wouldn't exactly be weird??), and, occasionally, a substitute for "fool(s)" in a lighthearted way!! it's not used in a particularly negative way, it's just informal and slightly disrespectful/condescending but it isn't intended to be a straight up insult on its own! thats why he sometimes adds adjectives to indicate if it's on a more condescending or nice side ("gullible worms"/"ungrateful worms" - "my good worms"),, he's just having fun with calling people worms and the fact that many people struggle comprehending what the HECK he's saying, he's engaging in some tomfoolery :] i mean,,,, my only reason for this is that he's just really inconsistent and had called the group "guys" in "Thoust guys really think that was all I hadst!?" phrase, CH1 his second puzzle, and also "maties" in "Solveth my puzzleth, yon Maties!", CH2 when he goes for the pirate accent, and in both instances it feels right if one were to replace "maties"/"guys" for "worms",, it works the other way around too, but worm(s) generally replaces a handful of words so just "guys" wouldn't work in every situation???? every "guys" is replaceable with "worms" but not every "worms" is replaceable with "guys" if that makes sense

as for why it's worms and not literally any other word in the engrish dictionary - he probably just felt like it,,. sounds like a total copout but i feel like it makes sense in a way that it,, doesn't make sense. there really is no deeply rooted reason behind that whatsoever, he probably just started calling people worms randomly and seeing how people got confused over it he just doubled down on that, he gets to be eccentric and confuse the heck people so,, why not?? he's having fun and he doesn't really actually hurt anyone by doing that

i literally don't know how to try and explain my headcanons regarding worm stuff (or like 80% of all of Rouxls behaviour) with anything that isnt just "he just felt like doing that", i look at him from the perspective of my diagnosed MENTAL_HEALTH_CONDITION_NAME and it's just like,, "i get it" without being able to explain as to why i get it, as stupid as it is sfjsdfdgv

as for literal worms - yeah, he eats those

[loremonster]

Hello! I've been browsing through the South Park fanfic corner and stumbled upon your New Kid Stories....well.....stories. Gotta say, I'm in love with it but noticed your last update was 2020.

I can understand if you've been busy, but I'd just like to ask what happened to the NKS episodes and it's latest, the Holiday Special? Are you still working on it? Have you dropped it? I'm very curious and have grown to love the fanfic and its writing so I hope that you're still working on it. If not, then it's a shame but it was a nice read either way.

Hello dear reader!

So! The current project with NKS is porting it over to Ao3 while doing some editing, rewording unclear narration, shortening info dumps to get to the point, and add illustrations when the mood so takes me.

The Holiday Special is intended to be my victory lap after the other eight 'Episodes' have been moved over. With so much time to think about it, I wanna rework the plot a bit.

There is also intention to write a second season of NKS. I have several stories outlined, pages of notes, and I'm really invested in Dee and their adventures, as well as the shinanigans Eric and the gang get up to.

THAT SAID I'm also trying to build more deliberate rest time into my daily habits, so the ETA on everything is I'll Get There When I Am Well Enough To Enjoy The Writing. That's happening more often, but I don't wanna go back to the burnt out place I was in where just reading over the last chapter I'd written was too big an ask for my exhausted brainmeats. So I'm taking it one day at a time, minimizing obligations and deadlines, and prioritizing my health... mainly because not doing that sent me to the ER twice between 2020 and 2022. Then I spent a year afraid to show my face anywhere, and unwilling to make anything for fear that people who were mad at me would come running to yell at me for not working on the last project I suddenly dropped out of... because of the mentioned ER visits and a full on meltdown.

I've been feeling a little braver lately. More and more I can't focus on whatever YouTube I'm watching because I have a scene playing out in my head ( that started up last month ) and I've been sketching occasionally as well. Slowly, I can feel the Drive building up again, yknow?

Dee ain't the only one who will sprint to the point of exhaustion XDDD I just do it creatively... but its no less of a destructive habit. Rest. Is. Required.

Thank you so much for messaging in and telling me how much you enjoyed reading the stories. I loved writing them. That love is why I wanna improve them during the move to Ao3, in hopes of making it more readable, and adding my artistic flare now that I'm on a platform where I can. :3

Also shout out to @obstinate-nocturna who has been super supportive since I've withdrawn. She is an amazing hooman who has an entire AU she writes where Lyssie has a twin sister which we call the ButtTwin universe. There is some fic to read and art to squee at over at @twonewkidsonesouthpark

Again, thank you for writing in, it was a great thing to come back to when I finally logged back into Tumblr 🥰

~Lore

[drpeppertummy]

I am looking respectfully at sunny's sister 😳

🎵, 🤭(for the kink one, can't find proper emoji)📅,🥘,👨‍⚕️,💝,🎈,😝,🚗 Sorry for so many I love her and I need to know more!

Thank Youuuuuu shes sadly not nearly as Situation-Prone as her knucklehead brother & im afraid ill have to disappoint u a little but ill do what i can

🎵 Do they have a noisy tummy? Is there anything unique or notable about the sounds their tummy makes? - only when shes hungry, but its nothing particularly noteworthy

🫢 Do they have any kind of belly kink or awareness of it? Do any of the characters around them? - no😔

📅 How frequently do they get into tummy shenanigans? - pretty rarely. i think the thing that gets her most often is taste testing (she cooks a lot) but also sometimes one does have to go a little overboard when good food is involved. doesnt generally get Ridiculously Overstuffed but occasionally finds herself a little too full

🥘 What's the most they've eaten in one sitting? How did they feel afterwards? - Good Question giuliana has a pretty good capacity & doesnt usually wind up too overstuffed even if her tummys stickin out a little. probably like some holiday dinner where there was way too much food & she had to eat too much to even try it all. she didnt feel Awful but her belly was definitely too tight for comfort

🧑‍⚕️ Do they usually ask for comfort when they don't feel good, or does somebody just know to comfort them? - shes one to dismiss it & walk it off for sure. i think the people close to her can tell tho & they make her stop & rest a little

💝 Do they want comfort when they don't feel good--even if they won't admit it--or do they prefer to deal with it alone? - she acts all tough but she does want comfort. even if she tells herself she doesnt. she generally deals with it alone tho😔

🎈 Do they ever find themselves feeling bloated from something other than food? (swallowed air, too much liquid, period, illness, etc) - been pondering this one i could see her being a little Overly Hydrated esp at work. i think she also gets crazy period bloating too tho which is Worse but of course Less Frequent

😝 How would they feel if someone teased them for being hungry? For being too full? - depends on whos teasing her. she can have a sense of humor with the people shes really close to & cares about but if the wrong person teases her she might bite their head off. full is less iffy than hungry tho

🚗 Does their tummy get upset from things other than food or hunger? (nerves, vehicles, etc) - maybe rollercoasters. which isnt a situation she finds herself in frequently but shes got 2 kids & 5 other nieces & nephews so its bound to come up once in a while

& some miscellaneous (non-kink) info

she runs a restaurant & her staff Love her bc she has no problems telling off rude customers

shes very blunt & opinionated. has No problem speakin her mind

she & sunny have 2 older brothers. they only picked on sunny when she wasnt around. they couldnt pick on her bc she was not above fighting dirty

shes like a Cartoon Tough Guy nobody fucks with her

sunnys one of the only people who can get away with bullshit with her. shes really protective of him bc he was always such a tiny sickly kid & bc of the way their dad & brothers treated him when he was little. theyre way closer with each other than with the older brothers theyre like besties

very protective of her loved ones in general. esp her family (not her dad tho he can get fucked)

shes very no nonsense & a lot of people are intimidated by that & theyre right to be but she can also be nice & loving & silly sometimes

u know that post about how east coast people are kind but not nice. thats her 100%. she has a good heart & she'll help people & do things for people & make sure the people she cares about are treated well but she just has such a like??? gruff way of doing it

shes a lot softer with her kids & the niblings tho

[shockersalvage]

Salvage Smallcase: Ryo Oba

We interrupt the next Showcase to bring you the first of sporadic discussions! To celebrate this character's birthday, it was suggested by @drmedicsgamesurgery to make a 'showcase' for Ryo and I really liked that idea. However, given his state as being essentially a 'minor character to a semi-important character' and not having much to him, I decided he would be the first in what I like to call Salvage Smallcases!

Smallcases are Showcases that lack a proper Rundown section due to a character's dismal screentime, lack of fleshing out or non-real importance to the plot. Think of these guys as being under the Ted Chikatilo effect, except its less egregious, since these guys are supposed to be fairly unimportant in the bigger picture (instead of the plot acting as if they were important or well developed when its not the case).

So with that out of the way, let's delve into Hajiki's buddy!

Summary

Ryo Oba is Hajiki Yaki's friend who he occasionally brings along to help him bust illegal casinos. Ryo was originally one of these illicit gamblers, having had a bad childhood and a poor education. Ultimately, his career as a gambler ended after he had a kid with his girlfriend and lost miserably to the rising gambler herself: Celestia Ludenberg.

When Hajiki became a member of Yui Samidare's team, and volunteered to take on the GOODBYE Bar of the 12 Duel Noir Challenge, Hajiki opted to get his buddy to come along with him, since Ryo knew the area of the bar better.

Together, and with Gunzo Arai (who worked for the insurance company that owned the bar) they traveled to the location. Before they could enter, Hajiki would receive a call from Katsumi Kodama, a Target that was tied up in the bar. The three rush in but, little did they know, that they triggered a trap that had Katsumi stabbed by a poisoned knife. As such, Katsumi is found injured, but seemingly still alive. Ryo is panicking given that he has much to lose due to just becoming a father, but is still able to listen to Hajiki when his friend asks him to stay on-guard to block the door and even able to point Hajiki to the only possible exit: one that would lead into an alleyway. Thinking the culprit must have ran off, Hajiki would rush into the alley, despite his friend's protest...

Unfortunately, for Ryo, Hajiki would later run into the Victim of the Libra Girls Academy Duel Noir - his teammate Sachi Mizuiyama - and would be killed by her. As for Katsumi, he too would succumb to the poisoned knife. What Ryo and Hajiki didn't know was that the culprit of the GOODBYE Bar was the Scorpio Victim of the 12 Duel Noir Challenge and the other person who tagged along with them: Gunzo - who killed Katsumi because the guy murdered his Dad for an insurance premium.

While the case would be solved, Ryo would not show up again the Danganronpa Kirigiri series. Ryo held a friendly attitude with Hajiki, being more than willing to work with him, mostly for casino busting. Yet, he is not nearly as equipped to handle serious situations, like murder, and panics at the thought of getting in trouble for his involvement. His retirement from gambling, and reasons for it, suggests he's the type to quit when he knows he can't hope to measure against someone better than himself, and if there are people more important that require him to be better.

Personal Thoughts

One of the things I love concerning the supplementary or side material of Danganronpa is when they do nods to the mainline titles. Be it in the form of cameos or just references that they exist.

In this case, I really enjoyed DRK just having some of its original cast mention how the other Ultimates were active. From Yuzen bringing up the Ult. Imposter in DRK2 and Chihiro's programming getting stolen for use in DRK 6. And, likewise, we have DRK 5 having Celeste be the reason Ryo quit gambling (which is just funny to me)! Like with the Mukuro Cult I find it as a nice way to make the world of Danganronpa feel bigger, showing that these guys we got to know of in-game really had an influence on the world they lived in.

Though, outside of that, Ryo's treatment in DRK, is rather depressing when you stop to think about it. He's just trying to help his friend out but ends up not only having his buddy bludgeoned to death soon after leaving the crime scene, but the Target ends up dying on him as well. And the only other living witness to these events? Yeah, the person he's with is a murderer who could easily kill him if need be. Thankfully, its implied that doesn't happen, but he's left in a pretty low point for the plot...which doesn't focus on him again. After Hajiki dies, and unlike the St. Anne students or the M.R.S of DRK who have some bearing on the plot beyond their Duel Noir, so dies Ryo's involvement in the proceedings.

He doesn't even get to know who killed him or be there for Sachi being taken down, and the main cast never gets to interact with him. He's pretty much just collateral damage that doesn't get a chance to be more than that unlike the students who became detectives or the MRS who were the ones to defeat Sachi. He's just abandoned by the plot. Honestly, I find it kind of disheartening, because Ryo could have served as 'something' to keep Hajiki's memory going even after death.

Perhaps have him join Salvador and Kyoko's anti-Duel Noir team in the epilogue (throw in the MRS in there too...and heck maybe that broke college student from Sachi's) as a means to honor Hajiki dying trying to help and make up for not being there to save him. It would mean that there was 'weight' to a death that that I've long since felt was just an author writing out the extras they no longer need in favor of Team Samidare just being about Yui and Kyoko again. But, that isn't what happened, so what we have is just a neat extra who gives an entertaining reference and fades into the void once the kinda-ish important character they were with croaks. An unfortunate situation, but that's the fate of a Smallcase character.

Next Time: Kirigiriso returns with a certain plant as our topic of interest!

[variousqueerthings]

hiiii sorry to bother you with this ramble but i've been watching cobra kai mainly out of curiosity and the ups and downs i have felt when watching this show haha

i don't want to give this show a hard time, but it's so...yeah. of course i should've expected that going into the show, it's the reboot of the one movie from the 80s everyone and their mom knows of course it's not going to have the most philosophical questions but like....it both intrigues and enrages me in sooo many ways. Having just watched the sequels for the first time I was very surprised to find what it had to say about the cycle of violence and the somewhat unconventional masculinity in Daniel and...the showrunners seems to forget about all of that?

They seemed to sort of get it with the first two seasons where Johnny/the kids who walk into Cobra Kai walk out impacted in a way that the narrative doesn't see as rewarding which is really interesting! Only to...forget that? Once heavy metal starts playing, that's the cue that tells you "Oh yeah this is where the cool stuff happens! You should be rooting for them!" and I don't. I just kind of. sigh and let the scene happen

Oh and don't even get me started on how the writers seem incapable of writing the kids without having them in romantic relationships. I know they're in high school but like. It's tiring seeing these kids get together, then break up in two episodes -__- but that's just my thing with media

Ok one more thing cause I'm gonna keep rambling on and on: I really enjoyed Daniel taking Robby on as his student and just watching this kid have some sort of stability and guidance in his life was really nice so it was cruel of the writers to just rip that away (in my opinion)

Sorry for this long ramble, this show has definitely confused me but is somehow interesting enough to keep on watching

Can I just say I am somewhat enamoured that occasionally an anon will wander into my space and give me a little update on their various cobra kai and/or karate kid watches, makes me feel like we're all in this together.

And onto the message itself: everything you're saying is correct. Cobra Kai is a silly show, it's a show with many many flaws, it's a show that not only at times contradicts TKK character-building, but also its own emotional and thematic build, it's been my little "puts on clown suit and nose" show for the last couple of years, and it's one I'd never technically recommend, but for the fact that I am delighted by a great deal of it + the fandom (on tumblr -- venture into some other corners and you're reminded that the actual target audience is middle-aged straight guys who kin Johnny and think there's nothing deeper than "Daniel was the real bully" takes) has been a source of a lot of fun.

It was something that helped me during the pandemic + introduced me to some lovely people (including someone I have travelled to another continent to meet irl!)

What does this have to do with your message? Technically nothing, I just need you to know that I am both incredibly biased about my emotions around this show, because of all the real life stuff around it, and that I was very forgiving of it for quite awhile, up until s5 confirmed that yeah, the narrative that it seemed to be building up to (in its own flawed way) was uh... simply not occurring anymore.

Now I've moved past the stage of "oh okay, it's bad bad," and gone into "here's what I like," mode -- with no small degree of kvetching of course.

The way that I watch this show is on the basis of "take what you want, leave out the rest." Sometimes I'm not a fan of this approach, because it can leave out what actually works in favour of popular fanon headcanons (that can also make people who aren't into them feel excluded from cliquey spaces that dictate The Truth). But if the writing isn't up to snuff, I think it's only right to take a sledgehammer/scalpel/tool of your choice and Frankenstein that thing into proper shape!

The show has good bones -- the bones of The Karate Kid movies, and the actors (old and new) who are really into playing their roles and put a lot of work into it -- and it has good parts in its story too.

As for the rest *rolls up sleeves and gets'a'hammerin' and fixin'*

[askthechronoverse]

Chapter Three: Sympathy for the Master Breaker

Last Chapter •||• Next Chapter

A few months had passed since Rex appeared in the garden and already, the people living in the Unikingdom castle already incorporated him into their daily routines. The fast pace of life in the castle, going from doing neglected chores with Richard to cleaning up Unikitty's messes kept Rex from thinking inward too much. The only time he was able to really think was at night, when the brightness of the kingdom changed to something more like home. Occasionally, Puppycorn would join him in his insomnia, talking about nothing too revealing about himself or too important.

It was one of those nights that the man found himself. Puppycorn had brought with him a new radio controlled car and the two took turns driving the thing around the cell. 

"Did you think of what you wanna be called? I feel bad callin' you Rex if you don't like it." Puppycorn's tongue lolled on the side of his mouth as he drove donuts on the floor. Rex looked down at the little dog. 

"I'm still not sure, kid. Don't feel bad. It's my name right now. That's like feelin' bad for callin' you Puppycorn." He leaned his back against the wall, watching the car. "How's your boardin' goin'? Didja get that kickflip down?"

"I'm getting a little better, but I keep faceplanting. I wish ya could come to the skatepark with me!" 

"Kid, your sister has me runnin' around all day. Haven't had a whole lotta time for myself." Puppycorn calmed a little. "Are ya doin' it like I toldja? It worked with my raptors."

"Yeah! … Kinda. I can tell Unikitty to let you come." Puppycorn's ball tail wagged.

"She's not gonna let that happen. She wants to protect you from the big bad world-ending jerk." 

"Ya seem pretty cool to me!"

"That's because I like you. You aren't tryin' to analyze me or force me to feel things I don't." Yes, the kid made him feel things, but it was things he didn't want, like guilt. "I noticed ya kept our secret, by the way. Pretty cool of you." 

"Really? Thanks! I try to be cool!" His little ball tail could go flying at any time.

"Yeah, kid. Unikitty hasn't caught on yet to who I was. I appreciate it." He ruffled the pup's ears.

"Are ya gonna tell me more secrets?" 

"Why not? Ya got somethin' in mind?"

Puppycorn tilted his head. He wasn't much of a thinker, so Rex doubted the pup was going to ask too hard hitting a question.

"Do you hate my big sis?" That was unexpected. Rex took a deep breath.

"She's annoying. I'm not sure what I saw in her and she needs to stop tryin' to do whatever she's tryin' to do with me because she is way too high energy for me right now." He shook his head, letting a small smile worm its way on his face. "I'm still glad I'm here an' not any other place in the known galaxy." 

"Why?"

"It's kinda nice here. Everyone wants to help me… well, except Hawkodile. He's probably just doin' his job. Wish he'd loosen up an' let me have something to do in here."

"I can getcha stuff to build somethin'. What do ya wanna make?" Puppycorn braced himself to run out the open cell door.

"Hmm. How 'bout this, kid? I'll tell ya the parts. You go fetch." Rex closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. After a moment, he began to point to parts scattered around Doctor Fox's lab. A lot of the pieces were still attached to things, but Puppycorn destroyed the items for the parts. It was all in good faith, right? Eventually, everything Rex needed was at this feet. Puppycorn sat on the floor across from his friend and watched him work. He'd seen people build things before. He'd even done it himself. But the way Rex built was different, like his instructions came from a higher power. His movements were blindingly fast, the pup couldn't keep up.

Neither of the two noticed the lights turning on and Unikitty zooming into the cell like a bullet, fur turning crimson. 

"What are you doing?!" She bellowed, breaking Rex's concentration which caused him to drop what he had been building. The item was half finished and unstable, the item crumbling back into the base components. 

"He was building somethin', Big Sis!" Puppycorn seemed to slump a little as he gathered the parts. "I wanted to see what he was building! He builds things weird!"

"He's a Master Builder, Puppycorn." She turned to Rex for a second before starting to sift through the parts. "What were you building, Rex?" 

"Look, I need somethin' to do around here besides clean up your messes. I was buildin' a-'' Before Rex could say anything further, a grasp was heard behind them. Doctor Fox looked around at the damage Puppycorn had caused in his effort to help Rex.

"Did you make Puppycorn do this, Rex? You were trying to escape, weren't you." This wasn't asked. This was a demand. Unikitty's horn and tail was engulfed in flames. Rex knew what this meant. She was angry. Not something he needed. 

"Well, yeah, he helped me get the parts but-"

"I trusted you! How could you use my brother like you used my friend?" Each accusation was accented with an increase in height on the column of flames. "Get away from my brother!"

"Let me speak, Rainbows for Brains." Rex growled. "If I wanted to leave, I would have left by now. Puppycorn never closes the door. He'll even forget to close it after he leaves for the night. You can sleep through Armommageddeon. I could have just walked out that door and never come back. But I'm still here. Putting up with you." Puppycorn looked from his friend to his sister, not sure how to keep the peace. 

"You were waiting for the right time to leave! How long have you been using my brother‽" Unikitty pressed her face against Rex's, sweat pouring from his brow. "What have you been telling him?"

"Nothing! Can we cut the crap with this overused cliche? It was old in the the 80's!" That made Unikitty pause, which left time for Puppycorn to chime in.

"Sis, he's my friend! He's told me about dinosaurs and skateboards! He's so cool!" Blue and green hearts and skulls floated around his head for a brief moment. Unikitty turned to her brother, fur still red but her form was less intimidating. 

"Wait. He just told you about dinosaurs and skateboards?"

"Yeah! Did you know that raptors have feathers? And they're super smart, too!" Puppycorn bounced in place. His sister smiled at his excitement, but her attention turned back to Rex. "Sis, he's my friend." 

"I'm happy you made a friend, but you gotta be careful with him. He hurt a good friend of mine. I don't want him to hurt you, too." Her attention never left Rex as she spoke.

"Who did he hurt?" Puppycorn tilted his head, attention to Rex, who was now backed into the corner of the bed.

"You never met him, Puppycorn. He lives far away from the Unikingdom." Her fur was going back to pink. "But he made my friend do a very bad thing." Rex said nothing. He didn't deny it. What he did was unforgivable. "I don't want him to do that to you." 

"I'm gonna break this moment up and move things along, especially since you both are making intense eye contact with me." Rex pushed Unikitty off of him. "He's the only one of you who hasn't been totally overbearing this whole time. It's kinda funny: you want me to stop being grumpy. He helps me with that. That and upping my evening mediation to an hour a day." He muttered the last sentence. He cleared his throat. "You still haven't put the pieces together."

"You aren't helping, Rex. Whenever you talk about yourself, you… talk for hours about being stranded on a desert planet for years watching large children play with us like we were made out of plastic interlocking bricks? But that's not helpful! I can't use that to help you!"  The red fur came back. Rex rolled his eyes. 

"I don't work like that! I don't trust you. Thought you got that hint already." He put his hand on his head.

"But he totally trusts me! He lets me know all of his secrets!" Both Rex and Unikitty gave Puppycorn the same look of shock.

"What secrets, bro?"  The room was silent after a while, save for the sounds of Doctor Fox fixing her equipment. After looking at the floor for a moment, the little dog spoke.

"Uh… it's a secret, sis. You can't tell anyone a secret. Especially since I promised." Puppycorn's ears went back, tail stagnant. 

"Puppycorn. He's a liar. He might have told you something bad, something not true. Please tell me what he said." Rex looked away from Puppycorn. Go ahead. Blurt it out and save yourself.

"He didn't lie to me! I know he didn't! He sounded like he was telling the truth!" Puppycorn got closer to the two. "You were telling me the truth, right?" Rex didn't reply. It was strange that the pup was sticking up for him without calling him names. He found the words once he let the situation sink in more.

"Just tell her, kid." Honestly, it was a bigger deal to Unikitty than it was to Rex.

"Nuh uh. I said I wouldn't hurt you. Breaking a promise hurts." Puppycorn looked up at Rex with that look in his eyes, the one that made Rex's heart go weak. This all felt so saccharine. It would have made him puke if it weren't the one thing he desperately needed to hear. 

"What did you tell him, Rex? What lie did you tell him?" Unikitty got in the human's face again. Rex pushed her back.

"I told him the truth. Not sure he understands it, but that's OK. He's a good kid. You want me to be direct? Fine. Before I started Armommageddeon, I was a naive construction worker who thought he actually had friends who loved him. Imagine his shock when those friends forget him for a happy little fantasy the first chance they got."

"I would have never done that. Not to a friend!" Something snapped behind Rex's dark eyes.

"But you did, Princess Fluffyhead!  You forgot me!  Left me for dead in a harsh, dry planet with only the thoughts of failure and inadequacy rolling in my mind. 'Be tougher, Emmet! You're such a Hufflepuff! You're so weak and useless!'. All of that played in my head for years while I got to watch the two brats that run our world help you and the others pretend I never existed! A happy little lie of a perfect world!" Rex's voice was unstable, torn between a gravelly growl and a pained whine. "You don't remember doing it. It happened in a timeline he prevented. But I remember! I'm the last shattered fragment of that mistake! I'm the Emmet who didn't get a happy ending. Who saw through everyone's lies, even the Man Upstairs!" He curled up, but his clenched fists were shaking. Unikitty stepped back, turning blue. 

"Wait… did I really hurt you like that? No wonder you keep pushing me away." She held back tears, knowing her hurting former friend was doing the same. "Is that why you did it? You were hurting inside?"

"I wanted to get back at them for the pain they caused me. I didn't care about anything else. Heck, I'm still convinced someone is just telling a story, using us as an outlet to revive their creativity. But, everything feels… real. Even in Undar, when everything started to go in his favor. When she saved him." He turned his back to the cat and dog. "It still hurts and I can't stop it. I'm still so weak."

Puppycorn slipped under his floating sister and sat next to his friend, putting a paw on his shoulder to try and comfort him. His face didn't show that anything Rex said did anything but fly over his head, but the pain was something easy for the young pup to pick up on.

"You aren't weak. You never were. If it weren't for you, we would all be Kragled right now. You were so brave then." Unikitty's eyes watered. She couldn't help it. "Emmet… Rex… Whatever you want to be called right now…. I'm sorry. I really am. It takes a lot of strength to let people in, you know." She looked over to Doctor Fox, who was taking notes on what Rex had said relevant to her time research. "Doc, can you get us some lemonade? We definitely need some." Doctor Fox took the hint and rushed out of the lab. Unikitty turned back to Rex, who still had his back to her and her brother. She put her paw on his other shoulder. "I said I would help you. Like Puppycorn said, breaking promises hurts and I won't ever, ever hurt you again." Rex slowly moved his hand from his face to the paw Unikitty rested on his shoulder.

–

The dawn broke to a thick and somber atmosphere, something rarely felt in the Unikingdom castle. Rex had fallen asleep, still curled up in the corner. Unikitty and Puppycorn left him when they noticed he had gone silent, the elder royal assuming he'd simply exhausted himself after the altercation. The time traveler stirred in a state of odd feeling calmness. He pulled a blanket off his body that he didn't recall having on him when he fell asleep. When he did this, he suddenly felt a chill on the middle of his back. He tried to move away, but it followed him with a tutting noise coming soon after.

"Please hold still. I need to run some tests." He groaned. That voice belonged to Doctor Fox. "Last night, you revealed some data regarding your past that was very enlightening. There are two of the same person existing in this timeline and I need to determine what kind of effects this will have."

"Doc, I've been in the same timeline with my past self before. It didn't do anything the fabric of time an' space couldn't take. Can you run tests after I wake up and have some coffee?" Rex tried to stretch, but whatever Doctor Fox had on his back was pressed against his left shoulder blade now. 

"Actually, I would have preferred it if you were asleep. It would be easier to get some baseline brain scans during a deeper sleep phase." She shrugged. "I can make due, but I would appreciate your full co-operation, for once."

"Alright, Doc. I'm honestly too tired to fightcha." He sank back into the position he was when he was asleep. 

"Is your exhaustion emotional or physical? You did release some major emotional baggage last night. The sparkle matter left over was quite potent." 

"What the heck is sparkle matter?" Rex's voice was muffled by the corner.

"It makes sense you wouldn't know about sparkle matter. You're from outside the Unikingdom. It's the manifestation of strong emotions. Love, happiness, sadness, even anger. I'm currently logging and studying yours, since this is the first time I've seen sparkle matter from someone who comes from another world. I can't help but wonder if your time in the Unikingdom is changing you on a biological level to be more like us." 

"Why don't I remember seeing sparkle whatzits?"

"I'm not sure. I still need to test my hypothesis about your biological conversation first. Please continue to hold still. The scan is almost complete."  After a moment, the coldness left Rex. "Alright. You can go upstairs. Unikitty wanted to talk to you. I advised her to give you some time to yourself, but you know how she is." She gave a small laugh. Rex nodded and sluggishly got to his feet. Doctor Fox was already at her computer by this point, a jar of shapes beside her. He could make out lightning bolts, rain clouds, little velociraptors, and his R emblem. There was tape on the jar with his name on it, but it was clear that this was sparkle matter. His sparkle matter. His mind went back to when he and Unikitty first met. He did remember hearts and stars radiating from her horn. He could do that now, too? He put a hand on his head, heading upstairs. 

He eventually found Unikitty alone in the kitchen. She had some waffles placed on an empty place on the table across from her. "Hey. Come sit. I made ya waffles because I know how much you liked them."

"Princess, I would never say no to waffles." He sat across from her. "Doc said you wanted to talk. We breakin' up or somethin'?"

"No. I just… really wanted to apologize for… well, everything. Even the stuff I did in another timeline thingy. Emmet… Is it cool if I call you that? Or do you prefer Rex? This is so confusing, and Doctor Fox had to explain it to me three times this morning." Unikitty was smiling warmly, her blue eyes trained on Rex for a reaction of any kind.

"I'm leavin' that up to you, Princess. I'm not gonna fightcha." It was clear the man was exhausted to his core. 

"Then, Rex. I'm not the Unikitty that hurt you, but I'll be the Unikitty to patch you up again!" She almost sang her convictions.

"Princess, you can't make me be my old self again. That person left a long time ago."

"I don't expect to. My goal is to help you not hurt anymore. Ya just gotta promise me you won't run away and, y'know… end all existence again. Promise me you won't?" She leaned on the table with anticipation.

"You sound serious. That's rare for the ruler of the land of no rules. I'll keep my rage in check, Princess." He reached his hand out for a handshake, but she came in for a hug instead. The hug lasted way too long, but Rex didn't mind. 

"So I have to talk to Hawkodile, but you're gonna be my guest for really real. No cage. Doctor Fox wants you to keep the tracker on, but that may be for sciencey reasons. Richard's setting up a room for you in the castle!" Almost as if summoned, Richard floated through the door.

"Princess, you need to discuss this with Hawkodile first, because Rex was already deemed a security threat. Also, I have enough to do today without setting up-" Unikitty interrupted him quickly. 

"You get to add someone to help you with choresl! It'll be great!" She was undaunted by the monotone brick's words.

"That would be nice." He turned to Rex. "Just to let you know, you may be doing more than your share of chores. You don't mind chores, do you?"

"Nah, bro. I spent mosta my life in a place where people who didn't follow the rules disappeared for a while. I'll try not to complain too much." Richard blinked, the only sign of a reaction. 

"Alright. I'll get a room cleared for Rex. Unikitty, I want you to help acclimate him to the Unikingdom. Make sure Hawkodile is with you." Richard floated away, right through the wall. 

"We gonna talk about the whole 'float through walls' thing? Is he a ghost or somethin'?" Rex asked after staring at the wall for a moment. 

"No, he's just Richard. He's the castle caretaker!" Unikitty shrugged. "I gotta get Hawkodile. Stay there and eat, OK? I'll be back before you can miss me!" The magical cat zipped away. Not a second after she did, Puppycorn appeared at the door. 

"Oh! Waffles!" He bounded to the seat Unikitty had occupied. Rex slid the plate over. 

"Take 'em, kid. I'm not really hungry."  The puppy took the food without another word. Rex watched the sports themed sparkle matter fly. "Sorry about last night. It wasn't fair to you ta see me like that." 

"It's alright, dude. Ya've been sad since I met ya," Puppycorn slid the now clean plate back to Rex and licked syrup off his face. "But I totally kept my promise! I didn't tell Unikitty nothing!" That earned him a pat on the head. 

"Ya did. I think I just needed to tell her myself." He leaned back on his chair. "Hey, do ya remember things comin' off my head when I was… y'know." Puppycorn scratched his head.

"Huh? … Oh yeah! I found a cool raptor thing next to you after ya went to sleep. Doc said it was sparkle matter, but she sounded really confused. Somethin' aboutcha being from another planet. We looked around and found a lot more of the stuff.  Maybe that's why ya sound tired!" Puppycorn spoke with pride. 

"Maybe, but I don't think I'm gonna be able to take a nap for a while. Shocked ya picked up on that, kid. Your sister sure didn't." Rex chuckled. "She's still up on Planet Unikitty, huh?" He pointed over his head.

"Nah. Pretty sure she's at Hawkodile's treehouse." 

"Kid, never change. Ever." Puppycorn looked confused, but this was dispelled by Unikitty returning to the kitchen with Hawkodile. 

"Let's go shoooopping!" She sang out, her bodyguard behind her trying to look as menacing as possible. "You can come too, Puppycorn!" The puppy jumped off the chair and rushed out the door with Unikitty. Rex started to follow, but Hawkodile stopped him.

"I'm watching you. Got it?" Rex could feel the bodyguard's stare through his sunglasses.

"Yeah, bro. Got it." Hawkodile let Rex through the door first, keeping him within eyesight behind him. Rex rushed as fast as his body could take him to catch up with Unikitty and Puppycorn. By the time he did, they were out of the castle grounds and heading into town. 

"What're we gettin', sis?" Puppycorn was bounding with enough energy for everyone present, especially the man behind them. 

"Rex is getting his own room in the castle and Richard wants us to help him decorate!" Hearts and stars flew from her horn. 

"Ya know, I could save us money and just Master Build some furniture." Rex didn't sound as enthusiastic as the other two.

"Nope! You don't need to Master Build here!"

"Or do the stunt you had Unikitty's friend pull with that wedding cake." Hawkodile stated, both calm and threateningly. 

"Ya probably wish ya could punch a cake like that."  The comeback didn't have a lot of punch, but adding the smirk Rex flashed, it was enough to annoy Hawkodile. He turned his attention to Unikitty. "Seriously, though. I'm sure the possible dead guy ya call a caretaker'll probably thank me for recyclin' and upcyclin' some of the junk you're hoardin' for some reason." 

"Nope! No Master Building for you today! We're getting you new stuff!" Unikitty was still playful, but starting to get firm. If Rex had to guess, maybe she was trying to give him stuff as some weird form of reparation. She and Puppycorn talked about something silly for the rest of the trip, until they got to a large outdoor marketplace. 

"Oh boy! Toy Zone!" Puppycorn's tail was in danger of flying off and bouncing into the bushes. Rex lifted an eyebrow.

"Toys? I thought we were buying stuff for my room, Unikitty." He folded his arms. "I'm not really a toy guy." At least not in the traditional sense. 

"They totally sell other things too! Look around! Anything you want, it's yours!" Yep. This was Unikitty paying to repent for things she technically didn't do. Cool. He could work with that. He began to walk past the stalls, silently scanning each shopkeeper's merchandise. His strange appearance was enough to get the geometric people of the Unikingdom whispering to one another. Eventually, he stopped at a stall that seemed darker than the others, both in color scheme and aura. 

"Cursed Games and Such." He read out loud, amused. "Know anything about this place, Princess?"

"Yeah! Stay away from that one! The games really are cursed!" Unikitty called from a few stalls away. 

"They are, huh? I ain't afraid." He looked back at the stall, where a hooded shopkeeper stood, his eyes and mouth glowing green. 

"Not afraid, huh? Do I have a game for you! The cost is free, but the price is beyond reckoning! Are you interested?"  The shopkeeper kept a jack-o'-lantern smile on his face as he spoke in a supernaturally echoed voice, pulling a board game out from under the stall and putting it down on the counter.

"Maybe." Rex mirrored the shopkeeper's smile. "What's the catch? We talkin' Jumanji here or is it like the arcade cabinet in Maximum Overdrive?" The shopkeeper's smile fell into nothing in confusion. "OK, you don't have the same taste in movies I do, obviously. So, will the game flat out kill me, or trap me until someone finishes that session? I'd prefer somethin' like Zathura, because that was just Jumanji in space, but I ain't picky. Sell it to me, big guy!"

"Wait. You want to know about the curse? That's a selling point for you?" The shopkeeper's voice lost the echo. He leaned over the counter and saw Unikitty in the distance. "Oh. You came with her, didn't you." He put a clawed hand on his shadowy face. "Look, I really don't want to spoil the whole thing for other potential buyers who might be listening. If you aren't going to take the game, move along."

"What's with the game with the dragon on the cover? Looks metal." He pointed to a box with a grey dragon on it titled 'Castles and Kitties'.

"Oh! That's a roleplaying game! I have all the expansions for sale as well!" The shopkeeper's eyes lit up. Rex grabbed the box and skimmed the main rule book.

"OK, this is super nerdy." He yawned as he put the book down. "Tempting, but super nerdy. Is this another thing ya can't tell me about the catch for?"

"... What do you think, man?" 

"Tell ya what. I've got nothin' but time around here. I'm new to town and I need to get rid of some pent up creativity. I'll get the books and maybe I'll invite you to play with me if I decide to be…" Rex flipped through the book again. "A storyteller. Sounds good, big guy?" 

"I'm usually the storyteller!"

"Well, sometimes ya gotta let someone else take the wheel. We got a deal?" 

"Here, just take them and go!" The strange being, flustered by Rex, pushed a lot of books in the man's arms. 

"OK, brother. Work on your pitch, alright? Ya almost lost a sale there." Rex winked and headed for the others. "I got something to do when I can't sleep, guys! Should put me to sleep in no time!" 

"We… got a wagon for your stuff?" Unikitty gestured to a red pull wagon, which Rex promptly dumped the game books into. "You know those books are cursed, right?"

"Probably. But that just makes it more fun. Otherwise I just bought a collection of nerdy play pretend books." He stuck his tongue out and grabbed the handle of the wagon. "Let's make tracks before that shopkeeper realizes I forgot to pay!" He seemed to have a little more spring in his step as he headed to another stall. 

After the cart was overloaded with furniture and things Rex thought he'd need, the group headed home. Puppycorn sniffed the air. "Aw man! Pizza!" The group followed the blue pup to the kitchen, which was decorated in green banners, some still being hung up by Doctor Fox and a few of her robots. There was pizza on the table, as Puppycorn stated earlier. Richard floated toward them. 

"Since he is officially a resident of the castle, I felt we should throw a welcome party for Rex." The lack of emotion in Richard's voice was something Rex wasn't going to ever get used to. "Welcome to the castle, Rex."

"I helped, Unikitty. Don't worry." Doctor Fox's words seemed to reassure Doctor Fox. 

"Should I put my stuff in my room first?" Rex gestured to the wagon. 

"Richard can take care of it! Riiiiight, Rick?" Unikitty started to change the decorations to something far more elaborate. 

"No, it's fine, Princess. I'll put them away. Rick, can you show me where you're havin' me crash?" Rex gripped the handle of the wagon.

"I would be happy to. Follow me." Both brick and man ignored Unikitty's protests and headed out of the kitchen. They walked towards a darker part of the castle. Richard eventually floated in front of a door with Rex's emblem painted on it.  "I figured you would want a room away from the main parts of the castle."

"Appreciate it, man. Unikitty and Puppycorn are hard to keep up with." Rex rubbed the back of his head. 

"They definitely are." Richard agreed, tone adding a little more light to the monotone. "You will be expected to do your chores, but you already know that. Clean up after yourself if you make a mess. Try not to disturb the other people on the castle if you stay up late." He closed his eyes. "Feel free to join the party when you feel up to doing so. I'm sure Unikitty will keep it going for you."

"I'll just drop this stuff off an' follow ya back. I probably should try to get involved in stuff like this." Rex yawned softly. 

"Are you sure? You sound tired and Unikitty's parties can last into the night."

"I know, Rick. I know how to sneak out of a Unikitty party when I'm tired." He opened the door and saw the bed from the cell was there. The room was empty, but a sizable space for whatever Rex decided to do. There was an empty walk in closet and windows that looked over the gardens. He walked to one of the windows and opened it, letting the afternoon air filter in. "What do you grow in the garden? I used to claim I was a farmer. I might try growing things."

"We grow all the food we eat in the castle. I wouldn't say no to someone helping me in the garden, or taking that as a part of your chores if you find you have a green thumb." Richard smiled. 

"I used to claim I did a lot of things. Archeologist. Script doctor. Cowboy. It was all stuff I wanted to do." He moved away from the window and started to decorate the room with the items in the wagon.

"Rex, maybe you can use this opportunity to explore yourself and learn what you want out of life. You're never too old to do that." 

"I'll give it a try. I don't have a direction to go right now with my life, anyway." He picked up an expansion book for 'Castles and Kitties', holding it for a moment. "I have a lot to figure out."

"You are in a good place to do that. Most of the chaos around here is caused by Unikitty and her friends. There are worst places to explore yourself."

"Yeah." Rex put the book down on a shelf. "I can think of a few right now. "You're pretty wise, Rich."

"Tell that to Unikitty. She needs to hear it sometimes." Richard helped Rex finish putting things away. When the task was done, he turned to the man. "Are you ready to return to the others? I can let them know if you want to rest."

"I wouldn't sleep either way. Let's go." Rex glanced at the still empty closet. "I'm gonna need to pick up some clothes at some point. Didn't see a lot of those at the market."

"You can do that in the morning. I'll lead you back to the kitchen. Come on." Rex followed the grey brick back to kitchen, where the party predictably was in full steam. Flashing lights and loud music filling every corner of the room and there was now a tower of cupcakes next to the pizza. 

"Where have you been, Rex! You almost missed the party!" Unikitty flew over to him as he grabbed some pizza. 

"Surprisingly, your friend is more responsible than you are." Richard stated over the music.

"He's just trying to impress you, Richard! He'd rather party with us! Right, Rex?" Unikitty waited for a reply from her friend… and was shocked to get none. "Rex?" Again, no reply. He just started eating his slice of pizza. "REX!"

"Huh? What do ya need, Princess?" Rex put his pizza down. Unikitty huffed a little. 

"I was talking to you! Didn't you hear me?"

"Not really. Sorry, Princess."

"But Richard could hear me fine! Why couldn't you?" Rex shrugged and just bobbed his head to the music. It didn't seem he recognized that Unikitty asked him anything.

"Princess, your friend may have hearing problems. Try talking louder or turning the music down. I know he can be rude, but I don't think he's trying to ignore you." Richard stated, floating over to the boombox the music was playing on and turned it down to a reasonable volume. 

"Rex!" Unikitty shouted close to her friend's ear. 

"Unikitty!" Rex yelled right back. "Do you just like calling my name or do ya have somethin' to say?" 

"Do you really have trouble hearing or did Richard make that up because the music was too loud?"

"Yeah, my hearing's crap. I never got it checked, but I deal." Rex shrugged, going back to his pizza.

[archaeval]

ooc. no writing tonight just copypasting a long writeup about ruby’s modern verse for @matriarchsdevotee and ruby’s future scooby doo mystery solving

so like. she appears mostly human for the most part, the general public  just sees the library as a private library that functions similarly to a  public library only she gets to choose the organizational system.  allegedly it's been passed down through her family for generations, the  building is a protected historical site, but in actuality it's just  always been ruby, there's no ancestors about it. her eyes are a bit  weirdly reflective and her teeth are a lil sharp but nobody really  notices enough to comment on it.  the building is an extension of ruby herself. there are two floors open  to the public that function as the library, and sub floors 1 and 2 for  storage and offices. there's a 3rd floor that used to be apartments but  now are study rooms and the like and need reservations. underneath  basement floor 2, things get. weir.d though to be fair, the doors to  basement floors 3+ aren't always in the basement, but at least they're  always clearly marked as staff only.

it's a gorgeous old building that was fitted with gas and then electrical lights over the years. the wifi and computer systems have always been buggy and ruby is honest about it, though she claims its just because it's an old building and it's not in the budget to update the computer systems. in reality, newer tech that relies on processors and wireless connectivity and data will get affected instantly bc they're essentially inside her body, which is a swirling vortex of eldritch nonsense in the shape of a beautiful private library. Phones are also iffy when they do or don't work.   i think. in her modern verse. she is also able to shapeshift freely into spider form, and possibly have 2-3 avatars of herself running around to assist people who got lost in the periodical section of the library that is the worst-organized of them all. she's  a mostly benevolent/neutral eldritch being in the middle of an old  metropolitan area, and not enough people look closely to realize what's  goin on. or, if they do, other people pass it off as who cares or she's  just some rich weirdo from really old money of course she's gonna be  disconnected from reality

yes she eats people occasionally. or more specifically, she drags them down into the basements and lets them get lost and starve to death there for wholly justifiable reasons in her mind. she used to be human, and she isn't going to kill someone just for dog-earing a 40 year old book even if she really wants to. the extras spider hands absolutely help with reshelving at night. jane is there also, and is a good baby girl whom i love.

also. she loves her lgbteens. theyre so weird. she doesn't understand  what theyre saying half the time. 

some really nice things about the library itself: open every day. almost  no late fees. she does mention them in the library policy but unless  you annoy her, they get taken off automatically. since its privately  owned, she gets to set all the rules and if someone has a suggestion or  complaint they have a direct line to the person who makes decisions  around here. the kid's section is the only organized section of the  library and has an adorable mural and benches so it looks like you're  reading in the 100 acre wood. 

the bad: no, she will not rearrange her books. if oyu want to know where  something is instead of going on a grand adventure, you ask her and  she'll tell you how to get there. yes this requires landmarks such as  "the creepy light that always sways as if there's a light breeze" or  "the tiny door on the left side of the hallway. do NOT go in the one on  the right" 

she has a very small amount of employees who are paid well.

if someoen's shitty and asks for the manager, she always lets you come get her to deal with the situation and she is always on her employees' side, especially if someone’s being shitty about book displays.

it's Her building, there isn't a free speech debate goin on here, there's no customer is always right because this is a service being provided to the community on her dime  the only time she makes money off this is through donations. the haunted house is 2$ suggested donation that's always going to a local charity. she may be fuckoff rich and struggles to adapt to modern tech but she also hates shitty people and has no patience for anyone trying to talk down to her. she's solitary and snooty so if you've passed her vibe check tm and got a job there, you're p much set for life. the other big downside is that you swear the paintings are watching you as you go past. you're wrong of course. she doesn't need fake eyes to see where everyone is in her building and what they're getting up to